INTO YOUR ARMS, OF COURSE/CH 5
As he looked over at Betty in his arms, Daniel felt his heart racing. A few weeks ago, he simply thought of her as his sweet, funny, smart best friend. He would likely not have pictured them as a romantic couple when they first met. But the minute he started trying to remind himself that dating Betty, that WANTING her at all while he was still her boss was wrong, was illicit, that she was "forbidden fruit", all of a sudden she was all he could think about! He blamed his mother for planting that little idea in his head.
He knew that because Connor was engaged to Mary she was off limits, too. Wait, it wasn't Mary, it was…what was her name again? Actually, he had heard gossip around Mode recently that the girl, whatever her name was, (that girl that had literally fell on top of him and he had sort of been thinking about pursuing before) had dumped Connor and of course, he had immediately run to Wilhelmina. As cool a guy as Connor was, Daniel felt sorry for the man if he was going to sleep with the devil herself! It certainly didn't end well for his father! Perhaps he should warn his friend about his own experience with her sister!
But the minute he kissed Betty, he knew…she was the one for him. Here he had been running around, sleeping with woman after woman all these years, wasting his time with meaningless sex that never filled the hole in his heart and of all things, his old man had ended up hiring the one woman he really couldn't live without!
The more he got to know her, he realized that not only did he "need her", and want her, but he saw what he knew deep down all along, that perhaps in spite of what she even thought about herself, she had always been beautiful. Betty had come to Mode to rescue Daniel, to help save all those "beautiful people" there who were ugly inside.
"Mm…this place is so beautiful! I can't believe I'm really in PARIS!" Betty was watching out the window excitedly.
He chuckled, watching her delighted expression, "Yeah, this is your first time here, isn't it, sweetie?"
"It's my first time ANYWHERE outside the U.S.! Well, except for Mexico, thanks to you! You really have helped me get out of my comfort zone, Daniel! Thank you!" she hugged him warmly.
"You really don't have to keep thanking me, Betty! Knowing you, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you traveled to all kinds of places on your own. If anything, I know I've been sort of the reason you stayed at Mode as long as you have." He took a deep breath. "I really have been holding you back, haven't I? I'm sorry for that!"
"That's not true!"
"Come on, Betty! You want to tell me that if I wasn't your boss, say if you worked for Wilhelmina or somebody else, you would have stayed at Mode all this time? I thought you said it wouldn't have been your first choice out of all the magazines at Meade Publications, that it was only slightly better than working at Player! You said you want to work at a magazine that speaks to you, that helps its readers with important things going on in the world-besides fashion!"
"Well, okay, yes, maybe some of that's true. Okay, fine, all of it's true! But I really didn't mind. You needed me. I wanted to work with you."
He smiled, "Ditto! We do make a great team, don't we?"
"We really do! You know, I think…even if we are doing our own thing, like me with YETI, we have to eventually find a way back to each other at work. I would miss you too much if I can't see you all the time! You've sort of become…the man in my life, Daniel."
"Yeah, you've become the woman in mine, too! I agree; we need to figure out how we're going to still work together, only now without me being your boss. I really like NOT being your boss! I can keep doing this." He leaned down to kiss her and after a few minutes, she pulled him even closer to deepen the kiss, then began running her hands through his hair.
The taxi driver rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Mon Dieu! Are you two how you say, the newlyweds? Is this the honeymoon? You can stop now! Voila! We are here, at your 'otel! You can make love here all you want! Bonne nuit!"
Daniel found himself almost blushing at the driver's annoyance with their making out. He really was spoiled, back in New York all these years, having his own private driver, who was always extremely discreet, no matter how crazy Daniel had gotten in the back seat with his "dates" in the past!
Still, it felt special, making out with Betty. She was different. She wasn't just "any girl". She was…like sunshine, sweet, brilliant, funny, gorgeous, totally amazing! She was …Daniel's girl! He grinned, holding her hand and kissing it, then helping her out of the back seat, "Yep, voila! We're here! FINALLY! It only took us three years to see what was right in front of us! And you're damn right we're going to make love all we want! Which is a lot!"
She bit her bottom lip and nodded, smiling back at him, realizing she wasn't even really all that worried about the silly driver, giving them a hard time for kissing too much. Or even what he had said about them making love-a lot!
