by Shayla Black
She didn’t help his self-control when she wrapped her small hand around his cock and stroked so slowly, he shuddered and groaned.
“Jesus, are you trying to undo me?”
Em sent a sly glance up at him from beneath her dark lashes, those hazel eyes sparkling. Something in his chest tightened.
“Is it working?”
Fuck, yes. But since he didn’t feel capable of speaking when her thumb dusted the head of his cock, he just nodded. God, how could she arouse him again so quickly?
“Sometimes, I’d lie in bed and touch myself and imagine your hands gliding over my skin. I’d touch myself and pretend it was you pinching my nipples, rubbing my clit.”
Brandon rolled to his back, his head hitting the mattress. Her words alone made his blood pressure shoot up fifty points. Right now, he could imagine himself squeezing the rosy tips of her breasts and toying with that responsive little clit. Her soft, insistent stroking of his cock was the worst kind of tease.
“Would you touch yourself until you came, baby?” he ground out. Imagining her masturbating to thoughts of him aroused him even more.
“Yes,” she breathed.
He jerked his gaze to her. She fucking glowed—with the satisfaction he’d already given her, with the need for more. He didn’t remember her ever looking more beautiful. In fact, he didn’t remember being this close to a more beautiful woman. Again, he was left to wonder how he’d overlooked her for three years. Was he fucking blind? Granted, Kayla had left his thoughts, and Em had lost the boxy gray suit and efficient braid. Now, she looked relaxed and sexy. But what made her gorgeous to him was more fundamental. She looked so lovely to him because she made him happy.
He froze at the realization.
“And sometimes, I’d close my eyes, use my vibrator, and fantasize that you were giving me that pleasure.”
Oh, hell. She was trying to kill him. “Was the reality like you’d imagined?”
She shook her head, and a kittenish smile tilted up her swollen lips. “It was way better.”
He raised a brow in a silent request for details. She knew him too well not to recognize it.
“You’re human and real. I know how wonderful you are, dedicated and honest. The fact that you seemed to want me finally made it perfect.”
“But?” he prompted. “I heard one in there.”
“Well, you’re, um…large.”
He’d fucked her like a wild man against the wall. Brandon winced as he took hold of her wrist and stilled her hand. They needed to talk about this before she stroked him past coherent conversation. “Did I hurt you?”
Because if he had, he was going to kick his own ass.
Em hesitated and hedged. “A little. It had just been a while for me, but I’m fine.”
“How long is a while?” Brandon had a sneaking suspicion, and if he was right, he was definitely going to kick his own ass.
“I don’t know exactly, um…”
Bullshit. Em never didn’t know something. She didn’t want to tell him for some reason, and he planned to get to the bottom of it. “More than six months?”
“Yes.”
“More than a year?”
She paused again, then sighed. “Yes.”
He sat up and wrapped his arm around her waist, dragging her closer. “How much more than a year? Ballpark.”
Those lush lashes of hers swept up, showing the alarm in her pretty green-gold eyes. Then she lowered them, the inky lashes brushing a milky cheek. God, she was so pretty and small. He’d given her no time to prepare for his cock to invade her body…
“Emmy?” he warned her.
Stiffening, she bit her lip. “A couple of months before you joined the team.”
“Over three years!”
She recoiled, and he grabbed her close, his palm sliding up and down her back in a soothing rhythm. Damn, he hadn’t meant to scare her, but three years?
“Baby, I’m so sorry if I hurt you. I’ll be gentle…” Next time? Would there be a next time? They still hadn’t talked about her resignation. At the moment, he wasn’t inclined to accept it. And if she came back to work, should he even be thinking about the next time he fucked her?
Too late. He was already thinking it.
Normally, he didn’t believe in mixing business with pleasure. It was the primary reason he’d turned off his attraction to Em when they’d first been introduced. But now… He was pretty sure it was too late to put that cat back in the bag. He’d always admired her. But what he felt for Em after this morning had nothing to do with liking the way she kept a filing cabinet or drafted a meeting agenda.
