by Layla Hagen
“Ms. Tess Winchester?”
“Yes.”
“I have a lunch delivery for you.”
I recognized the restaurant immediately. Oh wow. But why would they send me one? And how did they know where I was?
I tipped the delivery boy generously and hurried back to the couch. I spread the napkin covering the basket on the couch, clapping my hands at the sight of all the goodies: freshly baked bread, a selection of cheese and ham, and peach marmalade.
I pressed a hand to my stomach, overcome with giddiness. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around it, but...had Liam sent this? He had to; there was no other explanation.
I was so excited that I barely managed to keep still enough to text him a pic of the basket.
Tess: Did you send this?
His answer came right away.
Liam: Of course I did. How many others know that peach marmalade is your favorite?
He remembered! I thought maybe the restaurant had just included it as a standard package.
Tess: Thanks! This is the perfect lunch. Why did you send it?
Liam: So you know I’m thinking about you :)
I grinned at the screen before hugging the phone to my chest. I couldn’t believe he’d actually written that! Or sent me the basket.
This day had already started great, but it was only getting better. My heart gave a mighty sigh while I wolfed down the food. I’d never dated anyone who treated me like this.
After finishing everything, I placed the empty basket strategically in the middle of the room so I could see it while typing at my laptop. It totally made this empty space happy. Yeah, most people laughed at my notion of happy or sad spaces, but it was just something I felt. I couldn’t explain it. And this one definitely had happy vibes; it just looked a bit abandoned without any furniture in it.
The best part was that after the opening, our offices would actually be here. This layout had two back rooms, and both had windows. We were putting desks in one, and the other would be a storage room. Possibly we’d turn it into a workshop too, but we decided to wait until the room was ready to see if we were inspired while inside it or not.
God, I was so happy that I wasn’t even sure what to do with myself. I moved myself lower on the couch, putting one of the fluffy pillows over my face and grinning into it.
My phone chirped with an incoming message. I moved the pillow, peeking at the screen with one eye.
Liam: How was your lunch?
My heart wasn’t just sighing now; it was downright giddy.
Tess: Delicious.
Liam: Anything left over?
Tess: Not one bite.
Liam: Thought so. Are you at the new store the whole day?
Tess: Yes. It’s quiet here, and some furniture will be delivered this afternoon.
Liam: I can’t stop thinking about you.
Holy shit. If he keeps at this, my poor heart is just going to explode.
Liam: David just found out about us. Becca filled him in. He’s mocking me. Says I’m more human since I’m going out with you, because I actually want to take breaks.
Tess: I love that you’re giving me credit for that : )
Liam: I’m giving you credit for a lot more, but David doesn’t need to know so many details.
Tess: Liam, if we keep texting, we’re both going to fall behind on our work. You’re distracting me.
Liam: I know. It’s worth it, though.
To my astonishment, he stopped texting after that. I was suspicious of the sudden silence, but on the bright side, I got so much done.
But I missed the butterflies in my stomach every time a new message popped up.
Decisions, decisions.
If I messaged him, I wouldn’t get much done. If I didn’t, I’d just keep wondering what he was doing, what he was thinking.
My inner monologue was cut short by the arrival of a delivery truck. Our office furniture was being delivered!
As they unloaded the desks, chairs, and bookshelves, I snapped about a gazillion pics and sent them to Skye. The delivery company also took care of assembling the furniture, so half an hour later, our office was done.
The cherrywood desks and white leather chairs were situated opposite each other with generous space in the center. The second the guys left, I sat down in my chair, spinning once. It was super comfy, and I could lean all the way back until I was almost in a lying position.
After testing every single function of my posh chair, I took a short video before sending it to Skye.
Tess: Everything is so pretty!!!
Skye: It looks even better in our office than it looked online.
Tess: I know!
A knock at the front door caught my attention. I couldn’t see who it was from the office, but maybe the delivery guys had forgotten something.
Nope, it was just Liam in front of the store, holding a laptop in one hand, wiggling his eyebrows at me. Holy hell, I barely kept myself from checking if my panties hadn’t spontaneously combusted. He looked a bit different than usual, but I couldn’t say why. His body language was a little stiff, and his eyes lacked the usual sparkle.
If I thought his messages had made me giddy, it was nothing compared to how I felt when he walked inside the store. I was drunk on him, pure and simple.
I parked a hand on my waist, jutting out a hip.
“What are you doing here?” I asked playfully.
“You told me not to message you anymore because it’s distracting.”
“Oh, and you think you being here isn’t?”
He pointed to his laptop. “Nope. We both work. Flirt a little in between. Win-win.”
“Aha. That’s not distracting at all.”
“It’s the best I can do. I’ve been fighting with myself all afternoon, barely keeping from texting you all the time, and then I figured out the problem.”
“And that was?”
“I needed to see you.”
Oh wow. Wow.
He looked around, zeroing in on the couch. “Is that our workplace?”
“No, as it happens, the office furniture was just delivered. Come on, I’ll show you.”
I was ridiculously happy that he was there. It meant he missed me!
