Chapter Four
Ava
Shit.
I have to pull myself together.
I’m pretty sure I just implied to my boss that I want to get married before Monday.
I mean, that’s not what I meant, but that’s sure as hell what it sounded like.
Double shit. And I told him I thought he was sexy.
Taking Xanax was a bad idea. Taking Xanax when I’m traveling with my too sexy boss was a really bad idea.
Reese has turned in his seat and he’s staring at me so intensely that I can barely breathe. I know I should change the subject— maybe talk about exactly what we’re going to Vegas for and why the urgency—but all I can do is stare at his luscious full lips and imagine what it would be like to kiss them.
“Ava.”
It takes me a second to process the fact that Reese is saying my name.
I shake my head, but it doesn’t clear any of the dirty thoughts that are raging up there. I bite my lower lip and let out a gasp when I do it a little too hard. The sound that comes from me sounds sexual in every way, and I can feel the heat rush through my body. I do everything I can to sound normal. “Uh, yeah?”
His hand comes to cover mine, and it’s then I realize that I still have my fingers digging into his thigh. I try to pull away, but as soon as I start, he’s wrapping his hand around mine and holding on to me.
I can’t do this. I’m weak. From the first second I laid eyes on Reese, I was attracted to him. Somehow, I had convinced myself I could put up my guard, and up to this point, I’d succeeded. Yeah, I lusted after him from afar. And yeah, maybe I had an orgasm or two while thinking about him. And I confess that when I dream about him, they are X-rated dreams… but he was never in the room. Now, it’s like I pop two pills and I can’t seem to stop running my mouth.
All I can do is backtrack. “Sorry, boss.” With my free hand, I start to fan it in front of my face. “I’m not sure what’s come over me. The anxiety, the pills, the…” I wave my finger between the two of us. “This. Well, it’s just a lot.”
He’s not smiling. I’m not sure what to make of the look he’s giving me, but it makes me want to squirm in my seat. He repeats my gesture and points between the two of us. “This. What does ‘this’ mean?”
My eyes widen. Shut your mouth, Ava. Do not say it. “Uh, you know.”
He scoots closer to me. His spicy, manly scent envelops me and causes a rush through my system. This is not fair. He shouldn’t be able to look like he does and also smell so delicious. Have mercy. What’s a girl to do?
He leans down until I can feel his breath on my cheek. “Enlighten me. What does ‘this’ mean?”
He’s going to make me say it. I could argue with him and refuse to say anything. Heck, I could tell him that his closeness borders on harassment, but I'm not going to do any of those things. “This… This thing between us. We’ve danced around it, but it seems pretty obvious to me.”
He blinks once and then again. His voice is deep and commanding. “Tell me.”
I clench my eyes shut because, somehow, it’s easier to make this confession without looking into his eyes. “This thing. You know… the attraction.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I start to ramble. “I’m not a good actor, Reese. It’s obvious that I find you appealing and that I’ve thought things that I shouldn’t be thinking about. Things I have no business thinking about.”
He releases his firm hold on my hand, and for just a second, I feel bereft, and just as quickly, the blood starts to race through my veins when he wraps his hand around the base of my neck. He undoubtedly feels my racing pulse under his thumb but he squeezes just a little harder. The whimper escapes me before I can even think to keep it in.
With my eyes still clenched shut, I can feel his lips against my ear. “Tell me what you think about.”
“When?”
His laugh is dark and swift. “Don’t play with me, Ava. Tell me what you think about.”
I open my eyes and seek his out. Defiantly, I glare at him. I don’t have to rub my thighs together to know that I’m soaking wet. Hell, since I started this job, I’ve had to carry around an extra pair of panties in my purse. And I’m finding that his commanding tone and the way he thinks he can just boss me around makes me even more needy. “Sir, I’m asking you when. Do you want to know what I’m thinking at work? When I’m making your coffee? What I’m thinking about in my car? Or when I’m home… in bed?”
