Learning to Trust: Limits (5 page)

Roland's hands aggressively fondled my breasts from behind me, my back arching every time he rocked his hips. My eyes went through a delicate dance of opening and closing at random, my breath always departing when I saw the beauty in front of me.

When I felt the fingers against my clit, I knew I wouldn't last much longer. Roland angled himself so that he could up his tempo, and then proceeded to barrage me with his desire. I felt my second climax coming, a climax as bold as the one I was witnessing on the lake. He was circling against that tiny bundle of nerves, the waves flooding the rest of me. I lost it.

My ears rang and my eyes closed, my body flooded with sensation. He kept pumping so hard, pushing me higher and higher until my consciousness was close to fading. I had no control over my voice, the screams spilling from me like an explosion. I heard him growling and
then
I felt his cock twitching inside of me, his cum spilling against the fluttering muscles of my pussy. I clenched the pillow in front of me
, begging for stability, begging for
more
.

His release came in so many bursts, each one like a brush stroke in a beautiful painting. He held me tightly, like it was an animalistic urge to fuck me—and didn't let go until he was done.
Roland's lust dominated me, his physical strength absolutely overwhelming as he came.
My arm gripped
tightly gripped
his and w
e stayed there like that, holding each other as our bodies cooled down
.

"Roland, wow," I said, entirely lost in the moment. The sun was still disappearing. I couldn't believe so much time had passed since we
first arrived
.
Everything had vanished from my mind.

"You're wonderful, pet," he said, lightly kissing my back. His stubble tickled me. "It's been such a lovely day."

"I agree," I said softly.
My stomach suddenly grumbled
, interrupting anything else I might have said
. "Hey, are we ever gonna eat?" I asked.

Roland laughed and the movements of his chest shook my body. "Absolutely. I'll actually have to cook tonight. There's plenty to eat here."

Honestly, even with Marcus's bullshit, the day had been nearly perfect. It was the sort of day you could only dream about as a girl.
I feared that at any moment I was going to hear a director shout
CUT
and it would be the end of the scene. But it didn't happen, at least not that night.

I laughed pretty hard when I saw the matching robes that he had for us in the house. They were identical to the ones we were in the mansion. I wasn't going to complain though, because it was probably the most comfortable thing I'd ever worn in my life.

Roland cooked us some fresh fish—I assumed that he must have had it delivered earlier in the day because it was fresh and obviously I hadn't seen him carry in a
fish
—and we enjoyed even more expensive of his rotating cast of
favorite wines
.

After a dessert of melt-in-your-mouth cheesecake, we went back out and sat on the p
atio. The rush of waves against the beach complemented our quiet conversation quite nicely. Roland enjoyed a cigar and shortly after, we went back into the outdoor bedroom and lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and idly chatting.

"You know Roland," I said, "there's only one thing that could make this night better."

"Oh?"

"I wish we could see the sky."

"I think that could be arranged," he said. He bent toward the floor and toyed with something out of my view. Suddenly, the night air was filled with a mechanical rumble.

"What the hell?" I was staring at him and missing the big show.

"Look," he whispered, his hand pointing toward the ceiling.

Oh yes, I had been missing it. The ceiling was parting in the middle and opening to reveal the star-filled night sky above us, a truly
luxury
accommodation.
I giggled, so surprised by the fact that my passing wish had been turned into a reality by this mysterious man and his infinite money—and tricks.

We made love again that night and slept under the stars in the most literal way possible
while still being
indoors
.
For almost anyone other than me, this would have meant the beginning of something truly wonderful, something that would have made me comfortable with my decision to move in with Roland
and give up my old life
. Highs and lows, all the time. Now that things were starting to get good, maybe I could just sneak off with him and—

No
. I had a duty, and I had
to follow through until the end. I had to stay sane and sensible.

Before I fell asleep, I checked my phone out of habit. Zero bars. No reception. In a way, it was kind of nice not to have the option at all. No mindless checking of email and social media sites. Just rest and relaxation.

I powered it off; there was no reason to keep it on since I couldn't receive calls or texts anyway. I obviously didn't have time to grab my charger, so I'd at least have some battery power tomorrow if I did this. Roland was already snoring and I cuddled up closer to him and wrapped myself tighter in the blankets. A few minutes later, I was out cold.

***

The next morning, I awoke at my leisure. Roland wasn't next to me, but he popped into my view as soon as I sat up.

"The late riser has finally awoken!" he declared.

"Hi, Roland," I said, my voice scratchy. I needed some water.

"I've prepared you some breakfast and coffee. We need to be on our way as soon as possible. Exciting things are happening."

"Sure," I said, still unable to process much of what was going on.
The sun was already so bright and I couldn't believe I'd slept this late while it drowned me in light. I carried my phone inside and threw it in my purse. After I ate, I took a quick shower and re-dressed in my clothes from yesterday. Thankfully, I had taken them inside and hung them up properly after more or less discarding them on the deck to get in the jacuzzi. They were slightly wrinkled, but they'd do.

"I'm going to drop you off at work," he said. He was fiddling with a tie.

