Crossing the Line (12 page)

Aden is already dressed in a charcoal suit
and white shirt when I get back in the room. If I wasn’t still mad at him, I’d
be attacking him. I love him in a suit.

“Something you like?” he asks with a smug
grin. I roll my eyes, not even bothering to reply to the idiot. His eyes are on
me the whole time I unzip my suitcase and chose what clothes I want. Throwing
on a black pencil skirt and cream blouse, I sigh in relief that they’re not
badly creased. I’m ready, and we won’t be late. That has to be a record.

“What?” I ask Aden as I catch him staring.

“You look…” He trails off and shakes his
head. “I could take you right now.” The second he’s finished his sentence I
worry that my outfit is too much. It’s the sort of thing I wear to work, but
that’s because I’m screwing my boss. I don’t want to look like that to other
people. My skirt and blouse is fitted, but I’m not showing cleavage, and the
skirt is knee length.

Shrugging, I decide that I’m dressed fine,
and Aden is just a pervert. A knock on the door brakes the sexual tension
that’s growing again. “That’ll be my dad.” Ah, the dad that doesn’t know I’m
sleeping with his son.

“Shit. Should I hide?”

“Or we could tell him you met me here?” His
smug face is begging to be slapped.

“No one likes a smart arse, Aden.” I shove
my suitcase under the bed; throw the cover over my discarded closes and slip on
my shoes. Aden waits until I’m done before he opens the door.
 
Richard and Amanda are standing there
smiling. Creepy.

“Good morning,” Amanda says.

I smile but even I know it’s a too wide. A
guilty smile. “Hey. I just got here.”

Amanda nods, frowning slightly. “Okay.”

I cringe. That’s what guilty people say.
Avoiding eye contact with both of them, I grab my handbag and walk out of the
room. Amanda walks slightly ahead of Aden and Richard, so I keep to her pace,
not wanting to get involved with the men’s boring pre-meeting talk. I’m here to
take notes.

“How did you sleep last night?” Amanda asks
as we wait for the lift.

“Um…fine, thanks. What about you?”

“Not great, it was horrible sleeping alone.
I miss Carla, but we spoke last night and this morning.” Shocker.

“Oh, that’s good.”

“I’ve decided that I’m proposing the second
I get home.”

“Really? That’s great, Amanda.”

“Yeah, thanks. Hey, do you fancy coming out
with me after the meeting to find her a ring?”

My heart drops a little. I was hoping to
spend the afternoon with Aden, but I can’t exactly say no. “Sure. Hold on, do
you both have to get rings or just the person being proposed to?”

Aden’s eyes flick to me. Crap was that
rude? It’s a genuine question, though. It not like I’d just asked her if she
misses penis. Although I do wonder that. On the plane, she’d told me she had
boyfriends until the age of nineteen when she met her first girlfriend.

Amanda smiles. “I’ll buy her one and
hopefully she’ll say yes, then we’ll both choose one for me.”

“That’s cool that you both get one.” The
door opens to the lift, and we walk inside. I’m grateful for the distraction
because Aden is still watching me carefully.

We arrive at the huge, posh office of the
guys we’re meeting and wait in reception. Richard is talking to Amanda about
taking minutes, and Aden uses that as an opportunity to pull me to the side.

“Don’t take this the wrong way.” So of
course I’m immediately frowning. “I love the crap you randomly come out with
but for this morning please, please don’t say anything past nice to meet you,”
he says, pressing the palms of his hands together pleadingly.

Half of me wants to laugh, and the other
half is offended. “What are you suggesting, Aden?”

He smirks. “Do I really need to give you
examples?” No, he really does not.

Narrowing my eyes, I force my mouth into a
straight line to stop the grin that’s trying to dominate my face. “No, that
won’t be necessary. I get it, be silent Amelie, so I don’t embarrass you and
get us all kicked out of Dublin.”

“Well I don’t think they have the power to
kick us out, but that’s about it.”

“Fine, I won’t say anything to your snooty
rich friends.”

“They’re not friends but thank you.” His
eyes flick over my shoulder just before his lips graze mine. I don’t even have
time to blink before he’s gone. “When you’re done ring shopping we’ll go out,
yeah?”

“Yes. You owe me for the no talking thing.”
Actually I’m quite grateful I don’t have to say anything.

“Anything you want, Millie.”

“I’m gonna make you regret saying that.”

He chuckles. “I’ll bet. Come on.” We
re-join Richard and Amanda just as three men wearing almost matching suits
approach us. They’re all wearing the same smile. They are way too happy to be
at work.

A few words were exchanged, but I barely
understand any of it. Their Irish accents are strong. The taller, blonder one
shakes our hands first. “Nice to meet you, Amelie,” he says, or that’s what I
assume he says as Aden introduces us.

