Falling for the CEO (Entangled Flaunt) (5 page)

At that, he broke eye contact with her, but she couldn’t stop staring, watching his face as he smiled at the audience, almost everyone in it riveted on Andrew.

“Tonight, I hope you’ll enjoy some of that magic, here in this special North Pole that the Myerberg Foundation has worked so hard to create for all of us. And more importantly, I hope that each of you will take home a little of that magic for yourself, to effect your own transformation by hearing the want we have expressed tonight, and taking action in giving. I am honored to have been invited to speak with all of you tonight, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for listening.”

He gave a little bow, and the room erupted in applause. Jon walked forward to shake his hand, and the two shuffled off to the side a bit to take photos and give short interviews to the press. Music began to play, Christmas carols filtering softly into the room, and soon the clink of silverware and glasses being moved around joined the sound of the music.

But Meredith barely heard any of it over the sound of Andrew’s words being repeated, over and over in her mind.
Silence is not action…go out and ask…not enough just to ask it of yourself…take home a little of that magic for yourself…

Yes
, her thoughts replied.
Yes, I’ll take it.

Chapter Eight

“Thanks again for coming with me tonight.”

They were in the car, being driven to Meredith’s apartment. Andrew had insisted on seeing her home instead of taking his leave at the entrance, which would have been much more practical. They’d gone uptown from the gala to drop her off, while he lived downtown.

And yet she couldn’t manage to let it really bother her. They were sprawled in the backseat, falling into the leather, hands nearly touching on the cushion between them, and the outside world seemed impossibly far away.

“I had a wonderful time,” she sighed, enjoying the profound relief of being off her feet.

“Really?” He turned to face her, bringing his body that much closer to hers, his eyes gleaming as they passed under a streetlight.

“Really. The people I met were friendly and the ballroom was so, so lovely and your speech—” She sat up and twisted, too, narrowing the space between them even more. “Are you leaving Harbor to start this new company that you talked about?”

He lifted one hand as though to place it on her arm, to reassure her, but must have thought better of it, because it sort of froze in midair, hovering over her elbow. Without even thinking, she brought her hand up and threaded her fingers through his just as the car slowed in front of her apartment building.

“Meredith—” he began.

But before he could say something like,
We have to keep this professional
or
I’ve always adored you for your work, but as a woman? Ha! No way,
she drew on her ever-expanding courage and asked, “Would you like to come up?”

***

Was she asking him what he thought she was asking him?

Andrew stared for a moment, trying to process what she meant by the invitation.

“I mean, of course you don’t have to. I just—I’d like to hear more about this new thing you’re doing, but I know it’s late and you probably have other things to do, and I’ve already inconvenienced you enough…”

Don’t take away that magic she gained today.
That incredible confidence. It turned him on. Turned him inside out.

“Yes. I’d love to come up.”

The driver opened the door then, and Andrew got out first, turning to help Meredith from the car.

“I’ll be seeing Ms. Klaus safely inside, Jim, and will take a taxi back to the office later. Thank you for your service this evening.”

The driver tipped his hat at both of them. “Good night. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Meredith said, smiling, before leading the way up to her apartment.

They’d just gotten in the elevator when Andrew spoke again. “I’m not leaving Harbor. Jon and I talked about it and we both felt that it would make more sense if we found someone else to run North Star Industries.”

It was the first time he’d told anyone the name, and her reaction was everything he could have hoped for. Her face lit up with delight. “North Star? You’re really going all out with your Santa CEO nickname,” she giggled.

He grinned. “That was Jon’s idea, actually. He wanted to play up my nickname while making sure that the theme for the gala would match the spirit of the name, so that it would remind people that Myerberg was a part of it, too.”

The elevator stopped, and he gestured for her to precede him while he held the door open. “He’s a really nice, down-to-earth kind of guy,” she said softly. It was a few minutes past eleven at night, and her floor was completely quiet. He followed her in silence to a glossy white door and waited while she unlocked it. They stepped inside before he spoke again.

“Jon thought the same of you, you know. Except he added ‘smart, charming, and breathtakingly beautiful.’”

Her mouth dropped open. “He
did
?”

Andrew laughed. “Well, maybe he just agreed when
I
said those things.” She gave a squeak of protest, but he barreled through. “And he also agreed when I suggested that we ask you to be the executive director.”

“I don’t—”

“You don’t have to answer right away. In fact, I’d prefer that you didn’t. Just think about it for a bit, and if it’s something that you want, the job is yours as soon as we can wrap up your work at Harbor. But only if you want it for yourself. Not because you think I do, or Jon does, or anything like that.”

“Oh, gosh,” she sighed. “Did you mean that?”

