Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Box Set: CakeFearlessNaked SushiEverything You Need to Know

by Lauren Dane

  “Well, it’s nice she’s dating.” He had no idea if that was true. He’d collected some information on her family, because that’s what a guy did when he planned to take a woman to bed, but the family history was a bit hazy. No father, raised by a single mom, and no siblings.

  Jordan leaned against the wall as she slipped her cell in the waistband of her skirt. “You say that because you think she’s sitting in a chair looking all grandmotherly and knitting.”

  His mother was more the charity-auction type, but the image seemed reasonable. “No?”

  “She only admits to being forty, but she’s forty-five.”

  He did the math in his head. “Young.”

  “You know how you think of your parents and are absolutely clear they only had sex the number of times it took to create you and your brother and sister?”

  “I try never to think of my parents having sex.”

  This time amusement flooded Jordan’s face and met her eyes. “I don’t have the luxury of being able to do that. She tells me. She’s always told me who she’s sleeping with and how good it is.”

  Forest’s brain went blank. “I’m not even sure what to say to that.”

  “Now you know how I’ve felt my entire life.”

  His hand fell from the doorknob as he straddled the inside/outside threshold to his office. “Why are you still here?”

  “I wanted to catch up.”

  Of all the odd things she’d said to him during their short time together, that was one of the oddest. “On what?”

  “Work.”

  He conducted a quick visual search and didn’t see a folder or any other sign of business. She shifted her weight around and her gaze did a quick dart to her desk. The whole fidgeting thing struck Forest as out of character. If anything, the Jordan he’d seen pulsed with a coolness vibe. That simmering heat was one of the many things he found so attractive about her. But something had her bouncing around now.

  “Jordan, I hand out the assignments. If Wen is piling on enough to keep you here at—” Forest checked his watch as a new wave of exhaustion from his ninth consecutive sixteen-hour workday crashed over him. “It’s almost ten.”

  “By that logic, you should be home, too.”

  “It’s not really the same thing. I own the place.”

  She waved her hand. “Either way, I’ll let you go.”

  “Or we could finish our conversation.” He had no idea why he said it. Well, some idea, but the timing was pretty screwed up.

  She stopped in midturn. Didn’t look at him, but didn’t run, either. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” She made the comment to her feet.

  “Because?”

  She faced him then. “You mentioned kissing.”

  He took in her wide eyes and the way she clenched her hands together in front of her. Whatever internal battle waged in there had her cheeks a rosy pink. He decided to take that as a good sign of something. “I’d rather do it than talk about it.”

  “I doubt your HR department would approve.” Yet she took a step toward him.

  The urge to reach out rammed into him with the force of a house. But he’d made his move. There couldn’t be any doubt that he wanted more than dictation from her. She had to initiate here. Give him some sign. Any damn sign—hell, he’d settle for that blinking thing—and he’d pick it up from there and run with it.

  “Again, I own the place.” A fact that kept slipping by people for some reason.

  “So, the rules don’t apply to you?”

  She seemed a bit confused about the rules. Maybe a bit obsessed, as well.

  Damn, everything about this woman turned him on. Even the usually annoying shit. Maybe it was the combination of the quick mind and mouth with those slim skirts and mile long legs. The combination built the anticipation inside him until the pressure behind his zipper threatened to explode.

  He focused on the least sexy document on the planet instead—the employee manual. “I don’t have a prohibition against interoffice dating.”

  Those sexy lips twisted in a frown. “Do you want to be sued?”

  “The people who work here are grown-ups. They attend all sorts of seminars on workplace behavior.” Forest had no idea how they got on this subject, but as long as they were... “I’ve had executives date before and sneak around until their attempts at subterfuge ended up wasting time and frustrating the hell out of me.”

  “That’s very romantic of you.”

  He leaned against the doorway, ready to slam on the brakes or reach out for her. He just needed her to send up a flare so he knew which way to go. “If they want to sleep with each other, and both agree and know the terms, I’m not getting in the way.”

  At his words, a definite heat flared in her eyes. “I’d guess that’s a very unique business position.”

  “I’m not sure what that means.”

  “Just when I think I get you...” Her voice trailed off, but her steps didn’t falter. She walked until she stood right in front of him.

  A simple lift of his hands and he could touch her. Damn, he wanted to touch her. Kiss her. Lick her. Drag her to the ground. Any combination of those worked fine for him.

  Instead, he forced his mind to stay in the moment. “Yes?”

  With one last sweeping glance into the office behind him, she balanced her hand on the wall closest to his shoulder. “Fine.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Let’s stop dodging. Kiss me.”

  Sweet Jesus. The woman constantly zigged when he thought she’d zag. “Here? You’re sure?”

  “I’m a big girl, Forest. I know what I want. At this second, you kissing me is at the very top of the list.” Her other hand went to his tie, traveled from his neck in a sure line to his stomach. “But it’s just one kiss.”

  She had to be kidding. No way would that ever be enough.

  Every inch she touched caught fire beneath the surface. His muscles tightened and strained under her warm palm, begging for flesh-to-flesh contact. “That’s a start.”

