Free Perfect Harmony by Sarah P. Lodge

about?” I ask.
    “I requested that a selection of the food be taken to my
limo, so we may dine in peace.  Plus, you could do with the fresh air.”
    “A private dinner in your limo?”  I look back at the
dazzling ballroom and sigh cheerlessly.  “All this?  Is it over already?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You’re taking me home, aren’t you?”
    He nods.
    I sigh again.
    He holds out his hand.  “Come.”
    I reluctantly take it and he leads me for the last time through
the dense crowd of admirers.  They’re all so glamorous and alluring, and they
all wish us the best as we leave.  It felt like hours passed when Chase first
had to personally address these people, but now it feels more like minutes.  I
wish this evening wouldn’t end so quickly, but before I know it, the cold
September mist in the foyer slaps my cheeks.
    We leave through the giant double doors and stand underneath
the towering Wiltshire skyscraper, the rain sheeting down like thick shards of
ice.
    The limo pulls up in front of us and glides to a stop.
    “It’s really over, isn’t it?”  I look up at Chase.  He
stands there so majestically, that I’m without words.  How can I possibly tell
him how grateful I am for tonight - really truly grateful for everything he’s
given me?  That it has meant so much to me that any regret I have that the
night is over is drowned out by the pure bliss I feel for having experienced
it.  “Thank you,” I say.  “This has been the best night of my life.”
    He smirks then grabs me with one arm and thrusts me to him,
our bodies hot against one another.
    “I think you misunderstand.”
    My breath is thick and fast.  “You said you were taking me
home,” I whisper.
    “I never said whose home.”
    My heart thunders against my chest, his hot breath brushing
against my skin.  His gaze pierces my own, his dark eyes wild with fire. 
Droplets of rain drip down his hair, glistening in the silver of the moonlight.
    “But... you’re my boss,” I stutter through muted breaths.  “I
thought you wanted to...”
    He brings my face to his own and strokes a tendril of wet
hair away from my eyes.  His eyes dart to my lips and then he leans in and I
close my eyes, feeling the warm brush of his lips against my ear.
    “There is only one thing that I want,” he whispers.
    I freeze, my body alight with the feeling of his own pressed
against me.  The heat of his finger tips running through my hair.  His powerful
arm pulling me close, warm against the bare skin of my back.  And the feel of
his chest muscles, rippling beneath his tuxedo, pushing into my breasts.
    He pulls his head away and cups my cheek with his hand,
tilting my head up.  I open my eyes and he’s staring straight at my lips, his
thumb lightly stroking my chin.
    I want to form words, to say something.  Anything.  But it’s
impossible.  All I can hear is the sound of my beating heart and my thick
breaths and the rain pouring down around us.  It’s like we’re in our own little
world, a small section of space removed from reality, possessed by nothing but
our two bodies, entwined and embraced and together.  So right and free and
perfect.
    The way Chase looks at me...
    I part my lips, his own merely inches away.  He moves in
closer, and closer, our hot breath mingling in the ever decreasing space
between us.
    His lips are almost on my own.  Just one more second and...
    “Hey!  He’s over here!
    Chase spins round and glares over my shoulder.  I turn to
look.
    “Fucking paparazzi,” growls Chase.
    A short man with a camera swinging below his neck rushes up
and bombards us with questions, but I can’t hear any of them over the
cataclysmic howl of the wind.
    Chase pulls me away from the man and leads us to the limo. 
He thrusts the door open and takes my wrist as I step into the backseat.
    A flashbulbs rhythmically pounds against Chase’s face like
white lightning, his face turned into a twisted scowl, hard edged and ready