OBTP (10 page)

couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"I told you Paige, I wanted you and I still do." He lounged back on

the seat, one arm thrown casually across the back.

"I, uh. I'm married. I shouldn't have done that." She inspected her

manicured nail.

"I also remember telling you that your husband was a lucky man.

So, yeah, I'm aware you are married and I don't care." He spoke

softly. He patted the seat once again.

She heard the honesty in his words, and once again shook her head,

but this time she stared at him. She had to end this. She was in Japan

to work, not have an ongoing affair with a younger man. She opened

her mouth to speak, before she could, the look on his face stopped her.

"Paige." Casey stood and walked over to where she was. His hand

rose up to her face, his fingers slid gently across her cheek, his eyes

looked haunted. "I can't stop thinking about you. I know you are

married and I know I should feel bad about that, but I don't. He

should respect you and he doesn't."

How in the world would he know that! Paige stared at him,

wondering if she had gotten herself into something she wouldn't easily

get out of.

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"I want to be with you." He continued staring at her, but he made

no move to touch her any further than the caress on her cheek.

"But that's impossible Casey. I can't do this. I love my husband."

"You love your husband because it's the right thing to do. But how

long has it been since he has told you he loved you and really meant

it? How long has it been since he loved you the way I did last night?

If ever?"

Closing her eyes she didn't know what she was going to do. Dalton

had never made her feel the way Casey had. But that had been about

sex. She and Dalton had twenty years together and couldn't throw that

all away for one night of great sex.

"I…" She didn't know what to say, His lips descended and grazed

hers and she melted against him. Her brain screamed at her to stop,

but her body said the exact opposite. The kiss deepened and he pulled

her to him. Their tongues battled for a moment before she pulled

away and buried her head in his chest.

"I know you are going to think I'm crazy, but Paige, I think I'm

already in love with you." He pulled her close, his voice barely above

a whisper.

With her head resting against her chest, she could hear his heart

beat strongly in her ear. Her throat was tight with emotions. His

words rang in her ears and she pulled back, staring at him,

dumbfounded.

He stared down at her with a look of sincere honesty. "I have never

fallen for anyone. When I saw you last night, I asked Rosa who you

were and she told me you were married. But I couldn't stop myself.

Paige, you can't go back to him."

This was way too strange. Men didn't declare their love for her, not

men like Casey, and especially not after just one night of being

together.

"Casey, I, uh, don't know what to say." Her arms locked around his

waist, her lower body still pressed against his, but her upper body

leaned back against the arms holding her around her back. She stared

up into his bright blue eyes.

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"I'm not a stalker. You don't have to be afraid of me." He laughed

lightly. "If you tell me you don't want to see me, I'll go away. If you

can honestly tell me you don't feel the connection between us, I will

never bother you again."

Paige pulled out of his arms and ran her fingers through her hair,

not worried if she messed it up or not. What worried her was the fact

that she did feel a connection with him and she really didn't want him

to just go away. But, those feelings shouldn't be there, not so fast!

"Casey, I don't normally do things like this." She paced. "My life is

on a schedule. I do the same thing every day, like clockwork. I don't

deal with change." She shook her head and kept walking, staring at

the floor. She stopped, looked at him, waving her hand in the air.

"All this, is throwing me completely off balance and I don't know

what I am supposed to do."

"Sometimes, what you need is change in your life, Babe."

His facial muscles relaxed a bit when she didn't immediately tell

him to leave, but she could see the tension in his him. She wanted to

go to him and hug him to her, to tell him to relax and again, that was

completely against her nature. She didn't generally hug people very

often, only loved ones and close friends. With him, she wanted to

touch him, hug him, just be close to him and it didn't make sense.

"This is so out there for me. I don't know what it is about you." She

turned her back on him, staring out the window when she continued.

"I can't tell you to leave. Honestly, I don't know why, but I can't. I

don't want you to." Her head dropped and her shoulders sagged when

she admitted her feelings. She heard him release his breath in a

relived sigh. "But, I am still married and I have no plans of changing

that fact."

When she turned back to him she saw that he nodded his head in

understanding. In two steps he was beside her and pulled her to him

again. "I can understand and respect that. But I will tell you, my

intentions are to keep you for myself. I will take you away, to hell

with your husband." His tone of voice ended his statement with a

slight menacing growl.

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Paige released a half laugh half sigh, shaking her head she blinked

slowly. "If I weren't married, I would jump right in, but Casey." His

finger on her lips stopped her words.

"Let's just take one day at a time and see where this goes, no

pressure, okay?" Breathing deeply she nodded her head and returned

his brilliant, hope filled smile.

They broke apart when a knock sounded at the door. Rosa

appeared with the packages that had been delivered to her room.

Paige opened the door to allow Rosa to come in. Plopping the boxes

on the couch, she waved at Casey when he walked towards the door.

"Later Amante."

"I will be back in a couple hours to pick you ladies up." Casey

grinned. Reaching Paige, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and

disappeared out the door.

