Another Love Story

Nineteen

"Chellie," he said again in a soft voice. His arms were steel bands around my waist and back. They slid up and into my hair. Hair clips scattered around us as his fingers tunneled my scalp and gripped my hair. He pressed our foreheads together and we both breathed heavily into the ensuing silence.

For one second, we were back six months ago. It had always been electric between us. I clutched his shirt and shuddered. I had given two years of my life to this man. Our history swelled between us as he tugged against my hair. The slight pain made my toes curl. He followed it up with a caress of my scalp that stole my breath. He knew my buttons and I knew his.

"Let go of me," I said firmly. It was the first sentence I had spoken to him in over six months. It didn't even begin to cover all that I wanted to say to him. The thought made me angry enough to buck against him.

"Michelle," he said in a grave tone. But I was done with him. I twisted harder against him and slipped my knee between his legs.

"I'm going to hurt you if you don't let me go," I said as I lifted my knee higher between his legs with clear intent. His hands slid from my hair down to capture my wrists. He turned and pressed me against the wall with a tight grip on my wrists which were on either side of my head.

"Chellie, please," he said.

"Let me go," I said trying to use my shoulders to push at him. He buried his face in my neck and pressed his lips there.

"Michelle," he groaned again and tightened his grip on my wrists.

"Let me go or I'll scream this roof down, Honorable MP," I said. I hoped the reminder of his position would pour ice on his advance.

He bit down lightly on the junction of my neck and shoulder and my head fell back against the wall involuntarily. Was I going to make it out of this hotel with my sanity? Old and new were blending and turning my brain upside down. His lips whispered over my skin.

"Babe," he said softly. The word snapped me back into action. I raised my knee between us. He didn't expect the move and had to release my wrists and move back. But he was quick. He slid an arm around my waist and turned me to face the wall. He stepped directly behind me; keeping me up against the wall. I smacked the wall in anger.

"Leave me alone," I said. He leaned over my right shoulder so that our faces met.

"Chellie, I know that what I have done is not even on the scale. Babe, please... I know I don't deserve it. But I would like to talk with you," he said.

I let out a sarcastic bark of laughter. "You have better luck growing wings."

"Michelle, let's be adults about this," he said.

"That's rich, coming from you while you assault me in a corridor. I'm going to scream and end your career," I said.

"Yours too. United Bank won't want a Credit Manager mired in tabloid gossip," he said.

"I'll take my chances," I snapped. But he was right. I couldn't yell like a mad woman—right down the corridor from Uganda's top finance executives. I would not only lose my job but also burn the opportunity for employment from anyone in the room I had impressed.

I pushed back against Sam angrily and found an impregnable wall of muscle. He was all hard planes to my soft curves.

"Michelle, I just want to talk," he said.

"We don't always get what we want," I snapped.

"All I want is 1 hour of your time," he said.

"30 minutes is my upper limit," I said.