Owen woke up first, blinking a few times to try and get his bearings. He tightened his arms realizing they were wrapped around Claire. He smiled, feeling content and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.
Claire shifted in his arms and his hands slid further down her hips. Owen's eyes shot open when he realized she was naked. They both were. Visions of the night flooded his mind and he held her a little closer.
Rolling so she was facing him, Claire blinked a few times before opening her eyes, her gaze locking with Owen's. He laid, frozen, remembering he took her to bed after she'd been drinking. He wasn't quite sure of what her reaction would be. "Mmm." Claire hummed, slipping her arms around Owen, her leg hitching over his hip. "Good morning."
The sound of her voice sent Owen spiraling out of control. She remembered what happened and she was still showing interest. Dropping his head, he kissed her lightly on the lips. "Morning," He hummed back, allowing his hand to drop from her hip to cup her ass. "How are you feeling?" He asked, wondering what kind of hangover she was greeted with.
"Umm…" Claire hesitated, rolling her hips against his. "A little sore, but well worth it."
For the first time in his life, Owen was stuttering. "I— You?— I mean—" Before he could complete a proper sentence, Claire rolled over him, her lips moving across his chest. "Back for more?" Owen growled. flipping them over so he was hovering over her.
The way they moved together, this time with Claire more sober, let her know this was for real. He satisfied her more than any other man she'd ever been with. He marveled over every inch of her body, making her feel beautiful. No one ever looked at her the way Owen was.
The two of them laid together, limbs tangled as they caught their breath. Owen was just about to fall back asleep when Claire's alarm echoed through the room. "Turn that shit off." He complained.
"Sorry," Claire chuckled, sliding over him to turn it off. "I do have to work today, and so do you."
Owen suddenly remembered they had lives outside of the paradise they created in Claire's bed. He pouted as Claire climbed over him to get out of bed. "Sorry," She giggled, kissing him quickly and slipping out of bed before he could pull her back in.
"What time do you have to be in?" Owen wondered, glancing over at her clock.
"Seven." She said as she made her way to the closet.
"It's five!" Owen complained, twisting on his side to watch her naked body walk across the room.
Claire rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him. "Does sex give you amnesia?" She asked with a soft giggle. "I'm going for a run."
"Really?" Owen raised an eyebrow in question as he sat up in bed. "I didn't tire you out enough?"
Claire turned to wink at him before she opened her closet. "You've got to work harder than that to get me to miss my morning run, Mr. Grady."
Owen tossed the blankets off of him before he stood up. "Challenge accepted, Ms. Dearing. Tonight, Same place, same time. I'll get you to sleep in tomorrow."
"I'll hold you to that." She said, accepting his offer.
Owen watched her closely as she dressed, he appreciated the fact that she didn't disappear to change. "You coming?" She asked, adjusting her shirt.
"I have nothing to run in." He pointed out, gesturing towards his clothes spread out across her room.
"You're room in just downstairs." She reminded him.
"Fine." Owen huffed and pulled on his clothes from last night.
They weren't alone in the elevator on the way down to the lobby, the merchandise manager joing them from the floor below. Claire and Owen stood as far apart as they could, Claire making herself busy on her phone as always. The moment the elevator doors opened, Claire made her way to the main doors while the manager turned the opposite way to his car. Owen stepped out, walking towards his room.
It was only a few minutes later when Owen met Claire outside, his arms immediately wrapping around her, his lips at her ear. "Can't we just go back to bed? I have plenty of cardio activities we could do that's more fun than this." He said, reaching out and tugging on her tank. "It's going to be really hard for me to allow you to be dressed around me."
Claire turned towards him, raising an eyebrow. "Your room is closer." She suggested as she made her way back into the resort.
"Damn, where the hell have you been my whole life." He mumbled as he hurried after her.
XXX
"Good morning, Zara," Claire smiled as she walked by her. She placed one of the cups of coffee in her hands, down in the desk in front of her.
