Taming the Whirlwind

by L. M. Heidle

  Unfortunately for me because Mr. Sexy was still there and he had barely started his appointment. “None of that Mrs. Handover stuff. You call me Betty. I’ll see you next week.”

  I smiled at her. She was a very sweet lady, maybe too perceptive, but still very sweet. “Yes, Ms. Betty. Have a good weekend and remember to keep doing your exercises.” She smiled and walked out.

  I checked her out on the computer and closed my eyes when I heard Danny call my name. Not again, oh please, not again. “Liz, can you finish up with Mr. Parker?” My stomach did somersaults. I wasn’t sure if it was from the excitement or dread of being near him.

  Just then, Eddie walked in. Thank God! I looked at Danny and replied, “Let me finish with Eddie and I’ll be right over.”

  He smiled and nodded. I briefly glanced at Kade’s face and it went from relaxed to assessing in less than a second. I remembered us talking about going out with a guy I worked with. Oh, this could be fun.

  I stepped around the counter and turned towards Eddie. “What can I help you with, Eddie?” I turned my back slightly away from Kade because I was a hopeless liar and my face would give me away in a second.

  “I’m here to see you. Can we have a seat?” He gestured towards the little waiting area, which was perfect because it moved us closer to Kade. He let me walk in front and I could feel his eyes on my butt. Usually that would bother me but this time I didn’t care. I turned towards him as we sat down. “Liz, I know you said you wouldn’t go out with someone who you worked with. Well, I just had my appointment with the doctor and he said I was cleared. I don’t have to do any more physical therapy. He just wants me to continue doing the at-home exercises. That means you have no excuse to not go out with me tomorrow evening.”

  I glanced up at the security mirror and saw Kade’s body change from semi relaxed to tight. Good, he was listening. I heard Danny say something about him relaxing and I tried to hide my smile. “Eddie, that would be fun. Want to make it a double date? My roommate has been dying to get out of the apartment. All we’ve been doing is unpacking.”

  He laughed, “That sounds like a plan. Let me get your number and I’ll call you tonight after I talk to Derrick.” After I gave him my number, he gave me a quick hug before leaving. I looked in the mirror and Kade was radiating tension. I felt a little bad for using Eddie to get back at him but who knows? Maybe Eddie and I would hit it off. Besides, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right?

  I took a breath to prepare myself for the proximity to him that I was about to deal with. I turned and walked over to where Danny was standing. “Did you still need me?” I said without looking at Mr. Parker.

  “No, I can finish, but you can stay and watch. I want to try some new exercises because all his muscles are tight.” Ha! I just nodded because I was fighting hard to keep a smile off my face.

  When he looked up at me, his eyes took my breath away. They were hard and the color of steel. His jaw line was tight and his mouth was set in a straight line.

  I knew Danny was expecting me to say something, but all I could do was stare at those eyes. Finally, I was able to say, “Sure. Hello, Mr. Parker.” He just nodded at me. I tried to look away, but his eyes wouldn’t let me. Thankfully, Danny broke the trance by telling him to move his knee a different way. That was intense. After what felt like an eternity, Danny said he wanted him to go soak his knee for ten minutes and then he could go. I felt my shoulders sag with relief until Danny turned around to look at me, “Can you get him set up while I go set his appointments?” Are you kidding me? Was he seriously going to leave me with him? The guy who was radiating tension towards me? Okay, so Danny didn’t know it was towards me but still. Danny had already turned his back, not waiting on my reply so I guess that meant I didn’t have a choice.

  I turned to face him. “Mr. Parker, would you like to follow me and I’ll get you set up?” He gave me his piercing stare again and I almost forgot where I was. Then all of a sudden his mood changed again.

  “Call me Kade and I’d follow you anywhere, Ms. Elizabeth.” What? I ignored that statement and stored it for later dissection and started walking. “How has your afternoon been?”

  I pointed at the table and turned to face him. His eyes weren’t quite as hard as they were before but that look was still there. It was so obvious he was trying to cover his irritation. Just like a kid poking a snake, I couldn’t resist. I replied in the sweetest voice I could, “Thanks for asking. It has been a great afternoon and now with newly established plans, this weekend should be great as well. How about your afternoon?”

