Amorous (The Lincoln Series Book 1)

by Baer, Susan

  Her only response was to cuddle closer to his chest. He smiled and chuckled to himself. He had discovered this weekend she could sleep like the dead, especially after a good orgasm.

  He slid out from under her and went to his private bathroom. When he returned with a warm washcloth he found her curled up looking cold. He knelt down in front of her and removed her pantyhose. He cleaned her gently and covered her with a throw, then kissed her cheek and whispered, “Sleep tight my angel.”

  Warren went out to Marie’s desk to call AJ. He saw what was left of her skirt crumpled on the floor next to her wastebasket. He picked it up and saw it had split straight up the back seam. The button on the waistband was missing and the zipper was pulled apart.

  He stepped back to look for the missing button and heard something snap under his foot. He laughed when he realized it was the missing button.

  He put the broken pieces in his pocket and folded the material that was once a skirt and tucked it under his arm. He thought he might have Janet help him pick out a new one for her. But first he’d have to think of something to tell Janet. He certainly couldn’t say he ruined it by ripping it from Marie’s body in a lust-filled frenzy. Maybe her birthday was coming up, that would sound reasonable.

  Warren sat at Marie’s desk to make the call and noticed she had only a few personal items on her desk. No pictures, just a paperweight with swirls of orange and white and a small figurine.

  He picked it up and took a closer look at it. It was a pewter sculpture of a small girl holding a basket of flowers. There was a tiny butterfly on her shoulder and a dog lying at her feet. Her expression was complicated and it made him wonder what it meant to Marie.

  He set it back down and thought about how much he wanted to learn about her. What she liked and didn’t like. Did she prefer roses or daisies? Was she a dog lover or did she prefer cats? Hopefully she preferred dogs. He was planning on getting a German Shepherd now that he’d bought his parent’s old house with the fenced-in backyard. And if he had to guess he would say that pewter dog was a Shepherd.

  He wanted to know everything about her and the thought of making her a part of his life was exciting. He’d never felt this way about a woman before and he liked how it made him feel.

  He sighed. If only AJ would lighten up about him and Marie things would be perfect. He could do without the extra complication. Warren would rather keep all his attention on Marie and not have to hide his feelings from AJ. He ran his hand through his hair and picked up the phone.

  “Hey, AJ. It’s Warren. I just wanted to let you know I’m going to give Marie a ride home. She’s not feeling well.”

  “What do you mean she is not feeling well? She cannot go home. I have a lot of work for her to do today. I—”

  “Come on AJ, lighten up. She looks terrible. I think she really needs to go home.”

  “I told you not to mess with her Warren. Do not piss me off.” AJ growled. “If she needs to go home, why am I not talking to her?”

  “She’s sleeping in my office.”

  “What the hell is she doing sleeping in your office? I am warning you, Warren. Don’t fuck with me.”

  “AJ, she’s sick. You told me she knows how much she needs a reference from you, that’s probably why she dragged her ass in here today. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten her to sleep—”

  “You got her to go to sleep? What did you do, fuck her into exhaustion?”

  Warren cleared his throat. “She said she didn’t get much sleep last night. She was dead on her feet.”

  “I can be there in twenty minutes. Wait until I get there. I want to talk to her first. I need to know a few things before she leaves.”

  “Send her a text. She won’t make it that long.”

  “Warren—”

  Warren dropped the phone on the receiver. “Oops. How clumsy of me.”

  “Warren. What’s going on?”

  He spun around to see Marie standing in the doorway of his office. The throw was wrapped around her. Her hair tussled and eyes sleepy giving her a well fucked look. He had never seen a woman look more beautiful.

  He was across the room in an instant. He grabbed her by her arms and pulled her into a warm embrace.

  “Do you know how beautiful you look?” He buried his face in her hair and kissed her neck.

  “Warren, answer my question. I know I’m tired but I can’t take the day off. Just take me home and let me get something else to wear. I have a lot of work to do.”

  She opened her mouth to continue her protest but Warren swallowed her words with a kiss.

  “Too late. You’ve got the day off. You wouldn’t want me to look like a lying bastard to AJ, would you?” He placed his finger over her lips to silence her objection. “Now let’s just get you presentable enough to get you to my car.”

  He kissed her again on her cheek and grabbed her coat. He had plans to carry out once he got her home, she could sleep later.

  ****

  Marie loved Warren’s car. It looked brand new but it didn’t have the new car smell, it smelled like Warren. She inhaled a deep breath.

  “What cologne do you wear?”

  He laughed. “Whatever my sister bought me last year for Christmas. Do you like it?”

  “Yeah. Your sister has great taste.”

  “So do you. I really like the outfit you’re wearing today.” He chuckled. “Sorry about the skirt.”

  “I’m just glad you had something for me to wear.” She looked down at the gym shorts he had given her and giggled at the way they were gathered at her waist and hung well below her knee. “That skirt was too tight anyway. It probably would have ripped the first time I bent down.”

  “It wasn’t that tight. I think we were just a little too rough with it.”

