I hold her gaze steady. “Let’s shed the titles, the hierarchies for a moment. Right here, right now, it’s just you and me. We’re adults, capable of making our own decisions.”
“Easy for you to say, Mr. Top-of-the-hierarchy, pick-and-choose-your-own-title guy.” She rolls her eyes, her voice tinged with both humor and annoyance. “But those titles carry weight for me.”
I give her a nod. “Fair enough. You’re right, and I don’t want to abuse that power. But know this-I’ve always protected those around me. And you, sweetheart, are far from an exception.”
My fingertips slide under the shoulder straps of her tank top, tracing the curves of her collarbone.
She shivers, a flush blooming on her cheeks. “What are you doing?” she whispers, wide-eyed.
Arousal courses through me as I watch her nipples harden from just a light brush of my finger. “If you’re uncomfortable, tell me to stop.”
My hand strays beneath her top, and I’m met with the curves of her breasts, but she still doesn’t pull away.
“Do you use this hands-on approach with all your staff?” she quips with false bravado.
I nip at her neck, enjoying her shivers. “Only the special ones who need to be reminded of their place.”
Her breaths come fast and shallow. “And where… is my place?”
“Right here,” I murmur against her skin, “with me.”
I grab her around the waist and pull her close, my hardened arousal against her softness.
The contact has her gasping.
Good. I need her to feel how hard I am for her.
Her body melts into mine. She’s begging me to take her right here, right now against this wall, and I need nothing more than to quench my thirst for her.
“You drive me wild,” I growl out between gritted teeth, pulling her even closer to me. “You know that?”
“Oh God… I shouldn’t…”
I don’t give her time to finish her protest. I fist my hand in her hair and seize her mouth with my own.
She gasps into the kiss, and then her hands grip my arms.
Weeks of pent-up arousal explode inside me and I pin her against the wall, wrapping one of her legs around mine, almost lifting her off the ground.
A roar builds in my chest as I taste her sweetness, breathing in her scent. She makes me so desperate for her that I can’t think straight, obliterating my plan to take things slow.
I’m communicating every memory, every emotion of us in this kiss.
I want her to know, even if only for a fleeting moment, the depth of my feelings for her.
She clings to me hungrily, as if her body is thanking me for finally giving it what it’s been wanting.
Her hands travel up to my shoulders before slipping around my neck.
This mouth, this body. Her. I’ve missed her so damn much.
“Sweetheart,” I groan into her mouth, breaking away to trace a hot trail down her neck with my tongue. “Believe me now?”
She arches her back and pushes her curves against my body, hungry for more.
Her sensitive nipples are screaming for attention and I’m more than happy to provide it.
Fuck, that feels incredible.
She lets out a sharp gasp of pleasure as my palm covers her entire breast. Does she remember this feeling?
With one hand cradling her breast and the other grabbing tightly to her waist, I thrust my hard cock against her core. I need to fuck her before I go out of my mind.
Just as I’m about to push my mouth lower to her chest, voices from down the hallway startle us.
Her body goes rigid.
I break the kiss with a growl, panting for air.
She recoils, her eyes widening as the weight of our actions seems to crash into her. “Shit,” she stammers, withdrawing from my grasp.
“It’s okay, Lucy.”
But she isn’t looking at me anymore; her eyes dart around the hallway.
“Wait,” I call hoarsely, watching her run away. I’m left standing in the hallway, desperate to finish what we started.
Lucy
Oh. My. God.
I bolt toward the relative safety of the entertainment room, away from the sinful temptation.
There’s no “undo” for this kind of mistake. Ctrl+Z won’t save me now. Dry humping my boss was definitely not on the hackathon agenda.
What the actual hell was I thinking?
Did I seriously just lock lips with JP Wolfe?
In his hallway, no less. What if someone saw?
That kiss… I don’t even have words. Obviously, I’ve kissed guys before, but this… this was something else. Something to rival the kiss with my masked superhero.
I take a slow breath outside the lounge where the team is chattering away, glasses clinking.
They’ll know. I’m a mess. I got so wrapped up in what he was saying, gazing at the mountain lights like a doe-eyed fool that my legs were sliding open for him.
Sweetheart.
He called me sweetheart. Does he call everyone he kisses sweetheart?
Regrettably, the only available seat is a cozy spot wedged between Matty and Dwayne.
As I drop onto the couch, avoiding any and all eye contact, I feel Matty’s eyes on me.
“You okay?” he asks.
I manage a fake smile, heart pounding a wild beat. Can he smell Wolfe on me? “Yep! Great. Just needed to freshen up.”
“You’re doing that bizarre twisty thing with your hair that makes it look like you’re crafting a dick.”
Immediately, my hand falls from my bangs. “I’m fine,” I fire back defensively. “What are you guys talking about?”
I feel like I’m wearing a neon sign that blares JUST BEEN HORNY WITH THE BOSS.
My nipples could cut glass. They’ll probably stay erect forever now, a permanent reminder of my foolish dalliance.
Miraculously, everyone seems to be engrossed in their own world, each lost in their drinks, their conversations, their phones, whatever. There’d be nothing left of me but a Lucy-shaped hole in the wall if anyone witnessed me with the boss.
“Okay,” Brody, one of the coders, begins, pulling me out of my stupor. “We got some good ideas rolling today. I think as a reward it’s time to hit a bar. You know there’s a town just a few miles from here?”
Matty, cheeks dimpling, grins. “Hell, yeah. I need it after the day I’ve had.”
Brody smirks. “We all need it after witnessing that catastrophe.”
I barely listen to them chatter on.
Across from me, Taylor straightens up, suddenly all businesslike. “We’ve only gotten through day one. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Work first, party later. We’re not setting foot outside this place until we’ve hit our targets.”
She earns herself filthy looks.
Despite my usual annoyance with her, I find myself nodding in agreement. Maybe it’s just my state of stupor but she can’t exactly be having a blast playing the team’s nanny. Andy sure as hell didn’t cut it.
“Taylor’s got a point,” I find myself saying, to a chorus of groans.
Taylor gives me a surprised, grateful half-smile. I nod back.
“Okay, fine,” Matty grumbles, rolling his eyes dramatically. “No hitting the bars tonight. But we’ve got to take advantage of this place. Pool party, anyone?”