by Haley Travis
I glanced at Eric. “She would have failed if she didn’t get that assignment in on time, and the wifi doesn’t work when the power is out.”
Eric turned, taking both of my hands in his. "Are you afraid that if you date someone who could technically be thought of as the devil, that something bad will happen to me?"
I nodded seriously, squeezing his hands.
"I don't want to go through life with you thinking there is some shadow of dread hanging over us," he said. “I don't want you to be scared of what we have."
His deep eyes locked onto mine. "You feel this, don't you, Eden? This isn't a fling. We're good for each other. We’re right for each other."
I swallowed hard so my throat wouldn't close. I knew he was right, and I wasn't sure why I was becoming tearful again. “I was so sure during the last relationship, even though all evidence pointed to it being a disaster. Now that everything looks incredible, absolutely too good to be true, I don't know what I would do if this fell apart." I had to tear my eyes away from his. "It's all too much."
Eric slipped his arm around me, sliding his chair closer so I could lean into his shoulder. "I know I'm supposed to be the big strong man here, with all of the answers, but I'm going to tell you a secret." He turned to the coffee cup. "Should I tell her? Will she think I'm being a wuss?” He nodded. "Okay."
I laughed, shaking against him.
"Eden," he said, stroking my hair gently, "I'm scared too. I've never dated anyone for more than a few weeks, maybe a month or two. I've never had feelings anywhere close to what I feel for you. This is all brand new territory. Uncharted waters.”
He rocked me gently, making me feel safe and warm, as if we were the only two people in the world. "Baby, what if we just dated for a while? No getting into bed. Even though these gigantic feelings I have for you are very serious, perhaps we could just stick to the light side for a while. You could come over for a movie. I can go to your place and make you dinner. Little dates, and normal conversations."
I nodded. "That sounds extremely logical."
His thick arms tightened around me. "Of course we have to be logical. This is a very important business meeting. Our relationship is the most important project I have on my plate right now."
Giggling, I said, "I would love to see you in a board meeting. Honestly, I can't imagine you being serious for twenty straight minutes. Do you start talking to inanimate objects when there are grownups around?"
He waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe you'll never know."
"Seriously, I can't even picture you in an office."
"It's only a few blocks away. Would you like to see it? The view from the fifty-first floor is pretty spectacular."
"Wow." I sat up straight and drank the last sip of my coffee. "Sure, a walk together would be nice."
Eric grinned, looking extremely relieved.
As we stood up and I grabbed my purse, I asked, "Were the results of this meeting satisfactory?"
He tucked my hair back behind both ears, holding the sides of my face as he gently kissed my forehead. "Absolutely. We are still in negotiations. Everything is still on the table. We are switching locations and having a field trip to check out a new site. These are all excellent things."
He took my hand as we walked out of the café. "Plus, the elevator is really fast. I'm secretly hoping that you'll get a bit frightened and grab me inappropriately."
I giggled like crazy, secretly hoping that he wasn’t kidding.
~ Chapter 14 ~ Eric ~
* Building *
I was relieved when Eden allowed me to hold her hand while we walked. We strolled slowly, looking in shop windows, and chatting about our favorite restaurants. We had a surprising amount of things in common, from our love of indie rock music to our mutual lust of authentic Mexican food.
When we turned toward the office tower where my business took up an entire floor, Eden stopped walking to lean her head back, staring up at the blue-tinted glass. "Which one is your office?" she laughed.
"It's on the other side," I grinned, leading her inside.
I was used to zipping through the lobby in a hurry, but this time I tried to walk slowly and see it through her eyes. All of the marble and glass, with gigantic expensive sculptures, must be rather impressive if you're not used to it.
The security guard jumped up, giving me an almost military nod. "Good evening, Mr. Stone."
"Hey, Gary. Quiet tonight?"
"I certainly hope so."
"Excellent,” I nodded. Guiding us into an open elevator, I swiped my card and hit the button for fifty-one.
Sure enough, once we picked up speed, Eden squealed and buried her face in my chest. "Holy squid, how do you get used to this!"
"It's not that fast," I chuckled.
"Maybe I'm just used to buildings with slow elevators," she said. "This feels super high tech."
"This building is only six years old, so you're probably right."
The doors slid open and I led her through the silent lobby. Since it was a quarter after seven, the entire office was abandoned. Angie and I had spread the word that we would prefer people not work late unless there was something truly crucial going on. We knew that some companies rewarded their workers for putting in excruciating hours. We would rather reward people for being efficient. People were sharper when they had sufficient rest and relaxation.
I looked over to see Eden's expression, and she was absolutely grinning at the huge Two Stones logo on the wall over the long, sleek reception desk.
"Yeah," I shrugged, "It's a bit ostentatious, but since we’re in construction and building design, our clients expect a bit of a show."
