Untouched (9 page)

His movements mirrored mine- very fluid and smooth. He grabbed my hand and turned me; we were once again facing each other, our bodies stuck together as we span around so fast the floor came with us. As the song neared its end, he grabbed my waist and lifted me from the floor. He looked up at me, his eyes smoldering, his breathing harsh. I stared back into his dark jewels as he slowly guided me down his chest, forcing us closer, our breathing ragged, and our lips almost touching. The music stopped.

We stood, seemingly lost in each other’s eyes until the applause prompted me of my surroundings. Embarrassed, I skimmed the crowd noting the cheers from the men and the glares from the women. I motioned for him to release me and took several steps back from him. Oh, what did I just do?

I shifted my gaze, taking in the insanely hot man standing before me and was instantly angered. I turned away and hurried from the dance floor. My closeness to this insignificant man had affected me and I wouldn’t allow an audience to witness anymore than they already had. Damn him.

I made a beeline to the deck, which was as close to an escape as was possible. I saw a lighted gazebo off to the side. I exhaled deeply as I reached the steps, attempting to rid myself of what? Attraction? Passion? I didn’t know. I shook my head in utter confusion. Why was this happening?

I peered into the darkness laid out before me taking in the night, appreciating the way the moonlight shone on the water like a pale band of silver. Several moments passed; I had begun to relax, at least marginally. I was relieved to breathe air that was untainted with him. His presence had done what I’d come to expect- overtaken my willpower. Only a couple of hours and I would be able to break away from him completely, if only for a few days.

“Why did you run away?” Aiden’s sudden appearance both startled and aggravated me. Why, oh why, had he followed me out here? He placed his hands on either side of my shoulders and turned me to face him.

“Why did you run?” he asked again, bewildered. I made several attempts to speak but no words would come. Me? The person who had to constantly remind herself to put on a muzzle. “Did you not enjoy our dance?” He paused for my answer, which didn’t quite formulate in my brain. I enjoyed it much more than I should have. I was angry with him for that and with myself for the weakness he caused in me.

I shrugged his hands from my shoulders. He cocked his head to the side as though assessing his own question. “ No, that can’t be it because you were meeting me step for step which suggests you enjoyed yourself- I would wager more so than you care to admit. I also think you enjoyed watching me dance with Jennifer.” His lips twitching in an attempt to hide his amusement.

“You
were
watching rather intently,” he added.

So he’d noticed. Had he been putting on a show for me?

“I know you liked it,” he said, assessing my reaction. I lowered my gaze to his mouth, appreciating the way his lips formed as he spoke.

Without warning, his mouth was pressed against my lips. His touch, ferocious yet tender and sweet, as he cupped my jaw, drawing me closer. His hand on my hip, he guided me back alongside the gazebo. I responded instantly to his touch, to that undeniable pulse of heat that I felt earlier. His mouth moved urgently on mine, parting my lips and stroking deeply into my mouth. My body melted into his; I was once again lost. I pressed closer to him, my hands behind his neck, working my fingers into his hair. We were so close, so in sync, fitting perfectly as he lavished deep, lingering, soft licks into my mouth.

He gently broke our kiss. I looked up at him…meeting the tender, softness of his green eyes. He cupped my chin in his hands, holding my gaze, the mutual intensity building as the silence of the dark waters floated around us. With a soft smile, he licked his lips and pulled me to him again; I gently pushed him back, trying to clear the last few heated moments away.

“I’m sorry...I don’t know-”

“No, don’t.  Don’t apologize. This was nice; actually it was much more than nice. It was-”

“It was a mistake. Another fucking mistake,” I said. “This shouldn’t – this can’t happen,” I pointed out.

“Why?” he asked

“Why?” I repeated. I looked at him as though he was suffering from a case of idiocy. As intelligent as he was, he clearly possessed tunnel vision when in pursuit of pussy!

“What do you mean
why
? You know why,” I said.

