Was she really having this conversation with this man? Monica thought. This man who she had once said wasn't her type. This man who she had once said was too nerdy for her. If she had known she would enjoy a date with him. She would have asked to go out with him a long time ago.
"Wait a second," she said, then went in search of a box. In the pantry, there it sat. A box of four flavored syrups.
She grabbed it and tore open the packaging, then placed each bottle on the counter next to Tom.
French vanilla, mint chocolate, hazelnut and raspberry.
"Which one do you want to try first." she asked.
"Honestly, I don't want any coffee." he said
"I don't mean in coffee. I mean, try on me." she said smiling, thinking of all the things she wanted to do to him.
"Try on you?" he repeated. This woman was something else. Tom thought
"
"I think we should leave now. I had a great time but it's really getting late" Emma saidBen Sanders stood up next to Emma and stretched to his full height. "Alright. Let's get you home. I wish we could stay longer though" he said"I know" Emma replied. "But you know we didn't bring a car, so we have to walk""And who brought up such an amazing suggestion?" he asked"Stop" Emma said laughing. "I wanted to walk. Kinda helps clear my head""Clear your head?" he asked. "Anything bothering you, Emma?""No, not really... I guess it's just work stress" she repliedShe remembered her phone conversation with Daniel the previous night. It did not go well... At least for Daniel. She had agreed to go out with him but after seeing him with Monica, she had changed her mind. There were this nagging feeling that told her Monica wasn't just a business associate of his and she didn'
"That doesn't answer my question. I gave you time, Emma... And space... You have absolutely no idea how hard it was for me to stay away. But I thought that was what you wanted...after that night. And yet you still act this way. I want to understand you, Emma. Why do you choose to fight me? I'm not going to hurt you. He said."You say that and yet here we are" she said. "everything was fine until you came along."He smiled. "That's because you keep fighting me" he said, and then he promised too quietly, "If you will cool down, my tender little wildcat, you will see that there is a lot going on between us?"His low, intimate tone brought Emma's chin up and tightened her fists. "between us? The only thing between us is a bad employee-boss relationship. You can leave now and take it with you. You know you can't just show up at my place whenever you want and act like you own me."Feather light, his finger swept her hot c
"Okay..." Daniel said. "You have said a lot of things to me... But I gotta say...I was not expecting you to say that.... What the hell does that even mean?""Nothing" Emma replied, angry with herself for saying something. Angry at herself for letting him know just how much seeing him with Michelle had affected her. "It didn't mean anything. Forget I said that""Oh I won't... You can't just say something like that and expect me to forget it... I won't forget you said that... So just answer my question... What made you say that?" he asked"I said forget it". She repeated. "I don't care anyways""I hate to point this out, honey, but it sounds like you do".He smiled when she didn't reply. He stepped closer."All that passion brings out your fabulous color. You are fascinating, Emma. All woman. I'm concerned about you. That is a new one for me". He said with mild surprise.
The next morning, Emma was awakened by the loud buzzing of the bedside digital clock. She pushed down the snooze button, restoring quiet, then rolled away from the clock, groaning."I wish you would ring ten hours later, not just ten minutes" she saidA few moments later, she threw back the covers, heaved herself out of bed, slipped into her bedroom slippers, and padded into the kitchen.She glanced the at the wall clock and saw it was five thirty. A full day of work lay before her. And another encounter with Daniel Rohan. She sighed.She hadn't been able to sleep that night. Thinking about him, the stupid conversation from hell, him leaving angrily. She didn't want to hurt him. She thought. But she didn't want to get hurt either.Some clothes lay on top of the washer. She couldn't get to them when she got home yesterday as she had planned. After Daniel left, she just took off her clothes and went s
Daniel did not look happy.He was angry. He looked even angrier than he did last night. Well... She was angry too. Emma thought. And it was all his fault. Good thing he shared some of that anger."I'm sorry I made you come late, Emma" Tom said as he walked beside her. "The boss doesn't look so happy today""It's alright" she replied. "I can handle Mr Rohan""You know it's really good to hear you say that... Because I'm not walking up there with you. You are on your own, sweetheart" he said as he moved away from her.Emma rolled her eyes. Now she was going to face him alone. Daniel looked even more intimidating as she got closer. His upper body thrust back at the lean hips, his legs spread apart. His stare darkened as Emma approached."Good morning, Mr Barrett" she said.Emma glanced at Barrett and stalked past Daniel."Hold it, lady" he ordered in a
Both men stared down at her as though they had just remembered her existence.Daniel was the first to recover. "Tom". He said. "If you don't want your pay docked, you will get to work now"Emma touched Tom's tense forearm lightly. "I'm okay. Go on, now" she urged softly."Fine". Tom said.He walked stiffly from the room. After the door slammed behind him, Daniel faced her."Now, where were we?" he drawled.Emma stared at him. She looked like she was going to hit him. He wouldn't blame her if she did. He thought. He was being a jerk on purpose. He wasn't really going to dock her pay. But he was mad about the previous night... And also worried."I apologize, Emma". He said formally. "I was out of line just now. I should have asked you why you were late."He rubbed the back of his neck. "This is no place to discuss... Will you meet me after work today?
