me,
Elizabeth.”
Before I can respond, his lips are on mine.
The passion in this kiss is different from the one last night. This
is hotter, and a liquid fire flows between us. He moves his hands,
starting at my hips and then running them up my sides to my neck
and into my hair. His touch makes me feel as if I might come
undone. I wish I had worn a skirt. A crazy thought, I know, but one
I can’t help thinking. And then, as if we’re of the same mind and
realize where we are, we both pull away at the same time, breathing
hard. Alex grins and then dips his head to kiss me one last time
before he steps back, releasing me completely.
Holy shit . If not for the wall at my
back, I’d most likely be on my knees right now.
“God, I want you, Elizabeth. I don’t
understand what you do to me.”
“Same here.” I manage to speak between harsh
breaths. “Come on; let’s walk.”
I take his hand as he leads me back to the
street, and we head toward Central Park. We walk and talk—about
nothing and everything—for about an hour. The only blemish on an
otherwise perfect time is the constant interruption of Alex’s cell
phone ringing. As we’re heading back toward the car, the stupid
thing goes off for what seems like the hundredth time.
“Preston. No, Christina. I’m out with Ms.
Hamilton. No. Not right now.”
He looks frustrated, but by the time he
places the phone back into his pocket, he’s smiling again, and I’m
the center of his attention.
“Sorry about that.”
“No problem. Are you sure you have time to
date? Sounds to me like you have business to attend to, twenty-four
seven.”
He looks down, then stops and turns toward
me.
“Yes, I’m sure. I want to be out with
you. You are my focus today, Ms. Hamilton. Christina is pestering
me about things that can wait.”
I just bet. Although I only met her once, I
developed the distinct impression she can be a real bitch
sometimes.
“Christina didn’t care for me much, did
she?” I ask.
Alex lets out a small laugh. “You are a very
good-looking woman. Christina feels threatened by attractive women,
especially attractive women who own their own company.”
“Oh. She’s your partner, isn’t she?”
“Partner? No. She’s my CFO and hates being
left out of the decision-making process. She did not agree with my
decision not to try harder to convince you to sell, but as I told
her, that’s something she’ll just, have to get over.”
“Oh.” My mind starts racing. So, witchy
woman doesn’t like me, and apparently, she wants my company even
more than Alex does, or did, so what does that mean, exactly?
“Alex, if I ask you a question, will you
promise to give me an honest answer?”
He looks into my eyes and holds my gaze. “Of
course.”
“Are you no longer interested in my
company?”
“I am interested in you, Elizabeth, and only
you.” He answers me quickly, almost as if he’d expected the
question and already had his answer prepared.
Planned or not, his answer makes me melt. We
make our way back to his limo, and I realize how much I don’t want
to go home. I want to spend as much time as I can with him. Just
the thought of going home without him makes me sad.
“What is it?” he asks. As usual, he senses
my mood.
But what am I supposed to say? I’m going
to miss you ?
“Elizabeth?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, really…just...” I take a
deep breath, and then I jump in with both feet. “Would you like to
stay at my place tonight?”
Holy crap… I can’t believe I worked up
enough nerve to just ask him that, and I rush to explain.
“I would understand if you said no. I mean,
I know we both work tomorrow, but I just thought maybe you would
like to, well, you know…spend the night with me.”
When I finally paused to draw a breath and
check out his expression, I found him smiling. Grinning, actually,
and no doubt getting a kick out of my rambling statement, I’m sure
of it. I open my mouth to tell him to forget it, to
Elizabeth.”
Before I can respond, his lips are on mine.
The passion in this kiss is different from the one last night. This
is hotter, and a liquid fire flows between us. He moves his hands,
starting at my hips and then running them up my sides to my neck
and into my hair. His touch makes me feel as if I might come
undone. I wish I had worn a skirt. A crazy thought, I know, but one
I can’t help thinking. And then, as if we’re of the same mind and
realize where we are, we both pull away at the same time, breathing
hard. Alex grins and then dips his head to kiss me one last time
before he steps back, releasing me completely.
Holy shit . If not for the wall at my
back, I’d most likely be on my knees right now.
“God, I want you, Elizabeth. I don’t
understand what you do to me.”
“Same here.” I manage to speak between harsh
breaths. “Come on; let’s walk.”
I take his hand as he leads me back to the
street, and we head toward Central Park. We walk and talk—about
nothing and everything—for about an hour. The only blemish on an
otherwise perfect time is the constant interruption of Alex’s cell
phone ringing. As we’re heading back toward the car, the stupid
thing goes off for what seems like the hundredth time.
“Preston. No, Christina. I’m out with Ms.
Hamilton. No. Not right now.”
He looks frustrated, but by the time he
places the phone back into his pocket, he’s smiling again, and I’m
the center of his attention.
“Sorry about that.”
“No problem. Are you sure you have time to
date? Sounds to me like you have business to attend to, twenty-four
seven.”
He looks down, then stops and turns toward
me.
“Yes, I’m sure. I want to be out with
you. You are my focus today, Ms. Hamilton. Christina is pestering
me about things that can wait.”
I just bet. Although I only met her once, I
developed the distinct impression she can be a real bitch
sometimes.
“Christina didn’t care for me much, did
she?” I ask.
Alex lets out a small laugh. “You are a very
good-looking woman. Christina feels threatened by attractive women,
especially attractive women who own their own company.”
“Oh. She’s your partner, isn’t she?”
“Partner? No. She’s my CFO and hates being
left out of the decision-making process. She did not agree with my
decision not to try harder to convince you to sell, but as I told
her, that’s something she’ll just, have to get over.”
“Oh.” My mind starts racing. So, witchy
woman doesn’t like me, and apparently, she wants my company even
more than Alex does, or did, so what does that mean, exactly?
“Alex, if I ask you a question, will you
promise to give me an honest answer?”
He looks into my eyes and holds my gaze. “Of
course.”
“Are you no longer interested in my
company?”
“I am interested in you, Elizabeth, and only
you.” He answers me quickly, almost as if he’d expected the
question and already had his answer prepared.
Planned or not, his answer makes me melt. We
make our way back to his limo, and I realize how much I don’t want
to go home. I want to spend as much time as I can with him. Just
the thought of going home without him makes me sad.
“What is it?” he asks. As usual, he senses
my mood.
But what am I supposed to say? I’m going
to miss you ?
“Elizabeth?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, really…just...” I take a
deep breath, and then I jump in with both feet. “Would you like to
stay at my place tonight?”
Holy crap… I can’t believe I worked up
enough nerve to just ask him that, and I rush to explain.
“I would understand if you said no. I mean,
I know we both work tomorrow, but I just thought maybe you would
like to, well, you know…spend the night with me.”
When I finally paused to draw a breath and
check out his expression, I found him smiling. Grinning, actually,
and no doubt getting a kick out of my rambling statement, I’m sure
of it. I open my mouth to tell him to forget it, to
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