CHAPTER 3

         Enough socializing for one night… It was time to go back to his hotel suite and unwind. All these events were draining the life out of him. Lance walked out of the hotel that was hosting the fundraiser and went straight to the parking spot. He asked the valet to bring him the car.

          Up until a couple of weeks ago, his headquarters were in New York. But then, he decided to move the “HL Sportswear” base to Los Angeles. Lance dropped off the old advertising team and started looking for a new one, able to put his company on the right path to universal success.

          He never thought that all this would include socializing, meeting people willing to do anything to get the big prize, to have his approval, to get their hands on something so important as his pet project. Their behavior was understandable, though. “Hamilton Inc.” was well-known in the business environment and everybody wanted a slice of the pie.

          But this business development wasn’t the only reason that pushed him to choose Los Angeles over New York. There were some very important personal reasons also. The last months of his personal life had been an absolute hell and Lance knew he had to make a change. Putting some miles between him and the rest of the Hamiltons had been exactly what the doctor prescribed.

          The moment he entered his hotel suite, Lance loosened his tie. He left a trail of clothing from the door, where he threw his jacket over one of the chairs, to the bedroom where he peeled off his socks and left them on the floor.

          Finally, out of that penguin suit!

          The laptop sitting patiently on the desk was desperately calling for his attention, but for that night, Lance didn’t find the idea of working, so appealing. Which was something so unlike him, a workaholic by nature.

          Lance’s gaze moved from the desk towards the huge window that was offering the most spectacular view of the city. The lights were flickering like millions of candles but he wasn’t interested in the view. His thoughts were wandering back to the fundraiser and Annalise Walsh. 

“The wonderful, gorgeous, elusive Annalise Walsh…” Lance murmured.  

           There was something about her eyes, about her smile, about her in general, that was so alluring, so breathtaking. So unique. Annalise was a one-of-a-kind woman, Lance knew that already. 

          His body had been painfully aware of Annalise’s presence the moment she walked into the ballroom. Seeing her going away right after their short dance, left Lance with the burning desire to run after her, to stop Annalise, and hold her tight in his arms for the longest time possible.

          During their dance, while he kept her close, every cell in his body was excited, completely aware of her scent, of how she felt in his arms, of how her skin felt under his fingers. Lance was mesmerized by her big brown eyes, by her tempting lips, emphasized by the red lipstick.

          For just one moment, before the music ended, Lance wanted to drag her away from the ballroom and do to her what he had in mind since the first time he saw Annalise in his office. The urge to devour her, to be inside her while she was orgasming, to drink her moan straight from her lips was so imperative that Lance had to put an entire crowd between them to put out the fire in his groin.  

          Lance smiled thinking at Annalise lying in his bed, underneath his body, moaning, screaming his name, asking for more, falling apart in his arms.

          What a fantastic show! What a sight!

          And the way she looked tonight, wearing such a sexy dress. Lance wanted to slide his hand between those long legs, spread her thighs, and spend the night having her in ways she couldn’t even imagine… enjoying every inch of her body, finding out where she liked to be touched and kissed…

          Finding out the ways she wanted to be pleased… 

          And he will do it slowly… Annalise was the kind of woman made to be worshiped, to be loved carefully and without haste.

          His fixation with her couldn’t be explained. Lance always knew he was the ladies’ choice. He wasn’t living the life of a monk. He loved sex and he was getting plenty. But he also knew that even if the sex with others was good, with Annalise it would be more than good…

          It would be fiery, beyond belief, amazing, sensational… luscious.

          It would be the kind of experience any man in the world would gladly sell his soul for.

“Anna… My beautiful Anna…” he sighed and a smile appeared on his lips. “One way or another, you’re gonna be mine…”  

          Annalise Walsh was like a sex goddess to him… She had long legs, a perfect body, and long wavy brown hair that she often wore in a loose style that told Lance she didn’t pay much attention to whether every lock was in place.

          Lance wanted to take that damn clip out, toss it in the garbage and watch as Annalise’s silky hair spilled down her back. Or better yet, let it spill over him while they were having sex.

          His body reacted to that image in such a strong way that made Lance curse under his breath. Maybe he could take the umpteenth cold shower and calm down, but he already knew how useless they were, since he had taken enough of them over the last few weeks.

          But her most mesmerizing feature was her eyes. Those Bambi eyes… Those bedroom eyes… And the way she was staring straight into his eyes every time she was talking to him…

          She was absolute perfection!

          Annalise was absolutely and without a doubt made for him. She would fit perfectly against his body, her head tucked just underneath his chin, and his hands running through her hair.

          With that being said, Lance wondered why Annalise never used her beauty as a weapon to seduce him into hiring the agency she was working for. She wouldn’t have been the first one using her feminine charms. It wasn’t like it hadn’t been tried before. The entire evening had been filled with… indecent proposals from so many women.

          Lance kind of respected her choice of staying back and watching the show from afar. He didn’t mind her strategy. But there was something about her, some sort of discretion she was displaying, that intrigued him. Annalise seemed a tough nut to crack and he loved a good challenge.

          As Annalise showed, she wanted the account, and Lance could see how much, but she hadn’t ‘stalked’ him, not like the others did. Even tonight, at the fundraiser. She waited for him to come to her, and that was a smart approach she adopted since he had done just that.

          And step by step, walking towards her, Lance knew he wanted Annalise Walsh to work for him.

“Are you that innocent, Miss Walsh?” Lance said and started pacing the room slowly.

          The ring on his cell phone disturbed his fantasies about Annalise and brought him painfully back to the real world. Lance looked down in disgust at the obvious boner pushing against the zipper, then reached into his pocket for his phone.

          He frowned. The caller was his mother. He knew why she was calling. Lance almost felt the will to throw the phone away and go back to his dreamy happy place together with Annalise.

“Dammit!” he groaned in despair.

          He wasn’t really in the mood for any kind of news, good or bad, regarding his family, but Lance loved his mother way too much, and he couldn’t ignore her phone calls. Amongst the Hamiltons, his mother was the only one he couldn’t say no or treat badly. 

          With a resigned sigh, Lance punched the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

“Hi, Mom!”

“‘Hi, Lance!’”

“How are you?” Lance asked.

“‘I’m better now after hearing your voice. I hope you’re doing well. Leaving New York for Los Angeles was such a bold move …’”

“It was, Mom. But I’m glad I did it. And I’m okay, don’t you worry about me.”

“‘I can sense how tired you are, Lance. Maybe you should slow down a little.’”

          Lance could hear the disapproval in her tone. His mom was genuinely concerned about his well-being.

“I can’t, Mom. You know very well that I have to work.”

“‘Sweetie, you are the CEO of that company… You are entitled to take a break from time to time and visit or call your mother.’”  

“That’s exactly why I can’t take a break. I need to set an example. Like… being the first one in the office and the last one to go home. The company doesn’t run itself, you know that.”

“‘It’s the same thing I used to hear from your father over and over again, until I put my foot down,’” his mother said in a low tone, filled with exasperation and sadness. “‘As much as you try to deny it, Lance, you and your father are so alike. You are a chip off the old block.’”

          The words his mother just said made Lance cringe. Being compared to his father was one of the things Lance hated with passion.

“Let’s drop this subject, please,” Lance said in a cold tone.

“‘All right, sweetie. I didn’t mean to bother you with this. I called about…’”

          His mother stopped. Lance could hear her sighing.

“Go on, I’m listening.”

“‘It’s about your brother… about his wedding. I wanted to be sure you hadn’t forgotten about this weekend. Having you there would mean a lot to Arthur and the world to me.’”