Maid For His Submission (18 page)

The heavy soles of her wide brim work shoes clanked on the wet concrete, counting out every step in her head. Holding a strong false smile across her face, she was determined to meet him on high ground while praying that he couldn’t hear her knees knocking under her black ankle length skirt.

Stopping only a couple feet from him, she felt like she had traveled a mile in. But it was the longing look in his eyes that left her breathless.

“Hi,” she muttered, cursing the simple word that stumbled out of her mouth.

Pursing his lips, his eyes roved from her lips to the exposed neckline of her work t-shirt. She could see his disapproval of her work clothes as he had displayed to her every time he’d come to visit her. But tonight, when he looked over her, she felt like he was groping her with his eyes more than scrutinizing. There was a heated sensuality in his eyes and Tosh felt that if he didn’t look away soon, he would set her on fire.

“You look good,” he finally replied, looking back up to her and giving her a half-smile.

It was an uncomfortable silence passing back and forth, but neither were capable of sustaining a conversation at this moment. Tosh finally decided to take the bold plunge.

“What are you doing here?”

Surprised by her boldness, his brow shot up to his hair line exposing his chocolate brown eyes to the distant street lamp. Sparkling in gold, Tosh wanted to melt in the dark brown and gold spheres. Slowly he blinked, flashing his abnormally long lashes at her breaking the trance and returning Tosh to the cold damp sidewalk with her friends stalking behind her from under the awning.

“I just wanted to see that you were alright.” In a flash, he was speaking with his usual confidence.

“Standing on a corner as you expected.” The words sounded more juvenile once she heard herself say them out loud.

“Stop,” he commanded, keeping his voice low so only she could hear. But Tosh did not miss the combination of anger and disappointment hidden in his tone and in his eyes.

“I’m sorry. That was inappropriate.”

“I worked late and when I drove by and saw that the shop lights were on, I stopped to make sure you were alright and if you needed a ride home.”

“That’s sweet, but I have a car.” Struggling to sound just as confident, she knew that she was tripping over herself with every word. “It’s good to see you.”

Richard smiled back, and for that instant she felt herself lost in memories of them. Tosh wanted to freeze time and his smile.

“Tosh!” Jude broke the spell and Tosh was not happy with her friend at that moment.

Looking over her shoulder to the three nosy co-workers, she gave them a wave to wait and turned back to Richard. Justin and Alex’s faces suddenly looked a bit shaken and Tosh turned back to see him staring over her shoulder at them with his deathly hard glare.

“That’s enough,” she demanded quietly. “If you want to talk, I need a bit. We all have plans. So you’ll have to wait. I can meet you tomorrow night back here when I get off.”

“But…” He tried to protest and was instead cut off, which left a surprised look on his face and hers for having the gumption to be so assertive with him.

“I will meet you out here tomorrow at this time and you can follow my car to a twenty-four hour coffee shop I know.”

Turning on her heels, she tried to make a confident exit, but was stopped with his strong hand on her arms. The world spun around her as he pulled her close and met her face to face. Richard cradled her in his arms and waited only a single beat before he claimed her lips with his. It was a savage kiss that sent sparks from her lips down to her toes igniting every cell in her body and sending vibrations to her core that sang out a chorus of celebration for the chance to once again feel the exhilaration of being in his arms once more.

Breaking the kiss, he pulled away and looked down at her with a confident wicked gleam. Tosh felt like he had swallowed her tongue and left her unable to speak.

“You didn’t say please, postulant.” He mocked her and released her from his arms.

Tosh stood there unsteadily on the sidewalk, watching Richard walk around his car with a confidence that he’d been hiding from her behind his newspaper over the last few months.

His voice still rang in her ears as she watched him drive away. One word spoken by him had made her completely fall apart.

“WOW!” Jude jumped to Tosh’s side as Richard tore away from the curb and down the street out of sight. “Mr. Wall Street has the hots for you.”

“Shut up.” Tosh defended herself, trying to hide her blush.

“Shut up yourself,” Alex added as the three surrounded her. “Mr. Wall Street came on like a stud. Damn, I wish I had his moves.”

“Guys, seriously there is nothing there.” She was a bad liar and Tosh knew it, but what else could she do?