Jameson
Two minutes to seven. Cecilia would be here soon and I needed to settle down. I paced the dock, waiting for her to arrive. I was a calm individual. I thrived off pressure. My brother swore I needed things to be stressful in order for me to get the job done. Maybe I did. But nothing rattled me. Not until her.
I didn’t lack confidence when it came to women. When I met her I had all the control. I set it up so she had to say yes. That was no longer the case. If I wanted a do over I’d have to prove myself in ways I’d never had to before. She was giving me one shot. This time she held the power and I had to accept that if I was going to get what I wanted.
When I saw her last night, every miserable thought I’d had about myself came crashing to the surface. I had been such a jerk to her during a difficult time in her life. She was better off without me. I hadn’t meant to invite her here tonight, but when I walked into that reception and found her sitting alone at the bar, all the feelings I swore I didn’t have for her couldn’t be ignored. No matter how much I tried to deny there was anything between us or how much I wanted to believe she had fallen for me, and I could never reciprocate were exposed as a lie. Seeing her last night ignited something deep within me, and when I gazed into her eyes, I knew I would never stop. Not until she was truly mine.
I ceased pacing when the headlights gleamed off the water. She parked her car, an older black Nissan, into the spot just before the dock entrance. I was happy to see she’d finally gotten a car and didn’t have to walk.
She came toward me, her long slender legs adorned in a high pair of stilettos that accentuated her calves. The tiny dark dress dipped low, revealing her subtle cleavage. Her shoulders were bare except for the thin straps of the halter that fit snug around her neck. She’d worn her hair up. It wasn’t as elaborate as last night, and as she made her way closer to me I noted her makeup wasn’t as heavy as it was twenty-four hours ago. Either way she was magnificent but I preferred her natural and innocent.
“Jameson.” She dropped her keys in her bag before meeting my stare.
Controlling the commotion inside my pants wasn’t easy, but when she said my name, I had to admit I didn’t have much command over anything much less my arousal. This woman was worse than any other addiction I had. She was far more dangerous, but when had I ever cared about such things?
“I’m glad you’re here.” I took her hand and grazed her knuckles along my lips. Did I just make her shiver?
“Where is here?” She glanced over my shoulder and stared at my newest toy.
I kept her hand in mine as I led her toward the boat at the end of the dock. “I just bought this a few weeks ago.” We stepped on board. “This is the first time I’m entertaining on it.”
“This is yours?” She gazed around my yacht. “It’s the biggest one in the marina.”
“Really?” What could I say? “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Hmm.” She smiled. “It’s lovely.”
“It’s a perfect night for a sail.” I pointed toward the glass windows that overlooked the water. “I thought we could eat out there.” I’d had the staff set up a light dinner before dismissing them for the evening. The captain was on board but he would be too occupied to worry about what I was doing tonight. Not that I had any plans to do anything other than get to know her better.
“I’ve never been on a boat before,” she said.
“We can stay docked if you’re uncomfortable.” It didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to be with her. “But out there you can’t run from me.”
“I could swim.” She giggled but I wondered how much truth her statement held. She walked over to the windows. “It’s so pretty on the water.”
“Are you hungry?” I opened the sliding doors that led to the deck. “Dinner was just prepared before you got here.” Everything was placed in heated pans and would be ready when we were. “I ordered several items because I wasn’t sure what you would like.”
“I’m not picky.” She stepped outside, a cool breeze danced over us. “I’m sure whatever you have is fine.”
“Should I send the captain home or would you like to go out for a bit?”
She gazed out at the water, debating for a moment. What was going through her head? Was it a tough decision for her to join me tonight? Had she thought about me the way I had her this last year? Had she forgotten what I’d done to her? How I treated her? Could she ever really let that go? She was here so that had to mean something.
I stepped behind her, placing my hand on her hip. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”
She nodded as the cool air ghosted over us again. “I want to.”
