Chapter 14
“You wanted to see me?” I ask, pushing his office door open and stepping inside.
He lifts his gaze from his computer and leans back in his chair.
Motioning to the chairs on the other side of his desk, he says, “Have a seat, Anders.”
I trudge over to the chair, setting my bag down on the floor and look back to him, folding my hands in my lap.
The look on his face is stern as he dives right into this meeting’s topic.
“As you should be aware from the HR guidelines that were attached to your employment contract, office relationships are not allowed between attorneys and their subordinate team members.”
He watches me, eyes narrowed, trying to gauge my reaction. I must look absolutely dumbfounded because that was not at all what I expected him to say.
Then it hits me. His words from the other night.
“Seeing you come into work every day in your tight little skirts and blush at everything your fucking paralegal says is a punishment.”
He’s been watching us. I already knew that, but that doesn’t mean that he knows there’s something going on between me and Nash. He’s still watching me, even now, squirming under the pressure of his words. I have to say something.
Deny. Deny. Deny, Avery.
“Uh,” I start, my mind racing as I try to find the words. “I…uh. I’m not sure what you’re talking about?”
He stares at me for a long moment, then raises one eyebrow, like he’s ready to call me on the lie.
“Do you think I’m stupid, Avery? Do you really think I don’t see the way he looks at you?
The way you look at him? And before you even consider trying to sell me some bullshit about how you look at him the way you look at all our coworkers, don’t.
I already know that’s not true because you don’t look at me that way.
” He finally pauses long enough for me to speak.
“I do.” The words are already out before I can even think about what I’m saying.
Did I just admit to my boss that I look at him and my paralegal like I want to rip their clothes off?
He’s going to fire me. Tonight.
“You do what?” he grinds out.
Whatever. I’m in too deep now. Might as well be honest.
“I do look at you that way. I always have. You’re the one who keeps me at arm’s length. And anyway, what do you care how I look at you? You dragged me out to your truck, kissed me, and then pushed me away. You made it pretty clear that whole night was a mistake.”
His jaw ticks. “It was a mistake…but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to do it.”
“Okay. Are we done here?” I ask, losing my patience with him.
“No.”
“James, you asked me to stay late, so I did. But I have plans and—”
“With Nash?” he cuts me off.
I scoff. “I never said I was seeing Nash.”
“I thought we already established that I’m not stupid, Avery. How far do you want to push me?” he asks, rolling up the sleeves on his shirt to reveal his tattooed forearms.
I inhale sharply, unsure if it’s a challenge or a threat. Regardless, the way he’s looking at me right now has me wanting to find out exactly how far I can push him.
“And what are you gonna do, James? What was it that you said the other night? Something about punishing me the way you want to? I don’t see how that could be any worse than what you’re already doing.
You stomp around here, staring at me all the time.
You assign me a shit ton of work, making me stay late most nights.
You say and do things to get me all hot and bothered just to turn around and push me away.
To what? Confuse me? Embarrass me? What more do you want from me? ”
By the time I’m finished, I’m nearly out of breath. The silence stretches between us.
James doesn’t flinch. He just sits there, but I catch the faint tick in his jaw as he absorbs my words.
I expect him to launch into some lecture about professionalism or boundaries, but he surprises me.
He pushes his chair back and says, “Come here.”
“What?” I hesitate, sure I must have misheard him.
“Come. Here,” he repeats himself, his voice low.
I stand slowly, rounding his desk to stand in front of him.
The air is charged, a silent standoff. He leans forward, grabbing the hem of my skirt and pulling me toward him. I gasp at the sudden movement, my hands landing on his shoulders. His hands roam over my thighs and ass on top of my skirt.
I can feel the heat building between my thighs.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice a breathy whisper.
“Reminding you that I’m your boss since you seem to have forgotten who you’re talking to.”
“Don’t start something you’re not gonna finish again,” I warn him.
He spins me away from him and says, “Hands on the desk.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, following his orders as he kicks my feet apart.
He slides his hands up my thighs, my skirt hitching higher with each inch. My pulse is wild, my breath uneven.
“These tight little skirts,” he tsks, giving my ass a sharp smack.
I gasp at the impact.
I feel his fingers trail over the lace of my panties, and my body arches instinctively. I hear him stand and feel him lean over me, fisting my hair, pulling my head back until his mouth is next to my ear.
“You’ve been torturing me for weeks. I think it’s only right I return the favor, don’t you?”
“Mhmm,” is all I can manage as I push back against his hand, trying to increase the pressure.
Is this really happening? Right here in this office, with my boss? What am I doing? What about Nash? I shouldn’t, but I—
“Use your words, Avery,” his voice a low growl in my ear.
“Yes,” I gasp.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good girl,” he says, and the praise sends a jolt through me.
