“Calloway…we can’t do this.”
“Ten minutes,” I whispered. “I’m not going to kiss you. I’m not going to fuck you. I just want to hold you.” My hand snaked to the back of her neck where I could feel her gentle pulse. The smell of roses washed over me, and I inhaled deeply, feeling the sting of the breath. There was something about the way she made me feel…it was addictive. It felt like a form of happiness, an indescribable joy. I didn’t know what this woman was doing to me. I wasn’t even sure if it was good or bad.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead before I returned my head against hers. My hands moved to her shoulders and down her arms, feeling the smooth skin and the goose bumps I’d expected to feel. Her reaction to me was just as powerful as mine was to her. “I missed you. I tried writing an email, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” I’d spent all night with her, her hands bound to my headboard, but it just wasn’t enough.
“I always miss you…”
I pulled her closer into my chest and rested her cheek over my heart. Her tits were firm against me, but the touch didn’t get me hard. My need for her wasn’t sexual—and that was the most surprising thing of all.
When ten minutes had passed, I knew I needed to let her go. “I’ll let you get back to work…”
She reluctantly pulled away, her stance on our office romance unclear. When it came to affection at Humanitarians United, she wanted nothing to do with it. She didn’t want a single person in the building to know we slept in the same bed. But now, her position had weakened. She looked at me with desire in her eyes, wanting our embrace to never end. “You want to get dinner tonight?”
I didn’t need to give her my answer. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
9
Rome
“Christopher, I need help.” I was flustered the second I walked in the door.
“What’s up?” He stood at the kitchen counter, talking with his mouth full. He made half a sandwich but couldn’t stop eating it for one second so he could talk to me. He leaned against the counter and crossed his ankles, still in his suit.
I set my bag on the entryway table and slipped off my heels from hell. Throughout the workday, they weren’t so bad. But by the time I walked home, I was dying. I was in so much pain I wanted to take them off and walk barefoot on the defiled sidewalk of New York City. “It’s about Calloway.”
“What about him?” He took another bite, chewing loudly.
“Could you stop eating for just a second?”
“Could you wait to dump your boyfriend problems on me until I’m finished?” he countered, a smartass look on his face.
I ignored his final comment and powered through. “I’ve been seeing Calloway for six months, and I know that’s not that long, but I think I might…” I couldn’t believe I was about to say this out loud. Once I did, it would really be true. “I think I love him.”
Christopher looked just as bored as he had a minute ago. “And your point?”
“I’m not sure if I should tell him. We haven’t been seeing each other very long.”
“Six months?” he asked incredulously. “That’s like an eternity. No guy sticks with a woman that long unless it’s going somewhere.”
“I guess you’re right. But I’m not sure how he’ll react.”
Christopher finally finished his sandwich and wiped the crumbs off his fingers. “If he’s stuck it out with you this long, I doubt anything bad could come from it. He’s hung up on you, so there’s a good chance he feels the same way.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. And even if he doesn’t, he probably wouldn’t be weirded out by it. Now, if some girl said that to me, I’d be out of there faster than the speed of light.”
I didn’t see too many similarities between Christopher and Calloway, so that was good news.
“Just go with your instinct. If you love the guy, tell him. What harm could it do?”
Probably none.
“Can we wrap up the girl talk?” he asked. “I have a date with this copy editor for the Times. She asked me out at lunch.”
“Cool. What’s she like?”
He shrugged. “Hot.”
“And that’s it?”
“Yep.”
“Didn’t you just eat?” I asked. “Now you’re going to dinner?”
“I said we’re going on a date. I didn’t say anything about dinner.”
“Then what are you going to do on this date?”
“Fuck.” He walked out of the kitchen and headed down the hallway into his bedroom.
I forgot about Christopher and sat on the couch, thinking about my morning in Calloway’s office. He held me for several minutes for no reason at all. He ran his fingers through my hair and touched me so softly. I felt like a diamond, a prized jewel he cherished.