Taxi to Paris (15 page)

Her mouth was already on mine, stifling any further protest. The tightness between my legs almost drove me crazy. Her hand was being pressed into the middle by the fabric of my pants. I began to rub against it. She moved her hand with me, as much as she could. She'd barely begun to do that when I came the first time. She held me off the floor.

"My heaven!" she remarked. "And I thought I was turned on!"

I gasped. "I hope you are." I propped myself up next to her. "Since it's your turn next."

"Ahem," she said. "Understood. But could we maybe go to bed? I've got bruises all over already."

I rolled over and stood up. She rose with her ususal grace. While she turned, smiling, to walk toward the bedroom, she began automatically to unbutton her cuffs.

"Wait!" I said. She stopped. I walked past her, in order to look her in the face. She looked at me questioningly. "I'd like ... please... May I undress you?" Her reaction was almost invisible, but it was there. She put up a wall. "It's ok," I said. "It was just a question. I thought..." I thought you trusted me, I wanted to say, but that would've caused her more than anything to grant my wish. And as well as she could act, I might never even have noticed that she was doing it against her own will.

I took a step toward her and took her in my arms. "Forgive me, I always want too much at once from you."

She laid her arms around me as well. "It's odd," she mused. "There was a time when I never would've allowed it, but now... I think I actually want it." It sounded as though she were genuinely surprised at herself.

I looked up at her. "Are you sure?"

"No," she said. She smiled enchantingly. "But we can certainly try it." We went into the bedroom together, and she lowered herself onto the foot of the bed.

I leaned over her and kissed her. While I was doing that, I slowly pulled her shirt out of her pants. When that was done, I crouched in front of her. I put my hands on her waist and looked at her. Was there any sign of discomfort, of defensiveness? I held her gaze and let my hands wander around to the front. She was still watching me calmly. I undid the button and waited. Then I bent over her and kissed her again.

In contrast to the incredible arousal she'd demonstrated earlier, she was now very reserved. I ran my hands up beneath her shirt until I felt the velvety roundness of her breasts. It overwhelmed me. "I love you so much," I whispered, my lips nibbling devotedly at her ear.

This time, she reacted. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. I leaned against her, and she sank slowly back onto the bed. I began to unbutton her shirt. She still showed no sign of excitement. I pushed her shirt back over her shoulders. "I can stop any time you want," I offered soothingly. I sought her eyes. They were closed.

"No," she said hoarsely. She grasped my head and pulled my mouth down to her breasts. "Please, make love to me!" Her voice was even hoarser than before.

I kissed her breasts and moved my lips downward. She shivered. I didn't know if that was from arousal or fear. I hoped it was arousal. I heard her breathing heavily above me. I unzipped her pants and slid one hand inside. She moaned. I looked up, but couldn't read her expression. Slowly, I pulled her pants down over her hips and laid a hand between her legs. Immediately, she began to push against me lustfully. "Yes." I found the center and began to massage it gently. Her hips rose, thrusting desperately into the air. My mouth wandered back to her breasts. I entered her with one finger and began to stroke her inside. She moaned, loud and gasping. I pushed myself up a little higher and looked into her face. She tossed her head back and forth with excitement. With her eyes still closed, she whispered, "Please - I've been waiting for you all day..."

I glided quickly down between her thighs and took her in with my tongue. She went stiff immediately. She screamed. I'd never heard such a yell from her. She collapsed. I moved back up next to her and took her into my arms. She was breathing as though she'd climbed more than just one mountain. I suddenly had the feeling that this was the first time she'd ever truly given herself over to me. Today, she'd decided to trust me completely.

I brushed her hair out of her face. "My darling," I said. She twitched, then lay quietly. She still held her eyes closed tightly. She didn't answer.

I thought she'd fallen asleep. I laid her on the bed and started to stand up.

"Don't go away," she said softly.

"I thought you were asleep."

"No. I'm just..." She opened her eyes and looked at me. "I never want to go through another day like today," she said, shuddering. "It was awful."

