Across the Pond Ch. 04

She frowned, the icy mask on her face finally slipping off. "You don't sound even the least bit upset at the end of our marriage."

I took her in for a moment. Simone really was a beautiful woman - alabaster skin, jet black hair that hung straight down her back, eyes so powder blue they were almost clear. Impeccable dress sense. Tits were aces, though she paid enough for them to be so. In that moment I realized she no longer affected me. Nothing. I felt nothing. "Why would I? It wasn't as if we were particularly happy during the throws of it. We both received what we wanted: your money and my freedom."

"Surely it wasn't all bad, was it? Remember our first holiday to Dubai? Why, we had a positively lovely time..."

I took my mobile out of my pocket while she continued to wax poetic. No missed calls, no unchecked messages. No sign of communication from Sydney in two days. I left her a rambling voicemail earlier in the morning apologizing for being so bold, assuring her it was a mistake, pleading with her to just talk to me - all to no avail. I was running on little sleep and a very ill-tempered attitude. "Maxwell, are you even listening to me?"

"No," I admitted, begrudgingly turning back to Simone. "Please don't waste your time drudging up old memories, they are of no use to me. Now, if you're finished I have something important to attend to."

"Something, or someone?" She asked with an unfamiliar hint of emotion in her voice.

"That is none of your concern. Enjoy your settlement." With that I said no more, leaving my old life through the glass door.

Shortly after returning to my office I had Toby begin to move things around in my schedule and book the first opening for a private flight to take me to Connecticut. I was a complete mess and I knew I wouldn't be the least bit productive until I resolved this issue with Sydney.

I listened a small ruckus in the reception area before abrupt yelling began. I hit the button underneath my desk to part the automated shades to see what the commotion was, but just as quickly the commotion stormed into my office and slammed the door behind her. "Listen up, asshole! I don't know how things work over here in Britain, but you don't get to be that kind of buttmunch that starts swinging his dick around just because he's insecure! You made me feel like I did something wrong and I'm not taking that shit! Don't. Be. That. Guy. Understand?

My mouth dropped a little while I stared that the ball of fire that was handing my arse over to me. Sydney was absolutely mesmerizing in her anger, a blazing fury behind her eyes as she yelled at me. She had indeed gone with the gold dress, seeing how form-fitting it was and highlighting every curve in her body wasn't helping my focus. I rose from my seat and couldn't help but take a step toward her. "You're here."

She lost a bit of wind from her sails when I took another step and she backed away. "Yes I'm here, because someone needs to tell you to your face that you're a jerk."

I kept advancing toward her slowly and I couldn't keep my lips from curling upward. "I'm going to kiss you."

Sydney fought back a laugh as she continued putting distance between us. "Don't, damnit. I'm mad at you."

"I'm aware, and I deserve it. But you're here, and you're stunning, and I am going to kiss you." She ran out of room to run when her back hit the oak door behind her. I stopped when the toes of my oxfords met the toes of her stilettos, glancing down at her while my hands moved on their own to the smooth sides of her neck. "I'm sorry, Sydney. I was a complete bastard. You were right, I was jealous and ill-tempered. I shouldn't have taken it out on you and I will try my best not to do so in the future. Please forgive me."

"Well, it's not like I came all this way for the food." Her hands rested on my waist as I ran the length of her bottom lip with my finger. "Of course I forgive you. I get it, everyone has bad days and I guess it's a little weird for you that I live with a dude...but I want you, Max. I'd pick hanging out with you before anyone else, but I can't do that if you're suspicious about the guy friends in my life because there's a lot of them." I nodded acknowledgement and I swear I watched every muscle in her body ease from their tension. The heat in her eyes slowly morphed from anger to arousal as she clutched my shirt in her hands. "Now you can kiss me."

"Where would you like to receive your kiss?" She pointed to that special space at the end of her neck, the spot reserved just for me. All for me. "Offer it to me, little one."

A small gasp escaped her mouth and the back of her hair thumped against the door, using it as leverage to tilt her head back. Her lower body arched into mine as she did as I'd requested, allowing me unfettered access to her. I bent my face down but instead of pressing my lips to her skin I barely brushed it with the tip of my nose. "Did my sweet girl miss me?"

