by Kendall Ryan
“Understood.”
He nodded. “Now, go make this right.”
I would. I had to. I couldn’t live with myself if Corinne quit because of my disgustingly chauvinistic behavior.
That wasn’t me. It wasn’t who I was. I’d always been the nice guy women could trust, the one who made them feel safe and comfortable, and even cherished. I certainly wasn’t some creeper only interested in sex.
When I approached Alyssa’s desk, Corinne was there—looking incredibly delectable in her fitted skirt that accentuated her curves and made my knees go weak. She had a body built for sin, and the caveman in me wanted to drag her back into my office and show her how amazing those God-given curves could be used, devoured, worshipped.
My brain might have thought that I was still nursing a heartbreak over losing Emma, but my body? My body had moved on, quickly cataloging the differences between the two women and deciding which was superior.
First, there was Emma, who was slender and delicate—and my brother’s fucking wife, my subconscious reminded me. She was graceful, beautiful even, but she sure as hell had never gotten my blood pumping like Corinne had managed to do in the few minutes we’d spent together.
Corinne was . . . well, in a league of her own. Her body was thicker, healthy in a way that was biologically pleasing on the most basic level to me as a man. She had ripe, heavy breasts and a slim waist, but luscious hips and a juicy ass that I was already in love with.
Fuck. The things that I would do to that ass . . .
She looked as though she was meant to birth children, to nurse them, to care for them. At the most primitive level, I wanted her, wanted to fill her with come and . . .
My thoughts slammed to a halt.
Shit.
Pull yourself together, Coop.
I wasn’t supposed to be fantasizing about her—I was supposed to be plotting a way to reassure her and keep her on my team. For work. Nothing more.
Jesus. I needed to get a hold of myself.
I drew a sharp inhale, noticing the way the skin on her face and neck was pink and blotchy. She was upset and had only just stopped crying, by the looks of it.
“I messed up. Can I speak with you for a moment?” I asked, my voice soft.
Alyssa gave her an encouraging smile as if to say, Don’t worry. Despite his aggressive behavior, he’s not a rapist. Promise.
Corinne nodded and headed into my office. I followed a safe distance behind her and left the door open.
“I am sorry. So fucking sorry. That was a misunderstanding.” My words came out in a rush. “My brother said he’d gotten me a gift, and I read into it. It was a massive mistake on my part.”
Corinne looked me over, her expression suspicious. “Do your brothers often give you women as gifts?”
I shook my head. “No. Never. I’m just a little fucked up right now, after some past . . . relationship stuff. And when I saw you, I thought maybe they were trying to cheer me up.”
She sniffed again, eyeing me warily. “I see. I’m sorry I freaked out like that.”
I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. You had every right to.”
Corinne looked down at the chair in front of my desk, and I gestured for her to sit. When she did, I took the chair next to her, rather than the one behind my desk. I thought it might seem less threatening to sit beside her, rather than across from her, but I hadn’t counted on the close proximity this would force us into.
“You’re not going to quit, are you?” I asked.
Corinne shook her head. “I need this job. The pay is great and the health benefits are amazing. And so far, well, I really enjoyed it.”
So far—as in, before I’d gotten into town.
“That’s good. I just want to make sure you’ll be comfortable working with me.”
She nodded. “I’m not going to break from one pickup line. I’m actually pretty embarrassed at how I reacted.”
That was interesting. It was the last thing I expected her to say. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
She gave me a shy smile. “Thanks.” Then she let out a shaky breath, and her gaze drifted from mine. “Should we get to work, or . . .”
“First—and tell me to fuck off if I’m out of line here—but I’d like to know why when I came on to you, you looked scared. But you also looked curious.”
She mumbled something I couldn’t hear, and her gaze drifted to the floor.
“I saw it, Corinne, and I’m just curious. Care to tell me why?”
Her lips parted in surprise, but she didn’t respond. Several tense moments ticked past.
“Tell me to fuck off, Corinne. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Any more uncomfortable than I already have, anyway.
She raised one hand, holding her palm toward me. “No. It’s just, I’m . . . it’s a fair question.”
Reading the situation as one that may call for a little more privacy, I rose and crossed the room, closing the door most of the way, but not completely. “Please enlighten me then.” I returned to the seat beside her.
“You have to know the effect you have on women.” She waved a hand in my direction. “You’re . . .”
“I’m what?” I couldn’t help the smile playing on the edges of my lips. This felt a lot like flirting, and as out of practice as I was, she had all my attention.
She straightened her shoulders. “Attractive. And I guess I was the tiniest bit flattered by your offer. I haven’t . . . haven’t been with a man in that way in a very long time. Haven’t felt desired.”
“I see.” Her words made my pulse spike, and my desire to claim her raged even brighter. “Why haven’t you been with a man? Because, excuse me for being so blunt, but you’re fucking stunning. Surely, you don’t lack for offers.”
Her cheeks flushed and she looked down at her hands briefly before meeting my eyes again. “I have some hang-ups when it comes to sex. God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. I just had my heart forced through a shredder, and I admitted that to you within the first few minutes of us talking.”
