Business Affairs (8 page)

He slipped on his sweatpants and picked up the telephone. “I'll order room service. What would you like?”

Jennifer climbed from the bed, dragging the top sheet with her, wrapping it around herself and gathering it in her hands to keep from tripping. Despite the fact that Alex had touched and kissed her body everywhere, she was hesitant to run around naked in front of him. “Um, coffee, please. And I'd love some French toast or some pancakes. I think I'll grab a quick shower while we're waiting.” She disappeared into the bathroom.

Alex watched her, amused she felt it necessary to cover herself from head to toe. Didn't she realize that after making love with her, he knew her body intimately? He punched in the numbers to reach room service, gave them their order, then replaced the receiver. Moments later, the phone rang.

Thinking it was room service with a question about their order, Alex picked up the telephone. “Hello?”

“Mr. Dunnigan, this is Marjorie Bannon, the manager. We're informing our guests who were supposed to check out yesterday that the road off the mountain has been cleared.”

“Cleared? Already?” Alex paced to the window. Apparently the snow they'd expected during the night hadn't arrived. Outside, the sun was shining bright.

“Although the weather reports indicated snow during the night, the storm front stalled,” she explained. “They're now calling for it later today. The road crews were able to get to the snowpack and clear it about an hour ago.”

Alex's jaw grew taut. “I see.”

“We certainly don't want to rush you, Mr. Dunnigan, but we have guests waiting to be checked in and we need to clean the rooms. We would appreciate it if you could be ready to turn over your room within the hour.”

“An hour?” he repeated, his lips twisting with irritation. They wanted them to leave. And leaving meant never touching Jennifer again.

“Yes, sir,” the manager said. “As I said, we need to clean your room. Of course, due to your willingness to help us out last night by sharing your room, we won't be charging you for last night.”

Walking across the room, Alex snatched his wristwatch from the dresser, checking the time. An hour. They only had an hour. Then he was supposed to walk out of this room and act as if he'd never made love to Jennifer. He cursed beneath his breath. “All right. An hour's fine,” he told her, then dropped the receiver into its cradle.

Alex paced to the bathroom to let Jennifer know, then stopped himself. God, he couldn't do this. He couldn't just leave here and go back to being strictly work associates again. He couldn't forget what it felt like to just hold her in his arms.

He didn't want to.

Cursing like a sailor who'd been given extended duty at sea, Alex stormed over to his luggage and began packing, not caring how his clothes were stored. He looked up when he heard the bathroom door open. Jennifer stepped out, a smile on her face. Then she stilled and the smile on her lips disappeared.

“What's going on?”

Alex's gaze ran over her. She'd wrapped a thick white towel around her, concealing the most enticing parts of her body, the parts he now knew so well that he'd never forget what she looked like, what she felt like, how she tasted. Everything was covered except her arms and those beautiful long legs she'd wrapped around him. He fought the urge to drag her against him.

“The manager called,” he told her as he balled up his ski suit and stuffed it into a canvas bag. He looked away. He didn't want her to see how much this was killing him. “The road's clear, so they're waiting for us to leave. They need the room for arriving guests.”

Swallowing hard, Jennifer blinked back a sting of tears. “When?” she asked in a small voice. No. This couldn't be happening already. Their time together couldn't be over.

“As soon as possible. They've given us an hour.”

“An hour.” Jennifer felt faint. The way Alex was tossing his things into his luggage made her wince. His movements were jerky and agitated. He sure seemed to be in a big hurry to leave. Well, she shouldn't be surprised. Their time together didn't mean anything to him except a night of no-strings sex.

“Okay,” she said quietly. She walked over to her own luggage. Picking up the biggest piece, she put it on the bed. Across the room, Alex stood with his back to her.
Pulling out a pair of jeans, she stuffed her legs into them, not bothering with underwear. A moment later she'd slipped on a light knit shirt and a warm sweater and let the towel fall to the floor. She didn't bother with a bra, either. With her coat, no one would even notice.

“Breakfast will be here shortly,” he informed her, his tone level, concealing the torment inside of him.

