Page 14 of The Midnight Club
She shivered through one, two, three orgasms as he murmured what he’d like to do to her, and she felt him stiffen before hot semen pumped deep into her belly. She leaned back into his big strong frame, breathing hard. Maceo kissed her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Ori laughed. “God, Maceo, how can you even ask? You’re amazing”
“As are you,miocaro. Come, let’s sit a while; we still have time before we have to change for dinner”
They were going out to eat with Maceo’s friend Benoit and a date, and Ori was nervous and excited to finally see another part of Maceo’s life.
Maceo lit a cigarette and gazed at her. “Caro… would you do something for me?”
“Of course”
He leaned forward. “Would you strip for me?”
Ori was taken aback but smiled. “If you’d like”
She stood and slowly peeled her dress off, followed by her bra and panties, and stood before him. Maceo ran his eyes slowly over her body. “You are perfect. Do you know that?”
Ori laughed, embarrassed at the compliment but not about her nakedness. She could not feel shy with this man; he made her feel like a goddess. “Your eyesight may be failing you, old man,” she joked, and Maceo grinned.
“If anything, it’s improved. Come here to me” He held his arms out, and she slid onto his lap, curling up in his arms, totally vulnerable. “How is it no one has snapped you up, taken you to their castle, and hidden you away?”
Ori felt a jolt. An image of her stepfather flashed across her vision, binding her, holding her down, imprisoning her, and she suddenly felt exposed and ridiculous. She extracted herself from Maceo’s arms and slipped her dress back on.
“Caro,did I say something to upset you?” His eyes were curious and concerned. She shook her head.
“It’s not you, Maceo.” She tried to smile at him, but he leaned forward.
“What is it?”
She shook her head. “Please, Maceo, let’s not spoil our evening by talking about … my past.”
Another long pause. “As you wish.”
After they had changed for dinner, mostly in thoughtful silence, Maceo took her hand. “I hope you will get to know Benoit better,” he said. “He is one of my oldest friends.”
Ori asked him about his and Ben’s friendship.
“We met in college—he and I, and our other friends, Lisander, Seth, and Alex. All five of us were driven and knew what we wanted. And by and large, twenty-odd years later, we all have it. The press calls us The Midnight Club because we all share a birthday—same time of day as well as date and year.”
Ori’s eyes opened wide. “That’s an incredible coincidence.”
“Isn’t it? We were obviously meant to be friends. When is your birthday,mio caro?”
“November 13th.”
“I shall remember. Start thinking about where you would like to go.”
Ori stopped him. “Maceo … I know how the game is played. You don’t have to say such things. I’m not looking for a commitment here … and I know you’re not.”
There was an expression she couldn’t read in his eyes. “I’m not?”
She kissed him. “It’s okay, Maceo. It really is. I’m not naïve to the world, especially the world of a drop-dead gorgeous,extremelyeligible billionaire like you. Why would you commit when you could have anyone? All I ask is that you’re honest with me.”
The elevator door opened as she finished speaking and Maceo, all humor gone from his face, was silent as they walked to their waiting cab. In the car on the way to the restaurant they didn’t speak, but Maceo held her hand, his fingers knotted between hers. Ori glanced over at him as he stared out of the window. Maybe he’d never had a woman say that to him, and that’s what was throwing him. Ori knew she had made the right decision to say what she had; it was a way of protecting her heart because, God knew, Maceo had been battering down the walls that she’d spent years building around it. She could not risk falling in love with him. Shewouldnot risk that.
At the restaurant, Benoit and his date were already waiting, and Maceo, his mood seeming to lighten, introduced her. Ori was touched by the note of pride she heard in his voice as he introduced her.
Benoit Vaux was in the same league as Maceo, she decided—charming, ruthless and devastatingly handsome. The two men shared the same brooding quality, but Benoit seemed more serious than Maceo. His date, Marcella, was an Audrey Hepburn lookalike, all grace and elegance, but a very sweet nature. Ori chatted happily with her as the two men talked about business.
