Mona's Honeymoon Fantasy (Delta of Venus Inc.) (8 page)

He gently
lowered her back to her feet and brushed her curling hair out of her eyes. “Did
you go inside? Did you see everything?”

Mona glanced
down at his body. She did see just about everything, including the outline of
his equipment through his shorts, but that probably wasn’t what he meant. She
forced herself to look up into his whiskey-coloured eyes which had the longest
lashes she’d ever seen on a man. “I haven’t been inside yet. I heard you back
here and couldn’t wait to see you.” Apparently her new bold persona was a
complete liar. She’d actually been avoiding him like chlamydia.

He leaned down
and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you did. But c’mon. I want you to see what I
was doing to keep busy while I waited for you.” He grabbed her hand and tugged
her towards the back of the cottage which appeared to be made entirely out of
glass.

He pushed on one
of the panes and it slid open revealing a large, high-ceilinged bedroom with a
bed the size of a bouncy castle sitting against the far wall.

Stepping into
the room, Mona covered her mouth with one hand and stared around her in amazement.
The room was the embodiment of every single romantic element she could have
imagined. Pink and red rose petals were scattered all around the light bamboo
floors. Some petals had even arranged into a thick, red heart on the bed.
Beside it was a silver champagne bucket with a large bottle of very expensive bubbly
nestled inside. Crystal glasses, a box of Godiva chocolates and yet more
flowers in a huge vase rested on the bedside table. Their scent was heady,
almost cloying, as she took in a deep breath, trying to recover from the shock
of being the recipient of so much thoughtfulness from a complete stranger. She
hadn’t expected this at all. Had never specified what she wanted the room to
look like or even suggested that she wanted something special and yet she was
standing in the middle of a room that looked like about a million Valentine’s
cards had exploded all over it. This was the epitome of every classic romantic
fantasy known to womankind. Looking around she couldn’t help but wonder, was
this Miss Bright’s doing? Or had this gorgeous man gone to all this trouble on
his own?

Clark stepped
behind her and placed his palms on her shoulders. “Do you like it?” He asked
softly, his tone sounding surprisingly unsure of himself.

Mona nodded as
tears sprung to her eyes. “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you did all this.”
She waved her arm at the room and shook her head in wonder.

He turned her
towards him and scrunched down slightly so he could look into her eyes. “I
wanted this to be special for you. Everything you could possibly want. So tell
me. Did I miss anything? Should I have arranged for singers to serenade us from
outside our windows?”

She giggled.
“God. No. How awkward would that be?”

He smiled that
blinding smile and leaned down to press a kiss against the corner of her mouth.
“Fair enough. How about something to eat? I gave the chef here a list of all
your favourites. I can place an order and it should be here within the hour. I
wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry or not, so I waited. Should I have arranged for
a special meal to be waiting for you?”

She hadn’t eaten
a thing all day and yet the thought of food made her stomach churn. Her hunger
pains had ceased completely. She was still too nervous to think about food. She
wanted her stupid virginity gone as soon as possible. Maybe when that was taken
care of she could relax and enjoy herself for a change. She was, after all, in
paradise with the perfect man. He seemed genuinely sweet and eager to please.
How could she not want to be with him?

“I’m really not
hungry but thank you so much for doing all this.” Something white on the bed
caught her eye and she walked over to examine it. It was a short, silk negligee.
She held it up by one thin strap. “What’s this? I’m pretty sure I didn’t pack
this.” She teased.

He gave her a sheepish
grin. “No. That came from one of the shops in the lobby. I saw it and couldn’t
help imagining you in it. You don’t mind, do you?” He took it from her hand and
held it out in front of her. “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want, but
I would love to see if the reality matches what’s been going on in my head.
It’s all I’ve been thinking of, seeing you in nothing but this.” His gaze behind
the glasses wandered down her body and she sincerely hoped it wasn’t obvious that
she was missing her underwear.  

Her eyes widened
as she took in the naked desire on his face. He wasn’t looking at her like she
was a job. He was staring at her like he couldn’t wait to get her out of her
clothes and into that scrap of silk. How extraordinary. He was either the
world’s greatest actor or he genuinely wanted her. She desperately wanted to
believe it was the latter.

“It’s lovely. I
hope I can live up to your expectations,” she said, pressing the decadent
garment to her body, enjoying the way it seemed to cling to her curves.
Glancing at the label she could see it was exactly her size. How had he managed
that? Lucky guess or Miss Bright again?

