Dream Nights With the CEO (8 page)

Chapter Seven

Wyatt was tired of working.

He frowned as the unusual thought filtered through his sleep-fogged mind. He’d been holed up in Bethany’s sitting room going through some reports from his two other B&Bs when exhaustion finally caught up with him. After last night’s work frenzy with Megan it was no surprise that he was dragging this afternoon.

So he’d kicked back in the recliner and shut his eyes for a minute. Apparently, he’d sunk immediately into a dreamless sleep because…hell, it was nearly dinnertime. He needed to get moving. He wasn’t close to done on those spreadsheets, and he’d had an idea about the linen.

He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to pull back the threads of his brilliant linen idea. Nothing. Just the pervasive thought that he was tired of working.

He and Megan had been hitting it pretty hard lately. Travel always did that to him. Without his regular schedule at home, he ended up working non-stop. Talk about unhealthy. It was time they did something completely relaxing.

He glanced out the window to the glorious expanse of St. Louis in a stunning panoramic display. Then he realized with a start that he wasn’t looking through a window but a windowed door that led out to a catwalk. Amazing. He had no idea how stable the walkway was, but it was certainly a selling point. If he set up a bridal suite on the opposite side with a private balcony…

He winced. Work, work, work. When had he gotten so one-sided? He was about to spend a night with a beautiful woman. What was wrong with him that he imagined it would be spent on marketing ideas and construction costs?

No. Just…no. Tonight he was going to see if he could do something extremely rare for him. He was going to relax with a beautiful woman. The problem was, all the women he’d ever dated had ended up calling him cold. One had even said, “a dead fish has more emotions than you.” By the time he’d met Megan, he’d given up on women completely. Besides, building his business had consumed him.

But suddenly, he was going to try again. At least in a small way. A night off with Megan. He could do that right?

…

“You want to do what?”

Wyatt felt the strain in his smile. “I thought we’d go out tonight. To a nice restaurant. Maybe a movie if you like, or…I don’t know. It’s St. Louis. Have you ever been to the arch?”

“Yeah. A couple times, first with my family, later with friends. It was fun.” She said it in a tone that meant she’d suffer through the usual tourist things if he wanted to. Not the response he’d been hoping for.

“Well, there’s all sorts of antiquing here. And I know you like beading, right?” He gestured to a lovely piece that peeked out between the collar of her blouse and dripped down into her cleavage. She always wore something like that, made by her own hand. He only caught glimpses because she buttoned her blouses over most of it, leaving a quiet hint of color and style. Passion, he thought, carefully tucked away. “Bethany said there were some craft stores nearby, but she didn’t know if they were any good.”

Megan frowned slightly. “She’s the owner here. She ought to know that type of stuff.”

“Um, right. So I thought we could go there, see if anything struck your fancy. Wander through—”

“Oh! You mean check out the local color. Figure out what the tone of the town is. See how we can capitalize on—”

“Er, no.” He took a deep breath. “Megan, brace yourself.”

She blinked and nodded at him, her expression very serious.

“We’re taking tonight off.”

“What?”

Wow, that cut. Her look of dumbfounded shock was rather alarming. Was he really such a workaholic? He didn’t have to think hard for the answer. He supposed he was. And as his assistant, she was too.

“We work too much,” he said firmly. “That’s not healthy.”

“But—”

“And so we’re going to do something fun. Something you enjoy. So pick it and we’ll go do it.”

She pursed her lips and studied him. He almost checked his clothing to make sure he was fully dressed. But then she tilted her head. “But what do you like doing? If I get to go to a beading store, then you get something fun, too.”

He frowned. “I like to work out.”

“No, you don’t,” she shot back. “I remember when your father had his coronary bypass. You didn’t start working out until then because you’re just terrified of ending up like your father. You won’t, by the way.”

He winced. She was right. He worked out to keep fit, not because he enjoyed it. “There’s nothing wrong with staying healthy.”

Her lips quirked into a…oh my, an
appreciative
female smile. “By all means, stay healthy. I enjoy the eye candy every day I come to work. But that’s not exactly fun. Not a
craft
store
kind of fun.”