She picked at the polished edge of her thumbnail. “I’m not sure what it is about you—talking to you—that makes me feel like I can open up.”
“You can,” I assured her. It was crazy, but I knew just what she meant. We weren’t shy or timid around each other like two people who’d just met ought to be. Instead, our eye contact was direct, and our words were honest and bare. It was exhilarating.
I decided to press her. Leaning closer, I asked, “What kind of hang-ups, Corinne?”
She swallowed, her delicate throat working. “Just nerves more than anything. Not only am I out of practice, but the experiences I had early on weren’t . . . healthy.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She shook her head, obviously not wanting my pity. I knew that feeling.
I rose to my feet, offering her my hand to draw her up with me. “I’m sorry that you were ever treated as anything other than a goddess. And I’m very sorry that you haven’t found someone special to make you feel good, to bring you pleasure, to erase those sour memories.”
She nodded, her gaze locked on mine. And, Christ, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought she wanted me to kiss her. Her lips parted and her tongue darted out to wet her full bottom lip.
Clearly, my ability to read a woman’s signals were off. Like, way fucking off. I shoved my hands in my pockets and forced myself to take a step back.
This was insane. Totally fucking insane. But the longer that Corinne stood here, watching me with those sad eyes, and knowing that she’d been treated poorly, hearing her admit she hadn’t been properly taken care of—it did something to me.
Since I’d already managed to make an ass of myself once this morning, the logical side of me knew the last thing I should do was latch onto this moment and push for more. I knew that deep in my soul. B
ut I also knew that I was a Kingsley, a man of action, not words. I could help Corinne, and in turn, she could help me.
“Cooper?” she asked, still standing in the center of my office, watching me closely.
“What if I could help you?”
Corinne’s eyes widened.
“Don’t freak out. Just listen.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her back to her seat. It was probably better that she was sitting down for this conversation, because I was pretty sure I’d lost my mind.
“I’m a fucking mess. Obviously.” I flashed her a smile. “Despite your first impression of me, I promise I know how to make sure a woman is comfortable, how to bring her pleasure. I know how to read a woman’s signals, which positions are the most enjoyable, how to make her come, when to press her for more, when to ease up. I might not have a fancy business degree, but that shit I know. Better than any man out there, I’d wager. And despite reading the situation wrong before, that’s a promise.”
She swallowed again, her throat bobbing and her eyes not daring to stray from mine. I had her complete attention.
“Just hear me out.” I wandered from my spot near her chair toward the windows that looked out on the bustling city below. The hum of traffic, the hustle as people and cars and buses all jockeyed for position, all the chaos below seemed to illustrate my situation even more.
It was crazy, but it made a mad sort of sense for us both to explore the simple pleasures life had to offer, to take a step back from it all and just give in. It was a long shot, but something about Corinne—her brokenness that I recognized all too well, her vague interest in me—made me certain I should offer her this. I had to. I couldn’t live with myself if I let her walk away, so sad and lonely and curious.
“This could be good for both of us,” I said, turning to face her again.
“What are you proposing?” Her arched brows rose even more in wonder.
“I’ll make you feel good. No strings. No messy entanglements. Just sex.”
God, I sounded so cliché. If this moment had a theme song, it would be “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye.
“But you’re my boss,” she blurted after several long seconds.
“During the workday, yes. But outside of work hours—nights, weekends—I’m just a man and you’re just a woman.”
Her pulse thumped steadily in her throat, but she shook her head. “I can’t . . . That’s . . .”
“I can see how timid you are, little dove. Just promise me you’ll think it through.”
Corinne’s eyes strayed from mine, leaving me to wonder what in the actual fuck I’d just done.
Chapter Four
Corinne
It’s safe to say that day one with Cooper Kingsley didn’t go the way I’d planned. If I’d known how forward this man would be—or how nervous the sound of his low, demanding voice would make me feel—I would have never taken this job.
I avoided Cooper’s eyes, staring instead at the patch of gray carpet between my feet while a million thoughts raced through my head.
I hardly even recognized myself around him. Maybe it was because it had been so long since anyone propositioned me in that way, but I hadn’t felt like that around a man since . . . well, never, I guess. There was just something about his cool, steady gaze traveling up and down my body, and his large, nimble fingers unbuckling his belt that made my knees weak—and made me want to run ten thousand miles in the opposite direction.
I’d been nervous around attractive men before, their wandering gazes giving me the bad kind of butterflies. But when Cooper started unzipping his pants? I’ve never reacted so viscerally to a man in my life. As insane as it sounded, I felt lit up from the inside out, desired and sexy and oh-my-God turned on.
What kind of offer was that anyway? He wanted to help me overcome my fear of physical intimacy? Who did he think he was? A sex god who’d make my problems disappear with a single wave of the magical wand between his legs?
Yeah, this conversation with Cooper was doing weird things to my head.
I tucked my hair behind my ear, clearing my throat before looking up at him hesitantly. He smiled gently at me in a way that made me feel a little dizzy, so I looked back at the floor and tried to think of something to say.