“No, quite frankly I don’t. What? Are you going to say it’s because I work for you? Is that the best you can come up with? Give me a fucking break. This is insane! You want this as badly as I do,” he stated.

“I can see how you would think that given recent events but-”

“The problem here is that it’s not on your terms. You analyze everything. Don’t you think I saw that in your eyes when I asked you to dance or when I ask you anything that isn’t business-related? Are you literally unable to refrain from being such a self-contained martinet that you can’t just go with what makes you feel good? To let yourself feel something?”

“How dare you! How dare you sum me up in that way! You don’t know a damn thing about me. Oh, so you think just because we danced to a song that quite frankly would have made anyone a little flushed, that it meant something? Well just to set the record straight…it didn’t. It was a dance…nothing more. And this,” I motioned my hands indicating the two of us, “absolutely should not have happened.”

We stood in silence glowering at each other; it appeared he was as offended as I. Why the fuck was he offended? I had been embarrassed and treated like a common whore! I was the victim here, not him!

“What would you have me do at this point Miss Cason?” “Apologize? Agree?” he asked flippantly.

“No, I actually don’t expect you to apologize because that would require something that you obviously don’t possess; therefore in response to your question, the only thing you can do for me from this point, Mr. Wyatt, is your fucking job. And just to clarify, that doesn’t include fucking the boss.”

I turned toward the bench in the gazebo. I sat down and saw that he hadn’t moved. I looked up at him. Damn, damn, damn. Why did he have to be so fucking hot? He really was one gorgeous man. Why did he have to work at RPH? Why was this so damn hard? He’d really gotten under my skin and he knew it. How was I supposed to play this now? “Is there something else?” I demanded.

“No, I was merely giving you a moment…you know, in case you changed your mind. Oddly enough, women are known to do that from time to time, and we both know that you have a time or two… at least recently anyway,” he said.

Asshole. What was I thinking, dancing with him that way? It was blatantly obvious that I was as affected by our recent jousting as he was. Even if I’d had the remotest of chances to convince him that this afternoon was meaningless, I didn’t’ now. 

“We both know what your problem is.”

“I don’t have a problem, Aiden,” I countered.

“Sure you do,” he replied matter-of-factly. “It’s the fact that someone else is in control of something that you enjoy. You can’t stand it.”

“Go to hell,” I said as I stood to walk past him. I stepped around him attempting to leave the gazebo but he blocked my exit.

“Why would you let your control issues result in your deprivation?” he asked, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“I find it amusing that my refusal of your services equates to deprivation. Your arrogance is very unflattering but I’m sure you’re aware of that.”

“I’m positive that you were quite pleased with my services and my demeanor earlier; first I’ve heard of it described as arrogance.”

“What I would find pleasing at the moment is having you out of my sight, please move,” I said.

“You really aren’t capable of appreciating pleasure unless you’re in control, are you? If it makes it easier, I’m willing to let you dominate me once or twice,” he replied, smirking.

My mouth dropped open. The audacity of this guy knew no end. I honestly had no words- I mean none!

“You want everything to be controlled and planned. That’s not how the world works Miss Cason.”

“Oh, so you think you have me all figured out? How much time did you spend analyzing me to come up with your totally unsolicited opinions? I don’t give a damn what you think of me. You don’t know a fucking thing about me. I will say that I find it interesting that you can sum me up in one or two sentences but you don’t know a fucking thing about yourself. You bolt from career to career and city to city…trying to find yourself. You don’t even know you! How the fuck can you know me?” I snapped.

He frowned. “You have quite the foul mouth,” he replied, totally unaffected by my assertion.

“Foul mouth? Me? As if nasty little words have never trickled from your tongue. I distinctly recall several explicit terms dripping from your lips when you gagged me in my fucking office! If I want to say fuck, I’ll say fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! What the fuck are you going to do about it?”

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity and a smile gradually crossed his lips. I finally smiled too, biting my lip to avoid laughing.

