“Well, things can never be like that again. I’m sorry. If you want me to kiss you and hug you, I will, but I still don’t want you wheeling my suitcases to the taxi stand. I don’t want to ride with you, and I don’t want to stay in the penthouse.”
He flashed her a wicked grin. “What about the sweet nothings in my ear? Will you do that, too?”
She couldn’t help but blush. He knew how to push her buttons. She had to give him that. “Sure. What the hell.”
He held out both arms. “Come on, then. Hug and kiss me. Show me how happy you are to see me.”
Gina’s ears and cheeks burned. She cast one furtive glance back over her shoulder. Winnona was still asleep. How long could Gina keep this pretense going before the baby woke up and started screaming? If Gina didn’t march over and claim her distressed child, someone would call the police.
Gina faced Giles. She had to get this over with and fast. She summoned all her resolve. She really did care for him, and she really was happy to see him again after so long. His nearness made her heart patter with hidden excitement. She could show him that, at least, for as long as it lasted.
She moved closer. His pupils dilated when he gazed into her eyes, and his neck twitched where his pulse throbbed in his veins. Did she excite him as much as he excited her? She already knew she did. Was he getting hard right now at the thought of putting his arms around her?
She crossed that last terrible frontier and put her arms around his neck. His thick muscled arms folded around her waist, and they met in a close embrace. His chest glowed warm and solid under his shirt and suit jacket. His powerful arms lifted her onto her tiptoes.
His presence flooded her brain with the old forgotten arousal. He wasn’t an image on Skype anymore. He was a living, breathing man, and he was right here with his arms around her.
This was how it started. It always started with an innocent handshake, a hug, a touch on her hand. It started with a brush of his sleeve against her blouse, a flare of his nostrils when he glanced down at her cleavage. His lips parted, and the color swept across her cheeks. That’s how it always started, and it always ended in sizzling, moaning, sheet grabbing sex.
Once she wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his arms around her, the next stage happened by itself. She angled her head sideways and kissed him. His soft lips brushed against her mouth. The moment they touched their lips together, their mouths opened. Their tongues lashed this way and that in a delicious dance.
His tongue stroked her insides, all the way down her soft skin. His tongue commanded her pussy to respond, moving in and out of her deeper and faster. His tongue tingled through her mouth the same way it flickered across her lady lips and clit. She panted gasped for breath and clenched her fists in his hair.
Whisper sweet nothings in his ear? She never wanted to do anything so much. His arms tightened around her waist, and one hand pressed her spine inward. He bent her back to tilt her hips. Her ass stuck out, and her engorged tissues opened for him.
His other hand glided down her side to her hip. He guided her pelvis forward and back, and he slipped one knee between her thighs. He jammed up between her legs to nudge her blazing inferno to life.
He broke their kiss and laid his cheek against hers. His voice whispered low into her ear. “Tell me how much you want it. Tell me you want me right now.”
She couldn’t contain herself. His hands and leg and lips—every part of him—burned against her skin. Everywhere he touched her he pushed greater desire, she felt a tingle through her body at the awakening of this side of her.
Christ, she wanted it like she couldn’t believe! How did she ever think she could live in the same town, in the same country, or even on the same planet with him and not collapse in a puddle at his feet?
Her breath deepened and sped up. She panted and whimpered into his ear. “Oh, yeah, I want it. Oh, please, don’t do this to me. You know I want it so bad.”
He turned his head aside so his mouth pressed against her ear. “I’m gonna fuck you, Ms. Kemp. I’m gonna fuck you just the way I used to. Are you ready for that? Is that what you want? Say you want it. Say you want my cock in your ass right now.”
She swooned in his arms. Her brain screamed to tear herself away, to grab Winnona and run for the hills, but her body wouldn’t obey. She wanted him. Her body clung to him and rubbed her breasts into his smooth cotton business shirt. Her body sat down on that muscled thigh and teased her clit into oblivion. She moaned in his ear. “God, I need your hard cock. I need it so bad. Oh, dear God, please fuck me. You know I want it.”
