“You are. You will. Your dad worked for thirty years at the job. You’ve been doing it a week. You have to give yourself a break.”
She wrinkled her little nose. “I can’t afford to give myself a break. Everyone is watching me. Everyone is waiting for me to screw up. I feel like everything I say and do is being scrutinized.”
“It is,” I said.
“Thanks,” she said dryly.
“It’s being scrutinized but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It keeps you honest.”
She groaned, finishing off the last of her drink. “I don’t want to screw up. I hate the idea of letting him down. I’m not sure what I believe about the afterlife and all of that, but I sometimes wonder if he’s watching me. He’s watching me and shaking his head and wishing he would have left the company to Oakley.”
“I don’t think he’s upset about anything you’ve done. Like I said, I’m sure he had to go through his own learning curve.”
“I’ve been thinking about the Derek situation,” she mumbled. The alcohol was hitting her. “Can I have another?”
“What?” I asked with a shake of my head. She was switching topics pretty fast.
“A drink. Can I have another?”
“Absolutely,” I said and put up my hand. I held up my glass, then one finger. The waitress nodded. A minute later, the full drink was delivered to Cora.
“Anyway,” she started after taking another drink. “The Derek thing. God, what a mess.”
“It wasn’t so bad.”
“I shouldn’t have done that,” she said.
“No, you should have. You were in the right. I should have been more supportive. It happened so fast and you trampled my ego. It won’t happen again.”
“My dad wouldn’t have done that.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know if he would have but not because it shouldn’t have been done. Your dad was too nice sometimes. He would have had a hard time letting Derek go. That would have ended up being a detriment to the company. You made the right call.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Thank you for saying that. Truly. I have been giving it way too much thought.”
“Don’t think about it anymore.”
She held up her glass. “Another one of these and I won’t remember any of it.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Sometimes, that’s just what you need. There’s a reason people crawl into a bottle when things are tough.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” I asked, struggling to keep up with her change in topic.
“Did you crawl into a bottle?”
I stared into the liquid, remembering the day Ben died. “I did but I didn’t stay. I couldn’t. I had too much to do.”
“Because of him?” she asked softly.
I nodded. “That day… that day was rough.”
She stared into my eyes, like she was trying to see into my soul. “I cannot imagine what that was like for you. I’m so sorry. Your father is gone too, isn’t he?”
I scoffed. “My dad is one of the shining examples of what not to do. He is one of those guys that crawled into the bottle and never left.”
“After your mom died?”
I flinched. The painful memory still felt a little raw. “Yes.”
“We’re both orphans,” she stated.
“I suppose we are.”
“How sad is that? If me and you were to have kids, our kids wouldn’t have grandparents.”
My brows shot up. She was moving awful fast. “Our kids, huh?”
She waved a hand. “Not our kids, but if we did have kids.”
I nodded, knowing there was no rhyme or reason to the mind of someone who was well on her way to being drunk. “Got it. I’m sure we could rent grandparents or find honorary grandparents. Beau, for example.”
“Yes!” she said, slapping her hand on the table. “Beau would make an excellent grandpa.”
We talked a bit more about everything—and it was everything. She bounced from one topic to another like a honeybee in a flower garden. It was good to see her loosen up. I wondered why Oakley didn’t get her drunk earlier. It was what she needed to relieve all that pressure she was filled with.
After she was halfway through her third glass, I decided I should probably cut her off. I didn’t want Oakley coming in and kicking my ass for getting his sister wasted. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Oh goodness, I don’t think I should drive,” she said.
That was an understatement. “No, probably not. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Okay.”
I escorted her out of the bar, doing my best to keep her walking a straight line. Once we hit the warm summer air, she seemed to sober up a bit. She stood on the sidewalk and took several deep breaths.
“Are you good?” I asked.
“I’m good,” she said. “I have a really good buzz going and it feels so good.”
I smiled and led her to my truck. I helped her in before climbing into the driver’s seat. “Buckle up.”
“I don’t want to go home,” she blurted out.
“No?”
She shook her head. “It’s sad there. I don’t want to be in that house right now.”
I thought about it for a few seconds. “We can go to my house. I have an extra room.”
“That would be nice. Do you live alone?”
“Yes, Cora, I live alone.”
“Good, I don’t want your girlfriend getting pissed.”
It was one of the oldest tricks in the book. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
She looked at me and smiled. “Good.”
I didn’t know what that meant but there was no denying the tension in the truck. She kept looking over at me, her eyes dropping to my mouth and then to my hands.
I knew when a woman wanted sex. I supposed I could be reading into it, but damn if she wasn’t putting out some serious vibes.
I parked the truck and helped her out. While I stood at the door, trying to unlock it with hands that were suddenly not cooperating, she leaned against me. I didn’t think she was that drunk.
I pushed the door open. We made it inside before the temptation became too much for me to ignore. I stood facing her, letting her make the move.
“Rogan,” she breathed.
“Cora.”
