Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)

by K. F. Breene

  “Lick my nipples,” she commanded.

  Sean’s mesmerized eyes glued to her chest. She closed her eyes as she felt his tongue and lips close around her constricted nipple. Her skin erupted in bumps as his rough hand glided over her other breast.

  Suddenly she couldn’t stand it anymore. She sat up and pushed him back to a sitting position. She hastily took off his jacket as he sucked on her neck. She wanted him inside her with fierce determination, but she also wanted to feel those pecks rubbing against her hard nipples.

  She tried the first button, got it open as his head pushed her torso back and found a nipple. He sucked hard, causing spikes of pleasure to pierce her. In desperation, she took two handfuls of his shirt and ripped it open. Buttons went everywhere as white broke free to expose tanned flesh. She cleared the last of the cloth from his chest and pulled his pants down so nothing was in the way of his large, rock hard erection. In a flash she had her body poised over him, his hands spread across her back. She sat down forcefully and the world exploded in color.

  Sean groaned. His hands convulsed to her butt, again letting her lead. There was no point in doing anything else—he’d never felt sensations this acute with a woman. He didn’t want to ruin it. She was way ahead of him, and all he could do was hold on for dear life and ride the wave.

  Krista struck up a fast rhythm, experimenting with her body and his. He held her tightly with his eyes closed as she dug her fingers into his large shoulders and rubbed herself along his erection. He flinched when she dug in, then moaned when she moved her pelvis in a circle, moving him within her to new places; hitting new heights.

  The feelings were so intense, and Krista was so carefree in her expression of them, that she lasted about as long as he did the last time. She came harder than ever before and shuddered as she dug her face into his neck. She felt his answering shudder. They came down together, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  “What’s got into you?” he asked tiredly. “I can’t keep up. It’s a first.”

  “You did. You got into me, finally,” she answered with a laugh.

  Krista leaned her body back to find ground again, but Sean had other ideas. Holding on to her with one hand, bracing himself with the other, he got up with her still wrapped around his middle. He was still inside her. It felt like he didn’t want to sever the connection just yet. She wholeheartedly agreed.

  “I bet they have a fantastic shower in this suite. How long can we stay here?” Sean asked as he walked them, awkwardly, to the bathroom.

  “We have it all night.”

  “Did you get a room with the intention of seducing me? Because if so, you didn’t need to aim so high.”

  Krista laughed at him and bit his neck. “No, and I know. A field would have done for you.”

  They walked into the giant bathroom. There was a shower with glass walls and door, a giant, separate tub, a double sink, and a vanity. Everything was marble.

  “Wow,” Krista said as Sean put her down.

  “Bath or shower?” Sean asked, surveying the scene.

  “Bath, obviously.”

  Sean surveyed Krista, then looked down at himself. “Well, your dress is in one piece, though I owe you some new undies.”

  “You can buy your own shirt. You make more money than I do.” Krista slipped out of her dress. “Can you dim the lights somehow?”

  Sean dimmed the lights to low. If there had been candles, it would’ve been perfect. Candles and some bubble bath, actually. Sean turned around and ran his eyes over Krista’s naked body.

  “You like it hotter than I do, so why don’t you deal with the water,” Sean said as he ran his fingers over her breasts. He bent and touched his lips to hers. His kiss was slow and sweet, completely the opposite of earlier.

  “I’ll get us drinks,” he said after he broke contact.

  Krista ran the water and climbed in as the tub was filling. There were jets, which meant relaxation was inevitable. She wouldn’t have thought that was possible this weekend, but she was willing to give it a try.

  Sean came back. He had a scotch for himself and what looked like a Cosmo for her—he’d always been a better bartender. He put the drinks next to the tub and surveyed the scene.

  “Krista, have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

  She expected to see his manhood swell and his eyes get lusty, but instead he seemed calm, serene almost.

  “Get in. You look cold.”

  Sean smiled that secret smile of his that let her know the wheels were turning and he was already way ahead of her. He only smiled like that when it concerned her, though. She wondered what he was thinking.

  “Lean forward, hog,” Sean said with a laugh in his voice.

  She leaned forward for him to climb in behind her. “Call me beautiful one second, then a pig the next.”

  Sean tucked his long legs around her and pulled her back against him.

  “Just call it like I see it.” He sighed and slipped his arms around her waist in the hot water.

  “Want to turn on the jets?” Krista asked.

  “Sure, where is the switch?”

  “No, I meant do you want jets? I can switch it on—the buttons are by our feet.”

  “Sure.”

  After Krista hit every wrong button, she finally got the jets up and running. She leaned back against Sean’s body. His arms immediately snaked around her, holding her tight.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “So how did the weekend go for you?” Krista asked.

  “Great, actually. Except, now I am in the hole financially. I even have to pay out the admin people $500. Thanks for that.”

  “It got us a ‘W’ didn’t it?”

  “Hmmm.”

  “Speaking of admin people, Marcus was saying that he thought you hired Janice because she was older and no one would think you were doing her. You know, before this weekend, that is.”

