Anger simmers inside of me.
It’s only when the door shuts behind me that I remember exactly what I’m doing here. Although the city will never cease to amaze me. I shudder at the click behind me, turning quickly to find Adrian between myself and the door. Tapping the face of his watch, Adrian tells me, “It’s nearly six, Suzette.”
“Suzette?” is all I can manage. There’s tension between us, thick and hot.
His full lips slip into a smirk. “That’s what I said.” He’s calm and so damn sure of himself. Everything I normally am.
“Oh, I’m Suzette now?” Even to my own ears the indignation sounds feigned. My voice quavers as I add, “Only a moment ago I was Ms. Parks.”
With a single step forward, Adrian adjusts the expensive silk tie around his neck and his expansive, barren office ignites in an instant.
For a moment, a very quick moment, his icy blue gaze drops to my lips but then they reach my eyes again before I can object to wherever his thoughts have gone. “I said it’s nearly six,” he murmurs. “Well, after five.”
My fingers busy themselves with the hems of my sleeves. I haven’t felt so nervous in ages, not since I first stepped foot in this city. All of the anxiousness that comes with starting over, starting something new that pushes you out of your comfort zone is not unfamiliar to me, although it’s been a long damn time since I last felt this way. Not since my divorce was finalized.
“Is that a way to tell me to hurry up, Mr. Bradford?”
“No. Not at all. After six I have other business to discuss with you.”
“After six?”
“Once work is over.” He swallows and my treacherous mind focuses on the cords of his neck. The curves of it, the strength there and that masculine scent, fresh and clean with a hint of sandalwood.
“I beg your pardon, but I’m here on business.”
“Yes … other business than what we discussed this afternoon.” My pulse races as he locks his gaze with mine. I can’t help but to feel like the prey, already caught by a much too powerful hunter. One who wants to play with his dinner before devouring it whole.
“Other business?” Again my voice falters. I make the next statement firm. “What could I possibly want to discuss with you? Other than the threat of you simply stepping into this building.” I add with indignation, “My building.”
With the little courage I can muster, I lift up my chin. Feeling what I felt hours ago in that boardroom creep back into the forefront of my mind, I try to shove it down. He’s no longer a sex god reducing me to a puddle of want. He’s the man who threatens my very career. And for what? For statistics on the balance sheet? For the likelihood of an easy payout rather than doing the hard work?
Just as the thought hits me, Adrian checks his watch again. “It’s six now, Ms. Parks.”
His domineering stature abates as if he’s slightly more relaxed. He reaches up to loosen his tie. The act does horrible things to my conviction.
“You’re in need,” he states beneath his breath. I can barely focus on his lips as his deft fingers work to undo the top button of his shirt. In one step, he’s far too close and the smell of his cologne turns heavenly.
“Excuse me?” I whisper, not as confidently as I’d intended. It’s darker than it was, as if the night fell around us, granting much-needed privacy.
Leaning down so his lips grace the shell of my ear, he whispers, “All you have to say is that you left something outside of this office.” Shivers run down my shoulder, then lower. My nipples are already hard and I curse the fact that I haven’t been touched in months for how much I want this man to do horrible things to me right now.
With my lips parted I can barely comprehend what he said. As he takes a single step back, giving me more room to think, he removes his tie completely. The silk whispers in the air as it slides against his collar. It’s the only sound I can hear other than the beating of my heart. He doesn’t turn around fully and he doesn’t take his eyes from mine. He locks the door with one hand and tosses the tie on the floor.
“You very much have the wrong impression of me,” he says and I breathe out although I don’t know how. My chest rises and falls with every heavy breath I take.
“I was praying you would walk through that door,” he tells me. Adrian takes a step forward with his right hand undoing the buttons of his white dress shirt one by one, starting at the top. My gaze slips down his torso, following the line of buttons to the bulge in his pants.
My God. The temperature in the room erupts.
