Beyond 10 Nights (16 page)

“Thank you, Sir.” She couldn’t stop herself from
adding on the honorific, it was automatic and natural, even after their week
apart and everything that had happened between them.

“You don’t have to call me that,” he told her, though
her unexpected use of his title brought a smile to his lips.

The way he said that made her heart lurch, was she no
longer his, she worried. She had to bite her lip to keep from asking the
question, the answer to which might just destroy her. Instead she kept quiet,
remaining that way throughout their journey to the restaurant.

Rhett found the silence in the car almost unbearable;
he wanted to take her in his arms and make love to her, right there in the
front seat, but he knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. Instead of doing
what he wished he endured the silence, which persisted right up until they
reached the restaurant, where they left the car with a valet as he escorted her
inside.

Leah found her hands were trembling as they were led
to a table; she hated that she couldn’t think of one thing to say to break the
silence between them. He didn’t seem to be any more comfortable than she was,
though that didn’t make her feel any better. Unable to take the silence any
longer she finally spoke. “So how was your week?” She forced herself not to use
the word, Sir, and realized she hated not using it, it just didn’t seem right.

“Business as usual.” He attempted a smile and ordered
a bottle of wine as the waiter approached; he didn’t speak again until they
were alone. “I’m going to Mexico tomorrow and wanted to talk with you before I
leave.”

Here it comes, she thought to herself in dread, this is
the part where he tells me he doesn’t really love me and our relationship was a
mistake. She looked down at her hands, feeling her heart break a little more
with every second that passed.

“Could you at least look at me, Leah.” He spoke the
words softly, knowing he had no right to demand anything from her. When her
eyes met his, and he saw they were filled with tears, every ounce of his
resolve went straight out the window. “Don’t do that, sweetheart; I’m not worth
a single tear.” Seeing her so upset left him feeling like shit, he was
responsible for her tears and he hated himself for it.

“Are you breaking up with me?” She had to know the
truth; she knew it would destroy her but she needed to know. If this was the
end for them then she wanted it over quickly so she could go home and lick her
wounds in private. She wanted to scream at him and demand that he tell her he
still loved her, and that whatever crap they were going through could be worked
out.

“Is that what you want me to do, sweetheart?” If it
was, he wasn’t sure he had the ability to give her what she desired.

“No!” It wasn’t quite a scream, but it was loud enough
to draw the attention of the diners around them and she hurriedly lowered her
head, as well as her voice, in embarrassment. “Unless you no longer want me.”
Though she tried valiantly to stop the tears that threatened to fall she
couldn’t, they coursed down her cheeks leaving twin trails of dampness.

“Shit!” Getting to his feet Rhett quickly moved round
to her chair and took her by the hand. He didn’t want a scene there, for either
of their sakes, and realized he should have given some thought to that
possibility when he picked where to bring her.

Pulling her up to her feet he led her out of the main
restaurant and down the passage toward the toilets. Finding a door marked
‘employees only’ he tried the handle; relieved to find it unlocked he pulled
the door open and stepped inside, bringing Leah with him. It was a closet, but
that didn’t bother him just then, it was private, and that was all he was
concerned with.

Wrapping her in his arms Rhett held her tight again
him as she cried. Things were not going the way he had planned them, he
thought, as he did his best to console her. His intention was to tell her he
was giving her a little room, so she could make a decision about what she
wanted, explain that he was seeking professional help for his anger issues, and
hope that she would be able to give him the time to become the person she
needed and deserved.

“Don’t cry, baby, you know it drives me fucking nuts
when you do.” He continued to hold her tight, petting her hair like she was a
child.

“If you’re leaving me, Rhett Hammond,” Leah pulled
back and spoke through her tears, “you owe me the truth, and I don’t want you
sugar-coating it.” She poked his chest with her finger, mad as hell at him for
making her so upset.

“I just want you to be happy, sweetheart, and you damn
sure aren’t happy at the moment, are you?” He did this shit to her, he thought,
loathing himself for what he had done, maybe a clean break was what she really
needed in order to get back to a normal life.

Without any thought she began beating his chest with
her small fists. She wanted to hurt to him, to make him feel, even for a
moment, a fraction of the pain she felt at the thought of him walking away from
her. How could he do this to her, did he not give a damn about her at all? “I
hate you, Rhett, I really fucking hate you.” She didn’t meant it, but what he
was doing then made her hurt more than anything she’d suffered through in her
life.

The words tore at his heart and made him crazy. “You
don’t hate me, baby.” He refused to allow her to say those condemning words.
Reaching his hand down to the hem of her dress he pulled it up until he found
her silk panties. Cupping her sex he felt the heat coming from her and knew she
was turned on, despite what she was saying. She might say she hated him, but
she still wanted him, the proof was there, beneath his fingers.

“I do, I fucking hate you; I wish I could tear your
eyes out!” Even saying that she didn’t move away when his fingers slid under
the elastic of her panties and stroked the heated flesh that ached for his
touch, rather she moved into his caress, loving it as much as she hated him
right then.

“This doesn’t feel like hate, baby.” His finger slid
inside her, inching in and out slowly, loving how her body responded, even as
she tried to deny the truth it was showing him.

Whimpering at the exquisite pleasure his touch was
bringing, Leah tried to resist, she was still pissed as hell and hated that her
body was betraying her in such a fashion. “Any man could make my body respond,”
she cried out as her body tensed on the pinnacle of release. She didn’t mean
it, he was the only one who could make her come undone so easily, she was sure of
it, but she wasn’t about to admit that.

