by Sam Crescent
Screw the rules.
Fuck what everyone might say.
Ivan wanted her and he would have her.
She was everything he’d ever hoped he could have in a partner.
Smart.
Fiery.
Determined.
She gave as good as she got, didn’t put up with shit, and was sexy as sin.
And despite her telling him this was a one-time thing, he could see the way she stared at him, the hope, longing in her gaze, as if she wanted to tell him she didn’t want this to end.
Same as him.
He stopped by the window and watched as the snow continued to fall, draping a blanket of white all across the city.
He saw red taillights for as far as the eye could see, accidents, and police and ambulance cruisers trying to get to the pile up. It was a shit storm out there, and despite the lack of heat and lighting, Ivan wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.
Chapter 10
Snuggled back under the blanket, Delaney thought about Ivan, about what he’d said to her. She knew what loneliness was like but had never for a second imagined he understood that feeling. He wouldn’t let her go with him to check the weather. She couldn’t believe that she was stuck in her office building with Ivan.
Of all the lame-ass things to end up doing.
She pushed some hair out of her eyes and saw the light coming from the hallway.
“It’s just me, Delaney. Fuck it is cold.”
“How is it looking?” she asked, sitting up.
He put the light down. She couldn’t believe they even had a flash light but it was there as proof.
Their only source of light until the power came back on.
“It’s not looking good. The snow is coming down thick and fast. I think we’re going to need to go to a couple of different levels, see if we can find some more blankets,” he said.
The blankets they had found so far weren’t enough. They were going to get ill if they didn’t go hunting.
“The elevators are still out. We’re going to have to take the stairs,” she said, climbing out from the blanket. The moment she did, the cold hit her hard.
Whatever warmth the building had, it was gone.
“We’re not going alone.” He took her hand. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She smiled and was charmed that he didn’t want her to get hurt.
His hand was so much larger then hers. She tried not to think of his hands running up and down her body, but she had loved the way he touched her.
It was a big mistake, huge.
One she wanted to repeat again, even though they’d promised each other just this once.
Would it be so wrong to do it again?
Ivan took the lead and she had no problem following him as they walked to the stairwell. There was no heating in the stairwell at any time so it was like walking through ice.
They got to one of the upper floors to start searching.
Releasing his hand, she started looking in drawers and cupboards for anything that could help keep them warm.
“Oh, wow,” she said.
“What is it?”
“Not much. Only, I don’t want to have a clue who this desk belongs to because it contains lube and a dildo.”
Ivan laughed. “Want me to tell you?”
“Hell, no. I don’t want to know. After all this I’ve still got to work here and there’s not going to be any real chance of that if I’m seeing a guy or a girl with a cock up their ass.”
“Good point. You think it’d make them squirm so they’d have to wriggle it around.”
“I don’t even want to think about it,” she said, closing the drawer. “Do you think we’ll even find anything?”
“We found blankets and a flashlight. You never know what people are hiding. Besides, I’m totally bringing this up at the next business meeting,” he said.
“What?”
“We’re the only two people in the building but this could have easily happened with everyone here. Now, with more than two people, they would have helped with the heat, but provisions? There is nothing here. I want to work for a company that is prepared for just about anything.”
“You know, that makes so much sense.”
“Don’t go stealing my ideas, honey,” he said.
She burst out laughing. “Please, I’m not going to be stealing your ideas. Even if they’re good ones. I’ll shock everyone at the meeting anyway.”
“How will you do that?” he asked.
“Completely agreeing with you. To be honest, the fact we’re going through this right now, I don’t imagine anyone going up against your ideas. They’re solid.”
“Yep, of course they are. That’s because they’re mine. Bingo.”
“You found something?” she asked, walking over to him.
“Yep, look at this.”
She walked over and he’d found a supply closest. It had things for decorating, painting and blankets used for spillages.
“We can’t be picky at a time like this.”
So with their bounty, they made their way back down to their part of the office.
They pulled the blankets over them and with each one, Delaney hoped it would keep them warm. The weather didn’t look any better, in fact it looked worse, and without any heating, they needed all the warmth they could get.
“It must have been left over when they painted the stairwell,” she said.
“Yeah.”
Once they were done, they both climbed beneath them.
Ivan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He kissed the top of her head and she closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his hold on her.
“I can’t wait to see the look in their eyes when you tell the board you agree with me.”
She laughed. “You know they’re going to be shocked.”
“Yes.” He held her a little tighter and she felt safe, warm, comforted. “I was thinking about something.”
“What?”
“The promotion.”
She groaned. “Let’s not talk about that. I don’t want to even think about work right now.”
“How do you feel about working together?”
“Together?”
