Mr One-Night Stand Page 11

  ‘You enjoy torturing me.’

  She bit into her lip, the desire raging through her system making it impossible for her to respond.

  He imprisoned her wrists in one hand, his other coming down to take hold of his cock, lowering it down her belly. Instinctively she raised herself on tiptoes, desperate to get him where she wanted him.

  ‘My turn,’ he said, bending his knees, sliding his hardness between her legs, rocking teasingly against her clit, across her opening but not inside.

  His gaze burned down to where their bodies met, and hers did the same, watching as he moved back and forth, back and forth, the condom slickening with her need.

  ‘Please...’ She sounded pained, the desperation too much to bear, and she writhed over him. ‘Fuck me.’

  He cursed, the noise primal as he released her wrists, shifting both hands to grab her thighs up and around him, getting her steady before freeing one hand to position himself at her entrance. And then he thrust, so hard, so deep, he filled her instantly.

  ‘You feel so damn good,’ he said, withdrawing before plunging once more, the move slow and sure.

  Her blouse was tangled up in his fist, pulling tight over her arms, restricting her, pushing her onwards and upwards. She worked with his thrusts, sparking off a frenzied rocking fuck that had her tension spiralling out of control, the position offering up the perfect friction, the perfect everything.

  It was so good.

  So right.

  She was flying, her entire being swamped by pleasurable heat, and then she shattered over him, head thrown back, lids clamped shut. She wanted to ride the wave for ever, to draw it out...

  And then her ears were filled with his guttural groan, and the buck of his lower body was telling her that he was gone, his head falling forward to press into her shoulder, his arms around her bulging taut. She clenched him inside her, wanting to hold him, keep him there, loving how he pulsed inside her, how his entire body trembled its release. It was so sexy, so beautiful, and pain ripped her apart.

  She didn’t want to give this up. She didn’t want to give him up.

  She shut her eyes and pressed a kiss into his shoulder, pushing it all out. It didn’t matter what she wanted. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t sensible. It wasn’t right.

  And yet as she listened to their elevated breaths, felt their bodies relax with sated need, something shifted deep inside her.

  The tight hold she’d always had over her life, that kept everything heading in the right direction, no longer felt so tight.

  CHAPTER TEN

  MARCUS HIT THE SHOWER, its spray veering on cold.

  She’d gone again. Left before morning. But no note—no handwritten thank-you. This time he’d got an email, asking that he review the attachments enclosed before they got together later that day.

  Her message was clear: all work from here on in.

  Hell, it was your message too, remember.

  So where was the sense of relief? The clear head that was supposed to accompany the morning after?

  The moment he’d realised she was gone a punching great weight had settled in his stomach. It had to be disappointment. The realisation that he’d had his last of her, that there would be no morning goodbye. If he’d known he would have kept her awake for longer, savoured that last session all the more—the way her face had flushed, her body had glistened, her breasts had bobbed as she rode above him...

  Heat seared him through, his cock stiffening with maddening intent.

  He raised his head to the cold jets, fingers thrusting through his hair. He did not—he would not—get himself off. He hadn’t needed to in years, and he wasn’t about to start now. Christ, he’d come enough times already, so what was his fucking problem?

  Looking for distraction, he forced his mind to the email she’d left him with and the attachments that detailed her vision for the company’s future, as it had been before he’d come along.

  It included a presentation she’d delivered to the workforce the previous day. Notably, Tony Andrews had appeared alongside her own name in the slides, suggesting it was supposed to have been a joint delivery. He’d obviously left her in the lurch with that too.

  His fingers ground into his scalp. Why did he care so much? And what did it matter now? Andrews had gone, and things would be very different from here on in.

  She had him.

  Snatching the soap, he lathered himself up and ignored the peculiar way those words played with his mind. He had far more important things to think on—like the morning ahead.

  He’d called a meeting for ten-thirty, bringing together the UK-based heads of product development from both companies. He hoped Jennifer would join them, but either way it was going ahead. They had no time to waste.

  His Stateside head of marketing had emailed the previous evening, calling multiple times thereafter because he wanted to deliver some critical news.

  Had he noticed? Had he fuck!

  He’d been far too busy wrapped up in what he’d felt to be far more pressing at the time—her.

  This never happened. He answered his phone, checked his email, did whatever work demanded. He was on call twenty-four-seven, as befitted his multi-national corporation and its time zone stretch.

  Always available. Always at hand.

  Until now.

  Until... Jennifer.

  He slammed the shower off and stepped out, grabbing his towel and drying himself off. It was time to move on.

  Now they had a potential product launch in jeopardy because a competitor was about to pip them to the post. And, yes, he might be confident that their product would be better, but being the market leader didn’t ring true when you were second out of the sodding gate.

  He should have been holding a conference call while he and Jennifer had been getting-to-know-one-other. His lapse in focus meant he now had to wait for sun-up in the US to discuss the issue with his marketing expert.

  Needless to say, he wasn’t going to hang around.