He grunts. “When you make my coffee.”
“What that black, extra strong, with a dash of cream coffee would taste like on your lips.”
His eyes widen, and just when I think he’s going to quit playing this game, he asks me the next question. “When you’re at work?”
I stutter, “Uhh…”
His hands go to my shoulders and he stares into my eyes. “Say it, Ava. I want… I need to know. What are you thinking when you’re at work?”
“I’ve thought about throwing the mug at you a few times.”
His forehead creases and he glares at me. I lift my shoulders in a shrug. I’ve never been one to play hard to get. Maybe I should. Maybe if I did, then I would have a little self-preservation going for me, but I guess today is the day I’m putting it all out there. “Fine. You want to know?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “When you’ve asked me to come in and take notes for you, I’ve imagined it going a lot different than how it usually plays out.”
He clears his throat. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I imagine that you find out I’m not wearing panties and you touch me… down there.”
His hands go to my thighs. The skirt I’m wearing is thick, but I can still feel the heat of his hands on me. “You don’t wear underwear?”
I lean in and whisper, “By midday, they're soaked and I have to remove them. I have started bringing extra though.”
“Fuck, what else? What do you think about when you’re at home in bed?”
His fingers are kneading into my thighs, and I’m thankful that I have plenty of changes of underwear in my bag because I’m obviously going to need them. I can’t resist touching him. I put my hand on his chest and let my fingers curl into the front of his shirt. “You, Bossman. I think about you.”
I can feel him shudder. “Do you want to know what I think about?”
I hold my breath and mutter, “Yeah.”
“You know the welcome to the company box from Aurora? The one Olivia gave you your first day on the job?”
A lump forms in my throat and all I can do is nod my head. That box is becoming my most prized possession. Who knew what a box of sex toys could do?
“That’s what I think about. Do you use them while you’re in bed at night after tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep? Do you think about me when you use one to take you over the edge? And finally…” He lets out a ragged breath that makes him sound like he’s been running a mile instead of sitting in an airplane. “Do you say my name when you come?”
I suck in a breath as every fiber in my body feels like it’s on fire. My nipples are puckered and there’s a tug in my lower belly. Even without touching me, he’s ignited something inside me that only he can extinguish. I let my legs fall open as far as they’ll go in my tight skirt. I’m asking him without saying the words, but I need some relief. If I don’t get it soon, I’m pretty sure I’m going to spontaneously combust.
“Answer me, Ava. Do you come and say my name?”
I glare at him because I’m not used to being this vulnerable. I don’t want to lay it all out there for him but I have no choice. I’ve come this far and there’s no going back now. “Yes. I have used the toys, and yes, I’m thinking of you when I use them.”
He lowers his head to look me right in the eye. I know what he’s asking, and he doesn’t even have to say the word. “And then, yes, I come and say your name.”
“Say it now.”
“Reese,” I answer him.
His body jerks and it feels good to know that he’s as affected by all this as I am. I reach for him and he pulls away. He undoes the already loose seatbelt and stands up. “Did you bring the toys with you?”
Speechless, I nod my head.
He points to my purple carry-on at the front of the plane. “In your bag?”
He’s already walking that way before I give him the affirmative.
He’s bringing the bag back to me and I’m shaking my head. “Reese… what are we doing?”
He points at the bag and the look he gives me tells me he won’t be deterred. I open the side zipper, pulling out the toy called ‘Her Pleasure’. I’m half embarrassed that of all the toys, this is the one that I chose to bring. It’s more of a toy for couples where the woman wears it and the man controls the remote.
Reese points at the bag. “The remote?”
I dig further down and pull out the remote. Reese takes both pieces out of my hands, and I ask him again, “Reese… what are we doing?”
He hands me the piece for ‘Her Pleasure’ and points to the bathroom. “Go put this on.”
“What?” I start.