“Listen, I’m sure you mean well, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with anyone from work, let alone my boss,” I said, struggling to meet his sympathetic gaze.
Cooper took a step toward me, so I took a step back. He raised his hands in surrender, scrunching his eyebrows together with genuine concern.
“I’m not asking for a relationship, Corinne. I’m not asking for anything, really. I just think we might be able to help each other out. In a strictly physical way,” he added with a slight shrug, his tone bold and clear.
I nodded, rubbing my hands over my forearms. I couldn’t help but wonder what was in it for him. Sex without strings seemed like a pretty good deal for most men, really, but I was suspicious. Why did Cooper Kingsley, of all people, with his tall, imposing frame and sexy, wounded eyes, need to ask his sex-scared employee for a few awkward nights in his bed?
But what threw me off even more was the timing of his offer. Wasn’t Mauve just saying I needed to put myself out there? To loosen up and get laid already?
I looked back up at Cooper and frowned. He was sexy, there was no denying it. I hadn’t been this attracted to someone in years. But I couldn’t silence the little voice in the back of my head screaming that I needed to get out of there. And fast.
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said again, wrapping my arms around myself.
Cooper nodded and leaned back to sit on the edge of his desk. “I understand,” he said, running his hand over the dark wood.
I turned to leave but before I reached the door, his voice made me turn back around again.
“Just promise me one thing, Corinne. Take some time to think it over. If you gave me a chance to show you what a real physical connection could be like . . . I really don’t think you’d regret it.”
I paused for a moment, biting the inside of my cheek. Finally, I nodded and quickly turned to leave, grateful that the rest of the day would be mostly training and wouldn’t involve any more conversations with my boss. Because, holy shit, I needed out of this man’s office, out of his intense gaze, away from his maddeningly delicious cologne.
Six feet, four inches of cocky asshole, that’s what he was. God, why hadn’t I told him to shove his offer up his ass, and then stormed out?
Because you were intrigued.
I wanted to stab that little voice in my head right in the throat.
It didn’t matter that he was hot. That was immaterial. This was the most ridiculous proposal.
Hating myself for admitting I thought he was attractive, and hating myself even more that I’d admitted my unsavory sexual past, I pushed our entire conversation from my brain and sidled up to Alyssa, ready to get back to work.
“You okay now?” she asked.
“Perfectly fine. We were covering the annual budget, remember?” I prompted her.
“Right.”
If only I could get my brain to focus on the spreadsheet in front of me instead of the gorgeous man on the other side of the wall.
• • •
I kept busy, focusing intently on everything Alyssa told me, and before I knew it, the day was over. I left the office without saying good-bye to Cooper, unsure how to act around him after what we’d last talked about.
Before heading home, I stopped at the grocery on the way to pick up the ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Once home, I wrangled all the groceries into my arms, making sure to leave at least one hand free to turn the doorknob.
“Aaron?” I called out as I opened the door, toeing off my shoes and trudging inside with the grocery bags.
He was the quietest, neatest roommate you could ever imagine, and mostly kept to
himself. Wheelchair bound, Aaron watched TV or sat by the window while I was at work, petting his therapy dog, Ollie.
A freak accident several years ago had paralyzed him from the waist down, and a massive head injury reduced his mental abilities to that of about an eight-year-old. He was nonverbal and needed help in his daily care, but a nurse came for him every day while I worked, so he really was no trouble at all. In fact, if he weren’t here, I’d miss the whir of his breathing treatment machine, or the soft way he hummed when he took his bath.
Plus, there was something about sharing the apartment with him and Ollie that made me feel safer. Maybe it was that we’d shared the same routines for years. Growing up the way I did, I craved the familiar, liked a routine. I certainly didn’t want to go changing things around just because our arrangement was unorthodox.
Ollie greeted me first, and after I set the bags on the counter, I found Aaron sitting on the balcony, watching the birds peck at the bird feeder hanging nearby. His nurse was folding laundry in a basket beside him, and she smiled at me too.
“Thanks, Tabitha,” I said.
“He’s no problem at all, but you know that.”
I nodded, watching as she headed back inside with the basket balanced on her hip.
“Hey.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. His eyes met mine, and he gave me a tilted smile. “We’re having your favorite for dinner.”
After another squeeze to his shoulder, I headed back inside to begin cooking. Tabitha called out her good-bye, and I heard the front door close. As my fingers mashed and mixed raw ground beef, my brain wandered back to today’s encounter at the office.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about Cooper’s offer made me feel naked and exposed. It wasn’t just that he was suggesting carefree, emotionless sex, though that fact did nothing to make me feel better about things. No, it was the way he responded when I told him about my past. He’d instantly softened and looked so disgusted with himself, I almost wanted to comfort him.
Almost.
I still couldn’t tell if it was all an act—maybe he played this scene out with every new employee his brothers threw his way. Come on way too strong, offer a shoulder to cry on when she freaks out, then coax her into giving him exactly what he wanted.
