Читать книгу My Guilty Pleasure - Jamie Denton Ann - Страница 7

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“DID YOU SAY BOSS?”

Joey reached for her leather jacket and jammed her hand into the pocket for the small wad of bills. “That I did.” She peeled off a twenty and dropped it on the table. “It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Stanhope. See you Monday.”

She scooted from the booth, her movements jerky as she shrugged into her jacket. A mixture of disappointment and deep frustration, which she couldn’t entirely discount as sexual in nature, collided inside her.

“Joey, wait.”

“Some other time,” she said, knowing it was a lie. Then she hightailed it out the front door.

A blast of cold January air bit at her exposed skin and whipped her hair into her face. A bone-deep chill instantly settled over her. Shivering, she shoved her hair from her face before tugging up the collar of her jacket, looking for warmth. With her hands tucked inside her pockets, she hunkered down and hurried to her car, which was sitting across the street at Rosalie’s.

The lot was deserted with the exception of her sporty red BMW parked under the hazy glow of a security light. A silver SUV with a Florida license plate sat a few yards away. Stanhope’s.

Still shivering, she pulled out her keys and pressed the button for the keyless entry to unlock her car. Just her rotten luck. Finally, she meets a guy who doesn’t have jerkwad written all over him, one who would actually understand the concept of billable hours and the demands of being a career-hungry associate attorney in a large firm, and he was as off-limits as they came. No way could she allow anything interesting to happen now—not with the revelation of Sebastian Stanhope being her new boss.

“Shit,” she muttered and yanked open the door. She climbed into the driver’s seat and fired the engine before tugging the door closed with a hard slam. And things had been going so well, too, she thought. Well enough that she’d been seriously considering that a brief affair might not be such a bad idea after all.

She cranked up the heater and sat trembling in the cold, cursing and giving the engine time to warm. Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair. Maybe she should’ve gone to Chassy tonight and hung out with her half sister, after all. But no, tonight she’d wanted to be just Joey and what had it gotten her? A whole lot of nothing except an ache between her legs she so wanted Sebastian to ease.

His shadow, cast from the light above, appeared seconds before she heard his gentle rap against the driver’s side window. For the space of a heartbeat she considered telling him to get lost. Instead she hefted a weighty sigh and motioned for him to join her inside the slowly growing warmth of her car.

He opened the door and slid that long, gorgeous body into the passenger seat beside her. The luscious scent of him did crazy things to her senses…like obliterate every last one of them.

“Was it something I said?”

“Yeah,” she answered and looked over at him. Her stomach took a tumble at the crooked smile curving that very kissable mouth. There should be a law in the books somewhere declaring it illegal for a man to be so incredibly sexy when he was seriously off-limits. “Samuel, Cyrus and Kane.”

“Look, I didn’t know.” Regret tinged his deep, velvety voice. “I am sorry.”

So was she. More than he realized. And a hell of a lot more than she’d expected, for that matter. “It’s just one of those weird coincidences,” she said with a shrug. “No need to apologize.”

Most of the time, she was a realist. And the reality of the situation was that she was wildly attracted to Sebastian Stanhope, even though he practically came with a “do not touch” brand burned into what she’d been fantasizing were hard, lean abs.

She muttered another curse.

“Would it help if I said I wish things had turned out differently?” he asked.

The sincerity in his eyes irritated her. God, why couldn’t he have been a jerk? Then she wouldn’t give a rat’s ass that her sexual fantasies had come to a screeching halt. Of course, that was her problem, wasn’t it? Because she couldn’t stop imagining him hot and hard and naked.

“Not really,” she countered dryly.

A full smile curved his lips now. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t tease me, Stanhope. I’m a frustrated woman. That makes me dangerous and highly irrational.”

He had the audacity to chuckle. “I like you, Joey.”

Yeah, well, the feeling was definitely mutual. “Guess that’ll make for a good working relationship, now, won’t it?”

She slumped down in her seat. What was she saying? Working with him would be nothing short of torture. Long hours. Late nights. That incredible scent of his lingering in her office long after he’d gone, driving her to distraction. Those intoxicating eyes.

Oh, God. She was toast. A walking hormonal disaster. A ticking sexual time bomb. It wouldn’t take much for him to light her fuse, either. And he was just arrogant enough to realize it, too.

She looked over at him. “Too bad Rosalie’s is closed. I could use a drink.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

At least he agreed with her. That was something, right? Not that they could do anything about it. Dammit.

He tugged his key ring from his pocket and aimed the big black key at the Jeep Commander. He pressed the button and electronically started the vehicle.

Or could they?

