Claimed by the Billionaire: Lust #2 (2 page)

I couldn’t stop
giggling. The lights of the different slot machines seemed to blur together as
I headed back to the room. I could feel Bradley’s fingers laced through mine.
Bad Serena, I thought to myself. Both of us had had way too much to drink at
dinner. I hadn’t had alcohol in a long time and it made my head fuzzy but I
didn’t care. Bradley was drunk too, wavering on his feet as he hit for the
elevator. Anywhere else, people would have stared, but two drunk people in Las
Vegas wasn’t exactly fresh, hot off the press news.

By the time we stumbled
into our room, it was after midnight. It was foolish to drink because we both
had to be up at six am. We had to attend day one of the conference for Mr.
Stevens. As Bradley plopped down on the couch, I stumbled over to the wet bar.

“Water,” I said
giggling, “We both need to sober up.”

I managed to get some
water out of the sink with some ice and walked back to the couch to give it to
Bradley. But he had passed out and was fast asleep, snoring loudly. My heart
dropped a little bit — I had been having such a nice time. But he was right, it
had been a long day. As soon as I remembered how long of a day it was, I felt
myself grow tired almost instantly. I was going to pass out, I thought dimly
and I sat down on the couch next to the slumped over Bradley. I couldn’t make
it to the bed. I would just curl up here. I slid down, my head landing in his
lap and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I dreamed. A drunken
dream. Bradley’s hands were on me again in the airplane bathroom. I could feel
my desire for him creeping up my thighs. I wanted his mouth on me, I wanted his
mouth down below…

My eyes opened. The
room was pitch black and I didn’t know what time it was. There was no sunlight
peaking in so it wasn’t time to get up yet.  My mouth felt dry and my head
ached. But Bradley was moving, moving my head slowly off his lap, as if to inch
away from me. I barely remembered falling asleep on him like this.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled
thickly.

“It’s okay. I passed
out.”

“Me too.”

“What time is it?” He
asked me.

I told him I didn’t
know and managed to prop myself up. He looked at his phone and mumbled that it
was two am. I had only been asleep a little more than an hour. Bradley started
taking a sip of the water I had left on the table. In the dim lighting from the
city lights and my eyes adjusting to the darkness, I suddenly craved him more
than anything.  If he denied me, could I excuse it? Lie and say I was
still drunk?

The madness of desire
still in me, I mumbled his name and slid closer to him. I grabbed for his hand,
squeezing it and then resting it on my thigh. He looked at me and I could hear
his breath coming faster. Please, I silently begged, please.

He leaned forward and
kissed me, his mouth smashing against mine. I grabbed him close and kissed him
back, fiercely, with a desire I never had known before. His tongue probed at my
mouth and I let him in, French kissing him back. I wanted him so much that it
was as though I was drunk all over again. I couldn’t even begin to think if
this was right or wrong or what I was doing.

My hands went through
his hair as he slid me into his lap. My legs coiled around his waist and he
moaned against me. It made my entire body break out into goose bumps. He
mumbled my name into my hair and I felt as though my brain was turning to mush.
We kissed again and I felt his hands — yes, his wonderful, wonderful hands —
slide down over my stomach, moving my shirt up just enough so that his
fingertips touched against my bare skin. It was electric. I shivered and our
lips met again. Deep kisses this time, lovely, warm and sensual. My hands went
through his hair, pulling gently, as he moaned into my mouth. 

“Serena…” He moaned
again.

I wanted to beg him for
more, I wanted to plead not to move so slowly and to please give me more. 
I wanted him more than I knew how to put into words. Bradley slid his hands up
over my shirt, pulling it off, leaving my bra exposed. His hands started
groping my breasts and I moaned. I started to unbutton his shirt and threw it
to the floor. His face went in between my breasts and he started kissing them
as I quivered. I was moaning his name now, in quiet whispers, like a chant or a
prayer.

With his shirt off, I
was able to look at his chest for the first time. He was in amazing shape and
clearly worked out. I ran my fingers down his chest. I felt the heat coming off
of his chest and pressed myself against him. My breasts flattened against him
as he groped me.

“Bradley…” I breathed
as he unclasped my bra.

His hands traveled over
my bare breasts as he leaned down and sucked on my nipples. I moaned his name
again. I could feel him hard against me as he sucked on my nipples. This was
going too slow. Too slowly for what I wanted and what I needed right now. I
moved my hips and started to grind against him. Bradley moaned, louder this
time and slid up my skirt. He unzipped his pants while I was still in his lap
and pulled out his manhood. He moved my underwear to the side and started to
enter me.

I let out a loud moan
as he slid deep inside me. He was so warm and so thick and big. I started to
instantly rock on his dick, his hands on my hips and his face in my breasts. He
was deep in me. My entire body was shaking, covered in goose bumps while I
moved him deep inside him.

