His Every Desire (Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Alexis Winter

  “Excuse me,” he says.

  I look up and meet his eyes. “Yes?”

  “You’re Mr. Windsor, right?”

  I nod. “I am.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’m Kevin. I’ve worked here for about four years now.”

  I shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Kevin. What is it that you do here?”

  “I work in HR,” he tells me just as the elevator doors open on the third floor.

  I point out of the elevator. “This is my floor. It was nice to meet you, and thank you for all your hard work.”

  “Thank you, sir,” he says excitedly as he steps back for me to get off.

  As I leave the elevator, I think back on that conversation, and for the life of me, I can’t remember ever having a conversation like that before. I’ve never met the majority of my employees. Hell, I use a private elevator to avoid them. Why do I do that? Why am I so insistent on following in my father's footsteps? Maybe spending all this time with Maddie is changing me. She said she likes good people. Maybe I’m changing for her. But I don’t feel as if I’m forcing myself to do so.

  I walk into room three-seventeen and find Maddie sitting at a computer. Across the room from her is another man, Brian, who usually provides me with my quarterly analytics.

  “Ms. Strickland?” I ask, getting both of their attention.

  Her head pops up, and her eyes lock on mine. “Mr. Windsor?” she asks with a smile playing on her lips.

  I turn and look at Brian. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

  He nods. “Absolutely, Mr. Windsor.” He stands and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  “How’s your day?” I ask, walking across the room.

  “Good. How’s yours?” She stands up behind her desk.

  “Much better now,” I reply, leaning in for a kiss.

  But instead of kissing me, she places one finger on my chest and pushes me back. “Why is Bennet here? Where’s Mr. Windsor?” She quirks an eyebrow.

  I laugh. “He left with Brian,” I tell her, reaching for her, but she steps back.

  “We can’t do this here, Bennet.”

  “Why not? Nobody will know,” I try.

  “I bet they’re all out there right now, talking about how Mr. Windsor gave me such a big promotion and now he’s in here alone with me.”

  I wave my hand in the air. “Who cares what they think?”

  “I do. I have to work with these people,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Alright, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were so serious at work.”

  She smiles slightly. “At work, you’re Mr. Windsor, and I’m Ms. Strickland. The end. Got it?”

  I nod. “I got it.”

  “And if you need something from me, call me to your office. Don’t come to mine,” she insists.

  “Okay,” I agree, standing up straight. “I do have something to show you, though.”

  “Okay, I’ll be up after lunch,” she says, sliding back into her chair.

  I’m left a little speechless. I’m used to getting whatever the hell I want, especially when it comes to women.

  I nod as I walk out of the room, a little confused. Though I like that she’s strong-willed and doesn’t melt at my feet.

  Lunch rolls around, and I want to ask Maddie to join me, but after the talk she gave me earlier, I’m a little afraid. Instead of asking her or going out alone, I have Sarah call me something in. I sit at my desk and eat my salmon salad while watching boxing matches on YouTube. It makes my muscles burn to get back to the gym. I feel like I haven’t worked out in a week. Training Maddie is a lot less strenuous than my usual workout. I think tonight, I’ll go early so I can get my workout in before she gets there.

  At one o’clock on the dot, my doors open and in walks Maddie.

  “Sorry to come in unannounced, but your secretary wasn’t at her desk.” She points toward the door behind her.

  “She’s still on lunch. She takes an extra twenty minutes. She needs it, putting up with me all this time.”

  She laughs. “That poor woman needs more than twenty minutes. She needs a paid week-long vacation!” Her eyes grow wide, and it makes me laugh.

  “Yeah, yeah. Come here,” I tell her, loading the screen on the computer. “This is our new company site.”

  “What? You did it?” she asks, excited that I listened to her advice. Her eyes are lit up, and her smile is wide.

  “I did. Check it out.” I stand and let her take my seat.

