Winning her back

16. The night is still young

Lisa

"Wow, you look great", Clark said as he opened the passenger door.

I told him to pick me up from a street nearby, to avoid Ben's luring eyes. Thankfully, Clark didn't ask any questions as to why I wasn't staying at my house.

I adjusted my dress a few times in the car. I'll be the first to admit, the plunging neckline was a mistake. My mission for tonight was going to be trying not to flash anyone.

"So", I began, breaking the silence. "Where are you taking me?".

He chuckled and flashed me a smile. "You'll have to wait and see princess".

I smiled and scanned Clark subtly. His muscles were bulging from his beautifully ironed white shirt. It sculpted his body perfectly. His hair was neatly gelled back, with some silver hairs protruding. The truth was, Mark was a catch. He may have been older, but there was no doubt that he was pleasing to the eye. Any woman would kill to be in a car with Clark Reed, CEO of five local hospitals and ambassador of the main cancer research hospital. He was a popular and wealthy man, having invested in several pharmaceutical companies.

He may have been a diplomat in other people's eyes, but to me he was much more. He had taken me in when I had nothing and no one to turn to. He had given me the opportunity to work in one of his local state of the art private practices, when others shut their doors on me. Finding a job in a hospital proved to be quite difficult, especially when everyone new that I was Dr Ben Martinez's ex-wife. Nobody wanted the drama that came with employing me. Ben had made the divorce process difficult by showing up to my previous workplace, drunk and needy, which eventually got me fired.

So, yeah I owed Clark everything.

"We're here", he said distracting me from my thoughts. I looked around only to realise we were in the middle of a marina. I gave Clark a confused look.

"Don't worry", he began. "Trust me", he said reaching for my hand.

We walked through the docks until we reached a beautiful yacht which was lit up nicely with a food settlement in the front.

"Clark, this is beautiful. You didn't have to go through all this trouble, I would have been happy with a normal dinner", I said.

"You deserve anything but normal Lisa", and with that he lead me to the front part of the boat. It was all surreal, almost like we were in a movie. For a little while, I was able to forget everything that had happened in the previous months. From my divorce, to the incident and living with Ben. Right now, in this moment, all was forgotten.

To my surprise, Clark had even hired a few staff to take care of us. Just after I sat down, a waiter approached me with a selection of wine. Soon after the table was prepared, Clark and I were left alone. We were docked, but the sound of the waves and the breeze reminded me of all those times me and my dad would go fishing in the morning, hoping to catch something or anything to impress my mum and sister with.

"I think we should address the elephant in the room", said Clark distracting me from thoughts.

I raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.

"Are you ok?", he began, with a worriedly expression. "I mean, you sound and look ok, but are you really?".

I smiled and looked down at my glass. Of course he would ask such a question . One minute I was lying unconscious in his clinic, then in a matter of weeks I was on a date with him, after rejecting him several times.

"Obviously, things have been hard. I never imagined I would have to go through that. But I'm fine, I feel fine." I paused and chose my next words correctly. "I won't let my attacker have the satisfaction of seeing me suffer".

I saw Clark clench his fists on the table. "I shouldn't have left you alone. God, if I had been there -

"Don't do that Clark", I said cutting him off. "Don't you even dare try to put the blame on yourself. It was inevitable". I took a deep breath before saying, "besides, the cops think that it may have been an intentional attack on me personally. So it would have happened eventually, whether you were there or not".

"Jesus christ. Who the hell would want to attack you?".

"I don't know", I replied. "Clark, if you don't mind, can we not talk about this, I want to put it in my past and move forward".

"Of course, sorry", he said.

"There's something I was meaning to talk to you about", I said, swirling the wine in my glass.

"Go ahead".

"I was thinking of maybe going back to work. I know it may seem early, but I'm ready. Truth is, I could use the distraction".

He stared at me for a while, playing with the rims of his wine glass.

"What does Dr Rowland think?".

I wasn't surprised by his question. I knew that Dr Rowland had consulted with him regarding my leave of absence. In my last session, I had asked her to grant me a certificate that I was fit to work. As expected, she refused ... but Clark didn't have to know that.

"She thinks it's a great idea", I lied.

"I don't know Lisa. Obviously, you wouldn't be in the same hospital. Also, we would have to take extra measures and precautions to make sure you're safe".

"I'll do anything that's required", I said immediately. "I just need to get out of the house Clark."

He nodded in my response and gazed at the surrounding sea. Soon enough, our dishes were prepared and we spent the next few hours laughing and drinking wine from what seemed to be like all the continents. I felt relaxed around him, almost like I had known him for years.

The end of the night was approaching and Clark gently lead the way back to his car. We spent the entire car ride laughing for absolutely no reason. Clearly, the alcohol had gone to our heads, or at least my head.

Before I knew it, we were parked in front of Ben's house. Unknowingly, I had given Clark the exact address to Ben's house, but he didn't know that.

"We should do this more often", Clark began.

"Yeah, we should". I glanced at him, slowly biting my lip. His eyes were fixated on my lips. The anticipation of what would happen at the end of the night had been on my mind from the moment we planned our date. I knew he wanted me, his heated gaze on me gave me all the confirmation I needed.

It didn't take long for his lips to find mine. The kiss was slow and fragile at first, almost as if he was asking permission to take it up a notch. I deeped the kiss, giving him the permission he needed. That was all it took for the mood in the car to change. Soon enough, desire took over and Clark devoured my lips, leaving trails of kisses down my neck. His hands were on my thighs, inching closer to my core. I didn't have a care in the world that we were in public place, with neighbors possibly catching us in the act. The thought of getting caught turned me on even more.

I could feel Clark groping my breasts and a moan escaped my lips as I tilted my head back. His hand had finally reached my core and just as he was about to move the hem of my underwear, all movement stopped and Clark pulled away.

I let out another moan in frustration, and met his eyes, which were now fixated on the window behind me.

"Why did you stop?", I questioned, with a slightly irritated tone.

"You're staying at Ben's house?", he questioned with a hint of disappointment.

I turned around, only to see Ben staring at us from across the porch.

And boy, oh boy was he fuming.