“I can make this situation better. For you. Help you get what you want.”
Only a few feet of space separated them. He was propped against a corner of the long conference table, one hip on the edge, arms crossed against his chest, magnifying the appearance of his biceps. His lips were wrought in a hard line. Serious and concerned.
He’d been salivatingly hot in a T-shirt and jeans. But in front of her in a soft sweater and pair of slacks...he made business casual look like one of the Seven Deadlies. This man was so irritatingly handsome. Agh, she could murder him.
“You can’t make this situation better. You’re the one who made it bad in the first place. Why do you even care what I think? You’re my boss now. Everything has changed, for the both of us. Not that there ever was an...an us.”
Carter shook his head. “You’re looking at this all wrong. You’re seeing an obstacle where there’s really an opportunity. I can have your back, Perdie. Give me a chance.”
“You begged for a chance a few days ago as well. Look where that’s gotten me. I think I’m about out of chances for you, Carter. Sorry, Mr. Leplan, my lord, your royal highness, my most esteemed legal partner.”
“Okay, well, now you’re exaggerating. You shouldn’t let the perfect stand in the way of the good. I know you didn’t get what you wanted, but having me on your side is a great step in the right direction. I can be very influential, you know.”
Perdie scrunched her face. “Ugh, stop. Forget it. Forget about being some kind of white knight. Forget it all. Forget about the hooking up. And—and...forget about ever making out with me on my doorstep ever again.”
Carter paused, brow furrowed, but he straightened up to a full standing position. “Okay, I didn’t think that was going to be a—”
“Or seeing my bras...you can’t see them. Anymore.” She smirked.
A questioning look crossed his face, his head tilting. She wanted to stop but her words kept tumbling out like ice cubes from a freezer.
“Or using my vibrator like a weapon against me. Like some kind of vibrator magician, like...like a vibrician. You’ll definitely never, ever, ever get to do that again.”
He squinted his eyes like he was trying to make out a complicated math equation. “Perdie, are you—?”
“And no more orgasms with you.” She brought her hands down in a swiping motion. “Absolutely none. Never again. Not even a handful. Not even so much as one little gasp.”
Her breathing was coming fast, her eyes on him.
He didn’t move a muscle.
“That—” She held up a finger to punctuate. “That, my friend, is finished. The final straw. Forever.” She was breathing heavy now, heat flushing her chest.
When he spoke, his voice was soft. “How about going down on you in a conference room?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What?” she hissed.
His gaze pierced her, his voice even softer now. “How about me getting on my knees right here in this conference room and licking your clit all over until you scream my name. How about that? Is that allowed?”
“How dare you. How dare you say something to me like that after what you’ve done.”
“Perdie.” Her name came out of his mouth like a warning.
She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists at her side. “What?”
“Would you like me to do that to you?”
“Fuck. You.” She whirled around and stomped towards the door, aware that his gaze was following. She paused with her hand on the knob, gulping in air. “Fuck you, Carter, and fuck the white fucking horse you fucking rode in on.” She let out a huge breath.
And then, with a slow rotation of her wrist, she flipped the notch on the handle, locking them both inside.
Her heart pounded. This is a huge mistake. But she couldn’t be in the same space as this man without growing hot between the legs. She couldn’t resist him, and his BVLGARI ad face. Pathetic.
She turned on her heel, her eyes down. When she lifted her gaze to him, the darkness in his eyes sent a familiar shiver down her spine.
This was a bad idea. A bad, bad idea.
But...on the other hand...
Hadn’t she worked so very hard? Hadn’t she busted her ass for Frank and all the other top dogs at this firm? Hadn’t she sacrificed every morsel of free time and social life for this place? Late nights and early mornings and salads eaten on messy desktops? For a job that didn’t even really want her?
“Is that a yes?” Carter asked her under an unwavering gaze. “Yes or no. Tell me now.”
“Goddammit, you know it’s a yes.” She strode towards him. “But let’s get one thing straight: after this we’re not friends. We’re not even acquaintances. We’re nothing. Colleagues and distant ones at that.”
He grabbed her hips, blunt fingertips digging in soft flesh, and turned her around and pushed her up onto the surface of the conference table. Then he dropped to his knees in front of her. There were no internal windows for stragglers to peek in; they were tucked away in a locked, soundproofed, hidden corner. “I’ll be anything you want if you pull your skirt up.”
With frantic hands Perdie fisted the material and shimmied it up to the tops of her thighs, revealing her red silk panties.
“First things first.” Carter hooked his fingers underneath the thin bands at either side of her hips and then yanked the underwear off, garnering a small yelp from her, the scrap of fabric tangled around his wrist. “Let me get a look at this pretty pussy. Here, lift your leg up over my shoulder, just like that...mmm, that’s right.” He pressed his hand to the outside of Perdie’s thigh, the one now wrapped around his neck. Her other leg hung off the table, her knee fallen open, her heel dangling from the ground. She lay back, propped up on her elbows, a front row seat to Carter’s performance.
He groaned, sliding his thumb up her exposed slit, as he brought the thumb to his mouth and licked the side of it from the base to the tip. “Jesus Christ, you’re wet. I should’ve known. Bad Girl gets wet when she’s angry, doesn’t she? She needs me to lick it and make it all better. Isn’t that right?”
She fisted his hair hard procuring another groan from him and pulled his mouth to her. “Why are you such a tease?” The words came out strained, she was already undulating her hips, letting her movements intermittently slide against his tongue. “Oh god...” The words came out of her like a whisper.
Then he nipped at the vulnerable, soft flesh at the inside of her thighs. “I’m a tease because it makes you so angry.”
He leaned in closer and pressed an openmouthed kiss to the center of her, letting his tongue lightly flick over her clit.
