Damage Control (14 page)

Her breath escaped on a soft sigh as he rubbed his thigh back and forth across the crotch of her panties. He could feel their dampness through his pants and his cock twitched. “You still want me.”

Even though he'd told her this could never happen between them again.

She shook her head and tested the doorknob again. “No. I just don't like confined spaces.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Liar. You're as turned on as I am.”

There was that denial again. “I am not. This is
work,
Brian. We could lose our jobs.”

“Oh, I think you are.” He smiled to himself. When was she going to admit she wanted him as badly as he wanted her? She was right—it was a bad idea to carry on at work, but at least he could admit he was interested.

She looked up at him, her gaze filled with the same raw heat that no doubt clouded in his own. She didn't say anything, but he had a feeling she'd had enough of denying him what he knew was the truth. Slipping a hand between them, he cupped her mound in his palm. “I can feel how wet you are. You can't hide that from me.”

His plans to take things slowly dissolved when he realized she wasn't just damp. She was drenched, hot and ready, and he had to have her right this minute or he'd probably die of a heart attack. Moving his hand slower than he would have thought possible given his current state of near-frenzied arousal, he massaged her through her lace panties. Done fighting him, she moaned and rubbed herself shamelessly against him.

He nipped her earlobe while he slipped his fingers inside her panties. “Tell me you want me.” God, he needed to hear the words more than he needed his next breath. He was desperate.

“I do. You know I do.” Her voice was strangled as he thrust two fingers inside her tight, hot sex. He curled them upward, hitting her g-spot as he stroked inside her.

“I want to hear you say the words.” He thrust his fingers deeper and brushed his thumb over her clitoris. “Tell me you want me.”

“I want you.” She moaned as he gently bit the flesh of her throat. “God, I want you.”

He'd known her answer, but to hear it from her lips drove him to the brink. “I want you, too. More than I can even tell you.” Why had he ever thought he could live without this, without her? He'd been lying to himself for too long. About so many things. He needed Andrea in his life. He shoved her jacket off her shoulders and pulled her shirt up, cupping her breasts through her lacy bra.

All pretenses dropped, Andrea fumbled with the buttons on his shirt until she had it open. Her hands skimmed across his chest, her nails lightly scraping his flat nipples. He needed to get her naked and on the floor now before he embarrassed himself and came in his pants. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

She shook her head, apparently still not ready to admit the power she had over him. Instead she unzipped his pants and pushed them down his hips. “You're still dressed.”

“I can change that.”

He'd wanted to take his time undressing her so he could savor every inch of her soft skin, but that would have to wait until next time. He was barely able to control himself as it was. Seeing her naked and spread out before him after too long an absence would send him over the edge.

He pulled her down to the ground, stripping away her shirt and bra as he went. When they were both on their knees he bent down and feasted on one of her distended nipples. She arched into him, thrusting her breast more fully into his mouth. He could very easily get addicted to her taste.

He turned his attentions to her other nipple while Andrea's fingers danced around the waistband of his boxers. Releasing her, he smiled. “It's okay to touch me. You know that.”

She nodded and wet her lips. “I wasn't sure. I thought you were still mad at me.”

Had she really thought he'd been angry? Disappointed, maybe, but he couldn't be angry with her for what she felt or didn't feel. At least not much.

She slid his boxers down his legs and wrapped her fingers around his dick. The breath he'd been holding rushed out with a whoosh at the feel of her small, warm hand encircling him. He kissed her hard and fast, at the same time trying to get control of his body. “You know what? Maybe touching me right now isn't such a great idea.”

Her head snapped up, her eyes uncertain. “You don't like my touch all of a sudden? When did that change?”

He laughed, wondering where she'd been all his life. Her honesty and innocence mixed with sexy charm was refreshing. “It's
too
good, sweetheart. If you keep stroking me like that, I'm going to come before I even get inside you.”

And he would get inside her. Tonight. Tomorrow. Every damned day for the rest of his life if he had his way. All he had to do was convince her they belonged together.

Yeah, like that might happen in this century. Hadn't he tried to do just that already?

He kissed her again, hoping like hell he had a condom in his wallet. He was about to check when he heard the sound of keys on the other side of the door.

Shit! This could not be happening. He'd been so close, so damned close…“Andrea, we need to get dressed. Now.”

Her eyes widened as she focused on the door. Nodding, she stood up and struggled back into her clothes. They had barely finished dressing when the door swung open and the janitor walked in.

“Oh, it's you, Brian.”

“Hi, Frank.” Brian smiled, hoping the man wouldn't notice anything off. “We, um…got locked in the closet. We thought you'd left for the night.”

“I was just on my way out now. I heard some noises. It must have been the two of you trying to get the door open.” Frank looked them both over slowly. He didn't buy the excuse at all. They were lucky Frank was good about keeping his mouth shut. If it had been someone else, like Jack Hoffman, what they'd been doing would probably be all over the office by the next afternoon.

“Well, thanks for opening that door. I guess we're free to go now.” He gathered up his suit coat and headed out the door into the main office. “I'll see you later.”

“Bye.” Frank's smile was knowing as he looked Andrea over from head to toe. Brian would have to talk to him about that later, but right now the only thing on his mind was getting her back to his apartment and having his wicked way with her.

Too bad she didn't agree.

“Wow, that was close.” She looked down at her shirt, brushing her fingers over the surface and tucking it back into her skirt. “I'm glad he got us out of there before we did something stupid.”

Stupid? He could think of a lot of words to describe what had happened, and stupid didn't even make the list. He pulled her against him and kissed her jaw. She shivered, but stiffened in his arms. Damn it. That was the last thing he wanted. “Why don't we go back to my place? Or yours. It's closer.”