He gave her a confused look. “Absolutely. You’re more than qualified to run an entire organization. Despite this unexpected problem with the Christmas Bonus Fund—which wasn’t your fault to begin with—you’ve proven yourself to be an excellent CFO. I think you could make the transition pretty smoothly.”

She smiled and blushed. “Actually, I meant—that part where you said—”

Ah. That’s what she’d been talking about.
“Where I said you were smart, charming, and breathtakingly beautiful?”

They were standing in the foyer of her apartment, crowded close to each other in the small space. The dim glow from the single sconce on the wall behind him illuminated only her face, but he could feel the heat of her body, like a living thing all of its own. Everything beyond this narrow stretch of hallway disappeared when she leaned closer, and desire flooded through him stronger than he’d ever felt before.

“Yes,” she whispered, green eyes glinting up at him. There was no hesitation as he closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, his arms wrapping around her back and his lips pressing against hers.

She yielded immediately, hands sliding up to his shoulders, gripping at him through the layers of clothing. Her mouth opened under his, and he stroked inside, licking at her, letting her suck his tongue and hum in appreciation before she slid her hands up to his neck, threading her fingers into his hair.

He groaned at the feel of her touch against his skin. And that was just her fingers on his neck. What would it feel like to have those hands on his body, stroking down his chest, gripping his cock—

He tore his mouth away. “Meredith, is this okay? I didn’t mean to do this without asking. I don’t want you to feel—”

Whatever he was about to say fled his thoughts, because she slipped off her glasses and slid them into the pocket of her coat before putting her hands to
his
coat, slipping the top button open, then working her way downward. This wasn’t a polite
Let me take your things
.

She was undressing him.

“You don’t want me to feel what? Turned on? Hot? Needy? I haven’t felt this way, ever,” she admitted, breathless, her fingers working so fast that his coat was already hanging off his shoulders. She yanked his bow tie loose, the two ends draped down his chest by the time his brain finally managed to catch up. He pulled her back to him for another kiss.

By the time he lifted his lips from hers again, both of their coats were crumpled on the floor at their feet, the pins had fallen completely out of her hair, and both of them were gasping for breath.

And they hadn’t even left the foyer. He put one hand on the small of her back as he stroked her from neck to navel with the other. She arched against his touch.

“You look amazing in this dress. God, Meredith,” he groaned. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

She looked at him, eyes hazy and unfocused. “You make me feel beautiful,” she murmured, then took his hand and led him into her bedroom.

Chapter Nine

Meredith’s hand trembled as she switched on the lamp on her nightstand.
Oh, my God. This is actually happening.

She turned back to Andrew for another kiss, trying not to think about what they were about to do. Instead, she poured her focus into the way his mouth felt on hers, the way he nibbled at her chin and stroked her breasts, dipping his fingers inside the neckline of her dress to lightly rub over her nipples, making her moan into his mouth.

Their clothes seemed to fall away by degrees, shirt pushed back and pulled off of muscled shoulders, black silk and feathers falling to the floor, lace and cotton and clasps and hooks undone. Until the moment that he pulled her against his body, his erection pressing into the soft flesh of her belly, and she gasped at the feel of his skin against hers.

His hands were everywhere then, smoothing over her body and learning every line and curve. His mouth moved away from hers, nibbling a trail of hot, wet kisses down her body, making her pant and whimper with need, until at last he was kneeling in front of her. He swirled his tongue in her navel. Pushed her legs apart. Dipped his head…and licked, slowly, leisurely into her folds.

She jumped and moaned. He slid up a little to tease at her clit, and looked up at her, making her cheeks flame at the sight of those hot eyes, that incredibly talented tongue flicking into the red curls at the juncture of her thighs. “Did you come already and not make a sound?” he asked, pushing his face against her body and stroking deep before sliding away again. “Because you’re so wet.”

Oh, God. She couldn’t take it. The words he was saying, the way he was talking…she felt like she was going to come, just from that. She shook her head, unable to speak.

“No, you’re not wet?” He gave a mischievous laugh. That’s not what she meant, but—

“Ohhhhh,” she sighed, as he pushed one strong finger into her hot, clasping passage.

“You’re so tight, too,” he whispered, licking her clit leisurely, as though she weren’t feeling restless and needy and completely uncertain what to do with her suddenly shaking hands.

He pulled away. She wanted to tell him not to leave, but she was too embarrassed to say the words aloud. Thankfully, he seemed to read her mind, because in the next moment he slid his thumb upward to replace his mouth, rubbing around her clit as he pushed his finger back inside her body.

So good. So, so good.
Meredith moaned and arched, fluttering her hands over Andrew’s hair before settling them atop his head, the thick weight of his hair adding to the sensual pleasure of his fingers moving in and out of her. Every nerve hummed with anticipation, the tension starting to coil tighter and tighter with every stroke.

