In My Office, Now.

by June, Victoria

  Ethan's smile was slow and sly. "Well, what's good for me and what's good for the firm are two different things. I know talent and passion when I see it Emma and this firm has been lacking that for some time."

  I shook my head wryly. "I am never going to understand you," I admitted with a grin.

  The atmosphere in the room had changed so gradually I'd hardly noticed it; gone was the frustration and disappointment; it had been replaced instead by a small sense of hope and determination, both about the project, and although I'd never admit it aloud, about Ethan as well.

  He rose from his seat and came to perch on the corner of his desk nearest to me; he had to lean forward slightly to be at my eye level. "Do you think you could get in touch with Mrs. Kendall today? The sooner she knows the better."

  "Sure," I agreed with a smile. "And when I've finished convincing her I'll start researching the history of our house; I can squeeze in a visit to the city archives this afternoon."

  Ethan leaned forward and kissed me quickly.

  "What was that for?" I asked with trepidation; although we hadn't discussed what working together would be like after the weekend we'd just had I assumed we'd be keeping things separate.

  "Thank you," Ethan said.

  "You're welcome," I offered back. The spark had returned to Ethan's blue-grey eyes and it made me smile; I liked knowing there was a human side to the Dragon.

  "Use my phone to make your call to Mrs. Kendall if you like; it'll be quieter up here. I should go inform Maddock of our little road block."

  "All right," I nodded, rising from my seat as Ethan stood. I put a hand on his suit-clad arm to stop him from turning and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. I'd only meant for it to be a quick kiss, but Ethan delved expertly, drawing the moment out and making me moan back into the kiss.

  "Good luck," he whispered gruffly when we parted.

  "You too," I gasped, content for the moment to catch my breath and watch him walk away; the view from the back was pretty good.

  Sitting behind Ethan's desk was weird; the room certainly looked different from his perspective. Everything was neat and tidy and exact, and a huge contrast from the messy corner of the room where I'd been working on my drawings. I couldn't help but wonder blithely if I'd pushed into Ethan's entire life as messily as I had his office.

  My hand hovered nervously over the phone; Mrs. Kendall was a little odd, but she was a nice lady and I wasn't looking forward to our conversation. But Ethan expected me to hold up my end of the project, and I didn't care to let him down.

  ********

  "Emma? Emma?" There was a warm hand on my arm and crick in my neck; dazed, I raised my head and squinted around. Ethan stood over me and I realized with a jolt what had happened; I'd put my head down on his desk for just a second after my call to Mrs. Kendall, needing a minute to rally my thoughts and formulate the next step of the plan.

  "You fell asleep," Ethan smiled softly.

  "Yeah," I rubbed my heavy eyelids. "Sorry about that. What time is it?"

  "Four-thirty-seven," Ethan chuckled.

  I shot instantly to my feet and Ethan grabbed my arm to steady me as I wobbled slightly, waiting for my blood to catch up to my head.

  "Don't worry, I closed the door and told everyone you were working."

  "Jesus, Ethan, I'm sorry." I tried frantically to tidy my flattened hair and rumpled clothes.

  He shrugged nonchalantly and made his own attempt at fixing my hair before running a finger across my cheek. "Sleep wrinkle," he said with a husky laugh, tracing the line imprinted on my skin from falling asleep with my head against my blouse-clad arm. "It's cute."

  "Dammit," I muttered embarrassedly, rubbing roughly at my cheek.

  Ethan stilled my hand. "Don't do that," he growled. "You'll only hurt yourself." He kissed my cheek and each of my fingertips in turn and I could feel my knees tremble. "I love women when they first wake up; all beautiful and sleepy and flushed. You're gorgeous."

  "You old flirt," I mumbled, unable to stop my smile. "Are you mad at me?"

  "Actually, for once I'm not," Ethan smiled back. "Obviously you needed to catch up on your sleep."

  "Yes well, I had a particularly wild weekend," I giggled, helpless to tear my gaze from Ethan's crooked smile. "Some old guy kept me up all night long."

  Ethan wrapped his arms around me and leaned his chin atop my head; I snuggled into the warmth and solidity of his body and sighed. "Just imagine how the old guy feels," Ethan quipped dryly.

  "Yeah, he'll probably need a few days to recover," I teased.

  "He will?" I couldn't see Ethan's face, but I just knew his eyebrow had risen sharply to the ceiling. "I wouldn't be so certain about that.”

  I giggled into the front of Ethan's crisply pressed shirt. "You're bluffing."

  "Wanna bet?" There was an edge in Ethan's words which warned me not to step too far.

  "Well, maybe you'll just have to prove it to me," I said saucily.

  Ethan growled deep in his throat. "I'd love to."

  Chapter Six

  Ethan's touch was insistent yet gentle as he traced a path down the curve of my belly to the thatch of auburn curls which lay between my legs. He was so close to touching me that I held my breath, willing him silently to continue his downward journey, to find the wetness which his kisses had drawn from within me. My whimper of annoyance was loud in his silent bedroom. Ethan chuckled.

