But whenever George was close, she could barely think, much less come back at whatever he said. He was too big, too strong, and just too male. She thought about punching him again, but flashes of their kiss earlier today hit her and she knew she shouldn’t tempt fate twice in twenty-four hours.
With a sigh, he came around to the other side of her desk, leaning over her chair. His finger came into her range of vision as he pointed to the first paragraph and explained the legalese to her. Unfortunately, he was so big as he leaned over her, and his hand was…well, enticingly male. The light dusting of dark hair just under the cuff of his sleeve caught her attention and she couldn’t stop wondering if he was covered in thick hair, or just a light dusting of hair on his chest. Did he have a happy trail that gave a woman a path down to his…interesting male parts? Or was he all-over hairy? Both options seemed…hot!
She thought about that hand, about the fact that he’d been holding her earlier today with his strong hands, his fingers had messed up her hair as he’d held her head for that kiss. Just one kiss…one incredible, amazing kiss.
“Got it?”
Huh? What had he said? She blinked as she tried to skim through the words and pretend that she understood.
“Um…” she looked up at him,
His eyes sharpened at her confusion and he shook his head. “You didn’t understand a word I just said, did you?” he grumbled and pulled back.
She stood up as well. “Understand? No.”
He ran a hand through his hair and it took every ounce of Lillian’s control not to reach up and smooth it out again. He looked frustrated and irritated.
“Just…” she wanted to kick him, but restrained herself this time. “Just leave and I’ll figure this out by myself.”
He watched her for a long moment, looking down into her eyes as if he could see into her soul. How could he so easily make her crazy like this? She never lost her temper with anyone else! She was always cool and in control. But George…he was just…!
Lillian couldn’t hold back any longer. She was just sick of this! Sick of the stress from the wedding she didn’t want, sick of wanting a man she hadn’t even realized she wanted until earlier today, and sick of his anger at her! “Don’t look at me like that, George! I won’t take it! Not anymore!” she snapped. “You’re a patronizing, arrogant, egotistical jerk! I’m not an idiot. Just because I don’t understand what you’re telling me doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.”
His eyes narrowed at her accusation and he moved closer. “I never said you were an idiot!”
“You didn’t have to!” she yelled back at him. “I can see what you think of me every time I don’t understand something!”
“Well, if you’d just pay attention every once in a while…!” He shook his head and stepped back, looking out the dark windows before turning back to her. There was a fury in his eyes that she’d never seen before, never even knew he was capable of! “Then again, you’re just going to sign all of this over to your husband next week, aren’t you? No need to learn any of this stuff, right?”
She gasped at his anger as well as the unfairness of his accusation. Yes, she was going to give over control of the fund to Phillip, but only because he could do a better job! Besides, she didn’t like what he was implying! “Don’t you dare say I’m a flighty female!”
His voice lowered and he came closer, his eyes shooting darts back at her. “If the shoe fits, wear it, princess!” he sneered.
She gasped and glared up at him, not sure where to go from here. That last comment hurt and he knew it. But she blinked, refusing to tear up in front of him. She wasn’t going to cry and reinforce his opinion of her as a flighty female. She just wasn’t!
She watched in horror as his expression changed. Gone was his anger and in its place was something different. Something just as dangerous but…oh, so enticing! “Hell!” he growled and pulled her into his arms. One moment, they were glaring at each other, the next, he was kissing her. Again!
But did Lillian pull back? No way! She couldn’t! He felt too good. As his lips covered hers, she realized that she’d been thinking about this all afternoon. Not about her anger, but trying, and failing, to block the memory of their earlier kiss!
Her hands dove into his hair and she pressed against him. All sense of decorum was gone, etiquette and manners be damned as his tongue invaded her mouth. She kissed him as if there was no tomorrow. As if she was…
Lillian gasped when his hand slid from her waist around to her breast, cupping the aroused globe in his big, strong hands. A man who worked with numbers all day long shouldn’t be this strong. His hands should be smooth and pale from a lack of sunshine. But George was strong. And his fingers were long. Tanned. What’s more, she couldn’t believe that she was turning her body into his touch, encouraging him to…
“Don’t stop!” she gasped when his thumb and forefinger pinched her nipple. “Damn it, don’t you dare stop!” and she pulled his head down to hers for another kiss.
Papers flew off her desk as his arm swiped them onto the floor. A moment later, he lifted her up and plunked her down on the surface. She didn’t wait for him to make the next move, but reached up and pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around his waist as she kissed him again. She heard the zipper of her dress, but didn’t associate it with anything since she was too busy pulling at the buttons of his shirt. She couldn’t seem to get the buttons undone so she simply pulled the material out of the waist of his slacks. When her hands finally found warm skin, she gasped, needing more. Pushing the material out of the way, she kept kissing him even as she heard something ripping, unaware that it was her underwear.
Lillian gasped when she felt his hot mouth on her breast, but she couldn’t say anything, especially when his teeth bit down gently on the sensitive peak.
“Do that again,” she whispered, her head falling backwards and she leaned against his strong arm. When he bit her nipple again, soothing it with his tongue, she almost climaxed right then and there! “Again!” she demanded, but she pulled his head back when he bent to follow her order, whimpering instead.