It sounded like she'd really been suffering. I laughed. "It's your own fault. If you make phone calls like that..."

"I don't understand it myself. You're not going to believe this, but I've really never done that before."

"Never? But when you're newly -". Dammit, there it was again! People newly in love did things like that. But was she newly in love? I was, I knew that, but was she? For her, love might still be a chore. I'd better not say it. "When people haven't known each other long, they feel a need to do things like that," I stated.

"Oh yeah?" As if this were a completely new concept for her. It couldn't possibly be that she'd never experienced anything like it before!

"Oh, yeah," I testified, laughing. I stood up.

She reached out a hand toward me. "Please stay."

"Nothing would make me happier," I swore, "but I still have to pack."

"Pack?" The surprise in her voice was incredible. "You're going away?"

"Only for a week." It now seemed unbelievably long to me, too. "Business trip."

"A week," she repeated gloomily.

I tried to cheer her up. "We can talk on the phone every day," I suggested. I tried to put a hint of cheerful temptation into my voice. "Your voice on the phone is almost as good as..."

"Almost." She didn't seem convinced in the slightest.

"Oh, come on," I comforted her - and myself. "It will pass." At least she could imagine still being with me a week from now. That in itself was something. "Let's think about what we'll do when I get back instead."

For a moment, she still looked depressed, but then she began to smile a bit mischievously. "Is there any doubt?"

"Knock it off," I said. "You're just trying to coax me back into bed." I was already starting to feel warm again. Seeing her in bed was temptation enough. She saw my expression. She stretched. Normally, I wouldn't have been able to stand seeing her beautiful, long limbs laid out like that before me. I had to call on every bit of self-control. "Be sensible," I asked her desperately. "I don't just have to pack, I still have to go through some files. Otherwise, I'll get up for my presentation tomorrow and just stand there like an idiot. Would you want that?" I appealed to her sense of pity. That had always worked for me in the past.

It worked this time also. She sighed in surrender. "You're heartless." Her winks indicated that this was a complete lie. Then, she rolled up into a ball and covered herself with the blanket. "I want nothing more to do with you." She turned over onto her other side.

I laughed at her theatrics. They were really her greatest gift. Well, maybe her second greatest... "We'll make up for it when I come back. For certain." I turned toward the closet to get out a suitcase.

"That's what they all say," she murmured with resignation, but loud enough that I could understand her.

"Yeah, I know," I said laughing. "Life is hard."

"Pff," she replied contemptuously.

I laughed as I pulled down a suitcase and began to pack.

Chapter 16

I
had never realized how long a week could be. And this despite the fact that she'd "talked me into" one more time on the morning I left. Resisting her more than once required superhuman strength, and I did not have that.

Now, on the last day, I was already thinking about her with unbelievable desire. The phone calls had only served to amplify that feeling, as I might well have expected. As soon as I heard her voice, I was in flames. And she did her best not to extinguish those flames.

She called.

"I'm just about to walk out the door," I said in answer to her question.

"How long is the ride?" The need in her voice was unmistakable.

"If the train is on schedule, about four hours. So I'll be there about eight." During the ride, I thought almost exclusively about her. I began to imagine how she would greet me, how she would look, what she would be wearing. But there was really no question about that. She'd be wearing her robe, because she knew I liked it so much. And I would take it off her...

I ran my things home quickly. Then I whistled all the way to her place. In the elevator, I closed my eyes and pictured her face. Her lips came nearer... The elevator stopped.

When I was almost to her door, it opened. Aha, she'd heard me coming!  I almost collided with someone. A large woman in leather came out of her apartment. A large woman in leather. She had to stop as well. At first, she looked at me with surprise, but then she grinned lewdly. "She's in good form today," she said. "I'd take advantage of it." Then she laughed maliciously and walked past me.

I was stunned. It was as if a bomb had exploded next to me and I hadn't yet noticed that I was dead. The other woman had left the door open. I entered, still numb, and shut the door behind me. She stood in front of the bed with her back to me. When she heard the door close, she said angrily, "For the last time: no! Go away!"

