Twelve Days The Beginning

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.

“My turn...” he said huskily, running his eyes up and down her body. Belatedly, she realised that although he was only permitted to remove one item of clothing, she was wearing significantly less than him, meaning that she would be naked a lot sooner than him. She really hadn’t thought this through when she had agreed to his suggestion.



He looked at her, head on one side as if considering his options. “Bra..” he pronounced and proceeded to run his hands around her back, lingering when bare skin touched bare skin where he had previously undone her dress buttons. He walked his fingers up the expanse of skin until they found the clasp of her bra and then waited for Elise to lightly nod, remembering the deal that they had made. Elise was intrigued; she couldn’t begin to understand how he was going to remove her bra, her only remaining item of underwear, whilst she still had her dress on.

The dress had a high neck but the sleeves were short and slightly capped and Vaughn took advantage of the structure of sleeves once he had undone the clasp on her bra. He reached up under her dress at the back to each shoulder in turn and taking each bra strap, he slid them part way down each arm. When he had pushed them as far as they would go, he removed his hands and brought them around to her front sliding them up one arm and under the short sleeve where he was able to grasp the strap and pull it down the rest of her arm, bending it to allow the strap to fall free. He repeated the same method on the other side only this time, instead of just the strap, he pulled the whole bra out from underneath her sleeve, the item brushing across her now bare breasts as it completed its journey.

He pulled it out almost with a flourish, a look of triumph on his face, before he examined the object, his eyes darkening and locking onto hers. As she watched, he pressed his nose deeply into the warmth of the garment and inhaled. His eyes closed as he took in her scent and Elise almost stopped breathing – never had she watched anything as sensual. This man seriously had the monopoly on erotic moves and she responded helplessly to every single one.

“Party trick?” she asked shakily, trying to ignore the fact that her whole being had turned to jelly as she had watched him inhale.

“Misspent youth.” He grinned and dropped her bra on the floor to join the growing pile, after first placing a lingering kiss inside both cups. This time she actually did stop breathing.

“So, what are you going to remove next, Miss Grayson?”

Elise hesitated for a moment, trying to work out what would give her the biggest advantage. Shirt was a definite, but she still had to contend with shoes, socks, trousers and underwear. Usually she wouldn’t dream of removing trousers before footwear as it was hideously impractical but she realised that she was going to run out of clothing fast and needed to go in for the kill, in order to leave him as vulnerable as she soon would be.

Usually? As if she did this kind of thing every day? Yeah....right.

Making up her mind, she met Vaughn’s gaze. “Shirt and trousers” she stated, with more confidence than she actually felt.

“Interesting choice.” He murmured, a ghost of a smile hovering over his mouth. He sat back slightly to allow her better access.

She started with the easy one, his shirt, and slowly began to undo the buttons beginning at the neck and working down. As she got lower, her fingers began to shake more and she found she had to exert an immense amount of concentration just to complete the simple task. The last couple of buttons were hidden, tucked into his trousers, and she had to pull the shirt out first to free those. Finally she had all of them undone, which allowed his shirt hang open. Eagerly, she drank her fill.

She had seen him without a shirt on before when she had stayed over at his house, but his complete perfection still took her breath away. Moving carefully she parted the shirt and pushed it gently to allow it to fall and pool around his wrists. He remained unmoving - allowing her to look - and emboldened, she followed the path of her eyes with her hands, running them up and down the smooth and sculpted expanse of his virtually hairless chest, tracing them around to his back and then returning them to the front again. Unable to resist, she leaned down and placed a kiss on each pectoral and then brushed her lips lightly over each nipple. He hissed in a breath and taking that as a good sign, she proceeded to suck one of his nipples into her mouth, biting it lightly between her teeth. He went rigid and for a moment remained absolutely still but after a few brief seconds, he yanked her head away, not altogether gently.

“Elise...” he warned and seeing the desperation in his eyes she wisely finished removing his shirt and dropped it to the floor.

Her next task was slightly more tricky; to remove his trousers without taking off his socks and shoes. She elected to have him to kneel up so that she could undo his belt relatively easily and then once his trousers were undone, she figured she would get him to swing his legs off the bed and then hope that the trouser legs were wide enough to pass over his shoes.

