I know the meeting went well since three of the board members approached me to shake my hand and tell me how impressed they were.
My new team was also impressed and their eagerness to get started was clear. We arranged to have lunch in the next week so we could get to know each other better.
As the last of the attendees closes the door behind them, the shock starts to sink in.
Wow.
That was unexpected.
I turn to look at Kaden and he is already staring at me.
He tips his head to the side, studying me the same way he had that day at the gym, like I’m some strange being.
“You did exceptionally well, today,” he says. “I wish more of my new ideas received such a reception.”
“Thank you.”
There is a long silence between us.
We both know why but I have no idea how to breach it.
With every passing second the tension gets thicker.
I’m fighting not to fidget under his penetrating gaze but he stands like a statue, totally unfazed.
I frown.
I was wrong about him when I thought he was paying me off?
When I think about it more clearly, the whole idea was crazy.
Why would he contrive such a convoluted scheme just to get me into bed?
Sure there have been wealthy men and women who enjoy using their money and position to play with people, just for the fun of it.
But as I stare back at Kaden, I know that he’s not one of them.
“You just left,” his words are so sudden and firm that the sound makes me jump.
“I’m sorry,” I respond automatically.
Everything has spun around so quickly that I don’t know how to respond to him.
I don’t know how to feel anymore.
An hour ago, I was raging mad.
I wanted to rip him apart.
I wanted to give him a piece of my mind.
But now, I feel unusually calm.
“I…” I can’t find the right words.
I feel like I need to be honest with him.
Since we are going to be business partners, we can’t avoid each other. We need to understand each other.
I wish I were prepared for this moment. If only I had time to think. If only I had time to prepare a response to this.
“I don’t do that,” I finally say.
“Do what?” he asks firmly.
“I don’t just have… sex. At least not with men I don’t know. I don’t do one-night stands and I’m not very good at casual sex. Actually, I’m not very good at sex altogether,” my confidence drops under his gaze.
“That’s not true,” he replies.
I wait for him to elaborate further but I realize this isn’t the time to discuss my lack of sexual prowess.
“I need more.”
“More than what?”
“I need more than just sex. I need… something more.”
“Was it just sex for you?” he asks.
Oh great.
Now he is turning the tables on me.
“It was more than that for me…”
“Did I hurt you?” he interrupts me.
I blink.
The question is unexpected.
“I don’t understand what you’re asking?” I reply.
He rips a hand through his soft hair, “It’s a perfectly straight forward question. Did I hurt you? Did I…”
“I told you I’m not good at casual sex,” I reply defensively.
I don’t want to come off as needy but at the same time he should know what my needs are, right?
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I guess I was a little hurt after… I didn’t expect you to be declaring undying adoration or anything but…”
“What are you talking about?” he snaps and I jump back.
My own temper rears up and I feel its heat behind my eyes, “You asked me a question and I was answering it.”
“Well I didn’t mean…”
“Well, maybe you should have clarified when I asked for clarification!”
I’m not even sure what we’re arguing about.
I take a breath and stare at him.
He looks deflated somehow and I feel like I’m missing something.
“Look,” I start, “What happened, happened. We had sex and so we’re clear – I don’t know how you felt about it or how I… performed… but for my part, I enjoyed it very much. It was possibly the most incredible experience of my life.
What am I saying?
I should just keep my mouth shut!
“And I want to thank you for the night,” I continue hopelessly, “But I don’t expect you to drop everything and…”
My words falter when he starts moving towards me.
I back up but his legs are longer, and when his long fingers lock around my wrists - I’m trapped.
He has to hunch his shoulders and dip his head to bring his lips to my ear.
“Don’t you dare think for one second that pounding you didn’t blow my mind.”
My body floods with heat and my hands clench into fists.
I want to touch him.
I want to feel his chest and arms under my fingertips.
I want to kiss him and taste him the way he tasted me.
“I need to be in control,” he says, his voice so quiet that I have to strain to hear, “Some women in the past found that… disturbing. I haven’t had a relationship - at least not a meaningful relationship - in a long time because I don’t want to be with someone who is afraid of me.”
“Afraid?” I return, confused, “Why would I be afraid?”
His eyes look into mine and my heart skips a beat.
“I might find you infuriating and arrogant,” I continue, “And I may call you on it more than once over the course of our… partnership. But I can’t imagine being afraid.”
“I smashed through a locked door to get to you,” he whispers and the memory sends exhilarating thrills through my entire body.
“After which you proceeded to give me two of the best orgasms of my life.”
His fingers tighten around my wrists, “I thought maybe after we’d gotten the sex out of the way, we could move on and I wouldn’t waste so much time wondering what you tasted like, what it would feel like to sing myself into your hot depths.”
Arousal floods my pussy and I can feel my nipples pressing hard against my bra.
I look away.
Is this his way of telling me that it was just one night, that he didn’t want me anymore?
He slips a finger under my chin and forces me to look at him.
“I spent the entire weekend hard as a rock thinking about the taste of your lips, the way you screamed when I licked you, how fucking incredible it felt to ram my cock deep inside your unbelievably tight pussy.”
The words rip from his mouth in a raw growl that forces my pussy to clench and I feel heat racing through my veins to the tips of my fingers and toes.
“Then you walked in wearing this.”
His gaze lowers to where my breasts are pushing against the front of my red dress.
“It took every ounce of control I possess not to clear the room and bend you over the table.”
I can’t get enough air.
My heart is pounding so hard I swear he must be able to hear it.
Feeling that same boldness that came over me the other night, I look into his eyes and smile, slow and sensuously.
“The room’s clear now,” I whisper.