Leading her down a long hallway, we passed an all-white office, and she stopped. The door was open, so she leaned in to see that one wall was painted bright teal, but the rest of the office had white walls, a white desk, white chair, and white shelf with white baskets to contain books and office supplies. The white shade was drawn, so there wasn't even a view of the city.
"Is this a punishment room?" she asked.
I must have laughed harder than she expected, as she seemed confused. “Instead of a huge office, my sister Angie wanted two small offices. There's a normal one for taking phone calls, having small meetings, and having her morning coffee. This is her focus room. When that door is shut, she might as well be on Mars. No one will disturb her."
Eden grinned. "Not even you?"
I shook my head quite seriously. "I would only knock on that door if the building were on fire. If there was something incredibly important, I would text her, and she would get back to me whenever she checked her phone."
"Wow." She seemed impressed. "I'd love to talk to Angie sometime about her focus techniques. It would probably help me with my schoolwork."
Pulling her close, I kissed the top of her hair. "I would love to have the two of you over for dinner. I know you two would click." Turning to a huge green abstract painting on the hallway wall, I said, "Yes, I know. The two of them would gang up on me and mock me mercilessly. It's a chance I'm willing to take for the most precious women in my life."
Ignoring Eden's giggles, we walked down to what used to be a medium-sized meeting room. Now there was a long table in front of the longest wall, covered in wooden buildings. "Cheese and crackers," she muttered, quickly walking over to look more closely.
I loved how excited she was. Eden was never trying to be cool, or act any particular way. She was authentic. Enthusiastic. She let her emotions bubble straight out of her, and I found that admirable.
We stared at the miniature Toronto set up for a while, and it was adorable watching her eyes track along the streets.
"When an architecture firm designs a building," I explained, "They can sculpt or 3-D print a mock-up, and we can place it on the site. Then we can take photos of it from different angles. Sometimes they bring in a background, or a lighting system. Some people don't visualize very well, so it's best to show them before they spend millions upon mil
lions constructing a building."
She looked up at me strangely, then shook her head. "I couldn't imagine having that much responsibility," she said.
"You will," I said. "Someday you'll be writing something that changes people's opinions. Or gives them information that they really need."
She rolled those pretty warm brown eyes at me dramatically. "Somehow I don't think it's the same thing."
"Who knows," I said. "You might end up writing brochures with us someday."
She shook her head quickly. "No, I’d never want you to hire me." Eden looked up at me, placing a hand in the center of my chest. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound rude I just… After Andy wanted to use me to further his career, I'm grossed out by the concept of using inside connections."
I nodded, taking her hand to lead her down to the end of the hallway. "I get that. And I honestly cannot stand that some worm of a douche bag made you feel shitty."
Giving her a sideways glance as we reached my office door, I added, "Pardon my language. Crappy.” She grinned, her nose crinkling as I swiped my pass card and went into my office.
"Holy Mother of Bob," she muttered.
I watched her walk right up to the floor to ceiling windows, pressing her nose to the glass as she looked down at the city below. Watching her eyes dart around the buildings and streets, I loved watching her analyze things.
Coming up to stand behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, placing my hands on her stomach. “Just for a second," I said softly in her ear, "Let's pretend we are King and Queen of the city. What would you want to do first?"
Turning her shoulders, Eden leaned back against me until our entire bodies were pressing together as she tipped her chin up. Kissing her felt as natural as breathing. The way her lips gently pressed to mine felt absolutely exhilarating.
She spun in my arms, wrapping her hands around my shoulders, as our kiss became more heated. It was wild how this girl made me melt completely.
~ Chapter 15 ~ Eden ~
* The Office *
Good grief, the way he touched me. The way his mouth met mine so gently, but with such fire. The way he built me up, making me feel better about myself.
Pushing his suit jacket open, I ran my hands down his shirt, feeling his abs clench as I reached them. Then he pulled away, his hands around my waist, staring at me as if he were trying to see through my soul.
I'd always been shy when anyone looked at me, but under Eric's gaze, I felt comfortable. Cherished.
His saucy grin told me he was definitely thinking of something naughty. He released me just long enough to lock the office door, and toss his jacket over his guest chair. His gigantic desk had nothing on it but a laptop, a notebook, and a pen, and he quickly slid all of that into a drawer.
"Come here," he nearly growled.
I loved it when his voice became dark. I loved when he became a tiny bit demanding. It felt like he wanted me so badly he couldn’t control himself.
Walking over to him, I dropped my purse on the floor, unfastening the top button of my dress. He grabbed my hips, sitting me up on the desk, standing between my knees as my head fell back to look up at him.
"I know we just said that we are going to take it slow," he said, "I'll stop any time you want me to. But every single male in the corporate world has a not so secret fantasy of having sex on his desk."
My head fell back even farther as I laughed. It was darling that he was openly aware of being super dorky.
