The Billionaire's Impulsive Lover (The Sisterhood) (11 page)

The rain started as small little drops initially as they were making their way through a stretch of tree covered road through the foothills of Virginia. Mitch didn’t even need to turn on his windshield wipers it was so sporadic. But after several minutes of the large drops falling down, the skies let loose and a torrent of rain barraged the sports car. Mitch handled the winding roads with expert ease, but that still made for some difficult driving and poor visibility. By the time they reached the small town where the manager of the last Italian restaurant they’d visited had told them they might find Gary, the rain was almost a complete sheet of water coming down from the inky black night sky and they could barely see a few feet in front of the car even with the head lights on.

The restaurant appeared more quickly than she’d thought, probably due to Mitch and his ability to find things without a map or any other sort of instructions, only his mysterious sense of directions that landed him exactly where they were supposed to be. The lights were on and the building looked more enticing than the interior of the Jaguar, although getting there meant becoming drenched since the only way to the front porch of the restaurant was through the rain. Mitch reached behind him and grabbed his jacket, handing it to her. “Here, put this over your head and race to the porch. I’ll be right behind you.”

Claire was touched that he was giving her his jacket but she immediately shook her head. “You take the jacket and I’ll meet you there. It’s your coat, I’m not taking it from you in this kind of rain.”

“Yes you will. And run fast because if you don’t, I’ll have to carry you over those puddles and we both know what happens each time we touch one another.”

Claire nodded her head, her eyes wide with the undeniable accuracy of what he was saying. She turned to the door handle and at the same time, pulled the jacket up over her head and released the door. With a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and started racing up the short pathway and wooden stairs to the front porch of the quaint little restaurant. She was halfway there when she felt a strong arm circle around her back. Mitch was right there with her, practically lifting her the rest of the way as they both raced through the rain up to the shelter of the porch.

By the time they were under the roof, Claire was laughing at how ridiculous they must look. She pulled the jacket off her head, sure that she looked just as bad as her black suede pumps but she was laughing as she looked up at Mitch. With the water running off his hair and face, he looked even more handsome which was an astonishing feat since he was basically the cat’s meow during the worst of times.

Reaching up, she pushed his hair off his forehead, pushing as much water as she could along with the locks of wet hair. “Thank you,” she said, the smile still forming on her lips as she was warmed by the heat of his body so close to hers.

Her hand hesitated, unsure what to do now that she’d initiated that kind of intimate touch. But when she tried to pull her hand away, he stopped her, putting it on his shoulder and leaning down for a soft, sweet kiss that stole her breath away with its tenderness.

The door opened and the moment passed as the owner of the small restaurant greeted them with warm towels.

“Come on in, you two. It’s freezing out there now that the rain has started,” she said, wrapping her arms around her and shivering even as she gestured towards the warmth of the homey restaurant. “You’re out on a crazy night!” she gushed. “How about a warm cup of tea or a hot toddy to get your bones back in working order?”

Claire accepted the towel gratefully and stepped into the inviting warmth and light from the restaurant. The delicious scents wafting through the rooms was heavenly and she was thrilled when the manager handed them each a cup of warm tea.

“Thank you so much,” Claire replied, smiling gratefully as her hands wrapped around the flowered tea cup. Looking over at Mitch, she almost burst out laughing as she caught him grimacing at the flower covered cup, but he took the obligatory sip of tea before nodding his appreciation to the hostess.

“You both look famished,” the owner said, introducing herself as Linda. “I’ll get you both some more towels and then how about a table by the back window with some warm, delicious food to get you back to fighting strength? The rain will pass and the lights on the patio are pretty spectacular, in my opinion.”

Claire was too hungry and tired from their traversing from one place to another, not to mention the stress of being around Mitch for longer than five minutes which always took extra energy just to stay on the top of her game.

“That would be great,” Mitch answered for both of them. “Any chance we could get some breadsticks right off?” he asked. “The lady here is about to pass out from hunger.”

Claire wanted to glare up at him, but she simply didn’t have the energy. Instead, she leaned against him, showing her gratitude for his understanding of her physical state through actions instead of trying to come up with words. She felt even more relaxed when he put his arm around her. Not really holding her up, just touching her gently as if to reassure her that the day would end soon.

As they sat down at the table and Linda brought not only bread sticks but also a basket of different flavored muffins. Mitch immediately took a warm corn muffin and buttered it, handing it to her and pouring her a glass of red wine, which he’d also ordered while they were being seated.

“Did I push you too hard today?” he asked, noting the exhaustion on her features.

She took a sip of wine and shrugged. “You’re right. I need to find Gary and get things in order. If he isn’t the man I thought he was, which it seems as if I was completely off target, then it would be better if I ended it now instead of waiting for him to show up and end it himself.”

Mitch was doubly impressed that, not only was she willing to admit that she was wrong about a guy, but that she was willing to admit it to him, swallowing her pride and giving in to the inevitable. She could have remained stubborn and maintained that Gary was the man for her no matter what. He had to see how far she’d admitted things to herself though. Bringing up a touchy subject, he started out carefully. “Claire, have you thought that perhaps his disappearance meant that he was trying to end things with you and he was too much of a coward to tell you to your face?”

