For One Night Only (20 page)

Bethany
found trying to concentrate on what was being said impossible. She sat back in her seat as far as she could, but still his eyes found her. Clasping her hands in her lap to steady her nerves, she flicked a glance his way. Their eyes caught and held.
Bethany’s stomach lurched again, and she couldn’t look away. She would never forget until the day she died the torment she saw in his eyes. It was Ruben who finally broke the contact. She saw a warmth creep into his gaze moments before he chased it away. His mouth set into a hard line as he dropped his head.

She wanted to cry, right there, in front of them all. Blinking away her tears, she wondered if he knew how much she still loved him and how hard it was to stay away. Many times she had doubted her decision and was ashamed of how she’d left things with him. If there had been any other way, she would have taken it, although she knew he would have talked her around. In all honesty, she still wasn’t sure she would be able to resist him now. He’d lost a little weight, but was still heart-stoppingly gorgeous. The black suit he wore had been one of her favorites. Glancing up to find him staring at her again, she quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to see the pain she had caused.

The war of words in her head began again, as it had almost constantly since they parted.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She had nothing to feel guilty for. If Ruben was suffering, it was his own doing. He surely didn’t expect her to stay with him after what he’d done? He was to blame for the misery they were both going through. He’d known from the beginning how important honesty was to her.

‘
Bethany?’ Karen’s voice brought her sharply back into focus as she realized the woman was waiting for a reply. Scanning the table, she realized all eyes, including Ruben’s, were on her.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.’

Karen laughed. ‘Hey, I know this is pretty boring stuff.’ A flush spread over
Bethany’s face as she realized that was the only way they could have interpreted her apparent lack of interest. ‘I asked if you would like to say a few words.’

Oh shit!
She hadn’t prepared anything. Admitting that as she got to her feet, she struggled to find the right words. ‘Okay. Well, let me first say that I have loved my time working with you all…and…. and I am sorry to be leaving—’

‘Then why are you?’ Ruben cut in abruptly, almost daring her to admit the truth.

Fuming at being put on the spot,
Bethany stared right back at him. ‘Let’s just say my life took an unexpected turn and leave it at that.’ Dismissing him, she turned back to the table. ‘I wish you all the best of luck in achieving our aims. You’re a wonderful group of people.’ She stopped when her voice cracked, sinking back down into her seat.

Karen wrapped up the meeting after officially welcoming Mark, joking with him that his predecessor would be a hard act to follow.
Bethany smiled at him then, hoping he wouldn’t panic too much at Karen’s teasing. The sound of a glass being slammed down onto the teak tabletop brought their eyes sharply around to stare at Ruben.

An awkward silence followed until Karen began ushering people out of the boardroom, passed the head of the table.
Bethany took as much time as she dared gathering her notes, cursing under her breath as she saw Ruben had every intention of staying exactly where he was until she was forced to pass him.

He got to his feet as she approached, but turned his back to her, blocking her exit from the room as he began shaking hands with the other board members on their way out of the door. Sighing at his obvious tactic,
Bethany put her briefcase down. It was clear he wanted to talk and she guessed she owed him that much.

Following the last person to the door to close it behind them, he clicked it quietly shut, pausing for a moment with his hand on the doorknob, as if thinking. He turned without looking at her and crossed to the huge windows offering a panoramic view of the city below.

Unable to stand the silence any longer,
Bethany spoke. ‘So, how have you been?’

‘How do you think I have been?’ His harsh response was no surprise. His eyes flicked over her, assessing her coldly. ‘You look like you’ve been taking our split much better than me. You look well.’ She had no idea how to respond to that. There was no way he could know what she’d been going through. Returning to his seat, he dragged his hands through his hair before leaning forward to stare up at her.

‘What happened, Beth?’ His eyes were earnest and the pain she saw tore at her heart. ‘What did I do that was so bad you had to run away from me?’ She couldn’t stop the tears spilling over then. Having survived the last few weeks on anger, damning him for ruining what they had, she wasn’t prepared for the raw emotion hanging between them.

‘I don’t understand,’ he continued. ‘The tests came back negative. Hell, even if they hadn’t it wouldn’t make any difference to us, Beth.’ Pushing himself to his feet, he came to stand before her. ‘I wouldn’t have been involved in the child’s life. There is no way I am ready to be a father.’

‘So you would have turned your back on a child?’ Her voice shook with barely controlled anger.
Did she even know this man?

‘You don’t think very much of me do you?’ He shook his head, a half smile that didn’t reach his sad eyes making it clear he knew the answer. ‘If I chose to have a child, that would be different, but I won’t have one forced on me. Like I said, I’m not ready now…if ever.’

A sob tore from her throat, shocking them both. Scrambling for her belongings, she ran for the door. ‘I can’t do this anymore…’

‘Beth, what’s wrong?’ he asked, rushing to take her in his arms. She allowed herself to stand in the circle of his warmth for a few seconds, breathing him in. God, she’d missed this feeling. A hand in her hair brought her back to her senses. He was misreading her reaction.

‘Ruben, just let me go,’ she pleaded, looking up at him. His arms dropped limply to his sides and he took a step back, before turning away. Unable to look at him again, she slipped quickly out of the door, running down the hall with tears streaming down her face. She didn’t breathe again until she was in the safety of the elevator.

‘
I
am not ready to be a father…’

His words ran through her head repeatedly. Strangely enough, they helped
Bethany immensely in her decision, convincing her she’d been right not to tell him she was expecting his baby.

Chapter 18

He watched her through deeply intoxicated eyes. The dance she performed was only for him—or at least that’s how she made it seem. He was warming to the bold invitation in her eyes and movements. There were many other girls around her on the dance floor, but his gaze was locked on her, and she knew it.