Berating herself for making this more difficult than it needed to be, she began the task of unbuckling his belt, being careful to avoid direct contact with the erection that she could see bulging behind his zipper. Her mouth was watering at being so close to the essence of him and the temptation to touch him was overwhelming but she wanted to do this properly, like they had agreed, and so she tried to focus on the task at hand, staying her hands each time they seemed about to stray of their own free will.

Once his belt was free, she let it dangle from the loops and undid the two small clasps on the waistband of his trousers. By now, her hands were well and truly shaking and as she touched the top of his zipper it was impossible for her hand not to brush against the forbidden area. She heard him inhale sharply again and looking up she could see that he had his eyes closed and his jaw was ticking, suggesting that he was having to exert a serious amount of control.

It was now only the zipper that remained and cautiously, she eased it down, all the while aware of his breathing becoming more and more ragged. Once she had opened the cool metal as far as it would go, she paused for a moment to steady herself before clasping the top of his trousers again, ready to push them down and remove them fully.

Slowly she eased the waistband apart and moved it slightly lower, halting when she realised that she had not come into contact with any underwear so far. Thinking that maybe he was wearing briefs rather than shorts, she continued on with her quest inch by slow inch until his zipper opened fully, and finally allowed his erection to spring completely free.

All of it.



The whole length of it.

The whole huge length of it.

In all of its naked glory.

Minus any sort of underwear at all.

Nothing whatsoever.

Nada.

Zilch.

Oh shit!

Immediately, she dropped her hands away from his trousers and sat back on her heels, briefly closing her eyes. The man wasn’t wearing any underwear; she hadn’t been mentally prepared for that. Instantly her bravado vanished and she kept her eyes firmly closed, trying to deal with the fresh wave of nerves that now assailed her. It was fine, it was fine - she could do this. She was a grown woman; she had seen it all before. Well - maybe not technically.

Slowly she opened her eyes to see that Vaughn had also dropped back to sit on his heels, his eyes now level with hers. As she focused, she became aware of two dark eyes regarding her in confusion, a hint of laughter around their edges and she quickly slapped her hands over her face in embarrassment.

“Hey...” he said gently, removing her hands so that he could look at her. “Why are you hiding? Look at me Elise – please.”

Reluctantly she lifted her gaze and met his eyes. “Sorry...I....Oh God, this is so embarrassing.”

“What? What is so embarrassing?”

The silence built as she tried to formulate the words.

“You.... “She said eventually, “You’re not wearing any underwear and....I....I wasn’t expecting that. I’ve never known a man not to wear underwear before – I kinda freaked out for a second – sorry. I feel like a right idiot; it’s not like I’ve never seen it before......”

She was rambling nervously, no doubt making things even worse. She kept her gaze lowered. She didn’t want to see the look in his eyes - the point when he realised that she really was incredibly naive and that all of this was going to be too much hard work. She also needed time to process the visual images that her brain was receiving; he was beautiful all over, and she was embarrassingly aware of how much she paled in comparison.

Lightly, Vaughn chuckled, “Hey...Now you know why I told you removing my trousers was an ‘interesting choice’. You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything I should be sorry – I could have warned you but I figured it would be much more enjoyable to let you find out. Sorry.”



Suddenly realising that he had wanted to see her react in just this way all along, she quickly recovered her composure, all nerves hastily disappearing as irritation took their place. The devious bastard!

“You......” she threatened, lunging towards him and aiming her trademark light punch at his arm. Having seen this move countless times before however, Vaughn pre-empted it and grabbed her hand before she could make contact.

“You really have to quit trying to hit me, you know!” he said, wry amusement written all over his stunning face. “I know I should probably have warned you but to see your expression...it was just too tempting.”

“Vaughn Granger! I can’t believe that you spend so much time torturing me – you must get real pleasure from it considering that’s all you ever seem to do!”

His dark eyes bored into hers, “Oh Elise, believe me – if I was torturing you, you would definitely know about it.” He paused to let the meaning sink in. “And I wouldn’t be the only one getting pleasure.”

The unmistakable significance in his words turned her insides to mush and immediately the tension in the room built again leaving Elise to respond in the only way that she could.

Taking advantage of the element of surprise, she landed the punch to his arm this time and he rolled back onto the bed, momentarily caught off-balance.

