If Only for a Time Page 4

  Without removing his mouth from her breast, his hands reached up, slipping underneath the only piece of clothing left between them, tugging it down.

  She got up momentarily to step out of her panties, now standing naked against the Singapore skyline as he lay in bed, fully erect, yearning for her to return. He couldn’t help but touch himself as he admired her at the end of the bed, his hands a poor substitute for her touch still lingering on his body.

  He reached over to the bedside table, clumsily taking a condom and ripping open the package. She grinned and climbed back on top of him, taking the condom from him and slipping it over him.

  She hovered there only momentarily before he wrestled her to the bottom again, pinning her below him as his hands lowered to the parts she had kept hidden up until now.

  Rebekah arched her hips towards him as he lifted her closer like she weighed no more than a feather. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him close as his fingers guided a pathway through the moist flesh for his cock to follow.

  Her nails dug deep into his shoulders as he entered her, slowly thrusting his burning desire, first gradually and then deeper and deeper. Passion consumed him as he felt her wet heat.

  He kissed her passionately as their bodies moved in unison. Her hands moved over his back, through his hair, over his toned behind, grabbing onto anything she could while their bodies joined in perfect ecstasy.

  Their worlds melted away.

  He would only notice the scratches the next day.…

  When he finally got up to throw away the condom, she just laid there, naked and spent, wondering what all of the other conference attendees were doing.

  He returned to the bed and kissed her, holding her close, neither one saying a word.

  She let herself enjoy it only for a few minutes before wrestling free of his grip and getting up, searching the room for her discarded garments.

  Her racing mind had caught up with her body and she needed time to process this.

  “You’re leaving?” he asked, his naked body sprawled on the bed.

  “I have to,” Rebekah said, adjusting her clothes that were lustfully ripped off of her not too long ago.

  “Just stay a little bit,” he insisted but she shook her head, slipping into her crumbled up dress. “Why are you leaving?”

  “This isn’t very professional,” she stated the obvious, bending to kiss him goodbye. He pulled her down on top of him again but she protested, smiling. It was late already.

  She looked cautiously into the hallway before sneaking out of the room to the glass elevator. But she didn’t go to the seventh floor. She pushed the button to take her back to the restaurant. The function had died down except for a few drunk stragglers. It was two in the morning now.

  She considered waking Akari but thought better of it. No one could know what they had just done. She shouldn’t have spoken to Akari about this earlier, but it was too late for that now. She’d have to do damage control in the morning.

  “Can I help you?” The tired waiter asked.

  “Do you have any cigarettes?”

  “I’m sorry, we-”

  “I just need one, please. I’ll even pay you for it.”

  “No problem,” he obliged and disappeared to the back, bringing back a single smoke and a worn-out box of hotel matches. “I’m sorry, it’s all I could find.”

  “Thank you so much,” she said gratefully, taking the gifts and getting back into the elevator.

  She’d stopped smoking months ago but as she sat on the roof by the pool, alone, overlooking the magical skyline of the east, she inhaled deeply, her eyes closing as she replayed the night again in her head. None of it seemed real.

  Her phoned beeped.

  Come back, the unknown number urged. She knew who it was. She stared at the words for a while before finally deciding.

  See you tomorrow, she replied.

  She smiled in satisfaction.

  Rebekah put her phone to sleep and sat there a while longer before returning to the seventh floor where she should have been from the start. The view wasn’t nearly as spectacular from her room, but the bed was still made of clouds and she drifted away, replaying the magical night in her mind. She wanted to stay in this reality forever. If only Emile weren’t forbidden.

  Chapter Eight

  Rebekah ran into the restaurant just in time; breakfast was almost over. There was still half an hour before the opening conference session, though, and she hurriedly plonked her bag down next to Akari, who had already finished her whole meal.

  She scanned the room as she came in to find her friend, but also subconsciously looking for Emile. He was hard to miss, even if she wasn’t intentionally looking, as he sat at the table adjacent to theirs, his back turned to Akari. There was only a cup of coffee in front of him and a mass of papers. He must have eaten earlier, she figured.

  “Is this the best time to get here? What happened to us meeting at eight?” Akari said, curiously eyeing her friend. “You look like death. What time did you get to bed?”

  “Jeez, Akari, can you at least let me get some coffee first? It wasn’t too late. I think I just drank a bit too much, that’s all.”

  What’s the definition of “not too late,” again? Rebekah thought.

  Rebekah paused for a moment, deciding on the best way to spin last night’s events.

  “I left right after you,” Rebekah lied. “I’ll be back, I just want to get something to eat, I’m ravenous.”

  She was overly aware of Emile right behind her and the fact that he could hear her every word, but mostly she was aware of the smell, that scent that drove her mad without him even having to say or do anything.

  Before Akari could question her any further, she headed off to the large buffet tables lined with breakfast delicacies from around the world. Not that she had any illusions that she’d have to answer to her friend sooner or later. She regretted having told her this much already. Last night had to be a secret. There was too much at risk. There was a reason people told her not to mix business with pleasure. Not even Akari could be let in on their secret. Including anyone else would allow for the potential to make things awkward. Well, more awkward.

