Unravel (6 page)

“I take it back, darlin’.”

I rubbed my eyes in confusion as I awoke from my sleepy daze and looked around the room. He was sitting on
that
chair in the corner, just watching me.

“I’m not doin’ that ever again!”

I yawned, stretching my arms up and out of the covers. “What are you going on about Daniel?”

“That!” He pointed his finger in disgust in my direction.

I laughed, scratching my head. “Me?”

“Noooo, darlin’;
that
.” He waggled his finger again in contempt.

“Oh! The bed?”

“Bed?” He stood up waving his arms around. “That’s not a bed—it’s a bloody nightmare. I got about three seconds of sleep, and now my back is killing me.”

I dropped my bottom lip and in my biggest baby voice replied, “Awwww, baby—are you gonna survive? Do you wanna hug?”

He smiled, seeing the funny side of his tantrum. “Yes, please.” He walked over to me and I stretched my arms up and around his muscular chest holding him tightly as I inhaled his masculinity.

“Is that better, boo-boo?” I asked as I looked into his blue eyes, tapping the end of his nose playfully with my index finger.

His dimples appeared cheekily with all the attention I was giving him. “Now you watch it, Siena. Don’t go getting all smart ass on me.”

I laughed as I ran my fingers through his dark, wavy hair. “You know you love it.”

He shook his head as he looked around the room. “Seriously though, darlin’, I’m done with this place—the mattress… the color.” He waved his arms around again, looking with horror at the walls.

“Yes, yes—I get it. The room isn’t up to Mr. Anderson’s standards. What do you want to do about it then?”

“Pack your things, and come and stay with me at my hotel. You’ll love it, Siena, and I will get a much better sleep.”

I sighed in contemplation. “Yes, but knowing you, you won’t want to sleep.”

Lust filled his eyes as his mind started to wander. “Yeah, you’re right darlin’… but I’ll have the option of sleeping, and that’s what counts—the option.”

I rolled my eyes as I stumbled out of bed, squinting from the mix of sunlight and insanely bright paint.

“I’m staying at the Hilton Paris La Défense. Here’s the address and room number. I’ve got a business meeting in fifteen minutes, so I’ve gotta go.” He looked at me, suddenly concerned. “You will come and see me, won’t you? Do you want me to send over a driver to pick you up?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s ok, you go, and I’ll meet you in a couple of hours—promise.”

“Love ya,” he said as he pulled me in for one last steamy kiss, his large hands firmly grabbing my ass.

I giggled trying not to get swept away by his everything, as I pushed him out into the hallway and blew him a kiss. “Lust ya!”

***

What is it about hotel rooms and us
? I wondered as I knocked on his door.

“It’s open. Come in, baby.”

I walked in, and there he was, laying on the king size bed—completely naked apart from a long-stemmed red rose. I know I shouldn’t have, but the moment I saw him, my face cracked into a ray full of smiles, and I started to laugh.

He sat up, looking annoyed. “What?”

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. “You’ve just got such balls.”

He looked down at his rippling body and smirked. “Yeah I guess I do, don’t I? This is for you, Siena,” and he stretched out, handing me the rose. “I picked one up on the way back here as I didn’t want you to start getting withdrawal symptoms, not having them delivered daily.”

I hung my head, trying to hide my guilt as I looked down at the deep red petals, my face turning the same color.

“What are you looking like that for?” He chuckled at my obvious self-consciousness.

I kept looking down, trying to avoid his eyes. “I think you would stop sending them, if you knew what I did to them, Danny.”

His eyes twinkled, amused by my reaction as he rested on his elbows continuing to study me. “Whattcha do to them?”

Gaining courage, I looked at him cheekily. “You really wanna know?”

He flexed his muscles as he rolled onto his stomach, still watching me with delight.

I walked to the kitchen and started opening the drawers, searching for some scissors. Finding some, I smiled widely and said, “Watch.”

With one chop the rose head fell to the ground and rolled across the carpet.

He gasped and then smiled. “You are
brutal,
Siena!”

I ran my tongue between my teeth as I nodded.

“I don’t think I should be lying here so exposed—you’re making me feel a little vulnerable, miss.”

I grinned, laughing at his expression.

“Did you really do that to all the roses I sent you?”

I nodded sighing, “Every single one… apart from the first.”

He stood up and walked towards me, his broad shoulders defined even more by the light. “You’re so hard to please, Siena, but you can’t blame me for trying.” Picking me up, he carried me back to the bed where he started to undress me, one layer at a time.

***

For the next four days we screwed like it was our duty to populate the planet. Here we were in such a beautiful city, which I had originally been keen to explore, and yet we hardly saw the light of day.

We would only emerge from our lust-filled spell to re-fuel on French cuisine by wandering down to Côté Parvis for breakfast. As the sun went down, the Hilton’s staff would see another glimmer of us resurfacing for air at the Tangerine Bar, when our stomachs started screaming and we knew we could no longer put off the obvious.

I stepped out of the bathroom a
nd looked over at him. He was still lying on the bed, reading the newspaper as the sunlight dripped across the luxurious bedding. “What day is it, Danny? I have no idea anymore—it’s like we’ve been in another universe for the last ninety-six hours.”

He chuckled as he watched me towel drying my hair. “You’ve only been counting the hours, darlin’? I’ve been counting the seconds.”

