Batteries Not Required

by Anara Bella

  His mouth captured her lips without waiting for her reply. He simply couldn’t hold off one more second. He had to taste her again. Elation raced through him when she literally melted against him.

  She was so damned beautiful, so damned responsive and so damned sexy. It was an intoxicating combination he couldn’t resist. Didn’t even want to.

  His tongue swept inside her honey-sweet mouth, wanting to absorb her into his very being. Needing to take in her essence. The intensity of his feelings for this woman should have terrified him, but instead he only had one thought and it was pounding in the back of his brain.

  He wanted her. Right here. Right now. Fast and hard.

  It was complete madness. He couldn’t believe he was even considering taking a chance like this. There was no office policy against intra-office dating, but having sex on the premises was definitely frowned on. But it didn’t matter how insane it was. Or how risky.

  He broke the kiss. “Ever since our private kiss at the party I’ve had this fantasy about taking you on a desk.” He said it more as a question than a statement, giving her the chance to say no. His eyes bore into hers, willing her to want the same thing. Or would she be the sane one and put a stop to this folly?

  Eyes bright, face a revealing shade of red, Dana didn’t disappoint. In fact, she seemed extremely intrigued by the idea. She wanted this too.

  Whoo boy. He was in deep shit now.

  She skimmed her fingers across his mouth. “Me too. But what if we get caught?”

  He couldn’t deny the possibility, but there was no stopping him now. That she wanted it too had tipped the scales, so he shoved all concerns to the back of his mind. “Right now, I really don’t care.”

  He cleared the desk with one swipe of his arm, picked Dana up by the waist and perched her on top of it.

  Urgency tore at him now. In a mad rush, he undid her blouse and sucked in a sharp breath of mounting excitement when he revealed what was beneath. She was wearing the sexiest piece of lacy nothing he’d ever seen.

  Damn. He’d never be able to look at her the same way again knowing she wore stuff like this under her conservative clothing.

  He lightly ran his fingertips across the soft skin peeking out above the lace. Her breath quickened at the brief contact. She was so sensitive to his every touch. He loved that about being with her. He leaned down and kissed her breasts through the flimsy material and a little moan escaped her lips.

  Damn, but the way her nipples hardened in response made him even hotter and that was saying something because his cock was already so hard he was nearly in agony.

  The fleeting thought crossed his mind that his extreme reaction was way more than it should have been over just a kiss. What did it mean? Was it the element of risk that was heightening things? Or was it the woman?

  He shook off the concern. “You are incredible.”

  “Thank you.” She blushed an even deeper red but didn’t stop working furiously at unzipping his fly. Finally, she cupped him in her soft, seeking hand, setting his cock on fire. “So are you.”

  Her unique combination of shyness and boldness continued to be a turn-on like no other. He was fucking going to explode. “This is definitely going to be a quickie.”

  “God, I hope so.”

  He laughed. She’d done it again. She never ceased to surprise him. No prim protestations, no backing off. Gung ho all the way. She was something else.

  He hiked up her skirt and ripped off the matching lacy bit of nothing she wore under it. She gasped but didn’t demur. Instead, she grabbed his pants ready to pull them down.

  He stilled her hand. “Wait.” Fishing out a condom, he slapped it on the desk. “Okay.”

  Boxer briefs and pants hit the floor at Mach speed.

  Without hesitation, he pulled her to the edge of the desk, spread her legs and went down on her. She was so wet for him already. Yet another thing he loved about her, the way she responded to him, matching his wants and desires every step of the way.

  He suckled her clit, enjoying the little mewling sounds she made, the sight of her sweet, plump pussy. Loving how she tasted just like cinnamon and cream against his tongue.

  She clapped her hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her moans of pleasure, and the sweet sound almost undid him. He didn’t know how long he could hold out.

  He needn’t have worried.

  She started pulling on his hair and shoulders. “Just fill me up already. Now.”

  Again, she took him by surprise. He just wasn’t used to this demanding side of prim and proper little Dana and despite the intensity of the moment he couldn’t help chuckling. Her demands were like music to his ears. “You like to order me around, don’t you?”

  “You got a problem with that?”

  He flashed a grin. “Nope.” Condom in place, he buried himself to the hilt inside her tight core in one hard thrust.

  “Oh God.”

  “Yeah.”

  He stilled for a moment just to savor the feeling of being enveloped in her sweet, hot flesh. But a moment was all he could manage. Without any effort on her part, he was so worked up he couldn’t hold off. So much for his famous self-control.

  He began thrusting in earnest, plundering her tight heat, plunging as deep as he could go.

  Sooner than he would have thought possible, he felt the first tremors of her orgasm milking his cock. Knowing she was right there with him, he let himself go, abandoning himself to the pulsating waves of release that racked his body. The white-hot sensation wringing him out, seeming to go on and on.

  He felt Dana’s hands reflexively squeeze his arms and her head dropped to his shoulder as she shuddered her completion. They hung onto each other for dear life. Their combined stifled groans of satisfaction sounded desperate and out of place in the formal atmosphere of his office.