He used one
finger to angle her chin up so he could capture her gaze again. “Darling, you
know you could be wearing a sumo wrestler costume and I’d still find you
incredibly sexy, so don’t give a second thought to my expectations. You surpass
them every single moment we’re together.” He stared deeply into her eyes as he
said this and there wasn’t a hint of insincerity in his expression. He meant
every word.

Wow. She
actually had to blink back a tear. He seemed so genuine. Why couldn`t this be
real? He was so perfect and said all the right things and yet something was
missing. She was touched by the sentiment he expressed and it certainly boosted
her ego that he found her attractive but she couldn’t seem to feel any real
desire to get naked with this man.

What was wrong
with her exactly? With Sam that afternoon, everything had been so urgent and
thrilling. She had been anxious and a little nervous during their interlude on
the plane but her passion had been undeniable, even under the most
uncomfortable of conditions. Now, under ideal circumstances, she felt frozen.
Was it possible that maybe this whole conventionally romantic scene wasn’t for
her after all? Did she maybe want something darker?

No, she had been
dreaming about this fantasy her whole life. This was what women wanted, wasn’t
it?

But had she
really been dreaming of this? When she thought back to the few instances she’d
been genuinely excited she hadn’t been in surroundings that reminded her of
this scene at all. If she was honest with herself it would seem that her sexual
tastes seemed to run more towards exhibitionism and maybe just a tad of
domination rather than traditional sexual scenarios. She thought back to the
way Sam had demanded that she obey him and felt a wave of lust creep over her
senses. Then she looked at Clark’s earnest face and her desire seemed to wither
and die inside her.

What about Clark
was putting her off exactly? Despite his obvious beauty, he really didn’t
resemble the man who visited her in her fevered erotic dreams. The ones she
pretended didn’t exist. No, that fantasy lover was a different breed of man
entirely. He was unpredictable and untamed, almost brutal in his demands on
her. She looked into Clark’s caring and sensitive face and it was impossible to
imagine him doing and saying any of the things that made her body respond. He just
seemed too perfect. Just like Superman or Prince Charming it was hard to
imagine him getting nasty and wild.

Perhaps she was
jumping to conclusions about Clark. What did she know about sex anyway? Not
much. Which is why they were here to begin with. In the midst of passion, maybe
Clark would surprise her and turn into the brute she needed.

Maybe they
should leave the whole romance idea behind and focus on the physical. Yes, that
was it. He was giving her too much time to think and as a result all kinds of
doubts were popping up in her neurotic brain. The man was a gigolo. Surely he
knew exactly how to turn her on. She just had to give him the greenlight to
proceed with the wedding night fantasy. He probably thought she needed to warm
up to the idea a bit and didn’t want to rush her. Little did he know that Sam
had already taken care of the whole foreplay situation in spades.

Letting go of
the nightgown, she allowed it to slide down her body to the floor. She lifted
up on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest
against his damp, finely-chiselled torso. “You know you’re not the only one
who’s been imagining things,” she whispered and pressed a kiss against the
small indent in his chin.

He groaned her
name softly. “I’ve been waiting for this forever. But I don’t want you to feel
pressured. Are you sure you don’t need some more time?”

She shook her
head in vehement denial and then he was kissing her, his mouth sweet and tender
on hers. It was a nice kiss. He knew exactly what he was doing and yet she felt
nothing. Just a vague sense of waiting for her senses to kick in. She closed
her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around him, hoping more contact would
help, but there was no reaction in her body. No tingling. No fireworks. No
chemistry whatsoever.

Clark, however,
was oblivious to her lack of desire. His breathing was loud and raspy as he kissed
her and Mona could even feel the very obvious outline of his rock-hard penis
against her hip. Obviously, his body was reacting as it should. He was having
no trouble getting excited. In fact, she would swear he was on the brink of
losing control. That’s what she’d thought she wanted and yet here she was,
utterly unmoved, feeling cheated and frustrated beyond words.

It was so
tempting to just go ahead with the fantasy anyway. How bad could it be? And at
least she would be rid of her virginity. Maybe she would warm up as Clark worked
his gigolo magic. In some ways it just made sense to proceed even though she
felt nothing. But she just couldn’t do it. Everything in her rebelled at the
thought of allowing this man access to her body. She had waited her whole life
for something special and now she was going to throw it away on someone she
didn’t remotely want? And pay for the pleasure of it? No, she just couldn’t do
it. No matter how drool-worthy he was in theory, Clark was not the right tool
for this particular task.

