Rough Ride (6 page)

“Leave it on… just remove the tags.  They don’t need the clothes to ring up a purchase just the price tags.” He said and then without waiting for her to respond he left the dressing area.

As she headed down the narrow aisle back to
the dressing area the woman who had overheard Bobby’s comments stopped her.

“Your boyfriend is
hot
, you are one lucky girl” She said with a wink.

“He’s umm not my boyfriend… he’s my boss.” She replied.

The woman smiled “That must make the work day a little more exciting.”

She half smiled at the woman and then quickly headed into the dressing stall where she sat down on the changing bench and attempted to get her breathing and heartbeat under control. 
Good God!
  Why did he insist on saying those kinds of things to her? 

Sherri had warned her about Bobby’s appetites where women were concerned.  Sherri’s friend Leah had gushed about the things she would do to Bobby if she got him alone.  She had tried to ignore them both but being around him she could see why women would throw themselves at him.

Unsure which outfit to wear out of the dressing room, she heard the salesgirl outside her door speaking to another customer before knocking lightly on the door.  “Ma’am, your boyfriend is paying for your outfit now and said that you would be wearing it today.  If I can come in I will remove the security tags for you.”

What?
  Lilly wasn’t sure she’d heard right and opened the door a crack.  “Excuse me?” She said

“You’re so lucky, you’re dating Bobby Jackson!” The younger girl gushed.  “He is paying for your clothes right now and said you wanted to wear them.  Can I come in and remove the tags?”

Too stunned to deny that he was her boyfriend to the second person in less than ten minutes, she simply opened the door a little wider and allowed the girl to enter.  After the girl removed the tags and left the room again, she put her heels back on and stared at herself in the full length mirror.  Her mousy brown hair looked as though she had just gotten out of bed rather than the smooth French twist style she had when she came into the dressing area.

Gathering up the clothes she had worn into the store and her purse she exited the dressing room coming up short when she caught Bobby surrounded by three young girls.  The salesgirl was one of the three and as she approached, she was astounded that the other two girls didn’t attempt to curb their flirting even though she was
supposedly
his girlfriend.

Stopping in front of the group, his eyes seemed to devour her and the three girls seemed to suddenly disappear from view until only the two of them remained.  She wasn’t a complete stranger to being ‘checked out’ by other men, but most would turn away when they were caught staring.  He didn’t seem to care and openly gazed at her lips and then the tops of her breasts that showed in the low cut blouse.

“You didn’t have to pay for my clothes…” she said

“Don’t worry it came out of your clothing allowance.  Let’s go.” He said sarcastically as he headed toward the entrance.

The ride back to the shop was quiet.  Several times she had almost gotten up the nerve to tell him that he shouldn’t flirt with her since she was an employee and that she wasn’t interested in being another bed partner for him.  Each time she took a deep breath to begin he would look over at her with his dark, intense and completely breathtaking gaze and she would let out the breath and focus out the window again. 
This tension between them had to stop.

Maybe once he realized that she wouldn’t just jump into bed with him, his interest would move on to a newer, easier target. 
Did she want that?
  Would it be so bad to have one meaningless fling?  She’d only ever been with Darren so her sexual experience was limited in comparison to his.  Images of him kissing her and devouring her body as his bold gaze did came unbidden to her mind. 

No!
  He was not the type of man she should be involved with, even as a meaningless fling.  She forced the erotic images from her mind.  She couldn’t imagine what the ladies in her social circle would think or say if they knew she had a job, let alone if they knew what kind of man her boss was. 

She had spent her entire married life trying desperately to avoid being scrutinized by those women and had been fairly successful until…  If they could see her now, she felt certain between the scandal after her husband’s unexpected death and her current situation they would have more than enough ammunition to gossip about her for years to come.

Why did she even care what they thought?
  Darren’s illegal and unscrupulous business deals were at the heart of the scandal, not anything she had ever done.  Yet the scorn she had felt whenever she had gone to the club had eventually worn her down until she just had to get away.  Thank God for Sherri and her offer to let her hide out for as long as she needed.  She had expected peace and quiet and time to think and plan where to go from here… not this intense attraction to a man who was all wrong for her.

Shaking aside the thoughts she focused on putting away the office supplies that Bobby had carried into the office for her.  As she worked she took a phone call from Sherri who told her where the key was hidden and that she was headed to her job as a bartender and wouldn’t be home until very late.  She heard Bobby enter the office as she assured Sherri that she would be fine there by herself and that she was a grown up and able to handle a few hours of solitude. 

As she ended the call he said “Come on, let’s get out of here.  I got some place I want to show you, since you’re on your own for the evening.”

As she entered the garage she saw his bike parked just outside the garage bay and pulling a clip out of her purse she clipped her hair back up as best she could without a brush or a mirror.  Putting on her sunglasses she climbed on behind him and after he closed the garage bay and started the bike, she wrapped her arms around his chest.

“Where are we going?” She said loudly over the roar of the bike.

