Falling for Him 2 (Rachel and Peter in Love) Read online

  I quickly donned my two piece black suit, conservative by the looks of the Spanish women who were either sunbathing or enjoying the warm water.

  When Peter silently admired me, I forgot about how great the other women looked. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on me and my confidence grew. He had donned a pair of board shorts that showed off his washboards abs and I longed to run my hands along his torso. Swimming would provide me that opportunity – I hoped.

  We cavorted in the water for several hours before I finally called a halt to our antics. “Didn’t you mention food being catered?”

  “Hungry?” Peter asked, walking with me towards the shore.

  “Yeah. Between the sun and the swimming, I’m famished.”

  “The showers are right behind the cabanas. Why don’t you get changed and meet me over by the catering tent?”

  As we exited the surf, I nodded. I grabbed my towel and headed off. Today had been wonderful and I couldn’t wait to find out what else the night might have in store for me.

  When I exited the cabana, I spied Peter lounging by the large tent. When I got close enough, he grabbed my hand and headed off in the opposite direction. “Where are we going?”

  Peter stopped and grabbed the beach bag and another basket before continuing to pull me down the beach. “I grabbed us some food and we are going to have a picnic.”

  I smiled at him, liking the idea of some alone time with him. “That sounds like another one of your great ideas.”

  “I know.” Peter sounded so smug I had to laugh.

  We sat in the sand and enjoyed the delicacies the catering company had brought. Lettuce shells filled with succulent seafood salad, deviled eggs, fresh tortillas filled with a tasty rice and bean mixture with a hint of heat in the sauce, and fresh fruit cut up into bite-sized pieces. Cool bottles of water and ice-cold beer were also in the basket and I complimented Peter on coming so well prepared.

  We sat on the sand and watched the sun drop below the horizon, the changing colors of the sky reflecting across the water. I sat between Peter’s thighs, leaning back against him as he played with the ends of my hair and caressed by bare shoulders. As night descended, the stars began to come out, and I marveled at their beauty.

  “Take a walk with me?” Peter asked, standing up and brushing the sand off his jeans.

  “Sure. It’s so peaceful out here.”

  “Yeah. I’m so glad you’re here,” he told me, grabbing my hand and pulling me to stand in front of him.

  “Me too.” I watched him as he lowered his head and kissed me tenderly, taking his time and nipping along my jaw before returning to my lips.

  His hands framed my face, his thumbs rubbing along my cheeks bones in a tender caress. “Ready to head back to the hotel?”

  I eagerly nodded, not knowing how much longer I could stand to wait to be alone with him.

  Without a word, he grabbed our stuff, and we walked back to where the others started to disperse for the night. Saying his farewells, he escorted me back to the vehicle and drove us to the hotel in silence.

  Neither of us said much on the drive, or as we walked to our room. The silence was comfortable and the sexual tension was almost palpable by the time we walked into the room and he shut the door.

  “Peter…,” I said, turning to face him and watching him undo the snap on his jeans and pull his shirt from the waistband.

  “Shush.” He pulled his shirt over his head, kicking his sandals off and into the corner of the room where he also tossed his discarded shirt. His jeans rode low on his waist, giving me a glimpse of his boxers beneath.

  He stalked me backwards into the room, stopping when my legs came up against the end of the bed, “You’re still wearing too many clothes.”

  He raised his hands and began to push my sundress, with the elastic bodice, down my torso and over my hips. He hooked his thumbs in my panties and carried them down along with the dress, encouraging me to step out of my clothing when the dress and underwear pooled at my ankles. I kicked my sandals off right when he reached out and pulled me flush against his body.

  It seemed like it had been forever since we made love back at home in California. I shut my eyes and savored the feeling of his body against my own.

  He placed his lips against my neck, nipping and licking his way up to my chin and then taking my lips in a kiss so sweet and tender. I returned his kiss, letting my hands wander along his back and around to his front. Skimming my palms down to his abs and clasping his hips as he pulled me into his body, melding us together even closer.

  When he picked me up and deposited me on the bed, I started to protest his absence, but then hushed when I saw he was only grabbing protection before joining me.

  He lay down on his side and propped his head up on his hand. With his free hand, he mapped my body, finding all the little places that made me catch my breath or goosebumps arise. When he circled my breasts, I couldn’t help but arch into his hands. As he continued to tease me, I took his hand and placed it firmly over one of my breasts and squeezed. Play time was over! I’d be waiting for such a long time I didn’t want anymore foreplay. I needed the real thing, now!

  “Please…” I whispered with a raucous voice.

  “Shush.” Peter dipped his head, taking one of my nipples into his mouth and laving it with his tongue. Soon, the other nipple was treated to the same pleasure as I arched and moaned beneath him.

  “Peter, I need to have you inside me.”

  He smiled. “Are we a little impatient?”

  But he obeyed to my commands and quickly rose over me, making a place for himself between my thighs and tenderly made us one. Finally! Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I held him to me as he began to take us up the mountain. I moved with him, anxious to be with him when we fell off the edge, calling out his name as he moved one last time and flew beside me.

