The Call Girl and the Businessman Ch. 10

The pain in my left foot was forgotten until Henry came up towards us.

He was taken aback when he saw the state we were in. Matthias (oh, how nice it was to be able to call him Matthias!) was rugged and bare-chested, cradling me in his arms. My empire dress of muslin and lace was torn at its layered skirts. Only the butterfly sleeves remained somewhat presentable. I finally had to admit that he was right in calling it a flimsy piece of clothing.

"What happened to you, Lila?" Henry asked.

There was concern in his voice.

"She cut herself on a rock, and then she was swept under the current. She nearly drowned." Matthias said.

In his embrace, I felt his body momentarily contracting into spasms. It worried me greatly. I observed him then, only to realize that he was thinking about the inevitable had he not been there in time to save me.

A sudden realization swept through me.

"You saved me. Had you not came to me in time, I would not... have made it." I said.

I shuddered as I thought of what could have happened and how fleeting life was.

"Thank goodness you found her." Henry exclaimed.

A deep rush of relief was apparent in his face. His gaze was on me though, although he spoke to my dear Mr. Boardmann; my Matthias.

I wanted to protest that it was not exactly how it happened but I let it be. Yes, I did cut myself on a rock, but at that point, I was not drowning yet. I ignored the pain and went deeper into sea to throw the moonstone necklace into oblivion. Then it happened. But now, I could afford to be less precise about things. I was well taken care of. I had people who cared for me. I did not need standard rules. I could be me without deferring to rules.

Matthias looked at me tenderly, his eyes brimming with love. He was beautiful really, both on the inside and outside, and I felt like I was falling in love with him all over again.

"Of course I had to save my little minx who ran away again." He said, in a deep voice.

"In my defence, I thought that you and Clara were getting back together." I said.

There was actually circumstantial evidence to prove that in a court of law. The fact that the ring was shown to her was an inference to connect it to the conclusion that they were actually getting back together. I stopped myself just there. Do not think too much, Lila, I reminded myself.

"I see that look in your eyes. You are thinking about something; going through it in all scenarios." He said.

"I am trying not to think. It takes time to stop my thought process." I replied.

I looked at Mr. Boardmann. I wanted him to be aware of who I inherently was.

"But that's who I am. I'm always going to think a lot, over-analyse stuff. That's always going to annoy you." I said.

"That's right. You have annoyed me quite a bit and I suspect it's an ongoing thing with you." He said.

He was smiling though. There was a twinkle in his eyes.

I looked at him incredulously. Sometimes I cannot understand the thought process of this man; the same way he cannot understand mine. Yet I had felt what he had; deeply and profoundly. I accepted him as he was, and he accepted me as I was.

"You like to be roused into annoyance by me." I said, figuring it out for myself.

"Well, I know my way around you, little minx. There's nothing about you that I cannot handle." He said, with a wink in his eyes.

Henry cleared his throat. Our attention was on him again.

"I called Mr. Boardmann to tell him where you were, Lila. I thought it dangerous to go down to sea in the dark especially after the storm yesterday." Henry said.

"You're indeed a wise man, Henry." I said.

"Huh?" Henry asked.

I smiled sheepishly. I wanted to give him a hug but I could not walk so Mr. Boardmann carried me to him and I hugged him while still perched on his arm.

"I'm so grateful that you called me, Henry. Otherwise I would have lost the love of my life." Mr. Boardmann said.

Both men had their gazes on me though.

Good, old Henry offered to carry me back to the boulevard but my stubbornness of a man refused to relinquish his grasp on me. Finally we walked amongst the willows and then I was gently assisted over the barrier. Mr. Boardmann drove me to the nearby hospital where my wound was stitched up. It was a painful process. Nevertheless it was a short-lived experience. He was there with me, holding my hand, telling me to be brave, until I felt a little shy with all the attention he showered me and concentrated on that instead.

My stubborn man insisted that I stay with him until the wound healed, because I could only hop about on one foot, or wobble at best. I could get into more trouble, according to him. He did not want to let me out of his sight. I was happy enough to oblige. While I was convalescing at the penthouse suite, he drove to my place at the other end of the suburb and he practically moved all my clothes into the penthouse suite. He left me nothing to wear back home.

