Bound to You

Chapter 12: Stressed

18:03

James was hosting an interesting presentation about the company's future projects with his managers and they were having debates among themselves about what to prioritize and what not.

He liked arguments but even more, he liked to listen to the opinions of his managers. The more they discussed, the more solutions were found, the more critical questions were raised. There was a need to divert more resources towards his hospitals it seemed...hire more professionals, update the training curriculum of new employees and bring in the latest advanced technology.

Work should have ended long back but here his people were still strongly engaged with the business.

His secretary suddenly opened the door, ran to him and whispered something in his ear. He instantly clapped his hand once, "Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen. I'm afraid I have to deal with an urgency. I'll see you tomorrow." They respectfully nodded at him, greeting him.

He hurried off, got in his personal elevator and pressed a button to go up. What has Jace done again? Was he alright? That boy would someday be the death of him. As soon as the door opened, he hassled in his office to find a woman waiting.

As she heard his steps, Sierra turned to face him. He demanded, not bothering to even greet her, "Where's Jace? What's up with him?" "You tell me." The coldness in her voice could move any men and he slowed down to analyse the situation. She was crossed. Definitely.

Darn. Seemed Jace must have done something bad again. But he was familiar with his son's notoriety and he knew how to handle angry teachers and Sierra would categorically not be a problem.

He calmed himself, acting professional above all, "Look Ms Danvers, appointments exist. You can't just barge in like th—"

"And you can't just barge in my life like that, Mr Torres." He was surprised she just snapped. Where was that patient smile of hers?

She explained, not hiding her frustration, "Today, a colleague brought coffee for me in the classroom and your son had the guts to tell him to stay away from me. How right is that?"

James crossed his arms, frowning a little, "It's definitely wrong. I don't pay you to have coffee and chit-chat when you should work."

She corrected, looking at him straight in the eyes, "It was break time. I had the students stay to complete homework they didn't do."

James thought it was something serious but now he was just...annoyed. She inhaled to speak again and he raised his hand, stopping her, "You can't disturb me for something so petty. I have thousands of works which are dying for my attention right now. If you have nothing more important to add, then leave." She should leave before he'd do something which they'd both regret. It was not fair that she was still so beautiful even though she was angry.

She walked up to him, grabbed his arm and said, "During break time, I went to a cafeteria with the same teacher. A motorcyclist came, grabbed a milkshake, poured it on the poor man's head and threw the cup at him. He rode the same motorbike as Jace's and wore the same exact helmet."

He was not liking that at all. His son would not go to such an extreme, eh? "If you did not see him, you can't just assume it's my son."

"I know it's him, Mr Torres or else I wouldn't be here."

He defended, "If you haven't got solid proof, then it's not him."

She suddenly gripped his collar and pulled him closer to her, "Very good, Mr Torres. Please, continue to ignore your son's actions. It'll sure make him a better person." Her sarcasm was like a slap in the face. He could see how upset she was, how bothered she looked.

How could he be so dense and uncaring? She just wanted to...kill him right now for putting that much pressure on her shoulders. There was a limit to everything and she couldn't be more patient than that. Her body and mind could not tolerate it. On one hand she wanted to hate him but then, she really couldn't.

Not when he was looking at her so intensely, not when he suddenly surrounded his strong arms around her and leaned so close that she could lose it, "Sierra, just calm down."

The way her name rolled off his tongue, the way his hot breath caressed her lips as he tugged her closer, making her shiver in anticipation as she felt the hardness of his chest and when he lowered his head...and she instinctively turned, his mouth grazing her cheek, moving sinfully till the corner of her mouth, kissing her lower lips softly...she trembled, closing her eyes...intense emotions swirling within her.

He could feel her resistance here but his lips defiantly moulded onto hers. Her response was cold and stony.

Utterly shocked, all the heat she had built from the anger suddenly snapped as she opened her mouth, giving him an opening. She was too stressed to move her lips in time with his, not keeping up with the urging pace he set.

She wanted to punch him but when she raised her hands to his shoulders to push him away, she only gripped him harder, her body not responding as it should. Her will was still strong. She would not let him cross anything but his tongue broke through the thin line of her lips and darted into the heat of her mouth.

How could she resist? Her lips parted with a groan and his kiss instantly became wild and deep. And rough, as he teased, bit, not restraining himself to taste, explore and kiss again.

This wasn't enough. Her heart thumped hard and fast in her chest and her body craved for more...Right now, she wanted this. More than anything in the world.

The moment their mouths subtly separated and only their heavy panting could be heard, she loosened her grip, too dazzled and shaken to say anything. She pulled away slowly.

One step back, two steps away and amidst the sparks of passion, he could see a faint tint of pain in her brown eyes as she tried to distance herself as if... he just harmed her.

