Would he understand her position and leave her alone? Could they be friends? Looking at his tall body and muscles rippling underneath the fabric of his shirt, she knew the answer. Alec was not a “friend” kind of man.
She and Alec could never be friends. They could definitely be lovers for as long as the passion lasted but then where would that leave her? Would he marry her? And if he did, how long would that last? Her carefree mother and business oriented father had lasted for only five years before the inevitable break up. Two completely different souls could not last, especially in this world. Could she and Alec last longer? What would happen to her at the end of their marriage? Would she be able to fall in love with someone else? Her mother hadn’t. Deep down, Helen knew that her mother pined for her father almost constantly, that they were both still madly in love with each other and living miserable lives separately.
No, a relationship between herself and Alec made no sense. She had to get away and run as fast as she could from this incredible man. And if she never met anyone like him again? Well, at least she could find someone else before her feelings were too involved. She didn’t want to fall in love with Alec and find herself fighting with him all the time, then leaving him because the fights were too much to live with, hurt too deeply or that they found that their love had been killed by the hurt and anger of their fighting.
Taking a deep breath, Helen stood up and walked quietly to the door, slipped out when he was distracted and walked out of the now empty reception area to the elevators. Her heart was beating the entire time, wondering if he would realize she’d left and come after her. A part of her was honest enough to admit she wanted him to do exactly that. She wanted Alec to take the decision out of her hands and make love to her, show her what it was all about and her promise be damned. But she couldn’t. That would be breaking her word and she couldn’t do that to her father. She loved him and it would break his heart if she became some wealthy man’s mistress, which is all she could be with Alec.
Out on the street, she pulled herself together and hurried to the subway station. She had to get out of here. She had a photo shoot tomorrow and she needed to get ready for it. She had things to do and places to go, film to pick up, memory cards for her digital cameras to clear up and download to her computer so they were free for the next day, processing chemicals to purchase. She had to get going and most importantly, never think about Alec, nor come into close proximity with the man that could make her forget a very important promise.
Helen pushed herself until late that night. After she’d gotten ready for the next day, she grabbed her camera and headed out of her tiny apartment. She couldn’t stay there and think or she’d go insane so she followed her nose to the park and took pictures of kids on the play ground and when it became too dark for children to be out playing, she snapped night shots of the city lights, the cars zooming along the boulevards and the people mingling on the sidewalks, eager to get home to their families or whatever their plans were for the night.
It was after midnight before she allowed herself to crawl into bed. She prayed she would be able to sleep without dreams of Alec invading her mind. He’d been there for the past seven nights, wouldn’t it be nice to have at least one night where she didn’t wake up yearning for something that was too dangerous for her to handle?
Chapter 3
Alec was furious! The woman had slipped out of his office and was nowhere to be found. Dammit, how could he not have grabbed her purse and gotten her identification? He didn’t even have her phone number. He waited patiently until the following morning when Edna walked in and sat down at her desk.
Strolling out when he heard her start to settle
She and Alec could never be friends. They could definitely be lovers for as long as the passion lasted but then where would that leave her? Would he marry her? And if he did, how long would that last? Her carefree mother and business oriented father had lasted for only five years before the inevitable break up. Two completely different souls could not last, especially in this world. Could she and Alec last longer? What would happen to her at the end of their marriage? Would she be able to fall in love with someone else? Her mother hadn’t. Deep down, Helen knew that her mother pined for her father almost constantly, that they were both still madly in love with each other and living miserable lives separately.
No, a relationship between herself and Alec made no sense. She had to get away and run as fast as she could from this incredible man. And if she never met anyone like him again? Well, at least she could find someone else before her feelings were too involved. She didn’t want to fall in love with Alec and find herself fighting with him all the time, then leaving him because the fights were too much to live with, hurt too deeply or that they found that their love had been killed by the hurt and anger of their fighting.
Taking a deep breath, Helen stood up and walked quietly to the door, slipped out when he was distracted and walked out of the now empty reception area to the elevators. Her heart was beating the entire time, wondering if he would realize she’d left and come after her. A part of her was honest enough to admit she wanted him to do exactly that. She wanted Alec to take the decision out of her hands and make love to her, show her what it was all about and her promise be damned. But she couldn’t. That would be breaking her word and she couldn’t do that to her father. She loved him and it would break his heart if she became some wealthy man’s mistress, which is all she could be with Alec.
Out on the street, she pulled herself together and hurried to the subway station. She had to get out of here. She had a photo shoot tomorrow and she needed to get ready for it. She had things to do and places to go, film to pick up, memory cards for her digital cameras to clear up and download to her computer so they were free for the next day, processing chemicals to purchase. She had to get going and most importantly, never think about Alec, nor come into close proximity with the man that could make her forget a very important promise.
Helen pushed herself until late that night. After she’d gotten ready for the next day, she grabbed her camera and headed out of her tiny apartment. She couldn’t stay there and think or she’d go insane so she followed her nose to the park and took pictures of kids on the play ground and when it became too dark for children to be out playing, she snapped night shots of the city lights, the cars zooming along the boulevards and the people mingling on the sidewalks, eager to get home to their families or whatever their plans were for the night.
It was after midnight before she allowed herself to crawl into bed. She prayed she would be able to sleep without dreams of Alec invading her mind. He’d been there for the past seven nights, wouldn’t it be nice to have at least one night where she didn’t wake up yearning for something that was too dangerous for her to handle?
Chapter 3
Alec was furious! The woman had slipped out of his office and was nowhere to be found. Dammit, how could he not have grabbed her purse and gotten her identification? He didn’t even have her phone number. He waited patiently until the following morning when Edna walked in and sat down at her desk.
Strolling out when he heard her start to settle
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