CHAPTER EIGHT
MADDOX
I’m not a fan of tasks that require me to stay put. I much prefer to be out in the resort, chatting with our managers, checking on the entertainers and their performances, arranging epic employee functions, or scaring the shit out of our shady and depraved patrons. It suits me.
But this—prepping for a call I already know is going to be twenty minutes of handholding with an old-timer who is sweating it out about his misplaced funds? Not for me.
I’m making the best of it though. There’s music in my ear, which centers me, and a screen of questions pulled up as my cheat sheet so I don’t lose focus.
Just as I’m settling into my chair to get comfortable, there’s a soft rap on my door, which surprises me. Only a handful of people come to my office, and most of them know I’ve got a meeting soon.
After pressing a button under my hand-crafted steel desk that unlocks the door, I yell my permission. “Come in.”
As soon as the flash of silver catches my eye, my interest is piqued. What the hell is Tessa doing here?
“Do you mind if I come in for a minute?”
There’s a sweetness to that request that I find perplexing and … alarming. But I’m about as restrained as a bear eating honey from a beehive at this moment. Bring on the sting.
I glance at my computer and back to the haunting beauty. “I’ve got a few minutes. You okay?”
That seems to still her for a beat. Her chest heaves, and her lips purse, but then she slips inside my office and shuts the door. She pauses for long enough with her back to me that I’m immediately on edge.
“Did something happen, Tess?”
“No, nothing like that.” She turns around and pins me with a coquettish smirk. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about in the car this morning.” She voices that with all the confidence she usually carries, but there’s also an unmistakable trace of nerves.
This fucking girl. Is she aware that I hang on every word she says, heart in my throat, dick half hard, mind utterly dumb?
Not so dumb that I’m willing to reveal that.
So, I relax against the back of my chair, scanning over her with a nonchalant air. “A lot happened in the car this morning. Mind being more specific?”
Her lips curl into a slight grin before she bites it back in the most tantalizing way. “I’m not usually shy, Maddox, but …”
My head slants as my gaze roves up and down her curvy frame. “You are certainly not what I’d label as shy, so no need to be now—or ever—with me.”
“Right.” She nods, licking those luscious lips. “We danced around a method of resolving our issues, and I can’t seem to stop thinking about it. I know you believe I’ll get clingy, but I can promise I won’t. So, let’s test it.”
“Test it?” I rub my chin, puzzled as to where this is going. “As in … you want to—how did you phrase it earlier?—choke on my dick?”
Her chest rises and falls three times, the irresistible swell of her breasts goading me, until she finally answers, “I can’t imagine a more enjoyable way to settle this.”
My breath hitches in my throat because she is positively radiant and wanton before me, but then my barely functioning mind commands my cock to stand down.
“Right now?” I press. “Here, in my office?”
“Yeah,” she purrs, strutting over to my desk, her pina colada scent escorting her.
Hell yes.
No, no, no, no, no. I am not going to fall for this.
I’m thinking straight, which means I call bullshit.
There is no way she went from enraged this morning to aroused enough to proposition me a few hours later.
What would her intent be here? Maybe she believes that shit she said about me only wanting her because she’s the one woman who isn’t interested in me.
Is she really hoping to test the theory of sucking me off so I’ll leave her alone?
Nah, that’s not my girl.
She’s too feisty, too proud, too determined. And while she is definitely not inexperienced, she wouldn’t be caught dead with my cock in her mouth unless she was damn sure the act of doing so would give her what she wanted.
So, what the hell is this?
I sit up straighter in my chair, gliding my hand up the outside of her thigh and feeling goose bumps sprout beneath her black tights from my touch. Her striking eyes romp all over me, questioning. She’s waiting to see what I’ll do next, wondering if I’ll take her up on her offer.
Turned on. Hopeful. Conniving.
Fucking Cash.
That’s what our conversation was about earlier. He suspects something is up with Tessa and me, and I’m guessing he’s aware of my part in the cabaret-girl debacle. You gotta fucking love him. He’s been sitting on that for a long-ass time. Impressive.
Tessa must’ve been assured something in exchange for screwing with me. I should tell her to leave. Neither of them would expect that.
But then again …
If she’s here, perhaps we should see how far she’s willing to take this.
