I needed time to seduce her again. To remind her of our bond and show her what could be.
My thumb caressed the delicate skin of her temple as my hand guided her head’s movements. And before long, Xiomara was following my lead, exploring, and delving deeper into the kiss. No longer hesitant about what she was doing, I could tell she sought to uncover long lost answers.
The combination of her submission and my deep desire for her was intoxicating. This strong, passionate woman was pulling me into her drunken well, even if I were the one who initiated the kiss.
I couldn’t pull back, not even when my phone began ringing. I couldn’t pull back even when it started buzzing seconds later with a voicemail alert.
And when she moaned into my lips, that was almost my undoing. I nibbled on her bottom lip and licked along the inside, sampling the soft tissue there.
Her sweet sigh against my lips was enough to force me back. I’d already gone too far, wanting more of what she’d given to me a few nights ago. I knew that I’d opened Pandora’s box with this woman.
No matter what denials she issued from her mouth, she could never be the same. If she walked away from me again, she’d always wonder what if?
My forehead rested against hers as she sought to regain her breath and, eventually, her composure. But before she could pull back, before she broke the spell completely, I had to finish my question.
“Tell me now...what you just felt, was it the emotions of the day?”
I saw her eyes close and long lashes block out the brook of tumbling emotions behind them.
“Honesty, Xiomara. That’s all I ask,” I said in a tone barely above a whisper.
“I cannot do this with you, Lake. I have to stay the course.”
“But why?”
“It’s my life’s dream in collaboration with honoring my parents’ culture. I’ve sacrificed so much for this. Come too far for this. I enjoyed the night of the masquerade ball, but now...well, now I need to place a wall up between us. My feelings are getting out of control again, and I’m losing focus here. I made a promise to Russell, and he made one to me. We might not be in love with each other or have the chemistry you and I do, but we have a common goal in mind that we’re both committed to. I’m not a fool, I know he’s with other women, and I’m okay with that. But his are casual flings. When we marry, it’ll be just him and me. I’m not free to give my heart away. I owe him better than that because I expect better than that from him!”
Fury rushed through me. She owed nothing to no one except for herself. I hated that they had subjected her to this way of thinking that would not allow her to consider her needs.
Gaurav Sheffield was a controlling, dominant man who selfishly secured his needs over his daughter’s.
“You have wronged no one, Xiomara. You’re not married to him.”
“But I am engaged to him!” she argued back.
“Tell me this. Has he ever kissed you?”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. Hesitantly she answered, “Yes, he’s kissed me.”
“The way that I have?”
“What?”
I pressed, “Well, does he?”
“Well...uh. We...”
“Has he had sex with you?”
Anger narrowed her tilted eyes into slits.
“Don’t you think you’re going too deep, Lake?”
“I just want to know.”
“It’s not your business who lays in my bed. I’m finished with this conversation,” she said, turning her back to me.
I turned the car back on and drove the last few minutes to her parents’ home.
Xiomara placed her hand on the door handle and pushed it open. I grabbed her wrist at the last minute and stopped her from leaving.
“When you’re ready to acknowledge what we have, call me.”
She slammed the car door and stormed off.
CHAPTER 13 – XIOMARA
“...THERE ARE SEVERAL ISSUES that we need to be aware of,” I said, looking at the group assembled around us.
Fourteen pairs of eyes were on me, including my father’s. I knew that he was assessing my every word, posture, and how I commanded the room.
I also knew that he assessed the managing directors' body language assembled in the conference room with us to determine how well they received me.
Today was the first time that he had allowed me to lead a meeting at Sheffield Tech. Although the first half of this meeting had gone over well, with everyone providing the requested updates on their department, and the finance department giving us good news on where we were at this quarter versus last year this time, I knew things were about to shift.
“We have two board members that will leave us this January.”
A few eyes shifted away from me, and I saw body postures changing. I refused to read anything into that and continued with what I wanted to say.
“Craig Newby and Harold Whitaker have chosen not to continue in their roles. With their resignation, we have already begun searching for their replacements, and I’m proud to announce that Joanne Stinchcombe and Stephanie Sherrell will replace those members. We are grateful for the years of service those gentlemen have provided, but we look forward to the new direction we’ll be moving in.”
I gave background information on our two new board members without divulging the details behind why the other two had tendered their resignation. It was pretty easy for anyone to determine why that was.
Both Craig and Harold had been on the board for years, and neither of them was happy to see me being groomed to take my father’s place. In their mind, the position should have gone to Charles Washington, my father’s VP. They also had reservations about a woman being in a leadership role.
Unfortunately, not only did Charles lack the vision that this company required to lead it into the future with an aggressive approach towards growth, but he also had a drinking problem.
