Chapter 8 #2
My body melted against his, giving over to the feelings stirring within me.
I’d be fine if they were solely physical.
If all I had to focus on was the way my body felt—my skin tingling, my nipples tightening, my pussy clenching.
Of course, because I was apparently an idiot, it wasn’t only physical.
My mind had to wander into dangerous territory.
I told myself it was because I’d never experienced anything like this, clinging to the thought with everything I had, because if I didn’t, I’d go down a path that was too dangerous to tread.
Don’t do it. Don’t go there.
Distracting myself from somewhere I could not be, I lost myself in Clay. In the way he devoured my mouth, his tongue surged forward and tasted me. I met his stroke for stroke, twining my tongue around his. I bucked against him, my body seeking something I instinctively knew he could give me.
His hand moved, fisting a handful of hair at the back of my neck and tugging, tipping my head back enough to break our kiss. “Fuck, you make me want to do the dirtiest things to you,” he murmured against my mouth before reclaiming it.
Visions of him tossing me on the bed and divesting me of my panties caused me to tighten my legs, the sharp points of my stilettos pricking into his ass.
My body moved seemingly of its own volition, the door rattling behind me as our hungry panting filled the air.
In that moment, I wasn’t thinking. Not about my plans or my family or even if someone could hear us and came to investigate.
Everything in me was focused on the man currently sending fire through my entire body.
He dragged his lips down my neck before growling when he reached the neckline of my dress.
“God, I want you naked. Want to see you. Play with you.” He nibbled his way back to my ear.
“Watch you touch yourself for me.” He licked at the sensitive skin right below my dangling earring. “Watch you come apart for me.”
I groaned, undulating against him, trying to find what I so desperately wanted.
Nothing about this was like me. A lover’s words never turned me on so much.
Then again, I’d never been with anyone who spoke the way Clay was talking to me right now.
Like he knew some secret language to rev me up. Everything about this felt right.
Except I felt it with the one person I shouldn’t.
Angling my head exactly where he wanted it, Clay dove deep into my mouth.
His free hand traveled down my torso until he slipped it under my skirt.
The sound of his own moan upon encountering the feel of damp lace set my mind spinning.
It was a heady fucking thing, knowing we were both lost in the moment.
Somehow, I didn’t think Clayton Montgomery lost his composure all that often.
I liked it.
Our mouths moved as if by both memory and intuition.
Like we’d been doing this for years, but the feelings were still brand new.
With every nip, every taste, the need within me grew.
It was a struggle to not let go and take this to a logical conclusion, but somewhere in my head the last modicum of sanity prevailed.
It screamed at me that this would only lead to trouble, to more trouble than it already was.
I tried to tell myself this was nothing. Nothing more than a kiss that got out of hand. Nothing more than the antagonism that had been brewing on the phone and downstairs bubbling over. Nothing more than a one-time thing, that we could easily put aside and pretend never even happened.
Unprofessional.
When Clay said that on the phone, I’d rebelled, but to myself I acknowledged I had been. This was even worse. It was the height of stupidity and unprofessionalism. Still, it didn’t feel wrong, like it should have.
It felt all too right.
Common sense told me to stop this.
I wanted to kick common sense to the curb, except the minute the thought entered my brain, my whole body reacted.
I loosened the grip I’d had on his hair, let my legs relax the slightest bit, and my mouth gentle.
I knew the second Clay sensed the change in me.
When our lips separated, we simply stared at each other.
The mix of lust and surprise and oh shit in his gaze likely mirrored my own.
I looked away; the intensity in his eyes was too much.
“That was…” I whispered, my words trailing off because I had no idea what to say.
I couldn’t even put words to what had just happened.
What had felt right moments ago, now made me feel as if I were standing on the most unsteady rock atop a mountain, ready to go hurtling to the Earth.
When Clay opened his mouth to speak, I stopped him.
“No, don’t say anything.” Pushing at his chest, I demanded, “Put me down.” He lowered me to the floor, extending a hand for stability, which I promptly ignored.
Once I found my feet, I gave him another shove, moving him just enough for me to slip out from between a hard door and a harder man.
“No. No. No,” I muttered to myself, not looking at him.
I couldn’t.
Not because I felt embarrassed or worried about what he was likely thinking of me in that moment. That would be too easy.
No, it was because I couldn’t trust myself not to jump on him again.
What a fucking disaster. I paced, the steps taking me to the window and back, close but not too close to Clay. Who simply stood there, hands casually shoved into his pockets, looking like a sex dream come to life and my worst business failure all at the same time.
Sorrow and resignation flooded me. I’d fucked this up. I should have listened to the family when they said I didn’t know what I was doing. They tried to tell me, but I thought I knew differently. Little did I know that different would mean almost screwing a potential business partner.
He’d never want to get involved with someone as truly unprofessional as I just demonstrated myself to be.
“So, I guess this takes my proposition off the table.” I passed him and reached for the door before opening it and stepping into the hall.
I sucked in a breath before I looked back at him.
“This just proves how unprofessional I really am. There’s no way I can have you stay after that. ” There’s no way he’d want to.
“Oh, you better believe I’m staying after that. There’s no way in hell I can leave now.” A grin pulled at Clay’s mouth, one I wanted to kiss right off. Can I be any more of an idiot? “I accept your proposal, Reese Henley.”
I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it sure as hell wasn’t that.
My eyes went wide, a mix of disbelief and worry, before I fled down the steps, his deep chuckle resounding behind me.
I didn’t take another breath until I locked myself in the bathroom in our family quarters. Placing my hands on the sink, I looked at myself in the mirror. Pink tinged my cheeks, a combination of running away and abrasions from his stubble.
“What the hell am I going to do?” I whispered.
Unfortunately, the woman in the mirror was just as clueless.
I was fucked.