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Brendan looked up from the screen he’d been lost in and frowned. “Excuse me?” The quizzical expression on his face melted into a wicked, salacious grin. “If you mean me, then yes, sweetheart, I am very easy when it comes to you, and I’m more than happy to prove that.”
I closed my eyes and huffed out a breath. “You’re impossible. I mean…yes, you’re part of that”—I gestured wildly—“but I mean everything. The 2.0 version of the New Year’s Eve special—”
“Which has been met with more excitement than we anticipated. Even our competitors are talking about us in the best possible way.” He lifted his brows and obvious pride radiated from his countenance. “And that is all because of you and your brilliant mind.”
I stood and paced, nervous energy racing through me. “It was definitely one of my better ideas, but it has just gone too well. It’s December twenty-third. I had every expectation of needing to be here Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to get all my ducks in a row.” I shook my head. “But everything is perfect. All the segments are recorded, the promos are cut, the print advertisements are flawless…” I looked over at Brendan. “There hasn’t been a single hiccup bad enough to put us behind in any meaningful way. Despite the massive overhaul, we are right on schedule. It’s as if Bryce Ramone and his steaming pile of bullshit never happened.”
Brendan stared at me in complete silence for several beats of my thumping heart before he erupted in laughter. “You almost sound disappointed.” He stood and cradled my face in his hands, something I would have argued over earlier, but since he took such good care of me while whatever bug I had ran its course the day prior, I didn’t much care if we were the center of office gossip or not. “It’s a good thing there are no more destructive fires that require your immediate attention.”
He brushed his lips across mine in the gentlest of kisses that ever existed. “Enjoy it, sweetheart. You’ve earned time to be stress-free and to relax.” His eyes were more hazel today, and they flashed with lust and desire. “And I have many, many ways to keep you busy over the holidays.”
As only it did with him, my body shot to life. Wanton need coursed through me, igniting every atom of my being. I gripped his forearm, both for support and because I simply required the physical connection. “I think you better stop there before this goes too far in the middle of a workday with a floor full of staff.”
He offered a low, groaning response. “So if it was an off day and no one was here, you wouldn’t mind? Good to know, since I have a very specific fantasy that involves you and that massive boardroom table—and possibly the floor-to-ceiling windows.”
I trembled in his arms and that only managed to widen his cocky grin. I sniffed a little, the congestion from the day prior not fully cleared and still a bit of an annoyance. “You are enjoying the fact that I’m not wanting to keep us a secret just a little too much.”
Brendan reached down and cupped my ass, giving it a brief squeeze. “Damn right I am. Don’t think I’ve ever liked the phrase ‘my girlfriend’ quite as much.”
“Is it too much? Too fast?” The questions popped out of my mouth because my logic and sense had a chance to take over and barricade them into the corners of my mind where they belonged.
“Too fast?” He repeated me in a thoughtful tone. “Is this fast? Yes. Too fast? Hell no. I’ve sat across from you for three months with daily thoughts of how I could get you into my bed.” He pressed one palm to my jaw, the other resting on my hip. “And all those dirty little ideas multiplied when I realized that you were funny, intelligent and so damn smart. It isn’t just your body that is seductive as hell. It’s that brilliant brain that I can’t manage to keep up with, but I am in total awe of.”
Inhale, exhale. I had to coach myself through breathing, because his words took away any ability to do so without the instructive commands. “I swear if you make me cry at work, I am going to knee you in the crotch.”
Brendan chuckled and leaned his forehead to mine. “And did I mention sassy in an incredibly charming way?”
I shook my head, sniffling again from the combination of the lingering sinus drainage and the strong emotions he managed to evoke. “You didn’t, but I’ll choose to ignore the oversight…this time.”
* * * *
This is too easy.
The same thought I’d had earlier repeated in my mind, but this time it had absolutely nothing to do with work and everything to do with the man sitting on the couch beside me watching the DIY home improvement show I’d picked. I may have decked out my house in about half of the decorations I used to put up, but I still wasn’t ready for any of the feel-good holiday shows that plagued the airwaves at this time of year.
He pulled back the arm that had been draped over my shoulders and moved to let his hand rest on my leg. After a few moments, he began to stroke his palm up and down before sliding to grip my inner thigh.
“What are you doing?” My breathing was already stuttered and nearly stopped when he traveled north and reached beneath the waistband of my pajama pants, apparently not content with tormenting me on top of my clothes.
He peppered kisses along my collarbone. “If you have to ask, then I am clearly not doing it right.”
I scooted lower on the cushion, splaying my legs and wondering how in the hell I never managed to get enough of him and how he seemed to never get enough of me. “You know damn well you excel greatly at just this.”
Brendan sucked on the sensitive flesh at the junction of my neck and shoulder. I was too old to get a hickey, but considering the fact the next day was Christmas Eve and a large portion of my staff had taken it as a vacation day, I didn’t even bother to attempt to protest.
He explored the heated territory with his fingers that he already knew so well. He nipped my earlobe. “Do you have any idea how big of a turn-on it is that I barely touch you and your body is immediately ready for me?” He slid two digits inside me and circled my aching nub with his thumb. “Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any sexier.” He added a third to the wet, desperate channel that was demanding more.
As he pumped into me, I twisted and straddled his lap. I moved with him until I was basically riding his hand, an outward display of all the wanton lust coursing through my veins. The coil of promised release was twisting tighter within me, threatening to snap at any moment. I gripped his shoulders tightly, anchoring myself mentally and emotionally just as much as I was physically.
I dangled on the precipice of release, the churning sea of euphoria beckoning me to let go to welcome me into its depths…and the doorbell chose that moment to ring out.
Brendan pressed his palm to my spine, increasing the blissfully rough motion inside me with the other. “Don’t you dare even think of answering that,” he growled close to my ear, “not when I have you so close to where I want you.”
My voice broke on a scream I couldn’t temper, even with the knowledge there was someone so close that they’d almost certainly heard me. His words wove with the magic of his fingers to make me fall apart in his arms. He held me close to his chest as the aftershocks of pleasure quaked through me. Kissing my temple and stroking my back, he pulled his hand free from my pants.
After several long moments, but still not really enough, he gently removed me from his lap and nudged me until I was lying on the sofa. “As much as I hate to do this, I am going to wash my hands and check the door. Okay, sweetheart?”
It might have been a common pet name, but every time he spoke it, my heart seemed to grow and the feelings he created amplified. “If you must.” I tugged the blanket over me and snuggled deeper into the cushions.
