Two Lonely Souls

Chapter 4

Dinner for Two

Colby nervously rang the doorbell. While he had known where Isabella lived, he really hadn't understood what that meant. The "doormen" were definitely ex-military and to the trained eye were carrying guns. He remembered Isabella telling him there was special security, but he was taken aback by just the security he'd seen so far. He got off the elevator on the top floor, noticing that there were only three doors on the whole floor. He remembered Isabella telling him that Rosa and the yet to be replaced bodyguard lived in smaller apartments across from hers. Nice perk, he thought.

Rosa opened the big mahogany door with a big smile on her face.

"Colby, ha sido tan largo. Vienen por favor los pulg." (Colby, it has been so long. Please come in.)

Colby leaned over the tiny woman, kissing her cheek. "Le he faltaddo tambien. Y algo huele delicioso" (I have missed you too. And something smells delicious. )

"Su espanol necesita una cier ta practica," Rosa teased him as she led him further into the penthouse. (Your Spanish needs some practice.)

Colby looked up at the top of the sweeping staircase to see Isabella watching the fond exchange between himself and Rosa.

"Hey Colby," Isabelle said softly. She started walking down the stairs and he followed her descent, his breath starting to quicken and he felt his heart skip a couple of beats. She was wearing very low riding jeans and a red low cut baby doll top. He noticed the top only buttoned to just below where her bra would be. The rest was unbuttoned so he could see her flat, tan stomach. He thought he was going to have a heart attack right there. She walked towards him, putting her hands on his chest, noticing his breath rate. She raised herself up and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. "Welcome to my home. I'm looking forward to having a normal, well-prepared meal with you instead of hospital food and take out." She could feel his heart beat speeding up and he was trying to control his breathing. Her hands hadn't left his chest, but his big hands landed on either side of her hips with his thumbs rubbing circles on her skin. Now her heart rate and breathing was speeding up. This was going to be a very interesting evening.

Rosa decided now was a good time to leave. "I've got London Broil and everything ready for you in the oven. And there is chocolate mousse in the fridge for dessert. Leave the dishes and I'll take care of them in the morning. You two have a wonderful evening."

When Rosa started to speak , the spell that had been weaving around Colby and Isabella broke and they turned towards her, thanking her and wishing her a good night. As Rosa closed the door and locked it behind her, neither Colby nor Isabella moved. They weren't touching but were still standing very close, both of them of them not sure what to do next.

Isabella finally walked away towards the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink? Wine? Beer? Scotch? Or would you like to go ahead and have dinner?"

Colby followed Isabella. "Since we are having wine with dinner, maybe a glass of wine and a tour of this place? It's huge. And I'd like to see the view as well. Then maybe dinner?"

Isabella smiled at him. "That sounds good, but the tour won't take that long. I wouldn't want you to be disappointed. Here is your wine glass. Let me show you the downstairs first." She took Colby's hand and leisurely led him through the various rooms, the library, pool / game room, the indoor Hydroworx swimming pool and office. He noticed what could only be genuine works of art, either hung on the walls, or statuettes place on cubes or shelves on the walls. There were a few larger pieces of art on stands in the middle of the main room and in the library. The library even had some original editions in a special case to protect them. He perused some of the titles and was very impressed.

"Are these paintings and bronze statues the originals? Monet, Manet, Picasso, Rembrandt the painter, and Rembrandt the bronze sculptor, Munch, Rodin… those are just the ones I recognize from art history class in college."

"They are all originals, some more famous than others. My father and I have pieces on loan to museums around the world."

Then she led him up the huge red carpeted staircase. She showed him the guest rooms, the panic room, which was well stocked with guns behind a secret panel, and then led him to her bedroom. All the furniture was mahogany with intricately carve detail. It had an oversized king sized bed, covered in a red silk comforter. There was a separate area for a reading space and a huge plasma screen hanging on the wall. He had seen a matching one in the main sitting room downstairs as well as the pool/game room. The only thing Colby could think to say was "Wow."

Isabella smiled at him gently. "I understand how all this may seem overwhelming. You might as well check out the bathroom and closet. Get the whole picture before you run away."

Colby walked into the floor to ceiling marbled bathroom, noticing the two or more person Jacuzzi tub, and the mahogany closet. He couldn't imagine what someplace like this cost, and seeing it certainly helped him understand the security downstairs.

Colby walked back to Isabella and put his hands on her hips, pulling her close to him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then looked her in the eyes before kissing her softly on the lips. She opened her mouth, moving her tongue to stroke his lower lip, encouraging him to open his mouth so she could seek out his tongue. Colby quickly deepened the kiss, pulling her tight against his body. Once they needed to come up for air, Colby spoke to her. "Bella, I'll be honest with you. This is so beyond what I can ever imagine my life being like. But I am not going to run away. I'm trying to look at it as a package deal. You come with all this other stuff I'm not used to, but I want you. You. Whatever else, you are the most important to me. When we were downstairs and we were touching each other for the first time since the hospital, I could feel such intensity between us I've never felt before. I want more of that. I have that with you."

