Mistaken Identity

by Breah Elise

  Chapter One

  Mirrors didn’t lie. Looking at her own reflection, Olivia saw a woman with determination written all over her – determination and seduction. After three years of pining after her boss, David Slade, she now had the perfect opportunity to act on this attraction and with one more sip of chardonnay, she’d be ready.

  The fact that David was her boss was going to be a non-issue after this weekend. Her employment with him was officially over. Well, she had agreed to stay on for an additional two weeks for the transition time for her replacement but it wasn’t the same thing as actually working for him. No, for the next couple of weeks she’d be more or less playing the part of a consultant; making her own hours and just making herself available to her replacement, Anna.

  The Slade family had been in the business of finances since the Great Depression and had a great reputation for the way they treated their employees. Once a year they opened their home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to their executive staff for a weekend retreat. Though this wasn’t the first year that Olivia had been invited, it was the first year that she finally had the bravado to deal with her attraction to David once and for all. The beach was the perfect setting, Olivia thought, for her big plan of seduction.

  Originally, she had no plans of attending this years retreat since she was leaving the firm, but David had insisted that she come. He had joked with her that this was his version of a going away party for her so that everyone could send her off properly. The man had a soft side that just made Olivia tingle. Actually, there was a lot about David that made Olivia tingle.

  He was kind and generous and he was just perfect to look at; tall, lean muscles, sandy brown hair that looked sun kissed and a million dollar smile that when it was directed at her, had Olivia nearly purring with appreciation. While she had always hoped that David would be the one to make the first move, after three years Olivia came to the realization that as employer and employee, it was probably never going to happen.

  Well, she hadn’t come to that realization on her own; her best friend Tina had sort of beat that point to death like the proverbial dead horse.

  Olivia had balked at the idea of using this weekend to make her move on David, but Tina had been very persuasive in her argument.

  “How long are you going to sit around and complain about not having any opportunity to be alone with David?” she had asked one night while the two of them had been sitting around watching re-runs of ‘Sex and the City’.

  “Well, I don’t really get any time alone with him outside of the office,” Olivia admitted with a weary sigh. “We don’t exactly socialize with the same people.”

  “Um, excuse me if I’m wrong, but won’t there be time to be alone with him while you’re at this beach retreat thing? I mean, talk about the perfect setting!”

  In that moment, Olivia knew, with great certainty, that her friend was right. She could go on griping about the lack of opportunity but the truth of the matter was that a great opportunity had been dropped right into her lap. Could she really afford to let it slip away?

  Now, standing in her dimly lit ocean front bedroom, Olivia knew it was now or never. She checked her reflection one last time and made a mental list of what she wanted to accomplish tonight. Seduction, sex and more sex.

  She grinned at the thought.

  Running her hands over her navy silk robe, she felt a bit naughty knowing that there was nothing on underneath it. The plan was to slip into David’s room, shimmy out of the robe and in between the sheets before David knew what hit him. Of course, there was a good chance that David would be shocked by her actions and perhaps not as into the whole thing as Olivia was. She was counting on the pure fact that David was a man and most men wouldn’t turn down a naked and willing woman in their bed.

  Olivia had done her best to hide her true feelings for her boss these last three years. But he was always so sweet to her, so considerate of her feelings and even if he never commented on whether or not he found her attractive, Olivia felt that she was. Maybe David thought that it would be unprofessional for him to comment on her appearance and didn’t want to risk a complaint to human resources.

  She wished other people in the office shared that thought.

  Shaking off that negative thought, Olivia returned her focus to David and she sighed. She examined her reflection a little more closely and had to admit, she didn’t look half bad for being 26. She was confident, she worked out and did her best to always look professional and well-groomed in hopes that someday David would see her, touch her, and want to make love to her.

  No such luck.

  No, the only person in the office who seemed to pay any attention to how she looked only did so to make negative comments to her. Once again Olivia forced herself to not think of the negative and focus on the night ahead.

  Glancing at the clock, she noted that it was just after midnight. Perfect. David always went up to bed at eleven. She was confident that he’d be in bed by now and hopefully not too deeply asleep. With one last sip of her wine, she straightened her robe, checked her pocket for condoms and gave her long auburn hair a good shake to give it that sexy, mussed up look and headed for the door.

  Tiptoeing down the carpeted hallway, she stopped at the last door on the left. There were only three bedrooms on this floor – hers, David’s and one that was being used by one of the company’s VP’s and his wife. Careful not to make any noise, Olivia stopped in front of David’s door and took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and reminded herself that it was now or never.

  Sleeping with David while working for him would have been a terrible mistake. Knowing that she was leaving the firm had freed her mind to all of the possibilities of this seduction. Well, that and her pushy friend pointing it out to her.

  Honestly, Olivia never thought that she would want to leave Slade and Associates, but working in finance had never been her dream. Being close to David on a daily basis had kept her there. But, the older she got, the more dissatisfied she became with the job itself and when she thought it through, Olivia convinced herself that nothing could ever happen with David as long as she was his employee. As she stood with her hand on the doorknob, she realized that there was no turning back. All of her plans were falling into place perfectly.

