by Angelo, Judy
“How can I expect you to sell these packages, really help clients understand what they are like, if you’ve never experienced them yourself? Make a note, Dana,” Rock said, his voice firm, “when we get back to the office we’ll make an announcement to the staff. All staff members are eligible to a free vacation at one of the luxury resorts we do business with. I do not want to have anybody working for me who can’t give a first hand account of what it’s like to stay in one of the resorts we’re selling.”
Dana was quick to give him a nod. “Well noted, sir.”
Rock laughed at that.
But although Dana smiled back, inside she felt like she was glowing. Here was another side to Rock, a very generous side, one that she could only admire. How many bosses would order their staff to vacation at a luxury resort at the company’s expense? Rock St. Stephens was certainly a man of surprises.
At that moment her attention was drawn to the luxury hotel at which Rock had arranged for them to stay. And as she stared in wonder, Rock explained that they would each have their own suite with bedrooms, kitchen, living room and sitting room, fully equipped with all they could ever need. And the sweetest part? They each had a private balcony overlooking the beach.
As soon as they had checked in Rock turned to her. “It’s only four o’clock. Why don’t you get some rest and we meet at around six thirty for dinner?”
“That would be nice. I am feeling a bit tired.”
“And tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us.” He gave her an admiring look, from her pants suit to her stiletto heels. “I hope you’ve brought flat shoes because we’re going to be touring the island tomorrow. I want us to get a feel for the place, to get to know a little bit about Nassau before we have our meeting on Friday.” He gave her a smile. “So as lovely as you look, I would suggest you ditch the high heels.”
“I’m happy to say I came fully prepared. If you’re planning on doing a lot of walking, I’ll be right by your side.”
“Good. See you at six thirty then for dinner?”
“Six thirty,” she said with a nod and with a happy toss of her head she headed for the elevator and the comfort of her luxury suite. She planned to enjoy every minute of it until dinnertime.
CHAPTER NINE
At six twenty-five that evening, Rock relaxed into the ultra-modern sofa in the hotel lobby then gave a soft groan as a wave of tiredness washed over him. Busy preparing for the trip, he’d had only five hours of sleep the night before and now it was catching up on him. He really had to stop this, acting like he was still the grad student who could pull all-nighters when it came to exam times. This was definitely not the kind of thing to do at the ripe old age of thirty-four. He was getting up there in age and he’d best remember that. Eyes half closed, Rock smiled to himself at his own private joke.
“Hello, Rock.”
At the sound of Dana’s voice he opened his eyes and there, in front of him, stood a vision of elegance. Immediately he stood up, his eyes roaming over Dana, transformed into an even greater beauty than before, if that were possible. Her long, dark hair which had fallen in layers over her shoulders and down her back was now swept high on top of her head in an elegant bun, with soft tendrils tickling her temples. Her eyes, always so dark and bold, now looked dazzling with gold highlights that complemented the deep brown of her eyes. And where, in the past, she’d always worn soft pink lipstick, tonight those lips were crimson and audacious…and very inviting.
Tonight Dana wore a simple black dress, but one which showed her off in a way that was tasteful and tempting at the same time. Slim spaghetti straps showed off the creamy smoothness of her shoulders. The silky black sheath of her dress caressed the curves of her breasts and the roundness of her hips, covering her in all the right places but hugging close, providing much fuel to the imagination. And that little slit, just above her right knee, gave enough of a hint of long, shapely leg to make him think thoughts most inappropriate for a boss.
Realizing he was staring and still hadn’t said a word several seconds after her greeting, Rock cleared his throat. “Dana, you look…” He paused as he searched for the right word. “Stunning is an understatement.”
A soft blush rose to her cheeks. “Uhm, thank you.” She looked like she didn’t know what else to say after that.
Quickly, he put her out of her misery. “May I escort you, mademoiselle?” He gave her his arm and when she took it, it was with a look of gratitude. Poor Dana. He’d embarrassed her with his gushing praise. That was so unlike him. What was it about Dana Daniels that made him forget who he was?
