by Kendall Ryan
She nodded slowly and ran a trembling hand through her hair. “I think I’d like that. I—I had fun too. I definitely want to spend more time together. And no telling Cullen anything, agreed?”
“Agreed.”
She excused herself to the bathroom, and I was grateful for the reprieve as I cleaned up the dishes. It was going to be tough, but there was a sense of relief there too. At least I’d get to spend more time with Evie, and for now, that was enough.
• • •
Three hours later, though, as I watched her drive away, it was far from enough.
I was a man on a ledge again.
After watching a rom-com—her choice, and a drama—mine, we’d wound up snuggled together on the couch. It was long past midnight, and I’d wanted nothing more than to carry her into my bedroom and kiss her until that sleepy look disappeared. She’d been the strong one then, getting up and giving me a light peck on the mouth before gathering up her things.
“This was really nice, Smith. Thank you.” The regret on her face was almost completely concealed as I walked her to her car and she slid in.
“Text me when you get home,” I said, patting the hood of the car.
I made it all the way back into my living room before I had my pants unzipped and my cock in hand.
“Fu-uck,” I groaned, the ache in my groin making the pressure of my hand almost painful.
I dropped back onto the couch, my face just an inch from where Evie’s head had been, and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. Squeezing my eyes closed, I stroked my shaft up and down. Long, easy strokes for as long as I could stand it, and then faster. I let all the mental footage I had of Evie form a movie, filling in the gaps in my perverted imagination. What I came up with was the best porno in the world, and my heart knocked against my ribs so hard, I could hear it as I worked my cock over.
“I want you to come inside me, Smith,” she whispered as she rode me up and down, faster and faster.
She pressed two fingers to her clit and moved them in a gentle circular motion as she impaled herself all the way onto my distended cock, taking me in to the hilt. Her pussy clenched, gently at first, but then harder as her nipples went tight and she threw her head back.
“Yes, yes!”
“Yes” was fucking right, because I was right behind her. My muscles tensed and my cock went rock hard. A second later, I bellowed her name and white light shot behind my eyelids as I came on my stomach in spurts.
My breath was still sawing in and out of my lungs when my cell phone buzzed and Evie’s text lit up my screen.
EVIE: Made it.
Christ, that made two of us.
My low laugh was more of a groan as I snagged a handful of tissues from the coffee table.
After I cleaned off, I thumbed out a quick reply.
SMITH: See you soon.
I realized with a start that, even if it was tomorrow, it wouldn’t be soon enough. I didn’t know I was starving until I’d tasted her.
Chapter Fourteen
“What’s going on with you today?” Cullen chuckled, giving me a confused look.
The smile on my lips faded. “Nothing.”
It was a total lie. I was still on a total high from my might-have-been-a-date with Smith last weekend. Maggie had said it wasn’t a date—it was just two friends who had almost banged while hanging out—but I disagreed. The chemistry that buzzed between us was impossible to ignore.
And so even though I was sitting at work bright and early on a Monday morning, I was humming, my feet kicked up on my desk.
Cullen shook his head. “It’s nice to see you feeling so cheery.”
Smith shot me a smile. “Did you get laid last weekend or something?”
I almost swallowed my tongue.
“Don’t you dare fucking answer that,” Cullen said, looking distraught while I erupted in laughter.
Smith’s playful side wasn’t one that came out often, but I loved the rare glimpses he gave me into who he really was and how his mind worked.
It was the part afterward that made me twitchy.
“Speaking of getting laid, Smith, what’s up with the new lady?” Cullen asked.
My heart jumped up into my throat.
Smith played it cool. “Nothing really.”
“Don’t play coy. You said it was someone from your past . . . so, who is she?”
Smith’s gaze flashed to mine with something that looked like concern. “It’s casual,” he said, directing his attention back to my brother.
“Isn’t it always with you, my man?” Cullen said with a wide grin.
A minute later, I managed to remove myself from the conversation with a mumbled excuse about needing to get something done, but for the rest of the morning, the scene replayed in my head.
This thing was supposed to be exactly that. Casual. What did it matter if Smith was seeing other women?
But, God, did it matter. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. If I kept this up with Smith—seeing him, flirting with him, kissing him—was I setting myself up for the heartbreak of the century?
Taking another sip of coffee from my trusty to-go mug, I opened up the design program to review the campaign I’d finished last week.
As I looked at the images of boy shorts and camisoles in the new spring line, in spite of my heartache over the reminder of Smith’s bad-boy nature, my mind wandered to much racier things . . .
The way Smith’s full, sensual mouth slid over terms like lace bodice, sweetheart cut, and ruching made my panties wet. And instead of teasing me for my overly complicated drink order like Cullen would have, Smith memorized the damn thing. A triple-shot venti soy-mocha latte with no whip. And delivered it to my desk without fanfare. No big production. No thank-you required. He gave it to me because he wanted to, knowing it would make me happy. Simple as that. Just the fact that a man was willing to do that for me without getting anything in return sparked something inside me.
