He’d forced himself to sound as nonchalant as possible. “She replaced the designer who’d worked on the project initially so it was a natural transition. Plus, apparently she’s done some work on one of the Gregson hotels in Manhattan. Anyway, this is her first meeting with Ian and he specifically requested that I be present. I’m sorry, but can we go to St. Helena another day?”
There had been more back and forth, and it had been frustrating because Cameron never seemed to get it that he couldn’t just drop or delegate something on a whim. It was different for her, since her role at the gallery was almost more of a figurehead. Her staff – well paid and well trained – did the vast majority of the work and she actually spent little time there. To Nathan, it seemed the major part of Cameron’s job was to host artist shows and receptions and socialize with the patrons.
He’d ended the conversation rather abruptly, knowing she was annoyed with him but unable to let it interfere with his day. But the phone call had irritated him and started his day off on the wrong foot.
His pissy mood had intensified when it was time to leave for the meeting with Ian. The first thing he’d seen upon walking towards the elevator was Jake helping Julia on with her coat, and quite obviously relishing the physical contact. Then Jake had made that comment about her shoes, and Nathan had had to stifle a groan.
He was very familiar with those goddamned Christian Louboutin black stilettos. Julia wore them often and every single time he saw her in them he had a hard-on that lasted for an eternity. He certainly didn’t need Jake calling his attention to them and making matters worse.
And then Jake had continued his almost nonstop flirting with Julia. It had angered Nathan to the point where he’d almost been ready to punch out his associate architect until Julia herself had quite capably put him in his place. He’d been both relieved and absurdly pleased with her at the same time.
But then the torture had continued when she’d stepped up into his SUV and bared enough leg in the process for him to catch a glimpse of her lacy garter. He’d felt like someone had kicked him in the chest, unable to look away from that delectable bit of lingerie until she’d discreetly tugged her dress back down. It hadn’t helped one bit, though, for all he’d been able to think about for the next half hour was the fact that she was wearing a garter belt and stockings and probably did most days That knowledge only added more unnecessary fuel to the ongoing fire that burned inside of him each time he imagined Julia without her clothes on.
Next he’d had to suffer through more than two hours seated right next to her at Ian’s conference table. Close enough to small her perfume, her shampoo, the scent of her soft skin. That gray dress had clung to her tits like a lover, defining their firm, round perfection. She’d thankfully worn a scarf to fill in the neckline but every so she’d moved the right way and he’d get a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage. And each time he did his cock would get a little bit harder.
It had only gotten worse when Julia stood to give her presentation. Then he’d had to observe how that damned dress hugged the sweet, high curves of her ass, and how hot her legs looked in those sheer stockings. And, of course, it was back again to those cockteasing shoes.
And it really, really hadn’t helped to notice that every man in the room was also enjoying the view. Even Ian, who was always a perfect gentleman, the model of proper British decorum, didn’t bother to disguise his appreciation for the very tempting picture Julia presented. Nathan didn’t care if Julia was right and that the woman Ian was really interested in was young, pretty Tessa. Ian might want the luscious admin assistant but he wouldn’t have refused Julia, either.
But the straw that had broken the camel’s back – what had put him over the top into this incredibly foul mood – was Julia’s mocking comment about already having a boyfriend. That had been his worst fear since seeing Julia again last month – that she’d followed his lead and forgotten about New York, had moved on and found someone else. God knew she was right in that it would be the easiest thing in the world for her to get a man. If she’d wanted Jake, for example, who happened to be a good looking guy, all she would have had to do was snap her fingers and he’d be on his knees like a well-trained lapdog.
Most of the time, Nathan congratulated himself on maintaining the very professional relationship he’d insisted on having with Julia. He’d been careful as hell not to be alone with her, had made sure all of their meetings and interactions had occurred with at least one other person present. He’d discussed nothing personal, hadn’t touched her in any way, and continued to do a very good job at repressing the memories of their night in Manhattan.
Today, however, he’d faltered a few times – touching her, albeit lightly, with a hand on her elbow or helping her with the coat; being alone with her in her office where he’d praised her artwork and then somehow eased into a discussion about her personal life. He couldn’t – wouldn’t – let any of those things happen again. God knew it was a daily struggle to keep things professional as it was – he didn’t need any added temptation.
And Julia was everything tempting, everything forbidden. Christ, the way she dressed every single, fucking day was enough to drive a man insane. She looked like a model, always perfectly put together and coordinated, only she was far more beautiful and sexy than any model he’d ever seen.
Her angry comment to Jake about an aunt in the fashion industry explained why she had such an extensive and obviously expensive wardrobe. It had been a relief to learn that some man at some point hadn’t been the one to gift her with the seemingly endless supply of figure hugging sheath dresses, pencil skirts, silk blouses, and high heels. Always, always, with the erotic high heels. He wondered if she even owned a pair of shoes with less than a four-inch heel. And now that he knew she wore stockings – fuck him blind – it was going to take even more of a superhuman effort not to shove her up against the nearest wall and grind himself against the cleft of her thighs.