He didn’t know how to respond. The idea that she thought he was eye candy completely short-circuited his brain.

“Oh hell,” she said, as her skin flushed pink. “I’m sorry, Wyatt. I shouldn’t have said—”

“No, no! God, don’t stop! My ego loves it.”

She laughed. “Well, that’s just what you need. More
ego
.”

He shrugged, feeling more awkward than he’d ever been as a teen. Sure, he knew he was
smart
but that was a hell of a lot different than
eye candy
.

Her laughter shifted into a low, musical chuckle that seemed to drop into his spine and reverberate straight into a very unprofessional part of his anatomy. What he wouldn’t give to be lip to lip with her now, capturing her laughter with his mouth while—lower down—he embedded himself deep inside her. Hell. She was his assistant, for God’s sake, and he was in trouble.

“So, did you want to go to the craft store?”

She rocked back on her heels, her eyes dancing. “Where are we going to go that’s fun for you?”

He grimaced, unwilling to admit the truth of his real hobby. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“I wasn’t until I realized you’re hiding something.” She leaned forward, her eyes waggling. “Come on, Wyatt, what is it going to be? Porn shop? Strip club?”

“I liked it better when you called me ‘sir.’”

“Too bad, so sad. You’re Wyatt now—by your own insistence, I might add.”

God, he’d been an idiot. There had been flashes of camaraderie between them before. Hundreds of instances where she floated a tease, and he poked right back at her. But now for the first time, she was being openly playful, and he loved it! He’d had trouble resisting her before, when she was all “yes, sir” and “no, sir.” Tonight’s sleeping arrangements loomed large in his mind.

He abruptly sobered, realizing that half his brain had traveled straight south, and he was struggling to hold onto the other half. “Megan,” he said softly. “Are you okay with this? Are you okay with us being…friends?”

She blinked, and her expression softened. Not in the way of a woman yielding, but in the way of a long time friend struggling to hold off hysterical laughter. “Wyatt, we’ve been friends for years now. I’ve taken care of your dry cleaning, helped you bus tables and fix plumbing at the other hotels. You’ve even force fed me chicken soup when I had that miserable cold last year.”

He blinked. “But you kept calling me ‘sir’ the whole time. And besides, you were practically hallucinating. I didn’t think you remembered.”

She tilted her head. “I don’t forget things like that.”

Like what?
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask, but this whole conversation made him uncomfortable. Over the past few years, she’d become an integral part of his business. He knew how rare good assistants were. And good partners. Last night’s work frenzy would be impossible with anyone else. Not to mention how much of his multi-million dollar corporation would fall apart if she left her job for whatever reason.

He couldn’t risk screwing that up. Office romances never worked, and there was too much at stake for him to give in to his lust for her. No one screwed the golden goose, and he’d be damned if he did it. The fact that he’d been having erotic dreams about her was a flaw in his character that would never, ever be revealed. It was a bleed-through to the personal side of life that he couldn’t afford to let go any further. Sadly, the logical side of his brain was fast losing ground to the lustful, lonely side of him. God, what he wouldn’t give to have her in his bed for real!

He didn’t know what to do about that. So rather than face it, he ran directly to the lesser of his secrets. “A comic book store,” he said. “I’d, um, love to check out…” He felt his face heat.

She smiled. “You got it. Give me a moment, and I’ll find directions to them both.”

He nodded, grateful to her for shifting into the logistical details. “And a restaurant too. A nice one. My treat.”

“Damn straight it is,” she said as she grinned at him. “On my off days, the gentleman always pays.”

…

Megan was in beading heaven. Bins and bins of gorgeous beads. The possibilities were endless. Usually, she’d be wrist deep and all but quivering with the project possibilities.

Instead, at least half her attention was on her boss. They’d gone to the comic book shop first because that was the way the logistics worked best. And wasn’t that adorable that he thought she didn’t know he read comics? Please. Like she hadn’t seen the issues tucked away in his briefcase. There were always at least three in there, and once she’d caught sight of a couple graphic novels as well.

