“From the look on your face when you saw her, I’d say you’re still interested. You may have been fun for her, but I think you would have liked more?”
I shook my head but said nothing for fear of protesting too much. Fortunately, the waiter arrived with our food and set it down. However, when he moved away, my eyes caught Tricia’s as she sipped her wine.
There was a moment of hesitancy as she pulled her glass slowly from her mouth. When I saw her lips set in a line and a frown creased her brow in similar confusion, it weighed heavy in my chest, but that magnetic draw and electric connection was definitely still there. As her gaze grew in intensity, I found it harder to breathe and that familiar craving to touch her came back, unsettling me.
Somehow, I managed to drag my eyes away and I fought to maintain what I felt was a reasonable conversation with Rhea until we finished our lunch. When I stole another glance toward Tricia, she and her companion were again deep in conversation with her looking apparently unaffected after her initial connection with me.
As soon as was practical, I excused myself from Rhea, left the restaurant, and headed back to my penthouse suite without acknowledging Tricia. But nothing prepared me for the deep discontentment and restlessness I had taken away with me from that moment we shared in the restaurant.
From my perspective, I’d done all that I could in readiness for this conference but no amount of preparation would have set me up for the test of spending five days in the same room with the woman who turned my body electric and my mind to mush.
Once back in my suite, I shrugged out of my suit jacket and I hung it back on a hanger in the closet. As I did so a text alert vibrated on my cell. When I took it out of my front pants pocket and saw it was from Tricia, my body became instantly wired. A sharp intake of air reminded me to breathe and my fingers shook as I opened the text.
Tricia: I’m surprised to see you here. Long time, no see. How are you doing?
Seeing that simple question on my screen from her paralyzed me.
Cracking my neck from side to side, I threw my cell on the bed and paced around the room, aware of how tense I felt for having received her message. For a minute I stared, either unable or unwilling to reply, for I knew opening any dialogue would probably lead to more. It had taken me years to move her out of my mind and yet again in one afternoon I was back in time, acting like a sex-starved adolescent.
Never better, family firm keeping me on my toes…
Okay, just buried under paperwork from the office…
It was great to see you, are you busy?
My thumbs had worked quickly writing and deleting each thought as it came into my head, but the last one was more dangerous than the rest. Sex between us had felt explosive, and Tricia had been my biggest high. That’s how it felt and like a junkie, one sight of my drug of choice had me instantly craving more. About five minute later I sent a generic reply.
Me: Doing good. You?
When I pressed send, my heart betrayed my head and raced excitedly from the short exchange that had said nothing much at all. We had been nothing but yet I couldn’t get over her. For a healthy male it had felt weird not to have the same drive as I’d had before, but no other woman came close after Juliette, and not even she made me feel how I had when I was with Tricia.
It had only taken that brief unspoken encounter in the restaurant to make me realize I had never gotten past her. A swell of restlessness squeezed my lungs until I was unable to bear the restrictions of my immaculate attire. Unbuttoning my collar, I loosened my tie, yanked it over my head, and peeled out of my clothes. Who cares what I wear? Today I’m just another delegate, who’s going to spend the rest of the day getting drunk.
As I walked into the bedroom another text came in.
Tricia M: Want to catch up?
The harm that could do would be immeasurable, because I wasn’t sure I had the will to resist her if the opportunity arose for us to be alone.
Me: No can do. I have back-to-back meetings today.
Deep down I knew seeing her was inevitable, but I wanted the time to compose my thoughts and feelings, so as not to lose sight of why I stopped seeing her in the first place. I didn’t believe in love at first sight, but from the moment I’d clapped eyes on her, standing wet from the rain in my brother’s apartment, I knew I wanted her. It may not have been love, but the lust I felt had definitely won me over.
When I saw her at their penthouse party, right before Sawyer and Billie’s wedding, the sexual tension between us had been palpable. At that point she’d played it so cool I had wondered if what I had felt was one-sided, but when she finally made her move on the night of the wedding, it had confirmed she felt the same.
Since then my feelings toward her hadn’t changed. I knew that the second she walked past me in the restaurant wearing her fabulous sky-high heels.
The argument inside my head made me shake it as I wandered back into the sitting area and over to the crystal decanter full of whiskey the valet had provided me with. Fuck it. When I had no further response from her, I felt plagued by disappointment and relief in equal measure. Thinking in some perverse way I had wanted her to see me as a challenge or say something that melted my resolve and made me give in to her.
Against my better judgement, I reached for my phone and called Rhea.
“What’s the plans for the evening?”
“Private members bar for the delegates. No name badges, everyone’s anonymous until they do the walk of shame tomorrow morning and realize who they hooked up with.” She laughed, and I thought that was a joke. “That is… for those who don’t know anyone… someone like you, perhaps?” She chuckled again and I figured she thought she was funny. Humor wasn’t my strong suit after hearing from Tricia. “For the rest of us it’s a case of hitting the bar and getting drunk.”
I mulled her answer over and wondered if being caught in a lie with Tricia was worth the copious amounts of alcohol at my disposal, and decided it was a chance I was willing to take.
“Want company?” I asked, tentatively.