A knot formed in her throat. Dammit, she didn't want to cry. Leaving here with Alex was going to be the hardest thing she'd ever done. “Maybe we should just get out of here,” she answered dispassionately. Feeling sick to her stomach, she knew she wouldn't be able to eat. “We can eat before we catch the plane.”

“If you want.”

She looked around the room to see if she'd forgotten anything. “Are those my gloves?” she asked.

Alex glanced at where she was pointing. “Here,” he answered, picking up the gloves and handing them to her. Damn, she was acting as though she wasn't bothered at all. Was he the only one feeling cheated by their change in plans?

“Thanks.” Alex grunted something and she glanced at him.

As if he'd sensed her gaze, he turned at that moment, his eyes meeting hers. He thought he'd seen a flicker of sadness in them, but it disappeared so quickly he guessed it was his imagination. “I'm sorry about the short notice.”

Shrugging, she forced herself to remain in control and gave him a brief smile. “It's okay. It's not your fault.” The last thing she wanted was for Alex to feel guilty. “Maybe this is for the best.”

“Yeah.” Shaking his head, he stared at her, wanting
to tell her… What? That he didn't want their time together to end? She'd already told him she was thinking of houses and happily-ever-after in her future.

He wasn't a forever kind of guy. He couldn't give Jennifer what she needed.

Alex reminded himself he'd promised Jennifer he could walk away from this weekend and forget they'd made love. She'd set the rules and he'd agreed to them. It was over. Done.

He just hadn't realized it would be so damned hard.

“I'm going to grab a quick shower.” Without waiting for her to answer, he stormed into the bathroom. If he'd have stayed in the room with her another moment, he'd have marched across the floor and pulled her into his arms. And done something totally stupid.

Such as tell her his heart was aching so severely he thought he might possibly die from the pain.

As Alex closed the door behind him, Jennifer sank to the bed. She held her face in her hands. Oh, God, how was she going to get through the next few hours? How had she ever thought she could make love with Alex, then go back to their prior business relationship?

But she had to. Alex had agreed to do as much. As far as she could tell, he wasn't having any trouble leaving what they'd shared behind. Hearing Alex shut off the water in the shower, she jumped off the bed to quickly finish packing, wanting to show him she was all right with leaving, that he didn't have to worry she was going to pressure him into a personal relationship.

She'd shoved the last of her things into her suitcase and was shutting it as he came out of the bathroom. “I need to get my things from the bathroom, then I'll be ready.”

Alex didn't say anything as she collected her toilet
ries and stored them in her small suitcase. Already he could see she was becoming distant, making the change back to boss and employee. He shoved the last item into his suitcase and zipped it shut. He turned to look at Jennifer. She pulled her suitcase from the bed and set it on the floor.

His gaze went to the bed they'd shared, then back to her. “Are you all right?”

She looked up. “Sure, I'm fine.”

The tension between them was so strong he knew she had to feel it, too. Hell, he had to have one last taste of her. He walked over to her. It took every ounce of his self-control to keep from touching her. “Jen?” His gaze swung to the unmade bed, then back to her, his question unspoken.

Jennifer knew what he wanted. She wanted the same thing. Just once more and she could begin to live without him. “Oh, yes,” she breathed, and went into his arms.

Lightning exploded as he kissed her, long and deep, as if he couldn't get enough of her. She returned the kiss, her body already so attuned to his that her need for him became unbearable.

Then his hands were inside her sweater, touching her, her nipples tightening as his fingers caressed them. “Yes,” she whispered, wanting him to touch her everywhere. She slipped her arms around him, grabbed at the hem of the sweater he'd put on with his jeans. “Quick, please.”

Alex stripped off her sweater, then helped her get his off. He was out of his jeans in seconds, but she'd still beat him. He looked up and she stole every ounce of his breath. His hands went into her hair as he pulled her against him and devoured her mouth.

Their bodies touched, then they fell on the bed, writhing against each other, as their hands explored each other for what would be the last time. Jennifer opened her legs, inviting Alex inside her. He positioned himself and entered her in one hard thrust.