  "Haven't we spoken about patience?" he asked blithely, ignoring my grimace of displeasure at being lectured at an inopportune moment. I just wanted him to touch me. I wiggled with exasperation, Ethan removed his hand.

  "Come on," I pleaded, trying to dig up a flirtatious smile while at the same time hide my amazement that Ethan still continued to hold this mysterious power over me. It was just sex, yet I knew without question that no one had ever made me feel as good as Ethan did and probably never would. I also knew without asking that he was equally aware of it.

  "You're so cute when you're angry," Ethan teased, running just the tips of fingers through my red curls. I arched my back at his touch, unsuccessful in gaining a stronger caress. I pouted to a renewed round of deep laughter.

  "You're so mean," I grumbled with no small amount of petulance. "I want you to touch me Ethan. Make me come. Please?"

  Ethan lowered his dark head to my bare breast, but not before shooting me a devastatingly sexy grin. "Always so polite, Emma. Your mother would be proud."

  "Let's not talk about her right now," I laughed, watching with half-closed eyes as Ethan's lips hovered temptingly over my hardened nipple. The feeling of his hot breath against my skin was a delicious tease. As much as I complained to myself about his driving need to control our sex life, to play every game the way he wanted to, secretly I loved the way it made me feel to let go of my control, to trust Ethan to take me to the finish line with blinding, earth-shattering satisfaction. He hadn't failed me yet.

  "What if I ask you very nicely?" I inquired with a gasp as Ethan brushed his lips lightly against the taut pinkness of my nipple. The lightest touch he was capable of still felt amazing.

  He arched a dark, handsome eyebrow in a gesture which was endearingly familiar now that I knew him better. Two months ago the same look would have sent me scurrying for cover, now I smoothed the eyebrow in question with my finger and purred with an odd sense of contentment.

  Despite Ethan's constant need to hide his feelings, to mask his expressions and remain aloof, I knew I'd gotten to him, at least personally, if not professionally. When we were alone together it was more often than not that he'd smile and laugh. He looked younger for it, happier, and I think even the people at work were beginning to notice. I wanted to take the credit for it, but we'd kept our relationship quiet, trying our hardest to maintain a professional veneer, to give our gossip-hungry co-workers nothing to talk about.

  I won't lie and say it hasn't been difficult because for me, at least, it has. It was hard to forg
et what my alone time with Ethan was like, the small smiles he bestowed on me, the private jokes we shared, the way he made me feel, the sensation of his body against my own. I wanted to disconnect our personal life from our professional one, but I was finding it increasingly difficult as time went by.

  Ethan, on the other hand, seemed to find it easy to keep the two aspects of our relationship separate. His demeanor at work was almost as antagonistic and power-hungry as it had always been, and if I hadn't known him as well as I did I could almost believe he was fooling people. He still scowled and snapped and reveled in making the underlings scurry to do his bidding, but I caught him smiling at the administrative assistants from time to time or thanking a junior architect when he thought no one else would hear. I resisted the urge to point these occurrences out to him; for all that had happened between me and Ethan he was still the Dragon and every bit as capable of bringing his wrath down upon those of us beneath him as he always was.

  "Emma?" Ethan asked with a hoarse whisper. He was still poised expectantly over my breast. I smiled dreamily down at him. "You were miles away just then," he said. "We've only been at this a few weeks and already you're thinking of someone else?"

  Ethan was teasing, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his deep voice which wounded me and made my temper rise to the surface. I fought to hold it back and keep from ruining what started off as a very promising encounter between us. I wasn't very good at biting back my rude retorts, and despite all that had passed between us since we'd started sleeping together, Ethan still had the power to piss me off with little more than a few words and a prescient glance.

  "Not someone else," I managed to smile softly all the while hoping I was hiding my own hurt. How could he think it was possible for me to be thinking of anyone but him? Didn't he know me better than that by now? "I was thinking it would be nice for you to hurry the hell up."

  Ethan bit my nipple playfully, laughing when the sharp sensation made me squeal. "That's what I like about you, Emma," he confessed. His handsome face was stoic, composed, but there was a glint in his blue-grey eyes which warmed me through. "You never back down. You fight for what you want."

  I watched Ethan wordlessly as his mouth descended once more to the delicate flesh of my breast. His tongue was wet and hot and drew a moan from deep within my lungs with skillful intensity. I wanted to open my mouth and say something witty, to parry words with him like I'd always done, but I was rendered speechless by the passion Ethan evoked in me with the simplest of touches.

  "What is it that you want this time?" Ethan asked, his voice heavy and slow.

  "You," I gasped as he drew my nipple into his mouth with sweet suction. My back arched off the mattress again, desperate to be closer to the heat of him, the sensation of his mouth on me.

  "Good," he muttered against my skin. There was a satisfied, smug look on his handsome face which should have pissed me off, but which only served to fuel my own desire. He still wanted me, and although he constantly had the upper hand in all aspects of our life together, knowing that he desired me so much pushed the power a little more in my favor. It was only for a brief period each time we were together, but I relished those moments when Ethan let me see his need. It made him human. It made him sexy as hell.