The hardest part of all of this was that after our brief encounter, it wasn’t the sex that stuck with me. It was the intimacy that I missed. The way he’d gathered me up in his arms, pulled me in close to his chest—close enough to feel his body heat, to hear the steady thump of his heartbeat.
I missed the care he took with me, the tenderness I felt when his fingers moved over my skin, tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. I hadn’t felt that kind of close connection with a man in a long time.
This might have been about sex when I started, but it had grown into something more. I didn’t want just sex like I’d initially thought. No, I wanted a man. And the man I wanted was Smith.
The building’s shared receptionist/secretary, Marjorie, poked her head into our office, and I resisted the urge to fan my face.
“You feeling okay, Evie? You look a little flushed,” she said, cocking her head as her perceptive blue eyes tried to peer into my soul.
She was a perfect secretary. Shared by all the tenants who rented offices in this building, she was the glue that held everything together. Super organized and a real scheduling wiz, but times like this, I wish she were just a tiny bit less observant.
I cleared my throat and pressed a hand to my cheek. “Yeah, I, uh . . . stopped at the gym during lunch for a yoga class. It’s been a while, so I’m a little overheated.”
She stepped into my office and slid a file folder onto my desk. “Oh, cool, what gym?”
What gym, indeed—liar, liar, pants on fire?
“It’s not really a gym gym, per se. It’s like, you know how they have pop-up restaurants around the city? There are pop-up yoga classes. It’s sort of an underground thing, so that’s probably why you haven’t heard of it.”
Or maybe it was the fact that they only existed in my all-too-fertile imagination?
“Ooh, that sounds so cool! When is the next one? I’ll go with you.”
I let out a semi-hysterical laugh that I disguised as a cough. “See, that’s the thing. You never know. Every so often, they just . . . pop up.”
Her brow furrowed and she opened her mouth like she was going to ask more questions, but then seemed to think better of it. “Interesting. Well, in any case, keep it up. You’re positively glowing.”
She hurried out of the office, and the second she closed the door behind her, I folded in half and banged my forehead on my desk with a groan.
Smith wasn’t even in the room, and he was still wreaking havoc on me. My brother noticed me acting weird, and even the receptionist had known something was up. If Smith and I didn’t have sex—and soon—I was pretty sure I was going to wind up in a room with padded walls.
I snatched up the file folder and managed to get lost in work for a while. Once I had come up with a new design concept for an ad, I headed into the copy room so I could blow up the printed version to tack on my wall and see it side by side with the last one to make sure they were different enough, but still cohesive.
I had just tugged the still-warm sheet of paper from the copier when goose bumps popped up on my arms. A second later, warm hands slid around my midriff.
“Want to play bad boss and naughty secretary with me?”
Smith’s breath tickled my ear, and my nipples instantly went hard.
“Smith, let me go. What if—”
“Marjorie and your brother are on a conference call in the conference room down the hall. They’ll be at least ten minutes,” he murmured, nipping at my earlobe in a way that shot a bolt of heat straight through my body.
Or they could get done early, and one of them could walk in.
But I couldn’t get the words out because Smith’s hands were sliding up from my waist, higher until he closed them over my breasts. I gasped, and the sheet of paper fell from my limp fingers and fluttered to the floor. He pressed forward until I was pinned against the machine and could feel every inch of his rock-hard length against my ass.
Instinctively, I ground my bottom against him, tearing a groan from his throat. My heart fluttered madly as he toyed with my nipples, rocking his hips against me.
We shouldn’t be doing this. It was a risk that could yield horrific consequences. But, God, he felt good.
“Your body haunts me,” he muttered, his voice hoarse in my ear. “Every time I close my eyes, I think of how sweet that pussy is.”
I swallowed hard and reached behind me, wedging my hand between us to grab hold of his cock. “I think about you too.”
Was that voice even mine? It was so raw, so low and full of need. I squeezed his shaft hard, and he bucked against my hand.
One second, I was pinned against the machine, and the next, he was wheeling me around to face him. His hazel eyes blazed gold as he looked down at me.
“I hadn’t even meant to come in here. I was going to the men’s room to wash my hands, but I smelled that scent and had to follow it. Then, there you were. That sexy silhouette. That ass. Those legs. You’re like a fucking magnet.”
I managed a grin as I ground against him. “And you’re like steel.”
He let out a growl and dived at my mouth, slanting his lips over mine. Ten minutes, he’d said. I couldn’t help but wonder if both of us couldn’t come in three. I knew I could. I was already on the edge.
My entire body tingled as he swept his tongue over mine, fucking me through my clothes with hard, rolling thrusts. I curled my arms around his waist and cupped his ass, plastering him tighter against me. His kisses grew rougher, all finesse gone now, and I loved it. This Smith—wild Smith . . . risk-taker Smith—was the Smith I’d always admired. And I couldn’t deny he was bringing out that side of me too. A side that I’d let go untapped for far too long.
I bounced my hips against him, wishing we were skin to skin, arching helplessly now as my body attempted to relieve the ache. It was only getting worse, spreading lower, stretching like taffy in the sun. I had no idea what had caused this change in him since at dinner he’d seemed intent on playing the perfect gentleman, but I liked this reckless side to him.
