Chapter Twelve
~McKenna~
I had never been so tense in a car ride, but I guessed there was a first for everything. Of all the things that had happened today, I was pretty sure going out to lunch with the CEO and his son was so far down on the list of possibilities that it might as well not be there at all. Yet that was exactly what was happening, judging by the buildings rushing by the expensive looking buildings of uptown.
I had meant to refuse, I really had. But with the way both of them were looking at me, I found myself agreeing. The little boy, Dom, really was a sweetheart, and I couldn’t imagine disappointing him after just becoming friends.
That was just like me. Putting myself into a pickle and then complaining about it. But still, at least I was going to get an insane meal at a restaurant I probably could never afford on my own. There was an upside to everything, I supposed.
That was what I kept telling myself, and it helped me from panicking as we arrived at what looked like one of the fanciest restaurants I had ever seen. Its exterior was obviously Greek inspired, but not gaudily so, and there was a line of valets already waiting outside. Dominic’s hand was back in mine the moment I was on my feet outside of the far. While I loved children, I had never had one attach to me so quickly and so emphatically. It almost made me wonder if he was missing a certain sort of maternal affection.
That was depressing to think of. He was obviously a sweet and charming little boy. He deserved a mother who was every bit as impressed with him as Rafael obviously was.
Speaking of Rafael, he came up along beside us and gestured for us to walk ahead. His face was still stern, his green eyes sharp in his attractive countenance, but I could see something softening at the edges. Maybe I didn’t need to be scared of this man? After all, I had seen him get pretty angry less than an hour ago and he had never called Dom’s mother a name or moved to threaten her in any way, shape or form. Sure, he had raised his voice, but I couldn’t blame him given what I had observed about the woman’s treatment of her son so far.
Still, it was too soon to tell, even if I did feel inexplicably drawn to him. It was like we were magnets, total opposite polarities but helplessly pulled together. Or at least that’s how it felt for me. Raphael would probably forget about me in a week or two as anything other than that strange woman who his son seemed to be okay with.
We sat in a fairly nice booth towards the back of the restaurant and Dom seemed to be practically vibrating with excitement. He was grinning like a madman and bouncing in his seat almost as soon as the hostess sat us down.
“Do you like Greek, McKenna?” The smile he gave me was just too cute as he opened a menu. “I like gyros, and souvlaki and doulmas and-”
“Let her answer the question, little man,” Rafael corrected gently, ruffling his son’s hair.
“Oh, right.” He looked to me with big, green eyes that I could understand exactly why Rafael clearly doted on his son. He was adorable almost to the point of unfairness and smart too. Next thing I was going to find out was that he rescued kittens in his downtime or something.
“Yeah, I like Greek alright,” I answered. “But if you have any recommendations, I’d be glad to hear about them.”
His face lit up and he happily prattled off the things that were the best there and why he liked them. It had been so long since I had interacted with such a precious child, that I found myself enjoying every moment despite the fact that the CEO of my company was just a few feet away from me.
Any little slip up, and it could affect my career forever. But that possibility seemed to get father and farther away as he watched with an amused sort of expression.
It was strange that someone who I would definitely label as intimidating was so kind in a different setting. But I supposed that I had my work personality and me personality too. Although, it did make me wonder what else I had misread about this tall, dark and handsome business man who had showed up into my life like a hurricane.
“What are you getting, Dad?” Dom asked, drawing his father back into the conversation.
“I’m thinking moussaka,” he answered, smiling down at his son.
“But you always get moussaka! Come on, you should try something different for once!” For some reason, his eyes flicked to me before he nodded slowly. “You have a point, buddy. I guess I’ll get the souvlaki with the spanakopita.”
“Yeah! That’s a good one.” The little boy looked to me with such glee that my heart melted. “Do you know what you want yet?”
“You know what? I don’t have any food allergies, so why don’t you just pick for me?”
“Really!?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. I might as well trust an expert, right?” By the look on both of the men’s faces, you would think I told them I had just given them immortal life. I blushed a bit, and ducked my head down until Dom busied himself with the menu once more.
The waitress came not much later, taking our orders. Rafael ordered an appetizer combination that I had no clue what was on it, then Dom did the rest. The two of them were so cute, a real family, and I felt a sudden pang of loneliness.
When this was over, and I went home to my weeks’ vacation, I had no one to talk to. These two clearly had each other like peas in a pod.