  “No, it was that tight. I just didn’t have anything else to wear. I forgot to pick up my suits at the dry cleaners this weekend. I’ll have to remember to do that later or I won’t have anything to wear tomorrow.”

  “I’ll pick them up for you on my way home if you promise to wear that blouse again for me later.”

  He reached over and flicked the top button of her blouse open then cranked the air conditioner.

  “Stop it! What are you doing?”

  She shifted in her seat and wiggled until she could get the button back in place so it would stay fastened. The improvising she had tried wasn’t working so well, especially when he kept messing with it.

  “I want to see those beautiful perky nipples.”

  “I am not going to let you flash my perky nipples to the world.”

  “The windows are tinted, no one can see in. As for the rest of the world, no one else is ever going to see those nipples of yours. I can guarantee you that.”

  She bit her bottom lip and squeezed her thighs together. Hearing him say she belonged to him sent desire rushing through her veins.

  “I’m going to have to find you something a little less sexy to wear to work tomorrow. I can’t be fending off every man at the medical center who hits on you. I’d never get any work done.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  He took a quick glance at her. “Trust me. They do.”

  “What?”

  “I saw the look on your face. You don’t believe me, but that’s one of the things I like about you. You’re gorgeous and you don’t know it.”

  “I am not.” She blushed.

  “Yes, you are. And now my problem is how to keep all the wolves away from you at the office. I can’t say anything in front of AJ.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve been ordered to stay away from you. He’s afraid I’m going to distract you from doing your job.” He reached over and squeezed her knee. “So you can’t tell him about us, okay?”

  “If you don’t want him to know then we can’t be doing what we did this morning. He’ll catch us sooner or later.”

  “Not a chance, sweetheart. You just make sure you keep up the good work for the Golden Boy and leave the off
ice sex to me.”

  “Warren, I can’t lose this job. I don’t know if you realize this or not but a reference from Dr. Carrington is like a golden ticket. With his reference I can have any job I want.”

  “You won’t lose your job because he’s never going to let you go, ergo no reference from him. He needs you too much.” He pulled up in front of her apartment and turned the car off. “That’s why he doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”

  He put his finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. He kissed her softly then leaned his forehead against hers.

  “AJ’s a good friend of mine but I won’t let him run my life.” He looked into her eyes. “I’ll make this work for everyone. I promise.”

  He put his hand on her arm and stopped her from getting out, a playful grin on his face. “Allow me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m wearing your shorts and I look like a dork. You don’t have to be so formal.”

  “I want to open your door for you because that’s what men do for ladies.” He grinned. “Even ladies who look like dorks.”

  He dodged her finger when she tried to poke his ribs and came around to open her door.

  She took his hand and stepped from the car. “You didn’t have to agree with me.”

  “I don’t care what you look like. You’ll always be beautiful to me.” He kissed the back of her hand.

  God, she loved his lips. They were warm and soft and every time they touched her body her temperature rose another degree.

  He followed her up to the second floor and leaned against the door frame while she pulled her keys from her purse. When she turned the lock he reached over and flicked open her top button.

  “Stop it,” she whispered. “One of my neighbors could walk by.”

  Marie squealed when he pinched her ass as they stepped through the door.

  Warren followed her into her bedroom and snaked his arms around her. He pulled her against his chest and covered her breasts with his palms.

  She dropped her head back to his shoulder and moaned. It felt so good when he touched her but she didn’t have time for this right now. She twisted in his arms and pushed against him.

  “We need to stop this. You have to get back before AJ gets in.”

  He looked at his watch. “It’s just past eight. My first meeting is scheduled for ten with Dr. Collins, which means I won’t be in my office until this afternoon anyway.”

  He pushed her back onto her bed and pinned her down. He gently bit her neck. “Which also means we have time for some morning calisthenics.”

  He pressed his thigh between hers and for a brief second she thought about giving in.

  “Warren I’m serious. You need to get off me and get back to the office.”

  He rolled over and sighed as she wiggled to the end of the bed and stood up. She could feel him watching her as she shed her mismatched clothing. Each second was a constant battle in her mind, warring between wanting him to throw her back on the bed and ravish her and wanting him to leave to eliminate the temptation.

  “You need to learn how to relax, Marie. There’s more to life than work.”

  “Exactly. Like eating and sleeping in a warm, dry place. None of which I can do without money. Money I earn from doing my job well enough to keep it.”

  “I would never have thought you could be such a drama queen.” He scooted back on her bed and leaned against the smooth wood of the headboard. “I like you better when you let your passion run free.”

  “There’s a time and a place for everything, and right now is the time to be serious. This job is very important to me.”

  “And what about the rest of your life? You know, the fun stuff. When does that get to the top of your priority list?”

  Marie pulled a sweatshirt over her head and sighed. She wanted fun to be at the top but she couldn’t afford that luxury at this point in her life. She would love nothing more than to be carefree enough to jump into bed next to him, but bills had to be paid.

  He stood and wrapped his arms around her tenderly. “When are you going to start caring more about what you want instead of what AJ wants?”

