The Sanctuary (21 page)

He leaned into me, bringing his body close to mine. I closed my eyes. I could smell his sweet sweat mixed with his cologne. I felt his penis brush against my pussy as he shifted himself onto me. He dropped his face next to my ear and whispered, “I will remove them. I don’t want to lose you.”

I wasn’t sure if it was his tone, his words, or a combination of both, but I could feel my heart break. I turned my face toward his. “I don’t want to lose you either.” Tears streamed down my face. “Val?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Do you love me?”

“With all my heart I do.”

“Then make love to me.” I shifted my legs apart, making room for him to enter me.

He brought his body to mine, pressing his penis to the tip of my pussy. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Make love to me, Val.”

And with those words, his lips encircled mine as his slid gently inside of me, breaking down the walls that separated us.

I sprang from the bed. “What time is it?” I flipped the covers off and ran up the stairs without giving him the chance to answer. I dashed downstairs. “I’ve got to run. I’m going to be late for class. Check this for me. I have no time to stop at Jenni’s, and I need to shower.” I tossed my homework at him and flew back up the stairs.

“Be a dear and make me coffee too?” I screamed down. It was the least he could do for me after last night.

I quickly showered and dressed. I didn’t have time to put on makeup. I ran back into the kitchen. Val was having his coffee and morning cigarette.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had class today? I would have set the alarm.”

“No time to chat. I’m late. How was my homework?” I snatched my homework and stuffed it into my bag with my textbook.

“It was perfect. But I didn’t know they taught first grade at the university.” His green eyes sparkled.

“It’s Finnish 1 for foreign students. What did you expect me to learn in two months?” I headed toward the door, strapping my backpack on. “I’ll see you later. Love you.”

I hopped onto my Vespa and revved her up, zooming off. About a mile down the road, I got a sense that I’d forgotten something. I had my homework, my keys, my cell phone, and my wallet in my backpack. What was I missing? And then it dawned on me as I glanced down at my hand—I had forgotten to put my engagement ring back on. But I had no time; I would have to put it on when I returned.

Two hours later, I practically skipped out of the university. I had gotten an A on my essay, and I was pulling an A in class. I’d finally begun to understand the language, at least the basics of it.

“Evieeee!” Amber shrieked at the top of her lungs, running to me and wrapping her arms around me. “Can you believe we are finally done? You
are
coming out tonight?”

I tried to pull her arms away from my neck. “I don’t know if I can make it tonight. I have plans.” Every Thursday I went out with Jenni, her friends, and some of my classmates for drinks. I hid it from Val. He was usually at the studio on Thursdays, and it gave me something to do.

“But we don’t know when you’re coming back. Next semester won’t be the same without you.” Amber placed her head on my shoulder and pouted.

I didn’t want to disappoint my classmates. But I felt awkward going to a bar while Val stayed home. He wasn’t scheduled to work tonight, and I knew he wouldn’t be interested in joining me.

“I’m not sure, but if I’m free, I will text you.”

“I’m going to miss you. Come out tonight,” she pleaded, wrapping her arms around me again, trying to plant a kiss on my lips. “Who’s going to dance with me?”

“Everyone else?” I paused. “I’ll try, but if not, I’ll see you for finals.” I broke her grasp, waved to my friends, and headed down the remainder of the stairs to my Vespa, which was parked directly in the front.

The thought of Amber kissing me made me flush. I walked to my ride, looking down in silent thought. My eyes unexpectedly came across familiar boots, which were standing next to my scooter. I looked up. Val was leaning on my seat.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. I felt my mood drop. What if he’d seen Amber try to kiss me? “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough.” He held up my engagement ring and twirled it on his finger. “You forgot this.”

“I know. I was in a rush, and it slipped my mind.” I held out my left hand, and he slid the ring on.

“Do you always kiss girls from your class?” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“No. She kissed me, you know.”

“I know.” His eyes were twinkling.

“You must be Val.” Amber bounced next to me, placing her arm around my waist. She extended her hand to him. “Hi, I’m Amber.”