"Yes," she whispered, practically clawing at me in an attempt to pull me closer. "Every part of me missed you, Max."

Christ. She meant it. My lips connected with her favorite place and she moaned the neediest little sound. I raised my head and brought my lips down on hers to swallow the noise she made again when I slipped my tongue in her mouth. She was hot all over, the skin around her throat was practically feverish when I curled my hand around it - not to choke her, but to keep her in place while my tongue wantonly danced with hers. Several sharp knocks on the door broke the spell around us. My hand dropped to her waist, pulling her into me before the door cracked open. "Yes, Ms. Cary?"

My senior office manager was darting her eyes through the sliver of space she could see into. "Is everything alright, Mr. Holland? Shall I call security?"

"That won't be necessary." I opened the door the entire way, showing Sydney tucked into my side while I held onto her with my right arm. "Please ring the car and request he be here at two, I will be taking an early weekend."

Her eyes squinted at the sight of us and when I looked down to Sydney's face she was returning the expression. I cleared my throat as a subtle warning for the two of them to cease. "Of course, Mr. Holland. Is there anything else I may do for you?"

"Obtain a copy of the security code for Miss James, she will stay in the penthouse until such time it is for us to leave."

"Of course, sir." She pulled the door behind her a little more forceful than usual and all my attention turned back to the sweet girl in my arms. "You're about to be the subject of the some pretty juicy office gossip," Sydney teased.

"Let them talk. How long do I have you for?"

"Only today and tomorrow," she sighed while my hand caressed her lower back. "I told my parents I needed extra money so they're letting me do temp work at their firm next week. I figured I'd stay until Sunday morning."

I decided to not be melancholic over her brief visit and to take advantage of the time I did have. "I still have two meetings and a consultation to take. Why don't you head upstairs and relax while I finish here, hmm? Then I'll take you home."

She pressed her nose in the middle of my chest and inhaled quietly as if taking in my scent. How I missed her so. "Okay, but I'm going to catch a cab first and go shopping. I was so pissed at you I left for the airport halfway through the reception, so I didn't pack any clothes."

I smoothed down the hair on my ornery girl, so perfect in her own temperamental way. "Take my limousine. Mr. Sodhi will take you to the shops where I have an account, simply tell the clerks to charge whatever you desire."

Not surprisingly, she protested. "Max, we talked about this. I don't want to spend your money."

"Believe me little one, whatever you spend will merely be a drop in the bucket. Consider it an extension of my apology." I kissed her pouting lips before leading her to the door. "I'll come to you the moment I'm finished and not a second longer."

"Good, because I'm not done yelling at you yet," she responded with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. A kiss on my cheek and she was off, and never have I looked forward to the end of my day, for I had a lovely face to go home to.

***

V: Presence.

Rosemary and sage wafted past my nose the moment I stepped through the door of the townhome. It was the most welcoming scent and I found myself pondering how lucky I was as I made my way through the foyer. Sydney messaged me when I was meeting with the CEO of a hotel chain I planned on acquiring in Japan, informing me she would meet me at home instead of the penthouse as she was preparing a surprise for me. In my kitchen I watched as she sautéed something in pans I didn't remember purchasing, humming to the instrumental song playing in the background. Here. Here is where she belongs, where I need her to be. "Hello, sweet girl."

She spun from her task and flashed me the brightest of smiles as I made my way into her space. "Oh damnit! I was hoping to finish before you got home. I'm making your favorite meal."

I stopped in my tracks with an exaggerated gasp. "Rosemary chicken? With spinach and the tiny fingerling potatoes?"

"Only the tiniest for you, babe." I slapped my hands over my chest euphorically and she laughed in the amused way she does right before she says, "Oh my God, you're an idiot."

"A very fortunate idiot." I came behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her shoulder while watching her stir the vegetables around. I could spend every minute of every day touching her. "No one has ever made my favorite meal before. Well, other than my personal chef."

"No kidding. You had nothing in your fridge except for take-out boxes and a bottle of gin, you're just a tragic bachelor." I nodded in agreement and she rested her free hand over mine. "I saw the divorce papers in your apartment. I thought I'd do something nice, I know it's not much but I figured you were upset about it."

