Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,89
Surely this must be costing you too? I guess I just don’t understand why you would want to take all of this on.”
He paused a moment and then spoke, his sexy voice almost caressing as he formed the words.
“I don’t have the answers, Elise. All I know is that since the moment I first laid eyes on you, you have dominated my every waking thought and a good few of my dreams too.” He chuckled lightly, “For me, there is this connection, this need to be with you - almost sometimes more than my next breath. It makes no sense but it is there and I am done with denying it. It’s hard for me to know that you are married, to know that you live with another man, share his life, eat meals with him, watch TV with him, sleep with him.......” he stopped a moment, and ran his hand through his thick dark hair allowing it to flop back down across his face, “But I need you in my life, so much, more than you can possibly realise and so I will take whatever part of you I can get. I can’t begin to tell you how much it kills me to know what your husband does to you but I respect your decision to deal with him however you consider best. All I ask Elise is this – please let us have tonight. One night. Even if it’s only ever one night. Please? I need this.”
Elise reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, amazed to feel dampness there. She dragged her hand further down and rubbed her thumb across his lip, watching as he took it into his mouth and sucked on it, the movement unbelievably erotic.
She knew her answer; she had always known her answer. There had never really been any question. And now this beautiful man deserved to know too.
Taking a deep breath she raised her eyes to his and poured all of her emotions out with just one look and three words.
“Yes, Vaughn,” she said simply, “Yes.”
They stood there for an inordinate amount of time looking at each other, lightly holding hands and occasionally holding each other. The enormity of the situation was sinking in for both of them and they needed to process it in their own way, individually and without words.
Eventually they decided to return to the ballroom – the others would be wondering where they had got to – and for the sake of propriety, Vaughn released her hand as they left the alcove. Still they didn’t speak and just walked along silently; side by side, completely caught up in the moment and this, their undeniable connection to each other.
Although they had only been gone for a few minutes, for Elise it felt like a lifetime. Just like when she had been to the ladies room earlier, another weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that she had finally acknowledged her attraction to Vaughn. She had accepted it. Understood that it was something that needed to be dealt with, addressed, experienced and given air to breathe. Not something to be swept under the carpet in the hope that it would disappear. She had been fooling herself that this wasn’t going to happen. It was always going to happen; from that first e-mail a few short days ago, exactly as Vaughn had said.
As a result she now had to work out how to deal with the rest of her life and she didn’t have the first clue how she was going to do that.
Tonight though, she could forget. Just for this one night – forget.
Everything else could be dealt with tomorrow.
The others had almost finished their meals by the time they returned to the table and after the quiet emotion of their time in the alcove, Elise was immediately hit by the level of noise and frivolity coming from all around. The wine was flowing, the food was wonderful and everyone in the room appeared to be succumbing to the atmosphere. In another time and another place, Elise would have revelled in this but she was still feeling nervous and unsettled from the enormity of what had occurred between her and Vaughn.
Regardless of how right her decision felt and of the undeniable problems that she and Dale had, he was still her husband, she was still a married woman and she was still trying to comprehend that her marriage was finally finished.