"Not yet." I kiss her once more—deep and possessive and full of promises. "One more."
She melts into me, and I take my time, memorizing the taste of her, the feel of her, the sound she makes when I bite her bottom lip gently.
When I finally let her go, she looks dazed.
"You're incorrigible, Kade,” she whispers.
"You have no idea."
The partition lowers, and James's voice comes through the speaker, carefully neutral. "We've arrived, sir."
"Thank you, James."
Harper tries to fix her hair, smooth her dress, make herself presentable. She fails, looking thoroughly kissed.
Good.
"Are you coming inside?" she asks, her voice still breathless.
Every fiber of my being screams yes. I want to take her upstairs, finish what we started, make her come apart in my hands.
But I don't.
“Can’t,” I force myself to say. "I have a conference call in an hour. The life of a CEO.”
Her face falls slightly. "Right. Of course. Work."
I catch her chin, making her look at me. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't think this is me choosing work over you. This is me choosing not to rush this." I lean closer, my voice dropping. "So yes, I'm going back to the office. And yes, I'm going to suffer through this call thinking about you. And yes, we're both going to hate it." I kiss her once more, softer this time. "But when we do this, we're going to do it right."
James opens the door, and cold November air rushes in.
I step out first, then offer Harper my hand.
She takes it, and I pull her close as we walk toward the entrance.
Donovan, my doorman, tries very hard not to look surprised at seeing me with a woman. Probably because for the last three years, since Isabelle, at least, he hasn’t seen me smile.
"Evening, Mr. Kade. Mrs. Kade."
"Evening, Donovan.”
At the entrance, I turn Harper to face me. The rain is falling harder now, but we're protected by the overhang.
"Text me when you're inside," I command. “I want to know you made it safely."
"From the lobby to the penthouse?"
"Humor me."
She reaches up, straightening my collar that she absolutely destroyed. "Fine."
"Good." I lean down, kissing her once more—deep enough to leave her breathless, controlled enough to prove I still have some restraint. "And Harper?"
"Yes?"
