"You're a good girl, April Weiss. And those are the worst kind."
I frowned, completely confused. And then his hand was on my thigh, sliding slowly up my skirt. His eyes shot a challenge into mine. He seemed to be daring me to stop him. I didn't. Instead, I reached out and brushed my hand against his crotch, rubbing him through his jeans. He sucked in his breath and hardened immediately under my touch.
"Tell me to stop, April," he whispered.
I wouldn't. I continued to rub him until his erection was straining against his fly. His hand was now on my panties, lightly stroking me through the silky material. I let out a little whimper and the world spun around me. His fingers pushed aside my panties and then he was rubbing me along the seam of my sex.
When I gasped, it was into his mouth because it had sealed over mine, muting me. As his tongue thrust into my mouth, I pressed my chest into his. His entire body was hard--almost as hard as the wall behind me. I felt enclosed, hemmed in, disoriented. I was completely absorbed, as if he were weaving a spell around me with his hands and his tongue.
"Did he tell you that you were beautiful?" he whispered, his mouth kissing its way to my temple now. My eyes fluttered closed. Transfixed, I could only focus on what his hands were doing. One was now relentlessly rubbing against my clit, the other winding through my hair at the nape of my neck. I had one hand still groping him through his jeans while the other untucked his shirt and skimmed across his flat abs. He felt amazing. He smelled even better.
"Did he?"
"Yes," I moaned.
"Did he tell you how much he wanted to taste you?"
I didn't answer. I was being drawn under by his spell. That gnawing, deep want cutting deep to my core. My body was awakening under the touch of those magical hands.
"He wants to taste you. He wants his mouth all over your pretty tits."
His touch against my clit intensified, and I began to feel that familiar climb to climax. He was going to make me come right here in this back alley in no time. And I didn't care. I wanted him to.
Jordan's hand released my hair and skimmed along the neckline of my dress, tucking a finger underneath and hooking into my bra. With a light tug, my breast was free and feeling the cool night air for mere milliseconds before his mouth was on me, as he'd said. He sucked my nipple into his mouth as if he were starving, feasting on me. He let loose a growl at the back of his throat and bolts of searing lightning streaked right through me. I arched my back, pushing into him, and he pressed me down--hard--against the wall, knocking my breath from me. He sucked harder, and the impossible pleasure of his hand moving at my center began to spread over my legs and stomach, gorgeous heat washing over me. With a shout that echoed across the alleyway, I came in sharp, breath-stealing spasms of pure ecstasy.
Fuck, it felt so good I never wanted it to end. His hand stilled, but he kept sucking my nipple and I shuddered under him. His cock leapt under my touch, straining in his jeans. He pressed his crotch into my hold and he pulled his mouth free.
"He wants to feel you come when he's inside you, April."
"Yes," I breathed against his neck.
"And he really, really wants to fuck you."
"Jordan," I moaned.
He pulled away from me and cool air passed between us. He was breathing hard, and I was still awash in the afterglow of one incredibly intense orgasm. My limbs felt slow to respond, listless. Slowly, he took hold of my wrist and pulled my hand away from his swollen crotch, his eyes burning into mine.
I tucked my breast back into my bra. He watched me, his tongue darting out over his bottom lip. If we weren't in some dark back alley somewhere, I wouldn't have let him pull away, wouldn't have stood for him to not finish until he was inside me. I needed him inside me. No, it was more than a need. More than a hunger. It was like finding a missing piece of me and needing to fit it to fill the empty gap within.
I shook my head, dismissing that thought. It was way too deep, way too emotional. And I didn't do that anymore. I wasn't going to let myself get swept up again by a pretty face--fantastic, amazing hands or not. He'd only shatter me worse than Gunnar had.
This was all physical. And it felt good. So I was going to let myself enjoy it, but feelings weren't allowed.
I cleared my throat and tried to ignore that he was still watching me with that intense, narrow gaze.
