9. Henry
9
HENRY
D on’t.
Don’t.
Don’t do it.
I held my breath, slanting closer to Mia’s lips, and I couldn’t talk myself out of it. I caved. Giving in had never felt as good as it did this moment. With the first contact of her mouth, so soft and warm against mine, I felt a charge of desire barrel through me. Liquid lust ran in my veins, and I tempered myself from holding her closer and devouring her.
She made a noise of surprise as I kissed her, but she didn’t back away. She didn’t retreat. Closing her eyes, she tipped her face up to me and accepted that I was making a move. I wished I could stake a claim, mark her as mine, and erase any idea of her being available to even think about another man.
Mine.
Fuck, I’d wanted her for so long, so badly. For months—no, for years—I’d wondered what it would be like to have and hold Mia. To taste the sweetness on her lips. To savor her essence.
Now that I’d crossed a clear line, kissing her, I refused to think about going back to the way things were. Because this was too perfect. She felt too damn good.
Tilting her head to the side, she gave me a better angle of access, seeking more of this heated, forbidden caress, her lips against mine, her breath mingling with my exhales. The press of her fingers registered on my chest, but not in a shove away. She curled her fingers, twisting the fabric slightly as she leaned against me, kissing me back as slowly, yet hungrily, as I did her.
Mine. You’re mine, Mia. I showed her my thoughts, naughty and taboo, as I raised my hand and gripped the back of her neck. Keeping her close, I kissed her harder, determined to slide my tongue in and really get a sample of her sweetness.
Pure desire coursed through me. Rabid need took over. Just one kiss, and I was lost in wanting all of her, in needing everything she could ever give me.
A soft moan escaped her as she shifted on her feet. Again, toward me. She wasn’t running. She wasn’t backing up in retreat. Kissing me back and lifting her face, she waited for me to smother her with my lips.
Before we could get carried away, though, someone called out.
“Henry?”
Fuck. Hearing Owen calling my name was the last thing I wanted to happen right now. I didn’t want any distractions with Mia reaching up to kiss me back. I wanted zero interruptions, now that I’d surprised her and received her matching interest.
“Henry.” He didn’t ask it then, stating my name louder with how much closer he’d come.
Mia heard him that time, too. She gasped in shock and leaned back, out of my reach. With how quickly she moved, she almost stumbled back, but I kept her upright. I lowered my hand from the back of her neck, but I caught her with both of my hands on her back. Hugging her loosely, I prevented her from tripping or getting too far back.
Her lips parted, wet from mine. Each of her hot breaths whipped at my chin. They were a testament to how ragged she was, how worked up and out of breath I’d rendered her. One look down tempted me to ignore my friend coming up behind me, but she stepped back. Her brows raised as she lowered her gaze, noticing Owen reaching us.
I hadn’t asked him to come, but he was there when I asked her to come here with me tonight.
Shame filled her eyes. Shock and horror swiftly followed. All too soon, she was letting the consequences weigh down on her.
We’d kissed.
We’d crossed a boundary that we shouldn’t have.
Of course, she was freaking out about it, but I wouldn’t. I would not take back a second of kissing her. I was only peeved that Owen had to show up here when he had.
“Henry,” Owen repeated, clapping a hand on my back.
I tore my stare from Mia, hating that she was backing up after the blissful surprise of my kiss. The perfect moment of surrendering to the chemistry between us. I’d kissed her on impulse, and so had she in return. And I wanted to do it again.
Owen’s hand on my back prompted me to turn and face him. I did, finding a worse surprise with him.
Owen hadn’t come here alone. He’d brought along Ann.
She narrowed her eyes at Mia, then blinked curiously at me. “Hey, Henry!” Without missing a beat, she morphed from an expression of confusion and irritation for Mia to an overly bright smile for me. She launched herself at me, arms out in an implied request that I catch her and hug her. I did, but not tightly. Jumping at me so awkwardly, she nearly pushed me backward.
“Hey,” I said to my friend who watched me with a curious smirk. “I didn’t know you were coming out here.”
