by Parker, Ali
Stopping the kiss now would be tantamount to the spoon scraping the bottom just before I really got to the good stuff, and I loved the good stuff. There was no way I was letting an opportunity like this one pass me by.
I’d wanted Layton since the minute I laid eyes on the man if I was honest with myself. Even if it was just for tonight, it certainly looked like he wanted me too.
Done analyzing the first choice—the single scoop—I decided then and there that I wasn’t going with that option. Second choice for the win, then!
It was really rather simple, the second choice. It was abandoning myself totally to this moment, to his kiss. All in, Marissa.
Decision made, I threw caution to the wind and allowed a low moan to part my lips. “Layton.”
I wound my fingers into his hair, so much softer than I had imagined it would be. When my lips parted, a low groan fell from his just before his tongue swept into my mouth.
Passion sparked and ignited between us, scattering my thoughts so far beyond where I could reach them it was almost like they never existed at all. I wasn’t sure who moved or when, but suddenly Layton’s chest was pushed against mine. My back was against the wall, so cold and hard against the bits of skin exposed by my dress.
Layton against my front was also hard, but in contrast to the biting cold coming through the wall at my back he was warm. Hot even. His hips pinned mine to the wall, an impressively firm bulge already pressing all the way from just above my pelvic bone to my naval.
I wished it were a little lower, that it might have provided something to relieve the aching need for pressure between my thighs. But it was delicious all the same. The mere thought that I was being held against a wall in Layton’s office by such a handsome, powerful man was almost enough to push me over the edge all by itself.
To know he had gotten that hard that fast simply from kissing me—my head fell back against the wall as another moan I couldn’t hold back escaped from my throat.
“Fuck, Marissa,” he growled against my ear, nipping and kissing my jaw, my neck, my collarbone. It was like he couldn’t keep his mouth off me, his words punctuated by feverish kisses on my sensitive skin. “The sounds you make are going to drive me out of mind.”
“Let them,” I breathed, my chest heaving as I practically panted with need. Holding him to me by resting one hand on the nape of his neck, I allowed the other to trail over the lean muscles in his back. Dirty talk wasn’t really my thing, but words just came rushing out of me under his skilled touch. “They’re all for you, Layton. Every moan, every gasp is because I can’t hold them back. Let me feel what they do to you.”
Groaning loudly, he reached up to grab my hand on his neck. He brought it down roughly, his eyes wild with desire as they bore into mine. Without any shame or hesitation, he planted my hand firmly over his erection. “This is what you do to me.”
I wasn’t used to a man being so assertive in the heat of the moment. There was no fumbling, no uncertainty. Every move he made was done with no doubt or reservation, yet somehow was gentle enough to let me know I could walk away if I wanted. That he would let me go even if it killed him, or more likely, doomed him to weeks of cold showers after. It was an intoxicating combination of things to feel from him all in one moment.
“I want this inside me,” I moaned, squeezing his rock solid length over the expensive fabric separating me from his bare skin. “Please, Layton.”
For the first time since he started kissing me, he lifted his mouth from my skin for more than a split second. The look in his eyes when he met mine devoured me all the same, as if the caresses from his lips had never stopped.
“I’m going to ask you this now. Whatever your answer is, I’ll gladly accept. But I’m not asking again. Are you sure?”
I nodded, my head bouncing up and down without the need for conscious thought. I tried clawing at him, tried bringing his mouth back to mine, but he held firm. “I want your words, Marissa. No misunderstandings, no regrets.”
A growl of my own ripped from my throat, taking me by surprise. I was pretty sure I’d never made a sound so needy before. “Fuck me, Layton. Now. I’m a big girl, I want this. You don’t have to worry about me.”
I squared him with a look I hoped was as fierce and fiery as the place deep inside me where it came from. “Is that clear enough, or are there other words you want?”
A devilish grin I never would’ve expected to grace those gorgeous lips curled them upward. A sexy smirk so unlike him, yet somehow exactly him. “Those will do just fine.”
Next thing I knew, he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Who keeps their wallet with them in their own office?
The thought was so fleeting, I disregarded it completely. The answer didn’t matter. What did matter was the shiny foil packet he produced from the leather wallet and the speed with which he unsheathed the condom from its wrapper, shoved down the front of his pants and underwear and rolled the vitally important piece of rubber over his cock.
I wanted to get a look at that impressive bulge in his pants without the pants, but there was no time. He slammed his lips down back over mine, his talented hands making their way under my dress and roughly pulling my panties aside.
Those, I was glad he couldn’t see. When I dressed for work this morning, a sexy tryst was the last thing on my mind. Enter granny panties that would’ve made even Bridget Jones cringe.
His fingers parted my slick entrance, a long moan following the wetness he found there. Somehow, he managed to lift me at the same time. No easy feat, but he managed it effortlessly. He held me up with his hips and inch by delicious inch thrust into me until he was buried to the hilt.
I cried out to every deity whose name crossed my mind, wrapping my legs and arms around him like a desperate koala bear. “Fuck! Layton, yes.”