"You're not going home with him," he said. A statement, not a question. And of course, he was right. I hadn't even been considering it before this, and now that Jordan had put his hands and mouth all over me, there was no way I'd be satisfied with a random hookup. But I didn't want him to know it.
I shrugged. "I can do what I want," I said.
His beautiful face darkened in a scowl. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the door to the bar pushed open again and the dark-haired man that Jordan had been with earlier was now in the alley with us. Jordan backed even further away from me and turned a little away from him, still noticeably aroused. I pushed off the wall and brushed a hand down the front of my dress as if nothing at all had just happened.
Jordan's friend looked pissed. "What are you doing out here?"
Jordan ran a hand over his hair. "April was upset. I just wanted to make sure she was okay."
"She looks fine to me."
"Um. Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I said, clearing my throat. "I feel... very, very good as a matter of fact."
Jordan shot me a dirty look. "April, do you know William Drake?"
William was now looking uneasy, not meeting my eyes. He was tall, dark-haired and good-looking, if a little strangely dressed--blue khakis and a brown and green patterned knit sweater. He had dark eyes and a visible five o'clock shadow--probably one that appeared five minutes after he shaved in the morning.
"We've never met, no. Are you related to Adam?"
"He's my first cousin," William said.
"Oh. Oh, okay." I silently wondered if I should introduce him to Cari. Maybe it would distract her from her fixation with Adam. But I suspected that she was like a bloodhound after the first scent of the fox and that nothing would deter her, not even the good-looking and single first cousin.
"I, uh...I'd better get going," I said, attempting to push my way around Jordan to get to the door.
Jordan's hand closed around my upper arm. "William and I can give you a ride home," he said.
I shrugged out of his hold. "I drove myself. I'm fine."
"You're going home now?" he said, but it sounded more like a statement than a question. I wanted to argue with him, but I really had no desire to stay. I wanted nothing more than to climb into my fleecy PJs, wrap myself in my comforter and pull out my worn copy of Pride and Prejudice to lose myself in Mr. Darcy. Another incredibly hot man who was terribly full of himself.
I only shrugged. I wasn't going to give Jordan the satisfaction of agreeing with him.
His eyes hardened. "Well, just remember there's going to be a whole crapload of work on your desk in the morning. I have lots of notes regarding your project and I want that first draft before you leave. You need to be there at seven."
My eyes widened and my jaw fell open. I was about to protest, but he turned to his friend and said, "C'mon, William, let's go finish what we started in there."
Then he turned the knob on the door, snapped it open and was gone. I fell back against the wall with a sigh before realizing that William was still standing there watching me.
He bent and opened the door, holding it for me, indicating I should go through before him. I straightened. "Thank you, William. It was nice to meet you."
"We met already. You just don't remember."
"Oh...oh really? I'm sorry."
"You're sorry you don't remember?"
I frowned, rubbing my temple, and ducked in through the doorway ahead of him. He closed the door and we were standing in the back hall. At last, the bathroom appeared empty. Jordan was nowhere to be seen.
I stopped and turned back to William. He'd been wa
tching me with a frown but jerked his eyes away when I looked at him.
"I don't want to go out there and finish what he started," William said, peering down the hallway.
"What did he start?"
"Well, he wants me to think he was here to show me something, but I think he was here to watch you. So if you're leaving, I have a feeling he will too."
"He was here to watch me? What for?"
William's eyes shifted from my left shoulder to my right shoulder, as if unable to connect with my gaze. "I have no idea. But hopefully you are going so he won't force me to stay with him."
I laughed, glancing down the hallway again. If I didn't have to be in to work at the crack of dawn the next morning, it might be worth it to hang out here late in order to spite Jordan. My fist closed. Damn it. Mr. Darcy and my fuzzy jammies beckoned.
"Don't worry, William. I'm going home after I visit the little girl's room."
William looked visibly relieved.
I decided against hitting the bathroom and instead followed him back into the bar. At my table, five guys sat talking to the three women. I made a quick excuse about a sudden migraine and then hightailed it out of there before Cari could say anything.