“Yay, you’ll come?”
“Sure. Give me fifteen to get ready and I’ll meet you there. Rhea?” I added, quickly.
“Yeah?”
“We’re business associates, we both need to remember this,” I warned. We couldn’t afford to do anything stupid.
“Gotcha, besides, I don’t think I want Tricia’s sloppy seconds,” she muttered. Her comment immediately pissed me off, like what had happened between us had been some joke.
“Good, bear that in mind,” I said sharply, and hung up with a ‘fuck you’ in my mind at her for reminding me about the woman. Despite my own rules about not getting drunk, I knew it was the only way I could deal with her presence.
A few minutes later I’d already decided I couldn’t spend another one on my own. I made my way down to the private room they had set up for the conference delegates to socialize in. After texting Rhea where to find me; I made straight for the bar.
Nodding at the whiskey bottles I flashed my penthouse card for my tab. “Large Glenlivet.” I turned to survey the people already dancing at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
“Meetings cancelled, I take it?” A familiar brand of sarcasm hit me square in the chest when Tricia called me out. It had been a while since I’d heard her voice, but the sound of it sent a shockwave of excitement coursing through me.
Staring straight ahead, I willed myself not to look at her and stared at her gorgeous reflection in the mirror behind the bar. After a few seconds that view of her was nowhere nearly enough, and I turned, my resolve to resist her melting like butter on toast.
Chapter Eleven
“Hello, Tricia,” I said. My deadpan tone gave away none of the chaotic hormones that ran through my veins. My hungry eyes soaked her in and from the way my cock instantly hardened, it loved what they saw. A reluctant smile tugged at my lips when I saw she wore her wavy hair down because it was the look I liked best on her.
M
y gaze narrowed and I tried to hide my true feelings as I looked into her incredible eyes. They popped appealingly, enhanced by the dark green bodiced dress she had on. Despite wanting to resist her, I felt myself immediately drawn in, mesmerized by her gorgeous features because she looked even better than I’d remembered.
Before I’d thought better of it, I delicately traced her jawline with my index finger because I felt compelled to touch her. The instant my skin was on hers, she placed her warm palm over my heart and I wondered if she could feel how hard it was beating. We were never really together, yet every single time we locked eyes we found the other irresistible.
“We have five days here. Are we supposed to pretend we don’t know one another?” Her question dragged me unwillingly from my reverie of being lost in her, and I considered what she had said.
“Perhaps,” I murmured honestly, “especially since what we were never amounted to much.”
“That’s rich, James. You never called me back.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shrugged, “I could see where we were headed.”
“Headed?” she repeated, a small shrill in her tone.
“Yeah, I was fed up being used. Wisdom comes with age and at one time I’d have happily gone along with an occasional delicious hookup, that day I walked away I’d decided I wasn’t that man anymore.”
“We only had what we had because you didn’t push for more, so don’t go giving me the jealous, spurned partner routine. I wasn’t going to chase you, James… it was up to you to demand more of me.”
“Demand more of you? You kicked me to the curb. I think we’re done here, besides you’re already here with someone.” I knew I’d shown my hand when I mentioned the guy I’d seen her with. Despite trying to walk away, my body stayed paralyzed to the spot when her stare grew more intense. Fuck.
“Drink for the lady?” The bartender’s voice interrupted the silence that had fallen between while we took each other in again. Taking a breath, I reluctantly turned and looked at him.
“Large vodka, ice, with a slice of lime.” Not hesitating when I had requested Tricia’s favorite drink. Straight after, I grabbed my scotch and quickly threw the contents down in one. “And the same again for me,” I demanded, slamming my whiskey tumbler back on the counter.
“I’ve missed seeing you,” she mumbled, lifting a hand to my cheek and my heart skipped a beat in reaction to her touch. The smell of her sweet floral fragrance surrounded me. Smoothing the hand that still rested over my heart, I figured she’d felt my heart rate when her eyes grew softer, but continued to stare into mine.
“I guess you missed me too,” she whispered, with a sad smile before she leaned in and pressed her mouth to my other cheek.
With the chemistry between us, I felt bewitched as my mouth gravitated toward her warm breath and hovered temptingly over her lips. Sliding her hand down from my chest to my hip, I felt it curl over my belt buckle and she pulled me closer.
“Sorry, I know I can’t help how you make—”
“I see you two found one another, then.” Rhea’s amused tone hit my ears at the very moment I had been about to respond to her apology with a kiss. As she had turned to look at her friend, my kiss brushed the side of her mouth. Straightening my stance, I stepped back, both grateful for the interruption and crushed I’d been denied her taste.
Fortunately, the awkward moment was missed when the barman returned with our drinks. “Thank you, can you add…” I gestured at Rhea because I had no idea what she drank.
“White wine spritzer, please,” she informed the bartender, before casting her eyes around the room. “It’s starting to fill up in here,” she noted, nodding toward the tables around the dance floor.
“Indeed,” I replied, following her gaze, suddenly faking my interest in the other people in the room.
When I glanced back toward Tricia, I noticed she was micro-focused on the small cocktail stick and lime in her glass, and I knew she didn’t have as much confidence as she’d have liked me to think she had about seeing me again.
