Seducing the Boss (The Pulse Series) (8 page)

“Affair? Is that what we’re calling it now? I thought it was a hookup, plain and simple.”

Nothing about this was simple.

“Sara—”

“No. Call me Scrubs, Kellan. It’s time to get things back on track. We had a deal, and I need you to honor it.”

Until that moment, he worried perhaps the weekend had been enough for her. That she wasn’t feeling the pull, the aching need that hadn’t been sated no matter how many times he’d taken her.

But her voice cracked slightly on the word “honor.” She still wanted him. He could see it in her eyes.

“The weekend wasn’t enough for either one of us.”

Her brows furrowed. “It has to be.”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. The morning had sucked on every level. He needed time to think, to consider what he was saying. For all he knew, this offer could be based on residual lust that would dissipate by lunchtime. He owed it to her to give her some space, to give both of them an opportunity to come down from the high.

“It was great, and I don’t regret a second of it. But I can’t go back for more. I hope you understand.” Mercifully, as always, Sara was the voice of reason. The queen of common sense.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Haven’t had enough coffee this morning.”

She smiled, though the expression seemed to require some effort. “You’ll see, Kell. Calling a halt here is for the best.”

He nodded, but didn’t reply as she left the room. Silently he prayed that time would prove her right.

…

However, by five thirty that afternoon, Kellan didn’t have a doubt that Sara was wrong. Dead wrong. He’d fucked up no fewer than twenty things today, while his thoughts were consumed with her.

To make matters worse, he’d stupidly agreed to lunch with Josh, during which he’d spent the better part of an hour listening to his friend alternate between “I told you so” and laughing his ass off at Kellan’s grumpiness over having his offer refused. The meal ended with Josh muttering something about it being time Kellan met his match.

He wanted to be pissed off about Josh’s assessment, but it was impossible to deny Sara had proven to be a perfect match, sexually. Kellan relived every second of the weekend until he thought he’d go out of his mind with longing. Somehow, he needed to convince her to give him more time.

He buzzed his secretary. “Can you call the ER and see if Sara Connelly is still here? If so, I need to see her in my office immediately.”

If she’d left for the day, he’d text her to see if she would be willing to meet for dinner at Score.

He’d rearranged everything on his large oak desk three times before he finally just cleared the damn thing off completely. Then, mercifully, he heard a knock on his door ten minutes later.

“Come in.”

Sara had her jacket on, her purse over her arm. “Hey. I was just about to take off. What’s up?”

He raised one finger as he walked by her, stopping in the doorway. His secretary, like Sara, was packing up for the day. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jenna.”

They said their goodbyes, and then he watched his secretary leave before closing the door and locking it.

Sara’s eyes narrowed at his actions. “What do you want, Kellan?”

“You.”

She rolled her eyes, just like she had a million times in their past. What was new, however, was his body’s response to her annoyance. It hit him hard. Below the belt. His cock went stiff in an instant.

“Listen—”

He stepped in front of her, taking her coat and purse from her, dropping them into a nearby chair. “I want to kiss you.”

Sara shook her head. “No. Hell no.”

“One more time, Sara. Just let me kiss you one more time. If you still want to leave afterward, I won’t stand in your way.”

Blowing out an exasperated breath, Sara lifted her face toward him. “Fine. One kiss. And then maybe you’ll see why—”

Kellan cut off whatever else it was she planned to say. His lips landed on hers, and he kissed her as if his life depended on it. God. For some insane reason, it felt like it did.

Even if she had been annoyed with his request, Sara responded to his kiss like a starving woman. He tightened his grip on her and their tongues met. Nothing mattered in this moment but her, them, and all the things he still wanted to do with her.

Twisting her, Kellan kept his lips on hers, not giving her a chance to say no to what he wanted so badly. He couldn’t resist her, what she’d offered him this weekend and how much it had meant to him. Right now, all his desires were wrapped up in her, and though it went against everything he’d ever believed in, Kellan wasn’t going to let her go. Not yet. He just couldn’t.

Walking her backward, he didn’t stop until they reached the desk.

Sara turned her face away, gasping for air. “Kellan, wait.”

