Free Windstar by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

mouth still for his taking, his arm around her back. He wedged one leg between hers, the hardness of him forming along her belly.
    Angela’s head was spinning and her body was on fire with a need that scared her. She pushed against him, but he wouldn’t release her and the longer his potent kiss continued, the more her knees weakened and her belly clenched. Her fists were doubled against his shoulders but there was no give, no lessening of his hold. If anything, his embrace tightened around her and the bulge between his legs stabbed into her. With one last, frantic shove, she managed to break free of him, stumbling sideways to get away from him, a trembling hand to her lips, her face as white as a sheet.
    “What the hell were you doing?” she questioned, tears clouding her vision.
    Rory shook his head as though to clear it of whatever strange emotion had reached out to ensnare him. He was as shocked at his actions as she appeared to be and just stood there looking at her, breathing heavily, trying desperately to get his desire under control. He couldn’t move as she fled, running to her room and shutting the door loudly, the sound of her lock clicking making him flinch.
    “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” he swore, unable to do anything but stare at her door, his blood pounding in his ears.
    Angela was shaking so badly all she could do was slump down on her bed and tremble. Her lips were swollen from his passionate kiss and her body alive with a desire so rampant she knew what she’d have to do in the shower before she could ever hope to sleep that night. That he had toyed with her, she could not forgive and the tears suddenly became a torrent of sobs that shook her to her core and she fell to the mattress, keening in her misery.
    The gentle knock at her door was like a hot blade to her heart and his low voice as he begged her to open the portal hurt even more.
    “Angela, please,” he said, his brogue even more pronounced as he spoke softly. “Open the door and let me apologize.”
    “Go away!” she threw at him.
    Rory ran the palm of his hand over the surface of the door. “Please, Angie. I don’t know what the hell came over me. I’m sorry.”
    She’d known it was too good to be true but her admiration for his talent, her awe of his stunning male beauty, had blinded her. Men like him made fun of women like her, yet she had fallen into his trap so easily. She had thought they could be friends--not just employer and employee. She should have known better and it had not only cost her her pride but any chance of having the exciting life she’d pictured at the side of a man like Rory Keith.
    “Angela, let me in,” he asked.
    She did not respond and after awhile, he seemed to give up. She sat up on the bed, swiping at her swollen eyes as the tears finally subsided and felt her heart breaking. For the longest time she sat there going over and over the choices she had and realizing they were few.
    She’d given up her apartment to move in with him and what little money she had in the bank wouldn’t be enough to put down on a deposit for a new place. She’d only worked for him for one day and that wouldn’t be enough to get her very far. She had no choice but to stay if he’d allow it and work long enough to save up the funds to get another place. She doubted he’d give her a good reference after the fool she’d made of herself tonight.
    “You idiot,” she called herself. “Why did you tell him all that?”
    After an hour of self-recrimination, she got up and trudged unhappily into the bathroom, her memory of his kiss still enflaming her body, dredging up needs that had not been filled in years. Cranking the water up, she stripped off her clothing that had his smell on them and threw them across the room. She climbed into a shower too cold and stinging but needing the punishment for having been so stupid.
    * * * *
    Rory stood at the window and stared out at the lights of New York. The apartment was quiet and