If Not For You (43 page)

“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” I yelled up at the sky sinking to my knees.

Gage wove his body around until he had me shielded into his chest and the tears that I had so skillfully secured away, came like a catastrophic tsunami.

Although he said it in a whisper with his lips to my temple, I heard his affirmation and it actually made me feel secure. “Baby, you’re not going to die. Not now that I have you, it’s not going to happen. No fucking way. Not as long as I have air in my lungs and blood in my fucking veins.”

Day 15

France

Since my eye-opening melt down in Venice I felt fresh and renewed, far more hopeful having Gage by my side. Knowing that he wasn’t going anywhere had me, for all intents and purposes, considering the real possibility of a future. I wasn’t planning on buying a house together with a white picket fence or having two point five kids, a dog and a cat. But I also wasn’t envisioning us going off in two different directions at the bottom of the gangway.

Admitting I was scared of death, not only to myself but Gage, gave me a sense of just how precious what we had together was. I still had a lot of anger and resentment to deal with, but that would come in time. I vowed my undying love and devotion to this man and in return he vowed to lavish me with unremitting attention and the kind of love known only in fairytales.

To top it all off, he stopped treating me like a piece of precious china and stepped up the game. No, not whips and chains, that isn’t his style. But making a woman aware that he is in charge and her pleasure his priority, now that
was
his style.

Standing outside the tour bus while I waited for Gage to appear, since he had to make that all important call to my old man, I was greeted with a huge kiss and hug from John.

“Where’s Gage?”

“Making a call to my father, where’s Philippe?”

“He should be here any minute, I came ahead. He forgot the camera and had to go back for it.” John rolled his eyes.

With that I searched my bag to make sure I had mine, there was no way I was missing out on shots of the city of love with my sugar. I wanted selfies of us everywhere we went, especially the Eiffel Tower. I was becoming increasingly aroused at the idea of making love in France, having to force myself to think of other non-sexual things that we would be doing with the boys.

I looped my arm through John’s and bumped hips. “You two seem happy.”

“Oh honey, I am. He is everything and then some, I couldn’t ask for more,” he grinned.

“Do I see love in the air?” I teased, “a steamy romance in Paris?”

John crossed his fingers on both hands holding them up. “Well, I’m hoping for a lot more than romance to blossom for us in Paris.”

“Oh, so you haven’t?” I hid my face on his shoulder. “Never mind, none of my business.”

“Honey, I have no secrets from you. No we have
not
had sex. Not yet, anyway,” he winked and we laughed.

“Hey lady, get your paws off my man!” Philippe joked, yanking John into a hug.

It was sweet the way Philippe fussed with John’s collar and gazed into his eyes. I was so happy they found each other, they were a nice fit. John the older of the two, stood a few inches taller with that little bit of grey at his temples he had a look of authority, whereas Philippe had a younger more playful look. The contrast between them amalgamated nicely together. I’d say he was just what John needed.

“Cool your shit, I gots me a hottie, I don’t need yours.” I said laughing, wondering exactly were that hottie was.

The crowd waiting to board was much larger than I had anticipated, it seemed the city of love was a real draw. Standing on tip toe I tried to see over them but with my height disadvantage, there wasn’t a hope in hell.

“I don’t see Gage anywhere and the bus is going to leave soon. I better go look for him.”

“Then you’ll both be missing, best stay put,” John said, taking me by the hand to keep me near.

Just as I was about to protest Gage appeared, fighting his way over to stand with us. I could tell by the dark look in his eyes, something was up. I watched as he exchanged pleasantries with the boys. The lack of dimples and that bright white gleam when he smiled told me he was holding onto something that was sure to rock the boat. Our eyes met, he took a deep breath and then placed his forehead to mine. “Later,” he whispered.

He didn’t need to say more, I could wait. The very last thing I wanted was more bad news, more to dread, more to drag me down. Fuck that, I was going to Paris. Fisting his shirt front, I pulled him into a slow smoldering kiss and when our lips parted he smiled and I licked my lips to taste him again before turning and climbing the steps onto the bus.