Zara looked down at the cup and back up at her boss. "What's this?" She asked, an eyebrow raising in question.
Claire shrugged and took a sip of hers.
"Oh my God…" Zara hissed, jumping to her feet. "You had sex!"
"What?" Claire shrieked, moving to enter her office, Zara following close behind and shut the door.
"You did! You're glowing! I haven't seen you like this since…" Zara trailed off watching Claire closely. "Actually, you've never looked this happy, or should I say satisfied."
"Zara!" Claire hissed, and raised her cup of coffee to her face to try and cover her smirk.
Zara folded her arms against her chest as she watched Claire. "It wasn't Andrew."
Claire shook her head.
"You slept with Owen!"
Claire leaped towards her assistant, raising her hand to cover her mouth. "And that doesn't get repeated. Right?"
Zara laughed under Claire's hand. "You may want to stiffen up a little then. You weren't even this happy when you were with Andrew."
Claire cleared her throat, standing up straight and squaring her shoulders.
"Yeah," Zara rolled her eyes. "That works."
Shaking her head, Claire huffed. "Everything will be fine. I'll be fine."
"Ok," Zara scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that." She said and turned to exit Claire's office, pausing at the door to add, "Oh, Simon left you a message this morning." She smirked back at Claire. "He wants a meeting with Hoskins, Barry and Owen before he leaves this afternoon."
Claire swallowed hard, doing her best to keep professional. "That's fine. Check my calendar for today and fit it in."
"Sure." Zara said with a smirk playing at the corner of her lips.
"Stop looking at me like that!" Claire snapped.
Zara turned quickly to hide her snicker and went back to her desk.
Taking a few moments to shove the thoughts of last night (and this morning) to the back of her head, Claire stepped out of her office, refusing to look at Zara as she made her way to the control room.
"How's it look?" Claire asked, stepping between Vivian and Lowery.
"Everything is on schedule." Vivian informed her as she drummed her fingers across her keyboard, checking each attraction to make sure they were set for opening.
"Great," Claire said, smiling down at Vivian. "Thanks."
Doubling back at Claire, Lowery stared up at her, his mouth open in shock. It was rare, if not ever that Claire thanked them.
Clearing her throat, Claire squared her shoulders and looked over the monitors. She could feel Lowery still starring at her and she glanced at his station briefly before doubling back, her eyes narrowing. "Every day you have more toys on your station. You're not a child."
Lowery smiled as she looked over his growing collection of dinosaurs. "My new hobby." He explained. "It's fun to collect them."
"Whatever." Claire huffed with a roll of her eyes and turned to walk away. She made her way back to her office to prepare for her surprise meeting.
XXX
Owen practically skipped into the lab and clapped Barry on the back. "How are the girls?"
"Restless." Barry answered with a tired sigh. He patted Owen on the shoulder as he turned to leave. "Have fun moving them to the nursery."
Owen waved goodbye to Barry and turned towards the raptors with a smile. "Moving day girls!"
"Not so fast." Hoskins said, coming up behind Owen.
"What do you mean? They're ready." Owen raised an eyebrow as he turned to face Hoskins.
"Yeah, I know, but Simon wants an update on the program and he wasn't the facility checked before we move the raptors." Hoskins informed Owen.
Owen groaned and slumped down in his chair. "I hate meetings." He mumbled.
"Oh, perk up. That redhead is going to be there. At least she's something to look at."
At the mention of Claire, Owen sat up straight. That was a meeting he could attend. Though if she knew about it, why didn't she give him a heads up?
Andrew silently stepped up to the incubator to check over the raptors, his back towards Owen.
"Hey," Owen greeted him, unable to hide his chipper tone.
Andrew ignored Owen as he worked and turned to leave before Owen could say anything else. This had Owen smiling. Whether the cold shoulder was because Claire had finally talked to him, or because he saw him and Claire leave together last night, he didn't care. Andrew was finally getting the hint.