"You're probably not ready to have sex with me again, and that's totally fine, but could we at least make out here for a minute?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Make a tiny bit of my dirty fantasy come true?"
Looking up at his gorgeous face, those luscious lips I was starting to know too well, I was filled with that prickling wave of lust. He's the only man who had ever made me feel this way. Completely in touch with my own libido. Grounded in my body. As I spread my legs wider, I realized that he might find out exactly how aroused I was if he glanced at my wet panties.
Gripping the front of his shirt, I pulled his lips to mine, then began unbuttoning. Eric’s low groan thrilled me to the core, then he began unbuttoning my dress down to my waist.
He helped me pull his shirt off, then laid me back, reaching under to unfasten my bra. Shoving the fabric out of the way, his hands wandered over my breasts so softly as he leaned in to kiss me. He was so gentle, his tongue against mine, his thumb swirling around my nipple.
There was no way I could tell him to stop. My blood was dancing through my veins. My skin felt electrified. Looking up into those deep eyes and seeing how much he wanted me, I desperately needed to please both of us.
Fumbling between us, I unfastened his belt, then slipped my hand into his pants. His rumbling moan took over both of our mouths. Running my hand lightly along his shaft, it took less than a minute for it to be standing at complete attention.
"Eden, every time I see you I cannot believe how hot you are. You're my fantasy girl even without the desk."
Eric sat me up so that I could pull my entire dress off, and my bra. Then he eased me back against the glossy wooden surface, kissing along my neck.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured. "I'm the luckiest man in the world."
"I can't…" I started, then his teeth scraped lightly across my nipple, making me gasp.
Instantly he froze. “You can't… Do this? Do you want me to stop?"
I shook my head, grinning as I pulled his lips back down to my breast. I almost laughed as I realized that was possibly the most aggressive thing I'd ever done while nearly naked in my life.
"No, don't stop. I can't believe the way you make me feel this sexy."
"You are ridiculously sexy," he said, kissing down my stomach to the edge of my panties. Hooking his thumbs in the sides, he slid them down slowly as I lifted my butt for him. Although I was sure nobody could see in the windows, I felt oddly exposed.
The way his hands ran up my inner thighs, such a gentle caress, made me fall back against the desk, trying to relax completely. Eric pulled his desk chair over, sitting down as he spread me wide, his breath light against my open pussy.
Then he gave me the sweetest, gentlest kiss, brushing his lips against my clit, then working lower. His fingers slid up my legs, finding my entrance and slowly slipping inside.
I could feel how slick I was already. My knees pressed against his shoulders, and I felt a shudder run through him as he felt how wet I was. His tongue wound in circles around my most delicate skin, as two fingers pulsed inside me.
Part of me couldn't believe this was happening. A much bigger part of me wanted to be Eric's dream girl.
My fingertips grazed his cheek, and I felt like I was melting under the intensity of his gaze. Those dark eyes felt like they were willing me to come on his tongue.
My hips began grinding, straining, as he increased his rhythm slowly. Every motion was so deliberate, so careful. My back began to arch, my head falling back as I squirmed across his desk.
A flash of realization hit me. He would be picturing this moment on his desk for years to come, while signing important contracts and doing critical research.
My release was coming closer and closer, until I could almost see it. Curling forward, I gripped Eric's hair, pulling his tongue against my clit harder. He absolutely grinned, flashing me a wink.
That pushed me over the edge completely as I tumbled into a full body muscle spasm of pure bliss. "Fuck, oh fuck yes," I whispered, panting from the waves of desire overtaking me.
From the look in his eyes, I didn't know who was more satisfied, Eric or me. The way he touched me so confidently made me desperate for more. A wave of adrenaline hit me, and I stood up carefully, grabbing him so that he stood up as well.
"What are you…"
"Pants off," I demanded. He laughed as he helped me strip him naked, then I pushed him back into his office chair. Dropping to my knees, I backed under the desk slightly.
"Don't tell
me that you haven't had this fantasy as well,” I giggled, pulling the chair toward me slightly, then running my hands along his thighs.
Gripping his shaft carefully, I leaned forward and got comfortable. Wow, even his dick was gorgeous. Placing the head of his thickness on my bottom lip, I looked up at him. "Isn't this what the hot president of the big important company deserves?" I said in a high pitched bimbo voice.
He grinned as my tongue darted out, lapping around the entire head. Then his eyes half-closed and he groaned as I pulled him deeper, sucking half of his length into my mouth.
"Holy fuck," he murmured. Gripping the base carefully with both hands, I stroked along his length with both my palms and my lips, experimenting to see how much pressure he liked. He seemed to prefer a light touch. He definitely enjoyed watching my eyes as he looked down. His blinking pattern became erratic, as his hips began to shift in the leather seat.