Isabella looked up into the jeweled sapphire eyes of Colby. Her eyes filled with tears, and she gave him a watery smile. "I want the same things. I feel that intensity too. I never want to let you go." Colby wiped some of the tears off her face.

"Why are you crying, baby?" He started kissing the salty streaks off of her face.

"I'm just glad that you aren't going to run away. This is my life and I come with it. I know it is scary, but sometimes you might like some of the perks. Now, before I start to cry or throw you on the bed and tear your clothes off, let's go have dinner."

As they left the room hand in hand, Colby leaned over and whispered to Isabella. "Just for the record I'm pretty confident I would be the one throwing you on the bed, not the other way around. I gotta outweigh you by 100 pounds or more."

"Don't underestimate me Agent Granger. I trained with the best of the best in Special Forces. You might be amazed at what I can do. Of course, I did think you wanted to see that red lacy bra after all."

"I would do a lot of things to see that red lacy bra again."

"I guess we'll have to agree no one gets thrown on the bed tonight unless there are extenuating circumstances. And the red lacy bra will remain negotiable."

Their good-natured bickering led them to the dining table. Isabella offered Colby another glass of Opus One and poured one for her.

"Why don't you look around while I get our plates put together? I'll just take a minute."

While Isabella went into the kitchen, Colby wandered over to the floor to ceiling windows that created one whole wall in this huge space. "Bella, aren't you worried about people looking in here, and in your bedroom windows too. If someone wanted to, and you are a pretty big target, they could be watching you day or night."

"Yeah, that was one of my security concerns, of which I have many, hence the security downstairs, cameras, and the keyed elevator. The glass in my penthouse is one way," she said as she walked up beside him. "The view that you see now is perfect, but for someone outside trying to see in, they only see their reflection."

"That's very high tech. And yeah, I saw the 'doormen' downstairs. They look very dangerous, but must be good at their job."

"They are. I only hire Army Rangers, Marines, or Navy Seals. FBI and Secret Service can also be considered. So when you are looking at bodyguards for me, keep that in mind. Dinner is on the table. Would you care to join me?"

The table was set for a very small two person dinner. There were several candles set in the middle of the table surrounded by stargazer lilies. The silver place settings against the deep purple table cloth that matched the deep purple in the stripe of the lilies and the white napkins were gorgeous. Rosa had outdone herself for their first date.

Isabella finished dinner, while Colby had seconds. She had been watching Colby eat and just looking at him was a turn on. She couldn't believe she was going to do this, but she wanted to touch him more—more times, more places. She pushed back her chair and walked over to his. He looked up at her questioningly. "Colby, scoot your chair back a little bit." Colby did as she asked still watching her face to figure out was going on. As she swung one of her legs across Colby's lap, she sat down, her already heated center as close to his own heat as she could get. "I thought since I was finished, I could feed you. Do you mind?"

He wasn't sure if she was asking if he minded her feeding him (No), or mind her sitting in his lap that way (definitely No). He stumbled out a "No" as she picked up his fork and a piece of meat and placed it in his astounded mouth. She watched to see when he was done with his bite and leaned forward to kiss him, urging his mouth open sucking on his bottom lip. She tasted the wine and the sauce from the London Broil. Their tongues dueled, as they ground against each other until she broke apart for another bite for Colby. His hands started roaming her body while she put another piece of meat in his mouth. He moved his hands up towards the promised red lacy bra, moving over her breasts and tweaking the already stiff nipples. She started unbuttoning the short sleeved blue shirt he was wearing. Again, when he had finished she drew towards him for a kiss, but this time he grabbed the back of her head, burying his hands in her incredibly soft hair, bringing her mouth to his, crushing her lips against his, tongues stroking each other. Again, they found themselves grinding against each other. Their jeans were the only thing between them, and she wondered if he could feel her dampness or start to smell her arousal. She could certainly feel his hardness pressing against her. She had a feeling she would not be disappointed.

Colby pulled back and in a deep, aroused voice told her he thought he was done with dinner.

"Are you sure? You didn't eat everything. I wouldn't want you to be hungry or run out of energy later on." Isabella couldn't believe the level of teasing she was doing right now. It wasn't like her at all, but there was something about Colby that made her feel sexy around him, made her want to tease him mercilessly until he couldn't wait to have her.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He put his hands under her ass, scooted his chair back, and stood up with her legs wrapped around his waist. "I think it's time to go practice the throwing on the bed."