Curled up on the white leather couch in Riccardo's hotel suite, Nicole gazed out the window over the city, bathed in afternoon sunshine, and berated herself for her lack of courage. Museums were not a good place to ask a man to spank you, neither were restaurants. The former was too quiet, the latter too busy. A hotel suite wasn't ideal either, it turned out. There was too much space and opportunity to procrastinate. She...

Walking to the office I think to my wrinkles. Each and every one talking about my story, about me. At 52, I can say I don’t have many wrinkles, but some. Especially around my mouth. I hate those because I can’t apply lipstick anymore. I’ve always loved a bright red lipstick. And I think about my body. I’ve never loved my body and I’ve never taken care of it. Nobody ever taught me to love my body. I’m learning now how impo...

Chapter Forty-Five Grace ate her meal in silence while Mac and Sal talked business, politics, and sports. Sal tried to engage her in the conversation at one point, but he gave up after her one-word answers made it clear she was in no mood to talk. Mac’s phone rang and, when he excused himself to go answer it, Sal looked at Grace and said, “I’m sorry if I said anything wrong.” “You didn’t,” she said, trying to keep her emo...

Chapter Forty-One Mac and Grace were enjoying their night out at Dinnertheater Schoenbrunn when Alice called Mac’s cell. He let it go to voicemail, but she didn’t leave a message. Instead, she called back three more times before Mac finally said to Grace, “I’m sorry, it must be urgent, or she would have given up by now.” Grace took a deep breath. “It’s fine; go ahead a call her back so she will stop interrupting our eveni...

The First Incident I wondered when I’d hear from Lynn Fortier again because she had told me to expect her. I didn’t know how long that would be; she had only said it would be “occasionally.” It turned out to be only a week. She was the executive director of my division, but I didn’t report directly to her. Except for the previous week, I had rarely spoken to her. She didn’t go in for a lot of socializing with her employee...

Chapter Thirty-Seven When Grace no longer had any tears left to cry, Mac repeated what he’d said moments ago. “A person has a right to leave their past behind them.” Then he continued, “I took that right from you when I betrayed your trust and went behind your back, digging into information that wasn’t mine to know. At least not by that means. I’m so sorry, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.” She looked at him incredulousl...

The white hulled fifty-foot cruiser looked beautiful as the morning sun cast its spell over her teak deck. Alexa slipped off her canvas deck shoes and stepped up through the side gate in the railing. The soft teak under her bare feet brought a stunning smile to her face as she turned towards John. Stepping onboard behind her, he watched the smile of a true sailor. It thrilled him to have her all to himself. His invitation...

It had been seven years since Deajah had left her life back in LA to move out to New Orleans. Since then, she had been doing well. Upon arriving, she had immediately gotten a job at one of the local strip joints. Nightly, she was pulling in roughly about $6000. She had to admit she loved her life. However, she was only twenty-nine years old and currently, she had no one special in her life. Yeah, the few flings she had ha...

Chapter Thirty-Three The first week of work in London had been a successful one. McKinley felt a lot better about leaving Niles Lindhurst in charge of the London office after getting to know him better. Sure, he was a bit high maintenance, but his attention to detail was a plus. The second week would be long and tedious, as was typical of these transitions. So, Mac would make sure this weekend included plenty of time to e...

Chapter Twenty-Nine Grace insisted that Mac shower first so that he wouldn’t have to wait until after she got ready. That way, he could go down a little early and be there before his guests. She’d selected the Mount Vernon Room, as there would be about sixty people in attendance. Several waiters were finishing setting the tables when he entered the room. Mac went to the bar to get a drink as he waited for people to arrive...

Chapter Twenty-Four For the remainder of their time in Paris, Mac and Grace could hardly keep their hands off each other. She attended every meeting and meal so that they could spend more time together. On their last day, when McKinley was checking out of the hotel, he spotted Julien, the bartender. Julien smiled politely when Mac approached him. "Ah, monsieur, Le Bristol Hotel will miss you and your lovely companion," Ju...

Chapter Twenty Grace had dinner by herself in Le Jardin Français, the outdoor eatery at the hotel, enjoying tapas and a glass of wine. She noticed that Julien was tending the bar, so she cut her evening short. She figured it was best not to give him the impression that she was alone or interested in his charms. She wanted time to get ready for her date with Mac anyway. It was a quarter till nine when McKinley stumbled bac...

Jake D’Amato was quite surprised when he went to visit his relativity new girlfriend Josephine (JoJo) Boccio. That was because there was a third person in the living room, one of his employees, Livia Behrens. She in fact was the person who had recently set him up with JoJo. She immediately greeted him as she sat there. “Hi, Jake, how are you doing this evening?” It took him a moment to answer, “What are you doing here?” “...

Chapter Sixteen The next couple of days seemed to drag on interminably for both McKinley and Grace. They had agreed to wait for any additional sexual encounters until they arrived in Paris. But that didn’t stop them from taunting each other with texts throughout the day. How’s the meeting going, Mac? Need anything? I need you, Gracie, with your legs spread, begging for my cock. Hmm, shall I join the meeting then? I could...