by Mia Carson
The second she signed her name on the dotted line, he let her take total control of the business side of his company, which meant she was constantly tracking him down to get papers signed and figure out his plans for this contract or that client. Most days, he drove her crazy, his laugh booming across the office as he worked closer with Tim and the other designers. She thought she knew what she was getting into, but he tried her patience—what little she had to begin with.
Of course, it didn’t help no one in the office knew about the engagement yet either, and when she asked about when they could make the announcement, he shrugged and kissed her, saying they would know when the time was right to tell.
That meant absolutely nothing to her, and she didn’t want to listen to the nagging voice in her mind telling her he wasn’t ready to be engaged yet. Maybe he’d asked too soon and only did it to keep her with him. Absently, her finger rubbed over her left ring finger, picturing the beautiful sapphires and diamonds. She only wore it when they were safely at his house and out of sight, and keeping the secret to herself for this long ate at her. But dealing with the secret engagement wasn’t even the worst of it.
When she’d been sick, he’d taken care of her the whole day, even though she’d insisted she was fine. Every day after that, he babied her, and it grated on her nerves. He treated her like a fragile doll, not letting her carry anything or work too late. He even made sure she ate at least three meals a day.
Thoughtfully, she considered the fact that she’d had lunch only an hour ago, but her stomach grumbled for more food. She rested her hand over her stomach, nibbling her lip in aggravation when he walked past her desk, his head down as he looked at the tablet in his hand.
“Greyson,” she called, and he looked up quickly, rushing to stand by her desk.
“What’s wrong? Feeling sick again?” he asked worriedly.
She had felt sick earlier that morning, but it passed after an hour and now she was just starving. “No, I’m fine, and why are you doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Freaking out every time I have a question about something,” she said, eyeing him closely. She shoved her hair out of her face, annoyed. It had grown in the past two weeks and filled out so much she hated wearing it down now. “Listen, I just need to know if this is really what you want to say,” she told him, pulling her hair angrily back in a ponytail.
He leaned over and read the draft on her desk, his lips moving over the words as he did so, and Belle licked hers, wishing they were not at the office. She shifted closer, leaning her shoulder against his hip, and his eyes flickered to her.
“Belle,” he whispered when her hand snaked around and pressed against his thigh.
“What?” she asked innocently. “You’ve been so gentle with me lately, I just want to make sure my bear is still in there somewhere.”
He smirked and bent lower until their faces were level. The next second, his lips slanted hotly over hers as her chair creaked, leaning it back and kissing her fiercely. Whistles echoed around them and she heard Tim give a howl, but she didn’t care. She and Greyson were in their own little world every time he touched her or kissed her, but then it ended and he sat her back upright.
“Yeah, this is right,” he told her, pointing to the draft, grinning madly.
She fanned herself and nodded. “Right, good. That’s good.” Her stomach growled loudly, and they both glanced down. She noticed the excited glint in his eyes before he blinked and it vanished.
“You hungry? I can have something brought up for you,” he offered, looking as if he wanted to say more.
“Nah, I’m fine,” she said, but her stomach rumbled again and he crossed his arms stiffly over his chest. “What? I don’t want to pack on a lot of weight. It’s spring, which means summer is coming along with bikini weather. You want to see me in a bikini?”
“That’s not even a question, but I don’t want you starving. This new position of yours might be a little stressful. What are you in the mood for?”
She was going to say anything, but the idea of having a bowl of chicken fried rice tickled her taste buds. “Chinese would be great.”
“Your usual?” he asked, backing towards his office.
“Yeah—no wait. Crab Rangoon, too, and egg rolls… Oh, and maybe a few of those dumpling thingies.”
Greyson smirked. “Dumpling thingies?”
“You know, the fried ones with pork and you dip them in that sauce?”
“Pot-stickers?” he asked.
“Yes, those! If it’s not too much trouble,” she added, worried she asked for too much. What would he think of her eating so much food by herself? “You should get some for yourself, too.”
