Page 108 of Their Courtesan
Chapter 26
JUDITH
Did Judith fully understand what she was getting into when she decided at the last minute to kiss Miguel? Ha! No.
She was all words. All bluster. Everything she was good at being, but also everything that would one day be her downfall.
If her downfall hadn’t already arrived.
What was supposed to be a sweet kiss to the lips turned into way too much more within a few seconds. One moment Judith was giving him a kiss of understanding, and the next? Her tongue was halfway down his throat and her hands dove for what kept his clothing on his body.
What the hell had happened to her? She never did these things unless money was necessary to square away a relationship. Miguel was good for every cent he offered. He would always come back to her for more, unless he one day grew tired of her or found himself a real girlfriend to be monogamous with. That’s how it worked. Every man who ever declared love for her eventually got over her rejection and found someone new, someone more compatible with their hearts and lives.
Over the past several weeks, two more men had stepped forward, citing their great devotion to her. Judith didn’t know if it was age or what, but she found herself slowly falling for them as well. Or at least she thought it was something like love. When a girl had neverreallybeen in love like that before, how did she know that’s what it was?
She knows. She has to know.Judith never intended to succumb to love early on a Wednesday afternoon, but here she was, losing the battle against her world-shattering emotions.
Was it Miguel? Was it something about him? Not just how hot and rich he was… but how kind, how compassionate, howdevotedhe was to her, even though he paid for her presence? No man had treated her like that before. Not even the others who said they loved her. Most of those guys had other women they saw anyway. They even openly talked about them in front of her. It made it easier to let them down.“You don’t need me. Go to one of your other girls from now on.”Judith hated turning down good money, but sometimes it was necessary for her long-term interests.
This… this was all about her physical and emotional interests!
He had her on her bed before she could think of a single reason to end this. They had seen each other as little as two days ago, but it already felt like an age. Things had happened in those two days… good things, terrible things. Things that Judith never thought would make a difference in her life, and yet she should have known.
I should have known!
Miguel kissed as if he could lose her at any moment. He tore off her clothing as if he couldn’t wait to see her naked body yet again. He made love to her with such desperation that Judith couldn’t help but see it as a cry for reciprocation.
This man loved her…
This man loved her!
What else could she do but make love in return? She wanted him as much as he clearly wanted her. Whenever they were together, Judith ceased to think about anything else. No other obligations. No other careers. No othermen…
Miguel was so much man as it was. Whether he was mumbling Romantic words in her ear while he rubbed and fucked her, or thrusting himself with incredible force inside of her, he was showing how much he could offer her. Physical compassion. Intimacy. A life that was endless passion and desire. He had loved before and walked away from the relationship with nothing but pain. Could Judith put him through that pain again? Or should she see what was in front of her eyes… a man who had chosen to love and trust again… withher?
Judith didn’t want to say it was love, but when such a man was loving her with every ounce of strength and determination he had, how could she deny what she felt? Whatever it was, it was powerful enough to make her decide some terrible things for her career.
She was so blown away by her own thoughts and feelings that she never anticipated a sudden climax that knocked stars right in front of her face. She barely felthim.
Miguel refused to get off her until she promised to hold his hand on the bed.
They lay there, gazing at her ceiling, Judith out of breath but not without her wits again.
“Wow,” she whispered. “You’re going to be the death of me, Miguel.”
“Does he make love to you likethat?”
Why the hell did that have to be the first thing out of his mouth? “Shut up, Miguel. Don’t think about him. Think aboutme.”
He rolled toward her, his disheveled clothing and hair too beautiful to resist. “I am always thinking about you, Judith. You’re the only woman in this world I think so much about.”
“It will pass, you know. One day you’ll wonder why you were so infatuated with me. I’ve seen it before, and I’m sure I will see it again.”
“It’s not like that at all. I…”
“Please, not today.” Judith was glad when he stood and started to put himself back together. “You need to go, anyway. I have to start work soon.”
“Yes. Your appointment.” Miguel glanced at the painting on her wall. “I’ll go. I wanted you to know that I love you. That’s real. Whatever the outcome, I’m still going to love you.”
