“Um…”
He waits, not about to give me an out.
“There wasn’t any disgust. I think the better question is, why did you kiss me?”
He shakes his head. “You should’ve asked that question on your turn.”
I move to slide off the bed, needing to not be this close to him when I tell him it was the look of regret in his eyes that made me react.
He lightly clasps my elbow. “We need to address this. I can’t ignore what happened between us if we’re going to stay in the same room tonight.”
I blow out a breath. “I was anything but repulsed. I was turned on. If we weren’t on that plane, things would’ve gone so much further, but we thought we might be dying. That’s all it was. I get it.”
He looks as if I slapped him.
“We should probably forget the game. I gotta use the bathroom.” He stands and goes into the bathroom.
I push the room service table out the door into the hallway and shut it before nestling back into my bed. The toilet flushes and the tap water runs for a minute before he emerges. He spares me a quick glance and sits on his bed.
I click on the movie without his prompting, because the tension in the room is stifling.
During the movie, all I hear is his legs moving along the sheets and the even cadence of his breathing. I can’t concentrate on the small details this movie requires. I want to get out of this bed and join him in his. Ask him why he’s mad.
I’m letting him off the hook, which I have to say is big of me, because the man can kiss. He kisses like his personality—a dichotomy between gentle and dictating. His firm lips told me what he wanted, but as our mouths opened, his lips softened, his tongue almost lazy as it explored mine. My stomach lit up with fireflies when his teeth scraped my bottom lip, then he licked and sucked it, soothing any pain he caused.
I’m so screwed.
The credits roll, and I jump up and run to the bathroom. After splashing cold water on my face, I brush my teeth and go to the bathroom. When I emerge, the lights and the television are both off.
I walk by his bed and see his gaze on me. “Just checking that you’re not asleep.”
“Nope.” He climbs out of his bed as I climb into mine.
Our night of fun is slowly turning into a night of uncomfortable silence.
Five minutes later, the bathroom light shines on him leaving the bathroom in just his boxer briefs. My breath hitches. He’s kidding me, right? Desire is chased by anger sparking inside me. What kind of game is he playing? Is he trying to tempt me?
“Real nice, Enzo,” I sneer then clasp my hand over my mouth. Shit. That was out loud.
“What?” He gets into his bed.
Screw this. He says whatever he wants when he wants. He brought up the kiss instead of forgetting it. I’m calling him out.
“You don’t see me walking around here in my bra and panties.”
“I usually sleep naked. Would you prefer that?”
I flip the covers open and stare at him. Damn, the man is everything I imagined and more.
“See something you like? Want me to pretend the building is under attack so we can make out?”
I slide up to the headboard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Whatever you want it to.” His fist hits the pillow a few times. He lays his head down then hits the pillow some more. He’s as high maintenance with his pillows as he is with his assistants.
“Stop being vague.”
“It’s not worth it.”
He might as well say you’re not worth it.
“Oh nice. Well, feeling the same over here.” I circle my finger and point at myself. I sound like an idiot, but I don’t care.
“That why you were ogling my body a second ago?”
I narrow my eyes, but he can’t see me in the dark, so I flick on the light.
My eyes come face to face with his bare chest. Bad idea. Really bad idea.
I clear my throat. “You ogle my body too. Your eyes aren’t always on my face.”
“I never said they were.”
I throw my hands in the air. “Neither did I!”
“But the kiss on the plane was just because we were dying, or so we thought, right?”
I purse my lips, unable to look at him anymore. I flick off the light and throw myself on the bed with my back to him.
The light flicks back on. “No, we’re finishing this now.”
“Go to bed, Enzo.”
“No, Mom. I’m not tired because this woman I’m sharing a hotel room with is living in dreamland instead of addressing what’s going on in reality.”
Off go my covers. I sit up and cross my legs on the bed. “Fine. What do you want to talk about?”
“This attraction between us.” He waves his finger between the two of us.
My shoulders fall. Looks like we’re doing this. “There’s no conclusion to this problem. We work together. You’re my boss.”
“Technically, Shelby’s your boss.” His hands grip the mattress while he stares at me.
I try to keep my vision focused on his eyes, but they stray, admiring the ripped muscles in his abdomen and the prominent bulge in his boxer briefs. All my blood flow zeros down in between my legs.
“Eyes up here, Annie,” he says, pointing toward his eyes.
“I’d have to be blind to not be attracted to you. It doesn’t mean we should act on it.”
“I could say the same thing.”
“I’m what every woman hates.” I throw my hands in the air. “Falling for the boss? I mean, how cliché is that? People will think you’re giving me special treatment at work because I give you special treatment in the bedroom. I can just hear all the sexual innuendos in the break room now.”
He leaves his bed and comes over to me.
“Nope. Go back to your bed.” I slide up toward the headboard as far as I can.
He laughs, and it’s nice to not have that tension that was pissing him off moments ago occupying every crevice of the room. Not that I prefer this.
“I would never do that. Nor would I ever expect you to sleep with me. You know that, right? I would never hold your job over your head because of something we did or didn’t do outside of work.” His features say how serious it is for him to get clarity on that.
