She crossed her arms. “Twenty.”
“Ten,” Shane countered.
“Fifteen. And that’s my final offer.” She studied her nails.
“Oh, all right. You’re a bloodthirsty one.”
Evan laughed, his amusement clear in the rich, hearty sound.
Shane scrubbed a hand over his jaw and said to Evan, “It’s all fun and games now, but just remember how ruthless she can be when it’s turned on you.”
Evan shrugged and a wicked grin spread over his lips. “I’ve got her under control.”
Penelope snapped up, dropped the pen, and slammed her hands on her hips. “What did you just say?”
Shane patted Evan on the back. “That’s my cue. You’re on your own. And may God have mercy on your soul.”
With that, he took his leave, closing the door behind him.
With slow, deliberate steps she walked around the desk and leaned against the edge. “Under control, huh?”
“Too much?” Evan walked toward her and the air shifted.
“I’d say so,” she said, her voice already lowering and going husky. “But I know how important it is for you to be tough in front of your brother.”
Today, with him standing in front of her with that expression on his face, she believed in them. And that’s what she wanted to hold on to.
“I’m not interested in him.” Evan’s gaze traveled the length of her body, all the way to the tips of her high-heeled black pumps. “Have I mentioned I like the way you dress?”
Today she wore a black shirtwaist dress that buttoned down the front, had a wide matching belt, and ended at her knees. It was slim cut and accented her long frame and blue eyes.
She put her hands on the desk, and it caused her back to arch, just a bit. Just enough to attract his notice. “You have.”
It worked; he lingered on the swell of her breasts, before stepping toward her. “I never can figure out how you manage to cover yourself so appropriately and look so goddamn gorgeous.”
Heartbeat kicking up a notch, her breath caught and when she spoke her voice was far too husky. “Do you think compliments will win you any favors?”
“I hope so.” He was close now. Close enough she could feel the heat of his body. He slid his hands on the desk, forcing him to lean down and her face to tilt up to his. “I haven’t touched you in twelve hours.”
No, he hadn’t. She licked her dry lips.
His head dropped and his lips grazed over her neck, sending gooseflesh down her arms. He whispered, “I’ve had this reoccurring fantasy.”
“What’s that?” Her voice was low and full of smoke.
His teeth scraped over her skin. “I’ve always wanted to corrupt you in your office. Fuck you across your desk. On the floor.” He raised his gaze to her windows. “Against the glass.”
Her blood pounded in her veins as her skin grew tight. She could see right into the office across the way. “The buildings are too close.” She glanced at her unlocked door. “And someone might come in.”
“Exactly.” He pressed his open mouth to the curve of her throat, his tongue licking over her. “That’s what gets you so excited.”
She might be hyperventilating, but she managed to croak out, “It doesn’t excite me.” She didn’t know why she was protesting when the evidence spoke so loudly to the contrary. Maybe it was precisely because it was exactly the kind of thing most people would think she was too proper for. The kind of thing Evan knew better.
His fingers hooked at the edge of her belt. “Let’s just see about that, shall we?”
She shook her head, but arched her back in invitation. With him, she wanted to be wild, wanted to shrug off all her properness, to act with abandon.
He straightened and unhooked the clasp of her belt before looking into her eyes. “It’s like you knew what I’d be doing to you when you picked this outfit.”
Maybe she had. She bit her lip. “I’m at work, we should stop.”
The objection only magnified her excitement.
He released the belt and it dropped to the desk with a loud thump. “I don’t think so.” His hands roamed over her hips and the curve of her waist. “Tell me I’m not going to find you wet.”
She couldn’t, because he would. Her nipples were pulled tight, and in less than a minute flat he’d managed to set her body on fire. That was Evan, taking her from proper Catholic girl to depraved, since the dawn of time.
He popped the first button, and then the next.
And she did nothing to stop him. This was exactly the kind of thing she’d only do with Evan. The kind of thing she’d missed doing for years. The kind of thing a relationship with a man like Evan was designed for.
Outside her office there were voices, and everything inside her stilled.
Evan laughed, and it was pure sin. “Perfect.”
Her gaze trained on the door, her breath coming in short, hard pants. “Evan, someone might come in.”
He leaned down and rasped into her ear, “I am going to fuck the hell out of you. I’ll take you rough and I’m not going to be quiet about it.”
She whimpered, unable to speak. A type of panic-filled excitement and arousal mixed like a powerful cocktail and beat a steady path through her blood. He popped the next button; she let him.
In fact, she wished he’d rip it off. Because with him, she always gave in to her base desires. It’s how he got her in the first place.
And why she couldn’t give him up.
“I’m going to be inside you, and they’re going to be right outside.” His deft fingers moved over the buttons on her dress, opening them as though he had some sort of divine intervention on his side. “Are you going to be able to be quiet? Or am I going to have to put my hand over your mouth?”
She gasped, lifting her hips at a vivid memory of them on the floor, his hand clamped over her mouth as she screamed against his palm, coming so hard she lost all reason.