She was somewhat intimidated because of Daniel's past, but she wasn't really afraid to be with him. He was her best friend, after all. It wasn't as if he was some stranger. She knew him very, very well. And he knew her just as well.
She knew he would be sweet and tender and amazing. Now if she could just try and relax and enjoy this , if she could tell her brain to not worry about being her usual (somewhat clumsy) self!
One good thing about going from friends to lovers was how well they knew each other. They could read one another's body language and that should work well in them finally taking things to that "next level". As long as she didn't start letting herself get too freaked out. It was sex after all. With Daniel! Just breathe, Betty! DO NOT HYPERVENTILATE! That is definitely NOT sexy!
"Betty? Are you okay, honey? Are you freaking out? Please don't freak out! Then I'M going to freak out! Then who's going to give me a blow job? I mean…Pep talk! Geez! God, see what I mean? Now, you've got me freaking out! This is supposed to be fun! Not stressful!"
She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Daniel Meade actually freaking out and acting nervous-about sleeping with her! It was sort of sweet really.
He frowned, "Are you laughing at me? Hey! That's not nice! I do actually know what I'm doing, you know! This might be something I know more about than you for once!"
"I don't know if that's a good thing or not, Daniel! I'm going to say it is, because having background knowledge is almost always a good thing. But…I'm just laughing because you meant to say pep talk before and well…you didn't! I'm sure you know what you're doing!"
"Well, yeah, but…so do you! It's not like you've never been in a relationship before. I mean, even if I wasn't…didn't…you know, have my particular…"
"Set of skills?" she giggled, trying to sound like Liam Neeson and utterly failing.
He rolled his eyes, shoving her shoulder lightly, "I was going to say past, smarty pants! But, whatever! That was a terrible accent, by the way! Anyway, I'm ten years older than you, so…"
"I know the math! So why do you always act like a five year old?"
He raised his eyebrow, "Oh my God, Betty, will you please stop interrupting me, woman? I was going to say, that because I'm older than you it's kind of understandable that I have a lot more experience! But you're a very fast learner! So, don't be afraid."
"I'm not afraid."
"You act like you are!"
"No I don't! It's not that. I trust you. We know each other. It's…I'm just…a little intimidated. Because of your experience, yes. But also because of the type of women you've been with. You've never been with a girl like me before."
He smiled, as he opened the hotel room, and pulled her inside after him and leaned her against the inside of the door, "Betty, honey, there IS no one else like you! You're absolutely one of a kind! And trust me, I mean that in a very, very good way! Now that I can finally have you, I feel like a kid in a candy store!"
She fought back tears, "You really…feel that way? About me?"
"Yes, I do! Hey! There's no crying in…sex!" he teased.
"Says who? Tom Hanks?"
He took both her hands one by one and kissed the inside of her palms tenderly, then held them up over her against the door, as he kissed her passionately, and whispered,
"Says me! I mean it, Betty! Smile! You know I'll take care of you. All you have to do is tell me what you need. If you want me to go very slow, we'll go slow. I can actually be a gentleman, believe it or not. I can wait. You're absolutely worth waiting for. But if you want us to totally let loose, and go crazy on each other, then…I can definitely do that, too. I'm just here to…please you, Betty!"
She gulped, her eyes widening slightly as he began exploring her collarbone, then slid her hair aside while he moved down to her breast, sliding down her blouse slowly and deliberately. His kisses were both soft and tender, and his wandering hands worked their magic, finding their way to every bit of her body. He had expertly removed her blouse and skirt and she felt him run his hands over her rear.
While her senses were tingling, he had steered them both slowly and deliberately towards the huge king-sized bed in the suite. She was so aware of their bodies and how incredible he was making her feel, she barely noticed the gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower through the window that led to a small balcony in their room. Still, she had to say something, so she widned her eyes, and pointed, "Beautiful view!"
He opened his eyes and looked over at the outside view quickly, then smirked, as he leaned down and turned her enough to get a good look at her in her bra and panties and grinned and nodded, "Yep! Absolutely beautiful!"
