Professional Restraint

20 Incredible

Liam

"Sleep well, Ella," I say, letting her hand slip from mine. All too quickly, the spell is broken between us and she turns towards the door but pauses with her hand on the frame and looks back at me over her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Liam," she says, her voice almost a whisper, before heading out and to her room. The moment the door closes, I let out a sigh and sink down on my bed.

What the fuck am I doing?!

I bury my face in my hands before running them through my hair, tugging slightly. In no time, this vixen has turned me from a calm, collected businessman to a hormonal teen. Even now, I can still feel her silky skin on my fingertips.

We haven't even gotten to work yet, and I can't keep my hands off of her.

"Fuck," I groan, feeling my body respond to her once more.

Sleeping with Ella was not part of the plan for this trip, but nothing has gone according to plan.

We were supposed to be putting in long hours at Renford's and crashing at the hotel...

Throwing myself into work makes ignoring how perfect she is easier for me. Going for dinners, sightseeing, and rock climbing have had the exact opposite effect, leaving me worse off than before.

The more time we spend together the more I notice small details, like how she bites her finger when she's deep in concentration, or how she wrinkles her nose when she doesn't like something, even if she says she does. Or how when she gets nervous or unsure, she moves in close to me without even realizing it. When I first met her, I thought she was shy and sheltered but this trip has shown me a whole new side of her.

Watching Ella fearlessly try her hand at climbing a mountain, albeit a small one, was impressive. I have no doubts that she would have kept trying until she got to the top if the weather didn't get in the way. What I mistook for shyness is a healthy dose of caution.

Ella rarely speaks first, but she's always listening.

The entire dinner with Terrance and Carissa left me sweating bullets the way those two were slinging double entendres and roping Ella unwittingly in on it.

Thank God she didn't connect the dots, but I'm definitely talking to those two assholes before we go to dinner again. At least she had a good time.

For a man that prides himself on control, I sure lost it tonight when she looked at me like that. After I'd talked with Terrance the night before, my plan was to try a vanilla relationship approach. Ella had been unknowingly teasing me all night, but slipping my tie around her slender neck and calling me Sir was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

If Sophia hadn't called, I'm worried I would have shown her all of me at once... and then what?

If Ella sees the real me, the Dominant, will she run, or give it a shot?

She claims she's open minded and likes to try new things. So far, I haven't seen a judgmental bone in her body, and I find myself hoping she isn't. But then logic kicks in and reminds me BDSM is a lot different from rock climbing.

At this point, the best I can hope for is that El can work her magic and we're done here sooner than expected and get back home, where I can put a bit of distance back between us. Part of me can't wait to get back to my regular life, but the other part of me can't imagine going back to my mundane routine after spending so much time with her. There's no denying the chemistry between us, but it's both a blessing and a curse, clouding our judgment.

I could see the uncertainty in her eyes when she came to drop off my tie. I believe her when she says she's not uncomfortable with me, but I can see how that confuses her, and the last thing I want to do is cross a line with her.