Chapter 45
Cal
This woman will be the death of me.
I can’t kiss her properly like this. I release her jaw after a moment and pull us both to our feet before I walk us over to the side of the room. Her head hits the wall, and I slap a palm next to it, taking a second to enjoy the surprise on her face before I dive back in.
I slide my mouth against hers. When she responds, I waste no time licking at her lips until she opens for me.
My hungry tongue is in there immediately, entangling with hers.
I have her pressed to the wall with my hips.
She’s not going anywhere, and it seems she’s getting the message, because one of her hands comes up to my shoulder and the other is in my hair, clawing at it.
That’s more like it. I drag my thumb down her neck and encircle it lightly with my fingers as I use all my tongue skills to show her exactly who’s boss.
Her face might have been plastered all over the reception area when I came in—queen of the BBC’s Hall of Fame—but right now she’s in my arms, pliant as a doll, and last night she answered only to me.
Damn right.
As I kiss her, she makes these breathy little noises that go straight to my cock, and I grind harder against her. Just reminding her what she’s missing every minute I’m not inside her.
Why is every single thing this woman does so fucking sexy?
Aside from the fact that she’s beautiful and smart and sophisticated and well educated and articulate as fuck, that is.
She’s a bombshell, a siren, whose intoxicating looks have nothing on her ability to silence the most powerful men in the world.
I find it so incredibly hot that she gives me the time of day, never mind shutting up and letting me effectively gag her with a single order.
Shut the fuck up. Fucking take it.
I meant what I said last night. The basic little blondes pawing at me did nothing for me. But when Aida Russell looks at you with awe and desire in those huge black eyes, you’re a goner.
And when she tells you to show her how much you want her, you get on your fucking knees and you serve her.
I don’t think I could have been clearer how much I needed her last night.
For someone so sharp, she has a short fucking memory when it comes to the stuff that counts, and it tells me the killer confidence she brings on screen doesn’t necessarily find its way into the bedroom.
Not unless she’s riding high on sex hormones, that is.
We’ll need to do something about that.
I kiss her for a little longer, both to ram my point home and because she’s fucking delicious. When I come up for air and pull my face away, I plant my other palm on the wall, effectively caging her in.
‘Still with me, gorgeous?’ I ask, attempting to keep my voice level.
Her tits heave in her gym gear as she catches her breath. ‘Yeah,’ she says with a little laugh, like she’s gathering her wits.
‘Good.’ I glance between our bodies and back up. She’s in tight yoga pants that show off her toned arse and legs, and a snug-fitting zip-up thingy. ‘You look beautiful today.’
That’s met with a classic Aida Russell eye roll. ‘Please. I look like shit.’
‘You look hot as fuck. And I can see your nipples.’ I tut. ‘Think it’s appropriate to bring your nipples to the BBC, Ms Russell?’
‘They weren’t a problem until you showed up and kissed me,’ she retorts.
Fuck, I’m basic, because that pleases me enormously. ‘How’s your cunt?’ I ask softly. ‘You sore today?’
Another eye roll. ‘Very, thank you for asking. I can barely sit down.’
I can’t help it. I smirk.
‘Jesus Christ, your ego is massive. And here I thought you were concerned.’
She’s not wrong. ‘I’m very concerned,’ I protest. ‘If you’d like to bend over the table for me, I’ll kiss it all better.’
She shivers, and I’m pretty sure it’s a good shiver. ‘I bet you would.’
‘What are you doing later?’ I ask, lifting a hand off the wall so I can slide it over her jaw.
She tilts her head a little, leaning into my touch. ‘Probably bingeing Young Sheldon. It’s my weekend with the boys.’
‘Oh, yeah. Of course.’ Stupid fucker, Cal. Of course she’s with her kids.
‘Yeah. So no orgies for me tonight,’ she adds in a teasing voice.
I frown. It doesn’t come as a surprise that she assumes the worst of me, but I’m not going to lie—it stings a little. ‘I didn’t mean that. I was going to see if you’d like to come over and let me cook for you.’
Her eyes widen. She wasn’t expecting that. ‘Cal…’ She slips out of the space where my hand was and spins around. ‘Going to your house feels like a…’
‘Date,’ I supply, turning to face her.
‘I was going to say blurring of boundaries, but sure. Date works. Look. I appreciate how sweet and attentive you’re being, and before you ask, I understand that you’re telling me the attraction is real and you’re not humouring me. I appreciate that. I really do.’
She takes a deep breath. ‘But I’m a single mom, and I got burned pretty badly by my ex-husband, and the last thing I need’—she holds my gaze steadily—‘is for some crazy hot sex club owner who’s way younger than me and way more experienced to start blurring lines and sweeping me off my feet.
‘Because you, my friend, are a very charismatic guy. And when you turn on the charm like this, it’s a lot.
I’m only human, and I’m lonely, and I enjoy basking in the warmth of your attention way too much.
Like, I enjoy it so much it’s problematic.
So I need you to keep things clear between us, okay? ’
She holds out her hands, palms up, as if warning me to keep my distance.
‘You’ve already ruined my entire sex life for the rest of my life.
I mean, how the fuck am I supposed to find a guy who can rival the way you made me feel last night?
So when you start kissing me in broad daylight at my workplace and asking if you can cook for me?
You’re gonna wreck me. I can’t do that stuff with you and not fall like a tonne of fucking bricks. I won’t survive it.’
She’s slaying me. I feel like I’m dying, like she’s ripping my heart out of my chest. And then she looks at me with those huge eyes and delivers her parting shot in a whisper.
‘Are you with me?’
Oh my good Lord. How a woman this smart can be so fucking obtuse is beyond me.
I take a step towards her and put my palms to hers before interlacing our fingers.
‘I hear what you’ve said,’ I say carefully, because no, I’m not with her.
Not at all. Clearly, I need to spell this out for her in terms so simple she can’t possibly fail to understand.
‘But you don’t get it. I’m not trying to blur lines.
I’m trying to take the next step with you.
I want this to be more than what it was when we started out.
Let me put it in black and white. You’re Taylor Swift in this scenario, and I’m Travis fucking Kelce. You understand?’
Her eyes widen before she kicks into a mouth purse and an eye roll. She’s dismissing me again.
Nope.
‘No,’ I say sternly. ‘Don’t do that. Sure, I have no problems getting women.
I’m adorable.’ I flash her a cheesy smile.
‘But you, baby, are a fucking superstar, and you have no idea how much you blow me away. You’re so far out of my league it’s crazy, but I don’t care. I probably should, but I don’t.
‘Call me cocky, but it seems to me I make you happy—just a little bit? So I’m going to forge on ahead here, and, just like last night, I’m going to be the cheeky fucker who takes as much as he can get from you.’
She’s staring at me like I’ve lost my damn mind, so I close the gap between us and drop a tender kiss on her lips.
‘Now, let me ask you again,’ I murmur against her mouth. ‘When are you next kid-free, and can I cook you dinner?’