“I know you will,” she whispered, then slanted a sly grin his way. “Feel like proving it?”
His cock jerked, and he wanted so badly to shove his way between her pretty thighs and thrust deep inside of her again. But he had two problems.
“I don’t have another condom.”
Her smile widened, then she rolled over and reached into her nightstand drawer. She tossed it in his lap. A fresh box of ribbed condoms.
“I-I bought them after I invited you to dinner for your birthday last month. Just in case I worked up the nerve to proposition you, and you said yes.”
Instead, he’d been called out of town on business at the last minute and canceled. Brandon was both staggered and completely flattered that she’d had seduction on her mind.
“Next problem?” Her grin came complete with a dimple, and she looked so adorably sexy. Something about her made him want to scoop her up, tickle her until she squealed and laughed, then fuck her senseless.
“You’re going to be sore, baby. Even if I’m gentle with you…” He shook his head.
Suddenly, she grabbed the box and stashed it away. “It’s fine. If you’re not interested, I understand.”
Brandon frowned. Em had jumped to conclusions, and after three years of his cluelessness, he could understand why. But when she stood and groped for her nearby bathrobe, he’d had enough. The idea that she was covering all her glorious pale skin, that he couldn’t feel her naked against him, was not acceptable. They were going to get a few things straight right now.
Before Em could belt the robe, he grabbed it and pulled it off her body. She gasped and whirled on him. “Who said I wasn’t interested?” He glanced down at his erection. “Do I look like I’m not interested?”
She glanced between his face and his cock. “So you’re capable of an erection. That doesn’t mean you’re actually interested in me.”
“Baby, there’s no one else in the room. Trust me, I want you.” He raised up on his knees and pulled her back to the bed. Her body was starchy and resistant at first, but a kiss and a palm cupping her breast fixed that.
“I really don’t want to hurt you.”
“If that was your only reservation, why wouldn’t you let me tell you when I can’t take anymore?” she challenged.
Brandon couldn’t fault her logic. “All right. If you promise to tell me when you’re too sore, I promise not to bring it up again. I’m sorry if you took my hesitation to mean that I didn’t want you, Em. But you’ve spent some time thinking about us. I’m a little behind the curve. I’m so used to seeing you as professional and capable, not mind-blowingly sexy. Give me a little time to adjust. I’ll get there.”
And suddenly, he knew that he would. Fast. Already, he knew the idea of returning to their old relationship of strictly boss and employee wouldn’t fly. The thought left a wretched taste in his mouth. But he also wanted her back professionally. So they were going to learn to navigate an office romance.
“Promise me that you’ll only be with me if you truly want to,” she demanded, but a hint of tears swam in her eyes.
Brandon had never seen Emmy vulnerable. It brought out all his protective instincts. God, he’d been such a blind idiot for the past three years. But he couldn’t change the past now. All he could do was show her how much he wanted her, how rapidly she was becoming important to him.
“I want to be here, baby. Don’t doubt that.” He leaned closer and fused their mouths together. And he moaned. Somehow, she tasted even sweeter now. How was that possible? She’d already been addicting. Now, he absolutely craved her.
“Good. Can I…” She bit her lip again, and Brandon wanted to kiss it and make it all better. “Can I do something to you that I’ve been dying to?”
“I’m all yours.” He rolled to his back and spread his arms wide.
She rose on her knees above him, her long, golden hair draping over her shoulders, brushing the slopes of her breasts and her nipples. Fuck, that was hot. But the vision of Em didn’t just tug on his cock. Her tentative but curious expression hit him further north, square in the chest.
A moment later, she braced her hands on his shoulders, then ran her palms down his chest. She scraped her nails across his nipples, and he hissed. He was sensitive there, always had been. But her touch did something extra to him. When she followed the touch by dragging her hot little tongue across his nipple, Brandon thought he might come out of his skin.
Em nipped and sucked, tweaked and flicked. He closed his eyes. Arousal grew, climbed, until it clawed through his system. He groaned, bucked, his cock so hard now, it raged for her attention.