  Rebekah grabbed a plate and circled the first table, filling her plate with bacon, eggs, and all those other things her hungover body craved, steering clear of the healthy fruit ensemble not too far away. She hadn’t lied about being ravenous. She never did end up eating at the meet-and-greet last night as she had gotten too caught up in the cat-and-mouse game with the beautiful man from the twenty-first floor.

  “Good morning,” he smiled, casually joining the queue behind her, his hand gently brushing up against hers as he reached for the cutlery.

  “Hey,” Rebekah simply said, not looking around and pretending to decide between the pork sausages and beef. Despite being so late, the room was still milling with delegates, and they were far from alone in the buffet line.

  All she wanted to do was turn around, grab him, and kiss him passionately, but instead, she just stared ahead with a blank expression on her face, dishing up some more mushrooms on top of her already piled plate.

  The line shuffled forward and he pressed up against her gently, unnoticeable to anyone else.

  “You left something,” he whispered, his breath warm on her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

  She didn’t answer and continued moving forward, smiling at one of the ladies on the other side of the table.

  He spoke softly, hardly moving his lips, but she could hear every syllable that was meant for her ears and hers alone.

  “I found your earrings on the bed stand this morning…I wished they were you, instead.”

  She didn’t say anything. Her heart was racing, but she was trying desperately to hide it. Just hearing his voice brought back a flood of memories from the night before. She didn’t trust herself to speak, she could hardly breathe.

  She switched her plate to her other hand and let the empty one dro
p to her side. Emile placed the two small pearls in her palm, closing his hand warmly over hers, his touch lingering just a moment before she pulled her hand away and quickly dropped the jewelry in her pocket.

  To everyone else, they were merely strangers, just getting some breakfast. Everyone was caught up in their own meals and realities of unanswered emails and time zone disparities causing work drama.

  She knew Akari would notice him standing behind her, but even her inquisitive friend wouldn’t be able to ascertain any suspicious behavior or anything more than formal courtesy at best. At least that’s what she hoped.

  Rebekah rounded the corner of the table, momentarily catching his eye as he was still on the other side. He smiled warmly and she couldn’t stop her face from responding in kind, but only for an instant, before walking away without so much as a word. The unbearable game seemed exciting in its own way. Her heart raced the same as it had the night before; the fear, the lust, the passion.

  She sat by Akari again, stuffing her face instantly, hoping not to have to deal with the questions. Emile didn’t return to the spot behind her. He must have found another acquaintance somewhere else in the room.

  “So, what happened with Emile? Was that him just standing behind you now? You didn’t even talk to him?”

  “I’m trying to eat, Akari. Stop asking so many questions,” she mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, hoping to shut up her friend.

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere. So eat all you want, I’ll wait.” Akari got up to get another coffee refill and Rebekah sighed, wolfing down more bacon in the hopes of it soaking up some of the alcohol undoubtedly still reeling in her system. She shouldn’t have drunk so much, but she had been too nervous. And even without the alcohol, she still would’ve fallen for those beautiful green eyes. She was just as drawn to him as everyone else. She was defenseless against his charm.

  “So what went wrong?” Akari returned, picking up the topic again.

  “Nothing went wrong. I went back to the party but he’d already left. And that was that. So I went back to my room and tried to sleep off this hangover. It’s that simple,” she said, not looking up from her plate and trying to keep her voice stable. She’d never been good at lying but she hoped Akari didn’t know her well enough to pick up on that.

  “And now? What did he say to you by the breakfast line?” Akari wasn’t ready to let the topic drop.

  “Nothing. He said good morning.”

  “That seems strange. What about all the chemistry last night between the two of you?”

  “It’s called alcohol, Akari. Come on, we’re going to be late.” She shoved one last mouthful of eggs into her mouth before jumping up and grabbing her bag. “We’re here to work after all.”

  She had yet to do any work on this trip, though, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t have much luck with the morning sessions either.

  But the game was on and the conference their playground. The aim of the game? The perfect secret of course, and nothing about sustainable building solutions.

  Chapter Nine

  The girls took their seats near the front, mostly because the room had filled up from the back and they didn’t have much of a choice.

  Rebekah took out her notebook and started doodling on the empty pages that were supposed to be filled with lecture notes. She stopped midway when she felt a familiar touch on her left shoulder, fire shot through her body. She didn’t even have to look up to know Emile had sat down next to her.

  “Good morning,” he said politely, waving to Akari as well, who eyed him suspiciously. He paid little attention to her as he immediately returned his gaze to Rebekah.

  He pressed his body close to hers. With the chairs so ungodly close, it wasn’t hard to accomplish. It felt like the world was watching from behind them, but even if they were, they would see nothing out of the ordinary.

  Rebekah’s body was on fire. All she wanted was to touch him, but she kept doodling and enjoying the safe, indirect touch. The smell, the proximity, his entire presence consumed her.

