Page 63 of My Forbidden Boss
“Oh, did I do a good job, dear? I hope I answered all of your questions well enough… I was truly trying, I promise.”
I was too stricken to confidently throw out a rebuttal with confidence. “Uh… yeah, I think that’s a good start, don’t you? Look, we have all the time in the world… why not take a break for a bit?”
Her face was utterly unreadable. I felt like I was trying to stay afloat while simultaneously doing everything I could to not move a muscle.
“Agreed. You talked about your brothers, and I told you about my parents.”
Her voice dropped dramatically. “On next week’s episode, find out Trisha’s favorite color! Will Hollis divulge his first pet’s secret nickname?! Is Trisha just phishing for answers to password questions, so she can break into her boss’s firewall?!”
I chuckled, thanking the staff as they cleared the table.
They nodded, and one of them paused.
“Your deserts will follow promptly. Is there a request for drinks that we can prepare in the meantime? We can offer port, sauternes, coffee, espresso, or cappuccino…”
I turned to Trisha, placing my hand atop hers on the table between us. “Would you care for a coffee before we see which of the remaining wine bottles we want to go back and take another turn with?”
She smiled, staring back into my eyes, and not once shrinking from my touch.
I turned back to the gentleman. “Two coffees would be splendid… both with hazelnut liqueur if it’s not too much trouble.”
He nodded and retreated. I waited a moment, squinting into the clearing’s cool darkness.
When I did turn back to Tisha, she hadn’t budged a muscle. Silently, we shared the silence, bathing in the warmth building like a bonfire between us.
23. Tisha
Down to earth, sensitive, compassionate, vulnerable… Hollis had wholly taken me by surprise, unraveling every judgment and supposition I had previously branded him with.
It was the little things that got to me, catching my heartstrings and only making me want him to pull them harder.
“You’re warming to my presence, I think.”
I loosely blanked the feelings from my expression, hiding them away like a pile of lingerie kicked behind the bathroom door.
“Oh? You think so? Is that just because I’m letting you touch me?”
His smile intoxicated me more than all the wine we’d enjoyed the whole night. It was teasing, daring me to deny him. “Well… You haven’t stopped me. If there’s one thing you’ve taught me here tonight, it’s that nothing will stop you from doing whatever you’ve set your mind to.”
“Hmmm. And?”
His face was close to mine, his strong chin only inches from my nose. My chest was pounding, my breasts bounding with every breath. Again, he smiled, his eyes bold and openly inviting danger.
Hollis glanced away nonchalantly, giving his answer as cool as the chilled dessert tray being placed softly on the table between us.
“I wasn’t sure that you’d come around.”
A pause of silence swallowed the patio, striking me with the sound of my own heartbeat.
Hollis turned and intently brought his eyes directly down to mine. Our coffee appeared, and the staff disappeared back out of sight. The edges of our noses grazed as our lips danced within each other’s reach. My eyes instinctively fluttered, almost closing, as my neck tightened, fighting to curve back and bring me up into his embrace.
His voice rumbled over me, racking my bones and sending a seed of longing searching down the warmth of my body.
“ …But I’m glad that you did.”
He stayed there, staring straight into my soul, tearing me open from the inside and, with each pulse of mine, bringing me moments nearer to running my hands over him out of sheer desperation.
I whispered, barely trusting my own voice.