Chapter 28
PAIGE
The next morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn for no good reason. The sun had just come up, but I couldn’t figure for the life of me why I was up. That was until I looked to my left and noticed Will was propping his head on one hand, smiling lazily.
“Good morning.” How could he sound so sexy in the morning? And look so damn gorgeous? It wasn’t fair.
“Morning. How long have you been awake?”
“Half an hour. You’re cute when you sleep.” He slid closer, cupping my face. “You have a dimple here.” He pressed his thumb above the left corner of my mouth. “And you were dreaming about me.”
“Wait… what?” I had been dreaming about him, and it had been an embarrassingly sexy dream, but how could he know?
He circled the peak of my breast. My nipples were hard.
Ah, yeah. Dead giveaway. I liked to sleep in the morning, but since I was awake, why waste a perfect opportunity for morning sex?
I scooted closer to Will. He watched me with a lazy smile, skimming his hand lower to my belly, and then between my legs.
I groaned when he slid a finger inside me.
“You woke up wet. What were you dreaming about, Paige?”
“Why don’t I show you?”
His gaze darkened.
After the sexy action and showering, I changed into my clothes from yesterday, forgoing the panties. We were at his apartment, so I didn’t have a change of clothes.
Will was slicing bread when I entered the living room. And he was only wearing boxers. Yummm…. He frowned when he saw me.
“Why did you dress up?”
“I need to work for a few hours.”
“You can do that from here. You don’t need clothes.”
“I know it sounds weird, but I concentrate better if I’m wearing office clothes. You, on the other hand, should stay naked. I could use the view today.”
He laughed. “The view?”
“What else would you call all that arm porn you have going on? You get a bonus if you drop your boxers too.”
“Only if you take off your bra.”
I considered this. On the one hand, the constraint of a bra was part of the “work mood.” On the other hand, how the hell could I say no? It was a small price to pay to see Will walking around commando.
I awkwardly removed my bra and threw it on the couch.
When Will’s gaze dropped to my chest area, I could see the fault in this plan.
My nipples were showing—and they were awake…
again—and Will was semihard as he dropped his boxers.
This had temptation written all over it.
But we were stronger than that, Will and I. Right? Right?
I’d almost convinced myself when he set the bread and knife on the counter and advanced to me.
He gave me a good morning kiss, then also kissed the girls through my pristine white blouse.
“Will,” I groaned. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea. How am I going to get any work done?”
He straightened up, bringing a hand to my face, skimming his thumb over my lips. I couldn’t help myself and opened my mouth, suckling on it.
“If you keep doing this, you won’t.” He pulled back his hand, and I rolled my shoulders.
“I won’t, I promise.”
“Then we won’t have a problem.”
“Are you sure you want me to work from here? I won’t be doing much besides writing e-mails and reports and making phone calls.”
“And I’ll make you breakfast and lunch, and give you massages when you’re too stiff. I’ll do my best not to distract you. No promises, though.”
“What’s in it for you?”
He smiled wickedly. “I didn’t say where I’ll be giving you massages.”
We made sandwiches together, and after breakfast I started on my phone calls right away.
I’d given myself a two-week deadline. If I didn’t manage to bring more donors on board, I had to call the ones who had agreed to help and tell them the project wasn’t happening.
That prospect was worrying, because I knew once I did that, the likelihood of them collaborating with me in the future was slim.
No one wanted to feel they’d wasted their time.
Ashley texted me during the day, which was surprising, because she never worked on weekends.
Ashley: I don’t know what to do about Greg. He’s being even more of an asshole than usual.
I felt for her. His misogynistic streak was evolving into downright emotionally abusive behavior. Ashely and I were considering how to best approach human resources about it.
By the time the afternoon rolled around, I was ready to face-plant on Will’s couch. I’d gotten two vague promises, but even if they followed through, the money they were willing to donate was peanuts. At five o’clock in the afternoon, I curled on the couch and hid my face in the pillow.
“Babe?”
“It’s not going to work out, Will. It just won’t, and it’s killing me. Those people are counting on me. I didn’t make them any promises, but you should have seen the way they were looking at me when I talked to them about the possibility.”
I felt his hand at the back of my neck, applying pressure just where I needed it.
“You’re so good at that,” I whispered into the pillow. “So damn good.”
He sat next to me and I scooted a little to make space for him.
“I’m grumpy,” I informed him. I’d been grumpy after the third phone call, and now on a scale from annoyed to fucking pissed off I was Godzilla. I was more emotional than usual, and didn’t know if it was because of PMS, or a potential pregnancy.
“I gathered that. I’ve got a solution on the way.”
I peeked at him with interest. “You mean there’s an orgasm in the making?”
He smirked. “Early dinner and wine.”
“Ooooh, that’s even better.”
“Now you’re just stabbing my pride. Dinner and wine are better than orgasms?”
I saw my mistake and sought to rectify it immediately. Otherwise, this hottie might start again with his dangerous ideas, like not giving me orgasms.
“No, no. Not what I meant at all. But a grumpy Paige with a full stomach is better than a grumpy Paige with an empty stomach.”
“I see. Are you done with your workday?”
“Yep.”
He gave my ass a little smack. “Then lose these clothes.”
“What?”
“Take a shirt from my dresser. And don’t wear any panties. I want to see your sexy ass.”
