Her Heart's Desire

Ivan took the opportunity to say goodbye to his grandmother.

“It’s been a hell of a night,” she said, when he came to her side.

“That it has.”

“She’s a great girl, Ivan. I mean that. I can tell she doesn’t take any crap from you, either. That makes me like her even more.”

He shook his head. “Is that so?”

“You know me—I like women with spunk. She looks like she gives as good as she gets. I meant what I said earlier. I think she’ll do nicely—and not just to dip your cone in, either.”

“GiGi,” Ivan warned.

“Don’t GiGi me,” she said, raising herself up to her full height. “You’d better not go over to Dubai and get yourself hurt. That would really piss me off.”

Ivan gave his grandmother a big hug. He kissed her cheek. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He saw his family to the car. When he came back in, Tiffany wasn’t in the living room. He locked the door and turned out the lights.

Ivan reached her bedroom door and stopped short. The entire room was engulfed in candlelight. Tiffany was kneeling in the center of the bed waiting for him, her body shimmering with incandescent light. The cream-colored lace nightie she wore teased him with what was to come. Ivan was struck with the reverence of it all. It felt almost like his wedding night. His gaze traveled over the woman who had come to mean the world to him in such a short amount of time. Nothing could have prepared him for how his five-foot-two-and-a-half-inch beauty could have captured his heart so completely.

He fought to contain the emotion bubbling up inside. He had to be strong…for both of them.

“Words fail me.”

Her face lit up at his compliment. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Ivan walked to the bed. He sat down at the foot. “I could stare at you all night.”

“Not all night,” she teased.

“Thank you,” he said humbly.

“For what?”

“Where do I start? For your thoughtful words earlier, for throwing me a spectacular party, for…tonight.”

“When I first saw you, I remember thinking that you were an Army of One, and it’s true. I know you’ll protect me and keep me safe from harm—and I want to do the same for you.”

“You do, Tiffany. I recall thinking that with you, I could be myself. I can let my guard down because you’ve got my back. You’re the one looking out for me.”

“I take my job seriously,” she reminded him.

Tiffany reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. When she was finished, she slid it off his shoulders. He tossed it on the floor. She knelt forward and unbuckled his belt and then unzipped his pants. Ivan got up and stepped out of them, and then his boxer briefs. Totally devoid of clothing, he stood there.

Tiffany shook her head in wonder. “You’re magnificent.”

As if he had all the time in the world, Ivan slid the straps to Tiffany’s nightgown down one at a time. The nightgown fell to a pool around her stomach. She was wearing the ruby necklace he’d given her. He reached out and fondled the three gemstones. She was wearing his heart, his mind and his soul, and didn’t even know it.

“So are you.”

They made love slowly, and with infinite tenderness. Ivan caressed every inch of Tiffany, as if committing her to memory. He coaxed her body to a fever pitch, and when they finally came together, seconds later, Tiffany erupted with pleasure almost instantly.

Ivan felt her squeezing him tight and holding him in a honeyed embrace. He rolled her over and on top of him. From his vantage point, he could have full access to her body, and when he slipped his hand between her legs, his ministrations awarded him the best view of her ecstatic second release. He closed his eyes and savored the feel of her holding him inside of her. Surrounded by warmth. Protected.

This time, when Ivan felt his control ebbing, it was Tiffany who lured him over the edge with her sweet words of affection.

“Let go, Ivan. I’ve got you.”