by Bella Court
Kristen was saved from her possible act of hostility by a familiar smooth and masculine voice. "John! You're back!" Reece sauntered over to the awkward trio, slinging an arm around John. "How was Jamaica?" Reece began, but when his eyes landed on Kristen, he quickly removed his arm from around John and put them around Kristen, instead. "I see you've met our gorgeous new interior decorator." Reece grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.
Kristen burst out laughing and was secretly glad for his distraction. He was so warm and friendly, and he had definitely saved her from an awkward position. Unlike Connor, who stood woodenly by her side, Reece lent a nice kind of comfort.
"Can I talk to you about some arrangements that need to be made for the lobby?" Kristen asked Reece quietly, looking up at Reece through her eyelashes, the same way she had with Connor.
And just like Connor, Reece was instantly enchanted. "Of course. Into my office, shall we?"
He didn't give his associates a second glance, as Kristen gave him a grateful smile that swept through her features, instantly erasing the tension in her face.
Connor had to bite down hard to keep from bolting after the two of them, but his brother was the one who apparently needed comforting. Kristen could deal. His brother would not. John would probably be mired in misery if Connor didn't talk some sense into him. So without invitation, Connor stepped into John's office, closing the door behind him just as Reece's door locked with a clack.
"What about the lobby?" Reece asked sweetly, sitting on the corner of his desk. Kristen could feel the tension in her face ebb away as she took off that horrible fake smile. Shaking her head from side to side, she tried to get out everything that had happened to her.
"Uh…we're going to have to close off sections of it to redecorate it. We're going to need to retile the whole lobby eventually, but for now, we can just section parts off." Kristen broke off, sitting down on one of Reece's chairs. She was feeling so weary now, and Reece's office was such a nice, quiet sanctuary from what had happened outside.
She closed her eyes for a second, leaning her head back against the leather armchair, when she felt warm hands gently knead her shoulders through her thin silk blouse.
"You're tired," Reece said softly. He slipped his fingers beneath the silkiness of her blouse, working his knuckles into the knots at the base of her neck where her throat and shoulder met.
Kristen let out a little mewling sound at his touch, and Reece's deep chuckle rumbled through her. His hands were smooth yet strong, as they stroked delicate circles across her shoulder.
"Does that feel good?"
"Uh huh." Kristen's voice was breathy and low, and her eyes were closed from drowsiness, but her body was reacting with Reece's touch.
Slowly, Reece leaned his head down, and placed a light kiss where his fingers were. "Does that?"
* * *
"Did you hire her?" John demanded, his eyes alight with pure panic and frustration. He was pacing the length of his room at a frenetic pace, glaring irritably at his brother.
"Yes and no. Reece was the one who found her company, but I signed the contract with her."
John shot his brother an accusatory glance. "Are you doing this to punish me or something? Why couldn't you have hired another interior decorator?"
"I am not doing this to punish you, my idiotic brother. This business decision has absolutely nothing to do with you. She is the best decorator in the city. Wilde Towers will have nothing but the best. You were the one who fucked up, so why should she be punished for your mistakes?" Connor's iciness stunned John into silence. Coldness emanated from Connor like an iceberg.
Connor could feel his disdain for his brother grow by the second. Kristen had been so passionate about working, regardless of what had happened in the past. John, on the other hand, was acting like he was the one being punished. As if he was the one who would be in pain, every time she came around. He couldn't even imagine what Kristen was going through.
"No one says you have to interact with her. Reece and I will handle it." Connor told his brother swiftly. There was no ounce of sympathy in Connor's voice, only a hard edge that was completely decisive.
"Do…do you think Kristen completely hates me?" John asked miserably, still miring in his own self-pity.
"I wouldn't blame her if she did. But I'll tell you this; at least she's acting like an adult and not whining about shit she can't control. Be a man and own up to what you did."
John stared at Connor. Connor was always straightforward, but he was hardly ever judgmental. Connor sounded…angry and thoroughly annoyed with John for his actions. What was it with big brothers? They always seemed to have that power to make you feel small, no matter how old you were.