  It was certainly confusing. No matter what she did, she couldn’t dissociate herself from this man sitting next to her from the man who made passionate love to her the night before. Her mind tried in vain to will away the lust building up inside her, but her body was on its own mission.

  “Who is up next?” she asked calmly, but all she wanted was to scream, “Take me now!” She didn’t understand her emotions; she’d never had such incredible chemistry with anyone before. She had no control over his influence on her, especially not after last night. Part of her wished she had stayed the night, even though she knew she couldn’t…shouldn’t. No good would have come from it. She would’ve become emotionally attached.

  But what was this then?

  “Looks like it’s the Swedish embassy on living walls and green roofs,” he answered, flipping over the program around her neck. Had she spoken her question aloud? Keep it together, she scolded herself. His hands were close to her chest. She held her breath as he read the words. He could have looked at his own program, but he didn’t. Little, permissible gestures fueling the game nobody else knew was happening right under their noses.

  “That sounds very fascinating,” she kept her voice flat.

  “I once did a project with a living roof in Brazil. You want to see?” he asked excitedly.

  “Really? Sure,” she replied. It seemed permissible.

  He took out his phone and they sat huddled over the tiny screen showing him walking around in his overalls on a project site. It was bad quality and the footage shaky but she still smiled at the glimpse of his life beyond.

  “You look so different when you’re not in a suit,” she said. She started allowing herself to glance at him, taking in his clean and formal attire, complete with spotless shoes and matching belt.

  “I told you, my life-”

  He was cut off as the conference chairman called the session to order and he quickly put away his phone, using the opportunity to shuffle closer to her even for just an instant. His body seemed to press against her side, calf to calf, thigh to thigh, hips, arms, everything conjoined.

  Rebekah couldn’t concentrate. Of course she couldn’t. She could hardly focus on breathing normally―something she was failing at as her chest heaved heavily. She crossed her legs towards him, her right foot gently grazing the front of his leg. She could see him smile out of the corner of her eye as she pretended to look at the speaker.

  Once again, Akari was long forgotten but not oblivious to the situation. However, unlike the secret lover to her side, she was genuinely interested in the talk and kept her attention on the topic at hand. Green roofs were on the rise in Japan and it had always been something she wanted to incorporate into her designs.

  To try and distract herself, Rebekah returned to doodling on the notebook balancing on her lap. She was drawing random geometric shapes that swirled out in broken patterns and spirals in no specific order.

  She almost jumped when his hand brushed up against her leg as he took the pen from her grip; although, it wasn’t much of a reach.

  He wrote run away with me in between the shapes in a hurried scrawl.

  You’re crazy, she wrote back. Rebekah paused, then added How?

  Emile scribbled during the break – please!

  No way! Rebekah wrote.

  No one will know. You can leave first.

  She took the pen and hovered over the page for a long time, looking straight ahead at the speaker she wasn’t seeing.

  705 she finally wrote. It’s closer.

  He drew a smiley face and she quickly scratched out the writing and turned the page for a clean start.

  Her mind felt like the chaos on that scratched out sheet.

  The anticipation was killing her.

  The talk was exactly fifty three minutes long. To Rebekah, it felt like fifty three hours, each one slowly creeping past in unbearable tension. Every now and then, one of them would shift positions, a stolen
touch, an undetectable embrace in open view.

  The conference photographer didn’t even have a clue.

  Chapter Ten

  Her heart pounded fast to the beat of Emile’s drum as she took the elevator to her room. By the time she opened the door to her temporary world, she could hardly breathe, a common problem since yesterday it seemed.

  She quickly threw her clothes into a corner, and straightened the room as best she could, fiddling with the lighting to get it just right.

  Emile showed up not too long after. She was still rushing around when the knock came. He entered the room, unbuttoning her shirt even before the door was properly closed.

  They threw their name badges onto the counter and hurriedly tore at their clothes, almost mechanically, feverishly. She was no longer nervous. There was no time for that. Neither of them said a word.

  The ticking clock was the only thing they were aware of. The breaks were exactly half an hour. Half an hour to mill around the lobby, making small talk while drinking coffee and eating fancy pastries made by expert chefs.

  There were exactly twenty one minutes left now. She had checked her watch when he knocked.

  It took less than one until they were standing naked in her room. The view was less spectacular but neither of them would be able to notice with the curtains drawn.

  He pulled her close, pressing her body into him with all the pent up desire that had accumulated since breakfast. Finally, they were free from the eyes of the world, free to devour each other without fear of scorn. But there was a time limit hanging over their heads which meant no time for messing around. They both knew what they wanted.

  Seventeen minutes left.

  He picked her up and placed her on the desk under the TV that she never watched, kissing her deeply, his hands eagerly caressed her erect nipples.

  Her body couldn’t get enough of his touch and she pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around his waist as he pushed her against the cold wall. The AC ran all day but the temperature inside was perfect. Not cold enough to keep the sweat from forming on his temples, though. She could feel the moisture as she took his face between her hands.