"What is it?"
Now she just felt foolish. "It"s just that I-" She released a shuddering breath, shocked she was about to confess such a thing. "I want you so much. It almost hurts."
131.
Alex gripped the edge of the table with one hand, his fingers curling into the white tablecloth. He stared at her, his breath increasing, his eyes darkening until there was almost no blue in their depths. Just pure, turbulent gray. "You should eat."
Slowly she shook her head and kicked off her shoe, stretching out her foot so it rested on top of his. "I don"t think I can." He shrugged, his nonchalance strained. Triumph surged through her. She affected him, more than he cared to admit. "It"s your loss. The food is excellent."
"I"m sure it is." Smiling, she grabbed her fork and stabbed it into the giant scallop on her plate, cutting off a small piece before bringing it to her lips. All the while she slipped her bare foot beneath the hem of his pant leg, touching his muscular calf and stroking him with the tips of her toes.
His penetrating stare nearly made her wobble but she kept it together.
Slowly she chewed, the taste of the b.u.t.tery fresh scallop bursting onto her tongue. Her big toe streaked down his leg and he jolted beneath her touch.
She felt bold, uninhibited. It was completely unlike her past, almost timid behavior the last few nights with Alex.
She wondered if he liked it.
"Don"t start something you can"t finish," he warned, his voice dark and silky.
"Not here."
"What are you talking about?" She blinked at him as she continued to rub her toes up and down his warm calf, the hairs that grew there tickling her.
"I don"t like to be teased, Tessa."
"Oh, what"s the fun in that?" She dropped her foot away from his leg, swore she saw a flicker of disappointment in his gaze. But she resumed eating her meal, reluctantly admitting that the cuisine was indeed most excellent.
132.
As was the company she kept, the ambiance, the service. Everything about tonight was completely, utterly perfect.
Tomorrow they returned to New York. Would they resume their old roles?
Or would their relationship take on a different level. It was far too nerve-wracking to contemplate yet she couldn"t avoid it forever.
She was too scared to mention it to Alex, though. Didn"t want to know if he"d scoff, if he"d tell her just how foolish she was. She couldn"t face that sort of reality. Not yet.
They didn"t linger over their meal, Alex indicating to the waitress he wanted the check soon after Tessa took her last bite. Eagerness seemed to infuse him, making his movements almost jerky, rather impatient and, after he signed the bill and shoved his credit card back into his wallet, he stood.
"Ready to go?"
She nodded, standing when he pulled her chair out for her. He had such impeccable manners, was such a gentleman.
Powerful, rather demanding, impatient, gorgeous, stubborn, all of his traits created a most impressive man. Women stared as they walked through the restaurant toward the entrance and Tessa filled with pride. He walked beside her, his hand resting low on the bare skin of her back, his hot fingers branding her to the very depths of her soul. Marking her as his property.
It was such a base, rather old-fashioned way of thinking, and not particularly liberating but Tessa didn"t care. She wanted to belong to him. Permanently.
They climbed into the back seat of the hired car. As soon as the driver shut the door Alex was on her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. His hands splayed across her bare back and his mouth fused with hers, tasting the wine they"d drank with dinner.
133.
She could do nothing but sink into the kiss, sliding her arms around his neck.
She thrust her fingers into his silky soft hair, twining her fingers around the short strands as he stroked her tongue with his. His hands wandered, one slowly slipping beneath the skirt of her dress and along her thigh, all the way up to her hip, pausing when he realized her secret.
Breaking the kiss, he stared down at her, his breathing ragged, pupils dilated. "You"re not wearing any panties."
"I forgot?" She leaned in and pressed her mouth to his neck, darting out her tongue to lick his warm flesh. She could taste him all night, nibble and kiss and suck.
"Mmm, such a wicked little kitten." Her heart threatened to pound out of her body when his fingers slid sensuously over her hip to glide down the slope of her stomach, coming perilously close to her s.e.x. She spread her legs the slightest bit, giving him the advantage, waiting breathlessly for his a.s.sured touch.
