Forbidden Chemistry

LiquidCourageandMidnight

The Bungalow Threshold

By eight o'clock in the evening, the resort was quiet. Jen drove her modest sedan back to her rented coastal bungalow.

The small, cozy house stood near the palm trees, its warm porch light shining brightly against the dark night sky. Inside, Gioia was already fast asleep after being put to bed by her trusted nanny Rosa.

Jen stepped out onto her front porch, carrying her bag and Thomas's dark suit jacket neatly folded over her arm. She sighed, looking up at the starry Cebu sky, feeling emotionally exhausted from fighting her own feelings all day.

Suddenly, the smooth purr of a powerful engine echoed down the grebe, driveway.

A sleek black SUV pulled up, its headlights cutting through the darkness. The driver's side door opened, and Thomas stepped out. He had discarded his tie, his shirt unbuttoned at the neck, looking like a midnight prince standing in his humble garden.

Jen stood on her porch, placing her hands on her hips, putting up her defensive guard," Thomas?" What are you doing here? I told you, I would go home alone."

Thomas walked up the small wooden steps of her porch, stopping right at the edge, his broad frame blocking out the cool night breeze. He held up a small, elegant paper box tied with a golden ribbon.

" Rosa texted Marcus an hour ago," Thomas softly, his voice dropping into a low, hypnotic register in the quiet evening air. "

"She said you skipped dinner again because of the budget reports."

Jen stared at the box, then up at his intense eyes. " You drove twenty minutes down the coast just to deliver food,"

" I drove twenty minutes down the coast because I couldn't sleep knowing you were hungry," Thomas corrected gently. He set the box on the small porch table, then stepped closer to her, stopping just an inch short of touching her.

The proximity to the dark, quiet night was dizzying. The ocean waves crashed softly in the distance, and the warm yellow light of her porch illuminated the sharp, breathtaking angles of his face.

" You don't have to do this, Thomas," Jen whispered, her voice trembling slightly despite her best efforts. "I'm not going to invite you in I'm not going to let you stay the night. I'm taking this slow."

Thomas looked down at her, his dark eyes filled with a love so deep, so fiercely devoted, that it threatened to melt every wall she had ever built.

He didn't try to force his way in. Instead, he reached out, his long fingers gently taking his folded suit jacket from her arm. As he took it, his warm fingers lightly brushed over hers, sending a wave of electric goosebumps across her skin.

" I know," Thomas whispered softly, leaning down to his lips lightly, reverently pressed against the side of her forehead — a kiss so sweet, so full of respect, that Jen involuntarily closed her eyes, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.

"Keep the door locked, Jen," Thomas murmured against her skin, his warm breath fanning across her temple. " I'll be waiting for you in the office tomorrow morning. Brick by brick."

He stepped back, giving her a slow, devastatingly handsome smile before turning and walking back down the porch steps into the night.

Jen stood on her porch, her hand rising to touch her forehead where his lips had rested. Her chest was heaving, her face burning, and her heart racing with an uncontrollable, breathless excitement.

She looked at the warm dinner box on her table, then watched his tail lights disappear down the coastal road. Resisting Thomas Bolduc was fast becoming the hardest battle of her life.

The weight of holding up the sky was finally catching up to Jen.

Between endless back-to-back budget revisions for the resort's eco-expansion, and the relentless emotional pressure of keeping Thomas at arm's length, her reserves were completely drained. By seven in the evening, her head was throbbing, and her sharp professional posture was crumbling under sheer exhaustion.

Standing in her corner office, she dialed Rosa, her daughter's trusted nanny.

" Rosa?" Jen said, rubbing her temples. " Is Gioia doing okay?"

" She's wonderful, Miss Jen," Rosa's warm voice came through the line. "She just finished her dinner and is playing with her drawing set."

" Rosa.... I hate to ask this, but would it be alright if I asked you to work overtime tonight? Just a few extra hours?" The marketing team is heading to a local lounge down the coast to unwind, and I think...... I think I really need a break."

" Of course, Miss Jen! Don't worry at all," Rosa reassured her kindly. "Take your time. Gioia and I will read her favorite storybooks and get her ready for bed. Enjoy your night!"

Relief washed over Jen. " Thank you so much, Rosa. I'll pay you double the night rate."

After closing her laptop and storing her files in the safe, Jen met three of her team members downstairs. Free from Thomas's watchful gaze for the evening as he was tied up in a private corporate video call with his Boston legal division, Jen allowed herself to step outside her rigid executive persona.

The Seaside Lounge

They went to The Velvet Drift, an upscale, low-lit coastal lounge fifteen minutes away from the resort. Soft jazz hummed over the speakers, and the gentle crash of the ocean waves provided a soothing backdrop.

Jen ordered a gin and tonic. Then a second. By her third cocktail, the alcohol hit her empty stomach with full force, melting away her carefully constructed walls.

Five years of suppressed pain, lonely nights in Cebu, the lingering memory of Thomas's hands on her face, and the sheer longing of his relentless, arrogant courtship came flooding to the surface all at once.

" You know what the problem with men is?" Jen slurred slightly, leaning her chin in her hand as her coworkers laughed around the low leather table. " They think they can just show up in a dark blue suit.... buy you sweet mangoes.... look at you like you're the only person in the world.... and expect you to forget five years of agony!"

" Are we talking about President Bolduc?" Jeramie from communications teased gently, raising her glass.

" I am not naming names," Jen declared with dramatic gravity, taking another long sip of her drink. Her head was spinning in a light, dizzying haze. " He thinks he's so smart. He thinks he can say' brick by brick' and make my knees weak."

She pulled her smartphone out of her purse. Her vision blurred slightly as she tapped open her messages. Her thumb hovered over Thomas's contact photo — a sharp, handsome portrait. Marcus had set up on her work phone.

Under the influence of liquid courage and raw, unfiltered longing, her fingers flew across the screen.

JEN: YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMOOTH WITH YOUR TAILORED SUITS AND YOUR GUIMARAS MANGOES.

JEN: YOU THINK I DON'T SEE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT ME?

JEN: I HATE YOU THOMAS DAVE BOLDUC. I HATE HOW MUCH SPACE YOU TAKE UP IN MY HEAD. I HATE THAT I STILL REMEMBER HOW YOUR HANDS FEEL.

JEN: COME GET ME. OR STOP ACTING LIKE YOU OWN ME.

Location Tag Attached : The Velvet Drift Lounge.

She hit send, set her phone face down on the table. And took another heavy sip of her drink, completely unaware of the storm she had just unleashed.

End Of Chapter 14