Laken was probably a fine young woman, and he didn’t deserve her. Didn’t deserve to indulge, to let himself want her in a way that had him sitting in his goddamn office, his cock hard as a concrete slab.
He would never fall in love again because he’d quite literally broken his wife’s heart. She’d died the same night he’d asked her for a divorce. No one knew that. They’d assumed he was a grief-stricken widower, but he’d been more hurt when Laken’s father died. The man had been his best friend.
He had a responsibility to make sure nothing happened to Laken and he was the wolf at the door. Maybe he should talk to HR and have her transferred. “Laken!” he called out.
Laken walked in and he noticed how she filled out her slim skirt with curves, the luscious shape of her calves that begged for his tongue to explore. “I’ve rethought this. Maybe us working together isn’t the best idea.”
Her face fell, and she looked stricken. “Sure, whatever you want.”
He picked up the phone and dialed Judy’s extension, his entire HR department. “Judy,” he said when she answered, putting her on speaker. “I’ve thought it over some more. Why don’t you transfer Laken Singleton to someone else?”
“There is no one else.”
“I’m sorry?” He sat up in his chair and jabbed a finger at the phone. “You said Gary in accounting needed a secretary just this morning.”
“I did. But I’ve already hired someone. They’ve completed their HR packet, which Ms. Singleton hasn’t done yet. It wouldn’t be right to fire her.”
“Can’t you switch them?”
Judy sighed. “This girl is in college to be an accountant. She could be a real asset to Gary. I just feel like the placement works as is. But,” she said, her voice belabored, “you’re the boss.”
“No. Leave her with Gary.” He slapped the speaker button and cut the phone off. He tried to think of something else, but he couldn’t put Laken on one of the security teams. She had no training. “I don’t know about this, Laken.”
“Oh, God.” Laken crossed to one of the chairs in front of his desk and collapsed. “I’ve already quit both my jobs. I know I don’t have a lot of training in this area, but I’m smart. I can figure it out, no matter how hard it is. I had straight A’s in school. And when I was in high school, I took keyboarding and office studies.”
Well, hell. He couldn’t kick the poor girl out in the street, especially when he’d been the one to suggest she come to work for him. “Don’t worry. Your job is safe. We’ll make it work.”
“Thank you,” she gushed and left his office before he could change his mind.
What on Earth was he going to do with her when all he wanted to do was swipe everything off his desk, pin her beneath him, and take her?
***
Laken had been working for him for over a week, and he was nearly out of his mind with lust. And worse than that, she was whip-smart. She’d taken no time to sort through the mess on her desk and take care of all the work.
Unfortunately for him, he found smart women sexy as hell. He was in a slow-burn of torture as she leaned over the desk to look at his computer screen.
“See,” she gestured at the company site on the screen, leaning on her elbows, ass sticking out right beside of him. “It’s out of date compared to your competitors. If you hired someone to update and blog about security—ways to avoid scams, making sure their homes are secure—you’d give yourself more credibility as an expert on security work.”
“Anything to get profits up, I'm willing to try.” Trevor leaned back, not missing her tantalizing backside, and forced himself to focus on the screen. “You’re brilliant. Your dad always had a knack for these kind of things, too.”
She stood up, smoothing out her skirt, and blushed an adorable pink. He wanted to brush his lips over her face—hell, he wanted to put his mouth all over her.
“Thanks.”
“I mean it. I made a great decision when I asked you to come work for me. I’d be lost without you.”
She leaned against his desk, facing him, and he stood up. Just like that, they were face to face and electricity spiked between them.
Her eyes widened and he knew she felt it, too. Damn him. Knowing that she wanted him, too, he couldn’t resist any longer.
Before he could stop himself, he took possession of her mouth, sucking on her bottom lip until she opened up to him. He slid his tongue inside, between her hot lips, and she kissed him back. At first, she was tentative, teasing his mouth with small flutters of her tongue, but she became bolder.
