by Alexia Adams
“I’ll talk to my HR department and see if there is any way we can increase the severance packages for affected Bertram staff without setting a dangerous precedent. And I’ll make sure that everyone receives extensive outplacement services. I’ll write personal references if needed.”
“That’s generous, thank you.” The lump in her throat was making it hard to speak. Would they part on a handshake or another of his kisses?
Simon hesitated, his eyes searching hers. He cleared his throat before he spoke, and when he did it was barely above a whisper. “Bertram may be done, but we don’t have to be.” The way he stared at her lips left no doubt as to his meaning.
“I thought you’d lost interest in that.” She tried to shrug nonchalantly, but her shoulders froze somewhere near her ears.
“No. Just been dealing with some control issues.”
Before she could ask, he gently tugged her forward and kissed her. Only their lips touched yet she felt on fire everywhere. Damn, traitorous body.
When he eventually pulled back she said, “I thought you had a strict policy on appropriate behavior in the office.”
“I’m the boss. Occasionally I get to break the rules I make.”
“Doesn’t sound fair.”
“Business isn’t always fair.”
“So I’ve learned.”
He leaned in for another kiss but at the sound of voices in the hallway he pulled back. “I have to go to dinner. Please, will you meet me for a drink in the hotel bar afterward?”
The logical part of her brain told her to refuse. Leaving him here, now, would be the easiest option. The smart option. Her heart screamed otherwise. “I don’t know. I’ve got some thinking to do. Text me when you’ve finished your dinner.”
She grabbed her bag and kept her head down so he didn’t see the tears gathering in her eyes. “If I don’t see you again, thanks for, well, you know…”
“Helen—” His voice sounded as though he were being strangled. She didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. She had to get out before she lost it completely.
Grabbing her bag, she fled the office, nearly bowling over one of the board members in her haste. As the elevator doors were closing she looked up in time to see Simon standing in the hallway looking like he’d just lost his empire. Then John Cuthbert approached him and his businessman mask slipped back in place.
Everything was so not totally awesome…
Chapter Ten
Calm down and try to think. You’re a design engineer, for God’s sake. Logical analysis is your thing. Or at least it was. Now it was all BS—Before Simon.
Helen stared out the window of her hotel room. At street level, New York bustled as only New York could. People went about their lives—flitting off to dinner, or a Broadway show, or home to loved ones—while she tried to come to grips with today’s setback. Somehow she’d thought Simon would have her back, that he’d vote for her proposal and convince the rest of his board to do the same. Except he’d never promised her that. In fact, all he’d promised was to give her the opportunity to speak for her fellow employees. Could she really expect him to change the way he did business after only a week? Hell, yeah, her heart screamed.
She needed to take a step back and consider the experience a failed experiment. What had she learned? That Simon was a businessman who didn’t let emotion get in the way of profit. She already knew that. But she also knew that deep down he was a caring, loving person. It would just take more time to bring that man to the surface. Time she didn’t have.
Most of all, though, she knew she cared for him more than any other man she’d ever met. He made her feel special, beautiful, sexy. She wanted him. Ached for him. Oh God, I love him. She fell into the nearby chair at the realization that she’d let things get way out of control. She cracked open a mini bottle of whisky from the minibar.
So, Simon had put business before personal pleasure, but wasn’t she doing the same? Was she throwing away a chance at happiness because he hadn’t saved her company? Had she basically said, “You can only have me if you save Bertram?” She still had a little time to work out something for her colleagues. She may only have tonight with Simon.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Dinner is finished. On my way back to the hotel.
Her fingers hovered over the keys. Butterflies took flight in her stomach and she had to wipe her palms on her dress.
Bertram may be done, but we don’t have to be.
He’d said he wanted to convince her to relocate to New York, that she’d made him question what he wanted in life. Obviously she wasn’t more important than the deal. Yet. But given a little more time could she become that? Maybe they had a future together. Maybe they didn’t. They did have tonight.
She killed the butterflies with a swig of whisky from the minibar. Her thumbs were steady as she replied. Come up to my room when you get back.
She sat on the hotel bed and waited for Simon. Minutes ticked by and the butterflies resurrected themselves. Had she done the right thing asking him back to her room? Even in her virginal state, an invitation to a hotel room meant one thing—sex. He was able to separate his business and personal life; she’d have to try to do the same. Just because she’d lost one battle didn’t mean she had to give up on the other.
A knock on the door interrupted her musing. Too late now for second thoughts. When she opened the door all doubt fled. He still wore his suit, but the tie had disappeared and he’d undone the top two buttons of his shirt. At least one of them wasn’t lacking sex appeal.
He closed the door behind him and then leaned on it. “Have you made a decision?”
“Yes.” She continued to stare, letting her eyes devour him.
“Helen, if you just want to talk then can we please move this discussion to the bar or someplace public? You, in close proximity to a bed, looking at me like that, is wreaking havoc on my ability to think.”
She swallowed. It was now or never. “I don’t want to talk.”
“Then kiss me, Helen, before I explode.”