“What was that all about?” John asked Gage.

Shaking his head with a shrug he replied, “Don’t give a fuck, as long as it happens again.”

The three amigos
, I tittered to myself watching them from the bus window, laughing together while slapping Gage on the shoulder like he was some kind of a hero and had just won a merciless battle. I was glad they had pulled him from his funk and those dimples had reappeared when he sat down beside me.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

Caressing the back of my hand along his jaw line I whispered into his ear, “You don’t do sorry.” And he chuckled.

***

The George V lobby stood unrivaled against all others I had ever stood in. In a single word it was un-fucking-believable! The opulence and grandeur exuded in every detail, from the gigantic crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the marble inlay on the floors. I looked down at the floor seeing the refection of myself and giggled noting I was wearing my red panties, that’s how highly polished it was.

We were greeted at the front desk by a rather snooty-looking young man dressed to the nines in a tailored suit. He smiled as Gage and Philippe stepped forward.

"Bienvenue à la George cinq, parlez-vous français?"

“Oui, nous parlons français,” Gage gestured between himself and Philippe. “Mais pour le bénéfice de nos compagnons qui ne le font pas,” he gestured to John and I. “Nous préférons l'anglais s'il vous plaît.”

“As you wish, how can I help you today?” The young man asked with a clearly British accent.

John turned to me, we wide-eyed each other and burst into laughter. The three turned to look at us like the joke was over their heads, causing us to laugh more.

“How sexy is your man when he’s talking in French?” John poked.

Poking back as Philippe handed off his luggage to the steward with a, “Je vous remercie, je porterai ce sac moi-même.”

“As sexy as that,” I said and we tittered like school girls.

“The timing couldn’t have been better,” John roared.

“What’s gotten into you two?” Philippe asked, taking John’s hand.

“Let’s get to our rooms, we’ll change and meet back here,” Gage suggested and we followed behind the bellboy to the glass elevator.

The bellboy punched the button and stepped back before speaking. “Je vais vous montrer vos chambres.” He bowed.

"Je vous remercie, pourriez vous veiller à ce que nous avons beaucoup de serviettes?” Philippe requested and gestured us inside.

“Oui, monsieur, tout de suite,” he snapped, speeding off with our trolley of luggage.

Grinning at the pair as they strode into the elevator I said, “I don’t have a clue what the hell you two are saying, but it’s sexy as fuck!”

“Uh huh, I second that, honey,” John agreed hanging on for a high five, our palms slapping together.

Our suites were next door to each other, we took turns perusing each. John and Philippe’s room was all creamy neutrals and yellows, with a huge bed, sitting area and an extravagant bathroom. Ours was winter white, with royal blue and gold accents. It was like something you’d see in a palace. I had been in my fair share of swanky mansions and estate homes in my life, but this room was elegance personified.

“Check out this bathroom, sweetheart,” Gage called, as I pulled back the drape to see what the view held.

“Coming.”

My jaw fell open and if I didn’t know better, I would have sworn a wet patch was forming on the floor from the drool dribbling off my chin. The bedroom was elegant but the bathroom was sumptuously lavish. I was scared to touch anything in fear of falling in love and never being able to use another restroom without adverse consequences.

An inset soaker tub surrounded with crystal jars and bottles of colorful liquids sat in the center of the room. With gold taps and a crystal bowl filled with an assortment of personal size soaps and multi-color bath sponges, it sat there screaming my name. The toilet and bidet were self-contained in a private water closet, an honest to God water closet.

“I’ve died and gone to heaven, sweetheart.” Gage laughed from the other room.

Turning to see him standing with an elaborate remote control in hand, pushing buttons and spinning around to see what he had managed to bring to life, we were like kids in a candy store.

“What time is it? We have to meet the boys at ten.”

“Not quite eight thirty, we have plenty of time,” Gage said, and the room went dark as shades came down over the windows simultaneously.

Wiggling his brows, he put down the controller and sauntered over. “Wanna play, baby?”

“Wanna share some bubbles?”

