Chapter 21 #2
The best part was that after the opening, our offices would actually be here.
This layout had two back rooms, and both had windows.
We were putting desks in one, and the other would be a storage room.
Possibly we’d turn it into a workshop too, but we decided to wait until the room was ready to see if we were inspired while inside it or not.
God, I was so happy that I wasn’t even sure what to do with myself. I moved myself lower on the couch, putting one of the fluffy pillows over my face and grinning into it.
My phone chirped with an incoming message. I moved the pillow, peeking at the screen with one eye.
Liam: How was your lunch?
My heart wasn’t just sighing now; it was downright giddy.
Tess: Delicious.
Liam: Anything left over?
Tess: Not one bite.
Liam: Thought so. Are you at the new store the whole day?
Tess: Yes. It’s quiet here, and some furniture will be delivered this afternoon.
Liam: I can’t stop thinking about you.
Holy shit. If he keeps at this, my poor heart is just going to explode.
Liam: David just found out about us. Becca filled him in. He’s mocking me. Says I’m more human since I’m going out with you, because I actually want to take breaks.
Tess: I love that you’re giving me credit for that : )
Liam: I’m giving you credit for a lot more, but David doesn’t need to know so many details.
Tess: Liam, if we keep texting, we’re both going to fall behind on our work. You’re distracting me.
Liam: I know. It’s worth it, though.
To my astonishment, he stopped texting after that. I was suspicious of the sudden silence, but on the bright side, I got so much done.
But I missed the butterflies in my stomach every time a new message popped up.
Decisions, decisions .
If I messaged him, I wouldn’t get much done. If I didn’t, I’d just keep wondering what he was doing, what he was thinking.
My inner monologue was cut short by the arrival of a delivery truck. Our office furniture was being delivered!
As they unloaded the desks, chairs, and bookshelves, I snapped about a gazillion pics and sent them to Skye. The delivery company also took care of assembling the furniture, so half an hour later, our office was done.
The cherrywood desks and white leather chairs were situated opposite each other with generous space in the center. The second the guys left, I sat down in my chair, spinning once. It was super comfy, and I could lean all the way back until I was almost in a lying position.
After testing every single function of my posh chair, I took a short video before sending it to Skye.
Tess: Everything is so pretty!!!
Skye: It looks even better in our office than it looked online.
Tess: I know!
A knock at the front door caught my attention. I couldn’t see who it was from the office, but maybe the delivery guys had forgotten something.
Nope, it was just Liam in front of the store, holding a laptop in one hand, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
Holy hell, I barely kept myself from checking if my panties hadn’t spontaneously combusted.
He looked a bit different than usual, but I couldn’t say why.
His body language was a little stiff, and his eyes lacked the usual sparkle.
If I thought his messages had made me giddy, it was nothing compared to how I felt when he walked inside the store. I was drunk on him, pure and simple.
I parked a hand on my waist, jutting out a hip.
“What are you doing here?” I asked playfully.
“You told me not to message you anymore because it’s distracting.”
“Oh, and you think you being here isn’t?”
He pointed to his laptop. “Nope. We both work. Flirt a little in between. Win-win.”
“Aha. That’s not distracting at all.”
“It’s the best I can do. I’ve been fighting with myself all afternoon, barely keeping from texting you all the time, and then I figured out the problem.”
“And that was?”
“I needed to see you.”
Oh wow. Wow.
He looked around, zeroing in on the couch. “Is that our workplace?”
“No, as it happens, the office furniture was just delivered. Come on, I’ll show you.”
I was ridiculously happy that he was there. It meant he missed me!
I caught myself swinging my hips seductively while I led him to the back room. I hadn’t even meant to, but this sexy man had a strange influence on me. I tried to straighten up. Maybe he hadn’t noticed.
When we walked inside the room, I proudly pointed each arm toward a desk. He set his laptop on one, then unexpectedly wrapped an arm around my waist. His mouth was on my neck, his hand on my hip.
“Don’t swing that ass like that in front of me, or I’m going to do more than distract you. So. Much. More.”
I laughed softly. “Well, if it helps, I wasn’t doing it on purpose.”
“It doesn’t help.”
Turning around, I pinched his chest. “Well, then, sit in that chair and stop tempting me.”
“I’ve graduated from distracting you to tempting? I call this progress.”
“I call it a shameless tactic.”
He winked. “That too. So, which one is my desk?”
“That one. Now, let’s buckle down to work, mister. It’s only four o’clock.”
