Eden's Pleasure (Pulse Book 1) Page 6

  She checked her watch. “No, I haven’t had time.” Then she realized it was already after two. “I’ll grab a sandwich on the way back to the office. It was nice seeing you again. Goodbye.”

  His hand clasped onto her elbow, drawing her eyes to the sight of his huge hand holding her. “Have lunch with me?”

  “Thanks, but really I can’t. I have so much to do.” She pulled from his grip, but held her stance.

  “We can go down stairs to the coffee shop for a quick bite. You have to eat, and I don’t like to eat alone.” He smiled at her, his beautiful eyes searching for an answer.

  She rubbed her hand over her forehead and contemplated. How can I resist that face? she asked herself. “Ok, a quick bite. I really shouldn’t, but you’re right. I am hungry. I didn’t realize it.”

  “Good.” He shrugged on his jacket, then headed toward the door where she stood waiting. He slipped his hand to the small of her back. The sensation of his hot hand though her clothing was savory as he led her down the hallway to the elevator. He pushed the button and turned to the receptionist.

  “I’m going to the coffee shop for lunch, Jessica. I shouldn’t be too long, direct my calls to Abby.” He smiled, and she nodded her head as she typed away on the computer keyboard.

  They sat at a booth near the window at street level so they could watch the rush of people coming and going. He loved to watch people as much as she did. He put down the tray containing their sandwiches and drinks then slid into the booth opposite her.

  “I wish we could have gone somewhere nicer for a real lunch,” he said as he tore open his ham and cheese sandwich, taking a large bite from it.

  “This is ok. I can slum it if you can.” She laughed. “Really, I like it here. I can people watch, and the sandwiches, as it turns out, are actually pretty good.” Eden loved tuna on rye, and this place used lots of mayo, just the way she liked.

  They watched every possible fashion as it passed the window, remarking on the oddities and strange clothing choices. They acted like they were top designers in the industry, laughing at themselves for being so rude. She shared her morning events that led to her terrible mood and how Paul could turn her into a total shrew in a matter of seconds. Her mood had completely lifted, thanks to Chase. She felt so much better for having taken the time to have lunch with him.

  “I want to ask you something,” he said, wiping mustard from his mouth with a napkin and straightening himself in his seat.

  She took a sip of water and pushed the remainder of her sandwich aside. “Sure, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get the answer you want,” she warned, waiting for his question with a sharp-witted look on her face.

  “I have a charity auction to attend this Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton at Boston Common. Would you be interested in attending it with me?”

  “No, thank you.” Eden smiled when Chase’s happy face disappeared, replaced by the look of defeat. It was her turn to enjoy his misery. Deciding to give him a break she explained, “I will be in attendance, I’m a contributor. So I will more than likely see you there, Mr. Dean.”

  He smiled, shaking his head with a conquered look. Eden stood and slung her purse over her shoulder, feeling very much like a victorious, terrible bitch, her heart racing at the thought of seeing him in a tuxedo.

  “Thanks for lunch.”

  “You’re welcome. Next time, we’ll go somewhere nice,” he said, putting his hand to her back and moving in the direction of the street exit.

  “You’re very confident that there will be a next time,” she replied, smiling and biting at her lip, knowing that he couldn’t see her face with her back turned to him.

  Chase smiled and watched as she walked away into the crowd out of his sight, before heading back into the building. It was going to be a challenge taming her as his own. It was going to take plenty of time and patience, and he looked forward to the conquest with great anticipation.

  ***

  The Ritz-Carlton ballroom was fresh and modern, with floor to ceiling windows at the far end of the room overlooking Boston Common Park. The silver leaf ceilings made it modern with silk wall coverings and special effect lighting, making it warm and inviting.

  The auction was staged in such a way that the items surrounded the outer walls for a closer look by the potential winners. A tall skinny guard, that could be knocked over with the slightest gust of wind, hovered in the doorway making it seem more like Christie’s of London, causing her to laugh. The auctioneer podium stood in front of the windows, blocking the spectacular view of the park, with seats facing it.

  It was Eden’s first time as a contributor. She had dabbled in oil paints, and her paintings were well received by local art galleries. Eden felt strongly about the piece she had selected for the auction. A young female figure sitting propped on one extended arm on a cold stone floor with a sheer sheet at her knees. Her back was bared to the audience, her hair in a loose braid draped over her front held in her other hand, the slightest show of a breast peeking just from below her curled arm. It was classic art, and she was very proud of it.

  The painting was eliciting a good amount of attention, but she stayed to the opposite side of the room, not daring to hear people’s comments in case of any negativity. She couldn’t have handled that.

  Eden’s eyes searched the crowd but she saw no signs of Chase. She felt a tug of disappointment since she had hoped to see him. She knew that he was just a fantasy in an impossible world, but he certainly was nice to watch. In fact, he was a perfect piece of eye candy. How rude is that? She laughed inside.

  She took her seat at the front of the room, keeping the audience behind her. As the auction started, she listened to the auctioneer’s ramble as one by one, the items sold for extraordinary amounts of money. Finally her painting was brought to the front of the room, and a gentleman placed it on an elegant brass easel for all to see. Eden crossed her fingers hoping that someone would take pity and buy it, even to hide it in an old attic.

