Defended & Desired
Page 39
Following his suggestion, she dropped her shoes to the floor and crossed her ankles behind his back. “Like this?”
Fierce desire sparked in his eyes. “Just like that.”
He grabbed her hips and held her still as his rhythmic strokes sent an intimate blush across her cheeks. She bit her lips to keep from crying out as she tensed around him.
“Oh, yeah,” he moaned.
Hot and throbbing, they came together. He stayed inside her until the residual ripples of her orgasm faded. Then he wiped the fine mist on his forehead with the back of his hand. “I’ll have to take you at lunch more often.”
“I like that plan.” She trailed her fingertips down the heat-soaked front of his shirt. “I’ll pencil you in.”
“What?” He feigned offense and flexed inside her. “That doesn’t deserve ink?”
She grinned. “Send me a memo with your ideas and timing. I’ll see if I can fit you in.”
“I think I fit in just fine.” He flexed again before easing out. Then he helped her to her feet and settled her skirt back into place. “But I do like your memo idea.” He tucked himself back into his pants. “The janitor’s closet comes to mind.”
“Nothing like the scent of Clorox to get a girl all hot and bothered.”
“Miss Leigh?” A nervous voice came from the hallway. Zander. “I thought I heard a bang. Just checking to see if you’re okay.”
In a low voice, Trey murmured, “Oh, you heard banging, all right.”
“You’re terrible.” She shook her head at him. “I’m fine,” she called to Zander.
“Just rearranging the furniture,” Trey announced.
“Will you stop?” she insisted, unable to contain a slip of laughter.
“Not unless you beg me.”
She buttoned his collar and straightened his tie. “We’ll see about that.”
“Thanks for lunch, babe.” He dropped several kisses to her lips. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He glanced at his watch. “Right now, I’m ten minutes late for a meeting with my finance team.”
She gaped. “What will you tell them if they ask why you’re late?”
“That I was crunching some important numbers. And they added up to something very fine.” He tapped her backside, stole another kiss and left her wondering how soon he’d send her that memo he promised.
With a luxurious quiver of anticipation, she looked forward to his next burst of inspiration.
*
Tuesday, she met with Allen Guthrey, then later she had a meeting with Zander. The two of them were her powerhouse pair. Together, with a little guidance, they could probably fill her shoes within the month. The thought didn’t make her as relieved as it should have, because she knew she should be the person in command of IT at Soren Security.
Later that night, Trey came to her hotel room and rocked her world. As usual. He left at dawn on Wednesday, but made her a pot of coffee before kissing her goodbye.
Most mornings, she was cranky and non-functional until her first cup of java. She appreciated the little things he did to show her he was the kind of man who paid attention and noticed her quirks and habits. Like brewing coffee for her, sending sexy memos, and replacing her cracked monitor with a new one. Without her having to ask.
If he was trying to win her over, he was more than succeeding.
In fact, throughout the day Wednesday she kept coming up with more reasons and excuses to delay her final interview with ActionNet. It wasn’t really fair to ActionNet. But she had committed to her team’s training and couldn’t deny the desire to pack in as much time with Trey as possible.
Sexually, that proved an easy accommodation to make. Her blood heated the instant she thought about him, which was a lot more than she wanted to admit. From what she could tell, he seemed to enjoy their fling with as much enthusiasm as she did.
Except…if she were honest, at some point over the past few days, they’d graduated from a strictly sexual relationship to something greater, deeper. He amazed her by putting action behind his every word. He only made commitments he believed he could follow through on, and once committed he always followed through. Reasons to admire him continued to pile up in his favor.
He made her feel like the only woman he wanted, would ever want, though her ingrained instincts still warned her not to get too close. But falling for him didn’t terrify her like it once had. In fact, she’d come to a point where she couldn’t imagine going through a whole day without seeing him, without feeling electrified by his presence.
Although, on Thursday, she wondered if that day had arrived. They were both in and out of meetings from nine a.m. to five p.m. She didn’t see him or hear from him once.
Drawing her phone out of her purse at six o’clock, she started texting him then erased the message. She sighed, waited another ten minutes, and scrolled to his number again. “Hey,” she began in another, but hit delete.
Dang it, she could go one full day without him. Right?
Finally caving in, she wrote a quick text asking how his day went and hit send before she drove herself crazy. He didn’t respond.
Annoyed with herself for acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush—which was totally ridiculous—she packed up, found her Prius sitting alone in the parking lot, and drove to the hotel. She was stepping out of her car when her phone rang.
Pleasure spiked her veins when she saw his number. “Hey,” she answered, trying not to grin like an idiot.
“How was your day, sunshine?”
Giving up the pretense, she grinned like an idiot anyway. “Except for not seeing you, it was good.”
“Can I make it better?”
Yes, please! “What did you have in mind?”
“I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.”
“Casual or formal.”
“Casual. See you in a few.”
She practically skipped into the building and past the front desk as she went up to her room to change. She liked the way he stared at her legs when she wore skirts, so she shimmied out of her work clothes and pulled on a white thong that wouldn’t show under the tight white skirt she’d chosen. Then she pulled on a flowing turquoise top over her white camisole.
A half-hour later she met him in the lobby. He looked striking in dark jeans and a fitted short-sleeved polo. The bands of the sleeves stretched over his imposing biceps, a very different impression than his typical work suits. The sight of him made her girl parts sing.
