Charming: A Modern Day Sexy Cinderella Story (26 page)

He grins and I don’t think he particularly cares that I know the truth. My guy is a softie.
Whoa, my guy? Where did that come from?

“Speaking of friends,” Asher says as he looks down at his phone. Holding it to his ear he gives me a brief smile, “No, we don’t want to go out with you again,” he says without a greeting and I shake my head at his rudeness but he just smiles and mouths, “Well we don’t.”

“Tomorrow morning? I don’t know…” I raise my brows in silent question. “Hold on.” He puts his phone down, “Hunter wants me to meet him for breakfast in the morning. We have a couple things to discuss, not sure if I mentioned that Hunter’s kind of my assistant.”

“What? He is? No, you never mentioned that.”

“Well he’s been my friend for ages, but he’s one of the only people I trust so I asked if he would take the job and he did.”

That explains a lot. I mean, I knew they were friends but he also has a vested interest in Asher’s career so he’s protective of him on more than just a personal level. “Well go meet him for breakfast. It must be important.”

“I doubt it’s anything that can’t wait, like I’ve already told him, but I should quit blowing him off. You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

He makes arrangements for an early breakfast and we enjoy the rest of the day at the pool, at times cooling off -or alternatively heating up- in the water, standing under the mock falls, swimming, imbibing in delightful summer drinks, or otherwise, sunning. The time could hardly have been more perfect.

We go back to our room and take a quick shower together before we get dressed for the evening. I don’t ask Asher what I should wear, I know what I want to put on. Slipping on a floral sundress that’s sheer but lined, I love its weightless feeling on my skin. It crosses in the front, ties at the side, and where the ruffled hem meets in the front as it wraps, it’s a little shorter. The showstopper is that it’s completely backless. Foregoing undergarments I search for the pink flip-flops that match the pink in my dress but I can only find one; instead I elect to go with my sparkly gold ones.

Ready, I step out from the dressing area and Asher’s appreciative glance devours every inch of me. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I respond, in turn admiring his navy blue pants and white shirt rolled up on his forearms. “You look edible,” I tell him and he smiles wickedly. I can almost hear the dirty thought running through his mind.

Taking my hand he leads me out of the room. I’m surprised to find that we aren’t leaving the resort at all and when we walk past the pool and onto the beach I look at Asher in question. He just smiles and turns to the man that walks up to him. “Mr. Charming, we have everything ready for you.”

“Thank you,” he says as he takes my hand and leads me to one of the huge bed-like cabanas on the sand. They are out of this world amazing. Huge four-poster bed-loungers with white flowing canopies from each of the four corners that enable closure for privacy. A fluffy mattress and huge soft-looking pillows lie on a base that is suspended by ropes in all four corners, allowing it to swing gently. Next to the cabana is a table and chairs set with covered plates. Taper candles are positioned in the center of the table, ready to be lit once the sun sets.

“Wow.” I don’t have any other word to describe how incredible this surprise is.

Asher turns to me when he’s done speaking with the staff, “Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

“Good. We have this for the night.”

“The entire night?”

“Yes,” he nods and I smile. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?”

“Not just yet. Can we enjoy the sunset first?”

“Of course.”

He reaches up and closes the canopy that exposes our backs to the resort. With it closed no one in their rooms or at the pool can see into the cabana. He gets on the large bed first and then helps me climb on and wraps me in his arms. We stay like that, wrapped up in each other, as we watch the sun descend. My eyes well with tears when the fact occurs to me that Asher and I have limited sunsets left to enjoy together. The thought chokes me up and I bat my eyelashes furiously trying to keep the tears from falling down my cheeks. I don’t want to ruin our night.

We look on in awe as the sky ablaze with color makes the ocean appear as if it’s on fire. The sun lingers on the edge of the horizon, before dipping and then disappearing, leaving behind tranquility and a feeling of awe and respect. “It’s so beautiful,” I whisper as the spectacular scene touches and moves the deepest part of my soul. We lay still, connected, unmoving and as the stars ascended to take their place in the night sky and moonbeams bounce from the water in the distance, I realize what I just viewed was akin to the sensations and experience of my short time with Asher. Uniqueness, a blaze of beauty and magnificence, real, stirring, moving, and I want these feeling to linger forever.

Asher’s fingers are on my chin and he lifts my head to face him. “Almost as beautiful as you, Ella.” I realize he had repeated these words, but in my revelry, I had not heard. But gazing in his eyes, I see an indecipherable look and in the next instant my lips are on his. He kisses me as if it’s one of our last. There’s desperation in the way his hands clutch my body to his, in the way his mouth moves against me furiously then slows down as if he’s trying to savor every minute. When we pull away we stare into each other’s eyes. Reaching up, I brush my thumb over his cheek, a thousand things going through my mind.

“Let’s eat,” he says hesitantly and before I can again grasp any one thought and hold onto it to investigate it further or uncover his.

We eat fresh seafood together and he keeps me laughing by telling me different pranks he’s pulled on the set. He’s done everything from super glue a cast member’s finger to his nose, to putting nipple clamps tied to a locked collar on a passed out drunk cast member that weren’t able to be removed without a key, to hand-delivering a fake certified letter to a fellow cast member that carried information of a lawsuit by another cast member causing significant mayhem and drama. I had no idea he enjoyed being a prankster and targeted his co-stars with such antics and jokes. The gossip columns did not capture this side. Note to self, stay aware and watch out.

“God, I love the sound of your laugh,” he says unexpectedly as I was laughing at the story of when he had a friend dress up as a police officer and fake arrest someone on the set.

