Twelve Days - The Beginning (21 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Room 154 turned out to be on the same corridor as Elise’s so she took the opportunity to quickly pop into her room and freshen up. She had just put the card into the lock of Vaughn’s room when he emerged from the stairs and headed along the corridor. In the light of the hallway, she could see how stunning Vaughn looked in his dinner suit; the jacket and the trousers clearly tailored and not like the usual off-the-peg stuff that most men made do with.

As he approached she let her eyes drink in his height, the breadth of his shoulders, the length of his legs, his beautiful dark hair curling just above his nape and his striking dark dark eyes. He was an amazing visual feast and Elise felt herself pale in comparison. She was nothing special, just an ordinary girl with a few too many curves and relatively nice eyes. She was at a complete loss as to why someone like Vaughn would even spare her the time of day. Almost embarrassed at the comparison, she dropped her eyes.

By now, he had reached her side and gently removed the key card from the lock as the door clicked open. As if understanding her thoughts, he placed one hand underneath her chin and brought her eyes up to his, rubbing his thumb absently along her jaw.

“Don’t...” he said softly, “don’t do that. Don’t run yourself down. You are impossibly beautiful, Elise and you need to learn to believe in yourself. If that man.......” he drew in a breath, “If that man hadn’t done such a good hatchet job on you, you would see what everyone else sees – not what he wants you to see. You would see your beauty, your strength and your compassion. I need you to let me show you how wonderful you are.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple and then lightly propelled her through the door, closing and locking it behind him. He had such a way with words that Elise found herself wondering again, how he was still single. She was infinitely grateful that he was but she couldn’t believe that no one had ever fallen in love with him before. It just didn’t seem possible.

Shrugging off the thoughts, she took a moment to look around and observe her surroundings. Vaughn’s room was similar to hers although it was on the other side of the corridor so had a different view. It still looked out onto the grounds but this end of the hotel faced towards the town so in the distance, you could see the buildings and the commerce of Swindon. The curtains weren’t drawn and it was still dark in the room. You could see all of the lights of the town beyond and it was immeasurably pretty – almost like having your own private lighting display.

It was still early so most of the guests were continuing to enjoy the food and entertainment in the ballroom – the sounds of which could just about be made out drifting up from below. As a result, there was very little movement or sound from any of the adjoining rooms and Elise closed her eyes momentarily, almost believing that they were completely alone in their own private paradise.

Vaughn moved across the room and lit a couple of lamps, giving it a cosy, golden glow and Elise took the opportunity to move across the room and sit down on the sofa which was adjacent to the bed. She felt the sofa dip and Vaughn dropped down next to her, gently taking
her hand and then following her gaze to the window where the beauty and tranquillity of the lights lay beyond.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked quietly, “There are some bottles in the mini bar or we could order a bottle of wine?”

“No, I’m fine – thank you.” she said, her voice wobbling a little and she coughed lightly, in an effort to maintain some control.

“Okay. Well, if you change your mind, let me know.” He was silent again for a moment, continuing to hold her hand and gently rub his thumb across her knuckles.

“Elise?” he said after a while, breaking the silence. “Have you been with anyone else other than Dale?”

Startled, she turned to face him; the question seeming to have come totally out of left field.

“Erm... no. No, I haven’t. Came close a few times but Dale was my first. And only. Why do you ask?” she replied, suddenly terrified that he’d find her lack of experience a complete turn off.

“I don’t know really,” he answered, “I just wanted to know. Call me old-fashioned but I was kind of hoping that’s what you’d say.” She nodded, understanding his sentiment on some level.

“We married young.” She continued. ”After we met and fell in love that was the end of it really. I never thought about having anyone else - until you walked into my life.” she grinned at him, “Except for the time when I walked in on Celeste with two men in her bed – that made me think a bit!”

“Two men, eh?” he laughed, “Think you could handle that?”