“There’s nothing in the rule books that states they can’t promote two people. We’re both damn good at what we do, and they would be fools not to keep us around.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. “You’d be willing to share a promotion with me?”
“I’m sharing my warmth. I don’t hate you, Delaney.”
“I don’t hate you either.”
“See, we’re making really good progress tonight. What do you think?”
She licked her dry lips.
“How about we discuss this in the morning?”
“The morning?”
“When we’re not so cold and can think.”
“You’re expecting me to change my mind?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know what to think.”
“I’m not going to change my mind but I’ll do what you want.” He kissed the top of her head and she felt an answering stir of heat within her body. She didn’t want him to stop kissing her, not ever.
Don’t want things you can’t have, Delaney.
Chapter 11
Delaney slowly opened her eyes, realizing she’d fallen asleep. She was pressed tightly against Ivan’s body, and despite the fact her face was chilled, it wasn’t as cold as she’d assumed it should have been for not having had heat all night.
But despite all that, Delaney only felt warmth.
Looking out the window, she could see the sun starting to rise over the skyscrapers. Damn, they had slept this whole time?
She looked over her shoulder and saw Ivan still sleeping, his short dark hair slightly disheveled. Even with his guard off, he was attractive, strong and powerful.
She slipped out of bed and realized it was warmer than it had been last night. Was the heat b
ack on? Walking over to the thermostat, she saw that it was indeed on.
Delaney rubbed her hands together to warm them. She moved toward the window and stared at the city. The snow must have stopped falling sometime after they fell asleep, because it seemed like traffic and city life was back to normal.
The traffic.
The bustle of people up and down the sidewalks.
The street vendors.
The angry chaos that always went with city life.
Just then, she heard shuffling behind her. She was throwing her clothes on in a matter of seconds. Looking over her shoulder, Delaney saw Ivan sitting up in the bed, his focus on her.
“Get dressed,” she whispered. “Someone is out there.”
He smirked, but stood and started dressing as well. She stared at him and he gave her this sleepy, lopsided smirk, and she felt her heart start to race, her body reacting to being in his presence instantly.
She smiled in return.
Once they were dressed, he held out his hand and she found herself walking toward him, letting him wrap his hands around her waist and pull her down onto the mattress.
He kissed her soundly, deeply. Nothing else mattered in that moment aside from the two of them, alone, the room starting to get hotter.
And then she heard voices, ones pretty damn close. Snapping her eyes open, she pulled back, seeing shadows on the other side of the window, the blinds drawn so she couldn’t make out who was there.
She stood quickly just as her office door opened. And there stood a security officer and the janitorial staff, looking between her and Ivan, and then back at her again. She felt her cheeks heat, knew they were probably red.
There was no doubt they knew what was going on, or what had happened.
“Morning, Miss,” the security officer said. He looked at Ivan and her again, but she kept her focus straight ahead. “We were notified of employees possibly stuck in the building. With the power out and the lines down, we didn’t get the message until a little while ago.” As she looked between them, she saw the smirk on his face. “Maybe we didn’t need to worry after all.”
She narrowed her eyes and felt her cheeks get even hotter. God, what had she done?
Ivan ran a hand over the foggy mirror, leaning against the sink and staring at his reflection. He had a towel wrapped around his lower half, his hair damp, the steam from his recent shower filling his bathroom.
It had only been a few days since he’d left the office, since they’d been “rescued.”
What he wanted to do was go to Delaney, to tell her that what they’d shared hadn’t been a one-night thing. He wanted to tell her that she was his, that he didn’t care about what others said, didn’t care about any rules.
But she’d hardly said anything once the security officer had arrived. She’d seemed flustered, nervous as she gathered her things. She’d only given him one last smile before she stepped out the front doors and got a taxi.
And he’d stood there, watching as she drove away, wanting to chase after her.
Normally he’d work the weekends, but Ivan forced himself to not go back to the office even though he knew he’d see Delaney.
She was always there, a true workaholic.
And he was living in hell not seeing Delaney.
All he wanted was go to her, to hold her, kiss her, tell her how perfect they were for each other. It was like that one night had changed everything for him, had made him realize what he’d been missing in life.
Tell her that he wasn’t giving her up without a fight.
But Delaney was strong-willed, stubborn even. If she thought things would get weird, be ruined, she’d pull back and slam a wall down around herself.
She’d block him out and he sure as fuck couldn’t handle that.
He’d fallen for her a long time ago, but when they’d been trapped together the other night, he’d felt something shift in him. He felt, for the first time in his fucking life, that things were right.
Things were how they were supposed to be.
As he stared at himself in the mirror, he knew what he had to do ... tell Delaney that they belonged together.
