Chapter 18
Emmett
She seems to have no retort, words sticking in her throat.
There’s a heavy, heady silence in the air, only the rhythmic beep of the floors we’re passing echoing through the elevator. A countdown of sorts, reminding me that this moment is almost over.
Reminding me that we’re potentially crossing a line and I couldn’t care less about the consequences right now.
God, I just want her to kiss me. I’m desperate for her to make the first move because there’s a complicated power dynamic between us, and I need Reese to give me the green light here.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t.
She doesn’t kiss me. She doesn’t say a word. She simply holds her ground, pressed against the wall.
Dammit.
I just told her to fire me. And yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I won’t be surprised when the head of HR calls me into their office on Monday for making a pass at my boss.
Maybe at some point during our working relationship, I’ll figure out how the hell to be professional around her, but today is clearly not that day.
I pull back, giving her space to breathe, but can’t help the utter defeat etched on my face. My ego isn’t so fragile that I’m upset at her for rejecting me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed.
More beeps echo off the walls as we pass more floors, climbing to the top of her building.
Reese holds eye contact with me, and for turning me down, it’s a boldly confident move. Which is just another thing I like about the woman. She can reject me and not pretend to be shy or apologetic about it.
But as we watch each other, Reese’s right hand reaches out to the panel next to her, finding the emergency stop button on the wall.
Holy shit. Press it. Press that button.
She does.
The elevator jolts to a stop just a few floors below the penthouse level.
There’s a moment that we stand off and I can hardly get my breathing under control. It’s erratic. Frenzied. A physical manifestation of how I feel right now.
Her cherry-red lips open, and all I can think about is how fucking badly I want to smear that color all over her mouth.
“Well, what are you waiting for, Em?”
Is she trying to kill me, letting that little nickname slip off her tongue?
It used to bother me that she wouldn’t call me Monty, but this new name has me hoping I’ll never have to hear her call me Monty when “Em” is an option.
I don’t have it in me to rush this. Instead, I step into her space again, running the back of my hand softly against her cheek. Dragging the pad of my thumb over the red stain on her lips. Cradling her jaw before my palm drops down the column of her throat.
“What are you thinking about right now?” she asks softly.
I breathe a laugh, unsure I could form a coherent thought even if I tried.
But the one that comes to the top of mind is, “Finally.”
All that frustration, all that pent-up sexual tension, all the weeks of bickering come to head and the metaphorical dam breaks.
With both hands, I take her face and finally press my lips against hers.
She melts against me instantly, this sweet sigh of relief slipping past her mouth.
She’s soft everywhere. Soft lips. Soft body.
There’s a moment that I linger there, mouth fused to hers but doing nothing more. A silent reminder that this is her last chance to keep things from going any further between us.
She doesn’t stop me.
Instead, she wraps her hands around my forearms, pulling me in even closer.
That’s when the energy truly changes.
The kiss turns feverish. Frantic. Fucking perfect.
My body covers hers, pressing her against the wall behind her and taking what I want from her mouth. She pushes against me, working to steal back some control, that constant back-and-forth between us evident even in the way we kiss.
She’ll figure it out eventually—that’s not how it’s going to work between us here.
Lips parting, her tongue dusts against my lower lip in a way that sets my entire body ablaze. It’s this soft slide, this tempting lick, and the groan that rumbles up my throat is possibly the most desperate sound that’s ever escaped me.
Fuck it. Maybe she should be in charge.
But Reese only plays with me. She only tests and nips.
I need more.
So, I tilt her chin up and slip my tongue past her lips, letting it slide against her own. I tease her. I savor her. I torture her.
Reese leans in, but I slightly pull back, taking control of the tempo between us.
She squeaks out this mixed sound of both torment and pleasure that goes straight to my cock. My already half-hard cock that’s currently pressed against her lower stomach.
“You might be my boss out there,” I remind her. “But here, when we’re like this, I’ll be the one in charge.”
She practically purrs under the instruction.
“You like the idea of that?”
“Yes,” she hisses, pushing her hips out. “And apparently you do too.”
I don’t have a shy bone in my body right now, so with my mouth on hers, I press into her, letting her feel exactly what she’s doing to me.
“God, you feel good, Em.” Her lips dust against mine as she rocks her body in rhythm with my own.
“Call me that again.”
She smiles this mischievous grin against me. “No.”
Well, so much for being in charge.
“You’re not very nice to me.”
Her smile only grows, so proud of herself.
“Fine.” I let my hands drift down her body, touching every dip and curve that I normally don’t have the pleasure of getting my hands on. “I can think of a few ways to make you scream it instead.”
When I meet her thighs, I curve my palms around the back of them, cupping her ass and lifting her in the air.
She gasps in surprise as if she’s never been picked up before, but it doesn’t take long for her to figure it out.
She crosses her arms behind my neck. She wraps her legs around my waist, exactly where I’ve needed them to be.
With her at eye level, I really take her in. She’s so incredibly beautiful that it kind of hurts to look at her. Like this overwhelming awareness that I’m batting so far out of my league here and trying my best not to point it out.
Soft blonde hair, gold lineup of earrings, red lips that are already smeared outside the edge.
She drops her forehead to mine, running her hand through my beard, her fingertips scratching the skin there. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks.
“I don’t know how to look at you in any other way. I’ve tried.”
“I can’t get you out of my head,” she admits, and goddamn, it feels good to hear her voice exactly how I’ve been feeling.
“That makes two of us.” I lift a hand, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear that can’t seem to stay out of her stunning face. “Where were you this week?”
The question doesn’t cause her to pull away, but she doesn’t answer me either. Instead, she shakes her head before stealing any protest I might have right off my lips with another kiss.