Thankfully, I was able to shake off the melancholy as Dom launched into the series that he was reading currently. It sounded like a YA epic about some kids hunting down magical jewels, and exactly what would have been my thing when I was younger. Goodness, I didn’t think I had ever met such an avid reader in a child, and it tickled me pink.
“So, what got you into reading?” I asked when Dominic finally did run out of steam.
“Dad!” He answered so brightly that it surprised me a bit, and my eyes automatically flicked to the man. He was still looking at the both of us, expression neutral, but I swore I saw his cheeks pinken slightly. “I used to have the worst nightmares, so he would read to me every night. No matter what.”
“But eventually, my reading got to be too slow, so little man started going through books all on his own.”
“Dad pouted for a while, but now he gets that I’m growing up!”
Oh goodness, how freakin’ precious. I looked to Rafael, and he looked just as amused. “You’re practically and adult now,” the CEO agreed gravely. “The next thing I know, you’ll be asking to borrow the car.”
“Eh, I’ll just have you drive me around forever.”
Rafael’s eyes twinkled as he leaned down to the table so he was more eye-level with his son. “Is that so?”
“Yup!”
“I think I’m going to hold you to that. Even when you’re a teenager and everything I do is embarrassing and you hate me.”
Dom puffed out his cheeks and looked downright hurt. “What? You’re the coolest Dad in the world! I’ll never hate you!”
“Promises, promises.”
I just sat back and watched the beautiful, natural moments as they unfolded. It was so strange; part of Rafael was so strong, masculine and in charge that my heart raced just looking at him, but apparently there was another part of him that was so full of love and kindness towards his little guy that it didn’t seem possible. With the two of them it was easy to believe that I was part of a unit, that I belonged and had people who cared about me. I was sure the people around us assumed we were all a family, and instead of making me uncomfortable, it made me quite happy.
Our food came surprisingly fast and then we were all too busy chewing to make conversation. Well, us adults were. It seemed not even food itself could stop Dom from talking about a subject once he got started. I didn’t mind however. He was cute as a button and sharp as a whip, a highly entertaining mix. Even with me taking my time, the lunch and dessert flew by too quickly and then the waitress arrived with the bill.
Rafael took it without a second’s hesitation, sliding his card in with a finesse that spoke of plenty of practice. I didn’t even have a chance to glance at the total, but I was sure that it was exorbitant and far out of my price range.
I almost didn’t want the meal to end. I was having such a nice time, and those came few and far between for me. Although I still didn’t trust this strange CEO that had figured out my identity so easily, my opinion of him had certainly softened.
“Thank you so much for the meal,” I said, sliding out of the booth. “I guess I’ll be seeing you next week at work?” I laughed slightly at that. “If you ever find yourself staying very, very late, that is.”
A strange expression crossed his face before he shook it off. “How are you getting home?”
“I noticed there’s a bus stop only a block or so away from here,” I said with a quick smile. “If I go now, I’ll catch the ride before the evening rush.”
“Nonsense,” he said, shaking his head as he stood. “Allow me to drive you home.”
Yeah right, like he wanted his fancy car in my slum of a neighborhood. “That’s alright. I ride the bus all the time. It’s no trouble, really.”
“And it will be no trouble and a quarter of the time for me to drive you, please. I insist.”
“Yeah!” Dom said, also wiggling out of his seat to join us. “We insist!”
I guess I couldn’t argue with that, so I conceded. “Alright, if it’s not too inconvenient.”
“It’s not at all,” Rafael said, holding his hand out for Dom to take it.
The little boy did, but as he skipped forward, he grabbed my hand as well with his free arm. The three of us all connected, we headed towards the valet to get Rafael’s car.
I had such a surreal feeling as he plugged my address into my GPS and took off. Could this all really be possible? I had gone into work sure that I was going to be fired and that my life was about to spiral out of control, and had ended it by having a mid-afternoon meal with the CEO. Such a strange turn of events, I couldn’t have made it more bizarre if I tried.
Rafael was right though, it barely took twenty minutes to get to my place when it would have taken two buses and about an hour and a half. He pulled up and I hurried out of the car, turning back to him to say thank you.
Our eyes met and there was a strange rush of electricity between us. The kind that stole my breath and made my arm hair stand on end.
“T-thanks.” I sputtered, losing my train of thought. “For everything.”
“It was nothing, really. The least I could do. Again, I am sorry for all of the stress I’ve caused you.”
