If that left him hard and aching while he watched her sleep, so be it. She was too precious to allow his libido to override what he knew to be good for her.
Normally when he could not sleep, he would have gotten up to work, but he did not want to leave her. By the saints, he had it bad. Was that because she’d been a virgin? He’d never really believed it made a difference, but he felt more possessively toward her than he had any previous lover.
It must be because of her innocence.
The thought of breaking off their relationship when he went to Prague filled him with more than frustration at an affair that would end to early. Unreasoning anger beat a steady tattoo in his chest. He did not want to leave the field open for some other man to come in and claim the passion he had awakened inhis Amber.
But there was no other tenable option.
It would not be fair to her or himself to be tied to a long distance relationship. Attempting such a thing with the commitments they each had to their work would be impossible. They would only be able to see each other when she could get time off between jobs and considering the fact this was her first vacation in more than a year, he had little hope such circumstances would arise often enough to suit either of them.
The business commitments he had agreed to shoulder for his family’s company in Prague would preclude him leaving Russia for six months, maybe even a year. He might be able to arrange a flying visit or two to California, but nothing more. Not enough to maintain a committed, exclusive relationship.
He could not be sure of his ability to go without sex if they had a long separation. He never had before. He loved sexual intimacy and needed the stress release it provided when business got extra intense. Now that Amber knew what she’d been missing, he did not think she would sublimate her sensuality with work so effectively, either.
No. A long distance relationship was only asking for trouble and heartache for both of them.
He could not back out of his commitment to his family. Such an option was unthinkable. Well, he had thought of it and then discarded it. He had never let the company down before and family pride and duty demanded he not start now.
He could not ask Amber to come to Prague with him. Not even for a couple of months, though the temptation was acute.
It would be absolutely unfair to her. Her career was just heating up and she would be very busy, especially once a few well placed recommendations were made by Miguel’s ad campaign manager. He’d spoken to the man earlier that day and made it clear that Menendez Enterprises would be grateful to others (including his own employee) who saw the same potential in Amber Taylor that they had. She wouldn’t want him to do that, which was why he hadn’t told her.
But having friends in business never hurt.
He sighed and touched the top slope of her breast exposed by the dipping neckline on her silk sleepshirt. Leaving this woman would be hard, but he had no choice. A clean break at the end of their time together was the only way, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t maximize the time they did have together.
Unwilling to dwell any longer on unpalatable facts that could not be changed, he forced himself to climb from the bed leaving her seductive warmth behind. Work would afford distraction from his chaotic thoughts. Sometimes toiling in the wee hours was the best way to accomplish a lot in a short period. If he was going to maximize the precious little time he did have with Amber, he needed to get rid of as many work obligations as possible.
CHAPTER EIGHT
AN HOURand a half later, Miguel sat up from where he’d been working at the coffee table in the living room and stretched. He had delegated all the responsibilities he could without letting anyone down, answered e-mails he would have had to at the office later, and even had two IM sessions with international associates that took care of any communication he would have had to have with them the following week.
He was closing his computer when a slight sound to his left caught his attention. He looked up.
Amber stood a few short feet from the sofa, her golden hair a messy halo around her sleep softened features, her slight curves accented by the silky nightshirt. She smiled softly. “Hi.”
He snapped the laptop shut and leaned back on the sofa, his long legs stretched out before him. If he got within touching distance, he was going to touch…and a whole lot more. “Hi, yourself. What are you doing up,querida ?”
She shrugged. “I woke and you wer
e gone. I decided to find you.” She looked down at the closed laptop. “Working?”
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t sleep or stuff that couldn’t wait?”
“A little of both, but mostly sleeping within touching distance of temptation became too much.”
She smiled and came to sit beside him, her feminine scent reaching out to wrap around him as she curled up facing him, one hand on his chest. “How’s this for temptation?”
He groaned. “The sadistic streak is not something I expected.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“But you are tempting me…knowing I cannot follow through. Some might call that cruel.” He called it too damn delicious.
“You know, I may have been a virgin less than twenty-four hours ago, but I am not ignorant.” She rubbed her face against his chest, making a little humming sound. “There are things we can do that do not require penetration.”