by Juniper Hart
Michael looked at her in surprise. “Or we can take yours,” he said, feeling a flash of annoyance, but she instantly shook her head apologetically.
“No, no,” she laughed. “I don’t have a car. I am twenty-two years old, living at home with my parents, and I have no car.”
“Ah.” He understood her mounting frustration, but they were quiet as they made their way out toward the stairwell leading into the garage.
“You know, Everly, we all started somewhere,” he told her gently, opening the car door for her to enter the passenger side of his Mercedes SUV.
She glanced at him in surprise. “Uh, thanks,” she mumbled, apparently shocked that he had made the gesture.
Michael retreated to the driver’s side and climbed in, using the power start. They sat in silence for a long moment until Everly turned to him.
“You’re nothing like my dad,” she said, and Michael was not sure whether to feel flattered or annoyed by the observation.
“Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll bite. What makes us so different?”
“For starters, you don’t talk to me like I’m a spoiled brat, hellbent on ruining your life,” she spat, and Michael could sense the bitterness in her tone.
“I don’t know if your dad thinks that of you at all,” he said. “But I imagine it’s hard for you to see it that way when you feel like he’s always on your case.”
Everly’s blue eyes were wide with awe. “How come you get it, but he doesn’t?” she asked. “You’re so different than men your age.”
He cringed inwardly. Men my age, he thought. I am not that old.
He was instantly reminded about how ancient he had felt just the previous week.
Before Michael could stop himself, he reached forward, seizing Everly by the back of the neck and drawing her toward him. He couldn’t stand the sexual tension any longer. He had to know how her lips would feel against his. He wanted to breathe in her scent and feel the touch of her soft skin.
Instead of pulling back as he had expected, she lunged forward into the kiss, pressing her mouth to his with eagerness.
He was almost surprised by her willingness, but he didn’t question it, pushing his tongue between her lips. She parted her mouth to allow him, her palms cupping his face to draw him closer as his hand snaked up into her long, silken hair.
Pulling her gently to the side, his face lowered to the curve of her throat. She tasted as sweet as he had envisioned those nights when he would toss and turn on his bed, his member in his hand.
But this is real, Michael thought, his breath growing hotter as his face dropped lower, pulling at Everly’s blazer, his palms cupping the firm, full breasts beneath her blouse.
Everly gasped, her own fingers twisting in his dark mane of hair, forcing his head lower to nuzzle against her half-exposed chest.
After unbuttoning her blouse, he pushed her bra to the side as his tongue jutted out to lick at the rigid skin of her nipple. His hand fell to the top of Everly’s thigh, inching its way up, but as his teeth brushed against her tender skin, a door slammed in the distance and they both jumped.
Everly grabbed at her shirt as Michael looked around the parking garage.
The night security guard was making his rounds, working his way towards them nonchalantly.
He hadn’t noticed the CEO in the car yet, but he would in mere seconds.
The last thing I need is to be caught in this position, Michael thought grimly, casting Everly a worried look.
Without saying a word, he put the SUV in reverse and flew from the parking spot, startling the guard. He waved casually at the man, who waved back once he realized who had almost run him over.
As they exited the underground, Michael shot Everly another look, but she had turned her head to stare out the window, and he couldn’t read the expression on her face.
She’s regretting it already, he thought, his lips pursed into a fine line of anger. He was livid with himself. How could he have let it go so far?
Do I have no self-control? I am making out with my best friend’s daughter in the parking garage at work. I have officially hit rock bottom. He wondered if she would tell her father. What will I say to Kevin? There is no explaining this.
“Where are you taking me?” Everly asked suddenly, shattering his internal conversation with himself.
He glanced at her. “Home,” he said uncertainly.
She glared at him. “I thought you promised me dinner,” she said, pink staining her cheeks as they drove towards her house. “I guess that’s off the table now?”
Michael stared at her dubiously. “You still want to go out for dinner?” he asked. “I just thought…”
She eyed him. “What? That I would be scared off?”
A faint smile touched his lips, and he nodded sheepishly. “Yeah,” he admitted. “A little bit.”
Everly grinned wickedly, reaching out to squeeze his knee. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to scare me off,” she told him.
“Oh, yeah?” he mused aloud. “A lot more?”
She nodded confidently. “Yes. A lot.”
She did not remove her hand from his leg, and Michael shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling a tug at his crotch.
Challenge accepted, he thought, but even as he joked with himself, he knew the last thing he wanted to do was scare her off anywhere.
Scaring, no.
He wanted Everly Castle.
And it appeared as though she was ripe for being taken.
Chapter Six
What had happened between her and Michael seemed to weigh on Everly like a ton of bricks.
It made being at work a nerve-wracking experience, and every time she caught a glimpse of him when she was carting herself around from floor to floor, her body would explode into a mass of shivers.
After their dinner at Peartree’s, she had expected that he would bring her back to his house and finish what they had started in the garage, but he had simply dropped her off at home without so much as a goodnight kiss.
Everly desperately wanted to catch him alone again, but it seemed that when he did work late, his office doors were always locked, and he did not respond to her knocks.