“Jen,” he rasped, then his body covered hers again as he began to move inside her. Knowing it would be the last time he'd touch her, his hands explored her silky skin. He wanted to remember everything—her exotic smell, her gorgeous breasts, the way she sighed with pleasure when he entered her.

Jennifer wrapped her legs around him and took him deeper, her fingers digging into his flesh. She'd wanted to make it last much longer, but the moment he was inside her, she'd come apart. He had that effect on her. One touch and she went up in flames.

“Yes, Alex, yes,” she cried, already riding the crest of her climax. Her hips kept pace with his, then everything inside her exploded into a million brilliant particles.

Alex groaned as she pleaded with him to take her over the edge. He pushed deeper, faster, giving her pleasure until he could no longer hold back his own climax. She felt so good, so right. So incredibly right, that it scared him. He never wanted this to end.

His mouth covered hers in a desperate kiss and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tighter as he went over the edge of desire.

For the last time.

J
ennifer thumbed through the mail she'd collected from her mailbox as she waited at a red light. At a discreet white envelope, she stopped. The return address of the fertility clinic glared back at her. Ripping the letter open, she scanned it, the last line drawing her attention.

Please call at your earliest convenience to set up your consultation.

Her heart gave a hard
thump.
Before she'd gone away with Alex, she'd eagerly anticipated hearing from the clinic. She'd wanted to start the process of being inseminated to take away any temptation of sleeping with Alex. But that hadn't worked to her advantage. Crumpling the letter, she tossed it to the floorboard of her car as the light changed and drove the rest of the way to work. The idea of using a fertility clinic no longer held
appeal. Even if it did, she couldn't return the call and set a date for her consultation.

Because you might already be pregnant.

Pulling into her parking space, she went into her office, tossing her purse and briefcase into a chair. Dropping into her desk chair, she rested her chin on her hands. If she was carrying Alex's child, she would always know the child was conceived through deception. She'd had every opportunity to tell Alex she wasn't protected. But she'd waited until she and Alex were making love. Not exactly the right time to confess the truth. Even after they'd made love, she should have come clean and told him she'd… What?

Made a mistake? Oh, yeah, that would have sounded great.

Sorry, Alex, but when you made love to me, I guess I forgot I wasn't on the pill.

How lame would that have been? she thought with disgust.

You should have told him the truth.

If she had, he would have hated her.

If you really cared about him, you wouldn't have made love with him again.

That was true, but she'd wanted him for so long. And she hadn't been able to resist the chance to be with him—even if it was only for a weekend.

And maybe she wasn't pregnant. They'd only had unprotected sex a few times. Considering her cycle, there was just as good a chance she wasn't going to have his baby.

And if she wasn't pregnant, was there a possibility she and Alex could have a real relationship? Perhaps, she thought with hope, they could start over. Alex
was
attracted to her. Maybe she wasn't special to him,
maybe it had been lust, but she felt his passion. He had to feel
something
for her. Even if it was lust, if they entered into an affair, maybe his feelings for her would change.

He dated a lot of women. What made her think she would be the woman who could win his heart? The idea was unfathomable, wasn't it? Because Alex didn't want marriage and commitment. He'd told her so.

But nothing could be decided until she knew whether or not she was carrying Alex's baby. They'd only returned from Vermont a few days ago. Jennifer hadn't yet bought an at-home pregnancy test. Oh, she knew they were all the rage. She'd studied them at the drugstore. The packaging promised valid results soon after conception, but she wanted to wait for an absolute confirmation of the test. A couple of weeks, at least.

Then she'd know for sure whether or not she was carrying Alex's child.

Since they'd returned from skiing, she'd done her best to avoid being alone with him. They'd been back at work for a few days and she'd spent most of that time holed up in her office. She'd timed her appointments out of the office to coincide with the times he was here so she wouldn't have to see him. Because every time she looked at him, her heart ached a little more.

Alex hadn't acted as if he'd even noticed. His manner had been pretty much the same as it had been before they'd gone on the ski trip.

So much for her hope that he held feelings for her.

Even if she wasn't pregnant, she wasn't going to be able to go through with being inseminated. She no longer wanted to conceive a child in some sterile medical setting. Being with Alex had ruined that idea. In her
previous relationships with men, she'd never felt the kind of passion she'd experienced with Alex.

