AN: As always…I do not own these characters. All rights go to E.L. James
"Betting It All On You"
Chapter 11
"She almost started to cry today while we were shopping." Suzanna Roach's voice lifted over the laughter bouncing off the glass walls separating their private dining room from the rest of the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.
"How can you call what you do shopping?" Ana protested.
"So, we found a nice quiet bar." Grace's eyes were dancing with mirth.
"We're calling her the one drink wonder," Suzanna said. "She's a lightweight."
Elizabeth Reynolds jumped in. "No."
"You have no idea how it is to keep these ladies happy," Ana protested, fluttering her hand in the direction of the wives.
"Oh, we know." Jerry Roach looked to the other husbands. They were all nodding.
Ana sat back with a defeated sigh as the waiter cleared her plate. Dinner had been a boisterous affair, driven by the wives' enthusiasm over the day's activities. She'd joined in when prompted, but for the most part she'd eaten in silence, her nerves on high alert.
Driven by a compulsion too strong to resist, her gaze sped down the table toward her boss. The sparks in his eyes reminded her of muzzle fire. He'd watched her all night, his intense scrutiny disturbing her equilibrium as effectively as if his hands were gliding along her skin.
Ana dropped her gaze to the elegant dessert the waiter placed before her. The dish was beautiful, but her stomach could no more handle the rich chocolate soufflé than the delicious sea bass in champagne brown butter broth she'd ordered.
Had he meant what she hoped when he'd pointed out that she'd freed up his nights and hers also? He'd gone all mysterious when she'd asked him to explain. She wasn't sure where they stood anymore.
Did he mean to spend the nights with her? In what capacity? As boss and employee? As lovers?
Anticipation shivered through her.
For two days she'd been longing to be in his arms again. Teasing Christian had been like playing with fire, but she wasn't worried about getting burned. Her boss had made it clear that while he might find her attractive, he intended to keep their relationship professional. Had that changed?
She had no idea how long she'd been lost in thought when the couples around her began to get up from the table. A warm hand grazed her shoulder. From the way her nerve endings perked up, she knew Christian stood behind her.
The room was clearing fast. Everyone was excited about the Cirque du Soleil show they were attending. Before she knew it, only she, Christian and his parents remained.
"Dad, you and Mom use our tickets for the show tonight."
Our tickets? Ana tipped her head back and stared at him in confusion. What did he mean?
"Are you sure?" his mother asked, her gaze bouncing from Christian to Ana.
"Absolutely." Christian slid his thumb along her nape. "I have some unfinished business I need to attend to."
Ana's stomach dipped and rolled at the subtext beneath his statement. Did his unfinished business involve her?
"Come, Ana. Let's get back to that matter we were discussing earlier."
Heat bloomed in her cheeks as she pushed back from the table. What had she gotten herself into? Did he really intend to work or was his mind occupied with the same carnal thoughts that had plagued her throughout dinner?
"What matter?" she muttered as they followed his parents out of the restaurant.
"The matter of your free time."
Well, that didn't tell her a damned thing. Dazed by the knowing glint in his eye, she gnawed her lower lip and joined his parents in the elevator.
While Grace exclaimed over the show they were about to see, Ana cast surreptitious glances at Christian's profile. The third time she looked his way, his eyes snagged hers. One dark eyebrow twitched, telling her he knew his ambiguous response was driving her crazy.
Ana shifted her attention to the wall beside him until the elevator doors opened. The heat of his hand on the small of her back further knotted her emotions and her pulse skittered like a nervous mouse as they bid the group of executives and wives goodbye and settled into a taxi for the ride back to the hotel.
She stared out the window at the millions of lights that set the strip ablaze and wondered what was going through his mind.
As the cab drew up to the hotel, she summoned the nerve to find out. "Do you really intend to work?"
The shadows inside the cab masked his expression. "No."
"Then what are we going to do?"
The taxi stopped beneath the hotel's canopy. Christian paid the driver and slid out. Ana took the hand he extended and let him pull her from the cab.
"I thought I'd leave that up to you."
She trembled at the husky rumble of his voice. Putting the ball in her court gave her control over what happened in the next few hours. She knew what she wanted. Another night of heaven in Christian's arms. Isn't it what she'd been lobbying for? He probably expected her to suggest they run up to the suite and hop into bed.