“Are we playing Simon Says now?”
“We aren’t playing. Besides, all’s fair in love and war.”
She rested her lips against his, their breaths mingling. “And which is this?” Without waiting for his answer she kissed him, half in anger for the results of the day, half in sadness that this might be the last thing they shared.
Within seconds the reasons and sentiments behind the kiss dissolved, replaced by passion. “Touch me,” she said, wrenching her lips from his.
The words were barely out of her mouth before his hands were on her, lightly at first. When she moaned with pleasure, Simon applied a little more pressure, roaming over her back, pulling her against him.
“Helen, is this what you want?” His teeth nibbled her ear before he trailed kisses down her neck to her shoulder.
“Yes, I think I’m ready.” She was ready for him to love her.
He lifted his head and gazed into her eyes. “If you change your mind at any time, I’ll stop. It may kill me, but I’ll stop.”
Her throat was too tight to answer. He must care for her, even a little, to put her needs above his own. She pulled his head back down and kissed him, showing him with her lips how much she wanted this, wanted him.
He backed her slowly into the room, stopping when she reached the bed. She took a deep breath, trying to forestall a panic attack as her legs hit the furniture. Rather than press her down, he switched their positions so he was against the mattress. Finally, releasing her lips, his gaze sought hers, his hand gently caressing her face.
“Take my clothes off,” he whispered huskily.
She put her hands on his chest, slipping them under the lapels of his jacket. “I always thought the English were so polite. You’re rather bossy.” She pushed the jacket off his shoulders, trapping his arms.
“Please,” he said, his eyes twinkling. There was passion, but something else in the depth of his gaze
. Before her mind started to conjure reasons for that look, she forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand.
“Well, when you ask so nicely…” She stripped his jacket off and set to work on the remaining buttons on his shirt. When they were all undone, she hesitated.
“Do you want to stop?” Simon’s deep voice seemed to come out of a fog.
She shook her head. “No, I’m just…I’ve never gotten further than this in my mind.”
He nodded and took her hands in his, guiding them to his belt buckle. His eyes held hers as her fingers undid his pants. She brushed against his erection and would have pulled back if he hadn’t held her wrists. “I’m all yours to play with. Do what you will.”
Emboldened by his statement, she ran her hands over his bare chest, down his torso to the elastic of his boxers. His muscles quivered and tensed under her touch, but he made no move to grab her or remove her clothes.
“Ready for more?” His voice was strained, his breathing fast and shallow. Where her hand rested against his chest, she could feel his rapid heartbeat.
She nodded dumbly. With her heart in her mouth, talking was impossible.
Simon let his pants fall to the floor. He kicked them away and removed his socks and shoes as well. He stood before her, his erection straining against his underwear. She licked her lips.
“That’s the idea, taste me,” he whispered. She ran her lips over his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath as she teased his nipples with her tongue.
“Good?” She kissed her way up his neck to under his ear. His hands were running restlessly up and down her back, as if he was the one who didn’t know what to do.
“Fabulous. You’re incredible. Aren’t you a little warm with all those clothes on, though?”
She froze. His hands reached for hers and he waited until her eyes met his again.
“It’s up to you, Helen.” His green eyes were sincere, concerned, caring. Loving?
“Help me with the zip?” She turned and took deep breaths while he eased the zipper down the back of her dress. As soon as it reached the bottom he removed his hands, waiting for her to turn around again.
“You have to take it off. I don’t want any flashbacks to hinder your progress.” His tone was even, but she could see the tight control he was exercising. His eyes blazed with passion; his hand shook as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She slid the shoulders off, eased her arms out of the sleeves, and let it fall to the floor. Before it had even finished pooling at her feet, her hands flew to cover her body.
Again, Simon waited. She forced her hands to return to her side. The heat that usually invaded her cheeks this time spread downward, covering her skin in a light flush. She was so glad Lorelei had talked her into buying new underwear. The lacy navy bra and matching panties at least made her look sexy, even if what she felt inside was awkward and juvenile.
“You’re so beautiful.” It was probably a standard comment a man made when he saw a woman in her underwear. But he managed to sound genuine.
“You’re not too bad yourself. You must work out a lot.” Helen stared at his muscles, trying to pretend this was an everyday occurrence for her to be standing in her underwear with an equally scantily clad male.
“I get to use the hotel fitness center. It has some good equipment.”
“When do you find the time?”
“I don’t sleep much. Five hours a night if I’m lucky. So I work out at four in the morning. That way I have the place to myself, unless there’s a hotel guest from a far-flung time zone who can’t sleep either.”
“I have trouble sleeping, too.”
“Could be pent-up frustration. Let’s see if we can ease some of it.”
“I’m all for drug-free ways to sleep better,” she said before his lips once more took hers in a passionate kiss.
He put one hand on her naked back, inching her toward him until their bodies were in full contact. His other hand rested on her breast, still at first until she melted against him. Then his thumb rubbed over her tight nipple, which strained against the fabric barrier, driving her to a frenzy.