  He had a plan brewing.

  He’d picked through Jennifer’s business strategy, studied the organisational structure, current projects and existing priorities. There was an opportunity to save the situation if they moved quickly enough.

  But still the feeling of chasing his tail persisted, and it bugged the hell out of him.

  He tossed the towel aside and strode into his bedroom, dressing in a dark suit, a white shirt but no tie. His throat was already constricted enough.

  He raked his hand through his hair, absentmindedly scanned his reflection and headed for the door.

  It was time to get down to business.

  Pure. Business.

  * * *

  Jennifer checked her mobile for the umpteenth time, one foot tapping impatiently as she waited for the lift to reach her office floor.

  He had to be shitting her.

  It was unsettling enough having him join the company unannounced, but to call a meeting like this without waiting for her, to take such an impudent step on his first real day, was taking the piss.

  And she was later returning than she had intended.

  Lucy’s need to talk had been evident in her honesty that morning. Jennifer had managed to give her some reassurance, promising to get her husband the help he needed, and seeing the strain in the woman’s face ease, even just a little, had been worth every delayed second.

  Or so she’d thought.

  It was pushing lunchtime now, which meant the meeting was in full swing.

  And without her...

  Frustration bubbled up her throat and she forced it down. She needed a level head to deal with the situation appropriately—professionally.

  Finally the lift doors opened and she stepped out, faltering mid-stride as she spied Tony’s office—in use. Its new owner leaned back against the glass wal
l, his arms folded, one leg crossed over the other, totally relaxed as he gave Maxine—her head of product development—his full attention.

  Her petite, feminine charm shone across the distance as she stood at a flip chart and spoke to the room. There were two other attendees, both men she didn’t recognise—likely part of his product development team judging by the invitation he’d sent her.

  Jennifer was starting to draw looks from the staff and, forcing a smile, she put her legs in motion and headed over to Anna. ‘How long have they been in there?’

  ‘A couple of hours,’ she admitted. ‘Can I get you a coffee?’

  ‘Please.’

  She speared Marcus through the glass. Seeing him so at home, straight off the back of her morning’s dealings with Tony’s wife, only compounded her anger. Yes, he’d cleared himself of any wrong-doing in the business deal, but it didn’t make seeing him in his predecessor’s shoes any easier.

  And then he turned his head, his eyes meeting hers, and defiant sparks of delight shot through her.

  She looked away and strode straight into her own office, closing the blinds to shut him out as her anger swelled.

  You’re not angry at him for Tony’s sake. You’re angry because you can’t control how you feel about him and you’re angry because he’s called a meeting that’s pissed you off and still you want him.

  She threw her coat over the stand and headed to her desk, extracting her mobile from her bag to check the meeting invitation. Double-checking, triple-checking that she’d declined it.

  Sure enough, she had, and her response had made clear that it should be rearranged. A meeting entitled Product Prioritisation made her presence mandatory.

  He should have re-bloody-scheduled.

  Behind her, Anna walked in, mug in hand. ‘Here you go.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She took it and breathed it in, waiting for the usual comforting magic to hit.

  Yeah, right, like coffee’s going to do it.

  Only one thing was going to make her feel better...

  ‘Can I get you anything else?’

  The man’s head on a plate?

  ‘Could you ask Mr Wright to join me?’

  ‘Sure.’ Anna turned to leave and paused to look back over her shoulder. ‘Would you like me to do it right now?’

  She set her coffee down and nodded with a smile.

  Her PA returned it, a mirroring spark in her eye. ‘No problem.’

  She waited for Anna to close the door and then lowered herself into her chair, smoothing her hands over her black pencil skirt. She took out her laptop and placed it on the desk, interlacing her fingers and resting them on top as she waited.

  It didn’t take long. There was a short rap on the door and she forced her shoulders to relax. ‘Come in.’

  ‘Jennifer,’ he greeted, entering the room and closing the door behind him.

  The thrill of his proximity mixed with her wrath and it was a wonder she could raise her eyes to his, avoiding the open collar of his shirt, the appealing frame within the designer suit, the hint of his cologne crossing the distance between them.

  She swallowed subtly, praying he wouldn’t spy it, and forced words out in a level voice. ‘Marcus, please take a seat.’

  His eyes flickered. ‘You know I’m in the middle of a meeting, right?’

  ‘One that I was supposed to attend—yes.’

  He wavered. ‘We’re just about to wrap it up with a vote—why don’t you come and join us?’

  ‘A vote?’ She raised her brows with a wry smile. ‘On something I have yet to be brought up to speed with?’

  He tucked his jacket behind his arms and slipped his hands into his pockets. She didn’t want to think about how the move pulled his shirt taut against his firm expanse of chest.

  ‘Well, I would hope that you’d have enough faith in Maxine to trust her opinion—she’s quite impressive.’

  Something smarted but she ignored it. ‘Please take a seat, Marcus.’

  She needed him sitting, with at least some of him concealed by furnishings.