Drawing my gaze to his watch he raised a single brow. “Little too early for champagne, don’t you think?”

“A bubble bath you dope!” I blurted and squealed as he swooped in and scooped me off my feet, carried me over and threw me onto the bed.

Landing with barely a bounce, my body sunk into the feather filled duvet. “Oh yeah,” I moaned and yanked Gage until he toppled beside me.

“Oh, yeah,” he mimicked my words and closed his eyes.

Rolling off the side of the bed, Gage caught my wrist. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To draw us a bath, silly,” I stated playfully slapping his hand away.

“You’ll pay for that later woman!” he snarled.

I giggled a quick, “I hope so.”

As the water rained into the bath I sniffed from each bottle and tipped small amounts of my favorites into the swirling water. The froth built quickly to the top of the tub until it threatened to flow over the edge, I turned off the taps, climbed in and called to Gage.

Stripping from his clothes and tossing them aside, I studied his hard defined body as he sunk beneath the bubbles and rearranged my legs over his to face each other.

Gage tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and smiled. “It’s going to be a wonderful day.”

Eyeing him suspiciously I asked, “What do you have planned, Mr. Carter?”

“I want to take you to see the Mona Lisa, have lunch on a River cruise and climb the Eiffel Tower.”

“You’re hopeful squeezing all that into one day.”

“All that by five,” he said.

“Why? What happens at five?”

“We have an appointment,” he announced.

A gave him a sideways glance. “An appointment in Paris, France? What kind of appointment?”

His wet index finger lifted from the water and touched gently to my mouth. “A special appointment and that’s all you need to know.”

“Gage.”

Leaning forward his hands clamped onto my ass cheeks and pulled me onto his lap. Burrowing his face between my breasts, he growled as his tongue made a path along my collar bone up to my chin. His breath on my wet skin scorching like an inferno and his supple lips soft against my ear had me entranced before he uttered a word.

“Vous enflammer moi seule, mon amour,” he whispered.

“I don’t know what you said but I like it.”

“Je reçois dur quand je pense à des choses que je veux faire pour vous.”

Tightening his grasp, he lifted me onto his rock hard cock and I assisted its entrance with a soft moan.

“Je pourrais encule comme ça jusqu'à la fin des temps.” His thrusts became more rushed and aggressive as water splashed over the edge onto the marble floor.

“What did you say?” I asked on a quick breath.

“I could fuck you like this until the end of time.”

Throwing my head back I laughed, “I think I like it better when I know what you’re saying.”

“I’m going to cum…just so you know,” he growled out.

I giggled and held on. “Come for me then.”

“Not before you, baby.”

“Don’t wait for me,” I whispered, as I grabbed onto the edge of the tub with one hand and clasped his chin with the other.

“Look at me, I want to see your eyes when you cum,” I ordered, in an insistent tone, so out of character.

At first he looked unsure, and then he grinned and bit into his bottom lip holding his stare as he buried his cock deep and his seed burst, his body convulsing.

A serene glaze covered his eyes. It was as if he left his body for those few seconds, floating in a state of ecstasy, before he blinked back to me. Then he blessed me with that dimpled smile.

“It’s always fucking incredible with you,” he said, touching his lips to mine.

“Say it in French?” I asked, shyly.

“C'est toujours putain incroyable avec vous.”

“Sexy,” I laughed, reaching for a sponge and soap.

Each dawning a sponge and tiny bar of soap, we took our time washing each other and then made our way over to the shower to rinse.

This day was indeed going to be wonderful.

***

“Here we are.” Gage swept out his hand in the direction of the glass enclosed riverboat.

I was far too engrossed in the vision of the Eiffel Tower just off in the distance to hear what he and John were saying. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I was going to be standing at the top of that tower in a few short hours, a dream of a lifetime. All I wanted today was to share the view of Paris with Gage and be kissed high above the most romantic city in the world.

“Hello, Tandy? Where are you girl?” Philippe asked, snapping his fingers in my face, pulling me from my reveries. “Come on, we’ll miss the boat.”