17. Lipsticks stain

How can he be so sure? He has no intention of doing anything, right? What is he planning? Why did his entire focus suddenly shift to me instead of his return? Is this related to his company or to ours?

I hope not. I hope I'm wrong. He's Ariah's father. I don't want to be angry with him if I can help it. We can also do co-parenting once I gather the courage to tell him about Ariah. So I hope we don't have any reasons to be at odds with each other.

I don't want to change how I see him.

I thought Arik was just joking when he said he would stay in my office until I had free time, but I was wrong.

While I had back-to-back meetings, he was like a dog following me everywhere I went. It's a good thing that Percepta has a connection with Florida INC, so it's not too weird. But what if there was no connection? What if he's always here for no reason? Gods.

"Aren't you going back to your office? You've been here all day, Arik. Don't you have anything important to do?" I couldn't help but ask him as soon as my last meeting with the investors ended.

We were still in the conference room. He was still seated in the swivel chair next to me, watching me with awe and fascination. I could see my employees stealing glances at us through the glass walls of the room. I could have turned off their vision, but why?

"I could just text you when I'm available to come out."

I must have been wrong in saying that because his face suddenly brightened, and he smiled like a child who just got what he wanted.

"You'll do that?" he muttered.

"Y-yes, of course. Instead of waiting here. You'll get bored," I said, sitting down and organizing the papers on the table.

He continued to gaze at me intently. It pierced through my soul and reached the depths of my being. This was the first time I saw him look at me like this—like he had been admiring me for a long time. Like he really wanted me.

"I won't get bored here, Celeste, especially when I'm watching you work. It's like you were born for this. It seems like you truly enjoy what you do," he commented, moving his chair closer to mine.

"I didn't think of you like this when you suddenly kissed me that night at the bar and asked me to have a night with you. I thought you were just a spoiled party girl."

I suddenly felt insulted by his words, so I quickly slapped his arm. His laughter echoed throughout the conference room. My face is starting to heat up!

"I don't remember what you're talking about," I lied.

"Really, huh? You don't remember how you kissed me that night?" He repeated my words, and I nodded, desperately trying to divert my attention to the papers, even though my heart was going wild.

"Do you want me to remind you?" he asked with his husky voice. I wasn't ready for that!

"W-what?"

"I'll remind you..." he uttered and quickly stood up, grabbing the remote to turn off the vision of the conference room. In an instant, we couldn't be seen from the outside!

My heart pounded heavily as he approached me again. Before I could even react, he gently took my hand and brought it to his lips.

"A-Arik..."

"You don't have any idea how you made me crazy over you that night, Celeste. You have no idea," he said, sitting back in his swivel chair, but with me now beside him.

"A-Arik! What..."

I slumped onto his lap. Now I'm sitting on his lap. I could feel the firm grip of his hands on my waist, as if he's holding on tightly. I could feel the intense tension between us, and I'm starting to feel dizzy from his gentle caresses.

"Arik, what are you doing?" I almost whispered as his hand slid up to the back of my neck.

I could feel the warmth of his palm, even through my coat. I bit my lower lip and held tightly onto his shoulders to support myself as I felt my knees weaken.

"Stop resisting, Celeste. Why don't you trust me this time?" He said huskily.

It seemed like a signal for me to tighten my grip on his shoulders. I was completely weakened by his touch on my back.

"What do you mean? I don't understand..."

"Just trust me this time, Celeste. I know we haven't talked about what you saw that day before you disappeared, so I'm asking you to trust me this time. I'll make it up to you." He pleaded. His voice was so fucking tempting.

"Which part? That I saw you kissing Isabella? I understand, Arik. You were in a relationship with her at that time—"

"No. I wasn't," he firmly declared. "She wasn't my girlfriend at that time. She never was."

"But why..." I bit my lower lip to stop myself from asking further.

He seemed to anticipate the question I was about to ask, but instead of answering, he lifted his other hand and brought it to my cheek.

He traced my jawline with his thumb. It felt like a surge of electric shocks running through me. My knees trembled, and I surrendered completely to him, settling comfortably on his lap.

"Damn. I hate you for not remembering this..." he muttered, before cutting off the remaining gap between us.

The way he firmly held my face, giving him better access to my mouth, sent my decent senses spiraling. I was completely consumed by dizziness. All my thoughts vanished as I drowned in his electrifying kiss.

His kisses were intoxicating. I felt the heat intensify as his warm palm found its way under my coat, only to discover that I was wearing just a tube top underneath.

"A-Arik..." I mumbled as he briefly released me, only to capture my mouth again.

Those kisses were ravenous. They were overwhelming. They were weakening. I suddenly remembered the night that transpired between us. Of course, I lied! I could never forget that night.

"You don't know how much I..." Arik tried to utter something as we briefly separated to catch our breath. His voice was so low that I had to strain to hear it.

"God. I've missed you..." he whispered huskily in my ear. "Celeste... You don't know how much I've wanted to keep you that night..."

And there, I was set on fire. It felt like swimming in molasses, this kiss—it was like being dipped in gold. It was like diving into an ocean of emotions.

I couldn't understand. I couldn't make sense of it all, but I was too caught up in the current to realize I was drowning and that nothing else mattered anymore.

This was the only thing that mattered. This. This moment. These lips. His strong body pressed against me and his firm hands finding a way to bring me closer. I knew I wanted so much more of him.

I wanted all of this. Him. I wanted all of him.

Lost in the intoxicating sensation of his kisses, I suddenly became aware that I was on top of a large table, clinging tightly to him.

Gods. I wanted him, and I knew he understood what I wanted to convey, but we were interrupted by the sudden opening of the door and Aurora's scream.

"Oh, my God!" She screamed and quickly exited again. It seemed like she even locked the door.

That's when I snapped back to reality. That's when I saw myself. My coat was on the floor. Arik's long sleeve was wrinkled from my tight grip. There were lipstick stains on his shirt collar and, most notably, on his lips.

"I... Shit." Arik mumbled as he quickly lowered my lifted skirt, revealing my underwear. I could feel the heat on my face. I couldn't even look at him!

The heat on my face intensified when I noticed the prominent bulge in the middle of his pants.

"What's that?" I asked, making him chuckle.

"I'm sure you don't want to know this time around, Celeste. Come," he said softly and helped me fix myself. He put on my coat and kissed my forehead.

"I'll wait for you until your work is over. I want you to meet someone."

"Who?"

"My Dad wants to meet you," he said, guiding me out of the conference room.

I couldn't help but curse as I remembered Aurora.