Nora
"What happened after that?"
"I-I left." I looked down.
"You left?" Lydia repeated. "Seriously?!"
"What did you expect me to do?"
"Uh, have a conversation, perhaps? Get laid?" She said as if I was a child. "What did you say to him?"
"That my friend needed me?" I cringed. "Look, I got nervous and I was shocked and I couldn't form sentences, okay? That's not me, but it happened."
She sighed. "Well, how did he react?"
"I don't know. I turned around and I didn't look back."
She kept a straight face, but then broke into a smile and laughed. "You're such an idiot, Nora."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Leave now, I've got work to do." I smiled in return.
She grabbed her purse from my table, blowing me a kiss and turning around, strutting away. I shook my head, clearing away thoughts of the sexy stranger, well, not a stranger anymore, and got to work.
Half an hour later I got a text from Jack, ordering me to go for lunch. I shook my head, biting back a smile at his concern. Pushing away all the files at the corner, I passed by Gracie and gave her a small, hesitant smile. She huffed and went inside my office to clean up the mess I'd made. I didn't like depending on people for any kind of work, but cleaning was something I just couldn't do.
A feeling of déjà vu crept into me when the elevator moved upwards instead of going down. My heartbeat paced, palms sweating. The door opened on the fiftieth floor, a wild and rich smell reaching my nose. I didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"Nora." I bit my lip when he said my name. He made those four letters sound so erotic that I wanted him to keep saying my name, over and over.
"H-hi." I cursed at myself in my brain, ordering myself to behave like the strong, independent woman I was.
"I was rather disappointed when you ran away the other night." He said, making me look up. "I'd hoped to have a conversation."
"Yeah well, uh, my friend needed me. I was her ride back home." I shrugged.
He nodded. "How was the rest of your weekend?"
"Good. Yours?"
His eyes darkened. I forced myself to not look away from his face as he licked his bottom lip and slowly said, "Distracting."
"Why?"
"My mind was preoccupied with something." Then his lips lifted up slightly. "Or, someone."
I felt hot. Maybe it was the dress, maybe it was the damn fucking elevator that was taking too long. But I felt extremely hot by his gaze. I didn't know whether I wanted to leave or push him against the wall and strip down.
After what felt like an eternity, the doors to the elevator opened. Fresh and cool air entered my nostrils, calming me down. His arm lightly brushed my side as he made a move to get out, causing a shock wave down my entire body.
"I'll see you soon, Nora. Very soon." His eyes froze on mine for a second, and then he was gone.
I made my way over to the restaurant Jack had texted me, dazed and in my thoughts. He pulled back my chair for me, ordering both of our orders when he saw I didn't have any intention of ordering for myself.
"Jack?" I aimlessly picked at the pieces of cabbage in my plate, not bothering to put them in my mouth.
"Yes?"
"Why is Nicolas Reid coming to our office so often?" I asked. I was legitimately curious. He'd never once stopped by in the past five years, and now I'd run into him twice.
"He's doing some kind of business with Charlie. I don't know much. They're very quiet about it."
"Illegal?" I asked quietly.
"I don't think so. Nicolas doesn't do illegal deals. Kind of like you."
"How do you know that?"
"It's his reputation. He's never been spotted with something illegal. All of his organisations, including the clubs, are totally legal and drug free. Cops have checked."
"Oh."
"Why? Did you see him or something?" He enquired.
"I ran into him a few days back, and then again today. He's very intimidating." I said. An unnoticeable shiver ran down my arms.
"He's like that." Jack gave a small laugh. "But he won't bother you. He's there purely for business."
"I hope so." I thought of his dark blue eyes, the innocent way he'd tucked my hair behind my ear, the lifting up of his lips whenever I grew uncomfortable around him.
I doubted that was all he was there for.
~~
It was around 4 pm the next day when Gracie poked her head in my office. "There's someone here who wants to see you."
"My mum? My dad?" I asked, confused. My parents were the only ones who visited me at the office. Others just didn't because of the messiness.
"More like daddy." She whispered and winked, making me choke on my spit.
"Thank you, Gracie. I'll take it from here." I heard a deep, rich voice, from behind the door. I couldn't see the face. I didn't need to see the face. That voice had been a major part of my wet dreams for the past couple of days.
Steely blue eyes met mine as Nicholas Reid entered my office without another word. He took in his surroundings, and I thought he liked it because he nodded to himself and took a seat. I was too frozen to even speak anything.
"Nora." He cleared his throat. "Nora?"
