“So you were going to leave me on Monday without any warning?”
“I planned to come in first thing and let you know. I’m sorry. It was bad timing and I didn’t want to cause you any further pain, but it was wrong to keep this from you.”
She understood his reasoning. Yet it still rankled that, like most single men in her life, Mitch had found a better offer.
“It’s fine,” she told him. If she repeated that mantra enough, she might just believe it. “Everyone knows being my PA is a stepping-stone.”
Kristi didn’t usually wallow in self-pity, but tonight it was as if a lifetime had caught up with her. Mitch was the best PA she’d ever had. They worked so well together. She’d truly miss him.
“What will you be doing?” she asked.
“I’ll be working with the Finance Department on maintaining the company’s bottom-line profitability during the upcoming union contract negotiations. If I do well, they’ll put me in charge of my own division.”
“This sounds like the perfect opportunity for you.”
Mitch’s hands shifted, sending a delicious tingle across her skin, which was quite a stark contrast to the rampant melancholy overtaking her.
He sensed her mood. “I don’t plan to vanish.”
“It’ll happen. Alison said you’d be on a different floor. You know how it gets.”
“So? Let’s not be strangers. I’d hate for us to lose touch. I’ve enjoyed working with you and consider you a good friend.”
For some reason those words sounded like every other breakup speech she’d heard, even though Mitch was referring to work. She really had to get a grip.
“Mitch, don’t worry about me. Enjoy what you’ve achieved. You’ve earned it.”
“You’re a special woman, Kristi.”
But his words weren’t of any comfort, for as she held him, she wished tonight could be something more. His body did something to hers—gave her sensations she’d never quite felt before. Sparks.
Wow. And with the absolute wrong guy—one her pa rents would never approve of. They danced a few more numbers and then Mitch guided her off the dance floor and toward the bar. “What would you like?”
She’d like what she couldn’t have. What she suddenly wanted, really wanted, was for one night not to be Kristi Jensen. She wanted to be desired, to have men begging at her feet for the privilege of spending a mere second with her.
She wanted a night of passion that would leave her sated and fulfilled.
She wanted the man in front of her.
“Mitch, if I tell you something, will you not sue me for sexual harassment?”
He took a sip of the rum and Coke he’d ordered. “Why would I do that? I thought we cleared that up earlier today.”
“Because what I say might make things awkward between us.”
His smile reassured her. “I like to think I’m a reasonable man. I believe we’re big enough people to handle whatever we need to say to each other.”
“I trust you, but I’m worried this will come out wrong.” She took a long sip of her own cocktail. Could she really do this? “Do you think I’m beautiful?”
He snorted in disbelief. “Remember the dress. To night you’re the most beautiful woman here. Never doubt that.”
“If I wasn’t your boss, would you ask me out?”
He choked as if his drink had gone down the wrong pipe. “Kristi, Bill was a fool. It’s his loss. He didn’t realize how wonderful you are.”
His words fed her ego and gave her much-needed confidence. “Mitch, if that’s the case, can you do me one last favor? One with no strings? No expectations?”
He set his glass down. She’d never seen such intensity in his eyes, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. “What?”
“Let’s leave. You and me. Take me somewhere and kiss me. I want to feel sparks.”
As Mitch’s mouth dropped open in surprise, Kristi stood there, refusing to look at the floor. She somehow held his gaze with her own.
She’d done it. She’d propositioned Mitch. She’d put it all out there, and to hell with the consequences. She fought the tension building in her shoulders, worked not to clench her hands. He was going to say no. Like everyone else, he’d reject her. After all, someone had to have common sense tonight.
She began to backpedal. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I was out of line. Really, let’s just pretend I never said any—” “Yes.”
She faltered. “Yes?”
He put a finger to her lips. “Yes.”
Chapter Three
As Mitch led Kristi from the ballroom, he wondered what the hell he was doing. He’d always considered himself a man of good judgment and strong character.
Yet here he was with the last woman on earth he should be holding this tightly. Kristi Jensen was off-limits, and he’d promised to kiss her.
Once away from the ballroom, Kristi gave a soft sigh and nestled deeper into his arms. He inhaled the intoxicating scent of her hair, her perfume and her skin. There was nothing he wanted more tonight than to kiss her as much as humanly possible.
He found a secluded alcove created by oversize plants. Not as romantic as he’d like, but it would have to do. Kristi was already tugging on his jacket and raising herself on her toes. He understood. Two years was a long time to wait.
His lips found hers and a welcome shudder ran through him as he tasted her for the first time. Delicious. Her mouth was heaven and he drank in her sweetness as he deepened the kiss. Her hands wrapped around his neck and he hardened. One kiss stretched into two. Two became three. Her hands found his chest and he cupped her bottom.
She pulled back. “I have a room upstairs. Same terms.”
Her eyes held hopeful expectation and he crushed his lips back to hers. He’d loved her for so long; he could deny her nothing.
She’d asked for no strings, which wasn’t his style, but he wanted to make her happy. Besides, what future did they have? None. He’d even risk his own—tonight he was going to endanger his job and his future to make love to Kristi Jensen.