  “You have my permission for a kiss.”

  Somewhere in the back of his head a warning bell rang. He barely knew this woman and she could say anything once his lips touched hers. Wanting her was one thing. Wrestling her clothes off in the middle of his office was another. The latter being the type that could cost him everything.

  But his mind and his hands moved on different schedules. One went to the small of her back and pulled her in close. The other slipped through her soft hair. With her head cradled in his palm, his mouth found hers. He skipped over the gentle hello kiss and dove right into an I-want-your-clothes-off scorcher.

  Lips pressed. Tongues touched. He couldn’t pull back or slow down and when her fingernails pinched his skin through his blazer, the heat between them exploded.

  He dragged her into his office and kicked the door closed behind them. Heavy breathing and the soft rustle of clothing shut out the late-night office noises. He pressed her back against the wall and crowded in closer. One pluck and he had her cell and dropped it on the floor, kicking it to the side with his shoe.

  The tug on his collar had him raising his head. Air rushed through him, pounding the walls of his lungs, as he waited for her to call an end. Instead, she grabbed the lapels of the jacket and pushed the material off his shoulders with the heels of her hands.

  “I want this gone.”

  Her demand sent heat roaring over his skin like a wildfire. Her hands never stopped moving as she undressed him, dropping his suit jacket to the floor. His tie came next. The silk slid and her hands followed the edge down and over his chest to the top of his pants.

  It was the sexiest striptease ever.

  Strike that, the one he planned to perform on her would be even better.

  Eve
ry caress, every touch, had his body shaking harder with the need to be inside her. He thought about the desk and his chair. He wanted to suggest his house, but they’d never make it past the elevator to the garage. Hell, he doubted his legs would carry him down the hall at this point.

  Then his mouth was back on hers. The kiss deepened as their lips traveled over each other. With each pass, every tiny groan from the back of her throat, his control slipped further until it seeped out of him.

  He had to have her.

  His fingers skimmed up the outside of her bare thighs, bringing her tight skirt with him. Bunching the material in his fist, he dragged and pulled until she shifted her hips to help him shimmy the confining material to her waist.

  The warmth of her bare skin burned through his palm as his fingertips brushed over the edge of her soft underwear. When his finger slipped under the elastic, he felt a slick wetness. Her scent pulsed around him as his heart hammered hard enough to knock him down.

  One hand squeezed her ass cheek. “Damn, woman.”

  “Yes.” She lifted her leg and wrapped it around the back of his knee and digging the heel into the top of his calf.

  The move opened her to his touch. He didn’t hesitate. His finger slipped inside her as her breath hiccupped against his throat. She was tight and wet and two seconds away from having those panties ripped right off her.

  His mouth found the sexy spot right under her ear and his finger continued to pump and prime her body for him. “Tell me you want this.”

  “Yes.” As if the word weren’t enough, she rotated her hips, rubbing her lower body over his pounding erection.

  He would have sworn or begged for mercy, but he couldn’t find the breath to make a sound other than a moan. He settled for taking her hand and pressing the back against the wall next to her head. She kept it there as he trailed a finger down her throat to her breast. One hand cupped and squeezed. The other continued the insistent pumping inside of her.

  For this he wanted total surrender, her body open and ready. His fingertip danced around her opening, then dipped inside again. He plunged and retreated, enjoying the buck of her hips as she pressed deeper against him as if seeking his hand.

  “Forest, do it now.” She unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and kissed the skin she unveiled there.

  The passion he sensed inside her exploded. Her tongue licked his skin. Hot breath blew over his chest. Hands and mouth and her body sliding against his.

  He needed to taste her. With his knees bent, he hit the floor, ready to suck and taste her until her body went wild. He dipped his head, inhaling the warm heat and licking her wetness off his fingers. But he wanted more.

  The roar of the vacuum cleaner screeched through the room.

  Jordan froze. So did he. The sound and the reality of what was happening barely hit him before she started pushing at his shoulder and squirming against the wall.

  “Forest, stop.” Her whisper sounded frantic and out of control as she clenched her legs together and tugged on the edge of her skirt, trying to bring it down despite his head being right there. Never mind she trapped his finger inside her.

  He tried to sit back on his heels, but her shifting almost knocked him over. “Whoa, Jordan. Wait a second.”

  She clearly wasn’t in the mood for patience. She shoved her skirt down the rest of the way and pushed his hand away from her body. Before he’d fully regained his senses, she stepped away and placed a good five feet between them. Her body shook as she stood there and the pink on her cheeks was now a bright red.

  He hadn’t moved from his position kneeling on the floor. He reached out and snagged her cell before stumbling to his feet again.

  “Did you know they were out there?” She held a hand over her mouth and spoke in a voice so low it almost didn’t register.

  When he’d realized how ready she was for him, he’d forgotten everything, including most of his common sense. But he never meant to embarrass her. “Of course not.”

