Her cheeks flushed, but she stood firm. “What happens when the next few hours are over?”
“That depends on what we both want to happen once they’re over, don’t you think?” Without breaking eye contact, I moved back to where I’d been a moment ago, breathing the same air as her while I waited for her answer.
It hadn’t even really been voluntary to go back to her. My feet had simply given in to my body’s demand. I wouldn’t pressure her into anything, but I wanted to be as close to her as she’d let me be for as long as she’d let me.
Seemingly making up her mind, she tilted her head back and narrowed her eyes. “It wouldn’t mean anything. We just need to get each other out of our respective systems, is that it?”
“If that’s what you want.” As much as I wished I had a better answer or that I could guarantee that was all it would be, I didn’t and I couldn’t. “It’s worth a try, right?”
“So is murdering you in your sleep, but at least this way there’s no possibility of ending up in prison.” She half-smiled, shaking her head at herself before looking right into my eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Sure.” If that was what she needed to tell herself, then so be it. I had a sneaky suspicion it wouldn’t be quite the same for me. “Are we doing this or what?”
“This is so weird.” She said it almost as if she was talking to herself, but her gaze hadn’t left mine. “I’ve never had to negotiate with someone before having sex, but leave it to you to turn even this into a business deal.”
“Do me a favor?” I said as I snaked my arms around her waist and tugged her as close to me as I could get her. “Let’s not talk about what you have or haven’t done before in regards to having sex with other people, okay?”
“Why? Are you jealous?” Her tone was teasing now, her lips kicking into a somewhat amused smile. It was as if she didn’t really believe there was any chance her statement could be true.
“When it comes to you, it seems the green-eyed monster eats me alive.” It wasn’t a joke, but she let out a chuckle and shook her head again.
“Okay then, Hulk. Like a wise man once asked, are we doing this or what?” She squealed softly when I used my weight to start walking us back toward the bed, looking up at me just before she hit the mattress. “You better make good on your few hours of pleasure promise, Mr. Reed.”
“Oh, I plan to, Ms. Mitchell.” Finally having her on her back on a bed in front of me was like a dream come true. “I hope you hydrated properly today.”
“I’m sure you’ve got a mini bar somewhere around here.” She waved her hand dismissively, her gaze locked on mine. When I reached for my tie and slowly started undoing it, she propped herself up on her elbows. “I like where this is going. A strip show from the Mr. Benjamin Reed? It must be my lucky day.”
“The Mr. Benjamin Reed likes to get comfortable before he goes down on his knees for someone, Ms. Mitchell. Look your fill while you can. I plan on blurring your vision and making you see stars soon.”
“You talk a big game.” She followed the movement of my hands when I pulled the tie free and tossed it back in the direction of the couch before shrugging out of my jacket. “It’s going to be interesting to see if you can put your money where your mouth is.”
“I doubt you want my money where my mouth is about to be. Unless you’ve changed your mind about not wanting, and I quote, ‘my fucking money.’”
“Nah, I’ll never want that.” Her eyes followed my fingers intently when I reached up to undo the few remaining buttons on my shirt. She’d gotten the majority of them on our ride up.
When I tugged the fabric the rest of the way out of my pants and slid it off, I heard her sharp intake of breath and smirked. “See something you like?”
“Nope. I’m just surprised. I wasn’t expecting tattoos hidden underneath your fancy suits.” Her voice was husky but playful, a welcome change from the usual distrust and hostility in it when she was talking to me.
I glanced down at my chest, noticing the dark pools of ink over my heart and across my ribs for the first time in ages. “I’m glad I’ve managed to surprise you. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Ms. Mitchell.”
The sound of my belt buckle coming free was somehow loud in the silence of the room. Tori swallowed hard when I unbuttoned my pants before letting them drop. Kicking off my shoes before stepping out of the pants, I kept my briefs on for the moment. Not that they did a thing to hide the bulge underneath them.
“Yeah, I’m starting to realize that,” she mused, again sounding like she hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “To be fair, there’s a lot you don’t know about me either.”
“Yep, but I’m about to find out a few of those things.” The mattress dipped under my knee when I climbed on the bed, planting one leg on either side of hers before lowering my head until our lips brushed together. “Remember that you’re free to stop me at any time, but I won’t remind you again.”
“Fat chance of that happening. I’m eager to see if you can fulfill your promises, or if you’re just trying to get out of them.”
“Only one of us is getting out of something tonight if I have my way. My clothes are already off. I need you out of this dress, and then I’ll prove to you that I’m a man of my word.”
Deciding that we could continue our conversation later, I brought my mouth down to hers and kissed her again.
Slowly this time. Seductively.
My brain just about short-circuited when I realized this was really happening. I had the woman of my actual dirty dreams in my bed, and maybe, if I played my cards right, it wouldn’t be for the last time.
Chapter 23
TORI
Every moment I’d been in a room with Benjamin Reed had been passionate and intense, but none of them had even come close to this one. If I’d thought the man was commanding in a conference room, it didn’t have anything on him in the bedroom.
I’d tried to keep my wits about me, to combat the desperate need in my body with sharp words and eventually with sassy remarks, but none of it had worked. I couldn’t really believe this was happening, but I also didn’t want it to stop.
