Page 14 of More Than A Boss

“GO TO BED NOW, ALLIE, PLEASE!” he commanded. It took all his willpower to send her off to bed. It was not what he wanted at all. He wanted to feel her naked flesh against his own. He wanted to please her until she was writhing in his arms with reckless abandon. However, he knew he didn’t want to take advantage of this volatile situation and have Allie, or himself, for that matter, regret it later.

Meekly, Allie rose from his lap and hurried inside the house and to her bedroom. Closing the door, she leaned her back against it and slid all the way to the floor with her knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped around them. Dropping her head to her knees, she quietly began to sob.

—

After an impossibly restless night, Allie gave up on sleeping and jumped out of bed and into the shower. Letting the hot water and strong jets stream across her shoulders, it felt like just what the doctor ordered. Today was a new day. She was going to forget all about last night’s episode and consider it an aberration. She could effectively compartmentalize that love scene and place it in a very secure box with duct tape. The newly awakened arousal would have to be tamped back down. She would be OK. “It is mind over matter, your pep talk, for the day!” she said out loud. Now she had to face Zane, and God only knew how that was going to fly. Chin up, plaster a fake smile on your face, go girl!

Zane was nowhere to be found and relief flooded her. There was fresh coffee brewed, so she grabbed a mug and filled it, leaving plenty of room for her half-and-half. She grabbed a stool and saddled up to the bar. Sipping the steaming beverage with satisfaction, she was so lost in thought that Zane startled her with his entrance.

“I see you found the coffee.”

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Yes. Thank you,” she said coolly.

“I have the car backed down to the dock, ready to be hitched to the boat with your help. No rush, but I thought we could just pick up some fast-food breakfast sandwiches and eat them on the road, if you don’t mind?” he said, making another attempt to engage Allie.

“Yes, I’m fine with that. The sooner we get on the road the better, as far as I am concerned,” she said quietly, not making any eye contact.

“Is your luggage packed up yet? I can go ahead and haul it out after we hitch up the boat…that is if it’s ready to go.” Zane offered.

“Yep. Ready,” offering the minimal response.

“I’ll meet you outside by the dock,” he said, trying to make eye contact.

“Allie?” He reached out to touch her arm, she jerked away like she had been burnt.

“Don’t touch me, Zane.”

“Allie, can we….” He was interrupted.

“No, Zane, we can’t!”

He turned abruptly and said, “Have it your way then. I’ll see you at the dock.”

“You’re the boss!” she said smartly.

“Real nice, Allie!” he replied sarcastically, shutting the door with a little more force than was necessary.

The trip home seemed to take forever. Zane was grim faced and silent, obviously still angry with her about her earlier outburst. In fairness to him, Allie did admit that he had been the one to stop it from going any further the night before, and it was the right call. At least she could give him credit for that.

She realized that she felt embarrassed about her reckless abandon with Zane. It was out of character for her. She had only given herself completely to one other man, her ex-husband. They had both been virgins, so she wasn’t that experienced. She was out of her league here. She believed in communication and conflict resolution, so withholding herself felt very uncomfortable. However, she also didn’t have the strength or clarity to work it out now, so she stayed silent.

“Are you comfortable driving straight through without stopping for lunch today?” Zane inquired stiffly.

His detachment and formality were like a knife in Allie’s heart, and she knew she had hurt his feelings, but she also knew she had to let it ride for now. “Not only comfortable, I prefer it!” she said with equal reserve.

“We can stop for a bathroom break at some point down the road,” he offered.

“Fine,” she said coolly.

He did not respond this time, only pressed down on the accelerator as she watched the speedometer jump well above the speed limit. His hands seemed to be gripping the wheel a little tighter than on Friday, she noticed. Not quite as relaxed, she thought, and uncharacteristically felt some small sense of satisfaction that she wasn’t the only one who was miserable.

Several hours later, they turned down her lane and she was glad that the tense ride was over. The second the car stopped, she unlatched her seat belt and jumped out of the vehicle. Going around to the trunk, she impatiently waited for Zane to pop the hatch, so she could grab her bag. Practically running to the house while pulling her suitcase behind, she fumbled for her keys, successfully pulling them out of her coat pocket just as she reached the door.

Zane, coming up behind her, tried to take the keys from her tight grip, but she held on. “I’ve got this!” she said stubbornly.

“I’m sure you do, Allie, but please allow me.” She reluctantly released her grip rather than engaging in a silly tug of war and he slipped the key in the lock and opened the door.

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