I caught myself swinging my hips seductively while I led him to the back room. I hadn’t even meant to, but this sexy man had a strange influence on me. I tried to straighten up. Maybe he hadn’t noticed.
When we walked inside the room, I proudly pointed each arm toward a desk. He set his laptop on one, then unexpectedly wrapped an arm around my waist. His mouth was on my neck, his hand on my hip.
“Don’t swing that ass like that in front of me, or I’m going to do more than distract you. So. Much. More.”
I laughed softly. “Well, if it helps, I wasn’t doing it on purpose.”
“It doesn’t help.”
Turning around, I pinched his chest. “Well, then, sit in that chair and stop tempting me.”
“I’ve graduated from distracting you to tempting? I call this progress.”
“I call it a shameless tactic.”
He winked. “That too. So, which one is my desk?”
“That one. Now, let’s buckle down to work, mister. It’s only four o’clock.”
Completing any tasks when Liam was in the same room was not easy. I was so aware of his presence, of that seductive energy he emanated, that I could barely focus.
When I rewrote the last sentence of an email for the third time, I groaned.
“Someone’s having trouble concentrating with me around,” Liam teased.
“You think?”
“Definitely.” A smile played on his lips as he rose from his chair, stalking toward my desk. I swallowed, clasping my hands in my lap in anticipation. He sat on the edge of the desk, leaning in to me.
He cupped my face, pressing his fingers at the back of my head. That feral glint in his eyes gave him away—he was one second away from kissing me.
When our lips touched,
my whole body lit up. His mouth was hot and relentless, and the way he moved his lips and tongue was overpowering my senses.
“Tess, I have a confession to make,” he whispered against my mouth.
“Hmmm...”
“I don’t actually have anything left to do today. I just brought my laptop as a way to distract myself...and it’s not working.”
“You’re lucky, because I still have a ton of things to do.”
“I’ll wait however long you want. But only if you promise me one thing.”
“And what is that?”
“That you’re all mine afterward.”
I licked my lips, nodding. “Yes, sir.”
“Fuck, don’t say that, or I’ll kiss you again.”
His tone was so fierce and seductive that I suspected I’d end up on my back right on this desk if I gave in to another kiss. I rolled my chair back, putting a little distance between us.
“I just need to fill an order sheet for an overseas supplier.”
“I’ll wait.”
Half an hour later, I emailed the order sheet and jumped right out of my seat.
“I’m done,” I declared, grinning from ear to ear and doing a ridiculous happy dance in the middle of the room.
Liam’s eyes lit up, and he immediately rose from his chair.
“So, remember our deal?” he asked playfully, splaying his hand on my lower back, pressing his fingers against my body as if he was seconds away from slipping his hand under my dress.
“Hmmm...why don’t you remind me?”
“Oh, that’s how we’re playing it, huh?”
I shrugged playfully.
He brought his mouth to my ear, tugging at my earlobe with his teeth.
“You’re mine tonight, Tess. All mine.”
I shivered and then moaned when he feathered his lips down my neck. I pushed him to sit in my chair before climbing in his lap. Dragging my hands down his shoulders, I could feel the tension in them. I looked him straight in the eyes, fidgeting in his lap.
“You’re stressed about something,” I said.
He swallowed, moving his palms up and down my thighs.
“I am.”
“Want to tell me about it? I’m a big believer in sharing worries.”
“You remember we have a fourth partner?”
“Yes, the silent one, without decision power.”
“Exactly. Turns out, he wants to sell his shares.”
“Oh, okay. What are you going to do?”
“We’ll buy him out.”
I felt a small sliver of panic right in my chest and between my shoulder blades. What if they couldn’t? Of course, my mind immediately spiraled to the worst-case scenario. I just couldn’t stop from picturing us closing the business, going back to finding a corporate job. That knot in my chest tightened even more. I loved what I built with my sister, the freedom it gave us. I had a fuzzy feeling in my belly every day I went into work. I didn’t want to lose that.
I drew in a deep breath. As Cole always said, it’s best to deal with things as they come—one at a time. And right now, this beautiful man I was straddling was all up in knots, and I wanted to unfurl every single one. I wasn’t going to ask what the ramifications were or where that could lead. I didn’t want to make tonight about me. It was about him.
***
Liam
I touched her face, addicted to the feeling of her smooth skin under my fingers.
“Ever since I spoke to my lawyer today, all I wanted was to see you,” I confessed.
“Why?” she whispered, eyes wide.
“I just did. Being with you grounds me.” It was mostly because nothing else seemed important when Tess was next to me. Everything faded into the background. I kissed her jaw, descending on one side of her neck. “It also drives me a little crazy,” I murmured against her skin.
Tess fidgeted in my lap again.
“Hmm...just a little?” she teased.
I pushed her ass against my groin so she could feel my hard-on.
She sucked in a breath. “Nothing little about that.”
“I want to take you out.”
“How about we stay in and I cook us something tasty?”
“I like that. I kind of wanted to have you all to myself anyway.”
“Then why suggest going out?”
“I have a whole list of places to take you to.”
