“So, happy hour tonight?” Jake was looking at the clock.
Grace followed his line of sight. It was a little after two. Three whole hours before she would see Sean. God, she was acting like a lovesick teen. Before she knew it, she would be setting up a Facebook page just so she could say Grace Hawthorne is “in a relationship.” Her boys would love that.
“She’s not going to happy hour. She’s rushing somewhere to see that big bruiser she’s screwing six ways to Sunday.” Adam’s elegantly arched eyebrow dared her to say otherwise.
She wasn’t going to lie. She might be discreet with someone else, but she’d gotten close to these guys over the last several weeks. They had become her confidants. “He’s not a bruiser. He’s my Viking.”
Adam laughed long and hard. It was a husky sound that did strange things to her insides. Now that she was having sex again, she had it on the brain constantly. Sometimes, when Adam and Jake looked at her today, she almost thought they were sizing her up, and not in a purely aesthetic way. She was crazy, of course. Sean Johansson was turning her brain to sexual mush. Adam pulled her out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug, though his hands were awfully close to her backside. He was all muscle under his designer suit, and he smelled clean and crisp. She could appreciate Adam Miles, but she longed for Sean.
“A Viking? I love the analogy, sweetheart. Tell me something. Did he plunder your goodies last night?”
“He’s going to plunder yours if you don’t watch it.” Jake was shaking his head at his boyfriend’s antics. It struck Grace that they seemed intensely bonded for two people who had only gotten together a couple of weeks ago. She had noticed it earlier. They had a whole silent subtext going on between them as though they communicated on a different level.
Before she had a chance to reply, Matt’s door opened. He stuck his head out. His eyes were red, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in a day or two. “Grace, if you’re back from lunch, I’d like to talk to you.”
Grace said goodbye to her friends and walked into Matt’s office. He wore his weariness like a wrinkled suit. Though she had pulled back from him in the last week, she still felt a tug at her heart when she looked at him. For years he’d been her friend, and now he seemed a little lost. Grace didn’t think for one second that Matt’s offer the other night had been serious. He was just that guy who never noticed something until someone else had it. The minute Sean was gone, Matt would go back to taking her for granted and being her friendly boss. It was the way Grace preferred it, but for now there was a tension to their every encounter. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head as though to purge himself of thoughts. “Nothing’s wrong. As a matter of fact, it looks like we’re going to get a big contract. I think I finally nailed down the Bryson Building’s janitorial services.”
“Seriously?” Grace let herself smile. Matt had been fighting for that contract for months. “That’s good news.”
She was happy for Matt, though she wouldn’t have done any business at all with that particular building. It was one of the biggest buildings in downtown Fort Worth, and it housed the largest natural gas development company in Texas. Grace knew the building well. She’d dropped off a signed petition there not three weeks before.
He nodded, and his lips curled up, though the smile didn’t touch his face. He was too busy gathering up his things. He picked up his cell and wallet and shoved both into his laptop bag. “I’m going to head home for the day. Maybe celebrate a little. Can you handle things here?”
“Of course.” She hoped beyond hope that he didn’t celebrate too hard. Sean would be pissed if she got a call at three in the morning. “Where’s the contract? I’ll type it up and get it out to the manager over at the Bryson Building.”
He stopped, his face a perfect blank for a second. “Oh, it’s not quite ready. I’ll just work out the language I want to use and type it up myself.”
“What?”
“I can type, Grace.”
“No you can’t.” He was awful. He could barely text without screwing it up. He never typed his own contracts.
Matt drew himself up to his full height, his eyes going slightly hard. “Don’t worry about it. I have it handled. I did function before I met you, Grace, and I’ll be fine after you’re gone.”
Grace was startled by that statement. What was that supposed to mean? “I didn’t know I was going anywhere.”
Matt’s eyes refused to meet hers. He stared at some space on the wall behind her. “You think I don’t know you’re seeing that asshole? You think I missed the glow on your face this morning or that giggling you did with Kayla? Tell me you didn’t spend last night with him. You can’t. If he has half a brain, he’ll take you with him when he leaves.”
