That was a little reassuring.
I looked her over again, replaying that thought I’d had while I was kissing her. About getting her pregnant.
The idea wasn’t any less shocking the second time around.
I had always been too focused on business to give much thought to relationships. Had avoided them as much as possible, knowing that no woman would ever be happy with the kind of hours that I worked.
Of course, I’d still had the same needs as any other man.
But I had always made it clear to those partners what I was and wasn’t looking for. Had chosen mostly older, more experienced women who had appeared to understand that I couldn’t be changed by a woman.
And of course, the one thing I’d avoided above all others had been a commitment.
Fathering a child had been another thing to be avoided. Something that I had thought I would never find appealing.
But with Emma?
I could trust her, I knew.
She had to know me better than just about anyone else. Had to know how I felt about commitment. As long as I was careful not to give her any false illusions about that… “Perhaps you can help me, after all.”
Her eyes widened and she began to breath very past. Nearly panting. Her gaze darted down in the general direction of my crotch, though I doubted she was in position to actually see it.
“I… I’m not sure I understand, sir.”
“I assume you’re not in a relationship.” I knew she wasn’t the type of woman to have kissed me if she was seeing someone else. “And we obviously get along very well.”
“Yes, but—”
“I would trust you in this more than anyone else,” I said quietly. “I know you can be discreet.”
“There are some things that wouldn’t be so easily hidden, sir. As you well know.” Her gaze locked with mine. Still uncertain, but never wavering, even as she made a fluttering gesture toward my office door. “And people will talk.”
“You would be embarrassed to be pregnant by me?” That was something that I had never even considered.
“That… that isn’t what I’m worried about. The gossip about my character…”
“I wouldn’t let them hurt you.” My hands clenched into fists. “You know I won’t.”
She looked away. “I still don’t understand. Why me?”
I thought I had already laid out my reasons pretty well, though of course, I wasn’t really acknowledging one of my main motivations. Somehow, justifying this as a way to fulfill my uncle’s expectations of me made this seem, if not quite moral, then at least not completely wicked.
Though the thoughts I was having about her certainly fit into the latter category. “Why not? And I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of financially, of course. I also wouldn’t expect you to raise the child in any way, unless you wish to do so. I can certainly afford to hire help for that. Though I suppose we won’t have to worry about that for some time.”
“I haven’t agreed to do this, sir.” Something about the way she raised her chin struck me. “And how would we…”
Even though there was a hint of pride in her posture, there was also a certain shyness about the way she let her voice trail away. Despite the way she had wriggled on my lap and had to know exactly what sort of affect her closeness had on me, it seemed that she couldn’t quite bring herself to say the words.
And for the first time since that damned will had been read, I actually smiled. “I think that going to do any sort of clinic would be rather indiscreet of us, don’t you think?” Plus, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun. I stood and circled around my desk, reaching out to touch her cheek again.
Not because I thought that it would help me convince her, but because I needed to touch her again. To feel her soft skin under my fingers.
Emma began to pant again. “So we…”
I leaned in close, inhaling the faint, fruity scent of her hair. I didn’t think she was wearing any cologne or anything that artificial, so this had to be the scent of her shampoo. “Yes, Emma. If you decide to do this, there will be no test tubes.” I grabbed her hand, and though I knew it was wrong, guided it down to the front of my pants. So she could feel how I was still hard for her. “I would want to fuck you.”
Her blush deepened at the rather coarse turn of phrase that I had used, but it was too late to take it back now. “I… I understand.”
I thought that she might need a little bit more time to think about this. I certainly wasn’t a push her into it too soon, because that was all but guaranteed way to ensure she changed her mind later. And I didn’t want her to end up regretting her decision, either.
Something slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the floor. From the color and shape of the paper, I knew it had to be my phone messages. She had apparently managed to hang on to those, even while I’d been kissing her.
That annoyed me more than it should. I tried to tell myself it was just a matter of pride, though I also resolve that if she did end up coming to my bed, I would do everything in my power to make her lose control.
For now, I bent down and picked up the papers. “I guess I need to look over these, huh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then we’ll talk about this again later. After business hours.”
Chapter Three (Emma)
I hadn’t actually agreed to my boss’s outrageous proposition. Had I?
My head was still spinning from his kiss as well as from his words, so I couldn’t be certain of anything at the moment. Except for the memory of one thing: the undeniable proof of his attraction to me…
That had definitely been unexpected. He had given no sign that he had ever noticed me in that way.
My breathing hitched, my nipples hardening to chafe against the inside of my bra once again. My pussy grew slicker than before. He had been so hard. Had felt so good. First under my lap, then against my hand when he’d made me touch him.
‘Made’ wasn’t the right word. I wanted to touch him. Had wanted to for a very long time. I just never would have had the courage to do so on my own.
This was all too surreal.