I didn't even chance a glance at the other side of the bar to see if Jordan had left. But when I was out in the parking lot headed toward my car, I walked by the big, flashy Range Rover that I once drove to the car wash and noted that there were two people inside.
A minute after I pulled out of my parking space, the Range Rover did the same. At least he didn't go full stalker on me and follow me home. He went straight when I made my first right turn.
I blinked, still completely confused about the goings-on of today--and beyond that, this entire week. Since that heated night when Jordan kissed me on his couch, I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind. And I'd failed miserably at avoiding him.
Apparently, I was an expert at avoiding everyone else, but when it came to Jordan Fawkes, I sucked at it.
Probably because...deep down, I didn't want to.
Chapter 10
Jordan
Today was sexual harassment training. Wasn't that great? Last night I'd had my hand up my intern's skirt, making her moan while I put my mouth all over her, and now here we were. Fuck. I rubbed my sore neck as I watched another set of employees file in for the third such session today. Adam and I had to sit through all of them and--thank God--this was the last one. There was a dull ache in my head, tightness in my temples. I put my head in my hand, covering my eyes. I felt a nudge at my elbow.
"What's the matter, can't stand to suffer the torture you inflicted?"
I sent Adam a dirty look. "It wasn't my dumbass suggestion, it was the goddamn banker. Don't shoot the messenger."
"Can I punch him in the nuts instead?"
"Quit whining."
For the third time that day, Essie, from the outside firm we'd hired to come in and inflict this low-level torture, stood and gave her canned spiel about the importance of power equality in the workplace and maintaining a safe, harassment-free work environment. I resisted the urge to check my phone when the dumbass video started, staring blankly at it like a zombie--yet again. I ignored the whispers and the rustling behind me. Clearly, the employees hated this as much as I did.
And like before, we progressed to the goddamn Q & A session. But this time, when Essie opened it up to questions, you could have heard a pin drop and crickets chirp. There at least had been some healthy discussion before--enough that it had taken almost all of the time. Apparently, this last group was the rebel bunch and they were protesting.
"So no one has any questions at all?" Essie said, her black brows rising. "Maybe as a jumping off point, we should start the discussion with the viral video."
I sat back, trying not to cringe. This had only briefly been touched on in the other sessions, but now the gloves were coming off. "Now we know that at least one person participating in that video was an employee. But let's suppose they were both employees..."
"I fucking hope not," Adam muttered under his breath for only me to hear. "Wouldn't that just make it so much better?"
I pretended to be so enthralled by what Essie was saying that I didn't hear him.
"Is this harassment, per se? If two employees of the same company were engaging in a sexual act?"
"That depends," someone said. "Maybe they were dating beforehand."
"Okay." Essie nodded. "Good point. Previous relationships should be considered. But what if a couple that works together breaks up or the relationship changes...or what if the two people involved are not of the same rank within the company?"
"You mean like if one was the other person's boss?" a voice piped up. A voice I recognized. My intern. I clenched my jaw and a fist on the table, but I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder at her.
"Yes, that changes the entire power dynamic, doesn't it? If one person works for the other, even if they are engaging in a consensual relationship, the power structure between them is inherently unequal."
I fumed under my collar at her pointed comment, given what had happened between us last night. Perhaps it was her way of telling me she hadn't wanted it? I frowned at that thought, suddenly brought up short. Maybe she'd been afraid to tell me? But she'd reached out and touched me, too. And I'd given her the chance to tell me to stop...
Of course, there were the liberties she had taken with her goddamn smart phone. I raised my hand. "What about the tape itself? Like, if one person filmed it without the other person knowing? Is that sexual harassment?"
There. Take that, Miss Weiss.
Essie nodded. "Very good question. Of course, filming without the other party's consent is a grave violation of trust, but beyond that, it is also illegal and a violation of basic civil rights. It's punishable in civil and criminal court."