“I’m not hungry, so don’t worry, it’s all yours.” He ducked into his office, and she heard him on the phone a minute later.
Belle continued typing, her rumbling stomach annoying her, and she lost focus when she thought about the past few days. Greyson’s sudden change in behavior confused her. Today was the first time he’d kissed her in the office in full view of his employees, yet she couldn’t tell anyone they were engaged. Even at home, he tended to keep his distance from her, though he was overly attentive as he did it. She worried he pushed her away, just as he had with his sisters and mom, but when she asked him if something was wrong, he blew it off and kissed her sweetly.
She continued to work, and after half an hour, the elevator doors dinged open and a delivery man brought over a tray of Chinese. She waved him over and pulled out her wallet to pay, but Greyson was suddenly there to take care of it.
“Take another lunch break. Go eat,” he insisted.
“I have to get this work finished since you keep making me leave on time,” she argued, readjusting herself in her chair. “Why is that, by the way? I am a CEO with you now, so I don’t mind putting in the hours.”
His gaze darted lower then back up. “Do what you want, but we’re leaving on time,” he told her, kissed the top of her head, and strolled across the floor. She wanted to follow him and get him to tell her what was with the back-and-forth behavior, but the aromatic lure of the food before her was too much.
Kelly wandered over with a few folders under her arm and stopped by her desk. “That’s what smells good,” she commented as she sniffed.
“Help yourself. Greyson ordered more than enough for little old me,” Belle said.
“I might take an egg roll,” she said and took the small bag Belle offered to her. “So, settling into your new position nicely?”
“Think so,” she said. “I mean, I’d like to get my hands dirty with the design work, but until I know everything else is on track with the paperwork and contracts, I’ll have to wait.”
“Well, everyone is excited for you both—to be working together and all,” Kelly told her.
“Good, that’s good. I was a little worried,” she said and stared at her left hand with her naked finger. She rubbed her thumb over it as if spinning the ring she knew was supposed to be there, and Kelly choked on her egg roll, leaning closer.
“Are you two engaged?” she hissed in a whisper.
Belle glanced around for Greyson, but he was across the room talking to Tim. “I’m not supposed to say, and how the hell did you know?”
She nodded towards her rubbing her finger. “Not hard to notice. Where’s the ring?”
“Greyson won’t let me tell anyone,” she said and dragged Kelly into Greyson’s office, shutting the door. “I think he’s trying to push me away. He wants me, but he keeps treating me like a fragile little doll. He proposed, but we can’t tell anyone about it, and I can tell he’s hiding something—again—but he won’t tell me. After our last fight, I don’t want to push him too hard, but he’s driving me crazy!”
“What was the last fight about?” Kelly asked.
Belle sighed, running her hands over her hair. “He was trying to find my family—my real family.”
“That’s nice of him, wow,” Kelly said with a
grin. “Did he find them yet?”
“No, and I wanted him to stop searching for them, too, until I’m ready, but I think he’s still doing it. But there’s more to it than that.”
“Just ask him and be done with it,” Kelly said with a shrug. “What’s the worst that could happen? You two are fire and water half the time anyway. Actually, I’ve been worried about you the past few days. You’ve been getting along so well I wondered what happened.”
Belle frowned. “Really? You were worried because we weren’t fighting?”
Kelly nodded. “We’re used to your bickering about work and then it stopped… Well, his side stopped. You’re right, he has been acting weird,” she added quietly.
Belle hadn’t even noticed that part. She was too worried about why they were hiding their engagement if he was so happy about it. Maybe Kelly was right, and it was time to call Greyson out on his recent weird behavior. Her stomach growled, and she held it. First, she would eat, then wait until most of the office emptied out for the night. It was Friday, so almost everyone tried to leave on time to enjoy their weekend. Kelly’s eyes lowered to where Belle’s hand rested on her stomach and her lips twitched, but she didn’t smile or say anything else.
The door opened behind her, and Greyson cleared his throat, eyeing them suspiciously. “Something going on?”
