Occupational Hazard: The Ultimate Workplace Romance Box Set

by Eve Langlais

“You dealt beautifully. Look at you now, so successful, smart and damn sexy.” His voice dropped a bit and he pushed a leg between hers, opening her so he could moving his stroking fingers from her arm, to her hips and then down between her thighs.

  She sucked in a breath when his fingertips brushed against her sensitive clit. There was no more talking. His fingers invaded her, slowly plumbing the depths of her throbbing pussy and she arched into him, letting him guide her without restraints until she crashed into another orgasm.

  Chapter Six

  Selene stretched, raising her arms above her head and flexing the muscles in her back and legs. She brought a fist down to rub her eyes and jumped as a trail of yellow plastic brushed across her skin. The afternoon came back in a flash. She’d let Tom tie her up. She’d let him take her while she was practically helpless. And she’d loved it. She licked her lips and stared at the plastic on her wrist. He must have cut it open before he left, but he hadn’t bothered to remove all of it.

  She was alone in his bed.

  She clutched the covers. Everything smelled of Tom and of sex. Dammit. She would have willingly done anything he’d asked of her today. And would probably do the same when he came back. She swallowed. This wasn’t good, not good at all. How was she going to leave when the week was over? When he’d finished working the case?

  The minute he touched her, the minute he took control, she was done for.

  It was like his evil twin had taken over—his sexier evil twin. The good stuff was still there, she was sure of it—his sense of humor, his kindness. But now he seemed free, relaxed in his bad cop persona. He was having a great time, but it was scaring the hell out of her. She was in serious trouble this time. She’d almost fallen in love with him before. Now…

  Now she’d even talked about her parents.

  She pushed out of the bed and threw off the covers. The silence in the apartment and a quick glance at his clock told her he’d already left for his appointment with Steeves. She walked through the door and out the hallway to the bathroom. A quick shower later and her mood was no better.

  There was no telling when he’d be back. She wasn’t sitting here like some sort of love slave. What had made her think she should go running to him with her troubles anyway? She zipped up the back of her dress and with one quick fluff of her hair, she strode out the door. Her office had the answers. Somewhere, in all that paperwork, she would find the proof to get rid of this investigation on her own.

  Then she wouldn’t need to stay with Tom. Or give in to her desire. She could be in control again.

  Sitting in the taxi, headed toward her office, she suddenly wondered when being in control had become so important.

  * * *

  He had to be out of his mind. He didn’t need to meet with Detective Steeves any longer, so why the hell had he left Selene to wake up alone? Tom sat in his truck and shook his head at his own stupidity. He’d already been to the office and wasted an hour wrapping up paperwork. His buddies thought he might have finally lost it, coming in on his vacation. He didn’t have it in him to play the bad guy, the big bad cop, all the time. He wanted to go buy her flowers.

  Face it, he really wanted to go and get the ring he’d bought her a year ago and then thrown in his junk drawer after she left. But she’d probably throw it at him. What little she’d told him about her parents and how she’d grown up had explained a lot. He’d seen kids go through the foster care system. She’d adopted her bad girl persona as a way to deal.

  Hell, he should go and get the file from Steeves that he’d left in the Host office. He had to tell Selene the truth and let her decide if they were going to take things any further. The games they were playing were keeping her interested, but it wasn’t honest, and he couldn’t live like that. Keeping her in the dark was a stupid idea. She had the right to know her business was safe and not to have that worry hanging over her head. And he had a right to know if she wanted him as he really was, mostly a nice guy, with just a little bad cop thrown in.

  He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. He pulled out into traffic and headed for the airport.

  * * *

  Selene slammed the filing cabinet drawer shut. Nothing. She was back to square one, without a clue about how to dig herself out of the mess with the police. She glanced around the office, her eyes skimming past the spot where she’d played strip search with the detective. Her glance landed on Alicia’s desk, its neat surface the opposite of her own. In her inbox she had several files. Probably the only ones in the office that Selene hadn’t rifled through in the past hour.

  She wandered over to the desk and sat on the edge. For the third time in the last twenty minutes, she found herself wishing Tom were there with her. If he were, he would have helped her look through everything. Or he would have cheered her up with a kiss, or a cuddle, or some kinky sex on her desk. She smiled and picked up the top file. She’d made a mistake, a big one, in not getting to know more about Tom when they’d dated last year. If she’d know he could match her in the bedroom beyond the romantic stuff, she might have stayed a lot longer.

  Maybe a man like Tom could be a kinky lover and a romantic. Maybe he could even be trusted to stick around. After all, he had agreed to help her with the investigation after she’d treated him badly, even if it was on his own terms.

  She glanced down at the file. Might as well have a look there, too, but her twisting stomach doubted there would be anything helpful. She flipped open the file and, for a moment, stared stupidly at the contents. Her heart beat a little faster, and her stomach twisted again.

  The sound of the office door opening registered, but she didn’t glance up. She already knew who it was; the way he moved, sounded, smelled was ingrained in her memory.