I half-expected to wake up at any moment. On my bed in my lonely apartment, with my sheets and blankets twisted and tangled around my bare legs from thrashing about to yet another forbidden dream about my boss.
The demands of the day soon pulled me back to reality. Busy enough that I didn’t really have time to think, much less fantasize about, what had happened. And every time I went into his office, the way he was so indifferent, so normal, that I was almost able to convince myself that I really had imagined the whole thing.
As I was preparing to leave for the day, he called me into his office. I ignored the pitying looks from the secretaries who clearly thought that I was about to bear the brunt of the ogre’s anger for whatever reason and headed for his door.
But when I entered his office, he wasn’t sitting behind his desk.
He was right there. As if he had been waiting for me. Yet he didn’t try to touch me and simply closed the door as soon as I was inside. I didn’t know if I was more relieved or disappointed by that. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“I told you that we needed to talk after hours. It’s not like you to forget such details, Miss Riley.”
I nearly winced at the return of such a formal address. I had rather liked the way he said my name. My first name. “I wasn’t sure if you’re really serious about that, sir.”
“Very serious. But I can see you’re still hesitating.”
“It was all very unexpected, and I realize you must still be in shock about everything that happened with your uncle in his will, but…” I snuck a peek at him through my lashes, and my breath caught. His tone might have been formal and indifferent, but the look he was giving me was anything but.
My gaze locked onto his lips. Remembering his kiss.
But I was forgetting reality again. And I forced myself to look him in the eye instead.
His eyes
had darkened, and he lifted one hand to touch my cheek, then quickly dropped it back to his side. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” My voice was far too breathless, and I was certain that he could hear my need and desire.
“Such beautiful eyes,” he said almost absently. “A man could get lost in him, you know? I certainly can.”
He moved closer and I could feel his breath against my face.
I close my eyes, tilted my chin, and waited.
“Oh, no.” He chuckled. “I’m not going to kiss you again.”
My stomach knotted and my face burned as my eyes flew open. “Oh. I… I see.”
“I’m not going to kiss you again, unless you agree to help me with this problem.”
My head spun and is having a very hard time understanding anything that he was saying. “Problem, sir?”
“Producing an heir for the sake of my uncle’s will, so that this company will not be sold out from under me. Remember?”
How could I forget?
It was clear that he wasn’t attracted to me for myself. In a way, I was just a convenient body. And though he’d said that the conception would not involve any test tubes, it seemed that any touching that would be done would only be meant to serve a purpose.
I dropped my gaze to the floor, studying the familiar pattern of the carpet as if it was something new and fascinating. “I don’t know about this, sir. I think it might become rather awkward to work together if we—”
“Do you really think so? Were both adults. And neither of us will be going in to this with any illusions about the future.”
No. Of course not.
This wouldn’t be awkward at all for him, because it was just the means to an end.
It wasn’t that for me, of course. And although I was tempted, I also wasn’t sure if I could separate my long-held emotions for this man from everything else. Entering his bed, even if only temporarily, would only make it worse.
Because it could not last. There could be nothing permanent between us. He was not looking for that, and besides, he was my boss.
We were from—and would always belong to—different worlds.
The fact that it had to end was the real problem. I didn’t know if I would ever want to be with another man, after him.
There was no way that Andrew would not move on. And though none of the women he’d dated had visited the office in the entire time that I’d been working for him, that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t happen one day.
And there was a good chance that would end up destroying me.
But I would have a piece of him. A part of him that I could keep with me forever.
Would that be enough?
I didn’t know.
Yet this might be my one chance. To fulfil a fantasy. A dream.
I nodded. “Yes. I’ll do this.”
Almost before I finished pronouncing the words, he was kissing me. I moaned as he pressed me up against the closed office door. His body so hard and so firm.
Andrew slid his tongue into my mouth, darting and teasing. His hand moved between us, sliding up to cup my breast against my clothing.
Oh, my.
I was going to end up a melted mess at his feet, the fire inside me already raging out of control. I was so wet, my panties were soaked, and I could not stop myself from rocking my hips against him.
Against his hard-on.
The solid bulk of his cock felt very large behind the barrier of his suit trousers and more moans escaped my lips, only to be trapped in his mouth.
I began to pant.
He lifted his head and I assumed we were done, but then he slid his lips along the side of my jaw and then worked his way down the side of my throat.
My knees buckled and I might have fallen, if his hard body did not still have me pinned against the solid wood behind me.
“Look at me, Emma.”
I forced my eyes open and stared up at him. His eyes were so dark, yet almost glittering with his desire, and there was that faint trace of red on his strong cheeks again. I lifted one hand to the side of his jaw. The short of his beard lightly scraped my skin, but it was more pleasure than anything close to pain.
“Are you on the pill?”
