by Haley Travis
Deciding that splitting the difference would be the safest bet, I wore a muted lavender dress, with minimal silver jewelry. Once I added a tiny peacock brooch, I looked like a slightly quieter version of myself.
As I drove to work with Dad, there was absolutely no way I could tell him that I was starting to date his boss. That in itself was completely strange. But the fact that Mason was older, and an incredibly powerful billionaire, made the whole thing sound ridiculous.
Honestly, I didn’t know whether Dad would even believe me.
As we walked into work through the impressive gray marble lobby, my dad turned to me. “You know I’m incredibly proud of you, right honey?”
“Yeah, thanks, Dad.”
“I’m taking the afternoon off so that your mother and I can beat the traffic out of town. I’ll see you Sunday night,” he said.
Normally I would give him a huge bear hug goodbye, but it didn’t feel right in the office. “Have a great time,” I said, heading down the long hallway to Mason’s office.
Mason was already there when I entered the room. He jumped up, closing the door behind me, and in a flash, his arms were around my waist, tipping me back into a long, delicious kiss.
“Office,” I murmured.
“Can’t help it. Missed you.” When I finally pulled away, his thick brows raised. “Don’t tell me that my sweet little girl is shy?”
“A little,” I whispered. “Time and place.”
“Sorry, angel.” His lip twitched with a tiny smile as we sat down and sipped our coffee. I smiled to see that he already had one ready and waiting for me, with a ceramic lid on the mug to keep it warm..
“Wow, this is great, what is it?” I asked.
“Medium roast Moroccan latte with oat milk and a touch of cinnamon,” he said.
Taking another sip, I let the flavors spread across my tongue. “It’s incredible.”
“You are incredible,” he said softly, setting down our cups so he could hold my hands. “We closed the deal last night with that new company because of your coaching,” he said. “The marketing team are beside themselves, and even Sandra likes you.”
He leaned in to whisper, “I wasn’t sure she liked anyone. She tolerates me, because I pay her double what she earned at her last job.”
“So, what’s my job for today?” I asked.
“I want to tell you that it’s imperative you stay right here and kiss me all day long,” he whispered as he nuzzled my ear. “But what I really need is for you to go through my email responses, and edit them for me to teach me how to appear warmer.”
He opened my laptop and showed me where to find a folder filled with at least thirty emails.
“Apparently I’m efficient, but not personable,” he said. “I’m sure that you can show me how to warm things up a bit. I’m sorry, but I have meetings for the rest of the morning. I’ll see you at lunch?”
“Absolutely.”
Mason picked up my hand, turning it gently to kiss a line along my inner wrist. “Did I get an A-plus yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” he smiled proudly. “I can make us reservations at any restaurant in the city for tonight. Where would you like to go?”
Staring out the window for a moment, I considered the options. I didn’t want to be surrounded by people who would fawn all over us. I wanted to get to know who Mason really was. “Do you live alone?”
His eyes instantly widened. “Yes. Why?”
“Can we make dinner together at your house?”
His mouth actually fell open for a split second. “Emily, you consistently shock me with your random but perfect ideas. Yes, absolutely.”
He took the last sip of his coffee, kissed my forehead, then darted out the door, leaving me with my head spinning.
Just as quickly he returned, leaning down to whisper in my ear, “I forgot to mention that you look positively breathtaking today, my beauty.”
His hands slipped into the back of my hair, tilting my head to kiss him hard and deep, taking my breath away until I heard myself moan.
Kissing the tip of my nose, he disappeared again, and I giggled to the empty office before getting down to work.
8
_____
Mason
Normally my day was a blur of calls and meetings, punctuated only by Sandra bringing me cups of fabulous coffee. I would usually spend several hours completely lost in piles of information, completely focused.
Today, I rewarded myself after each minor accomplishment by interrupting Emily. My stress dissolved every time I kissed her.
Every nerve, every muscle twitched toward her, as if Emily were some sort of homing beacon. Once I had her in my home tonight, would she allow me more? Would she let me slip that pretty dress off so that I could admire her completely?
By five o’clock, I couldn’t stand being in public with her anymore.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked as I returned from a quick meeting with my technical team.
Emily’s head jerked up. “You’re actually leaving at five on the dot?” She laughed merrily. “People will talk.”
“Let them,” I grinned. As we passed Sandra’s desk, surprise was written all over her face.
“Have a great weekend, Sandra,” I said smoothly as we passed. “I won’t be texting you until Monday.”
“Oh. Thank you, sir. Have a lovely weekend.”
Emily knocked her shoulder into my arm as soon as we were alone in the elevator. “You like freaking her out a bit.”
