coffee, letting a drop of it linger on my lower lip. I run my tongue over my lip, lapping it up.
I’m gratified to see him shift uncomfortably in his chair. If I have to suffer the raging fires of denied lust, then so does he. I smile, arching my eyebrows. “I was simply expressing my concern about all the unscheduled time you’re spending in my office today. I know how busy you are.”
He leans back in his chair and laces his fingers behind his head. “This is scheduled.”
Of course it was. “You scheduled in a harassment break?”
“Don’t all bosses do that?”
I take a sip of coffee before answering. “Not in my experience, no.”
He reaches out, grabs another cookie, and takes a bite. “Mmm.” He lets out a groan of pleasure. “So good.”
It’s such an obvious gambit, and yet I fall for it. I think of him inside me, me bent over his desk, his tortured groans of ecstasy stroking my ears… I blush hotly and drop my gaze.
A gentleman would pretend not to notice. He just lets a slow grin spread across his face.
“What’s on your mind, Scarlett O’Hellion?”
I’m stressed, I’m exhausted, I want you to sex me all night long but I’m afraid I’d fall asleep before I got my clothes off…“What’s on my mind? I’ll be happy to share. I want to know the real reason you’re so hell-bent on forcing me to quit.” It’s the same question I asked him in the courtyard last week, when he batted it aside with vague answers.
I’m not letting it go this time. This is my life he’s playing with, like a cat batting a mouse between its velvety paws.
He sits up, his smile fading into a defensive scowl. “After your performance your very first day here, you have to ask?”
“Those were extraordinary circumstances,” I protest. “Thérèse left before she was able to give me any instructions. I tried to be proactive, and yes, I made mistakes. But I have done a killer job for the past week that I’ve been working with you, so why are you riding me so damn hard?”
His thick brows rise, and he smiles politely.
“What are you, twelve?” I say irritably. “You know what I meant.”
“All right. You’ve kept it together for one whole week, hooray.” He does a sarcastic golf clap. “I’m an excellent judge of character, and I don’t think you have the right temperament for this type of work.”
“You’re still not telling me the whole truth. And I’m going to keep asking you until you do. Tell me tell me tell me.”
“Now who’s twelve?”
“Tell me tell me tell me,” I chant.
He grabs his phone and starts typing something.
“Adding more bull-crap for me to do?” I snort. “I don’t care if you pile on so much extra busywork that I have to sleep here, which I’m probably going to start doing anyway. Tell me tell me tell me…”
“Fine.” He drops his phone in his lap and shakes his head in exasperation. “First of all, I’m not asking you to work any more than I do. Every minute that you’re here, I’m here too. When I go home, you go home.”
Wait a minute. Is he deliberately keeping me here until it’s time for him to go home? Like…he wants me to keep him company in some weird, twisted way?
“But here’s the thing. Me coming in here like this, bringing you lunch…what am I even doing?” He rubs his face with his hand. “You’re right, it’s weird, it’s totally out of character. I’ve never done that for anyone before. It’s you. Ever since the first day I laid eyes on you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I have a thousand things to check off my to-do list, but here I am. I’m spending time that I don’t have dreaming up wild goose chases to send you on, then checking my email all day long to make sure you finish every dumb job I assign you, and if I’m being honest, it’s because every time you send me one of your snarky answers or a middle finger emoji, I get a little thrill.” He says it all in one long, heated breath, his eyes blazing with a passion that threatens to set my panties aflame.
“And that’s bad because…?” I let the question dangle between us.
“Because I am this close–” he holds up his thumb and forefinger “–to fulfilling my late father’s lifelong dream of raising enough money for us to go international, and