  She sits down and scrolls through the page, clicking on certain things. She looks over her shoulder at me. “I can’t wait to get back to my desk to compare the numbers. This is exciting!”

  I laugh. “I think you’re the easiest woman in the world to please.”

  Her smile is still in place as she nods her head up and down. “This is great. I’m going back to my desk.” She stands. “Do you want me to send you the numbers when I’m done? They’ll be super preliminary since this is a new change. I’d recommend at least thirty days of data to truly start measuring the metrics.”

  “Absolutely,” I say, grabbing ahold of her wrist to stop her from walking away.

  I pull her to my chest, and our eyes meet. “Nobody can see what we’re doing now,” I point out.

  Her eyes fall from mine for a second before coming right back. “You’re right.” She leans forward and presses her mouth to mine. Finally, with her lips on mine for the first time today, I feel like I can breathe. Air rushes into my lungs as a tingle takes over my body. I live in this kiss, wanting it to last forever.

  All too soon, she pulls away. “I’ll see you at the gym tonight, Bennet.”

  I can’t say anything. All I can do is watch her go while talking myself out of pulling her back.

  7

  Maddie

  Seeing his hard chest that has sweat dripping over every muscle is my kryptonite. It does me in, pushes me over the edge. Seals my fate. Whatever happens between us, it’s going to stay in this moment. I’m no longer going to deny myself something I so desperately want.

  When I’m down on my knees in front of him, I can’t help but to open my eyes and look up his hard body. I see nothing but waves of muscles as he lets his head fall back against the wall, his jaw tensed and Adam’s apple bobbing. When I push him far back in my throat, he lets out this moan that tells me I’m doing everything exactly right.

  He places his hand on my jaw, gently urging me backward. I look up at him, and his green eyes burn. Without missing a beat, he picks me up against him and presses my back against the wall. Our mouths meet as he uses his hand to guide himself into me. The second he’s inside, I suck in a deep breath. I feel whole having him there.

  I’ve heard people talk about finding the one, and I always thought they were full of shit. I never felt like I was missing something. I’ve always felt whole on my own. But the minute he claims me, whole has a whole new meaning. Now, I’m whole, with him inside me.

  He moans against my lips as he slides himself in and out of me. His fingertips dig into my hips, and it feels amazing despite the slight twinge of pain. It all mixes together perfectly.

  Everything feels right: his hands, his mouth against mine, the way he’s moving in and out of me—it all feels too good. My muscles tighten around him, and my head falls back, breaking our kiss. “Bennet,” I call out, causing him to thrust deeper, harder.

  As my release breaks and washes over me, his breathing speeds up. His body becomes hard, and his thrusts become more rapid and not as precise. Just as I begin floating down from my high, he removes himself from me and empties himself on to the shower floor. His head falls forward, resting against my shoulder as his breathing and heart rate calm.

  Slowly, he places me on my feet, and we remove ourselves from one another. Neither of us talks as we gather our clothes and pull them back on. I wring my hair out over my shoulder and then toss the long mess behind me. I use the rubber band on my wrist
to tie it back. I glance at myself in the mirror and see my mascara is running down my cheeks. I look like a drowned rat. I shake my head and wipe away the black from under my eyes.

  When I have my clothes back on, even though they’re wet, I pick up my shoes and hold them to my chest. “I guess I better get going,” I say, motioning toward the door.

  “Let me give you a ride,” he says, grabbing his bag from his locker.

  I look back toward the door, trying to come up with an excuse to just get out. “Thanks, but I’ll just walk like I usually do.”

  He grabs my hand and stops me from walking out. “Maddie, you’re soaking wet. You’re going to freeze out there. Let me take you home.”

  My eyes fall to the floor, and I let out a deep breath. I offer up a small smile and nod. “Okay,” I agree.

