by Lauren Wood
I giggled at the thought and shook my head. I wasn’t going to do anything of the sort, even if I wanted to. There was no way that I would come back from that.
Instead I went to sleep and tried my best to forget it all. I had to keep it together because we still had the weekend to spend together. It was clear that Rick wasn’t going to be good, but one of us had to be responsible and like always, it was going to be me.
***
The next morning, it was hard to really look at him. He came by to pick me up for breakfast, something that we had talked about doing beforehand. But that was before he kissed me and everything took a turn for the worst.
“Good morning Claire.”
“Morning boss.” I was about to ask him how he slept, but I really didn’t think that I wanted the answer for that. I had a feeling that he slept about as good as I did and that is not very good at all. I had been up all night, thinking about what he was doing on the other side of the wall.
I was convinced that I should have opened the door and just found out what happened, but in the light of day, I am glad that I didn’t. I didn’t want to be the girl that slept her way to the top, even though essentially I really wanted to.
“So how was your first evening here? I tried to tell you good night, but I don’t know if you were in here or not.”
I didn’t say one way or another if I was. I started to talk about how pretty Prague was. Glad that he wasn’t bringing up the kiss or the late night knocking, I was hoping that we could put this all behind us. We really needed to if we were going to continue working together.
Asking what the plan was for the day, I was a little surprised how full our day was going to be. For a prize, this trip seemed to have a lot of work involved. After breakfast we had to go to a couple of conferences and then there were speakers that we planned to see. I didn’t think there was going to much time for anything else and after thinking about it for a minute, I was actually glad for that. At least now I would be able to keep my mind off of the mistakes that I had almost made.
“Where did you go?”
“Huh?”
“You, you were talking one minute and staring off in the distance the next.”
I apologized, embarrassed to no end that he had noticed. I didn’t want him to see how he affected me, so I just blamed it on jetlag and anything else that I could think of. The last thing that I needed was for him to know how hot and bothered he had made me. It was hard to deny, but I was going to have to, scared that I would regret giving him more kind of power over me.
“Well don’t get too stressed out while you are here. This is supposed to be fun.”
I agreed, but I didn’t feel like I was having much fun. I was going to be around him all of the time for the next couple of days and I still wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to deal with that or not. I really just wanted to leave Prague behind. Nothing good was going to come from my time in Prague, I was sure of it. If I wasn’t careful, I could make the worst mistake of my life.
Chapter 12
Claire
After breakfast, I went back to the room to change into something more appropriate. But I realized that Amber had way too much involvement in what I was wearing over here because everything I had was too sexy. Now that I had gotten Rick to see me as a woman and not as his employee, I wasn’t quite sure if that was the way to go about it. Now I knew what would happen and I wasn’t ready for another emotion filled day like before.
I didn’t take much time to get ready, finally settling on a pencil skirt that was a bit too tight and a button-up silk blouse that was a little too tight for my bust on the top. Since Amber and me were the same size, it stood to reason that a lot of it had to do with the way she liked things to fit. While she was trying to get the attention, I think I preferred more to be ignored a little more. It was all I could think of to explain why my chest was about to pop out of this shirt. What was Rick going to think?
When I knocked on his room door a little while later and I saw the darkness sweep into his eyes, it was easy to see that he liked what he saw. The need and desire was back in his dark depths and I was left looking down, unable to meet his gaze for long at all.
“You look great Claire. When I had said to step it up, you really did.”
I thanked him, but I didn’t look up at all. I just really couldn’t meet his gaze when he was looking at me like he wanted to just gobble me up. It was the last thing that I wanted.
“So are we ready?”
It was Rick’s turn to be caught with his mind other places. I knew what it was what he wanted and if I was going to be honest with myself, I wanted much of the same. But I knew better and I was going to show a little more control than that. The last thing I needed to do was get involved with a man like Rick.
“Yeah, let’s go. The first conference starts in about fifteen minutes.”
“Well we need to get there on time. I know how you feel about tardiness.”
Rick just kind of shook his head. “Do you know how many people I have fired for that?”
I hated to imagine, so I just shrugged and wondered if that was the case, why had he given me a pass? Was he fancying me even back then?
***
The conference went on for most of the day and though I had hoped that it would take my mind from the man that was next to me, there was no such luck. All I could think about was what I wanted to do to him or more specifically, what he wanted to do to me.
“Kind of boring huh?”
Rick leaned in close and I could feel his breath on me. “Yeah, it is a little boring.”
“Do you want to get out of here and find some lunch, maybe walk around and do some shopping?”
It was literally what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have any compunction about what would happen if I did. I didn’t want to get caught up in another moment like last night and I was afraid that if I did duck out of there and go with him, it was exactly what was going to happen. For a woman that had so much control in every aspect of her life, it was hard to be so out of sorts with everything. I didn’t like feeling out of control and I knew that it was because of Rick that I felt this way.