“You will pay for that.” He warned before grabbing her wrists and pulling her over on top of him. “Now, where were we?” he asked and without even waiting for her to respond, he grabbed her tightly to him and proceeded to kiss her as if his life depended on it.

The atmosphere in the room was now heavily charged and this time they both knew that there were no more games, no more hiding and they each moaned as the kiss deepened, hovering on the edge of control.

Vaughn began to run his hands down her back and over her backside where he gently squeezed before running back up and underneath her dress, taking advantage of the back section that was still laying open. As Elise was pinned tightly to him, she was little more than a passenger but she didn’t think that she had the strength to move anyway and just relaxed, revelling in the sensations as he began to slip his hands further underneath her dress, upwards, reaching around the side and the front, brushing along the swell of her breasts.

She sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers grazed close to her nipples and Vaughn abruptly ripped his mouth from hers, gently pushing her off him and helping her to stand at the side of the bed. He remained seated on the edge of the bed, watching her with hooded eyes, heavy with desire.

“Elise...” he dragged out, “Take off your dress for me – slowly. Let me watch you.”

Elise complied, no longer in any doubt that this was what she wanted. There was no need for hesitation; it was as if she had always lived for this moment. Slowly she pulled the neck of her dress forwards and then the sleeves, allowing them to drop down her arms completely. The front of the dress was still covering her breasts – just - but she knew that as soon as she moved, it would drop down to her waist and she would have nothing left covering her.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and dropped the dress the final few inches until it bunched at her waist, revealing her breasts to his hungry eyes.

He was silent although she could hear him drawing in ragged breaths, and she could feel the heat of his gaze poring over her. Mustering her confidence, she opened her eyes wondering if he would still think she was beautiful now that he had seen her nearly naked.

She was relatively proud of her breasts as they were ample and still well shaped but she had more ‘curves’ than she would have liked around her stomach. Her dislike of exercise and love of chocolate had put paid to her ever having a flat stomach and because it was only ever Dale that saw her like this – and he was usually drunk – there was never any need to do anything about it. A couple of years ago they had decided that they were going to go abroad and she had fanatically indulged in a ‘bikini’ diet so that she wouldn’t embarrass herself too much on the beach. The weight had started to come off but sadly the holiday hadn’t, so she had turned back to her trusted old friend and the ‘curves’ had returned.

Vaughn was still staring at her breasts, an unreadable expression on his face, the silence drawing out for what felt like an eternity. Eventually he raised his eyes up to hers and swallowed.

“Jesus, Elise – you are so beautiful, so f*cking beautiful. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined......” he stopped and held out his hand to pull her forwards. Relief flooding through her, she allowed him to direct her until they were standing toe to toe, her breasts now level with his head.

Gently he skimmed his hands along and up to the side of her breasts before moving across them, brushing her nipples gently with his knuckles. Immediately the nubs hardened and she saw the flash of desire in his eyes as he watched her body’s reaction to his touch. Almost reverently he continued to stare, watching as his hands lifted first one and then the other breasts; taking them in his hands, testing their weight, feeling the curves and the softness, tracing around the nipples and lightly pinching them to even sharper points.

She dropped her head back and sucked in a breath. Her legs were barely supporting her and all conscious thought had left her brain. The urgency with which he fondled her breasts gradually increased and then he lowered his head forwards, gently licking at first and then taking little nips all over her breasts and the exposed top half of her stomach. He pushed her dress lower to allow him to trace circles around her belly button, briefly dipping his tongue inside and then he moved up again taking first one and then the other nipple into his mouth.

Dale had never played with her breasts like this and she found that she was so much more sensitive to it than she had ever realised. As Vaughn continued to tease her nipples she found that she wanted more – harder – and so she pushed onto the back of his head to indicate her desire, wanting more intensity – needing it, even.



He slanted her a quick questioning look and then obliged, sucking and biting her nipple to the edge of pain, both of them now breathing harshly and completely out of control.

“You like it hard, do you, babe? Shit... I can’t get enough of you - you taste so f*cking good, Elise...” he mumbled as he buried his head in the valley between her breasts, increasing the pace and the intensity with which he attacked her, sucking harder and biting tender little mouthfuls. The sensation was overwhelming and she felt like she could come undone, right there, right now, with nothing more than his hands and mouth on her breasts. Vaughn must have realised the effect that his actions were having on her and he stopped, looking up at her from under his lashes.