  We walk back into the boxing room, and I grab my bag that I left on the floor. Then, he leads me out into the main gym and to the doors. He unlocks the glass doors and pushes them open. I walk through, and he quickly sets the alarm and steps out into the darkness with me. After he locks the door from the outside, he takes my hand in his and leads me to his car in the parking lot. I climb into my seat and stuff my bag between my feet. He takes his place behind the wheel and pushes the button to put the top up. Next, he turns on the heat. I don’t even realize I’m shaking until I feel the warmth.

  “Thank you,” I say, cupping my hands together and catching the heat that’s coming from the vents.

  “You’re welcome.” He offers up a smile and shifts into gear.

  We’re only a couple blocks from my apartment when a firetruck comes rushing past us.

  “Oh, wow. I wonder where that’s going,” I say, feeling my heart rate pick up at the startle it gave me.

  “Looks like we’re about to find out,” Bennet says as the truck slows down and black smoke billows up ahead. He pulls over to maneuver past the truck and I see the source of the fire.

  It’s my building.

  My mouth drops open, and my eyes grow wide, watching the flames licking the top of the building. Bennet pulls the car over as close as he can get to the building with the whole block being barricaded off.

  He looks at me, the building, and back. “Oh my god! I’m sorry, Maddie.”

  I’m speechless. All I can do is nod my head.

  Bennet walks me inside his house and into a guest room. He didn’t give me a choice, really, just told me I’d be staying with him until I could get this nightmare sorted.

  “You have a private bathroom through there,” he says, pointing at one of the big, white doors. “I sent an email to my house manager; she’ll be bringing by some clothes in your size. I’ll be just across the hall if you need me.”

  He leaves me alone in the room without saying anything else.

  I fall onto the bed and pull my phone from my bag.

  “Hello?” Jazz answers.

  “My building is on fire,” I say, sounding a little off from still being in shock.

  “What? Are you okay?”

  I nod, forgetting that she can’t see me.

  “Mads, are you okay?” she asks again.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I wasn’t there at the time. But everything is gone. The whole building was up in flames.”

  “I’m so sorry, honey. Do you need anything? You need a place to stay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll need a place to stay, but I’m fine for tonight. I was with a friend. I’ll be over sometime tomorrow.”

  “Okay, if you need anything between now and then, call me. Okay, Mads?”

  “Okay, thank you.” Without another word, I hang up the phone and let it fall onto the bed beside me. I look around the room, feeling lost. I’m in a strange room, alone. Bennet isn’t here next to me. I guess he’s trying to give me a little space to wrap my head around this. But I don’t want to be alone.

  I stand and walk into the bathroom. It’s big and fancy, but right now, I’m numb to it all. I step into the shower and wash off, wanting to scrub the last hour off my skin. When I get out, I walk back into the bedroom and open the dresser drawers. I don’t know why because they’re all empty. Habit, I guess. I look behind the bathroom door and grab the robe I spotted earlier. After brushing out my hair, I go in search of Bennet.

  I knock on the door across from mine, and he pulls it open.

  “I don’t want to be alone,” I admit.

  He offers up a sad smile but steps to the side to allow me to come in.

  He closes the door behind us. “How do a movie and junk food sound?”

  I climb up onto his bed. “Sounds perfect.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  While he’s gone, I lay back on his bed. His deep, rich scent engulfs me. Somehow, it settles my fears and worries. I’m nearly asleep when he walks in.

  He sets the snacks down on the bench at the foot of the bed, “I didn’t know what you’d want, so I just grabbed everything I could find.”

  I smile and rub my eyes awake as I pull the bag closer, peaking inside. I find chips, candy, and leftover Chinese takeout. I pick up the small white box. Opening it, I find orange chicken and fried rice. I grab one of the forks from inside the bag and take a bite. Even cold, it tastes delicious.

  “I didn’t take you for an orange chicken kind of guy.”

  “I’m not. It was ordered for me. I prefer something a little spicier.”

  He puts in the movie and crawls into bed next to me. He leans down, grabs two beers, and hands me one.