"It's only going to be for a few days till my wound is healed." I said.

I now rested my face on his shoulders. We were both on the settee, side by side, looking out at the balcony, over an autumn night sky. The moon was shining brightly. It was rather dark because of the fog, but the stars all around were twinkling away.

"I was thinking about you moving in with me." He said, murmuring into my cheek which was on his shoulders.

"Shouldn't you ask me first before taking the liberty of transporting all my clothes here?" I said.

I now faced him, trying to look as stern as I could, but instead the more I tried to look stern, the more I broke into laughter.

"Although I cannot read your mind, I can feel your emotions, Lila. To me, it's like our emotions exist on a shared plane." He said with a smile, taking my hand in his and placing it on his heart.

That night, as we lay in bed, we finally made love. Despite the intense strength and brute force which came naturally to him, he was surprisingly gentle with me. He idolized every nook and corner of my body; every curve and scar. The scars on my back were like flowers to me now, because he kissed them there the most.

We stood as God had created us; equal but different; the same way Adam and Eve stood before each other. I saw his body in full glory the same way he saw mine. Limb upon limb; flesh upon flesh. I inhaled his scent; the musky saturation. He inhaled my very own.

"The scent of dew combined with a sweet freshness. The scent of you." He whispered.

He pressed me against his whole body. I leaned against him; for want of support, although I could not wholly tell if it was because of my bandaged foot or because I was utterly and inexplicably seduced by him.

"This is the body behind the man. You already know the man; no doubt." He said.

I nodded; blushing in awe at his chiselled body. His taut chest tempted me. I saw the length of his male appendage; hardened by desire for me. I felt a tingling in my sex; an arousal between my legs.

He had started by kissing me gently on my cheeks and then my lips. His kisses grew more incessant and passionate till I was breathless. Then he felt the weight of my breasts under his palms; feeling them as they were. His long fingers toyed with them skilfully but he gazed directly into my eyes. My lips parted to say something intelligent; but there was nothing intelligent about how I felt. Instead I heaved out inarticulate whimpers. Carnal desire had engulfed me.

"Matthias..." I said, whimpering.

I finally managed to say something coherent.

"Allow me, Lila." He said, in a husky voice.

He smiled a smile only a seductive, dangerous man could.

His mouth now took charge of my breasts while his hand moved downwards to caress me at my sex. I whimpered more as my body naturally plunged into him. I felt strange and greatly aroused. He was slowly taking his time as he pleasured me. I had never felt the intensity of a slow seduction before.

"I don't think I can take this." I whispered.

His dark eyelashes fluttered at me; his eyes full of desire.

"I think you can, Lila." He said softly and he nibbled at my ear.

In one swoop, he carried me to bed, placing my head on the velvet pillow. He moved on top of me. I saw the magnificence of his body towering over me. I knew this was the moment we would consummate our relationship.

"May I?" He whispered.

His eyes burned with control. His voice sounded stilted.

"Yes." I said.

Slowly he moved his whole length into me; I felt him throbbing as he completely filled me. His tender eyes gazed at mine with molten desire, but he stayed there; still and unmoving.

"Can you feel me, Lila?" He asked.

His voice was a little hoarse. He exerted great control over his faculties. He did not fully let go; he had been afraid of hurting me with the raw strength and brute force which he could not control had he lost himself.

"I feel you, Matthias." I said, in a whisper.

Upon hearing my words, he started thrusting slowly in me. I watched his face; darkened by desire. I reached my hands out to touch his chest. His body was already damp with sweat.

I rarely had an orgasm since I entered the escort industry. Sex was pleasant but I was never pleasured in a way that I could feel an intensity so strong; a longing so great for release that nothing else mattered. I never lost control. I was always in touch with my rational mind. With Mr. Boardmann; my Matthias (I noticed that I had been alternating with how I called him) I wanted to let go of my inhibitions and allow myself to surrender to him now that he was mine.

"Let go, Matthias. Let go. I'll be fine. We'll be fine." I said, in a husky voice, only reserved for my lover.

"What if I get too rough on you? You will tell me, won't you?" He asked.