Chapter 12
Delaney stirred the spoon in her mug of cocoa and tried not to burst into tears. They’d been rescued and, if she were being totally honest, she hated that they’d come to them so quickly, so efficiently.
That night with Ivan in the office had been the best night’s sleep of her life, not to mention that being in Ivan’s arms had made her feel safe, protected, warm.
All the right feelings for a cold winter’s day.
Was Ivan thinking of her right now?
Did he miss her?
Of course not.
He had other women to look forward to, right? She wasn’t anything special.
“Oh, screw this. I’m not going to spend all of Christmas thinking about him and what he’s doing. I’m better than that.”
She hadn’t picked up a piece of work since getting out of the office building. The snowfall had been a freak scare for several employees, but she and Ivan were the only two who had stayed so late.
“Stop thinking about work. It’s Christmas and all I’ve got to do is stay in front of the television and eat. That’s all I’m going to do. Eat, eat, and eat.”
She nodded at herself and made her way to the sofa with her mug of cocoa and a can of whipped cream.
Forgoing the cup, she squirted some of the cream into her mouth. In the new year she’d consider a diet but for now, not happening. There was nothing wrong with indulging.
As she took a sip of her cocoa, she couldn’t help but think about the way he touched her as he made love to her. The sweet touch of his lips, the drive of his cock as he filled her.
So much she loved about being with him.
Biting her lip, she tried not to think about how good he’d felt inside her.
It wouldn’t help her to remember.
Someone knocked on her apartment door and she whimpered. If she ignored it, maybe they’d leave her alone.
She snuggled back into her sofa and let out a breath.
She’d have to go back to work in the new year when they would be deciding who was getting the promotion.
Did she even care about a promotion anymore?
Yes, she did care but if Ivan got it, she didn’t truly think she’d be as upset as she’d once thought.
“I’m clearly losing my mind, completely.”
The knock sounded again. This time more insistent.
Growing frustrated, she put her mug and cream down, and headed to the door.
One check through her peep hole and she saw it was Ivan.
He was at her door.
“Come on, Delaney. I know you’re in there and you’re not getting rid of me. Come on. Open up. I want to talk to you.”
She opened the door, not thinking about the fact she was wearing her candy cane pajamas and looking so not sexy at all.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He looked her up and down. “I never thought candy canes could look so sexy.”
One smoldering look from him and her body turned to mush.
He stepped into her apartment and she didn’t fight him as he closed the door behind him. She loved how he stepped toward her and when she hit the wall, he trapped her against it.
“What are you doing?”
“I didn’t want you to walk away from me. Do you know how hard it was to let you go?”
“How did you know where I lived?” she asked.
“A couple of phone calls, that’s all it takes. You don’t have a problem with that, do you, babe?”
“What’s happening here, Ivan?”
“I know you felt it while we were trapped together.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. His thumb stroked over her lip and she moaned, whimpering as he pressed inside her mouth. “You think I’m going to spend Christmas on my own, especially knowing how good you felt wrapped around my cock?”
> He slid his hand down to her neck and she cried out as he cupped her breast. He stroked over her nipple and her eyes closed as pleasure rushed through her body.
“We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I know about the office rules. We shouldn’t be in a relationship but here’s the thing, Delaney, I don’t like to follow the rules. I never have. I find them boring, tedious, and right now, the only thing I care about is having your lips wrapped around my cock, or even better, your pussy on my dick. I want you and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of what I want.”
He opened the buttons on her pajama top and she couldn’t think.
“You need to stop doing that,” she said.
“Why? We both know you want it. I know I want it.” His lips touched her neck and he didn’t stop there. As he opened her pajama shirt, he kissed down her body, taking one nipple into his mouth and then the other. “Do you have any idea how often I’ve fantasied about doing this to you, baby? How I’ve wanted you spread out on my desk, ready and ripe for the taking. My own little Christmas present to myself. You’re mine, Delaney.”
He picked her up, and she kissed him back as he carried her to her bedroom. It certainly beat drowning her sorrows in whipped cream and cocoa.
Chapter 13
Delaney fell back on the mattress and closed her eyes, a content sigh leaving her. She was completely spent, her body covered in a light sheen of sweat. Ivan collapsed next to her, breathing harshly, his big, muscular body radiating heat, sexually exhausted just like she was.
Opening her eyes and looking over at him, she couldn’t help the silly grin that spread across her face. He already watched her, a smile on his lips as well.
“How was that for bringing you some holiday cheer?” He lifted an eyebrow and she couldn’t help but start laughing.
Shaking her head and looking back at the ceiling, she thought about how everything had transpired, and where she was at now. Who would’ve thought she’d be lying in bed next to Ivan, the man she’d loathed but had secretly wanted for far too long?
It was funny how things transpired.