Can’t Touch

by Wylder, Penny

  No. I don’t think that it can be. But the butterflies in my stomach still have me wondering. Is this…infatuation and craving normal for someone like me? Someone who’s avoided all of this and now is being given everything that they’ve dreamed of? Because this is real life. People don’t fall head over heels in love in a couple of days and then happily spend the rest of their lives together. That’s not a thing.

  So…then the question remains. Is this a thing that’s going to end up hurting me?

  Maybe. I have to admit that. But does that also mean that I should pull back and end it before it starts?

  Pain in my chest is the immediate response. No. I can’t imagine that. There’s something too strong drawing us together for me not to see what it is. And in that same deep place where I know that Kris is the one I want to show me all these new things, I know that any pain that might come from this will be worth it, and I won’t regret it in the slightest.

  That’s all I can ask for right now.

  “Meynard,” the CEO calls. “Let’s hear it.”

  My uncle gets up from his chair and strides to the front of the room. I already know what he’s going to say. It’s about as much as he’s shared with me about the project. I keep my eyes on him, because he’ll notice if I’m not paying attention. After this afternoon? I need to stay on his good side.

  But that doesn’t keep me from being distracted when Kris shifts our joined hands under the table. Slowly, so that no one will notice the position of our arms. He moves my hand over onto his thigh. Higher. Higher. Until his hand, woven with my hand, is hovering right over his cock.

  I’m not sure when my breath became so shallow. I’m still looking at the front of the room, but all my attention is under the table. What is he going to do?

  Kris lowers my hand, and for a second I’m confused, and think I ran into a piece of the table or the arm of the chair. Nope. This is not furniture. His cock is just that hard. Even through his suit. I think it’s harder than it was in the cafeteria. Or at the very least, my fingers getting up close and personal with it make it feel that way.

  And then, slowly, he drags my fingers up and down the length of it. If I look back at him, I know that I’ll find nothing on his face but the mask of utter boredom. All the while helping me jerk himself off. The tease.

  At the same time, all the heat I can feel through the fabric of his suit seems to sink through my skin and into my body. The thought of getting him off? Of him helping me get him off while he’s made me agree not to? God, that’s so fucking hot.

  “Chianna.”

  I blink, and find my uncle staring at me. Glaring at me. “Yes?”

  His jaw tightens. “The files, please.”

  Scrambling to my feet and hoping that no one saw where my hand came from, I grab the small stack of folders in front of me and pass them to the CEO, President, and Vice Presidents. My face is so red that it’s hot. From embarrassment and arousal. I’m going to kill Kris when I get him alone. And then I’m going to bring him back and let him do whatever the fuck he wants.

  “Still pawning off your work on interns, Meynard?” Kris says lightly. “You see anyone else here bring someone to carry five files?”

  There’s light laughter through the room, and the tension eases. Without even mentioning my name, Kris took the focus off me and the inattention that he caused and put it back on Meynard for being a prick. Even if it’s all his fault to begin with, I’m grateful for the small gesture.

  On the way back to my seat, I give him a small smile in thanks.

  His whisper brushes the back of my neck. “I like seeing you smile like that.”

  I press my lips together to hide my smile. My uncle is already seething. I can’t do anything to make it worse. But any doubts about whether or not I want to do this have entirely evaporated.

  This time, when his fingers graze the skin of my thigh, I let them. I lean my leg into the touch and breathe, trying to show him without words that yes, I want more. Yes, I’m grateful for the rescue. And yes, I want him.

  Meynard finishes his little speech, and despite my little interruption, the higher-ups seem pleased with what he’s said. But I still see a glimmer of amusement as the CEO glances towards Kris and me. “Excellent work, Meynard. Kris, show us what you’ve got.”

  My uncle storms back to his chair and sits with far more force than is necessary. “You’re dismissed,” he snarls. His voice is loud enough to carry to the whole room and feels like a bucket of ice water. But I won’t let them see me sweat.

  I get up and move easily to the exit, all the while feeling a pair of scalding hot eyes on my body. It’s only at the door that I turn back at the last second. Kris is staring at me like he could fuck me right here with just his eyes. I’m sure that he could.

  Slipping out of the conference room, I lock eyes with him one more time before he starts speaking, and smile. He’s got this. I don’t know anything about the contents of his proposal, but I’m rooting for him.

  When I get back to my desk there’s a smile on my face. Very soon, I plan on no longer being a virgin. And for the first time in what feels like forever, that thought excites me like nothing else.

  As soon as my uncle leaves town? All bets are off. And not even Kris is going to see it coming.

  9

  Kris

  Another sleepy, sweaty night lands me in the gym the next morning. Unfortunately, Chianna doesn’t join me there. By the time I get to the office I’m dying to see if she kept her word.

  I’m sure she did. My little virgin is braver than she thinks she is. Especially after yesterday.

  When the meeting let out, I dodged Meynard and his glares and tried to find her, but she’d already gone home for the night. Strange to think that I don’t have her number and my mouth has already been between her legs. The thought makes me chuckle.

