Elysium, p.1
Elysium, page 1
Elysium
A Black Diamond Vacation Romance
DL White
Copyright © 2023 by DL White
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editing by: A. Kaitesi Tibandebage
Cover by DL White. Image courtesy Depositphotos
Created with Vellum
Welcome back to Black Diamond…
Finding the greatest love requires taking the greatest risks…
Athena Wilcox leads a solitary life as a travel nurse, committed to her work and her only child. When entrepreneur Vance Griffin sends a flirty private message, she’s intrigued…but conflicted. Casual flirtation soon blossoms into late-night conversations that bring a yearning for more.
A tempting invitation and sensual first meeting sparks hope that the fantasy they’ve been creating could become reality. Both know this is no casual fling, but could an online relationship translate to a perfect real world love affair?
The emerald waters and white sands of Black Diamond will sweep you away with pulse-pounding romance, sensuality, and emotional depth as two lovers begin the second chapter of their lives while discovering what it means to wander together. What started with a flirty message could become a love that stands the test of time.
Want to get in the mood? Listen to the ELYSIUM inspired playlist (on Spotify) while you read.
Contents
Welcome back to Black Diamond…
Author’s note
1. Athena
2. Vance
3. Athena
4. Vance
5. Athena
6. Vance
7. Athena
8. Vance
9. Athena
10. Vance
11. Athena
12. Vance
13. Athena
14. Vance
15. Athena
16. Vance
17. Athena
18. Vance
19. Athena
20. Vance
21. Athena
22. Vance
Epilogue
Meet Wade & Ameenah
Ameenah
Wade
Ameenah
Wade
Acknowledgments
Also by DL White
Author’s note
Hello again. We’re doing this thing where the people pop into my head and tell me stories. Then you buy them and tell me how much you enjoyed the stories the people in my head told me. I’m so happy to be back here with you.
This book is…fun. That’s the word I want to use. It is fun, sexy and decadent. I had a ball bringing Vance and Athena, a seasoned Black couple who are ready to fall in love, to life. I know you will also enjoy this couple.
I have a few words to prepare you for this book:
There is sex in it. GASP. There are several scenes, both virtual and in person that use toys, cameras, adult language and situations.
You will not see our fave couple from BEACH THING, Wade and Ameenah, in this novel. There is a mention of Tikis & Cream, Ameenah’s shop. You will see them in the next Black Diamond book. Hang in until then! ;)
There is no mention of condoms, birth control, or methods to prevent sexually transmitted infections in this novel. I realized I hadn’t written them when I was already in deep and I simply did not feel like going back to write them in. Assume they’re there and that Vance and Athena are sexually and biologically healthy. In addition, my characters are near fifty and grown, grown. There will be no surprise babies. The lack of condoms in this novel is not a hint to any story twists.
I love to hear how much people are enjoying my books. Please send any “GIRL, HE DID WHAT?!” to me on any social media site or to my email. Post any criticism to your review at your fave retail or review site.
I appreciate your time and good opinion and truly hope you adore this novel.
XOXO,
DL White
wan·der·lust: (noun)
a strong desire to travel.
Athena
Started with a DM. Now we’re here.
In a private chat room under cover of darkness, doing things I never imagined myself doing. And enjoying the hell out of it.
On the screen of my iPad, a long-legged, pecan-toned man lay in the middle of a king-sized bed on black satin sheets, knees wide and both hands…occupied. He glistened with the sheen of lubrication and a light coating of sweat.
On my end of the connection, I was naked, in view of a camera mounted on a tripod across the room. Vance, my long-distance, online—boy toy? Plaything? Temporary dalliance?—watched my hips undulate while a silicone rosebud toy sent alternating puffs of air and suction to my clit. In the absence of a man between my thighs, it was the next best thing, and it was sending me into orbit.
Some women used porn as a sleep aid to de-stress and take the edge off, then they were asleep before they could log out. At the end of a day, the only dick I wanted to be looking at, masturbating to, or imagining stroking in and out of me belonged to Vance Griffin. Nothing helped me relax like the view of him erect for me, his limbs poised for action, the sound of his palms massaging his shaft while he described erotic fantasies of us together.
Evenings with Vance, affectionately dubbed my night cap, were the best part of my day.
“I can’t see your face, baby.” His voice rode the tips of my nerve endings. It was a gruff and raspy whisper, like his throat was dry, but he didn’t want to waste the seconds it would take to quench his thirst. “I need to see your face. I want to see you when you come.”
“My bad. I got too comfortable. Let me sit up so you can see all this goodness.”
I released the nipple I’d been twisting and sat up, then moved to my knees and spread them, a pillow shoved under my body for balance. In my peripheral vision, the iPad tipped precariously atop the blankets and sheets I’d thrown back. I picked it up and reset in my eye line. I didn’t want to miss a moment of watching him pleasure himself while watching me.