He grabbed her by her hips and pulled her against him. His erection pressed into her stomach until his balls ached with the want. He cupped her ass and trailed kisses down her throat.
“Laken,” he growled. She sought out his mouth, bringing her arms up around his neck and pulling him closer.
A noise from outside the office, probably someone from the cleaning crew, had them jerking apart as if burnt by the kiss.
He smoothed down the jacket of his suit and looked at her rumpled blouse and disheveled hair. If anyone saw her right now, or his raging hard-on for that matter, there would be no doubt what they’d been up to.
Gently, he brushed a hair out of her face, then took a step back. “I’m so sorry, Laken. I don’t know what came over me.” A lie. A week’s worth of desire had finally bubbled up to the surface.
She put a hand to her swollen lips and he wondered if she was going to quit on the spot. “Would you still be sorry it happened, if I told you” —she worked her throat— “that I’m not. I mean, I’m not sorry. I’ve wanted to kiss you since you walked into the coffeehouse. Wondered every night what it would be like.”
“And? What was it like for you, darling?”
“It was heavenly.” She sighed, cheeks flushed. “And I want to do it again.”
“You’re playing with fire. You don’t know what you’ve stirred to life in me.” For that matter, he wasn’t even sure what she’d brought alive inside.
He knew he was wrong to want her, but everything inside of him burned to find out what would happen if he took it further. He wished he knew what he was going to do. “You should go home, Laken.”
“Oh.” Her gaze was cast to the floor. “All right, then. Good night.”
“Night,” he called out after her. He ran a hand through his hair. Damn him. Hell, he was damned. He didn’t see any way past this want.
Chapter Three
It had been three days since the kiss. She sat at her desk and wondered why he’d sent her away, something she’d done every five minutes since he’d kissed her. She’d never been kissed that way before.
It had knocked her off balance. She wasn’t getting as much work done as before because all she could think about was the way his lips had taken hers. How much she wanted him to do that with her whole body.
It was past six, and she should be going home, but there was a torrential downpour outside, and she hadn’t brought an umbrella. She’d be soaked like a kitten in the gutter within seconds.
Trevor came out of his office, shutting off the lights behind him. “Go home, Laken. You’ve put in a good day’s work.”
“I can’t.” She frowned. It bothered her to admit she’d had to sell the car her dad had bought her. When her stepmother had kicked her out, she’d needed a deposit for an apartment and money to live on until she started bringing home steady paychecks.
“Sure you can.” He paused by her desk and gazed at her. When he did that, it was like he was looking straight into her soul. “What’s wrong?”
He could read her too well. She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s raining, and the bus stop is over a block away.”
His brow puckered for a moment as he looked at her, then out the window. “You need a ride home.” He said it as a statement—he wasn’t offering. It didn’t surprise her, he’d avoided being alone with her since their kiss. “Why not? I’ll take you home.”
“Are you certain? I don’t wa
nt to be any trouble. I can just wait out the rain. Or call a cab.” The idea killed her—so much precious money gone for one trip home.
“I’m sure. Let’s go.” He handed her his umbrella while she grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer of her desk.
By the time they reached his car, they were both soaked through from the whipping rain. The wind had carried it up under the umbrella, rendering it useless. He turned the heat up and angled the vents so they blew on her. She shivered, waiting for the car to heat up.
There was intimacy in being so close to him, like this. She glanced over and he dragged his gaze away from her and back to the road. Water dripped from the ends of his hair and she had to fight the urge to run her fingers through it.
She directed him to her little bungalow-style house. “Right here.” He pulled up to the curb and put the car in park. The rain had died down some, so it wasn’t an outright downpour any longer. “Come in and at least dry yourself with a towel before you head home. I hate to think of you driving home, freezing and wet,” she said.
“You’re sure that’s okay?”
“I’m positive. It’ll be fine.” She climbed out of the car, clutching her purse and ran for her front stoop. She unlocked the door, and by then he’d caught up to her. She let them both in.