“Nice to meet you too.”

He says something else, but I don’t get it,
so I nod. He repeats what he said before, and I start to panic. Fuck what do I
say? I gulp. “I like your suit.” Yes, when I draw a blank I compliment.

“Are we ready?” Aden cuts in. The nice suit
man nods and gestures for us to follow.

I wince as Aden looks at me. “Wear those
shoes in bed tonight.” He walks off, following everyone else while I stand
still in shock. Did he say that or did I imagine it? Looking down, I turn my
foot to admire my black stiletto heels and imaging them wrapped around Aden’s
waist later.

Before they disappeared around the corner,
I run-walk to catch them up. The meeting room is large with a long glass table
stretching almost from one side to the other. Glasses and a jug of water is set
out in the middle. How long is this meeting going to last?

For-fucking-ever. That’s how long they
manage to drag it out for. I sit in my chair counting the number of square
tiles on the ceiling. Aden looks happy, though, and I’ve gotten used to their
accents a bit more. Nice suit is actually called Paul and hasn’t spoken to me
since we met. I don’t blame him. The other two are still nameless.

Three hours later and we’re finally free.
“Would you two like to meet for dinner tonight?” Richard asks me and Amanda as
we step back onto the street.

No, I
want to ravage your son.
“That sounds great,” I
reply, glancing at Aden, who’s glaring at his dad. We say goodbye to Aden and
Richard and head off to find a jeweller.

“So you and Aden?” Amanda says as soon as
we had turn down another street.

I choke on air. “What?”

She smiles, raising her eyebrow as if to
say busted. “So you’ve not been discretely holding hands?” Well apparently not.

“Shit,” I mumble. “You can’t say anything.”

“I wasn’t going to. You really like him?”

“Way too much.”

“He seems to like you too.”

I smile, and my heart swells. “I think so,
but knowing my luck it’ll all go horribly wrong.”

Chapter Twelve

Amanda laughs. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Nothing will go wrong if you don’t let it.”

“I can tell you haven’t met my mother,” I
mumble. Or me. I have a habit of unintentionally screwing things up. Amanda
stops and stares at a ring. I can tell she didn’t hear what I just said. I
follow her gaze to a fairly pretty simple gold band with a diamond sparkling on
the surface. “You like that one?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “Carla will love it.”

It’s not something I’d choose for myself,
but it’s not me that needs to like it. “Are you getting it or do you want to
look around more?”

She looks over and smiles. “Well I’m a
woman so we’d better look around then come back to this one at the end.”

I laugh. “Sounds good.” Although I’d rather
spend time with Aden, I’m quite enjoying Amanda’s company. Besides Christie, I
don’t have many female friends.

The next jeweller is ridiculously
expensive; like could buy a new car for the same price expensive. It’s
probably what my parents would consider loose change. “They’re all gorgeous but
have you seen the price?” Amanda whispers to me.

Yes, I’m still trying to figure out if
anyone is stupid enough to pay these extortionate prices. Just because you have
a bottomless pit of money doesn’t mean you have to be stupid enough to pay
more, surely. “Want to leave?”

“I think so,” she replies, and we made a
run for the exit. Of course, we don’t reach the door before a perfectly groomed
woman with a sleek black bob and strong perfume stops us.

“Can I help you?” the bob asks.

“No thank you,” I reply. “We were just
browsing.” Before she has time to ramble on about how amazing their jewellery
is, I link my arm through Amanda’s and walk out of the shop.

Amanda practically skips back to the first
shop, and we’re greeted immediately. “I’m Trudy, how can I help?” the assistant
asks. Jesus is everyone working in jewellers perfectly groomed?

Amanda gives a megawatt smile. “I’m looking
for a ring for my girlfriend. That one actually,” she replies, pointing to the
ring.

“Fabulous choice.” I roll my eyes, like she
doesn’t say that about every ring in here. “Do you like it?” Trudy asks me.

I frown. “Yeah.”

“Well congratulations.”

Whoa. Back. The. Fuck. Up. There’s no way
I’m getting engaged. But Aden. I used to think I’d be on the Miss train forever
but now there’s my sexy boss. “Oh it’s not for me. I on a different team to
her,” I joke, nodding to Amanda. Cringing, as I suddenly realise Amanda could
have taken that badly, I glance over. Thankfully she laughs quietly and hasn’t
taken offence. I really, really need to think before I spoke.

“Oh, sorry. I just assumed.”

I shrug one shoulder. “It’s okay.”

“Would you like to take a closer look?”
Trudy asks Amanda. That is probably the dumbest question she could ask. Like
Amanda is going to pay eighteen hundred pounds on a ring she hasn’t properly
seen.