It couldn’t be her beauty. He’d seen beautiful women before. Lots of them. Many had all but thrown themselves at him. But this one…there was just something about her that made every single one of his nerve endings stand on end. He’d never been more aware of anyone in his life.
But, he reminded himself, under the circumstances there was nothing he could do about his intense attraction for this woman. She was his employee, after all. So it was either fire her and then pursue her or leave her the hell alone. Be sensible, Rock. There’s really only one option. Take your pathetic mind off Dana Daniels. The woman’s not even interested in you. Suitably chided by his inner self, Rock turned down the hallway with Dana on his arm. It was time to get back to the matter at hand. Dinner.
To Rock’s surprise, dinner with Dana turned out to be a lot more relaxed than he had anticipated. He’d felt like kicking himself for getting them off to a bad start with his embarrassing outpouring of praise. But then, once they’d settled down to eat, Dana had begun to seem more at ease in his presence, smiling at his gluttony when he ate all of four bread rolls before the soup even arrived, and laughing out loud when his stomach let him down by giving an embarrassing rumble.
“You’re human, after all,” she said, giving him a cheeky grin.
She didn’t know how right she was. He was so human he could hardly keep his eyes off her, let alone his thoughts. And those thoughts weren’t so innocent, either.
Pushing his wayward musings to the back of his mind, Rock gave her a wink. “If you doubt that, just ask my brothers.”
That seemed to pique Dana’s interest because she leaned forward, her brows raised. “You have brothers?”
Rock laughed. “I do. Two of them. And a mother and a father, too. I even have a grandmother. Did you think I was birthed on an alien planet and arrived in a space ship?”
That brought a bright shade of pink to her cheeks. “No,” she said quickly, “of course not. I just…never thought of that side of you. You’ve always been so serious, I’ve always thought of you…in the context of the office.”
“Well, now you know my secret.” Rock chuckled as he reached for yet another roll. “I’ve got an older brother who still likes to boss me around, or at least he tries, and a younger brother who bugs the heck out of me sometimes. My dad’s still a workaholic at age seventy but, luckily, he loves what he does. And my mom…well, she’s the kind who’ll love you to death but she doesn’t take any lip,” he gave her a rueful grin, “not even from her favorite son.”
“Oh, so you’re her favorite?”
“It would make sense. I’m the most stable of the three sons.” Then he shrugged. “Of course, we all say that.”
Dana laughed and when she did, her eyes sparkled in the light of the rose-shaped candles. Did she have any idea how breathtakingly beautiful she was?
Just then the server arrived, breaking into his thoughts. Almost with relief, Rock turned his attention to the bow-tied young man. Lately, his thoughts had been trespassing on forbidden ground and it was time to close that gate. And right now the best way was to stick to the subject of family. You couldn’t go wrong with that.
As soon as the server retreated, Rock turned his attention back to Dana. “So, what about you? Do you have a family, or are you the alien in our midst?”
“I guess you could say that I’m an alien…of sorts.” Dana gave him an enigmatic smile then picked
up her spoon. “Mmm,” she said, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes, “this soup smells delicious.”
Rock leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest as he stared at her.
Dana cocked an eyebrow at him. “Aren’t you going to have your soup? I know you’re hungry.”
Rock made no move to pick up his spoon. Instead, he gave her a mock scowl. “You leave me with a cryptic statement like that and expect me to just keep on eating? Explain yourself, young lady.”
Instead of answering right away, Dana took a sip of her soup. Apparently, she was intent on letting him stew a little longer in his curiosity. Finally, she looked up, her face serious. “I wasn’t joking when I said I was an alien.” Then she gave him an impish grin. “A legal one, that is.”
“So you’re not American?”
She shook her head. “I was born in Bristol, England, but moved to the United States when I was five years old.”