She had heard Rosa call Lamar
Amante
many times. She had asked

once and was told that it meant lover. Shaking her head when the

door closed, Paige turned to Rosa with a groan. Dejected, heading

towards the love seat, her feet drug across the floor and she plopped

down onto the cushion. Her head leaning back, she rubbed a weary

hand across her face. "Rosa, what am I going to do?" Turning her

head without lifting it, she stared at her friend, waiting for an answer.

"Isn't he just the hottest thing you have ever seen?" Rosa headed

into the kitchen. Rummaging through the refrigerator, found what she

was looking for and pulled out a bottle of wine that had been pushed

to the back.

"Yeah, he's hot and what did you tell him about Dalton?" Forcing

herself to stand up, she shuffled over and took the glass Rosa had

poured for her. Gulping it down, she held the glass out for more.

With a laugh Rosa filled it again.

"I just told him that you were married to a jerk." The secretive

smile on her face told Paige there was probably more to it than what

she was telling her.

"Well, he told me he loved me and he was going to steal me away

from Dalton." Sitting sideways on the seat she stared out the window

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and saw Casey hopping into a car. She turned back to Rosa. "This

never happens to me."

"Well chica, I would say just go with it and see what happens."

Rosa began pulling the red ribbons from the boxes, but didn't open

them. Her expression remained neutral.

Paige huffed, digging deeper into the cushion, wondering if there

was a way she could pass on going out. The thoughts of what Casey

had done to her body, and then his declaration of love had thrown her

into a tailspin. Did she want to call it quits, tell him to leave and

never return, or did she really want to see where it led? Then she

thought of her husband's affair with that woman two years earlier.

Had he felt this way? Did he just come back to her to keep the family

together? Did he really care for Darcy? The thoughts were disturbing

and her chest began to feel heavy.

Rosa heard the slight sob, hurried over and gathered Paige in her

arms. "Just breathe baby, it'll be ok. You can't beat yourself up over

this. The heart wants what the heart wants."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Did I force Dalton to stay with me when

he really wanted to be with her? Was him telling me he loved me a lie

all these years?" Paige swiped at the stray tear and sniffled.

"Hon, only Dalton can tell you that."

Rose didn't meet her eyes, but held her mouth in a firm line. Paige

got the feeling she wanted to say more, but was holding back for some

reason. She was tired of being alone and unsure. She didn't want to

admit it, but deep down, she had a feeling Dalton was still seeing

Darcy. She knew, but didn't want to face the truth that she was

fighting a losing battle to keep her marriage together. Straightening

her shoulders, she drew in a deep cleansing breath and released it

shakily. It was time she made herself happy. "Okay, before I go and

mess myself up completely. Where are we going tonight and when?"

"That a girl." Rosa patted her shoulder and stepped back, glancing

at the gold watch on her slender wrist. "We leave in two hours. So go

jump in the shower, after you are done, call me and I will come over

and do your eye make-up."

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Still in her robe, Paige called Rosa.

She showed up within moments with her small bag of tricks.

The makeup was subtle, but whatever she had done, Paige's green

eyes looked even greener and took on a dreamy state. She couldn't

believe she was looking at herself in the mirror.

They moved to the bedroom where Rosa picked up the box and that

secretive smile appeared again. Paige began to see Rosa's smile for

what it was. Rosa had done something sneaky.

Paige wondered just what she was up to.

Opening the box, she quickly found out. There was a pair of lacy

red thongs and a matching bra sitting on top of a red dress that looked

as if it floated in the box. Paige stared at it and tears sprang to her

eyes. She had not seen the dress, but it looked exquisite and hugged

Rosa to her.

Laughing, Rosa hugged her back.

"Put it on and don't you dare cry and mess up those perfect eyes!"

After a day of being naked on the massage table with Rosa, Paige

had no qualms about shedding her clothing. She slipped the soft

material against her skin. The chiffon dress was fabulous, and

flattered her fuller figure nicely. The sexy surplice neckline showed

the curve of her breasts as the bra pushed them higher than they had

been in a long time. The cummerbund style belt gathered at her waist

and flared into multi layers of material that flowed around her legs

when she twisted.

The shoe box revealed strappy heals like she had chosen with the

turquoise dress, but these matched the color of this dress to perfection.

"How did you know this would fit? I didn't try it on or even see it."

Paige couldn't help but ask and stare in awe at her reflection.

"You tried on all those clothes. So I figured out your size. When

you were in the changing room I saw this." She fingered the material

of the skirt. "I knew it would be perfect for your shape."

Rosa smiled brightly, pleased that her selection had been perfect.

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Paige couldn't help it, she hugged her again. When they separated,

she excitedly slipped the shoes on. They fit flawlessly as well and she

could actually walk in them. They had heels, but not too high so she

wouldn't break her neck. The outfit was absolutely exquisite.

Rosa came up behind her and hugged her around the waist, chin

resting on her shoulder she stared into Paige's eyes. "You look

beautiful and tonight will be different than any other night in your

life." She promised with a grin. "I can almost guarantee that it will

top last night, hands down." Rosa kissed her cheek, and then opened

the hand resting on her shoulder and a necklace dangled there. She

quickly fastened it around Paige's neck before she could protest, and

handed her the matching earrings. "It's your night to shine." Rosa