by Alexia Adams
“Oh, sorry.”
“I’m not complaining.” He kept his eyes on her. A faint flush colored her creamy skin and her lips, freed of her teeth, rested open. Her soft breath, smelling faintly of wine, caressed his face as she leaned closer, making sure she’d removed every trace of dirt.
“Kiss me, now,” he said, although his voice was so husky it sounded like a plea.
He saw her take a deep breath and for a moment he thought she was going to pull away. Like a child touching something they’re not sure is allowed, she carefully placed a small hand on his cheek, her thumb making a light sweep under his eye. As she lowered her lips to his, her other hand tentatively threaded into his hair, hitting resistance as a glob of mud came loose.
Her eyes drifted close as their lips touched, and a soft sigh escaped. As with the kiss last night, she rested their lips together to start. Then she became bolder, nibbling on his bottom lip, her tongue darting out to taste the corner of his mouth. He kept his hands gripped tightly on the arms of his chair, not wanting to frighten her. When her tongue touched his, though, a low moan escaped his throat. She jumped back.
“Sorry, did I do something wrong?” Her chest heaved and her pupils were huge.
“You did everything right. It’s just very hard for me not to touch you,” Simon said. “Do you think you’re ready for the next step?”
She nodded hesitantly, as though trying to convince herself at the same time.
“Okay, I want you to take my hands in yours, and when you’re ready, put them on your body, where you want. I won’t move them until you tell me, or move them yourself. If it becomes overwhelming, step back.” His voice was so husky he could barely understand himself. He was trying really hard to think of this as therapy, an exercise. But when her lips touched his and he breathed in her fragrance, all thoughts of treatment and healing were obliterated by the desire and need that hummed through his body. Only by focusing on the stiff way she held herself was he able to rein in his lust.
Helen nodded again and leaned in for another kiss. Her hands felt so small on his, and it seemed an eternity before she lifted his right hand and placed it on her waist. Not his first choice for location. However, Helen needed to take baby steps to overcome her fears.
His left hand she eventually placed on her shoulder—0 for 2. As she moved her own hand away, she tensed. He was about to pull back from the kiss when she pressed her lips more firmly onto his. Her tongue dueled with his, and he allowed himself to express his passion through his lips. To show her how a man and woman should kiss.
When he thought he might explode if he couldn’t touch her more, she stepped back, out of his arms. She was breathing deeply and her blue eyes were ablaze with passion.
“Wow,” she whispered, as though talking louder would break the spell that bound them together.
“Wow, indeed. I think that’s enough progress for this session. I need to take a shower now.” A very, very cold shower. He waited while she backed away and fell into her own chair. Her knees bounced up and down and the hand she raked through her hair shook. “And for the record, Helen, you are one amazing kisser.”
A delightful blush stained her cheeks, giving them a rosy glow. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone, but she wore a scarf around her neck so he was still none the wiser as to the extent of her coloring. One day…
“New York,” he blurted out. “Come with me to New York tomorrow.” Smooth, mate, real smooth.
“New York? Why? So we can continue my recovery?”
“Yes,” he said. “Also so you can present your proposal to my board at a meeting on Wednesday. If you want Bertram Industries to become an autonomous division of Lamont Holdings then you’ll have to convince them. You have the passion to persuade them. It won’t be the same coming from me.”
“Don’t you have to go back to the UK to be with your family?”
“Not yet. My mother has gone away for a few days. There’s nothing I can do for her at the moment. Will you come with me?”
“I’m about to run a crucial experiment at work on a new catalyst for our fuel cell.” She hesitated, gazing off in to the distance as though weighing up the pros and cons of going with him. “But if the company is about to be ripped apart, none of it matters anyway. I can get Dennis to run the preliminary tests. So I guess I could come to New York for a couple of days,” she said.
Their gazes locked. Simon tried to hide his disappointment that saving Bertram was still at the top of her agenda. Again the nasty thought flickered through his mind that she was playing him. Was it just his father’s recent betrayal making him suspicious of everyone? The memory of Lisa in bed with Edward Halliday flashed through him. Helen wasn’t Lisa. Lisa was only interested in herself. Helen was trying to help others. Before he could stand, they both swiveled in their chairs at a noise coming from the doorway to the house.
“Helen? What’s going on?”
Chapter Six
Helen stood. It was time she and David had a chat.
“I’ll let the two of you sort out your issues.” Simon ran a hand over Helen’s shoulder before he left the terrace.
“Who is that guy?” David asked, his arms crossed over his chest in his best big-brother stance.
She sat so her knees didn’t shake. Pretending nonchalance when her body still hummed from Simon’s kiss was damn hard. “He’s none of your business.”
David stared at the floor before raising worried eyes to her. “Helen…I know I’m to blame for the way you are now. And with Mom and Dad living off the grid, it’s my job to look out for you. I can’t stand by and watch you get hurt again.”
“David, what happened wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t my fault. However, I’m left with the repercussions. And I’m damned if I’m going to live in the shadow of fear anymore. This thing with Simon is academic. He’s helping me over my fears, nothing more.” If only it felt like an academic exercise when she kissed him, instead of a soul-drowning tsunami of want and need.