“One day, I am going to make you come just by playing with your breasts – you are so unbelievably sensitive. But not today, babe – I need so much more.”

With that, he moved his hands to her hips and began to push her dress the rest of the way down, exposing her lack of underwear and the lacy hold up stockings. Surprisingly, she felt no embarrassment this time at being bared to him and merely stood as still as her desire would allow whilst he lifted first one and then the other leg to remove her dress completely. He left her heels on, and when he had finished, he sat back on the bed looking her up and down, as if admiring a piece of artwork.

Absently Elise thanked providence that she had decided to have a shave before dinner. Although she always kept the curls at the apex of her thighs (unlike many modern women so Celeste had told her on one drunken occasion), she had trimmed them neatly and felt no shame at Vaughn seeing her like this. She didn’t know which he preferred but this was her way and he could either like it, or lump it.

After watching her for a brief moment he pulled her to him again, this time laying her on the bed. He then stood and removed the remainder of his cloths and she once again got a glimpse of his manhood, standing tall and proud, slightly away from his body. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen and when he returned to the bed, she saw that there was a small bead of moisture at the tip. Boldly, she reached down with her hand and swiped it off before placing her finger in her mouth, mimicking one of the many erotic movements that Vaughn was prone to do.

His eyes darkened to total blackness as he watched her, desire coming off him in waves and he almost growled as he settled down beside her.

“That is what you do to me, Elise,” he whispered intensely, “Seeing you like this, more exquisite than I ever could have imagined....you are testing my control. I want this to be perfect for you, but baby, I have to warn you – I may not be able to hold on for too much longer. You are undoing me, bit by bit by tiny f*cking bit.”

She looked into his eyes and caressed his cheek, rubbing her thumb across his lips.

“If it’s any consolation,” she whispered back, “I’m not convinced that I’m too big on control at the moment either.”



This time he did growl as he crushed her to him and fitted their bodies together, aligning them so that they matched perfectly. His mouth found hers as his right hand began a journey downwards, skimming past her breast, over her stomach and coming to rest on her thigh where the lace of the hold ups was.

“These...” he said as he flicked his finger underneath the lace, “have been driving me crazy all night. When I realised what you were wearing under here, I could hardly see straight. When you are with me, this is all you will ever wear – have you got that?”

The tone in his voice brooked no argument, his dominance brought about by desire was taking over and Elise felt a thrill at being under the command of this man. If this was what a pair of lacy hold ups did to him then who was she to argue about wearing them?

“Wouldn’t you prefer full stockings though?” she asked, her mindset still dictated to by ageold clichés.

“Never....especially not on you. These – these are my weakness. Stockings are far too fiddly. These...... these are just perfect.” He continued running his fingers up and around the lace, dipping underneath every now and again and then letting his hand drift lower, over and down the length of her silky smooth leg.

“Your legs are stunning Elise – they need to be showcased. If I had my way you’d be permanently walking around in a short skirt, lacy stockings and no underwear.” He growled. “Unfortunately I, and probably half of the staff, would never get any work done.”

She laughed, her hand continuing to caress the side of his face. She doubted if seeing her like this would have much effect on any of the men that she worked with but she appreciated the sentiment.

He cocked his head to one side, his expression suddenly serious. “I don’t want anyone else to see you like this – ever. Not even your excuse of a husband. I need to know that you will only ever wear these for me. Promise me, Elise? Promise me that you will only ever wear these for me?” His tone was pleading - earnest even - and she felt a thrill run through her as she registered that this was probably a situation he didn’t find himself in very often. He was powerful, commanding, authoritative and in parts, dominant; - to be virtually begging her now, illustrated his level of desire and she once again marvelled at the effect that she appeared to have on him.

“I promise.” She said with complete sincerity. It was an easy promise to make and as the implications sank in, she realised that it was also by far the hottest thing that she had ever agreed to do. To know that she could wear these to work, maybe let him know, maybe not – tease him knowing that he couldn’t touch her, paint endless visual pictures for him – just the thought had her libido in overdrive. She had never considered herself to be attractive but now, all of sudden, lying in this man’s arms she felt beautiful, sexy, desired and she decided there and then that she was going to push her newly found yearnings as far as she could.