  Instantly, his eyes went back to steel. He said nothing for a minute until he got his anger under control. “I had a very pleasant afternoon. My lunch hour was exceptionally nice.” Here we go again with the cryptic talk.

  “That’s lovely. I’m glad your meeting went well. Soak your knee until that timer goes off and one of us will be back to check on you.” I turned to leave, but he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer.

  “I know what you were doing with that guy.” I looked at him in shock and stepped out of his grasp.

  “What? Setting up a date? It’s a free country and I’m single. Besides, I don’t know why it’s any of your business,” I hissed through clenched teeth. I mean, really? The nerve of him! He says we can’t be together at lunch and now, he’s acting territorial. This man is crazy!

  He nodded and simply said, “You’re right, it’s not.” There was something off about his voice, but I didn’t care. Honestly, he was the most capricious man I had ever met.

  “Just let your knee soak.” With that, I turned and went to help Danny clean equipment. The timer went off and Danny started walking towards him so I rushed to the locker room to grab my stuff and change shirts. I changed into a red V-neck shirt. I wasn’t going to wear my polo to the bar even if it was with co-workers. I was also hoping Kade would get a good look because it showed just enough cleavage. I’d just walked out of the locker room when my phone rang. I rushed out the front doors before answering it. “Hello?”

  “Liz? This is Eddie.”

  “Hey Eddie. What’s up?”

  “We can do a double date as long as it’s tonight. Derrick has to work tomorrow.”

  “Tonight? What time?” I still hadn’t even asked Meg although I knew she wouldn’t turn this down. Kade and Danny walked out the door just in time to hear the word tonight.

  “We can either pick you guys up at ten or we can meet at Club Bliss?”

  “Club Bliss? We haven’t been there. We can just meet you there.” When he heard Club Bliss, Kade let out what sounded like a sigh of relief. That was odd but what wasn’t about this man? I turned after hanging up to see Danny and Kade staring at me. I wasn’t sure if it was the shirt or the phone call. For some reason, I felt like I needed to explain. “Just making plans for tonight.”

  Kade’s lips stayed in a tight line and Danny replied, “Don’t forget we’re going for drinks.” Once again, Kade’s eyes went steel on me. Perfect timing, Danny. Kade looked like he was about to have a coronary. I thought about that for a second. I’m not doing anything wrong. Well, maybe pushing the Eddie thing but that wasn’t that bad. “Shoot, I forgot something. Liz, go ahead and go across the street to the bar. I’ll meet you over there.” I nodded and headed towards the elevators. This was going to be an interesting elevator ride down.

  As soon as the elevator doors closed, he turned to me and nonchalantly said, “Well, aren’t you just a social butterfly? It’s a wonder you can remember everything.”

  I turned to look at him and sarcastically replied, “My phone has a calendar.” He smirked but didn’t reply. We were silent for several floors. Ironically, no one got on the elevator with us.

  He finally broke the silence again. “Well, this ride is a little bit different than the last time we were alone in here.”

  Like normal, I flushed. I turned my head and gaped at him. This man was going to drive me nuts. “Yeah it is but why think about
the past? Learn from it and move on.” With that, he entered the code again. “What are you doing? I have places to be. Start this elevator again!” I tried to sound angry but I was secretly hoping it would lead to another kiss.

  He closed the space between us in a couple of steps. We were standing so close you would think we were touching. “You’re killing me here. All I could think about all afternoon was you going on a date. Then the idiot shows up and asks you out right in front of me. It took every bit of control I had to not beat the crap out of the guy. I had to keep reminding myself that we were nothing and that I needed to stay away from you. Then he finally left and I started to relax, only to learn you’re going out for drinks with your boss.”

  I was blown away. “First, not that it’s any of your concern, but having a drink with the boss is a drink with everyone.” He relaxed a little. “Second, you’re right; we’re nothing. We shared one amazing kiss but that doesn’t give you any control over my life. I can do whatever the hell I want, when I want, and you can’t do a damn thing about it.”

