Turbulence...an Excerpt

"How was your day?" Luther asked.

Funny, that was the kind of thing Ryan would ask, Rhonda said to herself.

Luther tried not to take her hand in his, not to attempt to touch her, as he led her to sit on the leather couch beside the office desk.
They were in his office at the penthouse of the Pinnacle Hotel. She thought that he was seated a bit too close for her comfort, but decided not to comment on that fact.

She looked nervous as hell, with the way she was sitting, her back was stiff and straight.
He had asked her to come so they could discuss the terms of agreement, and for her to give him a sketch of ideas before starting work as his interior decorator for the new branch of the Pinnacle Hotel he was building.

"Good," Rhonda said, then said it again, trying to reassure herself.

Actually, her day had been terrible, filled with anxiety about this meeting because she knew the way her body reacted to Luther. She knew she couldn't be trusted to be alone with Luther, but he had insisted that he did not want to deal with Vivica, her business partner.
So she had to come. They needed the money, and he was more than willing to pay for their services.

"Great, I'm glad." He said. "You look... tense."

"I'm okay. Can we get on with this? I have to be home by five, my husband will be back by then." She said, trying not to pay attention to the lightness she was feeling in her belly and also to remind herself about Ryan.

"Okay. You were to show me some pictures."

"Yes." Her composure suddenly seemed to have changed. It was now business-like.

She brought out the file jacket from her little portfolio that was on the center table in front of them.

"Let's start with the curtains. I was thinking to mix it up a bit in the different rooms and suites to appeal to a wider group of... "

"You know best. I'm leaving it up to you," he said with indifference not allowing her to finish her well planned speech.

"Yes, but I need to carry you along with me. For instance in the single-bed rooms, we can have the tab-top curtains which look like these," she said, pointing to a picture in the folder she was holding. "They'll give the room a simple and homely..."

"I'm not following you." He sounded almost irritable, cutting her off.
She was obviously unaware of the way she made him feel. He could no longer ignore the throbbing in his penis.

"Sorry, was I going too fast?" she asked, though there was something in his eyes that told her she was wrong.

"No. It's just... your perfume is driving me crazy. All I can think of right now is how your skin would feel if..." He was leaning towards her as he said so.

"Stop!" She sounded like she was gasping for air.

She wasn't going to let him get to her.
There was a job to be done, and that's what she was here for.
It was a mistake looking into his eyes because when she did, there was no denying the dark desire written in them. She knew then, more than anything in the world, she wanted him.

"Why?" He asked, like he didn't know.

Deciding to ignore him, she looked back at the folder in her hands and said,
"In the business rooms, I'm thinking of using Venetian blinds to go with trendy..." Her voice now was a bit shaky, not as confident as before.

"Are we going to continue pretending that I didn't kiss you last night?" He asked mischievously.

How could she tell him that she couldn't think of anything else? A simple kiss was threatening to turn her life upside down.
No, it wasn't a simple kiss, but a very provocative one. One that made her think why she had never experienced a kiss like that before, not even with Ryan.

Ryan...she had to get out of there. The problem was that she just couldn't bring herself to move.

She closed the file gently and turning slightly to face him so she could look directly at him, she said, in as calm a voice as she could,

"This isn't going to work and you know that. Vivica should..."

"I'm not going along with this if I'm not dealing with you directly. I said that before."

Why did he always have to cut her off when she was talking? She knew he was trying to make her feel even more uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to allow it.

"I have to leave. I'm not sure I can do this."

"Rhonda," her name was barely a whisper, his eyes drew her in. She felt like he was boring straight into her soul.

Slowly, yet before she could stop him, (though deep down she didn't want to) he pulled her into his arms and she felt helpless. Their faces were a breath apart; she was too scared to breathe.

"Give me a reason not to kiss you right now." He said, his eyes still searching her.

She tried, really tried to think of a reason, to say something, anything, but it didn't come.
A little sly smile made the corners of his mouth curl up, because he knew the turmoil she was undergoing, just before their lips touched.
She let off the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Using his hand to position her head just right, he deepened the kiss with his tongue exploring the corners of her mouth. With such abandonment, she closed her eyes and opened herself up to him, returning passion for passion and pleasure for pleasure.
She tasted like honey, her tongue unbelievably smooth and soft.
He felt her give in to him, felt her relax. Taking advantage of that, he changed their positions so that she was half lying on the couch and he on her, all the while not removing his lips from hers.
There was no denying his hard-on as he lay on her. Her skirt had ridden up her hips exposing slender, firm thighs.

He was stroking her now, gently with his strong, rough palms, but she loved the sensation, as he touched her neck, the sides of her breasts, her belly.

He watched the way her eyes shut as she enjoyed his kiss. He thought he was going to burst with yearning as his penis grew even harder inside his pants straining to be released.

Through the cotton of her shirt he bent down to take a nipple that was jutting from her shirt into his hot wet mouth. Her hands came to hold the back of his head, to encourage him to suck her even more.
His hand slid under her shirt and caressed the naked flesh of her midriff. She could feel her juices making her panties wet, her heart fluttered.

He raised his head to look at her again. Feeling him staring at her, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
With their eyes locked into each other's, he masterfully unbuttoned her shirt and shifted it to the side to expose her full breasts in the black lacy bra she had on. Without bothering to unhook it from behind, he pulled down the cups of the bra.
It was then he broke the eye contact to look at her ripe full breasts with large nipples standing erect. She had never felt so conscious of her body until now.

What was he thinking? Was she not beautiful enough?
On instinct she wanted to cover herself with her hands, but he stopped her and said,

"No. You are perfect, even more enchanting than I thought." His voice was so husky; she could read the desire in his voice.
Looking back at her, he said,
"Tell me now, what you want."

Was he serious? Here she was, all wet and pining for him, and he was asking her what she wanted.

Like he read her mind, he continued, saying,
"If we do this, there's no going back, because I'm going to want all of you, no holds barred."
It was taking everything in him to muster self control when she was lying there before him like she would die if he didn't take her right there, but he knew he had to tell her that.

How ironic it was that the only woman he truly wanted in his life happened to be married and he had seen her first on her wedding day.

He knew he could make love to her right now but in a few hours she would regret it and hate him for it, so he wanted to make sure that when she really did want him, it wouldn't be with just her body, but with her heart also.

He needed her to feel that way about him.
He needed her to be his.
He needed her.

Rhonda knew what he was asking of her and realized that as much as she wanted him, she wasn't sure she was ready to betray Ryan's love for her.

He saw it in her eyes then, that she had changed her mind.