  For long moments only their labored breathing broke the silence. Fortunately, there was no sound coming from outside his office either. His assistant must not have heard them. Thank God.

  What was it about forbidden sex that made it so much hotter? That had to be why it had been so intense. So incredible.

  Wasn’t it?

  “Wow.”

  Reese felt her whisper against his neck. He lifted his head from her shoulder and took in her stunned expression. “You stole my line.”

  She managed a lethargic smile. “Is it always like this for you?”

  Her question took him aback. Why would she ask a question like that? What the hell was he supposed to say? Did she think he had sex in his office all the time? “Always like what?”

  “So exciting. So hot. So amazing.”

  He didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t, because he’d just been struck by what his answer was and it completely threw him.

  He didn’t know why it was true, but it was. Sex with Dana was different. Better. More intense. More satisfying. And yes, it was absolutely amazing. And it had nothing to do with the risk factor. It had been like this last night too.

  What exactly that meant he wasn’t sure, but he was sure of one thing—a couple of dates weren’t going to be enough for him. He knew it in his bones. No matter what she said, what she thought she wanted, she wasn’t a one-night stand for him.

  But how the hell was he going to convince her to go along with him on this? The answer eluded him at the moment but he knew he was going to try. “No, it isn’t always like this. It’s only like this with you.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  Her honest response made him laugh. Whatever else she’d been expecting him to say, that obviously wasn’t it. “No, I’m not.”

  She looked as if she was trying to figure out if he was serious. “I thought you’d say it was. In fact, I was sure of it.”

  “And the fact that I didn’t is bad?”

  “No. Yes.” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  She pulled slightly back. He could see her mentally pulling away from him too. A feeling of panic twisted his g
ut. What is the problem? “Look, Dana, what we have is spectacular, and it isn’t going to fizzle out in a big hurry. The truth is I haven’t had near enough of you.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake to have uttered them. She started squirming in earnest to get away from him, causing his shrinking cock to fall out of her warm, moist heat. He mourned the loss of their physical closeness, but he mourned the loss of their emotional closeness even more.

  She pushed him back a bit and scooted off the desk. It was pretty obvious she was distancing herself from him and he was surprised by how much he hated it.

  He watched as she cleaned herself up with some tissues he’d had on his desk. He started to clean himself up too. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing’s the matter. I have to get back to work.”

  “Liar. Right now you can’t get away from me fast enough.”

  Their gazes locked for a split-second before she turned away. It was enough for him to see the wild desperation reflected in the depths of her eyes.

  Damn it all, anyway. She’d obviously not been kidding about the short-term thing. And he never would have believed he’d be upset about that. She really didn’t want anything long term. God help him, he’d never wanted to be more wrong about someone than he did at this moment.

  Her clothes back in place, she turned toward him, head down, eyes evading his. “I need to think.”

  He’d hoped she’d answer his question but he was doomed to disappointment. Her body language practically screamed stay away, and he had to respect that whether he liked it or not. He searched his mind for something to say, to convince her to stay and talk to him, but drew a blank.

  Without waiting for him to comment, she unlocked the door and was gone in an instant. As if she’d never been there. Only the lingering scent of their lovemaking assured him he hadn’t imagined their assignation.

  He cursed profusely under his breath.

  Their little tryst wasn’t supposed to end like this. Now all he could do was hope she’d be willing to talk to him later, once she’d had time to think.

  For the rest of the day the desperation in her eyes haunted him. He kept coming back to the fact that she’d told him she didn’t want anything long term. What he’d said had obviously scared her shitless. Thank God, he hadn’t said anything more.

  Even so, when he opened her email later that day, Reese wasn’t the least bit surprised to find she’d cancelled their date.

  Chapter Eight

  What the hell was she supposed to do now?

  In a frustrated gesture of impatience, Dana used her forearm to swipe the hair out of her eyes. She plopped another spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough onto the greased cookie sheet using a lot more force than was needed.

  Her plans had begun so well, better than well. In fact, she’d say spectacularly. But now things had taken an unexpected turn. Where had she gone wrong?

  She’d planned everything out so carefully. And while doing so she’d worried about being rejected, about not being attractive enough or sexy enough to snag a guy like Reese. But she sure as hell hadn’t worried about the guy wanting to stick around longer than she did. Or that she might want to stick around longer than common sense told her she should. She couldn’t believe how confused and torn she was feeling.

  When had things veered so far off track? Was it when she’d agreed to see him again? Or when she’d given in to her rampant desires in his office? A little of both?

  Maybe. Probably.

  The annoying thing was that all she’d done was follow the dictates of her hormones. Hormones that went out of control around Reese. But wasn’t that what one-night stands were supposed to be all about? Doing what you want?

  She sighed. Well, if she’d proven anything at all, it was that desires were wildly unpredictable. Wholly untamable. And utterly uncontainable.

  So here she was, in a major mess of her own making, without the least idea of how to fix it.

  Or maybe she did and the obvious solution just didn’t appeal. She chewed her lip, realizing that she’d gone and done the unthinkable. She’d already managed to get seriously addicted to sizzling-hot sex with Reese and although she knew she should walk away from him now, she didn’t want to. Not yet anyway.