“Can you see me now?”
“Mmmhmm, I see you,” Vance answered. “I see everything—them titties, that sexy belly you be whining about, that pussy that’s so wet it’s shining, and I can hear it from here. Fuck, woman. You make me hard as shit!”
I snickered but kept it low. “You say the sweetest things.”
I went back to kneading and massaging my breasts with one hand and rolling the rose over my throbbing clit. I would not last long in this position, but I didn’t need to. Vance was so close, I heard the tremble in his voice. I just needed a few minutes to take him over the edge.
“I wish I was there with you, Vance.”
“I wish you were here, too. Then you could do all this yankin’. What you thinking about doing for me?”
“I have…” I chuckled, rolling my eyes before letting the lids close. “…so many thoughts right now. I’d take you in my hands and stroke you, nice and slow. Firm. Just like you’re doing now. Tight grip, warm and wet. Until you’re right on the edge and begging me to finish.”
“Uh-huh…”
“And then, just when you think you might lose it, I’d take you into my mouth.” I sent a lusty gaze to the camera. “All of you.”
“Ooh, shit. You chokin’ on it?”
I had to work to not roll my eyes. Vance had a swagger about him. He made me laugh, was sweet and thoughtful and generous and handsome, which was what made him sexy to me. His dick was an untested benefit that didn’t figure into the equation. From my vantage point, he was an average length and girth. And I had a big mouth. I would hardly choke, but the imagery mattered.
“Choking on it, baby.”
“I like that,” he said, panting. “I want that. All of that. All of you. I wish I was deep inside you, with your wet pussy milking my dick.”
“Oooh,” I purred. “My skin is tingling, thinking about how it would feel if you were fucking me. Can you feel how tight I am? How I’m gripping you?”
He groaned, his movements growing faster. “Shit…feels so good!”
“You’re so hard for me.” I whimpered, my orgasm beginning to swirl. His breath hitched as I hunched into the rose. “You’re…so…” I gasped. “..deep! Oh, God, Vance!”
His breathing had become erratic the faster he pumped. Judging from the volume of his groans and the juices seeping, he could climax at any moment, but he always waited to make sure I’d be right behind him. He had let his attention to the camera waver, but he remembered he wanted to watch me. He tipped his head up again and caught my eye.
“Thena…where you at, baby?”
I bit my bottom lip and rolled my hips in a steady rhythm, pressing the vibrating nub against my clit and pinching a nipple. The thrill of driving Vance to the brink, to bring him close to climax, then tip him over, was like nothing else.
“I’m ready when you are, handsome. Let’s go together.”
Vance
Athena and I had perfect synchrony, a frenzied rhythm where one of us spun us up, then relinquished power for the other to take us to paradise. Athena had led the charge. Now she wanted me to finish.
Don’t mind if I do.
A rumble of pleasure rolled from me as I feverishly pumped. My breaths were heavy, loud in my ears, self-control slipping fast. My body begged for the release that I would give it in due time. I had to make sure that Athena was getting her s, too.
“Use your fingers,” I told her. “Match me like I’m fucking you.”
Athena moved a hand from her breast to the warm, wet junction of her thighs. She inserted two fingers and worked them in and out. Slow. Tempting. Sensual, then speeding up.
I wanted to close my eyes and imagine myself buried deep inside her, but I also wanted to watch her reach the peak and fall over. These moments made our sessions the most difficult. If we were together, I wouldn’t have to choose.
“Shit…I want to come,” Athena whimpered, her hips beginning a sexy rock.
“Tell me what you want, baby…”
“Open me wide. Fuck me hard, Vance!”
“Yessss,” I growled. My balls tightened, the muscles in my body beginning to pulse.
She pushed out a stuttered, “Fuck, I-I-I’m c-coming!”
I watched her convulse in full-body shudders that began at her pelvis and radiated up and out across the airwaves to me. The sight and sounds of her climax sent me over the edge, her moans of bliss and pleasure-filled cries drawing out my orgasm. With a last stroke, I joined the chorus of loud enjoyment, marinating in the mood we had created with words and visions without even being in the same room.
Athena heaved a deep sigh and tipped back, unfolding her legs, stretching out on the bed. She flexed her calves, pointing her toes, caressing her body through the aftershocks.
Her breathing slowed, growing quieter as the minutes ticked by.
“You fall asleep on me?”
“I’m awake,” I heard, but she sounded sleepy as fuck. “That was amazing, baby. Thank you.”
“Nah, thank you. I enjoyed you tonight. Get up and cut that light off so you can sleep. 5AM comes early.”
“Um-hmmm,” she mumbled. “G’night.”
I shut down the Zoom connection and slid the iPad to my nightstand. I lay there for a few minutes watching the ceiling fan rotate in the shadows, letting the aftereffects work their magic. The exhale I pushed out released pent up energy and was almost better than the orgasm.
