Chapter 16

Harry

The meeting went better than I’d expected. Gina looked so excited and I was relieved that my plan had worked. Sometimes Adler didn’t like taking risks, but he seemed genuinely interested in every idea Gina had talked about. I had a feeling she had secured a very good business deal, but she still needed to see all the paperwork first.
I ordered champagne from the pretty waitress because I thought Gina deserved at least one strong drink. It was a stressful day and she needed to relax a little. We sat drinking and talking about my marketing campaign and her business plan. I was happy I had called Marisa. Adler was a busy man and he hated wasting time.
“Champagne? I thought you said we shouldn’t be celebrating just yet. What if he changes his mind?” she asked, staring at the bottle of very expensive Brut. The attraction continued to sizzle between us; it wasn’t a trick. Everything about her felt real.
“He won’t, trust me on this. We are just having a drink. Relax and go with the flow,” I said, eager to call her boss and tell him that she was going to be late today. We still had a lot to discuss, but I wasn’t in a hurry. The money I’d invested in the new business was substantial, and I was certain that Gina’s marketing campaign would turn things around. I had taken a loss, but I wasn’t worried.
“All right, I’ll have one drink,” she agreed with a bright smile. “You can’t even imagine how grateful I am for this. He really liked all my ideas.”
“You were well prepared, and the pitch was perfect,” I told her.
“Now I just have to book some time off to start putting my plan in motion,” she said. That’s what I liked about her, she was always thinking ahead. Obviously, she had her head screwed on right.
I took a couple of sips and then stood up. I couldn’t wait to see her face when I showed her my next surprise.
“Come on, I want to take you somewhere. I bet you haven’t seen the stadium during sunset?” I said, taking her hand. There were still a lot of things we had to discuss, but we were allowed to have a break. I had a couple of meetings this afternoon, but I could easily cancel them. For some reason when I was with her, I didn’t feel like working. She was my sunshine that kept pushing all the doubts in my head away.
She looked confused but followed me toward the lift anyway. Earlier on, I approached the waitress and asked her to let the chef know we were ready to eat. I arranged everything yesterday, so now she nodded and smiled at Gina. I was betting a million dollars that she thought my idea was romantic. Maybe this was crazy, and over the top, but I needed to make Gina feel special. She had put a spell on me, and I wanted her to see that I cared about her.
Gina kept looking down at her watch, so I told her she had to relax. I assured her that she didn’t have to worry about Andrew. The man was a nuisance, and the sooner she was done working for him, the better. Which made me think of Crystal. I hadn’t heard from her since that incident in the bathroom. I couldn’t avoid her forever and needed to end that silly entanglement once and for all.
The lift took us to the top floor. It was Tuesday afternoon and Mason, the guy in charge, told me that we had the whole stadium to ourselves. I led her straight out to the table that was set for us by the broadcasting station. The view was mesmerising, but Gina looked completely shocked.
“What is this?” she asked, looking around.
“I arranged for us to eat here. You must be hungry. The meeting went on for a while,” I said and sat down, picking up the napkin. There were two silver covers on top of our plates. A bottle of good white wine sat in the ice bucket.
“How did you manage to pull this off?” she questioned, still not sitting down. She was asking too many questions and the food was getting cold.
“I arranged this for both of us. Come on, sit and enjoy it,” I insisted and started cutting my rib eye. She did sit down eventually and, when she picked up her cover, she saw Hunter’s chicken with roasted potatoes and sprouts. Her brother mentioned that this was her favourite dish.
“How did you know I would like this?” she asked, stunned. Her voice was vibrating, and I might have finally broken her. She seemed touched by all the details. I was never romantic, but I wanted to apologise for what happened during the Gala.
“Your brother mentioned it when I was waiting for you,” I replied, watching her pick up the knife and fork. The food was delicious, and I really hoped she would enjoy the chicken. She looked confused but started eating it. I opened the wine and poured some into her glass.
“This isn’t a date, right?” she asked. “Because I won’t have time for dating.”
“Hey, that’s my line, and this isn’t what you think. Dinner with a view doesn’t mean romance,” I assured her, although I wasn’t sure myself what the hell I was doing. She clearly wasn’t ready to start something long term. We were both reluctant.
“Okay, as long as we are on the same page,” she muttered. From the beginning I thought I was the one with the problem, but now I knew she had some underlying issues with men.
It was cold, but the tribune provided a little shelter from the wind. The view was stunning, but the silence between us was unnerving.
Now I saw why my uncle was telling me to get it together and find a decent woman. Life wasn’t worth living alone. I wanted to have someone I could share it with. He would approve of Gina.
“Oh, my word, this was delicious,” she said, cleaning the whole plate. She must have been hungry. She leaned back on the chair and stared down at the empty stadium. I knew there were ways we could warm each other up.
“We need to have a tour. I don’t think we’ll have this kind of opportunity again,” I said, getting up. I took her hand and a wave of heat rushed to my crotch. Maybe, despite everything that happened, I was already attached to her. Was I capable of that?
We started walking around, looking down at the round of blue-and-white chairs. I thought about my boxing career and all those years when I believed that I was happy alone. It was time to retire now and fully concentrate on my business. That other life was behind me. Yes, boxing matches released some of the frustration that had built up inside me. I always had trouble sleeping, but if I shared a bed with someone I loved night after night, I wouldn’t have that problem anymore.
“This is amazing. I’ve never actually been in the stadium.” Gina’s voice brought me back to reality.
We walked around the circle in silence for a bit, admiring the view and enjoying the peace.
Half an hour later someone had cleared the table, leaving a half-full bottle of wine. There was one more thing I wanted her to see. We walked through the main entrance and then headed through the long white corridor.
“If we are here, then we have to see the VIP box,” I announced.
Her eyes flickered at the corners and she smiled.
“Is it even open?” she asked.
“Try it, the stadium is empty, the security is keeping an eye on us. No one told me we weren’t allowed to go inside,” I muttered, then opened the door. Luckily the room wasn’t locked, Mason must have realised I had deep pockets. It was a long room with a central view of the pitch. There were some tables and chairs, comfortable sofas, and a small bar that was probably busy during games. Gina walked up to the window, looking calm and more beautiful than ever. I couldn’t think of anyone else, or anything besides how she was going to feel and look when I fucked her. The sudden desire caught me off guard, reminding me that maybe it was time to ask her if we could keep seeing each other. The musky scent of her perfume wafted through the air, sending shudders down my spine.
“What are you thinking about, Mr. H?” she asked, pressing her hands to the glass and standing on her tiptoes. There wasn’t even one cloud in the sky. We couldn’t have asked for a better view.
I walked to her, then took off my suit jacket.
“I’m thinking about that day in my apartment,” I growled and pushed her toward the leather sofa. I had enough of playing around and needed to devour her body and soul. But I didn’t want her to feel that she was obligated to sleep with me just because I helped her. I created this surprise to show her that I truly cared for her. Radical changes in my behaviour were already foreseen.
“Are you proposing sex, Mr. Erskine?” she asked, wrapping her finger around a lock of her red hair. My body wanted her more than I ever wanted any other woman. I’d had no idea that this was even possible. “What about our one-time only deal? I thought you didn’t step into the same river twice?”
“Our deal is off. I didn’t plan for this to happen, Gina, but I can’t stay away from you,” I said, and brought her closer to my body, inhaling the smell of her perfume, of her. When my lips found hers, I knew that there was no going back. It was a small price I was willing to pay for breaking my rules.