He planned to drown himself in those blue eyes and unpin that golden, silken hair. He’d live the fantasy—show her how a real man would treat her—before going his own way, no strings. No expectations. Like he’d promised.
As much as having a one-night stand went against his moral code, he reassured himself it would be better this way. He couldn’t wait for something that never would exist, especially after tonight, no matter how much he loved her.
His feelings were best left buried.
He only had this moment. He wouldn’t ruin it with silly declarations she didn’t want to hear.
He jabbed the elevator button. Jensen had received some complimentary rooms from the hotel, and Kristi was staying in one of them; a few lucky employees who’d won the company’s holiday raffle had the others. When he and Kristi had arrived earlier, the bellhop had taken her overnight bag to her room.
“We don’t have to do this,” he said, giving her an out.
The elevator doors closed behind them, providing total privacy.
She wrapped her arms around him and turned her face to his. “Yes, we do. I trust you. Prove to me I’m normal. Prove to me it’s not me that’s so zingless.”
“It’s not you.” How could she ever think that? Didn’t she feel what was between them? His entire body hummed.
“Ask any of my ex-boyfriends. Carl called me frigid.
Mike said I talk too much. Andrew said I didn’t talk enough. Clay told me I was too stuck-up, and Mark said I was too nice. Bill didn’t think I was young and hot enough. I started dating at sixteen. I’ve had almost twenty years of losers.”
Mitch realized each one had done a little number on her self-esteem and added a few more bricks to the wall surrounding her heart. He caressed her cheek with his knuckle.
“You’re a beautiful and desirable woman. If I didn’t work for you, I’d have asked you out years ago. And I’d have done this.”
>
He brought his lips to hers. When she gave a soft sigh and kissed him back, he knew he was doomed.
After loving her for so long, how the hell was he supposed to leave her? He brushed aside the reasons they should stop this foolishness and instead kissed her thoroughly. They reached the eighth floor and Mitch used Kristi’s key to open room 812. Except for an oversize bathroom, it was a typical hotel room: desk, two chairs and an armoire containing a TV.
Only the bed mattered.
The moment the door clicked shut behind them, he kissed her again. He tasted her sighs, and when her mouth parted slightly, he teased her lips with his tongue until she opened and let him inside.
The velvet dress cut low in the back, and a movement of his hands had him touching smooth skin, and then he pressed her closer.
He already ached, but tonight wasn’t about him. It was all about her, and she needed a loving touch.
Kristi gave a soft cry and, emboldened by her response, Mitch freed one hand and sent a fingertip down her neck. He traced a straight line to where the dress made a V. Then he dipped below the fabric, found her nipple and circled it.
She trembled.
“Like that?”
“Oh, yes.”
“More?” he teased.
“Uh-huh.”
He smiled to himself. She was the hottest woman on the planet and he was going to prove to her that all men weren’t insensitive creeps. He freed her breast from the soft fabric and lowered his head.
AS MITCH’S MOUTH found her sensitive skin, Kristi’s brain registered one thing. He was already the best lover she’d ever had and they hadn’t even gotten started.
She focused on the man kissing her body, making it hum like an instrument finally back in tune. He was so considerate, even folding her dress and laying it across a chair before shedding his own clothes.
Then he was with her, and Kristi was glad it was Mitch, who she knew and trusted, giving her what she’d so desperately needed.
She could almost thank Bill for his foresight in dumping her and leading her to this moment.
And then Bill was forgotten—he was part of the past, and this was the present and it was beyond good.
Mitch’s touch sizzled. She moaned as he teased her with his tongue, felt her body shake as his hands gripped her buttocks and drew her forward so that her hips molded to his.
He nipped gently at her lips, teasing and cajoling. He reached up and removed the pins from her hair, sending it cascading to the tops of her breasts. He lifted a strand to his lips.
And then he kissed her neck and began to work his way lower. Pleasure consumed her, and she reached for him, but Mitch brushed her hands away. “This is all for you.” He brought his mouth to the juncture of her thighs.
She clutched the top of his head for support as pleasure rocked her, and then finally he joined her.
Mitch fit her perfectly, and Kristi quivered as her release began to build. He glided in and out, his body creating a timeless rhythm that brought them both to a climax where she swore she saw stars.
Then he drew her into his arms, and she rested, spent and totally fulfilled.
“Good?” he asked.
“Very,” Kristi told him. He’d given her the best sex of her life. Her eyes began to close, although she wasn’t tired. She was recharging for round two.
He kissed her shoulder and ran a finger down her arm.
The urge to speak overwhelmed her, but Kristi had no idea what to say. She’d never picked up anyone in her life, and this wasn’t some stranger she’d climbed into bed with, but Mitch.
And he’d been incredible.
“Stop worrying,” he told her.
“I wasn’t,” Kristi lied.
Spooned as she was, she couldn’t see his face. He adjusted her hair and his breath blew warm on the back of her neck. “I know you well enough to know that you are. We said no regrets. So stop worrying. I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Her nose wrinkled. “It seems strange that we have to worry about hiding this at our age.”