He looked at her. “Are you into threesomes?” he asked bluntly, ignoring her introduction.

She kissed me on the cheek. “I could be, why?” She winked at Val.

“We’ll see you tonight. I’m sure Eve knows where you’ll be.” He hopped on my bike. “Come, Eve, let’s go. Say goodbye to your friend.”

I mounted the scooter, securing my arms around his waist. It was odd having him drive. We pulled up to a stoplight.

“I thought you said you didn’t drive.”

“I do. I just don’t have a license.”

I brushed off his comment. There were more important issues to discuss. “I’m not having a threesome.”

“Who said we were having a threesome?” He turned around to look at me.

“You asked Amber if she was into it.”

“Yes, but I never asked her to have one with us. I only asked her a question.”

“You’re playing mind games, Val. You implied it.”

The light changed, and Val quickly took off, halting our conversation. We drove for a few minutes before stopping in front of an older building.

“What’s in here?” I said, following his lead and dismounting the bike.

“It’s the Registrar’s Office,” he said, walking up the stairs.

“And what are we doing here?” I asked.

He held open the door for me. “We’re applying for a marriage license.”

We walked down the hallway together hand in hand, opening a small door leading into an even smaller office. An old woman approached and greeted us. Val spoke in Finnish to her, explaining the situation.

She handed us the paperwork necessary to begin the application process and walked away. He turned to me. “She said you’ll need to get this authenticated from the Consulate in New York verifying that you are not married.”

I took the paperwork from him and began flipping through it. “I’ll give it to my lawyer when I get home.” I headed toward the exit.

“I was hoping we would be married before you left.”

I turned to him. “Aren’t you rushing things a bit? We don’t know how we are going to fare once you start touring.”

He leaned his head to the side. “You’ve said it twice that you would marry me the next day.”

I sighed. “Okay. I’ll overnight it to my lawyer to take care of as soon as possible.”

He leaned in and kissed me. “Thank you. Now, why don’t we get lunch? There is this charming café a few blocks from here. We could walk.”

“You mean…” I stopped myself, trying to think of the name. “The one where we first met?”

He smiled. “Yes, that’s the one.”

We entered the café and took a table in the far back, away from the lunchtime crowd. He removed his jacket and hat, carelessly tossing them on the chair next to us. I removed my gloves and looked at him. The skin under his left eye looked darker than his right, and it appeared covered up. “Are you wearing makeup?”

“Yes. You gave me a black eye last night,” he said casually, looking over the menu.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Yes you did. You have the strength of an ox. I had to fight myself from passing out when you hit me.” He looked up, closed the menu, and tossed it on the table. “You needed to get it out of your system. I expected you to fight back. I just wasn’t prepared for how strong you would be.”

Hearing him say that pleased me, but our discussion brought the previous evening’s activities back into my memory at full speed. I grew silent, pretending to look down at the menu.

Val stared across the table. He drew my hand to his, interlacing our fingers. “Talk to me, Eve. Why are you so quiet?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say what you feel.”

I glanced down at his strong hands before looking at his brilliant eyes. “I didn’t think about last night until now. My morning was too chaotic.”

“And how are you feeling?”

I pondered, observing the people who were now seated around us.

“I’m not sure how I feel.” I looked around to make sure no one was listening before lowering my voice. I leaned across the table. “You used my fear of being tied down to dominate me. You got off on seeing me like that.”

He shifted in his seat but did not say a word.

“And you’re getting off right now by me describing how I feel.”

He leaned into the table toward me. “We needed to break down some walls last night. That’s all. You needed to learn to trust that I would not hurt you if you are bound. And yes, your submission is a turn-on. Make no mistake about it.”

“Be truthful with me. What else are you interested in?”

“I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation to have in public.” He eyed the table next to us.

“Is this making you uncomfortable?”

“No, not at all. But I don’t need to air our laundry in here.”

“But I need to know what you like before I can commit to you.”

He clenched his teeth. “You’re funny. You dangle our engagement in front of me every chance you get. What do you think is more psychologically damaging, constant threats of abandonment or a bit of consensual bondage every now and then? Did you know fear of abandonment is a form of BDSM too, Eve?”