“It’s fine. I understand I kinda went about things the wrong way.”
Again, something in his expression changed that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. “You did what you needed to do.”
Wait… did he know? I couldn’t quite force myself to ask that question, so I just nodded and made my way to the front door. I noticed that Rafael didn’t pull away until I was safely inside the main foyer, and only then did he leave.
What an incredibly strange day. And, amazingly enough, I had a whole week of paid vacation to replay it over and over again in my head.
But first, I had definitely earned a nap.
Chapter Thirteen
~Rafael~
“I liked that lady,” Dom said, craning his neck to look back where we had dropped off Miss O’Grady. “She was fun to talk to.”
“I’m glad,” I answered, my eyes on the road despite everything rushing through my head.
Never in a million years did I think that my morning would go from asking forgiveness of a woman I’d wronged, to fighting with my ex in front of that same woman, to having a meal with her. Yet that was exactly what had happened.
God, it had been the sweetest torture sitting across from her, having to act composed when in reality I wanted to ask her a thousand questions about herself then bend her over the table and take her right there. The dress she had been wearing had the slightest gap at the top, allowing me to see the faintest whisper of her cleavage, far more than I had ever been able to see through her uniform.
Just as I had imagined, they were a perfect, milky white, pushed up high on her chest by the bra that she was wearing.
The make up she was wearing enhanced her already beautiful features. A slight gloss to her lips, a pale blush on her cheeks, no eyeshadow, but simple and sleek kohl liner forming what I believed was called a cat eye.
Even her hair, usually pulled back into a ponytail or bun as she danced her heart out, or even just held back by her headphone, had fallen around her face like the perfect frame of a portrait. She couldn’t have been more attractive if she tried.
And then, the way she interacted with Dom? How could I not appreciate that? She listened with actual interest and responded without patronizing him. Half of the time I had no idea what they were even talking about, but that didn’t matter to me. I was just happy to see him getting along with someone who wasn’t me.
It was all to easy to imagine us as a family, all gathered around a table for an early dinner or a late lunch. Granted, I was getting way ahead of myself, but I couldn’t name the last time Dominic had been so jazzed about being at a meal with someone.
“Did you like her Dad? You were staring a lot.”
“Was I?” I asked with a bit of a laugh. Even though he was young, nothing got past my little man. “I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t answer the question,” he replied, looking at me through the rearview mirror. “Do you like her?”
Well, I had always taught him to tell the truth, so I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I didn’t do that now.
“No,” I answered after a good minute of thought. “But I could, given enough time. She’s very lovely.”
“She’s smart too.” Dominic said, nodding emphatically. “She knows a lot about books. More than you I’d bet.”
“Maybe.”
“Daddy, will you meet her again? To see if you could end up liking her? I think it would be good for you. She’s nice.”
I chuckled at that. There was something so matter of fact about how my son stated things. Like he was casually stating statistics and not opinions. I loved that about him.
We arrived at our place and drove into the secured garage, Dom talking the entire time. I hadn’t seem him so bright eyed and bushy-tailed after time spent with his mother in ages. Usually after he was dropped off he would spend a day or two in introspection. Borderline melancholy, even. I hated it, and I also hated that she had the right to make him feel like that every time, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. He would never talk ill of her and I wouldn’t push him to. All I could do was tell him that he could talk to me if he was ever worried about something and wait for him to be ready.
“I think I’d like a nap,” Dom said as we went up in the elevator. It was probably the most un-childlike thing to hear, but that was just par for the course for my little man. “You won’t mind if we play later, would you Dad?”
“That’s fine, Dom,” I said, squeezing his hand. “You get your rest. We have a whole week and a half together before you have to leave, so don’t worry about us running out of time to play.”
“Okay!” I opened the door for him and he headed off to his room, skipping with his backpack swinging from one shoulder. He was such a good little guy. I really was the luckiest man on Earth.
I headed to my bar one my son’s bedroom door shut and helped myself to some bourbon. It had certainly been an… interesting day, to say the least. And if I thought that I couldn’t get McKenna out of my head before, she really dominated my thoughts.
Now that I was alone, I could see her in front of me, standing in that dress that accentuated her curves so perfectly. God, I had wanted to kiss her so badly when I had dropped her off at her…less than glamourous apartment. And when she leaned in to thank me, I almost had. Thankfully, I had enough wits about me to stop any such foolishness. The poor woman was on the run from an abusive ex, the last thing she needed was for her boss to plant one on her.