Owen shrugged, glancing at Mia as she turned toward the table and sipped her drink. She didn’t make eye contact with Owen or me, seeming to use the cup of water as a prop to distract herself with. I bet she wished she could hide behind the damn glass with how she was shrinking away.
“I can see that.” Owen cleared his throat, shooting me a silly smile that suggested he was having way too much fun with this, finding me kissing my secretary.
I hated that he worded it like I was hoping no one would interrupt my evening with Mia. Like she was something I had to hide. She was—on the principle that I shouldn’t be kissing someone who worked for me. But I didn’t like the thought that Mia was inferior or shameful, something to avoid or hide.
Now that I knew how sweet her lips were, I wanted to kiss her until they were swollen. I wanted to feel her mouth on me everywhere. I wanted… her.
Again, I glanced at her, wishing she’d face me. Standing off to the side, she paid attention to the stage.
“I was looking for you,” Ann said, grabbing my arm and tugging so I’d turn from Mia. “At the office.”
I know. You’ve been looking for me with texts, emails, and calls as well. I supposed I shouldn’t have missed the thought that she would seek me out in person too.
“She came to the office,” Owen said, “looking for you, and I told her that I knew where you were.”
Asshole. Then again, I hadn’t had a chance to tell my friend that I didn’t want Ann butting into my life. Had he known, he’d back me up and help to keep this gold digger away.
“Since I knew you would be here, I told her we could meet up. But I, uh…” He winced, scratching below his ear. “I thought we’d find you here scoping out the talent on the stage. Not… doing something else.”
I willed him to shut up.
“Yes. The dancers,” Mia said, using an overly loud and sudden tone. “We were watching the dancers. But hey. Um.” She shook her head, flustered as she grabbed her purse. Rushing to snatch it, she knocked over her glass of water on the table. Liquid splashed out on the table, flooding the surface while more flew out toward Ann, who shrieked.
“It’s just water,” I said, hurrying with Mia to mop up the spill with napkins.
“But—” Ann growled, wiping at her dress that was hardly wet from the spray to begin with.
“Um. I’m just—I’ll…” Mia held her hands out, as if warding the soggy napkins to stay put on the table. Without looking up at me, giving me a slight view of her blushing cheeks, she eased to the side. She moved with a clear intention of keeping the distance between us, an exaggerated buffer as she slipped through the nook our table and chairs were in. “I’ll just go.”
Dammit! “No.” I reached out for her, ignoring Ann’s curious frown. “Mia, you don’t have to go.”
“But, I, yeah.” She nodded, tossing me a quick smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah. I shouldn’t stay out any later than this.”
But you often stay up late. I’d know because we texted constantly, daily and nightly, about anything and everything. Sometimes, it was about work things, but mostly, it was everyday sort of messages. She was always the last one to reply with a goodnight text, late into the night.
“Please stay,” I said, hating that she’d react to my kiss like this. That she’d react to her eager response to my kiss like that. I didn’t want her to feel like she had to leave. I wanted us to go right back to where we were, kissing when we had no right to.
I didn’t want her to go at all, but especially not because Ann and Owen were here.
“You don’t need me here.” She said it kindly, but I caught the underlying hurt in her tone. Now that Ann was here, a woman I was supposed to spend time with, she was ousted.
“But I—” I clamped my lips shut, catching myself from correcting her.
I didn’t need Mia here with me. But I wanted her. I valued her companionship. I wished to hear more of her critique about the dancers and her tips for what I should look for.
All I could do was watch her walk away, though, feeling as though I’d had a sample of a forbidden delicacy I’d never taste again.
As she left, I stood there rooted in indecision. I was tempted to run after her, to continue spending time with her, but then I was tempted to linger and see if that dancer—the one I wanted Mia’s opinion on—would show on the stage.
“Dammit,” I muttered as I grabbed my glass of water. I drank some, wishing Ann weren’t here. She’d instantly driven Mia away. And Owen. I shot him a stern look over the rim of my cup too. He just had to drag Ann here. Like I’d want her company.
