Undressed by the Boss (Mills & Boon By Request)

by Marsh, Susan

  ‘Fast enough for you?’

  He spread her further apart, his tongue finding her clitoris with unerring accuracy, licking at her, flicking her in quick little darting movements designed to send her into orbit in the blink of an eye.

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ she said through gritted teeth, wondering if there was a world record for the fastest orgasm ever, sure she was about to beat it with the help of one very sexy guy.

  He paused, sending her a scorching glance. ‘We’ve done it your way for a while, now we do it mine.’

  She made a tiny mewl of disappointment, her pelvis making a small unconscious thrust up towards his mouth, shamelessly begging for more.

  ‘You may like things fast, but we staid museum types prefer it slow. Real slow.’

  He dipped his head to lick her once, twice. Long, drawn out sweeps with his tongue, which had her biting her lower lip to stop from crying out.

  ‘Slow is good too,’ she managed to get out before he picked up where he’d left off, though this time at a much slower pace, which drove her wilder than before.

  Closing her eyes, she gave in to the sensations bombarding her, making more noise than was surely polite for a first time with a guy but not giving a damn.

  She was blinded with mindless need, and her head dropped forward, only to be nudged by the hard evidence of what her rather shameless noises were doing to him.

  ‘Payback time …’ She leaned forward a fraction to take him in her mouth, enjoying the tortured groan he let out as she licked him with the same fervour he was inflicting on her.

  ‘Too much,’ he muttered, picking up where he’d left off for a second, driving her to the brink of losing control.

  ‘On the contrary, not nearly enough.’ She raised her head to send him a seductive smile.

  She’d never felt this empowered, this confident and it had everything to do with the guy about to send her to the moon and back with the best orgasm of her life.

  However, before she could resume her ministrations, Aidan did some weird circular thing with his tongue once, twice and she shattered, her inner muscles clenching, her outer muscles dissolving as she came apart on a loud moan.

  Smiling, he shimmied up to join her, caressing her cheek with an unbearable tenderness in his eyes. ‘Please tell me you don’t live in this place without a neighbour within coo-ee because you regularly make sounds like that.’

  ‘Fine, I won’t tell you.’

  She planted a lip-smacking kiss on his mouth while sliding her hand down the hard planes of his stomach, savouring the feel of smooth skin, the rasp of hair below his navel arrowing downwards.

  ‘But just for the record, I chose this location for the workshop space, not for the lack of nosy neighbours who might have a hankering to listen to noises that don’t occur very often anyway.’

  Considering he’d just given her the orgasm to end all orgasms, the triumphant, gloating, all-male glint in his eyes didn’t surprise her. He was good, damn good, and knew it too.

  ‘Good to know,’ he said, his hands stroking her back in slow, sweeping movements until she almost purred like a cat, a well-sated cat.

  ‘Now, before you get too conceited—and, yes, the noise I made definitely corresponds with how amazingly talented you are with your tongue—it’s time to return the favour.’

  Grinning like the smug male he was following the ego- trip she’d just sent him on, he grabbed his trousers, withdrew a condom from his wallet and sheathed himself quickly before laying back, hands folded under his neck, elbows out, the epitome of a guy who knew he was smoking-hot and how badly she wanted him.

  ‘I’m all yours. Go ahead, do your worst.’

  ‘That’s some challenge,’ she murmured, straddling him in a second, enjoying the desperate look that flickered across his face as she brushed his erection with her slick entrance.

  ‘Lucky for you, my worst also happens to be my best.’ She slid downwards, inch by torturous inch until he filled her completely, revelling in the feel of him inside her, the anticipation building all over again as she began to move up and down.

  ‘You’re incredible,’ he ground out as he grasped her waist, matching her pace, thrusting up as she slid down, his smouldering gaze not leaving hers.

  Beth always had to have the last word and could usually come up with a quip in a second. However, with his every thrust she coiled tighter inside, the tension rebuilding until she could do little but hang on for the ride.

  ‘Oh, yeah!’