I sighed as I playfully chucked a feather pillow in his face and then delved into my suitcase for some clothes. “What am I going to wear?”

“Do I get a say in this?” he asked, his eyes drinking me in as I leaned over the suitcase, barely covered in my kimono.

I smiled, turning to see his cheeky grin as he watched me. “I know what you’re going to say.”

We both chimed in at the same time: “Nothing!”

My eyes turned to the clock hanging on the wall as I pulled my sweater over my head and finished doing up my jeans. It was now 2:30 p.m. and my train would be leaving at four. Reality suddenly hit me like a wooden plank across the back of the head. I rushed back into the bathroom where I fumbled to brush my teeth, realizing that Paris was about to go straight down the plughole along with the remains of my toothpaste.

Walking back into the bedroom, I stood and took one last look at him. I knew that I would never see him like this again. I sighed deeply as my eyes drifted away from his. “Well, it’s been really amazing these last few days, Danny—seeing you again, being with you; I wish things could have been different between us.”

He leaned forward on the bed, looking concerned. “What are you going on about, Siena?”

“Goodbye, Daniel. I wish you all the best for your wedding in a couple of days. I’m sure you’ll look dashing in your suit—I heard it was flown in especially.” I bent down and kissed his beautiful, stubble-covered jaw as I walked to the door, heaving my father’s suitcase behind me.

Daniel rushed after me, stretching his arms out to keep the door closed. “How many times do I have to tell you this, darlin’? Sometimes I think you must only have notes floating around in that beautiful head of yours. Seriously, you
kill
me. I got divorced eight years ago, and that information was never leaked out. I wanted to keep getting good publicity and my publicist advised me to say I was renewing my vows, ‘cause that’s what people are doin’ at the moment. It’s the perfect publicity stunt.”

I dropped my suitcase to the ground as I began waving my arms around like some demented diva. “I’m not going to live a lie, Daniel. I’m not going to hide in the shadows of your fake marriage. Sooner or later the press would see us together, and then it would all be out.” I uselessly tried covering my eyes with my hands wanting the moment to evaporate.

He held me against his rugged strong chest and whispered, “Stay with me, Siena—just ‘cause we’re leaving Paris, doesn’t mean we have to leave what we have behind.”

I looked up at him. “I can’t be with you, Daniel. Not how things are. It goes against everything I stand for.”

He frowned, looking at me with displeasure. “Don’t talk such nonsense, darlin’. Why are you always so quick to jump to the negative?”

My chin started to shake as the tears escaped my soul. “The negative? You mean, reality.”

He leaned down, looking straight into my tearful eyes. “I’m gonna tell everyone about us.”

My mouth dropped open as I stepped away from him in disbelief. “What?”

He took my hand and gently led me back to the bed. “I’m going to call a press conference when I get back, and tell them all—
everyone
—everything. I’m going to tell them you’re the love of my life. And I don’t care what happens. They can talk all they want. If that’s what it takes to prove that I’m in love with you, then I’ll do it. I will do anything for you, Siena. I would pull the moon outta the sky for you if you wanted me to.”

I knelt down on the edge of the bed and just blinked at him. I didn’t know what to say.

He continued to hold my hand, as he knelt on the ground in front of me. “And one day, Siena, I’m gonna marry you, and I’ll love you ‘til the day I die.”

My shock dissipated, and I laughed, “That could be next week, Danny.”

“Shh, darlin’, I’m not
that
old! Seriously, I’ll give up all the other women, every one of them—unless you want a threesome.” He winked. “I’ll behave one hundred percent and if I don’t—you can spank me.” He chuckled to himself.

A tear of joy escaped my eye, and I smiled, watching his face as those familiar dimples came out once again. “You are unbelievable, Mr. Anderson. I cannot believe the crap you come up with, and yet somehow I believe you one hundred percent.”

He leaned in and kissed away the salty tear and then moved to my lips. He kissed me so gently, it was like experiencing a whole new side to him. One with less lust and instead purity—sincerity—to me, it felt like love, and I closed my eyes, wishing that this beautiful moment between us could last forever.

“I’m going to fly out tomorrow morning and arrange a press conference, and also speak to my ‘wife;’ do you want to come with me?”

I smiled, thinking how ridiculous that idea was. “No thanks. Believe it or not, I hate drama, and anyway I’ve got a train ticket back to Milan leaving soon, so I’ll call you when I get back home later tonight.”

“So you really are leaving me now?”

I turned to look at the door and my waiting suitcase. “Well, yeah, I’ve got to catch the train. I don’t want to miss it; otherwise, I would be stuck here.”

He pulled me onto his body. “Stuck here? At the Hilton in Paris with me? God, it sounds bloody ‘orrid.”

I playfully smacked his chest, not able to wipe the smile off my face. “I’ve got a job, and I don’t want to get fired.”

He sniggered. “Would she spank you if you were late?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t go there, Danny—keep it clean.”

He pulled off my sweater as his eyes dissolved into lust. “One more time before you go.”

I ran my finger down his Adams apple and trailed it further down across his pecs and over his chiseled abdominals, his eyes watching my every movement. “How can I say no to that?”

He smirked as his rough hands ran up my back and unclipped my bra. “Are you ready for me?” he whispered.

I smiled, leaning over his body as I kissed his alluring mouth. “You know I am.”