I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him on top of me. “I love that idea.”
“I knew you would,” he said as he began unbuttoning my top.
After a session of crazy sex that pretty much destroyed the bed, Ian and I showered and got ready to go down to Jean Georges. As I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup, I heard Ian on the phone.
“Can you send up the maid to fix our bed? We’ll be leaving the room in about ten minutes. Thank you.”
“Ian!”
“What?” he asked.
“How embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing?”
“You having the maid come up here and fix the bed. She’s going to know what we did and how crazy it was. Look at it,” I said as I pointed to the bed.
Ian laughed and he wouldn’t stop. “Rory, this is a hotel. People fuck in hotels. Half the time, that’s why they come here. The staff is used to it and won’t give it a second thought.”
“Well, I don’t want to be here when she gets here.”
Ian walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me. “You’re too cute and you make me laugh. I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too,” I said as I kissed him and then walked over to the bed.
“What are you doing?” he asked as I picked up the sheet from the floor.
“I’m trying to make the bed more decent.”
“Rory, stop.” He chuckled as he grabbed my hand.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “Maid service.”
“What the fuck! You told them ten minutes, Ian.”
Ian laughed and walked over to the door and opened it. The maid walked in and straight to the bedroom where I was standing. I was so humiliated at what she must’ve thought, I looked at her and said, “I’m sorry, so sorry.”
Ian sighed, grabbed my hand, and led me out of the hotel room. We walked down to the restaurant and were promptly seated. It was a beautiful restaurant and I was happy Ian wanted to eat here. As we were looking over the menu, a beautiful woman walked over to our table.
“Ian Braxton, how wonderful to see you.” She smiled.
Ian looked up at her and then at me. I could tell he was nervous. “Michelle, nice to see you,” he said as he got up and lightly kissed her cheek. “I want you to meet my girlfriend, Rory.”
She looked at me, lightly shook my hand, and then turned her attention to Ian. “Girlfriend, eh? Ian Braxton doesn’t do girlfriends. At least that’s what you told me,” she said.
“Things change, Michelle,” Ian said calmly.
“Things may, but people don’t.” She smiled as she looked at me. “Nice seeing you again, Ian,” she said as she walked away.
Suddenly, I was very uncomfortable. The waiter brought my cosmopolitan and I grabbed it from his hand before he had a chance to set it down on the table. I did more than take a sip.
“Rory, I can tell you’re pissed.”
“No. What gives you that idea?” I asked sarcastically. “One of your many women, I assume.”
Ian rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Yes, I won’t lie to you.”
I nodded my head as I threw back my cosmo. “Okay. I guess it’s something I have to learn to deal with around the world.”
“Rory, that’s not fair.”
“No, what’s not fair is me having to be subjected to that every time we go out!” I snapped.
“It’s not like I hid who I was before I met you, so you can’t hold it against me.”
In a way, he was right, but now that he was mine to keep, seeing the other women and knowing he fucked them in ways he probably would never fuck me burned the blood that ran through my veins. We ate our dinner in silence. It wasn’t until after the waiter gave Ian the bill that he decided to say something.
“You need to stop behaving like this.”
I took in a deep breath and looked at him. “I’m hurt and upset, Ian. I’m sorry if you think I’m behaving like a child. See, the thing is, you don’t ever have to worry about running into someone like that from my past because there’s only you.”
“Rory.”
I threw my napkin on the table, got up, and walked out of the restaurant. I walked out of the hotel and onto the busy streets of New York City. I didn’t care where I was going, I just needed some fresh air. Was I being ridiculous? I think so. This was all new to me. As I was walking, I felt someone grab my arm.
“You will never walk away from me. Do you understand?”
I stopped dead in my tracks and the people that were behind us ran right into us. I turned around and apologized to them.
“You will let go of my arm now!” I said through gritted teeth. “Or I will scream and make a scene.”
“Right. That I know you will do.” Ian sighed as he let go of my arm. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
Chapter 11
Ian
Rory walked across the street and over to Central Park. I followed behind because I knew she needed space. This was killing me because she was upset. She sat down on a bench in front of the fountain and I sat down next to her. We both just stared at the fountain and didn’t say a word. I had asked her to talk to me, and I knew she would when she was ready.
“I’m sorry,” she finally spoke. “It’s just hard when you’re so in love with someone and you feel threatened by another woman.”
“Sweetheart,” I whispered as I took hold of her hand. “Why do you feel threatened?”
“Because, there’s always going to be someone prettier than me and more entertaining.”
My heart ached when she said that. Insecurity was still deep inside her and I hated that she felt that way.
“Sometimes, I still can’t believe that you picked me over all those millions of women you’ve dated and slept with.”
“Rory, first of all, it wasn’t a million, so please get that number out of your head. Second of all, I think you are the most beautiful woman on the face of this earth.”
She turned her head and looked at me as I placed my hand on her cheek. “I love you, and I’m sorry that you have to deal with those other women. Unfortunately, I had to go through a lot of them before I found my soul mate.” I smiled. “You’re perfect and you’re you. You’ll always be beautiful and entertaining to me. You keep me on my toes and you keep my soul alive. You’ve changed me, and I thank you for that.”
A tear fell down her cheek and I gently wiped it away with my thumb. “I love you too, Ian, and it scares me to think I might lose you someday.”
“I don’t ever want you to be scared. You’re never going to lose me.”
I pulled her into me and held her tight. I needed her to feel safe and secure. “All better?” I asked.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Yeah, all better.”
“Good. Now let’s go back to the hotel so I can make love to you for the next few hours.”
“Next few hours?” She laughed. “Are you taking Viagra?”
“I don’t need Viagra when I’m with you, sweetheart. Just your look keeps me hard for hours.”
I rolled over and the Rory’s side of the bed was empty. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. As I glanced at the clock, I noticed it was six a.m. and the sun was starting to rise. I got out of bed, put on my pajama bottoms, and walked into the living area of the suite. That was where I saw Rory standing and looking out the window. I walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her, and softly kissed her neck.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Just looking out into the city. It’s so amazing here, Ian. Just to be able to look at all the cars, the people on the streets, the tall buildings; it’s just incredible.”