“Your home is gorgeous, D’marcus,” she said, and meant every word.
“I’m glad you like it.” And D’marcus meant every word, as well. He wasn’t sure what was going on between him and Opal, but he was certain something was, although he seemed to be picking up on it more than she was. When she had arrived at his hotel room a few minutes before nine, she had been business as usual. Twice, she had reverted to calling him Mr. Armstrong and he had reminded her of their agreement.
“Can you swim?” he decided to ask her.
“Yes, that was one of the things Mom made sure we could all do,” she replied when he turned off the car’s ignition.
“Good.” Tonya hadn’t been able to swim and he’d never taken the time to teach her, though he had promised her several times. “We have a meeting at three and then later, if you’d like, we can take a walk on the beach and maybe tomorrow after all our work is done, we can go swimming.” In his mind’s eye he was already visualizing her in a bathing suit. One that revealed all her luscious curves.
“Just a moment and I’ll open the car door for you,” he said, coming around to her side.
That, in Opal’s opinion, was a gentlemanly gesture, just one of several she’d noted that D’marcus automatically did. What she’d told her sisters and cousins last night was the truth. He was a complete gentleman.
When he opened her door, she unbuckled the seatbelt and got out of the car. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
She hadn’t been aware of just how close they were standing until she suddenly realized she could feel the warmth of his breath on the side of her face. And, when she glanced into his eyes, she could swear she saw them get even darker than they had been earlier. She took a step back to give him room to shut the door.
She glanced at the house when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eyes. “Someone is at your door,” she pointed out, her voice barely able to say the words since she hadn’t quite recovered from having him standing so close.
He glanced over his shoulder at the older woman standing in the doorway. “That’s Bertha, my housekeeper. I called her to come over and get things ready. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
Opal inhaled a deep breath as she walked by his side up the walkway and then up the steps. The older lady gave her a friendly smile when they came face to face.
D’marcus made introductions, and, although he introduced her as his employee, Opal could tell from the look in the housekeeper’s eyes that she thought there was probably more to their relationship than that.
“Everything was done as you requested, Mr. Armstrong,” Bertha said. “So, I’ll be leaving now. If you need me for anything else just give me a call.”
“Thank you, Bertha.”
He then turned to Opal. “I’ll bring your bags in later. Let me show you around, first.”
“All right.”
While touring his home, Opal became even more impressed. Downstairs, the house had a huge kitchen with all stainless-steel appliances, a large living room with a fireplace and a study with built-in bookcases and floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a majestic view of the dunes and ocean. The focal point, however, was the great room. It contained a huge plasma television, several leather sofas and, to her surprise, a grand piano. D’marcus explained it was one of the furnishings that had come with the house when he’d purchased it.
Upstairs, she only got a quick glance of the master bedroom that had a deck and a huge limestone bath with a Jacuzzi. There were four guest bedrooms, all with separate entrances and their own private baths.
“This will be your bedroom while you’re here,” he said, and she smiled upon seeing she had a French door that led down a wrought iron spiral staircase to a landscaped garden and patio. And the room was beautifully decorated. “Thank you. It’s stunning.”
“I’ll go out and bring in your bags now.”
Opal waited till he walked out of the room. She then turned and studied the huge bed. The prospect of sleeping in it was pleasant, when she could hear the sound of the ocean. She smiled, thinking she could definitely get used to this. However, knowing that would never happen, she left the room to see if she could help D’marcus with her luggage.
By five o’clock D’marcus had concluded his business meetings, all of which had gone rather well. However, a short while later he had received a telephone call that had sent his blood pressure rising.
He had talked to Grayson Meadows, head coach of the Chargers, who’d reported that Dashuan Kennedy hadn’t shown up for the team’s first game. D’marcus had made it clear to Kennedy that he was to report, although he would be sitting on the bench due to his ankle injury.
“I take it that Dashuan Kennedy didn’t show up to the game.”
D’marcus glanced up. He and Opal had finalized their last meeting for the day and she was still sitting in the chair not far from his desk. “No, he didn’t,” he said in a disgusted tone. “Although I shouldn’t be surprised. That kid is trying me. He doesn’t know the meaning of respect and obedience.”
Opal nodded. She had to agree with him there. The few times she had seen Kennedy he’d walked around with his head in the air like he was all that.
“What are you going to do?” she couldn’t help but ask.
D’marcus rubbed his hand down his face. “The only thing I can do and what I told Dashuan I would do if he didn’t straighten up his act.”
Opal raised a dark brow. “You’re actually going to trade him?”
D’marcus shook his head. “I wish. The other two owners won’t go along with anything that drastic, but I think they’ll agree with my recommendation of a suspension without pay. That should teach him a lesson and make him think twice about not following orders. I’d like you to set up a conference call with Williams and Hennessy first thing in the morning.”
“All right. Are you sure you don’t want me to do it now?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I promised you a walk on the beach and I plan on doing just that.”
