It also, struck her that this was another shared synchronicity in both her and Ciaran’s lives. They kept popping up with increasing frequency. None of them common, but all of them capable of leaving an unseen mark, as permanent at the demons she tattooed to her arm to make hers visible.
The server chose that moment to interrupt. Something unfortunate might have happened if that had carried on much longer. The girl laid out the menus, her high ponytail bobbed as her attention bounced between the three of them. “Will this be separate tickets?”
“No, one.” Ciaran’s voice was tight.
The server carried on, either oblivious or so used to other people’s drama that she simply didn’t care. “Can I start you with a drink and an appetizer or are you ready to order.”
Briar was in favor of alcohol. “Gin and Tonic, please.”
“Water for me.” Monica’s words came out clipped. Seemed someone else was done trying to.
Ciaran gave Briar a long look, as though surprised by her order. And maybe he was, but she could handle it. She could admit that it was an acquired taste, but if there was ever a time for a stiff drink, this situation qualified.
“I’ll have what she’s having, thank you.” He gestured to Briar.
“I’ll go put those in while you take a look at the menu.”
“Were did we leave off?” The promise of alcohol coming couldn’t even make her smile now that they were alone with Monica again. “Oh I remember—our backgrounds. I don’t mind sharing since you ask. After finishing top of my class with an MBA focused on Human Resources and Communication I sat on the board of my father’s company before my family sold our share. I trust your background is something similar?”
Monica cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to freshen up.” Monica slid from her seat, taking her clutch with her. Odds are she wouldn’t come back. Ordering water and now the bathroom—it was a dead giveaway.
Closing her eyes, Briar allowed her head to fall back. “If I wasn’t here she wouldn’t have been so rude.”
His body heat was soothing her riled spirit as he leaned in, whispering in her ear, as his hand slid ever so slightly higher up her thigh. “Maybe not, but having you here brought out her true colors and made yours shine.”
“Ciaran,” Her voice came out a strained whisper. “There are people all around us.” Briar laid her hand over his to stop him from progressing further.
“What do you say I leave an obscene amount of money on the table and we leave?” Ciaran didn’t wait for an answer. He slid his billfold out and tossed a couple of bills on the table. She couldn’t say how much since her attention remained trained completely on him, and her own racing heart.
In one beat, two at most, he pulled Briar from the chair, across the restaurant and out the door, leaving Monica to her bitterness. The level of exhilaration pumping through her veins, it was like running a race and winning. Knowing she was so far ahead, the competition would never catch her. He released her hand allowing her to run slightly ahead of him, laughing. When she looked back the predatory heat in his smoldering blue gaze made her shudder with an answering fire.
Briar reached the car, and licked her dry lips as she turned to wait.
Ciaran crowded into her space, pressing her against the side of the car. “Have I told you how sexy you are when you run?”
The evidence of pressed hard against her belly, robbing her of her voice and any coherent thought she had past that.
“I saw you that first day, running up the sidewalk. When you walked into my office I was already hard thinking about trying to find you, but there you were.” Ciaran ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “You found me. I wanted you right then across my desk.”
“Holy shit.”
“Give me one reason I shouldn’t put you in the back and spread you out on these leather seats so that I can worship my way up those amazing legs.” He whispered the words into her neck and finished on a kiss.
Briar moaned, shuddering against him. His touch burned a trail down her side. Then he reached down and pulled her leg up, making her skirt ride up until her wet panties the cool fall air hit her exposed wet pantie. While his hands were busy, his tongue along the column of her neck made her almost forget how very public they were. How was she supposed to think under those circumstances when all she could do was feel—as if she were a raw nerve?
When she found her voice, it came out halt through her heaving gasp for air, as if she were running a marathon instead of making out with him. “Someone will see us.”
Ciaran nibbled on her ear lobe and her knees went weak. If he hadn’t been pressing her against the car, she’d have fallen. “Please,” She whispered.
“What do you want, Briar,” his sexy growl in her ear added to the fog of lust obscuring her judgement.
The rapidly cooling night cleared the haze. “Not here. Not like this.”
He pulled back and she laid her hand on his cheek as their eyes met. His pupils dilated with the answering lust racing through her veins, made his dark eyes appear like black jewels.
“I want you, but not out in the open like this.”
He nodded slowly as he took several shaky deep breaths.
“Are you upset with me?” Her voice came out small.
He answered with a soft kiss. “It has to be right for both of us. Why would I be mad?”
Because her ex would have been. She couldn’t say that out loud, not to Ciaran, and at least not now. Truthfully, she was a little surprised that he stopped at all. Ann’s words played through her mind as they stood there coming down off the rush, holding onto each other as if they were about to drift away on the lowering tide. The assholes really might be the good ones. How did she know so much?
His voice sounded horse as if broke through her thoughts. “Let me take you back to your car. We’ve been moving at break neck speed. I’m sure both of us could benefit from perspective and time to breathe.”
She nodded her agreement, not trusting her voice wouldn’t break in a sob.
