“I thought I was supposed to date around,” she said. “Isn’t that what you do when you get divorced?”
“I wouldn’t be stupid enough to get married in the first place,” Elena said. “But I think you should do whatever the hell you want. As a single lady, you’re in control of your destiny. If you want to sleep with this guy again, then do it. If you want to fall head over heels in love with him, I would personally advise against it, but you can do that, too.”
“I won’t be doing that.” She glanced at the meeting invite sitting innocently on her screen. “But I do want to see him again.”
A delicious thrill ran through her at the thought of repeating their first night. Why shouldn’t she have a little fun with him? No one would find out so long as they were careful to cover their tracks. And she was highly motivated to keep it a secret, as he probably would be as well. No harm, no foul, right?
And she’d make it clear that she didn’t want any commitment from him. That way there wouldn’t be any messy feelings involved, and she could enjoy it for what it was: two people indulging in a mutual attraction in private.
Nothing more.
Chapter Ten
The elevator took forever to climb to the tenth floor. Emmaline tapped her foot against the tile; she’d found the turquoise heels from their date hiding under her desk from where she’d kicked them off last week. Swapping them with her boring beige pumps had instantly sexed-up the conservative black dress she’d chosen that morning.
“All for a good cause,” she said to her reflection in the silver elevator doors.
A second later they slid open and she stepped into the quiet office. It was already late, and the sun had dipped low on the horizon. Ten minutes before she’d originally been due to meet Parker, his assistant had called and asked if they could push the meeting back another hour. Apparently, she wasn’t the only person who wanted a piece of the CEO, though she doubted that they wanted the exact same piece she did.
Stifling a giggle, she walked as steadily as she could in the stilt-like shoes. Mercy waved her through to Parker’s office where she caught him facing the window, his sharp figure outlined by an incredible Melbourne sunset.
“Sorry we had to push this back,” he said, turning around. “I appreciate you staying late.”
He said it as though she was about to get her blood pressure checked. Perhaps he wouldn’t see her advance coming. She closed the door behind her and drew a deep, calming breath. What if he’d lost interest after she’d turned him down last week?
“No problem.” She hovered in the doorway.
Parker leaned forward and pressed the button on his intercom. “Mercy? I’ll be in here with Miss Greene for the next hour at least. No need for you and the team to stay.”
There was something wolf-like in the way Parker ordered the office to be emptied. Something predatory and hungry. It made the sweet spot between her legs ache for him.
“Have a good night,” he said, his finger releasing the intercom button.
Mercy’s response came through the speaker, and the bang of drawers closing sounded on the other side of the wall a moment later. Parker stood statue-still as the women’s voices faded. They were alone.
Emmaline swallowed, her pulse fluttering with anticipation. “That was kind of you to send them all home.”
“Kind?” His lips lifted, a wicked smile appearing and sending her mind into a spin. “It was downright selfish.”
“Selfish?”
“How else am I going to tempt you into making bad decisions unless we’re alone?” His voice was husky, teasing.
Well, that answered her question from earlier. “Didn’t I say that I wasn’t interested?”
His confidence annoyed her. Never mind that his words were whipping her into a frenzy. How was it possible that the one thing she kept telling herself to avoid was the very thing that got her heart racing like a thoroughbred? His assumptions should have been a turnoff.
But they were the total opposite.
“You did.” His hands came to the silk knotted at his neck. “But then you walked into my office wearing those shoes.”
Emmaline shifted her weight. “I like pretty shoes.”
“I like them, too.” He pulled the tie loose.
The deep crimson silk gleamed. He didn’t wear fancily decorated ties like a lot of other men in the office—this wasn’t an accessory that chased trends, that sought to be head of the fashion pack. Like Parker, there was an elegance and power in its lack of bells and whistles.
“What if I didn’t wear them for you?” Her mouth was suddenly dry as thunderclouds passed over his face, but the urge to bait him tugged at her. She would never have spoken to her ex like this, would never have needled at him to chase her, to hunt her. “I might have a hot date after we finish up.”
Satisfaction coiled inside her as he stalked across the office, tie in hand. Two could play at his game.
“You won’t have a date,” he said.
“And why is that?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest. She wanted him, there was no doubt about that, but that didn’t mean she’d let him push her around and tell her what she could and couldn’t do.
No one controls you anymore.
“Because you won’t be able to walk properly after we’re finished.” He was in front of her, trapping her between his broad chest and the expensive office door. She couldn’t take her eyes off the tie, that red—so rich and bold, like blood. “You’re not leaving this office until your knees have given out.”
“Then how will I leave if I can’t walk?” she asked tartly, because that was the only way she could respond without melting at his feet.
“I’ll throw you over my shoulder if I have to.”
There was something seriously wrong with her. This caveman talk should have fired off every warning signal in her body. It should have made her recoil, reconsider her desires. It should have made her want to kick off those ridiculous heels and run out of his office as fast as she could.
But it didn’t.