David searched her face, his eyes showing his concern. He’d never been good with words. “Well, for the record, I don’t think it’s a good idea. There are much safer guys you could experiment with.”
“Safer guys aren’t going to push me past my fears. Besides, this arrangement has a set end date. I’m going into this eyes open.”
He shook his head. “Why are you going to New York with him?” His voice was quiet. She didn’t blame him for being a little shell-shocked. The events of the past twenty-four hours in both their lives were extraordinary.
“To meet with his board and discuss a change to the disposition of Bertram. It’s the real reason I got involved with him in the first place.” She tried to focus on her friends’ jobs, but all she could think about was Simon’s last kiss.
“Well, be careful, sis. I think you’re swimming way over your head.”
“Probably, but I may surprise you yet. By the way, I owe you this.” She stepped forward and kicked him firmly on the shin.
As David hopped around, cursing, it was her turn to cross her arms over her chest and chastise her brother for his questionable actions.
“What was that for?” he said at last. He’d collapsed into the chair she’d vacated and rubbed his sore leg.
“That’s for marrying a complete stranger, with whom you can barely communicate, and then not having the decency to tell your only sister about it.”
“If I’d told you, you’d have tried to talk me out of it. And I can communicate with Alina. I’ve been learning Russian since we met online eight months ago. I’m not fluent, but I understand enough to know we’re compatible. She’s a programmer, too. She gets how I think. Do you know how rare that is? You’re not the only one who’s afraid to be alone.”
“You’ve been dating online for eight months? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t believe it was real. I thought once she saw me in person she’d run. But when Alina met me at the airport…what can I say? She’s
amazing and for some bizarre reason, she likes me, too.”
“Couldn’t you have at least dated in person for a while?”
“Why? So everyone could tell us it wouldn’t last? It’s a gamble, but one I’m willing to take to be with her. I’m happy, Helen. I hope you can be happy for me, too.”
Her opposition to the marriage dissolved at her brother’s words. He did seem happier than she’d ever seen him. And Alina appeared to care for him.
“I am. I’m glad you found someone. When are you going to take Alina to meet Mom and Dad?”
“God, do I have to go there?”
“Yes, you do. And soon. Otherwise Alina will think you don’t want them to meet her.” David had been to see their parents just once in the ten years since they’d isolated themselves from society.
“It’s the other way around. If she sees what crackpots they are she’ll worry that I’m going to go off and live in the bush and brush my teeth with bark.”
“It’s not like that, David, and you know it. They just want to live off the land with other like-minded people. Take Alina to see them, at least for the day.”
She’d tried to go and visit at least once every two years, but the time she spent in the commune was becoming shorter and shorter. Even though she still loved them, she no longer had much in common with her parents.
“I’ll think about it,” David replied. “Maybe we can all go when you get back from New York. What are you going to do if you can’t convince Simon’s board to restructure Bertram?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got a clause in my employment contract that I can reclaim my patents if they are about to be licensed to a company with connections to the military. So far I haven’t been able to discover any link between Lamont Holdings and the Department of Defense.”
“Want me to crack their systems? Lamont’s, not the DoD’s. They get all twitchy when you fiddle with their files. Not that I know or anything.”
“No, definitely not. Stay out of both networks.”
“The offer is there. But I’m sure you’ll convince Simon and his board that your way is best. But don’t get hurt, okay? And I don’t mean physically.”
“I’ll be careful.” Because having to choose between Simon and her friends was not a decision she wanted to make. If it wasn’t going to come to that, she’d better wow the socks off both the pirate and his crew. Starting tonight.
She gave David a hug before going upstairs. What did you wear when going for dinner with your intimacy teacher who would soon be your boss?
…
Helen stood on the top step. Simon paced the hallway below. She drank in the sight of him in his dark suit, the top buttons of his crisp white shirt undone. He raked a hand through his hair and her fingers flexed, remembering the feel of the silky strands from earlier in the day. As she stepped down, the long slit in her black Chinese-style dress showed her leg up to midthigh. Simon glanced up at that moment and she heard his quickly indrawn breath.
“You’re stunning,” he said as she stopped two stairs from the bottom. Their faces were at the same height and he leaned in for a kiss.
“You’ll mess up my lipstick,” she said, moving away from him.
“Haven’t you heard? The ‘just kissed’ look is all the rage now.”
She put a hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, “I’m already hyperventilating wearing this dress. If you kiss me now, I’m likely to pass out.”
“We’ll put it on hold then until you’re more comfortable. Remember, you’re in control. What you say goes.”
Some control; she could barely breathe. She leaned toward him. Maybe one kiss would help her relax, melt the tension coiling in her stomach.
Liam whistled from behind him, making them both jump.
“David, Jason, come on, the car’s here,” Liam yelled.
The two other couples appeared at the top of the stairs. Helen moved to stand next to Simon, and when his arm automatically circled her waist she didn’t protest.