Laken went to the bathroom and came back with towels. They were thin and cheap, so she brought two. “I’m going to get out of these wet clothes. I’ll be right back.”
She went into her room and stripped down naked. Even her underwear was wet from the rain. Grabbing her lavender terry cloth robe, she slipped it on. It was modest, coming down all the way to her ankles, and she didn’t want to be rude and leave Trevor sitting in her living room while she looked for something to wear.
Grabbing a towel from the bathroom, she started towel-drying her hair and joined Trevor in the living room. He’d removed his jacket, a sodden mess, and his white shirt clung to his broad chest.
“I must look like a drowned raccoon,” she said. It dismayed her, all the time she’d spent trying to look good for him, only to have this storm undo everything.
Trevor just stared at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. What could he be thinking about? “You look perfect to me,” he said hoarsely.
***
Trevor’s mouth went dry when Laken came out, toweling her hair. She was wrapped up in a robe, belted at her waist, and even covered top to bottom, he wanted her.
Her lips would still be cool from the rain. Her scent—a combination of oranges and vanilla—struck him when she got close.
“I should go.” If he didn’t get out of there, there was no telling what would happen next.
“I could make some coffee.” She tilted her head and gave a little shrug, eyes wide. “I guess you want to get out of those wet clothes, though.”
He was fucked. She could feel the desire sparking between them, just like he did. Those eyes gave it away. “Yeah. I do.”
He stalked across the room and took her face in his hands, a little rougher than he intended. He stroked one chilled cheek then pulled her close, his mouth descending on hers.
This time, she opened for him right away and their tongues danced together. His hands drifted down, over her shoulders and her tiny waist, to grab her ass and pull her close. She came closer with a whimper in his mouth, crushed hips pliant against his unyielding erection.
Her hands drifted up and began to tentatively unbutton his wet dress shirt. She peeled it off him, never breaking contact, then ran her hands up to curl in the smattering of hair on his chest.
When he separated her robe, to caress her neck and collarbone, her skin was scorching hot under his hands. She arched up to his touch, and he tugged the top of her robe apart. Her breasts were full and perfect. He took one in each hand, kneading it as he found her mouth again.
Laken pulled back and swallowed. “Take those clothes off.”
“You want this?” he asked.
Her eyes drifted closed as he rolled one nipple between his fingers. “God, yes. I’ve never been this sure.”
She unbuckled his belt, and he did the rest, discarding his wet clothes in a pile on her floor. Taking his hand, she led him to the bedroom.
Her bed was made. Her bedroom was very bohemian with different styles of art and scarves over the lamps. While they walked, she’d pulled her robe together.
He took her by the arms and turned her to face him. “Don’t ever cover yourself. I like looking at you.”
Pink spots of color rose high on her cheeks. She let her hand fall and the robe gaped open, exposing her beautiful, pert breasts. Her nipples were like dusky pink points, hard like diamonds. He backed her up against the wall, used one hand to encircle her wrists and pin them above her head. He yanked at the sash of her robe until she stood gloriously nude in front of him.
He brought his head down to feast on her breasts and used a finger to circle her clit, dive inside of her, then toy with her clit again. In moments, she quivered against him, like a live wire. “Oh, God, don’t stop. Please don’t—”
Her words ended as an orgasm ripped through her. Hips bucked against his hand, and he sucked harder on a nipple.
“I never… I didn’t know.”
He grasped a leg, pulling it around him, giving him better access. He readied himself, poised near her entrance. He was panting like a man in a marathon, but he was dying. The more he touched her, the more he wanted her.
“Didn’t know what, darling?” At that moment, he pushed himself inside until he filled her completely.
She cried out, but it wasn’t from pleasure. At least, it didn’t sound that way. He thought he might just explode from how damn tight she was. He pulled back, then thrust inside of her again.
Her head fell back against the wall. “Trevor, wait.”
