Chapter 7
SERAPHINA
Iwaited as long as I could. The clock is ticking, and the time is winding down.
What I didn’t expect is the man looking deep into my eyes, body on full display, arms crossed over his chest, skin dewy wet, and a look of hunger written all over his face.
The scars littering his back didn’t surprise me, nor does the tattoo he has covering half of his upper body.
“Seraphina.” There’s a low lazy tilt to my name. His upper lip tugs upward, and my eyes continue their path down the length of him. A slight smattering of hair leads below the towel, to a perfect outline of the biggest and longest bulge I’ve ever felt or seen before.
“Rafe.” I breathe his name, unable to stop the desire seeping into the two syllables.
He pushes off the counter and takes a step toward me, his towel dipping dangerously low on his hips.
His arms drop, revealing more of the jagged, silvery scars across his ribs.
Fierce, beautiful, utterly lethal, exactly like the man wearing them.
“Say it again.” He crosses the tile floor with a slow, predatory force. My brain isn’t catching up to the fact that his sights are set on me. For weeks, he’s kept me at arm’s length
“Rafe.” He doesn’t give me another moment, not to speak, breathe, or retreat.
Before my brain can register what he is doing, his large, warm hands clamp around my waist. Then Rafe pulls me forward, lifting me slighty until I’m flush against his chest, then shutting the bathroom door behind me with a soft, distinctive click.
“Fuck,” he mutters, his chin dipping before his lips land on mine.
Senseless is the only word that comes to mind.
Our kiss is bruising, possessive, and breath-stealing.
Rafe tangles one hand in my hair at the nape of my neck, tilting my head back to angle his mouth perfectly over mine.
When I gasp, his tongue slips inside, a demanding stroke, tasting me fully and quieting my whimpers of surprise.
My heart hammers as he deepens our kiss, turning feral and hungry.
My hands slide along his damp skin until I’m digging into his chest. He molds me tighter against his body, and I feel him, all of him.
The undeniable hard length of his cock burns through the towel and the thin fabric of my pencil skirt.
A desperate ache burns low in my belly, and instead of pulling back, I move against him.
One of his hands catches the back of my thigh, lifting it to wrap around his waist. I roll my hips forward, chasing the much-needed friction, desperate to be closer.
“Sera.” My shortened name is a low growl.
He pins me against the heavy wooden door with the weight of his lower body, making sure I can feel every delicious inch.
Jesus, what I wouldn’t give to tug his towel off, slide my panties to the side, and feel him deep inside of me.
And he knows what he’s doing. While my hips may be working, his are doing much the same, grinding himself against me, not holding back in the slightest.
My fingers grip his shoulders harder, nails digging into his skin as a helpless gasp slips from my throat.
Much like earlier, he drinks the sound down greedily before his lips leave mine to trail a path down my jawline, and he buries his face in the crook of my neck.
Rafe’s hot breath makes me shiver harder as he shifts his hips against mine once more, a silent, tortuous promise of an orgasm right on the surface.
“Hate like hell to leave you hot and bothered, Sera, but we’ve got a meeting to kick ass in.
” He pulls back just enough to look down at me.
His deep emerald-green eyes flash with untamed heat.
His breathing is just as ragged as mine, his chest heaving against my breasts and his thumb dragging along my swollen, wet lower lip.
“Rafe, please.”
“Want to hear you say that more than anything, and the absolute second we lock the doors after that meeting, I’m taking care of you, Seraphina.
Just like you took care of me while I was in the shower by myself.
I’m finishing this, and I’m gonna take you further than you’ve ever been before.
One taste isn’t enough. I want more. Understand?
” Rafe whispers, his voice dripping with a dark, heavy promise that has me arching into his body once again.
I can’t answer, can’t find my words, so I do the only thing I can.
I nod, completely undone, reduced to a pile of ash by the raw, explicit intent behind his words.
Rafe gives me a lingering press of his lips against my jaw before he lets me go.
The sudden loss of his body heat makes me gasp.
He helps me move away from the door, holding me steady in order to get my bearings, unlocks the door, and saunters into the main office.
“Rafe, wait.” I stumble after him, legs trembling as I desperately try to mend my nearly shattered composure.
I smooth down my skirt and make a beeline for his office door, my hands shaking as I do a shimmy along the way.
The door was left wide open, by me, and while we don’t get a lot of foot traffic this early in the morning, the last thing he needs is people talking about his lack of clothing.
“Didn’t think about that,” Rafe says, unbothered by his state of undress.
I turn the lock in place and turn around.
“Keep an eye on the clock for me, Sera,” he says as he casually walks to the small sleek wardrobe in the corner, where he keeps extra tailored suits hung at the ready.
Then, with an agonizing, deliberate slowness, his hand goes to his hip, one slight tug, and the towel drops to the ground.
I should turn around. I should look the other way.
Maybe pretend to watch the clock. Instead, I stand frozen in place, gawking at his muscular form, from his back to his ass to his thighs.
Rafe doesn’t look back to see if I’m watching.
He knows I am. He reaches into the wardrobe and pulls out a pair of charcoal-gray boxer briefs, then steps into them, pulling the fabric up his cut calves and powerful thighs.
There’s absolutely nothing left to the imagination. It hugs every delicious inch of his lower body, putting the prominent, heavy outline of his cock on full display when he turns around.
“Um…” The cat has got my tongue as he casually adjusts himself.
The dark cotton is straining against his impressive length, and I have to hold on to the doorknob to stay vertical.
He grabs a white undershirt and slips it over his head, winking at me when he notices my jaw is practically on the ground, and I’m sure there’s drool at the corners, too.
Next comes the crisp white tailored-to-perfection button-down shirt.
He still hasn’t bothered with pants, and I’m sure he’s doing that on purpose.
“Sera.” He says my name with a smug, knowing grin as he fastens the buttons of his shirt before finally rounding out the rest of his clothes: slacks, socks, belt, suit jacket, and cuff links.
He doesn’t bother with a tie, a damn shame because I’d love to watch him take it off, maybe tie my wrists together and keep them above my head while he does what he promised to.
“Let’s get this over and done with. You’ve got a date with my desk and my head buried between your thighs.
” The pulsing between my legs doesn’t lessen, neither does my heart that’s frantically beating against my ribs.
I probably should double-check my lipstick isn’t smeared and get my head in the right frame of mine, but I’m finding it hard to do anything with the words he just spoke.
God, this is going to be a long-as-hell meeting, I just know it.