I snapped out of my daze, blinking my eyes. "Yes? How can I help you?"
"You're being too formal." He shook his head. "This won't work with that."
"What won't?"
"What I'm just about to do." He said.
I raised an eyebrow in question.
"I want to take you out to dinner." He said simply.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. In the end I just settled with, "Uh, wow."
He gave a small chuckle. "Alright, so I'll pick you up at 7 tonight?"
"I never said yes." I pointed out.
"But you never said no either, which would indirectly mean that you said yes." He replied back. "So, 7?"
"I'm not free at 7." I said, slowly. I didn't understand what he was trying to do. I knew my actions had consequences. I needed to know what those were before saying anything.
"That's gonna be a problem then." He rested his arm on my table and pulled his chair closer. "Should I talk to your boss? Jack, was it?"
I gasped and got up defensively. "Jack is not my boss! He's my supervisor. There's a difference. And you don't need to talk to anybody for me. I'm more than capable of doing it myself."
His mouth lifted up. "My bad, I apologise. I didn't mean to offend you. Please sit down."
I sighed but complied nonetheless.
"Have dinner with me, Nora." He said again.
Maybe it was his eyes, or maybe it was the intense way he was looking at me, that I just couldn't say no. I didn't want to anyway. I was surprised, honestly. "Alright." I said at last.
"Perfect. I'll pick you up at 7. Or whatever time is suitable for you."
"7's okay."
He tilted his head to the side, his eyes scrutinising. "Good."
When he didn't make a move to get up and leave my office, I raised an eyebrow at him. He shook his head and got up, buttoning up his blazer, adjusting his tie and running a hand through his hair. He did it so easily, but it made me lose my breath for a second.
"Nicolas-"
He groaned. His hand on the doorknob paused and he hunched forward slightly, the sound of his deep breaths filling my ears. His reaction alarmed me and I moved forward. "What-"
He whipped around and grabbed my arms, turning back around just as swiftly and pushing me against the wall. His hands rested on either side of my head, hooded blue irises meeting mine. "Say my name again."
"I-I-"
He bent down, his face inches away from mine. I saw his eyes clearer, and realised they were so much more beautiful than I'd thought. He was so close to me. "Say it, Nora." His command made my heartbeat race.
"Nicolas." I whispered.
He swore under his breath and shifted uncomfortably, one of his hands lifting up and cupping my cheek ever so softly. I didn't think a man like him was capable of soft touch. His palm was rough and calloused, but his grip was gentle. "Nora, I want you."
I gripped his arms to support myself.
His nose buried in my neck and he took a deep inhale, tracing it along my skin. "Fuck, I can't seem to stop. You smell so good."
He smelt good. He was the one with the addicting, manly scent I couldn't wrap my head around. I had to fist my hands in the sleeves of his blazer to stop myself from reaching out and touching his hair.
"Jesus Christ, I want to kiss you so badly." He looked in my eyes, searching for something. "Can I?"
His arms were around my waist now. They were strong and hard just like I'd imagined. I wanted to trace my hands on them, run my tongue down his chest. I wanted to tear his clothes apart.
"Answer me, Nora." His authoritative tone surged my arousal. Powerful waves of hunger and heat radiated off his body.
"Kiss me." I whispered. His lips were on mine the next second.
They were hard and rough, demanding and possessive. There was nothing soft about the kiss. It was driven by my lust for him, and his hunger for me. His palm on my cheek was still gentle as he moved my hair back, gripping them in his fingers tightly. My own hands moved to his hair as he pulled me closer to him by my hip, squeezing it slightly, eliciting a gasp from me. His tongue skilfully dipped inside my mouth, exploring places I didn't know could be explored.
His palm wrapped around my neck, grasping my jaw and pushing it upward towards his mouth. That single move made my core flutter so violently that I had to clutch him tightly to keep my balance. I pulled him closer by his tie, just like I'd wanted to since I'd seen him, and he groaned against my mouth. I felt the vibrations all over my body.
I was panting by the time he pulled back. He gave me a hard kiss again, swiping his tongue with mine, pushing my lower body closer to his groin. I stood on my toes to get a better angle just as he growled lowly and deepened the kiss. I felt my breasts turn heavier, my nipples tightening as he cupped the back of my head to keep me in place. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself if we didn't stop right now.
"7 o'clock, Nora." He said against my lips. My eyes were still shut when he adjusted the sleeve of my blouse. "Not a second more."
*
Ah shit I love writing the first kiss. So many emotions, so many feelings.