  The bidding started at five hundred dollars making Eden stare at the auctioneer like his head was about to fall off. Far too high, she thought. The first bid came in and Eden felt her heart leap, thanking God that someone had bid, just as another bidder put up his or her paddle. Then the war of the half-naked- painting started to Eden’s delight. She wanted to turn in her chair and see who was bidding on her painting but she didn’t dare, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She recalled signing the painting simply Nede so that it remained somewhat anonymous.

  The gavel finally crashed down on the podium, and the crowd cheered. “Sold to Paddle number six two six for Twenty thousand dollars,” the auctioneer called out.

  Eden caught her breath and smiled boldly. She felt so proud of herself sitting happily awaiting the auction’s end. The night had gone well. She stood, ready to leave for her job was done. She had helped raise a great deal of money for breast cancer research, and felt very satisfied. Her painting had not raised anywhere close to the other item’s huge amounts, but it did better than she had ever imagined.

  A deep, low voice startled her, “I take it by that smile your contribution did well?”

  Eden smiled up at Chase, thrilled at the sight of his presence. “Yes, as a matter of fact, it did very well. Thank you.”

  He looked even sexier than she could have envisioned in his jet black Armani Tuxedo. His eyes seemed even brighter emerald.

  “Can I buy you a drink in celebration, Miss Fox?” He held his elbow out to her, and she took it gladly. He escorted her to a small bar at the far end of the room.

  The bartender placed two paper napkins on the bar and looked at the pair waiting. “Two dirty martinis? Or would you prefer wine instead?” Chase asked and they shared a secret glance.

  “A dirty martini would be nice, thank you.”

  Chase paid for their drinks and handed her a glass, escorting her to the seats at the windows.

  “I didn’t see you before the auction started. You were late,” Eden com
mented.

  “You looked for me?” he asked with an amused smile, and she blushed.

  She sipped her drink. “Only because you said you would be here,” she said, looking out the window, slightly embarrassed by his reaction.

  “I came in as the auction started, but I was here earlier in the day to view the goods,” he replied.

  Taking an olive from his drink, he popped it into his mouth and hummed with satisfaction. “So which item did you have on auction?”

  “Oh, I’m afraid that that has to remain a secret. I prefer to remain an anonymous benefactor.” She grinned wickedly, and Chase gave her a look of inquisition.

  “Did you come away a winner, Mr. Dean?” Eden asked.

  “I did, but I’m afraid that I can’t convey to you the item won, as I wish to remain an anonymous beneficiary.” He tipped his glass, finishing the contents and popped the last olive into his mouth with a snicker. This tit for tat banter had a sexy aura about it. They shared a liking for it. And it worked well raising the temperature level between them to a near scorching degree.

  The pair roared with laughter, drawing a few stares from the crowd.

  “Walk with me? I need some fresh air,” Chase asked, offering his open hand to Eden who gladly placed her hand in his. The pair strolled outside into the night’s crisp air.

  “Are you cold?” he asked her, removing his jacket and draping it over her shoulders. Eden could smell his cologne, and drew in his scent. They strolled along without words to the edge of the park.

  “Eden?” Chase stopped walking, and turned to view her face to face. “I’d like to take you out sometime, maybe dinner and a show or…”

  Eden raised her hand to stop him. “Stop please. Chase, we can’t date.”

  His eyes had a fire in them; a dangerous alluring heat that made her knees want to buckle beneath her. “I’ll warn you now, Miss Fox, that I can be a very persuasive man. You will reconsider, and give in to me.” It took all the power of her being to pull it together.

  Chase hauled her into his arms devouring her lips. Prodding his tongue between her lips, he took in the taste of her. The moan that she released into his mouth resonated in is head. He felt his cock grow hard and pushed his hips forward against her belly, making her aware of her effect on him.

  Eden was well aware of his arousal as her panties became damp in response. She wanted nothing more than to have him buried to the balls inside her wet opening. But this couldn’t happen, she had to gain control.

  “I don’t think so.” She pushed away. Removed his jacket from her shoulders and held it out to him waiting until he took it. He draped it across his arm tucking his hands into his pockets.

  “Thank you for the drink and conversation. I enjoyed myself. Good night.”

  She turned on her heels and sped back into the hotel to the front doors, handing her valet ticket to a young man so he could retrieve her car. She stood staring straight ahead in fear of turning to see Chase watching from a near distance. Her 1969 blue Ford Mustang rolled to a stop and she climbed inside. Putting it in gear, she started pulling away. Taking a glance over to see Chase standing next to the valet, her heart sank sadly.

  I’m always running away, when will I ever stop running?

  ***

  Chase watched as she ran away into the hotel, he followed her, hoping she would turn around and throw herself into his arms, proclaiming that she made a terrible mistake. He was acting like a teenage boy with a raging hard-on. This deeply disturbed him. But this woman was so different from any he’d met before. She made him want to be a better, softer person. He actually yearned for something romantic. His usual, rough, tough exterior was being crushed by this tiny imp.