Pulling herself up, she smiled at him. “You know, Sebastian, you really aren’t my boss—” she glanced at the digital display on the Beemer’s stereo system “—for another fifty-five hours.”

He made a sound that could’ve been a laugh. Or maybe a short bark of surprise. She couldn’t be sure. The smile on his handsome face had faded. Too bad. Feminine instinct told her they could’ve made good use of those hours.

“You realize we’re a sexual harassment claim waiting to happen.”

“Not for another fifty-five hours,” she argued.

“But what about intent?”

A weak legal argument if she ever heard one. “Are you questioning my intentions, counselor?” she asked, her tone going all husky.

In the soft glow of the dashboard lights, his eyes darkened. “Should I?”

She settled her hand on his arm. “It would be in your best interest. Yes.”

The air around them sizzled, crackling with energy. His gaze dipped to her mouth, then he shifted in the seat next to her. That he wasn’t immune to her spoke volumes, at least on her radar.

Life was filled with choices. Good ones, and not-so-good ones. Then there were the plain stupid ones. She wasn’t exactly certain where she’d classify coming on to Sebastian after his disappointing revelation. Come Monday morning, plain stupid would most assuredly apply.

But it wasn’t Monday morning. Yet.

“You’re a difficult woman to resist,” he said.

She didn’t detect so much as an ounce of regret in his admission. So did that mean he was buying her paper-thin argument? Oh, but she hoped so.

She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Then don’t.”

He blew out a stream of breath. “You realize we’re on the verge of complicating our professional relationship.”

“Probably,” she admitted. “But we won’t have a professional relationship for—”

He smiled again. “Yes, I know. For another fifty-five hours.”

“Exactly.”

He pulled his arm from her grasp, but grabbed hold of her hand and laced their fingers together. Her heart rate took off like a rocket when he brought their joined hands to his mouth. His lips brushed lightly over her knuckles and she forgot to breathe.

“Your argument is weak.” Turning her wrist, he lightly pressed his lips against her rapidly beating pulse. Heat shot through her and settled low in her tummy.

The first genuine tug of desire pulled at her. “So is my willpower,” she said, her voice a strained, breathless whisper.

He shifted in his seat and reached for her, sliding his fingers behind her neck and gently pulling her toward him. “I think I left mine in Miami.”

Thank God.

His lips brushed hers in a feathery kiss, but it was nowhere near enough. She leaned into him, as far as the bucket seat would allow, and opened her mouth beneath his. His answering groan as he slipped his tongue into her mouth was all the encouragement she needed.

Heat pooled in her belly, filling her with languid warmth. Was it so wrong to have what promised to be a very satisfying one-night stand? They were mature adults. Consenting adults. Why the hell not?

Okay, sure. So maybe he did have a point. They could very well end up complicating their professional relationship, but professional was the only relationship they would ever have as far as she was concerned.

He kissed her slow and deep, snapping that final thread of common sense she’d managed to hang on to thus far. A one-night stand was hardly happily-ever-after. She wasn’t even looking at a short-term fling beyond tonight. Heaven forbid they should embark upon a torrid office romance. Those always ended badly, anyway. Usually with someone in tears. And she’d bet her overinflated trust fund, Sebastian wouldn’t be the one reaching for the tissues.

Using his thumbs, he tipped her head back as his mouth left hers to nuzzle her throat. The delightful little dance his tongue made against her heated flesh was almost too much for her to bear. She wanted more. And she wanted it now.

Inviting him back to her place was out of the question, but…

“Sebastian,” she breathed, “let’s go where we can be more comfortable.”

He lifted his head, but kept his hand cupping her neck. His thumb drew lazy circles along her jaw and she trembled. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Okay, but just for a nightcap.”

Sure, she believed that. Not.

“By the way,” she said, giving him a sly, but deliberate smile. “Did I mention the beachfront property I have for sale in Arizona?”

IN THE DARKNESS OF his newly rented third-floor apartment, they tripped over a moving carton partially blocking the doorway to his bedroom. Sebastian cursed and Joey giggled, but he caught them both before they went tumbling and landed on the hardwood floor. His place was hardly the ideal scene for romance with a beautiful woman, but when Joey had insisted her place was too far away from Rosalie’s to be the practical choice, he hadn’t had enough sense left to argue with her.

They landed up against the door with a loud thud. He caught her weight with his body, but the door swung hard against the wall, then jerked again, slamming the knob through the drywall. With Joey’s slender curves pressed against him, he didn’t much care if the damn thing came off the hinges.

Joey tugged his shirt from his jeans and shoved her hands beneath the fabric to splay her hands over his stomach. Her fingertips teased the waistband of his jeans.