"This is the nicest gift anyone has given to me, though your mere presence is more than enough. Why would you assume I'm upset?"

"You didn't tell me and then you picked a fight, so..." she trailed off, her eyes overly focused on her task. "If I knew you'd just ended your marriage I wouldn't have agreed to go to that wedding with Sam. I'm sorry."

I reached over and turned off the gas, gently prying her cooking utensil from her hand and turning her around to face me. "You have absolutely no need to apologize. You did nothing wrong and I shouldn't have treated you as if you did."

"Yeah, okay." She rubbed her arm uncomfortably and her gaze dropped from mine to the marble flooring. "Why didn't you tell me? Are you...I mean, do you still...ugh, fuck. Are you still in love with her?"

"I was planning to tell you the moment it happened, I couldn't reach you. As for your inquiry, no, I am not in love with Simone anymore. I...ah...ahem. I am in...factuted with you."

My half-thought out confession brought her eyes straight back to mine, those lovely lips sliding apart and whispering "I'm very much in...factuated too, Boss."

I sighed joyously. To hear she felt the same always took an enormous weight off my shoulders...until I saw the concerned expression she held. I easily guessed what she was feeling. "Nothing has to change, Sydney. My admission of affection toward you is in no way a free pass to get into your pants."

She pulled back to look at me and there was still apprehension in her eyes. "I'm getting there. I want to...I'm working on it."

"You don't have to work on it alone, little one. I'm right here," I kissed the tip of her lovely nose, "and I'm not going anywhere. There is nowhere I'd rather be than right here with you. There is no timeline, no goal you must achieve as quickly as possible. I would wait a thousand years if that's how long it took - and believe me, I've already lived three without intercourse so I'm well prepared." She laughed, some of her nervousness fading away as I pulled her into my chest where she belonged. "I'm so happy you're here."

She uttered the two best words in the English language. For me, anyhow. "Me too."

***

VI: So High.

I had been awake for a while and it was entirely Sydney's fault.

It wasn't that she was simply illuminating in the early morning, the rays of sunlight sliding across her skin like a blanket, casting an angelic haze behind her. It wasn't the heat of her skin, or how her legs immediately tangling with mine when I came in and nestled into the bed with her, or how her hand gripped my shoulder as if she were searching for me in her sleep. "Mmm..." I went to wake her but I didn't have to, for her eyes popped open as she shuddered. She searched the room frantically before she settled on me, her breathing labored as if she's just run a marathon. "Hey. When did you get here?"

"Just now, and good morning to you too," I teased, keeping my humor to myself. "Did you have a pleasant sleep?"

Sydney studied my face for a reaction and when I drew up one eyebrow she slapped her hand over her eyes. "Oh God, men are pigs."

"I wasn't the one having a salacious dream, my lovely swine." She smiled wildly but kept her hand right where it was. "Would it alleviate some of your embarrassment if I confessed I've had similar fantasies of you?"

"No. No one can hear you having sex dreams."

"True, yet I do. Often." I tugged her hand down and guided her fingers from her cheek, down her neck and over her arm. I adored the feel of her. "If you're as tortured as I am I commiserate with the perverse images and daily stops to pleasure yourself in the shower."

"Ugh, that's the worst part," she groaned, her own fingertips grazing the sliver of my hipbone that was visible through my shirt. "I can't. I mean, I've tried to play with myself but lately for some reason I can't come. And I always come, it's like my superpower or something."

"Oh?" She nodded, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth. I moved over her until she was on her back, settling my body between her legs whilst propping myself on my elbows. "If you'd like, I believe I can assist you with such a problem."

I ran my hands up the length of her thigh until I reached the leg of her knickers, stopping all movement when she took a sharp breath. Her eyes were wide with apprehension and excitement. "How...how would you do it?"

"If you are comfortable, I'd like to touch you. I want to touch you, I want you to touch me, and I want us to find release with one another. If at any point it becomes too much, you say stop and I stop. I solemnly swear I won't harm or violate you in any way; you expressed how you wanted to, ah, advance in our relationship. I think this will help to do so. Alright?"

I watched her weigh her thoughts against her feelings in her head. With a small voice she gave her answer. "...okay."