The way he spoke so forwardly, so blatantly, made her quiver with excitement. If he touched her now, he’d find her drenched and ready.
“You’re bossy, aren’t you?” Her voice totally gave away how aroused she was…traitorous thing.
“Bossy?” A low chuckle rumbled from within him. “It’s been a while since someone called me that.”
She shrugged. “To your face, anyway.”
“Do you know what I like about you, Emmaline?” His gaze swept over her, lighting a path of fire down her neck, between her breasts to her sex.
“No idea.”
“You might look like the sweetest person that ever walked the earth, and yet you don’t take any shit.”
The compliment kindled in her chest. No one had ever said they liked her for a reason like that, probably because up until this point she did take other people’s shit. She absorbed every thinly veiled insult, every piece of criticism masquerading as a compliment, every bit of pressure, expectation, and demand. And people had ladled them all freely onto her for her whole life.
But not anymore.
“That means I can walk out of here right now, no hard feelings.” She tilted her face up to his. “Right?”
“Go on, then,” he said, staring her down as she remained rooted to the spot. The seconds stretched out, the silence heavy with tension around them. “I thought so.”
“What are you doing?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Remember that thing I said about you not leaving until your knees had given out?” He lifted the tie up and placed it over her eyes, reaching around to knot it gently behind her head. “You can leave when I’ve had my fill.”
Her breath hitched as her heart tried to punch its way out of her chest. For a moment, there was nothing. No sound, no scent, nothing but the blackness behind her closed eyelids. God, she wanted this so much. She wanted him.
“Then hurry up,” she said, feeling bo
lder and braver in her safe, sightless cocoon. “I haven’t got all night.”
His warm breath skated over her cheek as his lips brushed her ear. “You’ll stay here until I’ve given you what you want. What you crave.”
His lips met hers, gentle at first but then as she opened to him, he thrust his tongue into her mouth and kissed her senseless. His hand was at her thighs, easing them apart. Sagging, her palms flattened against the wood, fingers splayed wide as if that would save her from dissolving under his kiss. His thumb traced slow circles over her inner thigh, inching higher and higher.
“You’ll stay here until I’m satisfied you’ve come hard enough,” he whispered.
“Yes, boss.”
Was it her imagination or did a tremor run through him? His hand stilled momentarily before retracting. She whimpered at the loss of his touch.
“See what you do to me, Emmaline?” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to him. The hard ridge of his cock filled her palm through the thin wool suit pants. “I’ve been hard as a fucking rock for days because of you.”
“You have?” she breathed.
“All I can think about is how good you tasted that night, how sweet your pussy looked when you teased me by not wearing any underwear. Do you know how much restraint it took when I found you in that morning tea, not to drop to my knees and eat you out in front of the whole room.”
Her fingers contracted, squeezing him so suddenly that he jerked in her grip. Her whole body pulsed with excitement. The second he touched her she’d go off like a rocket. “Parker, please.”
“Please what?”
“Please touch me.” Her knees wobbled. Dammit, she was already where he wanted her, and he’d barely done a thing.
“No sassy comeback this time?” His lips brushed her jaw, peppering kisses down her neck as his hands slid down over her hips.
The material of her dress bunched at her waist, his fingertips dancing over the edge of her lacy underwear. “I’ve got nothing.”
The second his breath flared over her now-naked thigh, her head lolled against the door. With the tie blindfolding her, every other sense was heightened. Each touch intensified. The whisper of his hands over her skin was deafening in the otherwise quiet room.
“Are you ready for me?” Electric jolts of excitement barreled through her as his fingertip snuck under the elastic of her panties. His touch was merely a graze over her skin. A light sweep that was designed to hold her in a state of prolonged anticipation. “Oh yes, you are.”
He dragged the elastic aside until his lips pressed a chaste kiss to her heated skin. Cool air brushed over her, a contrast to the burning fire raging inside. A fire that could only be contained by him, by the promise he was making with his touch.
“You’re so wet.” His tongue nudged her clit and she gasped. “Have you been thinking about me?”
Her palms slid over the door, searching for something to grab onto. “Yes.”
“Tell me.” He worked her over in a delicious pattern: kiss, lick, a swipe of his finger. Over and over until she circled her hips against him. “Tell me what you were thinking about.”
“Please, Parker.” She shook her head. “I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.” He drew her clit between his lips and sucked for a second before letting her go and making her want to scream in frustration. “I want to know what made you so wet.”
“You,” she breathed.
“Tell. Me.” He suckled her again for a brief moment. “Or I’ll draw this out longer than you can handle.”
“I thought about how good you made me feel.” Her cheeks filled with molten heat. God, she sucked at dirty talk. Just as the embarrassment was enough to make her pull away, he lapped at her with a focus that stole the breath from her lungs.
“More.”
“I, uh…” The words fell into a soft moan. “The way you touched me. Down there.”
Tension coiled low and tight in her belly. Parker could do things with his mouth that she never thought possible, he made her feel things she never thought possible. Stars danced behind her closed lids.
“Where, Emmaline?”