Completing any tasks when Liam was in the same room was not easy. I was so aware of his presence, of that seductive energy he emanated, that I could barely focus.
When I rewrote the last sentence of an email for the third time, I groaned.
“Someone’s having trouble concentrating with me around,” Liam teased.
“You think?”
“Definitely.” A smile played on his lips as he rose from his chair, stalking toward my desk. I swallowed, clasping my hands in my lap in anticipation. He sat on the edge of the desk, leaning in to me.
He cupped my face, pressing his fingers at the back of my head. That feral glint in his eyes gave him away—he was one second away from kissing me.
When our lips touched, my whole body lit up. His mouth was hot and relentless, and the way he moved his lips and tongue was overpowering my senses.
“Tess, I have a confession to make,” he whispered against my mouth.
“Hmmm…”
“I don’t actually have anything left to do today. I just brought my laptop as a way to distract myself…and it’s not working.”
“You’re lucky, because I still have a ton of things to do.”
“I’ll wait however long you want. But only if you promise me one thing.”
“And what is that?”
“That you’re all mine afterward.”
I licked my lips, nodding. “Yes, sir.”
“Fuck, don’t say that, or I’ll kiss you again.”
His tone was so fierce and seductive that I suspected I’d end up on my back right on this desk if I gave in to another kiss. I rolled my chair back, putting a little distance between us.
“I just need to fill an order sheet for an overseas supplier.”
“I’ll wait.”
Half an hour later, I emailed the order sheet and jumped right out of my seat.
“I’m done,” I declared, grinning from ear to ear and doing a ridiculous happy dance in the middle of the room.
Liam’s eyes lit up, and he immediately rose from his chair.
“So, remember our deal?” he asked playfully, splaying his hand on my lower back, pressing his fingers against my body as if he was seconds away from slipping his hand under my dress.
“Hmmm…why don’t you remind me?”
“Oh, that’s how we’re playing it, huh?”
I shrugged playfully.
He brought his mouth to my ear, tugging at my earlobe with his teeth.
“You’re mine tonight, Tess. All mine.”
I shivered and then moaned when he feathered his lips down my neck. I pushed him to sit in my chair before climbing in his lap. Dragging my hands down his shoulders, I could feel the tension in them. I looked him straight in the eyes, fidgeting in his lap.
“You’re stressed about something,” I said.
He swallowed, moving his palms up and down my thighs.
“I am.”
“Want to tell me about it? I’m a big believer in sharing worries.”
“You remember we have a fourth partner?”
“Yes, the silent one, without decision power.”
“Exactly. Turns out, he wants to sell his shares.”
“Oh, okay. What are you going to do?”
“We’ll buy him out.”
I felt a small sliver of panic right in my chest and between my shoulder blades.
What if they couldn’t? Of course, my mind immediately spiraled to the worst-case scenario.
I just couldn’t stop from picturing us closing the business, going back to finding a corporate job.
That knot in my chest tightened even more.
I loved what I built with my sister, the freedom it gave us.
I had a fuzzy feeling in my belly every day I went into work. I didn’t want to lose that.
I drew in a deep breath. As Cole always said, it’s best to deal with things as they come—one at a time.
And right now, this beautiful man I was straddling was all up in knots, and I wanted to unfurl every single one.
I wasn’t going to ask what the ramifications were or where that could lead.
I didn’t want to make tonight about me. It was about him.
Liam
I touched her face, addicted to the feeling of her smooth skin under my fingers.
“Ever since I spoke to my lawyer today, all I wanted was to see you,” I confessed.
“Why?” she whispered, eyes wide.
“I just did. Being with you grounds me.” It was mostly because nothing else seemed important when Tess was next to me. Everything faded into the background. I kissed her jaw, descending on one side of her neck. “It also drives me a little crazy,” I murmured against her skin.
Tess fidgeted in my lap again.
“Hmm…just a little?” she teased.
I pushed her ass against my groin so she could feel my hard-on.
She sucked in a breath. “Nothing little about that.”
“I want to take you out.”
“How about we stay in and I cook us something tasty?”
“I like that. I kind of wanted to have you all to myself anyway.”
“Then why suggest going out?”
“I have a whole list of places to take you to.”
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish by that?”
“Wooing you.”
Her mouth formed a cute O. “Wooing me? Wow. No one’s done that before.”
“That’s a crime! But I also like that I’m the first one.”
She gave me a huge smile. “You really like all these firsts, huh?”