Ciaran ran his finger under her chin, tilting her face up until she look into his eyes. Already the black was receding, making way for the rich navy underneath. “Hey, I meant what I said. We’ve known each other three days. I’m in no hurry, Speed Racer.”
She smiled at his unconventional endearment.
“There, much better.” He opened the passenger door and held it for her. Your smile is beautiful. I want to see more of it.”
She lowered herself into the car, already missing his warmth. He leaned down and gave her another soft kiss before he closed her in and came around. Yeah—Dating Whisperer thy name is Ann. She owed both her friends a coffee.
7
He signed it.” Jay cut straight to the chase, not waiting for Briar to greet him when she picked up the line. “He didn’t contest a damn thing.”
After everything, two months of waiting, having to sell everything, and he didn’t even fight her for alimony. “Now I feel like a bitch for having his car repossessed. I assume they haven’t found him yet if he was that agreeable.” She spun in her chair doing a tiny celebratory dance in her seat for ten seconds before pulling herself together. “Does that mean I’m free? It’s really done?”
“I’m on my way down to file it with the clerk of court as we speak. He had the damn thing notarized. You didn’t have children and the house was sold to clear debt. Yes. It’s done.”
Relief rushed through her faster than the lust from last night. “Thank you, so much, Jay. You’ve made my day. How soon can I file my name change?”
“I already have the papers drawn up. Just say the word.”
“Word.” It came out as more of a triumphant squeal, but judging from the laugher on the other end of the line, Jay got the point before he disconnected.
Briar hugged her now silent phone to her chest. Even though he had hung up, it was the closest she could get to hug her lawyer. Maybe she should have
a funeral for Mrs. Briar Goodall. She’d have to consult the handbook they were currently rewriting regarding changing her name to Sullivan, which would also mean telling Ciaran—an idea that took her joy level down a couple notches.
A knock sounded on the glass, as she set the phone face down on her desk. The man himself walked into her office. Ciaran shut the door and closed her blinds. She wanted to roll her eyes, and just barely suppressed the cynical need to tell him just how not suspicious that move was.
His smile was so damn sexy, it gave her strength to keep the sarcasm as bay. “You look awfully happy? Does that smile have anything to do with me?”
“Some of it might.” She pursed her lips, biting the inside of her cheek to tone it down.
“I’ll take what I can get.” He moved behind her, and swept her hair from her neck.
“Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Rand? Before someone walks into my not very private office.” There is was; the pessimist in her could only be denied for so long.
“There’s my girl.” His hands kneaded the muscles of her neck. It felt like heaven. “Must we be so formal?”
She was his girl. He said it. It might scare her if it didn’t feel so good to hear the words come from his mouth. A lazy smile spread as he hands worked their magic to relax her.
“We’re at work, so yes.” Her tone might have been chastising but considering she was rapidly becoming putting under his touch, it lacked conviction.
He tilted her head to the side, and his soft lips and unshaved scruff—were she found turned her on more than the polished version—met the sensitive column of her throat. “I think you may need to stay late today so that we can discuss today’s wardrobe choice. You are definitely out of dress code.” His voice vibrated along her skin.
“Would there be food involved in this meeting?” Her voice sounded breathy and far away, carried off by the need he was already stoking to life inside her.
“Chinese can be arranged.” His hands ran up under her blazer and she felt his smile followed by another kiss. “Strapless, Briar? This is practically lingerie.”
“Not practically.”
He groaned and stepped back. “I’ll have Jack send the meeting invite.” He walked around to the right side of the desk putting much needed distance between them. “Patience, Speed Racer. Five o’clock will be here before too long.”
She glanced down to see that he was right and smiled as he walked back out of her office with a lopsided smile that matched her own.
She's everything Ciaran never knew he wanted in a woman—just as she was. Smart and sassy, brazen as hell, but still soft. The thing that surprised him the most was how vulnerable she seemed. It took her from fantasy that he might never have wasted his time on, to real lover. She made him feel things and forget his priorities until she became one. While he’d always agreed with his father’s choices, he’d never been able to see himself making the same.
Now he was sitting here thinking about a future past this business. All because Briar made her intentions clear and then asked him to wait. Their lives had run such an odd parallel that whether they took it fast or slow, he was certain he couldn’t go wrong with her. He thought it would take weeks or at least several dates, but when she walked in for morning coffee in that skirt and a bustier under her more office appropriate blazer he knew. Her whole outfit was like waving a red cape at a bull.
“Knock, knock.” Brair slipped through the door and closed it behind her.
He sat in the dark, watching the light through blinds behind him play across her skin, drawing lines across all the places he would be kissing.
Radiance seemed to roll off her skin in the softer light of early evening. Her need to challenge him, her competitive spirit called out to him. It burned every damn time he had to pull her in his office. Alone, to discuss another dress code rule. Only this time he was going to break the rules and bend her over the desk. Right after he worshiped those legs.
Ciaran watched her saunter around the edge of the desk. He rolled his chair back to give her room for whatever she wanted. More than he needed to have her, he wanted her to be comfortable, to be okay with this. Briar could have the reigns until she was ready to hand them over.