“Only in a good way.”
As I tucked her into my car, her brow furrowed. I pulled out of the specially reserved CEO space, nodding to the security guards, and drove out into the soft light of early evening. The slight frown was still on her beautiful face.
“You don’t like my car?” I asked.
“No, it’s great. I guess,” I glanced over to see her hands twisting the hem of her skirt, “I keep focusing on your work, and you, and forgetting how impossibly rich you are.”
“Some people wouldn’t see that as a problem,” I smirked, turning a corner and heading out of the downtown core to my admittedly posh neighborhood.
“I’ve just never really been around wealth,” she shrugged. I hated that those big brown eyes looked so uncomfortable. “I hope I don’t embarrass you, use the wrong fork sometime or anything.”
Reaching over, I slipped her fingers through mine. “Never. Emily, I know that I have a reputation for being a cold, robotic workaholic.”
Sneaking a look, she was smiling, waiting for me to continue.
“But people can change, apparently. I’ve already changed so much in the past few days I’ve known you.”
“I don’t want to change you,” she said softly.
“You’re not doing it on purpose,” I said quickly. “Maybe it was just time for me to learn how to relax a little.”
Rubbing my thumb along the side of her hand, we turned down a lush street lined with huge old oak trees.
“I haven’t had a relationship in years,” I said softly. “I didn’t even realize it was time for me to find a girlfriend. But a man can’t be a robot his entire life,” I grinned.
Looking over, Emily was staring out the window in disbelief as we paused for the gigantic gate to open.
“There are only three houses on this court,” I explained. “Those are the Graces – they have a real estate empire,” I said, nodding to the east. “On the other side is the Armstrongs. They run a collection of shopping malls.”
It seemed like Emily stopped breathing as we rolled through the smaller gate to the north, and up my long driveway. To me, this was just the house I lived in. Trying to see it through Emily’s eyes was a challenge.
The house was a simple, classic style, with white columns, and those weird little manicured trees across the front. It looked like an appropriate sort of house. Yet I realized it was larger than the other two houses on the court, and they were each families of four or five.
The second I parked, I dashed around to Emily’s side. Slipping an arm around her, we stared at my glossy black front door, adorned only with a giant brass knocker.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, gripping my arm.
“Maybe I really am cold,” I murmured, staring at my home with fresh eyes.
Walking her inside, her low heels clicked on the gray marble floor, as I looked around the black, gray, white and silver space. Turning to Emily, she stood out like the centerpiece at a fancy restaurant. She was the bright, lively, colorful highlight.
“I need you,” I said simply, making her blush instantly.
My deep chuckle confused her. “Okay, yes, I do need you like that. But look at how lifeless this room was until you walked in,” I explained, pulling her into my arms as I kissed the top of her hair. “You’re my bright spot of color. My happiness. I’m all hard angles, and you’re all soft curves,” I said as my palms skimmed along her hips. “You’re going to balance me. Can you feel it?”
“That’s a lot of pressure,” she smiled, “but I’ll try.”
The caveman part of my mind wanted to carry her upstairs to my bed immediately, but I didn’t want to frighten her. Taking her hand, I led her down the hall to the giant white and steel kitchen.
Across the marble island were bowls of freshly chopped vegetables, three different grated cheeses, and creamy guacamole. Spicy chicken was simmering in a pan on the stove.
Emily turned to me with her hands on her hips. “I thought we were going to make dinner.”
I shrugged. “I can’t cook, and I didn’t want my gorgeous new girlfriend to have to work. So I thought this was a reasonable compromise. We’ll still be assembling everything.”
Her little hand smacked my bicep lightly. There was no logical reason for me to love it when she tapped me, except that it proved she was the only person around who wasn’t afraid of me.
“I want to be mad that you kind of cheated, but this smells delicious,” she smiled.
Oh god, that smile. The entire world melted away when Emily looked up at me like that.
My hands slid up her back as my lips brushed hers. The electricity between us was so strong I could have sworn it altered the rhythm of my heart.
“Don’t be scared, my sweet angel,” I heard myself murmur against her lips as if in a dream. “But I’m falling for you. Completely.”
Her gasp dissolved into a moan that made my hips clench. I needed to be naked with her, now.
But first, I’d need to feed my sweet girl, and learn more about her so that I could find new ways to make her happy.
9
_____
Emily
Dinner was incredible, and it was amazing to see Mason so relaxed, after having removed his jacket and tie and rolled up his shirt sleeves to reveal his thick forearms when I showed him how to assemble our fajitas.