I pulled my head back but didn’t stop arching against him. “What if we lock the door?” I whispered, now desperate for it. That satisfaction only Smith could give me.
He groaned and pressed his forehead against mine. “Jesus, Evie, I want to. You have no idea how much I want to. But if the two of us are in here with the door locked, that’s a dead giveaway. Especially if you walk out looking like this.”
His cock was hitting me in exactly the right spot, and I had to choke back a whimper. “Look like what? I look the same as I always do.”
His laugh sounded pained. “No. Your lips are pink and swollen. Your nipples are hard and your eyes are drunk with desire. In a word? You look like you’ve been fucking.”
If only.
But suddenly, a noise echoed down the hallway.
“So then we’ll call him back right before end of business,” Cullen said, presumably to Marjorie.
“Break time is over.” Smith stepped back with a sad half smile on his lips as he straightened my blouse. “I’m going to have to borrow your file folder, though.”
My pulse pounded hard as I nodded, still in a daze. “Sure.”
I didn’t know what he meant to do with it until he held it in front of his cock like a shield. Laughter threatened to bubble from me, and I slapped my hand over my mouth.
He held a finger up to his lips. “Shh.” He dropped one last kiss to the tip of my nose and backed toward the door. “I’ll drop this off to you later,” he said, gesturing to the file folder. Then he disappeared out the door.
I could hear him talking with Cullen down the hall, so I waited for a full five minutes before leaving the little copy room. Not just because I didn’t want to run into Cullen, but because that was how long it took to get my legs back under me and steady.
Smith Hamilton was packing some seriously powerful stuff. So powerful, in fact, that I had to wonder how any woman resisted him.
The feel of his hands tangled in my hair, the swell of his cock between my legs. In those few stolen moments, so much had changed.
He wanted me. Maybe just as badly as I wanted him.
And now that I knew that? All bets were off. I was willing to fight for my man.
Chapter Fifteen
Damn . . . that kiss, though.
My brain instantly supplied a mental replay, and I shifted my dick in my pants to make sitting behind a desk bearable.
Jesus, sometimes I wondered if I had a screw loose or something, because I couldn’t make this whole thing any harder on myself if I tried. Not to mention that my thoughtless move could have jeopardized everything good in my life—my job, my relationship with Evie, my friendship with her brother.
What if Cullen had walked in?
All of his possible reactions flitted through my mind, and I winced. At the very least, some blood would have been shed, whether it was mine, his, or both.
But for some reason, I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d tried. Once I saw Evie there, bent over the copy machine, her bottom lip pinched between those white teeth, I was done. It was like I was on autopilot. My body moved toward hers as if controlled by some otherworldly gravitational pull.
I gritted my teeth and drummed my fingers on the desk in front of me in frustration.
This was torture. Spending time with someone I liked as much as I liked Evie, wanting her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life and not being able to have her, it made me feel like an addict. Twitchy, needy, and sort of desperate.
Not a feeling I was accustomed to at all. And not a feeling I liked one bit.
What if we gave in? Tonight, even. What if I texted her right now and asked her to meet me at my apartment after work and put an end to our shared misery?
Then what about tomorrow when we go back to being friends?
I swallowed a bitter laugh and raked a hand over my face.
“Here are the numbers you asked for,” a male voice murmured.
Adam, my assistant and an all-around nice guy, waited near my desk with a
file folder in hand. I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t even heard him come in.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I took the folder without further comment, and then looked up a minute later when I realized that he was still hovering.
He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot. “I know it’s none of my business, but are you okay? You’ve been looking sort of weird lately. Not sick, but . . . stressed. Distracted, maybe.” He perched his glasses higher on his nose and shrugged. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I wanted to make sure you’re not working too hard or if there is something more I should be doing on my end to clear your plate.”
I closed the file folder and blew out a sigh. I’d been dividing my time between the two offices—this one that my family ran like a well-oiled machine whether I was here or not, and of course, the new office for Sophia’s headquarters.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I hope I’m not being too much of an asshole.” I weighed my options and decided on a half truth. “It’s been difficult juggling my work here with the consulting work I’m doing at Sophia’s.”
Adam crinkled his nose. “You sure that’s all it is? It’s not like you to let work bog you down.”
“Okay, the truth is work is going well, so no worries there. I’ve got a woman on the brain. I like her and she likes me, but there’s a raft of shit in the way. I gotta admit, the whole thing is getting to me a little.”
A relieved smile tugged at his lips, and I realized then that my poker face wasn’t as good as I’d thought. Poor Adam had been worried that I was going to fire him or something. Totally my fault, because I probably walked around this place looking like I was about to claw the bark off trees and start roaring.
Not cool.
Plus, with my new gig, I’d been spending very little time in this office lately.
“I hear you there, boss. I’ve got a girlfriend too, and she’s bugging me about not having an engagement ring yet and all that. It can really get to a guy,” Adam said, looking a little shaken at the mention of an engagement ring. “If you ever want to meet for a beer after work and blow off some steam, let me know. I’m always down.”