  Our heartbeats gradually slowed, and I found myself running my hands through his hair as we both came back to the present. Levering himself off me, he kissed me tenderly one more time and excused himself to clean up.

  I rolled to my side, pulling the comforter up to my shoulders and snuggled into the soft bed. When Peter returned moments later, he climbed in and spooned himself around me. Our passion sated for the moment, we fell asleep in each other’s arms, wrapped in the knowledge that there was another day coming. We had all the time in the world to love each other in the most amazing ways.

  Chapter 3

  Monday morning dawned bright and clear and I awoke still pondering about the wonderful weekend Peter and I had spent in Canyet de Mar. We had spent the morning in bed until we had to leave our hotel room. After lunch we spent some time walking around the small ocean town and then made our way back to Barcelona at a leisurely pace.

  Peter had dropped me off at my aunt’s house shortly after dusk, promising to see me soon. He had to work late Monday night, and we wouldn’t be able to meet until at least Tuesday. I kissed him tenderly at the gate to my aunt’s house and waved as he drove away. Feeling loved and very fortunate to have such a handsome and caring man in my life.

  After breakfast, I joined Sophie in the garden, helping her weed the rows and harvest the vegetables and herbs growing there. To dig in the dirt was such a relaxing endeavor. I promised myself that as soon as I was able to afford a small house, I would do so and plant my own garden. Growing things would give me a huge sense of accomplishment and some downtime to enjoy nature and contemplate.

  “So, you and your young man have a nice time at the beach?” asked Sophie.

  I smiled at her as I placed some tomatoes in the basket next to me, “It was wonderful. I can’t get over the ocean. In California, the water is mostly cold and blue – deep blue. The ocean here is not only warm, but kind of turquoise color.”

  Sophie nodded and moved to another row of plants. I noted how she slowly lowered herself to the stool she always carried with her. At the age of 70, she was still very active, but her knees often bothered her if s
he spent too much time kneeling. Therefore she chose to sit whenever she worked in the garden or vineyards. I was impressed at her fortitude and hoped that when I was 70 I was still as active.

  “Your Peter is a fine young man. He will make a good husband.”

  “Whoa! Things aren’t quite to that level yet.”

  Sophie looked at me quizzically, “Do you not love him?”

  I looked at her and then down at the ground before answering. Did I love Peter? Yes, I probably I do. But isn’t it too soon to go there? Not having an answer to my own question, I decided to hedge my response, “I really like him, and we seem to get along really well.”

  “You get along well? The passion I witnessed between you Saturday morning looked like much more.”

  I blushed remembering the way Peter had kissed me before we left for our trip. Sophie had been standing nearby and witnessed the whole thing. “Well, we definitely have some chemistry, if that’s what you are referring to.”

  “You love him.” Sophie said it matter-of-factly, not as a question.

  “I didn’t say that. Besides, we’ve only really known each other for a little over two months. People don’t fall in love that quickly.” When she said nothing, I looked up to find her looking at me with a frown upon her face. “Do they?”

  Sophie nodded slowly, “Love has no time limits. There is no clock or calendar that defines it. Love simply is. When it happens, you know it. How did you feel the week you were still in the United States and he was here, in Barcelona?”

  “Miserable,” came my response.

  Smiling, she continued, “Why? Did you miss him?”

  “Terribly. I couldn’t wait to come over here and be with him.”

  “What did you miss about him?”

  I looked at her, “Everything. His smile, his touch. He has such a great personality, and when he kisses me, the earth moves.”

  “You love him.”

  I pondered about that statement for several minutes before I finally let my mind consider the possibility. Was what I felt for Peter the last forever kind of love? As I had never experienced that particular emotion before, I wasn’t sure. Time would tell.

  “Perhaps.” Before I could say anything more, my cell phone rang.

  Answering it, I was happy to hear Peter’s voice on the other end of the line. “Rachel?”

  “Hi, I was just thinking about you. What’s up?”

  “Do I want to ask for more specifics about what exactly you were thinking?”

  “Well…” I let my voice trail off, leaving him wondering if I was going to answer or not.

  “Wait! I’m at work and I really need to focus for the rest of the afternoon. While I would love nothing more than a detailed description of your innermost thoughts, they will simply have to wait until I see you tomorrow.”

  “You’re going to meet me tomorrow?” I asked, wondering what he had planned.

  “Well, I’d like to. There are some important people coming over from the headquarter of our client tomorrow and the entire team is joining them for a special dinner tomorrow night. I want you to be my company.”

  “Really? Will there be other people bringing a date?”

  “Pretty much everyone who can. The company has reserved part of a popular restaurant. Will you come?”

  “I’d love to,” I told him, immediately wondering what I was going to wear. I had not planned on dressing up and the only dresses I had brought with me were sundresses.

  Apparently Peter could read my mind, because he continued “Great! Consuelo said she would go shopping with you. It’s not black-tie or anything, just a step below that. Can I give her your aunt’s phone number?”

  “That would be nice, I really have no idea where to go or what kind of dress to buy. Please, give her the number and have her call me.”

  “I will. I’m sorry we can’t meet tonight. Me and my team have to prepare some more reports to present tomorrow and we still have a lot of work to get done tonight. If I get finished up early, I’ll call you.”

