CHAPTER 45: THE SECRET SPOT

Myla.

I felt safe next to him, to Fabian. Ever since the day that…man attacked us, I’ve had trouble sleeping and every little noise made me jump nearly out of my skin. My heart would pound. My skin would get clammy. I would see that gun again, pointed straight at me. It was hard to sleep at night too. All I could do was try to distract myself with different things. Patching things up with Sophia had been one of those things. Spending time with Fabian could be another. I didn’t like that we had such an amazing first date and then all hell literally broke loose and now this was essentially the first time we’ve been able to be together.

And it still wasn’t alone enough for me.

I couldn’t help but wonder too, was the universe trying to tell me something? What if Fabian and I just weren’t meant to be? The man had already gotten shot once and then both of us were attacked. It felt like things weren’t meant to line up. Maybe all we were fated to have was that amazing date, the incredible sex, and nothing else.

“What’s wrong?” he asked me. I hadn’t realized how far I had spaced out as we walked through the office. “Are you okay?”

Was I? The answer felt pretty simple.

No. I definitely wasn’t okay. A man tried to kill us. Just days before, the same guy had shot Fabian successfully. Then that man was killed right in front of me. I’ve tried for the past several days while the investigation progressed to put on a brave face, but if I’m being 100% real, my “brave face” sucked. I’m sure everyone could take one look at me and know instantly that I was an emotional train wreck.

But it was more than that.

And a lot of the “it was more than that” had to do with Fabian. I understood why he’s been keeping his distance, I honestly do. Not only were we attacked, but George Clarke had committed suicide. I feel like I know him well enough by now to get a sense of how that kind of news would sit with him. George was an…well for lack of a better word (and I honestly don’t want to speak badly of someone that just died)...but he was an asshole. I said it. I feel bad for saying it, but it’s true.

I just didn’t want to see Fabian tear himself up over it.

There was also the obvious concern that only affected myself (which I know is selfish but I would be in crazy amounts of denial if I didn’t mention it). How did all of these things that happened to us make Fabian feel? Did they change his feelings at all? I had no idea because I’d barely seen him. He came to my hotel the night that man (Douglas Duncan, I remembered the police calling him when they spoke with me) attacked us but the both of us were so emotional, we barely said a word to each other. All we did was lie together on the bed, holding one another like that couple in the movie, Titanic. The old couple. You remember that scene?

I looked at him, all of these fears and worries and things fluttering through my head all at once and nearly driving me crazy. But I wanted something true and real to grasp onto, so I asked him flat out.

“Where do we go from here?”

It was out there now. The question hung in the air between us like some kind of blazing, neon sign. It was impossible to ignore. I needed him to let me know, one way or the other, what happens next. With so many terrible things lingering between us, it was hard to tell. Did he still want to be with me? Did he still plan for us to spend one year together, dating and getting to know each other?

Or…and I was scared that this might be his actual answer…was I just too much trouble for him? Was I not worth the effort anymore?

Fabian looked down at me. The two of us were alone now, or reasonably alone I guess you could say. There were still people walking past us every so often, but for the most part, it was just us. I didn’t mind the others though.

His stormy blue eyes were intense as they peered into my own. Emotions and thoughts paraded in them and for a moment, I wished I could understand what I saw there.

Then he reached out and cupped my cheek with his left hand, drawing me closer to him. As I got closer, he tilted my head up to meet his. He kissed me and I kissed him back. Right there. Right in the middle of the entire office. Parading me through the office with my arm in his was one thing but kissing me was a message as clear as day.

We were together.

I melted into that kiss. The hand that had been holding my face gently slid down to my lower back (and was joined by his other one). Then he was gripping me tightly, as if he didn’t want to let me go. Our bodies pressed up against each other, and as they did, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

The kiss lasted for several long, intense minutes of pure pleasure. Dimly, almost too faint to really take notice of, I heard footsteps and shocked gasps. But I didn’t care. They didn’t matter to me.