“Your skin is so warm,” she murmured. She shoved the shirt up and placed her wet, moist lips on his chest. “Hot.”

His skin wasn’t all that was on fire. His dick throbbed almost painfully within the strict confines of his jeans. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had him so hard—and all they’d done so far was kiss. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d let his guard down long enough to just be himself with any woman. All work and no play. His own personal motto, one he’d chosen to ignore for the first time in what suddenly felt like an eternity.

She smoothed her hands upward, brushing her palms over his nipples. A rush of breath left him, and he grabbed hold of her hips, pulling her tighter against him. The door creaked, protesting against their weight, but he was beyond caring about anything except having Joey naked and wanting him.

He dove a hand into her short blond hair and tugged gently, pulling her head back so he could kiss her again. She opened for him, inviting him inside. Her taste was sweet and wildly exotic, like a fine brandy. The kind he’d promised himself he’d one day be able to afford.

That thought nearly had him calling a halt to their nocturnal activities…until she arched her body, rubbing her slender curves up against him like a cat.

“Touch me,” she murmured against his mouth. “Touch me now, Sebastian.”

“Where would you like me to start?” He had a few ideas of his own, but he liked a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t shy about telling him.

“How about I let you decide?”

He wasn’t picky. He liked the sound of that, too.

She backed away, and he instantly regretted the loss of her body heat. In the moonlight streaming through the window, he watched her smile turn positively wicked as she shrugged out of her suede jacket. The heavy material landed on the floor at his feet.

He took a step toward her, but she backed up, keeping him a fraction beyond arm’s length away. This time she peeled off her blouse, slowly revealing inch after delicious inch of silky-looking skin. The top went somewhere—to the floor, he assumed—but he didn’t happen to notice where because his gaze was held prisoner by the sight of a red satin-and-lace bra cupping her firm, lush breasts.

His fingers itched to fulfill her demand to touch her, to test the weight of her full breasts in his hands. He wanted to taste her skin, longed to discover her secrets. Couldn’t wait to make her his in the most elemental way possible. For as long as it lasted, which according to her, would only be until they reported for work Monday morning.

With a flick of her wrist, she unbuttoned her jeans then slowly tugged the zipper down. He caught a glimpse of more red lace. Thong, he wondered? Or a sexy pair of those boy shorts he easily imagined hugging that adorable ass of hers?

A frown suddenly puckered her smooth forehead. “Boots,” she said, then plopped down on the edge of the bed.

“Here.” He bent and lifted her foot, resting it on his thigh. “Let me.”

Gently, he tugged the boot from one foot, then the other. The leather was supple and expensive, as he’d suspected earlier. His curiosity about her climbed another notch. She hustled pool, yet drove a BMW he doubted was more than a year old, yet she was only a junior associate. He’d lived the pay scale, and while he’d had no trouble making ends meet, no way could he have afforded anything as slick as Joey’s Beemer. His ten-year-old Honda Civic had been on its last leg when he’d bought the Jeep Commander, and he’d only been able to afford that with the bonus the partners had paid him after he’d won a multimillion-dollar products liability case.

Joey was full of secrets. Too bad he didn’t have time to unravel more of her mysteries.

Before she could object or slip away, he took advantage of her position on the bed and leaned in, urging her back on the mattress. He slid his hands to her waist and hooked his fingers into the waistband. She lifted her hips and he slowly eased her jeans down her legs, and smiled. “Boy shorts.”

“I’ve shown you mine,” she said with a teasing smile on her lips. “Now show me yours.”

He yanked off his shirt and tossed it aside. “I suppose it’s only fair.” He moved to join her on the bed.

She held up her hand to stop him. “Uh-uh, counselor. Not so fast.” She reached for the waistband of his jeans and easily popped the button. “Full disclosure.”

He toed off his shoes and kicked them aside, then shrugged out of his jeans. His boxer briefs were next.

Acute awareness powered Joey’s senses as she looked her fill of Sebastian’s powerful, athletic body. The man was nothing short of a work of art.

The dullness of winter faded and the dark colors seemingly turned brighter, as if springtime had entered the sparse bedroom with them. She was assaulted with a delicious vibrancy to her senses. The warmth of Sebastian’s skin as he joined her on the bed. The tickle of soft chest hair against her breasts as he leaned over her. The heat of his body as he kissed her deeply, thoroughly.

She felt as if she’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. A rushing surge of intensity increased the sexual energy that had been haunting them since he’d approached her at the jukebox.

