by Donna Hill
Goodbyes were said, promises made to stay in touch and Alexis and Sydni exchanged phone numbers when they’d gotten outside.
* * *
“What a night,” Alexis said, settling into the cab, the sound of pleasure underscoring her voice. “Thank you so much.”
“They were even better than I thought. I haven’t heard Rae in a while. The trio thing is a bit new.”
“It works.”
Graham draped his arm across the back of the seat and let his fingers drift onto her shoulder.
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. This time tomorrow they would be back in New York. The thought made her stomach tighten.
“We need to talk,” he said as if once again reading her mind.
She opened her eyes and angled her head to look at him. He was staring at her.
“I know.”
He kissed her forehead and then drew her close. “We’ll have to find a way to make it work.”
“Discreetly. I don’t want anyone thinking...”
“I know and they won’t.”
“At work it must be strictly business.”
“Absolutely. But the nights belong to us.”
A slow smile moved across her mouth. She looked into his eyes. “I think I like the sound of that.”
“So do I.”
* * *
They spent the night together in Alexis’s hotel room. When they returned from the club there was no real discussion. They seemed to instinctively understand that they were going to be together. It was all so easy as if they’d been lovers for years instead of two days and understood each other in ways that took most couples years to achieve.
“I had an incredible time tonight. Wait until I tell Naomi. She’s going to be so jealous.” She chuckled lightly as she stepped out of her shoes and put them in the closet.
“How about some wine?”
“Sounds good. I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Hmm, how about if I bring the bottle and join you.”
“That sounds even better. As a matter of fact...” She walked up to him and tugged on the lapel of his jacket. “Why don’t I run us a bath and we can sit and sip.”
“That sounds even better.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “You run the water. I’m going across the hall for a minute.”
“Sure. Take the key card,” she called out while she walked into the bathroom.
Alexis turned on the faucets in the deep soaker tub and added some of the bath salts that the hotel provided. Within moments the room filled with aromatic steam. She quickly arranged the towels within easy reach and hung two terry robes on the hooks behind the door and then pressed the button on the panel that piped in music. She checked the water and turned it off. She began to undress, anticipation building in her veins. She dropped her blouse to the floor.
“That’s the kind of show I could watch every night,” Graham said from his bird’s-eye position at the door.
Alexis glanced seductively over her shoulder and gave him a come-hither smile. “You could make the progress much quicker,” she said, her voice heated by the light of desire in his eyes.
“The lady is always right.” He came up behind her and unfastened her bra.
His nimble fingers slid the straps off her shoulders then moved around and cupped her breasts possessively in his palms. He teased her nipples until her sighs deepened to moans. He placed hot kisses down her neck and along the ridge of her spine. She trembled each time his mouth connected with her flesh. His fingers trailed down her curves, across her stomach that fluttered against his touch.
“I want you,” he breathed hotly into her ear. He unfastened her slacks, pushed them and her panties down and over her hips. She quickly stepped out of them.
Graham’s arm snaked tightly around her waist, binding her to him. His erection pressed rock hard against her lower back. His hand moved down between her legs. She drew in a sharp breath and he groaned in satisfaction to find her wet and ready.
He unbuttoned his pants with his free hand and let them fall. “The bath can wait,” he said on a ragged breath, “but I can’t.” He bent her forward, positioned himself between her legs and entered her in one, long deep stroke with such force that she had to grip the edge of the sink to keep from being lifted off of her feet.
Graham alternated between caressing her breasts and stroking her swollen clit, sending jolt after jolt of pleasure through her veins.
A myriad of sensations swirled within her, so intense at times that she could not hold back her cries of joy and then she looked up and saw their images in the mirror, more like apparitions in the steamy room, and it pushed her even further to the edge.
“Come with me,” he demanded, nearly pulling completely out of her, only leaving enough of himself inside to tease her opening.
She whimpered. Her insides instinctively contracted. She gripped the edge tighter. The backs of her legs tightened. Her inner thighs trembled. Heat flooded her belly. Her head spun.
Graham pushed slowly back inside her. So slow she thought she would go crazy—and then again, and again. Tears pushed out from the corner of her eyes. She threw her head back in a fit of agony and ecstasy. Graham rotated his pelvis and Alexis matched him move for move until all that could be heard in the heated room was the sound of their panting breaths and the slap of skin against skin.
Graham grabbed her hips, controlling her ability to move and he took her mercilessly, the urge for release boiling like a volcano inside of her as he banged against her.
Somehow she managed to snake her hand between her legs and found his full sac. Gently she squeezed, once, twice and an animal-like growl rose up from his throat as his erection stiffened even more, filled to bursting and exploded into her sending shock waves of jism roaring through her body as she shuddered and jolted in a release that eclipsed explanation. If Graham wasn’t holding on to her for dear life she would have collapsed on the floor.
