Tempting Her

by Chloe Peterson

  “You can’t even see it,” she said. “Relax. It’s fine.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Robin grumbled, but she turned away from the mirror and slid her feet into her sensible, low heeled shoes.

  “You ready?” Carly asked.

  “Yes,” Robin said, then frowned. "Oh, wait. I almost forgot. Give me a second."

  Carly froze in front of the door and watched as Robin darted back to her suitcase and dug through the side pocket, her lips pursed as she shoved aside her makeup and toiletries until she was pulling out a small, red velvet box. She held it in her palm and stood.

  Carly frowned as Robin stopped in front of her and held it out. "What is this?"

  "It, uh." Robin bit her lip, looking uncharacteristically uncertain. "It's an engagement ring. I figured at least one of us should be wearing a ring." She flicked the box open with her thumb, and Carly gasped. Inset in the soft, protective plush was a thin silver band with a blue stone, cut to sparkle and shine from every angle.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

  Robin blushed. “It was my grandmother’s,” she said. “Would you like to try it on?”

  Carly silently held out her hand, her heart in her throat. Robin gently held her wrist as Carly stretched her ring finger out, and Robin slid the ring onto it.

  “Wow,” she said, sounding pleased. “It’s a perfect fit.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Carly said, and bit her lip. Why were there tears in her eyes?

  Robin blushed and shifted awkwardly. “Okay, okay. Let’s get going.”

  Carly nodded, even as she bit her lip again to keep the tears inside. They left the hotel room and walked down the hallway to the elevators. “How do you think tonight is going to go?”

  Robin hummed thoughtfully. “We should say hi to Mr. Jung. Congratulate Philip and his fiancée, probably. I feel bad for the poor girl who has to marry him. Other than that, though, I think our best bet is to try and stay in the background.”

  Carly smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  When they made it down to the hotel restaurant Mr. Jung and Philip were there with about three dozen other people. Mr. Jung flitted over to them and hastily dragged them around to meet everyone, throwing names out that Carly could not remember for the life of her. Then he disappeared to continue playing host, and Carly grabbed Robin’s hand and tugged her toward the bar.

  “I don’t remember anyone,” she said, leaning against the bar and turning to Robin. “Do you?”

  Robin was looking down at where their hands were still clasped together, and Carly flushed. She started to pull her hand away, but Robin tightened her grip, keeping their fingers intertwined.

  “I think I remember maybe three names,” Robin said, looking away from their hands and instead giving Carly a self-deprecating smile. “So hopefully that should be enough to get us through the weekend.”

  Carly laughed, and Robin called over the bartender to order them both a drink – for her a Shirley Temple, and for Carly a screwdriver. The two of them stayed at the bar as the restaurant filled with more and more people, and they joked companionably and told stories from the jobs they had before working at the company.

  Carly went to the bathroom at some point, and as Robin idly looked around the room, Mr. Jung appeared beside her, a pretty young woman at his side. He introduced her as his niece, Grace, and then disappeared.

  Grace smiled at her.

  “It’s nice to meet you. Are you enjoying the party so far?”

  “Oh, yes,” Robin said, nodding and glancing down at the plate of appetizers Carly had grabbed for the two of them. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what much of the food is, but it’s all delicious.”

  The woman laughed. “Good. My uncle would feel awful if you weren’t enjoying yourself – although I can’t say the same for my cousin.” She stared pointedly over Robin’s shoulder, and she turned. Philip was glaring at them, his face red with anger. Annoyed, Robin made a face back at him, and his face turned bright red before he stalked away. The woman laughed, and Robin flushed as Grace smiled at her.

  "I must say, it's nice to see Philip get put in his place." The other woman grinned. "He's always been kind of a dick, even when we were kids, but it's mostly just bark and no bite. Don't let it bother you."

  "I wasn't planning to," Robin said.

  The woman’s lips curved even wider, and her eyes darted over Robin's face. She stuck her hand out.

