We made it to my room sometime in the night. Both of us laughing as I carried her to the much bigger bed, falling into it with abandon, we eventually fell asleep in each other's arms. Now the sun glistened in Clem’s dark hair and fell across her smooth cheek. Her long eyelashes fluttered as the light began to slowly wake her.
She was in my bed with me at last. I spent so many nights dreaming about it, I still wasn’t sure this was real. Reaching out to stroke the fine lines of her jaw to make sure, she blinked fully awake.
“Good morning,” I said, pulling her closer.
She settled against my shoulder, half draped across my chest, her naked skin warm and soft. Tipping up her chin, she smiled sleepily. I kissed her before she could answer. This was real. She was mine.
I slid my hand down her back as she reached to place her hand along my cheek, gently and somewhat tentatively, as if she was also coming to terms with the fact that this wasn’t a dream. Her hand stilled, and I pulled away, searching her face, creased by the pillow, lips swollen from kisses, gray eyes heavy-lidded.
Was she having second thoughts? Another slow smile curled her lips as she ran her fingers through my hair. Then her brows drew together, and she hoisted herself up on her elbow, looking around frantically.
“What time is it?” she asked. “My phone must still be in my room.”
I laughed. “Neither one of us was thinking about phones last night.”
Her face grew red, and her smile faltered. “But look how bright it is outside. I’ve never once been late to work, and ninety percent of the time you’re there before me.”
“Ninety-nine,” I corrected, making her snicker. “And who’s going to say anything? I’m the boss, remember?”
Still, I couldn’t convince her to stay in bed. She was already halfway out of the room, dragging a blanket with her to cover herself. “Not fair,” I called.
To my shock and delight, she quickly flashed me as she went out the door, and it took a great deal of willpower not to go after her and convince her to take a vacation day. We had a business to run. In the car, Clem chatted about the Koboyashi deal, which we’d finally put on paper when they visited again.
She assured me she’d been keeping up with Erina on a friendly basis, and everything was still on track. I reached for her hand at a stoplight.
“Then why are you worrying?” I asked.
“I’m just afraid I’ll screw up somehow,” she admitted.
“It’s never happened yet,” I said, only speaking facts, but pleased that she took it as a compliment and beamed, relaxing a little. “You seem right at home already,” I told her, raising her hand to my lips.
We were the perfect married couple. Well, perhaps not perfect. But real. Very real. Clem kept her hand entwined with mine until I pulled into the parking garage, and she asked to get out before I parked.
“I should walk in the front way like I usually do,” she said. She shook her head at my scowl. “And you should wait a few minutes before heading up.”
What the hell? “Why?” I asked. But I already knew.
“We obviously can’t have everyone knowing,” she said. “What will they think?”
Only a select few knew about the scheme we devised to make a play for the Koboyashi contract, and except for Gavril, who’d only just been informed about my wheelings and dealings with the county clerk, they all believed it was solely for the deal. Irritation flared at her insistence to keep things secret, but I could see it from Clem’s point of view.
She didn’t want people to think she was sleeping with the boss. That’s where the irritation came from. She still viewed me only as her boss, not her husband. Not even something more. And after last night?
It fucking pissed me off.
“Fine,” I said tightly, then pulled her to me for a last kiss that had her trembling in my arms. “You might want to take a quick detour to fix your lip gloss, though.”
She rolled her eyes and playfully slapped me on the arm before scurrying out to take the front entrance. I did my part and waited in the car for a few minutes, ordering a catered breakfast for an impromptu meeting, then adding it to Clem’s calendar.
She was flushed when I strolled through her office to get to mine, hurrying to get a report together that she thought she’d need for the meeting.
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “It’s just a brainstorming session.”
“With the entire company?” she asked. “I’m surprised no one’s calling me freaking out about what to expect.”
That was because they already knew what to expect, because I made sure of it while I was relegated to the parking garage. No more of that after this morning. No damn way.
An hour later, we headed downstairs to the large meeting room where I’d been assured everything was set up. I let Clem go in ahead of me, but followed close behind, my hand resting against her lower back. She tried to jump away, suddenly antsy about every little touch, but stopped dead in her tracks when everyone shouted at her at the same time.