  I could have looked it up in the employee database, but I’d rather her give it to me. Besides…if I called her and had her come over last night, then I wouldn’t be able to see if she’s nearly writhing in anticipation today.

  Today it’s clear that she’s not avoiding me. I’ve barely been in the office ten minutes when she rushes by my office, clearly in a hurry to get something. But she still locks eyes with me and there’s a tiny smile playing on her lips.

  I don’t have a chance to call her into my office she’s so quick. Maybe I could have managed it—if her outfit hadn’t nearly put me on the floor. A skirt that’s barely long enough to be office appropriate combined with those tights that every guy fantasizes about. Shiny black heels high enough to say fuck me and a crisp, silky white shirt that I want to make dirty. Both literally and figuratively.

  Hell, I don’t even need to talk to her to know how she’s feeling right now. She looks like a pin-up girl. A statement to me—and only me—that she wants more. That’s an outfit that wants more. My mind is suddenly filled with visions of her on my bed in nothing but those stockings and heels. Long, gorgeous legs thrown over my shoulders while I fuck her senseless.

  I need to get her the hell out of here. Soon.

  The next time I see her, she’s coming down the hall at a slower pace. And this time I don’t allow myself the pleasure of distraction while looking at her. I get up and immediately go to the door of my office. “Ms. Brack?”

  She startles. I don’t think that I’ve ever called her that before, and I like the way she looks at me now.

  “Yes, Mr. Canterbar?”

  “Can I see you in my office for a second?”

  She smiles. “Sure.”

  I shut the glass door behind her, and as she passes I get caught in a whirling cloud of sweet perfume. Jasmine and orange. Spicy. All it does is spike my hunger for her.

  “An interesting outfit to wear to the office,” I say.

  “I thought so.” Chianna places her hands on the back of one of my chairs and leans into it just enough to draw my gaze south to that skirt.

  I grin. “Whatever you had for breakf
ast is certainly working for you.” There’s a subtle confidence around her that I haven’t seen before. A sudden comfort in her skin.

  “What I had was breakfast alone,” she says. “My uncle left town for a few days this morning.”

  That freezes me, and I lift an eyebrow in question. “If that’s the case, then you and I can afford to be a little less careful?”

  Chianna nods. “He’s left me with a long list of things to do, and there will be hell to pay if I don’t finish them, but yes.”

  I practically roll my eyes. “The idea that you wouldn’t be able to finish everything that he throws at you is ridiculous.”

  There’s a sparkle in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. “The list is already done.”

  “Really?”

  She nods. “Really. Why do you think I was moving so fast this morning?”

  “If you have three days…why so fast?”

  Chianna shrugs, but her eyes tell me there’s more to it. “To show him that I can. And if there’s anyone else here that actually wants to teach me something instead of having me make copies, then I’ll take advantage.”

  “He has no idea what he has with you.”

  “No.” She straightens and crosses her arms. “He doesn’t.”

  I glance at the clock. “Can I take you to lunch? Since your schedule seems to be miraculously free?”

  There’s that blush that I love so much. “I’d like that.”

  “Then let’s get the hell out of here.”

  * * *

  One of my favorite places for lunch is a little Italian place down the street from the office. It’s a hole in the wall, been there for a thousand years even as Manhattan built up around it kind of place. And in my opinion, you won’t find any better Italian food in the city.

  But even the best Italian food in the world doesn’t compare to sitting across from Chianna like this. In the open, not worrying about prying eyes or work competition.

  “I’m surprised that Meynard gave you the internship in the first place,” I say. “He’s such a tight-ass I would assume that nepotism is beneath him.”

  Chianna rolls her eyes. “I’m surprised that he did too, but I think he felt bad for me. Or maybe he wants to try to use me as leverage when it comes to hiring. I honestly have no idea. But in six months it won’t matter.”

  I frown. “Why six months? And why won’t it matter?”

  “Because in six months I turn twenty-one,” she says, a delicious pink staining her cheeks that’s a mixture of the wine she’s drinking and the fact that she’s telling me her age.

  “And you’re not bothered by the difference?”

  “In our ages?” She drags her eyes down my chest and I sweat that they land on my cock even though the table is between us. “No, I’m not.”

  “Good,” I say. She already told me that she’d done research on all the executives at the company, so she knows my age. Thirty-Seven. “So, what happens when you turn twenty-one?”

  “My trust is released to me, and I don’t have to play by his rules anymore. And maybe he feels bad because he’s never really been that much of a stand-in as a parental figure. But that might be giving him too much credit.”

  My stomach drops. “Your parents are gone?”

  “Yeah.” For a second, she looks down and I’m afraid that I’ve stepped on a landmine. The loss of your parents never really goes away, no matter when it happens. “My dad was never around in the first place, and my mom passed when I was seventeen. Cancer.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. She was just as much of a tech junkie as Meynard. And she did well. Patents. That kind of thing. All of that money was put in a trust, and Meynard is the executor. He used the money to pay for me to stay where we lived and finish high school. And then drew out money for college.

  “I’ve been doing a few things here and there, trying to figure out what I really want to do, when he offered me the internship. I like Core Tech. I always have, so I said yes.”