“Don’t turn this around and pretend like you’re the victim here.” I glared.

“I’m not a victim, and neither are you. We’re the same, Eve. We are sadomasochists. Only you haven’t evolved yet to enjoy it.”

“And you enjoy receiving pain?”

“I enjoyed you hitting me last night. Did you enjoy inflicting it?”

“It was an adrenaline rush. But I didn’t enjoy it at the time. Next time I will.”

He smiled at my answer. “What else did you like?”

I took a sip of my coffee. “I liked how you pushed me to the edge and then comforted me. But don’t get me wrong. The journey to that edge wasn’t pleasurable by any means.”

“Perhaps one day it will be.”

I stared at him. His beauty was breathtaking. It was hard to believe he had so many façades. “What else do you enjoy? I admit this intrigues me.”

“Of course it does. You long to lose control to me. But if I tell you what I’m into, the element of suspense isn’t there.”

“And suspense is another way to control me.” The puzzle pieces were finally starting to fit.

He nodded. “Now you understand.”

* * * *

Later that evening, I sat on the couch editing the writing from the night before. I thought if I was engrossed with work, Val would forget about the evening’s plans.

He emerged from his studio, slamming the door and wiping his hands on his sweat-covered shirt. “Aren’t you going to get ready? It’s the last Thursday night with your friends.”

“There will be other nights.” I kept reading, keeping my head down, dismissing his comment.

“But you always go on Thursdays.” He approached me, slamming the cover down on my computer. “When were you going to tell me? It’s not like you to go sneaking around.”

I looked up, annoyed at his gesture. “I always told you I was out with Jenni. It’s no big deal. We just go for drinks.” I lifted the cover of my computer.

“And the reason you’re not going tonight…”

I cut him off. “Is because I’m editing.”

“Come on. Get dressed. I want to go out with you.” He tried to pull me up.

I twisted my mouth in discontent. “Only if you promise no threesomes with Amber. I’m not into chicks.”

He laughed. “That’s okay because I am.”

“You’re not fucking another woman.”

“I never said I was going to fuck her. Come on, Eve. Let’s have some fun together. We haven’t been out in over a month.”

I secretly wanted to socialize. Ever since I’d made friends at the university, I was re-living my college years all over again. “As long as we understand each other.”

“No threesomes, no fucking Amber,” he said, repeating my rules. “Is it okay if I watch?” he said, teasing me and giving me a playful slap on the ass.

“No.” I made my way up the stairs.

“So I can’t watch?” He was laughing. I was glad he was in such a good mood.

“I’m not fucking her, Val.”

“What if she fucks you? What if you used a strap-on?” His eyes were glistening. He was playing with me. Or was he?

“No. No sex, no oral sex, no strap-ons.”

“Kissing?”

“No.” I laughed.

He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m going to shower. Do me a favor?”

“That depends.”

“Wear something you would normally wear if I wasn’t home tonight. I want to be as turned on as the men you tease at the bar.”

“Who said I teased anyone?” My mind flooded with wonder. I hoped Jenni hadn’t mentioned anything to him about our wild Thursdays.

“All anyone has to do is look at you and be turned on, Eve.” He slapped me on the ass again and walked into the bathroom.

I slipped on a pair of low-waist leather pants, hitting me just above my pubic bone, exposing the delicious trail of flesh beneath my belly button. I slid on a studded leather belt with a gorgeous crystal-encrusted belt buckle to draw everyone’s eyes down where they belonged. I rummaged through my suitcases and selected a black halter that accentuated my breasts. High-heel boots and a chunky bracelet finished my look.

I fixed my hair into long, loose curls and teased it to look like I’d just had sex. I applied my makeup heavier than usual, outlining my eyes in black and smudging black above and below them. A bit of gloss on my lips and I was all set for some fun.

He emerged from the bathroom, completely naked. “Oh, Eve.” He brought his hand to his cock, stroking it. “Turn around. Let me see your ass.”

I complied without hesitation. “Like what you see?”