“I don’t have a condom.”
“Seriously?” She scoffed. “You have a drawer full of them in your penthouse.”
I’d suspected she’d seen them, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to explain. Not while Kai was there. “They were a promotional thing. A new brand we were trying out for the intimacy kits.”
“‘Trying out’?” She gave me a meaningful look.
I shook my head. “I wasn’t testing them personally. The only reason I have so many is because the company sent all the executives a thank-you box, and I didn’t know what else to do with them since they already had our logo on them. It’s not like I was going to use them, but I also didn’t want them just floating around.”
“Mm-hmm.” Her tone conveyed skepticism, but her mouth twitched with a smile.
I took a breath, wanting her to know how important this conversation—and she—was to me. “As I said before, I haven’t been with anyone but you since last summer.”And you’re it for me.
“Same.” She placed her hands on my chest, and something in me settled at her confession. How could one simple word convey so much? “I have an IUD, and the test results at my annual physical this January came back negative.”
“As did mine.” I took her hand and brought her palm to my lips, pressing a kiss there. “But I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything you’re not ready for.”
We’d always used a condom in the past, and this wasn’t a decision I took lightly.
“Jasper.” Halle pressed her lips to my jawline, wrapping her legs around my waist. She pulled me down to her. “I meant what I said. I’m all in. I trust you, and I don’t want to use condoms. Unless you do.”
Something eased in my chest at her words, at the look in her eyes. She trusted me. I leaned forward, brushing mymouth against hers, wanting to commit this moment to memory. To remember exactly how she looked—so full of love and trust.
She opened herself to me, and I slid into her, slid home, feeling whole in a way I hadn’t for the past eight months. And the fact that Halle trusted me with her body made me believe that maybe—with time—she’d trust me with her heart as well.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Jasper,” Halle chided. “Focus.” But she was smiling as she said it.
I met her gaze from across my desk, knowing mine was full of hunger. “I am focused.”On you.
She rolled her eyes. “Focus on the report.” She jabbed the paper with her pointer finger. “We’re supposed to be reviewing this together.”
How was I supposed to focus on a report when I’d been half hard the entire morning? How was I supposed to focus on anything when I hadn’t been alone with her in days?
After our weekend together celebrating Kai’s birthday, I’d been desperate to see her again. But we’d both been so busy that our stolen moments alone together had been few and far between.
I supposed that was the reason why she’d insisted on sitting on the opposite side of my desk. But every time I looked at her, my focus was shot. Even when I wasn’t looking at her, just having her in my office, alone, was tempting enough. Her scent. Her presence. Everything else faded into the background.
“There are many other things I’d rather be doingtogether,” I muttered, my attention on said report. We were supposed to be reviewing some documents, but all I could think about was her.
Halle sighed and came to stand before me. Her back was bracketed by a wall of windows, the sun making her hair look like a halo of burnished copper. I had a sudden urge to strip her naked and take her against the glass. The windows were covered in tinted film that was reflective, but I knew she’d still enjoy it. So would I.
I was about to stand and suggest doing just that. But then she knelt to the floor, spreading my thighs apart as she did so. That got my attention. If my cock hadn’t been hard before, it definitely was now.
“Maybe we can do both.” She looked so sexy there, on her knees, ready to do my bidding. Eager to please me.
“Mm.” This was more like it. “What did you have in mind?”
“You tell me about the report.” She unbuckled my belt, and my breath quickened. “And I’ll…listen.”
She peered up at me, her brown eyes beguiling as she sought my permission. I couldn’t have looked away if I’d tried. And I didn’t want to.
I groaned, dragging my thumb down her bottom lip.Fuck. How did I get so lucky?
Were we really doing this?
Technically, I had blocked off some time for lunch. I was supposed to go to Sloan’s to hang out with my sister and my new niece. And while I hated ditching Sloan, I knew she’d understand if I had to cancel last minute. I just wasn’t going to tell her what exactly had come up.
