April 25, 2018 Update: I wanted to let you all know you can engage with new content and follow my journey as I work towards revising the first draft of my original YA Fantasy novel called Changeling at A Bookish Mama, my personal blog/website.

Original Post:

I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but the titles are song titles because these are the songs I associate with each chapter. I call it interactive reading. Listen to the song while you read the chapter and it sort of takes it to the next level, you know? You may have to put the song on repeat though. I've got the whole playlist saved for when I write and it makes it a little easier to get some inspiration. The first 3 chapters also have songs associated with them and I'll post those as soon as I get the time.

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Fantasy Lover

By: MoonyGirl'04

Chapter 9: Better Than Me

The scent of chocolate mingled with coffee in the warm afternoon air. Darien had an arm wrapped around Serena's bare waist as they lay in bed, nibbling on brownies and sipping cappuccinos. Darien went from his brownie to Serena's neck, not knowing which one tasted better. Serena had all but forgotten her treats as she held onto Darien, snuggling into his chest happily. It was Heaven on Earth. But how long would it last? That question haunted both their minds as they lazed about the pent house. Already they'd made love 3 times that morning, not even counting how many times they'd done so the night before. They were both happily exhausted and yet still couldn't get enough of each other. Serena supposed that's what love was. A constant ache to be near them, to touch them, to reach those heights of pleasure together. But what would happen when the retreat was over?

Darien had finished his brownie and coffee and was now amusing himself with nibbling on Serena's ear and teasing her jaw line with his lips. Serena could feel his penis hardening again and was surprised at how quickly her body responded. It was like a chain reaction, when one of them felt the need, the other was soon to follow. Serena's lips met his in a deep kiss and he positioned his body over hers, his erection dipping into her already moist core when the bell rang.

"Shit," Darien cursed. Serena could feel him throbbing on the verge of her vagina, contemplating ignoring the caller. She resisted the urge to raise her hips, knowing it was probably an important issue for somebody to interrupt the CEO unannounced. He sighed as he pulled away, running to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face and then throwing on a pair of pants and a t-shirt. "Someone had better be dead," Darien growled, throwing a longing look at Serena who was still stretched across the bed, her legs open and ready.

Serena giggled and pulled herself to a sitting position, listening as Darien stomped across the living room floor and pushed the button on the elevator speaker.

"What is it?" he barked.

"Mr. Shields?" an elderly woman's voice echoed. "This is Elaine Keiger. I was wondering if you might have a couple of minutes to discuss the merger. And I will require a few more signatures to insure the job security of my employees. That is, if you care to leave your lady friend…"

Darien released a string of obscenities as he raced back to the bedroom and threw on a button down shirt, hastily tucking it in. "I'll be back in less than an hour," he promised Serena, giving her lips a peck before flying back out the door. The elevator dinged as it closed and Serena leaned back into the pillows, sighing. Unlike Darien, a quick splash of cold water wasn't enough to quell the flame he'd kindled. She stood gingerly and made her way to the bathroom, hopping in the shower and letting the cool water calm her down.

As the shower was running Serena heard the elevator open and grinned, quickly shutting off the shower and wrapping up in her robe. "That was fast…" she giggled as she walked through the bedroom doorway.

Bret was leaning against the living room doorframe, smirking. "What a welcome." He snickered, running his eyes over her dripping form barely hidden by her silk robe.

"What are you doing here? Darien stepped out for a minute, he'll be right back." Serena replied, standing her ground, refusing to cross her arms over her chest and look at all defensive.

"No he won't. I made sure of that." Bret pushed himself from the doorframe and sauntered across the room planting himself just a few inches from Serena. Serena's heart responded to the proximity, hammering against her ribs painfully as her eyes widened. She was scared but she couldn't show it. That's what he wanted.

"Why would you do that?" Serena asked point blank.

"Because I wanted to rent you for the afternoon and I'm sure Darien wouldn't want to share." He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and forced it in Serena's hand. Her fingers clasped it, but her eyes stayed on Bret's.