  His guttural groan heralded her own release as stars danced before her eyes and she collapsed on top of him, her body turning into a sensual puddle of stimulated nerve endings and mushy muscles.

  Shifting slightly beneath her, he cradled her head, lifting it until he could look directly into her eyes.

  ‘You just blew my mind,’ he said, slanting a slow burning kiss across her lips, the kind of kiss that had her wishing he’d be sticking around for longer than a few months.

  ‘Same here.’

  Smiling, he kissed her again and again, soul-drugging, toe-curling, mind-blowing kisses designed to take her on an erotic journey to a record number of orgasms in one night.

  Humming the faintest strains of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’ under her breath, she gave herself over to enjoying what promised to be the best night’s sex of her life.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ‘WHAT’S going on?’

  Beth stopped chopping onions and dashed a hand across her teary eyes, squinting at her cousin propped in the kitchen doorway.

  ‘I’m making you my world-famous lasagne, that’s what. Personally, I think you’re taking this whole invalid thing a tad far. I’m betting you ditch the crutches the moment I’m out the door and dance around here naked.’

  Lana quirked an eyebrow and stared down at her baggy brown cords, shapeless beige sweater and Doc Martens, her usual daggy stay-at-home garb. ‘You think?’

  Beth laughed, wishing Lana would let her spice up her wardrobe a little. It might help her to loosen up, act her age, have a little fun, maybe go the whole hog and find a guy. ‘Well, maybe not. Now, vamoose. You have a master chef at work here.’

  Lana shook her head and hobbled towards the breakfast bar. ‘Sorry. Not leaving till you tell me what’s up.’

  ‘All this lazing around has given you an overactive imagination. There’s nothing wrong.’

  Beth resumed dicing, needing to keep her hands busy and her mind focussed on getting the recipe just right; anything to keep her mind off the extremely X-rated fantasies—though they could officially be classed as memories now—of Aidan.

  Lana picked up a wooden spoon and banged it on the side of a stainless-steel cookie container. ‘Spill it. You only ever make lasagne as comfort food, so give over. Something’s wrong.’

  Turning away from Lana’s probing stare, Beth winced at what she was about to do.

  Considering her cousin would have to work with Aidan once her ankle healed, it was only fair she told her the truth. Besides, Lana had been her confidante, best friend and sister rolled into one for ever and she was busting to tell her what had gone down—literally—with Aidan.

  Rinsing her hands under the cold tap and drying off, she turned to face Lana, drew out a kitchen chair and pointed to it.

  ‘You better sit down. I have a feeling you’re going to need to when you finish hearing this.’

  Concern crossed Lana’s face in an instant. ‘Are you okay? It’s nothing serious?’

  Gnawing at her bottom lip, she dropped into the chair opposite Lana and said, ‘Depends on your definition of serious. If you think sleeping with the boss is serious, well, then, it’s—’

  ‘You did what?’

  Lana sat bolt upright so quickly one of her crutches toppled and slammed against the floor with a bang.

  ‘It’s no big deal, really,’ Beth hurried on, more than a little intimidated by the appalled look on her cousin’s face. ‘We’ve had this flirting thing going on from the start and we
kinda got carried away after that fund-raiser and—’

  Lana shook her head and held up her hands. ‘Whoa! Tell me this is yet another example of your warped sense of humour. Tell me you didn’t really sleep with Aidan Voss.’

  Beth tried to keep a straight face and failed. She couldn’t, because the instant Lana mentioned Aidan’s name she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

  ‘Okay, I didn’t really sleep with Aidan Voss … considering there wasn’t much sleep involved.’

  Lana groaned and dropped her head in her hands. ‘This is insane. He’s your boss, our boss!’

  Banishing thoughts of how fabulous the little sleeping she’d had with Aidan had been, she sobered up for her cousin’s sake.

  ‘Look, it’s not that bad. We’re both consenting adults, it’s not really going anywhere and once he finishes his stint at the museum it’ll all be forgotten.’

  Lana’s head snapped up as she pinned her with an accusatory glance. ‘You think?’

