Just A Woman (The Porter Trilogy Book 2) (14 page)

I watched in amazement as Charlotte reached into her purse and took a single $100 bill out of her bag, extended it to the ladies selling the tickets and took her one ticket. She signed her name on the back with a flourish of her wrist and capped the pen. I stood back and admired her as she held on to the ticket, like it meant more to her than anything else in the world, meticulously deciding where she would deposit her solitary admission. 

After a few minutes, she dropped her ticket into the bag for the day spa. An entire day of pampering, massages, hair, skin, and nail treatments followed up with a one night stay at the hotel hosting the spa. When she turned back to me, her smile was wide and beautiful, like a fire in a cold world, bringing me back to life and warming my bitter blood.

“I probably won’t win, and I know I couldn’t contribute very much, but I had to donate something!” she said, sincerity evident in every word.

“I bet you do win,” I said, winking at her.

Just as I bent my head to deposit another kiss on her delectable mouth, the bell rang, announcing that dinner would be served shortly and to find a table.

“Rachel’s table is right over there,” I pointed out. “I’ll be right behind you, baby.”

I took a moment to admire the curves that matched her movement so perfectly as she glided away, before I turned back to the ticket selling ladies and pulled out my checkbook.

“Good evening, ladies. Can you please apply one million dollars to the spa day, with every ticket marked under Charlotte Hightower?” I asked, handing them my check.

Both stood for a moment, mouths open, before they pulled themselves together. “Of course, Mr. Porter, right away”

I put my checkbook back in my breast pocket and turned on my heel, heading for the table, to the woman who was my everything. Behind me, I heard the women whispering, “But, that’s like 10,000 tickets!” I couldn’t help the chuckle that rose to my throat. They were going to have a hell of a hand cramp by the end of the night.

Making my way over to the table, I stopped to observe Charlotte in her element. While she had been my assistant, she had been incredibly organized and well read. She was smart and quite good at her job. I entertained the thought of poaching her from Rachel and giving Charlotte her old job back, but in the back of my mind, I knew it would be better for everyone for her to stay in her current position. That may change in the future, but for now, I wanted to take things slow with her and separate the business from our pleasure.

“There you are,” Rachel admonished me, as I pulled out my chair on the left of Charlotte and took a seat. “We thought you were never going to join us,” she said, slapping my arm from my left.

“Just some business to attend to,” I said, leaning over and kissing Charlotte on the cheek. “Ok?” I asked.

“Never better,” she purred, placing her hand in my outstretched palm. The current that reverberated between us never failed to surprise and delight me at the same time. She must have felt it too, because she looked at our hands and then up into my gaze, eyes starving with lust.

When the waiter appeared, pouring glasses of water and champagne, our connection was broken and it took all of my strength to stop from punching the balding man in his nose. Another waiter appeared directly after with our hors d’oeuvres; Snapper Crudo with chiles and sesame, Potato Croquetas with Saffron Aioli and Mini Zucchini Goat Cheese Tarts.

I sat in amusement as Charlotte looked over all of her options, her mouth almost watering, it seemed. Grabbing one of each, she popped the first into her mouth, moaning in satisfaction. I felt my cock twitch within my pants, straining against my zipper.

“Tasty?” I asked, laughter lacing my voice.

“Very,” she said between mouthfuls, clearly oblivious to my light teasing.

She was right, it was quite good as I ate a piece of fish for myself. I wanted to make small talk with Charlotte and ask her how she had been the last few weeks, but I didn’t want an audience for my questions, so instead, I sat back and let her converse with Rachel and her coworkers. She was in her element, talking tech, and I couldn’t help but admire her and her abilities.

After a dinner of Chicken Saltimbocca Rolled with Spinach and Prosciutto, the band fired up a few lively tunes. Standing up and offering her my hand, I asked “Would you care to dance with me, Miss Hightower?”

I saw her face heat, before a determined look graced her features and she grabbed my hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Around the fifth or sixth twirl around the floor, the music slowed, allowing me to grasp Charlotte around the waist and pull her in tight to me. With her head on my chest, we slow danced around the floor as if there was no one else in the world but us. When she lifted her head and looked at me with pleading eyes, I couldn’t resist. I bent down and captured her lips in a soul searing kiss that left both of us gasping for air.

