by Lauren Wood
Her words were not what I was thinking. She certainly had a reason for why she was going out with him that made me feel a little better, but I didn’t like the way she made reference to me. What had I done so bad? Called her sexy? And why does she have to deal with it? Stacy talked like it was such a chore. I started to understand that while I said I had many secrets she didn’t know about, Stacy had a host of her own.
“I just want you to be careful. Keenan told me to keep an eye on you and I would be remiss if I didn’t say something about it.”
“Thank you for your concern Chris, but I am a big girl. I can handle myself.”
The driver was taking us to the conference center and I knew that I was going to have to go to a drastic measure for her to understand how false that statement was. Or maybe I just wanted to kiss her and see what happened.
Leaning in, I pulled her face towards mine and met her lips. I was soft for a moment before I deepened the kiss. She tasted like sweet cream and I wanted more as soon as I got ahold of her. It was no longer about proving a point. It was now all about the feel of her against me. I never wanted to let her go.
Stacy made a small sound in the back of her voice that stripped me of all thought and reason. I pulled her onto my lap, my hands pressing her bottom against the hard bulge in my pants. Stacy finally seemed to notice and pushed off of me suddenly. Her eyes were wary when she looked over from next to me.
“Do you see how unprepared you are to handle yourself Stacy? What if I was a man that didn’t take no for an answer?” It was scary how close I had felt to being that sort of man.
I wanted to take the innocence that I could taste on her lips. God, I wanted her badly.
Chapter 6
Stacy
We didn’t say much as we made our way to the last convention of the day. I wanted to talk to Chris about what had happened, but after we had kissed, he had said what he’d said and that was that. Next thing I knew I was beside him in the seat and there was nothing that I could do but sigh to myself. My body was going a mile a minute with the heart in my chest, but I wasn’t worried about that. I was more interested and consumed by the throbbing that started in between my legs. Why was I feeling like this all of a sudden? It just didn’t make sense and the feelings overwhelmed me and confused the hell out of me.
“I am sorry if I went over the line Stacy. I just wanted to prove a point.”
I still wasn’t sure what the point was that he was trying to prove, but I think I was more afraid that he would want to do it again. I didn’t have it in me to refuse and maybe that was what he was proving. Would I have felt the same way if Ali had kissed me like that? I smiled to myself, knowing that Ali was too much of a gentleman for all of that. Why was I suddenly so saddened by the idea?
“Well I get your point Chris, but you didn’t have to go there to make me see it. I know that you are not used to being turned down, but I am just not into you that way. And for the record, I am not into Ali that way either.”
“I don’t think he knows that.”
I just shook my head and tried not to look at him. There was no point in arguing with him and I was still a little befuddled by it all. The truth was that I wanted to blame my current state of being on something or someone and Chris was it for me.
“He will find out soon enough then I suppose. It wouldn’t be the first time that I had to bring a man back to reality.”
I started towards the conference hall and didn’t even look behind me to see if Chris was coming or not. I knew that I was going to do my job and stay as far away from him as possible. It was hard to do when I was kind of supposed to stay with him, but I was better off on my own. There was no way that the island could be any more dangerous than he was. Chris was damaging to my thinking. It was like I went into a brain fog around him. Those were the men that I feared the most.
The conference was boring, but at least I wasn’t dragged on stage like I was for the last one. Chris sat next to me, but he didn’t say much and I was thankful for that, although I would have been a little more comfortable if Chris would have given me a little more space. I was still affected by the kiss, even if he wasn’t. I wanted some distance between me and him and quick.
I took notes, mindlessly writing things and figures that I really didn’t understand. I knew about as much as the next person when it came to the stock market, but that was not a lot. This felt like a class for advanced learners and I was not one of them. So I did my best and hoped that what I was writing made better sense to Keenan, then it did to me. It was all just scribbles as far as I was concerned.
Chris brushed against me several times with his knee, but I didn’t even acknowledge it or look at him. I was too worried about writing down the gibberish I was hearing. Chris was much like a child though and soon his hand rested on my thigh because I wasn’t giving him the attention that he wanted. I finally gave him a look to remove the hand and he did rather quickly.
It wasn’t long before he was touching me again and I finally said something to him because my senses couldn’t take it anymore.
“What?!” I whispered over to him, wanting to stop whatever it was he was doing. Like a kid, I finally gave him some attention to get him to stop.
“I just wanted to let you know that I am recording this. I will give you a copy when we get back to the hotel. You don’t have to sit there and write everything down Stacy.”
My face turned red and I had an urge to slap him. He could have told me that about an hour ago when the lecture first started. Slamming the notebook that I was writing in, he chuckled beside me and told me that I was even sexier when I was mad. Chris grated at my nerves, enjoying every minute of it. I had to wonder if he knew what he was doing to me. I had a feeling that he did.
“Well then I should be damn well glowing by now!” My words were whispered to him in a harsh tone. He made me so mad and I didn’t understand why he seemed to enjoy it so much. Why did he take such pleasure in enraging me? And in public no less.
