The Office Rival: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

by Kat T. Masen

  Motherfucker has a hard-on already!

  “You all right?”

  Lex Edwards is beside me, having just stopped the waiter for a drink. I lose my focus, but only for a second. If it weren’t for him buying a share in Lantern Publishing, this stupid party wouldn’t be happening.

  “Yeah… it’s just… never mind.”

  He chuckles as if he’s in on some joke. “You’ve got to let it go. Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself insane. Trust me, I know. And you should know since you so eagerly tried the same move on my wife last year.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that, man,” I apologize.

  “So, the tables have turned, and you’re about to smash every guy in this room for looking at your woman.”

  “I can take them out easily, especially that fucker on the left,” I grit.

  “You’ll spend a lifetime fighting it off. You need to find a way to control the jealousy. It’s a balancing act. Let her think you’re cool but never, and I repeat never, take your eyes off the prize.”

  I don’t know how Lex is so calm about all of this. His wife is standing next to Presley. The beasts are probably thinking of how to bag both of them in one go. The waiter returns but not quickly enough. I grab the scotch and down it in almost one gulp, burning my throat and following up with a numbing sensation, but it doesn’t stop me from seeing red.

  “If that’s what I gotta do, then I’ll spend my life fighting every fucker who thinks they can go near her.”

  She doesn’t realize what she does to me, or every man in this room, except for Lex. He’s fighting his own battles, despite being in denial.

  It’s been over a year since I made it my mission to crawl under her skin—the woman who drove me to the brink of insanity. And she had no clue either. Because beneath her mass of curls was a hardheaded, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, feisty woman who rubbed me the wrong way. Boy, did that backfire. I thought fucking her in the alley and leaving her pussy wet with no happy ending would teach her a fucking lesson. It taught me a lesson. You play with fire, you get burned. The amount of shit I did to forget her was all a waste a time.

  But I wouldn’t change it.

  My son is my fucking life.

  And running through his veins is the blood of this woman who consumes me. It’s not just her wild hair that cascades down her back and covers her body like a Greek goddess. It’s everything about her—the way her big brown eyes stare back at me, drawing me in enough that I could climb into her soul and bury myself there and how her body begs me to take her, whenever and wherever.

  Whenever. Wherever.

  I’ve got it. Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

  You did, moron. You’re always thinking about it. This is what happens when you’re in love with a beautiful woman.

  I finish the drink in my hand and place it on a table, abandoning Lex without another word. Walking straight to her, I don’t break my gaze until she stops mid-sentence as my body presses against her back. My hands move around her hips, and I pull her closer until my cock is nestled in her ass.

  Yeah, I’m hard. What’s fucking new?

  “Look who’s here. What, aren’t we allowed to talk to your girlfriend?” Kate teases, laughing along with Lex’s wife, Charlie.

  “Stop teasing him, Kate. It’s this man thing they all have to do,” Charlie chastises.

  Kate rolls her eyes at Charlie. “Yeah, you should know. Your man is over there practically eye-fucking you.”

  Charlie scans the room and spots Lex. “Oh… the joys of being eye-fucked. I’ll see you ladies later.”

  I don’t give Presley an opportunity to say anything as I excuse us from Kate.

  “Haden, what’s wrong? Where are we going?”

  Pulling her along, I weave my way in and out of the crowd until we are outside in the lobby. I look to my left, then to my right. There it is, my savior for tonight.

  “Come with me.”

  Puzzled, she follows me until we are at the lobby desk. There is a bench located in front, and I tell her to take a seat.

  “Wait here,” I instruct.

  At the counter, I pull the young busboy aside and whisper in his ear, “Key to the cloakroom.”

  I’m hoping he is smart enough to read between the lines since I’m holding out a hundred-dollar bill. At first, he watches the people behind me, then takes the cash. “All right. But you’ve got fifteen minutes, then my boss is back.”

  Fifteen minutes? I’ll be done in five.

