Chapter 12 Drew
DREW
I’m losing control of myself. What is wrong with me?
Making out with Adam in the office, touching Greyson? God, the way he touched me in return.
My insides are still gooey when we make it back to the Lodge.
And I’m reminded of just how much I’m around them both at work. Practically all day.
It has me pushing buttons out of self-preservation. Self-defense.
I can’t keep hiding in my office, but I can’t stay in there all day, especially now that I’m stuck trying to think of appropriate games and activities for Santa’s Village.
So, I venture out front where Gabe is manning the desk. His tie is loose around his collar, and a peek of tattooed skin is uncovered.
The contrast of his clean-cut professional look and the bad boy of his tattoo stops me in my tracks.
Gabe lifts a brow at me, and I propel myself forward to sit at the front desk with him. The three feet between us is drenched with more tension than when we sit inches apart.
When the energy starts to make me squirm, I stand and reach for one of the candy canes out for guests.
He shakes his head at me as I unwrap it, the hint of a knowing smile on his face.
Usually, I crunch my way through the candy, but this time I need it as a distraction.
It’s the only way to steer my brain away from my current task to let the ideas come to me.
So the sucking is slow, pursed lips and small movements.
I feel Gabe’s gaze but avoid meeting it, working my way down the candy cane.
Leaning into the sexual nature of it as I work my way down its length, I catch the way shifts in his seat when it pops out of my mouth.
A quick glance shows him sending me a pointed, heated look.
And I wonder…is the tension one sided? Am I just asking for more trouble?
I enjoy teasing him though.
This time, I maintain eye contact as I pull the candy cane back into my mouth, making the glide between my lips slow and seductive.
Gabe’s nostrils flare, and his hands clamp into fists as he stares back at me.
His cheeks tint the lightest pink when my tongue peeks out, and I suck the candy deeper into my mouth.
He grumbles and turns as new patrons walk up to the desk.
Somehow, it feels like a win.
But then Adam is at my side. His hand closes around my arm, and he helps me up out of my seat. “Come with me, Drew.”
I stand, blushing from the heat of his grip on me and being caught at the game I’ve been playing.
That I’m still playing, sucking on the candy cane as he leads me back to his office and closes us in.
He slips the candy free of my mouth and bites through the last chunk, chewing on it as he maintains eye contact.
Those green eyes molten with the attraction he is more than honest with me about.
Tension cranks up between us. Heat pools in my middle and slowly bubbles outward to my limbs.
“Are you purposefully pushing my buttons, princess?”
I bite my lip at him, lifting on my toes to get a little closer, like an offering.
My hand finds his solid chest, tracing a button under a lone fingertip.
Adam takes the bait, pressing me back against the door and kissing me with a little more heat than he’s allowed himself to before.
My body molds around his, and he’s so big, encapsulating me almost completely. I love it.
And his kiss morphs me into a hot, needy mess. I’m ready to strip him bare and memorize all of his perfectly sculpted skin.
When he releases me, I’m breathless, drowning in the heat in his gaze. The fuzzy sensation in my middle makes me desperate to climb him and take what I want.
But Adam retreats, and cold swoops in.
“Yeah, I thought so.” He hauls me over to his couch, and I stumble into him as he pulls me into his lap. In a swift move, he has me bent over his knees.
Adam’s hand comes down hard on my ass.
I jerk and yelp, but he holds me tight, landing another swat on the same cheek. The same spot, and the pain of it propels heat through my body, concentrating at my core.
He lands another smack, and I’m panting, wriggling in his grip without trying to get away. Every little move spikes the arousal pooling between my legs.
Adam lands ten open palm hits on my right cheek before moving onto my left. By the time he’s done, rubbing the sore muscles as I bite my lip and try to stifle the soft noises threatening to fall out of me.
When Adam stills and lifts me off his lap, I duck my head to hide how turned on I am.
But he pinches my chin, tips my head up, and examines my hot cheeks.
I feel so exposed and raw…and needy. I can barely handle it, grabbing the front of his shirt to pull him closer. But he resists, so I lean in, hand spreading across his massive chest.
The attraction I see in his gaze makes me a little bolder. It’s different knowing that he wants me, but he holds me back.
“No, no, princess. No reward for misbehaving. Since the spanking didn’t seem to work, denial is my backup option.”
I blink at him, retreating half a step. “Isn’t that a punishment for you, too?”
He tips his head. “Not as much as you think.”
That’s not the response I expected, and I don’t like the feeling that swells in my chest.
My lip juts out before I suck it back in between my teeth. Pouting will not help, but this situation is what makes me act wild.
It’s almost a rejection. A close cousin to it.
Adam escorts me to his door. By the time we reach it, I’ve replaced my armor. If I have to be the one to keep things professional around here, then I will.
Back straightening, I’m resolved. If he wants another kiss, any more touching, any more flirting or playing, he’ll have to take me out on a proper date.
I’m out of his door when he catches my elbow.
“Look at me, princess.”
Pausing long enough to make my point, I do, and he examines me for a few beats.
“Behave.”
I lift my chin, morphed back into the professional I was when I came to the Lodge for this job on day one.
My response is overly polite and bright when I say, “Of course.”
Adam’s brows go up, catching the change in me, but his confidence doesn’t falter one bit.
Challenge accepted.