Shonee's POV
The house was enveloped in an eerie silence, typical of the night. As we walked, a peculiar thought crossed my mind—why did Vincent and I always seem to cross paths at night when everyone else was fast asleep? Was it fate? Or mere coincidence that we were both nocturnal beings?
Vincent held open the door to his office, and I stepped inside. Despite having lived in this house for over a month, it was my first time entering his home office. Just like every other room in this mansion, his office was sleek and modern. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the left offered a classic view of New York City at night. A polished desk and chair stood a few paces away, with framed Renaissance paintings adorning the walls behind them.
"Can I interest you in a drink?"
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
Vincent walked over to a small bar cart tucked in the corner of the room. He poured a couple of glasses of whiskey and handed one to me. I took it, feeling the cool glass against my fingertips. The amber liquid inside seemed to swirl with the weight of the impending conversation.
I settled in one of the armchairs on the opposite side of the room while Vincent perched himself against his desk. We sipped our drinks in silence. The tension in the air was palpable, and I could sense the weight of the unresolved emotions hanging between us.
"Look umm..." I began preparing myself to break the news. "I—"
"No, let me start." Vincent cut in, his voice low and measured. "I'm sorry about the whole juice spill incident with Michael. When I entered Avril's office and saw you guys together, I just...I just lost it. I overreacted and blew things out of proportion. And it was wrong of me to accuse you of ditching your job to see him. It was also wrong of me to come at you the way I did yesterday. The truth is, Shonee..." He set his whiskey glass down beside him and licked his lips. "Ever since that first night we met in the kitchen...I've always been attracted to you."
"What?" My eyes widened to the size of saucers. Of all the things that could've happened, I never imagined Vincent baring his heart out and telling me this.
His Adams Apple bobbed up and down as he continued. "It's the main reason why I wanted to get rid of you the following day. I knew if you stuck around, my resolve would one day give out, and I couldn't let that happen. But Avril..." he rolled his eyes. "Avril just had to have everything her way. When she insisted that you stay, I knew I had to find another solution. Luckily, work was there to take my mind off things for a while. But then I got home and saw how much of an impact you had made on Mirasol. You had changed her for the better and part of me just...grew in awe of you." He pushed his hands through his hair. "Then you kissed me at the fair and I found myself wanting you more."
My heart was beating so hard that I didn't know what else to do except to chug down the rest of my whiskey. Then I got up from my seat and walked over to the window, brushing a hand over my face. This was not how I was expecting things to play out.
"I still do, you know."
"You still what?"
"I still want you."
I swallowed hard as he left the desk and drew closer to me at the window. He didn't stop until he was just a hair's breadth away.
"You have no idea how many times I've wanted to hold you like this..." His arms wrapped themselves gently around my waist, pulling me flush against his body. "And caress you like this..." I felt his hand move tantalizingly down my back, slowly descending and cupping a handful of my ass.
A wave of heat flushed up my cheeks as I gasped.
"Tell me you want me, Shonee."
I looked up into his eyes, drowning in desire and passion.
"Tell me that you feel the same way, so I don't stop sinking into you." His lips brushed against my ear, and I shivered.
Oh, I wanted him. I wanted him so much that it hurt. But something else was blocking my path.
"What about Avril?" I voiced my concern.
"I don't want Avril; I want you," he responded with a gruff.
"But you're marrying her," I pressed on. "I know it's just to save the company...but I don't want her to find out about us."
I didn't want to meet his eyes, but Vincent cupped my chin, making sure that I didn't look anywhere else but at him. "She's never going to find out. I promise you that."
And for some strange reason, I believed him. I believed him wholeheartedly. Maybe it was because of the way he was looking at me, like I was the only person he cared about and wanted right now, and because I felt the same way, I dropped everything else and allowed myself to fall into him.
On cue, Vincent tilted my head and gave me the most sensual kiss of all time. His tongue darted into my mouth with fervor, need and passion. In turn, my hand slipped under his shirt, feeling those rock-hard abs I'd dreamt about touching ever since I'd met him. We kissed like there was no tomorrow, like it was going to be our first and last time kissing. He pushed me up against the window, allowing my legs to wrap themselves around his waist, then he moved lower, falling into that sweet spot at the bottom of my neck.
"Mm, Vincent..." I grabbed a fistful of his hair, urging him to continue. In between my legs ached for his touch and I guided his free hand in that direction. He quickly got the memo and somehow found a way to unzip my jeans without letting me go. His fingers travelled under, and I moaned at the sudden contact.
"Fuck, I love how wet you are for me," he murmured and all I could do was moan again because, at this point, my mind and vision were just spiraling in pleasure...until he pulled his hand out.
"Hey," I whined and watched him suck my wetness off his fingers.
God, it was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen.
"Taste yourself," he ordered and without hesitation, I put his fingers in my mouth while keeping eye contact, opening a whole other level of passion and desire.
"God, you are so beautiful..."
Thump, thump. "Vincent?"
We immediately jumped apart at the sound of Avril's voice on the other side of the door.
Vincent held a finger to his mouth, telling me to be quiet. "I'm working, Avril!"
Ignoring his response, Avril tackled the door handle, only to find it locked. "Argh, Fine! You always do this."
We remained still until we heard her footsteps padding away.
I heaved out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Shit, that was close."
"Yeah... but worth it." Vincent turned to me with a smile that I couldn't resist.
"Yeah."
He moved closer, pulling me in for another sensual but sweet kiss. I especially loved the sound our lips made as they parted for another kiss.
"Mm," I pulled back a little, noticing that things were about to heat up again. "I think I should head back...before she checks up on you again."
"Right." Reluctantly, Vincent broke away to unlock his door. While he did that, I zipped up my jeans and tried to tidy myself up a bit.
After checking to see if the coast was clear, we both stepped out of the office. Then Vincent laid a soft kiss on my forehead before allowing me to take off to my room.