He’s full of impatience as he leers over me. He removes his jacket and I’m holding my breath as I watch his muscles flex under the dress shirt he’s wearing. He takes his time, his eyes on me as he unbuttons his sleeves and rolls each of them up. There are black, intricate lines of his tattoo—ones I’ve been wanting to see—but I can’t appreciate them fully now because the look he’s giving me is too much to bear. He squats down until we’re at eye level and then he cups my face. His face is strained and it’s obvious he’s fighting for control.
He gruffs out the words that I’ve only dreamed about. “I want to kiss you, Ava. Fuck, I want to do a lot more than that. I want to bury my cock in you and feel your insides clamp down around me. I want to taste your sweet cunt. Hell, I want to bury my face in it and not worry about coming up for breath.” His voice is throbbing with emotion. “I want you any and every way I can have you.”
I reach for him and he stops me by grabbing my hands and holding them together in front of him. “If you touch me, I won’t be able to help myself.”
“Yes,” I start, but he doesn’t let me finish.
“No. Not like this. Not when you’re anxious about flying and taking pills. I need you completely lucid for what I want to do to you.”
Every part of my being wants to argue with him. I want to stomp my foot and demand he take me right now, but of course, I can’t do that. Maybe we both need to step back and think about this. “Okay,” I relent.
He nods. “Now, go put this on.”
I meet his eye and shake my head in confusion. “But I thought we were going to wait.”
“I want you to come, Ava. I need to see it and I need to hear it.”
“But.”He closes my hand around the ‘Her Pleasure’ piece. “Go.”
Unsure, I step away from him and make my way to the bathroom. As soon as I shut the door, I look at myself in the mirror but don’t even recognize myself. My cheeks are flushed, my eyes are bright, and my nipples are poking through my thin silk shirt. I set the sex toy on the counter and then, after turning the water on, I cup the cold stream in my hands and throw the cool water in my face to try to cool off.
I debate what I’m going to do for all of ten seconds. There’s no question because, now more than ever, I need a release.
After securing the toy against my womanhood, I put my clothes all back together and then exit the bathroom. As I walk down the aisle of the airplane, I can feel Reese’s eyes on me the whole way. When I look up at him, there’s a question in his face, but I don’t have time for it to register. The ‘Her Pleasure’ vibrates against my clit, and my legs almost buckle out from underneath me. I grab onto the backs of the chairs on each side of me and wait for the wave to travel through my body. Just when I feel that I’m about to explode, it stops.
I look at Reese hesitantly and see him smirking at me.
I stand up and make my way down the aisle and drop into the seat next to him. “You really are an asshole, aren’t you?”
“That’s ‘bosshole’ to you.”
I’m about to give him a piece of my mind when the toy starts to vibrate again. I grip the arms of my seat and my knuckles turn white as the pressure increases. The toy is relentless and, with wide eyes, I turn to look at Reese. He’s devouring me with his gaze, and when our eyes lock on each other, there’s no looking away. I fully expect him to tease me again and turn the toy off when I’m close but he doesn’t. The orgasm takes me by surprise, and I moan loudly as it rocks through my body.
“Say it,” he demands as he increases the speed.
My hips start to buck and another orgasm takes over. This time, there’s no holding back. I know what he wants to hear from me. “Reeeese.”
I must have been too loud because Reese leans toward me and covers my mouth with his. The kiss only intensifies everything until I feel like I’m going to pass out from the pleasure. It’s better than I could have ever imagined and I want to savor it.
He slows down the toy and nips at my lips as I start to come down. With sass, I lean my head back and look at him. “I thought you weren’t going to kiss me.”
He kisses me again, sliding his tongue against mine, and when I whimper, he pulls back. “I wasn’t. But I couldn’t let Andrew hear you… not like that. That sound is just for me.”
There’s possession in his eyes and I don’t know what to think of that. Exhausted, I close my eyes. I just kissed my boss. I just had an orgasm under his command. I’m not sure there’s a way to come back from that.