An image of Dale popped unbidden into the back of her mind and ruthlessly she pushed it away. As far as she was concerned the physical side of their relationship was over – it had certainly not been consensual for a long time and she realised now that any desire she had thought she felt was nothing compared to what she was experiencing with Vaughn, here and now. She hadn’t told Vaughn yet that she intended to end her marriage – the time hadn’t been right and she didn’t want him to feel responsible. Out of some misplaced obligation, he might potentially say that he wanted to be with her, but faced with the reality of her actually leaving Dale, she wasn’t sure enough of Vaughn yet to know whether or not he would stay around to support her or bolt and leave her high and dry. That was a conversation that needed to happen - but not tonight. He was right – they both needed to have tonight.

Vaughn had now adjusted his position and was moving his hand back up her legs, dropping tiny little kisses in its wake, slowly working his way back up until he reached the top of her thighs and the junction there. Carefully he nuzzled his lips into her sex and began to lick his way around the edge of her curls. She had never experienced anything this intense and she arched off the bed, grasping at the sheets, writhing around as he continued to torment her with his teeth, his lips, his mouth.

Using his left arm, Vaughn braced it across her stomach to hold her still and then moved his mouth lower, dipping into her with his tongue and lapping at her juices. She cried out at the power of the feelings he was generating, helpless to prevent her arousal building.

“Vaughn...” she cried out, “I can’t hold on....”

He lifted his head and gently blew on her, his mouth moist from his ministrations.

“Try to hold on, baby – I’ll tell you when. Just hold back for me..”

They locked eyes for a brief second and then he dipped his head again.

He re-settled his mouth over her mound but with less force this time, running up and down and over her opening, suckling and lapping. He continued for endless minutes, varying the pressure, the depth, the pattern and the only sound that could be heard in the room was that of Vaughn suckling at the heart of her. Soon she had reached fever point again and began pushing against his arm that was holding her down, trying to wriggle around to get some purchase somewhere, some kind of release. This was the worst kind of torture and just when she thought she really couldn’t take any more, he moved his mouth higher and found the hard nub at the top; flicking over it once, twice, biting it gently and then taking it into his mouth and sucking on it. “Now!” he demanded and she complied, shattering into millions of fragments, bucking on the bed as he continued to torture her with his mouth. The contractions were endless and wracked her whole body. Elise had never before experienced something so strong, so forceful and so passionate and it was a hell of a long way back down. He continued to tease and suckle as she recovered but his pace slowed right down, allowing her time to recuperate and catch her breath.

Vaughn moved back up to her face and kissed her gently, brushing the tendrils of hair away that had escaped from her bun. She could taste her musky scent on his lips as he continued to kiss her and far from being repulsed by it - which she had always thought that she would be - she found it oddly erotic.



“You taste so beautiful, Elise – better than I could ever have imagined. Taste it, babe, all of it.” And he deepened the kiss, swirling his tongue in her mouth; sharing her scent, her flavour, working her back up into a passion again.

“That was amazing...” she murmured, her eyes half closed in the aftermath. She was drowsy but on fire, unable to comprehend the myriad of feelings coursing through her body.

“Don’t you dare go to sleep on me this time!” he warned, “I haven’t finished with you yet!”

“Mmmm? I’m just resting.” And with that she stretched languorously, deliberately reaching her arms above her head to draw attention to her breasts.

Predictably, his eyes widened as he followed her movement so she continued to stretch, turning this way and that, eventually running her hands back down her body and over her breasts before relaxing with a mischievous smile.

His eyes had turned to black and his whole expression had an intensity that she had never seen before. She knew that he was struggling with his control and found that she wanted to wrest it from it – to break him like he had broken her.

Elise continued to fondle her breasts, deliberately lifting them and pulling on her nipples as he had done earlier. Vaughn continued to watch her, his face rigid and she wondered what he was going to do. How far would she have to go to see this powerful man lose control?

Absently she glanced down at his erection, satisfied to note that his ardour had not cooled at all, and then flicked her eyes back up to his as she sat back up so that they were both kneeling opposite each other.