She pulled away, her eyes sad. “We both know that's not a good idea.”

He snorted. He wanted her, she wanted him. Forgive him if he failed to see a problem there. “Why not?”

She patted his shoulder. Here he was, standing in front of her with her lipstick smeared all over his face and a raging hard-on, and she patted his shoulder like he was some distraught third-grader. “Listen, Brian. I really like you, I always have, but I think we should stop this before it goes too far.”

Too late for that. He'd passed the point of no return weeks ago. He shook his head. “I still want you, Andrea.”

“I want you, too.”

He let a glimmer of hope slip in.

“But we both know we can't let it happen any more.”

He sighed, dangerously close to pouting. “You don't want to come home with me.”

“No, I do want to. I just can't.”

He bent and kissed her one last time, his tongue darting into her mouth when she parted her lips in surprise. He broke the kiss and looked down at her.

She wanted more. Her lips remained parted, her face flushed, her breathing labored. It was going to kill him to walk away from her, but he couldn't have her tonight. “You're right. We should stop this before we do something dumb like work each other into a serious sweat while enjoying many, many explosive orgasms.”

She sighed. “Don't start. I really have to get home.”

He'd started a long time ago. What he needed, very desperately, was to finish. He sighed. Not tonight, not unless he wanted to take matters into his own hands. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded, obviously relieved. “Good night.”

He followed her out of the building to make sure she got to her car okay. Once she'd unlocked the door, he pulled her against him. He hadn't planned to do it, but he couldn't stop himself. “Sleep well. I know I won't, because all I'll be able to think about is how hot and tight you felt around my fingers, and how your nipples tasted on my tongue.”

He left her standing there, mouth opening and closing wordlessly, while he got into his own car. After a few minutes Andrea was able to regain enough composure to climb into her car and drive out of the lot. Only then did he let himself drive home. He was in no hurry, because everything he'd said to her was true. He wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight.

 

 

 

Brian stepped into Gerald Rogers' office, his palms sweaty and his heart racing. Had their boss found out what he and Andrea had been doing in the supply closet? If so, they could both kiss their jobs goodbye. And forget getting references, either. Finding something new wouldn't be easy. He'd just been approved for the mortgage, but he wouldn't be able to swing buying the house without a job.

“Have a seat, Brian,” Gerald told him, gesturing to one of the chairs set in front of the large mahogany desk. “Andrea will be here soon, and then we'll begin.”

Shit.
Brian swallowed against the lump in his throat. Andrea was going to kill him if he got her fired. She'd never forgive him for what she would most definitely perceive as a grievous sin. He sat up a little straighter, prepared to argue his case.

He wouldn't let her lose her job because of him, not when she was this close to making partner. “Sir, it wasn't Andrea's fault. It was all my idea. I was the one who—”

Gerald's frown made Brian slam his mouth shut.

“I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about.”

Brian didn't get a chance to ask why Gerald had called the meeting. Andrea stepped into the room, looking more nervous than Brian felt. Her skin was pale and he could see her hands shaking.

“Is everything okay?” Gerald asked. “Are the two of you coming down with something?”

Andrea managed a smile, but it was weak. “No, I'm fine. No problems at all.”

She shot Brian a questioning glance, but he only shrugged.

“Have a seat, Andrea, and we'll get started. This will be very quick and to the point. There's a conference in Chicago this weekend. I've decided to send the two of you. It starts on Friday morning, so try to book your flights for Thursday sometime so you don't miss any important seminars. Speak to Marcy on your way back to your offices and she'll be able to give you more details and an itinerary.”

Brian's breath left his lungs in a whoosh. Okay, so this wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. A conference. Not what he'd been hoping to do over the weekend, but maybe it was a good thing. It would be time to get Andrea alone, someplace where nobody knew them. Maybe for once, they could have a real date and not have to worry about word getting back to their boss. As much as he knew he should let her go, he wanted one more shot to show her what they could have, if she'd open herself up to it.

“Any questions?” Gerald asked.

“Actually, this weekend isn't good for me.” Andrea tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a trembling finger. “I have the deadline for the ad for the Mallory account on Monday, remember?”

“Jack Hoffman will take over that ad for you, so you don't have to worry about it. I was impressed by the ideas he brought to the table when you were out sick. He can handle it just fine.”

Brian felt all the blood drain from his face at the mention of Hoffman's name. A quick glance at Andrea told him she'd had a similar reaction. She looked devastated, and they'd just been dismissed. Shit. Jack Hoffman was Andrea's biggest competitor for the partnership, and Gerald had just given him the edge by turning over a big, important project to him. A project Andrea had earned.

“Thank you.” Andrea turned and walked out of the office. Brian knew there was going to be trouble. It wasn't like her to walk away from what she really wanted, and he knew how she felt about the partnership.

He followed her out of the office and grabbed her arm, leading her away from Marcy's desk. The plans could wait. Right now, Andrea needed someone to talk to. He led her into his office and shut the door. When he turned to her, it nearly killed him to see the tears in her eyes.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, knowing damned well she wasn't. At least not if that partnership went to a misogynistic asshole like Jack Hoffman.

“I'm not getting it.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do. He's giving the partnership to Jack. He doesn't have to say it. I know what's happening.”

“Come on. Don't be so down about it already. This is just one project. He told you before that he wouldn't be making the decision so soon.”

He expected her to storm out of his office, but instead she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her cheek pressed to his chest and her body was wracked with sobs. For a long time, he just held her like that, wishing he could take away her pain. Hopefully this wouldn't change anything, but he had a sinking suspicion she was right. The partnership would most likely go to Hoffman and Andrea would be destroyed. He had to find a way to make it right.