“I’m glad you finally came to your senses. Don’t dismiss my warning though. Once won’t be enough.” I halt there, sweeping my thumb across her thigh at the hemline of her shorts and gauging her reaction before I divulge a piece of truth. “I know one taste of you would never be enough for me.”
And I see it. She’s wondering whether I mean that or whether I’m onto her, which makes me hate this entire scenario. Because it’s both. But beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.
“So, you’ve got time now?” She steps between my legs, her fingers brushing back a fallen strand of my hair. “Because I honestly don’t think I could wait another minute to have you in my mouth.”
She’s fucking good.
Keeping one hand on her thigh, I curl the other around her waist and shift her slightly so I can see the time. “I’ve got about four minutes until I have an important virtual meeting. I doubt you can finish me that quickly, but if you can be quiet …”
What the hell am I doing? This is a recipe for disaster. A hot, steamy, phenomenal disaster.
Her brows pinch. She must be realizing that I’m not going to back down and deciding whether or not she will.
“You’re listening to music.” She states that like an epiphany rather than a question, probably stalling.
“Always,” I answer, pulling out the single earbud I have in and sticking it into the case. Setting it aside, I return one hand to her hip and let my gaze linger on her doll-like face. “But I should probably limit my distractions for this meeting to only those worth the risk.”
Reaching around her, I press the button under my desk to lock the door.
The mechanical click might as well be a resounding gong, sundering our levelheaded thoughts and our lust-driven tenacity.
She glances at it before those alluring eyes return to me, her teeth sinking into her lip, her chest rising and falling.
“Can you be a good girl for me, Tess?”
For a second that draws out like an eternity, she simply stares at me. Every molecule of the air is in a frenzy, the string of dares between us stretched taut. And that pause has me believing I’ve won this round—in the not-being-the-one-to-forfeit sense. It still feels like a loss, until …
“Yeah,” she whispers, lowering herself to kneel between my feet.
I’m baffled. No idea if this is something she really wants, if she’s just confident that Cash will reward her for messing with me, or if she is simply stubborn enough to follow through because she won’t dare bow out first.
Smoothing my palm over her satiny hair, I widen my legs. “Scoot back a little so I can answer the call when I need to and take me out when you’re ready.”
She does as I asked, scooching backward under my desk and wasting no time unbuckling my belt. When she wrenches my zipper down, there is no hiding what she’s doing to me. My dick practically springs, peeking out above my boxer briefs, and a smile coasts up her face—one that seems genuine.
What the hell is happening here?
Two minutes. I should put a stop to this. I need to think clearly for this call.
Dammit, Cash. But also, Thanks, brother.
“You’ve got about a minute to change your mind. After that, you’ll be stuck under there until my meeting is done.”
She arches a victorious brow. “Are you asking me to go?”
“No, baby.” I wink and relish the pink that colors her cheeks. “I’m telling you to be quiet and get to work.”
With all the sass my bratty vixen can muster, she bats those thick lashes and expels the perfect response. “Well, you are the boss.”
My dick jumps again. Axel is going to lose his goddamn mind. No, I got this. I can handle it. We’re good.
She rolls my waistband down, her lips popping open as she scrutinizes my piercings and the leaking head. Without hesitation, she coils her hand around my shaft. Her silky touch sends a ripple of thrill up my spine. I’m salivating from nothing more than her gentle fingers, but it’s already heavenly.
She grazes the six captive bead rings that form a ladder with her thumb, and I don’t have to ask her if she likes it.
Her eyes say it all. And for some reason, I’ve never felt more gratified in my life.
Earning any type of accolade from Tessa is like a drug.
One I’d gladly OD on over and over again.
She leans up to gather a droplet of precum on the tip of her tongue, and a growl rips from my chest. She actually fucking did it.
“Christ, Tess, I—”
My computer rings with the incoming call, and I can barely remember the guy’s name. I want to blow it off and lean into her mouth on me, but I can’t. I owe this to Ryker so he can get some time with his family.
“You’re okay, sweet girl.” I drag my knuckles down her cheek, enamored by the beauty before me and the amorous glint in her features. “Don’t do anything you don’t want to. But if you should decide to wrap those plump lips around my cock, keep your moans muted for me. Our secret, okay?”
She nods, pumping my length as I answer the call.
My screen fills with Vincent Lund in an office that vomited dark mahogany.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Noire—”