Amanda’s face lights, making her dark brown
eyes shine. “Yes please.”

I take a step back as they orgasm over the
ring. Will I ever get that? Will Aden and I work out? I try to picture him in
here, looking for the perfect ring for me, but I can’t. Either I’m going to
forever tick the single box or my imagination sucks.

“Amelie, are you ready to go?” Amanda asks,
holding up a small dark red bag with HOLMAN written in gold on the front. She’s
already paid for the thing. How long was I daydreaming for?

“Yeah.”

We shopped a little and bought a few things
before walking back to the hotel. I like Dublin and make a mental note to come
back for a weekend sometime.

“There’s Richard and Aden,” Amanda says,
pointing to the bar as we walk through the glass doors of the hotel. They’re
sitting on one of the dark wooden tables in the corner.

“Been shopping I see,” Richard says with a
grin. That’s dumb; he knew that already. “Did you find a ring, Amanda?” As
Amanda sits down beside Richard and starts opening the bag, I sit next to Aden
and blush as his eyes rake over my body. Pervert. For someone that doesn’t want
anyone to know he’s screwing his PA he’s not doing a great job of hiding it.

“What did you buy?” Aden asks, peering into
one of the bags.

“Some clothes, a necklace, a couple books,”
I reply and then lower my voice to add, “and a set of very slutty underwear.”
His mouth opens in a silent groan. He looks pained.

“What’s it like?” he whispers.

“It’s tiny, black and has a lot of lace.”

“Wear it tonight?”

“Was planning to.”

Aden’s eyes darken and he stands up.
“Wine?” he asks. I nod. “Amanda?”

“Glass of red, please,” she replies. I
resist the urge to gag. Red wine, warm wine, is disgusting.

“Are you enjoying Dublin, Amelie?” Richard
asks, now involving me in his conversation.

The only part of Dublin I’ve seen is some
shops and a boring office, but I’ve loved it so far. “Yes, it’s great.”

“And I see you’ve bought some things too?”

I nod at the awkward conversation. I’d
prefer if he just ignored me. “A few things.” Where the hell is Aden?

“Very good. Aden tells me you’re getting on
well at work, learning the ropes quickly,” he says, with a big, toothy grin as
if he’s just told a really funny joke.

What do I say to that? ‘Well it’s not
exactly fucking rocket science.’ That wouldn’t go down well. “Aden’s a good
teacher.” Great now I sound like a bloody schoolgirl.

“I am?” Aden asks, smirking as he puts the
tray down on the table.

“I guess,” I mumble, before taking a huge
gulp of wine. Intoxicated. That’s what I need to be for this dinner to be
bearable. I hope Richard stops asking questions because I hate lying. Not that
I expect he’ll ask if his son’s been inside me.

Aden sits back down, and I notice it’s
little closer to me than before. I’m immediately suspicious, especially when
his hand disappears under the table. Before I have chance to give him the
don’t you fucking dare
face his hand
settles on my thigh. My eyes widen in alarm. He’d better not do anything
else.

Richard and Aden carry on a conversation
about the second meeting tomorrow, and I can’t figure out if Amanda is really
interested in what they’re saying or if her smile is as fake as mine. After
fifteen minutes, I give up smiling – my jaw aches – and go with the
S Club 7 songs that seem to be on repeat in my head since I saw a diamond clad
woman reaching for stars on a poster in one of the jewellers.

“Millie?” Aden shakes my arm.

I jump as he squeezes my shoulder and look
up. He’s standing. They all are. Laughing nervously, I stand too. “Yeah?”

“Our table’s ready.”

“Oh. Okay.” I grab my bag and follow Amanda
to the restaurant. How long had I been sitting there deep in an S Club party
while they were staring at me like they were witnessing my mental breakdown?

“You okay?” he whispers, pulling a chair
out for me.

“Thanks. Yeah, just lost in my thoughts.
I’m fine.”

The menu is in what I assume is either
Chinese or Japanese. Why is it not in English? I look at Aden, and he smirks.
“Japanese night. Apparently in this restaurant they have a different menu from
around the world every night of the week.”

Well isn’t that just fucking fantastic. How
are you supposed to know what you’re ordering from those bloody symbols? “You
want help understanding it?” Aden asks. He looks smug.

I know I’m being juvenile, but he’s not
winning this one. I won’t give him the satisfaction. “No thank you.”

“You’re being stubborn. Just let me tell
you what some things are.”

“I don’t need you to. I know exactly what
I’m ordering.” Lie.

He rolls his eyes. “Of course you do.”

Whatever. How bad can it be?