  “When I can afford to.”

  “Well, sweetheart, if you’re waiting for that day you’ll be old and gray before it gets here. You have to stop and smell the roses once in a while.”

  “Roses are expensive and if you stop and smell them too often eventually you’ll get stung by a bee.”

  Warren laughed. “Well, I can honestly say I’ve never heard it from that perspective before. But if you turn me down the next time I want to play hooky with you I won’t bother looking for my own secretary and you’ll be forced to spend time in my office.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “That masterful plan will blow up in your face.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and headed for the living room.

  “I happen to think it’s a great idea. You and me naked, wrapped around each other, making wild animal noises.”

  “You’ve got a lot to learn about that place. If you don’t hire a secretary you’ll end up doing all your work yourself. Dr. Jameson is always looking for ways to get under Dr. Carrington’s skin and he’ll eventually remember you don’t have a secretary. Then he’ll cut the department’s budget to prevent you from getting one and try to force Dr. Carrington into sharing my position.”

  He dropped back on the sofa and pulled her down on top of him. “Like I said, you and me naked in my office.”

  “Warren, AJ always gets what he wants sooner or later. He’ll go to the board and they’ll put enough pressure on Dr. Jameson to back off. But by that time the budget will be redone and you’ll have to wait until next year to have your secretary’s position put back in.”

  He kissed her tenderly. “That won’t happen.”

  “It will.”

  He squeezed her ass. “It won’t, Miss Know-it-all. I got an email from HR this morning. They’re interviewing for my secretary this week.” He kissed her again with more intensity. “I don’t want you in my office, I want you in my bed.” He pulled her tighter to him and pressed his erection against her mound. “Or your couch.”

  Marie surrendered. After all a woman could only take so much temptation. She’d find a way to get her work done later. She let Warren roll her to her back and wrapped herself in the comfort of his embrace.

  He pushed her sweatshirt to her elbows and covered her breast with his warm mouth.

  Each flick of his tongue sent delicious sensations rushing through her body. She moaned when he slid two fingers through her lips and thrust them deep inside her.

  Warren ran his open mouth up her neck and gently bit her earlobe. “This is much more fun than work, don’t you think?”

  Her phone vibrated on the wooden sofa table behind her head.

  He began slow sensual strokes with his fingers. “Ignore him.”

  “I can’t,” she panted. She pushed against him but he didn’t budge.

  “Yes you can.” He increased his thrusts and sucked hard on her nipple.

  “I need this job.” She reached for her phone but it was just beyond her fingertips.

  “No, you need this right now.” He gently bit her nipple.

  “Warren, please. I have to… Oh God!” Marie could feel her orgasm building. Maybe Warren was right, Dr. Carrington could wait a few more minutes. Every muscle in her body tightened and she could feel her climax was just a breath away. Just one more thrust—

  Warren suddenly stopped and raised his head to look her in the eye. He rolled over and sat on the floor next to her. She could feel her body start to ache with the need to come, emptiness settled in her gut. It was a feeling she’d never felt before. She could feel the disappointment radiating from him when he reached back and handed her phone to her.

  I need you to double check the figures for my New York conference. Douglas caught me on my way in.

  “Shit! I knew this was a bad idea.”

  Warren grabbed the phone from her hand to read the text m
essage. “You’ve done that a million times already. It’s his typical bullshit when I’m involved.” He tossed the phone to the coffee table.

  “It’s not his fault. Dr. Jameson makes his life as miserable as possible.”

  “It is his fault, Marie. He’s using Douglas as an excuse to keep me away from you.”

  Warren stood and straightened his clothing. He turned to her and adjusted his tie. “You’re off the clock at five. Don’t bother getting dressed. I’ll be back.”

  He walked to the door and stopped.

  “Warren, I’m sorry. I don’t know what you want me to say. This job is—”

  “Important to you. I know.”

  The emptiness in her gut was spreading to her chest. Why was he making her choose between him and her career? Why couldn’t she have both?

  “Warren…”

  He turned and walked back to her. He paused then pulled her into a warm embrace.

  “No, baby, I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. Do whatever you have to for AJ.” He kissed her cheek and smiled. “But, I’ll still be back at five.”

  Warren pulled the door closed behind him and she rushed to her bedroom window to watch him drive away. The emptiness had eased but her body still ached for completion. She forced herself to sit at her laptop and access her files at the office. She’d get Dr. Carrington his reports then she’d grab her Pearl Panther. There was no way in hell she could wait eight hours for Warren to get back.

  Chapter 13

  Warren walked into the office Tuesday morning about seven. The only light was coming from the small gap under the door to AJ’s office. Warren walked to his own office without turning on the lights in the waiting room. The last person he wanted to talk to first thing this morning was AJ.

  Warren wasn’t as worn out as he’d planned to be, and in fact he was a little wired. When he had arrived at Marie’s apartment after work yesterday he’d found her to be much too calm. She should have been edgier, ready to jump him when he walked through her door. Instead she’d played a little hard to get and then fell asleep on him before he was finished.