Another evil, knowing laugh. “Oh yes, I remember.”
“Evan,” she whispered, her body restless and impatient.
He spread the fabric of her dress and his gaze raked down her body. “Tell me this isn’t the underwear of a woman who knows she’s going to be engaged in immoral acts.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied. The black lace bra and panty set was sheer, provocative, and she had thought about him this morning when she put it on, as he lay stretched out on her bed, asleep. The sunlight cast him in a golden glow, his tanned skin a stark contrast to her white sheets.
There was a flurry of talking outside the door, obviously someone carrying on a hallway conversation, startling her from her thoughts. She tensed, but somehow grew unbearably more excited.
“Excellent.” He smoothed a path down her legs. “Spread those thighs for me.”
This was so not like her. She didn’t do things like this. Which is what she loved about him. And she was so damn hot. So damn wet.
He squeezed her thigh and it sent a shock wave through her. With a darted glance at the door, she slowly spread, planting her high-heeled shoes on either side of his feet.
His expression was full of heat. Full of danger. He ran his finger over her panties, right where she wanted him the most. “They’re right outside, Penelope.”
Her head fell back, her spine arched, and she urged him closer.
He reached up and undid the pins in her hair, dropping them to her desk as her hair spilled free. He stepped between her legs, jerking her forward.
She let out a low, needy sound that came from the back of her throat and it seemed to echo her desperateness through the room.
“This fucking hair.” His voice a low growl as he fisted it in his hands.
The sounds from the hallway grew closer and she squirmed against him. He held her tighter.
And then his mouth was on hers. His lips rough. His kiss was raw and dirty, sending desire crashing at warp speed through her entire body. She lifted her hips, instinctively seeking his hard co
ck where she needed him most, and he rocked into her, sending a container of pens flying.
The sound too loud in a space filled with nothing but the low hum of her computer, their hard breath, and their mouths that couldn’t seem to get close enough.
He released her lips, bending down to suck at her neck, his tongue dragging over her pounding pulse. He trailed over her shoulder, nipped at her collarbone before skimming the curve of her breast. He licked her nipple through the lace, then pulled it deep into his mouth.
She cried out. And with one hand still bracing herself on the desk, she dragged the other through his hair and tugged him closer. His teeth scraped over the distended peak and sharp, exquisite pleasure raced along her skin. “Oh . . . God.”
His mouth and teeth still tugging at her breast, he slipped his hand between her legs and into her panties, to circle her clit. She was so slick it was almost embarrassing.
He vibrated his approval against her skin, and plunged first one, and then another finger inside. Hips rising, she moved insistently against his hand. Not caring how she was acting. Not caring about the people outside. Just needing something harder than his fingers could deliver.
Needing him.
“Evan. God, Evan.” Something crashed to the floor.
The voices were louder now and it should have cooled her blood, but it didn’t.
He lifted his head and looked deep into her eyes. “Tell me what you want.”
She yanked at his arms, unmovable under his strength. “You.” She arched up in invitation.
“No.” He put one hand on his belt. “Tell me what you really want. How you want it.”
Dazed, she blinked at him, unsure of what he asked.
He traced his thumb over her swollen bottom lip. “Open that prim little mouth of yours and tell me what you need.”
Understanding dawned and her breath was a rapid rise and fall in her chest. She leaned back and met his hot, feral gaze. “Fuck me.”
He slowly undid his belt as his attention shifted to her mouth. “I’m listening.”
The voices were a constant murmur now, and she looked at the door. “I want you to take me while they stand outside.”
He slid his zipper down, parting his jeans that dipped low on his hips. “Are you going to scream for me when you come?”
Another arch of her body in invitation. “Don’t I always?”
He took her mouth in a brutal kiss, and when he let her go she swayed. His lips skimmed down her jaw, pausing at her ear. “I’m going to fuck you loud and dirty.”
With those words she lost all sense of reason. A low, needy sound vibrated from her throat and she grabbed for his jeans and yanked them down. He pushed the contents of her desk aside, sending items to the floor with a loud clatter before pushing her down with a press of his palm.
Crazy now, past caring or thinking, she hooked her leg over his hip. Desperate for him.
He looked down at her, shaking his head. “I love you like this. All panting and desperate.”
“Now.” Was that voice even hers? Filled with rasp and smoke and heat.
He tugged her panties down her legs, tossed them to the floor, reached into his pocket and took out a condom. He ripped it with his teeth, made quick work rolling it down his shaft, before filling her with one powerful thrust.
She arched off the desk and let out a gasp.
He rocked into her, circling his hips and she ground back, in a rhythm they’d perfected long ago, but was now all the better. Because he filled her, completely. He set a slow, grinding pace that had her moaning and mindless. It was just as he promised, loud, dirty, and he played her body like it was made for him, managing to bring her to the edge of orgasm without sending her tumbling over.
His hands on either side of her head, he bent low. “Look at me.”
Her lashes fluttered open and their gazes locked together.
“Mine.” His voice a low growl.
