Page 37 of The Swap After Hours

We took the elevator up, and as we ascended, the city unfolded beneath us in a breathtaking panorama. The lights of Paris stretched out as far as the eye could see, creating a dazzling display that seemed almost unreal. I could see why they called it the most romantic city in the world.

“This is incredible. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“It’s something, isn’t it?”

His face was in profile when I looked over at him. “It sure is,” I said softly. His head turned, his eyes locking with mine. My heart beat a frantic rhythm against my ribcage and my palms turned sweaty. “Can I kiss you, Donovan?”

His eyes tightened but I could see flames flickering in their depths. “Trevor,” he warned.

I took a step closer, leaving barely any space between us. “Please, Donovan. I need to know what you feel like, what you taste like.”

“Fucking hell,” he growled and then he was moving, turning to face me fully and cradling my chin with one hand before he took my mouth in a sweltering kiss.

His fingers tangled in my hair as he took control, angling my face where he wanted. His teeth nipped my bottom lip, begging me to open to him. I complied eagerly and with the first sweep of his tongue over mine, my legs turned to jelly.

My hands landed on either side of his waist where I gripped on, afraid if I let go, I’d float off into the sky. I’d never been kissed like this before, an all-consuming experience that I felt from the roots of my hair to the soles of my feet.

It ended all too soon and I leaned against him, panting and trying to calm my racing heart. Donovan didn’t say a word as he took my hand and led me toward the elevator. I didn’t know where he was taking me and honestly, I didn’t care as long as we got to do that again.

It was a long ride down from the top of the tower and my only thought was, this was it. This was the thing that had been missing with everyone else.

CHAPTER 14

DONOVAN

I ordered a car to pick us up. Neither of us said a word on the ride back to the hotel, each lost in our own thoughts. I glanced over at Trevor, but his face was turned toward the window, staring out at the night. What was he thinking?

The entire day had been out of character for me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a whole day off from work. Even on rare occasions when I didn’t go into the office, I would work from home. But seeing the disappointment on Trevor’s face when I said we were going to cut the trip short, had been enough for me to toss all my plans aside.

Never once, in all the time we’d been working together, had he ever asked for anything for himself. Not that he had really asked this time. He would have gone home if I’d insisted and I knew he would have done it with a smile on his face, but he would have been disappointed and there were already enough people in his life that had disappointed him. I refused to be another.

So, I’d decided to stay and show him around, give him a chance to experience some of the finer aspects of Paris. He’d been excited, like a little kid in awe of each new thing. Watching him, seeing his reactions to everything had been more fun than I’d expected, and I’d ended up enjoying myself immensely.

Typically, I had trouble talking with people if it wasn’t work related. I never talked about myself with others, and I abhorred the mindless chit chat I had to endure at social functions, but with Trevor, it wasn’t like that.

Conversation flowed effortlessly between us all day and we never seemed to run out of topics to discuss. Most surprising was the fact that none of them had anything to do with work. It was the longest period of time I’d gone without working, checking in with work, or thinking about work.

As the day had gone on, I’d noticed a subtle shift between us. Gazes turned lingering, we walked closer together, our shoulders brushing occasionally, and the spark that always seemed to exist between us grew into a gentle flame.

Then we’d gone to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I could feel the heat of his skin against my arm as we stood side by side, looking out at the view. My blood had thrummed through my veins, my pulse picking up speed with his close proximity.

His scent floated across the breeze, filling my lungs and causing my head to spin. And then he’d asked if he could kiss me and it was like someone had taken that gentle flame and poured gasoline all over it, igniting it, and turning it into a roaring fire.

There was no time to think. Instead, it was pure instinct driving me as I grabbed him and kissed him as if my life depended on it. Weeks of frustration, tension, and want coursed through me and I unleashed it all onto his pliant mouth.

He’d seemed shocked at first and I’d swallowed his gasp, but then he was holding on and kissing me back, and it was the single best kiss I’d ever experienced. It had felt like his mouth had been designed especially for me.

I wanted more. I wanted all of him. And so, I’d taken his hand and led him back down to the ground, intent on getting us somewhere private as quickly as possible. But as we’d stood there, waiting for our ride to arrive, reason had begun to set in, along with a healthy dose of doubt and guilt.

Now, I sat beside him, on the way back to our hotel and all I could think was What had I done? Kissing him had been a bold, reckless move and it may have very well cost me the best PA I’d ever had. But more than that, it may have cost me my one true friend, a man I respected and cared about.

The ride seemed to take forever as I continued to badger myself. What was he thinking? Did he regret kissing me? Was he feeling confused? Repulsed? Had the idea of kissing a man turned out to be much more alluring than the reality of it? We were in the same car, but it felt like there were miles between us.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, my stomach was in a tight knot and my jaw hurt from clenching it. I could feel Trevor’s eyes on me as we rode the elevator up to our floor, but I couldn’t bring myself to return his gaze, too afraid of what I might see in those blue depths.

As soon as we stepped inside our suite, I made a beeline to the minibar where I promptly grabbed a bottle of Glenfiddich Scotch Whiskey. I poured some into a glass then tipped my head back, drinking it all in one gulp. I welcomed the burning sensation as I swallowed, the whiskey spreading throughout my body like liquid fire.

Trevor stood in the middle of the room, staring at me. I gripped the edge of the bar with both hands and dropped my chin to my chest for a few seconds as I tried to come up with something to say, a way to make it up to him for what I was now sure had been a grave mistake on my part.

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