I started bouncing on
him. I wanted to take all of him in. I rode him with all the energy that I had.
His mouth was on my tits as he moaned my name. I moaned louder and louder and
he began to grunt. I could feel him start to shake. He was going to finish, I
realized. I wanted him to finish in me. I was on the pill and I wanted to feel
him in me.

“Please…” I begged.

“Serena…” He moaned,
his hands in my hair as he tugged on it hard.

We were both a sweaty
mess now, thrusting, moaning, cursing and rocking together in sync. He tugged
on my hair again and I threw my head back as I came. My thighs shook and it
felt as though my eyes were going to roll in the back of my head. At the same
time, he finished. I felt him shoot inside me, holding me down on his dick as
we came together.

We rocked together
until we finished, faster and then slower until we stopped. My hair was stuck
to my face, which was sweating, and my breasts heaved with each breath I took.
My skirt clung to my thighs. Bradley was breathing heavily, his pants clinging
to him, his hair pressed against his forehead.

“Serena…” He said
again, his eyes closed.

I managed to slide him
out of me as I fell onto the other side of the couch, staring up at the mirrors
above the living room. I didn’t know what time it was. All I knew was that I
was going to fall asleep.

And I was going to have
good dreams.

It felt as though I was
asleep for five minutes before I could hear the alarm go off on my phone. My
eyes opened up slowly. My head was aching from drinking and my mouth felt as
though I had an entire ball of cotton in it. Bradley was shifting next to me,
waking up as well.

“No way…” I heard him
sigh, but I don’t know if it was because we had to get up already or because we
had slept together a mere two hours ago.

I sat up, gripping my
head. I was half naked, I realized. I looked over at Bradley who was looking at
me.

“Bradley…” I said,
shifting my weight to try to cover up myself.

“I need to shower.” He
said, getting up quickly.

“Bradley…”

But he had gone into
the other room, towards the bathroom. I slid my shirt on quickly to try to
cover up my breasts. I thought about what had happened. Did he regret it? I
didn’t regret it. Should I regret it? My head was pounding the more I thought
about it. But when I thought about his hands on me and him inside me…

What if he fired me
over this? Not us sleeping together, but the fact that we both had feelings for
each other that went beyond the proper worker and boss relationship. He could
think that it wasn’t worth all this trouble. 

And where did I expect
things to go from here? Did I think we could sleep together, hung over and then
wake up and everything would be all normal? I felt like a child. I looked
outside at the strip, wringing my hands. After ten minutes, Bradley came out of
our room, in a business suit, looking tired.

“I’m going to go get
breakfast. I’m done in the bathroom.” He said.

“Bradley…” I said to
him but he was already out of the hotel room, the door shutting behind him.

I got into the large
shower, hoping it would clear my head. Where did we go from here?  Where
did I go from here? I couldn’t control Bradley or expect him to do things the
way I wanted him to do them. I needed to think about myself and do what I could
do in this situation. The water was hot and scalded my skin but it helped me
try to clear my head, which was still throbbing. I scrubbed myself all
over. 

Throughout my life, any
time I faced a stressful situation or I was confused about something and felt I
had hit a road block, I liked to take an extremely hot shower. When I found out
my father was losing his business, I was in the shower for almost an
hour.  When my husband died from his heart attack, it felt as though I
moved into the shower. It cleared my head. When I was in the shower with the
water hot, it felt almost like a rebirth. The hot water would cleanse me and
make my skin flush a light pink. It would wash off all the confusion, the
negativity or the sadness I may have been feeling.

As the water splashed
on me and I was scrubbing myself, I thought about what I needed to do next.
Maybe if I had still been in my twenties, I would have waited for him to
discuss things with me or make the first move in regards to what we did next.
But I was a widow, who had lost everything and had a child of my own now. It
wasn’t the time to play blushing schoolgirl games.

By the time I got out
of the shower, I knew I had to talk to Bradley face to face. I dressed myself
for the convention and headed out of the room. He was probably already at the
convention center. By the time I made it down there, it was close to seven.
People were milling around in a thick crowd. I wiggled my way through the crowd
and saw Bradley swarmed by tons of people, all trying to shake his hand. Now
wouldn’t be a good time. I realized that probably the rest of the day wouldn’t
be a good time. I felt impatient but there was nothing I could do. I’d have to
put up with the convention until at least the lunch break or till it let out at
five.

I settled in for the
day. Bradley didn’t glance over at me the whole time. I sat through boring,
endless speeches and lectures on things. None of them were in my field and none
of them interested me. I tried to pay attention but my head was pounding and my
gut felt tight from feeling anxious about Bradley. I was hung over and also
exhausted.

Lunch time came but
Bradley was taken off by some high end business man trying to woo him to design
an app for him. He didn’t invite me to eat with them. I ended up having lunch
by myself. I missed Greg, I thought, as I ate and watched some families walk
by. I couldn’t help but think of the last time I was in Vegas. I was pregnant
with Greg, walking among the casinos quickly so the smoke wouldn’t affect me.
My husband had gambled and drunk but he had been happy. I had been happy too.