She couldn’t help
but think this was Sam’s fault somehow. If she hadn’t experienced true passion
with him she probably wouldn’t even be aware that something was amiss with
Clark. She would have just assumed that sex wasn’t her thing and never known
what she’d been missing.

With Sam,
however, there was no denying that she had been wildly excited. Her reaction to
him had been so overwhelmingly intense. Her body had gone into overdrive with
every touch, every look, every single filthy word he’d uttered. Just the raspy
timbre of his voice and the heated look in his eyes as he’d stared at her body
had made her feel like the sexiest woman in the world.

But with sweet,
thoughtful, beautiful Clark, she felt nothing. How unfair was that?

Her honeymoon
fantasy had just officially turned into a cruel joke.

Chapter Six

“You were
right.” Mona held her cell phone against her ear and watched the waves pound
against the shore as she waited for Miss Bright’s response to her declaration. Her
skirt was drawn up her thighs and she was sitting on the sand with just her
purse and her shiny, black shoes for company. The beach she’d settled on was
deserted as the sun began to sink below the horizon in a blaze of orange and
pink sky. Looking around at her beautiful surroundings she felt like the last,
loneliest virgin on the planet.

“Miss Porter? Is
everything ok? You sound upset.” Miss Bright’s voice crackled with tension.

“I’m fine. A
little frustrated and kind of homeless, but perfectly good, other than that.”
She uttered a nervous giggle and twisted her toes deeper into the sand.

There was a long
pause. “And your virginity?”

“Umm…Still
intact.”

“I see. So
Carlos wasn’t exactly what you were looking for then?”

Carlos? She must
mean Clark. “He was wonderful. Perfect even. But I think that might have been
the problem. I just couldn’t go through with it.”

“I’m very sorry
to hear that, Miss Porter. You must be very disappointed. I will, of course,
return your deposit.”

“I appreciate
that, but that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Is there
something you`d like me to do to salvage this situation? Arrange for an
alternate scenario perhaps? Something a little less idealized?”

Mona sighed.
“No. Thank you. As much as I appreciate your service and think it probably
really helps women get in touch with their sexuality, I find that I’m really
not willing to lose my virginity unless the situation is right. And by that, I
don’t mean perfect because I just had that and threw it away. Right for me.
Which is quite different than I originally thought.”

Mona heard the
unmistakeable sound of music drowning out Miss Bright’s cool response and then
a rustling sound. When she returned to the phone Miss Bright sounded out of
breath and a good deal friendlier. “Sorry about that. I had to move away from
the orchestra.”

Mona furrowed
her brow in puzzlement. “No problem. Where are you anyway?”

“Actually. I’m
at a wedding reception in Wailea, just a few towns away from you.”

Mona frowned.
Why on Earth had this woman taken her call? “Oh. I’m so sorry. I should let you
go. I just wanted to let you know that you were right and thank you for doing
such an incredible job of trying to fulfill my fantasy. Your attention to
detail was amazing and if you ever need a recommendation or some cupcakes or anything
like that, I would be happy to give you guys a glowing review.”

Miss Bright
chuckled. “I appreciate that but as you know our service is advertised almost
completely by word-of-mouth. The best you can do for us is to mention Delta of
Venus Inc., to another woman in need like yourself. Not another virgin, you
understand, but a woman who has an unfulfilled fantasy that is troubling her.”

“I’ll do that.”
Mona hesitated. “Miss Bright? How did you know I wouldn’t be able to go through
with it?”

“I don’t know. I
just had a feeling. You seemed more complex than your fantasy indicated. I mean,
losing your virginity on your wedding night to a man who resembles Superman?
It’s lovely in theory, but in practice, you clearly needed something more
unconventional. But I did do my best to give you what you wanted. Truly. I hope
you realize that.”

“I do. It was
everything I thought I wanted until I realized that I’m a great deal kinkier
than I knew.”

Miss Bright’s
tinkling laugh exploded through the phone. “I knew it!”

