Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (3 page)

I watched him saunter over to the bar in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. His body was tight and firm like he had just been through an exhausting and strenuous work-out. I watched him pour two glasses o
f wine then make his way back to me. He placed the alcohol onto the table next to the couch then took a seat. He smiled at me and patted the spot next to him.

“
I don’t know,” I said. “I’m kind of comfortable down here.”

“
It’s just as comfortable here. I assure you.”

“
I don’t think so.”

I giggled and shook my head at him. Rafael rolled his eyes and reached forward to take one of the glasses. He shrugged his shoulders at me as he took a sip.

“If you want to stay down there, stay down there,” he said. “But you don’t get a foot massage.”

“
Fine,” I sighed. “But I don’t think I’ve got the strength to get up. You’re going to have to pick me up.”

I held my arms up and aimed my hands at him. He put his glass down then tugged me up toward him. He used more strength th
an was necessary and I fell upon his lap. He wrapped me in his strong grip and I was greeted with his scent. It was hard to describe. It was some combination of after-shave, cologne, soap and his own natural smell. Whatever it was, it was intoxicating and I found myself drawn to him.

I closed my eyes and kissed him softly. The fireplace, the lighting and the music set the mood. I still had a desire burning inside of me for him but it wasn
’t the same kind of lust that had filled me moments before entering his suite.

I got off of his lap and grabbed one of the glasses from the table off to the side. I lounged on the other side of the couch then extended my legs out to him. My feet resting upon his lap, I looked at him and smiled.

Rafael could do no wrong. Even after we had sex, I felt no need to get away from him. This was more than just a fling now. I’ve had one-night stands before but that was it. I never saw them again. And when I did see them for that single time, they never bothered to treat my feet in the manner Rafael did.

He wrapped his palms around my feet. He slowly kneaded my soles and pushed all of the blood through my muscles. I sighed as I watched him work. The alcohol in the wine made me feel looser than ever.

“Thank you,” I said to him. “For dinner.”

“
It was my pleasure, Alice. Besides, that was business. You
are
learning something, aren’t you?”

“
Yeah. I am. I just don’t think that I’m getting as much out of it as Wesley and Travis.”

“
Why would you say that?”

“
I don’t know,” I shrugged. “It’s just… I feel kind of weird. Your knowledge and experience, it’s all useful but…”

“
But what?”

“
But I’m a woman. It’s different. Does that make any sense?”

Rafael looked up at me then started to nod his head. I wouldn
’t expect anything different from him. He always knew what to say or what to do to make me feel comfortable. And at this moment, he was as understanding as I expected him to be.

“
It’s not a complete waste of time for you though, is it?” he asked me. “You and I do get to enjoy dinner together. It’s the only way…”

His words trailed off as he turned his attention back to my feet. I took another sip of wine and watched him continue to work.

Dinner with the interns. That was Rafael’s excuse to spend time with me outside of the office. After having dinner with him previously, we had drawn more attention than he wanted to. Under the guise of a business meeting, he invited Travis and Wesley along with us. Now it just looked like he was busy training some of his new recruits. It was nice to spend some time with him that didn’t involve going over boring numbers or business or the markets. But it wasn’t until we were behind closed doors did I truly get him all to myself. It was the only time I could be with him in the way that I wanted it to be.

“
Thank you,” I said. “For dinner.”

“
You just said that,” he laughed.

“
Then thank you for the massage. You… really know what you’re doing. This might be my favorite part of the night.”

“
Oh, is that so?”

“
Yeah. Dinner is nice. So is the free alcohol. And the sex is okay…”

He looked at me and raised his eyebrow.

“But the foot massages,” I giggled. “You have no idea what it’s like walking around in heels all day.”

“
Maybe I do, Alice.”

“
What?”

“
You don’t know me. Maybe I’m some billionaire cross-dresser who enjoys wearing women’s clothing. Maybe it’s my secret fetish. Something that I haven’t even revealed to you. I have sick fantasies that I’m waiting to unveil, Alice. Be careful.”

He stared at me with intense eyes. I held my glass up near my f
ace and looked back at him, unsure if he was being serious. After a few seconds, he began to chuckle. I shook my head at him then took another sip of wine. After placing the glass on the table next to me, I let out another contented sigh at the way he massaged my feet.

“
You really do know what you’re doing,” I said. “You’re better than most. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise. Let me guess. You took lessons on how to massage feet.”

“
No,” he shook his head. “I didn’t take any lessons. But I picked-up a thing or two from a few masseuses.”

“
Maybe you can teach me.”

I pulled my feet away from him and leaned-in close to him. I kissed him softly on the cheek and ran my fingers along his thigh.

“You don’t want to give me a foot massage,” he laughed. “I was only joking about wearing heels.”

“
I know,” I giggled. “But I do like putting my hands on you. There must be some part of you that needs a rub down.”

I gave him an impish grin as I bit the bottom corner of my lip. He smiled at me then moved forward o
n the couch. I took my place behind him and together, we looked at the fire burning in the fireplace in front of us. I reached my hands up and placed them upon his broad shoulders. The hard muscles underneath my palms were stiff and unforgiving. I listened to him sigh as I slowly started to work my hands.

