Her lips were wet from the scotch and her eyes fixed on me as I waited for her to reply to my question.
“Oh, nothing,” she shrugged, swiping her tongue out over her lips in a gesture that forced me to avert my gaze. “Just hanging out with my roommate, catching up on some sleep. Not all of us have properties outside of town to visit when we want a break, tragically.”
“Maybe I’ll take you some time,” I joked, not realizing how flirtatious the words would sound coming out of my mouth.
Her eyes widened with surprise and I dived in to cover my ass.
“A company trip, of course,” I added quickly. “It’d be fun to get the whole office out of town for a while, see what would happen…”
“Yeah, I have a feeling that wouldn’t end well,” she replied, and the way her eyes darted down to my lips and then back to my eyes told me she wasn’t just talking about hypothetical HR violations.
“Where do you have your properties?” she continued, slipping straight from flirtatious to professional again. I was having a hard time trying to keep up.
“Oh, all over.” I shrugged. “California, Michigan, Hawaii…”
“Hawaii?” she squeaked. “I’ve never been there. Is it as amazing as it looks?”
“I’d like to tell you it isn’t, but yeah, it absolutely is.” I nodded with a sly grin. “It’s gorgeous out there, especially in the summer. I try to get out at least a couple of times a year.”
“If I had a place like that, I would never be in the office.” She sighed longingly. “I’ve always wanted to go.”
“I’ll have to lend you the keys, then,” I replied offhandedly. “I don’t use it that often.”
“You serious?”
She cocked her head and smiled at me in disbelief, and I shrugged.
“I don’t see why not,” I replied.
“I might just take you up on that,” she warned and drained the last of her drink.
She handed the glass back to me, and this time, when our fingers touched it was pretty deliberate. She paused for a moment and looked up at me as my hand briefly closed over hers. My heart flipped in my chest and my cock grew hard as our gazes met.
For the briefest second, I knew I could have leaned in, could have wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close, could have pressed my nose to her hair and inhaled the sweet, intoxicating scent of her shampoo and perfume all mixed up together. I could have done it, once and for all, and thrown all this bullshit posturing out the window.
I glanced down at her cleavage and imagined what her soft, supple breasts would feel like in my hands. What would those perfect, pert little nipples taste like in my mouth?
I looked at her lips. I tried to imagine her kneeling in front of me, opening that perfectly delicious mouth, and taking the full length of my firm cock between her lips. She’d slide her tongue along my shaft, making it throb with desire. She’d run her tongue around the tip, licking the underside, bringing me close to orgasm with a single flash of her eyes up at mine.
And I’d try not to spill myself into her mouth, I’d try to wait until we were fucking, but I wouldn’t be able to resist. Despite myself, I’d cum, right there, in her beautiful, delicious, delectable mouth.
But all at once, I withdrew my hand, and the moment was gone.
Mona averted her gaze to the ground, as though she’d felt it too.
“I should probably get those files sorted,” she mumbled and reached out to grab the manila folder on my desk containing the contracts I’d all but forgotten about over the course of our ten-minute conversation.
“Yeah, I don’t want to keep you,” I said, nodding, and she glanced up at me.
“Don’t worry,” she assured me. “I don’t spend time anywhere I don’t want to.”
With that, she leaned down to scoop up the files, tucked them under her arm, and departed to the elevator. I watched as she elegantly disappeared from my sight
So much for not letting her get under my skin, not getting carried away with my attraction. She was flirting back – I was sure of it.
This was getting awfully close to a repeat of what had happened with Jeannie. It was inappropriate and so exhilarating. What was wrong with me?
The thought of Jeannie’s name sent a jolt through my system. I hadn’t so much as allowed myself to think it since she’d left a few months before. I could still see her face, the accusatory look on her face when she walked out of here for good, the anger and hurt in her eyes as I had explained what had to happen.
I couldn’t let that happen again. Mona was different, but I’d be an asshole to allow anything even close to that to happen again. Yes, she was amazing, and yes, she was charming the hell out of me, but I could keep myself in check, and I was going to.
Straightening my back, I took a deep breath and sat back down at my desk. Leaving town for a couple of days would get her out of my head.
At least, I hoped it would.
Chapter 5
Mona
I hurried downstairs, shifting some documents from arm to arm as though it might keep my mind off what had just happened between Oliver and me.
What had I just told myself the day before? That I wasn’t going to let him get into my head. I wasn’t going to indulge my silly crush. I liked this job too much to jeopardize it.
The elevator whisked me downstairs where I was to drop off the contracts for filing.
The whiskey sloshed around my head. I didn’t drink heavy liquor, even at the best of times, and I had no idea why I had thought for a second drinking it with Oliver would be a good idea with no repercussions.
I had managed to get out of there before anything actually happened, but still, I felt stupid for staying in the first place. It was dangerous given my attraction to him. When our fingers had connected that second time, I saw the way he looked at me, and I wanted him just as badly as I knew he wanted me.
Being alone with him, booze flowing as we talked about travel and partying and… life, really, was exactly the kind of thing I would have told myself not to do if I were given the chance.