The thought of walking with him on the beach had her somewhat nervous. In fact, the more time they spent together, the more rattled she became. “I’ll understand if you’re busy.”
“No, I need to unwind again. I’m booked with meetings all day tomorrow, as well.” He studied her a moment, noticing she seemed somewhat tense. “Unless you have a problem with us taking a walk on the beach.”
Well, it certainly wasn’t something that a boss and his employee would normally do, but she was not about to tell him that. Especially since he’d said he needed to unwind. “No, I don’t have a problem with it.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Good. I’ll give you time to change and we’ll meet back here in half an hour. And I thought it would be nice if we grilled a couple of steaks for dinner.”
Opal sighed under her breath, thinking they sounded like a couple instead of employer and employee. “Sounds great,” she said. “I’ll meet you back here.” She quickly left his study.
Walking up the stairs to the guest room that she was using, she noted it was the closest one to the master bedroom. Probably a coincidence, she thought, entering her room and closing the door behind her.
Although they were working out of D’marcus’s home, she’d dressed in a skirt and blouse set that displayed a semblance of professionalism. Pearl had picked it out for her. Opal had to admit it had a way of making her feel sophisticated and feminine at the same time.
As she undressed, her thoughts went back to D’marcus. Her sisters and cousins thought she should be more assertive and dress more provocatively. She had refused to purchase outfits she’d felt were overkill, but she had to admit she liked all the items she had finally settled on. None of them were the type of clothing she would have selected on her own.
She slipped into a pair of latte-colored silk lounging pants that had a delicate, feminine-looking matching top with an embroidered hem. She was glad
she wouldn’t be going swimming until tomorrow and she hoped, when she did so, that D’marcus wasn’t around.
Leaving her bedroom, she expected to find him ready and waiting for her, but discovered she had dressed more quickly than he had. She was about to leave the study and head toward the kitchen when she turned and accidentally bumped into him. “Oh, sorry.”
D’marcus automatically reached out to keep both of them from losing their balance. His long fingers wrapped around her waist, splaying against her back. He looked down at her. “You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, and, for the second time that day, they were standing close enough to kiss. She tried to take a step back but his hand on her back prevented her from doing so. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she muttered in a low breath.
“Neither was I, but no harm’s been done,” he told her with a brief smile.
When moments passed and he just stood there looking down at her with his hand at her back, she said softly, “I guess we should head on down to the beach now.”
It seemed that he slid his hand the rest of the way around her waist before releasing her and saying, “Yes, we should.”
They walked side by side out of the house and down the brick walkway that led out to the beach. She tried to remember how things had been with D’marcus when she’d first been hired. He had been anything but friendly and definitely was all business. It was as if he had deliberately placed a wall between them that neither of them could ever breach. He was the boss and she was his employee.
Now things had definitely changed. Ever since that night he had apologized for his rash behavior when he had awakened to find her in his office holding the framed photo he kept on his desk, he had started being less demanding and more polite. What had remained was the professional barrier he had erected between the two of them.
But, for some reason, now she had a feeling that barrier was slowly being torn down. By his hands and not hers. More than once she had caught him staring at her. And then, just now in his study, she’d had a feeling he had come close to actually kissing her. A few more inches and their lips would have touched.
Opal sighed deeply. She was way out of her league here. When it came to men, she had no experience. None. The thought that she was still a virgin at twenty-seven didn’t bother her. No one knew of her sexual status but Colleen. She was sure her sisters assumed she had gotten intimate with Richard, the last guy she’d dated for six months about two years ago. For some reason, although Richard had wanted to move to that level in their relationship, she had not. His kisses hadn’t stirred her to the point where she had wanted to sleep with him, and she couldn’t see doing it just because it was something he wanted. It had to be something she wanted, as well. After Richard had quietly left the picture—when his old girlfriend returned to town—Opal had been glad she’d made the decision that she had.
She paused in her thoughts when D’marcus stopped walking. He stood looking out at the ocean and she followed his gaze. It was simply beautiful. Then she decided to ask him the question that she had thought of upon first arriving in San Francisco. “How can you give this up to live in Detroit most of the year?”
He slowly turned to her and his dark eyes held hers. “For a long while the ocean lost its appeal to me,” he said in a low tone. “The woman I was to marry lost her life in it.”
“I’m sorry,” Opal whispered, shaken by what he’d said. She had felt the pain in his words. She had forgotten that his fiancée had died two weeks before their wedding when the boat she was in capsized. Even after six years, it was evident that D’marcus Armstrong was still suffering from a broken heart.
“I’m okay now, but, for a long time, it was hard. In fact, she died before I bought the house, while I was still in college. I had figured buying a house on the ocean would be therapy to help me get over things, but it didn’t work.”
Opal nodded. She understood and a part of her regretted he was reliving painful memories because of the question she had asked him. “We can go back inside if you’d like.”