Her climax was so close, but she couldn’t quite reach it, even though she was straining so hard that her muscles were beginning to ache.

“Relax, baby. Relax,” came his voice, floating up toward her even as she gasped for breath.

Oh, she loved to hear him call her that.
She sighed at the words, her body opening up a bit as she exhaled, and Andrew chose that moment to put his mouth on her again, pumping his finger harder, deeper, as he sucked and tongued her clit.

“Andrew!” Meredith exploded then, coming with a loud cry and clenching her fingers in his hair as the spasms shook her body, making her buck her hips against his mouth. It was incredible, the feeling of complete release that rocked through her bones and burst through every last inch of her skin, leaving her panting but oh so sated. He waited until she’d come down from her orgasm before he rose, pulled her against him, and kissed her deeply, hot and wet. She could smell herself on the skin of his face. It made her squirm and whimper beneath him, wanting more, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him for it, to ask him to please fuck her
now
.

But once again, she didn’t have to say a word before Andrew was guiding her back toward the bed, holding her as they both sank back onto the mattress, his body atop hers. He kept kissing her, stoking her need once more, and his hard cock pressed into her thigh, stiff and powerful and hot. She rose against it, trying to signal to him what she wanted.

Luckily, he got the message. He pressed a brief kiss to her nose, and then leaned off the bed to grab his tuxedo trousers, pull out his wallet, and find the condom inside. He sheathed himself so quickly that she barely had a chance to really look at him, to explore the hard muscles along his stomach, the dark hair that curled around the base of his thick, long erection, before he braced himself above her once more and kissed her until her legs spread wide, inviting him in.

His body felt so good against hers. Warm skin against her breasts, the substantial weight of a strong, handsome man against her belly, and lower, his large, stiff cock sliding back and forth between her wet folds. They lay like that for what seemed like hours, until he tore his mouth from hers, panting hard, looking as though he wanted to say something profound, and she strained toward him. But instead of saying anything, he only stared hard at her, eyes burning into hers, before he pulled his hips back, then in a single, powerful motion, thrust deep inside.

***

“Oh, my God!”

Meredith gasped out the words, but not in pleasure. No, her voice was strained, and he could feel her inner muscles clenching, protesting his body’s invasion, and Andrew froze. He had to grit his teeth and lock his arms to fight against the urge to keep sliding in and out of such a hot, wet, incredibly tight—
holy fuck
. Too tight. Just like her face, her arms. Clamped down and struggling against discomfort.

Fucking hell.
She was a
virgin
.

Or had been, anyway.

He tried to pull away from her, to slide out and give her some relief, but she held him fast, surprisingly strong for someone so slender. “No! Don’t go. I just need to adjust. I’ll be fine, I just—just need a minute.”

He tried to say something, like
Why didn’t you tell me?
, but all he could manage was a half grunt, half sob, as she angled her hips up and brought him even farther inside her wet, clasping heat. At this rate, it wasn’t going to matter whether he pulled out or not. He was dangerously close to climax, despite the shock of finding out that this was her first time. Hell. It felt like
his
first time.

“I won’t go anywhere,” he managed to get out, lowering his head into the crook of her neck.

How was it possible, in this day and age, to get past the age of thirty and still be a virgin? He never would have guessed, especially given the way she’d just responded to him. Not that it was a bad thing. Just…a surprise. A tight, clenching surprise that was threatening to take him over the edge, even as he tried to calm himself, to resist the heat that was building in his body.

He rested like that for a moment, focusing on regaining his control, listening to her breathing calm and feeling her body slowly relax, until she brought one hand up to tentatively stroke his back. Her touch was light, but she explored him with obvious curiosity, moving over every inch of his skin. His cock pulsed inside her in response, and she gasped again, but this time her sharp inhale was followed by a moan of pleasure.

“Are you okay?” he murmured in her ear, not wanting to move again until he knew she was ready. He wanted to make this good for her, but if he started again, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop without pulling out completely. And he didn’t want to leave her. Not now. Not ever.

She nodded, her hair rasping over his temple. He pulled back, propping himself up on his arms to look down into her eyes. The movement had him sliding inside just a fraction more, and Meredith’s lips parted on a soft sigh as he pushed even deeper into her.

Fuck, she was gorgeous. With her lying beneath him like this, her body flushed pink just the way he’d imagined—no,
better
than he’d imagined—it already felt like the hottest sex of his life. And he still hadn’t moved yet.

“Yeah, I’m okay now. It feels so—different. But good.” She smiled up at him. “You feel so good.”

She spread her legs a bit wider and pushed her hips gently against his to emphasize her words, and Andrew groaned at the feel of her hot, wet channel taking even more of him inside. He couldn’t hold himself still any longer and slid halfway out, fighting himself to go slowly, gently, before thrusting back home with a rough breath.

