by B. L. Wilde
“What time did you want me to pick you up tomorrow?” he asked once I was sitting beside him again.
“Any time after seven works for me.” We made small talk on the way back, finalizing our plans for the following evening. By the time we pulled up outside his building, we had decided on him picking me up at eight outside my hotel.
“Thanks for meeting me for lunch, Jade,” he muttered with his hands in his pockets. Could he feel the electricity charging between us, too? Was that why his hands were in his pockets? Was he trying to restrain himself?
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. I hope the rest of your day goes okay.”
“You helped, Jade.” He spoke softly, studying my lips again. It was pure torture having to hold back. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Okay,” I replied, watching him as he started to walk off. Just before he reached the automatic doors, I called out to him. “Thanks for lunch.”
“It was my pleasure,” he responded with the dreamy smirk. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” Then he was gone. That was Oliver Kirkham, the charmer.
I spent the night looking through the contacts that Alicia had thrown at me a few days ago. It wouldn’t do any harm to get ahead on this mission and figure out which associates I could rule out. As I went through everything I realized that Alicia had been pretty thorough; I had to give her some credit. She was good at one thing—research.
By the time I’d gone through the list, I counted at least thirty names I’d have to investigate. This mission was almost impossible, but if anyone could do it, I could.
I was checking through my emails when a knock came at my door. It was pretty late, so I wasn’t sure who would be coming to see me at this time of the night. Deep down, I knew the one face I wanted to see behind the door.
As I opened my door to find Alicia standing on the other side, I sighed deeply. What was her problem?
“What the hell do you want at this time?” I glared as she pushed past me, entering my bedroom.
“Sonia wants a progress report from both of us. Have you checked your emails?”
“Not in the last hour. I’ve been doing some research on the associates on that list you gave me.”
“Did you find anything?”
“No. I think you’ve covered all the possible candidates.”
“Hopefully the trip to Russia will give me a few new leads. Oliver is meeting with several scientists. If only I knew what some of his code names were.”
“Don’t think for a second that you have this mission, Alicia. Oliver and I have a bond that can’t be broken. He’s weakening each time we see each other.”
“Two weeks is a long time,” she gloated, flicking her hair behind her shoulders.
“You came here tonight just to gloat about being alone with him for two weeks, didn’t you?”
“Yep,” she sneered. “And to do this progress report. Although, I have more to tell Sonia than you.” I could have risen to her comment, but I was too tired. I just wanted to get the damn report done so she would leave.
“I’ll see you when I’m back from Russia,” Alicia called over her shoulder as she was leaving a while later. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Oliver.” I closed my door without a response. She was such a bitch. She seemed to forget one thing, though. I still had my dinner date with Oliver before Russia.
Chapter Six
“You look beautiful, Jade,” Oliver grinned, opening his car door for me. I’d opted for a beautiful red dress with a lace trim tonight. It was elegant and sexy at the same time. I also knew he loved me in red.
“No limo again?” I teased.
“What can I say, I like driving you around.”
“Where have you decided to take me for dinner, then?”
“I thought we could do Italian again, if that’s okay. I know a small little restaurant that has the best pasta in town.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“How was your day?” he asked, pulling out into traffic. “Has Brian made anymore advances?”
“I told you I can handle him,” I chuckled. “I didn’t see him much today, though. He’s heading out of town for a few days.”
“Good,” Oliver muttered under his breath. “I meant what I said about him. Please be careful.” I nodded, turning to gaze out the window. “I may sound like a broken record, but I care about you, Jade. That’s never changed.”
“You don’t know how happy that makes me to hear that,” I sighed, turning so our eyes could meet.
“Do you still care about me?”
“What do you think?” I whispered, studying his face. “I know it’s hard for you to understand why I left without any warning, but I didn’t run for the reason you’re thinking.”
“I put too much pressure on you. I get it now, but you could have talked to me about it, Jade. Running like that…”
I was conflicted. Did I just lay my heart on the line and tell him how I really felt? If I wanted him to be thinking of me the entire time he was in Russia it was the only option, but was I ready to be that open with him? Luckily, we pulled up outside the restaurant before I had to answer.
“Wow, this place is great,” I gasped, taking in the small candlelit table for two. It was so secluded, too.
“Yeah, I figured this would be a good place for us to talk. It doesn’t get too noisy here, and you don’t feel as if other tables can overhear your conversation.” Oliver pulled a chair out for me before taking his own seat.
“Do you come here a lot?” I questioned.
“Are you asking if I bring other women here? Didn’t you ask me the same thing in London the weekend we met?”
“I was going to ask your opinion on the menu, actually,” I sniggered.
Oliver laughed with me before suddenly becoming serious, taking my hands in his over the table. “What do you want from me, Jade? I’ve tried to be strong, but when it comes to you, I can’t. I need to know what you want and that you’ll talk to me. No more running.”