He grabbed her wrists and held them out to her sides. “No more commands,” he growled. “This is for me.” And then he sat down in her chair, pulling it forward as he grabbed her hips and pulled her relentlessly to the edge of her desk. She realized that she was lying on her desk but lifted her head, trying to understand what he was about to do. When she realized his intention, she shook her head, trying to scramble away. But he simply pulled her legs over his shoulders, his hands locking her hips in place and then he…and she screamed! She screamed as she tumbled almost immediately over the edge into a climax so hard and intense, she couldn’t even believe the pleasure.
Gasping for breath, she stilled as he stood, then leaned over her. Staring up into his dark eyes, she tried to make sense of that climax. “How…what..?” she whispered, her throat raw from screaming after what she’d just experienced.
But he didn’t answer her. She heard something tear, unaware that he was rolling a condom down his length, then his hands moved up her body. Closing her eyes, she tried very hard to resist the song of his hands, but when he cupped her breasts once again, she was his slave and all she could do was sing whatever he called out to her.
“Please, George. What are you doing to me?” she sobbed, but when his hand slid away from her breast, she grabbed it, needing that heat right there. In response, he pinched her nipple again, and lowered his head to kiss the tip, soothing the skin with his tongue.
“That was beautiful,” he groaned. “I want to see you do that again.”
Her fingers were already in his hair and she tugged at the soft strands. “What are you doing to me?” she repeated, still not sure what to think.
She felt him pressing into her and gasped, but when he started to pull out, she shook her head. “No. Please don’t stop,” she sobbed and lifted her hips, trying to pull him deeper into her body.
Slowly he pressed in deeper
, then pulled out almost to the tip of his erection. She held her breath, staring up into his eyes, silently pleading with him to slide back into her. When he pressed into her again, she closed her eyes, reveling in how perfect he felt like this. She couldn’t believe it and lifted her hips, trying to take him even deeper, holding him there. “Don’t stop. Oh, please don’t stop!”
Over and over again, he pressed into her, lifting her hips against his, moving faster. And faster! She felt her body climb once again, shaking her head in shock and…almost fear. “I can’t,” she whispered.
George’s handsome features were darker than normal as he growled over her, “Yes, you can.”
She shivered, but tried to scoot away. His hands held her still and he thrust into her. Faster. Harder. “I’m not stopping until you come again, Lillian.”
She whimpered, but that’s when he changed directions and she gasped, her body arching into his touch. With every thrust, he brought her closer and closer, his body creating that delicious friction. Once more. Two more times and…
She didn’t scream this time, Lillian was too busy moaning as he slammed into her. Harder and faster and this time, her climax seemed to go on forever. She vaguely realized that he was experiencing his own orgasm, but she couldn’t do anything other than hold onto his broad shoulders and hope that he wouldn’t let her fall.
When it was all over, she loved the way he lowered his face into the curve of her neck, cradling her as much as possible with his arms.
Silence. The only sound in the room was their breathing and her heart pounding in her chest. Hopefully, George couldn’t hear the thoughts splintering in her head, the shock at what she’d just done. Surely, she hadn’t just had sex with George! That was impossible. Wasn’t it? Crazy. No!
This was all just a dream and she was going to wake up and realize that it wasn’t true. She had simply dreamed about having the most amazing, mind-blowing, incredible sex of her life with the man who hated her.
Because she really didn’t want to wake up and find out that this was all a dream, she tightened her arms around his neck, kissing his shoulder, his head, his ears, any part of him that she could reach. Yes, she felt awkward. She was lying on her desk, for goodness sake. And yes, she knew that this was a dream and she’d wake up and she’d be alone in her bed. That had happened so often, she’d grown used to her sexual dreams involving George.
This felt more real though.
“I don’t want to wake up from this dream,” she whispered.
He moved. Darn it, why did he have to move?
“Do you dream about sex on your desk often?”
She laughed, running her fingers through his hair as she stared up into his dark eyes. “No. Not on my desk.” Lillian froze, horrified as she realized what she’d just admitted.
He figured it out though. Of course he would. This was George. He figured out everything almost immediately. “Lillian, have you been having dreams about me doing this to you?”
She hesitated, not sure how to answer him. “I…um…”
He lifted her up, still intimately connected to her and carried her over to the sofa in her office. She gasped with the new friction and wasn’t sure what to do other than wrap her arms around his neck and hang on.
“You have, huh?” he asked and pulled out of her body. “Stand here for a moment. I’ll be right back.” He adjusted his clothing as he walked into her private bathroom. She stood there for a long moment, hearing the sounds of the toilet flushing and the water running. He must have flushed the condom then washed his hands.
And she just stood there? She was half undressed, looking like a crazy woman and…
Quickly, she pulled the straps of her bra up over her shoulders, and tugged her dress back into place. She was just pulling up the zipper on her dress when she felt his hands stop her. “Don’t do that,” he said and nibbled against her neck.
“Why?”
“Because that was the best conversation we’ve had together in six months.” He found a spot on her neck where she shivered when he kissed it, so he focused right there. “We didn’t argue about anything. We didn’t yell at each other.”
