Emerald Eyes (33 page)

“Whoa, what’s this?” he looks at me, surprised.
 

“Lunch time. Time to keep you full and happy, I cleared your schedule for forty minutes.”
 

I settle down on the chocolate brown leather couch and slowly cross my legs. Eric’s eyes follow my legs movement and without breaking his gaze from them he speaks, “I thought we were going to try that new Japanese place.”

“If we would, I wouldn’t be able to give you your reward.”
 

Eric’s eyes snap up to mine. The wicked gleam in them heats my blood. I feel my body purr with anticipation.

“I like the sound of that.”
 

“I thought you would. Come on, let’s eat before it cools down.”
 

Eric reaches me with two long, elegant strides and settles down beside me. He pulls me over his lap and I put my arms around his neck. I look at this man that takes my breath away. This man that I love, and bask in his warmth, in the way he’s looking at me, like there is only me, like nothing else matters. Just us. I touch my lips to his and kiss him softly.
 

“Time to eat.” I whisper against his sinful lips.
 

“Good. I’m starving… for you.” Eric clamps his teeth on my lower lip and bites down lightly, sending goose bumps all over my body.

“There will be time for that, but you’ve got four meetings today and I want you full and focused.”
 

He groans, “Fine. But you’re feeding me.”

“That was my intention all along.” I wink.

After feeding Eric his lunch piece by piece, licking extra sauce of the corner of his mouth and enjoying him returning the gesture, I’m ready to reward him. I take a final sip from my glass and place it on the coffee table. I rise off of Eric’s lap and lock the door.

“Press the blue button on my desk.” he husks.
 

I walk to his massive dark desk and press ‘Mute’ on his desk phone, then the blue button. I glance up, finding the glass wall and door now frosted and opaque.
 

“Wow, that’s a neat trick. How come you’ve never used it before?” I walk towards him achingly slow.

“I have the sexiest view, why would I want to hide it?” Eric’s voice trails off as I reach him.

My knee settles on the couch between his legs and I lean forward, steadying myself with my hands on his shoulders. Eric’s warm hand lifts to caress my cheek then curls behind my neck, pulling me to him. Our mouths collide and we kiss wildly, nipping and sucking, our tongues teasing one another. His free hand glides up the inside of my thigh and I moan helplessly when he reaches my drenched panties and moves them to the side.

“Ah fuck,” he growls and begins to stroke me roughly.
 

My hips undulate in needy motions, begging for more. More touch, more kisses, more of him. I whimper at my desperate hunger for him and as if he senses it, Eric slips two fingers inside me. I gasp and lower my hand down his body. His chest is radiating heat into my palm, rising and falling with the urgent breaths he takes. I reach his abs then guide my hand lower until I fumble with the zipper of his pants as I shamelessly ride his fingers. I manage to pull the zipper down and reach for him. I find him hot, hard and ready. My fingertips tease him, root to tip until he jerks beneath me.
 

“I need… inside you.” Eric gasps into my mouth.
 

He removes his hand from my nape and lifts my dress up. I straddle him but the moment he removes his fingers, a knock sounds on his door, stopping us. I pull back, my eyes wide and I feel my face heating up. Eric’s hand grips my hip tightly and he closes his eyes. He rests his head back, taking deep calming breathes.
 

“One moment.” He calls out to the knocker.
 

I try to rise but Eric’s grip on my hip pins me down. His eyes open slowly and I see in them that the fire hasn’t vanished but subsided. He leans closer to me, bringing his lips to my ear.

“I’ll have to take a rain check on that reward.” He whispers.
 

Eric lifts the fingers that were inside me into his mouth. He sucks on them slowly then slides them out, smirking. “Thank you for lunch, it was finger-licking good.”

I bite down on my lower lip to subdue the bubbling laughter that is threatening to escape.

Good God, I love him.
 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I whisper.
 

Eric helps me up and arranges himself while I fix my panties and pull my dress down. We both inhale deeply at the same time then laugh quietly. I run my fingers through my hair, making sure every strand is in its place while Eric moves behind me, his hot breath fans across my ear.
 