“Those are very… specific instructions. And by the way, I haven’t been wearing panties the entire day.”
Will stopped in the act of groping my ass. “And you didn’t tell me.”
“Well, no. Why tempt you?”
He bit my shoulder lightly, fondling my ass again. “Go change.”
“Yes, boss.”
I rose from the couch as Will’s phone rang. I didn’t move further as he went to answer it.
“Hi, Elliot!” He frowned, and nodded, dragging his hands down his face. “Well, we knew there was a good chance it would play out this way. Thanks for the call.”
He was gripping his phone so tightly when he disconnected the call that I thought he might break it.
“I’m sorry, Will.”
He nodded tightly, then pressed his palms against his eyes. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his bare middle—he was still wearing only shorts. He returned my hug, resting his chin on top of my head.
“Go change. Dinner will be here soon.”
Now we were both grumpy. But as I searched through the stack of T-shirts in his bedroom, instead of drowning in my own problems, I was brainstorming ways to comfort him.
Step number one: I would wear the shortest T-shirt he owned.
It wasn’t an easy task, considering he was as big as a mountain, but eventually I did find a T-shirt that looked like it had shrunk from washing.
My ass cheeks were visible. Oh yeah, that would give him something to look at.
I pulled my hair into a bun before remembering he liked to run his hand through it during our sexy times, so I let it fall around my shoulders.
Our dinner had already been delivered when I returned to the living room, and Will was setting it on plates.
“Smells delicious.”
He looked at me over his shoulder, then slowly turned around, taking in my outfit. His gaze was on my bare legs. I twirled once, showing off my ass.
“You like this?”
He didn’t respond. Well, at least not with words.
The look in his eyes was… feral. I sashayed toward him until we were only inches apart.
Will was standing with his hands at his sides, as if not touching me cost him all his willpower, but then he lost the battle.
One hand went to my waist and the other slid down to my ass, pressing me against him.
“You’re so fucking sexy, Paige.”
“Back at you, hunky detective.” I looked over his arms at the avocado nuggets he’d ordered. “Food’s getting cold.”
Will lowered his mouth on mine, tracing my bottom lip with the tip of his tongue.
“Maybe I’ll just eat you instead, Paige.”
Oh, my. I clenched my thighs, nibbling on his lower lip.
“Stay here tonight.” It wasn’t a question, but neither was it a request. I’d planned to go home because I needed fresh clothes, but when Will added, “I need you,” it didn’t even cross my mind to say no.
“Of course, I’ll stay. I’ll warm up your bed and make someone very, very happy.” I ground my hips against his to drive my point home.
My big, strong man needed me. I rained kisses on his chest, from one side right to the other. Will fumbled with his fingers through my hair, and I sensed he had more to say.
“What would you say to working from here on my days off?” His shifts were at odd hours, so some days he didn’t have to go in.
“You mean like making my home base here?”
“Yes. Or I could hang out with you at whatever beach you want to work from. I just don’t like that we go days without seeing each other.”
“I can do that. Except when I have meetings.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“You’re going to take care of me every day like you did today?”
“I am.”
“And you’re also going to entertain me with the muscle view?”
He laughed. “Yes.”
“And will you finally do a better job at tempting me than you did today?”
Will threw his head back, laughing. “You did not just say that.”
I put on my most impish smile. “I most definitely did. You didn’t even bother to check if I had panties today. You’re losing your touch, Will Connor.”
Famous last words.
The man moved so fast, I was barely aware of what was happening until he’d pinned me against the wall. Oh, yeah. My legs were wide apart, and he slid one hand between them.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Checking if you’re wearing panties.”
Bastard. He knew very well I wasn’t, but he made a big show of checking.
He strummed his fingers on my folds, then circled my clit until I whimpered.
“You’re still not sure?”
“Got to be thorough.” He pressed his thumb on my clit, and a bolt of energy coursed through me. My entire upper body shot forward, and Will skimmed his hand over my thigh to cup my bare ass cheek.
“I like my shirt on you. I like having you here, in my house, sharing my clothes, and smelling your girly stuff in my bathroom.”
I’d grown roots, I realized. My life was intertwined with Will’s, and I liked it.
I felt as if the roots made us stronger.
We were both having a rough time at work, but here we were, laughing together, teasing each other.
I knew this was just as big a step for Will as it was for me.
I tried to push all my worries about the condom scare to the back of my mind, but didn’t quite manage it.
“Do you want to talk about the case? No details, just… to clear your mind?”
“We did our best. The whole department worked on it, but at this point, there is nothing to do except let go.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
He gave me a rueful smile. “Oddly, yes. I think your sexy little ass is distracting me.”
“Just my ass?” I batted my eyelashes, scooting closer.
“Your sassy mouth too.”
“Hey, so question, if I bring some clothes here, can I still wear your shirts too? They’re very comfy.”
“Only if you don’t wear panties.”
I pretended to think about it. “Well, I suppose that’s a fair request, since I’ll be wearing your things and you’ve agreed to parade that muscly gorgeousness for me too.”
Will set his empty plate on the coffee table and focused on me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m waiting for you to finish eating.”
Hmmm… he didn’t say more, but that glint in his eyes made it easy for me to fill in the gaps. I ate so fast, you’d think there was something chasing me. Then I pointed to the chocolate mousse.
“Moving on to dessert?”
“You bet we are.”