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” It was only a partial lie. If Oliver and I were ever going to get our happily ever after, we would have to have some time apart. There was no reason to think about that right now, though.
“I want to believe you, Jade. I really do.”
“We don’t have to have all the answers right now. Why can’t we just see how it goes?”
“I thought that was what we were doing?” he smirked.
“Okay, smart ass,” I giggled. “Can we stop with the heavy, then? Why don’t you tell me about your day? You seemed really stressed yesterday at lunch.”
“You noticed that, huh?”
“I know you pretty well.” I looked at our hands that were still linked together.
“My uncle and I are disagreeing over an important development in the company. He thinks his age should give him the upper hand, but he isn’t thinking rationally.”
“But it’s your company. You don’t have to listen to him, do you?” I was trying to act dumb. I knew Richard owned a percentage of Kirkham Industries but that Oliver held the majority.
“It may be my company, but my uncle does have a small claim on it. Not enough to allow him to overrule me, though. I value his opinion most of the time. This time, however, I feel like he’s being driven by money.”
“Is that what it’s about? Money?”
“No,” Oliver sighed. “Money is the least of my problems. I have a lot of power in my hands, Jade. There are times I feel as if I’m playing God. One choice could affect the entire world.”
“That sounds tough.”
“It is,” he sighed, glancing behind me. Our food had arrived.
“You weren’t kidding about this place having the best pasta. It’s really good,” I mumbled, digging into my meal.
“Yeah, I’m rarely wrong,” he winked with a smile.
“So, these important decisions you have to make…are they always top secret?”
“Mostly, yes.”
“I’m starting to understand why you’ve met so many world leaders.”
“I’m not going to tire you with the boring details of my job, Jade.”
“I don’t mind, really.”
“You’re really okay with me talking about fusion and power cores?” My heart began to race. Power cores? Would it really be that easy? I was about to find out.
“Power cores?” I frowned, sipping my drink.
“You really want me to go into detail?” he chuckled.
“Not too much. I need to be able to understand what you’re saying,” I giggled.
“Okay, well, with nuclear weapons they have to have a core. This consists of heat and energy. There are two types of nuclear weapons—those that use most of their energy from fission alone, and those that simply use fission to begin the reaction.”
“You really are a nerd, aren’t you?” I smirked.
“You knew that about me the day we met,” he chuckled. “We don’t have to talk work.”
“What did you want to talk about?”
“You,” he grinned with a gleam in his eye. “Why don’t you tell me where you’ve been these last six months?”
“You tracked my account. You probably know better than me where I’ve been.”
He chuckled. “I guess I deserved that.”
“I travelled around a lot. Mostly I stayed with friends. I had some money put away, so I just kept running.”
“What made you finally stop?” His eyes were intense as he waited for me to answer.
“I woke up to my true feelings.” I reached my hand over toward his. “I wasn’t running from you. I was running from my feelings for you,” I admitted. “It was all happening so fast and it scared me. I’ve never been dependent on someone before. I’ve only ever had to look out for myself. Relationships aren’t easy for me, Oliver. They never have been.”
“You should have told me.” He traced the top of my hand with his fingertips. “All these months that have been wasted. I’ve been going out of my mind trying to find you, Jade.”
“I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know,” he sighed. “I’m starting to see that now.”
After our dinner, we shared a dessert again. He said he wasn’t that hungry, but I figured it had more to do with being able to feed me the delicious ice cream from his own spoon than anything else.
“You’ve been watching my mouth the entire night,” I giggled as he fed me the last spoonful of ice cream.
“I have?” he teased, licking his lips. “You do have mesmerizing lips.”
“They can’t be that good. You haven’t even tried to kiss me properly since I’ve been back,” I challenged, raising my eyebrows.
“All in good time,” he breathed, looking down at his watch. “Did you want anything else? Coffee? More ice cream?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“I have some bad news before we go any further tonight.” I knew what was coming and braced myself. I’d been wondering when he would bring up his trip to Russia. “I’m leaving for Russia this weekend. I’ll be gone for two weeks.”
“What?” I gasped. “You’re going away for two weeks and you only decided to tell me this now?”
“It was never the right time. I can’t get out of it, Jade. It’s a really important trip.”
“Two weeks is such a long time,” I moped, fiddling with the tablecloth.
“If I could take you with me, I would, but my uncle will be there. It would just get too complicated and I need to focus.”
“Oh, let me guess, your PA is going,” I glared, crossing my arms.
“You really don’t like Alicia, do you?”
“No,” I glared. “You don’t trust Brian, and I don’t trust her!”
“Now you’re being ridiculous.”
“I don’t think I am. So, are you cutting our dinner date short so you can get ready for Russia with your hot PA?”
“Is she hot? I hadn’t really noticed.”
“You can be such a jerk sometimes,” I glared, standing up quickly. I was becoming angry to elicit a reaction from him. I needed to know I was the one he wanted, not Alicia.
“Where are you going?”