“I want to taste you,” he whispered into her ear. “Can you remove your bra?”
She reached around and undid the hooks and let the straps fall off her arms before the bra slid to the floor with her dress. Simon put a hand up, then waited for her to grab his wrist and move it toward her bare skin. She sucked in a deep breath as he touched her, exhaling with a low moan.
“Are you okay?”
She barely recognized his voice it was so strained. She nodded mutely and he sat on the bed and pulled her between his legs. His head was now on level with her breasts, and he replaced one hand with his mouth.
“Good,” she gasped out as he sucked, licked, and nibbled her breast until she thought she might pass out. “Oh, so, good.” She had no idea the sensations would overwhelm her fear to such an extent. She wanted more. She wanted everything. But she still couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone other than Simon. When he removed his lips, she clamped her hands on the back of his head.
“Just giving the other some attention. I don’t want to incite any jealousy.” His gaze briefly met hers before his head descended again. His eyes told her he’d discovered the most amazing treasure of all time.
He gave the other breast the same treatment, his hand replacing his lips on the first, kneading and plucking and driving her to the edge of oblivion.
When his fingers traced down over her lower belly and then dipped inside the elastic of her panties she jumped back. Her breathing was borderline hyperventilating, and for a second all she saw were black spots.
When his face finally came into focus it was hard, emotionless, as though she’d angered him.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“No, I should have told you I was going to touch you there. I’m afraid I’ve only got one functioning brain cell left. All the others are lost in ecstasy right now. I wasn’t prepared for how amazing this would be with you.” He hauled in a couple of deep breaths.
“You’re not angry?”
He stood, reached for her hand, and pulled her against him, resting his cheek on the top of her head. She could feel his heart racing and also sense his concern.
“Never angry. I can only imagine how difficult this is for you. Are you okay to continue?”
“Yes, I just have one question.”
He chuckled. “What’s that?”
“Is it normally this intense? I mean, I thought I was going to black out when you touched me…”
“It’s this intense when it’s really good. And I will admit, I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. Do you realize how incredible you are?” He pulled back a bit and put his forehead on hers. They both watched as his index finger traced a path around one taut nipple, circling it, over to the other, creating a trail of nerve-tingling anticipation. After a leisurely circumnavigation he moved his finger between her breasts and down her stomach. He circled her belly button, stopping at the bottom. Then in tiny movements he slid it down to the top of her panties. Her stomach muscles quivered and clenched.
“It’s time for these to go,” he whispered before taking her lips in a searing kiss, all the while his finger tracing the top of her lacy briefs.
She unclenched her hands from where they gripped his back in support. With one swift motion she removed her underwear before her brain could analyze the idea and set off a panic attack.
Without the fabric barrier to stop him, his fingers slipped between her legs, finding her most sensitive spot. Her knees buckled and she clung to him. “I can’t stand anymore,” she gasped.
He lifted his head from where his lips had been teasing her breasts. “You can’t stand? Or you don’t want me to continue?”
“Standing, can’t do it. Legs not working,” she managed to get out. Her head was lolling back and her knees had completely turned to jelly.
With practiced ease, Simon swiveled, pulled the cover
s off the bed, lifted her, and placed her gently in the center of the mattress.
“I’m going to lean over you and feast on your body. If you start to panic, tug on my hair. My heartbeat is so loud in my ears I’m not sure I’ll hear you.” He stood against the bed, his body glistening with sweat, his eyes blazing with passion. She should have dimmed the lights, but somehow, seeing everything that was happening, knowing it was Simon and not him, was helping keep her demons at bay.
She nodded and he settled beside her on the bed. At first his touch was featherlight, letting her get used to being caressed. As her muscles quivered and tightened beneath his fingers, he became bolder. His lips and hands explored every erogenous zone she possessed, and a few she didn’t even know she had. She opened her eyes, tried to focus on the room, to stay in the moment, but the waves of sensation that racked her body were too strong, dragging her under. “Simon!” she called out as her body teetered at the edge of control.
“Let go, Helen. Let the pleasure take you,” he said, his voice thick with passion.
Wave after wave of ecstasy engulfed her. Her hands clenched his back so tightly, yet she couldn’t let go. And still he touched and tasted her until with a last surge of electricity she sat bolt upright, dislodging his mouth from her left breast.
A triumphant smile creased his face and he kissed her as she feathered back down to earth. “I…we…you. I’ve done it wrong,” she moaned when at last she could form words.
“You did it exactly right,” Simon said. He wrapped his arms around her and waited while her breathing returned to normal. His arms felt secure, safe, but there was one more step. She’d had her first orgasm, but she was still technically a virgin. Simon stroked her hair, giving her as much time as she needed. She could feel his rock-hard erection against her thigh. It was time; she’d come this far.
“What’s next?” she mumbled against his chest, unsure again.
He raised her face to his and kissed her tenderly before rolling away from her. Reaching down, he pulled his wallet from his pants and extracted a small foil packet. He put it on the bedside table. “I’ve had my fun. It’s time you got a turn.”