  "I'm Grace," she said. "Philip's cousin, and reluctant bridesmaid. "

  Robin laughed lightly and took her hand. "Robin. I'm a business partner of Mr. Jung's."

  "Oh, you're the business partner." Grace cocked an eyebrow. "Philip was yelling all about you yesterday."

  "Really?" Robin leaned back against the bar, and Grace stepped closer. "What did he have to say?"

  "Just some shit about how you were lying and couldn't be trusted." Grace's gaze was steady against hers, intense, and it sent a shiver down Robin's spine. "Something about you and your fiancée. Any idea on what that might be about?"

  Robin swallowed. "Well, I don't know about 'lying,'" she said, slowly, "but I am engaged."

  "Really?" Grace’s eyes flicked around. “Where’s your fiancée?”

  Robin flushed, wondering if she was misreading the suggestive tone of Grace’s voice, but suddenly an arm was wrapping around her waist, fingers tight on her hip.

  “I was in the bathroom,” Carly said with a tight smile, her gaze hard on Grace. “I’m Carly, Robin’s fiancée.”

  “Oh, good. So nice to meet you.” Grace smiled blandly at her, and then looked back at Robin. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it.”

  She turned and mingled back into the crowd, and Robin swallowed thickly. Carly was completely still beside her, and she wondered why the air between them had suddenly turned so awkward. Carly’s arm slid from around her waist, and Robin shivered a little as the redhead took her seat and sipped from her drink.

  “Just a thought,” she said, staring down at the glass, “but while we’re trying to convince everyone here that we’re engaged, it might not be a great idea to go flirting with other people.”

  Robin flushed, her tongue dry in her mouth. “I wasn’t flirting, really,” she said. Her heart was pounding, and she tried to tamp down the desperation she felt to make sure Carly believed her. “Really, I wasn’t.”

  “Right.” Carly took another sip, and then sighed. “Anyway. At my old job…”

  As Carly was in the middle of telling a story about how she blew up her last office’s microwave, Robin glanced up and saw Philip staring at them, a sneer set deep on his face. She pursed her lips.

  “Hey, can you give me a minute?” she asked, cutting Carly off. “I’m sorry – I’m going to go and see what’s up with that guy.”

  Carly looked over her shoulder, seeing Philip, and grimaced. “All right. Do you want help?”

  “No, I got it.” Robin stood. “Save my seat?”

  Carly smiled at her. “Happily.”

  Looking away quickly before Carly could see her blush, Robin walked across the floor to where Philip was glaring at her, and as he saw her coming he whipped around and went to the back of the restaurant, where he stepped outside onto a small patio garden. Robin followed, and stopped in front of him, and for a long minute they had a silent showdown.

  “Is everything all right?” she finally asked, and Philip scoffed.

  “I know you’re lying to my dad about the business deal, and about your fiancée,” he growled lowly. “I don’t trust you. Chris and I had everything set up, and then you had to come along and ruin it.”

  Robin’s spine stiffened. “That plan would have robbed your father of his assets and ruined his company, and only you and Chris would profit,” she hissed. “I’m not falling for your bullshit. Don’t act like you’re trying to protect your father. You just want to get rich, no matter who gets hurt.”

  Philip’s eyes sparked. “You think so? So what’s going t
o happen when I prove to my dad that you’re lying? Do you think he’ll still want to sign with you?”

  Robin grit her teeth. She opened her mouth to respond, but there was a sudden hand on her shoulder and she whipped around. Carly was coming to stand beside her, brow furrowed in concern. Her hair looked like a burning candle in the dim outside light.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, her eyes flicking back and forth between Robin and Philip. “You were gone for kind of a long time. I wanted to check in.”

  Robin blinked at her, and then purposefully slid an arm around Carly’s slim waist and pulled her close against her side. She pressed a kiss down on Carly’s forehead and glared at Philip.

  “Everything’s fine,” she said pointedly. “Philip and I were just having a chat.”

  Philip glared back at her, then walked around them back inside. Robin followed him with her eyes and turned to look back down at Carly. The redhead blinked up at her and glanced over her shoulder.