  As he waited for his car to arrive, he saw her driving away. Their eyes met in her mirror, and he surmised that she was going to be his. He knew that she wanted more than a working relationship. She hid behind a rule meant to be broken, and he was going to be the one to break it.

  Eden loved the Farmer’s Market, but rarely got the chance to shop there. She took great delight in watching the hustle of vendors and shoppers haggling over prices. She had never haggled due to the thought of the farmers working so hard in the fields from morning to night, so it made her happy to pay them what they asked.

  The crowd was larger than she noted in her past experiences. She enjoyed the noise, the smells, the vibrant colors of the fruit and vegetables. The clothing hung, waving in the breeze to entice sales, reminded her of the flags on the tall ships in the harbor.

  Juggling her packages to a more comfortable position, she decided that she had purchased more than enough and needed to make her way home. It was getting late, and she had work to do before settling down for the night.

  Walking through the crowd turned out to be more challenging than she had anticipated. Being bumped and shoved from every direction was like salmon swimming upstream against the current.

  An opening in the crush gave her the opportunity to look off into the distance to seek out her destination. The sight she saw stopped her heart, as well as her feet, dead in her tracks, and a rush of nausea made her head spin. She apologized to the few disgruntled folks that slammed into her back, pushing past with protests and spewing obscenities. She closed her eyes tight and willed her vision to be making a terrible, terrible mistake.

  Opening her eyes slowly, she blinked several times. He was gone. Her eyes moved rapidly, scanning the distance for any signs of him, and her breathing returned, but her chest felt tight and ached.

  Run you fool, run!

  Eden ran the entire way back to her apartment. She tossed her packages and keys onto the counter, then quickly locked the door making sure it was secure. She pushed her back against it and held her eyes tightly shut. Holding her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming out loud, she shook uncontrollably.

  The phone started to ring. She trembled at the thought of picking it up and hearing his voice pour out angry vulgar words in her ear. She listened as it rang and rang, but she could not bring herself to touch it. As the answering machine clicked to life, she sat beside it, staring with her hand ready to hit the off button so she would not be subjected to his humiliating words. She was so glad now that she chose to use the old relic.

  “The party you are calling is unavailable at this time. Please leave a message,” the computer generated voice demanded.

  “Miss Fox? Sorry I keep missing you today. It’s Jessica, calling on behalf of Mr. Dean. He will be unable to make the meeting tomorrow due to a family emergency. He apologizes and will reschedule when he can. Thank you and have a nice evening.”

  Eden sat, throwing her head back against the cushioned headrest with relief. Her mind was playing an extremely nasty trick on her. It couldn’t have been him. He’d never find me here. She shook her head, flustered with herself for behaving like a fool.

  Pushing the button on the machine to repeat the message from Jessica, she listened, wondering what kind of a family emergency it could be. She decided to get her mind on her work, distracting herself from the images in the farmer’s market and images of Chase that took over her mind far too often these days.

  She worked into the wee hours before finally giving in to sheer exhaustion, easing into bed and pulling her blankets up around her neck. She laid awake, alert to every sound for most of the night, scared to close her eyes in fear of his evil face coming to her dreams, like so many times before.

  ***

  It had been over three weeks since she had seen Chase, each scheduled meeting being put off without explanation. Time schedules and deadlines moved farther and farther into the distance, causing valuable time to be lost and costs to increase in his absence.

  They say it takes twenty-eight days to sober up, and then your craving would be conquered. Yet after all this time, her cravings only increased and an insatiable thirst for all things Chase was taking over her every thought.

  Hitting the intercom button, Eden asked her secretary, Amanda, to conta
ct Jessica for her. She had been waiting a few minutes when a buzz alerted her that the call was waiting.

  “Hi Jessica, this is Eden Fox. I need to talk to Chase, if possible. There are issues that need his immediate attention.”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Fox, but with the passing of his father, I’m not sure when he will be returning calls,” she explained.

  Eden’s heart sank as she took in Jessica’s words. “Chase’s father died? When?” Eden asked, sounding a bit more shocked than she had intended.

  There was a short silence before Jessica spoke. “On the twenty second. I sent an email Miss Fox.”

  Eden looked at the calendar. “Nearly a week ago? When are the services, Jessica?”

  She scribbled down the information on a notepad and ended the call, thanking her before disconnecting and opening her laptop to power it up.

  “Amanda, will you clear my calendar for tomorrow? I have a funeral to attend.” She released the intercom button and searched her computer for the email Jessica had sent out.

  There it was. How had she not noticed it? She was so self-involved these days that she had totally skipped it over somehow. She felt terrible. Chase had lost his dad, and she hadn’t known a thing. Some friend she was. He’d hate her for this, for neglecting him when he needed friends the most.

  From: Dean Construction Enterprises

  To: Miss Eden Fox

  CC: McLean & Associates

  Subject: Mr. Andrew Dean

  Miss Fox,

  This email is to inform you of the passing of Mr. Andrew Dean September 22nd, 2012.

  Services to be held September 28th, 2012 at 2pm.

  Boston Funeral Home

  1649 Briggs Street

  Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

  The family requests donations to a charity in lieu of flowers.