He covered her hands that were wrapped around his chest with one of his and gently caressed them.  Then without answering her he gripped the handle bars and took off.  They rode for a long time and the sun was starting to sink low in the sky when she saw it.  In the distance she could make out a small stretch of beach that appeared to be deserted and private.  The sun shining along the horizon took her breath away.

He maneuvered the bike down an embankment and then finding a stable area; he parked the bike and helped her make her way down to the beach.  As she stepped onto the sand, she grasped his arm to steady herself while she removed her heels.  She carried them back to the bike and stuffed them in one of the saddle bags.  She could not tear her eyes from the beautiful scene of the water and the setting sun as she made her way back to where he stood looking out.  Unable to resist she made her way to the water’s edge to stand in the surf.

He followed her to the edge and stood directly behind her.  She tried to ignore his closeness as it seemed he was unaware of how to maintain an appropriate distance from her.  Leaning down he whispered in her ear “takes your breath away doesn’t it?”

“Yes… it does” she said quietly.

He moved even closer and wrapped his arms around her waist and locked his fingers as she did to him when she rode on the back of his bike.  She stiffened briefly in his arms. 

“You wanted to tell me something earlier in the truck on the way back from the mall.  What was it?” He asked.

After several minutes she said “You shouldn’t say things to me like you did in the store.  It’s obvious you could have your pick of women who I’m sure would appreciate hearing those things.  Your time and effort might be better spent with one of them.”

“What do you feel about what you are seeing right now and me putting my arms around you?” He said his voice low and husky in her ear.

“The sunset is beautiful… your arms around me make me feel…guilty.  I know I shouldn’t feel guilty about my reaction to you but somehow I do.  The things you say…I’m not ready for that…do you understand?”

“Do you want me to release you?” He whispered

“Yes… no… I don’t know.  I do but I don’t…it’s been a while and I…” She stammered

“Wait here.  Have a seat.  You’re in jeans now so sand won’t get anywhere it shouldn’t.” He said releasing her and walking back towards his bike.

Her heart was going to pound out of her chest. 
Her body burned for him.
  How was that possible since she’d only known him for a day?  She’d been married to Darren for a decade and never once felt the kind of heated sensations that just his nearness caused. 
And his touch
… it was more than she could handle.  How could he expect her to explain her body’s reaction to him when she didn’t fully understand it?

She sat down and continued to stare out at the setting sun.  It seemed to get even more beautiful the lower the sun sank in the sky.  He approached and sat down next to her and placed a paper bag in between them.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“Something I hope will help you relax around me.  I don’t bite, unless we’re having sex.” He said.

“That…is one of those things you say that…” She started.

“Make you feel guilty?” He asked as he reached in the bag and produced a bottle of Zinfandel Wine and a small bag of strawberries.  “We will have to drink out of the bottle because that’s what I’m used to but I’m willing to try it… I’m more of a Jack Daniels man myself.  I realize that your late husband probably beat me to the punch on this and I’m not trying to compete with his memory, but I thought you deserved this for bailing my ass out this morning.”

Lilly was astonished that he seemed to have produced the wine and strawberries out of thin air.  “Where did you get this?” She asked

“I know some people…” He grinned producing a wine cork.

As he worked on removing the cork, she couldn’t help but stare at him out of the corner of her eye. 
God he was hot!
  Remembering the wine and strawberries thing only seemed to make him harder to resist.  He’d paid attention to what she said and what she liked.  Did he try this hard for all his girlfriends?  If he was this attentive to other women she could not fathom how was he not married or at least in a serious relationship.

He took a small drink from the wine bottle and handed it to her.  Then he pulled a strawberry out of the bag, and bit into it.  “Not bad” He said

She took a small sip out of the bottle which felt awkward but she managed not to spill it on herself.  He reached in the bag and retrieved another strawberry and leaning over close to her, held it to her lips.  Heart pounding she opened her mouth and bit into the strawberry.  He watched with great fascination as she chewed and swallowed.  Her nerves got the better of her and she took another swig from the bottle of wine.

“Can I have a taste?” He asked.

His face was way too close to hers and it seemed to make her tingle all the way to her toes that were curled in the sand.  “Yes” she said breathlessly extending the bottle to him.

His hand captured the side of her face and suddenly he was kissing her.  Shock gave way to incredible heat as he seemed to devour her mouth.  It was not the gentle kisses she was used to.  This was urgent and needy and her body responded in ways she had not thought possible.  His tongue licked at her lips until she opened to him.  His mouth on hers was incredible and her resistance melted at the touch of his tongue to hers and she was unable to keep from kissing him back.

At her response to his heated kiss, he groaned into her mouth and his hand slid down her face to her neck where his roughened fingers caressed the side of her neck down to her collarbone.  A gasp escaped her lips at the feel of his hands on her and she broke the kiss. 

“I can’t do this.”
Yes you can her body screamed.

He stared at her with heat in his eyes and she was captured and couldn’t look away from him.  He was breathing as heavily as she was.