He’d gone through the tortures of hell the past few weeks since Julia had begun working here. His willpower was being tested on a daily basis, and at times he thought he would go insane with the effort. Or come in his pants, as he’d feared he might one day last week when Julia had looked especially hot. If he closed his eyes he could still picture the sexy black lace sleeveless top, ass hugging gray wool skirt, and sky high gray pumps. He’d been positive he could see glimpses of a black lace bra through the top, even though it was fully lined. Her stockings that day had seams up the back, and he’d wanted to fall to his knees and lick her from ankle to thigh before lifting that skirt and burying his face in her sweet, juicy pussy.
“Shit,” he muttered, realizing he had a raging hard-on again.
Nathan honestly didn’t know if he could keep this up – working with Julia, seeing her every day, wanting to fuck her constantly. The worst part was that he couldn’t talk to anyone about it. No one but he and Julia knew what had happened in New York, and he had to make sure it stayed that way. He knew Travis probably still suspected something, but so far his partner hadn’t confronted him again.
Common sense would indicate that if he was this obsessed with a woman who wasn’t his fiancée that he ought to end the engagement to said fiancée. But Nathan simply couldn’t bring himself to hurt Cameron that way. He cared about her – correction, loved her – and was committed to marrying her. They had been together for two years now, and he couldn’t even think about how shitty it would be to just give up on all they had shared, the relationship they had worked on building, just because the hottest woman he’d ever seen was back in his life.
And Cameron was most assuredly a hot, beautiful woman herself. Granted, she was much different than Julia both in looks and personality, but certainly attractive in her own right. She was older than Julia, of course, approaching her thirty-fifth birthday in a few months. She was actually almost two years older than Nathan himself. And, while he knew she’d been completely faithful since they’d started dating, he also knew she’d been with a lot of men �
� a lot of them – before him. Even if she hadn’t already talked at length about some of her past relationships and sexual exploits, her experience had been readily apparent in her aggressiveness in bed, in the things she said and did, most of which were exciting but some that were actually a huge turnoff. She enjoyed not only initiating sex between them but controlling it, and often resisted his efforts to take the lead.
Unlike Julia, who had submitted so sweetly to the dominant behavior he liked to unleash at times. Oh, he definitely was not into any sort of BDSM – though the thought of blindfolding and binding Julia was certainly appealing – but he certainly preferred to be the controlling partner in bed.
“Dammit!” He was at it again, remembering the hot sex he’d had at the Plaza Hotel, how responsive Julia had been, how eager and easy to please, how tight her juicy cunt had been. Without being told, he sensed somehow that there hadn’t been very many men in her life. In spite of her gorgeous face and centerfold body, she seemed reserved, almost shy around men, though that could just be the defenses she’d built up out of necessity.
And she’d been a total pro about this whole messed up situation, certainly living up to her end of their bargain. She barely looked at him most of the time, and had never once tried to strike up a conversation that could be deemed the least bit personal. From what he had observed and also had reported to him from other employees, she worked her butt off, spending long hours in the office and turning out some admittedly stellar work, and got along famously with all the other employees. He had been ridiculously proud of her talent, and knew he’d acted like a total bastard by forcing her to re-do some quality work. He still didn’t know what had compelled him to be such a hard ass that day, especially when he knew Ian would prefer the original designs. Perhaps it had just been a way for him to exert his dominance over her when he couldn’t very well do the same in the bedroom with her again. And she’d proven her professionalism yet again by not giving him a gloating “I told you so” look when Ian hadn’t liked the sketches she had re-done. Instead, Julia hadn’t missed a beat and simply took out her original designs which she’d probably known all along were exactly what Ian had in mind.
He wished like hell he could talk to someone about this dilemma, but all of his friends and family knew Cameron and he wasn’t about to put one of them in the position of having to lie to her. It had been difficult enough for him to keep the truth from her – he wasn’t going to consciously force someone else to have to do the same.
No, he was just going to have to toughen up and stop thinking so much about Julia. Cameron was his fiancée, the woman who’d been in his life for two years, and he wasn’t enough of a bastard to just shove her aside for a younger model on a whim.
Fortunately, he was due to fly to Colorado on a business trip next week, and he hoped the time away would provide him with some much needed breathing room. And a reprieve from wondering what sort of sexy outfit Julia was going to wear each day to torment him.
Chapter Nine
March
Cameron Tolliver was feeling pretty much on top of the world on this sunny afternoon in early spring. This morning at the gallery she’d been able to finally get a long sought after artist to agree to a show next month. Then had come the phone call from the event planner at the hotel that she had finally decided on for her wedding reception telling her that yes, her first choice of dates was available after all. To celebrate, she had treated herself to a massage and facial at her favorite day spa, where as a steady client they’d served her a delicious salmon salad and crisp glass of Pinot Grigio. Now, feeling relaxed and mellow, she was on her way to Nate’s office to drop off his ticket to the ballet tonight. The only sour note in her day thus far was the fact that he couldn’t meet her for dinner first due to a late client meeting he’d had scheduled for weeks, and would have to meet her at the ballet instead.
