Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Max, Now
Daisy’s lips land on mine, fervent and needy. Every luscious curve of her presses against me, but I want us closer. Need us closer.
That’s not what we agreed to, though.
“What are you—” I’m cut off by her mouth, and I have to press a hand to her stomach to give us both space. If I were a smart man, I’d shut up. But we promised each other this wouldn’t happen again, and I have to understand where her head’s at. “What happened to ‘professional’?”
“Fuck professional.”
She crashes her lips into mine once more, and the desire in my brain eclipses my ability to reason. I don’t want to say no. I don’t want to stop her. I don’t want to talk this out and ruin the moment and miss this chance. But I also can’t do this without knowing what my heart’s up against.
“Just once more?” I ask as I trail kisses across her jaw. “Is that what this is?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“I need you.”
“You said that before.” Forcing us both to slow down, I cup her head in both hands, my thumbs stroking either side of her face.
If we do this again, I’ll be welcoming heaps of complication into both of our lives.
“I don’t want this if all you plan to do is push me aside after.
I’ve been fighting my feelings for you since the moment I even knew I was coming back to Harlow.
We’d have a good time,” I say, running the pad of my thumb across her plump bottom lip, “but help me out here. You got a little jealous tonight, is that it?”
“Not jealous.” She has me pinned between her body and the car, so I feel every slight movement as she shakes her head.
“I mean, I sort of was. I am.” Her admission sends a flare straight to my heart.
“But what if we find a middle ground? Like…” Her eyes search mine.
“We have to be honest with each other. And if it reaches a point when one of us doesn’t want to do this anymore, then we stop, no hard feelings. ”
“Friends with benefits?” I ask, wanting to understand.
“I think it’s more than that.”
My gaze darts down to her lips, and it’s near impossible to stand here and talk our situation out rather than kiss her again. But she’s right. Whatever I’m feeling is light-years beyond casual. I nod.
“You said it would be a good time. So let’s have that. Let’s have as much good time together as we can before you go.”
The way she says that crushes me, so I pull her closer, wrapped up in that sweet scent of hers. “Daze.”
“People in workplaces date.”
“True.”
“We don’t have HR to report to. We’re HR.”
“We should tell the assistants setting up the gallery.” My hands skate up and down the arms of her jacket, rubbing to give her added warmth. “Because of my last job, I don’t want them to think something’s going on that’s not supposed to. Is that okay with you?”
“Of course. And they’ll understand. You and I aren’t just coworkers. We know each other.”
Daisy draws me into a long, slow kiss. She coaxes my mouth open, her tongue darting in to play with mine. My hands travel down her coat, skimming her too-perfect ass at the bottom. She moans into me, and my dick jumps.
“Just, when you leave,” she says, panting in between kisses, “make sure you say goodbye.”
Pushing her back by her shoulders, I level her with a stare. “Do you think I wouldn’t do that?”
“Promise me. When you leave, you’ll say goodbye.”
“I promise. Of course, I promise.”
I used to believe that Daisy flipped switches on her emotions, but I’m beyond wrong.
She doesn’t refuse to feel things—she feels everything, maybe too much.
She protects herself the same way I do. We’re both putting our hearts on the line here, and we recognize that at the end of this, we won’t be the same.
Our breathing syncs as we melt into each other.
Then, she’s grinding into me, I’m gripping onto her with every ounce of strength I have, and we’re wearing too much clothing to be making out like this.
If she keeps rubbing against my hard-on, I’ll be driving home with a mess in my pants.
I rake my hands under her coat to slide it off, chucking the garment into the cab of the truck.
“Get in,” I order her. “Now.”
She shoots me a puzzled look, her eyebrows high. “Here?”
“You don’t get to kiss me like that and then expect me to wait forty minutes to feel all of you.”
She gulps and scrambles into the passenger seat.
Once I close the door behind us, I draw her onto me so she straddles my lap.
The hem of her dress rides up her thighs, and the lean muscles there are more beautiful than any piece of art in any museum.
Transfixed by her body, I run one hand up her leg.
When I lift my gaze, I get a face full of Daisy’s chest, which makes my pants impossibly tight.
She rests in front of me, breasts rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.
I trace the neckline of her outfit with my hands, and she shivers underneath my touch.
