14. Desperate Measures
14
DESPERATE MEASURES
RICHARD
Vivian sat across the room in the hotel suite, elegantly poised on the arm of the plush sofa as she gazed out the window at Albany’s snowy landscape.
The moonlight caught her chestnut hair, making it shine—utterly captivating. Though we had finally found ourselves alone, she immediately asked for a glass of wine and a few moments to herself to decompress from the day.
I couldn’t fault her; with Adrien’s unexpected arrival, the heated confrontation, and the shocking revelation from the paternity test—a revelation that declared Paris as my daughter—anyone would be overwhelmed.
I had handled transferring the money to Adrien’s account, and at last, my driver confirmed that Adrien had left the hotel and was en route to the airport. With him out of the picture, I could now devote myself to Vivian for the night.
She sipped her wine, crossing one leg over the other in a way that could make any man weak, but she was here with me, the only man she’d ever need, if I could convince her of that.
Aware of the charged silence between us, I casually set a copy of the paternity test results on the coffee table—a seemingly simple piece of paper that had changed my life in an instant. Paris was my daughter. Now it was time to claim her mother.
“Feeling better?” I asked as I stepped closer, hooking my thumbs in my belt loops.
“Yes,” she replied after another sip.
I leaned against the tall window, deliberately ignoring the view, and fixed my gaze on her.
“What are you doing?” she asked with a sly smile, raking her eyes down my front.
“I’m savoring this moment,” I replied, reaching for her glass and downing the last of the wine before setting it aside. Without resistance, she allowed me to pull her into my arms.
“Is that so? And what exactly are you thinking about?” Her tone was teasing, yet tinged with uncertainty.
“Not what. Who… We have an incredible daughter.”
“We do.” Her hands caressed up my arms and locked behind my neck. “I think she’s going to love having you for a father.”
“And she means everything to me. But so does her mother.” With a light touch, I traced my thumb along her jawline. “You’re so fucking sweet and sexy, Vivian, like the perfect cupcake.”
“Cupcake?” She arched her brow with a chuckle.
“That’s you. Miriam used to buy our favorite cupcakes for our birthdays growing up. I always scoured the box at first opening to find the perfect one to eat, and only that one. I wouldn’t touch the others.”
“Only the best for you? So spoiled.” She grinned and rolled her eyes.
“Damn right. And I’ve wanted you from the moment we met.”
“You had me once before.” Her pulse quickened under my thumb at her neck—a reaction that stirred a primal satisfaction within me. At long last, this mesmerizing woman was in my arms.
“Believe me, I’m overjoyed our first union gave us our precious daughter. Wish I could remember every second of it with you. Tonight, though, I’m aiming for mutual satisfaction—a night neither of us will ever forget,” I murmured softly while running my fingers through her hair. She leaned deeper into my caress.
“Only one?” She challenged me. Her intense gaze ignited a flame within me. That blend of defiance and vulnerability disarmed me completely. “If all you want is one night, we should stop. It wouldn’t do either of us any favors starting out having another one night stand. We have our daughter to think about. She has to be our priority.”
“You’re misreading my intentions. I told you before. I want you. A second chance at something real.”
After a prolonged pause, she said, “It won’t be easy for me to trust again. Look at how quick I was to jump to conclusions when you walked your therapist to the car.”
“I’ll make it easy for you. Whatever it takes. Tonight isn’t one night, Vivian, but the first of many, if I get my way.”
“And I suppose you always do?”
“I rarely lose.”
“So I’m a conquest? A trophy to be had?”
“No, stop putting words into my mouth. You’re the mother of my child. I’m in awe of you, and have total respect for you. I’d give you and Paris a life you deserve, and I believe you know that. So if you would kindly set aside all your fears and give me a chance.”
The corner of her lips curled up. “Tough negotiator, Mr. Buchanan.”
“Mr. Buchanan?” I questioned, although I liked her saying it. My desire intensified, cock thick and greedy, straining against my zipper.
“Not fair you calling me cupcake. So yes. Mr. B, you get a nickname, too.”
God help me if those words didn’t fire me up. I claimed her lips, pouring everything I had into a single, deep kiss.