“I was hoping you’d come see me to work out our … differences. I was prepared to spend all fucking day listening to you rant, taking every insult with stride. I was ready to let you get it all out.” For every step forward he takes, I take one step back until my ass hits the edge of the desk.
“I would be very surprised if I had the wrong impression, Ms. Parks. But I’d like to get one thing clear.” With both of my hands gripping the edge of the desk, I peer up at him, bracing myself. He reaches out and brushes against my jaw with his thumb.
His touch is as commanding as his tone, his stare, every detail about him. I’m left paralyzed. Caught in a trance.
“After six o’clock, all of that shit ends and what’s between us is between us.” I stare into his eyes, barely breathing as he continues. “I’ll say it again; all you have to do is say you’ve left something outside of this office.” His eyes search mine and I believe him. If I were to say it, he’d back away. He’d let me leave. And then what? Would this tension be gone? Would he pretend it didn’t exist?
The reality of what’s happening and the consequences of the decision I’m about to make are far too real in these few seconds.
With his eyes on my lips, his thumb moves there, parting them slowly so that just the tip of his thumb presses down, enticing me to suck it. He’s far too close, far too intoxicating, far too tempting.
“Have you left something outside?” he questions. That deep voice rolls through me again. I know what’s appropriate in this situation. I should jerk my head back from his touch and tell him that I did leave something outside. Mention the HR complaint I’m filing against him. That’s what you’re supposed to do when an asshole like Adrian backs you up against his desk.
It’s what I should do. I know it. And yet … I know damn well that I want him. I want this.
The aching need between my thighs reassures me that I fucking need this.
Instead of answering, I move my mouth just enough to bite down on his thumb, my teeth sinking into the tip of it. The deep groan at the back of his throat is stifled and with that little movement, I force this rather dominating man to shift in front of me. “I’ll need you to answer me, Ms. Parks. Because if you haven’t left anything outside, I’m going to fuck you against this desk like I wanted to the second I laid eyes on you.”
It’s a heady feeling to bring a man like him to the point of desperation. The desire ignites in his eyes and I push him just a little further, flicking my tongue against his thumb.
His eyes close and he speaks without opening them. “Have you left something outside?”
It seems simple, in a way. He was right when he said I was in need. And letting this man do whatever he wants to me would soothe an ache I’ve had for days. A pent-up need that’s been dying to be sated. It would be everything I’ve needed since I gave my ex the finger and fell down the black hole of an endless to-do list.
Of course it would. Look at him, in his expensive suit with his thumb still tracing a path on my lip and his eyes shut. He’s hot. He’s more than hot. He’s everything I could possibly want in a man. Physically, at least. It doesn’t matter that he’s an arrogant asshole. I can still hate him as much as I did when I first stormed in here, but right now … I’m worked up and hot for him.
When his eyes finally open and he stares back at me with an intensity that burns inside of me just the same, I barely speak, “I didn’t leave anything outside.”
Befo
re the last word is spoken, his lips are on mine, devouring them. Both hands cup my face, pulling me in and my hands splay against his broad chest. He’s all man beneath the suit. Strong muscles bulge and tense.
The layers of fabric between us are in the way and I do my part to help strip them off. Adrian isn’t hesitant about a damn thing. His hands roam, his lips mold against mine and with every small movement I make, he meets it tenfold. I don’t think a man like him is capable of being timid about anything. He puts his tongue in my mouth, glides it against mine, and seems to taste me more deeply than any man ever has before. Wanting more and forcing small sounds from me as his hands roam and the zipper is pulled down my back. The chill of the air greets my bare skin and I have to break the kiss, breathing in the cool air as I arch my neck and throw my head back. Adrian doesn’t stop, doesn’t pause for anything. His nimble fingers work my dress, sending goosebumps down my skin where his fingertips leave traces of his heated touch.
As I stare up at the ceiling, he leaves a trail of openmouthed kisses down my neck. Hot and greedy, it’s enough to pull me back to him.