“Shh.” He stroked her hair. “Thinking is overrated. Just feel. It’s what both of us wanted.”
She registered the last part. “You wanted me?”
“Yes. A man would have to be a monk to work with you and not find you incredibly sexy.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yeah. Should I tell you how often I wanted to do wicked things to you on your desk?”
He shocked her with his boldness, but she also found his speech arousing. All this time, Mitch had desired her? “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
He pulled her closer. “Because I like my job and working for Jensen. And I’m not the kind of husband your dad wants for you.”
“That’s for sure.” The words slipped out and she quickly covered her mouth. “Oops. I’m sorry.”
His grip didn’t change, and Kristi relaxed further as he said, “I’m not offended. I resigned myself to that fact a long time ago. Plus, you don’t sleep with the boss.”
“But you just did.” She couldn’t help herself. She giggled. “Although I’m not your boss anymore.”
“Still, if your dad found out, he’d kill me.”
“True. But you’re already guilty.”
“And willing to risk the deed again,” Mitch replied, capturing both her breasts in his palms. “Tonight I exist to please you.”
“Ah,” she said, liking the sound of that and the reaction his touch called forth from her body.
“Can I have more of what we just did? How much stamina do you have?”
He leaned over her, and his lips curled upward in a delicious, predatory smile. He was a man’s man, and until checkout time he was all hers. Shivers traveled down her spine and fresh heat pooled between her thighs.
“How many ways do you want it?” he asked, a hand sliding between her legs.
She gasped as his fingers touched her sensitive flesh. “How many ways do you know?”
“Let’s find out.”
AS MITCH BEGAN TO KISS Kristi, he made himself one last promise before all rational thought vacated his brain.
He would give her everything tonight. She’d experience a real man’s touch—strong, sensual and sure. He’d make certain that when he left Kristi Jensen’s bed tomorrow, he’d leave her satisfied.
The prospect of leaving her sucked, but Mitch knew this interlude with Kristi was his one, only and last.
He couldn’t tell her his feelings. She’d already agreed he wasn’t husband material. A physical connection would have to suffice. He’d make certain every moment was special.
Then maybe he’d finally be able to move on, find a nice girl, settle down and start a family like his mama wanted.
Although, as he slid inside Kristi’s warm, waiting body, Mitch didn’t know how he’d ever be able to forget her. Or pretend tonight had never happened. He’d cared for her for so long. He didn’t want one night. He wanted a lifetime.
But somehow he would find the strength to walk away.
As he withdrew and then reentered, she gave a cry of pleasure. Mitch pushed all thoughts from his head. He had tonight. This moment. That had to be enough.
Chapter Four
Kristi was humming Saturday night when Alison arrived. Alison stomped the snow off her boots and shuddered as she removed her coat. “It’s cold out there.”
“I know. Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“No. They’ve got the streets cleaned.”
Kristi took Alison’s coat and hung it in the condo’s coat closet while Alison took off her boots and placed them on the indoor mat. “They were decent this afternoon when I came home.”
“Did you get sick or something? I went looking for you and you were gone.”
“I went up to the hotel room for a while. Wine?”
Alison’s nose wrinkled. “Ew. No, thanks. Do you have any 7UP?”
“Did you drink too much last night?” Kristi asked.
Aliso
n turned sheepish. “Maybe. Winston was such an awful dancer it was painful. I drowned my sorrows.”
“Well, lucky for you, I’ve got soda.”
Kristi led the way into the kitchen where she poured each of them a glass. She grabbed the bowl of popcorn she’d prepared and they both took a seat on the family-room sofa.
“This is great. Just what I needed. I even took the girls to McDonald’s today because I didn’t feel like cooking.”
“So, is Winston history?”
“I doubt he’ll want to see me again. He tried to get serious as the night went on, and the more he tried, the more I drank.”
“Yuck.”
“Yeah, it was bad. Mostly my fault, I admit. I fell asleep in the passenger seat of his car on the way home.
Maybe I should have crashed with you since Bill was a no-show.”
“Uh, that wouldn’t have worked.”
Alison arched a brow. “Why not? You were alone, weren’t you?”
“I, um….” Kristi paused as a blush stole across her face.
“What did you do? Better yet, who did you do?”
Kristi pressed her lips together, but she couldn’t contain herself. “Mitch.”
“You picked up Mitch!”
“Yeah.” A warm fuzzy feeling stole over Kristi and she sat there dreamily until Alison waved a hand in front of her face.
“You have got to explain all of this to me. Every thing.”
When Kristi finished, Alison leaned back, stunned. “I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you.”
“Me neither. But I wanted sparks and, man, there were plenty.”
“Wow. Mitch. I should have seen that coming.”
Kristi nibbled on a handful of popcorn. “He left before checkout. We had a room-service brunch. It was sweet.”
“Sounds like it. I’m jealous. I woke up to two fighting kids and a massive headache. So, will you see him again?”
“No. It was one night. We both agreed to that.”
“You’re also consenting adults. You can change your mind.”
Kristi sighed. “One small problem with that idea. My dad.”
Baby in the Boardroom Page 3
