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Closely Guarded Secret

Page 12

by Money, Natalie


  “Wow . . .”

  “Ready?” I ask. It’s now I notice he’s wearing jeans with a grey and white striped polo shirt, stretched tight across his chest, showcasing his muscular build.

  “I’m more than ready.” His eyes roam over my body taking me in from bottom to top.

  To my surprise, his arms snake around my waist, pulling me against him. I clutch onto his arms to avoid falling over.

  “You’re stunning, Ali.” He inhales deeply. “Intoxicating.” His lips sweep against mine in a gentle, sensual kiss, his erection between us, hard and wanting.

  I’m on fire and there’s not enough water in the bay to douse the flame. I’ve thought about his lips on mine since our first kiss and now it’s happened three times in one day. I’m a lucky woman. I’m trembling all over and my knees could give out any moment. This desire for him is overwhelming to my body and mind.

  Breaking from the kiss I ask, “Ready to go?”

  “Sure you don’t want go back inside?” he asks with a devilish grin.

  “I thought you wanted to eat?”

  “Oh, I do. More than you know.” His hypnotic voice is low and husky.

  Another pair of panties moist because of him and I haven’t left the house. I make a mental note to carry an extra pair of underwear whenever I’m with him. Pretending I don’t know what he’s talking about, I say, “We should get going, don’t you think?” As I move past him, he lets out a long sigh and takes my hand.

  “Hi Charles,” I greet him as I get in the back seat.

  “Good evening, Ms. Quinn,” he replies as he closes the door.

  Bryce slides next to me. “Where are we going?” I ask, steering us toward a safe topic.

  “It’s called The House. Ever heard of it?” Bryce’s hand covers mine, his thumb strokes back and forth against my fingers.

  It’s hot in here. “No, I haven’t. Is it new?” I ask and adjust the vent to blow directly on me.

  “It’s been open a while now. They’re supposed to have the best Sea Bass in town.”

  “Sounds great. I’m famished. I skipped lunch and I’m starving.”

  “So am I,” he replies looking directly at me. The implication of that sentence hangs between us like thick fog rolling in off the bay.

  #

  The restaurant is nestled between two other businesses and if you blinked once, you’d miss it. People are lined up outside waiting for tables but we’re seated right away since Bryce has a reservation.

  “I would have never known this was here,” I say to him.

  “I stumbled upon it one night. It’s quite good but, as you can see, space is tight.” He’s right about that. It’s small inside; you can almost touch elbows with the other patrons. This isn’t a great place to have a serious or intimate conversation if you wanted to keep it private. Most definitely not the type of conversations he likes to have.

  “I don’t remember reading anything in the paper about it and we usually cover new eateries.”

  “If you like the food, maybe your magazine could do a story?”

  “Maybe.”

  We place our order and while waiting for the wine, I decide to make tonight about getting to know him better.

  “Tell me more about the Raindrop,” I prod.

  Laughing a bit, he says, “You aren’t on the clock for your magazine are you?”

  “No, of course not. I’d like to understand it better. Besides, you know I’m not a reporter.”

  “As you know, it started back in high school. I wanted to find a way for my friends to all share their files with each other. Do you know anything about the cloud?”

  “Not really. I probably know more about real clouds than virtual ones.”

  “The cloud is just a way for people to have bits and pieces of files stored all over the Internet so that there isn’t a single place where information is stored. The more redundancy you have with data, the less chance you have of losing information.”

  “I wish I’d known about the cloud last year when my laptop crashed. I lost a week’s worth of work.”

  “Making sure you never lose your work is definitely a big part of the appeal of cloud computing. What Raindrop is all about is, bringing the cloud software and hardware together to make the cloud faster and even more reliable. The algorithm behind Raindrop figures out the best and fastest way to route data to and from the cloud. Adding the programming to the Raindrop routers really took the system to the next level. Everyone wants speed and Raindrop delivers that.” His eyes light up with pride as he talks about it.

  “That’s amazing. I wish I understood technology better and how it all works and comes together.” Can he can tell I’m in awe?

  “If you understand it a little, that’s half the battle,” he says, making it sound simple as he continues. “Technology, like all things, evolves. It has to. Imagine if the Internet never happened, how boring all of our lives would be.”

  I frown and bite my lip. It’s information overload at our fingertips. It’s almost too much. You can find out everything about anything, or anyone.

  “Are you okay, Ali? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost,” he looks alarmed.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking about evolution.” I’m quick to erase that unpleasant thought from my mind.

  “You’re a puzzle, Ali. One I’m working to put together.”

  “I think we’re all a few pieces short of a complete puzzle, Bryce.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. It takes time and patience to make all the pieces fit.”

  “I thought you said I was layered?” I joke.

  “You’re a layered, 3-D puzzle,” he says and we both laugh.