“I’ll take that reward tonight, so be prepared.” His voice holds so much promise, that I shiver against him.
 

He places a soft kiss on the sensitive spot below my ear and urges me forward to open the door.
 

Stumbling, I try to regain my composure. Eric can really bring me to my knees. I glance at him and when I see him taking out a small sanitizer bottle and squirting some on his hands, I head to the door. The man standing before me with a sly smile is no other than Patrick Green.

Taken by surprise, I stammer with my words. “H – hi, Patrick, I mean, Mr. Green. Please, enter.”

I move back, allowing Patrick to walk in. I turn around and look at Eric. His business as usual façade is back and if I weren’t looking for it, I would’ve missed the slight pressure in his closed jaw.

“Patrick, I’m not expecting you for another three months or so. Is everything all right?” Eric asks while shaking Patrick’s hand.

Good thinking with that sanitizer.

“Everything is great. Father sends his regards. I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I’m in New York for the week and I was thinking about taking you and Miss Slav out to lunch, but I see you beat me to it.”
 

I follow Patrick’s eyes and find the coffee table covered with the now empty boxes and dirty utensils.
 

“I’ll take care of that.” I mutter quickly, moving to clean up the mess.
 

“I’m sorry, Patrick. I’m pretty swamped with meetings right now. Let’s catch up later this week.” Eric’s tone sounds nonchalant, but I know that deep inside he’s not happy about Patrick’s interruption. I gather all the empty boxes and with an unused napkin, wipe the glass table clean. I exit the room and throw out the garbage. When I come back, the glass door is clear again so I look through it, finding Eric sitting behind his desk, in conversation with Patrick, who’s still standing. Trying to push away the naughty feeling of almost getting caught, I look over at my screen and pull up Eric’s schedule.
 

He’s got an appointment with Mrs. Stein in five minutes.

In the meantime, I type a list of assignment for myself for the upcoming week.
I’m going to be busy running around.
 

The glass door opens and Patrick saunters in. My eyes flash to Eric for a moment then back to Patrick, but it takes me just that split second to see Eric’s pissed off expression.

“You never called me back.” Patrick tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes at me.
Not a question.

“I know, I’m sorry. I don’t believe in long-distant relationships. I – “

“We could have made it work, Katherine. I
am
able to hop on a plane and come see you at anytime you would have desired.” Patrick says softly.

That would have been a nice idea if I hadn’t had Eric. But I do, so it makes no sense to me to talk about this.
 

“Patrick, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I have a boyfriend.” I smile apologetically.
 

Patrick’s brown eyes harden and his eyebrows pull down. “Is it Eric?”
 

I raise my chin slightly, “It is.”
 

His lips form a sneer and he scoffs. “Figures. I saw it when we were in Miami, the way he looked at you. I just never thought you’d go for someone like
that.
” He shakes his head and backs away from my desk.
 

Patrick lowers his eyes and takes a deep breath then he looks up at me.
 

“Good luck, Katherine. You’ll need it.” and with those words hanging between us, Patrick walks out of the room.
 

My eyes are still strained on the door Patrick closed behind himself when I hear Eric’s voice.

“What was that all about?” Eric’s words have an edge of irritation.
 

What
was
that all about? What did Patrick mean, someone like
that
? And why would I need luck? What did Patrick know that I didn’t? Is Eric hiding something from me?

With my eyes still on the door I answer, “He just wanted a date. I told him I have a boyfriend.” My voice comes out guarded.
 

“Are you ok?” he asks concerned.

When my eyes leave the door and settle on him, I catch a flashing red light go off on my desk phone in my peripheral vision, letting me know the next appointment has arrived.
 

“Mrs. Stein is here.” I lift the receiver to give Rose the green light to let the woman into Eric’s office.
 

Eric frowns at me. “We’re not done.” He simply says and walks back into his office.