I had to explain it all to him, how little I was interested. Next time he saw Ann popping in at the office, he’d tell her to leave, not encourage her and enable her to stalk me more.
“You all right, man?” Owen asked when a server stood at our area, taking Ann’s nit-picky order for a frou-frou drink.
I sighed, missing Mia and wishing I could rewind time to be with her—just her—again. Mia’s company soothed me at the same time that it excited me. I felt alive with her, and everything else paled in comparison.
“Yeah,” I lied to him. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know how uninterested I was in Ann. But with the careful way he studied me now after Mia’s departure, I had a hunch he was getting the gist of how interested I was in Mia.
Broody and musing on my growing feelings for Mia, I barely paid attention when the show resumed. The dancer I wanted to see wasn’t up there, and without Mia here to offer helpful tips and pointers about the show and the dance crew, I felt listless and out of it.
“I swear…” Ann scrunched her face, perfecting an expression of disgust as she shook her head at the stage. “These people, these women, have to be so desperate. Look at them.” She raised her hand to gesture at the stage and sneered. “They’re just like lowlife strippers. Dirty, without any shame or modesty.” She huffed. “Like hookers!”
I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to listen to her cattiness.
“I beg to argue,” Owen said, noticing my dark cringe. “They’re entertainers. We employ many excellent individuals at our clubs. Would you say the same thing about a Dunn employee?”
“Well. No.” She beamed a quick smile at me. “Everything a Dunn does is high-quality.”
“Then it’s no different. These dancers are entertainers. Not strippers or hookers,” he said.
I sighed, missing Mia even more. She was so critical of a judge, commenting on form and appeal, their fitness and skill sets. She was observant and wise, not quick to generalize and be bitchy with prejudices like Ann.
It didn’t matter how I was thinking about Mia. I always held her in high esteem. Sure, she had her flaws, but she was… perfect. For me.
I rubbed my face, aggravated with how badly I wanted her. I wasn’t sure if it was a consequence of finally daring to kiss her after years of dreaming about it. So many fantasies had formed in my mind’s eye of how she’d accept me as a lover, as her man, not her boss.
The reality of it was that my feelings would only continue to grow. I would pine for her. I would yearn for her far past this one first kiss tonight. And I had to wonder when enough would be enough.
I should’ve been on top of the world, so thrilled that she’d been eager to kiss me back. But I had to make my intentions clear. I wanted her to understand, full stop and without room for error, that I desired her. That she was never and would never be “just an employee” for me.
Sure, the rules at the office held me back. Those strict no-fraternization policies had been put in place because Jason’s mother—Mackenzie—had been a Dunn employee too. We’d started a workplace romance that ended with her getting pregnant. When she realized that she didn’t want a family with me, a forever with me, she took off. It made for many awkward moments until she left. When she ran off three days after Jason’s birth—to sleep with the CFO of a rival company overseas—she’d not only abandoned me and Jason, but she’d also shown the need for rules in our office.
That situation ended poorly, but the attraction and closeness Mia and I had cultivated over years wouldn’t result in a similar implosion.
Right?
She couldn’t feel so right, so perfect for me, and be wrong for me.
Life couldn’t be that cruel. Mia couldn’t be the one woman I wanted to call mine and not be a good fit.
“Doesn’t look like ‘your’ dancer is here,” Owen commented as Ann happily slurped at her frou-frou cocktail.
The show was nearing its closing number, but I hadn’t really paid attention. Bereft with Mia’s absence, I’d spent the rest of the night thinking about her.
But my friend’s wording bothered me. That dancer wasn’t mine . The only person I wanted to be possessive about was Mia.
I cringed, hating this weird feeling that I could be a two-timing asshole, sitting here to see a specific dancer while lusting for my secretary. It wasn’t as though I desired that dancer. I wanted to see that dancer and talk to her so I could offer her a job dancing at my club. That was it.
She’d attracted me, in the sense of making me watch her, but Mia was the only one I really wanted. And I had for far too long to be patient about it anymore.
Especially not after I’d lost all common sense and kissed her.