The Assistant (21 page)

I smiled faintly.  “Thanks.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I said.  “I’m just
tired.”

“Maybe you should take tomorrow off,”
Amanda suggested.  “Get some rest.”

“I can’t.  I’m already taking Friday off to
visit my sister.  I leave tomorrow night.”

“That’s right, I forgot,” Amanda replied
before biting into her banana.  “You must be looking forward to it.”

“You have no idea,” I sighed before
stirring my yogurt.  I had no appetite and I pushed it aside before taking a
drink of water.

“Is it Mr. Wright?”  Amanda asked suddenly.

I gave her a startled look.  “What do you
mean?”

“Is he being a dickhead again?  I thought
he was getting better after you threatened to quit but hey, a leopard doesn’t
change his spots, right?”

“No, it has nothing to do with him,” I
lied.  “I’m just not sleeping well.”

That part wasn’t a lie.  I hadn’t slept
well since my epic orgasm Saturday night.  I wished bitterly that I had kept my
mouth shut on Sunday, that I had just found a polite way to tell Aiden he
couldn’t go with me to Kate’s.  God, I missed him.

He’s done with you, girl.  Move on.

Yeah, he was.  He had been polite and
professional at work for the last three days and that was it.  I had resolved
to keep my distance, to let Aiden decide if and when he wanted to have sex
again, but already that resolve was wavering.  I had nearly texted him last
night after dinner, a quick and I thought brilliantly casual message asking if
he wanted to get together.  Instead, I had deleted the message, grabbed Daisy’s
leash and took her for as long of a walk as she could handle.

Thank God for Daisy.  She was an absolute
sweetheart of a dog and while she would never replace Rex in my heart, after
only three days she had wagged her way into her own permanent spot.  If it
hadn’t been for her, I would probably have cracked and contacted Aiden. 

Yes, because who wouldn’t want to be
rejected for sex by their hot-as-sin boss?  Jesus, Lina, you had your chance
and you fucking blew it.  You should have kept your big mouth shut and just
left it alone.  You were seeing things that weren’t there, blowing his small
gestures of kindness way out of control, and now you’ve paid the price for it. 
He’s finished with you.  Just like I said he would be.

I wanted to reach into my skull and tear my
inner voice right out of my head. 

Unaware of my inner turmoil, Amanda said,
“How is Daisy doing?”

“Good.  She acts like she’s lived with me
forever,” I said with a small smile.  “No accidents in the house and I’m slowly
figuring out what commands she knows.  I need to get her checked out by my vet
when I come back from Kate’s.  She’s pretty stiff in the morning and I think
could benefit from some glucosamine but she’s such a happy, sweet girl.  I love
her already.”

“Good.  What are you doing with her while
you’re gone?”

“Oh, uh, I’ve got a friend looking after
her,” I replied.

I had actually been panicking a little,
unsure if Aiden would still keep his promise to look after Daisy, but that fear
had been alieved earlier this morning.  He had sent me a brief email, asking if
I could drop Daisy at his place around seven tonight, and I had breathed a sigh
of relief before sending a quick reply.

“Lina?”  Amanda asked again.  “Are you sure
you’re okay?  You know you can talk to me, right?”

“I do,” I said and forced a smile on my
face.  I liked Amanda but there was no way I was talking to her about fucking
my boss.  Hell, I couldn’t even bring myself to tell Tracy that Aiden was over
me.  It was like a small part of me couldn’t stop hoping that Aiden would want
to continue for just a little longer.  It hadn’t been a month, after all.

God, could you be more pathetic, Lina.

I smiled again at Amanda.  “Seriously,
everything is fine.  Stop worrying.”

* * *

The elevator doors slid open and I stepped
into Aiden’s penthouse.  He was waiting for me and despite my anxiety, I
couldn’t stop my smile when King saw Daisy.  He woofed happily and bounded
toward her, his tail wagging and drool flying from his mouth.  He licked her
face eagerly before pawing at her and Daisy nudged him with her big head.

