Page 39 of The Rival in South Africa
I stood up, smoothing my sundress down as he took two long strides and wrapped his arms around me. The hug was a good one, long and the kind that lets you breathe someone in and sink into the way they smell. Alex pulled back, only to kiss me. Any hesitation I felt melted away; Alex and I just had to get into a groove together, figure out how to make two very busy people have a working relationship.
“Thank you so much for bringing lunch. What a treat,” he said as we sat in the chairs in front of his desk. I opened up the containers of Thai food, and we tucked in. Alex explained some of the finer details of the project he was working on, and I told him about planning my upcoming trip to Sri Lanka.
“It’s a yoga retreat in the highlands. Apparently, there’s a chilly climate in the center of the island, and that’s where tea was grown back in the day.”
“So, you’ll be drinking tea and doing yoga?”
“And sightseeing.” For the first time, I felt a twinge of guilt. This was a lie by omission; I was leaving out that the retreat was arranging the trip for me.
“What kind of sightseeing?”
“There’s a popular train ride, some historic sights. Safaris are popular there, too, but I won’t be going on one.”
Alex swallowed his bite of pad Thai. “I better find some time in my schedule to see you before you go, I should think.”
“That would be nice, but don’t feel too bad about this past week. I’ve been busy too.” One of my pitches had responded positively, and I had nearly sealed the deal on a local event here in London. And I had organized my social media schedule for the next month. Plenty to be done.
“What have you been doing?” he asked.
That guilt hit me again. Alex was my boyfriend now, and he’d backed off a lot. Maybe we were both mature enough, or maybe being together for a whole week had soothed some need of Alex’s to compete with me. “Actually, I’ve been working on—”
Alex’s phone chirped. “Ah, shite. I’ve got my next meeting to go to.” He grimaced at me. “Sorry.” He stood up while shoveling another bite of noodles in. “Are you free on Friday? I can take the night off, but I will have to come into work on Saturday.”
“Friday is good.” At least with a freelance gig, I could work around Alex’s schedule.
Alex held out a hand to me, and I set my food on the desk before he pulled me up. “It’s a date, yes?” His arms slid around my waist and pulled me close to him.
“A date,” I confirmed.
Alex flashed me a smile before slanting his mouth to mine. I opened to him and pressed close when the heat started to build.
He pulled back slightly. “I did go shopping, briefly, since I had to run into the Tesco anyway.”
“Shopping?”
“Yes. I bought some condoms.” His hands slid down to my hips, pressing me more firmly against his erection.
I ran my fingers up Alex’s hair, and he groaned into the kiss.
“Alex!” Paige called out. “Your two p.m.!”
He sighed, pushing me away and adjusting himself. “Be right there.” He tilted my chin up for a quick kiss. “Talk soon?”
“Soon.”
SIXTEEN
Finally,finally! We were having a date night. My trip to Sri Lanka was an opportunity for Alex to work his adorable arse off, and he was using that to justify taking a night off work. We had reservations at one of my favorite restaurants, a French bistro out in my borough, and Alex was on his way to pick me up. The place wasn’t that fancy, but I was too excited and overdressed in a sleek black dress and ringlets in my hair.
I’d just finished putting on some lip shade when Alex knocked, fifteen minutes early. I flung open the door, gratified to see that Alex had dressed up too.
He looked me up and down, a slow smile spreading on his lips. He sighed as he stepped inside, and I closed the door behind him. He had a small black bag over one shoulder, which he swung down to the floor. “Nikki, you look fantastic.”
Alex stepped into me, sliding his hands around my waist and pulling me against him. His lips hovered over mine.
“Wait, I just put on lip…” I started. Alex paused. “You know what? Never mind, I don’t care.”
I pulled his head down to me, and we met in a hungry kiss. I leaned into him, and with a thump, Alex’s back hit the door. We took a deep inhale of each other, our bodies fully pressed together, and Alex’s hands started to wander. One tangled in my hair, the other found the hem of my dress and swept underneath it. He groaned when he found my bare ass cheek and traced up to the band of thong at my hip.