“I laugh a lot around you.”

“I like it.”

His eyes are heated and wordless when we finish dinner and move back to the cabana. Before reclaiming his spot, he carefully closes the side cabana drapes, leaving the one facing the ocean open. It’s so dark, we can only see the twinkling stars, the white reflection of the moon off the water and the ripples of the water under the light. With the salt in the air, the ocean crashing in our ears, and Asher at my side, I don’t think I could be happier.

He turns to me and smiles as he slides a hand up the side of my leg. When he reaches my naked hip, his eyes widen, and I smile seductively. “That’s correct. I’m not wearing any panties,” I tell him obviously. He groans and he squeezes his eyes closed. “Asher?” I whisper and wait for his eyes to meet mine. When they do I gasp at the way his indigo eyes almost look black from lust. “Make love to me.”

Without a word, he removes the clothes from my body and I remove his. When we are naked he kisses down my body until he’s positioned between my legs. When he kisses me intimately, my back curves off the bed and my toes curl in response. My hands move to his head and I shamelessly pull his hair, stroke his head while grinding my hips into his face desperately searching for my release. When it comes, I see more stars than the ones in the sky.

Kissing his way back up my body, he rolls on the condom and then positions himself above me. His eyes bore into my own and with each small thrust he makes as he enters me, he unknowingly peels back the protective layers I’ve kept over my heart until the truth is shining so bright, I’m amazed it doesn’t blind both of us. When we are hip-to-hip, chest-to-chest, heart-to-heart, the realization that I am in love with this man washes over me with startling clarity.

I want more than anything to tell him. I want to scream it, moan it, whisper it, and repeat it over and over like a curse or a prayer. I want to beg and plead with him to love me too. I want to ask him to let this marriage be the real thing – to keep me forever. To let me have him. But I can’t. It’s pointless. It doesn’t matter. I’ve no reason to believe he feels the same way about me, and our time together is coming to a close. He needs to get back to his life, his career, his family and friends. Exposing my feelings will only set me up for unfathomable pain and the rational part inside of me can’t allow myself to break again – not now at least – not here.

So, instead, as we make love, I try to tell him with my actions. I tell him I love him with the way I clutch his body to mine, with the way my fingers dig into his skin, and with the way I kiss him - as if I can’t taste enough of him. I tell him I love him in the way I take control and kiss my way down his body until I give him pleasure. Every stroke of my hand, flick and lick of my tongue, and with every kiss from my lips, I try to communicate my heart. I tell him I love him as my nails dig into his chest, I tell him I love him with the way I yell his name when I reach euphoria, and with the way I keep pace with him, thrust for thrust, groan for groan until he climaxes too. I tell him I love him with the smile I give him when he pulls away to look at me. I tell him again with the kiss of my lips on his and with the way my eyes devour every inch of his face begging him to see, to know. When he wraps me up in his arms, and his slow steady breaths reach my ears, I finally allow myself to shed the tears I can no longer contain.

Sleep doesn’t come for me until I see the sun peek out from the horizon. All night I refused to succumb because I wanted to enjoy every second of my time with Asher, whether he was awake or not. What he told me about time before, how it’s one of the most important things we can own, he was right on target. I’d do anything to have more of it. But I had this time and it was glorious, memorable. He continued to caress and snuggle me throughout the night. At one point, the breeze increased just slightly. He awoke, momentarily and adjusted the linens and tightened his arms to ensure my warmth. Otherwise, he slept peacefully while I continued to reflect and inspect my feelings. Until finally, my mind gives way to physical demands, and I sleep.

When he wakes me with a kiss later, I’m tired but happy when I look at his rested and happy face. “I’m sorry to wake you, gorgeous, but we need to get back to the room. I need to get ready for breakfast with Hunter and the staff is here to clean up after us. I let you sleep as long as I could.”

“Oh, of course.” I hold the sheet to my body and look around for my dress. He hands it to me and I slip it back over my body and stand, taking my shoes in one hand and Asher’s hand in the other. We’re quiet as he walks me back to our room. It’s as if we don’t want to disturb the left over magic from the night that still lingers in the air.

While he moves to the restroom to get ready for breakfast, I collapse onto the bed, still feeling tired from my lack of sleep. I must doze off because the next thing I know, Asher’s waking me again. “Wake up beautiful princess,” he says making me smile before I open my eyes. “Hi,” he smiles when I open them, “you’re sleepy.” I nod. “Well why don’t you stay right here and when I get back, I’ll join you. I’ll bring you some food too, I’m sure you’ll be hungry.”

“That sounds perfect.”

“Okay. I didn’t want to go without giving you a kiss.”

“I’m glad,” I murmur and sigh with pleasure when he presses his lips to mine. I cup the side of his face and keep my hand there when he pulls back.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time. I’ll see you when you get back.” He nods, gives me one more kiss, then stands from the bed. He’s almost to the door when I call, “Hey,” he spins around a smile on his face. He’s wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans with his ball cap. “I was thinking I would call the concierge and get us a few groceries and I could cook for us tonight. Would that be okay with you?”

His smile widens, “You would cook for me?”

“I would love to cook for you.”

“You know,” he begins resting a hip on the doorway, “in some cultures that means that a woman is going to accept a man into her bed. When she offers him food.”

“Does it now? Well, I guess we did this whole thing backwards then. But we already know that, don’t we?” I place a finger to my chin, “I guess we could role play. Pretend I haven’t already had you in my bed and I can feed you food and maybe fan you with a palm frond or something. Make my intentions clear.”