True to his word, when the dance was done, and we were back in the suite, he kissed my forehead and then went to take a shower. I went to bed in the bedroom but found it difficult to sleep with sexual energy still vibrating in my body.
I carried that energy through the next day’s presentations and onto the private charter plane taking us home.
“You okay, Hallie?” Nate asked me as I squirmed on the couch. He sat at the table, working on his laptop. How was he able to do that? Had he taken care of his sexual needs himself? Maybe I should have done that, and then I wouldn’t feel like every cell in my body was about to spontaneously combust.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, looking out the window of the plane.
“Worried about your parents?” He closed his laptop and came to sit next to me. “We’ll get back early enough that you can take the day and check on them.”
I shook my head and felt a little tinge of guilt that I hadn’t thought much about my parents on this trip. The fact that he’d remembered how important my parents were made this desperate need for his touch even worse.
“Hey,” he pushed my hair back over my ear, “what’s going on?”
I was too embarrassed to tell him, “Remember when we danced the other night?”
“Of course,” he nodded.
“Was that hard for you?”
His brows knitted, “To dance with you? No. I enjoyed it. Very much.”
“What I meant was, did you find it difficult to only dance?”
He inhaled a breath and shifted away from me in his seat, “Do you mean not being able to finish the dance naked and horizontal?”
I nodded.
“Hell, yes, that was difficult. Why do you think I took a shower when we got back to the suite?
I was dying to know if it was a cold shower or if he’d touched himself. The image of him stroking his dick sent another hot flame through my blood.
He stared at me for a moment, “Was it hard for you?”
I swallowed, “Yes.”
His lips twitched with amusement, “Is it still hard? Is that why you can’t sit still?”
I laughed with embarrassment, “Yes. But look at you. Mister Calm-Cool-Collected working on your computer.”
“That’s a distraction from this,” he took my hand and placed it over his surprisingly hard dick. “It’s been like that constantly.”
“Since our dance?” I asked.
“Since I met you.”
A woman could go her whole life not hearing a man say he was nearly always hard from arousal because of her. I loved how Nate was always so open with his sexual feelings. I looked up into his sexy dark eyes, wanting to see my effect on him because while I should have removed my hand, I rubbed it over his cock instead.
He hissed out a breath, “Do you know what you’re doing?”
I nodded. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was also sure I shouldn’t be doing it, but I couldn’t deny myself any longer. I had to have him. I squeezed his length loving how he groaned.
“What did you do in the shower?” I asked.
“I imagined you.”
“What was I doing?” I wanted to undo his pants and stroke his hard bare cock.
His cheeks reddened. It was the first time he seemed embarrassed about sex, “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious. Was I sucking your dick?”
His cock jumped in his pants at my words.
“No,” he shifted on the couch, giving me better access to his dick.
“Were you fucking me?”
He groaned, “No.”
I quirked a brow as I tried to think of what else he could imagine, “Was I fucking you?”
“Ah, Hallie,” his head dropped back, and his eyes closed, as he let himself enjoy my hand sliding over his cock.
“Was I fucking you?” I asked again.
He shook his head, “No.”
I gripped his dick and squeezed. He sucked in a breath, and his head jerked up.
“What did you imagine,” punctuating each of my words with a slow stroking squeeze.
He drew his finger along my collarbone and then lower between my breasts, “I was fucking your tits.”
My pussy contracted tight at the erotic image his words implanted in my head, “Is that even possible?”
“With gloriously large tits like yours? Yes,” his fingers flicked over my sensitive nipples.
I had to close my eyes for a moment as pleasure snaked through my body, “And it worked?”
He laughed, “Imagining you in any position works, just like in reality.”
I sat there for a moment, my hand stroking his dick, his fingers inside my shirt, lightly pinching and playing with my nipples. I promised myself I wouldn’t do this, and yet, how could I possibly stop?
“Hallie?”
I swallowed hard, “Yes?”
“If we’re not going to follow this to the logical conclusion, we need to stop now. Because in about two seconds, I’m going to initiate you into the mile high club.”
“I want to join the club, Nate.”
The flight to Washington, D.C. from Chicago wasn’t that long, but Nate had enough time to show me exactly how he could fuck my tits, as well as give me two spectacular orgasms. As we got ready to land, now dressed and presentable, the saying how can something be so wrong when it feels so right went round and round in my head.
What Is This Feeling?
Chapter Thirteen: What Is This Feeling?
Nate
There was a shift in our relationship after our sensual flight home from Chicago. For one, Hallie didn’t seem mad at me anymore about the Allison fiasco, and two, pretending to be married became much easier. And more erotic. Hallie became a student of sex, asking me to show her all the different ways I knew of to bring pleasure. When I’d exhausted my own experience, she took to the Internet to learn new ways and ended up teaching me a few things.
In the past, with women, sexual exploration was done more because the regular ways had become boring. But with Hallie, every way we had sex, including the missionary position, was exciting. The exploration aspect was done out of fun and adventure. We learned what each of us found most erotic.