  Beth dropped her gaze, preferring to trace the chocolate brown and aqua circles on the fifties tablecloth rather than face the judgement in Lana’s eyes.

  Knowing Lana wouldn’t buy her best innocent look—she never had, all those times Beth had swapped book reports, ‘borrowed’ her best jewellery, pilfered the last of her favourite chocolate bar—she tried one on for size anyway.

  ‘Look, we laid out the ground rules. This isn’t going to affect our working relationship at all. I made sure he understands that.’

  ‘All very nice in theory, but have you seriously thought this through? What can happen to your job if you botch this?’

  ‘Settle down, cuz. Nothing’s going to happen. I’m working my butt off at the museum to keep my job and everything’s cool.’

  Extremely cool, considering how they’d blown each other’s minds last night.

  After several deep breaths, which restored her colour, Lana said, ‘Okay, you seem to have a handle on the job side of things.’ She tapped a split fingernail against her bottom lip before shouting, ‘But honestly, what on earth possessed you to sleep with him?’

  ‘Would you believe the devil made me do it?’

  Beth couldn’t help her response and she sure couldn’t control the smile tweaking her lips.

  Ever since they were kids she’d been making Lana laugh, trying to lighten up her serious cousin, trying to make her see that life wasn’t all textbooks and museums.

  Thankfully, Lana was usually a good sport and her tight-lipped, grim expression softened a moment later.

  ‘You’re nuts, you know that?’

  Beth shrugged and picked up the pitcher of iced green tea she’d set out earlier, pouring them both a generous glass. ‘Like you didn’t already know.’

  Lana accepted the proffered glass, the rim barely hiding her growing smile.

  ‘You actually slept with Voss the Boss,’ she murmured, shaking her head before taking a healthy slurp.

  ‘And you’re actually lightening up enough to call him that?’

  She met Lana’s bemused glance and they burst out laughing.

  ‘I guess it’s pointless me asking how good he was?’

  ‘You can ask, I just won’t tell you.’

  Beth hoped the instant heat flooding her body at the memory of her night with Aidan didn’t make it to her cheeks. ‘Besides, you’re the workaholic. Think how awkward it could be at your first staff meeting, trying to maintain a professional front when you know how long his—’

  ‘Point taken.’

  Lana almost snorted the remainder of her tea before her smile faded and she leaned forward, pushing her glasses back up her nose and reverting to her usual serious mode. ‘Just be careful, okay?’

  ‘Of what?’

  Lana paused, as if searching for the right words, before blowing out a long breath that sent her scraggly fringe heavenward.

  ‘You date a lot of guys and pretend to be the ultimate party girl, but I know for a fact you don’t sleep with many of them. And I’ve got to say I’m pretty surprised you’re even interested in Aidan considering he’s probably not your type.’

  Beth frowned, still none the wiser about her cousin’s warning. Was she trying to tell her to take care of her own feelings or Aidan’s?

  ‘You’re being as clear as mud. Come on, spit it out. I’m a big girl. I can take it.’

  Concern flashed in Lana’s eyes before she blurted, ‘If Aidan’s reputation as one of the world’s best archaeologists is accurate he won’t be staying around for long. He’ll be heading off into the wild blue yonder faster than you can say palaeontology.’

  ‘And your point is?’

  Though she knew and didn’t need her cousin to articulate what she’d been thinking since last night. She wouldn’t have slept with Aidan unless he meant something to her and now that she had she couldn’t help but think beyond that one, incredible night.

  She’d craved a stable home her whole life, had yearned to stay in the one place and build a family of her own she could depend on, which meant she had pretty lousy judgement considering she’d just fallen for a guy who’d been blunt about his fever for travelling the world.

  Lana topped up her glass and took a long sip before answering. ‘We both know you want a long-term relationship. And we both know why.’

  Her heart sank. She should be on a high after last night. Instead, here she was playing twenty questions with her nosy cousin and having to suffer her amateur psychobabble to boot.

  ‘This has nothing to do with my dad.’