Every nerve ending sizzled. Her legs felt like spaghetti and her girl wouldn’t stop purring.
With difficulty and great reluctance Graham eased out of her and slowly turned her around. He tucked his finger beneath her chin and tilted her head up to his. He lowered his mouth to hers for a long, deep kiss.
When he leaned back his eyes were at half-mast. Pure satisfaction defined his face. “Woman...” That was all he could say.
“A man of many words,” she teased in a lazy voice.
“How about that bath. I could use a good soak.” He took her hand and they walked to the tub. He checked the water, turned on the faucet to add more hot water. He got in first. Alexis got in and sat between his legs so that she could lean back against him.
When she lowered herself into the water her entire body sighed with pleasure. The water, just shy of very hot, massaged and loosened her overworked muscles that had been tested beyond endurance.
She rested her head on his chest and her hands on his thighs. She let her eyes drift closed as the steam wafted up around her.
Graham reached for the soap from the dish and lathered the white cloth before gently washing her neck, down the valley of her breasts and across her stomach.
“Open your legs,” he whispered in her ear while he replaced the cloth with the bar of soap and tenderly caressed her swollen breasts until they were sudsy and smooth. He continued administering to her breasts, re-igniting the flames of arousal.
Alexis moaned softly when his finger slid between her slick folds and teased and stroked while her fingertips pressed deeper and deeper into his thighs. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out when he pushed two fingers inside of her.
Graham was fully erect now and the overwhelming need to bury himself inside of her again was more than he could fight back. As if she weighed no more than a ba
g of groceries he managed to raise her up just enough for him to position himself.
She knew what he wanted and she wanted it, too, so she maneuvered her body until she had him between her legs, beneath her opening and then lowered herself down onto him and it stole her breath.
For several seconds neither of them could move, overtaken by the intensity of their union.
Graham held his breath, gritted his teeth and lowered his head to rest on the back of hers while he silently prayed to regain some sense of control.
“Bend your knees and lean back against me.”
Alexis followed his instructions and he adjusted his position accordingly before turning on the jets of the Jacuzzi.
“Spread your legs wider,” he ordered in a raspy whisper.
She did and the pulse of the spray beat against her opening and sent shocks jolting through her. She gasped. Her hips instinctively rose toward the source of the pleasure then lowered. They both groaned with pleasure.
The pulse of the water combined with Graham’s incredibly hard erection that filled every inch of her and pressed against that spot had her dizzy and trembling. She wanted it all at once but the pleasure was so intense she felt as if she was going to pass out and the sensations kept climbing higher.
Graham suddenly pushed upward, the jets pulsed and Alexis exploded into a millions pieces of herself, spewing all over as the climax ripped through her and Graham stroked and teased every iota of it out of her.
“You’re pretty hot for a cool Brit,” she said lazily, her body still humming.
Graham stroked her hair away from her face and kissed the back of her neck. “Don’t let the accent fool you.”
And like the previous night, Graham was gone before sunrise. This time that funny feeling in her stomach was absent when she rolled over and found the spot next to her still warm but empty. They met in the lobby and caught an early train Sunday morning. By that afternoon they would be back to the real world.
Chapter 11
The train ride back went from easy and comfortable to surreal before they hit Maryland. Their days together seemed like a dream that she was slowly awakening from. The closer the train drew to their final destination the more reality sank in. Even though they’d come to an understanding it was still going to take some adjustment to come down from this amazing high.
She turned to glance at Graham. He was dozing next to her. She studied him in repose, and everything that he’d said to her, the way he moved, smiled, laughed and made love to her rolled through her thoughts and that thing that kept her anchored and focused broke loose and she felt herself being taken away on a raging tide of emotions. The first problem was sleeping with her boss. The second problem was having feelings for him.
How could that be? They barely had time to get to know each other. But it didn’t seem to matter. Time wasn’t a factor. They did know each other. They were inside each other’s heads from the very beginning. And now he was in her soul. That was the dangerous part, the part that had her fearful of the days ahead. She couldn’t get caught up in feelings and lose her edge or her perspective.
Alexis turned away and drew in a breath of resolve. It was only great sex with a sexy man. That was all. From here on out it was business as usual.
* * *
The cab ride from Penn Station to Sutton Place was awkward for lack of a better word. It was almost as if a third party, a stranger was sitting between them and they didn’t want the stranger to overhear their conversation—so they didn’t talk, at least not about anything of substance.
Mercifully the ride was short and before long they were greeted by Glen at the front of the building and then they were on the elevator.
“O-kay,” Alexis said on a breath, dragging out the word as the elevator pinged on her floor. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yes, tomorrow, then.”
Her gaze flicked toward him but she dared not look too long or else he would see all of the questions and anxiety in her eyes. But what she did catch in his expression momentarily stilled her heart. Nothing.