She stepped forward, her hand going to my chest as her gaze held mine in the dim light from the hallway. I waited. My heart was pounding so fast I worried it would beat right out of my chest.
She went up on her toes and pressed her lips against mine. It was the only encouragement I needed.
I wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her against my body. She thought it was going to be a simple, gentle kiss.
I had other plans.
Chapter 18
Cora
He tasted so good. His mouth was hot and wet with just a hint of the scotch we drank earlier. His hands were hard and firm and holding me against his hard body. Never in a million years would I have imagined I would be kissed like this by a man like Rogan. I had certainly dreamed about it enough, but I never thought it would actually happen.
I moaned as I leaned against him, rubbing my very perky nipples against his hard chest. I would have time for regrets in the morning. In that moment, I wanted everything he was willing to give. Every last inch if I was lucky.
My hands reached up, moving to his hard jaw before sliding into his hair. My fingertips pressed against his scalp, pulling his face against mine.
“I want you,” he whispered against my lips.
“You have me,” I quickly answered before pushing my mouth against his once again.
He spun me around, pushing my body against the wall in the entryway. I was sandwiched between his hard body and the wall with nowhere to go. I rubbed against him, lifting my leg a little as I tried to rub the most intimate part of my body against the very hard appendage straining to be free.
His mouth slid over my jaw, trailing his tongue over m
y flesh until he was nuzzling just below my ear. I groaned, arching against him as he kissed my neck. My hands rubbed down his back, feeling the corded muscles rippling under my touch. It excited me and spurred me on.
It excited him as well, judging by the sudden increase in sucking on my neck. His hands roamed over my body, gripping my breasts before moving down to my hips. He ground his pelvis against mine, his excitement matching my own.
“Yes,” I breathed. I may as well have waved a red flag in front of a charging, snarling bull.
He jerked at the zipper on my slacks, pulling so hard the button holding my pants together popped off. I gasped, a fresh wave of ecstasy washing over me. He shoved his hand down my pants, cupping me through my panties. It was liked being seared with a hot iron. It felt too good. I was on the verge of climaxing almost immediately.
His hands slid around, cupping my ass before he pushed the slacks down. I took matters into my own hands—literally—and worked at the button on his shorts, sliding down the zipper and thrusting my hand inside. I grabbed his hard cock, squeezed, and was rewarded with a muttered curse under his breath.
He was everything I’d dreamed about. Hard, thick, and long. I was going to enjoy every second of him.
I kicked my shoes off and took over pulling my pants off with my feet while I held him firmly in my hand. His raspy breathing and shaking hands told me he was just as hot as I was. It was exactly what I needed in that moment. I needed to forget everything and just live in the moment. I needed to feel good.
“I want you,” I breathed. “Now.”
I heard him growl low in his throat before his hand pushed down my thong. I worked at his shorts and briefs, pushing them over his hips. He stepped out of them while I stepped out of mine.
“Fuck me,” he breathed, his hand running up the inside of my thigh before his fingertips brushed over my folds.
“Yes.” White-hot electricity coursed through my veins as he stroked me. I leaned my head against the wall, giving over to the ecstasy his touch created.
His finger probed at my center, gently pushing me open until he worked it inside me. I gasped, pinned to the wall with nothing more than a finger. I couldn’t move. My body was reacting in a way that surprised even me. It had been a while since I had sex, but damn.
His mouth closed over my throat, sucking the flesh between his teeth as he pushed the finger in and out, slow and steady, until I was certain I would implode.
“You are so fucking hot,” he breathed against my neck.
I couldn’t speak. I answered with a moan, one step from begging him to push inside me. I held on to the last shreds of my dignity and replied with a squeeze of his bare ass. I pulled him against me, telling him what I wanted without having to say the words.
He got it. He lifted me like I weighed nothing, my legs immediately opening for him. My back pressed against the wall while his hand worked between my legs, guiding himself to my entry. I felt the bulbous head probing and then pushing in. I flinched, sucked in a breath, and held on to his shoulders as he slid deeper inside me. My body slid down the wall, impaling me on his hard shaft.
It was glorious. It was everything I wanted and so much more. He began to move, sliding me up the wall with every thrust. “More,” I whispered. I wanted to bounce. I wanted to block out the world. I wanted hot, dirty sex. If I was in it, I was all in.
“I’ve got you,” he growled. “Shut up and let me do this.”
I pushed at his shoulder and then yanked him right back against me. His mouth opened wide, his teeth lashing at my skin. He moved, fucking me hard and fast before dropping me to my feet.
“What?” I gasped when he pulled out of me and left me feeling empty.
“I can’t do this, not like this,” he said, his voice husky.
I shook my head with confusion. He could not stop now. I was so close. In a flash, his hands were tearing at my shirt until it was over my head and on the floor. My bra was quickly added to the heap.
“That’s what I want,” he said, his eyes on my breasts.
I looked down like I had not seen the damn things a thousand times. My nipples were hard and erect, jutting out toward him. His hand reached out, grabbing my breast and holding it in his hand while his mouth closed over my nipple. I arched and shrieked at the same time. His tongue lapped over the sensitive flesh a second before he grazed his teeth over me.
