Читать книгу Sweet As Sin - J. Critch Margot - Страница 12

ALEX WAS IRRITABLE before he even entered The BH, the office tower built and owned by The Brotherhood, the home and headquarters of Collins/Fischer and the rest of their enterprises, including, of course, Di Terrestres, which encompassed the entire bottom floor. Before he even set a foot out of the elevator and onto the floor of Collins/Fischer, he felt like staying inside and riding back down to the front lobby. A week had passed since Brett went ahead and hired Maria, and even though she had yet to start working there, he’d been a ball of tension since that evening.

He hadn’t seen Maria since he’d followed her from the table at Thalia, but he didn’t need to. Everywhere he went, he smelled her, could taste her on the air, as if she’d been permanently etched on his skin or tied to him, following him everywhere he went. It would be her first day at the office and even though their workloads would keep them busy and she would be assisting Brett, Alana and him on all of the work related to Hedo, he didn’t know how he would manage to focus on anything knowing that she was in the building.

Alex looked up from the panel of buttons, still contemplating pushing the one marked with an L, and stared out the parted door at the clean titanium Collins/Fischer logo that faced him. “Goddammit,” he muttered to himself. That was his name on the company’s logo. He owned the fucking building. He’d worked his ass off to get where he was. He’d fought every adversary, every odd that had been stacked against him, and he’d persevered. If he couldn’t handle having one woman in his vicinity, then he might as well quit his job and go back to where he’d come from, become his father. Instead, he took a deep breath, scrubbed his hand over his face and exited the elevator, stepping into the hallway.

Collins/Fischer, a normally loud and bustling company, was quiet. Of course it was; it was barely 7:00 a.m. And while Alex and Brett liked to get an early start, they didn’t expect their staff to get in that early, and most waited until nine. Early morning was their quiet time to arrange their projects and coordinate their schedules for the day and upcoming week.

Alex yawned, and on the way to his office, it occurred to him that he’d forgotten to restock the coffee in his office. The fine Panamanian beans he’d been so pleased with had not lasted the week with the long hours he’d been putting in. He’d have to order more. Like, twenty pounds more. But until then, the communal office coffee would have to do. He veered into the lunch room to his left instead of heading straight to his office.

He was stopped in his tracks, however, when he smelled the hints of a familiar spicy perfume, and he knew he wasn’t alone in the room. His breath caught in his throat when Maria turned to face him, gorgeous in a crisp white blouse, and a high-waisted gray pencil skirt that hit just above her knees. The look was completed with her thick black hair tied back into a bun and cherry-red high heels. Her outfit might have been modest in cut, but it somehow seemed to show off her delicious curves rather than hide them. She looked like the star of every fantasy a man could have about a woman in an office setting.

Her red lips spread in a grin. “Hi, Alex. Or should I say boss?” she asked with a throaty purr that made him sweat through his suit.

Maria was going to be the death of him.

If Rafael didn’t kill him first.

Alex nodded and walked past her to the espresso machine without returning her greeting. He busied himself preparing his own coffee, but he could feel her watching him. “What are you doing here?” he asked, not looking at her, trying to ignore his every response to her.

“I work here, remember?”

How could he forget? “What I mean is, it’s early. People don’t normally start showing up until at least eight thirty.”

“Brett emailed me and asked me to be here early so he can get me started, and he wants me to sit in on your morning meeting. Then I have to meet with Alana to get caught up on what you guys are working on. You start early—it only makes sense for your assistant to do the same.”

“You’re Brett’s assistant,” he reminded her with a grumble. His voice was thick, rough, with desire. He needed time to ease into his day without having to worry about his dick getting hard, imagining laying her out on his desk.

But she didn’t seem put off by his demeanor, and she laughed. “You’re grumpy in the morning, Alex.” Her high heels clicked on the floor as she walked over to a bank of cupboards, absently looking inside a couple, becoming acquainted with the room, before she moved closer to him still, opening the fridge. She bent at the waist and leaned in, putting her brown-bag lunch in a free space at the bottom. He looked over and took in the stellar view of her ass and the gray material stretching over her luscious curves. She stood, and Alex tried to look away, but he was like a man possessed, driven to her, unable to stop himself from coming up behind her. His fingers curled over her hips, gripping her, digging into her flesh.

He heard the shocked gasp exit her lips, and she fully straightened, bringing her back flush to his chest. “Alex.” Her voice was a whisper, but it rang out in the empty room.

He bowed his head, placed his lips on her temple and spoke against her skin. “Maria, I’m not sure what you do to me, but I just can’t resist you.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to resist.”

He pushed his hips against her ass, certain that she couldn’t mistake how hard he was. She was so warm and firm, but so goddamn soft. “We can’t, though. I know it. You know it. This has already gone too far.”

“I do know that. But I don’t understand why. If we want each other, what’s the harm?”

Alex knew one hundred reasons why not, but fuck him if he could think of one at that moment. Maria’s body just felt so good against his. He lowered his head, and with her back still against his chest, she turned her face in his direction. Their lips were only millimeters apart. He could feel her breath, almost taste her...