"But I just got here." I was still so stunned that I answered her outbreak automatically, as though she'd spoken to me.

She spun around. "You?!" she said, horrified. She looked hot under the collar. Obviously, she'd been buttoning her vest. The two top buttons were still undone, pushing her breasts up over the top in an obscene manner.

This was not the woman I'd expected. She'd known that I was coming, and she'd still "worked" up to the very last minute. Her whole spiel on the telephone and before had only been an act. She just wanted to keep me ready as long as possible. A stupid, infatuated fool who'd do anything for her. An attractive diversion from her routine!

"Yes, me," I said, still dazed, but beginning to feel the anger growing in me. "We had a date. But you've apparently forgotten that."

She stood there, speechless. Of course she was horrified. I'd obviously caught her at the game she was playing with me.

I took a step back. "There's no sense in me staying." I started to turn around.

"Wait," she replied dully. "This is all a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding? I believe we had one of those before, or do I not recall correctly?" I laughed aloud, full of scorn. "I may be dumb, but not so dumb that the same trick works twice with me."

I turned around. I almost had the doorknob in my hand when she said, "This isn't a trick." She sounded like she'd been completely destroyed. But I was already quite familiar with her abilities as an actress. I wasn't about to fall for that again. Now she wanted me wrapped back around her little finger, and if I let her, she'd be able to make me believe anything she wanted. No, I won't do that! I turned the knob.

At the same time, I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Please, don't go," she pleaded.

Yes, she was really good at this! The right tone of voice for every situation. "Why should I stay?" I asked bitterly.

"I want to explain..."

"We've had enough explanations already, don't you think?" My whole body rejected her. I shook her hand from my shoulder and turned back around. She'd put on a robe, a kind of kimono in black. It looked particularly sleazy to me.

"It's not because you slept with another woman. I know that's your... job." I could imagine better than ever that she really did her job with zeal. "But you knew I was coming. We just spoke," I looked at my watch, "not five hours ago on the phone. And you told me some lie along the lines of, ‘I'll be waiting for you.' Was it taking too long for you?" I was so wrapped up in my anger, I could barely stop. Still, I was curious how she intended to straighten this out.

"I didn't lie to you," she contradicted dejectedly. "I waited for you all afternoon." She tried to look me in the eye. I dodged her. "Alone," she continued earnestly.

"How thoughtful of you!" I replied sharply.

She recoiled, hurt. But she still didn't want to give up. "She," she nodded toward the door, "came here an hour ago, unannounced. She was here once before, but I didn't like her. I had told her that I wouldn't make any more appointments with her."

I was astonished. That happened too?

"She wouldn't leave. She tried to... She tried to take it by force." She turned away and took a few steps. Then she turned back to face me.

"Yes, I'm strong enough. She didn't succeed. But she didn't go away easily, either. What was I supposed to do? Call the police?"

Now I understood. This was all supposed to be an excuse for the fact that she'd misgauged the time. "So you did do what she wanted."

"Not everything," she qualified.

"Sure." I was completely cold now. "Why should you pass it up? Such an opportunity? It's not exactly pocket change, now is it?"

Her eyes blazed. Was she furious now? Was she going to hit me, after she'd so clearly resorted to violence with the last woman?

"It's still my profession," she stated extremely calmly.

"Oh, yes," I replied caustically. "I'd forgotten about that." A thought came to my mind, and I spoke it aloud. "And I'm sure she tipped well for the good service, am I right?"

She trembled, unblinking. "She paid more than the usual price," she confirmed. "That is true."

"Well, then," I jeered. "Then at least it was worth the trouble."

She didn't answer. Her expression was unreadable. I couldn't have guessed what she was thinking. But I didn't care, either. Now that everything was over.

I left her standing there.

Chapter 17

S
ince meeting her, I'd thought about nothing else. At least, as little as possible. I noticed this now. I worked late into the night. My colleagues were beginning to joke that I should bring a bed to the office, since I never left anyhow. It was fine with me. I repressed the slightest hint of regret.