  She kept her tone deliberately flat, downing another top-up and leaping from her chair. ‘Now, I really have to finish this bolognese sauce if you want to eat any time this century.’

  Lana wouldn’t push.

  She knew it; Lana knew it.

  It had always been the way with them: Beth the confident, outspoken one, Lana the shy, retiring one who gave her opinion but wouldn’t force the issue no matter how right she was.

  ‘Fine. I just care about you.’

  Lana’s soft-spoken words hung in the air and Beth blinked several times, grateful her back was turned.

  ‘Right back at you, cuz,’ she said in a fake, perky falsetto, resuming her chopping at a frantic pace in an attempt to drown out any further forays into topics she’d rather not discuss.

  Pity she couldn’t drown out her thoughts, especially the main one centred around one very sexy boss and the strange urge to do something completely out of character … like fall head over heels for him despite the fact he had wanderlust in his veins.

  Beth found herself humming again on Aidan’s doorstep before quickly silencing her vocal cords.

  She’d never been this nervous and it was all Lana’s fault. So he’d invited her to dinner at his place? No big deal. However, ever since Lana had planted the idea of Aidan about to do a runner in her head she’d been as fidgety as her cousin that time she’d offered to dust her precious sake cup collection.

  She didn’t do a lot of forward thinking as a rule. She always lived life to the fullest, making the most of every precious second. Losing her mum had taught her that.

  But her dad had taught her, however inadvertently, the value of staying in one location long enough to build a place to call her own, to value dependence on those closest to you, to have a base, the one stable place you could head to for refuge no matter what happened.

  The only time she’d had something like that was when she’d stayed with Lana and her uncle, those few, brief, precious months every year when her dad would feel guilty for dragging her around the countryside and give in to her pleading. It had never lasted.

  Now here she was, getting in deeper by the day with a guy who’d up and leave any time, a guy who already had a first love: his job.

  The door opened and she fixed a smile on her face, more than a little disconcerted a family of butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach. Worse, they took flight the second she caught sight of Aidan in casual gear for the first tim
e, wearing a navy T-shirt, faded denim and a sexy smile.

  ‘Hey, Beth. Any trouble finding the place?’

  Dragging her gaze away from his chest, which appeared so much broader in soft cotton than the stiff business shirts he usually wore, she sent him a flirtatious glance from beneath her lashes.

  ‘I’m here, aren’t I?’

  ‘You sure are.’

  She propped in the doorway, enjoying his leisurely perusal, wondering if he approved of her outfit as much as she did his.

  ‘Nice shoes.’

  He sent her a sizzling look that said the Marc Jacobs avocado satin ankle-tie-ups were a hit.

  ‘Enough with the shoes fetish already.’

  She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation as she slid past him, planting a casual kiss on his cheek as if having dinner with the guy she’d had sensational sex with the night before was something she did every day.

  ‘Anything you say, Fancy Feet.’

  She smiled, still not quite believing he’d given her a nickname. He’d surprised her on many levels, especially with the inventive talents he’d exhibited last night.

  ‘Something smells great.’

  She inhaled deeply as she followed him up a short hallway and into the most bizarre kitchen she’d ever seen with its old-versus-new motif: ultra-mod stainless-steel appliances clashing oddly with an old-fashioned dresser covered in Wedgwood plates, the black granite bench-tops out of place next to an old Aga stove.

  ‘It’s one of my foolproof recipes, from a limited repertoire, I might add,’ he said, lifting a pot to release a fragrant aroma of lemongrass and coconut into the air, which made her mouth water. ‘Hope you like Thai chicken curry.’

  ‘Love it.’

  She slid the bottle of chilled white wine she’d brought out of her bag and plonked it on the granite-topped bench before pulling up a stool, afraid of how much she liked his domestic side, the comfortable atmosphere between them and how much she’d love it to exist beyond this night.

  ‘I’ll just pop the rice on, then we can relax in the other room,’ he threw over his shoulder, looking way too efficient as he measured out the jasmine rice, the water, added a pinch of salt and set the lot to boil.