Ben was every bit as dominant as I’d thought he might be, taking control of even getting his own clothes off, but I liked it. It didn’t hurt that he wasn’t at all shy about his body or showing me how much he meant it when he said he wanted me.
Then again, he had nothing to be shy of. While I might previously have thought that he had something to make up for and that was why he was such a jerk, I’d known for some time that my assumption had been incorrect. Since that first time I’d felt him hard and ready that day at his lawyer’s office, in fact, but seeing what he was packing in his pants had completely eradicated any doubts I might have had.
He hadn’t taken off his navy-blue boxer-briefs yet, but he had a monster bulge that was more than telling all by itself. And it wasn’t just his cock that was impressive either.
The man had a body like a pedigreed fucking racehorse, where every muscle was defined and toned to perfection. He wasn’t bulky or built like a meathead who only cared about getting bigger. It was more like his body reflected the way he conducted his life—with absolute, meticulous purpose.
As he kissed me like the entire world had dissolved and we were all that was left, it was difficult to believe that he was in this hotel tonight to get back at me. My mind was still arguing with my body, shouting at me that I shouldn’t be doing this.
And yet, I did nothing to stop it.
Because being kissed like there was nothing left but the two of us was utterly intoxicating. Being with him, like this and without fighting, was utterly intoxicating. I was totally consumed by him in this moment, and I wasn’t even afraid to admit it.
Even the fact that he had ink hiding underneath his designer suits drew me further into him. Tattoos didn’t usually matter to me one way or the other, but it was the fact that he had them when he came across as so polished that made t
hem matter. It meant that he was right. There was a lot I didn’t know about him, and I suddenly wanted to know everything.
I’m going to regret this. I knew it as well as I knew my own name, but it didn’t seem to matter very much. He was kissing me too fervently, one of his hands working on the zipper of the dress at my side while the other cupped the side of my neck almost lovingly.
When he found the tag of the zipper, he tugged it down in one smooth motion and then reached for the neckline to slide it down my body to my hips. I lifted them up, and he groaned when it made me press up against his hardness before he dragged the material the rest of the way down between us.
The dress had a bra built into it, so without it, I was left in nothing but my panties. They were drenched, and since they were a light purple and the closest I had to matching the color of the dress, he could see the wet spot he’d caused.
“Fuck, Tori. You drive me crazy. Do you know that?” He looked me up and down, his hazel eyes burning like embers as they raked over me from the heels of my feet all the way to my face.
“So you keep saying.” I was very aware of how incredibly exposed I was to him, and it made me feel self-conscious when I realized how much my body type differed from his. If he was all hard edges and defined purpose, I was soft and blob-like.
It didn’t usually bother me, but it did with him. Especially when his gaze lingered on my midriff and dragged slowly upward. It occurred to me that this whole thing might’ve just been a practical joke, that he might’ve gotten me naked as part of his revenge, and dread pooled in my stomach until I saw the look in his eyes.
The embers from before seemed to have caught fire, and he had to swallow twice before he managed to get any words out. “I keep saying it because it’s true. You drive me to the fucking brink of insanity on a daily basis, but if this is what it gets me to be insane, then I’ll happily kiss my sanity goodbye.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
He shrugged, leaning down to suck one of my nipples into his mouth. “Neither does anything else going through my mind right now. Bear with me, baby. I’ve been wanting to do this for so long that I think it’s frying my brain that it’s actually happening.”
I moaned when his hot tongue circled my nipple, dismissing any thought of this being some kind of ploy. Even if it is, I’m just going to enjoy it for now.
He kept murmuring dirty things about how much he wanted me while he kissed, licked, and sucked every part of me on his way down my body. I forgot all about being self-conscious. I might be built differently than he was, but he obviously liked the way I looked. A lot.
He let out a satisfied moan when he settled his head between my legs, his hands on my thighs after he’d peeled off my panties. I had a standing appointment to get waxed once a month. Recently, I’d been thinking it was a waste of money and that I should cancel it, but I was suddenly extremely grateful that I hadn’t done it yet.
“Such a pretty pussy,” he murmured against me, dragging his fingers through my folds before pushing one of them in. My hips came off the bed, and the sounds I was making were embarrassing, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I was aching for him, and if he didn’t start making good on his promises real soon, we were going to have a problem. As if he’d heard my thoughts, he placed a few teasing kisses on my inner thighs and added another finger. “Don’t worry. I’m about to make you feel real good.”
Without knowing if he was talking to me or my vagina, I didn’t respond to him immediately. I just ground against his hand and tugged at his hair as my head arched back into the pillow. “Are you planning on talking all night?”
He chuckled darkly as I licked my lips and glared down at him. “Hardly. We were just getting acquainted, but if you prefer rude, I can do that too.”
Before I could ask him why it was that important to him to be polite to my private parts when he certainly hadn’t given me the same treatment, his mouth was on me and all my smart-ass retorts flew from my mind.
In fact, just as he’d promised, I didn’t think much for the next few hours. He blurred my vision and made me see stars more often than I ever had in a single night before, and he wasn’t shy about following me over the edge. He spent the time he needed to recharge kissing me silly and playing my body like an instrument he’d mastered years ago.
