TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) (26 page)

“I like that name.”

By now they had reached her hotel room door. She turned to him. “Thanks for tonight and I do need to give you the rest of your cheesecake. The half you didn’t eat is in my refrigerator.”

“You can keep it until tomorrow.”

“No,” she said, using her passkey to unlock the door. “If it stays here I might be tempted to eat it.”

She opened the door and placing her purse on the table, she went straight to the small refrigerator. When she turned with the cake in her hand she saw he’d come inside and had closed the door behind him.

Cathy’s heart began pounding in her chest as she walked back over to him.

“Here’s the rest of your cake,” she said.

He took it and their hands touched in the process. “Thanks.”

Maybe if they hadn’t touched, he could have taken his cake and left, Orin thought. But they had touched and sensations he’d tried ignoring for so long rushed to the forefront, and for some reason as much as he tried, he couldn’t ignore them tonight.

He placed the cake on the table and deciding to do something he’d wanted to do for a long time, for years, he reached out and pulled Cathy into his arms. His mouth then came down on hers, gently and thoroughly. It took every ounce of strength he had to keep the kiss gentle and not take her mouth with the hunger he felt.

She tasted just like he’d known she would taste. A part of his brain tried to transmit that with this kiss they were crossing the boundaries, and once crossed neither of them could go back. But at the moment, he didn’t care. He had fought wanting her for years and tonight the wanting and longing had reached a head. He was a man who’d put his own needs and desires on the back burner, and now they were blazing out of control. He could tell from the way she was responding to his kiss that the attraction between them was mutual. She hadn’t resisted.

No longer able to keep the kiss gentle, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Closer into his arms. And likewise, she all but melted into him and held on to him with a strong grip that he felt in the blades of his shoulders. The feel of her touch had his body tingling all over.

Passion. He actually tasted passion and for quite a while he’d wondered if he would recognize it in a woman. Yes, because he was certainly recognizing it in her. And when he slid his tongue over hers, he actually heard her moan from deep within her throat. Their tongues tangled and she wrapped her arms around his neck. There was no telling how long they would have continued to stand their and kiss if someone hadn’t passed outside the door talking in a loud voice.

Orin reluctantly pulled his mouth away while drawing in a deep, ragged breath. Instead of dropping his hands to release her from his embrace, he lowered his head to the curve of her neck and drew in her scent. Her smell was like an aphrodisiac and was sending sensations all over his heated skin. And they were standing so close that her nipples rubbed his chest. Even the material of his shirt couldn’t serve as a barrier.

Pulling in a deep breath, he forced himself to take a step back and met her gaze. The eyes staring back at him had darkened to a hue that he wasn’t used to seeing. And he knew at that moment if he spent any more time with her just where it might lead. The thought of sharing a bed with her had blood hammering in his temples. And with every trouncing sensation he felt his control slipping.

“I’d better go,” he said, in a voice so husky he nearly didn’t recognize it as his own.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the Javits Center. I believe the Nettleton Industries exhibits are on the top floor toward the back,” she said in a voice that stroked his insides. He felt it all the way to the soles of his feet.

“I’ll find them,” he said.
And I’ll find you. I’ll just follow your scent.

Needing to taste her one final time before he left, he reached out and cupped her chin in his hand and leaned down and caressed her lips with the tip of his tongue, stroking across her lips the same way she was stroking his insides.

In a deep ragged sigh, he pulled back. “I enjoyed being with you tonight, Cathy.”

“And I enjoyed my time spent with you as well.”

He gazed at her for a thoughtful moment before retrieving his cake off the table and walking over to the door. Before opening it he turned to her and smiled briefly. “Good night.”

“Good night, Orin.”

He let himself out of her hotel room and closed the door behind him. Forcing one foot in front of him at a time, he crossed the hall to his own room. Using his passkey he entered his room. After placing the cake in the refrigerator he moved to the window and stood, staring out at the parking garage. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t scenery that would normally hold his attention since he wasn’t really concentrating on the view anyway. He was concentrating on the kiss he’d shared with Cathy in her hotel room. His heart was still pounding just thinking about it.

Moments later he moved away from the window and sank down on the sofa remembering their conversations. He had shared more of himself with her than he’d ever shared with a woman before. And he had felt comfortable doing so. They both had lost spouses. With her it had been death and with him it had been adultery. But they’d known the joys and challenges of raising their kids alone. They had made their children the number one priority in their lives, basically denying themselves relationships with the opposite sex to achieve that feat.

But tonight things had been different. He had tapped into her desires and she had more than tapped into his. He would be able to tell tomorrow when he saw her again if she regretted anything about tonight.

And if she had no regrets that meant she was opening all doors for him not to want more but to get more. Tomorrow he would have all the answers he needed. Her behavior and attitude toward him would tell him everything.

Cathy wished she could stop glancing toward the row of escalators and the bank of elevators in anticipation of seeing Orion. When she had arrived at the Javits Center the production crew had all the booths set up and the binders that had been picked up that morning from her hotel room were arranged on the tables for easy assessment.

She glanced over toward the escalators and elevators again. Each time she saw someone that could be him her heart rate would increase. It had been a long time before she’d gotten into bed. Instead she made a cup of coffee and went out on the balcony to stare up at the stars, to look over the Hudson and to think about Orin.

For the first time in fifteen years, their conversation had drifted into personal waters. He had shared a part of himself with her and she’d shared a part of herself with him. She had felt relaxed in his company on a non-professional level, and she had a feeling he’d felt totally relaxed and at ease in hers.

“Good morning, Cathy.”

