by J. H. Croix
After an uncomfortably long moment, he nodded. “That works.”
I sent a silent thanks to whatever angel was cutting me a break because I’d already entered the time in my calendar and could barely think enough to change it. I tapped save without looking and slipped my phone back into my purse before striding toward the small round table by the windows, never once breaking away from his gaze.
“So now works as well?” I asked as I stopped by the table, curling my hand on the back of a chair beside it.
“I suppose it will have to, won’t it?” he countered with a gleam in his eyes.
I hoped he couldn’t see how hard I was gripping that chair. As polite as his tone was, I sensed he was trying to get under my skin. No way in hell would I let on that he was succeeding. Honestly, I didn’t know if it was him or me. It didn’t matter. I’d have this meeting, and we’d discuss research data while I prayed the dryness of our topic would keep my panties from getting any wetter than they already were.
Chapter 9
Tristan
I stayed right where I was and held onto the windowsill as if it would save me. Fuck. I was in serious trouble. Daisy showed up out of nowhere, and all I could think about was locking the door and finishing what we started the other night. She was so fucking gorgeous. Her blonde hair was up in some kind of twist today. All it made me want to do was take it down, so I could run my hands through her hair and kiss her until she was moaning in my mouth again.
She wore a navy blue fitted skirt that hugged her hips and flared at her knees. This was paired with a fitted white blouse and navy kitten heels. As usual, she looked perfectly professional, although her skirt was a tad flirty and the button between her breasts was pulled tight. Now that I knew she loved lacy lingerie, it didn’t help me in the slightest to imagine what was behind that clean white fabric. Danger, danger. If I kept staring at her, I’d be rock hard all over again.
I’d left her place the other night with a raging hard on. I’d gotten home and headed straight for the shower where I’d jacked off to the memory of her pussy clenching around my fingers and the way she looked afterwards—flushed and pink and every inch of her so delectable it had probably been divine intervention that stopped me from burying myself inside of her. Thank fucking God she’d up and wrapped herself in a robe and started eating that dessert. Otherwise, there would’ve been no way I’d have managed to leave her side. As it was, it ranked as the one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
My mechanical release shortly thereafter had just barely taken the edge off of my lust for her. I’d woken the following morning with my cock rock hard again on the heels of an insanely hot dream about her. I honestly couldn’t recall if I’d ever dreamt about a woman. If I had, I certainly didn’t remember it. I was normally a rational man. Daisy made me the opposite. While the rational part of me was noting perhaps it was time to pump the brakes on my crazy idea to do anything with her, another part of me—a frankly foolish part of me—was downright reckless. I wanted Daisy like mad. Hell, I needed her. I’d do whatever it took to burn her out of my system. I was banking on that to help me return to sanity again.
I’d barely been able to keep her out of my mind the last few days and was bloody relieved I’d finally been cleared to start practicing with my team again. I needed the physical rigors of it to stay sane. I briefly wondered what Daisy had heard when she came in my office. Not much because I hadn’t said much. Little did she know that entire conversation was her fault. Renee was one of a few women I occasionally saw. I’d seen her off and on for a year. Up until the day following my dinner date with Daisy, Renee had never put the slightest pressure on me. We saw each other every few weeks, maybe, unless she was seeing someone else. I wouldn’t call what we did dating. Rather, we’d have dinner every so often and fuck. That was it. She’d called the other day, and I couldn’t even fathom trying to fuck her, so I’d said I was busy.
It had never occurred to me before that I didn’t know how Renee would handle no because there’d been no reason for me to say it before. Well, she’d called three days straight since and was getting way too pushy about it. It was all Daisy’s fault because now that I’d had a taste of her, I didn’t want anyone else. I’d been running laps in my brain coming up with how to manage this issue. I’d loosely devised a plan, all based around the fact she’d had boring sex up until now. I’d make sure she had an orgasm in every possible way she wanted before we put an end to the madness. That should get her out of my system and would make up for everything she’d missed so far.
I wasn’t cocky about sex, or so I didn’t think. I just knew I wasn’t selfish and went out of my way to make sure no woman walked away from an encounter with me unsatisfied. A distant voice murmured in the back of my brain—hell, it had been murmuring for days. Daisy’s pleasure was something else for me. I had to witness it. It wasn’t simply about making her feel good. I wanted it more than I wanted my own release, which was crazy and should’ve made me run as fast as I could away from her.
There was no way in hell I was doing that.
So I carefully eased my grip on the windowsill and stepped to her side. When my gaze flicked down to pull her chair out, I noticed her knuckles were white where her hand curled over the back of the chair. A thread of relief wove through me. Perhaps she was as bad off as me.
Her scent—honey and berries—wafted up to me, and I resisted the urge to drop a kiss at the soft spot where her neck met her shoulder. I pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit.
“Need anything to drink?” I asked as she slipped into the chair.
My eyes, rather willful when it came to Daisy, couldn’t help but flick down to notice her skirt rode up her thighs slightly.
“If you have water, that would be great.”
Inside of two seconds, I’d forgotten I’d even asked her a question. Her reply snapped me out of fantasizing about her thighs wrapped around my hips.
