A Seal Upon Your Heart (37 page)

“I’m not Corrine.” She said softly.

Claudette closed her eyes. “I didn’t—I know. I’m sorry.” She looked at her friend again. “Do you want me to help you find something?”

Martier shook her head. “No. I’ll find something that I like.” She just wouldn’t look at the price tag until after. Right before they stopped for lunch she called Tim.

“Hi.” She said shyly.

“Hi, honey. How’s the shopping?”

“I spent eighteen thousand…”

“How much did you buy?”

“Two suits, blouses and a pair of shoes.”

“Good, sweetheart. Don’t forget to pick up something casual. Call me when you reach forty thousand.”

“What?! No, Tim-”

“Honey, I need to dash. Call me! Love you!”

She touched her fingertips to her lips and smiled. He said those words as if he’d been saying them forever to her. She sighed, she wanted to fit in and she wanted him to be proud of her. She would find nice things because Tim liked nice things.

By the time she returned to the hotel, she had several bags filled with clothes and shoes. She selected a nice corporate casual outfit to wear to the conference. She wasn’t sure what Tim would need her to do for him but she was sure to pack a notepad and ink pen into her oversized bag. She pinned her hair up into a severe French twist because she’d seen a lady at the Prada store with her hair exactly that way and it had looked so sophisticated.

She met Claudette and several other women who had come to the conference down in the lobby. She couldn’t believe how gorgeous some of these women were. They looked like supermodels. Elaina wasn’t anywhere to be seen but then again she wasn’t an assistant. Maybe she’d do double duty and offer to be secretary for Jakob. The Waldorf-Astoria was host to the conference and Martier and the others were led to a large room where a stage was set up in front of tables that had over a hundred bodies. A speaker was holding a microphone and talking while a slide show projected images of charts and graphs behind him. He stopped when he saw the women enter.

“We’ll take a break and reconvene in half an hour. Thanks folks.” There was a round of applause and Tim was instantly at her side. He didn’t kiss her but she knew he wanted to.

“You look great.” He said. He loved when she wore pencil skirts. With her height it was a great compliment to her body, enhanced by her luscious brown legs in nylons and her feet in heels. He wanted to ravage her, but so did half the men in the room. He could tell by the knowing looks they gave him. Somehow that bothered him, that they might think that she was just his common mistress.

“So what do assistants do at these things?”

“There’s a fax machine in the room. Add some information to my contacts and that’s pretty much it.”

“Okay.” That’s it? “Should I do the same for Jakob?”

“What?”

“Since his secretary isn’t here.”

“No, don’t worry about it. Elaina’s here.” He gestured to the couple who was several feet away. She looked over at them in surprise. So Elaina had been avoiding them…and maybe her too. She tried not to let it bother her.

After the conference they returned to the room to prepare for dinner. “I made reservations at the Russian Tea Room.”

“Oh! I read about that in the tourist guide!” She exclaimed. “It was founded by the Russian Imperial Ballet.” She slipped off her shoes. “Honey, do you think we can go to a museum Saturday?” She turned around when she didn’t receive an answer and yelped when he was standing right in front of her. His arm snaked around her waist and he kissed her urgently. His hands cupped her bottom.

“Are you wearing panties?”

She gave him a slight smile. “Why don’t you check for yourself?”

They just made their reservations with not a minute to spare. During the limo ride to the restaurant Martier was quiet but polite. The conversation and smiles seemed a bit forced but there wasn’t anything that she could do to alleviate the tension since she hadn’t been the one to cause it and she wasn’t going to feel responsible for it.

“Are you enjoying your New York visit, Martier?” Elaina asked her.

“It’s been very nice.” She responded politely. She had wanted to take a site seeing tour but the other ladies were only interested in shopping or going to the spa. Maybe Saturday she and Tim would get to see more of New York. She was having fun but she wished that more of it was with Tim.  

“Have you seen the Statue of Liberty?”

“Not yet, I’m hoping we’ll be able to take a tour before we’re due to fly back home.”

Tim reached out and took her hand. “Whatever you want to do, honey.”

Jakob cleared his throat. “Well we have tickets to an Off Broadway show…we were hoping that you two would join us Saturday?”

Martier beamed. She would love to go to the theater! She looked at Tim who shrugged letting her know that it was completely up to her. “I’d love that! What is the show?”

Elaina smiled at her. “Jakob told me that you were originally from Africa and I thought you’d like an African drum and dance ensemble. It’s very well received. It is a small International dance troupe and I hear that they are amazing.” Martier blinked. They had bought the tickets with her in mind. Elaina blushed pink. “This is my way of further apologizing to you, Martier. I was very rude and it had nothing to do with you, dear. Honestly, I hope…well that you will someday consider me as a friend.” Jakob gave his wife’s hand a slight squeeze. Martier reached out and quickly gave the woman’s hand a gentle squeeze as well.

“I would like that a lot.”

After that the evening was a success. The two couples talked easily, laughed easily and took delight in introducing Martier to caviar and borscht. Martier thought it was okay but when she discovered that the caviar sample they’d ordered was three hundred fifty dollars an ounce, she nearly blacked out. Why would salty, mushy, little black eggs cost so much?! But she didn’t let on that she thought it was insanity.