"You're right. I guess this is what karma is, huh?"
Connor shrugged his shoulders; glad to see that his brother had snapped out of his own self-absorption. "Life's a bitch. Your ex fiancée is a bitch. When you put the two together, nothing good is gonna come out of it."
* * *
The cool silky touch of his lips on her skin woke something up in her. Sex. It was her way of solving everything. It was the one moment where she didn't have to focus on anything except her own pleasure. She entangled her fingers in Reece's sandy brown hair, as he continued his caress of her neck with his lips.
His lips brushed tantalizingly over her cheeks and jaw. Kristen tipped her head back, seeking his lips. She purred with contentment, as her mouth found his. Somehow, Kristen found herself on her feet, with her arms wrapped tightly around Reece's strong build, his mouth covering hers.
Slowly, he began backing her up until her back was to his desk. His roaming hands settled over her lush bottom, giving it a light squeeze, before lifting her up onto the desk. He settled himself between her legs, smiling down at her as she gently kneaded his back the same way he was just massaging hers. With a seductive grin, Kristen ran her foot up the length of his leg, before wrapping her legs around his waist.
"Does that feel good?” she asked teasingly, encouraged by the breathless and blank look upon his face. Apparently it did feel good, since he was very hard and very much pressed against her inner thigh.
With light feathery touches, Kristen swept her tongue over his lush bottom lip, making him groan with pleasure. His mouth opened to hers, and Kristen sighed in contentment as his tongue touched hers. It was a good kiss. There wasn't any passion or chemistry behind it really, but it was enough to numb the pain.
She would just sleep with Reece. After all, he did this all the time; it probably wouldn't matter, right? An awful sense of déjà vu came back to her. When had she told herself that before?
Images of Connor assaulted her, and with a gasp, Kristen pulled away, her head spinning with a reminder of that night.
"Mmm…feels good, hmm?" He didn't seem to mind that he was no longer kissing her lips, instead he had moved onto kissing the column of her throat. His hand had somehow managed to unbutton the top few buttons of her pink silk blouse, and he was massaging her breasts through her beige bra.
Suddenly, all the passion was gone. All her desire for sex was gone as soon as it had come, and all she was left with was that feeling of emptiness. She couldn't…use him like she had with Connor. See how good that had ended up for her? Connor probably still hated her, and she wouldn't blame him if he did. Even if Reece was up for it, Kristen…wasn't. The passion wasn't there, and she knew she would only feel like a slut after she slept with Reece. She was better than that.
"You all right, doll?" Reece asked, toying with the top of her pants, noticing that she had suddenly become very unresponsive. Putting a disarming smile on her face to keep from worrying him, she nodded her head, buttoning up her blouse.
"What's wrong?" Reece frowned.
"Nothing. Thanks for the massage, Reece. It was very soothing." Disentangling herself from him, she walked over to her purse, pulling out the compact. Her hair was a little mussed, but she quickly smoothed it down with a few fingers. She wiped away the smudged
gloss that was on her lips and applied a new layer.
Reece was still standing against the desk, watching her nonchalantly clean herself up. He was completely in shock. What the hell had just happened?
Peeking at Reece over her shoulder, she chuckled gently to herself and walked up to him. Reaching her hands up, she wiped his lips clean of the glittery gloss that had come onto his lips. He was still hard and ready to go, and at the touch of her fingers on his lips, he wanted nothing more than to throw her on his desk and screw her senseless.
Reece laughed uneasily, watching her go about her business as if nothing was wrong. With jerky movements, he ran his hands through his hair.
"You sure are a cock tease, aren't you?" His voice was light, but it bordered on what could turn into a nasty confrontation.
"I don't think Connor would approve of us having sex in your office,” Kristen replied sweetly, not bothering to deny what she was.
"Who says Connor has to know?"