“Charlie, stay the night with me,” I asked, hoping the third time would indeed be the charm.

This time she didn’t disappoint, acquiescing easily, “Alright.”

I couldn’t stop the smile on my face before I leaned down and kissed her again.

This time, instead of reciprocating, Charlotte leaned toward my ear and whispered, “Take me to bed, Alex.”

She knew she didn’t have to ask me twice.

Alex

As much as I wanted to take her by the hand and drag her up the stairs and into my suite, toss her on the bed, and do exactly as she had asked, I, unfortunately, was a businessman, and this fundraiser was not only important to me, it was important to Rachel. I couldn’t disappoint her by vanishing, no matter what my libido told me to do.

“They are about to draw the winners of the auction,” I whispered into her ear. “We will stay for that and then say our goodbyes.”

Charlotte nodded her head at me, and placed it back on my chest to finish out the rest of the dance. Her smell invaded my nose, blurring my senses and taking over my brain. The amount of love I felt for this woman was not only intoxicating, it scared the shit out of me. How I could ever live without her was beyond me and I hoped and prayed that she would never walk out on me again.

When the band finished the song, I escorted Charlotte back to our seats, the table having been cleaned off while we were gone. In place of dinner plates, we found warm chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, and small ramekins of chocolate sauce. I watched as Charlotte’s eyes took in the decadent dessert, clearly fighting the urge to jam it into her mouth. She carefully took the container of sauce and poured it over the cake and ice cream before she grabbed her spoon, scooped up a small amount of both confectionary delights, and popped it into her mouth. The look of pure bliss on her face made me instantly hard again and, when she closed her eyes to savor the taste, a vision of her on her knees in front of me, tasting me, infiltrated my thoughts.

“If you don’t stop torturing me with that mouth, I’m gonna put you over my knee.” I leaned over, whispering my idle threat in her suddenly pink ear.

When she snapped her head around to stare at me, I knew the lust pouring from my eyes penetrated her gaze. Her cheeks flushed and she gulped down the remaining morsels in her mouth, clearly turned on as much as I was. Just before she could come back with a snappy retort, the MC tapped the microphone, signaling he was about to speak. I pressed a single finger to her lips to silence her, but she surprised me further by nipping at the tip of my finger. The shock on my face must have been clear because she took that moment to turn around in her seat and face the stage, the corners of her mouth lifting into a mischievous smile.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Harvey Sanders, and I’d like to welcome you all to the 6th Annual Fundraiser for the research and to fight the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. As some of you are probably aware, my beloved wife of forty years, Sheryl, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s a little over seven years ago. Since then, I have worked directly with the research facility to find a cure and to help discover a way to keep patients lucid for longer, prompting a better quality of life, not only for the patient, but also, for their family and friends.”

“A few short months ago, my darling wife lost her fight with Alzheimer’s. Before she left us, she had a few days of clarity, and one of the last things she said to me was ‘Enjoy every minute, Harvey, you never know when you won’t remember it.’ Since that day, I have pushed even harder to find a cure so no one else has to suffer the way my beautiful Sheryl did.”

“Last year we raised just a little over 2.5 million dollars. My hopes are to double that figure. In the middle of your table, you will find a basket. I’m asking everyone to dig deep this year and place any and all donations into that basket. At the end of the evening, we will count each tables' basket. Every guest at the winning table will receive a two day stay here at this beautiful hotel, compliments of Rachel Mansfield.”

While the MC pointed out Rachel, I watched with pride as she rose from her seat and gave a little wave and the audience politely clapped at her generous donation.

“I will warn you all though,” Harvey continued, “Rachel has told me to tell you all, that she loves this hotel and she is prepared for her table to win.”

Pulling out my checkbook, I wrote another check for a million dollars and deposited it into the basket. When I looked over, I saw Charlotte, a tear streak down her face, clutching inside her purse and pulling out two $20 bills and depositing it in the basket on top of mine. The pride within me swelled to immeasurable amounts as I grabbed her chin and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, please select someone from your group to count your baskets while we set up to pull the winners for the auction,” Harvey announced.