“Yes, you did.”
Mona smiled ruefully into the phone. “But now what? I suppose Clark has left
but I don’t really want to go back to the honeymoon cottage by myself. Seems
like a terrible waste. And the Resort Manager says this place is full. Maybe I
can get a flight back to Vancouver tonight…”

  “Don’t do
that. Listen. I feel terrible about your failed fantasy.  I really do. So why
don’t I make it up to you in some small way. I can’t promise you the honeymoon
cottage here but the company I work for just purchased the resort where this
wedding is taking place, so I’m certain I can get you a room. And you’re
welcome to join us here at the reception. The orchestra is tone-deaf, but it’s
open bar and there are some very attractive men here.”

“Really?
Attractive men you say? Are they all gigolos?”

More laughter
from Miss Bright. “I’m not telling. Now, do you want me to send a car or would
you prefer to brood on the beach by yourself?”

Was Miss Bright
psychic? Did she care? Not really.

It had been such
a strange day. From the moment she looked up and saw Sam assaulting her luggage
it seemed like her world had been irrevocably altered. Before him she’d had a
vague sense of wanting more from her life. To her that meant unloading her
virginity so she could find a suitable partner without the burden of explaining
her unusual circumstances. She’d suspected that taking some risk would be necessary
to achieve her goals, but what she hadn’t realized was that every experience,
whether humiliating or hurtful or humorous, shaped her and made her more
resilient and infinitely more interesting and confident. Being the bold person
she wanted to be didn’t have to be an act. It would come naturally the more she
allowed herself to experience life and accept its challenges.

In order to have
more from life she simply had to be more, try more and risk more. She had missed
an amazing opportunity to explore a relationship with Sam today. She vowed to
not let anything so precious pass her by again.

Which is why she
was seriously considering going to a wedding reception with a bunch of
strangers. She was done being fear’s scared little bitch. She was going to
dance and flirt and enjoy herself for once, without worrying about how much she
ate or drank. Or her ticking biological clock. Or the burden of carrying around
her cursed virginity. She would lose it when the time was right. Though a part
of her seriously doubted that another devirginator like Sam would cross her
path anytime soon.

She looked down
at her wrinkled clothing. “Ok. That sounds like fun. Just give me an hour to
find something appropriate to wear.”
And buy some underwear
, she thought
to herself as she stood up, brushed sand from her bottom, and walked
confidently towards the lobby of the resort to buy the slinkiest, sexiest dress
on the island.

This virgin was
ready to cut loose. If only to take her mind off Sam.

*****

The wedding reception was in full
swing when Mona arrived.

She followed
Miss Bright’s directions through the lobby, past the awe-inspiring infinity
pool and down the hill to the moonlit grounds overlooking the beach. There she
found a huge tent lit up with white fairy lights and surrounded by halogen
torches.

Well-dressed and
absurdly attractive people filled the tent. Some of them gathered in small
groups, talking and laughing, while a few couples danced to a band playing old
standards. She couldn’t see Miss Bright anywhere and started to feel like an
interloper when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

“Are you Mona?”
asked the smiling red-head in the white dress. “Liz asked me to watch for you
while she went to check on the entertainment.”

Mona nodded and
handed the woman the small gift-wrapped package she was carrying. “You must be
Kayla. Congratulations. I hope you don’t mind that Elizabeth invited me.”

Kayla took the
package and reached out to hug Mona warmly. “That’s so sweet. You didn’t have
to bring anything. You’re more than welcome. Pretty much everyone else here
works for DOV or Anais Industries in some capacity so I’m thrilled to have a
fellow client here.”

Mona gave her a
shocked look. Was it possible this gorgeous creature had resorted to hiring a
gigolo? “You were a client? Does your husband know?”

Kayla laughed
merrily. “Yup. He absolutely knows. In fact, that’s how we met.”

Mona nearly
choked. “You married your Scene Facilitator?”

“Well, it’s a
little more complicated than that, but yes, I did. That’s him. Nick. My
cowboy.” She pointed towards a tall, handsome blonde man in a tuxedo who looked
nothing like a cowboy. She smiled fondly at him and he gave her a heated look
from across the room. Mona felt tears prickling behind her eyes at the sight of
their obvious love for each other. This was exactly what she wanted: the
connection that existed between these two people that was palpable without
words or actions. If she ever met someone she had chemistry with like this she
would not run from it ever again. Even if the man she felt it with was too
young, too hot and too wild, like Sam.