“Ah… no,” Kelly said with a laugh. “Thanks for the egg roll.” She winked at Greyson then left the office, leaving Belle to deal with Greyson’s raised brow.
“I’m going to get back to work,” she said and hurried past him back to her desk.
She sat down and dug into her fried rice as she worked the rest of the afternoon away. Greyson never asked her what she was doing with Kelly in his office, and that was fine with her. She was busy figuring out how to ask him why he was being so secretive about their lives with his friends and family. When five o’clock rolled around and she caught Kelly’s over-exaggerated wave from the elevator, Belle noticed she was alone with Greyson.
“Finally,” she whispered and spun around in her chair to face his office.
He hunched over his desk, his lips moving over whatever he read and his hand busy maneuvering the mouse around his desk. Belle stood and walked into his office, knocking on the glass door.
“I’ll be ready to go in a minute,” he said without looking up.
“No,” she said. “We’re not leaving yet.”
He clicked a few more times before he raised his head. “And why not?”
“We need to talk,” she said and closed the door behind her, locking it. The second the bolt clicked home, a very different night in this office flashed into her mind, and from the hungry gaze flaring to life in Greyson’s brown eyes, it was the same for him. “Why are we keeping this a secret?”
“Us? They know about us,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“You know what I mean,” she said and held up her naked left hand. “This—why can’t they know?”
He scratched his beard. “I wanted to wait until the time was right.”
“And when will that be? Next week, next month? A year from now? We haven’t even talked about wedding plans.”
“It’s a little early, isn’t it?”
Belle’s shoulders sagged. “Not really, no… I don’t know. I’ve never been engaged before. I just worry… I don’t want…” she sighed, trying to find the right words as she held his gaze steadily from across the office. “I’m worried that you’ll change your mind or that maybe you already have.”
His face fell, and he pushed back from his desk. “Belle.”
“No, it feels like it. You’re pushing me away and treating me differently, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed. If it helps, I’m scared too, you know,” she admitted. “Terrified, actually. I’m a joint CEO, which by itself is insane, and I’m engaged to the other CEO, which is also insane, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m waiting to fail, and this is a lot to take in, but if you decide you don’t want us to be together then I don’t have anything.”
Tears stung her eyes, blurring her vision so she didn’t see Greyson walk across the room. He took her in his arms, and she buried her face against his chest as his hand smoothed down her ponytail and the other held her close to him.
“I definitely want you,” he whispered, his chin resting on her head. “Don’t ever think I don’t.”
“You’re acting weird,” she said as the tears flowed freely, but she had no idea why she was even crying. She was upset and scared, but she never cried like this. “Something’s wrong with me. I’m too much for you, that’s it, isn’t it?”
He chuckled, and the sound vibrated through her body as he leaned back so she could see his face. “Nothing’s wrong with you,” he assured her. “I love you, Belle, but I’m scared I’ll screw this up.”
“You’re screwing it up by pushing me away,” she cried. “And you’re hiding something.”
“I promise I’m not,” he said and kissed her gently.
She wanted to believe him as he deepened the kiss, but at the same time, she wanted to push him away and argue with him. His hands slipped down to grip her hips, dragging her against his body, and Belle lost all train of thought. His tongue licked along her lower lip, and she shivered, her mouth parting for him on a sigh filled with desire and a very different hunger. His arousal pressed against her belly, and Belle’s loins clenched in anticipation of having him buried within her.
Greyson’s fingers fumbled with the buttons on her blouse stretched tight over her heavy breasts. They ached for him, her nipples hardening the moment he slipped a hand inside the cup to hold her. He sighed against her mouth, rolling the hard point between his fingers until she shifted and squirmed in his arms. His free hand reached up to loosen her hair, letting it cascade over her bare shoulders and back. His lips shifted from her mouth to her jaw, following it to her earlobe, sucking hard on it. Belle gasped, pressing her breast harder into his open palm. As his hand buried in her hair, his other left her chest, and she whimpered at the loss of contact until it reached around and unhooked her bra.