“Cold?”
“No,” she says, breathy. “The opposite.”
“I like this dress on you.” I look into her eyes. Her head is only slightly higher than mine. “I want to fuck you in it.”
She doesn’t give a response so much as whimper one. I rest my thumb against her lips, bee-stung and glossy. I was an idiot to think I could get her out of my system. When she rolls her hips forward, angling her crotch against me, I groan.
My lips make a map of all the places I adore. I kiss every freckle, every tattoo, every curve. I worship her neck, traveling from one shoulder to the next, while I slip under her dress to finger around the edge of her panties. She’s already soaked through the fabric.
“I haven’t even felt you come on my hand yet.”
“Hurry up, then.”
“Daisy.” I push her underwear to one side and find her clit, applying gentle pressure that makes her writhe.
“You like to think you’re in charge here.
” Her body is slick and soft, and my middle finger follows her wetness until I’m inside her and beckoning her closer.
She bows her head against mine, gasping out an oh while rocking her hips to dig harder against my hand.
“That’s not how this is going to go. Understand? ”
“Mhmm.”
“Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Good girl. You say you want me? You need me? Then you don’t come unless you ask for permission. Got it?”
She nods, grinding with my fingers inside her.
“I love watching you get off.” I match the pace of her swaying, relishing every sharp intake of breath and every whine that comes out of her mouth. “Riding my hand. Losing control.”
With my thumb firmly pressed against her, I slide another finger in. I’ve seen her come before, so I know the tells, and she’s close—her eyes flutter closed and her head tilts back. Before she tips over the edge, I pool all the power in me to retract my hand.
She cries out in exasperation. “Please.”
“Ask.”
“Pleasecanicome, Max?” My name on her lips makes me grunt.
“Since you asked nicely.”
“Damn you.”
I kiss the sass off her mouth, simultaneously returning my hand to the place it belongs forever.
She moans, rocking back and forth with more fire every time.
I love the warmth of her, this deep part of Daisy that I’m only getting to know.
I curl my fingers more, putting pressure in just the right spot.
She closes her eyes again, her chin lifts, and the whole of her tightens, a pulsing that we relish together as she cries out.
Once Daisy comes down from her orgasm and I slide my hand out of her, I fumble with my belt. “Condoms?”
“Glove box,” she pants, reaching behind her and retrieving a strip.
I grab myself with the hand that got Daisy off, still warm and wet with her. While stroking myself, I stare her down. “Open one.”
She obeys, tearing the foil and rolling the rubber down my length. Her fingers encircle me, and I stiffen more in her grip.
Pulling her closer with my hand on her hip, I search underneath the bunched-up fabric of her dress. I tug her panties to the side and guide her onto my length. We moan in unison, both of us enjoying this again—what was intended to be a onetime thing.
But it couldn’t have been. Not with her.
A rock of her hips sends me on a ride of pleasure.
I lick the hand she came on, sucking off the sweet-tart flavor.
And although I now have all of her, right here on top of me, I want more.
I slip the skinny straps of the dress down, revealing two dark, pebbled nipples at the tips of her breasts.
I take one in my mouth and the other in my hand, and then our bodies move in a synchronous rhythm of push and pull, filling the car with the murmurs of deeper and more and yes.
“Don’t stop,” I say, nibbling a path down her arm, past her biceps, and to the inside of her wrist with one last playful bite.
“Never.”
When I settle both hands on her hips, I push her further onto my cock after every backward rock she takes. Daisy growls and grips my shoulder, pushing her torso backward. She knocks her head on the ceiling, hard, and collapses into my chest.
“Ow, shit.”
I wrap both arms around her, cupping the back of her skull. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She looks at me with a giggle. “I have a perfectly fine bed at home, and we’re acting like a couple of teenagers.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bed. And the kitchen counter. And the shower. But I like having you here.”
“I like having you here, too,” she says, barely audible.
I toy with her left nipple, rolling it between my thumb and forefinger. “Anytime you sit in this truck, I want you to remember tonight. To remember me inside of you.” As I bury my face in her breasts, we begin the give and take again—the blissful sensation of us rocking into an orgasm.
“I’m close. Please…”
“Yes?”
She moans. “Please. Let me come on your cock.”