Single Dad

by River Laurent

  Luke stares at nothing, like he’s lost in thought. His expression is unreadable. I assume this is the calm before the storm and brace myself for the inevitable explosion of anger. It doesn’t come. Instead, his blue eyes bore into mine, trapping me in his gaze. “Are you even married?” he asks in a deathly calm voice, which is even more chilling than when he is throwing a tantrum.

  “No,” I confess, before quickly adding, “I’m good at what I do, Mr. Remington, so I don’t see why my marital status, or appearance should prevent me from performing a job that I am perfectly qualified for.”

  For a few seconds more, Luke continues staring at me. Then he throws his head back and laughs. “That was clever, Miss. Emerson,” he says. “Well played. Whoever that woman is at the staffing service, she was absolutely right. I wouldn’t have hired you if I knew what you really looked like.”

  My stomach flutters at his words. He thinks I’m pretty! Suddenly, I’m conscious again, of how naked we both are. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just really need this job.”

  He waves my apology away. “Are you kidding? You saw a problem, and you found a creative solution. I like that. What’s that old saying? Dress for the job you want. In this case, the job you wanted required you to dress like a clueless librarian.”

  “So you’re not mad?” I ask tentatively.

  He laughs again.

  The sound is deep and rich. It sends waves of warmth echoing through my body.

  “Not at all.” He steps toward me. “You’re a good assistant. I would have missed out on hiring you if you hadn’t done what you did. You found a way around my rule, and I’m glad you did.”

  “About that rule,” I say, clutching my towel hard. “What’s that about?”

  He dips his chin. “I’m a man of big appetites, Jade. When I see something I want, I claim it. That goes for business and for pleasure, but I try to keep those two worlds separate. At work, I need to be focused and professional. No distractions.”

  “Sure,” I reply, trying to hide the quaver in my voice.

  “I’m not immune to the charms of beautiful woman. It’s only natural. And look at me.” He gestures at his body.

  Well, since he’s giving permission…I quickly take the opportunity to stroke him with my eyes. Mmm.

  He continues, “I’m a good-looking guy, so it’s only natural that women gravitate to me too, but it’s a recipe for disaster if I satisfy my needs with one of my employees, things get complicated quickly. So that’s why I have my rule.”

  “But I’ve seen a few pretty girls in the company.”

  “They don’t work for me directly. The rule only applies to women I work closely with on a daily basis. Like my personal assistant.” He looks me up and down, not hiding what he’s doing. “We’ll be spending a lot of time together, Jade. A lot of late nights. A lot of one-on-one meetings. I can’t have that kind of temptation around.”

  My heart skips a beat and refuses to steady. Did I just hear what I heard? I laugh nervously. “Good thing, I’ll never be a problem like that, then. I’m not really your type.”

  He takes a step closer to me.

  Instantly, I feel the heat from his body drying my skin.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Right now, you are extremely…tempting.”

  His words send a shiver through me. My nipples harden beneath the towel. His eyes lock with mine, sending an electric current through me. “Mr. Remington—”

  “Luke,” he says softly.

  My lips part and I feel my chest tightening.

  He frowns suddenly and looks away. “Good thing we have too much to do on this trip to get distracted. Finish getting ready. We need to be on top of our game tonight.”

  With that, he exits my bedroom and closes the door behind him.

  I collapse on the bed, groaning.

  What the hell just happened?

  Oh. My. God. He asked me to call him Luke.

  My heart hammers away as conflicting emotions war inside me. Luke knows what I look like now. He knows having me as his assistant violates his unspoken rule, but he just behaved as if it isn’t that big a deal. Like I am such a good assistant, my little trick doesn’t matter. Will he change his mind once he’s had some time to think about it? Will he decide to fire me? Or will he just transfer me to another department?

