Chapter 31
thirty-one
at least there was cake
S he was kissing Ryan DeMarco. She was kissing Ryan DeMarco.
Her anxiety disappeared as she lost herself in this moment that had been teasing her dreams for weeks now. His kindness had overwhelmed her judgment, and she couldn’t fight the need to kiss him any longer.
He still tasted of his minty toothpaste, and the citrusy scent that seemed to cling to him filled the small room. His hand rose to cup her cheek as she opened for him. His tongue darted out to flick against her lower lip.
With a moan, Elissa released her grip on his tie and tangled her hands into the hair at his nape, holding him even closer. She nipped at his retreating tongue, and Ryan’s other hand drifted up to hold her still. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, and she sucked on it.
As far as distractions, this was beyond anything she’d experienced before. Consumed by the need to be close to him, to drink him in, to press against him, she wanted nothing more than to ditch all propriety and do something she refused to regret.
“Elissa,” he groaned, breaking the kiss. He ran his thumbs along her cheekbones. “We shouldn’t?—”
She stood on tiptoes and kissed him again. He seemed to lose his train of thought as their tongues tangled and his hands wandered down her body. With practiced ease, he spun them so her back was to the filing cabinet and pressed his hands against the cool metal next to her shoulders.
A handle dug into her spine, but she didn’t care. Barely even noticed. For this brief, shining moment, her world centered on his lips, his taste, his scent, the roughness of his hands, and the softness of his hair.
Voices in the hall dragged her back to reality. She was kissing Ryan DeMarco , in the file room of DeMarco Property Management. What was she thinking?
A jangling sound brought Ryan’s head up, eyes round. Elissa took a step away, so the person opening the door wouldn’t immediately see her, straightening her clothes and patting her hair into place. He took three steps to the side and jerked open a cabinet drawer as the door to the file room opened.
“Hey, Ryan. Did you get locked in?” A woman about Elissa’s age took a step in. His cousin, if she recalled correctly. Her gaze found Elissa and her eyes went round. “Elissa, right? What are you doing here?”
“Yeah, Trinity. Elissa stopped by for some missing paperwork.”
“Guess it’s a good thing I went to break room first. Are you okay?”
“Um, yes, yeah,” Elissa stammered, hoping against hope her face wasn’t beet red. “Just found the last file, anyway. I’ll gather the rest. We’ll start work on your taxes later today.”
Elissa took the few steps to the table and picked up the files.
“Okay.” Trinity didn’t look convinced. She pulled the keys out and tossed them at her cousin, who snatched them out of the air. Then she left, the door still wide open.
Elissa concentrated on putting the files into her bag, his warm presence at her back.
“It can’t happen again,” she said. “It’s unprofessional. I can’t be making out with a client in the office.”
“Not a client,” he murmured, his breath hot on her neck.
“Close enough.”
“If you’re sure.” He ran a finger down her spine, and shivers of desire coursed through her.
“I’m sure.” She was sure she wanted him even more now.
He stepped back, and she missed him. He was right there, but she missed his touch, his breath, his scent.
“Did I just fuck up getting help on my business plan?”
He was a temptation she wasn’t sure she could handle.
But he was a temptation she couldn’t turn down, either.
The mere idea of spending an hour or two with him in the library filled her with more joy than a day filled with numbers that all added up the first time.
More joy than a cold margarita on a hot summer day.
More joy than Christmas morning. She was a freaking goner.
A conversation with Karina was in order, and soon.
“No, of course not. Thursday, right after work at Himmel Library?”
Heat flashed in his eyes, letting her know developing a business plan was not the only thing on the table. “I’ll see you out, then.”
He followed her out the door, down the hall, and held the front door open. She had to pass within inches of him, and her skin knew it. Heat flowed over her, through her, and she panted like she’d run a mile.
“Goodbye, Elissa,” he said. “I’ll see you Thursday.”
Her brain painted an image of him, shirtless in the file room, and the flush bloomed on her cheeks.
“Goodbye, Ryan,” she managed before she ran to her car.
His chuckle followed her all the way. She unlocked old Bertha and climbed in, glancing at the building. He still stood there, watching. Elissa started the car and drove away. Half a block later, she pulled into a grocery store parking lot.
“Oh, fuck.” She rested her head on the steering wheel. Worth the dollar she now owed the swear jar.
Elissa counted to ten, then did it again, before she finished driving to the office. She waved to the receptionist as she walked carefully, slowly, not at all flustered, to her cubicle.
All of her carefully curated experiences were not helping her cope with the chaos Ryan brought into her life. In her three years working for JMS Accounting, she’d never been tempted to ogle a client or one of their employees, let alone carry on an affair.
She tried all morning to put him out of her mind, but every time the DeMarco name appeared on her spreadsheets, she was right back in the file room, kissing him like her life depended on it.
Maybe someday the DeMarco name would lose the emotional meaning.
Perhaps instead of a handsome, chiseled face with soft, brown eyes, the name would become a series of inputs.
Income, expenses, profit, loss. Today was not that day.
Karina popped in before lunch.
“Did you find the missing DeMarco files?”
Elissa startled. She had managed not to think of Ryan for about five minutes, dealing with the files from Saguaro Glen Apartments. No mention of the DeMarco name and good, clean figures. Then her boss had to ruin it.
“Yes.” She pointed at them in a neat pile on the corner of her desk. “As you said, left behind with all the chaos of training a new office manager. I’m through some of the smaller properties already.”
“Excellent! Let me know if anything comes up with them. Otherwise, give me a report when you’re done and we’ll go from there.”
Karina was gone before Elissa could formulate her explanation about kissing the office manager. It could wait. Probably. But not much longer.
She opened the shared calendar. Karina’s schedule was booked the next couple days, but Friday was clear.
Elissa would have plenty of time to figure out what to say.
If she was going to be a problem, she’d also offer a few possible solutions.
Though she didn’t want to give up working on a high profile account like DPM, this was the ethical thing to do.
That decided, she found her focus and thoughts of Ryan faded deep into the background.
She couldn’t work twenty-four seven, though.
Eventually, she had to go home. Her old junker groaned a bit when she started it, but she backed up fine.
Before she knew it, Elissa pulled into her spot at the apartment complex.
She dragged herself into her apartment on the second floor and opened a bottle of pink wine. With bubbles, thank you very much. It was a bubbles kind of day. There might even be a bubble bath later. Jules was working late, and she’d have plenty of alone time.
She put together a girl dinner of crackers, cheese, and ice cream to go with the sparkling wine. Flopping on the couch, she grabbed the remote and flipped through the streaming services for a few minutes before settling on Parks and Recreation for the thousandth time.
Elissa watched two episodes, cleaned up, and drew a bath. The tension in her shoulders was driving her to distraction. She pulled out her favorite rose-scented bubble bath, poured another helping of bubbly into an acrylic cup, and climbed into the tub.
And couldn’t get the kiss out of her mind. Or Ryan’s firm body pressed to hers. Or his taste as his tongue expertly riled her up and left her wanting oh so much more.
Her free hand drifted over her bubble-coated breasts, teasing her nipple. She placed her empty cup down on the bathroom floor and dipped her other hand into the water. She rubbed gentle circles around her clit, and her back arched at the sensation.
What would it feel like with Ryan’s calloused hands? What would he murmur in her ear? What would his lips?—
The front door slammed.
“Hey lady!” Jules shouted.
The mood popped like a bubble. Elissa stopped her sexy times.
“In the bathroom!”
Dammit. It was just getting good.
“I brought dessert,” Jules said from outside the door. “The pastry chef made a fantastic berry cake tonight and there were leftovers.”
At least there was cake.