  There was a deep rumble of laughter in Sean’s chest. “Did he?”

  Krista waited for a real answer, and got none. She glanced behind her and saw that Sean’s head was leaning back against the tub with his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips.

  Krista leaned back against his shoulder as she asked, “Did you?”

  “Honesty?”

  “Always.”

  “Always, huh? Hmmm.”

  That sounded ominous. She let it go.

  “I did want to hire someone that would dispel any rumors. I knew everyone would wonder. Even if you didn’t, everyone else would be talking about it. You are only oblivious for so long. And I didn’t want to muddy the waters with you. That was before I realized getting you back would be a lot harder than I anticipated. How’s that for honesty?”

  Krista kept quiet. Deep down, the waters were still muddy as far as she was concerned. It wasn’t him sleeping with others that bothered her the most. It was that he could let her go if it suited him, and keep her away for years to meet his ends. Hiring an assistant that was not young and hot was a far cry to mending the bridge over their problems.

  Sean’s chest inflated, then deflated in a classic McAdams’s sigh. “But Janice is the best. I interviewed quite a few applicants of all creeds. Female, male, hot, ugly, tall, short, fat, anorexic, you name it. Had them all do tests and all that. Janice was a legend. She was also expensive.

  “You’ll notice that all the other regions have two assistants. One is generally older, the other younger and good looking. Marcus was telling me that in the administrative competitions, the older ones were all competing against each other in skill, the younger in physical stuff and attention. Janice was the best, of course.”

  “Of course,” Krista said with candor.

  “But Marcus wasn’t the worst. I guess he was actually tied for second worst. That’s saying something when he hasn’t done anything administrative in his life. Anyway, I cut out one hire and spent half that money to get someone better. I still came out ahead and Janice isn’t overloaded. Not even close.”
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  “She’s not great with computers.”

  “She’s not as good as you or me, no. But she is pretty good. Far from a hindrance.”

  “So she’s paid the best in the regions. Am I paid the worst?”

  Krista was springing it on him, it was true. She wasn’t giving him a chance to frame the answer to play nice.

  “Of the managers, yes. But if it makes you feel better, you are the newest, and you started higher then Blake did.”

  “That does make me feel better. I heard you scared Blake something awful.”

  “Marcus has a big mouth. I didn’t really scare him. I kindly asked him to keep a more professional decorum where it concerned you. Tory put him on probation for sexual harassment…”

  Krista’s eyes got wide. She had no idea. No one had told her Tory had her back. It was nice to hear.

  “…but Blake was still talking to the other guys. Marcus reported back. I didn’t think it was professional, which was why I asked him to stop.”

  Krista half turned back to look at him. His head was still leaned back, his eyes were still closed, but he had a large, boyish smile on his face. His eyes opened half way and his smile grew at Krista’s scrutiny.

  “He apparently doesn’t respond well to authority figures. So when that didn’t work,” he continued casually, “I took off the professional veil when I ran into him outside the hotel.”

  “You just ran into him, huh?”

  “Yes. It was great timing actually—there was no one else around and he was smoking a cigarette outside one of the service doors. I thought I would repeat myself about how he treated you professionally.”

  “I imagine your tactic was a bit different?”

  “A bit.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I was worried you would end up in his bed.” Sean said it so casually Krista almost missed the worry behind his words.

  “Because of the danger thing?”

  “You seem attracted to bad boys.”

  “Yeah, I think I like the danger. It gets my blood flowing.”

  “Yes…” Sean drew out the word like he was thinking about their episode earlier. She got a spark of anticipation.

  “But I wouldn’t do that,” Krista said. “Not at a work thing. Not when you would hear about it. I may be a bitch, but I’m not a royal bitch.”

  “Just a big bitch.”

  “Janice says you need a big bitch.”

  “Does she? And she meant you, I imagine?”

  “That’s what Marcus said, yeah,” Krista admitted.

  “She’s right. You’re the only woman that I’ve ever dated that I can’t anticipate. Your brain doesn’t seem to work normally.”

  “Ouch.”

  “I meant that in the best of ways.” Sean chuckled and squeezed her.

  He brought his head up and his lips softly traced the line of her neck. She angled her head to allow him more access as her groin gave a familiar tug.

  “You keep me honest,” Sean said, leaning back again. “And on my toes. Life is always electric with you. I missed you. Badly.”

  “Funny way of showing it.”

  “I know. It’s funny, I never talked to Janice about you. I never told her my interest or history or anything. But one day, right after you had left my office, she came in and said, ‘Sean, I’m leaving for the day. Also, if you don’t grovel, and I mean stick your face in the mud and kiss her feet, that girl is never going to accept you.’ She gave a curt nod, turned on her heel, and walked out. I’ll never forget it. She never mentioned a word after.”

  “You didn’t do much groveling.”

  “Not to your face, no. I didn’t think you’d accept it, not without slapping me again.”

  “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

  “No way!” Sean laughed. “You took me by surprise on that one. If you had been a dude with a closed fist, you would have knocked me out flat.”

  “You deserved it.”

  “I know. Can I ask now, without a smart ass answer—what’s next for us?”