  On the other hand, I’m over the moon that Luke knows what I look like now. I hated dressing like a frump, I hated the thick glasses, hated scraping my hair into the most unattractive hairstyle anyone could ever have, and I sorely missed my lipstick and my mascara. It did my ego no good to be so invisible for so many hours of the day. So, I had to be nearly naked for him to notice me, but he has finally looked up and noticed that I’m a woman. He even said I’m tempting. My heart feels as if it will fly out of my body with happiness because obviously, I’ve been crushing on him hard since the first time we met for my job interview.

  I mean, I’d have to be blind not to be attracted to him.

  I was barely able to string a sentence together during my interview with him. Who can blame me? The man is the sexiest thing on two legs I’ve ever seen. Dark tousled hair, ruggedly handsome face, strong cheekbones often peppered with sexy stubble. And his eyes. Oh my, those eyes. They’re so blue it’s like looking into a hot summer sky. Sometimes, when he’s explaining something to me, he’ll look directly at me, and I can feel the intensity of his gaze. It cuts through me, like he’s looking straight into my soul. Intoxicating me.

  I’d even say that over the past two months, my crush has deepened into a kind of obsession. When he’s talking to other people, I find myself just watching him, greedily drinking in the sight of him.

  I didn’t think it was possible to find him any more attractive than I already did. Suits were made for that body and face. That is, until I saw him just now, when he stood in only his underwear and told me I was tempting. It’s enough to make my head spin with desire.

  Then the way he’d looked at me before he left. Intense. I’m still reeling from it. I honestly thought he would kiss me, or throw me on the bed and claim me. I wish he had. I hug myself and remember the delicious tension that hung between us. I felt it. I wonder if he felt it too. I think he did. He’d never looked at me that way before. And he’d said more than once that I am attractive. Distracting even. I smile to myself.

  Too bad, he hadn’t acted on those feelings.

  I make my way back to the bathroom and look around me. The spider is gone now. All that’s left is a dark blue smudge. I hate spiders with a passion, but this one was a bit of a martyr. It gave up its life to change mine. I wonder how on earth it got into the bath. Maybe it hitched a ride on of the cleaner’s carts. I think of Luke slamming it with his shoe. Luke took care of me. Warmth fills my belly. My hero.

  It’s like at the airport earlier, when that guy from the car service was being a dick and I couldn’t be a bitch back because Luke was standing in front of me. Luke took care of that for me, too. I’m no damsel in distress. I don’t need a man to save me, but it feels amazing when the man who comes to my aid is Luke.

  Dreamily and completely forgetting that I’ve already had my shower, I step into the tub. The water rushes over me while I carry on fantasizing about him. Yes, he is an asshole sometimes. He’s over the top and domineering, and when it comes to work he is tough and demanding, but he never lets anyone else treat me badly. He may never have noticed me as a woman, but he’s always been protective of me.

  It’s one of the things I love about him. His protective streak is all the more endearing because he has no ulterior motive for it. Until today, he never looked at me with any kind of sexual interest. So he didn’t protect me because he wants to get in my pants. He did it because that’s just who he was. Good and kind. Otherwise, why would he give a damn how other people treat me?

  I sigh and reach for the soap.

  But Luke is more than that. He’s complicated. A mystery. The more time I spend with him, the
more I realize how much I don’t know about him. His past. His family. What he wants for the future.

  I know I shouldn’t but I want to feel his hands run over my skin the way the water from the shower does. It’s a dream that can only bring heartache. I’ll become like all those other secretaries who made the pathetic mistake of falling in love with someone like Luke Remington, but I can’t stop myself from wanting his eyes to lock with mine like they did just before he went back to his room. Wanting to see the bulge growing between his legs and know it’s because of me.

  Thoughts of Luke have my core aching with desire. A desperate, overwhelming need claws at me, urging me to do something about it. I consider taking matters into my own hands. It will be a long, frustrating night with Luke if I don’t relieve the pressure building up inside me.

  But I don’t have time.

