Autumn - In Love With My Boss (An Office Romance)| Completed

Chapter 36 - James

"What have we done?" Her voice is so full of sadness, making me swallow hard.

"What do you mean?"

She wipes away another tear before she answers.

"We just ... we just had sex."

Uh. Yeah, we did. Um. I don't understand. "Did you not like it?"

"Oh, I did," she sniffs. "I loved it."

Now I do look at her. "So ... Where is the problem?"

Her eyes examine me as if I was a bit dim.

"The problem is that I just slept with a married man."

Thank God! I give a sigh of relief. It could have been bad, but this? Baby, time for a talk.

I position myself comfortably on the bed, propped up on my elbow, and motion for her to lay down next to me.

Tenderly, I caress her face, as I begin to explain.

"I'm not married, Autumn. I'm not sure what Fiona told you, but we are not married anymore. We are divorced. Recently, she's been trying to get me back, although I have made it more than clear to her that this is never going to happen, no matter what. She says she loves me, but this woman tends to confuse love with money and egotism."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She bites her lower lip as if to muster some courage for what she is about to

ask. "And you? Do you love her?"

"No." I try not to smile at the relief I see written all over her face. "You see, when I married her I thought she was the only one I could ever love. That, though, changed over the years of our marriage. I realized how fixated she was on luxury and status, she is just superficial like that. I can't say why I didn't see it sooner, before the wedding. Well, the saying Love is blind exists for a reason, I guess."

"So you split up because you lost your feelings for her?"

"Yes and no." I take a deep breath.

I never feel comfortable talking about the reason for the divorce. However, she deserves to know.

"Okay. One night, I came home from work to an empty house. Back then, we lived in a rather nice home we had purchased right after our honeymoon. Anyway, it wasn't really unusual for Fiona to be out late, so I didn't think much of it. Until my best friend's wife showed up at my doorstep, so upset it took me about an hour to get what she was telling me. She had come home early from her dance class because of migraines. When she walked into the living room, her husband was sitting on the couch, pants around his ankles, and Fiona on her knees in front of him."

I pause and close my eyes. Even though I wasn't the one to surprise them, the image of them both, of my freaking wife sucking off my best friend, is so vivid and so disturbing that it takes me a while to restrain my anger and disappointment.

Autumn gently touches my bare chest, helping me to return to the present.

"I'm so sorry, James. That must have been terrible."

I nod. "It was pretty nasty, especially all that fighting for who gets what."

"Is that why ..." She hesitates, obviously not sure if she should finish the question.

Uh oh, that must be a bad one. Nevertheless, I'm intrigued.

"Why what?" I inquire.

"Why you have so many... Um, I mean, why you... "

"Stop right there," I laugh and raise my hand in mock defense. "I can tell where this is going. I know about my reputation at work. Believe me, it's ridiculous. I wish I knew how this was started, but then again, I actually don't really care. Rumors, that's all it is. Nothing more. Of course, I haven't been a monk since my divorce, but I'm no womanizer either. And I have never ever had a date with coworkers or clients, let alone sex. That's off limits."

"Really?" she smiles softly.

"Yes, really," I mirror her smile and wink. "That is, until now. You see, I have that amazingly beautiful assistant. She is so sweet, so cute, so gorgeous, and special in every way. I just can't help myself."

My fingers cup her chin, raising her face up to mine, so my mouth can caress hers with intense kisses.

She moans against my lips, and our heated bodies search for each other's contact, ready to pick up our love play again.

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In no way am I able to describe my desire for this woman. Four times last night. Once this morning. And still, I'm not satiated. When I look at her, sitting next to me on the passenger seat, I can't help but want to rip that dress off her sexy body. And that smile of hers. So innocent. I just need to cover her lips with mine, taste her again, feel her against me. As soon as we are back at the office, I will take what's mine.

With that plan, I steer the car onto the narrow gravel path that leads us out of the snowy woods and back onto the interstate, when I suddenly feel Autumn's eyes on me. Inevitably, I glance over to her.

Judging by the way her teeth sink into her lip, she wants to talk about something.

"What's on that sweet mind of yours?" I smile.

She looks so serious that she has me worried here for a minute.

"I love you, James."