He releases his grip on my hair to grab my ass with both hands hard enough to leave bruises. I feel him yank my panties down, and I lift each foot to step out of them.
I’m completely exposed in my boss’s office. The thought barely has time to fully register before I hear his desk drawer slide open, then he places my panties inside and closes it back.
He grabs my elbow, pulling me up and spinning me around to face him. One of his hands slides up to my neck, squeezing lightly while his other hand slips between my legs, feeling how embarrassingly wet I already am.
“Is this what I do to you, Avery?”
“James, please…”
He swipes his hand through my slit once more before pulling away, and I gasp, leaving my mouth open enough for him to put his fingers inside.
I suck, tasting myself on his fingers as he hums his approval.
With one hand still around my throat, he withdraws his fingers from my mouth and kisses me. And it is a brutal and blinding kiss.
It’s rough, urgent, utterly consuming. He pulls me closer, his grip on my throat tightening, my body trapped between him and the edge of his desk. His hands move over me, but they don’t go where I want him most.
Instead, he places his hands on my hips, lifting me to sit on his desk, then moves one hand to my chest to lay me back until I’m resting on my elbows.
He pulls away, leaving me breathless as he sinks into his chair.
“Let me see you,” he says, grabbing my ankles and spreading my legs until my feet are propped on the armrest of his chair. The heels I’m still wearing dig into the leather.
“Fuck,” he breathes out, his pupils blown wide, full of hunger. “Show me how you touch yourself.”
He doesn’t move from his seat, only shifts his legs apart and leans back, hands splayed on my ankles. The predatory calm in his posture makes me even more self-conscious, and yet, underneath it, I feel his restraint gnawing to let loose.
I hesitate, unsure, but the look in his eyes urges me on. I move my hand between my legs, and the small sounds of pleasure that escape me make him groan. I dip my fingers into my wetness, teasing myself, my breath catching with each stroke.
James watches, the intensity in his gaze almost too much to bear as he unbuttons his shirt and throws it to the side.
I feel his eyes on me, the heat of them, as I circle my clit, the warmth building. I arch my back, giving him the show he’s asked for.
I quicken my pace, my fingers moving faster, and I’m close. So close. I can’t hold back.
“James,” I gasp, my body tightening, on the edge.
“Slower,” he orders, grinding his jaw as he palms himself over his pants.
I struggle against my own need, and he watches me with a severity that makes my knees weak.
“James, I need…I need to—“
I’m soaked, aching, desperate for more than just my fingers.
“Something you want?” he asks, his voice dark and taunting.
“Fuck me,” I plead, knowing I’m right on the edge again.
“Keep going. Slow. You come on my cock or not at all,” he says, a command I can’t ignore as he unbuckles his belt and releases himself. “Understand?”
I whimper, mostly in protest, but also at the sight of him.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, James, please. Please, I need you.”
He stands, stroking himself, and leans over me, putting his hand on my cheek. His thumb tracing my bottom lip and pressing it down as he says, “So fucking pretty when you beg.”
“Tell me you’re on birth control, Avery. I want to feel you,” he says.
“I am,” I reply, my breath quickening.
He lines himself up and pushes into me with one slow, deep thrust, filling me completely.
I cry out, the sensation overwhelming.
The world spins, and all I can feel is him, the way he drives into me with a force that makes me gasp. Items from his desk clatter to the floor, and he doesn’t stop, not for a second.
His pace is relentless, and I know I’m not going to last. It’s too much, too intense, and I’m about to come undone.
He reaches behind me, fisting my hair and forcing me to arch against him.
I tighten around him, and he gives me a wild, reckless look. One that tells me he’s losing control.
I unravel beneath him. I shatter, the intensity of it beyond anything I’ve ever felt. My body bucks against his, and he keeps going, his pace brutal and unyielding. I moan his name, the sound raw and helpless.
“Fuck, Avery,” he groans, spilling into me with one final, deep thrust.
He pulls out of me, leaving me feeling empty and aching for more. He steps back, the loss of him a sudden chill against my skin.
Opening his desk drawer, he grabs a handkerchief and gently cleans me of the mess we’ve made.
My skirt is bunched around my waist, my blouse halfway undone. I start to fix myself, feeling exposed and unsure what to say as James zips up his pants.
He looks at me, his eyes dark and searching.
“I know that look. You’re gonna say this was reckless. That we can’t do this again.”
“Avery—“ he tries to cut me off, but I don’t let him.
“You’re gonna push me away like you did last time. I can’t believe I let you do this ag—“
“Avery,” he says more sternly. “Stop. Talking.”
He steps into me, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulling me closer to him.
“You don’t know this look because I’ve never looked at anyone like this before.
I’ve never met anyone who does this to me, makes me lose control the way you do.
I’ve wanted you from the first day you walked into my office.
And now that I’ve had you…” He pauses, putting his thumb and forefinger under my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his.
“I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to. ”