"You think you're pretty irresistible, don't you?" she teased against my mouth, sarcasm melting into desire.
“Nothing would make me happier than knowing you’ve wanted me from the start, Vivian,” I growled. I turned her body around to face the window. She gasped when I placed both her palms on the glass above her head. My hands trailed down her sides, then with one I gathered her hair to the side, giving me access to the back of her neck. I planted kisses there, her soft moans like music.
“Tell me you’ve wanted me.” I wouldn’t give up pursuing this. Yes, I was spoiled—if by spoiled it meant I’d do anything to keep her and make her mine.
My other hand caressed the front of her, palming her nipples through the fabric of her sweater. I skimmed down her torso landing at the apex of her thighs, not deterred by her gasp—and she didn’t stop me.
Through her leggings, I rubbed her heated center, her body squirming at my touch. She arched her ass against my cock her breath catching when she realized what I had waiting for her there. “Feel what you do to me? Tell me, Vivian. You’ve wanted me all this time. Say it,” I demanded.
“Oh, Richard… I have. I want you. Yes!” At last she let me in.
I let her hair go and snaked my arm around the front of her. I held her wrapped in my embrace, pressed against me, where I could claim her.
“Give Albany a good show, cupcake,” I dared her, reaching a hand under her sweater. I tugged down the cup of lace, kneading her breast. My fingers tweaked her nipple to a peak.
I shifted my fingers under the waistband of her leggings, into her panties. Skin on skin, her center hot as fuck. My fingers explored her slick seam, then strummed her clit. She cried out, grinding against my hand. Whatever friction she needed to achieve her first orgasm with me. First of many.
“I-I can’t believe we’re doing this here…” She moaned through her pants, fighting against her rising tide. “What if someone sees?”
“Let the world know how much I desire you. Come for me, Vivian.”
“Oh, God. It’s been so long?—”
“Use me then. Let yourself go and let me hear my name on your lips when you do.”
She clung to me tightly, her cries escalating from my relentless pursuit of her. As her breath hitched and then paused, she unraveled in my embrace, arching against me.
“Ooh, yes. Richard!” Her body became an earthquake, tearing down every last brick of the wall standing between us.
“You soaked my hand. Beautiful, baby,” I kissed her temple, nuzzling my face next to hers and giving her a moment’s rest while I sucked and tasted her sweet nectar from my fingers. When done, she twisted her head and kissed me, tasting herself on me.
Swaying with her in my arms, I peered out at the moonlit night, the stars above and the world below. All the worries about our daughter’s condition still existed, but tonight my focus was on giving Vivian all the tender care she needed, too.
I turned her back around. “I’ll be wanting more tastes of you later. But right now, I need you,” I gave voice to the greed yearning for her had created, and ground myself into her.
“I need you, too.” On her invitation, we staggered toward one of the bedrooms, frantically kissing and shedding clothes toward inevitable surrender. Her sweater joined my sweatshirt on the floor, while my belt clattered near the door.
We both kicked our shoes off, but her leggings turned into a walking challenge as I attempted to remove them on the way to the bed. I nearly tripped her while tearing them off. Only her black bra and panties remained untouched.
I paused so I could appreciate the view of the lacy things I’d purchased for her to wear. “I hope you never get tired of me calling you beautiful.”
All smiles, she fumbled with the zipper of my jeans, then her hands wandered under my t-shirt to help pull it off. She bit her lip, lazily crawling her fingertips along the contours of my muscles.
“I remember this view—you are one sexy man, Mr. B. In fact, according to all the nurses, you’re a man they’d like to F-U-C-K.”
I flinched from her tickles, chuckling, and grabbed her wrists. I pinned them behind her back, pressing her to me. “They’ll never get a chance. All I see is you. You’re it, Vivian. Remember? The perfect cupcake.”
“I’d like to trust you.” She kissed and sucked along my chest.
“Then do. I’ve wanted you from the moment we met. And something you should know. Whatever a Buchanan wants, they get.”
“Family motto?” She cocked her head.
“Pretty much. You might as well commit it to memory now, after all, Paris is half of me.”
“I seem to be learning a lot about Buchanans lately. Anything else I should know?”