His lips and tongue tasted sweet, like the wine they’d shared from a single paper cup upon arriving at his apartment, until his mouth became hotter and more demanding as his tongue mated with hers. The gentle glide of his hands as he swept them over her breasts turned into an insistent quest to bring them both pleasure.

The need to touch him, to fully explore the tempting landscape, drove her. She smoothed her palm over his belly, loving the way the taut muscle danced in response to her touch. His low moan of pleasure encouraged her to continue her exploration. She slid her hand lower and sifted her way through the rough furring of curls to slide her fingers over his long, hard length.

Her blood fired and a hushed gasp of delight escaped her at the feel of him hot and heavy and pulsing in her hand. Oh how she wanted him inside her, but it was too soon. She summoned her patience because she knew without a doubt, she’d be rewarded.

Breaking the kiss, he reached for her hand and held it above her head on the bed. She murmured a protest, but he merely chuckled, then nipped and soothed, tasted and laved a fiery path to her breasts. His mouth settled over her nipple through the lace of her bra, sending a spiral of heat shooting through her veins like wildfire.

He released her hand and with a move she hadn’t even seen coming, freed her breasts from her bra. Her breath quickened when he took her nipple fully into the heat of his mouth and sucked.

Sparks of pleasure assailed her and she let out a low purr of encouragement as he wound a path with his tongue down her torso. She felt the press of his fingers in the waistband of her panties, his fingertips teasing her by dipping beneath the lacy edge.

“I want to taste you.”

His hot breath against her tummy drove her crazy. The tips of his fingers teased her moist curls, drawing closer to where she wanted him to touch her the most, making her nuts. She rolled her hips in response, because if he didn’t fulfill his promise, if she didn’t feel the heat of his mouth against her sex soon, she’d surely go certifiably insane.

He rolled her panties past her hips and down her legs.

“Open for me, Joey,” he whispered, then placed a kiss just below her belly button.

An elusive sensation she couldn’t name curled inside her. She didn’t think, doubted she could muster more than a fleeting thought, as the anticipation heightened. She merely obeyed and opened her legs for him.

He settled to his knees on the floor and carefully scooted her to the edge of the bed. He pressed her thighs even wider, opening her to him completely.

He lightly brushed his knuckles over her folds. “Hmmm,” he murmured softly. He circled her opening with the tip of his finger. “So wet.”

Her breath momentarily stilled at the awe in his voice. Desire burned volcanic hot, making her a willing casualty to his demand for control.

She wasn’t accustomed to being so exposed, regardless of the situation. In her world, she was the one in control. Always. Sebastian obviously had other plans.

She felt that mysterious sensation curling inside her again, but before she could name it, she felt the first feathery brush of his tongue against her sex. Her heart nearly stopped beating. When he gently suckled her clit, and his fingers dipped inside her, gently thrusting and withdrawing, she knew she’d just died and landed right into heaven.

The intensity of the pressure building inside her was nothing short of exquisite torture. Little else mattered except the moist warmth of his mouth and fingers making love to her, pushing her that much closer to what promised to be a mind-blowing orgasm.

He grazed her clit with his teeth and her body tensed from the intensity of sensations. She closed her eyes and the world exploded. Blood pounded in her ears and rushed through her veins. Nothing mattered except the primal need for satisfaction.

Sebastian struggled to rein in the need clawing at his belly with knife-like sharpness at the sexy sound of Joey’s cries of pleasure. He wanted to be inside her, to feel her body tense and clench when she came.

Without giving her a chance to cool, he reached for the bedside table and snagged a condom from the drawer. He quickly sheathed himself, then moved them to the center of the bed.

She welcomed him inside her, lifting her hips to meet his initial thrust. Coherent thought escaped him. His concentration centered on the ebb and flow of their bodies coming together in an explosion of heat and fulfillment.

There was nothing gentle or slow about the way they made love. She met him, thrust for thrust. Her breath came in short, hard pants. He struggled for his own breath when her body tightened around his thick shaft as another orgasm rocked her body.

He felt wild and primal as he stroked her body with his. He drove into her again and again. Deeper. Harder. Tension climbed. His body burned from the strain of muscle as he lost himself in the power of his own release.

Eventually his senses began a slow return. The first thing he became aware of was the leisurely sensation of her fingertips gliding lightly over his back. He moved off her, but pulled her close and dragged the bedclothes over their cooling bodies.

She snuggled closer and he draped his leg over her hers. With her head nestled in the crook of his arm, he closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet, musky scent of their lovemaking.

“Joey?”

“Hmm?” she murmured drowsily. She wiggled closer, her backside rubbing enticingly against his groin.

“I think it’s safe to say we just trashed our professional relationship.”