He cut my words short with a deep and inviting kiss, making me forget whatever I was about to say.
I tried to hold back, tried to resist, but I couldn’t help it; I kissed him back—letting my tongue dip deeper into his mouth, running my hands against his hard chest.
He tore his mouth away from mine and began kissing down my neck, my collarbone, my br**sts. He sucked one of my ni**les into his mouth and softly bit it, making me cry out in pleasure.
Ohhh....Jonathan...
He gripped my other breast and kneaded it with his palm, using his fingertips to pinch the most sensitive part. Before I knew it, he’d started moving his kisses down my stomach—past my belly button, and another memory of Jonathan crossed my mind:
Jonathan pulled his mouth away from mine. “I love kissing your lips, Claire...”
“Which set?”
“Both.” He ran his hands against my bare thighs.
“Well...” I stifled a moan as he started to move his lips lower and lower. “Which one is better?”
“I believe it’s a tie, but I’ll do a comparison right now to make sure...”
I felt Damien attempting to pull my pants down as he placed another kiss against my navel.
“Wait.” I sat up and folded my arms across my chest. “We can’t...”
“What?” He kissed my stomach again and looked up at me. “Why not?”
“I’m...” I needed one hell of an excuse. As much as I wanted to deny it, my body was on fire and I knew he could feel it. “I’m on my period this week... I’m sorry that I didn’t—”
“Is that why you’ve been so tense today?” He raised his eyebrow. “You think the only reason I invited you was to have sex? Or that if we didn’t have sex this week I wouldn’t be interested in you anymore?”
Um yeah. “Um...”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Claire. I’m not usually this forward and I don’t want to rush things with you at all. It’s just...Being around you sometimes, it’s hard to control myself.” He smiled as he re-buttoned my pants. “You wouldn’t believe the effect you have on me...”
He moved so he was lying next to me and kissed my cheek. “Will your period prevent you from letting me hold you?”
I laughed. “No...I would like that very much.”
He wrapped his arms around me and I leaned back against him, not feeling comforted at all; his embrace wasn’t the one I needed.
I emerged from the bathroom in a long purple dress, one of Jonathan’s purchases from months ago. I figured I might as well put all the dresses he bought me to use; they were all too elegant to wear to anything else.
“Wow...” Damien stood up once I walked into the living room. “I’m not so sure about going to this ball now...”
“Why is that?”
“Because someone might try to steal you away from me...You look too good to be true.” He looked me up and down. “I think the highlight of the week will be getting to see you in a different dress every night.” He kissed my lips and led me out into the hallway, onto the elevator.
We were heading to the seventy fifth floor’s “sky room,” to attend the conference’s welcoming ball. He’d told me that all the power players needed to make an appearance and that it was pretty much an opportunity for the CEOs to show off their dates and size up the competition.
If it were up to me, I would be back in our suite scarfing down the cartons of mint chocolate chip ice cream I’d ordered, not rubbing noses with the elite. Nonetheless, I’d already talked him out of making me go to the “Ladies Only Meet and Greet” and I didn’t want to push my luck.
He held the door to the ballroom open, and as soon as we stepped inside, I had to hold back a gasp.
The sky room was colossal—it looked like it was large enough to hold an entire football field; its ceiling and walls were made of plated black glass and I counted at least twenty silver chandeliers hanging several feet above our heads. There was even a massive stage at the far end that stretched across the room’s imposing walls.
Damien held me against his side as we walked around the room, as he introduced me to each of his friends and colleagues as his “girlfriend.”
“Wow...” “Where’d you find someone like this to put up with you?” “She’s too pretty for you.” “If you ever get tired of him, I’d be happy to take you out, Miss Gracen.” “She’s a vision, Damien...”
I smiled at all his friend’s compliments, and once he and his CFO started discussing acquisitions, I excused myself to the beverage bar that lined the side of the room.
As I was pouring myself a glass, the lights above flickered and everyone started clapping.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2013 Juniper Conference!” A woman walked on stage with a mic in her hand. “Over the next few days, we’ll all be sharing our ideas on the direction of technology advancement, relaxing at one of the retreat’s many spas, and trying not to kill each other since we’re all fierce competitors.”