To rid myself of any thoughts other than those drenched in lust.
Scorching desire prickles over my skin and I find myself kissing him back, maybe a little desperately. Shamefully so. I’ve always wanted to be kissed like this. It’s every girl’s dream to be kissed like the other person can’t get enough of you. It’s only fair if I kiss him back just as hard and make him think I want this. Adrian can think whatever he wants about me. He can think I hate him. He can think I’m melting for him.
If I’m going to do this, I’m going to take as much as I give.
All I care about is the way it’s going to feel when he takes control of all the heat between my legs. Will he kiss me there too? Will he be just as ravenous as he is now?
He kisses me harder, demanding more with a rumble from deep in his chest when he puts his hand on one of my legs and slides it slowly up under my dress. There’s no hesitation at all with this movement. He got all he wanted from me when I told him I wasn’t leaving. Now I’m his to take.
He pauses there before breaking our kiss and letting me breathe, his hand gripping my upper thigh. It’s only then that I feel his cock pressed against my leg. He’s hard and I wasn’t mistaken earlier … no wonder he’s so fucking arrogant.
I shiver when he reaches my panties. They’re not full coverage ones, because those don’t sit well underneath my work clothes, but they’re not a thong, either. His fingertips play at the band. Then he cups me through the cotton fabric and I moan into the kiss.
“You’re hot for me,” he says into my mouth. “I knew you would be the second you started to mouth off to me.” Adrian strokes against the fabric and when his knuckles brush against my clit I’m all too aware of how sensitive I am for him. My head lolls to the side and I sink my teeth into the fabric of his shirt. My hands fist his dress shirt, pulling it from his suit pants with a desperate need for it to be ripped from him so we can get on with it.
“Good girl. Such a good little slut for me.” My back arches and I rock myself into his hand. “Fuck you,” I mutter but even as I do, the pleasure builds and Adrian chuckles. He’s playing me like a toy.
The words make me hot even though I know they shouldn’t. I roll my hips against his hand and he groans a deep rough sound, wrapping his other hand around the nape of my neck to pull me in close.
“Do you want to be my whore or my good girl?” he asks me.
I can only gasp as his fingers slip past the band and his thumb rubs ruthless circles against my clit. Moaning, I don’t answer him.
“Degradation or praise?” he presses further.
I have both hands on his chest, slid under the expensive fabric of his shirt. “Whatever you want. I just need you inside of me.” The plea is desperate, and I don’t give a fuck.
He doesn’t say a word as he smiles down at me like he’s won. For a half second, I worry he’ll leave me like this, wanting and admitting it so boldly. The fear is gone just as quickly as it came. His hands go under my ass and he roughly lifts me onto the surface of his desk. Adrian uses one hand to push my legs apart and I balance myself on the desk while he shoves the hem of my dress up to my hips. The fabric rolls up in an awkward bunch and remains there. This dress isn’t meant to be treated like that, but he doesn’t care. He’s busy pulling my panties off and down over my shoes, which fall to the floor with dull thuds. Finally, his fingertips meet my bare, wet center.
It turns me into a woman I don’t know. A woman who five minutes ago was coming in here to tell him to keep his hands off my department. Now I’m so hungry for his touch that I practically throw myself into it. Adrian doesn’t allow it. He takes what he wants, and he pushes me away from him, one hand splayed across my chest while reaching for his belt buckle with the other. His cock springs out with a flash of lust in his eyes. “Spread wide, Suzette.”
I obey and he pulls my hips closer to the edge.
His eyes sweep down to my spread legs and he groans, his hand working at his cock. He wants the same thing from me that I want from him. He wants to work off some of the tension from endless meetings and boardrooms and constantly working, constantly holding everything in.
With a hand on the back of my head, he bends low to kiss me as he nudges the tip right where I need him. Adrian isn’t taking time to make sure I’m ready and he doesn’t have to. I’m more than ready for him. He pumps his hips and I hang on to the desk to stay on it.