With her, I’d discovered nuances in sex. Sometimes it was slow and seductive, other times it was a hard, frenetic fuck, and other times it was a fun romp. Once she tried something called edging with me, and my head nearly exploded. She coaxed me to the edge of orgasm and then would back off. Over and over, she did that until I was writhing and begging for her to let me come. She’d bound my wrists, which was the only reason I hadn’t jacked myself off. My dick was so fucking hard and sensitive that her touch nearly became torture. But then finally, she took me to the edge and didn’t stop, blasting me into the stratosphere. The orgasm was incredibly hard and intense.
On the work front, all was going fantastic there too. Our presentations were creating a buzz about the IPO, and I was feeling really good that we’d have a successful launch on the day we went public. Because she was such an integral role in the IPO’s success, I decided that I needed to make sure Hallie and I were in New York together for the official opening at the Stock Exchange. Perhaps we could ring the opening bell.
The next week, we flew to California and did two sets of presentations, one in Los Angeles and another in San Francisco. The bonus to that visit was that we were able to meet several celebrities who’d been helped or had family that had been helped by medications Sloane Labs made and were willing to make statements for us.
By the end of that week, Hallie and I had pretend married life and real work life down pat. This scheme was working after all. The official offering was in a few weeks, and then we’d be able to end our fake marriage. That thought was bittersweet, though. I liked having Hallie around. Not just in my bed, but also, in my pool, my kitchen, my living room, my car…and I didn’t just mean for sex, although, now that I thought about it, we had sex in all those locations. I also enjoyed talking with her. She
played a mean game of Backgammon. Her brownies were to die for - chewy and chocolatey. Much better than my mother’s, although I’d never say that to anyone but Hallie.
The truth was, although our marriage was fake, I didn’t feel awkward or fake when I was with her. When we were in public, holding her hand or putting an arm around her felt natural, not like a show. I didn’t have to consciously think what would a husband do when we were at work or traveling for the IPO. How we behaved in the privacy of my home was the same as when we were in public, minus the naked parts. A part of me worried about how natural being with her had become. More specifically, I was concerned about my attachment to her because when this IPO was done, I could end our fake marriage, but I wasn’t certain I would be ready to end spending time with her. Maybe being her boss and only her boss wouldn’t be enough. But I pushed all my concerns away. Right now, all I needed to worry about was the IPO and maintaining the illusion of a stable, happy, married life.
On Friday, I was in my office going over the lab’s latest research on multiple sclerosis, when my cell phone rang. The number was Gabe’s, and I was glad for the call because I wanted to catch up on what as going on at Hallie’s house.
“Hey Gabe, what’s up?”
“Were you going to tell us?”
“Tell you what?” I stood up from my desk and went to the couch to relax. Talking with Gabe would be a nice break from research and reports.
“About your wife?”
Oh shit. “What do you mean?” So much for relaxing.
“I called your office the other day when you didn’t pick up your cell phone, and I was told you were out with your wife. Since when are you married, Nate?”
“I’m not.” Not really anyway.
“Then why is your secretary saying you are?”
I blew out a breath and sagged back on the couch. There was really no bullshitting out of this one, “It’s for the IPO.”
There was a pause on Gabe’s end, “You’re going to have to explain that one.”
“There was concern that my reputation could hurt the IPO, and it was suggested a wife would help that.”
“You’re shittin’ me? So you found some woman willing to marry you?”
“Sort of. I’m not married. It’s fake,” it sounded ridiculous saying it. I could only imagine what it sounded like to Gabe.
“Jesus. And what’s going to happen to the stock when you go through your fake divorce?”
“It will be quiet. On the down-low,” still, a little niggle of worry sat in the pit of my stomach. If a marriage would help my reputation, a divorce, especially if people thought it was because I was unfaithful, might hurt it. I might have to keep this fake marriage longer than I thought.
“So, who’s the crazy girl—oh wait, it’s your assistant. That’s why you’re paying for this house rebuild.”
I dropped my head onto the back of the couch. How could an idea that seemed to be going so well, now seem so nutty? “It was part of the deal.”
“You’re one crazy fucker, Nate. How is that not sexual harassment or something?”
He wasn’t wrong. After all, not only was she pretending to be my wife, but I was fucking her every chance I got, “It’s fine, Gabe.”
“So, it’s all just pretend? You’re not role-playing any other parts?”
I knew what he was asking, but I wasn’t going to confess to my sexual life with Hallie, “It will be fine, Gabe. How’s the house coming along?”
“It won’t be weird when it’s all said and done, and you’re back to boss and assistant?”
God, he needed to let this go. “Weird? No.” But that was another part I hadn’t completely thought through. It could be weird. Especially since the safest bet would be to stop our sexual relationship then too. But what if I wasn’t ready for that? Could I keep sleeping with her after our fake marriage? What would happen when that relationship fizzled out? How would it impact our working relationship? I’d known that sex would complicate this whole thing, but I hadn’t been strong enough to resist her.
“What then?” Gabe asked.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, “Let it go, Gabe.”
