Chapter 2
Shay couldn’t help
feeling nervous and guilty as Lucas led her into the ballroom at The Carolinian
Hotel. Augustan Technologies was holding
another party to celebrate the construction of the new headquarters that would
begin next week. She should be elated
that Lucas had requested that she be his date.
Hadn’t she just spent the last two weeks longing for him to return to
her? Hadn’t she instinctively chosen his
comfort over Jonathan’s after the fiasco at Tempest?
But that didn’t
mean that she didn’t feel like shit about how she had treated Jonathan. He had kept his distance for the past two
days. She hadn’t heard a word from him
since that night. She had considered
calling him to apologize, but she was too much of a coward. Although she should be blissfully happy to be
on Lucas’ arm tonight, she couldn’t help thinking of her time with
Jonathan. He had been so sweet to her,
had never caused her pain as Lucas had.
Her rational mind told her that she had made the wrong choice; she had
rejected the nice guy. But her
irrational gut told her that she hadn’t really had a choice. Even when she had been with Jonathan, Lucas
had never left her thoughts, her heart.
Even now, her body was telling her that she had chosen well. Her skin tingled where Lucas’ hand touched
her bare arm, making it difficult to keep her focus on her tangled thoughts.
She was going to
have to force herself to focus, to gather her courage. Jonathan would certainly be here tonight, and
she had to be ready to face him. Would
the passion between them still be there, tempting her? She would prefer that he was angry at her,
pushing her away rather than having to face the prospect of harboring lingering
feelings for him.
“Are you
alright? You seem tense.” Her attention turned to Lucas as he spoke to
her softly, concern lacing his tone. She
was caught up in his sincere green gaze.
She didn’t want to lie to him, but the last thing she wanted was to tell
him about her feelings towards Jonathan.
Not when she had just won him back.
“I’m just a bit
nervous,” she hedged. There, that would
have to do. She had learned better than
to lie to Lucas; he could always tell when she was lying to him. He frowned down at her, sensing her
reticence, but mercifully he said nothing, allowing her to guard her secret.
After a moment,
his frown gave way to a small smile. “Come
on,” he said. “Let’s go do a bit of
networking.” His eyes darkened with
lust. “The sooner we get this over with
the sooner we can get to… other things.”
He rubbed the pad of his thumb against her skin, and she shivered
slightly at the contact. “You look
beautiful tonight, Shay.”
She dropped her
eyes, blushing. “Thank you,” she
murmured. It still amazed her that he
thought of her in that way. Just a few
weeks ago, she would have considered him way out of league, but for some reason
he was just as drawn to her as she was to him.
And she wasn’t about to question it lest she jeopardize it.
She allowed Lucas
to steer her towards a knot of sharply dressed men and women, straightening her
shoulders and preparing to enter the fray.
She knew she was doing well, and it didn’t hurt that Lucas kept turning
the conversation in her direction. Doors
were definitely being opened for her tonight, and she was thrilled at the
prospect of further advancing her career through managing to snag this
contract. She was confidently asserting
herself, and the men and women around her were listening attentively. But then her throat seized up, cutting off
her speech; Jonathan had just entered the room.
“Shay?” Lucas
asked, prompting her to rejoin the conversation. But she couldn’t. Not now that guilt and dread were pooling in
her belly. She glanced toward him, her
eyes apologetic.
“I’m sorry,” she
said. “Please excuse me.” Lucas’ expression tightened ever so slightly,
and she was such a coward that she could no longer bear to meet his eyes. She turned on her heel and separated herself
from the group, barely noticing the rumble of conversation that resumed behind
her.
Her first instinct
was to run; she wasn’t ready to face Jonathan.
But he was blocking the elevators, so there was no escape that way. She could go out on the balcony, but she
would only be trapped there.
Stop being ridiculous! What was she going to do, hide out there
for the rest of the evening? Steeling
herself, she began to walk toward him.
But then his eyes swept the room, stopping when they landed on her. She froze, all of her forced confidence
leaving her. She couldn’t do this,
couldn’t face him. But she was trapped
in his unreadable blue gaze, unable to move away as he approached her. He stopped just short of entering her
personal space, and she was grateful for that.
The last thing she wanted was to piss Lucas off by seeming to flirt with
Jonathan. It was time for her to set things
right, to apologize. No matter how
awkward it would be.
But doing so was
going to be even more difficult than she had anticipated. She couldn’t help the little tremor that ran
through her as she gazed up at him.
Anger filled her as she recognized it as desire. Why did her body have to betray her? Why had she let herself get into this mess in
the first place?
“Hello, Shay,” he
said softly. His voice seemed to caress
her name, and heat flared in her loins.
“Jonathan,” she
said quickly, wanting to get this over with and escape from him. “I’m sorry-”
He held up a hand,
stopping her. “You don’t have to
apologize, Shay. I never should have put
you in that situation.” Shay’s jaw
dropped. Now he was apologizing to her? God, could the guy be any nicer? It only made her feel shittier for rejecting
him.
“I’m perfectly
happy to resume our professional relationship,” he continued. “We are going to be working together for some
time, and I wouldn’t want you to feel at all uncomfortable.” His expression was earnest, his eyes
sincere. Shay could hardly believe it.
“Thank you,” she
whispered. “I’d like that.”
“Have a drink with
me?” He asked.
“Sure,” she
said. It would be beyond rude to decline
after how courteous he had just been.
Jonathan flagged down a waitress and handed Shay a glass of champagne.
“To a fresh start,”
he toasted her. She clinked her glass
against his politely. She tipped her
head back, taking a longer draw of the drink than was strictly necessary. The bubbles fizzed pleasantly down her
throat, this particular vintage sweeter than she was accustomed to.
“Shall we rejoin
the group?” He asked.
Shay nodded and
was relieved when he let her walk on her own rather than taking her by the arm. But her stomach dropped when she saw the
tightness of Lucas’ expression as they approached together: the lines around
his eyes and the thinness of his mouth.
She avoided his gaze as they joined the circle of people, but she couldn’t
ignore the uncomfortable tension that seemed to trap her between the two
Dominant men on either side of her.
Trying to fight her anxiety, she gulped down her champagne much faster
than was wise. In minutes, her glass was
empty, and a woman came to take it from her.
She offered Shay another drink, but she declined; she was already
feeling lightheaded.
The conversation
seemed to be getting away from her.
Caught in the palpable tension rolling off of Jonathan and Lucas, she
couldn’t seem to focus on anything. She was
getting warm, but not in a good way. A
light sheen of sweat broke out on her brow as her anxiety rose. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She was so hot; she needed air. Excusing herself from the group, she made her
way out to the balcony.
She gave a sigh of relief as she breathed in the fresh air, but the
balmy breeze wasn’t enough to cool her heated skin. She was starting to feel dizzy, her anxiety
getting the better of her. Within
moments, her back was against the wall as she sought its support, the rough bricks
lightly scraping her skin. Closing her
eyes, she drew in several deep breaths, trying to stop the spinning in her
head.
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