After dinner they took the limo back to the hotel and had drinks at the bar. Martier was comfortable with a cup of tea.

“Martier, they won’t need us until later in the afternoon. Would you like to maybe take in a short tour? We can go to the Statue of Liberty.”

Martier realized that Elaina had probably taken that tour before and was doing this just for her. She smiled and told her that it was a date. Tim watched the people that he most valued in the world and felt more happiness than he ever thought he could since Corrine’s death. He wanted to reach out and run his hand down Martier’s warm skin, just to make sure that this was real. He thought about their relationship and how it had grown by leaps and bounds over the last few days. But then he felt a slight nervous tension as he realized that very soon she would expect more. Maybe they should have a talk about sex. Maybe then he would feel better about it. He almost wanted to laugh. Most men wouldn’t think twice about taking a beautiful, innocent girl who shows him every single day how much she desires him. But he wasn’t most men. He cared about Martier enough to make sure that she never had any regrets about her choices with him.

CHAPTER 32

Later, when they headed back to their room, Martier decided that tonight she would make love with Tim. She loved the way he caused her body to almost explode out of control with just his tongue and fingers, but there was something that was missing. It wasn’t complete and she wanted all of him.

They prepared for bed, chatting about the restaurant. While she brushed her teeth she looked over at Tim at the other sink brushing his teeth. He looked at her and despite the toothpaste foam, she could see that he was smiling. Yes…she could get used to this.

The couple undressed and climbed into bed. Tim pulled her into his arms. “Martier…”

“Hmmm…” She hummed as she rubbed the soft hairs on his torso.

“Honey, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

She looked up at him. “Is something wrong?”

“No, sweetheart.” He pulled her closer and kissed her brow. “I was…curious about how you felt about what we’ve been doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, your religion. You have…certain practices and certain things that you’re taught are a sin and…” His mouth felt dry.

She nodded. “We’re taught to abstain.”

“I don’t want you to do anything that you might regret, Martier.” He gazed down at her finding his words. “I care about that more than anything. I don’t want being with me to be a sin to you.”

“I don’t feel as if I’ve sinned. What we’re doing is just loving each other. I don’t care what anybody says, Tim. I have to judge how I feel, not what somebody else wants me to feel. When I…went out with Karl French, it didn’t feel right. Deep down I knew that something wasn’t right—for me anyways. And just like I knew that, I also know that we’re not doing anything wrong.”

Tim continued to gaze into her dark eyes. “You’re sure about this?”

She hugged him and closed her eyes, nuzzling her face against his shoulder. “You’re mine, and I’m yours.” Tim stroked her soft hair and then ran his thumb over her temple. He felt Martier’s soft touch tracing the line of hair that went from his belly button down to his pubis. He sighed.

“I didn’t bring condoms. I didn’t imagine-”

Her eyes opened and she had a mischievous glint in them. “I’m a Catholic girl. I learned the rhythm method at about the same time I learned the Apostles’ Creed.” Her hand found his shaft while her eyes still danced in merriment. He became firm incredibly fast. “But if you prefer to wait…” She gave his very hard cock a squeeze. Tim growled and rolled them over until she was on her back and then he kissed her. Her full lips parted and her tongue teased at his mouth.

His hand moved beneath her gown and cupped her full bottom. “Rhythm method, huh?” He murmured, hesitating again.

“My cycle ended last week so I’m about as safe as safe can be.” She reached up and ran her fingertips lightly along his his face. Her eyes had darkened and her expression was serious as she thought about how long she’d waited for this moment. “Make love to me, Tim.”

“Yes.” He sighed and stopped caring about anything else but this very moment.

Martier knew that she should probably be afraid but she wasn’t. She ran her hands down his back and over his taut bottom, gripping him there momentarily while he nestled between her thighs. The weight of him felt wonderful. She brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist in a way that she had longed to do for so very long. She could feel the pressure of flesh touching flesh as his hardness pressed against her swollen lips. How they ached in such a pleasant way. Tim was her man and she was his woman and this would seal it.

Martier thought that Tim still seemed unsure. She kissed him and then hid her smirk. He was just so cute when he was unsure. Martier wiggled beneath him and surprised him by urging him onto his back. She felt bold when she took control of the kissing. Her lips captured his ear lobe and she flicked it repeatedly with her tongue until he moaned out loud. She pulled back momentarily to consider which part of his body she wanted to nibble on next. When he tried to reach for her she slipped out of his grasp and slid down the bed until she had his little pink nipple between her lips.

Tim stared down at Martier’s dark head. She had made it clear that she was taking control and he was secretly pleased to put it all in her hands. He watched with hooded eyes as she kissed one nipple and then the other. He felt her teeth on him and shivered and gasped. She looked up at him with something like laughter in her eyes. Did she realize how powerful she was at this moment? He was completely at her mercy. In this moment he would do anything for Martier Besigye; anything she requested, anything that he even thought she’d want.