  “Regardless, if it’s drinks with all your coworkers or not, your boss wants more. I know that look. I know it’s none of my business but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. You’ve gotten under my skin like no one else has before.”

  “Is that it? I have somewhere to be.” I had to get out of there. I was so confused that I could barely think straight.

  “Okay,” he said as he walked towards the keypad. Right before he entered the code, he turned and looked at me again. He let out a tortured sigh and walked back to me with a look of purpose. He took my chin and lifted it to look into my face. Part of me begged silently that he wasn’t about to kiss me and the other part was pleading for him to hurry the hell up. He slowly lowered his lips to mine like he was asking for permission. I closed the rest of the distance between us.

  The contact was heavenly but this kiss was different from last time. It didn’t start out with raw passion. There was something deeper in this kiss like some emotion I couldn’t place. It was a sweet slow romantic kiss but my body couldn’t take it anymore. I could pull away and save myself the hurt or make this one hell of a last kiss. That would be like handing me a Snickers then taking it away in the next second. Yeah, so not going to happen if you wanted to keep your fingers. I pressed my body as tight as I possibly could against his. I ran my hands through his hair and he groaned low in his throat. That sound was the sexiest thing I had ever heard. He moved one hand to my neck and the other to my butt to keep me tight against him. Just like before, he had me against the elevator wall before I knew what was happening. He moved his hands to the hem of my shirt and pulled it off with no problem. He stepped back, leaving me panting.

  “Elizabeth, you’re exquisite. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He looked at me sternly, “I’m serious; you are exquisite…so angelic.” With that, his mouth was on mine again. I had to grab his biceps to keep from falling over. One hand held my face in place while his other ran up and down from my breast to my butt. I didn’t care if we were in an elevator or not, I wanted him right then. I took my arms from his biceps to grab the hem of his t-shirt. I tried to pull it up but he wouldn’t move his arms. “No, if you do that, we’ll take this to a place we’ll regret.” Regret? That put ice on my sex drive but it was so hot in that instant that the ice was melted in no time.

  “Call it goodbye sex if that makes you feel better.” I tried to lift his shirt again. He shook his head and took a step back.

  “Don’t you have to have hello sex first? Even if it was goodbye sex, I wouldn’t be having it in an elevator.”

  Right on cue, security came over the speaker, “Excuse the interruption, Mr. Parker, but is everything okay in there?” I grabbed my shirt and put it on, thinking they could see us. Well, if they could, at least they were getting a pretty good show.

  He straightened up and replied, “Yes, I had some important business to attend to” and with that the speaker was quiet. He looked over at me and gave me a shy smile. I saw him reach over, put in the code, and felt the elevator start to move. We only had a couple of floors to go before we were at the lobby. As soon as the elevator doors parted, he started to usher me out.

  Hell to the no, he was not stopping this. Without thinking, I pushed him back against the elevator wall, hit the door close button, and hit the button for the top floor. I turned and saw the look of shock and confusion plastered on his face.

  It was now or never. Nothing serious was ever going to happen between us, so I thought I might as well get as much out of this as I could. “You can call it hello sex or goodbye sex or whatever-in-the-hell sex, but this is going to happen. You have seen me half naked so it’s only fair you reciprocate.” He just stared at me. Where in the hell did that come from? It must be coming from my libido because I’m never that forward.

  He didn’t say anything, but suddenly I was in his arms. Our kiss started from where it left off… hot. I thought I might pass out from lack of air when he finally broke the kiss. “Do you have any idea how much I want you?” he muttered between kisses. “I have never wanted anything as bad as I want you right now.” All of the sudden, the doors opened. He grabbed my hand and practically dragged me through his foyer to his office.

  He opened a door and in we went. His mouth was on mine before he closed the door. He pushed it shut with his foot as he picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and put my hands around his neck. I moaned, which he used to his advantage. He sat me on my feet by his couch. He pulled his lips away. He stepped back, his face looking like he was waging a war with himself. “Are you sure you want to do this? This won’t change anything.”