Cathy glanced up. “Good morning, Maureen.”

A frown settled on the woman’s mouth and then she leaned closer and said in a low voice. “I really wished you wouldn’t do that.”

Cathy lifted a brow in confusion. “Do what?”

“Call me by my first name. I’m in management and you’re not. Although I understand Orin allows you to address him by his first name, I prefer a degree of respect that is due my position.”

Cathy wasn’t surprised the woman felt that way given her prior association with her. Luckily, their paths normally didn’t cross during regular business hours since Maureen worked in a department located on another floor. However, on occasion Maureen – or Ms. Beckman as she preferred to be called – would make an appointment to meet with Orin concerning some legal matter within her department.

“Most certainly, Ms. Beckman. I will remember that.”

The woman gave her a smile that Cathy didn’t feel was genuine. “Thank you.” Maureen then glanced around. “And where is Orin this morning?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m certain Mr. Jeffries is on his way.” Cathy certainly hoped so. As Orin’s assistant she was there to assist in any way he needed her regarding the legal binders.

“Well, he’s not here and I need you elsewhere.”

Cathy lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”

Maureen gave her a look like she preferred not explaining herself. “I said, I need you elsewhere. One of the guys in my department didn’t show and I need an extra hand with the exhibit in the basement.”

Cathy was wondering how she could tell this woman tactfully and respectfully that she wasn’t going to any basement. Her job was to assist in distributing the binders as well as anything else Orin needed her to do. “Ms. Beckman, Mr. Jeffries specifically indicated the reason I was to be on this trip was to assist him with -”

Maureen waved off her words. “The key word here, Ms. Bristol, is flexibility. That’s what Nettleton Industries need from you now. Your flexibility. I’ll explain things to Orin when I see him. Besides, I’m sure he can do without you for a few hours. If he needs assistance with anything, I’ll be available.”

The woman then pointed her with a stern gaze. “Do you understand?”

Cathy pulled in a deep breath. If she hadn’t understood before, she most certainly did now. It was more than Maureen wanting more respect. It was about Orin. He was a good looking man and evidently Maureen was just as much interested in him as she was. Only difference was that Cathy was more than interested in him, she was in love with him.

It all made sense now; especially the woman’s offer to assist in getting the binders ready for today. Cathy couldn’t help but wonder if Maureen had already dropped any hints to Orin about her interest. If she had, he evidently hadn’t reciprocated the interest since the two hadn’t dated. Maureen had begun working for the company last year.

“Yes, I understand. I would be happy to assist and if you would let Mr. Jeffries know where I am if he needs me, I would appreciate it.”

Cathy then walked off toward the elevator.

* * *

Orin stiffened at Maureen’s question before forcing out an answer. How many times was she going to ask him about what page the legal information regarding the dockside insurance policy was on?

“It’s on page thirty-four, top left,” he said, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

Maureen flashed him a smile. “Thanks, Orin.”

He nodded before lifting the phone. He had a product manager on line four and two more individuals in line with questions. Potential customers were not only interested in the product, they wanted to know about such things are warranties, insurance, and product liabilities.

After handling the caller on line four he glanced over at Maureen. “When will Cathy be back?”

Maureen glanced over at him and smiled. “I’m not sure. I appreciated her volunteering to go below and work with them. That’s a display of real flexibility.”

Orin nodded. He didn’t want to think Cathy had volunteered to work a booth in the basement to avoid him today. Did that mean she had regrets about last night?

“You owe me something for helping you out today, Orin,” Maureen was saying.

Orin lifted a brow. “Do I?”

“Yes, a cold beer would be nice and dinner would be even better. I know a place not far from here. I saw it earlier and -”

“Sorry, Maureen, I’m pretty beat so I’m going to pass.”

And he wouldn’t dare think about ending the sentence with some lie like –
maybe some other time
- because he didn’t want to give her any ideas. There would be no other time. Pushy women turned him off and he’d discovered she was one of the pushiest.

She leaned closer and said, “I’m known to give a mean back rub.”

He smiled. “Thanks, but after a day like today, I don’t want anything mean coming my way.”

From her facial expression he could tell she didn’t appreciate his weak attempt at humor. She gave him a not-so-nice look and said, “Suit yourself.”

Orin suddenly felt as if he’d been hit with a blast of cold air. He shrugged. At the moment Maureen Beckman was the last woman on his mind. Cathy was, and later he would talk to her to determine why she’d deliberately avoided him today.

* * *

When Cathy let herself in her hotel room later that evening she could think of a lot of names to describe Maureen Beckman and none of them were nice. Cathy refused to be paranoid but she was convinced Maureen had deliberately kept her downstairs in the basement and away from Orin.

Initially Maureen had told her she would only be needed for a couple of hours and she would be back to relieve her. When she didn’t show up, Cathy had no alternative but to stay. Otherwise she would have left the man working with her on his own. Neither of them had taken a lunch break and Cathy had worked with Orin long enough to know that broke not only company but federal laws as well.

She was tempted to walk across the hall to see if Orin was in. As much as she’d looked forward to seeing him, she hadn’t caught a glimpse of him all day and was somewhat disappointed that he hadn’t come to the basement looking for her. Evidently she’d put more stock in the personal hours they’d spent together last night than he did.

She went into the bedroom and began stripping off her clothes. She would soak in the tub filled with soap bubbles. After picking up boxes and handling all kinds of equipment she wasn’t familiar with she was not a happy camper. She had hoped that since last night had gone so well Orin would suggest they go out again tonight. Evidently, she thought, as she entered her bathroom, that wouldn’t be happening.