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish by that?”
“Wooing you.”
Her mouth formed a cute O. “Wooing me? Wow. No one’s done that before.”
“That’s a crime! But I also like that I’m the first one.”
She gave me a huge smile. “You really like all these firsts, huh?”
“Hell yes. Staking my claim and all that.”
Tess threw her head back, laughing. I lowered her until her back was on my thighs, leaning over her. I kissed her chest right before I tickled her right armpit. She shrieked, pressing her thighs hard against me. I burst out laughing as she tried to push my hand away.
“You’re not playing fair,” she said between gasps.
“I know. But I just wanted to see your reaction.” I moved my hand, grinning as I helped her up. She gave me a cute pout. Her blonde hair was wild around her shoulders, and her eyes were a little watery, as if she teared up from all the laughter. Her cheeks were deep red.
Tess was bringing out a playful side in me that I didn’t know I had.
“I take back all those things I said I’d do with you tonight.”
“No you don’t.”
She tilted her head, leveling me with a challenging stare.
I kissed her right cheek, then her left one.
“Are you trying to get back in my good graces with kisses?”
“Is it working?”
I felt her smile against my cheek. “I’m conflicted.”
I pulled back, facing her, tracing her lower lip with my thumb. “That smile says different.”
She swatted my hand away but was still smiling.
“Fine, it’s totally working,” she whispered, grinning now. “I can’t stay mad at someone who wants to woo me. But before you come up with any more tickling ideas, let’s get out of here and start our night in.”
“Let’s go to my place,” I said. We spent a few nights at her apartment because it was closer to the store, but tomorrow was Saturday, and I wanted to have her at my apartment, share all that huge space with her.
“Oooh...you’re wooing me on your own territory now, huh?”
“Hell yes.”
Half an hour later, we arrived home. Thank fuck the ride didn’t take any longer, because I had a hard time keeping my hands to myself. I was done being on my best behavior. I just wanted to lose myself in Tess.
My woman had other thoughts. The second we stepped inside, she giggled, looking around in excitement.
“I demand a tour before I start my own wooing plan,” she declared.
I laughed, taking her hand and kissing it before leading her inside the apartment. It had three bedrooms and a huge open-space living room with a marble kitchen island on one side. The black couch and home theater system were on the opposite side.
The two guest rooms only had a double bed and a dresser inside, both white. The untouched bedsheets were deep blue.
“Very minimalistic and sleek,” Tess said after we left the second guest bedroom.
“Not your style.”
Her own place was full of trinkets, paintings, and colors. Mine looked empty by contrast since I didn’t hang anything on the white walls. I liked my surroundings as empty as possible; it helped me focus, and ever since I moved here, it had been little more than an extension of the brownstone.
“No, but it fits you. The first time I was in your office, I was actually stressed out that you didn’t have any personal items.”
“And now?”
“Now I just think that you’re the most amazing man I’ve met. Sexy as hell too.”
“What was that for?”
“I was emphasizing the sexy part,” she said nonchalantly. “Which distracted me. Where was I? Oh, I remember. So you’re not just sexy but also a little mysterious and broody, but that just adds to your charm.”
She leaned into me, adding, “In case you can’t tell, that wooing thing totally won me over. But I was pretty sure I liked you the second you told me you let your grandma beat you at chess.”
I laughed, stopping right in front of her. Before she realized what was going on, I lifted her in my arms, hands under her ass. She clenched her thighs around me, grinning.
“I just have one more room to show you.”
“Oh?” she asked, tapping her chin in mock concentration. I walked us straight to the master bedroom, turning on the lights and holding Tess so she had a direct view of the bed.
“Now that’s what I call a sexy bed.”
It was king-sized with a leather headboard. I lowered Tess on the edge of it. Then I tugged at the hem of her sweater at the same time I leaned in, drawing my mouth down her neck. She swatted my hand half-heartedly.
“I remember saying I want to cook for you.”
“Later,” I said. It came out as a growl.
“But I had a plan—”
“That can wait too. I need you, Tess.”
I moved my mouth up her neck, capturing hers. She surrendered to me immediately, and that just about brought me to my knees. I took my time savoring her, first her lips, then her tongue. I pushed both my hands under her sweater until I reached the hem of her bra. She hummed against my mouth. The reverberations went straight to my cock. I had a raging hard-on. Whenever I was with her, every part of my mind and my body craved her. And when we were apart, I ached to be with her.
The clasp of her bra was between the cups. I opened it, groaning at the feeling of her soft flesh in my palm, the puckered nipple. I kissed her more urgently, moving my mouth faster. She hummed against my lips again, and then her hands were on the button of my jeans. She lowered the zipper, and just feeling the back of her hand against my cock made me lose my mind. I wanted this woman with an intensity I’d never felt before.
She wrapped her palm around my erection, moving it up and down. I only resisted for two strokes before interrupting the kiss and pulling the sweater over her head. Her bra was only hanging by the straps, and I pushed those down her arms and onto the bed. With a playful glint in her eyes, Tess rose to her feet.