  “He’s still looking at us through the door,” she murmured. “What happened?”

  Robin sighed. “He thinks we’re faking, and he’s a dick.”

  Carly rolled her eyes and stepped closer into Robin’s side, wrapping both her arms around her. She laid her head on Robin’s shoulder.

  “Hold me tighter,” she ordered. “Faking my ass.”

  Robin put her other arm around the smaller woman. Carly was entirely pressed against her, the lines of their bodies molded together. She could feel the fluttering of Carly’s heart against her chest.

  “We are, though.”

  “Yeah, well, he doesn’t need to know that.” Carly shifted a little, glancing behind Robin again, and then groaned. “He’s still looking.”

  Robin shrugged. “I don’t know if we’re going to get rid of him.”

  Carly was still in her arms, and leaned back so that she could look up at Robin.

  “Kiss me,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Kiss me. If anything is going to convince him we’re not faking, it’s that.”

  Robin swallowed. Blood rushed to her head. “I don’t – I don’t know if that’s appropriate…”

  “Oh, come on. It’s just a kiss.” Carly gave her a small smile. Her eyes glowed in the patio lighting. “He’s annoying. Let’s do it.”

  “I–” Robin took a deep breath. “Okay.”

  Her lips trembling, she leaned down and softly pressed them to Carly’s. The woman’s lips were curled into a small smile, but as Robin moved their mouths together, Carly’s smile faded as her lips parted, inviting Robin in. She entered, her tongue swiping over the edge of Carly’s lips and brushing against her tongue. Carly bit at her lip and Robin whimpered, far back in her throat, and her hand came up to thread through Carly’s hair. Carly tightened her hold on Robin’s waist, pulling them closer together.

  Robin felt like a fire was spreading from her lips and down to her chest, curling around her heart and setting her body aflame. Her hands trembled where they lay against Carly’s back, her fingertips pressing hard against the other woman’s soft hair. She could feel Carly’s hands steady and warm on her hips, and the redhead’s eyelashes brushing against her cheeks as she moaned. She whimpered, swiping her tongue over Carly’s lips, and something pleasurable and terrifying fluttered in her stomach.

  They broke apart with a gasp, and Robin stared down at the woman in her arms. Carly’s lips were red and swollen, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright. Her breath came in light pants.

  “Wow,” Carly said, breathily.

  Robin cleared her throat.

  “Is he, um. Is he still looking?”

  “What? Oh.” Carly looked behind her. “No. He’s gone.”

  “So it worked.”

  “Yeah.”

  They stared at each other and slowly pulled apart.

  Robin swallowed again.

  “Want to head back in?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m still hungry.”

  Robin smiled, and as she turned to lead them back into the restaurant, Carly threaded their fingers together.

  After making their way back to the hotel room, Robin flipped through some documents while Carly took a shower. Then they switched, Robin in the bathroom as Carly organized some files for Robin.

  When Robin stepped out of the bathroom, steam billowing out behind her and her skin gleaming and damp, Carly looked up and smiled. “I’ve finished organizing the first part of the deal – it should be all set. I’d like to take a look at the rest of it, though, just to double check.”

  Robin rubbed her hair dry with a towel as she came to see what Carly had done. She raised an eyebrow.

  “You did all that while I was in the shower?”

  “I’m good at paperwork. You should know this by now.”

  Robin laughed a little. “Yeah, I guess I should.” She glanced at the bed. “I can take the couch, if you’d like.”

  Carly was already looking back down at the papers. She shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. The bed is huge. We can both fit.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Of course.”

  The two of them stayed up for a couple more hours, Robin losing herself in the work until her concentration was broken by the sound of Carly yawning. She looked up to see the other woman rubbing her eyes.

  “You tired?”

  Carly blinked and shook her head. “No, no, I’m fine.” But her eyes were drooping even as she spoke.

  Robin’s lips quirked up at her sleepy insistence. “No, let’s sleep. Jet lag is rough.”

