Off Limits Attraction--A Glamorous Passionate Forbidden Romance

by Jayci Lee

“No, I haven’t. I don’t know if I ever will.”

  He flipped her to face him and swiftly took her mouth in a hungry, plunging kiss. They’d gone from zero to sixty in two seconds flat. She frantically swept his body with her hands, wanting to touch him everywhere at once. When he responded in kind with a pained groan, she had no room for anything in her mind but Colin and the way he touched her.

  Their pleasure grew and consumed them, and soon their shouts of pleasure filled the room. They lay limp and satisfied while trying to catch their breath. Her lazy gaze drifted to the clock on her nightstand and she sat upright.

  “It’s eight o’clock! I thought you wanted to get an early start.”

  “You’re right. Let’s take a shower together to save time and get out there.”

  “You have to promise to behave in the shower otherwise we’re going to lose more time.”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  They hardly fooled around at all in the shower, and got ready in good time. After grabbing some coffee and muffins from the coffee shop in the lobby, they set out on the scouting adventure.

  The proud peaks of the valley surrounded them as they drove from one point of interest to the next. South Korea was a beautiful country with four distinct seasons, each bearing its own fairy-tale charm. But she had never seen or experienced anything like the great vastness of Death Valley. One thing after another amazed her: standing in the Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level, driving through the spectacular desert hills of Artist’s Drive and the aptly named Artist’s Palette, a geologic kaleidoscope of colors, and enjoying a handful of hiking trails. Each point of interest held its own unique charms, and she would never forget any of it. Especially since she got to experience it all with Colin by her side.

  “I think we have the hiking trail we want.” He took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at her. “Do you want to see one more spot? It’s spectacular during sunset.”

  “What is it?”

  “Have you seen Star Wars?”

  “I beg your pardon?” she said with an affronted stare. “How could you even ask that?”

  “Sorry. Sorry. So you must know what Tatooine is.”

  She rolled her eyes and didn’t grace him with a response.

  “Well, they filmed the Tatooine scenes for A New Hope and Return of the Jedi here in Death Valley. The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes is probably the most recognizable of the locations.”

  “Shut. Up.” She swiveled toward him and said in a near shout, “Are you bloody serious? Yes! I want to see Tatooine.”

  The sand dunes rose and fell in endless waves against the backdrop of the jagged, rocky hills and the bright orange-and-yellow sky. It was freaking Tatooine.

  “Let’s go, let’s go,” she said as she jumped out of his car. She took off in a run, not waiting to see if Colin was following her. Every person to themselves. They were on Tatooine, for God’s sake.

  She was out of breath by the time she reached the top of the first hill. But she got to enjoy the view of Colin climbing the hill with his backpack filled with their supplies. Always prepared. When he reached the top, he handed her a water bottle.

  “Drink, you nut. We’re literally in a desert. Don’t let the cool air fool you.”

  “Yes, sir.” She winked at him and chugged at her water. She actually was very thirsty after the climb. “Let’s keep going.”

  They were sandy and sweaty by the time they returned to the car, but Jihae didn’t mind it one bit. That had been glorious. They even got a nice couple to take a picture of them together. It was the only one she had and it made her heart clench because she’d cherish it when this was all over.

  They drove back to the hotel in serene silence, taking in the surroundings and the changing colors of the sunset. When they reached their rooms, Colin turned to her and bowed formally.

  “May I take you out to dinner tonight?”

  She giggled coyly into her hand and replied in her poshest British accent. “That would be an absolute pleasure.”

  “Excellent. I have reservations for seven. Is that enough time for you to rest and get ready?”

  “Sure, as long as we take some alone time and take separate showers.”

  Colin laughed, dropping his silly formality. “I guess I could bear to stand an hour and a half on my own.”

  Jihae, on the other hand, felt a twinge of regret at not getting to spend every minute with him, but she needed to rest a bit. More importantly, she wanted to surprise him with the new dress she’d brought. She wanted to look beautiful for him.

  “I’ll see you soon,” she said.

  Their gazes held until she closed her door. Despite her best intentions, she was tempted to fling open the door and say Just kidding. Of course I want to shower with you.

  After taking a shower alone, she sat down on her lonely king bed and switched on the TV, mostly for the commercials. She grabbed the brush she’d set down on the nightstand and methodically brushed out her hair. When her feet and legs felt a little less tired, she got up to blow-dry her hair. She planned on wearing it down for Colin. It went against the Princess Jihae rules, but they were far from home. No one was going to capture a picture of her and post it on social media out here.

  Once her hair fell like dark satin down her back, she took time with her makeup, painting her eyes with dramatic colors. She kept her blush to a minimum and applied a deep pink lip stain to her lips.

  She withdrew her dress from the garment bag and stepped into it. It was a rich, emerald-colored strapless dress with a fitted top and a tulip skirt that fell halfway down her thighs. She chose clear, crystal-dotted heels to complete the outfit. The mirror told her it had been worth the effort to dress up for Colin. She was still her, but she looked more like the fun, vibrant person she could be with Colin. It was an amazing feeling to see her outside appearance match the person she was inside. She couldn’t wait to see the expression on Colin’s face.

