Her mind was in turmoil, her emotions in upheaval. If he tried to seduce her tonight, she didn't know if she could withstand him. And the fact he made sure she rode in his vehicle was telling, a foreshadowing of the evening to come and what she could expect from him. She wasn't ready for it to happen; it was too soon. Physically she was ready. Physically she'd been ready the day she met him. But emotionally and strategically, it was too soon.
While marriage and permanence were far from her mind, she wanted more than a brief affair and the consequences it would bring. It was a gamble, because there was no way she could continue to work for him after an affair between them had fizzled out. She needed to stay out of his bed for a few more weeks. It was probably old-fashioned and even manipulative on her part, but she needed to play hard to get, if she wanted to win in the end. But the problem was, she couldn't. He was too compelling, too sexy, and he went to her head like a fine wine. She needed to be careful.
When they arrived at the restaurant, he parked and walked around to let her out. She had already opened her door when he reached that side of the car, and he reached in and took her hand as she swung her legs around and got out.
He never released her hand, and soon Renee found herself sitting in a small, dark booth in a back corner of the quiet restaurant. The night was already dark, and the atmosphere was intimate, the lighting subdued.
Before she knew it, a bottle of wine sat between them, and their orders were placed.
A few small sips of the wine steadied her nerves a bit, and she found herself looking around. It wasn't a fancy place, and its clientele seemed to run to business people, mostly adults that appeared to have just come from work. She didn't see any children around.
Other than a few basic sentences when ordering their food, he hadn't made any attempt to talk to her. Renee swiveled her eyes from the room to look back at him. Her breath caught in her throat. He was watching her every move, his eyes feral with some indefinable emotion. She had a sense of being the meal, and he was the predator, just waiting.
She took another sip, and he reached for the bottle to top up her glass. It registered that he wasn't drinking much, but didn't think much of it since she knew he had to drive.
He seemed completely at ease, perfectly comfortable with the lack of conversation.
The strain was getting to her, and she needed to
break the silence. "I've never been here before, but I guess the food is good?"
"It's not bad." His words were succinct, not much to go on.
She tried again to instigate conversation. "Do you come here often?" When Renee heard the words come out of her mouth, she almost cringed at the cliché.
He smirked. "I suppose so. Often enough, anyway. Why are you nervous?"
Her hackles rose. "Why am I nervous? I don't know. Let's see. You're my boss. You want me to quit my job. You told me you want to sleep with me, and I don't think you've forgotten about that. Why do you think I'm nervous?"
"I don't want you to quit your job anymore--"
"You don't?"
"No. Yes. Hell, I don't know what I want. I wish like fuck Mrs. Argenot hadn't hired you. I wish when I ran into you at the bar a few weeks ago, that it was the first time we ever met. I wish you had come home with me that night so all this bullshit would be over by now."
"Bullshit? I'm supposed to take that as a compliment? You wish we had met, slept together, and then you had moved on with your life so all this bullshit was over?"
"I didn't say that."
"You said exactly that, Robert. You're a pretty smooth talker, aren't you?"
"Quit putting words in my mouth, Renee. We need a time-out. Let's just forget for awhile that you work for me. Let's forget the antagonism between us and enjoy the evening, okay?"
"Fine. But I don't understand why. Why the hell can't you leave me alone and find another woman?"
"You don't understand? Bullshit. You understand, all right. You want to hear me say it. Fine. I'll say it." He reached over and took her chin in his hand. "It has to be you. I'm not going to have a moment of goddamn peace until I sink into you."
Chapter Eight
Their food arrived in the tense atmosphere of that explosive statement. Robert reluctantly released her from his hold to move back for the server to put the food in front of them. His movements were abrupt as he continued to watch her. Renee saw the flare of his nostrils and the sexually menacing look in his eyes and knew she was in trouble.
She needed to be careful about the amount of wine she consumed. She raised her eyes and asked the waiter for a glass of water. She looked back over to Robert and inhaled deeply. They watched each other in adversarial silence until the waiter moved away.
Robert saw the emotion in her eyes she couldn't hide. She was in a panic, her body trembling. It only added to her allure. Her beauty surrounded him, teasing his senses. Her eyes were wide, her face ivory, blanched of color, except for her lips, which were a deep, dark pink. She was beautiful.
And he wanted her.
The waiting was over.