She clutched the vibrator to her chest, steadied her uneven breath, and teetered to the extremely hot, extremely forbidden man in the bed. “This is a terrible idea...”
With a click, the lamp on the nightstand flipped on. “Stop.”
Perdie froze.
Carter was poised upright at the end of the bed, the light from above illuminating him like a sexy vampire. “What’d you just say?”
“I said this is a terrible idea,” she stuttered. “But...but I was joking.”
Carter regarded her skeptically. “We don’t have to do anything. I thought I was picking up on a vibe.”
“You were. It’s just...well, I’m a little nervous given our professional situation.”
“We could talk instead.”
“No!” she exclaimed a touch too fast. “I mean... I’m not opposed to...your original suggestion.”
He tilted his head with a shrug. “Or we could sleep. You look a little tired.”
“Carter! Wait, are you teasing me?”
A glint flashed in his eye. “Halfway. I think you really are uncomfortable about something.”
“I would die if anyone at the office found out.”
“Oh, I see. I don’t think either of us would have anything to gain by that happening.”
“It’s nothing, forget it. A reputation thing. But on the other hand...” Perdie gazed wistfully at the vibrator at her chest. “Carter, you were right. It wasn’t a bad dream...”
Carter muffled a surprised cough in his fist. “Well, then.” He cleared his throat. “We’re two smart people. Maybe we can figure ourselves around any unprofessionalism.”
Game the system. Loopholes. She was intrigued. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Letter of the law, not the spirit.”
“Go on.”
“I won’t lay a finger on you.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“But we can still...” He raised his brows with a suggestive shrug. “I’m a rule follower by nature, but I’ve always been sympathetic to those in need.”
“Hold on, am I the one in need in this scenario?” Perdie tilted her head. He stood abruptly and walked to the little rolling chair by the entrance of the room. “Where’re you going?”
He dragged it back, nudging it behind her knees, prompting her to sit. She hesitated then plopped down. Curious but compliant. Then he settled at the end of the bed across from her and reached for the lip of her seat. Perdie swallowed a yelp when he jerked the chair between his legs so that they were face-to-face, mere inches apart.
“Yes,” he said. “You are.”
Holy shit.
As if in cinematic slo-mo, his hands traveled towards her breast. Her heart rudely pounded in anticipation. Would he grab her? Kiss her? Throw her on the bed? But he said they wouldn’t even touch. Holy shit times two.
Instead, without so much as dusting her skin, he delicately pinched the head of the vibrator peeking from her clenched hands. He gave her an expectant look. “May I?” And she loosened her grip, allowing him to slip the toy from her hold. Her hands fell to either side of the chair.
He held out the vibrator and flicked it on and off as if conducting an experiment. Like a mad scientist who’d walked out of a GQ photo shoot.
“What’s happening?” Perdie whispered, mesmerized.
His focus returned, and he leaned in so close, breath tickled the shell of her ear. Click. Buzzing permeated the room. “Don’t move,” he murmured.
Never in her life had Perdie been so aware of every inch of skin on her own body. Her spine tensed against the back of the chair, eyes squeezed shut, tongue pushed against the roof of her mouth. Like a jolt of electricity, the vibrator made contact with her sternum.
She let out a surprised huff, eyes popping open. But the sensation normalized quickly, as Carter shushed her, smoothing the metal tip gently, almost lazily down the valley of her cleavage and along the bottom, half-moon swell of her breasts. Her nipples pebbled through her threadbare camisole.
“Ah-ha. Suspicions confirmed,” he said, the vibration now trailing upwards over the round slope, closer...closer to her aching nipple.
“What suspicions?” Her words were breathless.
“That you’re a very bad girl.” Carter’s voice was soft and teasing but belied the hint of threat. He let the vibrator slide to just outside her areolas, then circled them slowly. “And I like that. Lift up your shirt. Bra off.”
“Bossy,” she muttered. She awkwardly leaned forward to unsnap her bra, pulled the straps through her shirt, and then hastily tossed the garment to the ground. Ahhh. Removing her bra made her already sensitized skin feel like it was ready to burst into flames.
“Shirt. Now.”
She pulled the hem of her camisole from her belly all the way to her chest, letting the material fold over, cutting off the top half of her boobs.
He groaned at the sight of her, but even as her back arched he mercilessly avoided her naked nipple, instead repeating his actions with the vibrator on the other breast. Already, she was desperate. If only he’d move to where she really wanted him, or better yet...
