Unleashing every bit of his need, he f**ked her with long, deliberate strokes, hitting her sensitive spots, circling his hips to hit them again and again, even as his thumb toyed with her clit. He didn’t pause, didn’t let up until she screamed out again, this orgasm so powerful, it threw him over the edge into an apocalypse of pleasure unlike anything he’d ever felt. He shouted her name, the edges of his vision going black as he released everything he had inside her.
Long minutes later, he withdrew from her limp, sated body, disposed of the condom, and curled up around her. Almost immediately, the need to be with her, inside her again, hit him. It wasn’t purely sexual, though he loved making love to her. He wanted to…connect with her on a level that was deeper still. Cement their bond. Brandon frowned. He’d always liked Em, respected the hell out of her. But this feeling was totally new. Exactly how deep did his feelings run?
Before he could follow that train of thought, he heard the chirping of his cell phone from the front of her apartment. And he remembered it was Monday morning. He hadn’t told a soul where he was going, simply ran out of the office, followed Em through the parking lot, and peeled out before following her here.
“Please tell me it’s not eleven o’clock,” he muttered.
Em glanced at the clock. “It’s eleven fifteen. And that ring tone is the mayor’s.”
She’d know. She’d set it.
Grimacing, he jumped up and grabbed his cell just before the voicemail kicked in. “Hello, sir.”
Brandon grimaced and listened to the testy politician, interjecting affirmative sounds when appropriate. Inside, he wanted to scream. Yes, this f**king meeting was important.
But so was Em, damn it.
Still, if he wanted to implement the sweeping changes that he and Em had worked so hard for, he had to leave now.
Quickly, he thrust on his clothes, then whirled for the bedroom. Instead, he found Em standing a few feet away in her big terrycloth bathrobe. “You’re leaving.”
“This is the meeting with the mayor and his staff. We have to talk about how to appropriate the new budget money, assess the needs of each fire station and allocate funds and equipment—”
“I know.” She smiled sadly. “I set up the meeting for you. I left you prep notes on your desk Friday afternoon.”
Of course she had.
“I don’t want to leave you, Em. I’d rather stay with you all day.”
“You have to go. Give those firefighters what they need to get the job done. Don’t let anyone else lose a husband, father, brother, or son.”
Brandon hated going now, but she was right. It had taken months to win the budget victory. If the mayor was willing to meet with all the players and get this done now, he couldn’t throw that away. The opportunity wouldn’t come around again soon, and he was already late.
He slanted a hard kiss over her mouth. “After this meeting, we’re going to talk.”
She nodded, handed him his keys from the bar, then opened the door. “Sure.”
Nothing about her tone sounded happy, and he couldn’t fix it now. He’d show her later.
“Seriously.” He forced her gaze to meet his. “We will talk about this later.”
Then Brandon left. Making record time to the office, he grabbed her notes and charged into the meeting, all apologies, then dug into the business at hand. A million times, his mind wandered to Em. Every time, he forced his thoughts back. He gave his full concentration so no other firefighter lost their life for so senseless a reason as poor planning. In the end, thanks in large part to her notes, he negotiated the best deal. Em would be both delighted and proud.
The second he left the meeting, he replayed their morning together over and over. They’d leapt from being boss and assistant, from being friends, straight into being lovers. No question, Em had started a fever inside him. A few hours away from her, and already he hungered to touch her again. But he didn’t just crave the sex, hot though it was. He cared deeply about her happiness. He’d do damn near anything to reassure her that he was there with and for her. Caring, respect, friendship…weren’t those good places to start building an actual relationship?
“Good meeting, Ross.” The mayor shook his hand. As they walked to the elevator, he leaned in with a grin. “Whoever she is, since she’s making you smile, I’m guessing she was worth the tardiness and distraction.”
Brandon didn’t even question how the mayor had known. After all, he’d shown up late with mussed hair and wrinkled clothes. But he’d gotten the job done, and now it was time to see Em. And to tell her the good news.
On his way to her place, he stopped for flowers and a bottle of her favorite wine. He also changed into jeans and a T-shirt. As he wandered down the hall of his house, he stared into all the half-empty bedrooms he’d originally intended to fill with a wife and children someday. After Kayla’s departure, he hadn’t let anyone into his life so he could make that happen.
Was Em that someone?
The question almost bowled him over. He’d had a handful of hours to think of her as a lover. Was he really already thinking about her as a wife? A mother? She loved with her whole heart, and he couldn’t do better. He also wasn’t sure he could do without her any more.
Taking a deep breath, he hopped back into his car and took a winding ribbon of side streets to beat the Houston traffic and reach Em sooner. When he parked his car, he damn near ran up the stairs, roses and wine in hand, and pounded on her door.
When she opened to him, Brandon found her in a simple tank top and capri pants that hugged the sweet curve of her hips. Instantly, he remembered the taste of her kiss, the way she looked at him like he was her everything as he filled her full of his cock, her crying out his name as she came. The adoration in her eyes when he cuddled her afterward. The gentle way she glowed as she smiled with happiness.