Private Emotions – Promises (The Private Emotions Trilogy) (15 page)

It wasn’t long before I was clawing at the sheets and my body was acting on a will of its own. “Oh god, more, more, more, right there, yesssssss.” I screamed against the wall during my moment of bliss. He finally appeared from under the sheets and rested his face near mine as he continued to rub my clit with his fingers. The tip of his manly spear was touching my waiting hole and then he thrust into me giving me about half of him. He started kissing above my breasts and then over my neck. God, he knew what he was doing. I felt all of him slide into me until the base of his cock was right up against my pussy.

“Oh god, Emily, you are so hot…I couldn’t wait any longer. Oh yes, god, you feel so good.” Our bodies were well known to each other but there was always that element of surprise. I reached down between our bodies and played under his balls, touching him in the place that I had only read about. It was having the desired reaction and he started to move faster within me. I tossed the sheets away from us, so I could look down and see my lips clinging to his shaft as he fucked me into oblivion.

Our orgasms were practically simultaneous and I felt him shoot his love into the warm confines of my womanly self. It felt so amazing that my legs wouldn’t stop shaking in the aftermath.

It took him a while to catch his breath then he hugged me and looked deeply into my eyes. I could see the intensity there, a fire that I had not seen for a while and I knew he wanted to tell me something. He finally whispered, “Emily…Emily. That was your last lesson, you don’t need them anymore.”

I was speechless to say the least. I felt my heart sink into the bed and I whispered, “What does that mean?”

“It means that our arrangement is over.”

“Oh, so does this mean we are over, or are you trying to say something else?”

“What I mean is, we have no more obligation but it doesn’t mean that I don’t want you, because I really...really do. As long as it’s something that you want too.”

“Yes, Ethan, I definitely do.”

“So how does it feel to have the man in your life professes that he wants you for more than just a client?” My therapist had listened to me all morning regale her with the tale of how everything had happened and now she was asking me how I felt about all of it.

“Well, I think I’ve come a long way and I want to see where this goes. You’ve been a great help, Susan, and I could not have done this without you but I think that I should continue this journey on my own now. I won’t be returning for anymore therapy sessions and I hope that you understand.”

“You know a lot of people think that leaving therapy makes the therapist sad to see them go, but I’m happy that I could help and witness you become strong enough to stand on your own. Good luck, Emily, you deserve all the happiness that this life has to offer.”

We parted ways and when I walked out of her office, I looked at my reflection as I had done so many times before. This time was different. This time, I was seeing what others saw in me and I had to smile with satisfaction. Things were definitely on the upswing.

As I walked out of Susan’s office for the last time, I looked over at his car. He was reading a paper while he waited for me. I got in beside him and said, “It was hard but I had to cut ties with her because I no longer needed her.”

“That’s great, Em, but are you sure you really want to be with me? I am not the easiest man to be around.” I kissed him hard on the mouth and then sat back in my seat. He wasn’t sure what to say to that but he was waiting for an answer.

“If that doesn’t tell you that I want to be with you, then I don’t know what will.”

“Fair enough, I do believe I have my answer.”

Chapter Eight
Emily’s Way

I’ve been thinking about this for so long that I never thought it would actually happen. It was my dream to own a boutique and when Et
han got me that amazing deal on a place to showcase my designs, I could not contain my excitement. Then the fashion-fest happened and all the attention my designs generated had convinced me that I had made the right choice to sign on the dotted line. It was almost as if things were arranged to happen exactly the way they did. It had taken me a long time to get to where I was now but I still had one last big step towards my future.

The last time that Ethan and I spent the night together had been his final lesson. Our arrangement was done, I knew now that Ethan wanted more, a lot more. He probably did not even realize how he felt about me until it was too late.

The door to the business where I worked was staring me right in the face and I took a deep breath as I pushed my way through. I knew that I was about to take one of the biggest leaps of my life.

Michelle was in her office. I knocked on the door and she motioned for me to sit down while she finished a phone call. Finally, she hung up the phone and looked at me not realizing that I was about to change everything about our relationship.

“Emily, I just got off the phone with the planning committee and they were more than pleased with the turnout for fashion-fest this year. In fact, they are going to expand the operation to other locations next year. This means that we can use the fashion-fest to tap into a larger client base.”