"I'm sorry but I'm not available, I'm engaged to Darien. Whatever this means to you," she shoved the money back at Bret. "You're wrong."

Bret laughed and extended the money back towards Serena. "No, I'm not." Serena looked at the money for one second before she turned around to flee to the bedroom balcony. She didn't know how she was going to escape from a penthouse balcony but at least somebody could hear her screaming. Bret grabbed her wrist before she got a foot away and crushed her to his chest, propelling her to the bed and pushing her down on it, knocking the wind out of her in his swiftness. "Excited are you? You should be. Darien is a child compared to me." He chuckled. He straddled her with his legs, pinning her to the bed as he removed his shirt.

"Please don't." Serena whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. The shock of what was happening kept her from crying out. She was a prostitute. Maybe she deserved what she got. Bret smirked before reaching for the tie on her robe and yanking it open, exposing Serena to his ogling eyes. His hands reached for her bare breasts, grasping them and pulling at them roughly. Serena closed her eyes, trying to imagine it was Darien touching her, but he would never hurt her like Bret was. He would never force himself on her. Bret moved his legs so he could grip Serena's hips and she felt his erection on her thigh, pulsing a sick heat against her skin. She clenched her thighs together and pulled her arms over her chest, her eyes still squeezed tight. If he hadn't had a grip on her knees she'd have curled into a ball, shut tight like a clam.

Bret laughed as he forced her thighs apart, trailing his hand up her skin and sticking a finger inside of her. It felt like Serena was losing her virginity all over again. As he pushed his finger in and out of her she cried. Her tight muscles refused to loosen and it felt like he was stabbing her. She cried out in pain as he forced his finger as deep inside of her as it would go.

"That's right, it's better than anything that nub of Darien's can give you isn't it?"

"You're hurting me!" Serena cried, pulling her arms tighter against her chest.

"You're just not used to the size." He positioned himself over her and whispered in her ear. "And that's just my finger." He laughed.

Serena whimpered as he pushed his hips to hers, preparing to enter her when suddenly he disappeared. Her eyes snapped open and she saw Darien standing above her, eyes wide and chest heaving. Bret was slumped against the bedroom wall, holding a bleeding ear and grinning at Darien.

"C'mon Darien. Friends are supposed to share." Bret laughed, standing slowly.

Darien ignored him and looked at Serena. "What's going on here?"

Serena was stunned into silence. She couldn't explain it to him. It was too horrifying. "He…knows." She gasped. That was all it took. Darien pulled Bret by his arm out of the bedroom and through the living room to the elevator.

"What gives you the right to invade my privacy, Bret? What the hell were you trying to prove?"

"Everyone glorifies you, only I know the trash you really are. I was just proving my hypothesis that your fiancé is a prostitute. She was certainly willing enough to climb into bed with me for a few hundred."

Darien spat in his face and threw him on the floor in front of the elevator doors. "You get out of my room. And if you tell anybody about any of this I swear I'll have you destroyed. And I know people Bret. Hundreds more than you and certainly more influential people than you could ever imagine. Remember that." The elevator opened and Bret limped onto it, scowling at Darien.

Serena was curled up on the bed when Darien came back in and when he sat beside her she wrapped her arms around his neck with a sob. Darien held her as she cried, rubbing her bare back and whispering comforting words in her hair. As she began to quiet her pulled her face out of his shoulder to look her in the eye.

"I need to know exactly what happened." He said. Serena nodded and wiped her cheeks with her still clenched fists.

"I need…shower first, please." She whimpered.

"Okay. Do you want me to come with you?"