Fierce desire sparked in his eyes. “Just like that.”
He grabbed her hips and held her still as his rhythmic strokes sent an intimate blush across her cheeks. She bit her lips to keep from crying out as she tensed around him.
“Oh, yeah,” he moaned.
Hot and throbbing, they came together. He stayed inside her until the residual ripples of her orgasm faded. Then he wiped the fine mist on his forehead with the back of his hand. “I’ll have to take you at lunch more often.”
“I like that plan.” She trailed her fingertips down the heat-soaked front of his shirt. “I’ll pencil you in.”
“What?” He feigned offense and flexed inside her. “That doesn’t deserve ink?”
She grinned. “Send me a memo with your ideas and timing. I’ll see if I can fit you in.”
“I think I fit in just fine.” He flexed again before easing out. Then he helped her to her feet and settled her skirt back into place. “But I do like your memo idea.” He tucked himself back into his pants. “The janitor’s closet comes to mind.”
“Nothing like the scent of Clorox to get a girl all hot and bothered.”
“Miss Leigh?” A nervous voice came from the hallway. Zander. “I thought I heard a bang. Just checking to see if you’re okay.”
In a low voice, Trey murmured, “Oh, you heard banging, all right.”
“You’re terrible.” She shook her head at him. “I’m fine,” she called to Zander.
“Just rearranging the furniture,” Trey announced.
“Will you stop?” she insisted, unable to contain a slip of laughter.
“Not unless you beg me.”
She buttoned his collar and straightened his tie. “We’ll see about that.”
“Thanks for lunch, babe.” He dropped several kisses to her lips. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He glanced at his watch. “Right now, I’m ten minutes late for a meeting with my finance team.”
She gaped. “What will you tell them if they ask why you’re late?”
“That I was crunching some important numbers. And they added up to something very fine.” He tapped her backside, stole another kiss and left her wondering how soon he’d send her that memo he promised.
With a luxurious quiver of anticipation, she looked forward to his next burst of inspiration.
*
Tuesday, she met with Allen Guthrey, then later she had a meeting with Zander. The two of them were her powerhouse pair. Together, with a little guidance, they could probably fill her shoes within the month. The thought didn’t make her as relieved as it should have, because she knew she should be the person in command of IT at Soren Security.
Later that night, Trey came to her hotel room and rocked her world. As usual. He left at dawn on Wednesday, but made her a pot of coffee before kissing her goodbye.
Most mornings, she was cranky and non-functional until her first cup of java. She appreciated the little things he did to show her he was the kind of man who paid attention and noticed her quirks and habits. Like brewing coffee for her, sending sexy memos, and replacing her cracked monitor with a new one. Without her having to ask.
If he was trying to win her over, he was more than succeeding.
In fact, throughout the day Wednesday she kept coming up with more reasons and excuses to delay her final interview with ActionNet. It wasn’t really fair to ActionNet. But she had committed to her team’s training and couldn’t deny the desire to pack in as much time with Trey as possible.
Sexually, that proved an easy accommodation to make. Her blood heated the instant she thought about him, which was a lot more than she wanted to admit. From what she could tell, he seemed to enjoy their fling with as much enthusiasm as she did.
Except…if she were honest, at some point over the past few days, they’d graduated from a strictly sexual relationship to something greater, deeper. He amazed her by putting action behind his every word. He only made commitments he believed he could follow through on, and once committed he always followed through. Reasons to admire him continued to pile up in his favor.
He made her feel like the only woman he wanted, would ever want, though her ingrained instincts still warned her not to get too close. But falling for him didn’t terrify her like it once had. In fact, she’d come to a point where she couldn’t imagine going through a whole day without seeing him, without feeling electrified by his presence.
Although, on Thursday, she wondered if that day had arrived. They were both in and out of meetings from nine a.m. to five p.m. She didn’t see him or hear from him once.
Drawing her phone out of her purse at six o’clock, she started texting him then erased the message. She sighed, waited another ten minutes, and scrolled to his number again. “Hey,” she began in another, but hit delete.
Dang it, she could go one full day without him. Right?
Finally caving in, she wrote a quick text asking how his day went and hit send before she drove herself crazy. He didn’t respond.
Annoyed with herself for acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush—which was totally ridiculous—she packed up, found her Prius sitting alone in the parking lot, and drove to the hotel. She was stepping out of her car when her phone rang.
Pleasure spiked her veins when she saw his number. “Hey,” she answered, trying not to grin like an idiot.
“How was your day, sunshine?”
Giving up the pretense, she grinned like an idiot anyway. “Except for not seeing you, it was good.”
“Can I make it better?”
Yes, please! “What did you have in mind?”
“I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.”
“Casual or formal.”
“Casual. See you in a few.”
She practically skipped into the building and past the front desk as she went up to her room to change. She liked the way he stared at her legs when she wore skirts, so she shimmied out of her work clothes and pulled on a white thong that wouldn’t show under the tight white skirt she’d chosen. Then she pulled on a flowing turquoise top over her white camisole.
A half-hour later she met him in the lobby. He looked striking in dark jeans and a fitted short-sleeved polo. The bands of the sleeves stretched over his imposing biceps, a very different impression than his typical work suits. The sight of him made her girl parts sing.
