Chapter Fourteen
IT HAD BEEN TWELVE hours.
Five orgasms.
Four different locations.
And her husband still couldn’t get enough of her, and she...she was all for it because...aaaah!
Andie gripped the edge of the jet’s bathroom counter, her knuckles white, her legs trembling so badly she would have collapsed if not for Paul’s arm banded around her waist.
He was behind her.
Inside her.
And the mirror in front of them showed everything.
“Watch.” His voice was a dark command against her ear. “Watch what I do to you.”
She couldn’t.
She absolutely couldn’t.
But her eyes lifted anyway, drawn by some force she couldn’t resist, and what she saw made her whole body clench around him.
Paul’s reflection stared back at her, his gray eyes burning, his jaw tight with restraint. His copper hair was disheveled—her fault, from all the times she’d dragged her fingers through it—and his white shirt hung open, revealing the chest she’d mapped with her mouth just hours ago.
And below that—
She could see where they were joined.
Could see him sliding in and out of her, slow and deliberate, each thrust making her body rock forward against the counter.
“Paul—” His name came out broken. Desperate. “I can’t—”
“You can.” He withdrew almost completely, and she whimpered at the loss. “You will.”
He slammed back in.
Andie cried out, her head falling forward, but his hand was immediately in her hair, tilting her face back up.
“I said watch.”
How was she supposed to watch when she could barely think?
Twelve hours ago, she’d been...untouched.
Twelve hours ago, she’d thought she understood what desire meant.
She’d been so, so wrong.
The castle bedroom had been first—that devastating encounter where he’d taken her virginity with such aching tenderness that she’d cried.
Then he’d carried her to the massive stone shower and taken her again, her back against the cold tile, steam swirling around them as hot water cascaded over their joined bodies.
The car ride to the airport should have been a reprieve.
It wasn’t.
He’d pulled her onto his lap the moment the privacy partition went up, and she’d ridden him while the Colorado mountains blurred past the tinted windows, her hands braced on his shoulders, his fingers digging bruises into her hips.
And now this.
The jet’s bathroom, of all places.
She’d only meant to freshen up. To splash water on her face and try to look like a woman who hadn’t been thoroughly ravished for half a day straight.
But Paul had followed her in.
Locked the door behind him.
And before she could say a word, he’d bent her over the counter and pushed her skirt up around her waist.
“You’re not wearing underwear.” The discovery had made his voice go dark and dangerous.
“You ripped them,” she’d reminded him breathlessly. “In the car.”
“So I did.”
And then he’d thrust inside her, and she’d stopped thinking entirely.
That was—she didn’t know how long ago. Minutes? Hours? Time had lost all meaning, reduced to nothing but sensation and need and the relentless rhythm of his body claiming hers.
“One more.” Paul’s pace was increasing now, his control finally starting to fray. “Give me one more, koukla mou.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t. There was nothing left. She’d shattered so many times that she was nothing but pieces held together by his hands.
“You can.” His fingers found that sensitive bundle of nerves, and her whole body jerked. “One more. For me.”
He circled.
Pressed.
And drove into her so deep she felt it in her soul.
“Come.”
The command shattered her.
Andie screamed—actually screamed, the sound echoing off the bathroom’s marble walls—as the orgasm ripped through her with devastating force. Her vision went white. Her body clenched around him in rhythmic pulses. Her legs gave out entirely, and only his arm kept her upright.
She felt him follow her over the edge.
Felt him bury himself to the hilt and hold there, his groan vibrating against her neck, his release flooding her in hot pulses that seemed to go on forever.
When it was finally over, they both sagged against the counter.
Andie couldn’t move.
Couldn’t speak.
Could barely remember her own name.
Paul withdrew carefully, and she whimpered at the loss of him. He turned her in his arms, lifting her easily, and carried her back to the jet’s bedroom.
The sheets were already destroyed from earlier, but neither of them cared.