Alexis adjusted her tote on her shoulder and pulled her small luggage behind her. She could barely see to get the key in the lock of her apartment door through the cloud of tears burning her eyes.
Once inside she didn’t try to hold back any longer and the tears ran down her high cheeks. Just the idea that some man had her crying turned her tears into angry ones at herself. It was clear from the expression on his face that it truly was just a romp. How many others were there? Was she the first from the office or had there been others?
What difference did it make? She knew going in that sleeping with the boss was trouble on simmer. Did she really believe that mind-blowing sex equaled a relationship?
She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and tossed her tote onto the club chair in her bedroom. Get it together, girl. Graham Stone is just a man, not the Holy Grail. He thinks he’s mastered that British cool. He hasn’t seen Atlanta chilly.
* * *
Her first bout of anxiety was allayed when she didn’t run into Graham on her way out of the apartment building en route to the office. Throughout the night she’d had recurring dreams of her and Graham in an elevator. In one version they were trapped for hours and had nothing to say to each other. In another dream he came on the elevator with another woman who was glued to him at the hip. In the third version he got on the elevator and he didn’t see her or at least he acted like he didn’t. The different versions continued all night in a loop. She awoke cranky and edgy and tried to burn off some of her unevenness by working out with her favorite exercise DVD. It helped a little. At least she didn’t feel like kicking a cat or rolling her eyes at an old lady.
When she arrived at the office it was still early and only the IT division had anyone in the office. Her goal was to ground herself back in her work. Reclaim her sense of balance through what she did best so that when she did see Graham again she would have resurrected the wall of work. He would stay on his side and she would stay on hers. When they needed to they would meet in the middle, but never again would she cross that line.
By eight she began to hear the buzz of the office coming to life. In the hour and a half that she’d been at her desk she’d thoroughly reviewed all of the notes and reports from the meetings in D.C., answered email, consolidated the notes and prepared a final report for distribution at the department meeting, and added new names to her contact list. With each task she gained a little bit more of her sense of self and pushed thoughts and feelings about Graham into the background.
Alexis glanced up at the sound of the light knocking on the frame of her partially opened door. “Claire. Hi. Good morning. Come on in.”
Claire stepped inside, looking stylish as always in a beautiful lavendar-colored two-piece skirt suit. “Welcome back. How was the trip?”
Clearly she had no idea that was a loaded question. “Thanks. I was only out of the office for a day, but it feels longer. The trip was very productive. I feel strongly about our position and that the decision of the committee will be favorable.”
“Excellent.”
“What did I miss?”
“Nothing that I couldn’t handle. The usual office stuff. A few phone calls from some of our subcontractors, nothing major.”
“Which subcontractors?”
“We recently signed a contract with Horizon. They provide a lot of the software that we use in the classrooms and the teaching aids. They wanted to come in to discuss some new products.”
Alexis nodded as she listened.
“And Happy Faces our uniform supplier has some discounts on their boys and girls slacks that they wanted us to know about.”
“I didn’t realize that we had our own uniform supplier,” Alexis said, clearly surprised.
“Yes, Mr. Stone wants R.
E.A.L. to be self-contained. He wants us to be able to fulfill every aspect of our children’s educational experience. We get bids from the best and the least expensive to pass on to our parents.”
Alexis hummed in appreciation. She couldn’t help but admire Graham and all of the work he’d put into building this organization. It was really quite amazing and she was sure that there was much more for her to learn. Finding out everything there was to know about Graham Stone’s organization was going to be her mission. There was much more to him and this company than what was put on paper. Knowledge was power and she never reveled in being powerless.
“Have you had breakfast?” Claire asked. “I can order out or get you something from the kitchen.”
“Something from the kitchen will be fine. Coffee and do we have any yogurt?”
“Light and sweet?”
“Yes.”
“Any particular flavor for the yogurt?”
“No, whatever is around. Well, anything other than strawberry.”
Claire grinned. “That’s so funny, Mr. Stone doesn’t like strawberries either,” she said on her way out.
An unexpected jolt hit her at that bit of revelation. Strawberries made her itch. She wondered what was at the root of Graham’s aversion.
* * *
“I arranged for us to have a private lunch in the small conference room to review the upcoming project in California,” Tracy was saying. She sat on the opposite side of Graham’s desk. She crossed her long legs to reveal a good deal of her toned thigh.
Graham stared out the window, listening but not paying attention. His thoughts were elsewhere, and for the first time since he’d been on this quest to build his organization, he wished he was anyplace other than at the office. He wanted to be in bed with Alexis, with her legs wrapped around him and the warm sweetness of her voice breathing his name in his ear.
“Graham!”
Graham’s gaze snapped back to attention. He blinked Tracy into focus while he slowly angled his head in her direction. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
