Chosen by the Fates

Just for Now

Aisling~

The rest of the event is captivating, fun, and by the end of it the brothers, Tiffa, and I have all danced together. Ashleigh took our first dance together as an opportunity to show off his own dance skills. This led to some strange competition of skill, in which he and Sionainn took turns leading me in increasingly complicated moves until I was dizzy from all the spinning, dips, and lifts. 

Tiffa and Cian laughed as I finally stumbled back to the table, waving any attempts to bring me out to the floor again off with both hands.

At one point, the protagonist actually scooped Cian up in her arms, leaving us all laughing at his shocked reaction. However, as a seasoned performer, he recovered quite well. It is as if the minute the spotlight landed on him, he became an entirely different person. Confidence radiated from him, and he even made an overtly obvious gesture as if meaning to kiss her until the protagonist’s love interest challenged him to a duel for her hand.

Fortunately, he was saved by the antagonist calling out to them from the balconies.

By the time we enter the limo, we are all laughing that we have had our fill of dancing and theater for a lifetime.

Tiffa speaks up while we remove our masks, “But isn’t it part of your job to dance?”

“Even more a reason to be sick of it!” Cian exclaims with Ashleigh nodding in agreement. Sionainn’s smile conveys sympathy if not agreement. Sionainn dances with flourish, and his face lights up even more than usual when he is on the dance floor. For him it is more than just a performance.

I call Sionainn out, “You love to dance though, I can tell.”

He raises his eyebrows with a broad grin and open gesture of his arms, “All the world is a stage, my dear.”

Ashleigh rolls his eyes, saying nothing.

Cian snorts, “Say that to my jet lagged brain.”

We settle in for the ride back to the penthouse, and I find myself drifting off into a light nap.

When we finally arrive back at the penthouse, it is fairly late. Tiffa and I agree to meet in the kitchen for coffee in an hour, after a shower, changing into PJ’s, and whatever unspoken hijinks she plans to pull with Cian I’m sure. At my insistence, we also ask the brothers to join us for the conversation. 

I feel relieved. I have a million questions from the last 24 hours, and I really could use my best friend’s help processing it all.

After Tiffa leaves, I realize I forgot to ask for her help with the million and one small fastenings of my dress. When I open the door, Ashleigh is there, poised to knock. “Oh… I can come back if you’re still –“He clears his throat.

A blush rises to my cheeks, but it’s just as well. I don’t want to potentially interrupt Tiffa and Cian, “Actually, I need a little help. Would you mind coming in?” I step aside, a quiet offer and request for him to enter.

He nods, moving past me hesitantly. He is still in his tuxedo pants and shirt, but the shirt is unbuttoned at the top. His tie hangs undone on either side of his neck. My stomach does a flip, my heart fluttering. I can hear what Tiffa would say, He looks like a snack.

The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind of unusual experiences for me. So much so that Ashleigh and I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about any of it. I step close to him, turning. I feel his warm hands hover carefully over the first fastening, unhooking it smoothly. His hands slowly make their way downward. One by one, my dress loosens around me. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to wear something like this again. A sigh escapes my lips. “It was such a good surprise. Thank you.” My voice is soft, almost sad.

His hands pause, his own tenor quiet. “You are quite welcome. It wouldn’t have been as fun without your company.”

His warm breath falls on my neck as he speaks, sending a shiver down my back. His hands resume removing my dress fastenings, fingertips brushing my skin as he undoes each one.

When Ashleigh finally speaks, his voice is gentle. “The man who approached you tonight…” He leaves his question unfinished.

“Sol?” I ask.

“Yes.” Ashleigh hesitates, “He was the man from the coffee shop?”  

As I nod, I feel Ashleigh’s hand pause on one of the fastenings before continuing. I had assumed the brothers hadn’t recognized him in the mask. Ashleigh is quiet as he unhooks another fastening.

When he finally speaks, his inquiry is cautious. “You seemed upset. I’ve never seen you like that before.” His words bear more weight than a week of friendship or flirting. Something from one of our dreams together echoes in my mind. We’ve known one another forever…

“Not even before?” I still don’t remember anything from our lives together. I only know how close I feel to him and his brothers without really knowing them well at all. Even Cian.   