What was she going to do?

“Busy?”

At the sound of his voice, Jennifer looked up to see Alex in the doorway to her office. His jacket was off, the sleeves of his silver-gray dress shirt rolled up to expose the sprinkling of dark hair on his arms. Oh, my, that ache inside her worsened at the sight of him. “I just got back from meeting with the Baker sisters,” she said, careful not to make eye contact. She got up and reached for her briefcase, then fished through it. “Here's a rough draft of their contract if you want to take a look at it.”

“You've been busy the past few days,” Alex commented, taking the papers from her. He scanned them quickly, then tossed them onto her desk. His gaze slid over her. She was wearing a dark red jacket. He'd seen her wear it before, but he'd never been so tempted to strip it off of her. The jacket did a good job of hiding the shape of her breasts. Alex's fingers itched to dip inside it to stroke her silky skin.

“I've had a busy schedule,” she said, glancing briefly in his direction. “My secretary had to change some of my meetings for last Friday when we—” She stopped speaking, mortified she'd made a reference to their time in Vermont.

“Went skiing?” Alex finished for her, knowing full well why she'd hesitated.

“Um, yes.”

He glanced at his watch. “So are you free for dinner tonight?” he asked.

Her gaze shot to his. “Dinner?”

“I want to discuss the Vinson proposal.” The Vinson
Corporation, located in California, was the most well-known aeronautics company in the U.S. Getting a contract from them to update their computer system would establish Com-Tec's reputation on the west coast. He wanted Jennifer's take on the deal.

“I, um, have plans tonight.” Oh, God. There was no way on earth she could go to dinner with him. It was hard enough being in the same room with him. Every time she saw him, she was tempted to ignore her promise and to touch him. And if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop there.

Plans? Alex had to stop himself from demanding to know who her plans were with. Was she going out on a date? His jaw tautened. “Change them.” Hell, had that charge come from him?

Jennifer stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

“You're the one who said your career is important. Change your plans.”

“I can't.” Her lips twisted. “How about we meet tomorrow morning?” she suggested, still shocked by his request. No, not request. His
demand.

He shook his head. “I have a meeting with marketing.”

Frustrated, she tried again. “I'm free in the afternoon.”

“I can't do it then. I have a heavy schedule tomorrow.” He dropped into the chair in front of her desk. More than ever, he was convinced she was avoiding him. “Is this how it's going to be, Jen?” he demanded.

She straightened some folders in front of her. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Alex sat up straight. “I think you do,” he said, an edge to his voice. “I think you're avoiding me.”

“I'm not.” To convince him, she met his gaze. “I'm just busy.”

Like hell,
Alex thought. “I want to talk with you about the Vinson proposal. Over dinner. Change your plans.”

“Alex—”

“Be ready at six.” Irritated, he got up and walked out. By the time he reached his office, he was steaming. He threw himself into his chair and slouched, his teeth clamped together.

Who was she kidding? She hadn't even looked at him when they were talking. And who the hell was she going out with? Not knowing was killing him. How could she see someone else so soon after making love with him?

Restless, Alex got out of his seat and paced. He blamed himself for this mess. Jennifer had said she was concerned their working together might be affected if they had an affair. Because he wanted her so badly, he'd ignored his inner warning to keep his hands off of her.

He'd really screwed things up. Never in his life had he ordered a woman to do anything she didn't want to do. He just couldn't stop thinking about her. Every time he saw her, he wanted to touch her. He'd already imagined making love to her. On his desk. In her office. Hell, even in the elevator!

And dammit, she was acting as if the adjustment back to their business-only relationship wasn't difficult! She came to work and performed her responsibilities perfectly. Then she left for the day, never giving any indication she was bothered by being around him at all. From her actions, he would have believed she'd put their weekend out of her mind.

The only clue she hadn't was that she'd done her best to stay busy all week and not be around him. More de
termined than ever to figure her out, he'd decided to take matters into his own hands by forcing her to have dinner with him. He wanted to talk to her, to see if she was going crazy with need inside like him.