  He cleared his throat and walked towards the chair across from her, his eyes flicking over her, their chocolate depths assessing.

  ‘I don’t have long,’ he said, placing his hands on the arms of the chair and resting back into it.

  He gave the impression of being relaxed but his eyes were sharp, doing their damnedest to read her.

  She’d save him the trouble.

  Turning in her seat, she got to her feet and stepped around her desk, feeling his eyes follow her. She didn’t stop until she came alongside him, resting back against the desk-edge so that she towered over him.

  Much better.

  He looked up, his gaze sweeping her front, and for a split second she saw it, the unguarded fierce hunger, and it almost broke through her anger. Almost.

  ‘I trust Maxine implicitly,’ she began, ‘but that’s not the issue here.’

  ‘Mind telling me what is?’

  His deep husky voice reverberated through her belly. His nearness was taking over that part of her she wanted to ignore.

  ‘The fact you need me to explain worries me.’

  ‘If this is about me holding a meeting without you, then I’m afraid there was no choice in that.’

  ‘There’s always a choice.’

  She crossed her arms over her middle and saw his eyes fall briefly as the air-conditioned draught swept through the expanding V of her blue silk blouse. He might not believe in mixing business and pleasure, but his body certainly did.

  Power rushed through her, upping her resolve as she asked, ‘How can you hold a meeting to discuss the future of our product development without me?’

  He shifted in his seat, his hands coming up to clasp one another upon his lap, over his... She smiled inwardly.

  ‘It’s complicated, and I need to get back in there to get this wrapped up,’ he said. ‘I have a conference call shortly with the States.’

  ‘Okay, then, give me a high-level summary.’

  He rolled his head on his shoulders, his tension evident. ‘It’s been brought to my attention that one of our competitors is about to go live with a product Tech-Incorp should have delivered first. We need to throw everything at it so we beat them to it.’

  ‘And you couldn’t wait until this afternoon to have your meeting?’

  ‘No. I want this dealt with before my call with the States and I want a press release drafted ASAP.’

  ‘My question remains—could it not have waited?’

  ‘Look, my head of marketing over there has been trying to reach me since seven last night—that’s how urgent this is. And had we not been—’

  He broke off and a rising tide of anger within her had the word ‘fucking’ bursting from her lips.

  His eyes flashed, a muscle moving in his jaw. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then you wouldn’t have missed it?’

  ‘No.’

  The atmosphere shifted. Memories of them entwined, of the passion that had seemed impossible to sate, were making the air practically crackle between them.

  ‘I need to get back in there.’

  The raw edge to his voice, his obvious discomfort, made her want to push him that little bit more, and so, outwardly casual, she crossed one stocking-clad thigh over the other. His eyes traced the movement, just as she’d known they would.

  ‘Fair enough,’ she said, ‘but let this be a warning. If you treat me like a subordinate again, then this “relationship”...’ she gestured between them, the nail of one finger trailing down his front before returning to her own ‘...you and me, will get a whole lot more inconvenient than you first pitched it to be.’

  His eyes blazed, his tongue brushing across his lower lip, and suddenly her own tongue felt too thick for her throat.

  ‘I k
now what I said, Jennifer.’

  He shifted, one hand curving around her hip, and her skin buzzed uncontrollably beneath his touch. Don’t react, don’t react...

  ‘And I stand by it. It wasn’t the best start to our working relationship.’

  She raised her chin and looked down at him, doing her damnedest to maintain her composure. But words weren’t forthcoming—not through the drunken haze of his touch.

  ‘What I should have added is that I don’t regret it one bit.’

  Her breath caught at his honesty.

  Did she regret it? If she was honest, did she wish they’d never gone there?

  His thumb started to circle over her, the skin beneath treated to a whirlpool of sensation, and her body answered with a resounding no.

  ‘And what I should also like to make very clear to you,’ he said darkly, rising to his feet and sidestepping to stand before her, his proximity keeping her pressed into the desk, ‘is that you should never tease me—not unless you’re willing to deal with the consequences.’

  She sensed his other hand come up, felt his fingers brushing against her jaw, sending a traitorous shiver down her spine.

  ‘You assured me you would behave,’ she blurted suddenly.

  Christ, did she have to sound so breathless? So desperate?

  He didn’t budge, didn’t even blink, and she tried again. ‘You have your rules too.’

  ‘That’s the funny thing about rules.’ He smiled mercilessly, his eyes fixed on her parted lips. ‘They’re all the more fun when they get broken.’

  He dipped his head slowly. Alarm bells rang through her head. Knee him in the balls, push him away—anything!

  Instead she whimpered, the sound erupting from nowhere. And watched with self-loathing as his smile became one of victory and he stepped back. An immediate chill swept down her front.

  ‘Like I said, you’re welcome to join us,’ he said, his palms turned outwards in an overly innocent gesture, ‘but it’s time I got back in there.’

  And then he turned and went, opening and closing the door behind him, his message clear. He didn’t expect her to follow.