It wasn't until after lunch did the meeting start. Owen had sent Claire a few texts, but she never answered him. He decided to head up to her floor a little early to try and see what was going on.
Seeing her door closed, Owen sat down in a chair just outside of her door.
"Hey," Zara smiled as she approached her desk, a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. "Claire is in with Mr. Masrani right now." She said and glanced at her computer before turning back to Owen. "You're meeting doesn't start for fifteen minutes."
"I know, but Hoskins was drilling me on what not to say. Just wanted to get away." Owen covered.
Zara raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. "So you decided to hide out outside of Ms. Dearing's office?"
Owen narrowed his eyes as he watch her smirk grow. They fell silent as they studied each other. Zara wanting to thank Owen for the relaxed version of Claire today, but knowing that would be inappropriate, she kept her mouth shut. Owen realized she knew something and he sat back as he wondered if her and Claire had a closer friendship than he thought and if so, what did she say to Zara?
Claire's office door opening made him jump to his feet, pulling a snicker from Zara.
"Oh, Mr. Grady." Simon greeted him and turned back towards Claire who was frozen in shock. "I hear great things from your work so far from Claire. I look forward to hearing some of your reports." He said, gesturing down to hall towards the meeting room.
"Yes, Sir." Owen responded, his military background showing through.
Owen waited until Simon disappeared down the hall towards his office before turning to see Claire still standing in her doorway. "Had some extra time, so I figured I'd be early for this meeting." He said with a smile.
"There's a first for everything." Claire said, returning his smile before looking down to check her watch and turned to go back into her office. "I just have to grab my notes and your reports." She called over her shoulder.
Owen took a step into her office, but she was quicker than he wanted, collecting her briefcase and meeting him back at the door. Claire slid out the door beside him, her back sweeping across his front and she could hear his breath hitch.
"Zara." Claire said, and her assistant jumped to her feet, a notebook in hand as she followed Claire to the conference room.
Owen was a beat behind them, still stunned that she brushed up against him.
Stepping into the conference room, Owen froze, his gaze landing on Andrew who didn't bother to hold back the eye-roll when he saw Owen enter. Quickly taking note that Andrew's seat was directly to the right of where Claire placed her briefcase, the seat to her left occupied by Simon.
Claire met Owen's eyes as he took a seat across from her at the table. She glanced at Andrew from the corner of her eye before looking back at Owen. He could clearly see she was uncomfortable.
"Hey," Barry mumbled as he slipped into the seat beside Owen, pulling him from his focus on Andrew who had leaned into Claire, both of them in a deep conversation over whatever paperwork was in front of her.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Owen asked, his eyes staying focused across the table.
"Hoskins wouldn't stop calling. He said this was a meeting for all of us." Barry grumbled just as Hoskins walked in, shaking Simon, Claire, and Andrew's hand before taking a seat on Owen's other side.
Clearing her throat, Claire rose to her feet. "Thank you guys for coming and on such short notice," her eyes locked with Owen, an apology to him that she couldn't warn him. "Mr. Masrani is only on the island for the day and he would like to hear from you on the progress of the raptor project. But before I hand the floor over to him, I'd like to touch upon the paddock the raptors will be moving to." Claire flipped through the papers in front of her and glanced at a page before looking up at Owen. "Mr. Grady, your reports state that the raptors are ready for the nursery."
Owen nodded, slightly amused that she was able to act so professional. He wanted to toy with her, but he knew she'd probably never speak to him again.
Claire threw him a satisfied smile and turned towards Andrew. "Dr. Carter, I see the raptors are healthy and physically ready to move from the incubator."
Andrew nodded. "Delta has made a full recovery from her illness and the other three are perfectly healthy."
"That's great." Claire said and moved her focus to Hoskins. "Do you have the security reports from the paddock? I don't seem to have that on file."