My throat felt tight as
I looked at the casino from the lobby bar, which served food as well. How
things had changed since the last time I had been here. It had been in another
life, I thought sadly, one that no longer belonged to me. One that I had no
place in. My food felt dry in my mouth suddenly and I pushed the plate away. I
didn’t feel like going back to the convention. It wasn’t as though Bradley
needed me there.

I was looking at the
Bellagio fountains when I should have been in the convention. I didn’t feel
like going back to the room. I felt like seeing the strip on my own terms, by
myself. There was no fountain show on right now but I didn’t mind. The water was
peaceful. I people watched as well. My phone went off in my purse and I looked
at it. It was Bradley asking where I was. I didn’t reply and slid the phone
back in my purse. I didn’t feel like replying. I turned back to the fountains,
watching them and breathing in the air.

My phone went off again
and I looked back down at it. It was Bradley just sending a couple of question
marks. I relented and texted him back with You seemed well set up today and
frankly it was boring. I pressed send and sighed. It didn’t take long for my
phone to buzz back. I read his message: Meet me in the room at 5:30?

At least I wasn’t going
to have to track him down to talk about things. With time to kill until 5:30, I
decided I would head back to the room and nap. My head was still pounding and I
was exhausted.

It took me a little bit
to get back to the room but flopping down into the giant bed was wonderful. It
didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. It was a deep, dreamless sleep and I
didn’t awake until I heard the front door shut. I sat up, rubbing the sleep
from my eyes as Bradley walked into the bedroom.

“Oh, sorry,” He said,
surprised, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“No, it’s okay…I can’t
believe I slept for so long,” I tried to stifle another yawn, “How was the rest
of your day?”

“Frightfully dull.”
Bradley replied, still standing in the doorway as though he didn’t know where
to go.

There was an awkward
pause as we both looked at each other, as though both of us was waiting for one
of us to speak first. The silence felt heavy and leaden.

“Listen -” We both said
at the same time.

We fell silent, waiting
for the other person to continue. Bradley shifted again and took a step farther
in the room.

Frustrated, I said,
“Listen, are you going first or am I?”

“I should go first.”
Bradley said, sitting down at the edge of the bed, as far away as he could get
from me, while still being cordial.

“Fine.” I said, hoping
I didn’t have bed head too badly.

“What we did…last
night…it was a mistake, Serena. We shouldn’t have done that. I blame the
drinking for lowering our guard…for acting on what we both must have been
thinking. But I don’t make a habit of sleeping with my co-workers. And despite
our obvious attraction to one another, we know almost nothing about each other.
This,” He motioned to the two of us, “Can’t happen.”

I wished I had talked
first. I wish that I could say what I had originally wanted to say to him —
that we could make this work, that we obviously are attracted to each other and
we could find a way around working together — I could quit, for instance — for
us to see if we had something.

But he didn’t think the
same, obviously. He said he didn’t even feel as though he knew me, just that he
wanted me physically.

“Serena?” He said,
peering closely at me.

I shook my head, as if
I was trying to clear the thoughts, “No, that sounds perfect. That is exactly
what I was thinking.”

Bradley looked
relieved, “Great. That’s great,” He stood up, “I have to go to some boring
dinner…you okay for the night?” I nodded numbly and he went on, oblivious,
“Okay, Serena. Tomorrow, since we uhm…talked all about this…I can have more for
you to help me with.”

“Yeah, okay.” I forced
a smile.

Bradley looked at me
and my heart swooped again at how handsome he was. He looked almost sad. Or was
I imagining it? It didn’t matter because soon he was gone. The door shut behind
him with a quiet click and as soon as he was gone, I felt my heart drop.

I had been so sure we
had something that was more than a physical connection. I liked listening to
him speak and I craved to know more about him. I felt like when we had dinner
the other night we had had a real connection. How could he have not sensed it?
This whole time it had been physical for him and he had gotten to taste me and
now was done with me. I debated quitting. I debated packing up right now and
just going back home, to Greg and my own life and to find another job. How
could I stay here and work with someone who was my boss, who I knew I had
feelings for and he didn’t have any at all? I thought for sure Bradley would
have wanted more from me — to see where we could go…

But he was going
through a divorce and my husband was dead. Maybe neither of us were ready for
this sort of thing. Maybe I was rushing things. My head felt as though it was
spinning. I knew I was over thinking everything. I decided I’d get some dinner
and walk around the strip again to clear my head.

I slid out of bed and
pulled out some more comfortable clothes to change into. Walking around Vegas
by myself wasn’t the trip I was looking forward to but I told myself I was here
on business anyway. I had technically didn’t do any work today and I was lucky
Bradley hadn’t scolded me on that. He was still my boss.