“You can take me back to my hotel now. I wouldn’t want to make you late for your flight!”
“It’s not until tomorrow afternoon,” he said, following me outside. “Jade, slow down.”
“Do you know what I don’t get?” I snapped as I turned around to face him. “Why tell me you wanted to give us another try if you were going to Russia for two weeks?”
“I didn’t want to wait. I needed to know where we stood before I went.”
“I think it has more to do with you wanting to keep your distance from me,” I countered.
“You really think that?” he asked, taking a step toward me.
“I know I’m right. Oliver, you’ve barely touched me since I came back. You’ve never had this kind of control around me before.”
“Jade, I’m keeping my distance because the moment I let go, I’ll be lost in you again.” His eyes grew darker as he pushed me against the side of his car.
“Just let go,” I whispered. “What’s the worse that could happen?”
“You could break my heart again,” he whispered, running his hands into my hair. “A man like me can’t be left vulnerable. I have to think about my business, too.”
“I won’t do that again. You must see what you mean to me…how much I care.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be controlled by your feelings?” he muttered, stroking my face with the back of his hand.
“I lied. It’s my feelings that scare the crap out of me, because being away from you all that time only made them stronger. I can’t run from how I feel anymore. I need to be with you!” I swallowed hard, watching his lips move toward mine as he took in what I was saying. Yes, Oliver, I love you!
As his lips pressed softly against mine, I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, drawing him closer to me.
I was sure he was going to pull away, but to my surprise, he pushed me against his car, crashing his body and mouth harder against mine.
His kiss was all consuming. I could feel his hand in my hair gently tugging it. I groaned when our tongues collided passionately, having forgotten how good he tasted. Every sweep of my tongue was met with his in a timeless dance. Sparks seemed to be igniting all over my body. Oliver was bringing me back to life with his tender kiss.
“Mmm, I’ve missed those lips,” he purred, pulling back when the kiss finally came to an end. “As much as I want to ask you to come back to my place, I think we should wait until I get back from Russia.”
“Are you trying to say I’m the kind of girl who would sleep with a guy on their first date?” I teased. My arms were still wrapped around his neck and I loved the closeness.
“I know you are,” he chuckled, leaning down to peck my lips once more.
“Only when it comes to you. But you’re right. We should wait. We’re taking this slowly, remember?”
“I know,” he sighed, pulling me into him for another deep kiss. This time his hands began to slide down the side of my body. Oliver going slowly? Was that even possible?
I giggled against his mouth when his hands finally gripped my ass. “This is slowly for you?”
“Yep,” he grinned, finally pulling back. “Come on. Let’s get you back to your hotel before I lose complete control.”
“Good idea,” I sniggered, letting him open the car door for me.
“It’s funny how quickly things can go back to normal, huh?” He started his engine. “I really wish I could cut this trip short.”
“What’s the trip about?”
“It’s mostly meetings with N.A.T.O, but I have a few associates I’m scheduled to meet with, too.”
“No world leaders this time?”
“There will be some,” he muttered, unaffected by that statement. I was a S
eductor and meeting certain world leaders would unnerve me. It wasn’t uncommon for them to be assigned as targets, so I had met a few. Oliver, though, was sitting there unfazed at the fact that he would be conversing with them while he was in Russia.
“Does nothing faze you?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, glancing at me quickly.
“Nothing scares you, does it?”
“In my job, no, but other things in my life do.”
“Like what?”
“Losing my father one day,” he sighed, staring at the traffic ahead of us. “I know he’s almost gone already, but the thought of never seeing him again terrifies me.” My heart ached for him. It was clear how much he idolized his father. “Then there’s you.”
“Me?” I questioned.
“I can’t think rationally when I’m around you, Jade. That’s a dangerous position for a man like me to be in.”
“Don’t you realize that I feel the same way when I’m around you? Oliver, you have no idea what I’ve been through these last six months. I tried to forget you, but I couldn’t get you out of my head!”
“Doesn’t that tell you something?” he grinned, pulling up outside my hotel. Why did it have to be so close to the restaurant? I looked at him quizzically. “You need to listen to your body. You can’t deny what it wants. I’ve been trying to tell you that since the moment we met.”
“I know,” I sighed, leaning in to peck his lips. “My body wants only you. I’ve always known that.” My statement stirred a low growl from within his chest, and before I could blink, his lips were pressed hard against mine.
“Fuck,” he moaned, fumbling with his seat belt. “You better get inside. I only have so much restraint.”
“Will you call me once you’ve landed in Russia?” I pouted, not wanting to move an inch as his lips began to move down my neck.
“Of course I will. When I get back, I promise we can try again. I won’t bring up the last six months. We’ll just start fresh and see where things go. I’ll go as slow as you need, Jade. I want you to open up to me.” I smiled against his lips, drowning in his words. This didn’t feel like a mission. I’d been given a second chance to fall deeper in love with him, and I didn’t want to waste a moment of it.