Fuck! He fills me with a single hard thrust, his hand coming down to brace my ass so he can fuck me deeper. My hands fly to his shoulders, needing to hold on to something more solid. My body’s hot all at once and tense. My heels dig into his ass.
“Fuck,” I moan. Not slowing down in the least, Adrian’s lips find mine again. “Fucking perfect,” he groans. I bury my head into his chest, my eyes closing and my teeth biting down on my lip as he fucks me like he owns me. He whispers, “Take it like a good girl.”
A cold sweat covers my forehead as I pull away, stifling my moans as best I can.
It’s dirty to do this and so wrong. It’s against every rule of office life to spread your legs on a man’s desk … especially when he’s your boss. And certainly when he’s your boss’s boss. My body doesn’t care. It clenches around him, making him grunt, and his lips capture my screams of pleasure. My release builds and rises like the tides on the shore until it’s crashing down on me. The only option I’m left with is to hang on for dear life.
Adrian
No matter how much she tries to hide it, I can still hear her catching her breath.
Fuck, it’s hard enough to keep steady myself. My muscles are still coiled with adrenaline rushing through my veins. That was exactly what I needed.
With a hushed moan slipping through her lips as I button up my shirt, I amend the thought: She is exactly what I needed.
With my back turned to her, a satisfied smile creeps to my lips and I bend down to pick up my tie. “Do you have plans for dinner?” I ask, balling up the silk and pocketing it rather than attempting a professional appearance in the least.
The unmistakable sound of a zipper replaces the silence in the room, as do the muffled sounds of her attempting to slip her heels back on. I turn to see her peering up at me.
Fuck.
There are so many questions that dance in her gorgeous light blue eyes. The vulnerability is unexpected. Her red dress is still open in the back; her attempt to zip it up only moved it partway.
Distrust riddles itself in every small movement she makes. It’s so damn obvious as she stares back at me like she’s afraid to even breathe.
“Turn around,” I command her, not liking wherever her pretty little head has taken her. “Let me help you with that.”
She only hesitates a moment, still not having answered my question. I take my time, using the backs of my fingers to brush her brunette locks to the side. My hand brushes against her bare back before I zip up h
er dress to the top. I don’t miss that she uses her right hand to brace herself on the desk and she stares down at it rather than looking back at me. The obvious insecurity has my dick hardening already. If she thinks I only wanted her once or that this was some kind of manipulation tactic, my little vixen is dead wrong.
“I have reservations for dinner. Come with me.”
She’s silent still as she comes back to reality. Her cheeks are still flushed, her lips still swollen from my bruising kiss. With her hair disheveled, she looks well and thoroughly fucked.
Stepping to her right so as not to be trapped between myself and the desk I’ve just fucked her on, she leaves me wanting.
“I should go,” is all she says.
Panic is something I didn’t expect to feel. Certainly not with a woman like her, confident and transparent. If she leaves right now, I’m fucked. We barely spoke. There’s no chance in hell she’ll let me near her again.
This is not at all the way it was supposed to go.
“We have reservations and we’re going to be late.”
“We? We have reservations?” she says and finally looks me in the eye. That’s better. Wherever her head is, whoever screwed her over to the point of not trusting another man, it’s in the past.
“I don’t want to go alone. So yes. We have reservations at the Waldorf.”
“I’m not dressed for that,” she responds far too quickly.
I make a point of letting my eyes undress her from head to toe. “The hell you aren’t. You look utterly delectable.”
“I would never wear something like this to the Waldorf.”
Watching as she smooths her hair, her gaze dancing between me and the door, I offer her a simple solution. “We can stop on the way.”
She rolls her eyes and my cock answers in response, hardening and wanting so desperately to punish her. “I have plenty of money if I—”
Tell Me You Want Me Page 3