He laid her down like she was something precious.
Something breakable.
And then he curled around her, pulling her back against his chest, his arm draped protectively over her waist.
“Sleep,” he murmured against her hair. “We have a few hours before we land.”
“Mmm.”
It was all she could manage.
His lips pressed to her temple. His thumb traced lazy circles on her hip. His heartbeat was steady against her back, and wrapped in his warmth, surrounded by his scent, Andie felt herself melting into the mattress.
He was so tender like this.
So gentle.
So different from the man who’d just commanded her to watch while he took her from behind.
It almost made her want to believe that he—
Nope.
Nope nope nope.
Don’t be greedy, Andie.
She had more than she’d ever dreamed of. A husband who wanted her. Who cared for her. Who made her body sing in ways she hadn’t known were possible.
Wanting his love on top of all that?
That was asking too much.
That was setting herself up for heartbreak.
So she closed her eyes, pressed herself closer to his warmth, and let sleep take her.
“Rise and shine, koukla mou.”
Andie slowly woke to the feel of Paul gently running his knuckles down her cheek. She sat up, started to smile at him, and would have if not for what she saw behind him through the windows.
Huh?
She had thought he was taking her back to his home. Or her aunt’s place even. But this—surely, she was wrong. Surely, he couldn’t be...nah.
Her gaze turned back to Paul, remembering that she did have a half-smile to finish...until she saw the way his gray eyes were gleaming, and she just knew.
“You lied!”
She hadn’t meant to yelp so inelegantly, but she forgot about wanting to apologize when Paul simply smiled.
“Did I?”
“You so did,” she accused. “You said you wanted me to wear this dress because we were going out on a date—”
“This is a date.”
Andie pointed to the steady stream of glamorous-looking guests walking inside the all-glass museum. “That’s a party!”
“Indeed.”
“Then you did lie—”
“I beg to differ, koukla mou. We’re having a date while attending a party, and so if you don’t mind—we wouldn’t want to be late, would we?”
Argh!
Andie tried to dig her feet in like a child, but Paul only laughed while Butch struggled but completely failed in keeping a straight face as her husband captured her waist...before using to bodily lift her out of the car.
“This is so not cool, this is—mmph!”
Paul had cupped her face, his mouth already covering hers before she could even think of pushing him away, and when his tongue slipped past her lips, well...of course she could only swooned, the world melting away as her body sank against his.
By the time he lifted his head, she couldn’t even speak, much less think straight. They both knew who had won that round, but still.
“That—that was so unfair!”
Andie glared up at her husband, but his gray eyes only gleamed with amusement. “I never thought I’d say this about anyone, koukla mou...but you are quite the sore loser, and I find that very hot.”
She had no chance to answer, with Paul having already led her up to the entrance doors, and when they stepped inside, everyone’s reaction to him was the usual.
This was what always happened whenever Paul entered a place.
People would stop. Look. Then they’d all rush forward with smiles that made it seem like they needed something that Paul alone could give?
Stop thinking bad thoughts, Andie!
Star had been texting her daily devotionals since the wedding, and thinking such thoughts were definitely against today’s Philippians 4:8.
Anything that she couldn’t guarantee to be true, anything that didn’t honor God or others, anything that wasn’t right, lovely, admirable, excellent or worthy of praise—
God says it wasn’t worth thinking about, and so...no, she would stop assuming these people had ulterior motives in approaching Paul. Unless of course they had proven otherwise beyond reasonable doubt, then in that case...she would have to check what the Bible said next about it.
A server was assigned to escort them to one of the tables in front, and Andie didn’t know if she was being silly, but—
“Your table, sir, madam.”
“Thank you, Hal.”
She just felt so ridiculously proud about the way her husband never failed to thank everyone, and addressing them by names, too!
Paul pulled a chair out for her, and that was when she saw the placement holders.
Mr. and Mrs. Mitropoulos.