I nod because from what I know of Enzo so far, he wouldn’t do that.
“Do you think I expected this? Hell, you’re everything I usually try to stay away from—everything about you screams trouble to me. I don’t do more than one night, yet here I am with you and I already know one taste of you won’t satisfy my craving.”
“But?”
He slides closer and I don’t fight him, allowing his hand to land on my thigh and shoot what feels like a million jolts of electricity up to my core. “I didn’t kiss you because I thought I was dying. I knew we were going to land. I kissed you because it’s all I’ve thought about doing for weeks and you were there, and my willpower finally faltered, so I said fuck it.”
“We have to think this through.” I put my head in my hands. “We’re being irrational, acting on lust.”
“It’s no one’s business what happens in this room or outside of Jacobson and Earl.” His hand slides up my leg, molding to my hip. “I need you to agree to that before we go any further. I need to know you’re in this with me.”
I stare into his caramel eyes. I mentally make note to recall this moment when I get fired from Jacobson and Earl, because no matter what way I twist it, this is the stupidest decision I’ve ever made, but at the same time, I’m owning it.
I slam my lips against his, surprising him, and he loses his balance, falling to his back. And then it’s almost as if someone blew a horn and said game on. Frantic hands and lips go to work to see how many inches of skin they can touch.
His hands are firm, sliding under my pajama pants, gripping my ass. A growl rumbles deep in his throat, and he moves my hair away from blocking access to my neck.
I
grind along his length, the friction taking me to the point of no return faster than it should. I need to relish tonight. To remember his hands and the path they took. Right now, I’m the seventeen-year-old virgin in the back of Johnny’s Civic. Except Enzo isn’t Johnny. Not even close.
The night I lost my virginity, I was eager for it to end. To get over the pain my friends had told me I’d experience. Tonight, I desperately want to slow us down because I have no idea what it will be like after this. But slowing down feels nearly impossible because all the tension that’s been tightening around us has snapped and neither one of us can control the pace. It’s going to be fast and quick and earth-shattering.
He runs his mouth along my breasts, his teeth scraping over my T-shirt and latching on to my nipple. My arms reach behind his head, holding him to me. My hips go into overdrive, and that early crescendo of my orgasm appears.
While I’m lost in my head, his hands venture under my shirt and pull it over my head. Once I’m bared for him, his hands cradle each breast. The smoldering looks he’s given me over the past few weeks are nothing compared to right now.
“Damn, you’re beautiful.” He buries his head in my breasts, kneading them and kissing each one while he grinds his erection into me.
The only barriers are his boxer briefs and my pajama pants, and my orgasm inches closer and closer to the point where I can’t control it. I’ve wanted this man for so long, and he’s living up to every fantasy I’ve envisioned. I slide down his chest, kissing every crevice of his abs.
“Shit, Annie.” He bucks when I cup his package over his boxers, looking at him with my best seductive stare. His hands thread through my hair, moving it aside so he has a clear vision of me.
I run my hand under the hem of his boxers and up his leg until his length fills my hand. He runs his thumb over my lips, opening my mouth. I suck on his thumb and twirl my tongue around it, mimicking what I’ll do once I get his hard length there. His eyelids slip further and further down the more I tease him.
All of a sudden, he flips me over and his lips devour my breasts, his eyes on me as though my expressions will guide him to make this a night to remember.
“Enzo,” I whisper, my eyes falling closed as my head hits the mattress.
“Nope.” His hard body runs up the length of mine, the weight of him falling on me as his lips meet mine. The kiss isn’t nearly as intense as it was a moment ago, but it’s deep and prolonged and rhythmic. He ends it, and I’m clenching to keep my orgasm away. “Eyes open.”
I open my eyes, and his cocky arrogant smirk is front and center. My hand runs down his cheek, his stubble softer than I expected. Will I finally get to feel it between my thighs?
Once he’s satisfied, I’m going to adhere to his rules. His tongue slides down my neck, through the valley of my breasts, and past my belly button. Sitting up, he hooks his fingers on the sides of my pajama pants and pulls them down my legs, then he situates his face between my thighs.
Yeah, his scruff feels delicious there. I knew it would.
“I found that tattoo you were talking about.”
“Jackpot,” I say.
“Just remember that I said one taste will never be enough.” He licks me, and my head falls to the mattress, my eyes shut.
He stops. I pick up my head, my nerve endings frazzled and crying out for more.
“I told you, eyes open,” he says.
I don’t even have a sharp reply because I miss him being there and I’ll do about anything to have him back. “You should be warned payback will be a bitch.”
He chuckles, taking my hand and placing it over my clit. “I expect nothing less. Now let me watch you play with yourself.”
If I thought I was on the cusp before, I’m downright ready to scream out now.
Chapter 22
Annie
* * *
His eyes no longer watch my face. They’re watching my fingers. After a minute, he nudges my hand away, taking over my preferred rhythm himself by using a mixture of his tongue, mouth, and fingers. I lose myself in the sensations he’s piling on. His eyes flicker with the same desire that’s coursing through my veins.