  “Steeves dropped that off earlier today.”

  Selene kept her eyes on the paper.

  “I’m sorry, I should have told you—”

  “Yes, I really think you should have.” She looked up. His eyes looked as soulful and reluctant as the eyes on the old beagle she’d had as a child. The one her father had taken with him.

  “I thought that if you knew the investigation was over, you’d blow me off again.”

  She clenched her teeth. Maybe she would have.

  “I wanted us to have a week together, to really get to know each other in a different way.” He stepped closer; she didn’t have anywhere to go, sitting on the desk edge as she was. No way was she going to back off anyway.

  “You mean you wanted to screw me in a different way. You wanted to play games with me, see if you could control me in bed. And then what? Laugh at the fact you got the chance to fuck me over and then be the one to leave? Get out.”

  He looked miserable. She dropped the file on the desk and crossed her arms.

  He closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, she saw a spark of anger inside. “I am not your father. With you it’s always about control, Selene. It’s never about trust. With me you don’t have to be in charge, but you’re too afraid to see it, accept it. When you do, it might be too late.”

  Then he turned around and walked out the door.

  * * *

  “If you don’t tell me what the heck is bothering you, I’m going back to Jamaica.” Alicia glared at her from across the room. Seated at opposite desks, they normally worked along with music in the background, the room bouncing with jokes and sexual innuendoes as Selene recounted her dating adventures. But not today, or yesterday, or the two days before that since Alicia had returned from her honeymoon.

  Selene tilted her head to look at the ceiling. She was not going to explain that she missed a man. No way. That she wished he would call. That she wished she had the guts to call him. It had been two weeks since she’d kicked him out, and as far as she knew, he hadn’t tried to contact her, not even once. She’d made a mistake. Twice now.

  “So, what’s his name?”

  Selene glanced at her partner and sighed. Alicia would never leave this alon
e. “Tom Barker.”

  “The guy from last year?” Alicia seemed shocked. “The nice cop with the killer biceps?”

  “Yeah, only he’s not so nice anymore. And the chest matches the biceps now.”

  “Dear god. You’re mooning over a nice guy.”

  “If you laugh at me, you’re dead.” Selene stood up and headed for the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee. “I told you. He’s not nice. He’s…something else.”

  Alicia followed her into the kitchen. “Well, he must be something else.” She watched as Selene poured a coffee. “If he’s got you messed up bad enough that you’re going to drink coffee you just topped with salt rather than sugar, you’d better go call him.”

  Selene set the cup down in the sink with disgust. “I can’t call him. I kicked him out.”

  “Call him, stalk him, chain yourself to him. Don’t let a man who can get you, of all people, in this state get away.”

  Selene smiled. Chains. Handcuffs. Police tape. Being with Tom had really opened her eyes. Last year she’d fallen for his nice-guy routine, and now she was addicted to his bad cop sex. Hell, what did she have to lose? He hadn’t really done anything wrong. He had helped her and then he simply wanted some time with her, time she hadn’t given him a year ago. She was the one who had left the last time they’d been together, and all because she feared being left first, being left alone like her mother. But if she didn’t take a chance, what hope did she have to find someone as good as Tom? Someone who could convince her there was a chance for love?

  In truth, she was the one who had acted like her father. Leaving and not looking back. She’d figured out that she wasn’t her mom. She could survive heartbreak, even one she made herself, live alone. And now life had intervened and taught her she wasn’t her father, either. Running away, no matter what the problem was, wasn’t the answer.

  An hour later Selene stepped up to Tom’s apartment door. His shift had ended an hour ago, and his truck was parked outside. She grinned. Selene Carter was in control. She didn’t let men she was interested in slip though her fingers. Besides, she’d dressed the part. Her smile faded. All jokes aside, this was it. She was taking a chance, coming to him for no reason other than that she cared for him, wanted to be with him and hoped he wanted her, too.

  She knocked on the door. When it flung open, her heart pounded.

  “Hello, Tom.”

  He took her in, his gaze running heating her skin as it brushed over her. She smiled at the look on his face as he took in her low cut, prison-stripe, corseted dress and killer heels.

  “I need your help.”

  He took a step back into the apartment. “What do you need now, Selene? The investigation is closed; you know that.”

  She bit back a groan. He was going to make this harder than she’d hoped. The sight of his cuffs and badge still hanging on his belt brought heat rising to the surface of her cheeks. She reached out and fingered the cuffs. “I need you…Detective.”

  “For a week?”

  “Or maybe longer.”

  He stared at her, his cop’s face impassive.

  “Maybe a lot longer.” Her statement ended on a bit of a squeak as he caught her wrist and pulled her into his home. Closing the door, he caught her by the elbow. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, his warm breath tickling her neck and sending quivers down her skin. “I was hoping you’d turn yourself in.”

  She creamed, her whole body zinging to attention in a way that made her bite back a groan.