Finally, the kiss ended (much to my own displeasure), and we stood there, still embraced but breathing slightly heavily. My face felt flushed and my lips tingled pleasantly. Fabian bent his head down and rested it against my own, still staring me in the eyes.

“I hope that gives you an idea of what you mean to me, Myla, and where we might go from here?” he said.

I couldn't say anything at first. It was too hard to focus. But then I remembered what I had wanted to do to kickstart my part of our contract/game. The playful “kidnapping” idea of mine. I know now my original idea was stupid (especially now after everything we’ve been through) but I decided, in the heat of the moment, to do a bit of a twist on the concept.

“Come with me,” I said suddenly.

I grabbed his hand in mine and started to pull him through the office.

“What is this?” he asked, a good-natured tone to his voice.

“I'm kidnapping you,” I replied with a slightly evil chuckle.

Fabian laughed at that and followed me without resistance. In the time since we’d come to Roseforce, I have been just a tad bit overwhelmed on occasion. There were times when I just needed to get away for five or ten minutes and be alone. It was the same back at home and at Golden Time. I honestly hated to admit that to myself. It made me feel like I was weak or something. Like I couldn’t hack it. But the little breaks I took, the time away from it all to decompress (I think that’s what people call it now), really helped me. So I found a spot at Golden Time’s headquarters where I could be by myself for a little bit. Not even Sophia knew about my secret spot. It was the same here at Roseforce. I’d found the spot on maybe the second or third day at the office. As far as I knew, no one ever went there. It was just my little part of this building. Myla’s Secret Spot. A place just for me and no one else. The point is, it was a quiet space. It was a space where I could be alone for a few minutes. It was also a space where I could be alone with Fabian.

“Where are you taking me? Should I be calling for help?” Fabian asked as we navigated through the building to my secret spot.

“Shh,” I whispered back. “You’re being kidnapped, sir. I am going to need you to keep quiet. Or do I have to gag you?”

That brought a wholesome burst of laughter out of him and it warmed my heart. I liked hearing him laugh. It seldom happened. He was always so…serious.

“Gag huh? You’re getting quite…adventurous these days, Ms. Carter,” Fabian said, reverting to the formal way he addressed nearly everyone.

“It’s not far now,” I shot back, giving him a look over my shoulder that was as reasonably stern as I could make it without breaking down in a fit of laughter myself. “So you better watch it. I got that gag right here.”

“I don’t know. Getting gagged by a beautiful woman doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Fabian replied, still chuckling a little.

I let out what I hoped was a cute little huff of breath.

“Just keep following.”

I led him down to the stairwell and we took four flights down from the main offices of Roseforce. Then we opened the door onto that floor and made a left down a long hallway. It was mostly full of offices but I knew they were all empty. I wasn’t entirely sure why they were all empty but I figured it was either a section of the building that was for lease and just hadn’t been rented yet, or it was a department that had gotten dissolved or something. The important thing was that the floor was accessible and it had a very luxurious break room.

A luxurious breakroom with a very nice couch.

Said breakroom came into view and I hurried my steps. Anticipation and excitement had already been zipping through me but at the site of the breakroom’s closed, wooden door and it being so close, I couldn’t help but feel even more of a thrill. My blood pounded in my ears. My limbs sang with energy.

“Through here,” I commanded, making my voice as forceful as I could. It came out a bit weird and only somewhat authoritative but that was fine. It would do.

“All right,” Fabian said as I pushed him ahead of me and toward the door of the breakroom. He opened it and we both went inside.

The door had a lock on it, which I made sure to turn. When I looked back at Fabian, he just stared at me, bemused.

“What…”

I didn’t let him speak. Instead, I pushed him but only with enough force that he actually took a few steps back and then landed on the couch. As soon as he was sitting down, I made my next move.

My hands rose to my blouse and slowly, as sensually as I could, I started to unbutton it.

Fabian’s eyes went wide.

I smiled.