Our food is brought out surprisingly
quickly, and my plate is set down in front of me. I say a silent prayer –
please don’t be something gross
– and look down. A silvery grey fish stares back at me. Oh God, oh God,
oh fucking God. It still has its eye! What kind of sick fish pervert leaves the
bloody eye in when cooking it. Is the brain still in there too? Christ of
course it is. My stomach turns.

“Millie,” Aden hisses urgently. “What’s
wrong? You’ve paled.”

“It’s looking at me,” I mumble, not taking
my eyes off Nemo. I think I’d prefer to eat a cat.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Aden
failing miserably to not grin. “Do you want to swap? I have chicken and
noodles.” I also have some noodle too, but they’re under the fish. He doesn’t
let me answer before he switches our plates.

“Are you sure? You like that?” I point to
the very alive looking fish that is now in front of Aden.

“Yeah, I like fish.”

“Weirdo.” He chuckles and raises his fork
ready to dig into the fish. That’s when I look away. The thing I now have is
delicious, especially considering I’m not a huge fan of meat.

Once dinner and work talk ends we all made
our way back to our respective rooms. Richard is going to do some work on his
laptop and Amanda is off to call Carla - again.

Back in Aden’s room and after a quick
shower, change into my new slutty underwear and a tight blue dress I’m ready. I
don’t bother looking in the mirror because I probably won’t be dressed for
long, and I probably still look a mess. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

“I’m getting you shit faced,” Aden says as
I come out of the bathroom and hands me a glass of something.

“Sounds good to me.”

We end up in a club that’s decorated with
dark red walls and black light fittings. I kind of feel like I’m in a vampire
movie. I cling to Aden as we weave through the crowd to an empty table in the
corner. Deep into the club you can only see if squint your eyes. As I go to sit
down, Aden pulls me on his lap and slams his lips down on mine. He kisses me
fiercely, tongue fighting against mine. I go from zero to sixty quicker than
any car can, gripping his hair and moaning into his mouth.

“No holding back now,” he mumbles, kissing
me again. I manoeuvre, so I’m straddling him, too turned on to care about
anyone seeing.

My heart practically rips out of my chest
when he hitches my dress up, caressing my things.
Screw it; it’s dark in here.
I unbutton his trousers and bite my
lip as I slowly pull down the zip. He catches on quickly, running his finger
along the inside of my thong, moving it to the side. I’m suddenly very thankful
for the darkness.

I gasp, pressing my mouth into his shoulder
as he enters me. My body feels like it’s going to burst into flames at his
touch. I don’t know if it’s because we’re in public or not, but this is hotter
than anything I have ever experienced before. I feel like I’m flying.

The music is loud so I can’t hear his
moans, but I feel them vibrate in my mouth as his lips capture mine again. He’s
got hold of my hips, pulling me back down on him sharply as he fucks me wildly.
I cry out into his mouth, gripping his hair and bucking my hips, meeting his
frantic pace. I’m not going to be long; I feel myself racing towards my
orgasm. My heart flies, nipples strain against my bra, and I let go, convulsing
hard around him.

Aden grunts, gripping my hips tighter the
way I love and slams me down one more and then holds me still, coming long an.
He comes long and hard.

I slip off his lap rearrange my dress,
trying to slow my heavy breathing as I go. Aden has the biggest smile on his
face, and I try not to look over because I know I’ll just laugh. “Enjoy that?”
I ask sarcastically, already knowing the answer as my insides squirm at the
memory.

“Yes, almost as much as you,” he replies.

I pick up my drink and narrow my eyes.
“Bastard.”

“Millie, we need to leave in ten minutes.
Come on, get up!” Aden shakes me again, and if I could move I would punch him.
My head feels like it’s going to explode. He was the one plying me with shots
last night; he has a fucking cheek trying to get me up right now.

“I don’t want to go,” I murmur into the
pillow. “Your meetings are boring, I’m still drunk, and my head hurts. I don’t
want to leave this bed.” It’s comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud.

He laughs, and I feel the bed dip as he
lays down beside me. “I know they’re boring and that you’re still pissed, but I
need you, babe.” He called me babe. I half sit up. “Please just act sober. You
don’t have to say anything, but I could really do with the support.”

Why did he have to say that? I groan and
lean over, pressing my face in his chest as he runs his hands through my hair.
“Of course I’ll go, but I’m really not talking.”

“That’d be for the best, even if you
weren’t drunk,” he jokes. Bastard.

I force myself up and stumble – quite
literally – into the bathroom.
Need
to make self look normal and sober.
I start by clumsily removing my smudged
make-up and then turn the shower on. At least I can have one this morning. A
string of swear words leave my mouth as I jump back from the freezing cold
water pelting down at me. Aden is practically choking on toothpaste as he
laughs.