She used the space to perch on the edge in front of him, crossing her legs at the knee so that her too short skirt rode up, exposing that her fishnets ended in a lace band at the top of her very bare thighs. A soft smile played on her lips as she twirled the black beads at her throat. She had pulled her hair into a high ponytail revealing purple streaks in her hair that he somehow missed yesterday. Or maybe they had always been there. He’d never actually seen her hair up off her neck.
Ciaran couldn’t help but smile at that very small but important detail. “Briar, you know party colors are against the rules. I’m afraid you’ll have to do something about your hair.”
“I think maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement so that I can keep it. Maybe a little quid pro quo.” Her voice was light as she leaned forward. The swell of her breasts strained against the fabric of her top.
Ciaran rolled his chair forward, and took her calf between his palms. He stroked the silky grid of lines, up the curve. He uncrossed her legs, letting the one he held rest on the desk. “I’ve been having full on fantasies about these legs for days.”
He repeated his actions with her other leg, stroking the curve. This time he raised her leg to rest on his shoulder. His hands continued stroking up the insides. He turned his head to graze his lips along the inside of her thigh.
“Ciaran,” her voice was husky and her silver gray eyes flashed with something that made him wonder if he already pushed too far.
He didn’t want to stop, but he’d meant what he told her the night before. He would stop no matter what if she needed it. “Tell me what you need.”
Briar’s lips curled into a wicked smile that sent relief and lust on a race, burning inside him. “Hurry up, there’s something I’ve been meaning to try.”
He grabbed her ass and pulled her forward, forcing her to fall back on her elbows so that she could still watch him. Her legs spread wider to accommodate him. “You’re right. I can take my time later.”
Briar bit back the tiny shriek from his sudden move as she slid forward on the desk. He had her spread wide; her skirt rucked up to her waist, exposing the black lace thong she put on for him when she dressed that morning. She hated the damn thing, but if she were going to ruin her panties in the rush to have sex, she did what any good girl would so she didn’t wreck her favorites. These she didn’t mind sacrificing to the cause.
His eyes moved across the full display, clearly hungry to touch and play, but other than pull here closer, he hadn’t made a move. “You are the hottest, damn thing I’ve ever touched.” He traced a finger up the top of her thigh.
“Are you going to keep talking or prove it?” She shouldn’t goad him, but he’d been so nice. She wanted a little more of the asshole that made her hot. She could appreciate basking in the glow of this side. She fully intended to. He could make love to her later. Right now, she wanted him to fuck her.
Ciaran’s nostrils flared and then he lowered his mouth to her sex, sucking her clit through the lace. Briar’s head lolled back as immediate pleasure rocked through her—nearly enough to make her scream as her hips bucked up. He hooked a finger at the edge of her panties and pulled them down her legs.
“Was that fast enough for you, baby.” His voice was deep with the needs he ignored for himself to meet her pleasure first.
She giggled, and then forced a sober expression as he pressed first one and then two fingers inside her aching channel. It tore an involuntary moan from her lips. The throb built inside of her like a second heartbeat. She’d been so worked up waiting that she was already about to go off like a rocket for him. With each stroke, sawing in and out of her and every circle around her clit with his thumb he drove her higher.
Briar couldn’t hold herself up to watch him work anymore. C
ouldn’t hold his gaze, staring into the ocean of his eyes as she fell headlong into something better than she’d had with anyone or anything not battery operated since—ever. When his tongue replaced his thumb on her clit, her back arched up off his desk, making her breasts spill from her top. She pushed the satin bustier down and palmed her own breasts.
His muffled moan told her he was still watching. She pulled at her nipples, sending a spark of pain to mix with her pleasure. It was exactly what she needed to go over the edge. She released her breast to cover her mouth and stifle the scream that clawed at her throat as her body became the pulse inside of her, rolling in pleasure on wider and wider waves until they slowed and stilled. Through the whole thing he didn’t stop. He waited for her to take her fill—completely unselfish.
Briar groaned as her limbs went limp. “Please tell me you’ve got a condom because I want you inside of me.
He loomed over her, trailing kisses up her stomach as he pushed the satin up from the bottom. “Can you even move?”
Instead of answering immediately, Briar rolled to her stomach under him, forcing Ciaran to back up as she slid down the desk until her heels touched the floor. She shucked the jacket she had still been wearing to the floor. The tail of her ponytail tickled her shoulder as she looked back at him. “Unhook my top.”
Ciaran did as ordered with efficiency, letting it drop to the floor, so that his hands could take over the task of rolling her nipples. Having a man be this greedy to touch her, this could become an addiction. Right now, she wanted something else.
She held his hands still with her own. “Condom, Ciaran.”
Ciaran, pulled one hand out from under hers, moving it lower, but keeping it in contact with her until he reached her sex. He released her other breast to glide his hand up her back, pushing her down so the she bent forward. Briar’s sensitized nipples pressed flat against the wood, still warm from her body heat.
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 89