"Believe me, he'd find out. Besides, Nell would have my head, and I like Nell more than I like you," Kristen teased, hoping to keep the atmosphere light and cheery. Reece was a good guy; she didn't want their potential friendship ruined due to stupidity on her part.
The flustered, jerky look on Reece's face vanished, as Kristen mentioned Nell. At the mention of the sprightly Nell, Reece seemed to have cooled his haunches. Despite himself, he let out a shaky laugh.
"You're probably right. Nell is a handful. She'd have your head and mine." He felt like he just had missed a really big opportunity, but no matter, she'd give into his charms sooner or later.
Kristen bit back a sigh of relief, as he resumed his usual casual posture against the corner of his desk. Things would be okay. So long as she didn't lead him on anymore, he would leave her alone. Or so she hoped.
"So how much do you estimate the renovations for the lobby to cost and how long?" A knock on the door interrupted them before Kristen could respond.
"It's Connor."
Reece quietly cursed to himself, as he glared down at his tented pants. "This is your fault."
Unable to keep herself quiet, Kristen laughed. Loud. Loud enough so that Connor was left standing on the other side of the door hoping that they weren't doing anything on the other side.
"Just sit down in your big, corporate chair and be the V.P you are. You can take care of your umm…needs later." Kristen bit her inner cheek to keep from laughing.
"This is highly embarrassing, you know. I've never left either a girl or myself unsatisfied."
"Who said I was unsatisfied?" Kristen smirked, watching him sink into his leather chair with a heavy groan.
With grace, she came to the door, opening it with that glow of laughter still about her. Even Connor's dark looks couldn't bring her down right now, as he swept past her with a glower on his face.
He was pleasantly glad to see that they were both fully clothed, and that Kristen had opened the door with a glowing smile on her face. Lord, she looked a lot better than she had with that tight lipped smile she had offered John and Melissa. Connor seated himself in one of the two chairs across from Reece's mahogany desk.
"You all right, man?" Connor asked, noting the particularly pained expression on his partner's face.
"Uh-huh." Reece groaned, forcing himself to think of the most remotely unsexy things. Liza Minnelli, Barbara Walters, Joan Rivers. There, now he was beginning to feel better.
"So what have you two been doing in here?" Connor asked suspiciously.
"We were just talking about the new renovations for the lobby. I want to retile the entire floor and any other area that has that awful blue tile." Kristen jumped in, before Reece could make anymore-pained sounds. Connor listened intently to her plans, and approved of her choice in design.
"Well gentlemen, I guess my work for today is done. I'll make all the necessary preparations for the renovations,” she informed Connor and John. With a small smile and feeling immensely better than she had when she first entered the office, she said her goodbyes.
She gathered her materials and waited impatiently for the elevator to come up to her. That was what Kristen hated about tall buildings, how long it took for you to travel from floor to floor. Finally, the door swung open with a chime, and Kristen eagerly rushed in.
The elevator was just about to close when a hand snaked out, blocking the elevators from closing. Kristen's delicate eyebrows arched, as a disgruntled looking Connor stumbled into the elevators carrying a dark briefcase.
"I'm calling it a day, too." He offered as way of explanation. For the first time, it struck Kristen how tired her ‘boss’ looked. His silvery eyes looked fatigued and were surrounded by dark circles. His jaw line was so well defined and strong, but the hollows beneath his cheeks looked more pronounced than ever.
"You look tired,” Kristen said bluntly, unable to sugarcoat it. Connor gave her a wary smile.
"Well, thank you. Not all of us have the luxury of spending hours on our appearance." He spoke, making a point to run his eyes very slowly up and down her body. The way he was looking at her made her shiver, despite the fact that she was wearing a blazer and not in the slightest bit cold.
"Cold?" Connor gave her that infuriating smirk of his, knowing all too well that her shiver had something to do with him.
The infuriating bastard. They had slept together once, and he seemed to think he could read everything about her. Well, she'd show him.
"Contrary to popular belief, I do not spend all my time on my appearance, either," Kristen began, "I just happen to roll out of bed looking this fabulous."
