Chapter 19
nineteen
. . .
Georgia
I was in my room, and Hugh and Lila had gone down to the cove to hang out. It was freezing outside, so I didn’t know what those two did down there, nor did I want to know. I was deep into a new book that Mara had sent me.
Christmas morning had been great. We’d all been at my parents’, and there were too many gifts, too much food, and an abundance of laughter.
It was my kind of Christmas.
I was charging my new Kindle that Brinkley had gotten me, and my parents had given me a bunch of new clothes that I could wear to work.
Of course, Cage got me a subscription to Kindle Unlimited, just as he did every year, because he said it was the best bang for my buck.
Finn had gotten me pajamas and slippers which I couldn’t wait to slip into, and Hugh and Lila had surprised me with the most gorgeous cashmere sweater.
The highlight had been watching Gracie open her gifts.
The girl gasped over every little thing, and she was thrilled that I had given her a pair of little earrings, which meant I was taking her to get her ears pierced.
It had taken some work to get Cage to agree, but he’d finally given me the thumbs-up.
Maddox had been texting me all morning, shocked by the gifts that I’d purchased for his family.
He was very impressed by how thoughtful they were, but it was easy once he’d answered a few simple questions, and it didn’t hurt that he’d told me to spend “whatever it costs.” With a budget like that, I’d had a lot of fun.
It was amazing what you could find out on Google when you searched gifts for the wealthiest of people.
My phone vibrated, and I jumped.
Bossman
What are you wearing?
That was random. Long underwear. We went tobogganing earlier. How about you?
Bossman
Nice. Do you still want me to kiss you again?
I chuckled. It was all I thought about. My finger and thumb found the star charm at the base of my neck.
I’m not one to waver. Absolutely. You?
Bossman
Yes. How would that work with me being your boss?
I’d be your boss in the bedroom.
I fell back in laughter, knowing that was going to get a response.
Bossman
Georgia. That’s most definitely not going to happen.
Fine. You can be the boss in both. No one has to know at work. You’ve made it clear that you don’t do relationships, so why complicate things? It’ll be a fling, and we’ll go back to being friends after.
Bossman
You’re fine with that?
Yes. Stop overthinking everything.
Bossman
I can’t.
For a guy who doesn’t do relationships, you sure think about it a lot.
Bossman
Only with you.
Why?
Bossman
Because it’s you, Tink. And you’re kind of my favorite person right now. Which is saying a lot because I don’t like most people.
My eyes watered, and my chest squeezed.
I love you, too.
You’re my favorite, too, Maddox Lancaster. Even when you’re stubborn and grumpy… you’re still my favorite.
Bossman
Open your door.
Did he send me something?
I jumped to my feet and opened the door leading outside, and there stood the sexiest man in the world. Dark jeans. Black trench coat. Tall. Broad. Intense stare.
I threw myself into him. “What are you doing here? You told me you weren’t coming back until tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to wait anymore. I can’t stop thinking about you, so here I am.”
“Wow. You really want me, don’t you?” I teased as I walked backward and dropped to sit on my bed.
He stormed past me toward the closet, as if he knew where he was going. “You’ve never been here. How do you know where the closet is?”
He came out holding a hot pink duffle bag. “This place is unusually small, so it’s not too challenging to find a closet. And I did go to Harvard, remember?”
I barked out a laugh and hurried to the closet. “What are we doing?”
“Pack your things for a few days. You’re staying with me.”
I eyed him as I reached for my turtleneck sweater and pulled it on over my head because it was cold outside. And he started pulling sweaters off the hangers and tossing them into the bag.
“A few days? You weren’t sure you could even handle more than a kiss. Now you’re kidnapping me?” I laughed.
He tugged me against his body. “Do you want this, Tink? Because it’s all I fucking think about.”
“For someone who doesn’t do relationships, you’re awfully bossy about how this all works.”
“We’ll figure it out as we go. But right now, I want to take you home,” he said, his voice deep and commanding.
You don’t have to ask me twice. I’d fantasized about this man for weeks.
“Sounds fair. I need to tell my brother and Lila something, and this is sort of a secret, right? Isn’t that how flings work?”
He groaned. “Are they going to report us to human resources? Not that it really matters, seeing as I own the company.”
“Of course not. They’re already suspicious because they can’t mind their own business.
But they would never tell anyone. They know it’s not anything big.
But why is it a secret if you own the company anyway?
” I rolled my eyes as I stared up at him.
I wasn’t about to tell him that they fully spied on us when we were outside and I climbed him like a spider monkey.
The man would probably freak out. I moved to the bathroom to pack up my toiletries, and he followed.
“There’s no sense involving people when it’s temporary, right?
We’ve got a few days off work, so aren’t you the one who said we should take it one day at a time?
” He stood behind me, and I looked up at the mirror to see his brows furrowed as he studied me.
It was obvious that this was not something he was used to discussing.
“Yes. However, you just packed a bag for me to come stay with you for a couple of days. So, you’ve already changed the rules.”
“Fuck the rules. We can make up our own as we go.”
“I like the way you think, Bossman.” I moved back out to the room, and he took my toiletries and dropped them into the pink bag. I typed out a quick text to Lila, asking her to find the right way to let my brother know I’d be gone for a few days with my boss.
She sent back a bunch of head exploding and fire emojis, which made me laugh.