He lightly brought his hands to the sides of my cheek, gently caressing my skin. It tingled under his touch. His warmth set me ablaze.

I saw his worried eyes and I knew from the tone of his voice that he exercised rigid control over the faculties of his movement.

"I'll let you know when it's too rough." I said, raising my head to his and planting a kiss on his neck.

I nodded, giving him the reassurance he needed to continue.

My words were what he needed to hear. He let go of all semblance of control. Piercing me with a fiery intensity in his eyes, he started thrusting fervently into my body; deep and hard as he held my gaze. I felt him pulsate and throb within me, causing me to clench my sex around his involuntarily. Almost as quickly, I too lost my sense of control. I was no longer thinking. I had surrendered completely to him.

I heard a woman cry out, as if in pain; only to realize that it was my own voice reverberating in the dimmed lightning. I heard a man groan; making animalistic noises, only to realize that it was the man I loved. I felt the clouds coming down to form rain; I scented the musky saturation in the air. I scented then; my Mr. Boardmann. My Matthias. His breath became mine. I was no longer breathing on my own. He had possessed me.

I cried out his name again; I arched my hips towards him; giving him full access to me. He wrenched my thighs apart; trying to go deeper until no deeper could he go. He pounded into me with vigour but he kept his eyes on me. My muscles clenched all over him, without any control of what I was doing. It was then he reached his peak. He made a sound; something between a moan and a groan.

"Lila." He said hoarsely.

My name was peppered with the intensity of love-making. His voice was saturated with nothing but primal arousal. He looked at me straight in the eyes; his pierce intense; his grey eyes dark with desire. His muscles contracted hard and then he surrendered to me. I felt him fill me with his passion. Then his body became limp as he collapsed onto me; his head snugly between the valley of my breasts.

I stroked his head; caressed his damp, thick brown hair. With effort, he raised his head and looked into my eyes with love and concern. His face dripped with sweat; his lips moist and tender.

"We could do that again." I whispered.

He said not a word, but the look in his eyes was enough to tell me how relieved he was. With a mischievous grin, he started to kiss my lips and idolize my body all over again. He was the perfect lover and I realized how fortunate I was to have him; to be the recipient of his love as well as his love-making to unravel into a woman who was flushed from passion.

"Let me pleasure you too, Matthias." I said.

He let me take the length of his arousal in my hands. I kissed him there; my cheeks nuzzled against him. I took him with all my senses. My hands caressed him, my lips skittered over him and my mouth tasted him. I gazed at him; only to see him looking at me with such thunderous passion that I felt a lightning bolt must had struck me. I took him in me until he could hold it no longer; he finally filled me with the saltiness of his essence.

"Lila, ik hou van jou." He said, almost growling out the words in Dutch.

He grabbed me roughly with his brute force; enveloping me in his arms.

"Matthias, chan rak khun." I murmured in Thai; the very same three little words I had uttered to him in secret last night.

I heard my own voice. It was the voice of a woman so much in love that her voice trilled with passion. We lost track of time; and all worldly concerns. We made love until spent, we lay in each other's arms; completely satiated.

I woke up sometime in the god-forsaken hours of the night. I heard his heavy breathing and knew he was sound asleep. I gazed at him. His face still glowed from the aftermath of our love-making. The duvet was tangled at his feet again, and I could not help but smile. His body looked majestic but endearing at the same time. My warm man. Why did he ever bother about the striped linen pyjamas?

I got into my dressing gown and quietly tiptoed out of the bedroom. I went to the living room and let my gaze fall beyond the clear glass panels. There had been a storm again, and I had not realised it until I saw droplets of rain on the panels. We had been too engrossed in our own world of desire and passion. We knew only of the other and nothing else.

I scented the musky saturation in the air; in the penthouse suite and strangely directly behind me. Instinctively I looked behind me.

"Lila." He whispered.

The living room was dark except for the lights beyond the horizon. In the dimmed lighting, his silhouette was like a sculpture of an archangel from the Renaissance. He strode right up to me, his arms clasping me from behind. Starkly naked, he pressed himself against me.

I turned towards him, arching my head to him for a kiss.