She immediately shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I know he lied to me about his profession and his living arrangements. But there was something about him that just struck me as good and kind. I think he’s a basically honest person,” she smiled at his cynical expression, “But something is wrong and I’d like to help him even though I don’t know where or how to do that for him right at the moment. I don’t know what it is, but I can just feel it.”

He raised one eyebrow. “From all the lies he told you, there’s just something about a word or two that struck you as honest and now you’re sacrificing our sex life to save him?”

“We don’t have a sex life…” she started to say.

He interrupted her, “Only because you’re stuck on Gary.”

“Because you just want casual sex.”

“There won’t be anything casual about the sex between us.”

“There won’t be any sex between us.”

“That’s what you keep saying but we both know it isn’t true. And each time we kiss, the inevitable will come sooner.”

“Then we’ll stop kissing,” she said.

He snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Let’s be real.”

“I am being real,” she countered, feeling rejuvenated now that she’d gotten a bit of wine into her system and some carbohydrates.

“Claire, I could carry you out to my car and have you there and we both know it.”

She blushed painfully but didn’t deny anything since he wouldn’t believe her. She wasn’t sure she’d believe her either at this point. “Why do our conversations always degenerate into a discussion about when we’re going to have sex?”

“Because you won’t give in and get it out of the way. It’s like the pink elephant in the room. It has to be discussed because you’re being so arbitrary.”

“I’m not being arbitrary,” she said with outrage. “You know nothing about the issue so don’t make assumptions about my motivations.”

As Claire ate the corn bread and sipped the wine, she could feel her insides getting warmer. She assured herself it had nothing to do with sitting across the table from Mitch in the candle light.

The waitress arrived to take their order and Claire selected a stuffed chicken dish with rice pilaf while Mitch decided on salmon. “What?” he asked as he looked away from the waiter to see her astonished expression.

“Why didn’t you order the steak?”

“Why would I?”

“Because you look like a steak and potatoes kind of guy.”

Mitch shook his head. “Steak is great, but fish has good proteins and healthier oils.”

“Are you a health nut?”

“Hell no,” he replied with force. “But I like to work out and it’s harder to do when the fuel in the body is doing the opposite of what it should do.”

“Steak is good protein,” she countered.

“Yes, but a good steak has a lot of fat and cholesterol.”

“Do you work out every day?”

“Almost.”

“And are you working out tomorrow?” she asked, fascinated despite her need to not learn more about this enigmatic man.

“Yes.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Not a ‘maybe’ or a ‘if I can find the time’ answer. That’s a definite.”

“Want to work out with me?” he suggested, leering at her with a suggestive glint in his hard, grey eyes.

She laughed and shook her head. “No way.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know you go for a run each evening and I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you.”

“I only run in the evenings to clear my head.”

She rolled her eyes at his explanation. “Mitch, you run for over an hour. And then you come back and swim. Are you telling me that’s just your relaxation technique?”

“Nope. That would be sex. With you of course.”

“There’s no of course about it, Kemusabe,” she countered, using the old American Indian name. “We’re not having sex.”

“That came out like a challenge.” He leaned forward. “Are you challenging me Claire?”

She took a deep breath and leaned back. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

She laughed at his satisfied expression. “Because men like you take on a challenge just like a bull to a red flag. Not going to happen, Big Guy.”

“Afraid I’ll win?”

“Of course.”

“Been a long time since you’ve had sex, huh?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her chintz covered chair. “You have no idea,” she replied, refusing to admit to him that she’d never actually had sex.

Their dinner came at that moment, relieving Claire from elaborating on that answer. But she should have known that Mitch wouldn’t let something like that go without more information.

“I thought you’d been dating your mystery man, Gary, for about two months.”

She took a bite of her chicken, savoring the amazing flavors of the rosemary which contrasted perfectly with the chevre cheese. “We had. What’s your point?”

He stopped and stared at her hard. “Are you telling me that you and Gary never had sex? In the entire two months of your relationship?”

She refused to look at him, but could feel the blush creeping up her neck and cheeks. “I told you. Gary was a gentleman and respected my wishes to wait until we knew each other better.”

“Claire, you’re traveling all over Virginia, hacking into company files that could land you in prison and spending who knows how much of your personal time tracking down a guy you haven’t even slept with?”

She sighed and looked out the windows but there wasn’t a whole lot to see since the rain was still pouring down. “Mitch, he didn’t push. Of course we….” She wasn’t sure how to explain her lack of a sex life to a man who personified sex.

“What Claire? Did you do everything but have sex?”

“No!” she gasped. “I mean…if what you’re asking is if we….”

Mitch sighed in frustration at her inability to speak openly about sexual acts. It was cute in a way, but since they were going to have a relationship, she would have to get over this shyness of hers. He wanted her open and free to ask for anything while in bed with him. “You can say it Claire. Oral sex. Is that what you and Gary did?”

Claire put her face in her hands and shook her head. “No. This is really none of your business, Mitch. Can we please change the subject?”

There was silence across the table and Claire sat uncomfortably for a long time, wishing she could simply disappear from this conversation. When she finally had the courage to look up, assuming to find derision on Mitch’s features, she was stunned to see that he looked as if he were proud of her. And was there a touch of possession in his gaze? She wasn’t sure, and quickly looked away, picking up her knife and fork even though she was no longer in the mood for dinner.