“Yeah. To become one, we have an initiation where we make you drink the blood of a lion on a full moon night and pledge allegiance to the family crest.”
“What?” Her eyes widened.
“I’m kidding.” I backed her up to the bed until we tumbled onto it. Our breathless laughter mingled with soft moans as we adjusted amid the plush linens, a tangle of limbs and longing.
“You were far more suave in Paris last time, carrying me to bed and undressing me,” she teased.
“I’m more desperate to get inside of you this time. I won’t last long. If you can handle my impatience now, next time I promise to be twice as suave,” I murmured against her neck, savoring the sweet taste of her skin while hovering over her.
“I’ll hold you to that,” she replied, adding a moan of my name as I ground my hips into hers.
I moved lower, devoting my mouth and tongue to worship her breasts, her nipples, and every inch of her. I trailed my fingers under her panties again, and along the seam from her slick entrance to her sensitive center. Then I shimmied her panties off, down her lean legs. I added my mouth to pleasure her there, tasting her again.
She gasped, “Oh, don’t ever stop,” as her hands played through my hair like her private playground, and pulled me deeper into her.
“Never stop,” I vowed, kissing the inside of her creamy thighs. “You’ve been all I’ve thought about. Out of my mind. Have to have you.”
I lavished her with my tongue until she came again. The taste of her was better than the finest cuisine; and I’d had the privilege of dining with some of the best chefs in the world.
Knowing how good I pleased her shot through me like a bolt of lightning. The tension coiled tighter inside of me, my cock in agony and in need of release. I undressed myself the rest of the way then caught her appreciative stare at my length and girth.
“Best view in Albany?” My coy grin locked in place as I returned on top, sliding her legs open with my knee.
“Yes, you are. Condom?”
“Damn. Right. Condoms. Hold on,” I quickly grabbed one from my wallet and sheathed myself, torn between spontaneity and caution. Although the image of her pregnant with our second child teased my mind, a distant possibility with our second chance…
“I’m on the pill this time,” she assured me, removing her bra. “Although I don’t know why, when I haven’t been with a man in so long. I’ve probably forgotten how.” Like arrows, that struck my heart and ego, setting my pulse on edge.
Our surroundings blurred. All my eyes could focus on was her radiant beauty in the center of the bed, and the apex of her thighs.
Tonight, I needed to be joined with her.
I pressed the head of my arousal against her warm center, inching in through her wet walls. My cock stretched her, eager for our bodies to reacquaint. Her ragged breaths dialed me in how far to push. Once seated inside of her fully, I had little control left, squeezing back the urge to release. All of her so familiar, like I’d found my way back to our one special night in Paris.
Between our fervent kisses, I growled into her mouth, “Fuck, you’re perfect for me, Vivian. Such a good girl for me…”
She moved with instinct, rocking her hips against me as her feet dug into my rear, providing the leverage that made our passion all the more pleasurable.
With each thrust, every moan that escaped her lips unhinged me, the deep scratches of her nails on my back intensifying. Changing angles, putting one of her legs on my shoulder, I aimed deeper for that exquisite spot of hers, in and out, adding the pressure of my thumb to her clit.
“Yes, Richard,” she chanted my name, as I coaxed her into deeper waves of pleasure, requiring another orgasm from her before I could claim my own.
Her heat set every inch of my skin ablaze as I drove into her, until her body arched, shuddering in response. My own climax chased hers like an all-consuming fire.
We were perfection together—in my mind, the only description for us.
We collapsed onto our backs, fighting for breaths. Catching her eyes, we laughed, the first time all week I’d seen her this relaxed.
“You needed that,” I teased.
“I did. You, too. And you provided, exactly like you’ve been there for me this whole time. You’re too good for me.”
Up on my elbow, I kissed her. “I’m giving you everything you deserve. Be right back.”
I quickly cleaned up in the bathroom, then brought a washcloth back to bed and cleaned her, too. With her as my little spoon, where she fit perfectly under my chin, we rested. She fell asleep quickly, no surprise given the strain she’d been under lately.
The past seven years were nothing more than a detour in our timeline we were never supposed to take. But tonight we put everything back on track.