Translation of Love

My eyes flutter open, struggling to gain focus. As they do, they’re met by a wall of hard chest. I’m startled for a moment until I remember the events of last night. I’m with Victor, still wrapped in his arms. I start to relax back into his embrace. He senses that I’m awake and tightens his hold on me. “Good morning, Love,” he says, placing a kiss on my hair.

“Good morning.”

“Did you sleep okay?”

“I did.”

“I like waking up with you here in my arms,” he says with a lazy smile.

“Yeah, it’s not so bad,” I say. It’s actually amazing. I can’t help but to stare at Victor’s beautiful face. I can still smell hints of his cologne lingering from last night. It’s like an aphrodisiac making me bolder. I move my hand from his chest up to his face, stroking his cheek, then I kiss him. This is the second time I’ve initiated a kiss with him. I’m surprised at the lack of control I have when I’m with him. He takes my kiss as an invitation and repositions us so that I’m on my back, half of his body resting on top of me. He slips his hands underneath my shirt and starts to roam. He hesitates, breaking the kiss and breathing heavily.

“Is this okay? I wanna touch you but I’ll stop if it’s too much.”

Why do I keep fighting this? It’s clear that I want him. I love his touch on my skin. I know the promise that I made to myself two years ago but right now, I want nothing more than his hands all over me. I nod my response and lift my head till our lips meet again. His right hand lightly grabs a fist full of my hair while his left hand, still under my shirt, makes its way to my bare breast. At the feel of him there, I let out a moan of pleasure.

He feeds off of the sounds I’m making, deepening the kiss. His fingers start to knead my now taut nipple, sending me into a frenzy of emotion. Holy shit that feels amazing. I tighten my hold on him, one hand fisting his hair, the other pushing down on his ass. I gasp at the feel of his erection on my leg.

Victor releases my breast, and moves a hand down to the hem of my t-shirt. He starts to lift it up, but stops abruptly. “Can I take this off? Is this too much? I can stop, Babe.”

The look in his eyes penetrates me somewhere deep, melting away my defenses, making me braver. I grab his wrists and push them up, indicating that it’s okay for him to remove the shirt. He takes it off and tosses it on the floor. He’s kissing me again, his hand moving back down giving his attention to the neglected breast. His lips move down, leaving a trail of kisses on my jaw, neck and finally down to my breast. He kisses one gently, swirls his tongue around the sensitive nipple and then sucks. I moan again at the sensations. Sensations that I’ve never experienced before, not like this. He finishes his assault on my nipples, bringing his lips back up to my mouth and then he kisses me again briefly.

Victor’s looking at me again, his eyes full of desire. “Do you want me to stop?”

My brain wants to say yes but my traitorous body is screaming no. “No,” I say, barely audible.

“I promise you, no sex, okay? Not yet, I know you’re not ready,” he says, kissing my forehead.

Can he really be this good of a guy? I feel the butterflies start to flutter and my chest tightens. “Okay,” I reply, closing my eyes as he kisses me again. His hand presses down on my stomach, then starts to descend slowly until he reaches my panties. He keeps moving until he’s cupping me, that one piece of clothing is the only barrier between us. He strokes me gently, leaving me breathless in the process. “You still with me?” Victor whispers in my ear, licking the outer lobe.

“Yes,” I say, half moaning. My eyes flutter open. His eyes are on me, searching for a sign of indecision on my part. I feel that nagging tightening of my chest again. His lips are back on mine and in the same moment, his hand slips inside my panties. His fingers open up the sensitive folds of my most private area. His fingers start a gentle exploration, the sensations causing my heart to beat frantically.

“F*ck. Jesus Christ, Baby, you’re so wet,” he whispers in my ear.

I can feel my whole body start to flush. I’m embarrassed by my reaction to him so I hide my face in the crook of his neck.

“Hey,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “Look at me, Love.”

I take a deep breath and move my face so that we’re eye to eye.

“Don’t ever be embarrassed, okay? I love that you’re wet for me.”