“Someone’s happy to see her,” I said.

“He’s missed her,” Aiden said gruffly.

“She’s missed him too,” I replied quietly.

There was an awkward moment of silence
before I cleared my throat and held out the large bag I was carrying.  “So,
here’s her food and her dishes and toys.  I forgot to bring her bed.”

“That’s fine.  I have a feeling King will
happily give up his bed for her,” Aiden said as he took the bag and set it on
the floor.

I smiled a little.  “Probably.  I’m back
Sunday night at six but I’ll need to go home first and grab my car.  Is eight
too late to pick her up?”

He shook his head and I hesitated before
smiling tentatively at him.  “Thank you again for looking after her.  If you
have any problems, just text me, okay?”

“I will.  Enjoy your visit with your
sister.”

“Thanks,” I replied.  I knelt down, pushing
King and his enthusiastic licking aside, and scratched Daisy’s forehead before
giving her a brief hug.  “Bye, Daisy.  I’ll be back in a few days.  Be good for
Aiden.”

She nudged my hand and I pressed a kiss
against her head before standing and giving Aiden another tentative smile. 
“Bye, Aiden.  Have a nice weekend.”

“You too, Lina.”

I pushed the elevator button and the doors
opened immediately.  A part of me had hoped that Aiden would ask me to stay for
a while.  That our fight from Sunday would be forgiven and forgotten and he
would take me to his bed.  It had been a ridiculous thing to hope for, I knew
that, but now that it was obvious, I was feeling horribly depressed and close
to tears.  I blinked them back fiercely – I would not cry in front of Aiden –
and stepped into the elevator.

I squealed in surprise when my arm was
grabbed and I was yanked back into the apartment.  Aiden, his face a mask of
need and something else I couldn’t identify, pushed me against the wall and
kissed me.  His hand tangled in my hair, holding me tightly, as he thrust his
tongue into my mouth and kissed me with a desperate need.

I returned his kisses frantically and when
his hands tore at the button to my jeans, I returned the favour.  I raked his
pants and underwear down his legs and reached for his cock.  He was hard and
huge and oh God, I had missed this - missed him.

I kicked off my shoes as Aiden pushed my
jeans and my panties down to my ankles.  I shook them off impatiently while
Aiden kneaded my breasts through my t-shirt and bra.  He was still kissing me,
deep forceful kisses that made my core ache and my body shudder.  I made a
short noise of protest when he grabbed my naked ass and lifted me.

“Aiden, wait.  You’re going to hurt yourself. 
Don’t - ”

He kissed me again, cutting off my protests
as he shoved his body between my naked thighs.  His cock brushed against my
clit and he shifted me higher before thrusting his cock deep into my pussy.

I wasn’t quite ready for him and I moaned
at the exquisite combination of pleasure edged with just a hint of pain as my
body tried to adjust to the unexpected invasion.  Aiden swore under his breath
and pinned my lower half to the wall before reaching between us and rubbing at
my clit.  It didn’t take long before I was wet and he gripped my ass with both
hands again and thrust back and forth.  I stared wildly at him, my chest
heaving as I gasped for air and my legs clinging tightly to his narrow hips.

“Touch yourself,” he demanded.

I rubbed my clit as he slammed in and out,
my back hitting the wall with muffled, rhythmic thuds.  I was soaking wet now
and he drove in and out with ease as my cries of pleasure grew louder.

“You belong to me,” he suddenly said.  “Say
it.”

I stared wide-eyed at him, my hand slowing
to a stop.  “Aiden, I – “

He stopped his wild thrusting, pinning me
to the wall with his hard cock, and snarled angrily, “You belong to me, Lina
Jones.  You’re mine!  Say it!”

“I belong to you,” I whispered. 

“Again.”

“I belong to you, Aiden.”