“This is going to be hard and fast,” he gritted out.
“Way ahead of you,” I mumbled, already feeling heat spreading from my core.
I’d never been taken this way before. Up against a wall, sure. But this raw, animalistic needy fucking? That was new. I freaking loved it, even if it was going to have me coming undone within minutes.
He pounded into me with an absolute, driving purpose. I surrendered to it, giving myself over to the ball of sensation rising from my most private place and spreading to everywhere else.
As predicted, I was screaming his name minutes later. “Yes, Layton. There. Right there.”
He felt fucking incredible, hitting places exactly right until I toppled right over the edge without even thinking about a parachute. He followed me over seconds later, his cock twitching deep inside me as his thrust became erratic and staccato.
My heart was barely returning to its normal rhythm when Layton stepped away and lowered me to the ground. “Well, that was unexpected.”
He turned away from me after steadying me on my feet and headed over to his desk, fiddling with pens and pencils as he tidied up. It was so sudden, it nearly gave me whiplash. The guy was still fastening his pants, for crying in a damn bucket.
I hadn’t been lying when I told him earlier he didn’t have to worry about me, though. I wanted what happened between us and as he had said, ‘no regrets.’ I had not a one, not yet anyway. I wiggled my dress back into place and moved to the door. “Unexpected, but awesome. Listen, I want you to know this won’t affect my work in any way.”
“Yeah,” he ran his hands through his hair and nodded his agreement. “Same here.”
“Good.” I forced a wobbly smile, still trembling from the after-effects of my orgasm. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
To my surprise, he stilled from his tidying and looked me right in the eye. Even more surprising, a sly grin appeared on his lips. “See you tomorrow.”
Chapter 13
Layton
Sex had never gotten in the way of my work. Not until today, anyway. Early in the morning, I called my second in command and had her handle the staff meeting. There was no real reason
for me to be there anyway.
Staff meetings were knit one, slip one to me. I attended them when I could, but I was often out in the field. Being hands on in overseeing our projects was a necessity for me, sitting in on meetings about those projects, not so much.
I met with those involved in each project personally and on a regular basis. There was no need for me to rehash those meetings with the entire staff contingent.
Usually, that was why I skipped the weekly meetings sometimes. Today, however, I was simply avoiding the office. I meant what I said to Marissa about not having any regrets, but I didn’t want things to be awkward either.
I figured we both needed a little space to process what had happened before we fucked things up between us for good. It was inevitable that I would see her around the office sooner or later, but it didn’t have to be quite so soon.
As a result, I headed for the museum site instead of the office. Though it hadn’t been long since we broke ground, the site was already starting to take shape. Foundations had been installed and scaffolding was ready to be erected when the time came.
It was a hive of activity. There were men in work boots and thick work gloves everywhere, some shouting out orders and others hurrying to obey them.
The frozen ground crunched beneath my shoes as I stepped onto the site, careful to don a safety helmet from a rack near the makeshift tarp entrance. I jammed it down on my head, pausing to appreciate the hustle around me as another one of my creations started coming to life. It was a fucking fantastic feeling, even weighed down as it was at the moment by memories of a certain employee shouting my name as I sank into her.
It wasn’t weighing me down because I hadn’t enjoyed it. On the contrary, it had been the best goddamn sex I’d had in so long I couldn’t call up a memory that could compete. It was weighing me down because it never should have happened.
No regrets, Bridges. There was no point in regretting anything I did, anything anyone did really. Crying over spilled milk and yada-yada. I released a heavy breath, watching it mist and disappear right before my very eyes. Much as my self-control did last night, not so many hours ago.
As much as I couldn’t regret it because it had been exactly what I wanted to do at the time, I sure as shit should have known better. Marissa had been intriguing to me since day one.
A pain in my ass, but a sexy one and filled with so many things that weren’t usually part of daily life that I couldn’t help but be intrigued by her. She was a burst of color, a flash of light, and a level of chaos that didn’t belong in my orderly life.
Not for the first time, I wondered what my father had been playing at when he inserted that clause into his will. Wherever it was, I was pretty sure he was having a good laugh at my expense right now. How’s that for a curve ball, son?
My jaw clenched. Had he known I wouldn’t be able to resist her, or was it a coincidence that the very same woman I hadn’t been able to keep my hands off of was the very same one he made me hire?
My father never believed in coincidences and frankly, neither did I. If I could only have ten minutes with the man, I could get it all cleared up. Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. There were no phone lines or visiting hours where he was.
I was ripped from my thoughts when a large, strong hand clenched my shoulder. “What are you doing here, boss man? Back for a visit so soon?”
Relaxing when I recognized Craig’s voice, I turned to face him. “We just had this talk the other day. Someone needs to check in on you every so often.”
Craig’s hair curled out from underneath his woolen beanie as it did every day on the job, moisture from the air clinging to his shaggy beard. He laughed, the sound still booming despite the activity around us. “You’re full of shit, you know that? What’s really going on?”