She blushed at first, then kissed him intensely, and smiled, pushing him forcefully onto the bed, "You remember what you said before about telling you what I need? Like…how I wanted us to…make love? Slow and easy or…let loose and go nuts? Well, I say, let's do both!"
"Your wish is my command, my lady!" he pulled her down on top of him, and used his magic fingers to remove her bra, then worked his magic fingers and mouth making his way down her body, delighting every inch of her as he went.
She saw him kissing her toes, massaging her feet, then her legs, then she sucked in as he moved up her thighs, and made eye contact with her to ensure her approval and delight as he teased her mercilessly before plunging into her slowly and deliberately at first, then faster and faster until she cried out his name.
He held back, making sure she was thoroughly satisfied, several times, until he couldn't stop himself from falling over the edge, too, shouting out his own orgasm. As he finished, Betty saw that his eyes were glossy. When they both collapsed, exhausted, next to one another, she reached up and brushed away his tears, "Hey, Mr. smart guy! I thought you said there was 'no crying'!"
"Shut up! I'm not crying! You're crying!" he turned his head away, seeming embarrassed at first.
She grabbed him and kissed him tenderly, then leaned her forehead against his, "Hey, it's sweet that you are! Listen, Daniel, I love you, you know! I'm not the type of girl who does this with someone I don't feel that way about. You're a very special, sweet, kind-hearted man and I think I'm falling madly, deeply in love with you! And…that's not just the sex hormones talking! You need to know how amazing you are! I think that… Christina was right all along when she told me I was addicted to you!"
The smile spread across his face, filling her with warmth, as he kissed her several times, then grinned like a little boy who just got his first bicycle, "Yeah? You really…love me, Betty? God, sweetie, I'm so totally crazy for you, too! I know I love you, Betty! Shut the door!" he said softly.
She looked at him strangely, "Shut the door? It's…um…already closed. Remember? We shut it when we first came inside!"
He made a face, then rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry! I really do SUCK at French! I was trying to say JUHH TA DOOR! You know, I love you, en Francay or whatever! Sorry! I'm not good at foreign languages!"
She giggled, and nodded, "It's fine! I suck, too! I told you, when I was in Mexico, I was trying to say I was embarrassed but apparently, I told my cousins there that I was pregnant! But how are you going to be able to work here? I don't know if that many people in France speak English! Maybe you could have Alexis translate for you?"
He made a face, "I guess. I hate the idea of needing her help, though! But you're right; as soon as I'm out of the touristy parts of France, they don't really speak English much here, do they?"
Betty's eyes lit up as she had a thought, "Not here, maybe, but they definitely speak English in England! Heck, they invented it!"
He snorted, "Wow, Betty! Yes, I know, honey! I might not always be quite as smart as you, but even I know that much!"
She laughed, "I'm not making fun of you, Daniel. I'm reminding you that you don't have to stay here! You can always go to England! It's really close, so you can still spend a lot more time with DJ and Alexis, but you don't have to worry about not knowing the language! Oh, and you know, when I finish YETI, I can always check out Dunne Publishing there. Lindsay Dunne is the biggest publisher in London!"
Daniel frowned slightly, "Well, yeah, now, but not if I move there!"
She smiled, "Daniel Are you jealous? Of Lindsay Dunne? You do know-he's like your father's age, silly! And I was only thinking about talking to him for a job! I don't want to date him! Not when I have you! I do…have you, don't I? You'll wait for me to finish the training? I mean, it's a whole semester, though!" She hesitated, looking concerned.
He kissed her again, taking her breath away, again, "So? Betty, honey! Come on! Don't you be silly! Of course, you 'have me' and I'll wait for you! And England is a great idea, thank you! And…I am NOT jealous of some…old guy, okay? Besides, who says I'm even going to BE in publishing anymore, huh? Necessarily! I'm going to start over completely! Maybe somewhere where my last name isn't on the building. Hell, I might … become a philanthropist! That way, I can use my charm to charm other spoiled, rich people like me out of their money!"
She laughed, kissing him back, "Well, yes, you ARE definitely very charming! You certainly 'charmed the pants off me'!"
He rolled his eyes, but laughed, kissing her, then holding her, "You got that right! No pants for you, Miss Suarez! You look much better without clothes!"