No, she was entirely untouchable to me and I needed to respect that. Although I could abuse my power easily and have her in my grasp, I wasn’t that weak willed. I had my own code of rules and I wouldn’t break it no matter how badly my dick wanted me too.
I stretched, draining my drink, only to feel myself harden as my mind thought of exactly how much my dick did indeed want McKenna. Dammit, this couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time, especially with my son in the other room.
But with the drink in my system, it was that much easier to envision the red-head doing all sorts of illicit things. I tried to curb my brain away from such adult simulations, but no matter what I did, they always went that way.
I imagined her in the kitchen, her and I cooking a simple meal together, laughing and just enjoying each other’s company, but that quickly turned to her trying to wash vegetables while I stood behind her with my arms wrapped around her soft waist, licking and kissing at the smooth, slightly perfumed skin there.
I could easily see her trying to wave me away as she concentrated, so I just grabbed her and lifted her onto the counter while turning her about to face me. She would laugh and playfully scold me, but her thick legs would wrap around, holding me against her impossibly warm center.
I shook my head, trying to break free of the spell she had put on me, and crossed to my bar once again. I knew that alcohol was probably the least useful tool to help me, but with the day I’d had, I figured I deserved a few still ones.
Speaking of stiff ones…
My thoughts turned to McKenna again, imagining myself laid out on the living room floor, McKenna straddling my waist. Her full weight rested on me, reminding me of how real she could be even though this was all in my head. Her hair fell around her face and her eyes looked at me through hooded lids. There was a slight flush to her face and I wanted nothing more than to turn her whole visage bright red from our exertion.
Her hands went to the buttons of her oversized shirt, flicking open one at a time until she was revealed to me. I sipped at my drink as my mind conjured what she might look like, beautiful, feminine and soft against the backdrop of the rest of my flat. Although it was all in my head, my body was responding full tilt. I needed to stop, or I would certainly have to deal with it.
But I didn’t stop. Of course not. My mind just changed the scene. It imagined me taking her out onto the balcony, where my relatively small, but impressive pool hung out over the side of the building. I remembered paying an arm and a leg to bribe the owners into allowing me to add such a thing, but honestly it was worth every penny.
As if I was watching a movie, I imagined both of us standing out there, me pulling off her coverup to reveal a little bikini under it. She was self-conscious, and told me that it was too small for her, but I thought it was just right. Every inch of her looked so kissable, so squeezable, and I knew I had to get my hands on her.
With one of her hands in my own, I lead her down into the pool. I was reminded again of Aphrodite as McKenna stepped into the water, and I was more than ready to worship her.
I wasn’t quite sure where I pulled a bottle of wine and a cluster of grapes from, but I didn’t question it. I was making up a fantasy after all, it didn’t need to make sense.
One by one I fed her the grapes, watching as her plush, pink lips took them from me, then the movement of her throat as she swallowed. Every part of her body fascinated me, and I absolutely could not get enough.
Uncorking the wine, I playfully poured it into her mouth, watching as it welled up over her lips and over her chin, trickling down her body in appealing rivulets. I bent down to her and my tongue followed the path the wine made, tasting both her and her skin as I did.
She tasted of the sweetest elixir, her flesh soft and supple under my mouth that I couldn’t help but wonder if reality could ever compare to what my mind created.
Not that I would ever get a chance to find out, of course. She was decidedly off limits, which was probably why I wanted her so badly. I wasn’t the type of man who was used to denying himself, and yet that was exactly what I was going to do.
But still… respecting that boundary didn’t mean my mind couldn’t cross it. Hundreds of images flashed through my mind, her mouth open as she gasped her pleasure, her fingers clutching me as she rode my hand, how wet and slick she would be as I made her feel things she never knew were possible.
Even the chemicals and water of the pool couldn’t steal away how ready she was for me, and she only grew more and more wet as I worked her over. And when she came in my mind’s eye, it was perfect. But of course, it was perfect. It was a fantasy, after all.
Shaking my head, I realized that I was tending in my pants painfully. I certainly didn’t want Dom to come out and catch me like this, so with a sigh, I headed back to the bathroom. It was a bit embarrassing, sneaking to the restroom like some sort of high school boy trying to rub one out before his parents got home.
But maybe, once I was temporarily sated, I would be able to shake my thoughts from the beautiful red-head who had currently snared them.
Probably not, but it didn’t hurt to hope.