Grace sighed. “He’s not taking me with him, Matt. We’ve just started to see each other, and he’s made it plain that he’ll be going back to Chicago in a week or so. It’s just a fling.”
Matt relaxed slightly. His eyes finally found hers. She was surprised at the depth of relief she found there. “I hope so. I would hate to lose you.”
“I’m not going anywhere, so why don’t you let me do my job?” She was interested in seeing the contract. At the last meeting she had sat in on, the manager of the building was asking for deep discounts, so deep it would make the job financially untenable. She wondered what sort of magic Matt had worked.
He clutched his briefcase. “I’ll get it to you tomorrow. That will be soon enough. Hold down the fort. And Grace, start planning a party for Friday. I want the whole office to celebrate. Someplace nice, okay?”
“Friday? I can’t plan anything big for Friday,” she sputtered. Parties took time. Parties took planning.
“You’ll do it, Grace, or I’ll have someone else do it.” He practically ran out of the office.
Grace stared at the door for a moment. It wasn’t like Matt to offer to do work himself that she could do. He was a lazy man, and he genuinely enjoyed doling out work to other people. His status as the boss was very near and dear to his heart. Grace’s curiosity was getting the better of her. She looked at Matt’s neat desk. It was neat mostly because Grace kept all the paperwork perfectly organized, and Matt asked for what he needed. That was the way they had worked for the last six years. What was different this time? She thought about the contract. It was for janitorial services.
Evan Parnell would be the liaison.
With only a second’s hesitation, Grace opened the top drawer of Matt’s desk. She pulled out the first pencil she could find and gently brushed it across the notepad he had left behind. Luckily, Matt never did anything half way. She could easily read what he had written from the impression on the pad. Grace felt her eyebrows come together.
2201 Mount Dale Ave.
The same address that Evan Parnell had written down earlier today. What the hell was at that address? Maybe it was time she took a little side trip.
“So when the boss is away, will the secretary play?”
Grace gasped and flushed as though she’d been caught doing something bad. She opened the drawer and placed the notepad inside Matt’s desk. Playing it cool, she straightened the rest of the desk as she looked up at the man. “Nope. Doing my regular ritual of making sure my boss can see his desk through the usual mess.”
Sean was standing in the doorframe. He looked deliciously casual in tight jeans, a black T-shirt, and cowboy boots. Even from across the room she could see the sensual look in his eyes. He shut the door. Sean walked straight up to her and towered over her, leaving not an inch of personal space between them.
“Hey, I thought you were cooking.” She knew she sounded breathless, but that was because he wasn’t leaving her room to breathe. He looked slightly predatory as he leaned over. There was no mistaking the sexual tension he was exuding. Sean Johansson was hungry…for her.
“It’s simmering. It’s perfectly fine. It’s a dish that requires all afternoon to prepare. I thought I would come he
re to see if I could get you to sneak away with me for your afternoon coffee break, but it looks like you already went out.”
The bags. He must have seen her bags. Oh, it was hard to think when his mouth was hovering so close to hers. She could feel the warmth of his body. She wouldn’t need a blanket when Sean was in her bed. His big body was a furnace. He was leaning over her, looking at her with his intensely blue eyes, and everything inside her was heating up to match him. How could he affect her like this? He made her forget everything. “I just went shopping with the boys.”
His eyes narrowed, and his voice became a low growl. “Boys? I was unaware your sons were in town.”
She shook her head. She backed up, seeking the tiniest bit of space. Unfortunately, she backed straight into the desk. Sean’s hands cupped her hips, tightening to let her know he required an answer. “They aren’t. I was with some friends from the office. They helped me pick out some new outfits.”