Sliding another finger insider her tight sheath, Rhett
worked them in and out of her faster and faster. “There won’t be another man
enjoying this though, will there.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. The
thought of her allowing another man to touch her like he was just then, let
alone fucking her, made him crazy and he rode her hard with his fingers until
he felt her release drench his digits.

A pounding on the door forced him to hurriedly slide
his fingers from her clenching flesh; he wanted to murder the person doing the
pounding. “Just a fucking minute!” he yelled, pissed that he was being
interrupted. Adjusting Leah’s dress, so no-one else would see what was his, he
placed his fingers at her lips and pushed them slowly into her mouth. “Remember
whose touch makes you cum, baby.” Pulling his fingers away he opened the door.

The employee in the passage was shocked to see the
couple in the closet when the door opened. “Forgive me, Mr. Hammond, I had no
idea it was you, but this area is for employees only.” He knew he would be
fired instantly if such a valuable customer was upset and made a complaint, he
sincerely hoped that wouldn’t happen.

“I’m sorry about the inconvenience.” Rhett said
stiffly as he fought the urge to adjust himself to ease the tightness in his
trousers brought on by his cock, which was throbbing with need. Taking out his
wallet he handed over a hundred dollar bill, hoping it would be enough to keep
the waiter quiet.

Leah was mortified by what she had allowed to happen
and slid around both of them so she could leave. The arrogant son-of-a-bitch
was leaving her but he didn’t want another man to have her. She was beyond
angry, and relieved to find a cab just a short distance down the street, which
she quickly got into.

Giving the driver the name of the hotel she was
staying at she watched as Rhett charged toward the car as it pulled away from
the curb. He was the last person on earth she wanted to talk to right then.

“Fucking great Hammond!” he cursed as the cab pulled
away from him. He wanted to get in his car and follow her to the hotel and
demand she come back with him but he knew he couldn’t, that kind of behavior
was what had started all the shit in the first place. He had to let her go and
cool down, and get his attitude checked as well.

What had just happened was exactly what he wanted to
avoid with her, yet here he was, doing the same thing again. Fighting the urge
to do as his instincts demanded he returned to the restaurant, where he ignored
the stares of the other diners, and ordered.

Leah was still trembling as she held back her temper
and disappointment when the cab dropped her off at the hotel. She knew he had
been planning to break things off with her before she goaded him into action.
If there was one thing she knew about Rhett now, he didn’t like being denied.

She couldn’t help but wonder if subconsciously she
hadn’t wanted to anger him. Tears blinded her as she hit the elevator button.
Had she wanted to prove to him that she could be just as heartless as he was?
She wasn’t sure. She wanted to hurt him for how he had made her feel, she
thought in anger, she didn’t know how to manage that, but he deserved to
suffer, if she could only think of how to do it, she knew she would.

Storming through the door and into the hotel suite
Leah slammed her purse down. It wasn’t fair that he had the ability to alter
her emotions with a simple touch, no one should have that power over her, she
grumbled under her breath as her mood grew even darker.

“I didn’t expect you home so soon, Leah.” Alex had
just finished working out and hadn’t thought to put on a shirt. Dressed in just
a pair of jogging bottoms he wondered if he should go put a top on, at the
least, before having a conversation with his roommate.

“Have you ever wanted to just slap the living shit out
of anyone?” Leah asked, still so far beyond rational thought that she gave no
consideration to what she was saying, or who she was saying it to. Alex was
simply the closest person.

“On a few occasions,” Alex admitted, “do you need to
talk?” It was apparent that her date with Rhett hadn’t gone well, and he found
himself wondering if his friend had a screw loose. Leah was something else, in
his opinion, and he couldn’t see how Rhett could manage to mess it up with her
as often and as easily as he seemed to.

“No, I don’t want to talk; I want to slap the shit out
of someone.” Walking into the small kitchen area she opened the fridge and
pulled out a bottle of wine; she wasn’t a big drinker but damn it, her emotions
were in turmoil right then and she thought that was a good enough reason.

“Do you think drinking right now is a good idea?” He
could see just how upset she was, and knew that alcohol only intensified such
moods; in his opinion she was better off staying sober and calming down.

“Do you want to tell me what I can or cannot do now
too, Alex?” Leah demanded with a snap to her voice. Setting the bottle down on
the counter she rummaged through the drawers for a corkscrew, hoping he would
have some sense and would think better of telling her what to do. Finding the
corkscrew she fumbled with the bottle, becoming more and more agitated as she
failed to get it open.

Alex realized that it wasn’t his place to dictate to
her and so he kept his mouth shut, but seeing how frustrated she was becoming
he walked over and took the corkscrew from her. Working around her body he
quickly worked the cork from the bottle, releasing the wine she was clearly
desperate to get at.

Against his will he found his body responding to the
proximity and unconsciously he rubbed against her. When he became aware of what
he was doing, and how inappropriate it was he stepped back, quickly, not sure
if he should apologize or pretend that nothing had happened.

“Maybe I’ll join you,” he said after a second,
fetching a couple of glasses. If she was determined to drink, it was better for
her to do so in company, he told himself as he tried to get his thoughts under
control.

She was still aching from Rhett’s fingers and the feel
of him against her, and her overwhelming emotions, were proving to be too big a
temptation. It didn’t take an experienced woman to understand that the feel of
his hard cock against her, the two of them separated by just a couple of layers
of material, meant he was craving something too. “You want me.” It wasn’t a
question; there was no way he could deny his hard-on.

Alex poured wine into the two glasses as he
contemplated how to respond. “It doesn’t matter if I do, Leah,” he said
finally, “you are both my employee and my roommate. It doesn’t matter what my
body feels.” His cock very definitely disagreed with him, and despite his best
efforts to control it, it didn’t want to settle down.