  Krista didn’t want to answer that question. The bottom line was…she didn’t know.

  “I guess we date for a while and see what happens.”

  “Fair enough.”

  She could hear the disappointment in his voice. She knew he wanted his long wait to be over, and for her just to jump back into his arms as though no time had passed. If only it was that easy.

  They spent a relaxing hour just sitting in the tub. They spoke little, but every so often Sean would breath a deep sigh of satisfaction. Either that, or he would lean forward and kiss her neck softly. When her fingers started to prune up she got restless.

  “Shall we adjourn to the sitting room?” She asked in a stodgy English accent.

  “Lord, Krista, how I missed you. Missed this.”

  “No sense in marring the moment with the past.”

  “No. Suppose not.” Sean’s hands slid up her stomach to her breasts. She felt his lips on her throat, sucking and licking gently. “I need to go get some clothes for tomorrow. Otherwise I’ll be doing the walk of shame for our whole company to see.”

  “Already moved.” Krista closed her eyes as his hands slid back down her body.

  “My clothes?” His hands stopped at her hips in anticipation of her answer.

  “Yeah. I had Marcus move your clothes up here.”

  Sean was still. She could feel his breath on her neck.

  “Is that okay?” she asked hesitantly.

  “When did you do this? Or have him do it, I guess.”

  “Not long before I asked you to come up here. Is that okay? I just figured you wouldn’t mind a little R and R. I guess I could have waited until after the bar scene was over…”

  “I thought all this was spur of the moment. I didn’t realize you planned it out…”

  “Is that okay?” Krista asked for the third time. And she would keep asking until she got an answer—he should know that by now.

  “Yes. Very much okay.” Sean nuzzled her neck. His hands again rested on her hips.

  “I love you,” he said softly into her ear. His lips found her earlobe and his hands slid further down her hips.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Krista asked shyly. It was time to tie up her curiosity. Get the truth fully out there.

  “Of course.” Sean moved down her neck, kissing and nibbling.

  “Have you been without protection with anyone else?”

  Sean hesitated and leaned back. Krista’s heart was in her throat.

  “No,” Sean said quietly. “You are still the only one. I’ve never trusted anyone enough besides you. Are you still…”

  Krista breathed out a sigh of relief. It had really mattered to her. That little piece of him she got to herself. No one else had Sean completely but her. It helped mend the bridge that was still broken.

  “On the pill? Yes. I wouldn’t have—you know, without it.”

  “I figured as much. It was why I didn’t ask. Or stop.”

  Sean didn’t resume his ministrations. Instead, he said, “I should probably come clean.”

  Krista went rigid.

  “I know about your job offers.”

  “Oh holy fuck!” Krista said, losing all the air in her chest. “This was a helluva time to bring that up! Don’t ride on the coattails of a non-protection sexual conversation with mundane stuff! What is wrong with you?”

  Sean laughed. “Sorry. I really do trust you about that other stuff. It doesn’t weigh in my mind with the same gravity as yours, I guess.”

  Krista climbed out of the tub, Sean following. Their fingers and toes were all wrinkly.

  “Marcus has a big mouth,” Krista said, wrapping herself in a fluffy white hotel robe.

  “He hinted about it, but it was Kate that spilled the beans. She was trying to humble me, I think. It worked.”

  Krista laughed. “She still wants to give you a kick.”

  “You have more offers, now.” Sean said, put
ting a towel around his hips.

  Krista faced off with him. He was looking at her with his business look. She looked back with hers—she had one now! She’d practiced at all the analytical meetings with Tory, Ben, and Marcus.

  “From whom?”

  “Apparently one of our biggest competitors.”

  “Kate said that?”

  “No. Tory.”

  “Tory knows?” Krista asked, her business face cracking. She didn’t want to go about it like that. Sean was one thing—before now, anyway. She had still kind of wanted to stick it to him. But Tory had given her a lot. He had spent time with her to build her up, to give her more tools. She didn’t want to go behind his back.

  “Tory found out from a gloating CEO, I guess.” Sean stood silent, looking at Krista.

  She waited, not really sure what to say. She was still seriously considering leaving. She loved Sean, and she wanted to give it a chance, but she needed to think of herself, too. She needed to go where she would be welcomed. And also with who would give her the best deal.

  “Are you planning to leave?” Sean finally asked.

  Krista bowed her head and walked out of the bathroom. Sean followed quietly. When they got to the sitting room, Krista sat on the couch, looking out the window.

  “Once I would have stayed for you,” Krista said somberly, “but that was before I spent two years building myself up. It was before I got out on my own; before I learned my worth.”

  Sean said, “It was before you realized you didn’t fit in.”

  Krista looked at him. At his troubled green eyes. “I love you, Sean. I want to give it another chance. I want to date and see what happens. But that is personal life. This is business. I can make more money elsewhere. I can get more respect. I don’t have to try so hard to do my job. I can just do it, without the struggle, you know? I want to buy a house. I want to try and get settled, finally. Real estate is expensive—I’m looking out for me on this one.”