Chapter Twenty-Seven - Rook

 

I am lost in my own thoughts as Ronin leads me across the terrace to the cherry trees. Antoine and Elise are sitting at one of the picnic tables, chatting and smiling. There is no one else around, not even a light person. This makes me let out a long exhale and Ronin squeezes my hand. "You OK?" he asks, stopping for a moment to get my response.

"Yeah, I'm just glad there's not a lot of people around."

"I set it up that way, Rook. Just let me take care of things now, OK?"

I nod so he'll drop it, but this control stuff with him is really setting me back. He acts like I'm not allowed to question him.

We've reached Antoine and Elise now and they are talking, both to me and to Ronin, but I just nod my head and agree because I have no idea what they're talking about. Technical stuff. Natural light, Antoine says. I look around and yes, sure enough, the sun is shining right into the middle of the cherry trees on the east side of the terrace.

I study the 'set' and notice that the swing I was sitting in the other night is not even attached to the tree branches, it's attached to a long green pole that spans the entire grove. There's a picnic set up on the grass, complete with wine glasses, cheese, and a bowl of cherries. The blanket isn't checkered though, it's a crisp white with cotton lace on the edges, and there are cherry blossom petals all over the place. I'm not sure if that was planned or not, because each time the wind blows, those boughs, heavy with the sweet-smelling flowers, release dozens of them at a time.

Everything about these trees says climax. The flowers are mature, falling off and getting ready for the tree to bear fruit over the summer. It's a single moment in time that will be captured on digital film for eternity.

And I'm part of that.

I get the chills and Ronin, still talking to Antoine and Elise, absently pulls me closer to him, like he senses my needs and wants to keep me warm.

It's all very confusing. I like that he notices when I'm having a problem and need something, but I don't like relying on him for stuff and I hate the fact that he's allowed to make decisions for me. It's too personal.

But that's what this contract is all about though, isn't it? I've basically given them my body in exchange for money. And I just have to trust that they will not take advantage of me.

They are finished with their conversation and Ronin leads me over to the cherry tree and leans up against the smooth bark of the trunk and then puts his hands on my hips. We are not that close, there's a good eight inches between us, but I can feel his heat and his hands instantly warm the skin under my dress.

"You OK?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm good. So what's the plan?" I nod my head over at the blanket. "Besides the picnic?"

"We're gonna get some straight couples shots right here against the tree. We gotta be quick to catch the light just right though, because Antoine likes natural light." He stops to nod at Antoine and the camera shutter begins to click as Ronin continues to talk. "And then we'll just have a little romantic picnic. Sound good?"

"OK, but what do I do? I don't get it."

"Just what you're doing right now, Gidget." He smiles at my new nickname and I blush a little. "See, that right there is what Antoine is looking for. An honest reaction to the situation. So I'll flirt with you and you react. That's pretty much it."

"I think I can handle that."

"Good," he says as his grip on my hips tightens and he pulls me into him. His hands sneak around behind me, not quite on my ass, but not quite not on my ass either. They are hovering just on the edge of inappropriate behavior.

Of course, I signed up for this so he's already got permission. I swallow and pull my upper body back as he continues to bring us closer.

"Relax, Gidge. I've got you."

I do, I relax and he pushes my pelvis against his groin. I look up quickly and he's almost laughing at me. The shutter is still clicking away as Antoine moves around us. He speaks to Ronin, but it's all in French, so I have no idea what he's saying and Ronin doesn't reply or translate for me. His attention is one hundred percent on my face, watching everything I do, searching my eyes for questions, his hands still hovering just at the edge of sexy as they caress my hips, then move down a few inches and return.

It's not so bad really.

Shit, who the hell am I kidding? Ronin Flynn's hands on my ass feel spectacular. I grin up at him and he smiles.

"Good, now let's move on to the next shot, OK?"

"What's—"

I stop mid-sentence because his mouth is nuzzling into my neck, his breath hot as it sweeps up into my ear, making me shudder and let out a little moan. "You OK?"

"Mmmmhmmmm," is all I can manage, because a chill rockets down my spine and my head involuntarily tips back and gives him permission to suck on my neck.

Holy shit.

He pulls back for a moment, just long enough to say, "Touch me, Rook," and then his mouth is back on my neck. He takes my left hand, which has a firm grasp on one of his belt loops, a safe move if ever there was one, and flattens my palm against his waist. I move the other hand in a feeble attempt to be an active participant instead of a dead fish who only reacts.

"More of that and we can put this scene to rest."

I take a deep breath and slip my hand under his t-shirt and then we both let a little gasp together as the chills travel up his body now. Antoine is talking in French again and Ronin leans down and takes my mouth.

It's a soft kiss at first, but as soon as I open up for his tongue his hands go behind my neck and it turns into something way beyond soft. He crushes my mouth with his, drawing in a breath that says he's absolutely turned on. This excites me and I kiss him back with just as much force, our tongues probing and twisting, our breath coming in gasps and long draws, like there is not enough air in the world to fuel this kiss. His hands are all over my body now, one still grasping the back of my neck to keep me close to him, the other, the one not on the side where Antoine is clicking away at the camera, slips under my skirt and travels up my thigh.

I moan and then catch Elise moving in out of the corner of my eye and Ronin withdraws his secret hand, bringing it out in full view once again.