My hand brushed against her cheek before I rose, gathering my shirt up behind my head and tossing it away, invading her personal space once more. I reached between us to my shirt she donned and undid the first button. Then the next. She shut her eyes tightly when I had the third between my fingers. "Look at me." She shook her head no and I stated my command with more authority in my voice. "Sydney. Look at me."

It was if a rubber band snapped in her mind because in an instant her eyes were on mine, as if it were never a question she wouldn't. "Good girl."

Her eyelids grew heavy when I popped that third button. "Say it again? Please?"

It seemed my fantasy was coming true in the best way. "Praise must be earned, love." Her fingers came between mine to undo the last two buttons quickly. She grazed the lining of the shirt before peeling it back slowly, baring her naked chest to me. Her heavy breasts were adorned with the most succulent, dark pebbles so hard they had to be aching her. I slipped down the bed enough to be face-to-face with the perfect mounds that haunted my dreams at night, yet my eyes were solely on hers. "So beautiful. May I receive such a gift?"

A serene look spread across her face. She cupped them in her hands, running her thumbs casually over her nipples before pushing them together and upwards toward my waiting mouth. I licked around her areola - larger than I'd fantasized and perfect before my eyes - wrapping my lips around the entire thing as I sucked it into my mouth, increasing suction as I moved closer to the tip while she moaned. Her skin tasted of citrus, and cinnamon and every flavor I could describe yet none at all. She made this noise, primal in nature and heavenly in sound when I gave the other my full attention. "Please, please..."

I groaned at the sound her begging. I left my destination and cradled her left breast in my hand, my right threading through the back of her hair while I left silent declarations of love on her collarbone. "Tell me what you need, Sydney."

"I need, I need..." Her hand, which had been gripping her pillow, swiftly dropped to the front of my joggers to cup my aching member, squeezing firmly and effectively distracting me from my task. "This, I need this - "

I pulled away from her body and rotated her onto her stomach, her shrieking in surprise when I gathered her hands around her back and held them there by the wrists. I flipped the bottom of the shirt over her arse and took my first good look at her from behind. It was obscenely rounded and high, wide hips flaring from a slim waist like an hourglass. It made no sense for a woman to have curves such as these. "Did I give you permission to touch me?"

Her hair obscured her face as she panted heavily. "No, n-no, but I thought - "

"You thought?" My left hand connected with her bottom cheek with a sharp crack that rang out in the room and she cried out in response, causing me to feel both uncomfortably aroused and incredibly guilty. I inquired in afterthought "Is this...alright?"

"Yes," she shuddered beneath my touch. "Oh God, yes."

"Hmm." I slapped the other cheek and waited, then spanked her four times in rapid succession. The pleading whines and whimpers only served to heighten my longing for her. I'd never struck another woman; intimately or otherwise, therefore I was genuinely shocked when I slipped my hand beneath her body and found the sheets already dampened with her arousal. "Is this what you mean? You want me this way?"

Sydney turned her head the best she could, those hazel eyes of hers hooded with desire. "Yes. I need you...this way."

I didn't quite know what to do with this information. It was as I had literally dreamt, but the possibility of all my carnal wishes coming to light was a staggering amount of pressure. I moved from her body, sitting back on my heels while my erection pointed to the high heavens at the sight of her figure below me. She turned onto her back and looked up at me in confusion. This saint of a woman scrambled until she mimicked my position, hands placed palms down on her thighs, giving me a bit of space. After a beat I broke the silence. "I'm sorry Sydney, I'm in need of a moment."

A shaking hand ran through her mussed hair before returning home to her lap, playing with the ends of the open shirt. I clearly affected her as well. "You never have to apologize for that. Consent is a two-way street, you know? You want to stop, we stop. No questions asked, no guilt given." I looked at her skeptically but her confidence didn't waver for a second. "Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make breakfast, okay? That'll give us both a little time to calm down."

Swallowing down my emotion, my hand moved to her throat on its own accord, squeezing with the lightest of pressure. "Thank you." Her eyes closed, taking in everything I wanted to say, even when I wasn't sure how to. I released her and rose to head into the en-suite when I took pause at the door. I easily could have crossed the doorway, taken a shower and spent an altogether pleasant day with my beloved.