Gina

I was fighting it, but my battle was already lost. The man’s touch was consuming my mind with desire that petrified me. My mother gave her life to my father. She loved him and then she lost her own identity. I didn’t want to make the same mistake. He assured me over and over that he didn’t want anything in return for arranging the meeting with Adler, but we couldn’t pretend that we didn’t want each other.
Anyone could walk in on us, but I didn’t care. My body was on fire, and I hadn’t even realised how much I missed him in the past week. He started undressing me, pulling my clothes off in frantic movements. Waves of heat were soaking deep into my bones. When I was finally naked from the waist down, standing in front of him in my white shirt and see-through bra, his mouth crashed against mine in a hard, demanding kiss. He buried his right hand deep in my hair, the other sat along my jaw.
I wanted to forget about any agreement. This felt good, natural, and we didn’t have to be madly in love to enjoy sex.
His pants went down, and a second later, I pulled away from him, biting my finger.
“How do you want me?” I asked, unbuttoning my shirt and smiling. I still had my high heels on. God, I always wanted to fuck a man with my shoes on.
“Turn around and bend over. This will be quick, Miss Martinez,” he demanded. I thought he sounded fucking hot, suddenly turning into a dominant. I walked up to the leather sofa and knelt down. Oh, man, from that angle, Harry had the perfect view of my backside. I really hoped there weren’t any cameras in here, because that would have been embarrassing. Beads of sweat broke out over my body when he approached and ran his finger along my arse cheeks.
“What a view, beautiful, and you’re already so wet for me,” he growled, and then made a deep, sexy sound in the back of his throat. I’d never been that turned on. The work could wait. Davies could go to hell.
Harry thrust his hard cock inside me, and I cried out, unprepared. He didn’t give me any warning, he just pounded his massive erection into me.
“This feels amazing, just keep going,” I told him when I got used to his size. He grabbed my hips and started pounding into me. The burning sensation in the bottom of my stomach was building up, as he was slowing down, then speeding up. Things were getting out of control, my pulse rising.
I was whimpering and crying, growing wetter and turning into someone else. He drove inside me over and over. Heat flooded my core and I wanted him to go faster, harder. The temperature of my body shot through the roof. I felt a storm of emotions building inside me violently and painfully.
He dug his fingernails into my skin, rocking me like I asked him.
“You’re amazing and feel unbelievable,” he rasped, and I agreed, making some incoherent sound. A second later we both climaxed at the same time. I called out his name, and he pushed harder. By the time I collapsed on the sofa, my head was spinning, my limbs were tingling, and the world around me seemed upside down.
He grabbed me and brought my body onto his chest, taking long shallow breaths. I had no idea how long we stayed like that, but it was comforting. I didn’t want to move.
The silence spread and it lasted for longer than I expected. I listened to his heart and felt happy. I didn’t want to overthink what just happened between us, but I started to wonder if I could fall in love with him.
“I think we should get going. We don’t want to get caught naked in here,” he finally said.
“I have to go back to work anyway. Please call Brittany to schedule another meeting. We have to get some work done next time,” I said, getting up and starting to put my clothes back on.
Once my head was a little clearer, I asked myself—what the hell was I doing with this guy? It was a dangerous game and I wasn’t supposed to let him use me again.
Five minutes later we were walking back through the long corridor, and I was convinced that whatever was happening between us was getting out of control.