Again there was a pause, and I knew he was scanning his brain for a way to get more info. I started to ask about the house again, but he cut me off, “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
How the fuck did he get that from what we’d talked about? Yes, I liked her and even cared for her. But love? I didn’t know what that was. Were my feelings different for her than other women I’d dated? Yes. Was I wishing we had more dog and pony shows so we could travel and be alone longer? Yes. Did I want to extend the IPO time so I could play house with her? OK, yes.
Oh, Jesus, maybe I was in love with her, “No.”
“But you’re falling for her. You like her.”
My non-answer was the answer.
“You have to bring her to dinner on Sunday, Nate.”
“No, I don’t,” I snapped. God if my family knew, they’d razz me about it until the end of time.
“You have to. Everyone wants to meet your wife.”
“Ah fuck, Gabe.” Had he told our family?
“Hey man, I had to ask around. See if anyone knew what was up about you having a wife.”
If that was true, why hadn’t any of them called? “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. Mom wrote it off as a mistake by your secretary, but I told Will and Mitch I’d get the info.”
“I should have smothered you as a baby,” I snarled. I considered not going to dinner this Sunday, but I couldn’t skip simply because I was embarrassed. But what the fuck? How could I bring Hallie? She didn’t need to have my family all in her business. It was one thing to pull off a fake marriage at work, but with my family? No way that would work. First, my mother would be heartbroken, and my brothers would be pissed. We were a close family. There’s no way I’d have fallen in love and not told them. And I certainly would have invited them to the wedding.
“Listen, I get the fake marriage thing will be difficult to explain, so why don’t I just say you’re not married, but you’re seeing your assistant and the secretary was confused?” Gabe said.
“Because I never date my staff. Who’d believe it?”
“So you want me to tell them of the fake marriage sham?” Gabe said.
Fuck! “No! God DAMNIT!” I wanted this to go away.
“Bring your assistant. I want to meet the woman that has my I’ll-never-get-married brother falling for her.”
“It’s not like that,” I nearly screamed into the phone. I might be having feelings for her, but I wasn’t getting married for real. I’d completely lost control of this situation. “Jesus, Gabe. Can you get off this for two fucking seconds? What’s up with the house?”
“Sure, I will but bring her, Nate. The house is cleared of debris, and we’re ready to start rebuilding the one side, and redoing electric and plumbing.”
“Good. Listen, she doesn’t know I’ve sent you out there.”
“Ah hell, Nate, you’re surprising her?”
I thought he was going to say that doing the rebuild behind her back was a bad idea.
“You have fallen for her,” Gabe laughed as he spoke.
Fuck.
I got off the phone and headed down to Hallie’s office.
“Oh hey,” she smiled at me as I poked my head in. Jesus, she was beautiful. I could look at her bright green eyes and sexy smile all damn day.
“Hey.”
Her smile faltered, “Something wrong?”
I entered her office and shut the door, “More of a hassle. Perhaps an embarrassment. For me, anyway.”
She quirked a brow, “Oh?”
I sat on the corner of her desk while she continued to sit in her chair, “My brother Gabe called the office apparently while I was away, and Clair told him I was out with my wife.”
Both her brows arched “Ohhhhhh.”
“I told him the truth, and now I need to in
vite you to family dinner on Sunday.”
“And that’s bad?”
“You coming to family dinner isn’t bad,” I hoped she didn’t think I was averse to having her come because of something about her.
“Their thinking we’re married is bad?”
“Actually, Gabe said that he’d tell the family that Clair was mistaken. We’re not married.”
She frowned, “Then what’s the problem?”
“Yes, but, to my family, we’re an item. I told him that wouldn’t work because everyone knows I’d never be with my staff…” I laughed nervously because that was clearly not true. “Anyway, while we don’t need to be pretend married, we do need to be pretend together.”
Something in her eyes shifted. I almost felt like I’d hurt her feelings. But she nodded, “Yes, okay. I can pretend that.”
Except it wasn’t pretend, was it? The only pretend part was when I called her my wife. Everything else was real. Shit, Gabe was right. I wasn’t just falling, I was practically there - in love with my assistant slash fake wife. All of a sudden, I felt a little sick to my stomach.
I stood, “Thank you, Hallie. I know this is not what you signed up for.”
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, “It’s not much longer. The IPO is in a few weeks, and then we can go back to normal.”
I looked into her green eyes and had the urge to tell her I didn’t want to go back to normal. Fuck. I needed to get away from her and figure out what the hell was going on in with me.
“I’ve got to get back to work,” I stood. “I think I’ll run down to the lab. I have a few questions about the latest report.”
“Drive safe.”
The drive to the lab only helped because it got me away from Hallie and the pull she had on me. But once we were back at my home, it was there again, and it scared the shit out of me. Our situation was complicated enough, but to add emotion to it, I didn’t know what to do about that. Did she feel the same about me? What was fake, and what was real? I was driving myself crazy, trying to get a handle on it all.
On Sunday, I drove us to my mother’s house, giving Hallie the details about my brothers and how they’d probably razz me.
Her Hero Boss Page 10