The pleasure nearly made his eyes roll back in his head.

“Yes, Andrew. That—that’s
amazing
,” Meredith whispered, and this time he couldn’t manage to be as gentle. His hips pulled back and pumped back in on a deep stroke, wrenching a cry of pleasure from Meredith as her fingers flexed over his ass, pushing him even harder against her body. “More,” she demanded, and before he could protest that he wanted to give her pleasure first, she ground herself against him, working his cock as though she couldn’t get enough.

“God, Meredith” was all he managed to get out, before it became impossible to think anymore at all, just feel, as he stroked in and out of her, the sound of their coupling growing wetter, faster, louder. She began to meet him each time he sank all the way inside of her, until both of them were panting, moaning on every thrust. She was so swollen around him now, and he could feel his orgasm approaching.

“Meredith—fuck, I’m so close.” He tried to stop, to pull out so that he could refocus on making her climax, but she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him toward her before he could withdraw. He groaned, feeling the tingling sensation starting to zip down his spine, warning him that he was about to come.

“Please, Andrew. Please come for me. I want it. I want you—”

She shifted beneath him, her legs tightening and her inner muscles grabbing at his cock and squeezing him almost to the point of pain.
Oh, no. Please don’t do that.
“Meredith,” he gasped against her skin, trying to still her, but it was too late.

The wave of pleasure washed over him, seizing him up and shaking him out, emptying his very soul into her body as he recited, over and over into her ear, “I’m so sorry. Shit, that feels good. I’m just so sorry.”

***

He was gone.

He’d stroked her body, whispered her name, released himself inside her, and then he’d left just as the clock struck midnight, stammering something about
convenience
and
late
that she couldn’t quite make out because his voice was half-crazed. Even before he’d thrown on his clothes and practically sprinted out the door, it had sounded like an excuse to leave, which he’d done without so much as a kiss good-bye.

Meredith pulled the covers more tightly around her and stared up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. She’d failed so miserably. What had she been thinking, trying to be someone she wasn’t? Pretending to be the kind of woman who belonged in that dress, in those glasses, with that man. She should be ashamed.

So…why wasn’t she?

Why, instead of shame, was it
anger
that she was feeling?

“Because you weren’t pretending,” she whispered, sitting up abruptly and smacking the comforter. “I wasn’t pretending!” she shouted into the room, feeling her anger rise. Anger at Andrew, at the foster system, at the loneliness of Christmas, but most of all, anger at herself.

She’d spent so many years denying this part of who she was, thinking that she had no right to ask for what she wanted, that when she’d finally done it and claimed something for herself, it had taken a long time to recognize the woman who’d been hiding inside her for so long.

She hadn’t even been able to come again just now, when he’d been inside her, because a part of her was still too scared to ask for what she wanted. Her pleasure. Her needs. She’d felt him trying to withdraw, to turn all the focus back onto her, and she’d panicked and pulled him back inside, instead.

“You’re a fool, you know that?” she snipped out, launching herself out of bed to go to the bathroom, but the soreness between her legs made her wince and sink back down to sit on the edge of the bed. Damn. She hadn’t expected that it would hurt this much after the fact, given that she was thirty-one, for goodness’ sake. But it seemed her body was still adjusting to the new experience.

The thought gave her pause. Is that what had sent him running? Had he felt intimidated by being the first guy she’d had sex with? Or was he perhaps afraid she was going to ask for too much in exchange for her virginity? She snorted. Not that she had ever thought much of it. She’d just never met anyone who made her want to bother opening herself up that far.

But men often placed importance on that kind of thing. And Andrew, with his focus on helping others and giving to people in need, might especially feel as though he took too much. Except that didn’t seem like something he would think.

What do you know? You don’t really know anything about him!

Meredith shook her head. She’d been attracted to him from the first moment she’d met him, not just because of his looks, but because of the way he’d made her feel accepted. She’d made a general fool of herself during her interview, but he’d acted like it was no big deal, and by the end of the interview, she’d felt more confident.

It had been him all along. Working with him had shown her, in slow increments over these past couple of months, the value of her own self. It had only taken a small gesture, like inviting her to the gala and showing her just how worthy she could be, to make all of the little things she’d learned click into place. He’d seen something in her that had made him offer her the job at this new company. He’d had to have talked to Jon Myerberg beforehand about the offer… Andrew had seen what she was capable of even before she’d seen it.

And then he’d left her.

God. Was she destined to be alone forever?
For so long, she had wished for something that everyone else in the world seemed to have. A family. A sense of belonging. Last night, she had felt like her wishes had finally come true. Andrew had not only made her think that he might fulfill that dream of belonging; he’d made her feel that she could finally break free from the loneliness that she’d endured for all these years.