As I watch Eric greet the woman in the sharp Prada suit and the short black hair, I think about what he just told me.
‘We’re not done.’
Did he mean it in a sense of our unfinished conversation or did it have an underlining meaning to it? Is there any truth behind Patrick’s words? With a troubled mind and an uneasy feeling in my heart, I go back to work.

Finishing my last paperwork, I exhale slowly and look at the time, seven thirty eight p.m.

It’s the latest that I’ve stayed at work. I glance through the glass wall, watching Eric deep in conversation with his before last meeting. His last one is over dinner at Sushi Yasuda. I made sure to reserve him a quiet corner. I’m not quite sure if he wants me to join him, but I’m hoping he wouldn’t. Exhaustion doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel now. A throbbing pain is pulsating through my temples and my shoulders are in need of a hardcore massage.
 

I pick up the receiver and press the button for Eric’s office. I lean back into my chair and look at him through the glass wall. Eric glances at his desk phone and then his determined turquoise eyes shift to mine. He says something to the man sitting in front of him and reaches for the phone.

“Yes?” Eric’s commanding voice vibrates through the receiver and into my ear.
 

“I’m sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to let you know that I’m done for today, so I’ll be heading home.”
 

Eric’s eyes lift from the desk and find mine again, this time with an almost unnoticeable frown.

“I have another meeting tonight.”

“I know, but if you don’t need me to go with you, I’d like to go home, I’m beat.”

I see him leaning back into his leather chair while the sound of him inhaling resonates deeply in my ear. “I see… that’s not a problem.”

It’s not a problem; I can go? Or it’s not a problem; even though I’m exhausted, I should stay?

“So, I can go?”
 

“Correct.”

I smile, “Thank you. Good night, Eric.”

“Good night.”

We hang up and he returns to his conversation with his client. I open my purse and hold the small box in my hand. This is the real reward I wanted to give him. Maybe it’s too soon to give. I put the box back into my purse and head out to the elevators. While I wait, Patrick’s words come back to me. What he said still bothers me. Should I ask Eric about it? Should I just ignore it and let it slide? Should I’ve given him his reward? Maybe I should stay? I press the call button again and massage my temples with my fingertips.
 

God, my head is pounding… too many fucking questions.

The cheery, ‘Ding’ announces the arrival of the elevator.

“Katherine, wait!” Eric’s voice echoes in the hallway.
 

I turn to my left and confused, I watch him close the distance between us with long, graceful strides.

My eyes move behind him, “What about, Mr. Bushfield?”
 

“I told him I needed to relieve myself.”

I arch an eyebrow and snicker, “You didn’t.”

“I did.” Eric stalks closer to me, making me back up until I’m pressed against the wall. His hands lift to the sides of my shoulders, caging me.

“What’s wrong, kitten?” he whispers.

I hear the elevator doors close and the silent, ‘Whoosh’ of the car descending.
   

“Nothing. I’m just not feeling too hot.” I avert my eyes from his intense gaze.
 

“Are you sure? Because you look so hot right now, you might just melt me.” he teases.

I scoff and wince as a sharp pain moves behind my eyes.
 

“I just got a headache, Eric… nothings is wrong.” I look up and reassure him.

Now it not the time or place to ask about what Patrick said, and maybe I shouldn’t even say anything.

Eric’s hand leaves the wall and cups my cheek. His thumb brushes gently over my skin.
 
“Are you good to drive? Or you want me to call you a cab?”
 

I shake my head, “No, I can drive.”

“I’ll call you later. Go rest.” Eric commands then swoops down and presses his soft lips to mine so gently, like he doesn’t want to cause me any more pain.

“Ok.” I murmur.
 

Eric backs away to press the call button again. I gaze up at his breathtaking profile, feeling so smitten. The way he just kissed me, with so much tenderness is melting my heart, who thought this mysterious man could be so compassionate?
 

God, I’m so in-love with him. The intensity of my feeling for him is scaring me yet thrilling me at the same time. It’s like my brain is fearful of the strong emotions but my heart is welcoming them with closed eyes and open arms.