Brandon had engaged in nothing but casual sex for years. But nothing he was having with Em felt casual in the least. A need to take her, possess her, raged inside him. He was seconds away from turning caveman, from shoving her on her back and pumping her full of his cock until they both came.
Then Em clasped his erection again in her deft little hands. She bent, and her mouth followed. His world tilted. Oh god. He was going to die. The wet, hot silk of her mouth was going to kill him for sure. But he’d do it with a smile on his face.
Brandon groped around for something to fist. He couldn’t find the blankets. He settled for Em’s golden hair—and he used it ruthlessly, controlling the pace of her mouth over his throbbing dick. He pushed her faster, deeper, listening for any sounds of distress. She only moaned. Raising his hips, he fucked her mouth wildly. Such a tight fit. And she wasn’t panicked or struggling. Em moaned and tried to take more, relaxing her throat. When she swallowed around the head of his cock, his eyes damn near rolled into the back of his head.
“Take me, Em,” he growled. “Fuck, baby, that feels so good.”
The way she panted around him, the flare of her tongue running up the underside of his dick, the long moments she spent laving that one sensitive spot just under the head, the grip she used to hold the inches she couldn’t fit into her mouth, her little whimpers as she caressed his balls with tender fingers—they all stacked up, threatening to break down his control.
She’d keep going if he let her. She’d suck him to orgasm and swallow him down and expect nothing in return. Em was used to giving him what he wanted in a professional capacity. Over the years, he’d seen her support and help others, rarely having her kindness reciprocated. By not seeing her feelings and needs, he’d already hurt her over the last three years. Brandon refused to hurt her again now, especially when she felt uncertain and fragile.
“Em.” He gently tugged on her hair to lift her heavenly mouth from his cock. Another day, he’d definitely want more of this. The thought of her sucking him off at his desk lashed arousal through his gut. It was unprofessional…but sexy as hell. Now just wasn’t the time.
“Is something wrong?”
When he looked at her swollen pink mouth and dilated eyes, it was all Brandon could do to maintain his self-control. He drew in a ragged breath.
“No, baby. Come here.” He opened his arms and pulled her closer, gratified when she snuggled her naked body against his. “Your mouth felt so good, but I want today to be about you.”
“Why can’t it be about us?”
The question seemed so simple, but those pretty hazel eyes of hers looked unsure. God, how could he erase her doubts and prove to her that he was serious?
Serious? Hell, he had no idea where this was going. An hour ago, she’d simply been his secretary. When he’d first touched her, he hadn’t thought of anything beyond getting inside her. Then minutes ago, he’d been pondering an office fling. Now…implications of later were crashing in on him. She wasn’t a fuck. As hungry as he felt for her now, it could be weeks, maybe months, before he’d had enough. But when he looked at Emmy, all disheveled and flushed, he wondered if he’d ever be able to get enough of her.
“You’re right.” He cupped her cheek. “Today should be about us.”
It should be about filling her up with as much desire as she’d given him. About…bonding. He’d never imagined that he’d want to do that with anyone except Kayla, but not having the woman weighing him down any longer was freeing. He could move on, fall for someone else.
When Em smiled up at him, Brandon couldn’t resist her. He covered her lips with his, then sank into the heavenly warmth of her mouth. Em was so soft everywhere and had breasts straight from heaven, heavy and firm with wide pink nipples. Her hips filled his hands. She’d gloved his cock so tightly, and the sex had been amazing. But his desire for her wasn’t really about that, at least not totally. He plain liked her and admired her wit, ambition, and loyalty. Her goodness had always pushed him to do and be better.
“I lost you somewhere,” Em whispered. “Look, if you’d rather not do this—”
“That’s not it. I realized this weekend that I’d wanted Kayla because she was stunningly beautiful and totally forbidden. The reality was, she was prone to drama, wanted to blame others for her problems without acknowledging how her own choices played a role, and she enjoyed being cared for more than she cared for anyone in return.”