I was able to listen to the lecture, but nothing was really sinking in. I was still steaming mad when it was over and I wasn’t able to handle Chris’ smiling face for another second.
“I am going to grab a cab. If you could send that tape over, I would really appreciate it. I am sure our friend Keenan would appreciate it as well.”
“I thought we were going to go out to dinner?”
“You know that I have a previous engagement Chris, but thank you for the offer. You don’t have to watch over me anymore. I will meet you in the lobby before the last conference tomorrow if that suits you.”
“Okay.” He didn’t seem sure and I wasn’t waiting around. I don’t know why he bothered me so badly. If I wasn’t shaking and trembling from some kind of draw that he had on me, then I was angry enough to slap him. I couldn’t take the rollercoaster anymore.
***
I didn’t go directly back to the hotel. I didn’t want to run into Chris while I was there, so I just gave myself a little space. I needed some time to think and pull myself together. I had to keep reminding myself that I was here for work, not all of this other nonsense that I had somehow gotten myself into. I was certainly not here for Chris.
But I was in Jamaica and now that I had some time to myself, I wanted to go see and do some things while I was here. Keenan called to make sure everything was going well. I hoped that he hadn’t talked to Chris, but he didn’t really say anything to make me believe that. He told me to have a good time and I assured him that I would. I felt like I had the greenlight from my boss and I was going to make sure that I made the most of my evening.
Going to a small restaurant that I found after doing some shopping, I tried tons of things that I couldn’t even pronounce. By the time I left there it was dark and I made my way back to the hotel on foot. I had canceled my date with Ali. I didn’t like to think that it was because of what Chris said, but he had reminded me how exhausting it could be sometimes.
So instead of a fancy di
nner with a really nice man, I just spent the evening doing what I wanted and staying away from Chris. I dropped my bags off with the front desk and went down to the beach behind it. I wanted to get a swim in, hopefully not getting harassed by a man this time. I needed the solitude to get my mind right and work through all of the thoughts and feelings that had come to a head since I met Chris.
The water was the only thing that truly relaxed me and it felt good on my skin. I swam for a while and I couldn’t bring myself to go back inside. It was too nice, the heat and slight breeze that blew over me as I sat in the sand was heavenly. I fell asleep out on the beach, finally feeing relief after such a stressful day. The beaches back home were nothing like this.
When I awoke with the sun, I was startled to wake by some early morning swimmers. They gave me a look like I had passed out drunk in the sand, so I didn’t really look their way more than once. I hadn’t had anything to drink. I had just gotten too relaxed and when I had closed my eyes to just listen to the waves roll in, I had fallen asleep. I didn’t know what time it was, but by where the sun was, I didn’t figure it was too late. I wasn’t supposed to meet Chris until around 10, so I made my way to the hotel to get dressed and wash some of the sand out of my hair.
As I made my way in, I was stopped at the door because they must have thought I was a vagrant or something. I didn’t help with my appearance and the massive amount of sand in my hair. The more upset I got, the more sure they were that I didn’t belong there. I tried to show them my key or even my ID, but everything was in the room. They wouldn’t even give me my bags I had left there the night before.
Completely ready to just lose it, I finally sucked up my pride and told them to contact Chris. He would corroborate my story and since he had part ownership in the hotel, I figured that it would fix everything. I didn’t want him to see me like this, but I didn’t have another choice besides getting kicked out of the hotel.
“Are you sure you want me to do this Miss? It might be rather embarrassing for you.”
“Just call him and tell him my name and that I am down here. I need to get up to my room. This is ridiculous and I couldn’t be any more embarrassed then I am right now.”
The front desk clerk eyed me suspiciously, but I just gave her a glare back. I wasn’t going to let them tell me that I didn’t belong here. It was a reminder that I was in a whole other league of people, but I was still here to do a job.
All I could do was wait patiently by the front for Chris to come down and the embarrassment that came with that.
Chapter 7
Chris
“I am sorry, what?”
“We apologize for the interruption Sir, but there is a woman downstairs that is claiming to know you.”
I smiled to myself, still not all the way up. It had been a quiet night, so no one woman came to mind, though I had been to the island many times. It could have been a number of women that I had stayed the night with before.
“You are going to have to be more specific than that Tony. Who is it?”
“Says her name is Stacy I believe. She is rather upset and hard to understand Sir.”
“And she is downstairs?”
“Yes Sir. Do you know this woman? She claims that she is staying in the suite upstairs registered to another guest. She doesn’t look like a normal guest, so we stopped her at the door. This is why I am calling you. If this is all in error, I will make sure that she is out of here in no time.
My mind was fuzzy, but it wasn’t that fuzzy. “She is staying in Keenan’s suite for God’s sakes Tony. How long has she been down there?” I already knew that she was going to be pissed off for this. It wasn’t my fault of course, but I knew that it would feel that way. This day was not going the way it was supposed to be going.
