Antonia did not know when he took her lips in a long sensual kiss until he had broken away from the kiss and she was left to catch her breath.
"There, it has been proven that you cannot resist me. See?".
He said. The smile which she hardly saw was there now. He was mocking her. He thought he had triumphed. She stepped out from his embrace.
"I did not kiss you. You kissed me!"
She cried. That was a lie. He had touched his lips to hers and she had kissed him. Hungry and needy. Her body had betrayed her and she could not help it.
"I had no desire to kiss you, Marconi!"
She tried again. He was still watching her. He liked to see her tortured over little things rather than admitting the truth. That was the first time he had kissed her and she had not proven to be a bad kisser. She had been as eager and willing as he had been when he had claimed her lips. Her hands had moved to his collar and then up into his hair and now she was denying ever kissing him.
"You can not deny this. You had been as eager as I had been but now you deny the truth even if it sounds absurd to you. Ah, Antonia. I suggest that you stop all the lies . At least not when you are with me."
She looked at him long and hard and inwardly cursed herself for falling into the trap..what if he taunted her endlessly and make things even worse between them? Worse, what if she could not resist kissing him again and again and ended up demanding more?.
She hated to think that he could have such Influence over her life. She would do all she could. All there was to do to make sure she was off his way.
" How about you give in.. tonight only..and after now, we never meet again and there would be no marriage?"
He asked.. she blinked. Did he just suggest what she thought she had heard?
" What do you mean?"
She asked. She had taken a few steps away from him but he was advancing towards her again and she did not have the strength to back away.
" Have sex with me this night and I shall not marry you,"
He said..she wished it could be that easy for her. Wished that like him, she would have nothing to loose If she walked out on the marriage.
" I would gladly walk out on all of this without having to touch you if I had nothing to lose just like you".
She said.
" I could speak with your parents . Tell them we do not desire to have anything to do with each other and then you would be free to do whatever you want"
" You can do that?"
" Only if you please me this night in bed".
She gasped and stepped back. She was sure she did not want to buy her way out of a marriage she was not interested in with her body.
" Your parents are under the illusion that I really want to marry you. My parents made them think so. We could both walk away. But you can not walk away on your own. You need me to help you achieve that".
He said..she looked at him quizzically. She knew he was right but as she cast one long look at the vast bed sitting majestically in the big suite, she was confused. What would he think of a woman who gave her body in exchange for a favour.
"I will not have sex with you. I am definitely not doing it."
"Then we are getting married and you will eventually have to do it with me every time ".
She gasped at the words and looked ready to attack him..she was too proud to let the man who she never admitted to liking ever have her body.
"I will never marry you and I will definitely not have sex with you!"
She cried angrily..
"When did you change your mind about marrying me, honey?"
He asked as he took a casual stroll down to the cushions. She stood there alone. Confused and lost for words.
" You just said you could make a way out of this and I would never have to marry you, did you not say it?"
She asked. He did not reply. He rose from the chair casually and went to the bar. He poured himself a drink and was back on the chair before even answering her.
" True I had said so. I had also given you a condition, my dear. It is not difficult that we should do away with this arrangement."
" Then do it. Can't you see that I despise you? I could never be happy being married to you!"
" Then you must pleasure me for one night and the arrangement will be off."
He was still insistent on the condition for calling off the marriage.
There was a long silence. She went into the bathroom. Maybe it was best she obliged him and never looked back.
************
Ruth was in London sooner than she had thought she would be. She had received another mail telling her to be on her way as the company needed urgently someone to occupy the position she had applied for.
*********
Clayton was still not sure about what had led him to check the mails_ handled it_ and he was not sure why he wanted the American woman to fill the position of his private secretary with an incredibly good pay. He was not sure yet but when she arrived work that first morning, he had stared at her for long through the CCTV in his office ..she had streaks of white hair in the mass of her brown silky hair and she definitely smiled a lot with the other staff as they helped her and showed her the way around. She had not taken the lodge that had been provided. She lived elsewhere.
She had come to Introduce herself. She had the American glow. The spark and hot headedness which was a feature ingrained in Americand was not absent in her she breezed into his office and said her good morning and Introduced herself. She had worn a blue long sleeved shirt and had tucked it into her cream coloured skirts that stopped right at the knees to reveal those impeccable long legs which ended in blue glossy heels. His thoughts when he saw her where not exactly righteous. She had all those small pins holding her hair in place.. she looked too tidy. Too professional. He wanted to reach out to this flawless American woman and scatter the pins in her head. To kiss away the red lipstick she had on.. but he stilled himself. He had never been so taken. By a woman. Damn. He was meeting her for the first time and he was having all thoughts of things he would love to do with her in a private space.
"My name is Ruth McCurdy and I will be working as your personal secretary".
She said. Perhaps she was not aware than he had delivered the job to her himself with a ridiculously high salary which he was sure was enough motivation to bring her all the way from America to London.
"Okay. You report directly to me when you have to".
He said. She stood there, staring at him. She watched his adam apple ripple as he spoke. His sleeves, he had folded up to his elbows to reveal those hard arms that were tanned. Too tanned for an English man. Did he stay up in the sun all day? Why did he have to be another handsome boss in a multi billionaire establishment that she was fortunate enough to work in?
She was not happy that she was immediately attracted to him but she could not help herself. His sand brown hair was well trimmed to fall over his forehead and he did not look like the boss she had imagined.. she had hoped and prayed that her boss, this time would be a married man. Probably a middle aged fat man that will never appeal to her in any way. But this man behind the well polished mahogany table in front of her was the exact opposite of all she had prayed for. He had no ring on. He was not married. She gulped. It was happening again. She was attracted to her boss. Was she cursed? She had just arrived work and she had just met her boss for the first time and she was enchanted? His eyes were the same sand brown as his hair and she did not think there could be a better pair for him. She shivered.
"Report to me when you have to"
He repeated when he was sure she had had enough to drink of the environment. Ruth nodded.
"Sure" another deep gulp of air.
She left the office on wobbly legs. Life would be hard for her no doubt if she kept falling for her bosses. She did not want her life to be any harder than it was. She hoped Earnestly that her boss never took notice of her little fumbling and that she never be in the same enclosed space for long with him. She would loose her mind if she had to. The boss, the one she had not known until few minutes ago had to be the hottest English man he had seen with perfectly tanned skins and taut muscles that threatened to burst out of his tank top that did not look very professional for a working environment like that.