“Perfect.” I took my cell from my pocket and shot the captain a quick text telling him we were ready. “Would you like a glass of wine?” When I ran my fingers down her arm, her skin prickled under my touch. I wouldn’t be able to join her but I’d picked up a bottle of wine to be hospitable.
“You don’t drink.” She turned to face me. “Is that still true?”
“It’ll always be true.” I shrugged. “I don’t mind if you drink.”
“How come you don’t drink?”
Transparency? There was a thought. I pulled out her chair and motioned for her to take a seat. “Would you like to start with some appetizers?” I nodded toward the assortment of fruit and cheeses on the table.
“Sure.” She sat down and placed her napkin in her lap. “Are you going to answer my question?”
“Is it important to you?” I sat across from her. “The answer?”
“Am I getting a limited amount of questions?”
“No.” I grinned when I realized she was challenging me. “You can ask me whatever you want. I want things to be different this time.”
“Then yes, it is important to me.”
“I’m a recovering alcoholic and drug addict.” I waited for her expression to change. For her to give me some indication that she was disgusted by my admission. “I’ve been clean for three years.”
“Good for you. That’s quite an accomplishment but I’m sure it was also a struggle.”
“In the beginning of my recovery I relied heavily on my work to keep me busy. I came out of rehab and put everything I had into my firm. It’s very successful. So successful that I don’t have time to struggle anymore. One day I woke up and realized I never think about drinking or using.”
“Your sobriety has become a way of life?”
“Something like that but sometimes I need to distract myself with activities other than my work.”
She leaned forward, tilting her head to the side but she didn’t say anything.
What are you thinking, gorgeous?
“Was I the distraction?”
The boat took off as I pondered her question.
“I told you last night,” she said. “I’m not the same person I was a year ago so if you invited me here because you thought I would–”
“No.” I cut her off. “I asked you here because I need to make amends for what I’ve done.”
“You really don’t have to.”
“Yeah.” I reached across the table and took her hand. “I do.”
“That’s not going to work for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You asked for one dinner,” she said. “If you want me to stay I don’t want to talk about what we did before. I’ve tried hard to put it behind me.”
“You’ll give me a chance if I don’t apologize?” I hadn’t expected that.
“I’ll give you tonight.”
“I’ll take that.” For now...
Cecilia
Two hours later, the boat was back in the marina. Dinner was fabulous and the conversation was even better. I’d built Jameson up to be this amazing man in my mind because I didn’t know him at all. Learning that he was a bit flawed made him more approachable. In a span of a hundred and twenty minutes I’d learned he was a recovering addict, an exceptional political consultant, one of three boys, a workaholic, and a safe bet to say he was probably a billionaire.
When I came here tonight I had every intention of giving him a harder time. I thought if I wasn’t as agreeable he couldn’t hurt me. I still wasn’t ready to rush into anything with him, but getting to know him helped me change my perception of him.
As the night came to a close I wondered what would happen next. Would he want to see me again now that he had attempted to make his peace with what we had done last year? Was I a loose end that needed to be taken care of?
As I gazed out at the water, he came and stood behind me much like he had when the evening began, but this time he wrapped his arms around my waist. My body tingled with anticipation. I recalled what passion he could draw from me when he was behind me. My legs quivered as I held onto the railing in front of me.
“Sorry, I had to step away.” He inched closer until his chest was flush with my back. “I wanted to tell the captain he could leave for the night.”
“It’s okay.” I tried to focus on the lights and the other beautiful boats in the distance but all I wanted was for him to touch more of me. “I had a wonderful time.”
“I’m glad you agreed to this evening.”
“Me too.” I faced him, leaning against the railing. When the night breeze caressed my neck and shoulders, I trembled. “It’s getting late. I should probably go.”
“Can I see you again?” He took his jacket off and draped it over me. “Maybe a date next time since you said this one wasn’t.”