Lillian closed her eyes and leaned her back against his chest. “You didn’t get impatient when I didn’t understand something,” she added, looking at him over her shoulder.
He laughed softly as his hands slid warmly around her waist inside of her dress. “Yeah. That was pretty nice too.” How had he unzipped her dress again?
She sighed, trying to stop his hands from sliding upwards, but of course, this was George. She couldn’t stop him from doing anything he really wanted to do. Not that she truly wanted to stop him. His hands were warm and her skin felt cold after…well, after what they’d just done on the desk.
“I have to go,” she whispered, but wasn’t sure why. She didn’t really have to go. She just…she wasn’t sure what was going on. They were enemies but his hands just felt too wonderful at the moment. And after being with Phillip for so many months, it felt incredibly good to have a man touch her and…well, it seemed as if George genuinely wanted her. She and Phillip rarely touched each other and, when they did, it felt more obligatory. As George skimmed his hands down her spine, Lillian closed her eyes. George’s touch felt different. It didn’t feel obligatory.
At least, she hoped it wasn’t.
“What does this mean?” she asked, still looking at him over her shoulder.
“It means that I’m going to make love to you again. And you’re going to climax in my arms at least two more times.” He nipped at her earlobe. “Any objections?”
She sighed, pressing closer against his chest. “Not when you do things like that,” she told him honestly. In the back of her mind, Lillian knew that there was something wrong with what they were doing. He didn’t really like her. He called her “princess”. But when he touched her like that, when he moved his hands against her skin as he was doing at the moment, she couldn’t remember anything other than how much she wanted to touch him just as he was doing to her.
So instead of trying to put the puzzle pieces together and remember what was wrong with this scenario, she turned around in his arms and kissed him, showing him with that kiss all of the times she’d dreamed about him like this.
And it was better the second time around.
Chapter 3
Lillian held the cardboard tray containing four cups of coffee in her hands, trying to avoid looking at any of her friends.
Unfortunately, they all knew each other too well to hide anything from one another. As soon as they sat down in the lobby, Tallia noticed the change.
“Okay, ‘fess up. What happened last night?”
Lillian looked around, trying to figure out what had given her away. But as soon as she looked at the others, both Becca and Jane were blushing. Tallia was looking at the two of them and…not at her? Had Becca and Jane…?
“What did you ladies do?” she whispered, relief singing through every part of her body as she realized she was suddenly off the hook for confession hour. The focus was on the other two and she almost laughed with the giddy feeling.
Becca grabbed one of the cups of coffee and took a long sip, trying to hide her burning cheeks behind the cup. “Nothing happened.”
Tallia’s light brown eyebrow went up, as did both of Jane’s. “Nothing?”
Becca shifted slightly. “What about you? You weren’t in your room last night,” she accused Tallia.
Immediately, the pseudo free spirited woman of their quartet stammered, trying to deflect attention away from her. “I was…fine.”
“Of course you were.” Becca grinned as she twisted the plastic top on her coffee cup. Turning to look at Jane, Becca’s eyebrows arched upwards in question. “And you? Were you fine with a certain detective? And was the handsome, rugged detective fine?” The three of them laughed as Jane pressed her lips together. “Or was he very fine?”
Jane shook her head. “Nothing happened between me and Detect
ive Shaw last night. He just came over to check on me after my meltdown the previous night at Lillian’s engagement party.” She lifted her chin slightly. “He was a perfect gentleman.”
Becca laughed softly as they all watched in fascination as Jane grimaced slightly. “I think that’s the problem. Maybe Jane doesn’t want him to be a gentleman?”
Once again, Jane’s face bloomed with color, but her prim personality refused to allow her to acknowledge her reaction.
Jane shifted in her chair, looking at her friends. “We aren’t here to flirt with men. We’re here to celebrate with Lillian.”
“And get me through this weekend with my mother,” Lillian added in, lifting her cup of coffee into the air. The ladies all lifted their own cup of coffee and “clinked” each other’s.
Chapter 4
Lillian stood outside of Phillip’s office, her fingers tangling together as she nervously waited for Marie to come back out. Lillian had arrived unannounced, asked if she could see Phillip for just a few minutes, and now the two of them had been in there talking for a long time. What could they possibly be discussing?
“Okay, probably need a more than just a few moments,” she muttered under her breath.
That just happened to be when the cute brunette opened the door again and Lillian jerked to attention.
“He can see you now,” Marie announced and stood in the doorway, holding it open.
Lillian wondered if Marie knew how well she guarded the man’s domain. And why did Lillian always feel as if she were asking to speak with royalty? Marie really was a bit…formal.
Then again, Phillip managed a huge hedge fund and had a great deal of responsibility. The one she was supposed to be managing – but really George was managing – was larger, so she supposed that accounted for some of the competition between George and Phillip. Running a fund of this complexity was a high stress job and really would drive her nuts. Thankfully, both men seemed to thrive under the pressure, loving the competition and managing the risks involved. When there was a loss, they seemed to have anticipated the loss and everyone knew about it ahead of time. When there was an increase in the value of the fund, the men were feted as if they’d just been crowned.
Doing the Right Thing Page 3