His Absolute Assignment - Elise's Love Story: The Billionaire's Continuum (#1) (A Contemporary Romance Novel) (13 page)

"You aren't dumb," he said finally, breaking away from our kiss.  His hand hovered on my cheeks, his grip loosening, eyes stricken as if he worried about hurting me.  Then his fingers fell away, moving to my hip.  "I understand your aversion to places like this.  It's hardly my preferred type of gathering, either.  It's necessary, though."

"Necessary for you," I said, callous and without thinking.  It was true, though; my attendance, or lack thereof, wouldn't change anything for anyone.  I wasn't necessary tonight, I was optional.  Nothing I did here was needed.

He breathed in deep, his face twisting, wincing as if I'd just slapped him.

We stood like that for a moment.  I regretted what I said, but I didn't know how to unsay it.  My fingers pressed into Lucent's back, slowly, trying to regain and regrasp a little bit of what we had before, a little bit of what we'd lost within a matter of seconds.

"Miss Tanner," Lucent said, his words sharp and fast, his face dark.  His forehead tensed slightly, leaving faint wrinkles on his perfect brow.  "I recognize that this is out of sorts and the incorrect way to go about this, but I would be greatly honored if you'd accompany me to the Landseer celebration this evening."

"Lucent," I said.  "We're already here."

"Yes," he said, nodding.  "We
are
here, and yet I never asked you to accompany me, I told you that you were going to attend.  I overstepped my bounds and forced you into a situation that you don't feel comfortable with.  What I'm suggesting—"

I interrupted him.  "Can I stay with you all night?"

"Yes," he said.  "That's what I was going to suggest.  I would very much enjoy you as my partner and equal in attendance this evening, if you'll accept me."

"I mean, I don't mind if you have to go do things, but I would just really like to not be alone worrying about talking to people I don't even know, or... or just standing there.  Not that standing is all that difficult, but it's kind of boring, you know?"

He grinned.  "I understand," he said.  "I'd be happy to introduce you to people, if you'd like."

"As what?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"What will you introduce me as?  One of Jessika Landseer's writers?"

He lifted one brow, concerned and confused.  "I thought I'd mention our relationship, if that's alright with you?"

"Well, yes, I mean, it is, but..."  I struggled for words to explain myself; Lucent waited patiently for me, reassuring me with a smile.

"Sometimes I feel like you don't want anyone to know about us," I said.

"I believe everyone knows about us, Miss Tanner.  I doubt it's a secret, at any rate.  I believe we're the topic of much office gossip, actually."

"Really?" I asked.  "What kind of gossip?"

"I haven't heard it firsthand," he said with a devious smirk.  "I believe more than a few people have spoken of secret trysts between us during business hours, though."

"Like me giving you a blowjob in your office?" I asked.  "Did anyone talk about that?"

"Not yet, as far as I know, though I'm hardly privy to up to the minute office gossip updates.  I can dig further and discover more about the rumors if you so desire."

"Alright, but do they think I'm dumb, though?  I mean, um... am I good at it?  Are they good rumors, you know?  Or are we having a lot of bad sex?  I think this is important."

"You do realize you're quite peculiar?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Should I see about spreading gossip about your skill and expertise in bed?  I'm unsure if that's advisable, though.  It may be met with untoward advances."

"Can you
do
that?" I asked, my eyes widening.  I felt silly for asking, because, well, where did rumors start in the first place?  Someone had to start them, right?  It might as well be Lucent, I supposed.  I could start them on my own, too.  Did I want to, though?  Untoward advances, hm... "What if it's just us together?"

"I believe there's one rumor already about me tying you up and hanging you from a ceiling swing, then having my way with you.  Will that suffice?" he asked.

"Oh, that's a good one.  You haven't tied me up, though.  Do you even have a swing like that?  How does that work?  It sounds like a BDSM thing, because of the ropes and tying, but I don't know about the swing part.  Is that a BDSM thing, too, because I just don't understand how it could be."

"Well, these are rumors, Miss Tanner.  They're not supposed to be completely factual.  Shall I schedule time to tie you up and hang you from my ceiling some day?"

"Perhaps," I said, considering it quickly.  "Yes, you should do that."

"Do you feel less nervous now?" he asked.