I should’ve expected that question. But the reminder, once again, that this was just a means to an end, hit me as if I had been doused with a bucket of ice water. Nearly killing all desire. Despite his earlier order, I looked away. “No,” I said softly. Not knowing if he would believe me if I wasn’t making eye contact. “I haven’t had much time for relationships these last five years.”
“You’re not a virgin, are you?
He sounded almost horrified by that prospect, and I was almost tempted to tell him that I was. It would be a lie, but it would be a way of getting out of this without admitting to anything else that was making me think of changing my mind. Yet as weak as it made me, I didn’t want to get out of this.
I wanted him. Any way that I could have him. I forced out a sort of laugh. “No, I’m not.”
“Then I guess we should discuss timing.”
That was the last thing I wanted to discuss. I wanted him to keep kissing me. Touching me. “I would need to look at a calendar to figure it all out.”
“I see.” Andrew dipped his head, his lips skimming along the side of my throat again. “Then maybe we should consider this a taste of what’s to come.”
His mouth hit one particularly sensitive spot behind my ear and my knees buckled once more. “Ohhh!”
“Or maybe we should just consider this a practice run for later.”
I didn’t think he needed practice at anything. If he got any better at making me melt… Then his other words registered. “Here?”
A low growl rumbled up from his deep chest, and his long, slender fingers began working on the buttons of my blouse. “You know there are no cameras in my office. And everyone else should be gone now.”
“Yes, but…” My attempt at a protest melted into a moan as he kissed every bit of my skin revealed by the parting of the fabric. He tugged at my jacket and I squirmed to get out of it, letting the garment drop to the ground behind me.
I reached for his tie, intending to loosen it and then go for the buttons on his shirt, but he grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head. Shifting his hold so that only one of his big hands covered both of my wrists.
The sudden aggression, this display of dominance, rekindled the fire that had been lost earlier.
The last button gave way and my blouse was now hanging completely open. Exposing my very plain and practical bra. The one that I hadn’t planned on anyone seeing.
Andrew let out what almost sounded like a snarl and pressed his face against the fabric. Nuzzled his face against my breasts, his stubble leaving faint red marks on every bit of exposed flesh. Still keeping me pinned, he reached around me with his free hand to unhook my bra. “You’re trembling.” His already deep voice roughened, and I began to pant again. “You’re not afraid of me. Are you, Emma?”
“No, sir.”
He chuckled. “You don’t need to call me that now. Not when we’re like this.”
True. But it was a bit of a habit, after all.
He ran a finger over my mouth. “Let me hear my name on your pretty lips, sweetheart.”
I swallowed hard. My throat having gone dry as it felt like every drop of moisture in my body had dropped down between my legs. “Andrew,” I whispered hoarsely.
“That’s it, sweetheart.”
It was an oddly tender, almost innocent endearment. Making my heart flutter as much as my pussy. “Touch me. Please.”
I knew I shouldn’t be begging him this soon. That it might make me appear desperate. I didn’t care.
Because I was desperate.
For him.
He leaned in to kiss my throat again, then pulled back. Stared at my breasts. At the way that my nipples had hardened. “You’re so beautiful.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not—” I bit my lip at the sharp look he gave me.
“You are beautiful.” He cupped one breast, dipping down to run his tongue over and around my nipple. Making me cry out his name again. “Let me show you.”
I didn’t know how he intended to do that.
I wasn’t sure I cared.
At this moment, only one thing mattered.
Having him inside me. As soon as possible.
Andrew growled against my breast, and his teeth lightly grazed my skin. “Impatient little thing. Aren’t you?”
I writhed against him, pushing against the hand holding my wrists. “Let me touch you.” I needed to touch him. “Please.”
“Not yet.” He tugged at his tie. Removing it. But instead of continuing to undress, he used the silken strip of cloth to bind my wrists together. I stared up into his eyes, seeing a darkness and a hunger beyond anything I had ever imagined.
And then he gave me the wickedest grin. “Unless you want me to stop?”
Chapter Four (Andrew)
Emma’s face was flushed a pretty shade of pink, her full, soft lips parted over each panting breath that she took. Those lips were slightly swollen from my kiss but could not wholly hold my attention.
There was almost too much to look at, too much about her to take in all at once. Her hazel eyes were very dark yet sparkling with an excitement and need that I had never expected to see from my prim and proper assistant.
This was a side of her that I had never imagined.
If I had given it thought before, I would have assumed that she was very much vanilla in her tastes. That she would have been appalled and maybe even frightened by what I was doing now, as mild as it was.
But it was clear that there was no fear in her.
And that had my cock harder than ever. Straining to be inside her.
Not yet, I’d told her, when she had asked to touch me.
Because if I let her do that, there would be no control left to me at all and would have to fuck her hard. Right here and now. Without taking care of her first.
A Baby for the Beastly Boss Page 2