  I have to start getting dressed soon. The last thing I want is to be late. I finish cleaning up and get out of the shower. I dry myself off and walk over to the closet where I’ve hung my clothes. I need to pick an outfit for tonight’s meeting. Of course, I brought a lot of clothes with me. I like being prepared for anything. If it rains. If it’s suddenly cold. If I need to sit on my own by a swimming pool. If I go trekking. If I have some free time to go dancing with some of the other conference attendees.

  I browse through my collection of grey and brown pant suits. They helped me land this job by hiding my body, but now that my secret is out, the idea of wearing one of them seems silly. Luke knows what I look like now. Do I really have to hide myself any longer?

  I slide my suits aside and look at the one thing I’ve never worn around Luke. A dress. This is my if ‘Luke is not around and I slip out into the balmy night looking for adventure’ dress. Yeah, right, but in my head I am full of fun and adventurous. Emerald green and sophisticated.

  It isn’t particularly sexy, but it fits right, accentuating my curvy assets. It’s emerald green and it really makes my eyes pop. I wonder if Luke will like it. It’s a classy dress. Neither too slutty or showy. It’s the kind of thing I’d wear to dinner with business clients if I was in a different job, one that didn’t require me to hide my figure.

  Indecision tears at me. Will Luke be mad if I dress differently tonight? Will it make things stranger than they already are?

  Screw it.

  I don’t want to hide anymore. Luke knows what I look like now. No sense in pretending I’m that same old frumpy girl with a bun. I’m ditching my bun and wearing my dress.

  I look forward to literally and figuratively letting my hair down for one evening. I deserve to have a little fun. I’m in a foreign country, I don’t have to hide the way I look, and I get to spend an evening with Luke. I may as well do it right.

  I blow dry my hair and leave it in shining waves down my back. I put on some makeup, more than I’ve ever worn around Luke, actually accentuating my features instead of toning them down. I leave my glasses sitting on the nightstand by the bed and dab perfume at my pulse points. Then I slip into my daring open-toed shoes.

  When Luke knocks on my door, I open the door and his jaw almost hits the floor.

  Chapter 4

  Luke

  Holy shit,” I mutter.

  Jade smiles at me. “Is that good or bad?”

  “Good. Damn good.” I look her up and down, mesmerized. “It’s just a surprise. That’s all.”

  She lifts an eyebrow at me. “A bigger surprise than seeing me in a towel?”

  “Actually, yes,” I reply. It’s not just the clingy dress that snags my interest, although it certainly did. But her face looks so different, too. She’s done something different with her makeup. It’s not like she painted on a new face. No, the differences are subtle, but powerful. “No glasses tonight?” I ask.

  “No. Actually, I have a confession to make.”

  “Let me guess.”

  “Yup. I don’t actually need glasses,” she says, her lips curving up in a wicked grin. “I took your advice.”

  “My advice?”

  She nods. “You told me to try new outfits and to change my hair. So I did.”

  “Yes, you did,” I say slowly, still unable to tear my eyes from her luscious curves. “I just didn’t expect the change to happen so soon.”

  She shrugs, making her breasts jiggle enticingly. “Why wait? The cat’s out of the bag. No sense in going back to my baggy old clothes.” She leans forward conspiratorially.

  I now get a waft of her perfume mixed with the smell of skin.

  “I hated them with all my heart,” she admits.

  “I’m sure you did,” I answer automatically. I’m too overwhelmed by the sucker punch delivered by her scent for my brain to work.

  She looks at me from under her lashes and smiles slowly.

  I shake my head in disbelief. “Who the hell are you, Jade Emerson?”

  “Maybe it’s time for you to find out.”

  “Maybe,” I say softly.

  She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth.

  At this action my cock twitches with interest. “Come on,” I urge impatiently. “We don’t want to be late.”

  “Good idea,” she agrees and starts walking in front of me.

  My eyes rove over her body and ass freely, now that she can’t see me looking. Her hips sway enticingly below her trim waist, hypnotizing me, keeping my eyes glued to it.