She couldn’t take her gaze off it as she took her seat. She was so, so tempted to reach for her phone, but...hesitated at the last second. To take or not to take a photo. That was the question, and—
Paul’s hand rested on the small of her back, distracting Andie from her thoughts as she turned to face him.
“I need to leave you for a moment,” he murmured.
“Oh, um, sure.” Andie smiled at him reassuringly, but as soon as he walked away...she took her phone out, having realized that it was his presence alone that had been holding her back. But now that he was no longer there—
Of course I’m going to take a photo of this, duh!
Andie took her phone out of her purse, but just as she was about to take the sneakiest little photo—
Her phone buzzed, a text message coming in...from Paul?
I’d like a copy of the photo, too, please.
Andie’s face went dark as she dropped her phone back in her purse and crossed her arms over her chest.
Ha!
Did he think he was funny, reading her mind like that?
Did he?
Well, she had news—
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of someone tapping a microphone for attention startled Andie out of her thoughts, and she quickly turned her attention to the stage. The event’s host was already there, and after giving the usual spiel to thank everyone for their attendance and support—
“And now, a word from our keynote speaker and this year’s biggest benefactor—ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Paul Mitropoulos.”
Andie couldn’t understand why her heart suddenly started pounding as Paul took his place behind the microphone.
“As you know, I love being the center of attention—”
Everyone laughed, Andie herself included.
“—so I’ll keep this brief.”
While Paul was no introvert, he was also rather notorious for keeping the press out of his personal life.
“My reason for donating to Full Term goes almost four decades back. Lack of support, mental health problems, financial challenges—there was a lot of factors were in play, and so while I don’t condone her decision, I can understand why my biological mother, a young girl herself, not even eighteen—attempted to have me aborted—”
Gasps broke out from the crowd at his revelation, but this time, Andie was unable to make a sound.
“And failing that, she gave me up to Social Services instead.”
Andie bit her lip hard, but this didn’t stop it from trembling.
“I’ve been pretty open about growing up in foster care, so that part of my life shouldn’t be new to most of you.
But what I’ve never shared until now is how I’ve always known why I ended up that way—and I know I’m going to sound like a vengeful bastard in admitting this, but that also caused me to have a distorted view of the opposite sex in general.
I was even convinced that I’d never trust any woman. But I was wrong.”
As Paul slowly turned her way, everyone also followed suit, and Andie could no longer keep the tears at bay.
“Everything I thought I knew...everything I thought I was sure of...everything changed when I met her.”
No.
God.
No no no.
The look in his eyes...
It was that look.
The one she had been so afraid to put a name to.
Because if it was true—
“Andromeda, my beloved wife.”
Then it was something a liar like her could never deserve.
Paul handed the microphone back to the host, and as everyone around her broke into applause—
Oh God, how?
Her shoulders started shaking at the strength of her sobs.
How did she make this right?
It felt like an eternity had passed before she was able to regain just enough composure to wipe the tears away. Her legs felt like jelly as Andie forced herself to rise, her knees knocking against each other with every step she made.
There was still a huge crowd between Paul and her. Everyone wanted to be near him again, but this time, the reason was easy to see. To feel.
People gravitated toward him without Paul even trying because of who he was. He was and had always been special. He was a cut above the rest, and more so now with how his words had touched everyone else’s hearts...while breaking hers.
AS SHE CONTINUED TO make her clumsy way to Paul’s side, the other guests began to realize who she was, and Andie herself was waylaid with words of praise and requests for having their picture taken with her. She was Paul Mitropoulos’ wife, and thus someone to be seen with by association alone.
It took so much longer than she expected to get close to him, but when Andie was finally within a few steps from where he stood—
Please, God.
Be with me.
Please.
She was about to take another step when another woman came up to him—
“Congratulations, darling.”
No no no no no no no
Andie’s heart dropped to her stomach...while her steps slowed to a crawl.
Joyce.
Her aunt.
She was back.