His fingers stopped just at her mound, his hand going still, large and hot against her. She squirmed, lifted her hips, trying to get his fingers to slide down further, but he remained frozen. Taunting her.
Teasing her.
The car pulled away from the curb and into heavy traffic. The hotel was at least fifteen minutes away, perhaps longer what with the busy streets and Alex had made sure the gla.s.s part.i.tion between the front and back seats was already up, giving them complete privacy.
Thank goodness. She"d been so lost to his kisses she probably wouldn"t have noticed if they gave the driver a raunchy backseat show.
"Alex." She glared at him, trying to scowl but not having much success.
"Stop teasing."
He lifted his brows. "You"re the one who teased me in the restaurant." 134 "Oh, it was only for a few seconds-and with my toes." She rolled her eyes, her entire body attuned to his hand resting on her lower body.
Slowly, he squeezed her, his fingers sliding down and cupping her s.e.x.
"Your toes drive me wild," he whispered. "Everything about you drives me wild."
She went liquid in his arms, her bones dissolving to nothing. He hovered over her, his face so close to hers their noses touched, his arm supporting her back, his other hand still cupping her most intimate spot. Releasing a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes, overwhelmed by how thoroughly he surrounded her.
He pressed one finger against her slit, applying pressure until it slipped between her soaked folds. "Open your eyes. I want you to watch me when I make you come."
Her lids fluttered open, and she met his heated gaze. Slowly he stroked her, his touch light, driving her even wilder than if he"d been aggressive and purposeful. She lifted her hips against his touch, keeping rhythm with his patient strokes and when he brushed his thumb across her c.l.i.t she gasped.
"Does that feel good, kitten?"
She loved how he called her kitten. It made her feel sweet and feminine, yet wicked and dangerous with the potential to bear her fangs and wield her claws.
"So good," she confessed softly.
"Hmm, my girl prefers a gentle touch." He stroked her, up and down, around and around, thrusting first one, then two fingers deep inside her sheath.
She moaned, desperately trying to keep her eyes open but lost to the sensations his touch brought forth.
He tightened his arm around her shoulders, his fingers pressing into her flesh. She studied his face, the grim determination glittering in his eyes, the tension in his broad jaw. He held himself in check, sweat dotted his forehead and 135.
she grasped at his tie, tugging on it so she could bring his face in closer and capture his lips with her own.
She kissed him thoroughly, her tongue thrusting in time with his fingers, her hips rubbing against his hand. She wanted to come so badly, was so desperate for it, that when her climax finally washed over her she broke away from his mouth to offer a keening cry.
"Open your eyes," he demanded and she did, staring into his gaze as the tremors took over her body. It was such an intimate moment, raw and primitive she was tempted to declare her love for him right then and there.
Tessa couldn"t deny it any longer. She was in love with him. So completely in love with him she would do anything, give anything to be with him forever. Not just as his a.s.sistant but as his lover, friend, companion.
Wife.
Big dreams for a silly little girl. She bit her lip, silently chastising herself for the near slip. He didn"t want to hear declarations of love. He wanted to enjoy an illicit affair while they were away from the office and nothing more.
"G.o.d, you"re beautiful." He kissed her softly, a chaste kiss full of emotion she didn"t want to overa.n.a.lyze. His fingers were still in her body, still gently playing with her and just like that her entire body tingled. "I bet I could make you come again."
She laughed and closed her eyes. "You"re about to do so right now if you keep touching me like that."
"Would you like it if I did?"
Tessa opened her eyes and said the words, the closest she would come to revealing her true feelings. "I would love it," she whispered.
136.
Chapter Eleven.
Tessa tossed and turned throughout the night, unable to sleep for longer than an hour or two at a time. Too worried over how Alex might treat her upon their return to the office in the morning.
He"d been quite the ardent lover their last night together in London, never letting her sleep, doing things to her body that were probably illegal in many states and plenty of countries. On their flight back to New York they utilized the private bedroom, lying in the small, cozy bed beneath the thick velvet coverlet naked. Stroking each other, teasing each other until he"d finally wrapped his big hands around her waist and hauled her on top of him.
