Chapter 8 #2
I stand with my heart in my throat and my cock pounding in my trousers as she skims her hands over my bare flesh. The contrast between her delicate fingers and my thick forearms nearly sends me to my knees. I long to feel her hands all over my body as I worship her with teeth and tongue.
At my strangled sound, she jerks her hands away. I take her elbow and guide her back.
“Did I hurt you?” she asks.
“Only when you pulled away,” I admit.
Her eyes widen. After searching my expression, she scowls and drops her hands to her sides.
“You’re flirting with me again,” she accuses.
“Correct. I’m flirting with you, and I’m not sorry for it either. I warned you, sweet pea,” I murmur.
“And the treats on my desk? Is that flirting, too?”
I slip my hand around to her nape and smirk when she shivers.
“No, Penelope. That’s courting,” I respond.
“Can you stop touching me? I can’t think when your hands are on me,” she breathes.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
She’s a wet dream in the flesh. Her words stroke my ego so hard I feel it in my shaft. Liquid fire escapes my balls and leaks from my tip, but I halt my release by sheer force of will and ground myself by flexing my fingers around her nape.
“You do the same to me, Penelope,” I admit.
Her breath stutters as I skim my hand from her elbow to her upper back.
“I can’t think beyond touching you when we’re this close.
” She’s so tiny and delicate I fear I’ll hurt her if I unleash my hunger for her, so I cling to my control with every ounce of strength I have and hold her with careful reverence.
“I want to taste you just this once. Please?”
“Taste me?” she asks.
“Yes. My mouth on yours. Kissing. Licking. Tasting. Please, sweet pea. I’m desperate for you,” I beg.
“Just this once?”
Goddamn, her breathy voice and the hunger shining from her uncertain eyes test my patience.
“Yes. Just this once,” I rumble.
“Only the lips?” she breathes.
“Yes. Only the lips,” I concede.
Deeper and more guttural than normal, my voice seems to rise from hell itself. She’s burning me alive.
“I should say no, but firsts should come in pairs,” she mumbles as though to herself.
Fuck yes. Please, please, please.
I don’t know what other firsts she’s had today, but I beg to all that’s holy, I need our kiss to be one of them.
When she leans into my hands and rises onto tiptoes, I’m a goner. Every last thought dissipates from my brain. Nothing exists beyond her mouth, but despite my urgency, I don’t rush to close the distance between us.
I give her time to say no, still painfully aware of her skittishness. She’s too precious and breakable to rush something so intimate and monumental.
When I brush my closed lips over hers, the juxtaposition of silky flesh and hard metal intrigues me, and I flick my tongue over her lip ring. She gasps. I lick between her parted teeth and moan at the sample of her hot, wet heat.
She sinks her nails into my sides and twists her wrists as though uncertain whether she wants to pull me closer or push me away.
I angle my head and tease her bottom lip with gentle nibbles.
She whimpers, lifts her chin, and tugs me closer.
Savage need roars through me, and I pull her flush against me, bending her backward as I nearly fold in half to keep my lips in line with hers. When I open to taste her again, she surprises me with a daring sweep of her tongue into my mouth.
She demands more. I devour her. She’s too sweet and luscious to stop with a mere tasting. I need to claim and worship every inch of her as she basks in my praise, and her eager little tongue insists I give her more.
Her hunger drives me deeper into madness, and I lift her off her feet for better access to the delicious recesses of her mouth.
She squeaks and turns her head, but I growl and suck her lip ring into my mouth.
Her whimper both incites my lust and calms the beast within me. I lick her smooth flesh before slowly letting her lip ring slip from my mouth. With our bodies plastered together, her shudder runs through us both, and I dip my head for more, but the tightness in her voice stops me.
“Don’t break another promise, Sebastian,” she pleads.
Her words pour ice down my spine. I lower her to her feet and straighten my spine but freeze at the feel of her breasts pressed against my lower stomach.
Two very distinct points dig into my abdominals.
Fucking goddammit, she has nipple piercings. A fresh wave of need barrels through me. I already suspected she had jewelry through her nipples after my inappropriate gawking at the wedding rehearsal, but the confirmation short-circuits my brain.
Her heart races so hard and fast it pounds into my body even through her marvelous, feminine curves.
“Seb—?”
“Don’t say my name right now unless you want to explain a very awkward mess to the next person we see. Understand, pipsqueak?”
Her eyes widen, and she searches my face with honest puzzlement, but when I flex my fingertips into her back—causing her breasts to pillow harder against my abs—and tilt my hips the barest amount, understanding flushes her cheeks.
She melts with the most addictive blend of delight, wonder, and trust.
I cup the back of her head.
The color drains from her face.
Agony streaks up my leg as she kicks my shin and shoves out of my embrace. Shocked at the sudden change, I release her and step back with my hands at shoulder level and palms out in defeat.
She shuffles into the corner and stands with her fists at the ready for a few seconds. As the terror drains from her eyes, her breathing slows and she drops her fists to her sides. Despite her entire body trembling, she swallows and shakes her head.
“I knew this was a bad idea. I’m s—”
“Don’t you dare apologize, Penelope,” I snarl.
She wraps her arms around herself.
I lean on the opposite wall and run my hands through my hair.
“It’s my fault for taking it too far, and I’m truly sorry for that, but I’m not sorry about kissing you. That was the most epic experience of my life,” I admit.
Her eyes snap to mine. Too many emotions swim in the green and gold flecks for me to name them all.
“Can you tell me what I did wrong so I don’t do it again next time?” I ask.
“There won’t be a next time,” she says, but there’s no conviction behind it.
I rub my forearm, cherishing the residual sensations from her soft touch, and enjoy the fresh spark of interest in her gaze as she tracks the movement.