Hoskins leaned forward, elbows on the table. "I have it. The paddock is up to code and ready for the raptors."
Claire could see Simon shift beside her and she knew exactly what he was thinking, but she spoke before he could. "If I don't have the paperwork, I can't authorize the transfer. The raptors are a major liability and I need the security clearance on the paddock."
"I said I have it." Hoskins said, his palms coming down hard on the table.
Simon sat forward, a move he usually made before he would step in. Most men, like Hoskins have tried to overpower Claire during a meeting. They would until Claire quickly put them in their place. Simon always let Claire carry her own when it came to situations like this, but he always sat ready to jump in if needed.
Claire held her hand out towards Hoskins, palm facing up. "May I have them?"
Hoskins rolled his eyes and gestured towards the empty table in front of him. "Well I don't have it know."
Huffing, Claire placed her palms on the table in front of her and leaned her weight on her arms as she stared across the table at him. "Then I am denying the transfer." She said, reaching back for the packet and sliding it across the table towards Hoskins.
"Oh, come on! Just sign it! I'll bring the damn paperwork over right after."
"No. You get my signature when I have all documents in hand."
Hoskins rose to his feet, his attention turning towards Simon who also stood up. "Mr. Masrani—"
"Get the paperwork to my Operations Manager. She signs that approval and one of your men get injured, or one of those raptors escapes it falls back on Ms. Dearing. She's following all the protocols and I suggest you do the same." Simon informed him.
"I would also like to see the paddock myself to determine if it's ready." Claire added.
"I'm leaving this afternoon." Hoskins said, sitting back down.
"That's fine. I don't need you there. One of your men just needs to be there."
"I'll do it." Andrew chimed in, a little too quickly.
Claire turned to him, throwing him a look. "You are just the vet, Dr. Carter. I need an InGen employee to be there since it's their program."
Owen smiled the moment Andrew's eyes fell on him, locking eyes with the doctor, Owen raised his hand. "I'll do it."
"Very, well." Simon smiled and sat back down. "Any other concerns, Ms. Dearing?"
Claire shook her head and sat down as Simon began speaking. Andrew reached his arm across the back of Claire's chair, and she stayed perched at the edge of her seat, her eyes locked with Owen's, a soft smile on her face.
Once the meeting ended, everyone went their own way, leaving Claire and Owen alone in the conference room.
"So," Owen smiled, reaching out for her hips, pulling her against him. "Looks like we get to go play at the raptor paddock."
Claire chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "While that sounds fun, there are too many workers there. So sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not going to happen." She said and turned to leave, but Owen pulled back towards him.
"Hey, quick question." He said softly, reaching out to cup her cheek.
Claire raised an eyebrow in question.
"Have you talking to Andrew about… us?"
"No, why would I do that? Was I supposed to ask his permission to sleep with you?" Claire snapped, backing away from him.
"What?" Owen gasped, reacting as if he was just slapped. "No! Of course you don't, but he thinks he's going to get back together with you and I don't like the way he's… I don't like the way he is with you."
Claire folded her arms against her chest. "Jealousy is a real ugly color on you, Owen."
"I'm not jealous!" Owen scoffed. "Just don't want to be stuck in this triangle anymore. The man suspects something because he's been giving me the cold shoulder all day."
Claire shrugged, unfazed. "So let him assume whatever he wants. My private life is just that. Private. He's an ex. I have no reason to talk to him if it doesn't involve work."
Owen sighed, realizing she was right, but it still didn't help him at all. He reached out for her once more, happy when she let him pull her back in to him. Claire reached up, kissing him quickly. "I have to get back to work, and get up your boss's ass for that report."
"Have fun with that." Owen chuckled.
"I'll come down to the lab a little later and we'll drive out to the paddock. If I get that report and everything looks good, hopefully you could move the raptors in before the end of the day."
Owen leaned down to kiss her, a grin spread across his face. "That would be perfect! I can't do much with them right now. They are too cramped."