  I make my way back to where she is sitting and grab her hand forcefully.

  “Haden, for the love of God, what are you doing?” She scowls, trying to release her grip from mine.

  With the key in my hand, we make our way to the cloakroom. I open the door and switch on the light, pushing her inside. Closing the door behind us, I don’t give her time to ask any more ridiculous questions. I slam my mouth onto hers as I push her against the wall. She clutches onto my shirt and manages to pull away for just a split second.

  “We can’t do it in here. What about all the coats?” She panics.

  “Fuck the coats. You gonna tease me all night in this white dress?”

  “I wasn’t teasing you, I—”

  My mouth’s back on hers. Our tongues are in a battle, feverishly fighting until she lets out a deep moan, the one that makes me rock hard, wanting to explode. I don’t have much time, so I quickly flip her around, pushing her against the wall again, this time with her back to me until all I can see is that sweet ass of hers. I lift the corner of her dress, exposing one cheek. She’s wearing those French laced panties that made me blow in my pants last time. Fuck. With her skin in full view, I grab my palm and slap her ass hard enough for her to let out a squeal.

  “Guess you can’t be quiet, huh?” I mock.

  There are fancy coats hanging beside me, designer labels, probably. I grab the white one closest to me and pull the belt off the coat. It’s soft and will do the job. I take the belt and place it over her head, then cover her mouth. Pulling it back around her head, I tie a knot, so it’s firm but not too tight.

  Moving her hair away from her ear, I lean in to whisper, “I’m going to fuck you now. It’s going to be hard, and you’re going to scream.”

  Her body is waiting, the goosebumps forming along her precious skin. I don’t want to waste any more time, so I unzip my pants until my cock is free. I slide my fingers on her panties and feel how soaking wet she is. Fuck me. My woman is ready for me. No more waiting. Just fuck her hard and make her come.

  I grab my cock, and just the slight touch causes me to moan. Pushing her panties aside, I slide myself in nice and hard, watching my girl arch her back as her knees begin to shake. I fucking love when her knees shake.

  The tightness of her pussy feels like heaven. This is fucking torture. C’mon, your cock should be able to hold out for a couple more minutes.

  Placing my hands on her shoulders, I push her against the wall, gripping tight as I continue to thrust into her. Sweat is dripping off my forehead and unable to control my thirst, I slam harder while I lower my hand against her beautiful clit. It’s perfect, just the way I like it—pink and swollen.

  I want it in my mouth.

  I want everything right now.

  But time is running out.

  I can’t be a complete jerk.

  I loosen the belt enough for her to talk and let her dictate our happy ending by asking her how she wants me to make her come.

  “My ass.”

  When your woman tells you to make her come by fucking her in the ass, you better pull your cock out of her pussy fast before she changes her mind. My cock is dripping with her juices. I rub the tip and shaft against her hole. Her moans escape, and I swiftly tighten the knot on the belt.

  I always worried about how she would cope with my piercing, but I soon found out that it gave her mind-blowing orgasms. So anal, yeah, that’s my favorite fucking style.

  I slide my cock into her ass slowly. As soon as I’m fully
in, her body gives me the green light. Her skin against mine is making this delicious sound, and as I lean in to rub her swollen clit again, my cock goes in deeper, and her body shakes instantly. Her wild screams are muffled, but hey, I’m not Superman. I don’t have any superpower to stop what’s about to happen.

  I’m fucking seeing stars, exploding inside her as the sensations ravage every part of me. I let out a deep, rumbling groan, tightening my grip on her shoulders. I don’t want to hurt her but the marks I’ve left, they are red.

  Our heavy pants echo through the confined room, and with a gentle kiss on her shoulder, I ease my way out, slowly causing her to flinch. Untying the belt around her mouth, I throw it somewhere into the pile of coats as she turns around and adjusts her dress.

  “You okay?” I ask while helping her with her dress.