“Well....not before but now – who knows?” she said saucily, “Maybe you’ve unleashed the vixen in me!” She laughed, the thought of her being anything close to a vixen was hilarious.

“Steady on! Just so you know, sharing’s not usually my thing – particularly when I’ve got you in my bed. I don’t want anyone else to have you – ever.” Vaughn suddenly became serious and Elise realised that she needed to lighten the mood. They’d both been serious enough for one night.

“Caveman!” she teased. “Next thing you’ll be standing over me and beating your chest!”

Vaughn lunged and grabbed her, hauling her onto his lap. “If you keep up with your smart mouth, Miss Grayson, there
will
be some beating going on but I can guarantee it
won’t
be on my chest!”

Before she had time to work out what he meant, he smashed his mouth down onto hers, his desperation clear, and she moaned under his assault. Reaching up she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling his head closer and deepening the contact. Vaughn groaned and ran his tongue across the seam of her lips, begging entrance which she gave without question. His
hands ran down and across her back, eventually finding the half a dozen concealed buttons that secured her dress. Slowly he undid each one, taking his time to gently caress each piece of bare skin that he uncovered.

Their mouths were still locked; duelling, their breathing heavy and Elise could feel herself beginning to get more and more aroused despite her very recent performance in the ballroom.

Vaughn had managed to undo all of the buttons, leaving her dress to flap open slightly at the back. Both of his hands were now on her skin, rubbing up and down her back as far as the opening would allow and he groaned into her mouth when he came into contact with her bra strap. Thinking he wanted to remove it, she leaned away slightly to allow him to undo it but he surprised her by shifting her off his lap.

“No, Elise.” He said thickly, “Not here like this, I want to see you - all of you - properly.” He picked her up as if she weighed nothing and gently deposited her on the bed, turning on a hidden light that illuminated the curtain rail around the four posters and bathed the bed in a deeply sensual light.

Suddenly feeling as if she was on display, Elise began to experience a wave of self-consciousness and even though she was still fully dressed, she moved to try and cover herself with the throw, rolling to one side to pull it out from underneath her.

Seeing what she was trying to do, Vaughn stopped her, placing his hand on her shoulder and sitting down on the bed beside her. He had returned from closing the curtains and putting the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door.

“No...” he said softly “I need to see you – I have to see you. Don’t hide from me.”

She met his eyes, read the sincerity there and nodded her acceptance slowly. He had told her that she was beautiful on more than one occasion; she just had to trust that he was genuine. It was hard though, putting yourself out there on the line for someone – she’d not done it for so long and even though this felt totally right, the circumstances were about as wrong as they could possibly get. She just hoped that she could live with herself in the cold light of day, when the passion had cooled and all she was left with was a broken marriage and beautiful memories.

Vaughn watched her steadily as she fought with her emotions and he gently brushed the side of her cheek with his knuckles.

“I have an idea,” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes, “I don’t want you to feel nervous around me. I want you to believe in yourself and believe in what I see. I don’t want to rush this, I want this to be the best night of our lives. But for that to happen, I need you to relax.” He paused, briefly allowing his gaze to roam the full length of her body.

“How about for every article of clothing I remove of yours, you get to remove two of mine? Like strip poker but without the cards.” He smiled lightly. “That way we’ll both be getting naked at the same time and me, more than likely sooner than you. What do you say?” Vaughn finished speaking and watched her face closely, no doubt waiting for any indication of her response.

Elise flushed at how blatant he was about the fact that they would both be getting naked. Although she too had worked out that that would be inevitable, to actually have it out there was a bit of a shock. Dale wasn’t a talker and she wasn’t used to men verbalising their feelings. Although she liked it, the bluntness was going to take a bit of getting used to so deciding that attack was the best form of defence, she went with one of her usual sarky comments, hoping to hide some measure of her vulnerability.