A little smile curled his lips. “Did you feel a need to look pretty, Grace? If that was the problem, baby, you shouldn’t be putting on clothes, you should be taking them off.” His hands were pulling up the sides of her skirt, caressing the skin he uncovered. They felt so strong on her skin, Grace found herself hopping up onto Matt’s desk, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I think that’s how you look best.”
She gave him a bright smile. “I’m glad, but Adam thinks I look best in greens and blues. He says I should wear jewel tones.”
Sean’s hands dropped from their long, provocative exploration of her thighs to rest on his hips. He looked down at her. “Adam?”
“Yes, Adam, from sales. You met him at O’Hagen’s a couple of days ago. If you don’t like him then you better get used to him, because he’s my friend. He’s my friend, and so is his boyfriend, Jake.” She placed special emphasis on the word boyfriend to let Sean know he had no reason to be jealous. Just the fact that he was a little bit jealous made her heart rate speed up. She let her hands find the sides of his face, stroking him. “So don’t get upset when I shop with them. Besides, if I took you, I bet you wouldn’t help me out in the dressing room the way Adam does. You would probably spend the whole time wondering when we could go home.”
His mouth dropped open. His face became a mask of masculine outrage. “He was with you in the dressing room?”
Grace reached out to pat him soothingly. It was no big deal. It was just Adam. If the room had been big enough, she would have invited Jake in, too. “I needed help with the zippers.”
“That better be all he helped you with.” Sean’s teeth were clenched.
Grace laughed. “Silly, what else would he help me with? I told you he’s gay. He’s much more interested in the way my clothes fit than anything I have underneath them.”
Sean muttered something under his breath that Grace didn’t quite catch, though it sounded a bit violent. He took a deep breath, and his face was gentler when he moved forward into her arms. “Listen, little one, I don’t care if he’s never touched a woman in his life. I don’t want him touching mine. Indulge me. I have a possessive nature. Feel free to shop with Adam all you like, but he’s not allowed in the dressing room with you. Hell, we can go on a double date with the boys if it makes you happy, but this naked body is for me and me alone.”
God, when he talked like that he sounded like he was interested in much more than a week-long fling. She was setting herself up to get hurt, but she couldn’t help it. She would rather know. “Sean, you sound serious.”
“When did I ever say I wasn’t?” He smiled slightly and tipped her head up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. He let it dangle in his hand. Grace stared for a moment at the small, gold heart falling from a gold chain. “Do you understand what this means?”
She kind of thought she did, but she’d rather hear it from him. “A present?”
“It’s more than that. If I was taking you to a club, I would put a collar around your neck to let the others know that you belong to me. This isn’t a traditional collar, but you can wear it during the day. It’s a symbol that you accept me as your Dom. Grace, will you wear this?”
It was the almost hesitant way he asked the question that sent her heart reeling. He wasn’t a Dom in that moment, just a man who was a little scared he was going to be rejected. Grace gave him her most brilliant smile and held her hair up so he could put it on. Sean worked the clasp, and the heart fell against Grace’s skin just below her neck. She brought her hand up to touch it. “I love it.”
And she was starting to love him.
Now the Dom was back. He looked down at her with a wholly-satisfied smile. “It looks good on you. So, no more intimate shopping trips with other men.”
She knew a dictate when she heard it. And, if she thought about it, she wouldn’t be comfortable with another woman helping Sean into his pants whether she liked men or not. Grace decided to bow to this rule, though he was already breaking his “I only dominate in the bedroom” speech. It didn’t surprise her. He was an overwhelming man. She relished the challenge. “Fine. Adam doesn’t come into the dressing room with me.”
“Good, then we can move on to the more interesting portion of the visit.” His tone went dark and deep. “Show me your breasts, Grace.”
She swallowed hard. “What?”
He took a step back, and his eyes went hard and icy. He really didn’t like to repeat himself. “I said show me your breasts. They belong to me. I want to see them.”
Grace looked back to the door, wondering who would walk in. Normally Matt’s office was off limits, but then she was also usually sitting outside acting as a gatekeeper. Anyone could walk in. Her heart sped up.