“I can do it,” Charlotte volunteered, reaching for the basket.

Rachel looked over, nodding her head at the initiative Charlotte took, before she turned back to her conversation.

I watched as Charlotte separated the checks from the cash and counted each stack. I was a little nervous to see her reaction to my check. She had to have known I was rich, but seeing the evidence was a lot different than just merely being aware of it. When she got to mine, she hesitated for just a moment before she included it into her figure. Checking her work twice, she wrote down the figure and looked over to me and smiled, a shocked look in her eyes.

“I’ve never held that much money before,” she giggled. “There’s $1,520,040 in there!”

I wasn’t sure what to say to her. If my visions of forever came true, she would become a billionaire herself when we married, so, instead of saying anything, I leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead. We could deal with that bridge when we got to it.

“I hope you all have counted your baskets, I will be sending someone around to check the figures and announce the winner. In the meantime, let’s announce our auction winners!” the MC stated, rousing the crowd and building the excitement and hype.

Charlotte sat, transfixed, watching the pulling of the tickets, and clapped vigorously when each winner walked up to claim their prize. The innocence radiating off of her made me smile. Even after the hell she had been through, she was still so strong and had such a great outlook on life.

“And now for the final basket, a complete spa day with pampering galore, what lucky woman will be the recipient? Or what lucky man will spoil his wife?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

When he turned towards the basket, it was over flowing with my tickets. I could feel the disappointment roll off of Charlotte when she realized her one ticket would be lost in the shuffle. I tried hard to stifle my grin, knowing there was no way Charlotte wouldn’t win.

“It looks like someone really wanted that spa day.” Harvey announced. “And that person is, Charlotte Hightower!”

She turned around in her seat to face me, shock written across her face. I smiled wide and leaned over to her, “Congratulations, baby.”

She stood up and walked to the stage, still reeling from her name being called as the winner. Even though I could feel her nervousness, she walked with grace and poise and accepted the gift certificate and the kiss on the cheek from Harvey himself. I couldn’t stop the surge of jealousy run through me at seeing another man kiss Charlotte, but I stamped it down and put a smile on my face as she made her way back to me. Green monsters were not permitted in our world right now.

“I know you did this, Alex, and you didn’t have to, but thank you. Not only did you make it possible for me to win, you made it possible for more research,” she said, leaning over for a kiss.

“Thanks to everyone who participated in the auction. For the auction only, we raised 3.22 million dollars.” Harvey had to stop to wait for the crowd to stop clapping.
Thank you to you all, and now for the winner of the table donations. True to her word, Rachel’s table won with a staggering 1.52 million dollars.

“The final total raised this evening was.” He held us all in suspense as he opened up the envelope with the figure on it. “A staggering $6,850,040. Again, I would like to say thank you to you all, and please remember, ‘Enjoy every minute of your life, you never know when you won’t remember it’. Goodnight!”

Now that the party was over and only dancing was left, I knew I needed to grab Charlotte and make our escape as quickly as possible. I didn’t think I could wait much longer. Reading my thoughts, Charlotte turned and gave me a wicked grin before she walked over to Rachel to say goodbye. When Rachel looked up and smiled at me, I nodded my head in thanks. Grabbing Charlotte’s hand, I headed towards the exit, pausing only briefly here and there to say our goodbyes.

Once we reached the elevator, the sexual tension between us had reached its boiling point. Both of us were ready to explode with desire, and when the elevator doors closed, she surprised me yet again by thrusting me up against the wall and attacking my mouth. At the rate we were going, we might not even make it to the hotel room.

**********

We arrived at the suite door in a tangled mess of limbs and tongues and lust. No one had gotten into the elevator with us and we spent the entire time fighting to tackle each other to the ground, the smell of arousal hanging heavy in the enclosed space. The force in which she pushed me to the wall astounded me, but it was also incredibly hot, spiking my already fevered temperature. I fumbled with the key card in between licks and bites, but finally managed to get the card in the slot, giving me the green, and pushing the door open.