“Let her up Tony. Damn she is going to be pissed. Why wouldn’t you let her up in the first place?” It hadn’t occurred to me yet that she was just getting in around six o’ clock in the morning. I was still too stumped to wonder what she had been doing and where she had been.
“Sir she is disheveled and a real sight. I thought she was one of the homeless that come up from the beach. She is covered in sand…”
“Okay, she is fine and who she says she is Tony. Thank you for taking the extra step, but I fear you have cost me a headache.”
He apologized, but I just hung up. Where had she been all night? I had tried to go see her last night, with a bottle of wine as an excuse, but she hadn’t answered. I just thought she was ignoring me. I never would have guessed that she was out all night in a strange place.
I waited for a few minutes and then moved to the hallway. I wanted to see her, but not let her see me. I had to know what Tony was talking about. How bad could she look?
When she finally came out of the elevator, I could barely even recognize her. She did have a messy knot on top of her head with sand in it. It looked like she had slept on the beach or maybe something more sinister had happened. Whatever it was, I knew that it was surely not expected. I wanted to go out and make sure she was okay, ask her what happened, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Instead I watched her go into her suite and I saw the state of her clothes. They were rumpled and covered in sand as well. I could see why Tony had denied her entry. If I wouldn’t have known that it was Stacy, I would have done the same thing.
Going back to my room, I got ready to go to the final conference and tried to pull my mind from Stacy. When I was ready and it wasn’t possible to pretend anymore, I went down the long hallway to her suite and knocked on the door. It was slightly ajar and after a few minutes, I just pushed the door open, calling her name out.
I still heard no answer and I started to get genuinely worried about her. The state she was in when I saw her last was not a good one. Maybe she had a medical problem that I didn’t know about, though why would I know? Why would I care?
Hearing the shower running, I relaxed a little. The room was still neat and tidy and the bed was unslept in. I really didn’t like that last bit of information, but I was trying not to let it get to me. It was not that I wanted to think about where she was last night it was the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was bothering me and I had to know what happened to her last night. The warning I had given her was ripe in my ear and I hoped that I had been wrong.
I ordered some room service breakfast for both of us and poured some orange juice from the pitcher. I waited for Stacy to come out, but I had expected her to be a little more dressed than she was. I thought like most she would cover up with a towel if she left the bathroom, but Stacy was apparently going to let herself drip dry. She had a towel on her head, wrapped up in her black hair, but there was nothing else covering the rest of her.
Since she didn’t immediately look my way and I was too frozen by the view to ignore what was in front of me. Stacy was turned to the side and I could see her round, heart-shaped ass just feet from me. There was water running over her, little droplets on her milky-white skin that I wanted to stop with my finger. Every inch of her was curved and delicate, dying to be kissed and touched.
What struck me the most was the rather large and whimsical tattoo that she had on her back. It wasn’t big and dense, but flowery and light. I would have never guessed that she had a tattoo of any sort, certainly not that. My eyes scanned for more bits of ink, finding something on her inner ankle that I hadn’t seen before. Did she cover it up when she was at work? How many more mysteries would she have that I would never understand?
“Oh! Chris! What are you doing here?!”
She was yelling and when I met her gaze, I know I had a stupid look on my face, how could I not? She was bare and beautiful, right in front of me. Her eyes moved down to the hard length that was not well hidden in my slacks. I turned towards the table and told her rather clumsily that I had gotten her some breakfast. I even offered her some juice while she just stared at me. Her hands covered all the necessary parts, but it didn’t matter. I had seen it al
l and there was no way I was going to forget every inch of her.
“Why are you still staring at me?”
I didn’t even realize I was, but how could I not?
“Sorry, you are just still naked. Do you not have any towels in here?”
My voice was surprisingly calm, but I was not feeling that way inside. I trembled, something I would never admit to. Stacy had a way about her that made me feel different.
“You are blaming me for this?” While she complained that it was my fault, she went back into the bathroom and got a towel. I could breathe better when she was out of sight from me. I could still see her if I wanted to, but it was easier to pull the images out of my head this way without the constant reminder.
“Not blaming you. Sorry Stacy. I got a call from the doorman this morning and I was worried about you. I came in because the door was still open and not even latched. You were in there, so I ordered some breakfast and tried to help make your day a little better. I really was just trying to help, even though I seemed to have failed miserably with it.”
It didn’t matter what the scene of her had done to me. My first instinct was to look, I couldn’t help it. “You are beautiful Stacy. I can’t not look.”
The sound of my voice grated on my own nerves and I tried to snap out of it. Turning away, I opened some of the metal covers and asked what she would like for breakfast.
“Let me get dressed first. I can’t have breakfast like this, not with you here.”
It may have been a jab for me to leave, a not so hard to read sign, but I ignored it. This was our last day together and I wanted it to go smoothly. At first I thought she would be mine by now, whimpering my name out. I would get my fill and move on. But that hadn’t happened, so I was more obsessed than ever before. I needed to know what was going on and how I was going to change any of it with her. I couldn’t do that if I just went away.