  "Now," I cried, shifting my weight, pulling Ethan down to the bed. His silver eyes watched hungrily as I pushed myself up against him, straddling him. His smile melted away to reveal a much fiercer expression, the one reserved for Ethan at his most intense; he was the Dragon through and through, and that would never change. His erection pressed against my wetness and I ground against him, forcing lengthy moans from us both.

  For once Ethan said nothing, issued no orders, but watched unwaveringly as I rose up to take him inside of me, sliding down until his generous length was buried completely in the heat of my body. Dear Lord, he felt so good it was unbelievable.

  Ethan clutched at my ass but said nothing and did not move as I angled my hips and moved above him, rising and lowering myself again and again, feeling each inch of him as my muscles throbbed and contracted. I threw back my head and wailed as the sensation built and still Ethan remained silent, but I could feel the strength of his grip on me tighten as he slowed my movements, knowing instinctively as always just how to bring me the greatest pleasure.

  There was nothing else in the world at that moment but Ethan, the hard, lean, solid anchor of his body beneath me, the frantic rasp of his breathing, the unmistakable scent of his lust. I wanted him so badly that it hurt; an actual physical ache inside my chest that could only be relieved by one thing. I ignored Ethan's attempt to slow my thrusts; all I wanted was to bring him to the edge, to give him the same pleasure he'd given me time and again, and taken from me just as often. This time it was me doing the giving, the taking, and it was more exciting than I would have guessed.

  "Emma," Ethan ground out through clenched teeth as I shook off his iron grip on my ass and rode him with every ounce of energy I had. "Sweet Jesus!"

  I laughed, shaking my hair out of my face, feeling the blissful flutter of an orgasm dance within my belly. I was so close to the greatest pleasure I'd ever known and was determined to bring Ethan with me.

  I bent down to kiss Ethan, relishing the frantic lash of his tongue against my own, the wet heat of his mouth. I angled my hips differently and increased my pace, moaning against him, catching his groan of response within my lungs. Ethan's hands were everywhere, caressing every inch of skin he could reach, his touch so insistent, so encouraging that it pushed me further. Every muscle I had contracted with need as my orgasm burst upon us, coupled with my loud wail of satisfaction.

  "Don't stop," Ethan grunted as my hips began to slow. "Dear Lord, Emma, don't stop now." The desire reflected in his stern expression and silver eyes cleared my head a little and brought me back to the matter at hand.

  I dug my fingernails into the solid mass of his shoulders and fucked Ethan hard, drinking in the noises he didn't know he was making, feeling every throb of his cock as it filled me up. This was the way it was supposed to be: the frantic passion, the feeling of completeness, the intense sensation. Every gasp, every groan imprinted itself on my brain and went straight to my core, bringing with it another orgasm of my own, followed swiftly by Ethan's.

  I knew his tenacious grip on my hips would leave bruises, but it was worth it just to hear him cry my name while he emptied himself into me. Nothing could top the feeling of Ethan's body relaxing beneath my own or the comfort of his large hand as it wove into my hair and clasped the back of my head, holding me to the damp crook of his neck. He kissed my hair softly. We were both breathing hard.

  "Stay here tonight," Ethan whispered into my hair. His voice was rough and edged with sleep. I'd tried not to make it a habit of sleeping over at Ethan's after the first weekend we'd been together, especially if we had to work the next morning. Most days we were together all day at the office and I still wasn't sure how much of me Ethan wanted to see, so I'd been trying to give him some space. I smiled against the salty skin of Ethan's neck; his stubble was scratchy yet pleasantly, quintessentially male. I was perfectly content to remain where I was and already I could feel the heavy weight of sleep take over my limbs. My response was little more than a satisfied whimper.

  ********

  I was awake and mobile the next morning before Ethan was, a rare occurrence since he was a self-acclaimed early bird and I was most definitely not. I'd slept the profound sleep of the extremely satisfied and Ethan had only woken me once in the night to make love again, slowly and quietly in the darkest hour of the morning, our final moments lit by the pinkish creep of dawn. In sleep Ethan looked younger, the stern lines of worry melted away to reveal the chiseled edges of his breathtakingly handsome profile. I couldn't resist a small kiss in-between the strong, dark slash of his usually disapproving eyebrows.

  I dressed myself in silence, slipping from the quiet apartment without incident. The harsh light inside the elev
ator slightly revived my still weary self. My thighs ached from the night before and there were bruises on my hips from Ethan's strong grip which would take days to fade. I smiled into the empty elevator despite my unsettled stomach. I had an early meeting with Mrs. Kendall and the land developers and I was nervous as hell.

  Meeting with the land developers was actually Mrs. Kendall's idea. She assured me she had no intention of selling the house we were all trying desperately to save, but wisely figured if we appeared as if we were playing along it would buy us more time to get the building historically designated and save it from the wrecking ball. It was a gusty move which both Ethan and I were skeptical about, but Mrs. Kendall had been playing in the big leagues of real estate for decades, so there was little we could do but trust her.

  I did see a modicum of sense in her plan; if City Hall and the land developers thought we were going to sell, it just might stop them from looking any deeper into our activities. If they thought they were courting the wealthy and influential Mrs. Kendall, it would more than likely buy us time.