Reaching down she brushed her hand across the tip of him, feeling a bead of moisture leak out. He was stunning, and she ran her hand up and down the length of him, revelling in the tremors that coursed through him as she explored his size. He was certainly well endowed and her mouth watered at the prospect of what he would feel like inside her.

His abs rippled as he moved and she tested out different rhythms with her hand, getting a feel for what he enjoyed. Her pace was increasing and she watched as he let his head drop back, exposing the lines of his throat. She could feel shudders starting to reverberate through him and continued pumping, reaching down to play with the sensitive spot at the base. She loved this - the feel of Vaughn in her hands - and knowing that she had the ability to make him feel like this. If she died right now, she knew that she would be eternally grateful for having experienced a moment as exquisite as this.

Abruptly, Vaughn snapped his head back up and roughly pulled her hand away from him, at the same time pushing her over so that they both ended up lying back down again.

“Enough...” he said, his eyes heavy and almost unfocused. “I have to be inside you.”

Slowly he reached down with his fingers and found her core, caressing her gently as if to test her wetness. She was almost embarrassed to find herself completely aroused again. The sensations that she had experienced whilst caressing him had turned her on and she knew that he would find her ready. Briefly he pushed his fingers inside her and then withdrew them before running them over his cock and coating it with her juices. This was another one of his seriously erotic moves and she watched enthralled as he pumped his fist up and down his length, covering himself in her juices and increasing the pace until he clearly couldn’t stand anymore.

“Are you on birth control?” he ground out, desperation radiating from every pore.

She nodded – she was on the pill but only to regulate her periods. Since they had found out that Dale couldn’t father children, the birth control side of it had become slightly irrelevant.

“I’m clean – I promise,” he said “I have never been with anyone without a condom before and I have been checked. I really need to feel you – all of you. I have to be bare with you Elise - will you let me?”

He continued to stroke himself slowly as she watched and considered. She wanted him, desperately, and she wanted to feel all of him too. She had to take his word and trust him, and ultimately, she knew that she did.

“Yes.....yes” she replied and locked her eyes onto his as he released himself and slowly began to push into her. She stilled momentarily as she adjusted to his size and he paused to allow her to do so, and then he gently pushed in a little bit further. Suddenly, as if he couldn’t wait any longer, he thrust himself the rest of the way until he was buried to the hilt.

He let out an almost agonised groan.”Fuucckkk.... Elise – you have no idea how good that feels...Shit, I’m not going to last long – I hope you’re ready for me baby.”

He began to move and she joined with him, meeting him thrust for thrust as they writhed together on the bed. Vaughn kissed her deeply, wetly and their tongues met, thrusting in time with their bodies. Wet skin slapped against wet skin and time stood still as Elise felt herself falling deeper with this man. He did things to her that she had never imagined possible and she could hardly believe that this was happening to her. She felt a burning and tingling starting at her core and she knew that she was going to find her release again.

Vaughn had increased the speed and he lifted his head to look at her, hair flopping over his face. “Look at me Elise – I need you to keep your eyes open. I need to see you when you come.”

Obligingly, she locked her eyes on his; she couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried. The sensations built, the tingling began to spread throughout her body and she felt her inner muscles tightening against his cock. She could feel him all the way inside of her, pounding relentlessly and she watched as his face twisted almost in agony, and his pupils dilated.

“Shit, Elise...I need you to come with me.... now!” he implored and as if on command she let go, screaming as the overwhelming sensations took over; crying his name and feeling the warmth of his seed as he pumped everything that he had into her. Thrusting until he had nothing left to give, calling out to her, groaning as he drew out the last of his release, circling inside her, pushing one final time.



Their eyes remained locked, open, their emotions raw for each other to see, neither of them willing to look away, to break the moment. Watching each other, cataloguing their every feature as they began to calm, and come down from a high unlike anything Elise had ever experienced before. She had no idea what that had just meant for Vaughn but for her, it had meant everything. More than everything - more than she had ever believed possible.

In that moment, in that space of time, in that hotel room, in that man’s bed, in that man’s arms, she knew with absolute clarity that from here on in, whatever happened and whichever path she followed, nothing in her life would ever be the same again.