Foreign Affair (14 page)

“Hey.” She lifted a finger. “It’s possible that you’re Mr. Kinky every day of your life. But I, on other hand, am beyond vanilla. So, I’d really appreciate if you’d just let me have at it.”

He leaned forward to take the bottle from her hand. “If that’s your honest to God desire, than we can get a whole lot kinkier than whipped cream.”

Lena saw the glint in his eyes and swallowed hard.

“Gee, that’s a great offer.” She snagged the bottle back. “But let’s start with this for now.”

“Okay. Well, then, by all means.” He pulled his shirt off and leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. “Have at it, sweetheart.”

Lena gaped at him and bit her lip. Hmm. Where did she even start? Of course, she had ideas what one should do with a bottle of whipped cream, but she wasn’t all that confident she could do them.

“Fine.” She lifted her chin, hoping she appeared a bit more confident than she felt, and straddled him. She pulled the cap off the bottle of whipped cream with her teeth and spat it on the floor. “I’m going to make you tremble, Tyler.”

“That was so sexy. The way you just did that.” He winked and moved his hands to her thighs. “And I have no doubt you’ll make me tremble.”

Lena pressed the nozzle to allow the whipped cream to come out. Nothing happened.

“You might want to shake it.” He cleared his throat, and she got the impression he was trying not to laugh.

She gave him a warning look as she shook the bottle, then pressed the nozzle again. White foam shot out like a fluffy bullet and landed all over Tyler’s surprised face.

“That’s not exactly where I hoped you’d put it.” He grimaced and wiped away the foam.

“Oops.” Lena giggled and leaned forward to lick it off his face. She thought she was doing a pretty good job at being sexy until the shaking of Tyler’s stomach beneath her had her pulling away in confusion.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head, but his eyes danced, and his stomach bounced with the laughter that he held in.

“What is so funny?” she demanded. “Tell me.”

“Nothing. You just…” He put a hand over his face to partially hide his grin. “Okay. Don’t get mad. It just feels like a dog greeting me when I come home from work or something.”

Lena jerked back in shock. “You did
not
just say that. Tyler, did you just compare me to a
dog
?”

“No, of course I didn’t. I shouldn’t have said it that way.” He tried to pull her back down to him.

Oh. Well, she’d show him. She jerked his boxers down his legs and let loose with the can between.

“Lena,” he choked, his eyes widening.

She fell to her knees in front of him and braced her hands on his thighs.

“Compare this to a damn dog.” She met his wide-eyed gaze before dipping her head to trail her tongue over his erection.

“Oh, God.” His hands clutched her hair.

There. Now who had the upper hand
? She smiled and licked more
whipped cream off him. His groans intensified, and knowing she brought him so much pleasure made her even hotter. She could feel the dampness gather between her legs. The hands in her hair held her tight against him.

She kept teasing him until every last inch of whipped cream had been removed. Only then did she open her lips over him and sink down, bringing him deep into her mouth.

“
Oh
.” He groaned loud and long, his hips bucking.

She moved up and down, taking him a little deeper.

“Please, Lena.”

When he tried to push her away, she refused to move and kept tormenting him, bringing him so close to the edge. He finally pushed hard enough that she released him with a popping sound.

“Mmm.” She licked her lips, her pulse racing. “I kind of liked that.”

“
You
kind of liked that? You have no idea what it did to me.” His voice came out hoarse. “No more, please. I need you, now.”

“Then take me.” She pulled off her panties and then kneeled over his thighs, lifting her nightgown up. “Now.”

His response was a pained groan as she slid down onto him. She moaned, taking her own pleasure now as he filled her thick and deep. He stretched her, sinking to the hilt on the deepest of strokes. His hands gripped her hips as she moved on him.

“Tyler,
yes
.”

Then he took control, moving faster and harder up into her. Lena buried her face against the side of his neck and whimpered.

He thrust upward one more time up, just as she ground herself down onto him. His groan mingled with hers, and she squeezed her inner muscles around him as he emptied himself deep inside her.