“You ready?” he asked, as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I was born ready.” I chuckled because this was really happening. And I wasn’t nervous or anxious or even letting myself overthink the fact that I was about to have sex with my boss.
Who also happened to be the sexiest man I’d ever met.
Plus, I figured he was probably experienced, so he’d know his way around a woman’s body, unlike the other guys I’d dated over the years.
He slung my duffle bag over his shoulder and opened the door. I turned around to lock the door, and the snow was still falling. He surprised me by wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close as he hurried me to his car like I was going to freeze if I stayed out here one more minute.
Maddox Lancaster was full of surprises. He could be very thoughtful when he wanted to be.
He helped me into the car and reached for my buckle, which I tugged from his hand. “I’ve got it.” I certainly didn’t need the man spoiling me over something that would be over before we returned to work after the holidays.
This was my first fling.
I was a modern-day woman, but I’d always been in a relationship with the person I was having sex with.
But those relationships had hardly turned out, so maybe this would be the answer to all my romantic problems.
Find a guy you like to hang out with and have sex with him a couple of times.
How hard could that be?
No pun intended.
“I’m glad you’re here, Tink.” He cleared his throat as we drove the short distance to his house, before glancing over at me when he pulled into his garage and turned off the car. It was clear that he was uncomfortable about the whole thing.
“I thought you were a player?” I said, gaping at him.
“What the fuck are you talking about? I am.”
“Well, why do you seem so…” I shrugged as a wide grin spread across my face. “Awkward. Isn’t this sort of your thing?”
He rolled his eyes. “First of all, nothing about this is my thing. I don’t talk about having sex with a woman. We just do it. It’s just sort of known the moment that we get together. Everything about this is different. You’re different. So, I don’t want to traumatize you or fuck this up.”
I unbuckled my seat belt and slid across the seat and onto his lap. “I hardly think you rocking my world is going to traumatize me. Come on. I thought you didn’t have a working heart. Don’t go all soft on me now.”
He thrust into my bottom. “You don’t ever need to worry about anything about me being soft.”
I turned and straddled his lap, and his eyes widened. “You aren’t used to being friends with a woman, and now we’re going to complicate things. I get it. But you needn’t worry. I know exactly what this is, and I am so here for it.”
“And when we go back to work?”
“I’ll get your coffee and read the manuscripts you send and organize your calendar.
I probably won’t even remember this. I mean, I’ve had three boyfriends in my life, so I’m not a virgin.
But sex has really never been all that noteworthy for me, nor would I have had a hard time being around them once we aren’t together.
It wasn’t very spectacular, you know? Maybe there’s something wrong with me, or maybe it’s just not my thing.
So, I think maybe you’re making this a bigger deal than it is.
I will act completely professional afterward.
Scout’s honor.” I held up my two fingers.
“I can promise you one thing, Tink,” he said, as his lips found their way down my neck.
I started grinding up against him on instinct, and my head fell back. “What do you promise?”
“This will be more than fucking noteworthy. And for the record, my cock finds the word noteworthy offensive. And sex is definitely your thing. You’ve just been dating boys up until now, and you’ve never been with a man.
But I plan on starting things off by dropping to my knees and burying my head between your thighs, licking and tasting you until you cry out my name over and over again. ”
Holy shitballs.
My head popped up, and I held one hand on each side of his face as I tried to catch my breath.
“Wow, you’re really bringing the dirty talk.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “But for the record, I’ve never done that.”
“You’ve never done what?” He placed his hand beneath my chin and forced my eyes to meet his.
“You know… had anyone bury their face between my thighs, as you so eloquently put it.”
Why was I panting?
“No one has ever tasted you, Tink?” His tongue came out and moved across his plump lips slowly as he studied me.
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Nope.”
“How is that possible?”
I let out a long breath. “So, my high school boyfriend, Scotty, had a nut allergy. The kid wouldn’t put anything in his mouth without checking with his mother, so obviously, that was off the table.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Un-fucking-believable. Scotty missed the fuck out. And for the record, I’d risk going into anaphylactic shock just for a taste of your sweet pussy.”
“You’re insane,” I whispered over my laughter.
“And the other two?”
“My first college boyfriend, Bruno, was just more of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type of lover. You know?”
“No. I don’t,” he said dryly, his eyes searching mine. “Like I said, you’ve been dating boys.”
“And then Dikota had a tongue piercing, so I wasn’t about to risk any sort of technical issues down south. So, I put the kibosh on that with him, not that he tried anyway. He was a very selfish lover, if I’m being honest.”
“What a surprise. He stole your car, fucked your roommate, and chased his own pleasure. The dickhead was very predictable,” he hissed.
“So… you will be entering a territory no man has been before.” I chuckled.
“That turns me the fuck on. I want to be the first to taste you. To make you feel so good, you’ll never forget who went there first.”
Did it just get really hot in here?
I nodded. “I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah? And I’d like the sound of you coming on my lips.”
“Oh. My. Gosh,” I whispered. “I think I’d be open to that.”
“That’s all I needed to hear.” His mouth crashed into mine, and my lips parted, inviting him in.
Our tongues tangled as he pushed the car door open and managed to step out with me in his arms. My legs came around his waist, and our mouths never lost contact.
I couldn’t think.
I couldn’t breathe.
I tangled my hands in his hair and kissed him harder.
I was not going to overthink this. I was going to enjoy every last second.
Or minutes.
Or maybe even hours.