Page 32

He stood in the archway, the top three buttons of his white dress shirt undone, while the charcoal-colored tie hung loosely around his neck.

“You’re home early.”

He didn’t answer me. When I looked over at him, I noticed his gaze was traveling the length of me.

“I left the meeting.”

“Oh Ethan! Not the Allensworth meeting? You’ve spent weeks preparing for that.”

“Rosie, you don’t need to remind me. I know exactly how much work I’ve put into that meeting,” he said, pushing himself off the doorframe. He stopped close enough to me I could smell his cologne.

“What happened? Why did you leave?”

“Couldn’t focus. I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he said, taking another step closer. “We were going through the quarterly projection reports, and all I could think about was the way you smelled this morning when you leaned across the table to set my coffee down.”

His hand came up and his thumb traced the line of my jaw as he stared into my eyes.

“During my lunch break, all I could think about was last Tuesday evening.” He cleared his throat while his thumb moved from my jaw to the corner of my mouth. “You remember, on the couch.”

“I thought we both agreed we wouldn’t talk about that.”

“I’m not. I’m talking about what happened on the couch,” he said, his hand traveling to my hip.

His head dipped and his lips brushed against the side of my neck.

“We both agreed that night was a mistake.” I whispered, my hand coming up to grip the front of his shirt.

“Rosie, I walked out of a seven-figure deal. I drove home twenty miles over the speed limit to get here to you,” he murmured, pressing his lips against the side of my neck.

His hand cupped the back of my neck, and his tongue slid against mine. My hands tangled in his hair, and I kissed him with everything I had. When I sucked his lower lip, he let out a groan that vibrated through my body.

He pulled my shirt up and over my head in one quick motion, unhooking my bra with the other, without breaking our kiss.

“Jesus Rosie, you make me stupid, you know that?”

I reached for his shirt with shaking hands. He grabbed the back of his collar and pulled it over his head. I placed my palms flat against his chest and dragged my nails down his ribs slowly.

He hissed through his teeth as his eyes met mine. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

“I’m not playing.”

He lifted me onto the counter and his mouth traced a path down my jaw, my neck and the line of my throat. His mouth closed over my nipple, I let out a moan and my hand flew to the back of his head, holding him there.

“Fuck, the sounds you make. Do you have any idea what those sounds do to me? I hear them in my sleep. You consume my every waking hour.”

His hands went to the button on my shorts and he peeled them down my legs, his knuckles dragging along my outer thighs.

“I don’t even have words for what I want to do to you right now.”

He moved back between my legs and slid his hands between my thighs. He slid two fingers inside of me and curled his fingers upward, finding that spot like he had a map. The pressure made my hips lift off the counter.

“That’s it.” He watched me with intensity. It was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced, being watched by him while he took me apart piece by piece.

I reached for his belt, undoing the buckle. I slid my hands into his pants and wrapped my hand around him, stroking him. His head dropped forward and rested on my shoulder.

“Fuuuuuuck.” The word came out in pieces. “I don’t want to do it like this. I want to be inside you.”

He positioned himself against me and pressed his forehead against mine.