So he was a superhero fan. Who wasn’t? And now he was plopped in a chair with the latest issue of
Thor
open on his lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him chuckle and his large hands stretch slightly on the issue before settling back into a more relaxed position. His shoulders, his face, even the way he sat in the too tiny chair seemed to settle more deeply into the world. Just like a kid in his favorite place, doing his favorite thing.

She smiled, her heart twisting inside her. No wonder she was dreaming about him. No wonder he appeared as a superhero in her thoughts. No wonder he…

Wait.
What?

Holy crap. She’d been dreaming about Wyatt.

All those amazing erotic dreams with her own mysterious superhero—those had been about Wyatt. Wyatt with his sculpted torso, his ripped abs, and…and about fifteen inches more in height. She glanced back at the man in the chair. He wasn’t short by any means. But her dream superhero was close to seven feet tall. That’s why she hadn’t recognized him before. Apparently, her subconscious wanted him taller. But that was ridiculous. He was stunningly gorgeous just the way he was. Broad and solid, the Hulk without being too big or too green.

He was her superhero, and she’d been… Oh God, they’d done such things in her dreams! And even more afterward when she built on her fantasies during her awake time. Oh, hell…

The realization made her hands shake and her knees go weak. Sure, she knew she was attracted to Wyatt. Had been since the first day. But she’d always managed to keep him firmly locked away in either the “boss” or the “friend” category. But her dream superhero had snuck in through her subconscious. She had real sexual, womanly feelings for the man. And now with the two of them merged into one person, she couldn’t keep her feelings tightly locked down anymore.

Then to make things even worse, he chose that moment to look up at her. She watched his eyes widen and his head tilt in an unspoken question. She knew exactly what he was thinking:
Are you all right? Anything I can do to help?

She shook her head, the answer to both questions at once. He quietly folded his comic and sat still, his gaze on her. Lord, that just made everything worse. He was looking at her. He was waiting patiently to help her. All that broad body, muscular thighs, and big hands were waiting to serve her. That’s what they’d done in her dreams. That’s what part of her was suddenly lusting for with a strength that stunned her.

Holy crap, what was she going to do? Office relationships never worked. She’d seen some of her friends go through them, and they always ended badly.

Megan loved her job. She’d just committed to three more years with Wyatt. She couldn’t screw that up now. She had career goals that would get completely derailed if she messed with this.

Wyatt set aside his comic and came to her side. Now suddenly, she was hyper-aware of his scent. She didn’t even know what deodorant he used, but it smelled lovely and was him through and through. Hard.
Manly
.

“Aren’t you finding anything?” he asked. His voice rumbled through her, settling low in her belly. Big man, big voice, big—

“No, no! Uh, I mean, yes, I am. Lots of great stuff here. Let me just go buy this—” She dumped some random beads in her tray. “Then we can get going.”

He looked at her, a question in his eyes, but he didn’t push. Thank heaven. She didn’t think she could string together a coherent excuse for her babbling.

“No rush,” he said. “Take your time.”

A year wouldn’t be enough time for her to process this disaster, but she’d take what she could get. “Five minutes,” she mumbled.

His long fingers dropped lightly on her shoulder. The flash of recognition sizzled through her entire body. That’s what she’d felt in her dream. Big hands on the joystick. Strong hands right before they’d…

Oh no.

“Are you sure you’re okay? We’ve been pushing it really hard. If you just want to go back and crash, that’s okay with me.”

Crash. Like on a bed. With him right beside her? It didn’t matter that he planned to sleep in the recliner. Her libido had them wrapped together on that luscious king-sized bed.

“No, no!” she squeaked. “I mean, I’m doing great. Hungry. Just, um, hungry. Very hungry.”
For him. No—don’t think that!
“Let me go buy this and then we’ll eat. I’m really—”

“Hungry. Yeah, I got that part.” His tone was teasing, but there was still that underlying question. What was up with her?

What was she going to do? She’d only just gotten to the point where she could tease him without him stiffening up. It wasn’t that he was a cold person. Far from it. Just that with his brain in work mode, they acted in a certain manner. The ebb and flow of business ideas was well established and very familiar. Anything outside of that easy pattern seemed to jolt him, and she immediately rushed to put them on a professional footing again.