  “Tell me about your time at Stanford. What was your major?”

  “I have a BS in Computer Science and a MA in Electrical Engineering.”

  “Impressive.”

  “Maybe you should wait until the article comes out to find out more about me?” he teases.

  “Why would I do that when I can get the exclusive now? You’re here. I’m here.” There’s no reason to divulge I’ve seen it, though I only skimmed over a page or two. I want to learn about him from him, not from an article.

  He leans close to my ear so only I can hear. “I can give you an exclusive anytime you wish.”

  His hot breath against my skin is overwhelming, awakening my senses. His lips close, but not touching is sensual, erotic. A powerful yet invisible spark jumps the gap between us, binding our energy together. My clit throbs as a surge of electrical current travels through me and my legs instinctively clamp together.

  “What are you thinking?” His question, a seductive whisper tickles my ear.

  “How much I get lost in your eyes every time I’m around you. It’s like a maze,” I utter in a soft, hushed tone, then feel like I’ve revealed too much. His fingers trace light circles on the back of my hand, over my knuckles and down my fingers, while his focus on me remains firm.

  “I want you to get lost in me. I know I want to get lost in you,” he says, and right now, there’s nothing I want more than to do just that. I’m burning with desire for this man. I need to calm down before I do something that would embarrass us both. My animalistic instincts tend to surface and I lose all inhibitions when I’m around him.

  The waiter returns with our wine, giving me a chance to lean back and give myself what little distance I can in such a cramped space. He looks confused. “Have I said something to upset you?” He asks.

  I take a deep breath. “No, you didn’t upset me. It’s a little warm in here, don’t you think?” I briefly fan myself with my napkin but it brings no relief. I notice the noise level has increased, as all the tables are now full. Glasses clinking together in toasts - silverware scraping against plates - audible laughter and different vocal pitches blend together as one sound filling the air. Bryce’s words snap me out of my musings.

  “I know what’s causing it and I
have the solution,” he insinuates with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. His carnal intent is made perfectly clear. This place is too small for us to have one of his usual conversations. I steer us to safer waters but not before gulping down half of my water. A slight smile appears on his face.

  “Did you play sports or just concentrate on your business?” I ask.

  “At Stanford, I was on the water polo team, and when time allows, I play beach volleyball on Saturday’s with some guys I’ve known for several years.”

  Water polo? Beach volleyball? “With your height, I would’ve pegged you more for basketball.” He seems taken aback at my comment.

  “My height helps a lot more with water polo and beach volleyball than you’d think. I’m only 6’3” but wasn’t always this tall. I was small for my age, short, overweight and awkward. I was teased a lot and was known as ‘Chubby-Tubby.’ The summer before my sophomore year of high school, my height shot up and I lost my extra baby-fat, but the true bullies didn’t care.” A shadow of sadness crosses his face, but only for a moment before it’s gone.

  In an instant his mood changes 180 degrees. He clears his throat indicating that topic is closed. “Do you like sports?” he asks.

  “I’ve only been to sporting events as a photographer. Even then I didn’t pay much attention to the game. There’s too much action to capture, so I had to be ready. What other interests do you have?” I know for him this is a loaded question. I brace myself for the sexual innuendos that are sure to follow.

  “Let’s see, there’s sky diving, running, working out, anything to do with water. Oh, and bike racing,” he says proudly.

  I’m reeling from the fact he would voluntarily jump out of a plane. “Bike racing like BMX?”

  He lets out a hearty laugh, “No, as in dirt bikes, motocross. Sometimes, the guys let me take their bikes for a couple of laps around the track.”

  Between jumping out of planes and riding motorcycles, he has a death wish. “You do like to live close to the edge. I’m surprised your Mother hasn’t had a heart attack by now.”

  “Running my company doesn’t allow much time to skydive or ride but when I do, I’m always safe. Besides, what my mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” He affirms. Tell her that when she gets a call in the middle of the night. Mothers freak out when that happens.

  “What about hockey?” he asks.

  “I love anything played on ice. What about you?”

  “I like playing with ice. Does that count?” His pupils contract and dilate. Mr. Seduction is never far away.

  The waiter leaves after delivering our food and we eat in silence a couple of minutes. As Bryce tops off our wine, I feel bold and ask him about the flight and about Mara.

  “Did you change your flight to be on the same one with me?”

  “No. It was a simple case of right place, right time.” His smug expression shows he’s pretty proud of himself.

  “Why did Mara pick you up at the airport if you have a driver?” He places his hand over mine, drawing circle eights with his thumb.

  “Charles had the night off. I don’t know why she showed up after I told her not to.”

  “Sounds like she has trouble understanding the meaning of the word ‘no’.” I know my voice is laced with disgust but I can’t help it.