I nod my response, unable to speak. He nuzzles his nose to mine then kisses the tip. Moving his lips to mine again, he resumes his assault on my mouth. His fingers start to rub my already swollen * in a delicious pattern. I gasp at his touch. “Oh my God,” is all I can mutter.

Victor breaks the kiss, my eyes are closed but I can still feel his eyes on mine. “Open your eyes, Love.” It takes me a minute but I do as he asks. “Jesus, Baby, you’re so beautiful.” His words heighten my pleasure, my moans are getting more frequent. He positions his thumb over my *, resuming the relentless stroking as he slips a finger inside of me. I gasp with a mixture of shock and pleasure. My back arches up, and my hips start to move, meeting his thrusts, he slips another finger inside and picks up the rhythm slightly. My legs start to tighten and tremble. “That’s it, Baby. I can feel how close you are. Come for me, don’t be scared.” His words send me over the edge, my hips bucking upward. “Oh God, Victor,” I scream, clutching onto his shoulders. His touch is relentless, I’m falling with no end in sight. It’s both exquisite and torturous. My climax seems to go on forever, his teeth tugging at my bottom lip through my screams of pleasure. He gives me one last kiss as my orgasm subsides, leaving me out of breath and delirious.

“I’ve been dying to do that to you since the moment I laid eyes on you,” he says, stroking my cheek.

“Mmmm.”

He chuckles at my lack of speech and pulls me into his arms again, my back to his chest so that we’re spooning. We lay there for a long time, my mind racing. I’m mentally berating myself for letting things go this far with Victor. A week ago, I was trying to cut him out of my life as quickly as possible, now I’ve slept in his bed and he’s given me a mind blowing orgasm. I keep thinking about how sweet he was though, constantly stopping to make sure that I was okay with what was happening. I make a decision to not beat myself up about it.

“You okay?” he prompts.

“Yes, I’m good.”

“You wanna get out of here? I can take you home, you can get a change of clothes, then we can get some breakfast and see where the day takes us.”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay. I’m just gonna take a quick shower, then we can leave.” I nod and he hugs me tighter to him. “I’ll be back,” he says, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. I slip back into my clothes from last night, pull a compact mirror from my purse and straighten out my hair.

I check my phone and see that I have three missed calls from Dad, Gavin and Jordan all from last night. I make a mental note to call them back today. I also have a text message from Jordan from this morning.

What the hell? You never called me back last night. Meet me for breakfast at Laura’s?

I respond.

Sorry. I spent the night with Victor… I’ll call you later.

WHAT??!!! OMG Elle!! I want all the details ASAP. Are you with him now?

Yes…

Bring him to breakfast!

Ugh. I don’t think I’m ready for all that.

Please!!!! I wanna meet the hottie.

“Everything okay?” Victor says, strolling out of the bathroom on bare feet. His hair is wet from his shower, making him look sexier than normal and that’s saying a lot. His black t-shirt clings to him just enough to hint at what’s underneath and his dark wash jeans hang low, snug in all the right places. My mouth goes dry at the sight of him.

“Yeah, just that Jordan wants us to meet her for breakfast.”

“So let’s meet her for breakfast.” he shrugs, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Really? You don’t think that’s a bit much?”

He laughs. “No. It’s only a big deal if you make it one, Ellie.”

“Alright.” I say, looking back down to my phone and typing out a message.

Fine. Laura’s in 30 minutes.

Woohoo!!!

“She’s ecstatic,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “I don’t have time to go home and shower or change. Any chance you have an extra toothbrush?”

He walks over to me, pulls me up off the bed and nuzzles my neck. Jesus Christ that feels good. That simple touch awakens the butterflies that have taken up permanent residence in my belly. “Just use mine.” I can feel his lips twitch up in a smile. I can’t help it but him smiling makes me smile.

“Seriously?”

He looks at me. “I’m dead serious. We’ve already swapped plenty of germs, you won’t die if you use my toothbrush.”

I stare at him like he as two heads. “Oh, alright,” I huff, stomping off to the bathroom to wash up a bit and brush my teeth.