She proceeded to ride him for long, glorious minutes, sliding up and down his length so slowly he"d growled in frustration and shown her exactly what he"d wanted her to do.
Two different times.
Alex had driven her to her Brooklyn apartment personally, kissing her for long, delicious minutes before he"d finally urged her out of the car. She"d let herself into the quiet apartment and collapsed into bed, where she"d slept twelve hours straight. When she"d woken up, her luggage had already been delivered along with a note, slipped inside one of her suitcases: Rest this weekend, kitten. I"ll see you Monday morning.
Alex No love, Alex, of course. But there"d been no indication of the possibility of seeing each other the rest of the weekend either. Which was fine, really it was.
She was so tired. She"d spent the rest of her Sat.u.r.day lounging around, fielding questions from her curious roommate about her European trip. They"d even gone out to dinner that night, laughing and talking and having a great time.
Sunday she"d spent the morning doing laundry then found herself trying on an endless amount of clothes at a little boutique, trying to find something new to wear for Monday.
For Alex.
She found shoes. Black, peep toe, four-inch heels that elongated her legs and made her feel s.e.xy. She"d strode into the Worth building with confident steps Monday morning, tossing back her hair while waving at the security guard, ever present behind his desk. The office was quiet for she was early and when she arrived at her desk, she was pleasantly surprised to find Alex already there.
Within in his office and on the phone with the door closed.
He"d caught sight of her through the window that faced her desk. Their gazes met and he offered a quick closed mouth smile before he returned his attention to whomever he spoke to on the phone.
Fighting disappointment, she settled at her desk, sighing when she saw the endless list of unopened emails she needed to go through. She didn"t want to pick up the phone, the number of voicemails she knew were waiting for her too overwhelming to contemplate.
It was going to be an even busier Monday than usual. Really, what had she thought would happen? That he would greet her at her desk with a tender embrace and a warm kiss? Ask her to go to lunch with him with promises of a quickie during the noon hour?
138.
She was completely ridiculous if she really believed something like that could happen. Alexander Worth was above all else, pure business.
He never once came out of his office the entire morning, so wrapped up in various phone calls he rarely moved from his desk. Didn"t even send her an email or a brief text message to let her know he was thinking of her, much to her disappointment. He had to be just as swamped as she. She knew this, but it felt like a sort of rejection.
It stung.
Her phone rang just before lunch, the human resources manager asking if she would come see her right away. Perplexed, Tessa took the elevator down five floors to the human resources offices and knocked on the manager"s open office door.
"Come in, Tessa," Becky called.
Tessa entered the office, stopping short when she saw Hunter sitting in one of the chairs. He was just as tall, almost as broad as Alex and his commanding presence filled the tiny office. He offered her a smile in greeting but it didn"t quite reach his eyes.
"Sit down, Tessa." His voice was firm, and not very friendly.
Unease slithered down her spine and she sat in the chair next to Hunter"s.
When Becky stood and shut the door with a quiet click, Tessa immediately sensed something was up.
She felt as if she"d done something terribly wrong. Had they found out about her affair with Alex? Was she going to get in trouble for it? Alex was just as guilty, and why would he allow her to get in trouble? Didn"t he care about her- at least a tiny bit?
"First off, you didn"t do anything wrong, Tessa." Becky smiled rea.s.suringly, her voice soft and soothing.
139.
Tessa clasped her hands in her lap, trying her best to remain composed.
"What is this about?"
"We had some-issues unfold while you were in Europe with my brother." Hunter leaned forward, his gaze locked on her face. "Now that you"re back, we need to talk to you."
"What happened?"
"Information is being leaked, private information regarding Worth and we believe it"s an inside job."
She stiffened. "I wouldn"t know anything about it."
"We"re just wondering if you"ve seen any suspicious activity," Becky added.
"Regarding anyone within the office? Not that I"m aware of." Tessa glanced from Hunter to Becky. They didn"t appear particularly impressed with her answer.