62 Days by Jessie M Read Free Book Online Page A

room by the ‘porteur’ and I’m literally stunned by what I see. I really do feel like Marie Antoinette in her boudoir as I take a good look around. Silvery grey and pale blue striped satin walls and drapes. Massive matching bed. Beautiful glass chandeliers. Huge midnight blue velvet sofas. Separate his and hers bathrooms. I just can’t believe the red rose petals artfully arranged all round the edge of the bath. It’s a huge suite… in an expensive hotel. It must have cost an absolute fortune.
    “ Christ almighty Mark, you don’t do Paris on a budget do you?”
    “ I wanted to make your first trip abroad special for you.”
    “ You’ve certainly done that… you’ve spoilt me for life. It’s beautiful. Completely fantastic.” I flop back on the massive striped bed and smile up at him happily.
    “ Come on, I’m starving, let’s go out for coffee and cake shall we?”
    Mark likes his food I’ve discovered…
    ***
    An hour later we are fed and watered and wandering along the banks of the Seine. I still can’t quite believe I’m here, let alone with him. I keep pinching myself. His hand finds mine and I happily hold it tight. Could things ever get any better? Wandering around in the sun hand in hand with my not so platonic extremely good looking friend who I am going to sleep with later. Who would have thought my life would have turned around so fast in a few short days.
    Thank God I went to his party, got drunk and fell on him.
    The afternoon was a very lovely warm and lazy ramble around, a short boat trip up the Seine and finally a taxi ride to the Eiffel Tower. And what a long, long, queue there is. It seems like everyone in the whole world wants to go up it this afternoon. Mark tells me it’s always this bad. We climb the second leg and wait another long time to access the elevator to the top. As we finally go outside I am stunned by the view, and also by the wind which whips around us like a hurricane. I gingerly make my way out to look around. I don’t like heights. God knows why I’m hundreds of feet up here… thankfully I do get my Tower legs after a while and stop feeling wobbly inside and actually start to enjoy it.
    My long hair is driving me mad flying around me in the wind as I am trying to take photos on my phone. I desperately try to control it. Mark stands behind me, gathers up my hair tornado and holds it for me. I walk around up the top for quite a while admiring the view and taking photos, with Mark holding my hair. Before we go I take a quick handsome hottie photo with a nice view behind and send it to mum and Suze with the message… Mark up Eiffel Tower… That should liven up their day.
    We finally come down from windy high heaven and head back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. He is being very sweet and non pushy. I am enjoying this. A lot. Maybe too much. As we lay down on the bed together I take a look at him and start to get a strange knot form in my stomach. I am not sure what it is. I don’t want to think about it. I stop looking.
    He suddenly leans up and looks down at me.
    “W hy was your last relationship difficult and unhealthy?”
    He certainly sprung that one on me. Does he remember every single word I tell him?
    “ Well, let’s just say he dominated me.”
    “ Really? How badly?”
    “ Completely in every sense. He destroyed the real me.”
    “ Was he abusive towards you?”
    “ Not physically no, just verbally. A lot of it was very subtle in fact. And I never really pushed him, so I don’t know what he was capable of.”
    “ Why did you let him do it Ray?”
    “ I didn’t know he
was
doing it. It happened so gradually. He was just very possessive to start with. I honestly didn’t realise .”
    I held my breath as he ran his fingers down my face, down my neck and down to the low V of my top, his eyes following them. Then he laid back down on his side again silently, looking at me. I’m feeling hot all over.
    He closed his eyes with his arm draped