"NO!" she cried. She hurried to the bathroom and closed and locked the door leaving Darien on the bed. He heard the shower shut on and sighed. He knew that something horrendous had happened in his absence that led to Bret and Serena naked on his bed. He stood up quickly and called the front desk, ordering new sheets for the bed immediately. Then he picked up Bret's shirt from the floor (he'd managed to grab his pants) and tossed it in the fireplace, turning the dial to full blast. The flame burst to life in a violent spurt, engulfing the cotton easily and turning it to ash in a matter of minutes. The maid buzzed in next and quickly and artfully changed the sheets and made up the bed, smiling briefly at Darien as he tipped her before she left. The money laying on the bedroom floor was the next thing to go, he tossed it into the smoking flame, watching as the paper curled and turned to ash, until all that remained was a lump of blackened tar.

The shower shut off and Darien waited the couple of minutes it took for Serena to throw on a pair of jogging pants and t-shirt and to braid her hair before coming out of the bathroom and re-joining him on the bed.

"Thank you." She said, indicating the bed. She looked at the blazing fire for a second before taking a deep breath and meeting his eyes.

"He knows I'm a prostitute. I don't know how he found out. I've been getting weird vibes from him since I met him at the bar…that day you um…you know." Serena stuttered. "He came in right after you left and said he sent you away and then he offered me money." Here she got a determined look in her eye. "But I didn't take it. I mean, I held it but I didn't want it. I want you to know that. Anyway, I took off toward the balcony but he caught me." She held up her red and already swollen wrist and Darien took hold of it, rubbing soothing fingers over the throbbing flesh. Serena closed her eyes and sighed before continuing. "Then he…he forced himself on top of me and…he touched me." She tried to keep her voice steady, but it still cracked a little. "He would have raped me if you hadn't come in."

"Do you want to press sexual assault charges?" Darien asked immediately, still stroking her arm.

"I can't." Serena whimpered. "He'll expose you."

Darien placed a hand on her chin and Serena opened her eyes. "This isn't about me. Don't even worry about that."

Serena shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I still can't. What I do is illegal and it could hurt you and my mom and the girls I work with. I just can't…" she cried, squeezing her eyes shut. Darien kissed her forehead and pulled her against his chest, pulling her down on the bed slowly to hold her. But Serena's thoughts had turned inwards and they were racing a mile a minute as Darien soothed her physically. What had happened to her body today had been nothing. She'd relinquished rights to it years ago. But the danger she'd brought upon Darien and her mother and Raye and Mina…it was almost too much to bear. She loved them all too much to have her actions affect them. And yet she'd compromised her secret. Somehow. Bret had seen that she was a prostitute and it was her fault. She was marked. She suppressed a sob as she wondered how many other people knew her secret just by looking at her or even talking to her. She might as well have a big, red, "A" tattooed on her forehead.

It was too risky to stay any longer. She had to leave. As soon as she could. She'd have to convince Darien she was okay or she'd never have an opportunity to escape. To save him from her. She wrapped her arms around his chest and hid her face in his shoulder, breathing in his scent, kissing his warm skin. The thought of leaving him was almost too much to bear, but the thought of causing him trouble outweighed that. Darien's lips moved her forehead to her eyes and nose. Serena moaned and raised her lips to meet his. If they could have one more night together perhaps that would be enough to carry her through the rest of her life. Bret would not be her last. Darien would.

Darien pulled away as her hands focused on his pants, working at the button. "Serena," he sighed, pulling away. "You've had a traumatizing experience. We can't do this now, you need time to heal."

"No…I want to forget him. Please…Darien; erase his touch from my mind." Serena pleaded, looking up at him imploringly through her long eyelashes, hoping her vulnerable position would weaken him. It did. He lips came down on hers and his hands roved her body, leaving burning trails on her skin. After Bret, Darien's touch was divine and Serena felt herself responding immediately.

"I love you." Darien whispered, pulling away again and looking into her eyes.

Serena blinked back her tears and smiled up at him. "I love you." He smiled back down and returned to kissing her as tears slid down Serena's cheeks, staining the silk pillowcase beneath her head.

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It's not perfect but here it is. School is kicking my butt. I've never been much for editing but this is pretty raw, even for me. Lots of love and stay cool! I have fall break this week (and a three page paper) so hopefully I'll pop out another chapter for next week.