“Between my legs.”
He pressed a fingertip to her entrance, circling slowly. “Here?”
“Yes.” Her lungs felt like they were ready to burst. “Yes, there. Please, more.”
He didn’t hold back then. His lips came down to her clit, and his finger slid deep inside her until she rocked against him with total abandon. It was incredible how he knew what she liked, how he could read her body like a book. Pleasure flared like a match when he hooked his finger inside her, and it was all over. She was falling, tumbling into her orgasm. Gasping, her fingers gripping his hair. Chanting his name.
Parker, Parker, Parker…
…
Shit. His plans to proposition Emmaline and convince her to come home with him had been blown sky high the second she walked in wearing those goddamn high heels. Instinctively, he had known that she’d worn them for him.
For this.
Control had slipped through his fingers like water, and he’d had her blindfolded with his hand between her legs before he knew what was happening. But she felt so good. Who could possibly blame him for finding the best taste on earth and wanting to go back for seconds?
You need to take this somewhere else. Now.
He stood, being sure to steady her with one hand. Running his thumb gently over the red tie across her eyes, he kissed the corner of her mouth. A soft hum escaped her lips.
“How are those knees feeling?” he asked.
“Weak,” she said, her lips curving into a smile. “Wobbly. You may have to throw me over your shoulder after all.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he growled.
“I think I want to.”
He resisted the urge to bring her hand back to his cock. If he did that, whatever resolve he’d mustered up to not fuck her into oblivion in his office would shatter instantly. They needed to move this party to his place.
“We can continue the temptation somewhere else.” He slipped the blindfold from her eyes.
“Can we?” she teased. “Only if you say so.”
“You don’t like it when I take charge?”
Women had told him before that he was too demanding in bed. Not forceful, per se, because he could be gentle when the occasion called for it. He could take it slow, though it wasn’t his preferred speed. But he liked to set the tone. It made his pleasure so much more intense when he was in the driver’s seat.
Emmaline tilted her head. “Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it.”
“Sounded like you were enjoying it a moment ago.”
Her hands curled in his shirt. “I was.”
“Come on.” He pulled her close for a searing kiss. “Let’s go. You can chastise me for being bossy when we’re done.”
“Promise?” She grinned.
“You have my word.”
A minute later he was thanking his lucky stars that Arthur had hated being out among the staff so much that he’d had a private elevator installed. The last thing Parker needed was for anyone to see him with Emmaline, especially when her lips were puffy from his kiss and her cheeks were flushed in that way that only a climax could create.
“This feels a little too Batman for me,” she said, as they stepped out of the elevator into the private section of the building’s garage.
“Batman?”
Parker’s white Audi R8—a gift from Ian when he launched the luxury vehicle arm of the Wentworth Group—sat parked next to two empty spots. Both Ian and Sydney had already left for the day, it seemed. Good. No doubt they would notice him leaving with a woman, and he needed to keep this under wraps.
“The secret elevator and garage.” Her gaze swept over the enclosed space. “I had no idea they existed. Makes me wonder what else you’re hiding.”
“How about one hell of a hard-on?”
Her lips curled up wickedly. “You’re not hiding that.�
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Damn. If he’d been a less conscientious guy, he would have pushed her down onto her knees and let her taste him right there. But there were security cameras all over the place, and he wasn’t about to share her with anyone.
“I was thinking more along the lines of a secret tunnel or room,” she said, her sexy heels clicking against the concrete floor.
“If I had a secret room, do you think we’d be wasting time going to my place?” He hit the remote on the car and the lights flashed.
“I guess not.”
They got into the car and exited the building. Parker forced himself to keep his eyes on the road instead of on the way Emmaline’s long legs looked against the black leather of the seat.
“I feel like I should tell you that I don’t do this often,” she said. “Or at all, really.”
“Do what?”
“Go home with men for the purpose of…sex.” She tugged at the hem of her dress, her eyes cast downward.
“I appreciate the honesty but don’t feel like you have to justify anything to me. I’m not about to judge you. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and all that.”
Her head bobbed and a curtain of blond hair blocked her face. “It’s more so you know that I’m not too experienced at this whole casual sex and orgasms thing.”
A laugh bubbled up in his throat, but he held it back because he didn’t want to make her feel self-conscious. “You say sex and orgasms like they’re two separate things.”
“Well, they are.”
They pulled up at a red light and waited while the traffic streamed past in the opposite direction. “How so?”
“I’ve had lots of sex…all with the same person.” She cleared her throat. “But I’d never…well, not until you.”
“You’d never…?” They inched forward with the traffic.
“Orgasmed. Not with a partner, anyway.”
He almost choked. How was that possible? Emmaline was so wonderfully responsive. Her body reacted to him so honestly, openly. Clearly her ex hadn’t put much effort in.
“Really?” he asked.
“Not once with my ex.” She sighed. “But now I see what all the fuss is about. It’s certainly more fun as a two-player game.”
Taken by the CEO (The Scandalous Wentworths) Page 9