He pulled his head back, the stare of his green eyes pierced into her at close range. “Come with me. I’ll give it to you in the limo on the way back, and I’ll take you to the penthouse and give you a good hard spanking if you want? Come with me now. I’ll make you cum all over my dick.”
In a flash, cold clarity drowned out her desires. She couldn’t let this go any further, but her arms still clutched him as tight as ever. “I can’t. I want to, but I can’t.”
His eyebrows darted together, but they flew apart to their usual place just as fast. “I suppose you won’t tell me why.”
Gina caressed the back of his neck. She pecked him on the lips. “Believe me, I want to. I would give anything to go with you right now, but I can’t. I can’t explain it now. I wish I could. I really wish I could confide in you. You don’t know how hard it is not to.”
He really did frown then. “What’s wrong? Are you in some kind of trouble? Let me know and I can help you. Have I ever let you down before?”
“I can’t. If you really want to help me, go get in the limo and drive back to the city. Let me do what I have to do. I’ll catch a cab—alone—and I’ll get in touch with you when I’m settled enough to start work.”
He searched her face for some answer to the burning questions nagging his eyes. When he found nothing but her eyes searching him back, he let go of her and moved back. “All right, Ms. Kemp. I have no choice but to trust you. I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”
Gina sighed. “So do I. I really hope I do.”
He shrugged his shoulders into place under his jacket. “All right. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Thank you, Mr. Pendragon. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
He turned away with a shake of his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit.”
“You said that already,” Gina muttered.
He looked around, but he didn’t leave. “Now I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t be. Everything’s fine. I just have to do this my own way. Can you understand that?”
“I understand. I only wish you trusted me as much as I trust you.”
Gina stared down at the floor. “I do trust you. It’s myself I don’t trust.”
His head whipped around, and he fixed her with that ferocious glance of his. She knew that glance. That glance meant he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and find out what he wanted to know. That glance meant he spotted his quarry and set out to hunt it down. She was his quarry, and he would catch her in the end. He always did.
His shoulders settled lower. He would leave in a minute. She would pick up Winnona's capsule, wheel her cases to the taxi stand, and ride away—alone—into the city. He would leave in the limo. When would she see him again? When would he touch her again the way he touched her today?
How she longed to touch him, not only to straddle his thighs and whisper dirty words into his ear. She longed to hold him, to murmur the raw truth into his ear and make him understand. She would give anything to hold his hand right now, to unburden herself to him, of all people.
He didn’t even know Winnona existed. Every moment that passed, she robbed him of the joy of sharing Winnona's life, but she couldn’t break her silence. She couldn’t reveal the lie she worked so hard to construct.
He gave one more curt nod. “All right, Ms. Kemp. I’ll go now. But I hope I see you soon.”
/>
“You will.” Not even Gina believed that. One lie fed into another until they tied her in knots.
He still didn’t leave. He kept hanging around. He glanced toward the parking garage, then toward the baggage carousel, then at her, then at the people milling around. Gina willed herself to keep still. She couldn’t show him how nervous he made her, how anxious she was for him to leave. She had to keep her cool. She had to show him she could still hold it all together.
Her motherly sixth sense heard the first peep behind her. Winnona was waking up. Gina went rigid. She had to get to her baby. She had to pick her up and reassure her before she started screeching to high heaven.
Giles didn’t notice. He didn’t hear a thing. He kept shifting from one foot to the other and not leaving. What was wrong with him? Hadn’t she made it clear what she wanted him to do?
Winnona gave the little twisting squeal she made when she woke up and wanted Gina. That squeal preceded the first wrenching cry. As soon as that cry echoed through the baggage claim, people would start turning around to look. They would wonder where that baby’s mother was and why the mother didn’t come for her baby.