My God
. How long had it been since he’d actually thought about the effect he had on women? He’d forgotten that all he had to do was turn up somewhere and he could usually have whoever he wanted. It didn’t mean much, but it was true.

He’d tried explaining the phenomenon to Beth, but she had simply laughed and called him an egomaniac.
Hell, he wasn’t stupid.
He knew they didn’t want him…not really. Women wanted what he represented.
Excitement. Sex
. An escape from what they considered a boring life.

They had no idea what boredom was. Boredom was seeing the inside of a different hotel room every night for three months. Boredom was passport control, airline lounges and limo rides. It was being so tired after a grueling day that you only had the time and energy to eat and sleep.

In the early days, he taken up many of the offers thrown his way, his head turned by the sudden availability of hot women. As he got older, the novelty had worn off. Before
Bethany, he had still indulged himself every once in a while. If a body was tired and needed to lose itself for a couple of hours, what better way was there than with a beautiful woman who wanted to please?

The blonde began to move closer, dancing directly in front of his table. Smiling at her briefly, he signaled the waiter for another beer. He lost count of how many he’d actually had. The need to dull the raw pain caused by seeing Beth earlier had been overwhelming. She’d walked away from him again. He’d known it was foolish to risk seeing her at the meeting, but he really had no choice. He had to be there. Had to try one more time.

He drank very rarely and got drunk even less—this wasn’t going to be one of those times.

‘Blondie’ continued to writhe in front of him. If her movements became anymore suggestive, they would be foreplay. Ruben’s cock became a little more interested in what was going on as the white suede skirt she wore rode further up her thighs. Her top confused him. It looked like a handkerchief worn as a halter neck. The same color as her skirt, it became almost transparent under the lights. She had a great pair of implants—he’d give her that. At least he thought they were implants. Breasts that size didn’t usually defy gravity, he giggled to himself. His humor confused her and she lost a little of her confidence until he crooked a finger, beckoning her over.

Looking triumphant, she glanced around quickly to ensure he had been gesturing to her before sliding into the booth with him. He’d seen the look in her eyes many times before on numerous faces—both male and female. Of course, it was only ever the women who got lucky…and he was about to make this girl’s night.

An hour later, he regretted leading her on. Angie—at least he thought that was her name—was sucking on him hard, trying to elicit a response. She’d invited him back to her hotel soon after joining him at the club. Even in his drunken state, he’d felt compelled to warn her that he couldn’t stay and was leaving town the following morning. Her reply had been to just relax and ‘go with the flow’.

Up close, she was a little younger than she’d looked at first glance, but not so young that he needed to worry about it. Regardless of her age, her experience became apparent as her mouth worked over him feverishly. Expert lips slid firmly down his shaft as she cradled his balls in her hand. Suddenly she stopped, sitting back on her heels with a sigh.

‘Don’t you like me?’ Her pout was quite endearing and was the most natural thing he seen her do in the short time he had known her.

‘I am sorry. I guess I am a little drunk.’ Hoping she bought his lame excuse, he smiled in reassurance. He didn’t know her or particularly care how she felt, but he wasn’t cruel. Berating himself, he resolved to try harder. ‘I love what you are doing, don’t stop,’ he lied smoothly.

Angie seemed satisfied, smiling seductively before dipping her head again. Ruben tried to focus on the cherry red lips sliding up and down his cock. He loved getting head. He just wished it were
Bethany doing it to him.

His penis sprang to life at the thought of her. Closing his eyes, he grasped onto the image of her in his mind. His beautiful Beth had her mouth on him, groaning in that little way she did as she became aroused by his response to her. Angie increased her efforts, encouraged by his reaction.

Ruben kept his eyes closed. He didn’t want to lose his fantasy. She moved to lay beside him, continuing to stimulate him with her hand. He guessed she wanted him to reciprocate, but he couldn’t. She wouldn’t smell or taste like Beth and the illusion would be shattered.

Groping blindly at the nightstand, he flicked off the light without looking at her again, before sliding on a condom and positioning himself over her.

‘Oh, wow! Fuck me, baby,’ she said in a plastic, porn star voice as he parted her legs, entering her quickly.

Ruben grimaced as he hushed her. ‘I had too much to drink. I need to concentrate,’ he lied. He didn’t think too hard on the ethics of what he was doing—he was simply trying to find a way to give her what she wanted and then get the hell out of there.

Beth…think of Beth
, he repeated over and over in his mind as his erection began to subside.
Think of her body and how it feels when you sink into her pussy. Remember her taste —the one you can never get enough of. Those hands on your ass are hers, pulling you deeper. She likes me to fuck her hard…like this…just like this. And when I am pounding into her, she cries out my name, telling me how good it feels. I can feel she is getting wetter now. She loves my cock inside her, loves to feel every inch of me. I can feel her muscles tingling…feel the spasms begin to ripple through her and over me. She will come soon. My sweet Beth will come for me…with me.

‘Beth!’ he shouted hoarsely as the sudden orgasm caught him unawares. He grasped for the sensation, burying himself as deeply as he could into ‘her’ body. Holding his breath, he savored the feeling, trying to prolong it. The spasms began to subside, robbing him of the connection, bringing him back to the harsh reality that he wasn’t with the woman he loved.

The one he
was
with didn’t seem too happy if the way she pushed him off was anything to go by. ‘My name is Angie,’ she said, acid dripping from every word. ‘Don’t you remember?’

He answered, without looking at her. ‘Sorry. I did warn you that I was pretty drunk.’