“
Do it hard,” he said. “Don’t worry. You’re not going to hurt me. Move your hands in a slow and circular motion. You want to get the blood flowing. You want to loosen the muscles. That’s it… Just like that.”

No matter how hard I pressed down on him, I felt like I didn
’t have enough strength to actually work his muscles. Still, it was nice to be this close to him.

“
How was your week?” I asked him.

“
Are you really asking me that?”

“
Well, yeah. Why not? I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you. I know that you’re busy in your office. I’m not complaining. And I couldn’t ask you at dinner with Travis and Wesley there. I just… I’m curious, that’s all.”

“
Do you really want to know, Alice?”

“
Yeah, I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

“
It doesn’t sound like appropriate conversation.”

“
Appropriate conversation?”

He turned around and I stopped working his shoulders. I gave him a confused look.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“
You don’t need to pretend like you care,” he said.

“
But I do care, Rafael.”

He stared at me for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the fire in front of us. I placed my hands back upon his shoulders and kneaded his muscles.

“It was a busy week,” he said. “Exhausting. Like it always is. That’s all you need to know.”

“
Okay…”

“
There’s no need for us to discuss business or the company. There will be time for that.”

“
We have to talk about something though.”

“
Do we?”

“
Yeah. I mean, I know that…”

This was just a
thing
. But as I spent more time with him, the physical relationship we had was becoming deeper than that. And whenever I tried to acknowledge it or make any hint to there being something more, Rafael would brush it off.

“
What?” he asked me.

“…
It’s nothing. Forget I asked.”

He turned around again and I dropped my arms. He looked into my eyes. Before I felt anything, I pushed the conflicting emotions inside of me off to the side.

“I don’t want to talk about business,” he said. “There’s a time and place for that.”

“
Okay, I understand.”

“
But if you have something to say to me, then say it.”

He stared at me and the concern in his eyes was undeniable. I already knew what his response was going to me and I knew that I would be torn. But I said it to him anyway.

“Okay,” I sighed. “I want to talk about… us.”

“
What about us?”

“
There’s something… more. You know that it can’t be helped. We don’t spend that much time together but I know that there might be something—”

“
Alice, there is something between us. What we have, it’s something special. I… enjoy your company.”

“
Is that all?”

“
I enjoy more than the physical aspects of our relationship. You know that.”

“
But what are we, Rafael? Are we ever going to stop slinking around corners and hiding in hotel suites?”

Rafael turned his head to the
ground. It was coming. The same response he always gave me when we were alone. But I still needed to hear it.

“
You know that we can’t be in a relationship,” he said.

“
I know that. But how long are we going to keep this up?”

“
Alice, you don’t know me. You just met me. If there’s something between us, just let it happen. We’ll deal with it when we get to that point.”

“
I just… I don’t want to waste your time.”

“
You’re not wasting my time. Alice, I enjoy spending time with you. I enjoy getting to know you better. Maybe something will happen. Maybe it won’t. But if this… this thing between us… if it’s something more, then you can’t force it. It’s not fair to either one of us.”

“
And what happens when you get tired of me? What happens when the sex gets old?”

“
I could say the same about you.”

He took both of my hands in his. He stared at me and I immediately shifted my eyes to the floor. I was unable to look back at him, a flood of feelings suddenly swirling inside of my stomach.

“The first time we met, I was just some guy you were planning on sleeping with. You were never going to see me again. That didn’t stop you from having a good time with me. Now it’s no different. You can still enjoy yourself in the same way. Why is it different?”

“…
Because—”

“
You’ve only seen me in board meetings, Alice. You’ve seen me working in my office. You’ve seen me schmooze with shareholders and executives. But you
still
don’t know who I am. There’s no need to hurry. There’s no need to rush. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.”

Every moment I sp
ent with Rafael, I thought that it would get me closer to what I was looking for. Deep down inside, I suppose it’s what every woman wants. To meet some guy who’s more than just a fling and can please in a way that’s more than physical. For some reason, I wanted it to be Rafael. And like he always did, he brought logic back into me. The irrationality of wanting to fall for him had gone out of the window. I accepted the fact that if this was going to be anything more, the only way it could happen was if I gave it time, even if there was the possibility that things wouldn’t work out.

He massaged my hands in his. I looked down at his gentle grip and eventually resigned myself to the facts he just laid out. Rafael reached one of his hands up underneath my chin an
d raised my face up.

“
Are you not enjoying yourself?” he asked me.

“
No, I am.”

“
Good. Then let’s just enjoy what we have now and forget about what might be.”

He smiled at me and I couldn
’t help but do the same. He raised my face up and brought it closer to his. His kiss was deep. I opened my mouth and tried to consume him.

His kiss wiped my mind clear. Regardless of what I was or wasn
’t feeling just moments ago, it was quickly replaced by a familiar lust. Rafael gently pushed me down upon the couch and laid on top of me. Our kisses became more and more passionate. I reached for the sides of his underwear and slowly began to lower them down his legs. The night was still young. The flames in the fireplace danced like they knew that morning was still far away.