“I’m waiting, and I won’t ask again.”
Grace’s hands went to the buttons of her blouse when she saw Sean checking out the office chair. She knew exactly what he was thinking. He was wondering how it would work as a place to spank her. She decided it would be infinitely more dignified to be caught showing him her breasts than with her bare ass in the air. Of course, she could always walk away. The little gold heart was pressed against her throat, a reminder of everything building between them. She didn’t pause, but kept unbuttoning the blouse. She was never going to walk away as long as he still wanted her.
Sean watched her with hooded eyes. His tongue came out to moisten his lips when Grace finally undid the last button and worked the front clasp of her bra open. Her breasts bounced free from their constraints. She knew they weren’t as perky as they used to be. They were forty years old and had fed two children, but when Sean looked at her like a hungry lion, she couldn’t help but feel sexy.
He stared at her for a long moment, the caress of his eyes almost palpable on her flesh. Her nipples tightened in response, and she thrust her chest out so he didn’t miss an inch. The waiting was almost unbearable. She wanted his hands on her, his mouth covering her flesh.
“You are gorgeous, little one.” His big hand came out to cup a breast, molding it and squeezing gently. Grace sighed, utterly content at the contact.
Sean stood in front of her and took both breasts in his hands. He pushed them together and then held them apart. He played with her nipples, pinching them between his thumbs. He had them hard and rigid and ready when he pushed the right one up and bent over. Grace’s head fell back as his hot mouth closed over her nipple. Her legs moved restlessly up and down his sides as he sucked. He licked and played with the breast as though he was a boy fascinated with a new toy. He didn’t miss an inch, licking around the areola and finally nipping the brown and pink nipple between his teeth.
“Tonight, I’m putting these gorgeous tits in clamps. They’ll jiggle while you ride me. I like to watch your breasts bounce.”
The image made Grace’s pussy clench in anticipation while Sean feasted on the other breast.
After giving her left breast the full treatment, his lips worked up her neck pausing briefly to kiss the small heart that now marked her as his. He reached her m
outh, and his tongue plunged in, allowing not a moment for retreat. He pulled her into his erection, grinding that big cock against her, only his slacks and her skirt between them.
Grace pushed against him. She was so ready to take him. She no longer cared who walked in or where they were. She only cared that he not stop until he’d given her what she needed.
“Turn around.” Sean’s command was a harsh whip as he pulled away from her. He was working the fly of his jeans.
Grace did as he asked. She got off the desk and turned, bracing herself against the wood. She heard a small crinkling and knew Sean had come prepared. He pushed her skirt up.
“I don’t think we’ll need these, little one.” He pushed her panties off her hips and down her legs. She obediently stepped out of them, and he set them to the side. His hands caressed her bare ass, then moved lower. He ran his finger down to her cunt and played in the juices he found there. He slid his fingers around, parting her labia. “You are so wet for me. Tell me, do you want me?”
“God, yes.” She was going to die if he didn’t take her soon.
“What do you want me to do to you?” His fingers teased around her clit, rubbing tantalizingly and then scurrying away. Grace moved, trying to get his fingers back. His hands moved from her cunt to her breasts. He pinched a nipple hard, the pain rushing into sensual pleasure in an instant. “I asked a question, Grace. What do you want me to do to you?”
She gave him the only honest answer she had. “Fuck me, Sir. Please fuck me.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely, sub.” He gripped her hips and shoved his rock hard cock straight up her pussy.
The force of the thrust nearly rocked her off her feet. Grace held onto the desk as Sean fucked her. She heard him grunt behind her and wished there was a mirror. She loved watching his face contort as he approached orgasm. He pounded into her, holding back nothing. Sean wasn’t careful or gentle, and as he had given her no instructions to be still, she matched him. Grace pushed back against him, clamping down on his cock as Sean tunneled in and pulled out. This was what she had missed all day. She had missed the feeling of Sean moving inside her, possessing her. She had missed the connection of his skin against hers.
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