  “Have you figured out what you want to do?”

  “Not fully. I know I want it to be in this field, so I’m hoping over the next few months I can shadow people at the company. Maybe in R&D. See if there’s anything that sparks my interest.”

  I nod slowly, pushing down the sudden excitement about the idea. “And what has your uncle told you about all these new proposals?”

  “Nothing much. He hides it from me like it’s the key to heaven or something.”

  Chuckling, I finish the last of my drink. “Core Tech is expanding into Europe. The person whose proposal is chosen will be the new VP of that division.”

  “Oh shit.” It slips out of her and then she covers her mouth. “Sorry. I just didn’t realize that it was that huge.”

  “Yeah. And if you haven’t gathered, everyone basically assumes that will either be Meynard or me.”

  She nods. “That, I got.”

  “Thought you might. You don’t miss much.” I watch her smirk. “Honestly, I think your innocence has been because someone else has been holding the leash on your life.”

  “I wanted to focus on school and work instead of relationships. Didn’t want to be derailed.”

  Leaning forward, I lock eyes with her. “I think that’s what you tell yourself. I think that you’ve been holding yourself back because you knew deep down that you wouldn’t be able to do whatever the hell you wanted and that you had to wait. There’s no fucking way that you would have lasted this long otherwise.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you almost let me finger fuck you in the middle of the Core Tech cafeteria. And eat you out in a gym. You let me tell you not to come just because I wanted to.” She blushes. “You, Chianna Brack, are a horny freak, just like me.”

  “No, I’m—” her voice cuts off mid-sentence like she can’t fully get the lie out. Picking up her glass, Chianna downs the rest of her wine in three swallows. Swallows that have me thinking about other, entirely different things to swallow. The glass hits the table with a thudding finality. “You might be right.”

  “I know I am.”

  “Want to help me find out?”

  I stare at her, gauging if she’s serious. There’s nothing about her that looks like she’s remotely kidding. “Right now?”

  “Right now.”

  Standing up from my chair, I signal the waiter with one hand. He comes over. “Bill me, please.” I come here enough that they know I pay my bills and allow me to keep a tab. Which at the moment I’m fucking grateful for.

  I pull Chianna up and out of the chair, covering her mouth with mine in one movement. She tastes like wine and that crisp sweetness. “Let’s go.”

  Her laugh fills the air with joy, and I wish that our apartments were a hell of a lot closer than they are.

  10

  Chianna

  This is it. This is the moment that I’ve been waiting for. I’m losing my virginity, and I have absolutely zero regrets about how or with whom. That’s all that I can ask for.

  We can’t keep our hands off each other in the back of the car. It’s all I can do to give in and start moaning the way that Kris keeps kissing my neck and stroking his thumbs down my sides and over my nipples. He’s barely holding himself back too.

  If he had his way, I’d already be naked. His hands have already wandered up under my skirt, and he’s pulled the neck of my shirt as far as it will go trying to access my skin.

  I fucking love it.

  We can’t get home fast enough. I want to be in his bed and not in this car. My entire body is pulsing with need, especially after being denied for more than a day. But I can already tell that he was right. It’s going to make it so much better and for my first time, that’s exactly what I want.

  Desperate, fiery passion.

  Something that will overcome the pain fast.

  Kris doesn’t let go of my hand as we walk to the elevator. I practically expect him to strip me as soon as the doors close, but he doe
sn’t. Not even once he opens the door to his apartment and ushers me inside. I know that everything is lurking under the surface, ready to be unleashed, but he’s calm.

  “Do you want a drink?”

  “No.” I had enough wine with lunch that I’m loose and brave. And not remotely drunk. One more drink might put me in that direction though.

  Kris takes my hand again and guides me through the apartment. It’s a similar layout to my uncle’s, though everything is sharper. Cleaner. It reflects him. I’ll have to check it out more thoroughly after.

  The master bedroom is a marvel, with a gorgeous dark bed in the center of the space paired with an amazing view of the city. I smirk at him. “I can’t think of a better place for you to defile me.”

  He turns me toward him, serious. “I want to make sure that you’re sure.”

  I stare up at him. “We raced back here to do this.”

  “I know. And the minute you say yes, I’m going to strip you down and worship you until you forget that you ever were a virgin.” Blood heats under my skin at the words. “But I also know that this isn’t a thing that people take lightly. So, I want to know that you’re sure.”

  My heart is pounding in my chest. Of course there are some nerves. How could there not be? But I can’t imagine anything but this. Can’t imagine anyone but him. “I’m sure. I want this, Kris. And I want it with you.”

  His mouth slams down on mine, and this is different. This isn’t kissing in a cab or teasing me in a gym. This is total domination and pleasure. Kris’s hand curls around the back of my neck, holding me closer so he can ravage my mouth. He’s stealing all the air out of my lungs and in this moment, I’m happy to let him.

  “Someday,” he says. “I’m going to fuck you while you’re wearing those stockings and heels. But for your first time? I want you naked.”

  I shiver and step out of the heels. He’s so much taller than me without them. It just reminds me of just how big he is. Muscles, height, and from what I’ve already felt, cock.