CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: THE RIGHT WAY
1720 Words
SOREN
I dropped Lioraé onto the bed as gently as I could. I lowered close to her and watched her. After confessing she wanted to be with me, she had passed out and was sleeping soundly. How had I been so carried away by the event that I didn't notice she was all by herself, drinking?
I got up and got out the nightgown from her bag. I had to change her out of the dress so she slept better.
“Lioraé”
She shifted in the bed, which meant she could still hear me. “I am going to take off your clothes now.”
“No,” she said. Even drunk, she still had willpower while looking cute. Her hand crossed in an X over her chest as she tried to shake her head over the pillow.
“Just so you can sleep better tonight,” I added.
I had thoughts in my mind. How I wanted her with me, but I was never going to force her. I sat her up and pulled down the strap of her dress before undoing the zip until it was far below her back.
“Excuse me,” I murmured. The dress dropped to her waist, and she continued to sway from side to side. I was trying my best not to look down at her bod and how good it looked under the dim light. 'I was just going to change her and slip into bed,' I said, trying to ignore the way my back heated and the bulge in my trousers began to grow.
I was trying to slip the dress over her neck when her hand wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer to her. She smiled softly and puckered her lips. The grip was too strong for a drunk person; my eyes widened with shock. “Li…”
“You keep seducing me,” she murmured. She pulled her head back from my neck and looked at me straight. “Now I want to kiss you,” she added in a murmur.
“Me too, Lioraé.” That was even underestimating everything I really wanted to do with her. She pressed her body closer, and my hands gently stroked her hair. I didn't want to go beyond that, afraid I might do something wrong.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
“You are drunk. I don’t want you…” Her lips closed on mine, a light brushing at first and then pressing onto mine.
I knew this was wrong. I was not supposed to kiss her, not now when she was barely conscious, but the way she held onto me, I couldn't stop myself. I had to kiss her back; my hand dropped the dress to the side as it held her waist and pulled her closer.
She pulled away breathlessly, leaving me yearning for more, and when I looked at her, her eyes were bright and open. I tried to catch my breath by avoiding her eyes. Was she not drunk?
“I am not drunk?”
“Lioraé…”
“We are playing the happy-in-love couple, aren’t we?” She asked, and I nodded, feeling my throat tightening more than it should.
“Then why don’t we play it to the end?”
“What does that…”
“I want to sleep with you.”
I wanted it, but I still feared she was drunk, and she didn't know what she was doing. I couldn't make a mistake with her and ruin my chances of things getting better with her. I shook my head and tapped her on her grip over my neck.
“We can’t?”
“Why not? You don’t want…”
I leaned in, my voice hitched in my throat, lower than I had ever heard it. “Oh baby…” I trailed the back of my hand over her forearm. “You have no idea how much I want this, but I want you to do it because you want to, not just some drunken mistake.”
“But we have done it before,” she pouted, obviously outraged that I was stalling.
“Yes, and I was wrong; that night shouldn’t have gone that way.”
Silence and crickets. It was finally dawning on me how easily she could have misunderstood what I had said before I could find the right way to make it right; her hand over my neck dropped to the side.
“I thought as much; it was just a mistake for you. Why would you like a girl like me?” She turned in the bed and picked up her gown, scooting over until she was at the other edge of the bed. She glared at me as she took off the full dress and slipped into the gown.
I stood up trying to explain, but she pushed herself back into the bed and covered herself from the neck.
My fingers ran through my hair multiple times. I had thought I had made significant progress with making her mine. “Good job, Soren.”
The cold shower only seemed effective when I stood under it; as soon as I was standing in the room and my eyes fell on her face, I couldn't help but grow hard again. With this reaction, how can she think that she was just a mistake?
I tossed and turned all night, and when I saw the littlest shred of light, I took a run. The staff was kind enough to tell me the best route for a run. It had been too long since I ran; many of the exercises had recently been done at home.
I was sweaty, and my mind had cleared a bit; I had to explain the situation to her. When I stepped in, she was gently folding up her clothes. I cleared my throat and walked in.
“Hi…”
“Good morning, Mr Vale.” Her tensed-up voice was unmistakable. She was back to being formal with me, which was not a good sign.
“About last night, I…”
“I made a mistake; I should apologise.” She cut me off before I could say everything I had thought of while running.
“No, let me speak. I have…”
“I was drunk and misread the situation; forcing myself on you was extremely unprofessional of me, and I shouldn’t have done anything like that, so let me take the opportunity to apologise. I am sorry, sir. From now on, I would never do anything to sabotage the relationship we have.” She paused her ramble to catch her breath before adding in the smallest voice.
“The boss-assistant relationship we have”
“Lioraé…”
“Are we leaving this morning?”
It was obvious she was not going to let me talk here. I cleared my throat again, trying to find a way to stall. If we got back to the city with her sulking this badly, then I was going to be set at least ten steps behind, and I didn't want that. I had come so far with her.
“No, I still have a few things to discuss with a possible investor I spoke with yesterday, so I will be heading out. Why don’t you spend the morning as you like, and I can…”
“I can sit in the meeting,” she cut me off. She was really not going to let me get any word in, was she?
“No, you can’t.” Her curious glance at me made me explain further. “You are here as my fiancée and not as an assistant; if I brought you, it might raise some concerns.”
She nodded once and got up with the pile of clothes from last night in her hand. “I will pay you back for the dress and shoes; it might take a while, but I will.”
I thought we had agreed she didn't need to last night. I didn't respond because I didn't agree with her, but I knew it was a waste of time to try and explain anything to her now.
I turned on the shower, and in minutes I was out of the room. I didn't need her to have to feel uncomfortable with me around. She didn't even look up when I walked out. Was she that angry? What had I done? I thought I was doing the right thing, and here it was backfiring in my face.
When I stepped into the city, my goal was to find a way to get Lioraé to forgive me, and I knew nothing about her at this point.
When I walked in with a box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers, she was sleeping soundly on the bed. I walked over and left it close to her, along with a note, while I went to find John to conclude our discussion.
Coming with Lioraé seemed to have worked out well; he was smitten by her and thought she was just the perfect partner for me. He signed the deal at once; I knew that she was going to be happy to hear that her presence here wasn't in vain after all.
“This is not going to change anything, but it doesn’t hurt to take them.” I saw the corner of her lip turn into a small, unmistakable smile; I knew that it had managed to make it a little better. Those were her first words to me when I walked into the room.
“Tell me how I can make it better.”
“You don’t have to.” She shook her head. “Maybe it was a wake-up call for me to stop fantasising about what I can’t have.” I was standing in front of her; I sat as close as I could get and squeezed her hand.
Her body tensed and then relaxed. “But I don’t want to,” I murmured gently, leaving a small kiss on the centre of her lips. “I want you to be mine, the right way.”
She turned to me and shook her head once before she leaned in and kissed me.
“I am not drunk now.”
- Writer