  With a trembling hand, she turned the knob silently and slipped into the room, careful to shut the door as quickly and quietly as possible. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and she could detect David’s silhouette on the bed and heard the sound of his deep, steady breathing. So far, he hadn’t noticed her presence and that was good. She needed a minute to calm her racing heartbeat. Now that she was here in his room, she knew that it was too late to turn tail and run.

  There was the chance of rejection – and humiliation – but she hoped that that wasn’t going to be the case. Olivia just knew that David would feel for her what she had been feeling toward him. He had to! Having never been the aggressor in a relationship before, Olivia could only hope that she wasn’t about to make a colossal fool of herself.

  There was movement on the bed. As David rolled onto his back, Olivia plastered herself against the door and held her breath. When he still didn’t acknowledge her presence, she decided to slowly walk toward the bed.

  “You can do this,” she mentally chanted as she walked the short distance to the bed. It might have been the length of a football field for all of her nerves.

  “David,” she whispered. “David, it’s Olivia.” Standing beside the bed, she wished that she could see him better. The curtains were drawn and clearly of the room darkening variety because they allowed no moonlight to come through. The room was almost as dark as a cave. That could work to her advantage, she thought. They would have to simply rely on the
sense of touch which could really heighten the experience.

  There was that tingle again.

  More than a little discouraged that he wasn’t waking up so easily, she decided to just spring into action and hope for the best. “David,” she began, “I’ve waited so long to be alone with you. My leaving the firm was necessary before I could tell you how I feel.” Olivia took the condoms from her pocket and placed them on the nightstand and then walked around to the opposite side of the bed. Slipping off her robe, she took a deep breath and then climbed in the bed beside him. He felt so warm and she was almost giddy at the chance to finally be able to touch him. Her hands wandered a little and he felt so much more muscular than she imagined.

  David grunted in his sleep before realizing that he wasn’t alone. “Hmmm…what?”

  “David, it’s Olivia,” she repeated softly as she pressed herself up against him and placed a hand on his bare chest. “I had to come here tonight. I wanted to be with you. I’ve wanted to be with you for a very long time.”

  Beside her, Olivia felt him stiffen. “Da…?”

  “Sshh,” she whispered, placing a finger on his lips. “Please don’t say anything. Let’s have tonight. I don’t expect anything from you. You don’t have to make any promises; I just want us to have this one night together.” Then she leaned in and kissed him. Tentatively at first but then she put everything she had into it as she pressed her whole body closer to his. In less than a second, Olivia was pinned beneath him as David took control.

  Never in Olivia’s wildest fantasies has she imagined such passion coming from her boss. He seemed so calm and even-tempered all of the time. The man kissing her right now was far from calm; he seemed just as hungry for her as she was for him. She loved how he took control so quickly. His hands were everywhere, his mouth was everywhere and Olivia felt herself quickly losing control.

  Wordlessly, David worked his way down her body, seemingly anxious to learn every inch of her body immediately. Olivia had to bite her lip to keep from crying out and waking the occupants in the room across the hall. His mouth was magic, his hands and fingers were doing things to her most intimate spots that she had no doubt that she was going to come. But just as her release was upon her, David was back to kissing her mouth and probing forward with his body to join with hers.

  “Condoms,” she said breathlessly. “I put some on the night stand.”

  He chuckled deep in his throat and Olivia nearly wept when he rolled away from her to grab a foil packet. She already missed the heat of his body, his hands on her. No sooner had that thought registered than he was back, kissing her, fondling her breasts, making her purr with passion and begging for more.

  “David,” she panted, “please! I need you inside me!” Olivia felt his hard cock probing, moving forward. She wrapped her legs around his waist and aligned herself with him to give him greater access to what he sought. “Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes,” she thought to herself as she lifted her hips in silent invitation.

  He readily accepted.

  Their pace was fast and frantic. Olivia’s whole body was humming with the kind of pleasure she’d only dreamed of and when he roughly growled in her ear “Come for me”, she readily did. It was the most erotic suggestion she had ever heard and was helpless to do anything but comply. She was soaring, mindless to anything but the orgasm that was ripping through her and the feel of David filling her over and over and over. Within minutes Olivia felt him stiffen above her as he finally let go as well.

  Lying beneath him, Olivia luxuriated in his weight. She ran her hands up and down his back and actually heard herself purr. David rolled to his side and pulled Olivia in close, his heart pounding in time with hers. He kept his silence as both of their breathing began to calm.

  There were a million things that Olivia wanted to say. She wanted to ask how he was, did he enjoy himself, did he want to do it again…but her body was so sated, so completely wrung out that all she could do was sigh contentedly and curl into him.

  When Olivia’s breathing finally deepened and evened out, he let his own body relax. How the hell was he supposed to explain to Olivia now that he wasn’t David?