“Of course. Let me get that for you.”
I turned and strode quickly to the counter that ran the full length of the wall behind my desk. This wasn’t technically my office, or my desk. It was Dr. Horton’s, but he was gracious enough to allow me to use it for the four-month stint I’d signed up to cover as Director of Research while he was traveling. He conveniently kept a small fridge tucked under the counter. I snagged two bottles of water and returned to the table, sliding a bottle across to her as I sat down facing her.
“So what do you usually cover in these meetings?” I asked.
Daisy slid a computer tablet out of her purse and tapped the screen a few times before spinning it to face me on the table. “I like to make sure we’re on track with what we see on our end. So far, it looks like Dr. Horton prescreened forty-five patients before he went on leave, and another thirty have been screened in since you took over. Even though our system links to the hospital’s, I like to make sure what we see is consistent with what you have week to week. Beyond that, we like to check in weekly about any monitoring fluctuations, data points that form patterns, and of course all the usual issues such as patient response, symptom improvement, and side effects.”
The next half hour passed rather easily. As I’d have guessed, Daisy was a pleasure to work with. She was inquisitive, bright and actually enjoyed diving into the data. By the time we finished, I’d managed to forget how ridiculously alluring she was.
She put the tablet away and looked back over at me. “Well, if we keep up like this, this will run very smoothly. Dr. Horton is wonderful, but you’re a bit more organized than him,” she said with a slight smile and a shrug.
“Ah, he does have a bit of an absentminded quality, but he’s one of the best doctors I’ve known.”
“Of course. That’s why I love working with him. Anyway, so that’s what we do each week. Not so bad, right?”
I shook my head and idly spun the water bottle I’d almost drained in a slow circle on the table. Now that we weren’t focused on resea
rch data, my body had tuned right back into Daisy’s channel. I watched while she took a long slow sip of water. Bloody hell. With her lips wrapped around the end of the bottle and the soft skin of her neck exposed, my mind went two places at once—what it would feel like to have her lips wrapped around my cock and the vivid memory of the taste of her skin. She set the bottle down and swiped her tongue across her lower lip, catching a drop of water at the corner.
Lust bolted through me, hardening my cock inside of a second. I had a quick little convo with my cock, a rather weak attempt to talk it down. Normally, I’d be standing to walk her out about now. Or rather anyone else I might meet under these circumstances. If I stood, my arousal would be quite obvious, so I stayed right where I was, willing my body back to sanity.
Then she went and stood up, gathering her purse and hooking it over her shoulder. Her skirt caught on the arm of the chair, rising just high enough for me to see a glimpse of cream silk and the round curve of her delectable bottom. She appeared not to notice this and snagged her water bottle as she stepped away.
The chair tipped over, bumping her legs and leading her to stumble. “Oh My God, I didn’t even…” she exclaimed as she caught her balance.
I was up and around the table in two quick strides, steadying her by the arm. Of course, I hadn’t been thinking and when she looked up at me, I realized we were mere inches apart. Her eyes slammed into mine. For a beat, we just stared at each other. The sound of her breath hitching reminded me quite forcefully that I was plenty hot and hard for her.
We stood locked in place with my hand curled around her upper arm. After a taut moment, she looked away, her cheeks flushing pink.
“It seems like I have a habit of stumbling whenever I’m here,” she said with a slight laugh.
For a second I was confused and then I recalled she’d dragged us both to the floor when I’d encountered her in the hallway last week.
“I suppose so.”
I forced myself to let go of her arm and stepped past her to lift the chair her skirt had unintentionally knocked over. Only Daisy would have a skirt—a flimsy, flirty thing—that could take down a chair.
I carefully, perhaps too carefully set the chair upright and slid it into place by the table before turning back to her. She hadn’t moved, so we were still too close. Awkward wasn’t something I usually felt with women. I didn’t even know if what I felt just now could be described as awkward. The problem was I wanted Daisy so fiercely, I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want her to misread anything between us, yet even I wasn’t so sure it was purely casual. I liked to keep the sex in my life in a tidy corner. I treated it almost the same as I did everything else—something to fit in and enjoy for the time I gave it. Nothing complicated.
Certainly not this insane burning need for a woman I knew wanted much more than sex. My brain and body were at war with each other over Daisy, so much so I found the only recourse was to ignore the conflict. At the moment, there seemed no resolution for it. Unless I walked away now.
I flat out decided to ignore any rumblings in my conscience about what the future might hold. I wanted Daisy, and I knew she wanted me. Hell, the chemistry between us was enough to set the room afire. With a firm grip on my control, I eyed her.
“Shall we have dinner again?” I asked.
Damn. My mouth wasn’t usually a few steps ahead of my brain.
Daisy’s wide brown eyes held mine for a beat. It was an act of will to keep my eyes from drifting down to her breasts. For a flash, I wasn’t sure what her answer would be. Then she nodded.
“Let’s. When and where?”
“Tonight and wherever you want.”
Her slightly lopsided smile stretched across her face. “Okay. I’ll have to think about the where part. What time?”