  A quick glance at the clock told her she’d made it with five minutes to spare. She waited patiently for one more minute, then grabbed her clutch and headed out the door. There was no rule that a man had to pick up the woman, right?

  When she knocked smartly on his door, she heard him walking toward it. She was holding on to the doorframe with one hand, arm raised high above her head, and leaning into it in her best Hollywood-bombshell pose. She felt a little silly but it was fun, and she wanted to have a bit of fun tonight.

  “I... You...” Colin stared slack-jawed at her. His eyes heated as they traveled down her body then back up to her face. “Hell.”

  “Hmm. I was fishing for a compliment. But I’ll take ‘I... You... Hell,’ I guess.”

  “If we didn’t have a reservation, I would pull you into this room and make love to you with your hot little dress pushed up to your waist. You look so beautiful. I won’t be able to undress you later.”

  She gasped softly, her own body warming and softening to his words. She coughed indelicately into her fist and fought for her composure. She had wanted to wow him, and had succeeded, but it was still a rush. As calm returned to her, she noticed he was handsome as hell in his blue suit and fine gray shirt. She could just about eat him up.

  “Turn around,” she said, biting her lower lip.

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I want to see what those pants do to your fine ass.”

  With a shrug, Colin turned in a slow circle for her. He raised an eyebrow with an arrogance that made her body burn. “Do I meet your approval?”

  “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Top marks. Excellent bottom, that.”

  His low chuckle made her want to forget about the dinner reservations, but this kind of real date was not easy to come by. In fact, this was their first official date. She wasn’t going to shortchange herself on it.

  He stepped out of his room and offered h
er his arm. “Shall we?”

  “Yes, please.” She took his arm and smiled into his eyes.

  The dining room was charming and intimate, and Colin had a romantic table by the fireplace reserved for them. He ordered them red wine—she was more of a craft-beer aficionado—then reached across the table and placed the tips of his fingers on her hand for a brief second.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said.

  “Thank you,” she said with a deep blush, suddenly feeling shy.

  “I wish...”

  “What? What do you wish?”

  “I wish... I could have something I can’t have.”

  “What is it? Tell me.” She looked intently into his eyes, holding her breath. He seemed to be on the precipice of something monumental, and by the way his gaze bore into hers, it had to do with her. Did he want promises? A future with her?

  He shook his head as though to clear it, and laughed lightly. “I wish we could fly to Lake Como and spend a lazy week there. Work has been so hectic for so long, I could really use a break. But alas, Best Placed Bets has no scenes set in Italy, so we wouldn’t have any excuse to go.”

  He had been about to say something else. She knew it, and he wisely, but disappointingly, had taken the safer route.

  She forced a bright smile and said, “Lake Como sounds wonderful. I always wanted to go there, but it was a bit far for my graduation trip.”

  The food was fresh and elegant, but she didn’t taste much of it. The fun, romantic date she’d been hoping for now had an undercurrent of tension and melancholy. Colin was quieter than usual, too.

  When they went to bed that night, he made love to her with an intensity that made her heart ache, like he was memorizing every single part of her. It felt as though he was preparing to let her go. In her head, she knew that it was for the best since she had to do the same, but everything in her being screamed that it couldn’t be—that they had to be together.

  It was hopeless. She was hopeless. She had gone and fallen in love with Colin.

  * * *

  “Are you well, Hal-muh-nee?” Colin said, as he kneeled on a bang-suk on the hard floor. He came to his grandmother because he was too lost to find his way back on his own.

  Death Valley had been a few months ago, but he still dreamed of waking up with Jihae cradled in his arms, soft and warm in her sleep. He wanted to wake up beside her every morning. At some point along the way, he’d allowed himself to dream that she could be his forever. But now he wanted it to become reality.

  “I am, but I don’t think you could say the same,” his grandmother replied, concern drawing her eyebrows together. “Sit comfortably, and tell me what has you so distressed.”

  Now that he was in front of his grandmother, he didn’t know where to start. He had screwed up so royally, he didn’t think even she could help untangle him from the mess of knots.

  Colin had made himself a part of the investigation of Rotelle Corporation’s espionage scheme. He’d helped rekindle a cold case by effectively spying on Jihae. Their relationship, at least on his part, was built on lies. But the lies and omissions had to stop. He had to find the courage to tell her the truth—all of it—and hope to God she would give him a chance to make it up to her. To make her happy.

  “It’s about Jihae,” he said, rubbing his aching chest with the heel of his hand. “No. It’s about me.”

  Grandmother gazed steadily at him with a calm countenance, patiently waiting for him to continue.

  “I shouldn’t have kept my identity a secret. It was cowardly and manipulative. I should have convinced her that she should work with me despite the fact that I’m a Song.” He looked down at his fisted hands. “Now I’m in love with her, but everything we have together has been built on my lies.”

  “Does the girl know that you love her? Does she care for you?”

  “I don’t know. I think she cares about me, but once she finds out who I am and what I’ve done, she’ll despise me for it.”