“Still, you cared about her.” Em shrugged, but Brandon could see that it hurt her to say those words.
“I wanted to help her, and she was a beautiful woman, but I think I couldn’t let her go mentally because, for me, she was all tangled up in disappointment and guilt. I fucked up a deep friendship with Jack Cole to be with Kayla, and in the end, she ran off without a word. I was angry. She left me to take care of everything, pick up all the pieces. I assumed that to hurt so much, I had to be in love.”
“It makes sense,” Em said supportively. But she was pulling away.
Brandon grabbed tight. “But I see now that I didn’t respect her. So I could never be in love with her—ever. But I respect the hell out of you. I always have.”
Em tried to suppress it, but her hopeful smile did something to Brandon’s heart. It flipped in his chest as he reached into her nightstand and grabbed the box of condoms. He tore it open and grabbed a few out, placing them on the nightstand.
Her eyes widened, and he grinned. “You say when, baby. Until then, I’m not letting you out of bed.”
A kittenish smile crossed her face. “Promise?”
“You don’t know what kind of day you’re in for, but you’re about to find out,” he growled. “Roll over.”
Without hesitation, she complied, and her complete trust in him did something to his libido. Though revved up and hot to get deep inside Em again, he forced himself to slow down. He had to make sure she was ready. The sex in the foyer had barely taken the edge off his hunger, and he wasn’t sure how easy he could go on her once he felt her silken walls surrounding him.
Palming one of the condoms, he lay over her back, supporting most of his weight on his elbows. He swept his lips over her neck, dusting hot breaths and kisses across her sensitive skin, nipping and laving, loving every gasp and shudder he wrung out of her.
“You’re going to feel so good, baby. I can’t wait to fuck you again.”
“Now.” Her voice trembled.
“Soon.”
He slid his hands under her body, palming her breasts, toying with her nipples. Under him, her body stiffened, and she arched into his touch. Plucking, scraping, twisting her nipples, he worked his mouth down to her shoulder.
“Your skin is flushing. You look so pretty. Are you wet for me?”
<
br /> She nodded, moaned.
“You sure? Tell me,” he demanded.
“Yes. Stop playing games.”
“And fuck you?”
“Now.” She fisted the sheets underneath her.
Just to be certain she could accommodate him with minimal pain, Brandon wedged a hand under her hip, to her pussy. He found the damp spot on the sheet before he touched her drenched folds. She was more than ready.
“On your hands and knees,” he ordered.
As she complied, he leaned around her body and reached in the nightstand drawer for one more thing he’d seen earlier. Grabbing the little yellow contraption, he shoved it between his knees, out of her line of sight, then gripped Em’s hips.
“God, you’re beautiful, baby. So small and delicate, but here…” He caressed her ass. “And those breasts of yours…so lush.”
“Brandon, you’re killing me. Please.”
Her whimper of need only made him harder. After quickly sheathing himself, he aligned his cock and began the slow slide into heaven. Her pussy clung to him, gripping so tightly, clutching when he withdrew even a fraction. Damn. Her little pants and mewls drove him even more insane.
He braced one hand near hers, and she covered it with her own, curling their fingers together. For some reason, that got to him. Everything about her made him want more. He could do this to her all day, all night, and still ache to fuck her tomorrow. Hell, he was happy just being near her. When had he ever felt that with any woman?
His balls tightened. So did his chest. He wrapped his arm around her middle and tried to unravel her one slow thrust at a time. But these leisurely glides were killing him, too. He buried his face in her neck. She smelled like spice, like female and sex.
Em moaned his name. “Faster. Harder!”
He wanted to draw this out, fire her up slowly. But with Em, the tight leash he normally kept on himself wasn’t working.
“Hold on, baby.”
Brandon reached for the little plastic unit he’d placed between his knees. With one hand, he turned it on. With the other, he placed the little vibrating rabbit right against her clit. As she gasped in pleasure, he slammed back inside her cunt, all the way to the hilt. Then he set a relentless rhythm, every thrust of his body demanding she come for him.