They all piled into the waiting limo and Helen slid next to Simon. As the journey progressed she managed to relax so that by the time they arrived at the restaurant she was as close to Simon as the other women were to their men.
Dinner was the most fun she’d had in years. Damn, am I drunk? If she was, it had to be intoxication by man, because she’d only had one glass of wine. It must be Simon’s nearness causing the hot flashes and giddiness. He was potent stuff. She giggled imagining the warning label that should be stamped on his forehead—incendiary device, kiss at your own risk. He’d make one hell of a catalyst. The problem would be in containing the reaction. Her reaction.
Reaching over, she stole another spoonful of his tiramisu. She didn’t really want the rich Italian pudding. However, sharing something intimately with him, even if it was just a dessert, thrilled her. As all the other couples around the table were sharing their final course, she finally felt that she fit in with her friends.
While they waited for the car after dinner, Simon stood behind her without touching. The heat from his body, combined with the beauty of the night, dissipated the last of her resistance and she leaned back against him. When he put his arms around her a shiver surged from head to toe. She tried to compute whether it was his body in full contact with hers, the cool night air, or the onset of a panic attack.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to hold you,” he whispered in her ear. His hot breath dissolved whatever panic manifestation was trying to form. After a second, she relaxed into him, letting his warmth and strength flow through her. She almost cried in disappointment when the limo pulled up and Simon released her to climb into the car.
Not only was he intoxicating, but he also created a time warp, because the ride back to Liam’s was over way too soon.
“Anyone for a final drink?” Liam asked.
Helen waited for Simon to decline, as they had to leave early in the morning. Giddy with tiredness herself, she still wasn’t ready for the night to end. She wasn’t sure what would happen when they got to New York. Would Simon revert to the robot businessman once more?
Without saying a word, they all migrated into the sitting room and Liam took drink requests.
Simon sat next to her again on the love seat. He waited until everyone had a drink, then held his aloft. “Cheers, everyone. I’ve really enjoyed this weekend. I appreciate you letting me join in your plans. I haven’t had so much fun in a long time.” Simon even included David in his smile around the group.
“You’re welcome any time, Simon. We try to come up here every six weeks or so. Even in the city we usually get together once a week to watch a movie, enjoy some food, good wine, and have a laugh,” Liam replied.
“Thanks for the invite. I don’t expect to be back in San Francisco again this year,” Simon answered.
Helen froze.
“You okay, Helen? You seem a little pale,” Liam, sitting across from her, said. The brown eyes she’d known for years searched hers. It had hurt when Liam had chosen Lorelei, but that had been a dull ache, not the sharp stab that sliced through her heart when Simon said he wasn’t coming back. She’d told David she was going into this thing with Simon, whatever it was, eyes open. So she hadn’t been prepared for the pain. If she was as smart as people said she was, she’d make her pitch to his board and get the hell out of town before she lost more than her job.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. I didn’t sleep too well last night.”
Simon put his arm around her and pulled her against him. After a moment she rested her head against his shoulder. When Simon spoke his chest rumbled, setting off an avalanche of sensation within her. This academic exercise was becoming way too real-world.
“What time do you have to leave in the morning?” she heard Lorelei ask through a fog of bliss.
“We should head out by seven. I’m hoping we can catch the eleven o’clock flight, but if we miss that then there’s another at one,” Simon replied.
“We?�
� Lorelei asked.
“Helen is coming with me. She’s going to make a presentation to my board of directors about Bertram Industries.”
“Oh,” was all Lorelei replied. The smile on her and Mandy’s faces said they didn’t think that was the only reason she was going with Simon.
Jason asked a question about restaurants in New York. Sipping her wine, Helen let the conversation flow over her.
…
For the first time in forever, he was part of a group of his peers without a business agenda in mind. Rather than feeling adrift, he was content, relaxed. Well, as relaxed as he could be with a super-sexy woman next to him whom he dared not touch.
Helen’s head got heavier against his shoulder, until her soft breath through his light cotton shirt told him she’d fallen asleep. He shifted his arm to give her more support, but she didn’t wake.
“I think it’s time to call it a night,” Lorelei said, softly. “Helen’s already fallen asleep and I’m not far off either.”
“Helen,” David called out.
“Don’t wake her. I’ll carry her upstairs,” Simon said.
Mandy leaped to her feet and took both Simon’s and Helen’s wineglasses, putting them on the coffee table.
He pulled Helen’s body across his and then stood with her in his arms. It felt way too natural to be carrying her to bed. He said a quiet good-night and good-bye to all in the room. Lorelei preceded him up the stairs so she could open Helen’s door for him. Expecting her to accompany them into the room, Simon was surprised when she closed the door, leaving him alone with Helen.
Looking down at the sleeping beauty on her bed, he fought the desire to climb in next to her. With all the loving couples downstairs it was almost too easy to see himself and Helen in that light. He’d always thought he was happy being a successful businessman, searching out the next great deal. Now he wasn’t so sure. Even the thought of his parents’ loveless marriage wasn’t proving much of a damper. He wasn’t his father, and Helen sure as hell wasn’t his mother.