  Heat flares inside me. Jade had been sexy in just a towel, but now she blows me away with how hot she looks. It’s like the woman who disappeared into her hotel room never came back out. This is someone else. Someone irresistible.

  Even in her previous life, I guess I’ve always secretly found her attractive. She was always more than her baggy sweaters and her thick glasses. There’d always been a spark there. A hint of some sexual magnetism, but I’d always been able to ignore those stirrings. I’m not sure I can ignore them anymore.

  We step into the elevator and I hit the button marked L.

  Jade stands beside me, looking straight ahead, and saying nothing.

  Since I don’t want to ogle her directly, I stare at her reflection on the mirrored walls of the elevator.

  Her full, ripe breasts swell against the bodice of her dress. She’s not showing a lot of cleavage, but somehow, it’s one of the sexiest damn dresses I’ve ever seen. It’s like the towel. It shows off everything while revealing nothing.

  My cock throbs in my pants. I shift my suit jacket to hide my growing erection. I close my eyes to shut the image of her out of my head. Control yourself, dammit. Stop gawking at her like a hormonal teenager.

  Even with my eyes shut, I still see her. In my imagination, I’m there, too. I’m pressed up against her from behind. My hands slide up her dress, up her smooth, flawless skin. All the way up. Until my fingers encounter wet folds.

  I open my eyes before things go too far. Jade is my assistant. I can’t have these thoughts about her. She’s been strong enough to keep things between us professional. I’d be smart to do the same.

  I swore I’d never be so crass as to seduce my assistant. It’s cheap and tawdry. Not because she’s beneath me or anything like that. It’s because I don’t want to be that guy. I refuse to be the cliché businessman who takes advantage of his secretary. I’m not that. I won’t be that.

  Deep down, this is the real reason I had my rule. Not to protect me from them, but to protect them from me. And in a way, to protect me from myself.

  I enjoy sex. I’m not ashamed of that fact. The problem is, once I see a woman I really, really want, I have to have her. It’s a compulsion, a burning need that won’t go away until it’s satisfied.

  Now, I want Jade.

  We sit beside each other in the limo on the way to the restaurant. Night has fallen over Bangkok and the world outside our windows is lit by glowing storefronts and neon signs. The lights paint her face in shifting colors, giving her an ethereal quality. Almost like she’s not real.

  Nothing feels real now, not since she emerged from
her room as this vision of beauty. She’s thrown my world off-balance. I can’t concentrate. I can’t get my thoughts in order. I can’t even pry my eyes away from her.

  I have no idea how I’m going to get through this meeting with the clients. I’m too distracted. Jade is the only thing I can think about right now. The rest of my world has faded. She’s the only thing in focus.

  If these potential clients weren’t so important, I’d cancel the whole thing. I need time to get my head straight. Time away from her. Instead, she will be sitting beside me tonight, a beautiful thorn in my side that’s impossible to ignore.

  I should have left her at the hotel. But that wasn’t an option. I need her at my side. I’m the big picture guy. I sell clients on the broad strokes of my plans. Jade knows the numbers. The details. If a client has a specific question, she’s usually the one to talk to. Her presence is invaluable. She seems cool and collected now, unlike me. My great hope is that she can keep the meeting on track.

  We get to the restaurant, and they seat us immediately.

  We’re a few minutes early. Enough time to appear courteous, but not so much that we look desperate. The potential clients arrive shortly after. Four Japanese businessmen. They speak perfect English. All of them have been to American colleges before returning to Japan. I’ve done my research on them before coming here.

  We start with some small talk and a few drinks to loosen everyone up. This part is easy. All I do is ask a lot of questions. It makes the client feel like I’m interested. I am interested, but this is how I communicate that to them.

  The hard part is deciding when to start to sell. I don’t want to rush it, but I don’t want to take too long either. Normally, I have a natural feel for when it’s time to strike, but not tonight. I’m trying to listen to the client, but all I can think about is Jade sitting next to me.