Gina had to give Giles a kick in the ass to get him out of here. How could she do it without offending him beyond redemption? Maybe she’d already crossed that line. Maybe she’d blown her whole crazy plan out of the water.
She forced herself to smile at him. “See you later.”
He shifted again and shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so.”
Winnona squealed one more time. That squeal meant, “Get over here now if you know what’s good for you.” The carry capsule rocked and made a clunking noise on the floor.
Gina glanced over her shoulder toward the sound. Some other people, including the woman closest to the capsule, looked over, too. Thank goodness for that. Gina made it look like she was just curious about the noise.
Giles caught her looking. “All right. I guess you want to get going. I’ll see you later.”
Gina flashed him her friends-with-benefits smile but didn’t say anything. Nothing remained but for him to turn around and walk away, and that’s exactly what he did. He gave her one last furious glare and strode out of the airport.
Gina stayed rooted to the spot until she saw the limo glide past the entrance. At that moment, the first piercing cry ripped through the baggage claim. Gina’s shoulders slumped. She turned around, walked over to the capsule, picked it up, and carried it to a nearby bench to sit down.
Chapter 3
Gina tapped out an email on her laptop. She balanced Winnona on her lap with one knee and hit Send. She opened the progress report she was working on and got one paragraph written before Winnona started to fuss.
She lifted the baby onto her shoulder and patted the child’s back. She hunted and pecked with one hand and shushed Winnona while she mapped out the next section of the report.
She picked up her e-job where she left off since she moved into this apartment three weeks ago. Giles wasn’t happy about her spending all her time at home, but he couldn’t fault her work. He gave her better job success ratings than ever, but maybe he just wanted to flatter her.
Normally, taking care of Winnona didn’t interfere with her work, except for times like now. Winnona fussed more and started to cry. When this sort of thing happened, Gina took a break and returned to her work later. No big deal.
Winnona didn’t think it was no big deal, though. Whatever was bothering her exploded into a bigger deal than Gina ever saw. The crying turned to wailing. Gina tried to give her a bottle. No go. The wailing turned to bleating. Gina walked around the apartment and bounced Winnona on her shoulder. Forget it.
The bleating turned to full-volume screaming, and from there, it escalated to purple-faced thunder. Gina held Winnona close and did her best to comfort her baby. She tried all her old tricks. She put Winnona in the carry capsule and swung it around in a circle. When that didn’t work, she lay down on her bed with Winnona by her side. Dream on. She picked Winnona up and carried her out into the sunshine on the balcony. Winnona screamed to wake the dead.
Gina didn’t know what to do. She checked Winnona’s diaper. Clean as a whistle. She massaged her stomach. Winnona flailed and screeched louder than ever—if that was humanly possible. Gina wanted to cry, too. She could only keep moving around the apartment and pray for a miracle. Times like this made her cling to her baby for dear life. She ached to help this tiny person. If only she could talk to Winnona, she would do anything to relieve her distress.
As it was, she could only keep trying until the storm passed. Gina paced around the apartment. She tried Winnona in every position imaginable, but nothing helped. Winnona’s shrill screams stabbed into Gina’s ear, but she dared not put the baby down.
She went on her twentieth circuit of the apartment. If nothing changed quick, she would put Winnona in her front carry pack and go for a walk to the beach. That worked sometimes. Gina just passed her computer, which sat open on the desk. The screen went dark, and the screen saver came on. Gina hadn’t taken the next step when the screen blinked bright again. Her report showed up on the desktop, and the little black Skype window flashed across her view. The computer made a phone-ringing sound. Giles Pendragon Calling….
Gina stared at the dots trailing sideways. Oh, please, dear God, not now. She touched her mouse pad and clicked the red Hang Up button. The black window disappeared. Phew!
Gina started walking when the phone sound started again. She barely heard it over Winnona’s cries. Giles Pendragon Calling…. Gina’s heart froze. He couldn’t be calling her now—not now, of all times. She couldn’t. She hit the Hang Up button one more time and walked away.