  “Would you shut up? You want me; I want you. Who knows? Maybe this is all we need to get over each other.” Doubtful, but maybe. I should have said no; this went against everything I stood for, but I couldn’t stop myself. With that, he grabbed the v of my shirt and pulled me to him. Never taking his eyes off of mine, he lifted my shirt over my head.

  “I can’t get over how beautiful you are.” I flushed, but he wasn’t going to sidetrack me this time, I wanted his shirt off now. I grabbed the hem and started to pull it off. He had to help because I wasn’t tall enough to get it completely off. I was speechless. He had the most amazing body from his shoulders all the way down to his very sexy V. There was no doubt this man worked out a lot. His tattoos made him even sexier. Maybe it was the bad boy image, but they made me want him more if that was even possible at this point. He had swirled tribal art running down most of his right side. It went from shoulder to wrist, from collarbone to below his abs, and wrapped around the side. I had never seen a man with a body that looked this good, not in movies or the airbrushed pictures of a magazine. This man was too much. He already had a face to die for. Why wouldn’t he have a body to match it?

  We spent the next half hour worshiping each other’s bodies. The skin-to-skin contact was something I had never felt and had never thought to dream about. I was right when I thought it was doubtful this would help me get over him. This only made me want him more.

  He extended his hand to me, “I’m guessing you would like a washroom.” I took his hand and nodded. I grabbed my clothes on the way there. He opened the invisible door for me. It was a nicer bathroom than I had at home. I figured there would just be a toilet and sink, but no, this had a shower too.

  I looked in the mirror and gasped. Why couldn’t I be one of those women who looked great after sex? No, I had to be the type that looked rough afterwards. My hair was all over the place and what makeup I did have on was smeared everywhere. I hurried and got dressed, tried to fix my hair and makeup the best I could. I gave up on the hair and put it back into a ponytail. Luckily, I had lip gloss in the pocket of my jeans. I took one more look in the mirror, decided there was nothing else I could do, and walked out.

  He was leaning against the opposite wall waiting for me. He looked his usual amazing self. That was so irritating. How could he always
look amazing? His blue eyes looked like they were dancing. He gave me a dazzling smile that stopped me in my tracks. “What?” he asked.

  “Your smile.”

  He smiled, “Yes, I have one, doesn’t everyone?”

  “Don’t be a smart ass. You know exactly what your smile does to women, and I think you probably use it to get your way.”

  “I must be an imbecile because I have no idea what you are talking about. My smile is no different than anyone else’s,” he said innocently.

  “You really are an idiot, then. You know your smile dazzles people.” I knew he was playing. I knew a man with his reputation used that smile for all it was worth.

  “Dazzles people, huh? I hadn’t noticed.” He smiled at me again, but winked this time. At the same time, my phone went off. I looked around for my purse and found it on the bar. I retrieved my phone and saw I had six missed phone calls and five text messages. How did I not hear my phone going off? One text and call was from Meg. The rest were from Danny. Oh shoot, the bar…I had completely forgotten.

  “Shoot, I gotta go. I forgot everyone was waiting at the bar.” His smile faded.

  “Okay then, let’s go.” He didn’t seem overly excited about leaving his office. He walked over to the door and opened it for me. He was unusually quiet and his body language was giving nothing away. For me, it had been amazing but maybe for him, it was only okay. That thought ruined my high. We walked to the elevator in silence. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I still didn’t know what his office looked like.

  We walked into the elevator still in complete silence and stood on opposite sides. The charge was still there but it was muted a little by the amazing sex—or at least amazing to me. He looked so lost in thought. Watching his face was like watching a silent drama. I tried to guess what he was thinking, but I couldn’t keep up with the different emotions crossing his face. He turned his head towards me and it felt like the earth stopped moving. At that moment, nothing else mattered; it was just him and me. I stared into his eyes and all my insecurities were washed away. He just stared at me and I stared back, thinking there was no other man besides this one in the world. The connection was broken only when the elevator doors opened. It took a second before the world righted itself so I could walk. He walked silently out beside me. He usually would have grabbed my elbow by now or put his hand at the small of my back, but now there was nothing. The thought depressed me that he would never touch me again. I wondered if that’s how all the other women he slept with felt after. I instantly was pissed at myself for becoming one of them.