“So you’ve been living here ever since and never became a citizen?”
She gave him a crooked smile. “Weird, huh? But I have a reasonable explanation…” She paused then looked perplexed. “Actually, it might not seem so reasonable, now that I think about it. My family is sort of…different.”
Rock leaned forward, totally ignoring his soup. “Now I’m really curious. How different?”
“My dad’s an army man. Still is. And he loves England. But my mom…” Dana raised her shoulders, almost as if in an effort to find the words. “…she loves America. More modern, she always said. So she left my dad and took me to New York where we spent two years and then she started missing him.”
“So he remained in England?” Rock frowned. “And she only started missing him after two years?” Dana was right when she said her family was different. He could not even begin to imagine his parents being apart that long.
“I know. It sounds crazy but that’s how my parents are.” Dana shook her head then took another sip of her soup. When she looked up and spoke again her voice was earnest. “I have no doubt that they love each other but that’s how they’ve always been, just as happy apart as together. As long as they’re pursuing their interests, I guess.”
Rock followed Dana’s example and took a sip of his soup and as he ate she explained to him how she and her mother returned to England when she was seven but then the next eleven years were spent moving from country to country but every two or three years they would end up back in England.
“No disrespect,” Rock said, frowning with confusion, “but what is it with your mother? Why can’t she stay in one place more than a few years?”
“I guess it’s her nature. She’s always been a wanderer. She’s an artist,” Dana said as if that explained everything. “She sculpts, paints landscapes and does ceramics. I guess it takes many countries to feed her passion.”
“Poor kid. When did you get a chance to make friends?”
Dana sighed but still she smiled. “Not till I made it to college. I insisted on doing my degree in the United States and, thankfully, my parents didn’t object.” She shook her head. “I tell you, Rock, I was so sick of moving from place to place, once I started college I never boarded another plane. Until now, that is.”
“What about your parents? Don’t you visit them?” This family was seeming stranger and stranger by the minute.
“Oh, they come and visit me all the time, and they stay for weeks at a time. But me, I want stability now. That’s why I applied for a green card right after college. I’m happy here.”
“And you never thought of settling here for good, becoming a citizen?”
“I…I guess I haven’t given it much thought. I haven’t had reason to.” Then her face took on a thoughtful look. “I guess if I ever decide to start a family-“
Abruptly, she stopped speaking then her face colored and she looked down. “Sorry.”
“Not at all. That would be a very good reason to settle down here.” His tone was gentle, reassuring, but it did not seem to ease her distress. Obviously, she felt she’d blundered by bringing up a personal topic. Was it because he was her boss that she seemed so uncomfortable, or was it something else?
After that the conversation lulled and Rock could see Dana’s relief when the server arrived with the entrée. It wasn’t until dessert - cheese cake for her and sherbet for him - that she began to relax and seem like her old self.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been great company for dinner. I’m not very good at this sort of thing.” As soon as the words were out a look of embarrassment flashed across her face and she clamped her mouth shut.
“Meaning?” This time he wasn’t going to let her off the hook.
At first she kept her lips sealed tight but then she sighed. “Okay, you’ve probably figured this out already. I meant…I don’t go out much. This is the first dinner date I’ve had in over a year.” At those words she blushed again then said quickly, “Not that this is a date. I didn’t mean that at all.”
She looked so distressed, so vulnerable, that he reached out and touched her hand - for the briefest of moments, but in that feather-light touch he felt the electricity of awareness ignite between them.
“Not to worry, Dana. I know what you meant.”
Was it the change of environment, the idyllic atmosphere of the island? What had caused this change in Dana? What had happened to the girl they called Richard French’s bulldog? The cold, formal assistant who had worked in his office was gone and in her place was a softer, gentler creature. And he liked it.
In fact, he had liked the whole evening. For the first time since they’d met he’d spent close to three hours with Dana and not once had they discussed anything to do with work.