She spilled free with a sigh of relief, and Greyson growled, his hands kneading and cupping as his mouth moved to one pert nipple. He drew it into his mouth, sucking hard as his tongue roved over the sensitive skin. Belle’s head fell back as her hands held his head tighter against her chest, her hips grinding against the growing bulge in his jeans.
For a brief moment, she worried someone would return to the office and see them, but Greyson’s hand slipped down to her jeans, popped the button open quickly, and slid the zipper open. When his fingers shifted through her curls and lower, parting her delicate lips, Belle left all her worries behind. As his fingers massaged her clit, rolling and tugging until she couldn’t see straight, his other arm wrapped around her, holding her to his mouth as he ravished one breast and then the other, sending tingles of electricity shooting through her body to pool in her belly. Belle tugged at his shirt, wanting to feel his bare skin beneath her hands, but he laughed quietly and kept her trapped against his mouth and hand.
“I thought… we talked… about this… oh, God,” she whispered when his fingers slipped lower, delving into her wetness and penetrating her in one swift movement.
“And I said I never play fair,” he growled, his finger gliding in and out with a steady rhythm. When her jeans got in the way, he grunted and fell to his knees, dragging her jeans down over her hips. They got stuck on her boots, and he stood, picking her up as she laughed, and set her on his desk. He tugged off her boots, tossing them aside before yanking her jeans off. “This seems vaguely familiar,” he mused, eyeing her with a predator’s gaze.
Belle grinned wickedly as she spread her legs. Her hand slithered down her belly to her swollen lips, and Greyson swallowed hard, his jaw clenching when her hand moved, pressing against herself as her head fell back. She nibbled her lip, moaning quietly. She wondered how long he’d be able to last watching her, then his hand covered h
ers. He kissed her, swallowing her gasp of surprise when he shifted her hand away and replaced it with his own. His fingers twisted and turned up within her, his thumb pressing hard against her clit, and Belle gripped his shoulders. Her nails digging into his shirt, she dragged him closer, desperate to have him take her as he had so many times before—no holding back, no hesitation.
As he kissed her deeper, his tongue making her dizzy as it warred with her own for control, she managed to find the buttons on his shirt, and unbuttoned them quickly. She shoved at the fabric, forcing it over his shoulders until he shrugged out of it and she was able to feel the hard planes of his chest. She pinched his nipples and he groaned, but it was her cry of pleasure that echoed around the office as his hand worked furiously against her. Her muscles clenched around him, holding him as the rest of her body quivered before falling limp against the desk, but he didn’t let up.
Belle lay back on the desk, her chest heaving. Greyson’s fingers vanished, sending another shiver down her back, but a second later, she moaned and twisted in his grasp. His hands held her hips securely as his tongue licked furiously up her swollen lips to that wonderful bundle of nerves already on fire. Belle’s eyes scrunched shut, and Greyson sucked and nibbled her most delicate places. His tongue penetrated deep within her, and she cried out, her hands searching for purchase—anything to hang onto as the storm that was their love ravaged her body. This was her bear, her intense lover, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Where he’d been the last week or so she wasn’t sure, but here in his office, she knew he was still there and still most definitely hers.
Her eyes closed, she grinned lazily when she heard his jeans hit the floor. She wanted to reach up and grab his swollen length, feel its warmth burn her palms, but his hand came up and captured her wrists.
“What’s this?” she asked, opening her eyes. His gaze raked over her body, and she gasped at the insatiable hunger on his face.
He held her wrists over her head with one hand and spread her legs wider with the other, positioning himself exactly where she wanted him. His crown pushed against her wetness. Her breathing intensified, and her heart pounded against her ribs. He held her gaze as his hips moved, and slowly, he parted her lips and filled her, inch by delicious inch. Her body stretched to accommodate him as he pulled out only to thrust in harder. The third time, he filled her completely, resting with his hips cradled between hers. His brown eyes held hers as his breath grew ragged. Holding her hip with one hand, he drove home, each time sending a wave of charged lightning through her body, making her toes curl and her back arch, wanting to take in as much of him as she could each time.