His arms wrapped around her waist, clutching her to him. “Thank you.” He kissed her forehead. “That was…”

“Pretty damn incredible.” Her heart still pounded. “Yeah, I know.”

He laughed and stood up, her body still wrapped around him.

“Now who’s being cocky?”

“Hey, you inspire me.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

She wanted so much more than a week with him.
You can’t think
like that. You’ll drive yourself insane
.

“Bed now?”

He nodded and yawned. “Bed now.”

Chapter Eleven

The next morning the streets were active with Parisians bustling through their workday.

They took a bus up to Notre Dame Cathedral. The different points of the church ominously pierced into the gray sky.

The whole building loomed over the city, displaying its magnificence and radiating its gothic aura.

“Our Lady of Paris,” Tyler murmured and, when Lena cast him a sidelong glance, he nodded to the Cathedral. “That’s another name for Notre Dame.”

“It’s amazing.” She turned back to look. “I should have brought more batteries for my camera. I have a feeling I’m going to go picture happy.”

Five minutes later, they were exploring the grounds in front of the Cathedral. Lena’s camera clicked away, capturing all angles of the structure, while Tyler took mental notes.

“Enough.” Damn, he should have brought his own camera. He’d just have to ask her for copies later. “Let’s explore now.”

“All right.” She placed the camera back into her purse. “Show me around.”

“With pleasure, sweetheart.” He winked and grabbed her hand, leading her inside.

They took their time walking through the chilled hallways, and he acted as her private tour guide since he’d been there before. They climbed to the towers to look up close at the gargoyles, and then went down to the crypt beneath the Cathedral.

They moved down the dark halls and the darkness suddenly lifted as they stood before a magnificent stained glass window. Lena gasped and stopped.

“The rose windows.” He let his gaze roam over the shimmering glass. Still as impressive the second time around. “About the only stained glass window that’s original in here.”

Lena lifted her fingers to her lips and shook her head. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful.”

I have.
He stared at her, and his breath caught. She was lovely in the
beam of filtered light coming from outside.

There he went with the sappiness again. He jerked his gaze back to the window. “You’re right. The entire Cathedral is amazing, and the window just adds to its beauty.”

“Do you think they sell little versions of these? Like on a key chain?” she asked, her tone hopeful. “I’d love to take this piece of Paris back with me to my house.”

Tyler laughed and wrapped an arm around her. “You are the epitome of a tourist. Thank you for your efforts in reviving the world’s economy.”

“I do my best to help.”

They walked back outside, finding the sky still overcast and a bit dreary.

Lena plopped down on a bench. “I think I’m going to sit for a moment if you don’t mind.”

“Go for it.” He glanced back at the church. “I’m going to do another quick run through and jot down some notes.”

“Notes?” Lena laughed and raised an eyebrow. “You going to build one of these yourself?”

“Maybe.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Stay out of trouble.” Tyler wandered the grounds, exploring every crevice and flying buttress he could find. He took a ton of notes, drinking it all in.

The last time he’d been here, he hadn’t been in the mindset to apply what he saw to his future career. He tapped the pen against his lips, formulating ideas on how to incorporate this ancient style of architecture into some of his more modern buildings.

“You’re hard to find in here.”

He’d been so deep into his own thoughts, he hadn’t heard Lena’s approach.

“What were you thinking about? You looked miles away.”

“How amazing this all is,” Tyler admitted in awe. “It makes me want to travel the world and see all kinds of buildings built in the last millennium.”

“I could get you there for a good price.” She nudged him and then went quiet for a moment. “Okay, just tell me. I’m too curious. What do you do?”

He paused, relief spilling through him that she really seemed to want to know.

“I’m an architect.”

“Oh.” Her mouth curled upward, and she squeezed his hand. “That’s great, Tyler.”

“Thanks, I’m pretty fond of my job.” He placed an arm around her waist. “Hey, what do you say we hit the city and go shopping and get some lunch?”

“I can handle that,” Lena agreed just as a plump, smiling woman approached them.

“Excuse me. Will you take a photo of my husband and me?” The woman asked in a thick Scottish accent.