"Yes," I said truthfully.  "A little.  And you'll stay with me tonight?  Can we dance, too?  I'd really like to.  If you have to go do a business thing or something, I understand, but if I can just stay at your side, I'd like that.  I can be quiet, too.  I'll try to not intrude.  I just don't want to be alone."

"Does that mean you agree to my request?"

"I would really love to be your date tonight, if that's what you were asking before."

"My date," Lucent said, testing and tasting the words.  I didn't think he'd thought of it as such before, but my revelation seemed interesting to him.  He smiled.  "Is this when I ask you if you'll go steady with me?  Or is it too late for that?"

"Too late," I said, lifting my chin and staring down my nose at him.  "We already are.  I've decided it.  I decided it a couple of months ago, actually, but I never told you because I don't care what your opinion is.  We're going to be dating whether you like it or not, Lucent, so you better get used to it."

"Are we?" he asked, chuckling.  "You're rather demanding tonight, Miss Tanner.  I can't say I'm entirely opposed to it, though."

"I'll tie you up and put you on a ceiling swing," I said.  "And then have sex with you."

"You're also rather classy, I see."  He grinned.  "Your way with words is quite erotic."

"Yes."  I nodded.  "I know."

He moved away from me slightly.  I didn't want him to, I wanted him to stay close.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering me his free arm.  His other lay wrapped around my waist, never letting me go.  He wouldn't force me; he would let me make my own decision.

I moved away from him just long enough to take his arm in mine.  "Yes," I said.  "Let's."

Asher and Jessika's vow renewal ceremony was beautiful.  Lucent and I stood in the back, watching them hold hands, facing one another, smiling and gazing into each other's eyes as if nothing else in the world existed but them and that moment, frozen in time forever.  There was no seating to speak of, since they needed to clear some of the staging to make room for the company party afterwards, but we didn't need to stand still for long.  It was just a nice, sweet and simple, pretty affair.  Jessika and Asher looked so perfect together, and their kiss at the end was cute.  I liked watching them together, because they always looked so nice.  There were some issues with scandal in the past or something, considering Asher had been married when he first met Jessika, but, oh well.

I mean, I understood the sanctity of marriage, but as far as I knew, his previous wife married him more to maintain her social status than out of love.  Kind of a weird reason to get married, if you asked me, but no one did ask me so I just sort of kept that opinion to myself.  Jessika and Asher looked like they actually loved each other, though.  It might have helped, at least in my mind, that she came from a similar sort of background as me.  I felt a connection there, even if she was extremely important and now upper class.  I couldn't really explain it beyond that.  I just hoped they were happy together, and seeing them renewing their vows, I thought they were.

The wedding ceremony ended.  Asher and Jessika walked around thanking everyone for coming, and we talked briefly—me and her, and Lucent and Asher.

"We'll need to get cake later," Jessika said, tilting her head towards the cake.  Her eyes darted to the side, towards the men.  Neither of them seemed to take notice.  "Large pieces.  Maybe two."

I laughed, too loud.  Embarrassed, I clapped my hands to my mouth.  Lucent turned to look at me, raising one brow, but I shooed him away fast.  To Jessika, I said, hushed, "I'm not sure how big we're talking, but I don't know if I can eat that much.  That cake is kind of huge.  Why did you need that much cake?"

She shrugged.  "I don't know.  Asher set everything up.  It's a wedding, so I think we're supposed to have huge cakes."

"Yes, but someone has to eat it all.  You can't just throw it away."

She scrunched up her brow and placed a finger on her lips, thinking.  "I guess..." she said.  "What we'll have to do... is sometime soon you'll come over and we'll have a cake night.  We'll watch movies and eat cake.  Maybe a lot of movies depending on how much leftover cake there is."

"I was working out with Lucent today," I said.  And this was sort of the truth, wasn't it?  I blushed remembering it.  "I don't know if eating cake is going to help my figure.  I doubt he'd approve."

Jessika rolled her eyes.  "You look so pretty, Elise.  You probably don't even have to worry about it, I bet.  I feel like I have to watch what I eat all the time and work out every day just to keep in shape, but you do it so effortlessly, don't you?  Please?  Just one day of cake?  Not even a whole day.  Just a few hours."