  ****

  Daniel Slade cursed himself a thousand times over for what had just happened. When Olivia had climbed into his bed and he felt her naked body against his, his mind – and his conscience – had gone completely blank. Knowing full well that she thought him to be his brother did nothing to deter him or make him feel any better at this moment.

  He’d known Olivia as long as David had and while he’d known for a long time that she clearly preferred his brother in every sense of the way, it still hadn’t been enough to make him stop before making love to her. What the hell kind of man did that make him? What was wrong with him? He ran a weary hand over his face as answers eluded him.

  In the office, Olivia was David’s assistant but Daniel had worked with her just as much. Truth be known, he has always envied his brother for having such a valued assistant while Daniel had gone through a string of them because he was so demanding. Oddly enough, whenever Olivia had done any work for him – usually while filling in until he found a replacement – he’d never had a problem with her work. Of course, that didn’t stop him from demanding more from her. She did the work that was required to do with a detached politeness and professionalism, but he could tell that she disliked him. Still, he’d never caught on to the fact that she was physically attracted to David.

  Or maybe he did, subconsciously. Maybe that was why he was always trying to get a rise out of her by making snide comments about her work or her appearance. Honestly, there was nothing wrong with Olivia in any way, shape or form. She was damn near perfect. She was a hard-working, beautiful woman. But he hated the indifference. Just once he wanted her to smile at him or share in the easy camaraderie that she and David had.

  He gave a silent, mirthless chuckle at how he thought she’d react when she found out exactly who she’d slept with. Daniel pulled her closer and lightly ran a hand up and down her back and felt his body stirring again. Olivia was a passionate woman; from the moment she’d kissed him, Daniel knew it was going to be one hell of a ride. Though he’d never admit it, Olivia had starred in more than a few of his fantasies but the reality was far greater.

  Olivia ran her leg up over his in an attempt to get closer. Daniel knew that she was asleep and probably wasn’t even aware of what she was doing, but still, the action turned him on. He wanted her again and had a feeling that she wouldn’t complain if he did his best to wake her up.

  Knowing that he was going to hell already for what he’d done tonight, he figured he might as well make the trip well worth it. Sliding a hand down the side of Olivia’s body, from shoulder to knee and back again, Daniel began to roll her beneath him. In his mind he pictured her on top of him, riding him, but in this extreme darkness, it wouldn’t do. When Olivia took that ride, and she would, he wanted to see her in all her glory.

  He kissed her cheek, her jaw and down her throat. When his mouth reached her breast she arched beneath him and sighed his name – well, his brother’s name – and Daniel hovered over her and silenced all of her words with his mouth. He didn’t want any reminders of why she was really here. For now he wanted to live the fantasy that she was there for him; that is was Daniel that she wanted and not his brother.

  And he spent the rest of the night doing his damndest to chase all thoughts to the contrary away.

  Chapter Two

  Olivia woke and stretched like a very contented cat and felt the need to purr –again. David had certainly made her do that more than once over the course of their long night. Her every fantasy had come true and she felt nothing but joy bubbling up inside of her. Would he want to see her again? Would he want to make love again this morning with some light finally breaking through the curtains? She’d finally get to see her lover. The thought made her smile.

  Pressed up close to her back lay the man responsible for the incredible way she felt.
They had reached for each other and made love all through the night. Thank you, Tina, for convincing me to do this! It was hard to believe that it had finally happened and that David so clearly felt for her what she had been feeling for him. There was no awkwardness; they had been completely in tune with one another. That was a rarity in her book.

  With the sun streaking through a small break in the curtains, Olivia could finally see around the room. It was large and done in all neutral tones. She wished she could have spent the entire weekend in here, sleeping beside this amazing man.

  Her lover.

  After such a passion-filled night, it was nice to be able to think of David in those terms. Her mind wandered to where this was all going to lead. She prayed that he wasn’t going to just wish her well and send her on her way. Olivia knew she had said that she just wanted the night but after the night he had given her? She was greedy for more.

  Anxious to be awake and talk to David about their night, Olivia gently rolled over and had to stifle a scream.

  Daniel?

  Daniel?

  What the hell was Daniel doing in bed with her??

  Oh…my…god…

  It hit her like a ton of bricks. She hadn’t slept with David. She hadn’t spent the night making love with David. She hadn’t spent the night like some sex-crazed lunatic with David, but with Daniel!

  Oh…my…god…

  Pushing all thoughts of modesty and her embarrassing behavior aside, Olivia slid quietly from the bed and tiptoed naked over to where her silk robe lay on the floor. Donning it quickly, she refused to even glance at the bed and the man who had made her body sing like never before.

  Daniel!

  This was why she never took chances! This was why she was always so cautious and played things safe! Because when Olivia threw caution to the wind, bad things like this happened. Well, nothing quite like this had ever happened to her before but then again, who could even believe that something like this actually could happen?