  “Peter, I understand. Don’t worry about it. Take care of work and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Tell Consuelo to give me a call when she has a minute.”

  “Will do. Have a nice day. Bye, darling.”

  I pocketed the phone and looked up to see Sophie smiling at me and nodding her head. I knew what she was thinking and smiled at her and grinned – I was head over heels falling in love with Peter Shaw. Who was I kidding?

  *****

  Consuelo called right after lunch and asked me to meet her downtown. Sophie had one of the workers drive me to the address I’d been provided and told me that they would return whenever I was ready to go home.

  The small shop I walked into was more like a boutique than a large department store. There were several saleswomen helping customers, and I cringed as I thought about the cost of the clothing in this shop.

  Consuelo saw my face and being female, immediately guessed where my mind was. “Never mind about the price. Peter is paying, and I have been instructed to make sure you are dressed so that no other woman in attendance will look more beautiful than you do.”

  I laughed self-consciously, “Really?” I looked around the store, at the displays and inwardly cringed again. Everything was alluring, and the designs were much more daring than my usual attire. Cutouts and low bust lines. Short skirts and sleeveless tops were everywhere. “This is not my usual style.”

  Consuelo said something in rapid fire Spanish and waved her hand at me before switching to English, “You Americans. I’ve seen the advertisements coming from your country. Some of these dresses are tame compared to what they wear.”

  “The pictures in the magazines are models. Normal Americans don’t dress like them. We wear jeans and t-shirts.”

  Consuelo simply ignored me as she began pulling items off the racks and laying them across her arms. When a saleswoman approached, Consuelo spoke to her in Spanish and soon I was being ushered into a dressing room and encouraged to try on dress after dress.

  I vetoed most of them, feeling more like a streetwalker on the Vegas strip than I was comfortable with. When I reached the short red sheath that Consuelo had picked out, I almost didn’t try it on. Seeing my intended actions, Consuelo insisted and I indulged her.

  When stepping out from the dressing room, I looked at myself in the three-way mirror and gasped. The dress hugged my body as if it had been made specifically for me. It ended a few inches beneath the curve of my ass and highlighted the length of my tanned legs.

  When the saleswoman approached with a pair of four inch stilettos in red leather, the dress took on a whole new look. The height of the heels gave my ass an extra boost, and changing my posture so that my chest pushed forward and my spine straightened. I looked gorgeous!

  Consuelo joined me in the mirror and urged me to turn and view the back. I did so and immediately began to shake my head. The dress crossed in the back, high and over my shoulder blades, but then dipped daringly low, riding barely above my pelvis, leaving my entire back bare.

  A small cutout between my breasts on the front of the dress hinted at the cleavage contained behind the fabric, but yet covered everything important.

  “I can’t wear this!”

  “Yes you can! It’s perfect! You will be the envy of every man there, single or not. And a focus for all sorts of jealous thoughts from the women.”

  “Consuelo, more of the dress is missing than is present!” I argued, never having worn something so sexy in my life.

  “It is what all the women will be wearing. You don’t want to embarrass Peter, do you?”

  “Of course not! But, Peter knows me. He knows I don’t wear things like this.”

  “Why not? Your body is built for this dress. In Spain, we women believe in showing off and highlighting our assets. Think of it like an art exhibit – you want everyone to wonder if their eyes are deceiving them when they look at you and see your body displayed so well. This dress emphasizes your assets,
but isn’t so blatant that it’s crude.”

  I looked at myself in the mirror once again and wondered what Peter would say when he saw the dress. I hoped that this dress would light a fire in his eyes. That would be an appropriate response.

  “Don’t you think it’s a little too sexy?”

  “Not at all. Peter will be the envy of the room.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. What if he thinks I look like a slut?”

  “Men don’t think that way. When a beautiful woman dresses in a sexy outfit, their egos tell them you are dressed that way for them and them alone. They enjoy knowing that other men are salivating over you and can’t touch – only look.”

  Consuelo’s words made sense even though I had never really stopped to think about how men thought about things. Especially women.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. The shoes are a must. Without them your outfit is only half as gorgeous.” And giggling, she added “You will have to help Peter close his mouth once he sees you in that dress.”

  I laughed and decided that I would trust her judgment. After all, she was the one living here and knew about the culture. It would be worth it just to see Peter’s expression when I opened the door. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  “Good. Let’s grab a bite to eat and then you can call for the driver to collect you. Tomorrow night is going to be fun.”

  Chapter 4

  Peter arrived at my aunt’s house and I heard him speaking with her as I rounded the corner. I stopped in the doorway and watched him for a moment, taking in his neatly combed hair that continued to curl in disobedience against his collar.

  I studied his profile and thrilled at the complete picture he represented – gorgeous blue eyes lit with happiness, his strong jawline, and the red lips, which had brought me so much pleasure. The material of his suit jacket, which did nothing to hide the muscular physique lying underneath, encompassed his shoulders. He had chosen to pair the dark brown suit with a tan shirt and a deep red tie that perfectly matched the color of my dress. Consuelo must have tipped him off about what tie to wear.