The intercom on his phone rang and Alex punched the button on the telephone to activate it. “Yes?”

“Mr. Daughtrey from the Vinson Corporation is on line three,” his assistant, Karen, informed him.

“Thanks.”

Alex took the call and for the next hour was tied up on business. The remainder of the afternoon disappeared under the pressure of work. At five-thirty, he asked Karen to hold his calls.

Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed the back of his neck and stretched his shoulders. Expecting to see Jennifer in half an hour, he walked into his private bathroom, shaved, then slapped on some cologne. Jeez, he was acting as if he was sixteen and going on his first date.

Hearing the door to his office open, he stepped out of the bathroom expecting to see Karen. He stopped when his gaze landed on Jennifer. The little throb of anticipation in his gut grew to a full-fledged stab of desire.

“I'd like to speak with you.”

Alex didn't like the sound of that. He walked over to her, stopping about a foot away. “Sure.” He kept his tone casual, but the blaze of anger in her eyes warned him of trouble.

Stepping farther inside his office, she closed the door behind her. Though most everyone was gone for the day, she didn't want to take a chance on a straggler or two still in the building hearing them.

Straightening her shoulders, she met his gaze. “I'm not going to dinner with you.” She'd never let a man
domineer her, and she wasn't going to let Alex be the first. If he wanted to discuss legitimate business, they could do so right here in the office. At least she'd stand a chance of keeping him at a distance.

“I thought I made myself clear,” he answered, the muscle in his jaw twitching. Great. He was digging a deeper hole for himself. Pretty soon he wouldn't be able to climb out of it.

“You can't order me to go to dinner with you,” she stated, her tone defiant.

“I told you—”

“If you want to talk business, we can do it here,” she said, interrupting him. “Right now, if you want.” Her lungs felt starved for air. She managed to take a short breath.

“I see.” Alex twisted his lips as he thought about how to proceed. It was hard to argue with her when she was right. “And your plans for the evening?”

“I canceled them.” She pressed her lips together when she read the look of satisfaction in his expression. “I didn't do it to please you, so you can wipe that smug look off your face.”

“You didn't?” He'd underestimated her, he decided as he studied her defensive stance.

“I canceled on the pretense that you had business to discuss with me.” Of course, her plans had only included going to her parents' house for a visit, but Alex didn't have to know the truth.

“And you can't discuss business over dinner?” He
had
wanted to discuss the Vinson deal, but it hadn't been the real reason he'd wanted to take her to dinner. He'd wanted to ask her what the hell was going on, why she wouldn't even look at him.

She bristled. “That's not the point and you know it. Sleeping with me for a weekend doesn't give you the right to make demands on my personal life.” Inside, Jennifer was shaking. She didn't know how she'd ever gotten that last statement out.

Alex actually choked. Whoa, he hadn't seen that coming. But he should have. He hired her knowing she was a tigress when it came to negotiating. He just hadn't thought he'd be the one negotiating with her.

Again.

Okay, so he wasn't going to win any points with her by debating his conduct. He'd behaved badly. It wasn't as though he hadn't known it. But he hadn't been able to stop from making a fool of himself just the same.

He reached out and took her hand before she even realized what he was doing. “I'm sorry, Jennifer.” Looking into her eyes, he shook his head. “You're right.”

“What?” Jennifer stared at him, her pulse racing from the way his thumb was making circles on her skin. His touch sent tingles of pleasure racing through her.

Alex stepped closer to her. “I had no business ordering you to go to dinner with me.”

His humbled expression stole the irritation right out of her. She looked into his eyes. “Why did you, Alex?”

He gave her a sad smile as he touched her hair. She had worn it up today and he'd done nothing but think about taking it down and running his fingers through it. He brushed a strand away from her face. “Because I can't stop thinking about making love with you.”

Her heart stopped. She hadn't expected to hear him admit he still wanted her. “Alex—”

Stepping closer, he slipped his hand around her neck.
“Can you honestly say you haven't thought about what it was like between us?” he asked, his voice husky.

She wanted to shake her head, to deny his suggestion, but God, she couldn't. Because she
had
thought about him. So many times she couldn't even count them. “What we had was…”