We even dozed off a few times, but whenever I felt myself sinking into a proper sleep, he’d be back. It seemed he couldn’t get his fill of me, but I felt exactly the same way. I relished the way his eyes rolled back when I took him into my mouth, drooled at the face he made when he got close, and couldn’t get enough of the things he kept saying to me.
I didn’t know how long we’d been in his hotel room when he sank into me again. He was very careful about condoms, though I didn’t know if he made a habit of carrying so many of the things with him at all times. I was trying not to think too much about it either.
With his eyes on mine, his hands on my hips, and his lips hovering just an inch away from my mouth, I felt the familiar stirrings of yet another orgasm starting up. Sweat beaded his forehead and both our bodies were slick with it. My hands were on the back of his neck and my fingers in his damp hair.
It didn’t look like he cared that my hair and makeup were a complete mess. He was still looking at me with that same uncontrolled hunger he’d shown me earlier.
“One more time. Come with me, baby,” he coaxed, an expression of extreme focus appearing on his face again. His breathing was becoming ragged once more, his dark eyebrows pinching together. “I knew we were going to be good together, but I never imagined it would be this good. Fuck, I can’t believe how close I am already.”
Just like before, his words pushed me almost all the way to the edge. I repeated his name over and over again. Then his pelvis hit that sensitive bundle of nerves and I screamed as I crashed into my climax.
“Tori,” he whispered, dropping his head to kiss my lips before I felt him trembling above me. His soft moans filled my ears while his hips jerked against mine.
When we’d both come back to earth, he collapsed on the bed next to me with his arm draped across my stomach. We were panting and trying to catch our breath, my bones feeling like jelly and my mind turned to mush.
As the delirium of the orgasms and the headiness of the anticipation wore off, reality came creeping back in.
What had I been thinking? I just had sex with the man who fired me and is actively trying to ruin me. Multiple freaking times.
The heat that had been in me since I’d seen him downstairs, first from anger and fighting and then from desire, completely disappeared. It left me feeling cold and stupid for having given in.
I hated him and he hated me. That wasn’t about to change just because we’d slept together, but it would make it hurt more when he finally got the revenge he’d come here to seek.
Turning to look at him, I nearly lost the bit of fight and composure I’d just gotten back. There was a small but genuine smile on his lips as he lay there, his black hair mussed from having my hands in it and his eyes closed. His fingers drew random patterns where they rested on my abdomen and his features were relaxed.
I cleared my throat before taking a deep breath and lifting his hand off my body. Dumping it unceremoniously between us, I scooted back and watched as he lazily opened his eyes to look at me.
“I need to make sure that you delete that video you took earlier,” I said. Even though all I really wanted to do was bask in the moment with him, the issue needed to be addressed. “If it gets out, I can kiss yet another job goodbye.”
Ben frowned, but there was laughter in his eyes, and his lips twitched in a way that told me he was fighting a smile. “I can’t just delete it. It was some of my best work. Be reasonable.”
“I’m not joking, Ben.” I didn’t know if it was because I suddenly felt like there was a valley the size of the Grand Canyon between us when I’d just felt so close to him or if it was the fact that he
was making jokes like there was nothing wrong, but tears welled in my eyes.
Looking away so he wouldn’t see them, I got out of bed and grabbed the silly, skimpy dress he’d made me wear. “I’m not going to let you blackmail me with it. Delete the footage, Ben.”
Squeezing my eyes shut until I felt the tears subside, I pulled on my clothes as fast as I could before shooting him a look over my shoulder. The soft relaxation on his features was long gone, and he was back to scowling at me.
Furious flames flickered in his gaze when he glared at me. He’d also gotten out of bed and was pulling on his underwear, shaking his head like he was having trouble believing what was happening.
“Do you think that’s what this was about? I didn’t plan on blackmailing you so you’d sleep with me. Fuck, Tori.” He stopped moving for a second, still shaking his head and cursing underneath his breath as he shoved his hands into his hair. “Are you even serious right now? After all that?”
“I’m not going to fight with you about this.” I secured my zipper under my arm and started hunting for my shoes. “I just need you to delete it.”
Spotting his phone lying on the carpet where it had presumably fallen out of his pocket, I picked it up and held it out to him. Before he took it, I averted my eyes so I wouldn’t keep ogling his amazing body and make another bad decision.
He grabbed it, grumbling words I couldn’t hear as he punched his fingers angrily against the screen. When he was done, he threw it down on the bed with the screen facing up. “There. It’s done. The file is deleted. Check it if you don’t believe me.”
I nodded, shoving my feet back into the heels before making my way to the door. “Thank you, but don’t pull another stunt like you did tonight.”
“I hope you’ve learned your fucking lesson,” he mumbled, or at least it sounded like he was saying something along those lines.
I rolled my eyes at him even though I was fighting back tears again. Turning to face him one last time, I gave him a sad smile. “I’ve learned my lesson, Benjamin. I learned to never associate with billionaire jerks like you ever again.”
Love Your Moves: A Billionaire Valentine's Romantic Comedy Page 14