“Should we grab a table before they’re all gone?” Rhea suggested. She lifted an eyebrow toward me as if to say ‘what’s up?’ I stared at Tricia for a long moment as I considered her comment about spending five days at the conference. She was right, there was no way I could avoid her for that amount of time, so I nodded.
“Good idea,” I replied, waving to the barman. Catching his eye, I asked for a fresh round of drinks to be brought to the empty table Rhea had already seated herself at. Before joining her, I threw another whiskey down my throat as Tricia moved in front of me to head over.
Tricia and I had almost reached the table, when Bradley, the good-looking guy I’d seen her with in the restaurant came to join us and immediately made a beeline for her.
“Hey, doll, started without me?” Tricia flashed him a genuine grin and threw her arms around his neck. My jaw clenched as wave of envy immediately rose from within, because he’d already given her a nickname, and from how they hugged one another they appeared to have no physical boundaries.
Breaking away from him, I noted no shame or embarrassment from Tricia when Rhea looked from Bradley to me.
“Bradley this is James Wild, Ronald Wild’s son,” Rhea informed him. Bradley lifted his brow and extended his hand. I guessed he knew of my father when no further introduction had been necessary.
“Pleased to meet you, James. Your father’s a great man, I have a lot of respect for him.”
“Thank you. We’re all very proud of the work he does. Good to meet you,” I replied, eyeing him with caution, because I was far from pleased to know him since his arms were still wrapped firmly around Tricia.
“I know you guys know one another,” Bradley said, nodding toward Tricia and Rhea, “but have you been introduced to Tricia?” Directing his question to me had raised a few of my own, he had no idea about Tricia and me either. Why should he? I had been an insignificant encounter in her life. First Rhea, now Bradley.
“We know each other,” Tricia volunteered before I could reply, unsettling my thoughts by acknowledging me.
“You do?” he questioned, raising a brow.
“Indeed.” I gave nothing away by my admission and waited for Tricia’s explanation.
Stepping back from him a little, Tricia shrugged. “Like you, Bradley, James and I… dated in the past.”
Hearing how she’d described us annoyed the fuck out of me, because that wasn’t how it had felt on my end of the deal. I wondered if she’d said what she had to make Bradley jealous. If she had, it had worked from the flash of jealousy that instantly burned in his narrowed suspicious eyes.
“You did?” he asked, trying to keep his face from showing how pissed he felt by that news, but his low gruff tone gave it away.
Tricia shrugged, glancing at me with an unusual hint of nerves. “Kind of. I really liked him. James would have been quite a catch.” For the first time I saw a definite tinge of regret when she briefly looked at me. “It…” she shrugged again, “just wasn’t to be.”
Hearing her comment frustrated me, setting a burst of adrenaline coursing through me as I digested her remark. In that moment I had wanted to drag her off and ask what the fuck she was playing at, but I stood my ground when I saw Bradley wrap his arms around her again and he pulled her against his body.
“My bad, it’s none of my business,” he replied, clearly fucked off by me being there, and I noted the second he eyed me as a threat. “The last thing I want to do is to make either of you feel awkward, and as it’s in the past, it’s best we leave it there, eh? Afterall, we’re all here to work.”
When Tricia stepped away, Bradley headed for the seat next to but one away from Rhea, leaving a gap I instinctively knew was meant for Tricia. A frown creased Tricia’s brow and I realized she was undecided what to do. As I was still standing, I reached out and I drew my index finger lightly down her arm. A small wiggle of her shoulders told me I’d sent a shiver through her.
>
“What’s with that?” I asked quietly close to her ear.
She turned, gave me a wry smile and shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing,” she replied, her voice almost a whisper, the word fanning across my face.
“Sit next to me, we have some catching up to do,” I prompted, wanting to keep her near a little longer, despite her being with Bradley. He looked from Tricia to me as she hesitated, then moved and took a seat at the opposite side of the table. Biting back a grin, I slid into the chair beside her and placed my drink on the table.
Rhea immediately engaged Tricia and Bradley in conversation and the next few minutes gave me time to digest all of what Tricia had said.
Chapter Twelve
Consuming copious amounts of alcohol in a short space of time was meant to have dulled my senses, yet with Tricia sitting close by, lust filled every square inch of my body. If Tricia noticed she masked it well, and I felt relieved when Rhea dragged her onto the dance floor to join in with a popular line dance tune.
The dance itself was very lame, but due to Tricia’s sense of fun and by adding her own unique twist to it, most of the men in the room, some a good fifteen years younger, stood enthralled by the sexy way she moved.
“Fuck,” Bradley blurted out, and my eyes slid immediately from Tricia to him. He rubbed the back of his neck and pulled at the neckline of his T-shirt like it had suddenly gotten too hot for him. I almost growled at the gesture.
“So you went to school with Tricia?” I asked, distracting him from watching her.
“Yeah. Tricia was the coolest chick in the whole high school, even at sweet sixteen. She’s still the coolest to this day,” he added, nodding toward the dance floor again. She was playing up to the audience and my fists curled tight at how Bradley couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
Resist You (Unchained Attraction Book 3) Page 10