  With a wicked smile, she fixes my shirt and straightens my tie. “If that’s the reaction I get out of you for wearing this dress, then I picked the right one for tonight.”

  I stare into her eyes with a stern face. “No, that’s what happens when other men are trying to take what’s mine.”

  “We talked about this. You’ve got to control your jealousy,” she reminds me gently.

  “No, you talked, and I refused to listen.”

  “And I told you there’s nothing I can do to stop that from happening.”

  Oh, there is something she can do. I just need to get her home.

  “Let’s go home,” I tell her, shutting down our disagreement.

  On the taxi ride home, she quietly leans her head against my shoulder, trying to stay awake. Her eyes begin to droop. I’ve learned that when you make Presley orgasm, she gets knocked out quickly. It is cute, and many times I just have to go for round two with her half asleep.

  The lights are off as we walk up the garden path and onto the porch. I fumble for my keys, nervously taking longer than usual.

  “You want my keys?” She yawns.

  I shake my head, finally getting the door open. She kicks off her shoes at the front door and bends to pick them up. God forbid you leave a pair of shoes at the front door. Miss OCD would have a heart attack.

  “Come outside with me.”

  “Now?” She yawns again. “I love you, babe, but you took it out of me in the cloakroom. How about you wake me up in a couple of hours, and we’ll go again?”

  “I don’t want you outside for that. I want to show you something,” I answer, slightly anxious. “And I’ll take you up on that offer of waking you up.”

  She lets out a tired laugh and follows me to the back porch. I flick the back switch that lights up the entire garden. I’m proud of this fucking garden. Who would have thought that Haden Cooper had a green thumb? This backyard was a complete dump when we moved in, and I turned it into something amazing. It isn’t huge. Enough to have a small grass area for Masen and our dogs to run around in. The trees are trimmed, and because California has warm nights, I decorated with fairy lights so we could enjoy being outside longer.

  “Have I told you how much I love what you’ve done with our yard?” She beams.

  I lean across to kiss the side of her neck. “Yes. But you can tell me again.”

  She gently swats my arm as I walk her along the pebbled path to Masen’s swing set.

  “Stay right here. Actually, close your eyes.”

  “Okay,” she says with a curious smile, sitting down on the swing.

  Around the back corner, I have hidden the two surprises that terrify me to the point that I’m going to have an anxiety attack. I grab the small one first and walk back toward her, placing the box in her hands.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it.”

  She cautiously unties the pink bow and lifts the lid of the box. With a loud gasp, she says, “It’s my Peaches ‘n Cream Barbie! How did you get this?”

  Her beautiful eyes light up as she admires this precious childhood memory.

  “Your mom sent it to me. Now that you have a proper home, she thought you needed something that means a lot to you.”

  “It does mean a lot. My God… she was everything I wanted to be.” She hugs the box and closes her eyes for a moment. Seeing how happy she is gives me the confidence to move forward with the next part of my plan.

  “I was more of a GI Joe dude, but I’ll take your word for it.” I smirk. “I’ve got one more surprise for you if you sit here and behave. Eyes closed.”

  “I’m on my best behavior.” She salutes.

  This time, I nervously walk behind the large oak tree. Taking deep breaths, I bend down, lift the surprise, and walk back toward the swing. Placing it on the ground before her, I position it carefully and then ask her to open her eyes.

  The look on her face is priceless.

  Shocked, she falls to her knees.

  “How on earth did you get this here?”

  “I have my ways.” I grin.

  Barely able to speak, she places her hand inside and touches all the small furniture. “This was my dream house. I played with this every day when I was a kid,” she tells me. “I spent hours in my room pretending that when I grew up, I’d live happily ever after in this house. With my Ken.”

  I’m beginning to sweat. I don’t fucking look like Ken? Who the hell is Ken anyway? Shit, it’ll only take a few seconds until—

  “What’s this?” She leans into the bedroom of the house and pulls out a tiny black box. Even in the dark, I can see her hands shaking. Her eyes move toward mine, and all I can see is the woman I love, the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.