Emma couldn't help her smile. "Oh, are you?" she asked"Hell yeah" he replied. He was smiling tooShe didn’t want him to make her smile. but he did."You know..." she began. "Last night was kinda stressful, I think we would have been better off if we had just decided to spend the day in bed and resume work tomorrow."He stared at her, an eyebrow lifted.She knew what she had been trying to say and he knew what she had been trying to say, but somehow her perfectly innocent statement took on a double meaning as soon as it was delivered. She saw the light in his eyes, his eyes scorching hers as she rued every thoughtless word.And suddenly they were staring at each other and thinking only about one thing."I’d better go…". She attempted a smile and tried to walk rather than run for the door, biting on her bottom lip.
“Exactly. Your problem is, you’re afraid of everything, and I know you. You want to be with someone but the fear won't just let you go”“That’s crazy. What am I afraid of?”“You might think you’re Miss Thing with your rebel-without-a-cause posture, but you’re not fooling me.”Emma's lips parted, but no words came out. She wanted to argue with Karen, tell her how wrong she was, but deep down a little nagging voice said her friend might be right.“You are afraid that if you fall in love, you’ll be the one who gets hurt later. You’re afraid to put yourself out there.” Karen continued.“So what’s wrong with not wanting to get hurt?” Emma asked. "I'm just protecting myself".“You’re not living! You have decided to keep yourself locked up in a prison of your own making. You are my best friend and I hate that”.“No, I mean, it’s not true.” Emma said.She c
Emma stood in front of the bathroom mirror and looked at her reflection.She had a towel around her. After she had breastfed and put Jack to sleep, she and Daniel had returned to their bedroom. And right now, Emma couldn't remember if she had ever been this happy in her life.... She couldn't believe how amazing everything had turned out.When she opened the door and stepped into the bedroom, Daniel was on the bed, his chest bare, reading something on his phone... Which he dropped when she came out of the bathroom.Damn, he thought. She'd never stop being sexy to him. She always and would always have that effect on him.Emma blushed at his reaction, then she went to get dressed. She put on the sexy nightie Karen had given her as a gift for her wedding night.When she turned, Daniel was still watching her. Not bothering to hide the desire in his eyes."Come here" he said. Tapping the
The door opened and Jared walked into the room. They hadn't really talked since he arrived but he had been nicer, smiled more and very warm towards her... And especially to little Jack.He wasn't so so terribly intimidating anymore. He had turned out to be surprisingly charming. And he loved Jack. His new nephew. He’d perch Jack on his big, broad chest while he read, informing the baby of any interesting movement on the share market.“This boy is a Rohan indeed,” he’d declared one day. "Can’t start learning too soon.”But right now, as he walked into the room and asked Karen and Monica to excuse them so they could talk in private, Emma wasn't sure of what he had to say. After they left, he turned to her and Emma waited for him to speak."You look very beautiful, Emma" Jared said. "My brother is very lucky to have you"Emma smiled sweetly at him
"So I know this probably isn't what I should be talking about right now... But how about we push the wedding forward and get married in three weeks? If you agree of course" Daniel asked.Emma stared up at him."Yeah" Daniel continued. "All three of us are family already. Why wait any longer? There's no reason to. Your mom is going to be here to see the baby, why not invite our families to come see the baby and attend our wedding at once"Emma smiled at him. "Yes. Let's do it" she said. "I gotta say, I like this loving, caring, soft side of you"Daniel simply grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. As he did, the door opened and Karen, Frank, Tom and Monica came into the room."Hey, Daniel" Karen said playfully as they moved closer. "Let my girl rest a bit before you get her pregnant again"Everyone laughed at Karen's joke...including Daniel. "Oh, he's so cute" Karen murmured as t
Dr Davis also treated him with considerable deference as he monitored Emma's labour, assuring them both that everything was proceeding normally.The contractions were coming fast. She barely had time to catch her breath in between the waves of pain. Daniel sat beside her, watching anxiously, giving her his hand to grip, repeating what the doctor said—head engaged, won’t be long, bearing down soon—as though she couldn’t hear for herself, or he needed to assure himself that this agony had a short time limit.Emma didn’t try to speak. Wanting to remember everything about having this baby. Her entire concentration was focussed on willing her baby to make a safe journey from her womb, imagining every pain as a positive step forward. The urge to push came suddenly and was almost uncontrollable.“Not too hard, Emma,” the doctor instructed. "Slow it down if you can, a nice, gentle passage, no tearing. Yes, that’s good…coming now…head in my