Is he playing a game with me? Or does he just regret what we did and is trying to forget it happened?
Neither thought appealed to her, and as the week dragged on, Everly was more determined than ever to find out what was going on in his head.
“Are you in the mood for Thai food for lunch, Everly?” Lizzie called out as she scooted through the lobby, hurrying to meet with accounting. “It’s Roger’s birthday. We’re not coming back after lunch, and they have happy hour at Melville’s this afternoon.”
Everly paused mid-step and peered at her, mind racing. “Everyone’s taking off at lunch?” she asked innocently. “And staying out?”
“Well, everyone if you’re coming too,” Lizzie replied, grinning.
Everly nodded slowly.
She doubted that Michael would leave the office for a party, which meant she would have him to herself if she stayed behind.
“I have a few phone calls to make over lunch, but I’ll finish and come as soon as I’m done,” she fibbed. “Save me a seat!”
Everly bit down on her lower lip as a wave of fantasies began to cascade through her mind. She could still feel his fingers pulling through her hair as he nibbled on her neck, and unexpectedly she felt a warm throbbing between her legs.
Yes. Today is going to be the day, she decided.
“Are you okay? You look funny,” Lizzie asked, and Everly realized she had lapsed into a trance.
“Oh, yeah, yeah,” she replied quickly. “I’ll see you later, Lizzie.”
She rushed towards accounting and tried to maintain a professional look upon her face, even though she knew she was grinning like an idiot.
At noon, the office filed out almost as if on cue, but Everly sat in her small cubicle, pretending to gather her calling list. She was also secretly willi
ng the staff out at a faster rate.
She knew Michael was still in his office, but Carmen remained at her desk. She would be the last to leave after ensuring that her boss was set for the afternoon.
Everly ducked low, trying to make herself scarce as Carmen finally rose and knocked on the inner door.
“Mr. Vanier, I’m leaving for the day, if there’s nothing else you need.”
Everly couldn’t hear his reply, but Carmen nodded, closing the door, and grabbing her purse to leave with the others.
“Hey! Are you coming with us?” Carmen called loudly.
Everly cringed. “I’m just finishing up here,” she assured the blonde. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Whatever it is can wait, Everly. You already work more hours than anyone else here,” Carmen complained. “You’re making us all look bad!”
Everly smiled. “That’s the idea. I want all your jobs,” she teased.
Carmen laughed. “Hurry up,” she ordered. “Mr. Vanier doesn’t care if you go, if that’s what you’re worried about. He encourages us to do these parties when we can.”
“I know,” Everly replied, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice. “I’ll be there shortly.”
Just go away! she wanted to yell. I am trying to fulfill a fantasy here!
Carmen shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she replied. “I’ll order you some curry.”
“I’ll probably just get some soup when I get there,” Everly said, “but thank you for thinking of me!”
Carmen headed towards the elevators, and Everly watched with baited breath as she disappeared inside the lift. She seemed to be taking forever to leave, but Everly knew that it was her anxiety checking the clock.
Everly waited, despite the intense desire to hurl herself into Michael’s office. She wanted to ensure no one returned unexpectedly.
Finally, when she felt enough time had passed, she rose from her small desk and sashayed toward the back office, rapping gently on the door.
“Come in.”
She slipped inside, and Michael looked up in surprise.
“What are you doing in here, Everly?” he asked gruffly, and suddenly she felt foolish.
“I… I wanted to see you,” she told him softly, starting toward the desk. “I feel like things have been awkward between us since last week, and I didn’t want them to be.”
Michael stared at her pensively, dropping his pen onto the desk. “Awkward?” he asked innocently, but Everly felt like he was mocking her. “How do you mean?”
Her pulse quickened as she made her way toward him, biting on her bottom lip. “I think you know what I mean,” she breathed, leaning up against the desk, her right thigh brushing against his as he twisted his swivel chair to peer at her.
“Everly, I think we both know that this can’t happen,” he murmured, but she could read nothing but desire in his dark eyes.
He licked his lips, and Everly took it as an invitation to lean down and taste them.
“Why not?” she asked in a whisper. “Why can’t it happen?”
He silenced her question with a kiss of his own, his hands reaching up to embrace her shoulders, falling down toward her breasts instantly, as if drawn there by a magnet.
The intensity between their kiss grew and Everly stepped closer, placing her legs over his black suit pants to straddle him, hiking up her skirt as she sat on his lap.
She gasped slightly as she felt the size of his member beneath his zipper, and he dropped his face into her chest, his palms cupping her naked rear beneath her dress.
She began to rock against him, her own nails raking gently over the material of his button down while his mouth explored the lines of her covered bosom.
Heat surged through her body as his already massive unit seemed to enlarge against her damp lower lips. Without warning, Michael rose, his hands tightening against her bottom, and Everly clung to his neck as he carried her across the room to the sofa near the bar.
She squealed lightly as he dropped her onto her back, his hand ripping eagerly at her thong to toss it aside.