“Well aren’t you a bad influence. Didn’t you tell me how important these meetings were?”
He didn’t even try to hide his reasons and told me that he just wanted to get away with me. “We still need to have that talk Claire.”
That was what I was dreading and I told him that I was going to stay there. “You don’t have to stay of course. I will take notes and give them to you when I am done.”
Rick’s smile faded and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that he was pouting. “No, I guess I will stay. If my employee is going to stay, I guess I should as well. I don’t want you to think that I am trying to get out of work.”
I told him that it was fine, but he wasn’t going anywhere. I wish he would, but then at the same time I liked having him there next to me, even if I didn’t want to admit it and I knew that it was going to make things worse.
After the conference was over, I tried to get away from Rick, but it was like he knew what I was doing and I had to work to get away from him. He wanted to go out and I suggested that I was going to stay in and order some room service. That somehow ended with him coming over to my room and we were going to get some together. It wasn’t at all what I had in mind, but how could I refuse? He was my boss after all and I was there on his dime. If he wanted to share a meal with me, I didn’t really have a choice.
It was a while later that we were sitting on the bed with room service pizza that Rick wanted to broach the same subject that he wanted to talk about the night before. I still wasn’t ready to have that conversation and I didn’t want to have it now.
“Look Rick. I am not sure what happened last night, but we should just pretend like it didn’t happen. That would be the best way to take care of it, don’t you think?”
He started to say something and he stopped. “What if I can
’t forget?”
I sighed and looked away. There was a need in his eyes that was really hard to ignore and the more I tried, the harder it was going to be. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to forget either, but I liked the idea that maybe I could. I figured as soon as this trip was over, we could go our separate ways and I wouldn’t see him that much. He had a company to run and models to date. I didn’t think I would fit into it all and it was almost a relief if I was honest with myself.
“You are going to have to Rick. It was just a kiss.”
It was more than just a kiss for me, but I had to downplay what I really felt. I didn’t think he would understand that I was drowning in need for him. It was the best kiss that I had ever had and it made me feel things that I had never felt before.
“It was more than a kiss and you know it Claire. That is why you are avoiding me.”
He didn’t come out and say that it was because I declined to see him last night when he came to my room, but I knew that was what it was. He was upset and something else, maybe shocked? I had to imagine that a man like Rick wouldn’t be told no very often, so he must not be taking it that well.
“I wouldn’t say I am avoiding you Rick. You are the only person I know here after all.”
“It’s not just here Claire, back home as well. We had a moment before and then you kind of got like you are now.”
I put the piece of pizza down and didn’t really know what to say. He wasn’t going to let it go and I didn’t know how to word it any better than it was in my head. “I just don’t think it would be a good idea Rick.”
“Why?”
“Because you are my boss and I would like to keep my job.”
“That won’t affect anything.”
I didn’t believe him and even if I did, there was the real fear that he would break my heart. I wasn’t ready for a man like him and in honesty, I didn’t know if I would ever be ready for a man like Rick. He was just too much and I didn’t fit in his lifestyle.
“I don’t like you in that way Rick. I don’t know what else to say.”
I thought for a moment that he was going to be mad at me, but instead he just kind of looked at me and grinned. It was clear that he didn’t believe me at all. I didn’t believe myself.
“Are you really going to tell me that you don’t like me in that way?”
I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say, but I knew that I didn’t want him to know how badly I wanted him. I started to get up, but he tutted me and pulled me back down, taking the plate out of my hand.
“I think we need to get this out.”
He was the only man I had ever met that was so worried about talking. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to get out of there before I made a fool of myself and then he would know full stop how much I was into him. Truthfully, I had a feeling that he already knew what he was doing to me.
When his hand moved to the side of my face to pull me towards him, my mind screamed to get away. It was calling out danger because that was all he was. He was dangerous and when his lips touched mine again, I was lost just that quickly.
His tongue pushed through my lips and there was far more insistence in this kiss. My body melted against his and I was feeling like everything was perfect. That was the problem though.
I heard a soft moan in the air and realized it was me. He had won and I pushed back from him before I lost myself for good.
“I knew that you felt something for me.”
“I do Rick, but I know how you are and I don’t want to be a part of it.”
I was feeling restless and I couldn’t stand there with him grinning at me like that anymore. I had to get up and I had to put some distance between us.
“I am going to go for a walk through the park. I will see you at the demonstration later.”
He nodded his head, but didn’t say anything. He was disappointed, but I was too. I was disappointed in myself and my lack of willpower. I should have known better and this trip was turning out to be a bigger mess than I had originally thought.