She gave him a cocky grin that made him chuckle. It was amazing how much better he looked when he was smiling rather than scowling. She silently vowed to make a point of keeping it that way.
"I don't find that hard to believe, actually," Connor told her half seriously. Suddenly, he froze as her hand reached out and gently reached for his tie. Planting herself in front of him, her fingers gently worked on the knot of his tie, loosening it. Connor involuntarily inhaled sharply, as her fingers brushed across his collarbones. She wasn't that close to him, but she was still close enough for him to smell that familiar smell of hers.
Finally, she finished loosening his tie. "There, doesn't that feel better?"
He was still too shocked at her simple gesture to really say anything, but it did feel a whole lot better without that stuffy tie. He fingered the tie gently as it hung loose around his neck, almost missing the soft brush of her fingers. Her innocent gesture was so…for lack of a better word, sweet.
"Yeah, thanks,” he said gruffly, leaning back against the clear glass of the elevator. He glanced over to see that Kristen was doing the same casual pose.
"You work too much. These past few days, I've noticed that you're always holed up in your office,” Kristen said calmly, not even thinking twice about what she had just done. She didn't even seem to notice that her simple gesture seemed to have a big impact on the man next to her.
"I would think you'd be more worried about yourself. That was quite the performance you put on today."
Kristen shrugged, her eyes glassy as she looked out the window. Why did he have to bring it up when she was just starting to get over it?
"What'd you expect me to do? Punch John in the face and rip out Melissa's hair strand by strand?"
"It's what I would have done."
"Women are subtle, men are not. You and I are different."
"Maybe not as different as you'd think."
Unwillingly, Kristen's eyes rose to meet Connor's penetrating gaze. She could feel her heartbeat lurch, as his eyes stared into her. He was looking at her like she was a glass doll, and he could see every twinge of pain that had plucked at her heartstrings.
Thank God that the elevator took that moment to finally open into the lobby. With considerable effort, Kristen tore her eyes away from Connor's hypnotizing gaze, but the effects of his look still lingered. She could hide her emotions so well, but the wa
y he was looking at her…it was like he could see past all the barriers and bullshit she put up around herself.
"If John ever makes you feel uncomfortable, let me know. If you don't want to see him, you don't have to." Connor placed a light pat on her head, before heading out of the elevator. She caught up with him, feeling herself flush at how much sexier he looked now that his tie was loosened and the top few buttons of his crisp black shirt were unbuttoned. Men in disheveled business suits were always a big turn on for her.
"Thanks. Maybe you're right, maybe we're not as different as I thought."
But then, opinions could be swayed with the slightest blow of the wind, and the blow was about to come in the form of Alyssa Marin. The redhead had been lounging on one of the velour seats in the lobby when Connor came into sight. Her emerald eyes narrowed at the sight of Kristen walking side by side with the person she considered to be her man. Without a second thought, she flung herself at him, wrapping her lithe body around his.
"Baby! I've been waiting all day for you! Have dinner with me tonight?"
Connor staggered slightly under her assault, and he was feeling so tired that it took him a few moments to register the warm body that was currently pressed against his.
"Alyssa?" Connor grumbled, firmly planting her feet back on the ground, and placing his hands on her shoulders to keep her from launching herself at him again.
Alyssa gave him a simpering smile. "Want to go out for dinner? Promise I'll make it worth your while.” She ran one of manicured fingers roughly down his chest, a bit rougher than was pleasurable for him. Is the girl into S&M or something?
Suddenly, she whipped her head in Kristen's direction and sneered, "Hello, Kristen. Do you mind giving us some privacy, please?"
Kristen's eyes narrowed as she stared at Alyssa. "Of course, I'd be more than willing to give the two of you your privacy seeing as how we're in public. Not a problem. Bye, Connor." Her voice dripped with acidic sarcasm, and with a nonchalant turn of her head, she stalked out of Wilde Towers, her ears falling deaf when Connor tried to stop her.