  “You’re sure? I can work some more.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m tired too,” Robin lied. She stood and stretched. “Come on.”

  She slipped into bed, taking the right side while Carly took the left. The bed was big enough that they didn’t touch, but Robin was all too aware of how close the other woman was.

  “This is okay, right?” Carly whispered, and Robin swallowed.

  “Yeah.”

  “I, um.” Carly shifted, and her leg brushed against Robin’s. “I wanted to apologize for tonight. For making you kiss me.”

  “What?” Robin rolled onto her side to look at the other woman. “No, no. You didn’t make me do it. If anything, it was good. We should have been more prepared for that.”

  “Well…”

  “What is it?”

  “I mean, it might happen again.” Carly was on her side now, too, her eyes bright even in the darkness of her room. “Do you want to practice again?”

  Robin swallowed. “Practice? Well, I mean. I guess.”

  Carly shifted closer. Robin could feel her warm breath fanning over her face.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes,” Robin whispered. And then Carly’s mouth was against hers again.

  Robin reached her hand out to grab Carly’s waist and pulled the girl towards her, and their legs tangled together under the covers as Carly licked into Robin’s mouth. Robin shivered as Carly’s hand pressed against her throat and her thumbs stroked over her cheeks as she pulled their faces together as hard as possible. Carly was shaking, Robin realized, and she pulled away.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Carly said, laughing nervously. “I just – wow.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe, um.” Carly pulled away a little. “Maybe we should go to sleep.”

  Robin nodded, her heart still pounding with the memory of Carly’s lips. “Yeah, yeah. Sounds good.”

  Carly rolled onto her other side, so her back faced her boss. “Good night, Robin,” she whispered, and Robin smiled.

  “Goodnight, Carly.”

  6

  Carly woke in the middle of the night to the sound of her phone buzzing on the nightstand. Groaning, she reached forward and grabbed it, clicking it open and narrowing her eyes against the bright light. There was a text waiting for her from Ryan.

  Hey, Carly, it read. I hear you’re engaged to the cold wicked witch. What the he
ll is that about?

  She stared at the words, anger piercing through her. She remembered the way Robin’s hands felt on her, so soft, her warm lips and how she let her sleep on her shoulder for the entire plane ride.

  Only a few days ago she would have been thrilled to get a text from Ryan. Now, she wanted nothing to do with him.

  Without bothering to respond, she closed the phone and her eyes, and drifted back to sleep.

  When Carly woke, the first thing she felt was how warm she was. Robin was pressed against her, her breasts squeezed against her back. Her breath fanned over Carly’s neck. Carly froze, unable to move. There was something hanging over them, something heavy and full of promise. She sucked in a breath, and shivered.

  The slight movement woke Robin, who sleepily shifted closer before she seemed to realize what was happening. She gasped and started to move away.

  “I’m sorry,” she started, but Carly reached behind her and grabbed Robin’s arm. She pulled the other woman back against her, her heart pounding.

  “No,” she breathed. “Don’t be sorry. I like it.”

  Robin was silent, and then she settled in beside her. “What do you like?” she whispered.

  Carly bit her lip as her body thrummed at every point Robin was touching her. “I like you touching me,” she said.

  She let out a shaky breath as, slowly, Robin’s hand on her stomach drifted down to pull at the hem of her shirt. Her fingers were warm as her hand began pulling it up. Carly took a shaky breath as Robin’s hand pushed underneath her shirt, her nails dragging against the skin of her stomach as she went. She could feel Robin’s breath against the back of her neck, and when her hand found Carly’s breast she let out a soft groan. Robin’s hips twitched forward slightly, rubbing herself against Carly who pushed back to meet her.

  Carly whimpered and moved to roll back toward Robin but she growled low in her throat and pressed Carly tighter to her front. Her hand under Carly’s shirt enveloped her breast with a squeeze, her thumb rubbing circles around her nipple.

  “Is this okay?” Robin whispered, and Carly quickly nodded.