My eyes slid closed, but that never shut out the thoughts, wants, and desires that had become more frequent as of late. Sex with Athena—actual sex, with no screens between us, my body connecting with hers, communicating more than base lust.
The craving to feel her breath on my skin, to watch her come.
The knowledge that she was lying next to me while we basked in the afterglow.
The entire experience that was Athena Wilcox had become a need that burned deep inside me and begged to be satisfied.
Someday.
Athena
Thena W: Morning handsome. Hopping in the shower. Room is open.
Vance-Wanderlust Travel: Good morning, gorgeous. Headed to Zoom in a few.
The sounds of ESPN’s morning show blared from Vance’s TV as I emerged from the shower. I moved the iPad from the sheets where I’d left it the night before to the dresser so I could see him. Then I stepped into view of the webcam and tugged the towel from where it I had tucked it under my arm.
After a dramatic pause, I let it drop to the carpet.
“Jigglin’ jigglin’…how that song go?”
Vance’s teasing chuckle carried through the Bluetooth speakers, sending a ribbon of warmth through me.
“Ass be wigglin’…”
I kicked one leg out, then the other, twerking and crouching low to the beat of a song I only heard in my head.
“Get it, girl! Throw it in a circle!”
I snorted a laugh, then had to stop before I ran out of breath, bending to snatch the towel up off the floor so I could put it in the hamper. I planned to do a load of laundry that evening as soon as I got home.
“I’m defeating the purpose of taking a shower. I hate sweating before I even get dressed.”
“You could just not get dressed,” Vance suggested.
“And go to work naked? In Minnesota? In the winter?”
“Are you sure you have to go?”
“To work? Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
Vance lounged on the light comforter that always covered his bed against two large pillows, keeping his moisturized, nude form in view. “I’ve never seen you do that dance before.”
“There’s a lot you’ve never seen me do before.”
“There’s more stuff you’ve never done? Do tell.”
I smoothed body oil into my skin, rubbing down my arms, then across my chest and belly. I poured another palm of the fragrant oil before I moved to my thighs, then bent to coat my legs and feet.
“The young nurses are always doing TikTok videos in the break room. Probably picked it up from them.”
“The young nurses, huh?” I heard the smirk in his voice. “It’s ok to admit you practice TikTok dances in the mirror, Thena.”
I giggled. “Hush up, Van.” I pulled open a drawer, back on task now that I was moisturized and dewy. I was not used to dry winter air, and it was hell on my skin, so I worked hard to protect it. “What color are we on today?”
“Mmmph!” I didn’t even glance up at him. I knew he was ogling my full, pendulous breasts and dark brown nipples hardening in the cool air of my bedroom. “We gotta go with purple.”
“Of course. It’s your favorite color.” I pulled a few sets of panties and bras from the drawer and held them up. “These are our options. I’m doing laundry tonight.”
He pretended to consider the pairs in my hands, but I knew which set he would pick. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I don’t even know why you’re asking. The deep purple ones with the lace and matching drawls.”
“This lingerie is too expensive for you to be calling them drawls.”
“I bought them just so I could see you in them. I can call them what I want.”
I stepped into the deep eggplant-colored panties, pulling them up thick thighs and smoothing a palm over the fabric covering a soft belly that I was always complaining about. Then I wrestled my breasts into the supportive matching bra and turned so he could check me out.
Another growl unfurled. I watched him wrap a hand around himself, already growing hard.
“Everything is sitting real pretty. You sure you don’t have time for a round?”
“I’m sure I don’t. I wish I could stay online with you all day, but duty calls.”
Vance frowned. “Fuck duty.”
“Alright, grumpy. I see you didn’t get enough sleep. Did we play too hard last night?”
A smile cracked the frown he was trying to hold. “Nah, baby. Last night was good. I want to play with the real thing, though. I’m ready to rip those purple drawls off of you and get personal.”
“I’m sorry, ripping what? Not the Fenty!”
He frowned again, so hard a single dimple indented his left cheek. “Don’t think I don’t notice you change the subject every time I bring up meeting you.”
“Don’t think I don’t notice you bring it up every day.”
“That should tell you something.”
“It tells me something, alright,” I answered, chuckling.
“I said I would come up there if going away was too much pressure.”
“And I appreciate that, but Big Fork, Minnesota is not a romantic destination.”
“I don’t plan to see much of it.”
“You wouldn’t even fit in this bed,” I said, pointing to the bed shoved into the small room. There was barely room for a dresser and the closet was shameful. It was a good thing the house was cute.
“Come on out to Texas. We both fit in mine.”
“You and a small army can fit in that big ass bed.” I smirked at the camera because I was always shading Vance’s large, manly bedroom.
