Any argument she might’ve made then, fled her mind. Only one thing remained. “I’m in love with you too,” she said, chest heaving in response to the slow grin he graced her with.
“You don’t have to say that to get me in bed, either. I’m all yours.”
She refused to let him make her laugh. “So kiss me then,” she said instead.
“You say the nicest things, Miss Strong.”
She tugged her wrists inside his hold. “Well?”
His mouth was on hers again, his tongue scraping the roof of her mouth, the ridges of her teeth. He released her wrists, but Candace didn’t seem to notice as engaged as she was in their kiss. In a single move, Pitch freed her bra clasps and smiled rakishly when she gasped. Desperately, she leaned into his touch, yearning for more when her bare nipple skimmed his palm each time she inhaled. She was weak, losing the strength to even participate in their kiss. She squirmed on his lap, cherishing the feel of the sensitive tip of her breast grazing his skin.
“Fuck...” he murmured, trading his palm for his mouth.
Candace gave her tortured cry to the room when her head fell back. Weaker still, she gripped the chair arms, using them for leverage as she filled his mouth with more of her body. Faint, triumphant laughter tickled her throat when she heard the helpless, needy moans he gave as he sucked and nibbled the tips of her breasts, exchanging one for the other.
Candace shivered, sheer joy coursing through her when she massaged his dense hair. She was grateful for the roaring blaze. When he stopped and pushed her away again, she slapped a fist into his shoulder. Instantly, her wrists were secure in his hold again. That time, he kept them in front of her waist.
Before she could lash out with her words, she watched him hook a thumb around the side stitching of her panties. They slid down until they were tangled at her feet. Instead of standing to lift her free of the silky mass, Pitch kissed his way up her thigh.
She shuddered when his nose cruised her mound. His onyx eyes locked on her vibrant hazels as if to survey her reaction when his middle finger stroked the seam of her sex. Lashes moving like hummingbird wings, she let her head fall back once more. She gasped at the light touch and then sobbed when his finger explored the tight, dampness of her core.
Candace bit her lip, sensation turning her inside out as her inner walls gripped and released his finger. Her sobs heightened when he gave her another to squeeze. She was on the brink of climax when he stopped. Her expression remained blissful despite her disappointment.
Pitch looked far from blissful. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Candace understood. “You won’t.”
He didn’t seem convinced. “You’re um...you’re small and I-hell...” the observation about her stirred great discomfort below his waist.
“I’m not a virgin, Vic.”
“This might still be uncomfortable for you.”
Her dimpled smile appeared. “Only one way to find out,” she leaned down to kiss him again before he could argue and she didn’t stop with kissing, but pushed away the suit coat he wore over a shirt unbuttoned at the collar. She finished the unbuttoning as the kiss heated.
Meeting flesh to flesh, they moaned. Her caramel tone perfectly accented his rich bronze. Pitch groaned another vicious curse, mindless to have her. He freed himself of his belt, trouser fastenings and boxers. Easily, he settled Candace beautifully over his long wide erection.
Pleasure and pain were wondrously entwined. Candace didn’t know whether to sob, scream or beg Pitch for more. In the end, she did all three. He crushed her to him, taking her with a single minded focus that would have frightened her if she didn’t crave him so much.
~~~
Later, they were still on the chair, fully naked, exhausted and sated. The fire had almost burned down to the embers. Candace smiled contentedly, her head resting on Pitch’s shoulder while she gazed sleepily at the dying fire. The back of his hand roamed her back and side. He squeezed her elbow and then kissed her shoulder.
She lifted her head and met his troubled eyes. “What?”
He winced. “I planned for us to do this in the bedroom. I wanted it to mean something.”
“It does.” She took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. “It meant everything.”
When he still appeared uneasy, she leaned close to whisper against his ear. “There’s a way you could make it up to me, you know?”
His gaze narrowed again, with blatant wickedness. “Oh yeah?”
Candace bit her lip and nodded, causing a few of her wavy locks to bump her cheek. “The bedroom’s still back there. You’ll have to carry me, though. I don’t think I can walk.”
His rakish grin reignited, Pitch stood with Candace secure in his arms. “I can handle that,” he said.
She smiled and then laughed. “See that you do.”
~40~
“I know I’m so insanely gorgeous that you’re finding it hard to concentrate, Aaron Tesano, but this proposal revision isn’t going to write itself.” Rena looked up to see if her words had any effect on the man at the other end of the cluttered long table they worked around.
She sighed, finding his milk chocolate stare fixed her way. “Oh, Aaron, come on, your father already warned you his executive staff wouldn’t be half as easy to convince as he was.”
“Why won’t you talk about her?”
Rena needed no clarification. “Why don’t you ask her whatever it is you want to know?”
Aaron grimaced. “She might not appreciate me prying.”
“Mmm...I doubt your brother would either. Her boyfriend, correct?”
Aaron remained mute and the silence between the two carried, until Rena slammed her palm to the table a few moments later. Aaron barely glanced her way.
“If you’re so in love with her, throw your hat in the ring. You’re damn well cute and sweet enough to give your brother a run for his money.”
Aaron studied the work before him without really seeing any of it. They were in the process of drafting an addition to the original proposal. This one, would establish an emergency fund open to any employee once every three months to assist with household expenses for food, utilities, even rent.