“What if I wasn’t planning on getting naked?” she quipped, trying desperately to hide her lingering nerves and gather some courage. As she considered his suggestion, she realised that he had unwittingly upped the stakes – not only was he going to be taking her clothes off, his proposition required her to take his clothes off too and that was a whole different ball game. At present she was struggling to get her brain to complete even basic functions like breathing - she wasn’t at all convinced that she would be able to co-ordinate buttons, bow ties and laces. Did he wear lace up shoes? She had no idea.

He smiled wolfishly. “You and I both know that you
will
be getting naked. So whadda you say? And hurry up ‘cos I’m getting old sitting here!” His tone was light suggesting that he wasn’t actually irritated but she knew that she needed to give him an answer. She smiled up at him whilst he sat waiting patiently on the side of the bed.

“Well.... I didn’t want to point out the obvious in our age differences.....” she joked picking up on his last comment and then she suddenly realised that she actually had no idea how old he was. “How old are you, anyway?” she asked.

“You, Elise Grayson, are the mistress of diversion tactics!” he growled, “I will answer your question but then I fully expect an answer to mine – otherwise there will be consequences! I am thirty-three years old and, according to your employee records, you are thirty-one – hardly any age difference at all; so if you consider me to be old..........”

“Ok, ok, fair point.” She conceded and then making up her mind, she continued.

“Well then, Mr Granger, I find that I am prepared to take you up on your offer on one condition....” She waggled her finger at him as he rolled his eyes. “I want to go first and I get to choose which items of both mine and your clothing are removed.”

Vaughn laughed. “That’s two conditions, but hell, if it gets you and me naked then I’m beyond arguing!” His eyes glinted, looking ever darker and more dangerous in the muted light.

“So, do we have a deal?” she asked.

“Yes, deal. Are you always this bossy?” He grumbled good-naturedly.

“Why? Do you like it?”

“And why the hell do you never answer a question??!!”

She laughed. “Oh dear Mr Granger.... losing your patience?”

He leaned across her, bracing his arms one on either side of her, his face coming to within inches of hers. “You, woman, are driving me insane! Now would you just start before I totally lose the will to live!”

Finding it hard to concentrate with their faces now so close, Elise drew in a deep breath and focused, managing to deliver one final jibe before immersing herself completely in the potent web of his desire. “I’d hate to think that you might lose the will to live...it would be such a waste. And just when things were getting interesting....”

“Grrrr......” Vaughn lunged at her and pinned her to the bed with the weight of his body, fitting their lengths together as he had done that night at his flat.

“Enough, woman! No more! I need to get serious with you right now.” His voice had taken on an edge and he bucked a little, forcing her to feel his arousal against her thigh.

“Feel that? Feel what you do to me, Elise?” He asked roughly as he ground against her once more and then backed off slightly, allowing a small distance to open up between their bodies.

He smiled down at her, his eyes so dark that they were now almost indiscernible.

“So...which items of clothing are we going to be removing first?” he asked.

She pushed against his shoulders to get him to sit up and then sat up herself so that they were face to face.

“Well.....” She pondered, “I was thinking I would start with your bow tie and, then perhaps your jacket?” The two easiest items to remove, which would, hopefully, result in the least amount of contact between them. Her hands were not quite steady and she knew that she would struggle to manage anything more intricate at the moment, especially when she actually began to touch him.

He nodded and dropped his gaze down, watching her as she began to work her fingers into the knot of his bow tie. She was impressed to find that it was one that he had fastened, rather than a clip on imitation and after a few tugs, she managed to pull it loose, slipping it from around his neck and dropping it carelessly onto the carpet beside the bed. She drew her hands up from his waist, pausing slightly as she brushed over the flat of his nipples, and then continued on to his shoulders where she began to ease his jacket off and down his arms. Slowly she caressed his biceps and forearms moving down to his hands, where she linked their fingers briefly before removing his jacket, and allowing it to follow his bow tie to the floor.

Running her hands back up his arms, she cupped his face and drew him to her for a long and deep kiss, feeling him tremble under her, and revelling in her power. They were both breathless by the time she pulled away.