A little while later, Victor and I are walking through the hotel parking garage hand in hand.

“Do you want me to drive?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, I’ve got my car with me.” He stops us in front of a black Range Rover HSE. My mouth drops at the sight of this car that surely costs more than what I make in a year. He notices the look of shock on my face. “What’s the matter?” he asks as he opens the passenger side door for me.

I hop up into the seat and pull the seatbelt on. “Your car costs more than my house,” I say sarcastically.

He throws back his head and laughs. “No, it does not, smartass,” he says as he closes my door. He rounds the hood and seconds later he’s in the driver’s seat.

“Fine. It doesn’t cost more than my house but it’s more than my yearly salary.”

“Babe.” He cocks his head to the side. “I never claimed to be poor. You have a nice car too.”

I shake my head at him. “I have a Toyota.”

“I know. It’s nice.” I just stare at him unable to speak. I know I’m making a big deal out of this when I shouldn’t. It’s none of my business but for some reason it makes me feel inadequate.

“I’m sorry. I’m acting like a brat. It’s a beautiful car.”

He reaches over, pulls my hand to his thigh and starts circling his thumb on my palm. I love it when he does that. “You’re not a brat, Ellie. I understand that it’s an adjustment. I have a lot of money, yes, but I don’t live a flashy lifestyle. I’m a guy. I have a few toys, this being one of them, my motorcycle being the other. To be honest, my most expensive purchases are the properties I own.”

“Properties? Plural, as in more than one?”

He laughs. “I’m not helping the situation am I? Yes, properties. I have my apartment in New York which is my primary residence, a house in Los Angeles for when I’m working over there and I’m actually looking for a house in Miami.”

“A house on the beach?”

“On the bay. You wanna come with me and look at houses in a few weeks? It’s always good to have a second opinion.”

“You want me to come to Miami with you and look at houses?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Sure. Why not?”

My head is spinning with this information. In theory, I knew that he had to be rich but I hadn’t given it a second thought until I was confronted with it. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course, Love,” he replies with his usual patient demeanor. “You okay with all of this now?”

“Yes, it’s not that I wasn’t okay with it, I just never thought about it up until now.”

He leans over and kisses my forehead. “Can you enter the address of the restaurant in the GPS?”

“Sure,” I say, entering the address as he pulls out of the parking lot.

“So tell me about Jordan. Anything I need to know?”

“Jordan is the best. She’s going through a bit of a rough patch with her on again off again boyfriend. She’s afraid to commit and he thinks the way to fix her commitment issues is for them to move in together.”

He laughs. “Got it. Do I get bonus points if she likes me?”

“No. She already likes you,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“How could she like me? She hasn’t even met me.”

“I don’t really date so she thinks you’re some kind of miracle worker.” F*ck! Did I really just say that out loud?

“What do you mean you don’t date?”

Yup. I said it out loud. I’m not entirely prepared to have this conversation, but I opened my big mouth and now I just have to go with it. “I mean I don’t date.”

“Like ever?” he asks, looking stunned.

“Like ever.” If the car wasn’t moving so fast, I might attempt jumping out.

“When was the last time you went out on a date besides me?”

“I went on dates with my ex-boyfriend when I met him so…I don’t know over four years ago, I guess.”

“Wow. I’m sorry, I don’t get it. You’re beautiful, I’m sure you can go out with just about anyone you want. Why don’t you date?”

I flinch when he says I’m beautiful. It’s not that I think I’m ugly or anything, but in comparison to him, I’m merely average. Hearing him say I’m beautiful feels like a lie. “I’ve just been too busy. Between work and fixing up my house, it’s been a pretty hectic couple of years.”

Victor nods his head in understanding but I know he doesn’t buy it. He’s starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together, my hesitation to take things further with him and now this. I guess I’m not as good at keeping secrets as I thought I was. Maybe it’s for the best. Eventually, he’ll figure out I’m too much trouble and move on to someone who is better suited for him.