He surprised her by reaching out and taking her hand in his. “No, I’m fine. Come on and let’s finish our walk.”
He still held her hand as they walked slowly, side by side, along the sandy shores. She tried changing the subject by asking his permission to play something on his piano after they ate dinner.
He smiled over at her. “Sure you can. I’d love to hear you play.”
She chuckled. “What about you? Do you still have your saxophone around?”
He grinned. “Yes, I do. I keep it in the closet in my bedroom. I enjoy playing it every once in a while. Maybe I’ll play something later, as well.”
They continued walking, and Opal couldn’t help but wonder how she would make it through dinner with D’marcus. She was doing all she could not to show how much she was attracted to him, but it was taking a toll. When he had told her about his fiancée, her heart had gone out to him and she had wanted to reach out and hug him and let him know it was okay and that life went on.
But she hadn’t reached out to hug him. Although she had a reason, she didn’t have a right. Besides, she wasn’t sure how he would react to such a gesture.
Suddenly he stopped walking, and she automatically stopped with him. He slowly turned and looked at her, gazed deep into her eyes. Then she felt it. Everything she had tried ignoring for the past month seemed to be tumbling down on her. And the look she saw in his eyes wasn’t helping. They seemed to have gotten darker and were so seductive that she was beginning to feel dizzy. Evidently, she swayed a little because he quickly released her hand and captured her around the waist.
“D’marcus?”
She whispered his name because she didn’t understand what was happening between them. That fact must have shown in her expression because he tightened his hold around her as he began lowering his mouth toward hers.
“Don’t think right now, Opal,” he whispered, just inches from her lips. “Just close your eyes and feel.”
She did just as he asked and, the moment she felt his mouth take possession of hers, she released a moan from deep down in her throat. She felt the quiver that ran through her stomach when he folded her closer into his arms, closer to his muscular frame.
And then his mouth went further as he took the kiss deeper in such a way that it almost overwhelmed her. The moment his tongue invaded her mouth, taking control of hers, something hot and fiery shot straight to every part of her body, but mainly to the area between her thighs. She couldn’t help but moan again.
When he finally lifted his head, she opened her eyes and stared at him, trying to clear her mind, reset her pause button and slow down her heart rate. Then she was hit by the realization of what they’d done. They had actually shared a kiss.
She pulled out of his arms, feeling embarrassed all the way to the core. “I’m sorry,” she managed to get out as she took a step back, almost stumbling in the process. “I should not have let that happen.”
D’marcus saw the emotional turmoil in her eyes and decided to be honest with her. “I’m glad it happened, so there’s no reason for you to apologize.”
Opal shook her head, not believing what he said and not understanding it, either. She backed up a few more steps. “No, what we did was a mistake.”
He begged to differ, but he decided that, logically, he could see why she assumed that. However, he was determined to prove her wrong. He was through trying to ignore his attraction to her. He wanted her. He had always wanted her. And now he was powerless to stop his emotions and desires.
Common sense had told him to take things slowly with her, but his desires were too strong, had gotten the best of him. There was no way he could not have kissed her when he had. And, from the way she had kissed him back, she had enjoyed it as much as he had. Okay, she was upset about it now, but he believed that beneath all that indignation was a woman who wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“I think we need to talk,�
�� he finally said, ending the silence that had ensued between them after her last statement. “I disagree about it being a mistake. I am attracted to you and have been for some time.”
When he saw the expression on her face, he knew that whatever she was about to say was something he didn’t want to hear right now. He held up his hand. “Let’s wait and discuss things further after dinner. All right?”
Opal pulled in a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, but I want to go back to the house and rest up for dinner,” she said, taking another step back. She turned to leave and he called out to her.
“Opal?”
She stopped and turned back around. “Yes?”
“Are you afraid of me?”
She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “No, D’marcus, I’m not afraid of you.”
He inhaled deeply, relieved. “Then, what are you afraid of?”
She glanced out at the ocean before looking back at him. “Of the unknown,” she said in a soft voice. “I’ve always wanted to share something with a man that will last a lifetime. I take it you don’t want that from a woman. You don’t want to marry nor do you want to have children. I’m not into casual relationships and you’re the last type of man I should become involved with. And, on top of that, you’re my boss.”
He nodded. “But?”
She stared at him wondering how he knew there was a but. “But I admit I’m attracted to you, as well.” And, since it seemed they were going for honesty and admissions of the soul, she added, “And I have been for a long time.”
With that said, she turned and began walking toward the house.
Chapter 10
Opal paced her bedroom not knowing what she should do. It had been bad enough when she’d tried ignoring her attraction to D’marcus. Bad enough, when her sisters accused her of having a crush on him, and she had denied their allegations with a passion. But now, after the kiss they’d shared on the beach, she had to admit a few things to herself. What she was feeling was worse than a crush. She had fallen heads over heels in love with him.
In Bed With Her Boss (Kimani Romance) Page 8