“Not even before.” His voice is so quiet, and I feel an ache in my chest as he answers.

His hands are low on my back as he unfastens another hook. I remember the feel of him in my dreams, and again in the early hours before our flight here. Is this something I can talk about with him?

“Are you alright?” He asks, his voice still gentle. I realize he is genuinely just worried about me.

I consider his careful question. Am I alright?

Asking myself opens a floodgate of thoughts and feelings within me. Sol drives my body crazy in ways I don’t understand. I’ve never felt anything like it in this one life I remember. Was there a time when Ashleigh made me feel that way? Is it just hormones? I prefer to believe the latter. Hormones would make the connection meaningless and easy to write off.

Sol ghosted me for a week, then tried to reel me back in while making out with his business partner.  What is his apology even worth to me? He’s practically a stranger.

As my thoughts run, I grow angrier about it. How dare he make me think of him in the middle of this fairy tale day with Tiffa and these amazing men.

The small irrational part of me that kept feeling excited, believing Sol feels the same inexplicable attraction to me that I do to him protests. So, I shove it into the furthest part of me imaginable with all of the frustration from the evening. How dare he. He said I owe him nothing, and he’s right. I don’t.

I take a deep breath, imagining myself on the beach from our dreams. My mind clears with the exercise, and I imagine the frustration washing away with each lapping wave.

“I was surprised. And I guess I’m a little angry. He ghosted me after that date. Tonight, he apologized to me, asking me to meet with him again. While there with his current date.”  My voice is calm, and my explanation is simpler than the thoughts that ran through my head.

Out loud, I realize how emotionally simple the situation is. I am not dating Sol. I don’t want to, knowing what I know. And as I open up, I am acutely aware of how comfortable I feel doing so with Ashleigh. It comes naturally, as if I could share anything with him, and for some reason, I know that everything will always be okay between us.

He has paused once again, hand hovering over a fastening as confide in him. “He sounds complicated.” Ashleigh finally says, his tenor thoughtful as he works his way lower on the innumerable tiny closures of my dress.  

Ashleigh’s words lack any judgement or scorn. His hands brush past the small of my back. Each touch sends a shiver through my body as my mind drifts away from the topic. When Ashleigh unfastens the last one, I turn, holding my dress in place over my breasts.

“Thank you.” I say softly, looking into his eyes.

“Of course.” His tenor is quiet, gaze holding mine.

Still holding my dress with one hand, I reach out with the other to rest it against his broad chest. Despite how calm his expression is, I can feel his heart hammering against the touch. He places his own warm hand to rest over top of mine. Looking into his eyes, I see someone who is more than just attracted to me. He cares deeply about my well-being.

“I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready.” He turns to go, but as if in reflex my hand tightens on his.

“Stay?” My voice is hushed and comes out more vulnerable than I realize I felt.

He half turns, his bright eyes considering me.

I try to be as open as possible, “I’m on birth control. My STD tests are clear, and it’s been forever since…” I drop my eyes, thinking. I’m not sure what else he might want to know. “It doesn’t have to be anything more than just this. Just for now.”

“Same.”

“You’re also on birth control?” I joke back.

He chuckles, “No, that it’s been forever, and my STD tests are clear.” He studies me carefully, as if he can see through me and into my soul. He is looking at me as someone who he has known forever. He has had lifetimes of experience with which to understand me.

He steps close to me, reaching up to gently caress the lines of my brow and jaw. “Just for now.” His words are quiet and imply a transient quality to this moment. As if he sees something within me that I don’t. It somehow, makes me feel even safer with him.

“Just for now.” I whisper my agreement.

I reach to unbutton the first button of his shirt, dress falling to the floor as I do. His eyes travel down the curves and angles of my naked body as I undo the next button.

His fingertips trace the length from my neck to my shoulders, following the bound of my breasts.

I unhook the next button.

He leans toward me, our lips brushing. I close my eyes, savoring the feel of his hot breath against my mouth. My hands work their way down his shirt buttons until it hangs open, untucked.