  “Of course, if you’d taken any longer I was coming to get you.” He pulled her close and kissed her, his tongue taking possession of her mouth, yet so gently her heart pounded. Finally he pulled away, waiting for her to say something.

  “I missed you.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think about them.

  He smiled, a genuine, old-Tom smile, the one that had once made her fear that words of commitment were lurking behind his lips. The idea was still scary, but this time she’d trust him. The sound of metal clicking shut brought her back to the moment. She looked down at the feel of cool metal on her wrist. Handcuffs. She grinned. Commitment didn’t seem too bad after all.

  “Oh, officer.”

  “Detective.”

  He took her other wrist and cuffed her hands together in the front. Then he lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and circled his neck with her cuffed arms. He slid her dress upward, bunching it around her hips. She could feel the thick lines of his cock through the linen of his dress pants.

  She kissed him, long and hard and deep, and he kissed her back. The cuffs were forgotten. He stumbled to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed, covering her with his hard body. He nibbled her ear and bit at her neck. She moaned. He was crushing her, and the weight of him felt so damn good.

  She wanted more, and he gave it to her. Words weren’t necessary; he yanked the front of her dress open and ravaged her soft skin, sucking and grazing his teeth across her hard nipples. In moments she was completely exposed to him, and he pulled off his belt and pants in a rush, needing her as much as she needed him.

  He fingered her clit and she called out his name. “Tom!”

  “Detective.” He gave her ass a quick pinch, and she laughed aloud.

  He took a moment to look at her, his expression full of mischief. “You wouldn’t be a bad girl, would you?”

  “Only if I get to pick between good cop and bad cop,” she quipped, teasing him and laughing at the devious look on his face.

  He parted her lips and pushed the tip of his cock inside. Slowly he drove it home and she held on tight to his shoulders as he thrust harder and deeper. He reached between them and rubbed her clit with his thumb. A surge of pleasure rocked through her.

  She trusted him to make her happy. Even if he had to lock her up to do it.

  Books by Lilly

  Discover other titles by Lilly Cain www.lillycain.com

  Bad Girls Know...No Reservations

  Alien Revealed

  Return To Me

  Pleasing Sir

  Delilah Devlin

  Copyright © August 2010, Delilah Devlin

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 978-1-458024-38-1

  This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from the author.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Chapter One

  The little red button on the telephone blinked twice. And like a dog trained to recognize the shake of its dinner bowl, Raelie Wood’s attention was arrested.

  Deep within her core, her body began the steady ascent toward full-blown arousal. A thousand butterflies settled in her stomach, madly fluttering their tiny wings. Her breaths shortened to excited little gasps and shivered through her breasts. The juncture of her thighs swelled with lush promise—a pulse thrumming there, slow but insistent.

  She’d waited two whole days for a summons. Two days while she’d quietly attended to the office duties, proving why she’d been bumped up from the floating secretarial staff to fill in for Bryce Caldwell’s executive assistant while the woman was away on her honeymoon.

  Raelie had seen to every duty on his EA’s meticulous checklist. This morning, she’d already typed the scribbled notes he’d left in her inbox the previous night when he’d finally left the office. Not that she’d seen him leave.

  Because she didn’t want to seem overeag
er, she’d left her desk at precisely five o’clock each evening. Even though she’d wanted nothing more than to stay late, strip naked, and slip into her boss’s office to show him just how diligent a secretary she could be.

  The thought of his shocked stare trailing down her nude body was a delicious one; however, she knew that wasn’t the way to get what she wanted from her no-nonsense employer. For once, she’d exercise a little subtlety.

  The light blinked again, and her gut clenched. Time to start the next stage of her campaign.

  She gathered her pad and pencil and quietly strode to his closed door. Just before she opened it, she slipped the left side strap of her bra off her shoulder from beneath her neat white sleeveless blouse. Ready now, she gripped the knob with a sweaty hand.

  Her boss sat behind his desk, his face tilted toward whatever report he scanned, but looking as yummy as ever. Remote, cool…in control. She wondered if he looked as effortlessly powerful and together when he rolled out of bed in the morning, or if he donned that cool, professional persona the same way he did his designer clothing.

  Watching the way his lips thinned into a firm, straight line as he read, she imagined that same stern look as he stood over her while she knelt with her hands clasped behind her back. A smile teased her lips. Heat pricked her nipples.

  The restraint of the last few days broke. Despite the EA’s note about him disliking meaningless chatter, her mouth opened and a breathless “How may I serve you, sir?” floated from her lips.

  Bryce forced himself not to react to the tantalizing phrase which pretty much summed up exactly what he wanted from the woman—service. A month’s worth ought to get her out of his system. A textile-free month where nothing but their sweat and his cum came between their bodies.

  From beneath his eyelashes, Bryce saw the tiny smile Miss Wood quickly suppressed and wondered what had amused her. He cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the young woman whose cheeks flushed a pretty rose as she took her seat in front of his desk.