Nathan, she though confidently, was going to have to start delegating more of his duties at work. It was beyond ridiculous that the partner of one of San Francisco’s most successful architectural design firms had to work so many hours and do as much traveling as he did. Cameron knew for a fact that Nathan had any number of other architects on staff that he could re-distribute work to, leaving him more time to relax and travel for leisure. She certainly didn’t want a husband who was going to have to work late on a regular basis or couldn’t go on vacation when it suited him. After all, she owned her own business and pretty much did what she pleased. There was really no good reason why Nathan couldn’t do the same.
Cameron smiled to herself as she thought again of what a catch Nathan was. He was by far the handsomest and most charming man she’d ever dated – and she’d dated a lot over the past twenty years. After two broken engagements, she had begun to despair that she’d ever fall in love and get married, and then she’d met Nathan and her hopes had been renewed.
Oh, it had taken a lot of time and work to get him to finally make a commitment to her, but it had all been worth it. As all of her girlfriends told her often, Nathan was a real prize. Cameron had absolutely no intention of letting him slip away, or allowing anything to ruin their weeding next February. She’d waited way too long for happiness, and it was well past time for her to finally get what she deserved.
She smiled back at the attractive older man who gave her an admiring glance as he passed her by. She walked with the confidence of a woman who knew she looked good. At five foot nine, she was taller than average but that only served to call more attention her way. With the help of a stylist, she knew the best way to dress her slim, almost angular figure. Unfortunately, no amount of weight training or exercise had been able to put much muscle or definition on her naturally thin arms and legs, so she seldom wore short skirts or sleeveless tops. And while she loved her slim hips and super flat stomach, her stylist tended to steer her away from anything too form fitting, wanting instead to give the illusion that she had more curves.
Therefore, most of her business outfits were similar to what she wore today – beautifully tailored black pleated trousers, a silky white blouse, and a short, fitted black jacket. The push-up bra helped give an impression of cleavage above the two buttons of her blouse she’d left undone. She gave off an air of both power and control, the modern businesswoman, while still looking sexy and feminine.
She’d just had her hair cut and colored about a week ago, and knew the shiny blonde chin-length bob looked amazing. It still bothered her that she had to keep her hair this short, knowing that Nathan really preferred long hair, but it had been on her hairdressers’ advice. A natural brunette, Cameron had been bleaching her hair to a pale Nordic blonde shade since she was sixteen years old, and all the years of harsh chemicals had begun to take their toll. Her hairdresser – one of the very best in the city – had cautioned that her hair was thinning dramatically and to keep it any longer than its current length would draw attention to that fact. She’d nixed the idea of extensions, knowing that Nathan disliked artifice and had made non-complimentary comments about a couple of her friends who’d had them done.
Cameron strode confidently into the reception area of Nathan’s office, not even bothering to glance over at the little receptionist. As the owner’s fiancée, she felt very at ease walking anywhere in the office, and certainly didn’t need support staff to announce her presence.
She went directly to Nathan’s office, pausing briefly to give Robyn a perfunctory smile. “Hi, Robyn. I assume he’s in? I’ve got something to drop off.”
The older woman gave her a polite smile in return. She was always professional, always pleasant, but Cameron sensed that Robyn didn’t really like her for some reason. A fact that didn’t bother Cameron in the least, because she also considered Robyn to be support staff and not worthy of her attention.
“Actually, he’s in the small conference room right now,” corrected Robyn. “You can leave whatever it is with me if you’d like.”
Cameron waved a hand in dismissal. “No need. I’ll just pop
my head in. Is he with clients?”
Robyn shook her head. “No, he’s meeting with Jake and Julia about a project. I’m sure he won’t mind if you stop in for a minute.”
Cameron’s spine stiffened at Robyn’s implied suggestion to keep her visit brief. “Well, of course, he won’t mind. What man wouldn’t want to see his fiancée whenever possible?”
Nathan’s assistant gave her a tight little smile as she returned her attention to whatever mundane task she’d been working on. Cameron frowned as she walked down the hall to the conference room, not really liking the somewhat superior air Robyn tended to adopt at times. She really didn’t understand why Nathan thought Robyn was such a terrific PA, since the older woman seemed just a bit too confident and arrogant given her position in the firm.
The door to the small conference room was closed, but the blinds on the large window facing out to the office floor were raised so that Cameron had a clear view into the room. Nathan and Jake – who Cameron thought was terribly cute with his flirting and continual flow of compliments – were seated at the table with their backs to her and evidently studying some sketches that had been propped up on display stands around the room. Standing next to one of the stands was a young woman that Cameron assumed was the Julia that Robyn had mentioned. Then Julia turned to face the two men so Cameron could get a good look at her.
Cameron froze in her tracks, unease bubbling up inside of her at a rapid boil. The young woman inside the conference room was – unfortunately – undeniably beautiful. With an inexplicable anger that simmered beneath the surface, Cameron swiftly took in the girl’s long, nearly waist length hair of a light brown shade, the stunning perfection of her face, and her curvy body. She wore a fitted sheath dress of navy lace that had little flutter sleeves. There was no way – with her own slim, straight frame – that Cameron could ever wear something so form-fitting.
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