Not a bad idea, really.
"Why let me decide?"
"You said I'm too hung up on being in control so I'm handing you the power." He let go of her hand and slid his hands into his pockets. His watchful gaze sent shivers up her spine. "So, what's it going to be, Ana?"
Christian tensed as he awaited her answer. Around them, bellhops and hotel guests faded from his awareness. His entire being was focused on Ana and the parade of emotions across her beautiful face.
Eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks, she nibbled on her lower lip while a smile played with the corners of her mouth. Thousands of lights blazed above them, highlighting the bright spots of color in her cheeks. Her body language spoke of indecision. Now that he'd taken a step down that path, she was hesitating?
"Feel like taking my new car for a spin?"
From her tiny clutch she'd produced a set of keys. Christian stared at them without comprehension. While he'd been pondering the joys of taking her naked body for a spin, she'd had another sort of ride in mind.
"What new car?"
"The one I won earlier today."
Humor dimmed the roar of his libido. "You won a car?"
He shook his head. "Of course, you did. It seems you've come to Vegas to break the bank."
"Where else can a girl get lucky?" she quizzed, peering at him from beneath her lashes.
Christian let the double entendre pass by without comment. "Lead the way."
Half an hour later, they'd cleared the lights of Las Vegas and headed north and west into the mountains. Ana drove. She'd been surprised that he'd insisted she get behind the wheel and seeing his broad grin, she was pleased he had.
She'd hiked the hem of her snug dress to mid-thigh. Given that she'd bared more at the pool yesterday, he shouldn't be enjoying the view as much as he was. A couple of hair slips, scrounged from her purse, kept her hair from whipping in the wind, but a few tendrils had escaped her top knot and blew about her cheeks.
"You're looking pretty relaxed over there," she remarked.
"Any reason why I shouldn't be?"
"I'm doing a hundred and ten miles an hour."
He was unfazed by the dangerous speed. His only anxiety involved how much of the night this wild ride would eat up. He wanted to get her alone and naked as soon as possible to take advantage of the exhilaration that gripped her.
"Do you want me to slow down?"
"You're in charge tonight, remember? I'm at your mercy."
The wind snatched away the disparaging sound she made, but he had little trouble reading her skepticism in the fading light.
The sky had lost any tinge of red as they'd reached the outskirts of Las Vegas. Stars appeared as cobalt then became navy. Christian let his head fall backward and stared at the vast space that surrounded them. Leaving behind the frantic energy of Vegas was like stepping into a rain forest. Peace filled him.
A reduction in the car's vibration told him she'd eased off the accelerator. The world continued to streak by, but he could pick out a few more details in the shadowy landscape.
"Are you sure you don't want to drive?"
"Positive." He turned his head in her direction. "Except you're not looking at the scenery. You're staring at me."
"Exactly."
She returned her attention to the empty two lane road. "I don't get it." Her lopsided smile told a different story. She liked his attention.
"Don't get what?"
"Why'd you leave your dad in charge of entertaining the executives tonight?"
"Rather odd for a control freak like me, isn't it?"
"Are you planning on throwing that in my face all night?"
"I don't know. Are we going to spend the night together?"
"I hadn't given it much thought." Ana's breathless tone gave her away.
Christian grinned. "I have no plans in case you're wondering." He noted the time on the dashboard clock. Nine-thirty. They'd been driving an hour. "We can drive all night if that's what you want."
"But what do you want to do?"
"I'm not the one in charge of tonight's entertainment. You are."
The car slowed still more. "I don't like being in charge."
"Really? I'm enjoying it immensely."
The car stopped. Ana made a U-turn and began to head back to town. Christian hid his relief.
"Why?"
"Because role reversal is a good way to broaden your understanding of someone else."
"And that's what we're doing?" she prompted, her tone wry. "Broadening our understanding of each other?"
"You tell me. How does it feel to be in charge of all the decisions?"
"Exhausting. How do you do it all the time?"
He laughed. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. I don't make all the decisions all the time. Why do you think I gave you my house to decorate?"
"When did you become so enlightened?"
"Around the time you called me a tyrant, I think."
She shook her head. "I never called you a tyrant."
"You told me my demanding ways were responsible for the company's employee turnover. If that's true, I'm not acting like a good leader, am I? And that's what this week is all about…improving leadership skills."