But then he remembered they would have to be up early next day. He glanced at his watch. “Whoa. Almost ten o’clock. Time to get you to bed.”
She nodded. “I’m feeling a bit ragged. Must be the plane ride.” As if the thought brought on even more tiredness she stifled a yawn.
Immediately Rock stood up. “Let me walk you to your door.” He reached out and helped her to her feet then, clasping her elbow, he escorted her out of the restaurant and to the elevator. Inside, she sighed and leaned back against the mirror-covered wall. Her eyes half-closed, she gave him a soft smile. “Thank you for dinner. It was wonderful.”
“It was my pleasure.” As he watched her, her body languorous and soft, his hands itched to hold her, to pull her into him, to give her another kind of pleasure. He was aching to kiss her.
When the elevator door opened Dana stepped forward and, as if the gods were on his side, her heel caught in the groove and she stumbled, falling back against him, right into his waiting arms.
As his arms went round her she leaned against him and looked up, her eyes cloudy with an emotion he decided was desire. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
Rock needed no further invitation. As the elevator door closed again, enclosing them inside its walls, he tightened his arms around her and captured her mouth in a kiss that would leave her in no doubt that he wanted her.
And she was kissing him back. So sweetly, so urgently, her arms coming up to cling to him, her soft moan filling the space that was now their own private world.
And it was almost his undoing. God, he wanted her so bad. His mouth slipped from her lips to her throat and as he kissed her there she gasped. He slid his mouth back to those sweet lips, drinking in the honey of her desire, losing himself in the aphrodisiac that was Dana Daniels. With a soft ‘ping’ the elevator door opened and he jerked his head up just as an elderly couple stepped inside. They smiled at Rock and Dana.
His arms still around her, Rock shifted Dana’s body, shielding her from the open stares. Thinking fast, he put a hand to her forehead. “Feeling better, honey? Just rest your head on my shoulder. A little sleep and your headache will be gone in no time.”
That seemed to satisfy the couple because their open curiosity and smiles soon gave way to a commentary on the meal the
y’d just had, and even when the door opened on their floor and they were walking down the hallway, they were still singing high praises for the chef.
When the door closed shut behind them Rock pressed the button for Dana’s floor then slowly released her.
She still looked dazed and he smiled, flattering himself with the thought that it was all due to the effect of his earth-moving kiss.
“Are you all right?” He put up a hand to brush away a lock of hair that had come loose from its clasp and fallen onto her cheek.
She swallowed then nodded and lowered her head but she made no move to step away. She was putting no distance between them and that, he knew, was a good sign.
The elevator doors opened again and this time Rock was successful in walking Dana to her door. He stood back as she used her keycard to open it and then she turned toward him.
“Goodnight, Rock.” That was all she said, her voice soft and low, but in her eyes was a look that said a whole lot more.
Dana stepped inside and closed the door gently behind her.
And when Rock walked away he knew deep inside that from here on his relationship with his employee could never be the same again.
CHAPTER TEN
‘If once you have slept on an island you’ll never be quite the same.’ Dana smiled as her thoughts went back to the words of the poem she’d learned as a little girl. The words were those of Rachel Field, if she remembered correctly, and they were so true.
She’d just spent her first night on Paradise Island and it had been wonderful. Well, maybe she was being a bit biased. She’d had a fantastic dinner date with Rock and then he’d kissed her. Again. And the second time was more electrifying than the first.
She hadn’t been shocked when he’d pulled her into his arms. It was what she’d been wanting all evening. And, as if he’d been reading her mind, he’d given her what she’d been craving all along.
And she was not disappointed.
Now, as she lay in the luxurious comfort of her hotel bed, she relived that kiss, every second of it, and she could only groan at the memory. But today was a new day and they had business to take care of. She glanced at the bedside clock. Six forty-five. Plenty of time to shower, dress and make it down to breakfast by the agreed time of eight o’clock.