Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen

Aubrey

I need out of this damn meeting! I need to be away from Everett. I am sitting between him and Hugo, but that hasn’t stopped Everett from teasing me. Does he want to get caught? His hands have been wandering under the table, getting a little too close to a place he shouldn’t be. It is driving me crazy. I am aroused! Why does this man insist on torturing me? He has no shame. I turn my head to glare at him and swat his hand away from stroking the side of my thigh. He smirks but keeps his attention focused on the meeting, acting like he isn’t doing anything.

“Please, excuse me, I need to use the restroom,” I say, get to my feet and rush out of the room.

I head straight for the bathroom, lock myself in one of the stalls and take a minute to pull it together. My body feels like it is on fire. I leave the stall and stand in front of the mirror. My face is flushed, and my eyes seem a little darker than normal. I groan in frustration and splash some cold water on my face. Thankfully, the little make-up I do have on is waterproof. I dry my face off and fix my hair. I don’t want to go back to the meeting, but I don’t have much of a choice. Maybe I can accidentally lock myself in one of the stalls. No, that would be a little much and immature of me.

“You got this,” I whisper to myself.

The meeting shouldn’t last too much longer. With any luck, Everett will leave straight after, but I won’t hold my breath. He will hang around as long as he can to piss me off. I finally leave the bathroom to return to the conference room, but I don’t get far because my path gets blocked.

“Are you okay, gorgeous?”

I roll my eyes and look up at Everett, who is in front of me.

“Yes, I am fine. What are you doing? Is the meeting over?”

He shakes his head, “No, Hugo told everyone to take ten.”

“And you decided to stalk me?”

He needs to be more damn careful. He steps closer to me and smirks, “I am not stalking. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You rushed off suddenly.”

“You know fine well the reason for me doing so. What the hell were you playing at? What if Hugo saw you?”

“I was thinking I had an opportunity and took it. You enjoyed every second of it. I bet your panties are even wet. Hugo was too focused on the meeting.” He shrugs.

I shake my head and go to walk away, but he stops me. He drags me into one of the other rooms and closes the door behind him. My back is soon against the wall.

“Everett, we need to get back to the meeting.”

“We have a few minutes.”

“And why do we need a few minutes?”

I regret the question as soon as I ask it. A smirk curls on his lips. His face inches closer to mine, his lips mere inches from mine. I swallow hard, and my tongue darts along my lips. I hate how my body defies me.

“How badly do you want to kiss me, sweetness?”

“I don’t want to.”

The shakiness in my voice makes it obvious I am lying.

He chuckles, “Yes, you do. Come on, Aubrey, live a little, take what you want. We don’t have much time.”

Before I can stop myself, I close any space between us and claim his lips in mine, kissing him roughly. Everett grips my hip and holds me tightly against him. I snake my arms around his neck, and the kiss becomes heated. Doesn’t it always? I whimper into his lips, and as mine part from the sound, Everett slips his tongue in. I don’t deny it, and soon, our tongues move perfectly together.

Everett pins me against the wall with his hips and places his free hand on my cheek, deepening the kiss. I moan deeply, the heat rising between my thighs once again. God, I hate how much I want him to do more than kiss me right now.

Everett parts from the kiss and traces his lips along my jawline and down to my neck. I groan and entangle my fingers in his hair.

“Everett, we should get back.” I breathe out, my legs becoming weak.

“Mmm, yes, we should. Will you come to mine tonight? I will even cook for you?” he says and pulls away, staring at me.

I chew my lips nervously, “Everett, I know what you are after. I am not ready to do any of that, not after my last relationship. You want sex, and I can’t give you that, not right now.” I say honestly.

No matter how badly I want him to ravage me, I can’t let it happen. I am still healing from my last relationship. Sex is an intimate thing, and I don’t want to allow myself to be that vulnerable.

“You can still come over. We don’t need to have sex. We can have dinner, wine and relax. We can get to know one another. No expectations.”

“Promise?”

He nods, “Yes, I promise.”

I study him for a moment, trying to determine whether I believe him. I decide I do, but if he breaks his promise, I will be out of there.

“Okay, I will come over,” I reply.

“Great! I will look forward to it. I will head through. You can follow in a minute.”

He pecks my lips, winks and disappears from the room. I may regret agreeing to this. I pull myself together before I join everyone back in the conference room. Thankfully, Hugo and Everett are sitting next to one another now. I take a seat next to Hugo, at least that way, Everett can reach for me, not without Hugo noticing what is going on.

I don’t know how tonight will go, but I will find out when I arrive.