  “I love you, Presley Malone. I know I’m not perfect, and I know I can be a jerk sometimes… okay, a lot of the time. I may not be able to give you a dream house exactly like this, but I can give you all of this.” I wave my hand around to show our house. “It’s not pink, nor is it grand like your perfect home. But it’s ours. And it will forever be the house where all our memories with our son began.”

  My beautiful Presley has tears streaming down her face. I choke back my emotions, never expecting this moment to be so intense.

  “I’ve never imagined it would be you that I wanted this life with. But I do. I want this rundown bungalow with the crazy ghost lingering in the spare room. I want to work alongside you, building our business and following our dreams. I want our family to be complete. I want everything I never knew I wanted. I can’t promise you any more than to love you and Masen for the rest of my life.”

  I take the box from her hand and get down on one knee. She is at my level now, and with my heart thumping loud and my voice cracking under the pressure, I open the box and say the words I’ve been aching to say since the moment I realized I was in love with her.

  “You said you wanted more…” I say, barely above a whisper. “I want our crazy life, and I want it with you by my side as my wife. Presley Malone, would you do me the honor of giving me more and marrying me?”

  Her panda eyes are clouded with tears, and choking back her sobs, she nods her head as her face beams with happiness. “Yes,” she says with exuberance. “I want everything you just offered me. But most importantly, I want you, Haden.”

  Now I’m shaking. This is the moment I’ve waited for, that I’ve doubted for so long and for no absolute fucking reason. She loves me. Me! End of fucking story.

  I slide the ring onto her finger. It’s perfect. After all, it belonged to my mom. My dad had this made for her. I barely made any changes. I want the ring on her finger to be something that represents eternal love.

  “Haden… this ring is… I have no words.” She continues to stare at it in awe.

  “My dad gave it to my mom,” I say quietly.

  She looks back up at me and wraps her arms around me, playing with my hair as she plants a soft kiss on my lips.

  “You’ve made me so happy, Mr. Cooper.” She grins, then continues, “But ‘more’ doesn’t mean skydiving naked, does it?”

  I shake my head and laugh at her. This is why I fucking
love her.

  “And when you said crazy ghost in the spare room, you were joking, right?”

  “Will you just shut up for a moment so I can kiss my soon-to-be wife?”

  I kiss her deeply, not wanting to stop until the sun rises in the morning. But we’re talking about Miss—soon to be Mrs.—Chatterbox. “You’re still a jerk. You know that, right?”

  I take her in my arms and lift her into the air, both of us laughing hysterically. She promised to be mine, sealed it with a fucking kiss. And it’s right at this moment that it finally hits me. I never had anything to worry about. She was always going to be mine.

  It has been a long journey, but fate just had a fucked-up way of getting us to our destination.

  Next in the series

  THE MARRIAGE RIVAL

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  I entered his office asking about a new author we were about to offer a publishing deal, who wants to expand on their manuscript which would then move the book into another genre.

  “I don’t see what the problem is,” I point out, pushing the manuscript toward him. “Yes, it’s erotic romance, but we discussed this and how we would market it to the right audience.”

  His annoyingly chiseled jaw was resting in his palm, barely making eye contact with me, appearing completely uninterested. I know he’s paying me back because I ignored him during The Bachelor finale last night.

  “And I told you I don’t think erotic romance can generate the interest we need to make this year’s budget.”

  Haden’s patronizing tone does nothing to curb the debate between us. How can a man so sexy be equally as frustrating at the same time? You should be able to answer this in a heartbeat since you married him.

  “Is this about last night?”

  His eyebrow twitches, a trait he does when he’s about to lie. He thinks I can’t read him, but I’m his wife—I have studied this man every day, countless hours lying in bed, just staring at his face while he sleeps. A beautiful face attached to multiple personalities depending on how many times he got blown during the week.

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about. You were busy watching some program.”