"I forgot to ask you how it went today. Is your father behaving himself?"
Christian entertained Ana with stories of his father's preoccupation with his cell phone as they drove back to the hotel.
"I'm surprised," she said as the lights of Las Vegas drew closer. "He seemed very interested in your speech."
"When did you talk to him about that?"
"This morning as I was checking to make sure everything was ready to go."
Christian drummed his fingers on the car door. "What else did you talk about?"
She must have heard the tension in his voice because she grimaced. "Nothing about what he saw in your suite yesterday morning, if that's what you're worried about."
"I wasn't," he lied.
Conversation drifted into less complicated topics as she negotiated the strip and parked the car back at the hotel. He set his hand on the small of her back as he guided her across the concrete to the elevator that would return them to the hotel's lobby. From there they could head into the casino or back to his suite. He wondered which she'd choose.
"Winning the car was fun," Ana said as they stepped off the elevator and were met by the activity of a casino in full swing. "Problem is I don't know how to get it home."
Christian followed her as they headed toward the elevators that serviced the hotel's rooms. Tension leaked out of his body with each step. She was obviously not interested in gambling away the night. But was she up for anything else?
"Mia ships cars all the time," he said. "I'll give her a call in the morning and see if she has a carrier she can recommend."
"I never thought about shipping it home. I figured I'd either have to drive it back to Seattle or sell it before I left."
The elevator deposited them on their floor. Christian kept his hands to himself as they walked down the hall. He didn't trust himself to touch her. Plus, he'd put her in charge of tonight's entertainment. She was in control.
"Why would you sell it?"
"I've never owned anything so impractical before."
"Maybe it's time that changed."
They stopped beside the door to her hotel room. Ana regarded him with open curiosity, waiting to see what he'd do. Christian surveyed the pliant curves of her mouth.
"Good night, Ana," he said, squashing his satisfaction at her disappointed expression. Whether they spent the night together was her decision to make. He bent down and brushed his lips across her cheek, lingering to enjoy her tantalizing fragrance. "Sweet dreams."
With her disappointment in Christian's chaste kiss thundering through her body. Ana watched him disappear into his hotel suite, leaving her abandoned in the empty hall. Heat blasted her cheeks. Her hands trembled so badly she had trouble fitting the keycard into the slot. She stumbled through the door when it opened, scarcely supported by knees turned to warm jelly. The bed looked like a safe place to rest until the whirling in her head slowed. Instead, she walked to the door that connected her room to Christian's.
When she pulled it open, she found him waiting for her. Before she completed her sigh of relief, he'd caught her up in his arms and strode toward the bedroom.
"Hey," she protested. "I thought I was in charge of tonight's activities."
"As soon as I get you naked I'm at your command."
Christian dispatched her dress with more urgency than finesse. She wasn't wearing stockings, but he made quick work of her bra and panties.
"Beautiful," he murmured, his lips drifting down her neck. He lowered her to the bed, ignoring his earlier promise to let her be in charge.
Ana didn't care. She tugged his coat off his broad shoulders and somehow worked all his shirt buttons free.
"Help me," she demanded as her fingers fumbled with his belt.
Brushing her hands aside, he rolled off the bed and shed the rest of his clothes. Gloriously naked and aroused, he returned to her.
"Fast or slow?" he queried, his tongue dipping into her navel.
Ana's hips bucked off the mattress as his fingers glided up her thigh. "Yes."
He chuckled. "It can't be both. That was an either or question."
"Shut up and kiss me."
"That I can do."
And to her delight he did.
Long, slow and deep. Tender and adoring. By the time Christian settled between her thighs, his kisses and caresses had touched every inch of her skin.
"I could get used to this," she sighed as his erection nudged her entrance. She clutched his shoulders as he flexed his hips and drove home.
He framed her face with his hands and smiled. "Get used to what?"
As he began to move, Ana arched her back to take him deeper, the sense of fulfillment touching every cell in her body. She belonged to him and he belonged to her. They were a match. No wonder she'd lasted longer than any other assistant he'd had. She understood him like no one ever had before.
She could get used to having his arms around her every day. Get used to arguing with him as often as they made love. Get used to being the woman he came home to every day.
"I could get used to telling you what to do."