Mona was just
about to excuse herself and go in search of Elizabeth when the band stopped
playing and a spotlight landed on the stage. A man with a guitar was standing
there and the wedding guests went quiet as he began singing in a raspy
baritone. His song started off borderline insulting to the groom and the tent
rippled with laughter but gradually the tone progressed to downright
sentimental. This big, rough-looking, very familiar man sang of envy and
longing and most of all, hope for the couple’s future together. When he
finished, the crowd was silent for several long seconds and then applause rang
out.

The man on the
stage smiled that heart-stopping smile and began to walk off-stage, clearly
embarrassed at the reaction of the other guests. He was met at the stairs by
the groom, who wrapped him in a big bear-hug. Kayla gave Mona another quick
squeeze and ran across the dance floor to join the two men. Clearly they were
all close friends.

Mona could only
stare at the man who’d nearly taken her virginity in a public lavatory that
afternoon. She knew Sam was on the island somewhere but the wedding he was here
to attend wasn’t until tomorrow. Wasn’t that what he’d said? Or had she just
assumed the wedding was the next day? And now they were here in the same room.
It was like fate had brought them together. Or someone else entirely.

Miss Bright was
suddenly standing beside her. Elizabeth was stunning in a black beaded gown and
black pearls. “He really knows how to get a reaction, doesn’t he?” She said, waving
her hand in Sam’s direction.

Mona gave her a
startled look. “You know him?” Realization dawned as she looked around the room
and realized that many of the people at this wedding worked for Delta of Venus
Inc. She`d recognized both the company`s receptionist and Miss Bright`s personal
assistant sitting at a nearby table. “Oh my God.” She nearly shouted. “Of
course you know him. He’s a Scene Facilitator, isn’t he? You double-teamed me.”

“Shhh…” Miss
Bright pulled her to the side, obviously wanting to avoid a scene in front of
the other guests. “No. I swear I didn’t double-team you. Sam doesn’t work for
me.”

“But you
arranged for us to meet on the plane, didn’t you? He was your back-up, wasn’t
he? You just couldn’t leave my fantasy alone, could you?” Mona covered the
bottom half of her face with her cupped hands as the full extent of Miss
Bright’s machinations became clear.

Miss Bright shook
her head and reached out to Mona. “All I did was book his seat in close
proximity to yours. You two took care of the rest.”

“But he knows
about me, doesn’t he? That I’m an ancient virgin? And a client of your agency?
He knows about Clark?”

Miss Bright
nodded reluctantly. “Well, yes. I didn’t tell him anything. But he is
responsible for our video surveillance system, and he may have been testing the
equipment when you were in my office.”

Mona groaned. “He
overheard our entire conversation?”

“Just the last
few minutes.”

“This is so
humiliating. I thought he sincerely was attracted to me, but apparently I was
just some kind of bizarre charity case to him.”

“It wasn’t like
that at all. He really was attracted to you. Judging by the way he’s been
moping since he got off the plane, I’d say he still is. The rabid bridesmaids
haven’t had a chance with him.” Miss Bright pointed to the bevy of wanna-be supermodels
fawning over Sam beside the stage. It was obvious from his pained expression
that he was trying to politely escape their clutches but they hung onto him
like barnacles.

Mona reluctantly
turned her bewildered face towards Miss Bright. “I don’t understand. He wanted
to meet me based entirely on that interview in your office?”

“That’s not
entirely true. But I’ll let him explain the details later.”

 “So does he
have a spinster fetish? Or is he just a general type of predator who saw an
opportunity for an easy lay and went for it?”

Miss Bright
crossed her arms and looked meaningfully towards the groupies. “First of all,
you’re a forty-year-old virgin which is, by definition, the opposite of an easy
lay. Second. Does it look like he has to go to such extreme measures to get
women?”

Mona watched as
one pretty blonde girl with impossibly large breasts wrapped her fingers around
the neck of Sam’s guitar to prevent him from putting it away in its weathered
case. She ran her fingers up and down the strings in a gesture that was
unmistakeably erotic, even from across the tent. Mona silently willed the
guitar case to snap shut on the pushy blonde’s manicured fingers. Oblivious to
the daggers Mona was shooting her way, the girl continued fingering the guitar
like it was an extension of Sam’s buff body.

Mona watched,
waiting to see if Sam would fall for Double-D Barbie’s attempts at seduction.
She half-expected him to take the girl up on her offer but instead of responding
he gently removed the blonde’s hands from the guitar. When she protested he
gave her an indulgent smile and a condescending pat on the cheek. Then he walked
away towards the bar. The girl pouted at his retreating back but he didn’t even
seem to notice.