Illicit Affairs by Holly Dixon

Fifteen

Waves crashedupon a shore in the distance, pulling Nate back towards the familiar sound of home. His eyes fluttered open as he rubbed the sleep from them and peered down to the warm weight pressing up against his side, sat on the chesterfield sofa in his office.

Ava.

He quickly realised the sound was her soft breathing, every heavy exhale like that of frothy white waves as she slept peacefully, curled up next to him like a resting kitten with his large suit jacket draped around her petite body. She was serene in this state, like seeing the sea calm down after a turbulent storm.

Nate couldn’t resist, let alone miss his opportunity, as his fingers ghosted down over her nose, tracing the little button tip turned up at the end, before tenderly brushing across her petals and sighing quietly—her lips were as soft as he imagined. However, his touch disturbed her slumber as her eyes creased, lips pouted, and the bridge of her nose wrinkled in the most adorable frown he had ever seen. Staring down at her in curious fascination as her eyes blinked into consciousness, he knew then that he could watch a billion sunrises and would never find one quite as beautiful as her eyes opening in the morning.

White light flooded Ava’s retinas, her mind foggy and body heavy as she stared up into the hazel forests that she had walked through in her dreams. A sleepy sigh left the slight curve of her lips as she closed her eyes, pulling a blanket around her and draping her arm over the warm pillow next to her. However, when that so-called warm pillow began jiggling beneath her and the husky noise of Nate’s quiet laughter came from above, her hand felt across her pillow, over the hard ridges of Nate’s chest until her eyes snapped open in alarm as she realised she wasn’t dreaming and wasn’t in her own bed. Gingerly, her eyes peered up at Nate to see his lazy smile.

“Good morning, Ms. Archer.”

I fell asleep in the office with my boss. Shit, shit, shit!!

Ava squeaked in a panic and recoiled away from Nate, rolling backwards off the couch and landing between it and the coffee table with a large thump.

“Shit! Are you alright?” Nate gawked, peering over the edge of the sofa and down at the tangled body of his assistant, laughing when she flapped and struggled under his suit jacket like a wild animal caught in a net.

“I’m fine!” she squawked in exasperation, tossing the suit jacket from her and blowing the stray strands of hair from her eyes. Ava turned to look at the takeout cartons, the empty bottles of wine, and the plastic coffee mugs before glancing at her watch. “Fuck, the time!”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind if you are late today.” Nate rolled his eyes, bemused by how flustered she was over, yes, a little unorthodox situation, but a harmless and innocent one at that.

“Perhaps you don’t mind but I don’t want people thinking that I slept with my boss!” she berated, jumping to her feet and picking up her heels before running to her desk outside.

Nate’s eyebrows jumped at this.

Did she mean sleep as in sleep or sleep as in…?

Either way, she had a fair point; considering their dishevelled appearance, the fact they were in yesterday’s clothing, and the odd scene in the office, one’s imagination could easily come up with an explanation for what went down.

“Where the fuck is my phone?!” Nate heard Ava hiss, saw her cell on the floor amongst the paperwork, and took it out to her. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He smirked, perching on the corner of her desk and watching her hurry about, looking as though she were trying to escape a burning building.

Ava hopped as she quickly pulled on her heels and turned to look at Nate to say goodbye but froze on the spot when she saw him leant against her desk.

Sweet heavens above,she thought.

He looked irresistible with no tie, his shirt untucked and unbuttoned just enough for her to see the dark wisps covering his chest, and his hair unruly and sexy in an undone and natural way.

Oh, to sit on that man’s fa—no, shit!

She shook the thoughts from her head and rushed towards the elevators before those thoughts could manifest into physicality, tossing over her shoulder a brief, “See you in a bit!”

“Ava! Wait up!” Nate called after her, chuckling as he caught up to the frantic blonde, his hand slipping around her waist and coaxing her to turn and face him. Her dazed eyes found his and Nate would be lying if he said he didn’t adore the way her stare dipped to his lips expectantly, that once confident fire in her gaze now diminished to a flickering flame and giving light of her desires. “The Forbeses have invited me to a charity auction at their estate this weekend. Do you wanna tag along?”

Is he asking me on a date?

“Sure, just forward me the invite,” Ava replied.

Nate grinned down at her, catching her by surprise as he grabbed a hold of her wrist when she abruptly went to turn away again. “Wait! One more thing…” he said in a lower register, raising his hand as his knuckles delicately brushed over the sweet blush upon her cheek and tucked a single spiral of gold behind her ear.

Ava didn’t dare move, her heart in a state of frenzy as her breathing was heard through her lips. His touch was magnetic and had a way of jamming all her thoughts. Her lashes fluttered upon feeling his caress across the burn in her cheek before Nate pulled something from her hair and waved a rogue piece of paper from a fortune cookie in front of her face.

“You forgot this,” he teased, chuckling as she snatched it from his fingers with a squeak, crumpling it into her jacket pocket and dashing into the elevator.

Ava stared at her reflection in the elevator mirror as her mind drifted to the previous evening. After the awkward encounter, Nate and she had talked long into the early hours, trading secrets and embarrassing tales, showing each other their biggest scars, reminiscing about their childhood memories, and laughing at times gone by. Ava couldn’t remember a time where she had spoken to a near stranger without running out of things to say, but Nate was as full of stories as he was an exceptional listener. She never tired of his company.

A smile toyed at her lips as she remembered his mannerisms, the way he spoke with his hands when he was passionate about a subject, the way he’d pinch his nose when he laughed, his attempt at a British accent that had her ribs aching from laughter.

Seeing that side of Nate, that part of him that no one else she knew had access to, felt like having backstage tickets to a gig. It made her feel high on life, a feeling she couldn’t get enough of. However, as the dopamine slowly faded and her attention focused back on her starstruck reflection, she became gravely aware of the dangers associated with what she was feeling. Ava had felt a similar sensation throughout her active sex life, and yet last night felt more intimate than any one-night stand she had ever had. Nathaniel Brooks touched her in ways that hands couldn’t.