"Damn, Roland, dressed up so nice, huh?"

"I've got a meeting. You kn
ow, finalizing all the details for the
big event
." The way he said it almost seemed like it was supposed to be a hint to me.

"Big event?" I asked. I was trying not to get prematurely excited yet again.

"Just a deal that Starland Enterprises has been trying to push through for years. We've finally got a clear path now." He chuckled.

"Wow," I said. "Congratulations!"
This was it. Jesus!

"You can congratulate me when it's done. I'm optimistic. I still need to do some spring cleaning first."

That didn't sound good.
It also wasn't specific in the least. "Yeah, sure. Well, good luck.
"
Your tie still isn't totally straight."

He glanced at it again. "You're sure?"

"A little more to the right. You've been staring at it for too long."

He made the adjustments. "Ah, perfect." Roland stepped over and kissed my forehead. "You've been doing such a n
ice job. I don't think you
realize how important you've become."

I blushed, even though I probably shouldn't have. "Thanks."

"Well, we should be on our way then. The car should be outside for us. Do you have everything?"

I did a quick look over the house and then nodded. "All set."

We walked toward the front and he punched a code into the alarm. "You first."

The car was waiting and so I briskly walked down the path and hopped inside.
I was filled with an excitement that I had only felt a few times in my life. The last time had been when the biggest story I'd ever sc
ored in my life was published
. Before that, my college graduation. No, I still didn't know the details. But I needed to contact
Ramón
as soon as possible. I would do that as soon as I got some genuine privacy.

Roland joined me in the car a few minutes later—I promptly shifted my thoughts away from the FBI stuff, just in case he could read my mind—and actually didn't offer me alcohol. The car sprung to life and made the wide, circular turn. Shortly after, we were on our way out of the woods and back into the city.

"Thanks for yesterday," I said with sincerity. It had been a beautiful time, there was no denying that.

"You're welcome, pet. The road might get a little bumpy in the near future, so I wanted to make sure that you had something nice right now." As soon as he finished speaking, the car started shaking as we traveled over a poorly maintained dirt road. "I didn't mean it so literally," he said with a laugh.

I couldn't help from laughing as well, even though
deep down I didn't like the sound of any of this. "Did you plan that one?"

"No," he said, his cheeks flushed red
from laughter
.

We went through an area that was completely surrounded by trees, the darkness entirely sweeping away the light of the day. In a way, it seemed like a very clear sign of things to come, and even if it wasn't, I couldn't deny the power of that moment.

Roland actually seemed like he might be nervous for the first time since I'd met him. He was shifting awkwardly in his seat and toying with his shirt. "You all right?" I asked.

"I'm fine, pet. Just hope this goes well today."

"You know it will," I said.

"Miss Optimism. I'm always glad to have you around."

Not long after that, we were in front of the office.
Familiar territory
.

"I'll let you know how it goes," he said. "I can't wait to see you tonight." He leaned forward and kissed me in a way that would have swept me right off my feet—if they hadn't been elevated already
while I was sitting
.

"See you later, Roland," I said.

I got up and climbed out of the car and stood there until it disappeared from view. Roland was off to set up his deal, the one I had been waiting for, the one that I'd use to crush him. The whole thing made me feel kind of queasy.

Greetings were said as I entered the building and soon after, I was alone in my office. Frederic apparently wasn't there, so I assumed he was
working out the details
with Roland. For the first time since the previous night, I thought about my cell phone. I pulled it out of my purse and set it down on the table.
Oh yeah, it was off
. I pressed the power button until the indicator lights came on. While I waited, I got on my computer to check my email.

There were a number of messages from m
y mom, all with worried subject lines
. God, she probably set aside the night to talk with me and panicked when I wasn't there to respond. It was typical for her. But when my cell phone started beeping wildly with incoming text notifications, I realized something was up.

There were multiple voicemails from her as well. I promptly started listening.

Marisa, I hope you're okay. I heard what they said on
the news about the attack
in the city. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Please call me to let me know you're okay.

What was she talking about? The next one played.

Oh, please, Marisa. I've been trying to call you all night and you're not there. They said it was in the downtown area. A bombing. Please call me back!

Shit, what had happened while I was gone?
There was no point in listening to anything else. I needed to call her back immediately before she really had a heart attack. My fingers shook as I dialed the numbers, and it wasn't until the call was going through that I realized I could have just called her from
my contacts list
. It rang twice and then she picked up.

"Oh, Marisa! Are you okay?" There was so much desperation in her voice, so much relief as she realized her daughter wasn't dead.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine!"

"I was so worried about you. They said that there was an attack downtown or something."

"No, I'm just fine. I was just out in a cabin by the lake for the night. I didn't have reception. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm fine."

She was weeping. I heard her talking to my dad and it really choked me up. Honestly, I had no idea what it felt like to believe that your daughter was dead.

"They wouldn't...
give...the names of the vi
ctims," she said. "It was a
restaurant." She just kept crying.

"Mom, it's okay. Do you know what it was called?"

"Some
fancy
place," she said. "Le Provence, I think."