“Enzo.” I buck up off the mattress. “I can’t.”
“You can,” he says, his one large hand gripping my breast, pinching my nipple. “I’m going to make you.”
My body is moving so much, I have no idea how he’s able to keep me in place. His mouth is so talented. He’s the fucking Picasso of oral sex. He’s just as talented in the bedroom as he is in the boardroom. Damn it. I curse myself for thinking about that now. Especially when all I can think of is my legs spread wide on the conference table with him in a chair in front of me.
He groans, his pace increasing, his fingers probing while he sucks my clit.
I try to fight my impending orgasm to prolong this unforgettable ecstasy, but my ass rises off the bed and he grips my cheeks to keep me in place, burying his entire face in my core.
“Oh, God,” I cry out, my toes curling and my fingers gripping the sheets until they ache.
He lets my climax wash over me, gradually decreasing his speed until my back is on the mattress and my eyes struggle to remain open.
Enzo crawls up my body, then his hand splays across the back of my head and he threads his fingers through my hair. He kisses me, and I taste myself on his tongue, only spurring another flutter of desire. The tip of his cock pushes at my opening, waking me from my daze.
I push on his chest. “Condom.”
He smiles, kissing my jaw. “Give me a second.”
Enzo stands, and I miss the weight of his body immediately. He walks over to his computer bag and produces a strip of condoms. My smile falters. Is he always ready and available to screw whoever is willing?
“You’re overthinking. I bought them at Target just in case.” He kisses my neck.
How did he even know what I was thinking? Because he reads people so well. It’s why he’s so great at his job.
“You sure about that?”
“These were bought with the sole intention of using them with you.” He sits up on his knees, and I watch him slide it down his thick erection. “But if you’d rather not?”
His hands slide down the outside of my thighs, his touch soft and caring.
He’s right. I’m overthinking this.
I sit up, grab the back of his neck, and pull him down on top of me. “We’re using them.”
I kiss him and he lets his weight fall on me a bit, his tongue pushing into my mouth at the same time as he inches his way inside me. I open my legs wider to accommodate him. No one has filled me the way he does.
“We good?” he asks once he’s fully seated inside me.
I bite my lip and nod.
When he circles his hips, easing in and out of me, all my worries from earlier vanish. I can only focus on the multitude of sensations overwhelming my body and the intense look on his face as he takes me in below him. His lips venture to my jaw and ear but always return to my mouth as though he can’t go too long without a kiss.
Sweat forms between our skin, our breathing labored the longer we grind together. He places his hands on either side of my head and thrusts as deep as he can. I buck up to meet him, wanting him to hit that same spot over and over.
Our eyes are locked, and somewhere between our moans, the heat building in the small room, and feeling of us becoming one, I lose myself in a hurricane named Enzo. He whirls me around, my thoughts jumbled, and the moment I think I’m on solid ground, he whisks me away again.
“Fuck, Annie.” He hammers into me again. “You feel so good. So wet.”
I wrap my legs around his waist, and he sinks in deeper.
“You need to come.” He struggles to get the words out through his clenched jaw.
Knowing he’s hanging on by a thread is enough for me to meet him with every thrust. Sweat drips down on me and my fingers grip his back, pulling at his shoulder blades until he nibbles on my earlobe. The desperation i
n his strangled breath finishes the job. I’m thrown out into a raging sea when my orgasm surges over me until I’m once again floating in the calm ocean.
How did I not know that sex like this existed?
Enzo pumps into me one more time, a grunt rising from his throat, then he stills.
Once we’ve regained our breathing, we look at one another. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. What is he thinking?
“I’ll be right back,” he says, slipping out of me.
How can that feel like a loss? It shouldn’t.
Grabbing my pajama pants and T-shirt, I quickly clothe myself while he’s in the bathroom. Once he’s out, I hurry into it and lock myself in. Damn it. I wish I could call Mae.
I take care of business then wash my hands. “You got this, Annie. If he’s already asleep when you get out there, it’s no sweat off your back. You got what you wanted. All you wanted was to sleep with him.”
Even I want to point at myself in the mirror and scream liar.
I abandon the whole pep talk and open the door, shutting off the light. The room is black, which means Enzo’s asleep. Don’t get upset.
I head to my bed and slide in. A big hand wraps around my waist. I scream, startled.
Enzo laughs. “Is this a problem?” he asks, moving his hand and sitting up.
“What?”
“Sharing a bed? Did you want me in my own?” I hear a hitch in his voice, and I silently pray he’s not doing this out of some misguided effort to make me feel better.
“No. It’s fine.” I tamp down my excitement because that’ll produce an expectation and I can’t have any of those with Enzo Mancini.
“Why are you in your pajamas? Those have to go.” His hands fall to my stomach and he pushes my shirt up over my head. Once that’s off, he works on my pants.
“I can do it.”
“Not quickly enough.” He chuckles, kissing my neck.
“You’re kind of surprising me right now.”
“Why? Because I want to cuddle? It’s really just a reason to touch you. Plus I’m a mama’s boy, what did you expect?”
Forbidden Desires Page 28