  “If that is truly the only outcome, then why are you here?” she asked with a shrewd glint in her eyes. “You are here because you want to correct the mistakes you have made.”

  “I do. I want to tell her the truth.”

  “What is really holding you back?”

  “I’m afraid I’ll lose her when I tell her the truth. Not only that, but I would be asking her to choose between me and her family. Her father would never allow her to be with me. If she stays me then she will lose her family and Rotelle Entertainment.”

  “Is it fair to ask that of her?” his grandmother said.

  “It won’t only be my deception I’ll reveal to her. To tell her the whole truth, I’ll have to tell her about her father’s attempts to sabotage Hansol and destroy Garrett’s marriage. Will she want to stay with her family knowing that? Maybe I won’t have to ask her to choose between me and her family.”

  “Hmm. Don’t you think she might use her knowledge of your deception against our family? To let her father know that we are on his trail?”

  “No. Absolutely not. Jihae is honest, fair and principled. She’ll never help her father, knowing what he had done. My gut told me from the beginning that she was innocent. And I have proof that she isn’t involved, if you still have doubts.”

  “Yes, yes. I know what you overheard from her conversation with her father and how she refused to help Yami Corporation’s CFO. Besides, you don’t need to convince me of her innocence.”

  “But I do, Hal-muh-nee. I want you and Uncle James, and the rest of the family, to accept her. She is truly an amazing person, but so lonely. Her family...they aren’t like us. They don’t love her and appreciate her like family should. She’s been neglected, controlled and used by them. I want her to become a part of our family and be loved as I have been. I want you to accept her as your own.”

  “Colin, do you want to marry this girl? Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “Yes. I want to marry her and make her happy. I want to beg for her forgiveness and make up for any hurt my lies will cause her when I tell her the truth.”

  “Then is it fear? Is it only fear that is holding you back from telling her the truth?”

  “You’re right. I’m so afraid of losing her, Grandmother. I can’t bear to even think about living my life without her in it. If I tell her, she might leave me. Maybe I want to delay the inevitable.”

  “But you said you love her. Every day you continue to keep this secret, the more you are hurting her. Is that what you want? Is that the right way to love her?”

  “I’ve been lying to myself that I’ll be able to let her go when the time comes. That neither of us is emotionally involved, and we’ll be able to walk away from each other without heartache. I’ve been so wrong.” He wiped both his hands down his face, hating himself a little. “If I love her, I have to give her the choice to leave or stay based on the whole truth. If she wants to leave me after I’ve told her everything, she has the right to make that choice. If by some miracle, she is willing to give me another chance, then that is her choice, as well. Telling her the truth and respecting her decision is the best way I can truly love her at this point.”

  He pushed away the nagging thought that even if Jihae gave him another chance, her father wouldn’t back down easily. If Colin ever reached that point, he would fight the world for her as long as she stood beside him.

  “Colin, I know you. You are a good man. You made a difficult choice based on the difficult situation you were placed in. I know that my desire to have you join Hansol has been a great source of stress and guilt for you. In that, I feel partially responsible for your decision to spy on Rotelle Corporation. I understand you did that to pay me back a debt you don’t owe me. You have done the best you can for our family.”

  “None of this is your fault. It’s all mine. I had a choice and I made the wrong one. But now I understand wha
t I have to do,” he said with determination. “Hal-muh-nee, will you do something for me?”

  “Anything, my dear child.”

  “If Jihae is willing to have me, will you promise to make her a part of our family?”

  “If she will have us, then she will be family.” She reached out to squeeze Colin’s hand. “She will be my granddaughter.”

  Twelve

  Jihae ended the call on her cell with shaky hands and placed it on her desk with a clack. She knew her father was a ruthless businessman, but she never thought it possible that he would be willing to break the law to get what he wanted.

  Her friends from Korea had gotten back to her with disturbing news. They’d dug up some stale rumors among the highest executives that Rotelle Corporation might have planted a spy in Hansol Corporation the previous year. It didn’t tell her how Yami Corp. was involved in the espionage, but her gut feeling said this was the secret her father had been keeping from her.

  But why? Why would her father do this? He had more money than ten generations of his descendants could live off. Anything else he earned was superfluous other than for feeding his pride. Jihae froze. His pride.

  She had a nagging feeling about the timing of the spy being planted. The rumors had sprung up almost a year and a half ago. Close to the time that Garrett Song had broken his engagement to Jihae.

  Oh, my God.

  All that time, her father had blamed her for the broken engagement. That it had happened because word of her unruliness got out. He had blamed what she’d done as a college kid to guilt her for her broken engagement. And like a prat, a part of her had believed him. She’d believed that it was her fault. And she’d beat herself up for losing the chance to gain her freedom from her family. Soon, she’d regained her senses and was relieved the arranged marriage hadn’t happened, but she still had carried her guilt inside her, trying to appease her father.

  But behind all that censure, he had committed corporate espionage to get revenge for his humiliation. He couldn’t stand that a mere nouveau riche family had dared to refuse his daughter’s hand. So he’d taken out his frustrations on his jilted daughter and had gone after Hansol where it would hurt the most.