"How much cake are we talking about eating here?" I asked.  "I don't know if I can eat cake for four hours."

"We can pick shorter movies.  Maybe three hours?"

"Three hours of cake!  That's a lot of hours and a lot of cake," I said.

"What?  We're not invited to cake and movie night?" Asher asked.

I looked over at him, blushing.  He and Lucent were admiring Jessika and I, both men with wide grins on their faces.

"No," Jessika said, prompt.  "This is a girl's night.  Neither of you can come."

"You're going to invite Jeremy, aren't you?" Asher asked.

"Maybe.  He gets a free pass.  He's an honorary girl.  Also, he made me watch some explosion movie today, so he owes me."

"Indeed," Lucent said, nodding in agreement.  "That makes perfect sense.  After forcing you to watch an action movie you're inviting him to eat cake for hours on end."

"Yes," Jessika said.  "Except Elise and I are going to make him watch romantic comedies, so it evens out."

"Ah, I see."

Music swayed through the room, speakers suddenly coming to life.  Nothing particularly special, just some nice music by a band I didn't know the name of, but I had a sudden urge.  We were in between moments in a way, the time immediately after the ceremony, but right before everyone from Landseer Tower showed up for the company party.  It was quiet and intimate now, more cozy and nice instead of stifling or awkward.

I reached for Lucent's arm and tugged lightly.  I felt somewhat childish doing it, but I didn't care.  He looked at me, smiling.  "Lucent," I said, shy, unsure.  "Will you dance with me?"

His smile widened, beaming bright.  "Miss Tanner," he said.  "I would absolutely love to."

He held out his hand and I took it, nervous.  His fingers squeezed my fingertips, comforting me.

"If you'll excuse us," he said to Asher and Jessika.  "Congratulations again on the renewal ceremony and, as well, the foreign transaction.  Mr. and Mrs. Landseer, I am honored to be a part of Landseer Enterprises, as I have been since the day you allowed me the privilege to—"

Jessika pushed him lightly, laughing.  "Lucent!  Go on and dance!  Thank you for coming tonight."

"I appreciate your contributions to the company," Asher said, grinning.  "I appreciate your friendship more, though, Lucent.  You and Elise have a great time tonight.  We'll meet up later."

"Don't forget the cake, Elise," Jessika said to me, pointing from me to the cake.  "This is serious."

"Serious," I said with a nod.  "Got it."

Then Lucent swept me off my feet in more ways than one.  We mingled together, two separate people becoming one dancing couple.  I wasn't the best at dancing, but I liked dancing with Lucent because he didn't care.  We glided across the floor, doing some mix of contemporary dancing combined with classical ballroom.  I didn't even know what we were doing, to be honest, but it was fun.  Sometimes we danced through his apartment like this, just us, him and I, together.

We did a lot of things together.  I didn't know why I felt so nervous sometimes, but I felt like if I lost him—if I lost that—I wouldn't know what to do.

I shoved those thoughts aside, not wanting to ruin the moment.  We enjoyed ourselves, twirling, and cuddling close, swaying side to side, at arms length or with our bodies pressed tight together.  I didn't know if anyone else in the room was dancing; I couldn't bring myself to look away from Lucent, not even for a second.

He looked at me—just me—and he smiled.

Lucent introduced me to people, and we danced and mingled.  There were hors d'oeuvres and small finger sandwiches on platters scattered across multiple tables, which we snuck over to eat every so often, as well.  An olive here and a slice of prosciutto on a stone ground wheat cracker topped with herb cream cheese there, and more and more.

Plus, cake.  We ate cake with Jessika and Asher, which was nice.  She sliced into it, and for a moment I thought they might do that wedding thing where the bride and groom smear cake on each other's faces as a first bite offering, but somehow she restrained herself.  I couldn't have restrained myself.  If Lucent ever asked me to marry him, he was going to get a face full of cake at some point during the night.  Possibly two.  Maybe more.

The night went smoothly, and while I didn't exactly feel exceptionally comfortable, and I might have preferred curling up on the couch and reading a book, I did like it.  It was fun in its own way, and I thought doing things like this every so often was good.  Probably especially good if Vanessa's opinion of me was correct and I just stayed home all the time, but I didn't think I did.  I did things!  I could go out and go to parties, too.