Her answer put me back on firm footing inside. Just knowing I’d have another night with her elicited an odd sense of relief. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
She nodded and turned away, striding to the door. I followed and caught her by the hand just as she reached it. I was acting purely on instinct, and tugged her to me, sliding my palm down the curve of her spine to cup her bottom. I almost groaned at the lush give of it. Her eyes widened slightly, and I knew she could feel every inch of my cock cradled at the apex of her thighs.
I didn’t wait and fit my mouth over hers. She didn’t hesitate, opening her mouth and sighing into our kiss. I had to force myself to keep it brief, a few strokes against her tongue and then I pulled back.
“Tonight. Six o’clock.”
She nodded and spun away, quickly exiting my office. I leaned against the door jam and enjoyed every swing of her hips as she walked down the hallway. I didn’t stop watching until she turned the corner.
Chapter 10
Daisy
I swung my little compact car into a parking spot at my office and sat there. My channel was throbbing and I could feel the wetness between my thighs. I’d lost my freaking mind. I don’t know how I survived that meeting with Tristan without climbing across the table and straddling him. He’d been all cool, calm and collected. So much so that I’d felt ridiculous over how much he affected me. I shouldn’t have been thinking that way, but I was so relieved I’d almost fallen over and he’d gotten up to help me. The ridge of his cock had been completely visible, outlined as it was against his black slacks. He’d been dressed more formally than I was accustomed to seeing. I had to admit I liked it. God, with his dark, rugged athleticism packaged in black slacks and a button down shirt, it made me want to rip his clothes off.
Maybe you should stop thinking about him. You have two more meetings this afternoon, and you can’t be sitting here horny and wet.
Right. I needed to get a grip. I gulped the last of the icy water from the water bottle and hurried back into work. I spun through two more planning meetings and then rushed into my office to plow through emails before I left for the day. I was a lead medical researcher at the Seattle branch of a pharmaceutical company. I loved my job. All through medical school, I’d known I wanted to work in research. I loved data and I wanted to be involved on the front end of innovation. I’d lucked into a position with a company that actually had a stellar reputation in medical research, a hard thing to find when it came to pharmaceutical companies. We focused mostly on life saving medicine trials and vaccines.
I was just finishing up when there was a knock at my door. I called out for whomever it was to come in.
“Hey, hey,” Bradley Connors said as soon as he stepped through the door.
I closed up my email and spun in my chair to face him. Bradley leaned in the doorway with a grin. He was a friend and the guy I’d tried to do the friend’s with benefits thing that turned out to be nothing more than a letdown. I’d thought it would be fun because Bradley was fun, charming and handsome with his perpetually rumpled brown curls, dark eyes and outdoorsy vibe. We’d never discussed it, but after a few ‘dates’ where we enjoyed the alleged benefits of our friendship, I’d personally decided I’d rather we just be friends without any benefits. I hadn’t wanted to discuss it because it meant either telling him he bored me silly in bed, or pondering if something was wrong with me that I couldn’t relax and have a little fun.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked as I snagged a pen and flipped it between my fingers.
“Same, same. You?”
“Busy as ever.”
“Was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner and drinks tonight?”
I looked over at him and could sense he was hoping there might be more to it than that. After we’d faded out of things before, he’d gotten hot and heavy with another woman at the company.
“No plans with Sara?” I countered.
Bradley shook his head with a slow smile. “Nah. She got the wrong idea.”
“About what?” I asked, honestly curious.
“You know me, Daisy. I like to keep it light. She wants more.”
Aha. So Bradley was hoping I’d return
to my place, which I’d only occupied maybe a few times over a period of months. Right now, the entire idea felt distasteful. It was nothing more than a convenience for Bradley. I didn’t think he was a jerk, or even that he was trying to use anyone. He was just looking for someone who fit the bill.
My mind flashed to the way it had felt to be with Tristan the other night. Nothing more than a brief thought and my belly clenched. The idea of even attempting anything with Bradley now was impossible. Tristan would probably ruin me for anyone. I should’ve been worried about this, and I was. Just not enough to talk myself out of seeing what else I might experience with him.
I eyed Bradley. “You’re always honest. Gotta give you that,” I said with a chuckle.
He flashed a grin that I thought he meant to be charming. “So?”
“I’ve got other plans tonight. Speaking of that, you can plan on keeping me in the friends with no benefits category.”
He arched a brow and shrugged. “Fair enough. You seeing someone then?”
Bradley was simply that straightforward. He was a decent guy and would probably be quite happy for me if I told him I was. I wanted to say yes, but I didn’t know what to call what I was doing with Tristan, so I shrugged.
“Sort of. Things are early, so keep it quiet, okay?”
He sobered, his eyes coasting over my face. “You’re an amazing woman, Daisy. Any guy would be lucky to have you. If I were looking for something more, you’d have to chase me away,” he said, his tone completely serious.
I was surprised. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. “Thanks. I think?”
“I’m dead serious. You rock, so make sure if this guy’s good that he treats you right. If not, I’ll set him straight.”
At that, he gave a wave and left. My office door clicked shut behind him, and I sat there wondering just what to think. Was it that obvious I was hoping for something with Tristan?