Her mouth moves over mine as I push her back against the wall, her legs open wide and her dress bunched around her hips as I rub the rigid seam of my jeans against her. Holding on to her ass, I do it again and again. Over and over as she whimpers against me.
I’m so hard and she feels so good. It’s been so goddamn long that I, a fully-grown man, might just come in my pants tonight.
I don’t remember ever feeling this desperate for someone. Ever wanting someone like this. Ever needing someone in this way. Yeah, sure, maybe you could chalk it up to the whole forbidden boss thing, but in my gut, I know it’s more than that.
I couldn’t tell you the last time this part of me came to life.
I’ve been focused on being a dad. Focused on being a coach and a mentor.
Spent so many years trying to be everything else for everyone else, but right now .
. . right now I like being a bit selfish.
I like taking something that I want only for me.
I focus on the way Reese’s fingers tighten in my shirt as she fists the fabric. On the way her body trembles. On the way my hands are full in the best way possible.
Reese’s legs tighten around my hips. “Right there.”
I roll into her again, moving my lips across her jaw, biting and licking and soothing my way down the column of her pretty throat. Her perfume invades my nostrils as I work my mouth over the delicate skin of her neck and I’m fucking feral for it.
For her.
She has no idea how long I’ve wanted her, even if it was just a physical need at first. She has no idea how positive I was that she couldn’t want me back. I’m a fairly confident guy, but having this stunning and successful woman wrapped around me has me soaring.
I drag my mouth over her collarbone, my fingers curling over the little red strap to pull it off the slope of her shoulder. The pounding of her heart thunders against my lips as I dip lower, needing to take her in my mouth.
With her dress hanging partway off, I run the pads of my fingers over the neckline, finding the ridge of her strapless bra. I’m half a second away from yanking it down, so close to having my lips wrapped around her, when the fucking intercom blares into the tiny box, stopping us in our tracks.
“Ms. Remington,” someone says over the emergency speaker. “Are you okay in there?”
Hands cradling either side of my neck, she closes her eyes before dropping her forehead to mine.
Puffy lips, pink cheeks, hair mussed from the wall behind her, and a pretty dress halfway slipped down her arm.
A little disheveled for the polished princess I’m accustomed to seeing, but not as wrecked as I’d like to make her.
“Yes,” she says on a desperate exhale, doing a terrible job of hiding what the hell we were doing in here. “Sorry about that. I must have accidentally pressed the stop button.”
“Of course.” There’s this knowing edge to his voice. “I’m going to restart it on my end, and it may take a minute or two before it gets going again. Just expect a bit of a jolt when it restarts.”
“Yeah,” she huffs, still doing her best to catch her breath. “Thank you.”
The line beeps, telling us it’s disconnected.
I can’t help but chuckle. “He’s going to think we fucked in here.”
“We probably would’ve if he didn’t stop us.”
She gently uses the pad of her thumb to clean up the red off my lips.
My eyes search hers. “Are you okay?”
She nods, offering me a small smile.
I carefully pull her strap back over her shoulder, covering her up again before I get her back on her feet. I let her fix her dress, pulling it down her hips before I take a step back to where I can see her properly.
I run my fingers through her short hair, my calloused thumb rough against her soft skin as I swipe against her cheek. “I want to do that again.”
She closes her eyes for a moment, and I can almost see the regret take over. “Emmett.”
I shake my head, refusing to believe this is about to go the way I think it is. “Please don’t.”
“Emmett,” she says again, stepping into me and looking up, making sure my attention is locked on her. “You should know that someone saw me leave your hotel room when we were in San Diego.”
The blood instantly drains from my face. “What?”
“It got posted online somewhere. Nothing official, just a rumor, but—”
“Fuck,” I exhale. “Fuck, Reese.”
All her new rules, all her new boundaries. They all make perfect sense now. How terrifying that must have been for her to know we got caught. I mean, what happened that night wasn’t necessarily inappropriate, but I’m sure whoever saw her the next morning thought it sure as hell looked that way.
And here I am, showing up like a fucking caveman to pick her up from a date because I can’t handle the thought of her being with someone else.
“That’s my fault,” I tell her. “I’m so sorry.”
“I chose to be there too.”
The elevator jolts, restarting, and like an instinct, I reach out to steady her.
And even that feels like it’s crossing a line now, let alone what just happened between us.
Her blue eyes look up at me with this begging, pleading expression. “Emmett, we have to stay away from each other.”
I hate the words though I know she’s right.
It’s too dangerous for her. There are too many eyes on her. There are too many naysayers thinking she can’t do her job.
If anyone found out she was making out with her employee in an elevator. . .
“I know,” I agree, hating the way the words taste coming off my tongue. “I know. You’re right. We do.”
She offers me a thankful yet pitying smile.
“But not like this last week. Please don’t avoid me again like you did last week.”
The elevator stops on the top floor, opening right into Reese’s condo, but I can’t bring myself to pay attention to her place. I’m too busy watching this woman, trying to read her.
“Promise me, Reese.”
“I won’t, but we have to keep things professional. This—” She circles the area around us. “This can’t happen again.”
“Yeah,” I breathe out. “I know.” The agreement sounds fucking depressing as it slips off my lips.
And I’m not just saying that to agree with her in this moment. I fully understand nothing can happen between us again. It’s too risky now that even one rumor is circulating out there about her.
What the hell was I thinking? I’m putting her career and reputation at risk. Something I promised her I’d protect.
Reese steps off the elevator and into her condo, turning back to look at me. “Thank you for walking me home.”
I nod, trying to find a smile for her. “Thanks for letting me steal you away from your date.”
She huffs a laugh, offering me a small smile in return, but it’s a sad one.
Then we watch each other as the elevator doors close, knowing it’s the last time we’ll get to look at each other in this way.