He couldn’t wait much longer, but he stopped moving to hear her out. If he didn’t have her soon, he’d go crazy.
“Don’t be mad, okay?” she asked. Her hands came down on his shoulders when he let go of her and backed away.
“You want me to stop.” He’d die if he didn’t come soon. She’d made him wild with desire for her tight little body.
“No. I really don’t.” She pulled him over to the bed. “But could we go a little slower at first? I-I’ve never done this.”
“Done what?” She couldn’t possibly mean what he thought she meant.
“This.” She gestured at their naked bodies. “Sex.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was afraid you’d change your mind.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes, staring instead down at her long, lithe legs.
And he would’ve. But Christ, he needed her. If she still wanted him… he’d already taken her virginity. Was he any more damned if he finished the job?
He pushed her back on the bed, climbed on top of her, and took his time, easing himself into her entrance. He used a finger to stroke her clit so she wouldn’t notice the discomfort, and soon she was shaking with pleasure. “I think it’s okay. I really think it’s okay. I want you now.” Her words all ran together.
With that, he began to pump his hips in and out of her, and in only a few more minutes, she came again, moaning so loud that he wondered if someone on the street might hear.
Wondered, but didn’t care. He quickened his pace, moving faster, and his own pleasure built until shudders wracked his body.
What had she done to him? He’d been so overcome with passion, he hadn’t even used a condom. He rolled off her, trying to catch his breath, and she curled up at his side.
He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, without another word. He didn’t have any at the moment.
***
This was one of those rare nights she wouldn’t see Trevor. He had a business thing tonight, and she could hardly show up on his arm.
They’d been seeing each other for six weeks now. Christmas was days away and he'd helped her put up a tiny tree. He'd brought o
rnaments from his house to decorate it with.
They’d made love at his place, her place, his desk, the shower, and once he’d pleasured her in the kitchen. Just plopped her up on the counter and made love to her with his mouth until she’d come so hard, she’d wailed.
They’d been secretly carrying on a torrid affair for about six weeks. Just long enough for her to be very worried, because she hadn’t had her period since before they’d made love that first time.
Jen was on her way over with her son, Jason, who loved playing with the stuffed animals Laken kept here for him. Laken needed Jen to give her moral support.
Her gaze traveled once again to the bag from the drugstore on the corner. She didn’t want to take the test, but she did. Wanted it to be done and negative, but the very real possibility that it could be positive kept her from going into the bathroom and just peeing on the stupid thing.
She’d bought two different kinds. This way if she got a positive, she’d have a backup. She figured she’d just use them both because she couldn’t screw them both up.
A knock on the door alerted her to Jen’s presence. She went and opened it, and Jason pounced on her. She grabbed him up in a big hug and carried him inside.
“I’ve told you not to do that, Jason,” Jen said. She sounded tired.
“No way. Jason’s hugs always make me feel better,” Laken said. Before she could get any more cuddles, Jason hopped down and attacked the box of stuffed animals in the corner of her living room.
As soon as he was busy playing, Jen pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, again, for saving my ass at Coffee Hut.”
“It’s not a big deal. I got another job offer so it worked out for both of us. Stop thanking me.”
Jen shrugged out of her threadbare jacket, too light for the chilliness of the day. It was probably all she had. “So, what’s going on?”
Blushing, Laken handed Jen the bag so she could look inside.
“Oh. Oh! Are you—do you really think you are?”
Laken took Jen’s hand and held it tight. “That’s why I need you here, so I can figure it out.”
They both stared at the innocuous bag in Jen’s hand for a minute. Finally, Jen spoke up. “Why don’t you go ahead and take them. Cap them, and bring them to me. I’ll set a timer on my phone.”
ROMANCE: Older Man Younger Woman Romance: Daddy’s Business Friend (First Time Virgin Pregnancy Taboo Romance) (Alpha Male Contemporary Romance Short Stories) Page 2