He was definitely flirting. I wasn’t imagining it. I could have sworn when he mentioned taking the staff away on a trip, he was only doing it to backtrack after having invited me, and me alone.
The elevator doors slid open, and I went to drop the files off, smiling distractedly and handing them over to the friendly woman behind the desk.
“Have a good evening,” she called after me a smirk on her face. She must have sensed my dizziness.
I wouldn’t have blamed her. My feet were barely touching the ground and it wasn’t just the drink. I needed to get home and clear my head.
Just then I realized with a sinking feeling I had left my coat and bag back in the office. Maybe I could just leave them there over the weekend. Maybe Katya was home already, and I wouldn't need my keys, my phone, or my credit cards for the next few days?
As if.
I turned with a sigh and went back to the elevator, stepping into the small, mirrored space and waiting for the doors to close.
I looked at my reflection and saw a tendril of hair had escaped from the tight ponytail I’d worn into work that morning. I looked flushed, flirtatious, and I knew I would have to pull myself together if I had a hope in hell of getting through another encounter with Oliver.
What we both needed was some time apart. He could leave the city and I could go home to the comfort of my apartment and watch Netflix until I was numb. I needed to remind myself that sex and love were two distractions that I didn’t need at this time in my life.
The doors slid open and I walked quietly down the corridor toward his office, I paused for a moment to read his name on the door. The letters danced in front of me, and I took a deep breath to remind myself the man I was crushing on was Oliver Paulson.
The genius, successful playboy who probably saw me as nothing more than a pleasant way to pass the time. The chances of him actually flirting with me for anything more than
a bit of fun were so slim as to be almost laughable.
I’d go in, get my shit, and then get out. Then I’d head home and see if there were any beers in the fridge. I needed something to take the edge off.
I opened the door and found Oliver wrapped in a large jacket, a gorgeously soft, expensive number that made him look both powerful and relaxed at the same time. My heart dropped to my feet and bounced back up again, making me feel as though I needed to lean on the wall just to stay upright.
Fuck he was dreamy.
I looked up at him, my mouth parting slightly, and he met my gaze at once.
“Mona,” he murmured, and I realized he thought I had come back for another reason entirely.
I bit my lip. I wanted him. Man, did I want him. I found myself moving toward him, my back arching almost of its own accord as I closed the distance between us. He was wearing leather gloves, and I longed to feel them on my skin, trailing along my bare back, slipping between my legs.
“My bag,” I finally spoke, and the spell was broken. He stopped a few feet from me, and my entire body relaxed. I hadn’t even realized I’d been so tense, but as soon as he paused, I released a long, deep breath.
“Of course,” he gestured to the door of my office. “Go ahead. I’m off. I’ll see you Monday.”
“I’ll see you then,” I echoed him and dashed into my office before I could do anything else to embarrass myself.
As soon as my door clicked behind me, I placed my hands on my desk and leaned over, breathing heavily, my heart slamming against my chest so hard, I was surprised it wasn’t shaking the foundations of the building.
I was so close to having broken my own rules. I wanted him so badly to want me, needed him to touch me, and if he’d made a move, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from going along with it.
The thought of what those leather gloves would feel like on my skin made me so hot. My face felt flushed.
I grabbed my stuff and waited a few minutes allowing him time to leave the building before following him downstairs. The last thing I needed was to be stuck in the elevator with him on the way down.
As soon as I was confident he was out, I hurried out of the office, trying not to look at his chair, as though I might manifest him there simply by wanting it hard enough. A minute later, I was out of the building, and the cool, evening air was enough to remind me that I had just managed to avoid something very stupid.
I couldn’t imagine what Monday morning would have been like if we’d hooked up. Would he have taken me with him, spent the weekend romancing me? Or would he have fucked me right there and found a reason to get rid of me so he didn’t have to bother with me once he’d had his fun?
Honestly, at that point, I’d have taken either/or, just for some kind of relief. Jesus, if I was thinking this way now, then how was I going to get through the next five months? What was I meant to do? Just crush down this desire, a desire that felt as though it might overwhelm me at any moment? Or could I embrace it, indulge my crush, enjoy our flirtations, and hope that whatever happened between us wouldn’t affect my career?
I wanted to jump into the future and ask myself whether or not it would affect my life in any major way, and if I would regret not going for it.
I made it home in a daze, and by the time I got back to the apartment, intense desire that had taken over when I was in Oliver’s presence.
I made my way up to my room and threw myself face-down on the bed. Maybe I needed a good lay? Katya was always telling me I should go on dating sites already, and maybe she was right. Maybe I wouldn’t find myself so utterly overwhelmed with desire if I was getting some elsewhere.
But I didn’t want anyone but him. That was the problem. Oliver was my ideal guy – successful, intelligent, charming, and with a business he had nurtured from the ground up. Talking to him today, it was clear he had managed to keep his feet on the ground in the process. He was the perfect man. And I couldn’t go near him.
I raked my fingers through my hair and sighed dramatically.