It was hard to look at him without that fire rising in my belly, so I simply stopped trying to squash it back down. The physical pull toward him was distracting. It was also downright weird, having such a wealthy, powerful man casually announce that he was falling for me.
How could I possibly keep up with a worldly man like this?
He belonged with someone who would know how to navigate his world, and make clever small talk at corporate events. Not a girl who preferred to be wrapped up in her pajamas and butterfly print blanket to read by ten pm.
The more I revealed about myself, the more infatuated Mason seemed. He didn’t laugh at my confession of having an elaborate bath ritual, or that I always had to fall asleep on my right side. He kept prying details from me until I felt like he knew me almost as well as my parents did.
There was still no way to tell what Mason would think about Aunt Betsy’s prediction about my supposed dream man, and how he matched each point perfectly.
Mason was a man of science. Everything about his company was focused on research and evidence. University studies and proven conclusions. He really didn’t seem like the crystal gazing type.
He wouldn’t be offended, would he?
Still, I didn’t want to take a chance on telling him any of that just yet. I was already too nervous wondering if he would have any expectations for tonight.
As we settled in the living room, with a cup of decaf Earl Gray tea for me, and a half-caf spiced cold brew Mason’s housekeeper had left for him, I stared around in wonder.
The room was almost unnaturally huge, and was straight from one of those European decorator magazines. Everything was minimalist with clean lines, except for the ornate moldings and old-fashioned windows.
Everything was black, gray, and white, even the massive abstract paintings across one wall. The other wall held black and white photographs of crumbling stone landmarks.
Maybe there was a tiny chance that Mason was right, and I would bring him balance.
Mason pulled me so that I sat close beside him, spinning my legs over his as he leaned me back, kissing straight down the column of my throat.
“You are delicious, my angel,” he murmured, as his hands gripped my back and hip tightly. The possessive gesture was making my thighs press together, as heat seemed to pool between them.
Then he glanced at his diamond-encrusted platinum watch. He was even incredibly handsome when he frowned.
“Gorgeous, I want to spend as much time with you as possible tonight. But I don’t want to bring you home too late, and have your father upset with me.”
His fingertips trailed along the neckline of my dress, teasing as he scooped just under the fabric. “What time are your parents expecting you home?” he asked.
“They’re...um...not.”
His green eyes blazed. “Did you tell them you were coming home with me? Or did you tell them you were staying with a girlfriend?”
Smiling, I leaned in to kiss his cheek. “They’re on one of their little weekend getaways, and won’t be back until Sunday evening.”
Did I actually feel a shudder run through him?
“I don’t like the thought of you staying home all alone,” he whispered gently. “I’d feel much better if you were safe with me.”
Nodding, I couldn’t resist teasing him. “I’ve been fine every other time I’ve stayed home alone, but you’re right. We wouldn’t want to take a chance that there might be a burglar.”
“Don’t even say such a thing,” he nearly growled, his eyes narrowing. “The thought of anything happening to you…just don’t.”
Laughing, I tangled my fingers into the back of his hair, holding him close. “I’m a grown woman, Mason. I can take care of myself. Sure, my parents still treat me like a little girl, especially my dad, but you really don’t have to worry about me.”
“But I want to worry about you,” he said slowly, as his fingertips drifted along my cheekbone. “Emily, beautiful, I’ve never felt like this before. It’s a huge mess of desire and curiosity and fear that I might do something to screw things up.”
“I’m sure you did fine with other girlfriends,” I said, trying to seem relaxed. But the thought of Mason with any other woman actually made me a bit sick, even though that wasn’t fair. He must have had many girls in his lifetime.
“I haven’t had a real relationship in at least ten years,” he said gruffly.
That revelation made my breasts feel heavy, swelling my nipples into little points. Even when Mason touched me casually, flames licked up my spine. But as he dropped his hand to my breast, caressing gently, the desire peaked, making me twitch in his arms.
In that moment, I realized that I’d never actually been completely aroused before I met him. The analytical part of my mind wanted to untangle the effects. The emotional part of my mind was reeling from the fact that a man as breathtaking as Mason was genuinely infatuated with me.
“Why me?” I suddenly sputtered awkwardly. “I mean…I just can’t understand why…I guess I wouldn’t think I was your type.”
His thumb rubbed gently over my nipple, making
me gasp. “Angel, there are so many things about you that I absolutely adore. You’re beautiful, of course, but there are many more layers.”
Those perfect lips grazed mine slowly before he spoke again.
“After I told you I was interested in you personally, not just professionally, you still worked your cute little ass off. I love the way you see things, and process information. I love the way you try new coffee with an open mind,” he chuckled.