  “Have you ever done this before?” I ask.

  “What?”

  “This. Got into bed with a girl just to eat crap and watch tv?”

  He laughs. “No, not in a long time anyway. Maybe college.”

  I set my water down on the table and force my attention to the tv while I eat.

  We eat, watch the movie, laugh, and talk. By the time the movie is ending, I’m lying next to him with his arm wrapped around me. The room going black makes me look over at him. “Is this too much?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, we’re both very insistent on not being in a relationship, but here we are, doing things people in relationships do.”

  “Just because we do things that people in relationships do doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship. I mean, people that are dating have dinner together, and we’ve done that.”

  “Good point.” I hike my leg up over his hips.

  “I like you, Maddie. I want you by my side, but I don’t want you to feel you have to be. When we’re together, we’re together. When we’re not, we’re not. Sound easy enough?”

  “Well, we’re together now,” I say, lifting and sliding myself onto his lap.

  His hands move up to hold my hips. “We are,” he agrees.

  “Why don’t you show me some more of those moves?”

  Before I know it, he’s rolling us over. His mouth lands on mine, and his hips grind against me. All it takes is two seconds before I’ve forgotten about everything but him. His hands roam my body freely, pushing and pulling my robe away. His mouth breaks away from mine, only to kiss and nibble his way down my body. It’s like he knows all the right places to touch to have me quivering and whimpering, needing more.

  His big hands massage my breasts, hips, and thighs. All the while, his mouth keeps going lower and lower. When his tongue runs between my folds, my hips buck upward like I’ve been struck by lightning. A sound escapes my lips, and it almost sounds foreign. This is not my first time, but for some reason, it feels like it is. Like every place he touches is a place that’s never been touched before.

  “Bennet,” I call out his name in a whimper.

  His hands on my hips squeeze tighter, his tongue moving quicker. My orgasm builds just beneath the surface, waiting for the exact right time to be set free. It causes my muscles to harden and tense. It halts my breathing in my chest; it makes me freeze until he flicks his tongue against me one last time. Finally, it shatters, washing over me. My toes curl w
hile my fingers dig into the bed, fisting the sheets. I suck in a deep breath, and it leaves my lips in a rush as I call for him again and again.

  When my body has gone completely limp, he pulls away and positions himself at my entrance.

  “I have to be inside you, Maddie. Watching you come has me ready to explode,” he says, pushing into me.

  The second we become one, we both relax and let out a deep breath. He pauses his hips while his mouth finds mine, allowing my body to adjust to the intrusion. He kisses me soft and slow, and after a minute of kissing, his hips start moving again. He pushes into me further, slowly, rolls his hips and withdraws himself, only to do it all over again.

  “Fuck, Maddie,” he whispers, never stopping.

  We spend the night in the same manner, never stopping. Only pausing until we start again. I don’t fall asleep until the first bit of morning sun starts peeking through the windows.

  It feels like I’ve only been asleep for an hour when his alarm starts going off from beside the bed. I hear him groan and feel the mattress beneath me move just before it’s silenced. He rolls back over, wrapping his arm around my stomach as he whispers in my ear, “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

  I smile from his breath tickling my cheek. “Ugh, I don’t want to get up yet. I just went to sleep.”

  “What do you say we both call in? I mean, you have been through a traumatic experience.”

  With his words, all the panic and worry come rushing back into my head. “Fuck, I forgot about that.”

  He chuckles. “You forgot your apartment burned down?”

  I nod. “Could you call my boss for me?” I laugh.

  “I’ll let Mr. Windsor know,” he says, smacking my butt softly while crawling out of bed.

  He leaves the room for a moment, then comes back. The smell of coffee perks me up.

  He hands me a mug before planting a kiss on my forehead. “Give me a few moments. I’ll be right back.”

  Twenty minutes later, I’m fighting off sleep when he walks back in the room.

  “Breakfast in bed?” he asks, setting down a tray.