I shrugged, reaching for indifference I just didn’t feel. “I thought I’d come down, do a bit of research. I got stuck on some blueprints last night, I thought this might help to get me somewhat unstuck. Research for the next project, you know?”
His hazel eyes narrowed on mine, then he started swinging his head around as if frantically looking for something. “Where’s that buzzer I’m supposed to hit when I call bullshit? Something else is up with you, my man. I can see it, smell it, sense it—whichever of those works for you. Pick one.”
For such a big guy, he was surprisingly in touch with his instincts. I considered coming clean to him, but this wasn’t an episode of some girly rom-com. He didn’t need to hear me recapping my night with the sexy new employee any more than I needed to know all about the last girl he fucked at the gym. Or wherever it was the big man went to get his rocks off.
The sex wasn’t really what was on my mind anyway. What really was, he might actually be able to spitball possibilities with me about. I took a breath and fisted my hands in my pockets, eyes tracking on a bird about to take a shit on a delivery truck. I wondered if that bird was my dad, and if I was the delivery truck.
“Why do you think he made me hire Marissa?” I asked Craig, hoping to all that was holy he would have a better answer than my truck under the bird scenario.
A line appeared between his eyebrows before he threw his arms out to the side and shrugged. “I don’t know, man. She saved you a shit ton of money on her first time in the saddle. Maybe he just knew she was a good worker and wanted you to reap the benefits of it.”
I arched an eyebrow, watching as the bird flew away. “You think he did it to help me out because she’s a good worker?”
There was an unmistakable tone of disbelief that I hardly recognized to my words. I hated that it had come down to this, speculating over father’s intentions while freezing my balls off with a guy who hardly knew my dad.
Sucks to be me, because that was exactly what it had come down to. There was no way I could get concrete answers to these questions. Speculation was as good as it was going to get.
Craig’s shoulders rose and fell as he shook his head. “I don’t know what to tell you. It’s possible he just wanted to help you out, yeah. She really is good at what she does.”
“She is,” I agreed. There was no more doubt in my mind about that. After that first report, several more of her plans and reports had crossed my desk. Each was as good as, if not better than the last. For a chick with a passion for designing dresses, she had an uncanny knack for numbers in my industry.
Despite that fact, I also knew my father a little bit better than that. “There’s more to it than him just wanting to help me, I know there is.”
“A deeper meaning to it?” Craig questioned, tilting his head from side to side as he considered it. Eventually, he nodded. “It could be. You knew your father much better than I did, obviously. But it doesn’t seem a stretch to me that he’d want you to have his best once he was gone.”
The possibility wasn’t that far-fetched. A father wanting the best help for his son. With my father though, it just seemed too simple for me to believe that was all there was to it.
Generally speaking, I didn’t delve into the deeper meaning of things. Everything was what it was. Occam’s Razor existed for a good reason—the simplest explanation for anything was always far more likely to be the right one.
In this case though, Occam might’ve had it wrong. I was willing to make more assumptions than the simplest ones to get to an answer that may be true, even if it meant the likelihood of it being true became less with the more assumptions I had to make.
The fact was that my father had never been a simple man. Every move he made and every step he took was carefully calculated and the possible outcomes weighed against one another. In his game, one tiny oversight might very well have meant death for the pilot and whatever passengers he may have been carrying on Dad’s aircraft.
It required more forethought and a finer balancing act than any ordinary career. Though this had been in his will and had nothing to do with life or death being weighed against cost and material, it was hard to believe Marissa’s appointment was
about nothing more than wanting to help me.
I’d never asked for his help and had never taken it when it was offered. It was rather disingenuous to think he would force that help on me after he was already gone.
No. It just didn’t sit right with me. Getting a concrete answer might have been impossible, but I was going to keep speculating.
Craig watched me turning it all over in my mind, pursing his lips when he saw me reach my conclusion. “You know, you could just ask her. Maybe she knows what his real intentions were.”
Fucking Occam. Just when I thought the simplest solution couldn’t possibly be the right one, Craig came and offered me another. Simpler under the circumstances than speculation, but with its own unique set of challenges—especially given what had now transpired between us. I shook my head. “I just don’t know if that’s the right answer.”
Chapter 14
Marissa
“Have a good weekend, Sean.” I waved at the burly security guard at the front entrance. A friendly giant with dark red hair, he had eyes the color of spring grass. I wouldn’t have wanted to cross him by trying to get into a building he guarded for any nefarious purposes, but he was nice enough to me.
I was finally starting up something of a friendship with a couple of people who worked in the same office building I did. Sean was one of those people. It made me feel just a little bit more like I belonged, like I could fit in.
Lifting his hand in a wave, Sean flashed me a friendly smile that I was getting used to ending my days with. “See you on Monday, Marissa. Enjoy it.”
Returning his smile, I tightened my scarf around my neck and stepped through the revolving doors onto the icy sidewalk outside. Gusts of wind swirled around me, picking up my hair and winding it around my face.