I looked down at the cleavage one of the men that passed me in the hallway was looking at and I sighed to myself. Being dressed up as my sister was not helping anything at all. I looked too much like her and now I was starting to understand what life must be like for her. I couldn’t imagine men gawking at me all day. After what it had done to Rick, I was convinced that it was the clothes that were doing it. Maybe I had let loose a little too much and I needed to rein it back in.
Chapter 13
Rick
“Are you ready?”
Claire was looking gorgeous and I don’t know what it was that had made her change so drastically, but everything she had worn on the trip was tempting me like no other. Why was she dressed in such a way when she claimed that she didn’t want to be with me?
As she grabbed her bag and started out the door, I grabbed it from her and our hands touched for a minute. She pulled hers back like I had burned her and it was a reminder that this wasn’t how I wanted it to be. I didn’t get why she was so different than any other woman I had ever known.
“Are you still nervous about the flight?” Since Claire wasn’t saying much, I had to keep going with the conversation. We hadn’t talked too much the last day we were here and I was anxious to get back home and figure out where to go from here. I knew that with everything between us, there was no way that I was going to be able to let it go. I didn’t want to and I was just going to have to work her down. She wanted me, the kisses and chemistry was enough of an answer, but I just wanted more.
“No, I think it will be okay. I didn’t sleep much last night, so I am hoping that I will be able to sleep through the flight.”
I liked to think that she was up thinking about me as much as I was thinking about her, but I really couldn’t be sure. I would never admit what she did to me in the wee hours of the morning, but I liked to think that I wasn’t alone. It just didn’t seem right that she didn’t have some kind of issue with it like I did. Why the hell was I the only one that felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin? Didn’t she feel the same way?
I was frustrated to no end and I didn’t even really listen to her answer about sleeping. My mind was too far gone and all I could think about was all of the questions that ran through my mind. Why?
“You haven’t said much today Rick. Are you okay?”
We had just gotten on the plane and I had to say that I was acting a bit strange. I didn’t know how to act and with all I could think about was ravishing her, I had decided that it just seemed easier to not say a word. Everything I said was destined to get switched around, especially because all I was thinking about was the woman sitting next to me that didn’t want to give me the time of day, even though I knew she wanted me. I could tell she needed me and it was a shame that something was holding her back.
“Guess I am just ready to get home. I like to travel and see new places, but at a certain point it is just time to go home.” And the fact that she was there to drive me crazy was a good reason as well. Didn’t she know what she was doing to me, how she was driving me crazy?
“Yes, I feel the same way. As much as I have loved the country and the food, I am ready to get back home as well. I think this is the longest that I have gone without talking to my sister and I know it sounds silly, but I actually miss her terribly. I haven’t even been able to call her from here on my phone.”
I didn’t know she had a sister. If I really thought about it, there wasn’t much that I knew about her beyond the fact that she was beautiful and before things changed, a dirty minded woman. Now she was quiet and I felt like I was missing out. I wanted to know more.
“Do you just have the one sister?”
“No, I have several, but I am closest to one in particular. We have always talked to each other every night as long as I can remember.”
“Sounds like you two are really close.”
“We are. They used to say that if you saw me, you would see Amber. We ne
ver went anywhere away from each other.”
“Did she move here with you?”
She shook her head and I could tell that there was something that she didn’t really want to tell me.
“No, her and my parents never really got along, so as soon as she was old enough to leave, she did. She came here, while I went to University.”
“Well I am glad you went to college. You certainly learned your stuff while you were there. I have never seen someone take to everything like you have. You really have a gift Claire.”
“Thanks Rick. Coming from you, that means a lot to me.”
I liked that she was smiling again and she seemed to be a little calmer around me. I didn’t know what the difference was, but I liked to see her like this, as opposed to upset and avoiding me. We had a few good times before everything got complicated. I knew I was to blame for it, but I still didn’t want to apologize for anything. I couldn’t help that I wanted her and even though she had the will to say no, that didn’t mean that I did as well. I wanted her and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
“So what about you?”
“What about me?”
She giggled that I was so gone from the conversation. I knew that I wasn’t paying much attention, but it was almost impossible to do so when I could smell the lilac of her perfume. It was different and much like everything else that she wore the last couple of days, it was pulling my attention away from anything that wasn’t her.
“You know, do you have any brothers or sisters?”
I shook my head that I didn’t. “No, I am an only child.”
“Well that explains a lot.”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem like a guy that is really used to getting what he wants. It would make sense that you didn’t have any siblings to share with. Most only children are that way.”
I don’t know if I liked her observation or the fact that she was right. I had been lonely when I was a child, but at the same time, I had gotten anything that I wanted because there was no competition with anyone else. I had gotten used to getting my way, but with her I wasn’t getting my way at all. Was that why I was becoming so obsessed with Claire? Was it simply because I was so used to always getting my way and now that wasn’t the case?