She looks away and blinks as though to clear her thoughts. Her expression turns mutinous, and she huffs when she notices I never selected a floor.
Since I led her into the executive office elevator, the chances of us being interrupted was lower than if we were in one of the main elevators, but not zero.
She shoots me an annoyed look before selecting the correct floor—proving she studied the building’s layout already—and fixing her hair and clothes.
I lead her into the hall and to the main equipment room.
Without a word, I scan my work ID badge and hold the door open for her.
The moment she steps through the door, her entire countenance changes.
Gone is the uncertain, shy woman who overanalyzes every word, and in her place is a confident, relaxed expert.
She takes the set up at a glance before choosing a chair to drop her bag into.
My cell phone rings. I sigh and pull it out of my pants pocket. After a short discussion, I thank Mr. Thomas and end the call.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Miles, but I have an emergency meeting to attend. Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?”
She pauses, looks up from her company-issued tablet, and bites her lip ring before responding.
“May I have access to the server room for a few minutes?” she asks.
I blink and will my mind to work as I yearn to taste her sweetness and feel the smooth metal between my lips again. When I finally rip my gaze away from her delicious mouth, I clear my throat and pull my collar away from my overheated flesh.
“The door auto locks and requires proper clearance to unlock from either direction after thirty seconds, and an alarm sounds if it remains open for—”
“Longer than fifteen minutes so the temperature remains below sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, I know. I’ll be less than that. Promise,” she says.
I can’t erase my playful smirk.
“Of course you know, Ms. Miles. I’ll leave you to it, then.”
After scanning my badge and propping open the door, I step into her path before she ducks into the server room. She stops and cranes her neck to pierce my soul with her sparkling hazel eyes.
“Thank you, Penelope.”
Shock widens her eyes.
“What? Why are you thanking me? I haven’t done anything yet,” she says.
“You’ve done more than you know, pipsqueak,” I say through the emotions clogging my throat.
Seeing her so much like her old self is a balm to my soul, and after swimming in euphoria from our first kiss, I can’t even begin to name the emotions stampeding through me.
Whatever she went through during our years apart, I yearn to heal her and help her flourish.
Having her by my side is the most precious gift she could ever give me.
Her brows scrunch. I tuck her hair behind her ear and ghost my finger along her jawline before dropping my hand to my side.
She didn’t flinch. Hope and pride flow through me.
“I’ll see you upstairs in a few minutes,” I murmur before stepping out of the doorway.
I stride down the aisle and peek back at her as I turn the corner. Her puzzled stare fills me with mirth. With an exaggerated movement, I check my watch.
“Fourteen minutes and twenty seconds,” I announce.
She jumps and starts forward while mumbling under her breath.
The blush on her cheeks makes me want to rush back and pull her into my arms for another drugging kiss, but I exit into the hall and force myself back into the elevator.
I retrieve a clean suit coat and tie from my office, change in my private bathroom, then ride to the floor with the board’s preferred conference room.
Work consumes my attention. The meeting runs for over an hour, and afterward I spend time with a smaller group to delegate more specific tasks. When I finally return to my office, almost three hours have passed.
Penelope isn’t at her desk, but I respond to a few pressing emails before stepping out onto the main floor and asking her whereabouts.
When I realize no one has seen her since the impromptu meeting after lunch, instinctual panic floods my veins.
Alarm bells ring in my head as I replay her promise.
She should be back. If she’d decided to stay in the main equipment room longer than anticipated, she would have contacted someone to let them know.
No matter what, she wouldn’t keep the door to the server room open beyond the fifteen minutes, and she wouldn’t stay inside knowing she couldn’t get out.
Right?
Sixty-five degrees isn’t deadly, but she wasn’t dressed for the chill.
I rush to my desk, push my chair aside, and type my pin onto my keyboard as my body skids to a halt. As quickly as my oversized hands can work the mouse and keyboard, I pull up the security feed to the main equipment room.
Penelope isn’t there. The doors are shut, all the electronics seem in working order, and the chairs are pushed under the tables, so I move the mouse to check the hallway, but a black shape under the desk catches my attention. I squint and move closer.
The strap of Penelope’s bag dangles from the seat of the nearest chair. A shadow moves behind the tinted viewing glass of the server room.
Adrenaline floods my veins. My heart pounds in my ears.
Mr. Thomas calls my name, but I push past him and shoulder through the door to the stairwell.
Taking the steps three at a time, I sprint down to the proper floor and yank the door open so hard and fast it slams into the wall.
The sound reverberates through the stairs and hall like a gunshot.
I scan my badge, dart through the main equipment room, and fumble with the door handle to the server room until it opens.
Penelope sits curled in a ball on the floor with her back against the nearest tower. Pale and shivering, she breaks my heart by lifting terror-glazed eyes at me.
Worry overrides my relief.
I shrug out of my suit coat and squat beside her. She cringes away and curls tighter into herself.
“You’re okay, sweet pea. I’ve got you,” I murmur as I coax her to lean forward away from the wall.
I settle my coat around her shoulders and scoop her up into my arms.
Her disjointed, uncertain voice as she whispers my name shreds my soul.
“Yes, I’m here,” I assure her.
She sneaks a dainty hand out from between the lapels of my suit coat and fills her fist with the front of my shirt.
I hook my foot around the leg of a chair and pull it out from under the table before sitting and settling her in my lap.
Her shaking worsens. I wrap myself around her as best I can and force myself to take deep, steady breaths.
As the fear and panic linger in my veins, I vow to never let her out of my sight again.
I need Penelope Miles in my life. She’s too stubborn, sweet, and innocent for this world.
I’ll protect her no matter what it takes, even if it means protecting her from herself.
She’s mine. All mine.