  So, now what?

  With a final flourish, she finished doling out the cookie dough and popped the cookie sheets into the oven. With lip-smacking relish, she licked raw dough off the spoon.

  She wasn’t sure why, but she’d always found baking to be a huge source of comfort. It always managed to cheer her up, so whenever she was frustrated or upset she automatically resorted to whipping up whatever confection struck her fancy.

  There was something very soothing about the entire process. Deciding what to bake, measuring out the ingredients, mixing it all together. Knowing she was putting something yummy together was better than therapy. The fabulous aromas and contented joy of eating whatever treat she’d thrown together was pure bonus.

  Unfortunately, the habit was also a fattening one. Absolute hell on her figure when she was depressed or upset. Like now.

  Three sharp knocks were quickly followed by Sandy letting herself into Dana’s apartment. “I got here as fast as I could.”

  “I’m in here.” Dana called to her friend from the kitchen via the pass-through that allowed her to see straight through the living room to her apartment’s front door.

  She wiped her hands on her apron as she watched Sandy remove her winter paraphernalia and rush over with enough speed to resemble the Tasmanian Devil. “What happened?”

  “Reese says having sex with me is amazing.”

  Taken aback, Sandy’s mouth dropped open and closed and then opened again without saying a word, making her look a tad fish-like in the process. Finally, her features settled into a comical combination of humor laced with confusion. “I had to drop everything for that? I thought you were going to tell me he dumped you and cancelled your date.”

  “Actually, that was me.”

  “You cancelled the date? I thought you couldn’t wait to strip him down to his fabulous nekkidness again.”

  Dana grinned ruefully. “I couldn’t. Neither could he. That’s why we thoroughly ravished each other in his office this morning.”

  “No shit!”

  She laughed at her friend’s shock. “No shit.”

  “Wow. Lucky you didn’t get caught.”

  “I know. But even if we did, it would have been totally worth it.”

  Sandy’s eyes went wide and she leaned back against the counter. “Man, I gotta find me a stud like Reese.”

  “If only it were that simple. Find a stud. Sex him up. Watch the orgasms accumulate. Move onto next stud.”

  “If it was simple, everyone would be doing it.”

  “Yeah.”

  They fell into a long silence. At length, Sandy spoke. “So, what’s really the problem?”

  Good question. “The problem is that he says he hasn’t had near enough of me.”

  “Well, you know what they say. Always leave ’em wanting more.”

  “Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? Only thing is, I haven’t had near enough of him either.”

  “He must be good.”

  “I think he’s the Tiger Woods of sex.”

  Sandy grinned. “You really hit the jackpot your first time out, didn’t you?”

  Dana started gathering dirty measuring cups and spoons and placing them in the sink. She needed to do something, and tidying up the kitchen was as good a distraction as any. “I know I should be happy about that, and I guess I am, but this was supposed to be a one-night stand. Now we’ve already had round two, we were supposed to have round three tonight and he says he wants more. This whole thing is totally out of control.”

  “So take control and walk away.”

  “I’m not ready to do that.” Dana tossed her friend a sheepish look. “Man, I suck at this.”

  Sandy’s laugh peeled out. �
�Yes, you do. But there’s an easy solution, you know.”

  Feeling a tiny glimmer of hope for the first time since this morning, Dana asked, “There is?”

  “Sure. Don’t end it yet.”

  Disappointment crashed through her. “That’s not a solution. That’s giving into my desires.”

  “Sure is.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite. How is that a solution?”

  “Easy. You give into your lust for a little while longer. Once the thrill is gone you’ll be ready to move on.”

  Dana had to admit there was a wonky kind of logic to Sandy’s idea. “You think that’ll work?”

  “What have your past relationships shown you?”

  Dana thought back to the endless bouts of boring sex she’d endured for the sake of whatever relationship she was in at the time. She’d hung in there because she thought that’s what you were supposed to do. Everyone always said sex wasn’t the most important thing in a relationship. Now that she’d actually experienced what amazing sex was like, she wasn’t so sure. But anyway, despite putting up with the disappointing sex in those relationships, she’d always ended up being dumped.

  That was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place. Her brilliant plan. Seek out great sex and move on before getting dumped. She’d figured if she was going to get dumped anyway, she may as well be the one doing the dumping. Get in. Have wild monkey sex. Get out. No fuss. No muss. No heartache.

  Well, that had been the theory, anyway. “The sex in my past relationships wasn’t anything to write home about to begin with, so I don’t see how my past experiences apply. Boring sex is not the problem this time.”

  Sandy spoke slowly as if she were talking to a dimwit. “Okay, but it’s a well-known fact that sex gets boring in all relationships, even if it starts out great. They talk about it on talk shows all the time.”

  That was a depressing thought. “I suppose it can’t help but get routine after a while.”

  “Exactly. This thing with Reese will fizzle out before you know it. Just go with it. Get what you can out of your time together, and then when you start to get bored you’ll be able to move on without a backward glance. Not quite the one-night stand you’d planned on but you’d still be the one doing the dumping.”