I sat back, stunned. I'd only intended to give April a little grief, not scare the shit out of her. She still had no idea it was me. And she probably was wondering how I knew that the guy in the video didn't know...or hopefully, she'd just thought I'd guessed right.
Essie started droning on about legal codes, but I was hardly listening. Sure, I was pissed about the goddamn video. I would much rather it had never been made. Hot night of sex or not, I didn't need the type of reminder that threatened to blow my plans for my company sky high. Nevertheless...I didn't want April going to jail, either.
Adam stood in the middle of Essie's diatribe, interrupting her. "I think we are digressing a little from the discussion, don't you think? It's only supposition that one party filmed without the other knowing. And now that we know it's illegal, can we move on?" He shot me an irritated look and I glanced over my shoulder at April, who had paled to the shade of the wall behind her.
She had her hands folded in her lap, her gaze fixed on them. I'd sure showed her, hadn't I? But it didn't feel good. She looked petrified.
"Shall we do some role-playing, then? Any volunteers?"
Role-playing? We hadn't gotten that far in the previous sessions. There hadn't been time after the discussion. Clearly, Essie was reaching for material to fill this one. I doubted any employee here would volunteer when they couldn't even muster up a nonsense question. I nudged Adam with my elbow and nodded toward the front of the room. "It's your leaderly duty," I muttered.
He rewarded my sarcasm with one of his signature death glares. Unfortunately, sitting in the front row, my movements had attracted Essie's attention and she brightened, her gaze fixing on me. "Excellent, let's get one of the big bosses up here for role-play!"
The room burst into applause and Adam started laughing. Under the cover of the table, I flipped him the bird and stood. Shit. How much longer until I could bail on this farce?
I moved to stand beside Essie, facing the room, and the applause only got louder. April had finally looked up, still pale but a faintly amused smile touched her beautiful lips. I held up my hands to quiet the room.
"No applause necessary," I
said. "I already know I'm awesome."
"I feel threatened by that statement," one of the smartasses from accounting said, and his buddies laughed.
A wolf whistle came from the back of the room and I pointed. "Hey! No harassing me." More laughter.
Essie, however, was not amused. "All right, everyone, we need to take this seriously. I know these comments are all in fun, but we're here to be educated on how to have the safest, most comfortable and efficient work environment possible. And I know your CFO is very interested in efficiency."
I cleared my throat, sobering, and the room quieted down. Essie glanced around for a long moment before turning to me. "Okay, we're going to role-play a situation between me, the boss, and my employee, Mr. Fawkes."
A guy from playtesting snickered before I sent him a sharp glare and he quieted down. "So, here we are. You've just arrived at work."
Essie stepped forward and put her hand on my upper arm. "Hey Mr. Fawkes, how are you today? You are looking really good in those trousers and that shirt." She ran her eyes up and down me like she was checking me out at a singles bar. I'm sure it wasn't the response she wanted from me, but I grinned and straightened my tie. The group laughed again.
Essie's smile faded. "Now clearly this isn't a problem for Mr. Fawkes, but what if Mr. Fawkes is the boss and he says that same thing to an employee? And touches him or her in the same way?"
She glanced around and no one said anything, though people whispered to each other. A few looked incredibly bored. Essie pointed a finger at April. "Miss, didn't you ask about the boss-employee power dynamic before? Could you come up and help out, please?"
April's face went scarlet and she didn't move. "Uh..."
I muttered to Essie. "She's actually really shy."
But that other intern with all the blond hair--what the hell was her name?--started shoving April out of her chair. To keep from falling on the ground, April stood, giving her friend a well-deserved scowl. Essie continued encouraging April to come forward, and she reluctantly moved to stand beside me.
I shifted my weight from one leg to another, trying to distance myself from her without looking like I was distancing myself from her. There was only one word for this situation right here.
Awkward.
April stared at the floor in front of her, self-consciously tucking some strands of her hair behind her ear. I remembered having that delicious lobe in my mouth last night when I'd been engaging in some very unbusinesslike behavior with her in the alley behind the martini lounge. The way she'd moaned my name...
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