“What are we doing Aria? Why are we making this so difficult? Let’s not try to define it or struggle for control. Just go with it. Can you do that?” he asked. I could see the desire in his eyes which made me want to give him what he wanted- what I also wanted, but I knew this was wrong for me.

I sighed. “Aiden, to be honest, I think this is a horrible idea and I can’t see it causing anything but trouble. I know you must see that too. I just don’t understand why you’re pushing this. Why can't you just leave this alone?”

“Haven't you ever been inexplicably drawn to something or someone? When I walked into that conference room, the instant you turned and our eyes met, that was our defining moment. I’ll admit that I initially brushed it off as merely a sexual attraction but once I witnessed the many facets of your beauty, your intelligence, your passion…I knew it was more. I wanted to get to know you. I wanted you. I still want you,” he said, his voice a deep sexy whisper.

He had the same effect on me but unlike him, I knew that if we succumbed to this, disaster was inevitable. We needed to resolve whatever this was now because I couldn’t take it anymore. His relentless pursuit, his unwavering stance…just him! It was too much!

“Do you realize that you’re behavior screams sexual harassment? Is that what you want? To be fired for something as mundane as getting another notch on your belt?” I asked.

His gorgeous eyes, initially pensive were immediately clouded with anger. With practiced calm he asked, “Is that what you want? Do you really want me out of your life in that way?”

“Yes...I do. If that's what it takes, then yes.”

“Really?” he implored.

Unfortunate for me, my resolve was at level zero. I sighed in defeat. “No, it's not what I want but I can't keep doing this with you. Please. You’ve got to let this go,” I pleaded.

“That’s not what you want. If you did, you would have made that clear long ago. So let’s forgo that discussion and come up with a way to make this work.”

No matter what I said, he wouldn’t believe me. I mean, given everything that had happened, why should he?

“You’re struggling with this; I can see that. Obviously part of your reservation is due to the nature of our professional relationship. I understand your position and I appreciate your being cautious; however, I’m confident that we can be mature and keep this to ourselves.”

He was right, part of my trepidation was due to our business relationship but even more of it had to do with my feeling powerless in this situation. I didn’t have an answer for him. At least not one that I was prepared to reveal.

“As entertaining as this stop-and-go scenario has been thus far, I would like to suggest we take a different route with this. Since you find me arrogant, I will preface my next statement by saying that I by no means intend for this to come off that way but I know you want me.”

“Look-” I started.

“Before you get defensive, I know that it’s intense, on
both
sides; I can admit that.”

He took a step closer to me. I closed my eyes and inhaled which was a very bad idea because I was breathing in more of him.

I watched his eyes darken as they darted from my eyes to my lips. “What?” I asked.

“How long are you going to make me wait to fuck that hot tight cunt of yours again?”

I would have normally been offended if a guy said some shit like that to me but coming from him, it was such a turn on. Virginia was jumping at the bit.

“You already know we can be good together, let me show you how much better it can be,” he coaxed.  “My internship ends in what two months? Just give me the next two months.”

I shook my head.

“Ok, one month…and if you still have objections, I’ll drop it.”

“Just like that?” I asked.

“Just like that,” he replied.

“I want this to stop now, not in two months, not in one month. Why aren’t you grasping that?”

He sighed and glanced at the evening sky. I followed his gaze and was amazed at the magnificence the sky displayed. The stars were extraordinarily bright as they twinkled, looking down at us. How many times had I looked up and saw a star-filled night and thought nothing of it. Tonight it was different somehow. It was exceptionally beautiful; a night that lovers would find romantic as they moved on the liquid darkness with a subtle breeze stirring the scent of love. But Aiden and I were not lovers, we were co-workers. Not even that in fact; he was an intern who would be leaving my company in the very near future. I lowered my eyes to reach his beautiful face. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and then looked back at me. He looked… defeated? That couldn’t be right.