My legs were shaking to the point I was certain I would crumble in a heap at his feet. “Please,” I whispered.
My hands slid down his arms, squeezing his biceps before attacking the hem of his shirt. I managed to get it up before he took over and jerked it over his head, tossing it on the floor without a care in the world.
“Turn,” he ordered.
I stumbled, my legs not cooperating. He flipped me around, taking my hands and pressing them against the wall. “Stay,” he ordered.
I nodded, my head dropping forward as he guided himself to my opening once again. He probed once before pushing inside with one long stroke. I gasped, spreading my legs and taking a step back. He hissed as I leaned forward just a little, adjusting his full length inside me. He didn’t move for several seconds. Neither did I. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Oh shit,” I breathed when my body reacted. I had no control of the orgasm. It spread through me, causing me to jerk while clamping down on him.
“Damn, woman,” he breathed, reaching around me to grab my breasts. “Like that. You were ready.”
I whimpered, moaning as the orgasm held me in its grip. He didn’t move. My body did all the work, jerking and squeezing as he stood still as a rock behind me. When things finally relaxed, my muscles unclenching, I let out a long breath.
“Now, it’s my turn,” he hissed next to my ear. “If I was you, I would hold on.”
I had nothing to hold on to. Except the wall. My fingertips gripped the wall, my body arching and pushing back as he thrust inside me again and again. Our grunts and groans were music to my ears. The sounds of our pleasure bounced around us as he moved inside me. My body was worked up into a frenzy, needing another release on the heels of the first.
Just when I thought he would finally take me, he pulled out once again. “No!” I cried out, spinning around and reaching for him.
“In here,” he growled, grabbing my hand and leading me down a hallway on legs that were shaking so badly I could barely walk.
He led me straight to the bed and pushed me down. He crawled over the top of me, sliding himself inside my already slick passage and fucked me. He fucked me like every woman should be fucked at least once in her life. I closed my eyes, running my hands up his arms that were holding his weight off of me. The muscles bulged as he pounded into my body over and over.
I opened my eyes and looked up into the face of the man I had been dreaming about almost every night for the last two months. It was surreal to finally be under him. I wanted to soak in every detail. I took in the tattoo on his bicep, barbed wire. It was hot, sexy, and a little dangerous. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him in closer.
I was going to climax again. I could feel it coming. “Rogan,” I breathed as I fell over the edge.
Ecstasy washed over me, giving me a sense of euphoria. I felt him jerk and expand before exploding inside me. His loud curse was followed by uncontrollable spasms of his hips, extending my own ecstasy. He fell on top of me. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. Both of our hearts were pounding.
I closed my eyes, the reality of what I had done sinking in. I had sex with Rogan Leal. That was a stupid, stupid thing to do. Just then, with his dick still hard inside me, I couldn’t bring myself to have too many regrets.
Those would come later.
He rolled off me and pulled me to a standing position without saying a word. I watched as he pulled back the blanket on the bed before pulling me back down. I went willingly. A little postcoital bliss was okay.
He said nothing as we lay in the dark, each
of us lost in our own thoughts. There wasn’t any cuddling. It was just two people lying in silence. I could feel the heavy weight between us and knew he was probably having many of the same regrets.
When I heard his breathing slow, I knew he had fallen asleep. I couldn’t sleep. The last thing I wanted was to stay the night with him. I lay next to him for a while longer before carefully climbing out of bed. I did not want to wake up with him.
I crept through the house, found my phone, and quickly called a cab. I dressed, doing my best not to wake him.
I had no idea what I would say to him. I was stone-cold sober and reality bitch-slapped me upside the head. I screwed up. I royally screwed up by going to bed with him. It was no way for the CEO of a company to behave.
It was going to kill my credibility and my reputation if it ever got out.
Chapter 19
Rogan
I woke up and knew I was alone. That was a bummer. I would have really enjoyed a little morning quickie.
I rubbed a hand over my face, processing what happened the night before. It was not what I expected to ever happen. I was convinced she hated me. I wasn’t even all that sure I liked her. Lust didn’t care about rules. Desire didn’t care that she was my boss.
I got up, pulled on a pair of boxers, and made my way to the kitchen to make coffee. There was a note sitting on my counter. “I called a cab to take me back to my car,” I read aloud. “Thanks for a fun night.”
I tossed it onto the counter, shaking my head as I started the Keurig.
“Thanks for a fun night,” I muttered. “Why not leave me a twenty on the nightstand?”
I’d fucked up. I knew I’d fucked up. I should not have slept with her. I had no business having sex with a woman that was my boss and Oakley’s little sister. The ink on the peace treaty we’d agreed to was barely dry and I was banging her against the wall in my house. That was stupid. I wasn’t that guy.
Clearly, I was that guy. I told myself it was a one-time thing. I just had to get her out of my system. She’d been teasing me from that very first summer she worked at the company.
Backing You Up Page 11