Then, I reached into the drawer next to my bed and pulled out my vibrator. I was going to need some kind of relief if I was going to get through the next six months, and this was the only thing that appealed to me right now. At least I could use this to my heart’s content and not worry about losing my job.
I imagined Oliver standing in the doorway of his office, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit and a sexy pair of leather gloves.
He’d beckon for me to come join him. I’d step inside the office and he’d shut the door behind me.
“Now,” he’d say, his voice confident and in control of the situation. “I order you to strip.”
“You order me?” I’d say, my heart pounding with excitement, my body beginning to anticipate the pleasure of his commanding presence.
I turned on the vibrator and touched it against the sensitive skin of my clit.
This was a silly fantasy, I know, but it was one I couldn’t help indulging in. Especially after all the time I’d been spending with Oliver. I wanted to be dominated. I wanted to be bossed by him and commanded.
I’d take off every strip of clothing and let it drop sexily to the floor.
“Good girl,” he’d say. “Now, get on your knees.”
I’d do as I was told, and get to my knees. He’d guide my head toward his crotch with his gloved hands and I’d take my cue, opening the zipper of his suit pants.
His perfect, enormous cock would fall out of his pants and I’d be face to face with it. I’d blow on it gently and look up at him, teasingly.
His cock would grow and stiffen, reaching the full extent of his erection. Which would be enormous. So big I’d be apprehensive about putting it inside my delicate body, but also desperate to find out what it would feel like.
I’d run my tongue around the head of his cock, making him throb and sigh, his pleasure increasing with each and every flick of my soft, wet, tongue. I’d let him slide into my warm mouth, just to give him a foretaste of what my pussy would feel like.
I’d suck on the head of his cock, and then let it slide all the way to the back of my throat.
“Oh god,” he’d moan.
Then he’d pull me up abruptly and turn me around, pressing me naked up against his desk. His body would be against my back, his cock pressing against my butt, and he’d push me down so that I was bending over the desk.
“Very good,” he’d say, his leather gloved hands holding my thighs in place as he slid his cock up toward the lips of my pussy.
He’d have perfect access, bending me over the desk as he was, and he’d press the tip of his cock gently against my pussy lips. I’d spread my legs, opening myself for him, and when he slid all the way inside me, right to the very core of my being, I’d gasp in pleasure and delight.
“Oh, boss,” I’d moan.
I’d feel every inch of him inside me, throbbing and pulsing with the pulse of his heartbeat. He’d be so far inside me, so deep, deeper than I’d ever imagined it was possible for a man to be.
At this point, I stretched my fingers as far into my pussy as I could reach.
I imagined it was Oliver.
I wanted him to cum inside me. I imagined his cock throbbing with the pleasure of his pre-orgasm. He’d grab my hips tighter in his gloved hands, and press up tight against me.
“Yes,” he’d cry, and as the first explosion of his orgasm spilled into my body, I’d cry out his name.
He’d cum inside me over and over, and as I felt the force of his cum pouring into me, I’d be brought over the edge too. I’d have such a powerful, amazing orgasm that it would almost make me faint!
Afterwards, he’d turn me around and pull me up to him, kissing me so passionately on the lips that I’d be dizzy with delight.
My mind came back to the present as my orgasm subsided. My trusty vibrator had done its job!
I turned it off and went to the bathroom to clean up before falling into a deep and satisfied sleep.
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Chapter 6
Oliver
I needed a distraction and not the kind I’d been relying on for the last couple of days. The weekend I’d taken away had only served to underline the fact I wanted Mona so desperately, it was going to take more than just getting out of the city to get her out of my head.
I needed something intense and business related. Some work I could bury myself in. Something that would require my undivided attention.
I had gone to my apartment out in the countryside, not too far from the city, but far enough to take me away from the office and remind me there was, indeed, a world outside of work. I fished, hiked, worked out, drank scotch, and enjoyed my time off. But I couldn’t successfully eliminate the memory of what had transpired with Mona in the office on Friday evening.
When she walked back in the door, I was relieved because, for a second, it seemed as though she felt it too. She too was aware of the intense, unmistakable, undeniable electricity between us, and she had come back to consummate those feelings.
When I took that step toward her, I saw her react to my movement. Her lips had opened, her cheeks had flushed, and she had matched my actions, moving toward me at the same time. If she hadn’t blurted out that she had come for her bag, I was prepared to throw her down on the desk and fuck her right there and then.
I’d left at once, driving a little too fast in an attempt to burn off excess tension and sexual energy, and arrived in record time to the country house.
As I went about my weekend, I couldn’t help but imagine her joining me in everything I did. I wondered if she’d gone fishing before, where she grew up, if she considered herself more of a country girl or a city one.
I wanted to know her, to really know her. Then again, maybe it was just my libido getting confused and making me think I actually had feelings for this girl when all I wanted to do was fuck her. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
When I returned to the office, I knew it was time to focus on work. It would be hard to spend too long mooning over her if I were wrapped up in a challenging deal, and I had the perfect one in which to escape– the Masterson deal.
Protecting Her Heart Page 89