“I’m glad it went well because we did put a lot of work into it but I do have to talk to you about something.”

“You know that my door is always open to you.”

“Let me first tell you how much I enjoy working for you and how much I appreciate all that you’ve done for me, but I think it’s time that I make a change.”

“Okay, what do you have in mind?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for long time and I have decided to go forward with my plan starting today. I’m resigning and I have plans to open my own boutique.”

She just looked at me over the desk, smiled and said, “I figured I couldn’t keep you here forever and I guess I’m just going to have to look for another budding star. You have a lot of talent, Emily Harris, and it’s been my pleasure to work with you. I am tempted to ask if there is anything that I could do to convince you to stay but I can see that your mind is made up. If there’s anything that I can do to make the transition easier, all you have to do is ask.”

“Thanks, Michelle. I don’t think I need anything at the moment but if I do, I’ll let you know. I would love for you to come to my grand opening and I will let you know when that will be. Don’t be surprised if you find an invitation sooner rather than later, because once I leave here, I plan to move forward very quickly into the next phase of my life.”

“Just remember where you came from and I want you to know that you have a place here whenever you want.”

“Thanks. I can work through my notice period so that it will give you time to find a replacement.”

“I think working to the end of the week will do. My sister-in-law needs a job and is quite proficient in working with material. If not, then I could always hire someone from the college to work part time, so don’t worry about it. Now that the fashion-fest is behind us, you should have enough time to finish up your ‘To Do’ list without much interruption.”

There were only three days left to the week and not much work to do, considering that most of the clients were from the fashion-fest. The other clients were on the backburner until they had enough time to come in and talk to us about what they wanted. Maybe I could get things underway a little earlier than expected and all I needed was a few foot soldiers to help me out until I could concentrate fully on things myself.

I decided to give Ethan a call to let him know that my meeting with Michelle went well. “Ethan, I just did it and it felt wonderful.”

“Um, did what, Em? You might have to sing me a few extra bars so that I know what your train of thought is.”

“I just resigned from my old post and only have three days left before I move onto the next chapter with my own boutique. I am so excited, Ethan. All my life this has been a dream of mine and soon it will become my reality.”

“Good for you, Em. I was starting to think that you might be having second thoughts about taking the final step but I am so glad to see that you have bit the bullet and ended it with your old employer. How did she take it?”

“She was really supportive and I feel that we both knew this was the right decision for us.”

“I have an idea that will make your grand opening something to remember, but I will need a firm date before I can arrange that surprise.”

“Well, since the space is already made to order, all I have to do is get someone in there to paint, get some display racks, add a few decorative touches and then I should be ready to open within a couple of weeks.”

“That’s quick. Are you sure that you can commit to that date because once I make this arrangement there’s really no going back.”

“I have no idea what you’re planning but I trust you and I’m really looking forward to seeing what you have in mind.”

“Okay, I’ll set things up and in a couple of weeks’ time you should have your own boutique up and running.” When I got off the phone with him, the realization of what I’d just done came crashing down on me, but I refused to let any doubts interfere with my life’s ambition. This feeling of excitement and fear was probably what anybody would feel in my situation.

“Okay, I’ve gathered you all here with an announcement of my own. Something that I have worked all my life to achieve is slowly becoming a reality. I have decided to open my own boutique in a couple of weeks.” Shocked and bewildered eyes followed me as I paced back and forth at the table of Woody’s Tavern.

Barry was the first one to finally open his mouth, “Emily, that is wonderful news and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are very proud of you for taking this step.” There was a cacophony of approval from around the table and my friends were all congratulating me on taking such a risk.

“You should have done that a long time ago but we all have to do things on our own time and maybe you had to work on yourself before letting others see the talent that we all see.” Pregnancy was agreeing with Maria because she glowed more each time I saw her.

I saw Ethan talking on his cell before he placed his phone on the table. Metallic voices rang out from the speakerphone and it was Sophie and Joanie congratulating me. Sophie said, “Congrats, Em. I always knew that you had it in you. If you want, and don’t take this as anything but a helpful suggestion, I do have some contacts in the industry. I could make a few calls and have some very powerful insiders attend your grand opening.”