All A Man Wants For Christmas: Chapter 3
10:29:00 AM
Chapter One and Two.....
…And when he turned her chin to face him she didn’t resist as his lips claimed hers. It was a slow and sensual kiss, leisurely, not the hard possessive onslaught she’d half been expecting and it took all her willpower not to respond to the magic of his lips.
Zeke: "I see… do you think you can keep it up?" (his body warmth reached out
to her, as she swallowed hard and muttered)
Mandy: "I don’t know what you mean?"
Zeke: (he smiled faintly) "Of course you don’t"
(he leaned forward again and kissed her thoroughly with enjoyment and by the time he finished, she was not only trembling with desire but was also kissing him back)
"There."
(his voice was very soft as he tilted his head to look into her eyes)
"That’s better"
(he stroked a strand of her hair from her cheek, his touch tender)
"Can we go home now?"
Mandy: (drawing away from him) "Is that all you think it takes? A kiss and I’m putty in your hands?"
A muscle in his cheek twitched at her direct hit.
"I’m not going with you, Zeke. Not today, not tomorrow, not anytime, whether you accept it or not our marriage is over. Now, if you’re not going to take me to the hotel I’ve booked, I’ll get there under my own steam, okay?"
There was a long pause, then he turned from her, gripped the steering wheel as though he wanted to break it and then without a word he started the engine.
Zeke: "Where do you want to go?" he asked in a cold manner.
After she had given the name of the street and hotel he pulled out of the parking space.
She didn't bother to check the pictures of the hotel as most of the ones she liked were full for Christmas, it was a case of "beggars have no choice." As Zeke pulled up in front of the shabby exterior of the building situated in a side street, Mandy took a deep breath.
Mandy: "I’m sorry" (she said painfully) "I really am, but one day you’ll see this was for the best. Thank you for meeting me today but I think it’s better if we communicated only through our solicitors from now on."
Zeke said nothing, exiting the car and walking round the bonnet to help her out, his face grim, she glanced at his face as he shut the passengers door. When he extracted her case, she reached out a hand for it but he ignored the action, taking her arm as he steered her towards the hotel’s glass doors. Once inside the hotel lobby, which wasn’t as bad as the exterior, she extended her hand for the
case once more.
Mandy: "Thank you, I can take it from here."
Zeke: "Sit down" (he deposited her on one of the plump sofas) "I’ll check you in and get the case sent to your room and then we’re going for lunch. Is there anything in the case you need before it disappears?"
Mandy: (She shook her head) "But I don’t think…"
Zeke: "Good, don’t think" (he said with grim sarcasm) "For once in your life, just listen."
She stared at his back as he walked over to the reception desk and muttered several words under her breath. Her legs were hurting, her head was spinning and her back was aching like mad. He returned to her in a couple of minutes.
"All taken care of. They’re serving lunch at the restaurant in an hour, so I’ve asked the concierge to park the car. They have a few spaces reserved for staffs but they were very helpful, very helpful indeed. I thought you’d prefer to eat here than elsewhere"
(he continued, sitting down beside her)
"…you look tired and I’ve ordered coffee while we wait."
After glaring at him and thinking how dare he take over like this, and what does he mean by she looked tired? That she looked haggard and unattractive? She then turned to look outside the window next to the sofa, big fat flakes of snow were settling on the ground and already rooftops were covered with a glistening mantle. As though he could read her mind he said quietly…
"…you look tired and I’ve ordered coffee while we wait."
After glaring at him and thinking how dare he take over like this, and what does he mean by she looked tired? That she looked haggard and unattractive? She then turned to look outside the window next to the sofa, big fat flakes of snow were settling on the ground and already rooftops were covered with a glistening mantle. As though he could read her mind he said quietly…
"Looks like we wouldn’t have to chase the snow this year, like last year, it came to us instead."
Mandy: "Except there’s not much skiing down the road" (she said lightly) "not unless you want to be taken away by men in white coats."
Zeke: (he chuckled, then his smile died and he leant forward) "Talk to me, Dee. Tell me how you feel, what this is really about, I need to know – you can surely see that this excuse about not feeling the same, isn’t you."
Mandy: (choosing her words carefully she looked him full in the face) "Zeke, will you listen to me? Really listen and not interrupt until I’ve finished, will you do that?"
Zeke: (he nodded his tensed face) "If you tell me the truth."
Mandy: "You asked me earlier if I still love you and the answer to that question is yes, of course I do."
At his sudden movement she held up her hand, palm facing him.
"You promised" (she reminded him)
He settled back, his eyes intent on hers.
Zeke: "Go on"
Mandy: "But now, after the accident, my loving you or you loving me is not enough. From a little girl all I’ve ever wanted to do was dance, it was my life. I was totally dedicated to and disciplined by demands of ballet, up until I grew too tall. But as long as I could carry on dancing I didn’t mind too much. You know how fierce the competition is within the entertainment business, but it never caused me a moment of doubt because I had to dance. It was as simple as that. And now that is over… "
(the waiter interrupted to serve the coffee. She waited till he left and she continued)
"…I know I could have been killed that day, and I am grateful to be alive, but I can never go back to
(the waiter interrupted to serve the coffee. She waited till he left and she continued)
"…I know I could have been killed that day, and I am grateful to be alive, but I can never go back to
the way things were. I’m all at sea at the moment, I admit it. One thing I do know is that if I don’t want to drown a sludge of self-pity, I have to make a new life for myself far away from the world I’ve
embraced for the last decade. And Zeke…" (she paused)
0 comments
You know I'd love to hear from you. Please comment. Mwah