“Maybe I changed my mind about that.” I motioned around the deck. “This was a really elaborate evening.”
“This.” His face lit up in amusement. “Was nothing.”
“Maybe for you.”
“I’m happy you enjoyed tonight but I want to see you again.”
“When?” Any thoughts I may have had about staying strong and standing my ground when it came to him were shot to hell. I was a goner as soon as I saw him on the marina.
“Soon.”
“You have my number.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little longer?”
“I can’t.” I could but I was afraid of what was coming next. Not that I didn’t want what was coming next but this time we had to take this slower. This? Whatever this was. “I have an interview tomorrow morning.”
“You’re looking for a new job?”
“I work in Senator Apell’s office.”
“And he’s retiring in a few months.”
“He’s been good about helping a few of us look for new jobs. Calling some contacts.”
“Where are you interviewing?”
“With someone in Senator Pale’s office.”
“The Minority Leader. Impressive.”
“It’s a long shot. I don’t have a ton of experience but I’m a fast learner and I’ll start at the bottom. I just need a job.”
“It’s not a long shot.”
“We’ll see.” I pointed toward the dock. “I should get going. I don’t want to appear tired tomorrow.”
“You’ll do fine.” He placed his hand on my back and guided me out. “Justin is a great guy.”
“You know him?”
“I know most of the people in Congress.” He grabbed my bag I’d left by the door and handed it to me. “It goes with the territory.”
“Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck.” He took my hand. “Just be your sparkling self.”
“Thank you for tonight.” I slipped out of his jacket and handed it to him before we made our way outside. “I liked getting to know you. To talk.”
“As opposed to...”
The heat spread up my neck and to my cheeks. “Um... you know.”
“I’m just teasing.” He playfully tugged on my ponytail. “I like when you blush.”
“You have a way of making me feel awkward.”
“Don’t.” He took my hand as we walked toward my car. “You should probably get used to me.”
“Why’s that?”
“I plan on being around a lot.” He tightened his hold on my hand. “When I want something I go after it. I don’t stop until I have it.”
“I’m not a thing.” We approached the end of the dock and the end of this magical night. “I’m a person with real feelings.”
“I know.”
“Last time we were together it took me a long time to get over what happened.” I still wasn’t over it but being with him made all those negative memories disappear. If I was going to take this any further I had to make sure he understood it couldn’t be like before. “We weren’t supposed to become attached but I broke your rule. I did develop feelings for you. Maybe it wasn’t real because I didn’t know you. I didn’t get a chance to really know you.”
“I want to forget about that stupid deal. You meant more to me than I thought you would. I played it all wrong.”
“Then why did you end it so abruptly?”
“I was an idiot.” He shook his head. “In some twisted way I thought I was protecting you but I realize now that I could have done things better. There was another path I could have chosen. I want to walk down the correct one this time.” He cupped the side of my face in his hand. “With you.”
“We still don’t know one another.”
“We will.” He dropped his gaze to my mouth as he bit the corner of his bottom lip. “Starting right now.” Bringing me closer, he brushed his lips along mine before slowly pressing them into me.
I sighed into his mouth as the reality seeped in. I had waited a long time for him to kiss me. A year ago, I would have given anything for the intimacy I didn’t think possible when it came to him. He swirled his tongue around my mouth as his lips gently swiped mine. I held onto his forearms for support just as he broke the connection. He looked down at me, his eyes full of passion.
I’d had sex with him on more than one occasion. He’d brought me the most profound pleasure but nothing we had done before tonight could ever compare to that kiss. I exhaled as I held his stare. The heat of his scorching kiss lingered on my mouth. I’d never forget this moment. The lights reflecting off the water in the background, my first boat ride, and the moment he’d ruined me for any other man. Did he know the power he possessed? Did I want him to know?
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I have no control when it comes to you.”
“We’ve never kissed before.” I was still stunned over the affection he’d initiated.
“I told you things will be different this time.”