He was beyond the point of waiting, delving into her core with his tongue, ready to bring her to climax.
The first long stroke sent electric shocks through her body and she bucked up, grabbing onto his head for balance, but each lap grew harder and faster. Everly’s thighs clamped around his ears and she began to rock to the rhythm of his licks, already feeling herself grow tense.
A thumb found its way to the spot between her two openings, teasing at her as Michael’s mouth continued to work furiously.
“I’m going to cum,” she mewled, her hands becoming fists in his locks, forcing his face down against her as all of her eager nerves exploded against his waiting mouth.
Spasms rocked her body, and her head fell back, small cries escaping her lips as one orgasm followed another. Michael didn’t slow his pace until she sat up, gasping and trembling, her body a quaking mess of muscles.
“Let me taste you,” she demanded as he lifted his head to look at her.
Crawling forward, he began to undo his pants, and Everly slipped from the sofa to eagerly reach for him.
Suddenly they froze.
The elevator had dinged, indicating someone was on the floor.
“Shit!” Michael hissed, jumping to his feet. He wiped his face hastily with his hand, and Everly scrambled to her full height, adjusting her skirt.
Oh, my God. We’re caught. Again. Jesus, why does this keep happening? Is this some sign from the gods telling us not to be together?
“Go in the bathroom,” he ordered, pointing to a wooden door next to the bar, and Everly dashed to obey as someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Michael called, and Everly could hear the stress in his voice as she ducked out of sight.
“It’s me, Mr. Vanier. I just meant to ask you something, but I forgot my cell phone here,” Carmen called back.
“What is it, Carmen?” he asked crossly. “I’m a little busy.”
Everly listened as the door opened.
“I was just wondering if you might be interested in having dinner with me some time,” she said shyly, and Everly felt her back tense.
“I don’t think that would be appropriate, Carmen. We’ve discussed this before,” Michael told her, and there was an undeniable tension in his voice.
“I know, but after what happened between us at—”
“This is not the time to discuss that, Carmen, and don’t forget what I told you. If you can’t be professional, I’m afraid I’m going to have to find another position for you in the company,” Michael snapped. “It’s not healthy for you to think of me like that. I’m your boss, nothing more.”
There was a long pause. Everly felt her whole body tense. When she first met Carmen, she had wondered if Michael was sleeping with her. Were her suspicions just confirmed? She felt sick, wanting to run from the bathroom, but knowing that she couldn’t leave until she Carmen left.
“Sorry,” Carmen whispered. “I… I just thought that we had something, you know?”
“You thought wrong. You should go now and join the others. They’ll be wondering where you are.”
Another silence followed.
“Have you seen Everly?” Carmen asked tightly, and Everly was certain her head was about to explode.
“Why would I have seen the intern?” Michael exploded. “What kind of stupid game is this?”
She heard Carmen gasp.
“I just meant that she was here when I left. I didn’t see her on my way back. I didn’t mean anything by it!” There were tears in her voice, and Everly felt sorry for the girl.
“Oh.” Michael sounded embarrassed. “No, I haven’t seen her.”
“Okay,” Carmen whispered. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“Carmen…”
“Yes, Mr. Vanier?”
“You’re a nice girl. Find yourself a nice boy. It could never work between us, trust me.”
“Okay, Mr.
Vanier,” she choked. “Have a nice afternoon.”
The door closed, but Everly did not move from her spot in the dark bathroom.
“Everly, you can come out now,” Michael called, but her mind was whirling in a thousand different directions.
This is his thing. He sleeps with young girls and then forgets about them. I imagined the spark between us. He does this with everyone.
Everly had never felt so humiliated in her life.
“Everly?”
Michael appeared at the bathroom door, opening it to peer at her.
“Sorry about that,” he murmured. “Carmen is—”
“I have to go,” she interrupted, pushing past him. “They’re looking for me.”
“Everly!”
She did not turn around as she flew from the office, trying to steady her thumping heart.
I already let it go too far, she thought, shaking her head at her own stupidity. I am so screwed up. Dad is right about me. I’m a lost cause for sure.
It was not until she was in the lobby, rushing out the front door, that she realized that she had left her torn thong on the floor of Michael’s office.
She hoped Carmen had not seen it.
Chapter Seven
Everly was angry with him, but there was little Michael could do to alleviate her concerns. Carmen’s timing could not have been worse from nearly every angle, almost as if she had planned it that way.
She didn’t plan it, he told himself reassuringly. The universe is simply keeping us apart because it’s wrong for Everly and I to be together. Any idiot can see that.
First it had been the security guard, then Carmen. It was clear that fate was eager to send him signs that a romantic relationship with Everly was not meant to transpire any further.
And even if we were to be alone again, Everly thinks the worst of me because of what Carmen said.
It didn’t matter that nothing had technically happened between him and his receptionist. It had been an intoxicated moment at the company’s Christmas party, where she had cornered him in the coatroom and he had succumbed to one drunken kiss.
Instantly, Michael had stopped it, apologizing to her for allowing it, and he had assumed that they were both going to laugh about it later.