Michael wanted to lift her up into his arms and carry her off to her bedroom to make love to her for the rest of the night. He couldn’t believe how much he wanted this tiny woman in such a short time. The more he got to know her, the more intense his need for her became.
Michael shifted and had her back against the wall, freeing up his hands to explore her, touch her. He absorbed her gasp when his fingers touched bare skin under her sweater. He didn’t dare move again until he felt her relax again under his fingers. He wanted her desperately but he knew that if he moved too quickly, she would run just like a scared rabbit.
Reminding himself of that thought, he pulled back and looked at her. The look in her eyes told him she was just as affected by their kiss as he was. And he also remembered that she was an employee and he shouldn’t be doing this.
“I’d better go,” he said suddenly.
Darcy’s eyes opened and she nodded. “Okay,” she said and smiled shakily. “Thanks for your help this afternoon.”
Michael smiled. “My pleasure,” he replied and pulled the door open. He disappeared into the night a moment later.
Monday morning, Darcy was in the office bright and early. She felt completely refreshed after staying away from the office for the whole weekend. She was ready to dive in and was plowing through her workload, getting more done than she ever thought possible.
A knock on the door about mid morning startled her. And she was even more shocked to see Michael standing there.
“Good morning,” she said, a small, shy smile on her face.
Michael smiled back then shoved his hands into his pockets. “I needed to talk to you.”
Darcy put her pen down and leaned back in her chair. “Okay. What about?” she asked.
Michael watched her, wondering if she hated him as much as she should. He had taken advantage of her this past weekend and he hated himself for it. He’d come down to her office apologize but looking at her, he didn’t really want to. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her until her lips were soft and her eyes were filled with passion again.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pushing those thoughts aside. They were counter productive to what he had to do.
Michael turned away, recognizing the wariness enter her eyes and taking it to mean he really had overstepped himself this weekend at her house. Clearing his throat, he tried to come up with a way to apologize. “About Saturday night,” he started, ‘I wanted to say that I’m sorry for….” He couldn’t finish the sentence because he wasn’t really sorry. He wouldn’t give back that kiss for anything. But he had been out of line. “I mean, I shouldn’t have done that and I am sorry for that,” he said awkwardly.
Darcy listened to him stammer out an apology for one of the most exciting moments of her life. He was sorry for kissing her? “I don’t really understand,” she said, picking up her pen again and crossing her arms over her chest in a protective measure.
Michael sighed. “I stepped out of bounds that night. It won’t happen again. Can you forgive me?” he asked, looking at her lovely, confused face hopefully.
Darcy felt like her heart had turned to ice. He regretted kissing her! She felt like a fool. Well, what could she expect? She was an employee, not a supermodel or an actress which was the kind of woman he probably dated. wealthy, he could have just about any woman he wanted. insecure workaholic like her?
He was so gorgeous and
Why would he want an
She’d known he was out of her league but now he was coming right out and saying it. She shook herself mentally and faced him, not wanting him to see how hurt she was over his apology. “Listen, it was a nice night but you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s over, right?” she said and picked up the papers she’d been working on. She pretended to start working again but felt herself breaking in two as he continued to stare down at her.
“Darcy,” he began, but was unable to find the words to finish.
“Yes?” she asked, looking up inquiringly. “Was there something else?”
Michael sighed. “No. I’m sorry to have bothered you. Let me know if you have any problems with the proposal. I’m at your disposal.”
With that he left her office and disappeared down the hallway.
Darcy stood up on shaking legs and closed the door. She would not cry, she told herself. She just needed a few minutes alone to compose herself.
She had been wondering how she would react to seeing him again in the office and now she knew.
Well, that’s that! She picked up her briefcase and pulled her list of activities out. Darcy decided it was time to get on with her life and stop existing. She’d made a list of things she’d always wanted to do and now was the perfect time to start doing some of them. She would start on those immediately, she thought. Clicking onto the internet, she searched the web and found a scuba diving class that would start in three days. She called the school and asked if there were any openings. When she was told there were, she signed up on the spot and paid by credit card.
She thought about something that wasn’t on her list but that she knew needed to happen. Darcy clicked around and found exactly what she was looking for. Calling the dealership, she arranged to test drive a brand new, fire engine red roadster convertible. It was almost lunchtime so she picked up her purse and headed down the hallway.
“Hey Darcy, do you want to join us for lunch?” Jim called as soon as she saw him. If Michael hadn’t been standing in the small group of people, Darcy might have agreed. But he just stood there, watching her with a blank look on his face so she smiled and pressed the call button for the elevator. “Sorry, Jim. I have other plans,” she called back and was grateful the elevator doors opened up immediately so she could step inside and disappear from Michael’s view.
Two hours later, Darcy walked back into the office. She tossed her new keys into her purse and almost skipped down the hallway back to her office. She was now the proud owner of a brand new roadster. Gone was her sensible, brown, nondescript sedan she’d bought ten years ago. She shuddered at how her bank account had been depleted in the past week since she’d just bought new furniture for her whole house and now a new car. But she didn’t regret her purchases in any way. She felt revived!
Sitting back at her desk, she reviewed her list again. Was there anything else she could be doing? She crossed off motor cycle driving. She figured that driving her new little car would be just as fun and somewhat less dangerous.