  “I don’t want what she wants. Not with her.” His eyes meet mine.

  “Oh,” is the only thing I can think of to say. “How long did you two date?”

  He lets out an exaggerated breath. “We never dated, Ali. I made it clear up front we would only accompany each other occasionally to social events. She became possessive and jealous and would call to see where I was. After the last gala, I ended all communication between us, or so I thought.”

  Boy, is he clueless. “How did she react to the other women in your life?”

  “We went out before she and I met up, although they all run in the same social circles.”

  Of course they do. “I see, so is she listed on your speed dial as ‘red carpet events, booty-call’?” Unfortunately, Bryce doesn’t see the humor based on the scowl on his face. After draining my glass of wine, I feel more courageous and decide to broach the subject of the picture.

  “I saw your picture in the paper with Mara,” I confess. My tone’s accusatory, but not meaning to be.

  “Ah, so that’s why you didn’t call,” he jests.

  “No, I was busy. I did call you on Monday.” I’m not going to let him know how upset I was. There’s no reason.

  “I assumed after you saw the picture, you wouldn’t want to see me. If you had not called, I …”

  I cut him off, “Bryce, It’s fine.”

  “I didn’t know she was going to be there. I was talking with someone else, when she and the photographer walked up at the same time.” He shakes his head and sighs before he continues. “She grabbed onto me just as he took the picture.” He sounds bitter. Steven was right. He was a victim of circumstance beyond his control.

  My brain to mouth filter picks this time to betray me. “You know, there are these things called restraining orders.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” he blurts out but I can’t tell if I offended him or not. I need to get off this conversation and steer us to calmer waters. Mara is obviously a bad subject for us.

  “Do you still play water polo?”

  “No not anymore. What about your interest, Ali?”

  “I run occasionally, but not as much as I should. I also ice skate. It’s invigorating gliding across ice and relieving stress,” I say, revealing nothing more.

  “A girl from Texas knows how to ice skate?” he asks in mock disbelief.

  “You know, for a smart, intelligent man, you sure are clueless sometimes. It’s not like Texas is a third world country or anything. It’s a miracle we ever learned to walk upright and eat with a fork.” My reply mirrors my irritated mood.

  “Ali, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just when I think of Texas, ice skating is not at all what comes to mind.”

  “It isn’t what enters my mind either,” I say out loud, not meaning to.

  “What?”

  Shit. I’ve piqued his interest. “Nothing. How did you get interested in sky diving?” I hope he forgets what I said and I tame my attitude.

  “My first jump was with my college roommate my junior year, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s the ultimate thrill. Floating weightlessly, high above the ground. For a short time, anyway,” he laughs and his eyes light up as he talks about it.

  “Yes, being high above the ground, spiraling downwards at a high rate of speed, sounds like such a thrill,” I point out in a flat tone.

  “Oh yes, you don’t like to fly. Maybe it’s something you could try one day? I could take you.”

  “You think jumping out of a plane, voluntarily, is going to help me? I’ll stick to the ground, thank you.”

  “You’ll never know unless you try.”

  The irony of his words hits home. I’ll never know anything unless I try. “True, but jumping out of a plane definitely will not happen. Not in this lifetime, anyway.”

  “Ali, do you realize we’ve been here 2 hours?” He motions for the check. No wonder the waiter kept coming by, glaring at us periodically. The check comes and I grab it before he does.

  “Although I appreciate the gesture, I asked you out and you’re not paying for dinner.” He snatches the bill away from me.

  As we leave the restaurant he takes my hand while we walk the few blocks to his waiting SUV. The skin-to-skin contact with him is overwhelming. I wonder if everyone feels this strong, sexual surge at the beginning?

  “You were right about the food. It was fantastic. I’ll definitely let our food editor know.”

  “See. You can trust me.”

  Trust. There’s that word again.

  “At the very least, I’ll consider what you suggest.”

  I’m treated to his bright
Hollywood smile, which makes my knees weak.

  Back at home, Bryce hops out of the SUV and opens my door before Charles can. Walking toward my porch, I’m thinking how I don’t want this date to end. Not right now. As I dig around for my keys, he moves closer, closing the gap between us. His delicious scent permeates the air. His eyes search mine… for what?

  “The more time I spend with you, the more I don’t want to leave your side,” he says right before sweeping me into his arms.

  My purse hitting the ground and our combined breaths is the only sound I hear, and before I can reply, his mouth is on mine. His hand touches the nape of my neck and moves up, tangling his fingers into my hair, while the other snakes around my waist, resting on the small of my back, pulling me close. His lips are so soft, full and commanding, as they caress mine. His tongue licks against them, asking permission. Parting my lips, I grant him access; his experienced tongue mingles with mine in a slow, sensual kiss, making my skin tingle as my whole body shivers and my nipples harden instantly.

 

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