That phone ringing sound cut straight through the noise ringing in Gina’s ear. Giles Pendragon Calling…..Didn’t that guy ever get the message? Not now, Giles. Get that through your head. She hit the Hang Up button one more time. She walked away without looking back.
This time, when the phone ringing sound caught her ear, she didn’t bother to turn around. She didn’t even approach her computer. Let him sit and spin. If he couldn’t get the simple message that she didn’t want to talk right now, let him stick it where the sun don’t shine. She wouldn’t hang up. She waited for him to give up and leave her alone.
He didn’t give up, though, and he didn’t leave her alone. He called her again and again. He could see she was online. She kicked herself for not changing her status when she had the chance. She got in the habit of taking herself offline at all times she didn’t have a scheduled call with him. Then he never got tempted to call her out of the blue, like now.
She glared at her computer. That clod! What was wrong with him? She would kick him in the nuts next time she saw him. That would teach him a lesson. She took another lap around the apartment. Winnona cried herself hoarse. Gina couldn’t hear the ringing sound anymore, but she saw the blinking dots when she came back to her computer.
She couldn’t talk to Giles right now. She couldn’t hear him even if she wanted to. What was she going to do? She could send him a quick message telling him now wasn’t a good time, but that would only make him curious. He would want to know what she was up to.
Her mind whizzed through the possibilities. When you came down to the simple facts, he was still her boss. She had to talk to him. He might want to tell her something important. How could she talk to him with this mayhem going on?
She thought fast and grabbed Winnona’s carry capsule. She stuck Winnona in it and set the capsule on the floor. She rocked it with her foot, but it did no good, just the way Gina knew it wouldn’t. She took a deep breath and punched the green telephone button.
The ringing noise stopped, and the screen shivered. Then Gina heard the yelp of Winnona’s voice feeding back through Giles’s microphone. Gina winced, but she had to go through with her plan.
The viewing window appeared with Giles in it. He was in his office. He wore his hair slicked back over his ears and that crisp egg-shell gray suit
she liked so much. He looked magnificent with his broad shoulders jutting out beyond his leather chair.
He screwed up his face in pain. His voice squelched across the airwaves. “Ms. Kemp? What is that noise?”
She moved her mouth close to the microphone and bellowed as loud as she could. “It’s some neighbor’s kid having a tantrum. Let me call you right back.”
His face cleared, and he nodded. Gina swallowed the lump in her throat and hit the Hang Up button. Dear God, please oh please let this work. She gathered up Winnona and hurried to the kitchen. She stuck a bottle in the microwave and zapped it for fifteen seconds. All the time, she offered silent pleas to the great Babysitter in the Sky. Oh, please. I’ll do anything. Please let this work. Let this be the time. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen.
That last little bit came back to her out of her distant parochial past. This must be a desperate situation or she would never have remembered it. She snatched the bottle from the microwave and hustled back to the computer. She positioned Winnona in the crook of her arm and touched the bottle to the baby’s lips.
Like magic, Winnona opened her mouth and latched onto the nipple. Gina’s heart thumped out of her chest. It was working. It really was working. She balanced the bottle with her other hand and hit the call button. The dots started blinking, and the phone started ringing.
Winnona kept her eyes closed and sucked. Blessed, heavenly peace returned to the apartment. The viewing window reappeared with Giles smiling from ear to ear. “Did you kick the crap out of him or something?”
Gina gave a nervous laugh. “I think his dad showed up. How ya doing?”
Giles swiveled in his chair. A little humor always put him at ease. The longer Winnona stayed quiet, the more Gina relaxed. That was a close one.
Giles chirped, “You’re coming into the office tomorrow.”
Gina’s head snapped up and her breath caught in her throat. “What?”
“You’re coming in. We’ve got a big contract meeting with Southern Mining, and they won’t negotiate with anyone but you.”
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