  Standing there with the top of his shirt open and his belt undone—something he didn’t even remember happening—he feared the worst. Tears. He struggled for the right words and realized he wasn’t even sure what the wrong ones were so he could avoid them.

  They were adults, for fuck’s sake. Adults had sex. It was completely normal. The stopping wasn’t. His balls would ache the rest of the night from the sudden halt.

  Winding up his anger, he’d just decided to fire anyone still in the building when he glanced at Jordan. She stood still with her hand hiding most of her face.

  Son of a bitch. Looked like he had to apologize. For what, he wasn’t quite sure. But when a woman blushed from head to foot and froze in horror, a guy had to say something calming. Anything. Probably after he rezipped his pants. Shame his bulge made that a nearly impossible task.

  He’d just decided to give her a speech about being grown-ups with needs. Reassure her all would be well despite this little scene happening in the middle of his office, when her shoulders shook. Then she doubled over.

  “Jordan?”

  Laughter bubbled up a second later.

  Not the usual reaction to getting half naked with a woman, but at least she hadn’t screamed or blamed. “Uh, you okay over there?”

  She stood back up and stuttered out a word. “Hysterical.”

  The vacuum stopped and whispered voices sounded right outside his office door. He couldn’t do anything about either of those things. He was too busy staring at the woman who a second ago he’d planned to get to know with his tongue. It was quite possible she’d lost her mind.

  Or he had.

  Another few seconds passed before she regained control and swallowed the last of her laughter. But amusement lit her face from her bright eyes to the mischief playing around her mouth.

  She snorted. “You have to laugh at this.”

  He wasn’t sure what the proper reaction was to a fit of giggling in this circumstance. “I do?”

  Stepping in front of him, she lifted her hands and rebuttoned his shirt. Her knuckles brushed against his skin and when she reached for his belt, he clenched his stomach muscles on a sharp intake of breath.

  “Care to fill me in?” He was impressed his voice sounded strong. Words spun through his brain, but he couldn’t catch them long enough to form a coherent sentence. He’d never been redressed before and the movements mixed with subtle caresses to make it oddly erotic.

  She skimmed her hands over his shoulders. “You are the boss, after all.”

  “Believe it or not, I don’t feel like I’m in charge.” He handed the cell back to her.

  “You poor thing. Derailed by the cleaning staff.” She clearly thought it was funny, because she chuckled again. “But you sure can kiss.”

  That sounded like a good thing. “Does that mean you’re going home with me?”

  “No.”

  The woman had him spinning. “Jordan—”

  “You said no meant no.”

  “That will always be the case.” When she threw him a blinding smile, he let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine, then how about dinner tomorrow?”

  After a second or two of hesitation, she nodded. “At some point tomorrow you can give me the name of the restaurant and the time, and I’ll meet you there.”

  “What kind of date is that?”

  “A woman can’t be too careful.”

  He’d just seen that phrase somewhere. “Dinner it is.”

  She patted his chest and placed a chaste kiss on his chin. “Good night, Forest.”

  “I’ll drive you home.”

  “Not happening.” She was gone before he could figure out why she thought the night had to end for them.

  * * *

  THE FRONT DOOR to Jordan’s apartment opened and Elle rushed in. She ha
d her hair in a ponytail and her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of something. She scrambled over to the couch and sat next to Jordan. “What’s going on? What’s with the late-night SOS?”

  Jordan managed to get changed and scrub the makeup off her face. Now she sat in oversize boxers and a tank top with the remote in her hand. At some point she’d be able to concentrate to turn the television on.

  Elle snapped her fingers in front of Jordan’s face. “Hey, there.”

  “I screwed up tonight.”

  Elle slumped back against the sofa cushions. “Oh my God, you had sex with him.”

  “So close.” Part of Jordan hated how close they came. The other part hated that they only got close and didn’t do the deed.

  Forest had her spinning and stumbling and generally acting as if she didn’t have two brain cells to rub together. When he kissed her, she got smacked with a shot of dizziness. His finger slid inside her and she had to fight the urge to climb all over him. And that mouth...that deserved a page on the Need to Know Hall of Fame. The site didn’t have one of those, but she now wanted to add one.

  “What does ‘close’ mean in the context of sex? Like, did he miss, not find the hole.” Elle held the mug to her mouth. “And I hope that last part is wrong, because Forest looks like he’d know his way around a woman’s body. If that’s not true, I give up.”

  Jordan tried very hard not to think about holes. “Hands up skirt. Finger, mouth, but no more.”

  “Ah, the critical lack of penetration.” Elle made a face. “He knew how, right?”

  Talk about a blunt conversation. Jordan was used to it. Sharing love-life information didn’t make her squirm. Despite her other failures, her mom made it clear there was nothing wrong with sex so long as it was safe and consensual. It was the healthy message that went along with all the men rotating in and out of her life.

  “He did, but that’s not the point. He’s the exact wrong guy for me.”

  “Nope.”

  Jordan flipped the remote in her hands. “Elle, I’m serious.”

  “Hold that thought.” Elle put the mug on the coffee table and went to the desk.

  “What are you doing?”