"Are you going to the office?" Emma asked as she walked into Daniel's room the next day.Daniel turned to look at her as he unbuttoned his shirt. "No I'm not. I can't leave you here alone. I have a meeting though. But I will be doing it via video call" he replied."You can leave if you have to" Emma said. "Apparently, this baby isn't ready to be born yet"Daniel smiled at her. I'm sorry that you're uncomfortable, baby." He said. " But when the baby comes, you will be so happy that all of this won't matter. You are going to have someone you are gonna love more than anything on the world. Infact I gotta say, I'm little jealous of all the love our baby is going to be getting. I'm so used to having you all to myself now"Emma laughed and her body shook. "Relax" she said. "I'm going to love the heck out of the both of you. Infact i—"She stopped suddenly in her attempt to walk towards him. Pain... Anguis
"Oh my God" Emma said to Karen and Monica as she returned to the living room from the bathroom. "That must have been the tenth time I've been to the bathroom in the last two hours""It's also been the tenth time since you have told us" Karen said sarcastically and Monica giggled. They had come to visit Emma at Daniel's house.Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it must be really hard for you to hear" she said.Daniel was in the room too. He sat at another table working on his laptop. But he was clearly listening to them because he giggled at Karen's comment.Emma turned to him and rolled her eyes, which made him laugh."Hey honey" he said to Emma, while smiling. "Is there anything you need me to do for you?""Yeah right. Like you haven't done enough" Emma said, jokingly pointing at her stomach. Daniel simply exchanged glances with Monica and Karen and they laughed again. Emma smiled too.
“How about breakfast in bed?” Daniel asked.“Mmm, that sounds nice. I don’t think I can move and I’m suddenly feeling lazy.” Emma replied.He smiled because he couldn’t imagine anything better than the two of them sharing an intimate meal in bed. Hell, if he had his way they wouldn’t leave the bedroom for the rest of the day.“Let me go fix something up for the both of us " He said. "You stay here and get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”He kissed her nose and then carefully disentangled himself from the warm clasp of her body. He eased her onto her side, pulled the rumpled sheet over her and rolled toward the nightstand, sitting up and putting his legs over the edge of the bed.He glanced back to see that she’d immediately commandeered his pillow, which made him chuckle, because it was exactly what she’d done in the past."What?" Emma asked as she watched him. "Why are you smiling
His breath escaped in a long hiss and then she slid down, resheathing him all over again.“You drive me crazy,” he muttered.She smiled, clearly satisfied with his admission.He savored the feel of her much smaller hands engulfed by his. They held on tightly as she began a slow, rhythmic ride. Their gazes locked. They never looked away, never broke eye contact as she made love to him, driving him closer and closer to ultimate release.Emma expelled a pent up breath as he stretched her, as the sweet burning of her body molding to him became the single thought on her mind.He reached for her breasts and she covered his hands with hers as he massaged her breasts, and she continued rocking her hips in a steady rhythm, tossing her hair over one shoulder, it became a curtain over their hands, over her breast.He loved her hair, she knew that, and he still did, because he took a chunk of it and roped
It was easy to forget all that had happened between them now. It was easy to forget the weeks of pain and loneliness. It was easy to imagine that they’d never been apart and that they had always been together, home in bed, just waking in Daniel's place—their home.This was the healing they needed. Emma smiled into his neck.------------------------------Daniel lay there, Emma in his arms, thinking about what had just happened. On the surface it had been a very quick, very hot sexual interlude. One of the best he’d ever had.But it went deeper. It wasn’t just sex. It wasn't like all the other times they had been together. If it was just sex, his heart wouldn’t feel as though it was going to burst out of his chest. He wouldn’t be so overwhelmed that he had no idea how to process what he felt.It was… It was more intense than sex had ever been between them. They had been a study in hot, flirty, fun in