None of which stopped him from both thinking about her constantly and deciding it was time to do something about it. Which was what he planned to do now.
She watched him from beneath hooded eyes, waiting for him to make a move, and he did. He strode determinedly around his desk and came up beside her, her sweet scent a reminder of that endless kiss in the alley. The combination of tart, like her personality, and sweet, like her taste, just did it for him.
He stepped closer, forcing her to look up at him despite her sexy-as-sin heels.
“You’re not firing me?” she asked, breaking into his wicked thoughts.
He smiled, something that seemed to come easier around her. “No, I’m not firing you.”
“Then what are you doing with me?”
“This.” He hooked an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and sealed his lips over hers.
She stilled, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders, and like the other night, he braced himself for a hard shove. Instead she curled her fingers into his shirt and kissed him back, her tongue gliding over his lips delicately in a sweet caress.
He groaned, nipping her lower lip until she parted and let him inside. He swept through the luscious depths of her mouth, losing himself in her sweetness. His tongue tangled with hers, thrusting in and out, drinking in her shuddering moans.
He wanted more. Needed to possess her. He grasped the back of her neck with his good hand, buried his fingers in her thick hair, and tilted her head for deeper access, sliding his tongue farther inside, getting more demanding with every sweep.
Her nails dug through his shirt, into his skin, arousing him beyond belief. He backed her against the desk, until her ass settled on the metal surface. Then, removing his hand from her hair, he slid his fingers up her silk blouse until he cupped her breast in his palm, her hardened nipple pressing against him.
His heartbeat sped up at the feel of the tight peak pressing hard into his skin. Never had he felt anything so good, and he’d yet to touch her bare flesh. He glided his lips down her jaw, pressing wet kisses to the pulse below her ear, using the time to breathe in and gather his wits, which had long since disappeared.
“This is wrong,” she whispered, causing him to realize he’d given her time to think too. But the words were coming out breathy and soft, her need obvious. “I work for you.”
“There’s no office policy preventing it,” he said, grabbing on to any rational reason to keep her right where she was.
He liked the feel of the lace covering of her bra against his hand. It let him imagine what her actual flesh would feel like to the touch. He wondered if her nipples would taste as sweet as her mouth.
“Kade, this is insane.”
“Agreed.” He swallowed hard against the pulse pounding in his temples.
She was right. It wasn’t a smart move. He wasn’t completely sure he’d ever trust any woman completely, but he couldn’t not pursue her. Couldn’t let her go.
“But it’s still happening,” he informed her, bound and determined to have his way. If she really didn’t want to be with him, he’d walk in a heartbeat.
He’d never forced himself on a woman. Never would, no matter what Lila had claimed. But this pliant, sexy female in his arms wasn’t saying no, and he had every intention of seducing her further.
Not here and now, but in the very near future.
He plucked her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it between the pads of his fingers. “We’re good together.”
A full-body tremor shook her, and she whimpered, the sound going straight to his dick.
“But, Kade, I need this job.” She pushed him with both hands, and he stepped back immediately.
“I respect that.” He met her gaze, trying his damnedest not to look at her puffy lips, red and swollen from his heated kisses. “Nothing that happens between us will affect your work here,” he promised her.
She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “That’s naïve, and the one thing you, Kaden Barnes, are not is naïve.”
“No, I’m determined.” To have her in his bed and in his office.
In the short time they’d been together, she’d been a model assistant, despite him being an obnoxious ass. Her predecessors had walked out sooner with less provocation. He intended to keep Lexie happy on all levels.
She sighed, folding her arms across her chest, a move obviously designed to hide her full breasts and prevent him from staring. He glanced down, but that view didn’t help, her sexy skirt not a deterrent to the places his mind wanted to travel, and reminded him of when he’d slid his fingers up her tight skirt and played her body until she came. Hard.
He forced himself to refocus on her objections and ways around them. “When … if … things between us end, you’ll have a choice whether to continue working for me or move to another position here. Same salary, same benefits, no hassle from me,” he promised.