Running From Fate (23 page)

He lowered his head.

The door next to them suddenly opened
,
spilling
light and sound into the night. 
Two young men stumbled out, weaving so drunkenly that they would have fallen without the support of each other.

Mira released James’ hand and stepped back
,
trying to be appalled by what had almost happened.
She had known James years ago as a beautiful,
uninhibited
young man.
She didn’
t know the hard, controlled person standing in front of her.
She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know him.
Besides, while Kim was in the picture she
had to stay back
. 
She
did not poach.

Damn it,
James thought, t
hat
had been either
way too close or not
nearly close enough.
H
is
overheated
body
couldn’t decide
.
Either way the mood was ruined.
He sighed and looked at the
nearby pub.
Alcohol wasn’t a substitute for what his body really wanted,
but it was better than nothing.
He glanced at Mira.
She stood shivering with her arms wrapped around herself.
“Come on,” he said.  “
I think we could both do with another drink.”

She shrugged.
“Why not.”

**********************************************
************

“When did you see ole Jonathan
again?
” James
said
.
He carefully opened the door to the
black cab
and pushed Mira inside.
  She collapsed onto the seat.

“What are you talking about?”
Mira forced her eyes open and looked at him.
His face swam and split into tw
o.
Her stomach
shifted
as well and she closed her eyes
tightly
in defense.

He slid into the cab next to her and shut the door.
“The Dorc
hester,” he said to the driver. 
When they were safely underway he turned back to Mira.
She was leaning against t
he opposite door almost asleep. 
That wouldn’t do
. 
He
still had something he needed to ask her.
Oh right, Sir Jonathan Ashton II.
What a pussy name.
He snorted in derision
and then recalled his question. 
“You said you saw Jonathan twice.
When was the second time?”
He prodded Mira in the side.

She jumped and glared at him.
“If you must know, it w
as on my honeymoon with Kevin.” 
In a quick mood shift, she laid her head on James’ shoulder and smiled dreamily.
“We stayed at The Savoy and every morning we went running in Hyde Park.”

“You met him in the park?” 
James asked quizzically.
He couldn’t conceive of that elegant, polished man doing something
as
human as sweating.

“Of course not,” Mira giggled at the thought.
“I
went running with Kevin.  I
saw
Jonathan
at the hotel when we were having dinner.
He said congratulations and that was it.
I haven’t seen him since.”
She sighed and snuggled into James.

He put his arm around her shoulder and leaned back.
“Did you love him?” he
heard himself ask
.

“Jonathan?”
Mira asked sleepily.
“No.”

“Kevin.  Y
our husband.”

“I thought so,” Mira mumbled
sleepily
, “but we were so young and we only knew each other for a short time.”

The next thing
she
remembered was being tucked
carefully
into bed.
She
vaguely
felt someone
take
of her shoes
and socks and
pull up the blankets
.  She thought she felt a light kiss brush across her lips, but she couldn’t respond even if she had wanted to, sleep was dragging her down.  She
snuggled deeper into the pillows.

“Are you really what you seem to be?”
James asked softly,
a
s he watched
sleep take
her
.  Her hair spread across the pillow, a deep, rich halo around her face.  Seemingly of its own volition his hand lifted and his fingers combed through the soft strands.  When his hand
pulled
free individual strands clung to it and followed, as if reluctant to lose the gentle caressing. 
“
Do
you
know how much I want you?” h
e whispered.
“
It’s like a fire in my blood.
” 
Normally, he wouldn’t say such things, let alone admit to such emotion, but here in the dark and quiet of the night, it seemed right and natural.  “If I decided to
have
you,” he murmured as his finger ran along the graceful curves of her face and, finally, stopped to slowly trace her soft lips.  “
I promise you will give no thought to running.  B
ut if you betray me,” his voice hardened and deepened, “there won’t be any second chances.
”

Something about the dark warning
penetrated
Mira
’s sleep drugged brain
and she shivered
, snuggling deeper into the blankets, searching for warmth.
Moments later the door closed and all was silent.

The sound of ringing phones assaulted James’ ears and intruded on his concentra
tion. 
He reached up and rubbed his temple wher
e a steady throb had developed. 
Through his open door he could see Mary sitting at her desk
nodding her head, as if
to some internal melody
,
as she industriously typed on her computer.
The phone rang again and she paused
in her typing
to pick it up.

“EcoSpace Industries, Mr. Kelly’s office.
How can I help you?”
She
nodded her head and glanced at the calendar on her desk.
 
“I’m afraid that we’re booked solid
for the rest of this
week. 
I can pencil you in
for sometime near the end of next week if that suits you.
Hold on a minute.
” 
She pressed the hold button and reached for a
pen only to discover that it was tucked behind her ear
.
  When she had finished using it the pen went right back.

As soon as she had laid the phone in its cradle
James got up and leaned out
the
door.
“Hold all my calls for a few hours will you Mary?
I need
some uninterrupted time
to finish reviewing this contract.”

“Sure thing,” she replied.

He stepped
back and quietly shut his door.  He had been trying to get through the bulky contract for over an hour now with little luck
. 
He
was too restless. 
The pile of papers sitting on his desk se
emed to glare at him accusingly as he bypassed his
workspace
a
nd walked over to stand i
n front of the bank of windows.  He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared out at the gloomy sky.

Things had been incredibly hectic since he had gotten
back from London two days ago. 
There had been the groundbreaking for a new development of high-end, environmentally friendly condos and a glitch with one of his suppliers was holding up the delivery of some solar panels.
He
hoped that it wouldn’t require a trip to California.
In addition to that
, they had just been awarded the contract to build
Mr.
Ashton’s corporate resort and retreat.

Normally,
the more hectic it became, the more he thrived
but, recently, he had just felt edgy.
He sighed, pulled the blinds shut, and walked back to his desk. 
He
still had work to do
and i
t wasn’t getting done this way. 
Exerting his usually iron-willed control, he blocked everything
else
from his mind and got down to work.
He was just signing the final page of the document when Mary came on the intercom.

“I know that you said you didn’t want to be disturbed,” she rushed out, “b
ut Miss Roberts is on the line. 
She says it’s urgent.
Something about a lunch date.”
Disapproval tinged her voice.

He thought about putting
Kim
off
because he really didn’t want to deal with her dramatics today
, but they had some things to talk about and he might as well get it over with
.
He picked up the phone.
“Put her on
.
”
 
He arranged to see her, hung up, and grabbed his coat
.  He was
on the way out the door before he could change his mind.

They met at a small, but trendy café in downtown, Raleigh
. 
I
t
was lunch time so the place was crowded, which was perfect
as far as James was concerned. 
He knew that Kim was perfectly capable of causing a scene but, hopefully, an audience would make her think twice
about throwing a tantrum
.
  She wouldn’t want word to get back to her daddy and risk getting her allowance cut off.