Chapter 19

It was only two days before Mark planned to fly us to Guatemala. The pace at the office was hectic. I had typed until my fingers were numb and Mark's temper was out of control.

"You know damn good and well I don't use my middle initial in my signature," he yelled at me, slamming the letters I'd just typed down on his desk violently. "Do them over!"

"If you don't like the way I do things why don't you let Melissa come in and work for you?" I yelled back.

"She'd have been in tears by now," he admitted with an amused smile.

I straightened up in the chair beside his desk, crossing my legs in my skirt. "Afraid you might tarnish your shining armor?"

"There isn't much of that happening with you, is there, Jaime? You know just about everything there I to know about me; my faults, my habits."

"Do I really know you at all, Mark?" I wondered out loud. "Sometimes you seem very much a stranger off the street."

"Like that day in the gazebo?" he asked watching me.

"I don't know what you want from me anymore." I admitted sadly.

He got up and moved in front of me, leaning down to catch my chin in his big hand and lifted my face up to his gaze. "You're very young, Jaime."

"Oh, yes, compared to you, I'm a mere child." I replied.

"My little kitten. Would you hiss and claw if I made love to you, Jaime or would you purr?"

"Neither!" I said, trying to act disgusted.

"You don't think I could teach you how to purr? Your mouth was wild under mine that day. I can still taste it, even now."

" I - I didn't know what I was doing." I replied embarrassed by the memories of that day.

"Neither did I. I touched you and every sane thought went out of my head. All I wanted to do was make love to you until I stopped aching."

I caught my breath, meeting his eyes. His gaze green as ever and full of hunger. I could tell that he wanted me, but was that enough?

"Doesn't Melissa make you ache?" I asked.

"Not that way."

"You can always find a woman, Mark." I choked out dropping my gaze to my lap, trying to fight back tears.

"Not one like you, honey. Or are you going to try to convince me that you've ever let another man touch you way I did?"

My eyes moved to his tie, remembering the way his hands felt that day. I still dreamt about it at night, amongst the nightmares of his and Melissa's wedding day.

"You were scared, because it was the first time. But if I'd insisted on making love to you, you wouldn't have stopped me. We both know that."

I'd never been vulnerable with any man before but I was to him. I sought refuge for my fears in my temper.

"You flatter yourself, don't you? Maybe I was experimenting, Mark, did you think about that? What makes you think I don't feel exactly that way with other men?"

"What other men? Glen?"

I tore my eyes away and stared at my pad. There was suppressed fury in his voice and I knew better than to deliberately taunt him. If he touched me, I'd go crazy. I wouldn't be able to hold back. I'd probably let him take me and my innocence right here in the middle of the office.

"We'd better get this work out of the way. How about the supplies we never received from Georgia? Check with the office there and find out if it got shipped. "

"Yes, sir. Anything else?"

"Yes. Send a dozen red roses to Melissa at the house."

That hit me like a ton of bricks, but I tried not to even flinch. "One dozen, I'll call the florist right away. What would you like the card to say?"

"Have them put, 'Thanks for last night and sign it Mark'. Got that?"

"Got it. Anything else?"

"No."

I went out of his office and closed the door quietly behind me. Tears were swelling in my eyes by the time I got back to my desk.