“Always,” he muttered before thrusting
again.  I cried out with pleasure and resumed my frantic rubbing at my clit.

“Come for me, princess,” he whispered into
my ear and I shattered around him.  I made a high keening noise as he groaned
loudly and thrust a final time before joining me in climaxing.  We shook
against each other and I clutched him tightly as he buried his face in my neck.

When he lowered me to the floor, my legs
were weak from the aftershocks of my orgasm and he steadied me before pulling
up his pants and taking my hand.  Without speaking, he led me to the bedroom
and stripped me of the rest of my clothes before helping me into his bed.  He
undressed and joined me, sliding his arm around my waist and cupping my breast.

“Did I hurt you, Lina?”  He asked.

I shook my head.  “No.  Why would you think
that?”

He sighed.  “I was rough and you weren’t
ready for me.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I said.  “I’m not hurt.”

He kissed the back of my shoulder and I
relaxed in his embrace for nearly half an hour before I tugged at his arm. 
“Let me go.”

He tightened his grip and I patted his arm
lightly.  “I can’t stay, Aiden.”

“I miss you,” he whispered.

“I miss you too but it still isn’t a good
idea for me to stay.”

“You said you belonged to me,” he said in a
low voice.  “Did you mean it or was it just something I forced you to say?”

“I meant it,” I said quietly. 

He turned me over to face him and searched
my face anxiously.  I cupped his cheek and stroked his mouth before smiling at
him.  “I belong to you.”

He buried his face in my throat and kissed
the soft skin.

“I want to try, Lina.”  His voice was
muffled and I tugged lightly until he lifted his head.

“Try what?”  I asked.

“Try dating, being in a relationship with
you,” he said.

I stared in shocked silence at him and he
sighed loudly.  “Fuck, it’s too late isn’t it?  I blew it.”

I shook my head and pressed a kiss against
his mouth.  “It isn’t too late.”

“I’ll probably suck at it,” he said.

I laughed, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’d prefer if people at the office didn’t
know,” he said cautiously.  “At least for now.”

“You and me both,” I replied. 

For a brief moment I considered asking him
why he had changed his mind before deciding it didn’t matter.  I wanted to be
with Aiden and he wanted to be with me.  Nothing else mattered.

* * *

“Wait, so first you were just sleeping with
your boss as a casual thing but now you’re dating?”  Kate popped a piece of
sushi into her mouth before pointing her chopsticks at me.  “Who are you and
what have you done with my baby sister?”

“What do you mean?”  I laughed.

“Lina, this isn’t you.  First you’re having
a fling with the guy who writes your paycheque and now you’re going to date
him?  You know how dangerous this is, right?  What if it doesn’t work and he
fires you?”

“He wouldn’t do that,” I said firmly. 
“Trust me, Kate.  I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?”  She asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you in love with him?”

I hesitated and her light green eyes
widened.  “Holy shit, you are.”

“I might be,” I said.

“Does he love you?”

“I doubt it.”  I made my voice
light-hearted.  “And that’s fine.”

She frowned at me and I ate a piece of
sushi before smiling at her.  “It is, Kate.  I want to be with him and he wants
to be with me.  That makes me happy.”

“For now,” she said.

“For now,” I agreed.  “Enough about me. 
How is work going?  Gerald still being a pain in your ass?”

She blinked at me.  “I didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“Gerald passed away.”

“What?  When?  How?”

“He was playing golf two weeks ago and had
a heart attack.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s terrible.”

“It is,” she said.  “We had our
difficulties when I first started working for him but we had worked them out
and he was a surprisingly good boss.”

She tugged at a lock of her flame-coloured
hair.  “I thought for sure I was going to lose my job, it’s hard to be a
personal assistant to a non-existent partner in a law firm, but Arthur called
me into his office on Thursday and assured me that I still had a job.  They’ve
brought in a new partner, Edward something or other.  He starts next week.”