She barely managed, "You can't do this to me..." He creased his fists, frowning a little, disappointed by her attitude.

She turned her back to him; his cold demeanor was devoid of any emotions and it killed her inside. Oh she knew what he wanted... Just some fun. That's it. Thoughts raced through her clouded mind, "I should probably go."

Without waiting for his reaction, she hurried towards the door, feeling weak, her body heavier than ever as if something was dragging her down. And the moment she trespassed the door, she couldn't support herself anymore and collapsed.

Upon noticing her falling, James swiftly moved to catch her. He stared at her for a moment, his own stupid heart skipping a beat as he tapped her cheek lightly, "Sierra? Sierra! Open your eyes, damn it."

She fainted. He held her wrist, felt her pulse, counted the beats in a minute... They were irregular. He shifted, raised her properly in his arms and directed himself to his elevator. God, what did he do to that woman?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jace was heading to the store to buy a few Heineken beers as his stock was starting to diminish when he got a call.

He took out his phone from his pocket to see the caller and answered, slowing down his speed, "Yes, dad... Maths teacher, uh-huh. She brought in a young girl at school? I don't see who you're talking— The girl I took on a date? I took many girls on a date... Oh, you mean her!? God, that's her niece! ...Yes, her damn niece, not her sister! Like hell I will... I just don't think that's a good id— You're a pain. Fine!"

He ended the call. His father was so annoying at times. He checked for vehicles behind him, turned around and sped off, challenging himself to make it there in less than ten minutes.

He didn't even have her number, he realized as he stopped before her house and went to knock at her door. He tried the doorknob but it was locked from inside. Whistling a catchy song, he stepped back to look through the window. Damn, the curtains were blocking his view. He tried to peer and suddenly, they moved and he saw a pair of eyes looking at him from the other side.

He stepped back violently, taken by surprise as he tumbled and fell on the grass while she screamed inside. She suddenly opened the window and harshly whispered, looking down at him, "What the hell are you doing here?! You gave me a heart attack!"

He stared at her. Her hair was all released and messy and she was in a pink pajama with the top two buttons released. He stood, dusting off the dirt from his clothes, grabbed the ledge of the window and hopped inside, "I came to fetch you."

She stepped back, confused and surprised and he couldn't help but see the baby shark plush in her hand and the Panda-like slippers she was wearing. He leaned forward and pointed at her chest, "Now that's interesting!"

She stepped back, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she automatically pressed her hand against her chest and quickly turned away from him to fix her top buttons. "What do you want?! If Sierra comes and sees you, she'll kill you, then she'll kill me."

"Chill. Your aunt fainted and is staying at my place tonight. My dad asked me to come and fetch you."

She exclaimed, "Fainted?!"

"She's fine. Just grab some of her clothes and some of yours too and let's go. I have to make it real quick or the store will close down. Get moving." He gave her a slight push and she groaned, "Hey, don't do that! Oh God, I've been trying her phone. That's why she wasn't answering."

She ran off to her room and he slid his hands in his pocket as he allowed himself to visit the house. He found the fridge, bent to see what good things there were and his eyes lit up as he saw a piece of chocolate cake just waiting for him.

What a delight. He grabbed the plate, sat in the living room couch, turned on the television and took pleasure in every scoop he devoured.

On her side, Ileana quickly stuffed some clothes in her backpack, taking quite a time to gather the basic things she needed. She hassled back, hoping Jace wasn't angry for having waited for too long and she found him, comfortably sitting on the couch, his foot on the small table as he was passively watching the late-night cartoons.

She said, "Hey, that's not yours!"

He looked at her with a grin and smirked, "Saved a last bite for you, princess."

"Ugh, eat it yourself." "Your loss." He looked so innocent right now that she began to wonder if it was the same badass boy who rode that motorbike, who smoked, who accepted kisses from girls and drove them to God knew where. She was surprised to find him quickly washing the plate in the sink and leaving it to dry. Very thoughtful of him.

He wiped his hand dry in his shirt, turned off the TV and said, "Let's go."

He made his way to the window, hopped out, waiting for her and she simply closed it, locking it and went to open the door. Jace rolled his eyes and said, "Are you that scared to jump?"

"I'm just not careless." She locked the door, kept the house key safely in her pajama pocket and he grimaced, "Are you really going to bring that thing?!"

"That 'thing' has a name. Sharkie. Get it?" She held her shark plush closer and just got behind him without a word, ignoring his mockeries. "How old are you, kiddo?"

"Ugh, seventeen and there's no shame in having a plush. Now let's go. I want to see Sierra." "Hold me tight, baby." "Never again."

He laughed, "Can't believe I'm giving a ride to a girl in pink pajama who's carrying a shark plush." She hid her embarrassment, "No one will see anything. Just go!" He accelerated abruptly, so fast that she was forced to grab his jacket.