"I am the musky saturation you hold dear." He said, whispering into my ears.

He had already known.

"Yes." I said.

My voice was soft; trembling a little.

"And your composition "Scent before Rain" was dedicated to me." He said tenderly.

I nodded shyly because he had already made me reveal so much about my love for him.

His arms tightened around my waist.

"Ever since an arrogant, rude and condescending man stared at me at the restaurant with those piercing eyes, my life changed forever." I said.

Yet I did want to admit that much to him. However I could not help the use of certain qualities to describe him properly.

He turned me around so that I faced him. He tilted my chin upwards with his warm fingers.

"The first time I laid my eyes on you, I saw an angel and she was my miracle." He said.

I was mesmerized by the knowing gaze in his eyes.

"I loved her right from the start. She healed me; made me see the fault of my ways. I am the best version of myself because of her." He said.

He drew me closer to him. Feeling shy, I looked down at the marble floor. He kissed my eyelids ever so gently; symmetrically on both sides.

"You made me believe again in the loftiness of my youthful ideals. Remember my childhood dream? You had asked me to chase my dream and make it happen. " He asked.

I nodded. How could I forget his dream to build the most beautiful house ever?

"What do you think about a mansion in the suburbs? I want to build one from scratch." He said.

It was good to see him enthusiastic about his childhood dream again. He looked so boyish and young.

"It sounds like a good idea. I love vast space and fresh air. To be honest, I don't want to live in my empty house anymore. It reminds me of another time in my life. I have since moved on." I said.

"And I thought I was the one who needed the scale of emptiness." He said with a chuckle.

"I look forward to your most beautiful house." I said.

"Lila, it will be our project. Our most beautiful house." He said, correcting me.

I smiled at his insistence on terminologies. Was it not my domain previously?

"What about this penthouse suite? I am rather fond of it now. It played a part in how we first met." I said.

"Who says that we can't have more than one place of residence?" He asked.

I smiled. He was my millionaire businessman. Why did I forget that?

"You seem to forget that I am actually a very eligible bachelor with bright prospects after my success in South East Asia." He said.

"Your money does not attract me, Mr. Boardmann." I said.

"What does, Lila?" He asked, lovingly.

"All that male arrogance, stubbornness, kindness, lovingness..." I said.

The list went on really.

His roving hands rose from my waist to the contours of my breasts. He tugged apart the soft fabric of my dressing gown, revealing my body to him. He led me to bed and we made love again. Bodies splayed upon each other, I had never felt so much love and passion in my life before. This was Heaven on earth.

The next few days passed quickly. Matthias kept to his word. He barely left my side. He said that he needed to take care of me because of my wound. We did however keep ourselves very occupied holed up in the bedroom.

By Saturday, the wound was fully healed, the stitches removed and I was able to walk normally again. We went to Lucas's house together. The three of us bonded well and we were able to be ourselves in each other's company. I played some hits from the nineties on the piano while Matthias sang to my playing; with Lucas chipping in now and then. We told Lucas about our engagement, and he was ecstatic to hear the good news.

With Matthias by my side and holding my hand, I had a long talk with Lucas about the past three years. Lucas became teary-eyed when he heard about what I had gone through.

"You are like a daughter to me, Duanphen. I wished I had reached out to you more." He said.

I finally had the courage to tell him that I had bought him a suit for Father's Day as he was the closest I got to having a father. Yet I dared not present it to him for fear of being rejected. It had been the same suit that I gave Matthias to wear when he spent the night at my place. He had then mistaken it as a memento of a lover I had mourned.

Lucas hugged me tightly.

"I insist you give it to me the next time I see you." He had said.

The tears which welled up in his eyes started flowing down his weather-beaten face. I cried too; I had never felt so much love around me.

A day later, Matthias and I attended Gerald's wedding. It was a lavish ceremony. Both the bride and bridegroom looked radiant. When they heard that we were engaged, they proposed a toast for us as well. So much attention from the people around me that I was reeling from love. This life I have now; I could not believe that it was real. I was afraid that if I blinked for a second, all would be gone. It was all just a lovely dream. Yet Matthias assured me that this was real; this life I now lead. I trusted him with all my heart.