“Yes.” Her hand slid around his neck, wanting him close, needing to touch him.
“I know your secrets.”
Sweat broke out along her spine as he angled his hips, his pelvis rubbing against her clit.
Beyond reason, the words fell from her lips. “Harder. More. Please.”
“Christ.” His hips started to move faster. Deeper and more punishing.
He hit a spot that had her keening perilously out of control. “Mark me. I need it.”
He banged his fist on the table. “You’re killing me.”
“More,” she gasped out. Another thrust she rose to meet.
“You need to be marked.” A low, primal growl that set all her own primitive desires.
“Yes.” Claimed. Fucked. Taken. Marked. And any other possession he could grant her.
He set a dirty pace that took her breath away.
Climbing faster and higher than before, she moaned. “So good.”
He bent down, covering her. “That’s right, Pen, it’s so fucking good. Nothing feels as good as your tight, wet pussy squeezing my cock.”
She whimpered, the orgasm building inside her picking up velocity and strength.
“Let me hear you,” he urged, his lips skimming down her neck. He shifted and hit a spot so good it ripped a short scream from her throat. “Let everyone hear you.”
He bit her and she cried out.
He groaned. Fucked her harder. Deeper.
Unable to control the stream of sounds coming from her any longer, he covered her mouth with his hand. “Go ahead and scream. It just makes me harder to watch you struggle.”
And that was it. She tumbled right off the edge of the cliff, coming so hard she thought she might pass out as she climaxed and pulsed crazily around him as he drove into her again and again and she loved every single second of it. Loved every second of him.
Still trembling, he cursed and thrust into her once more in a vicious motion as he came, pumping hard inside her.
He collapsed on top of her as they fought to get control of their breathing and quell her shaking muscles, spent body, and overactive mind.
When they’d finally calmed, and her pulse no longer felt like it was going to pound out of her neck, he gave her a soft kiss. “We’re a mess.”
She smiled and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead with trembling fingers. She loved him. She’d never stopped loving him. He was it for her. It terrified her. “We are.”
Another brush of his lips. “But I know you’re the kind of girl who’s prepared for anything, so I’m guessing you have a roll of paper towels, hand wipes, and various other cleaning supplies on hand.”
Boneless and satisfied, her muscles like Jell-O, a surprise giggle slipped from her throat. “You know me too well.”
He straightened and pulled out, then slowly ran the tip of his finger over her belly.
She flushed. “I, um, went a little crazy there at the end.”
“I go a little crazy every time I’m inside you.” His voice an intimate rumble.
She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down. Clothes a mess, her dress open, she looked wanton.
Exactly right.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Life had been perfect. Too perfect. She’d had ten days of absolute bliss. Ten days of Evan. Ten days of falling deeper and deeper in love with him. And now she was paying the price for all that obnoxious happiness with the day from hell.
This morning she’d overslept and things had gone downhill from there. She’d had to forgo her early morning yoga class, which put her in a bad mood. Then, because Evan was sleeping in her bed, she’d had to rush around her bedroom while trying to be quiet. At one point, as she was eating a piece of toast while trying to put on her shoes, she’d looked at him sprawled out on the mattress, resting peacefully, and wanted to chuck one of her heels at his head.
She’d left for work officially crabby.
The day had gone downhill from there.
There was a contract dispute with the city.
One o
f their largest projects was behind schedule and over budget.
She and Shane had had words about one of the project directors.
Every meeting she’d had was filled with problems.
She’d barely had time to breathe or think, let alone eat.
Her mood had gone from crabby to downright bitchy.
Shane was on the warpath.
Everyone was tense.
Shane called an emergency meeting at five o’clock, where they’d been ever since. Now two hours later, Penelope rubbed her aching temples. “Let’s take fifteen minutes.”
Shane, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, nodded. “Fine, but we’re not leaving until we have answers.”
Penelope envisioned fifteen stifled groans. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom before her bladder exploded.
Two minutes later she stood in the stall, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
She’d gotten her period.
She tugged her suit jacket. Great. Fantastic.
She was relieved. So, so relieved. At least she believed it was relief sitting heavy in her chest. Of course it was relief, what else could it be?
A baby was the last thing on earth she needed.
Her throat tightened and the sting of tears threatened. All the muscles in her face tightened.
Oh no!
Those were not tears. She would not cry.
She had nothing to cry about. She was happy. Thrilled.
This was PMS, plain and simple. She didn’t want a baby. God, she couldn’t even imagine. Look at her, it was seven and she was still at work. When would she even see a baby? And then there was Evan; yeah, things were good between them for now, but that was bound to change once the sex wore off. Once they settled into real life and the newness of being able to touch each other lost its luster.
Because the sex was ridiculous and destined to fade. To lessen in its intensity. They’d get this all worked out of their systems, he’d get bored, and then what? Did she really want to be a single mother?
See, her period was the best thing that had happened to her all day.
She should be celebrating.
A little sob slipped from her lips and she viciously shoved it back down.
She would not cry.
She was happy.
As Good as New Page 25
