Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
I’m shaken. Down to the soles of my feet. I understand every word coming out of his mouth. My being recognizes the truth in them. There is something inside me—a bunch of broken shards stuck together. When he’s close, those shards slide into his and make something whole and unbroken. I’m not imagining it—and it’s very bad.
It’s terrible. Because of who I am. I’m lying. My whole identity is a lie.
I’ve been studying his business for two weeks with the intention of stealing information.
Handing it over to my father to use against him with federal law enforcement.
Right now, though? In this rain? In this part of town where finance is distant and there is nothing but the pounding of our hearts, none of that matters. Not now. Later.
“I want your hands on me, too,” I whisper—
And he moans, roughly, dropping his teeth into the curve of my neck. Removing the pocket square from inside my shirt and using that hand to yank my hips close. We press his erection between our bellies and he bites down on my neck—and any sort of conscious thought vanishes clean away. “Believe it or not, I came here to talk.” His teeth rake all the way up to my ear and wet heat slicks the flesh between my legs. “It’s a strange magic you have over me.”
“I’m a witch,” I joke softly. “Did you miss that part of my resume?”
His laugh is a huff of air beneath my ear. “I’ve studied every part of your resume. Good thing you’d emailed it to HR, since you ran off with the physical copy.”
“Oops.”
Our foreheads meet. For a fleeting second, he appears tortured. He lets me see how much. “You were pissed at me.”
I can’t breathe when his eyes are so close. So deep and incredible and determined. “Correction,” I manage as he draws me closer, closer, until our bodies are locked so tight, I can feel the pulse of his shaft against my panties. “I’m still pissed at you.”
In one rough motion, I’m drawn up onto my toes. “It’s good to know you can be mad at me and still come like a fucking dream, then, isn’t it?” He snags my upper lip and tugs. “I can still taste that sugar on my tongue. You’re going to give me more of it when we go inside.”
“When d-did you plan on fitting in the talking? That’s a lot for one afternoon.”
“Stop. Just…” He laughs against my mouth, but there’s a strain behind it. “Stop making me like you so much, Sarah. It’s very inconvenient.”
“Why?”
I mean, I know why. I’m the daughter of his largest competitor. But he doesn’t know that. If he did, he would hate me. He would definitely not be here with roses.
“Until now, it’s been very easy to judge people based on how useful they can be to me, but you…” He shakes his head, visibly baffled. “Simply being around you seems to be enough. I don’t require anything else from you but to…be.” His eyes cut away, giving way to irritation. “Christ, I sound fucking ridiculous.”
“No, you don’t,” I breathe, blinking back the moisture in my eyes.
All my life, I’ve wanted someone to say those words to me. That I’m enough without having to do more. Look better, act different, accomplish something. Just standing here and being me…is all he needs? Can that really be true?
A muscle slides up and down in his throat. “Why are you crying?”
“No reason, I just…” The wild hope is too fresh to put into words. “Do you want to come inside? To talk, I mean? Not for more…sugar.”
“I’m coming in for both, Sarah.”
“Talking and…”
“I’m going to lick your cunt before I go back to the office, yes. At the very least.” His fingertips rake down over my waist and hips, clutching, while I absolutely reel from the erotic promise packed into every word. “If I can get inside you, I’ll do that, too. Just so we’re clear.”
“It doesn’t get much clearer,” I say, feeling as though a sliver of lightning has come down from the sky and electrified my skin. Every cell, every iota of me is wired to him. And again, that’s no good. Yesterday, I was so firm on my decision not to sleep with him in order to get the information my father needs. My brain is having a hard time remembering that both scenarios are at play—and giving in to them both makes me someone I don’t like.
But here I am, leading him to my apartment, my mouth desperate to be kissed. My heart rioting in my chest…and the warning sirens in the back of my mind are growing dimmer and dimmer in the pounding rain…
Chapter 5
Matthew
Goddammit.
I didn’t imagine her effect on me yesterday. As soon as she turned the corner, beautiful beyond words in her soaked dress and damp hair, my resolve grew fuzzy. Every thought in my head but her became translucent, insignificant. How does she reach into my chest and make my heart beat differently? Faster with arousal, excitement, slower with calm. Relief. Like I’ve…