"Take my shirt off." It's not a sweet request, it's a command. For like a fraction of a millisecond I wonder if he's allowed to command me, but I slap that cautious Rook away and do what I'm told.

"Slow?" I ask him.

"As long as you drag your fingers up my body as you do it, slow is just fine with me."

Oh fuck!

I take the thin fabric between my fingertips and slide my palms against his body as I lift and then roll it up, inch by inch. I'm driving him crazy, I can tell, mostly because he's practically biting my ear and whispering, "You're driving me fucking crazy, Gidget." I only make it up to his chest before he releases his hold on my neck and whips the shirt over his head in one sweeping motion, then bunches it up in front of him and throws it over at Elise who is still standing guard off to the side where the offending hand was wandering a few minutes ago.

Antoine barks in French again and then Ronin pulls back and leads me over to the blanket.

"Lie down," he says in that throaty command he gave earlier.

I'll debate whether or not I should be putting up with that later, but right now, I'm all in. I kneel down, smooth my dress out a little and then lie back on the cool cotton blanket. My skin is so hot and feverish from the kisses and touching that the blanket soothes me. Everything around me smells like cherry blossoms, and when I turn my head I realize that they are all over the blanket now because Elise swoops in to adjust my hair and place the flowers in strategic locations. Ronin is messing with the food and pouring the wine into glasses.

And before I know what's happening he's lying down next to me, leaning down and pressing himself over my stomach. I sigh at the dress, because it's the only thing separating my bare skin from his. "Just a few shots like this, Rook, then we'll sit up and have some fun." He's got a devilish grin as the words come out.

"Finally," I say with mock exasperation. "I'm starting to get bored."

He growls down at me and then goes back to kissing my neck so he can whisper in my ear, "I'd have you naked by now if Elise wasn't here."

"Ohhh, you're being bad," I whisper back, being equally discreet. "I bet she grounds you if I tell her what you just said."

We stare at each other for a few seconds, his eyes searching me for a moment. "Date me, Rook."

"What?"

"Let me take you out."

I look over at Elise who is distracted by an assistant who has joined us. "Are we allowed?"

"Pffft." He rolls off me and sits up, then pulls me up and sets me on his lap. I'm breathless with the quick change of position and almost gasp when he leans in to whisper in my ear again. "Pay close attention, Gidget." And then Antoine is giving orders and Ronin is fixing my dress so that it flares out around his legs.

It occurs to me then… I have no fucking underwear on.

And the reason it occurs to me is because his excitement is right underneath my completely bare girly parts.

Antoine is on Ronin's left, so Ronin's left hand begins to caress my foot with small circles, a touch so light it actually makes me squirm because my feet are totally ticklish. He takes the hint and slowly sweeps up my calf, which is just about the most sensual feeling I've ever experienced. I moan out a little and his bruising kisses are back, crushing against my mouth.

Just as Antoine takes his attention to our lips Ronin's right hand also begins at my foot, swirling his fingertips around the soft pad of my arch. I laugh into his mouth and he pulls me close, my hair hiding our faces for a moment, and says, "Shhhh, now. Be good, Gidge." And then his right hand sweeps up my leg and under my dress, caressing the same small circles along my inner thigh.

"Oh, shit," I whimper as I bury myself in his neck. Just a few more inches and I'm going to come undone. My neck tilts back as the sensations all crash together and he takes his kisses to my plunging neckline, his left hand, the one still out in the open, slips up to my breast just as the hidden hand drops down a little farther, just a flutter of a touch against my crease.

He reaches over, not with the hidden hand, and picks up a glass of wine and hands it to me.

My fingertips barely understand what to do with the glass because the only thing on my mind is where his other hand is. We each take a sip and then he bites into a cherry, taking half of it in his mouth, and spits out the pit.

Antoine barks something harsh in French and Ronin laughs. "It's a fucking pit, Antoine, it's not litter." He rolls his eyes at me. "Sit still now, Rook, and keep your mouth closed for a moment."

My mind is still on his fingers as they caress my inner thigh, but I do my best not to squirm.

He brings the cherry to my lips and I keep my mouth closed. This makes him smile and then he traces my lips, dripping juice as he paints them. I'm just about to let my tongue dart out and get the juice when Ronin's mouth reaches up and licks it off, stopping to suck on my bottom lip, and then gives it a little nibble that makes me cry out.

He bites into another cherry and again, to Antoine's disgust, woofs out the pit into the grass. Spitting is a skill only boys really acquire. They are so good at it. It might gross out Antoine, but not me. I think just about everything Ronin is doing with his mouth is astonishing right now. The secret hand under my dress appears again. He lifts my left hand and paints each fingertip pad with cherry juice, then sucks it off, nibbling them one by one, just like he did my lips.

I just stare at him and his eyes never leave mine. "What?" he finally asks.

"You—" I say.

He raises his eyebrows.

"—are bad."

He laughs. "If you were naked right now I'd drip this juice all down your belly and let my tongue—"

"OK, that's enough," Antoine says. "Excellent job, Rook."

Fucking Antoine.

I bite my lip as Ronin licks my fingertips one more time and then grins up at me like an idiot. "Want to come over and watch a movie, Gidget?"

I nod enthusiastically as Elise helps me up, and then Ronin bounces to his feet and puts his arm around me protectively. "You fell asleep pretty quick last time, are you sure you're up for a movie?"

I'm not sure if a movie is the code word for sex or not right now, but either way, I'm definitely up for it.