“Sure, no problem.” Lena took the camera from the woman and—after the couple posed—took the picture.

“Thank you, dearie. Would you like us to take your picture together?”

“Oh, no thank—”

“We’d love it.”

They answered at the same time, and Tyler glanced down at her in surprise. Her cheeks turned pink, and she glanced away.

“Thank you. That would be great,” he finished and smiled at the helpful woman.

“Not a problem. I’m glad to help.” The woman gave a dismissive wave of her hand and took the camera from Lena who seemed hesitant to hand it over.

Tyler wrapped an arm around Lena’s waist, pulling her close against him and wondered why the hell she didn’t want a picture of them together.

Tension still ran through every muscle of her body a few minutes after the picture had been taken.

A picture of them together
. Tangible, visible proof of their affair. Why
it even worried her she couldn’t be certain. Her future with Keith seemed about as solid as Jell
-
O right now.

What did it matter? She’d delete the picture later, and nobody would ever be the wiser.

“You know it’s true. You’ve taken tons of pictures, but we don’t really have any pictures of each other yet,” Tyler said on the bus ride home.

“Hmm. You’re right. I never noticed,” she lied.
Change the subject
. “Maybe we should have a night out tonight, like have a nice dinner and then go to a club.”

He stayed quiet for a moment. Great, was he obsessing over the picture thing? Fortunately he didn’t say anything more about it.

“Good idea on the night out. Let’s do it.”

She sighed. “But first, I need to do some shopping. I haven’t bought any souvenirs yet.”

They reached the heart of the city and exited the bus, walking around the shops and exploring at random.

Lena found a chunky silver bracelet and funky purse to buy for Stephanie, and then picked up a necklace with an Eiffel Tower charm on it for Lakisha back at work.

The brief thought of getting Keith a paperweight crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Right now he didn’t deserve the crumbs from her croissant.

Tyler had picked up numerous gifts for his sisters and parents and now hauled around a large shopping bag.

She started when he grabbed her hand and dragged her into a small shop. Then he approached a sales lady and started speaking in French and gesturing toward the mannequin in the window.

Lena frowned. What the heck was he saying? Jeez, she should have paid more attention in French class. She went to look at the mannequin in the window.

“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I could never wear this. This kind of dress looks good on tall women who are shaped like a coat rack.”

Tyler raised his eyebrows as the sales lady came over and fussed around Lena. Lena scowled as she went to work figuring out her measurements.

A moment later, the lady shuffled her into a small fitting room as Lena clutched the dress.

She fought the urge to hurl it over the curtain in rebellion. With a sigh of surrender, she started to undress. When she’d finally figured out how to put the dress on, she turned to the mirror. Her jaw dropped.

The black fabric was silk. A thick strap curved over one shoulder, leaving the other bare. It clung to her curves and fell just above her calves.

“It makes my boobs look great,” she murmured, running her hands over her torso. She turned, glancing over her shoulder to get a look at her backside. “Not bad on the butt either.”

“Lena, are you going to come out and show me?” Tyler called from the other side of the curtain.

She started to and then paused, biting her lip. “No, I don’t think I will. You picked a winner. I’ll get it, but I want it to be a surprise when you see me tonight.”

There was a pause from his side of the curtain. “Okay.”

When Lena came out a moment later, she saw Tyler signing a receipt. Her stomach clenched, and she ran toward him.

“Oh, no. You can’t buy this for me. It’s
insanely
expensive.” The sales lady gave her a sharp glance but didn’t comment.

“Don’t worry about it. And you weren’t supposed to look at the price tag.” He plucked the dress from her hands.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. “You didn’t need to buy that for me.”

“I know I didn’t, but I did.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and then tucked the bag under his arm.

Grabbing her hand, he steered her out the door.

“Are you going to buy yourself something?”

Tyler shrugged and eyed some of the shops they were passing. “If I see something I like.”

He slipped his arm around her waist, and she leaned into him, lifting her face up for a kiss. He obliged and let his lips graze over hers. Feeling naughty, she opened her mouth to draw his lip between her teeth and gave a playful nibble on him.