He pinches at my n*****s, and then massages the curve of my breasts. I work at his belt and pants buttons until they fall free from his waist. His hands massage down the length of my body, following the curve of my hips lower, exploring every inch of my skin.

I hook my thumbs in the elastic of his underwear, tugging downward. He leans into me as his already hard length slides against my inner thigh, and I bodily push into him. Our lips press firmly together, I open my mouth to him even as he grips my buttocks, lifting me against him.

A rush of heat and pressure pools in the most sensitive areas of my core between my legs as the bulge of his c**k brushes my c**t. I whimper into his mouth as we kiss, wrapping my legs around him tightly. His tongue explores every inch of my mouth, and he carries me to the bed.

I feel my back press into the mattress and blankets as he lowers me, the weight of his naked body bearing against mine. I unwrap my legs, grasping to pull at his hips as he slides his d**k back and forth across my c**t. I moan with each brush, gasping when he breaks our kiss.

He rises up, and I feel the blunt end of his c**k press into the deep folds of my v***na, entering just a little. I bite my lower lip at the tingling sensations that rush through me as my opening is stretched just that small amount. My body bucks against him desperately, the movement sliding his impossibly erect d**k  further inside of me as I do. But he immediately pulls back with a groan.  

Pleading sounds escape my lips, but instead of conceding, he covers my mouth with his once more, his fingers reaching to massage my c**t gently. Each passing stroke of his touch against the small sensitive skin sends wave after wave of tingling sensations coursing through my body. Every sound that escapes me, swallowed by the kiss. I return the kiss with imploring fervor as his fingers play across my c**t.

He breaks away from my mouth, trailing a series of kisses down my jaw, shoulders, and breasts. He stops at my breasts, taking each of my n*****s into his mouth for a long moment. My body writhes against his touch and his mouth.

My v***na grows wet with need, I can feel the muscles of my core squeezing. I want him inside of me. His hands and the kissing down my body just builds the desire with each excruciating, pleasurable delay.

His tongue trails down my stomach, tracing the arch of my pelvic bone. I feel the heat of his breath on my wet core as he continues to flick at my c**t with his fingers, and it sends shivers across my entire body. Then suddenly his fingers stop, and his tongue is inside of me, eliciting a sharp gasp from me. My hands grasp the bedcovers tightly, and my entire body involuntarily arches up into him.

He drags his tongue up to my c**t, then back down, and begins rhythmically stroking the length of it all. Every few strokes, he plunges his tongue back into me, then back up to my c**t to roll it around in his hot, wet mouth. I whimper. Waves of pleasure rock my body, building into a crescendo of pressure, need, and my core clenching and unclenching tightly against him.

The next time his tongue plunges into me, it is joined by the feeling of his fingers returning to gently flicking my c**t. The licking within me combined with the overwhelming sensation of the constant and simultaneous stimulation of my c**t throws me over some unfathomable peak of pleasure.

Even as my core begins to spasm with orgasm, I feel him withdraw. Then his d**k pushes hard inside my soaking c*nt. I cry out in pleasure, which he silences once again with his mouth. I can taste myself on him, and every part of my body just wants all of him inside of me.

He pumps slowly against me, groaning as my core spasms against the length of his c**k. I can barely move with how overstimulated I feel. At his next thrust, I wrap my legs around his hips, rocking my body against his. Every part of the length of him inside of me keeps me at just the brink of pleasure, drawing out my orgasm into some continued sensation of need that begins to build all over again.

He picks up speed as whimpering and pleading sounds escape my lips into his mouth with another breathless kiss. I slide my hands up his arms, feeling the muscles there working as his whole body takes mine. My thighs clench and unclench as he begins to draw nearly completely out after each thrust.

Sometimes he slides out and back in slowly, other times forcefully. All the while his mouth is on mine, tongue tangled with mine. Wave after wave of pleasure builds again, the pressure mounting is even greater this time. Until one final thrust is my undoing. I gasp into him, my body shuddering against him. He f**ks me harder with each repeated thrust while I orgasm until I feel the erect length of his d**k spasming as he cums within me. He gasps into my mouth, relaxing bodily against me.

I moan happily, arms and legs tangled around him.     

We close our eyes, holding one another just for a little while.