“No. I’ve been waiting since I woke up this morning in an empty bed.”

“For once in your life, be practical.”

Kellan gave her a crooked grin. “I suck at that, and you know it. We’re adults, Sara. We don’t have to wait until after dinner to eat our dessert. I miscalculated. Thought we could cover all the territory in one weekend. Apparently it’s going to take a little longer.”

“Dammit, Kellan. You’re the king of casual affairs. I was kind of planning on following your lead when it came to walking away. You’re fucking this all up.”

“So, you still want me, too.”

Sara’s eyes flew heavenward as if she were praying for salvation. When she looked at him once more, he saw the same lust, the same hunger that had eaten him alive all day.

“I still want you.”

It was all he needed to hear. He gripped her hips, turning her away from him. Then he placed a firm hand between her shoulder blades and pressed her chest to the desk.

Sara’s palms were flat against the smooth surface. Using one hand, he held her in place and bent over her. With the other, he shoved the pants of her scrubs down to her ankles.

“For the record,” she said, before he touched her, “this totally counts as sex in public.”

If his chest weren’t tight with need and some other emotion he was afraid to name, he would have laughed. Instead, he set her straight. “This doesn’t even come close.”

Any further argument she might have made was wiped away by her gasp when he tugged her panties aside and thrust one finger into her pussy. She was soaking wet.

“We’re not finished with each other. You know it as well as I do. The attraction is stronger than we realized. Let’s ride it out.”

“You’re pissing me off, Kellan.”

“Is that a no?” He’d stop if she asked him to. It would kill him, but he’d do it.

“It should be.”

He chuckled. “Should or is?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

He knew he’d won when she began pressing back against his finger, seeking more. He added a second, then a third. Sara moved rapidly, fighting for her climax, groaning when he tugged his fingers free.

“Kellan.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s not a no.”

His original intention had been to play with her, to make her beg for what she’d denied them all day. That plan was shot to hell. His control was in tatters, a state that seemed to be the norm with her. He unfastened his pants, rolled on a condom, and placed the head of his cock at her opening.

“Yes,” she hissed.

Kellan bent over her before pushing in. Placing his lips at her ear, he whispered, “We’re not stopping. I can’t.” The last two words betrayed a weakness he hadn’t meant to reveal.

She didn’t answer as he slid to the hilt. He held still only a second, sucking in some much needed air. Then he cut loose, giving way to everything that had been building up inside him since waking.

Sara met him thrust for thrust, her ass lifting to welcome him.

“Harder,” she urged.

Kellan gripped her hips, plowing deeper, faster. When he felt her reach the precipice, he reached around her, covering her mouth with his hand as she came. One weekend with Sara had proven she never came quietly. And while his secretary was gone for the day, as well as most of the administrative staff, he didn’t want to risk her reputation should anyone be on the other side of the door.

He covered her loud cries as his own climax struck.

Neither of them moved for several minutes, their panting breaths the only sound in the room. Sara was the first to come to her senses. She tried to lift up, but he still covered her. He pushed away, dropping into the nearest chair as Sara stood on unsteady legs.

He reached out to help her, but she shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Kellan watched as she pulled her pants back up.

“That can’t happen again, Kellan.” Her voice was stronger than he would have expected.

He wasn’t going to back down on this. It wasn’t in his nature to surrender. “You’re wrong. Let’s just give it one more week.”

“And then what?” Sara claimed the chair next to his. She seemed desperate to make him see reason, but what she didn’t realize was that he’d never been more certain about anything in his life. They fit together sexually. He wanted more time to explore that. And given the way she’d responded to him, he suspected she wanted the same. Even if she wasn’t willing to admit it.

“And then…” He started to say they’d end it, but he didn’t want to get caught in the same tangle of time constraints he was fighting now. “Then we step back and reevaluate if it’s time to walk away or to keep going.”

She shook her head slowly, but the action didn’t seem to be one of rejection. “Is this still just about sex, Kellan?”

He frowned. “Of course it is.”

“Then I’m going to have to reject your offer. Much as it pains me to admit it, I can’t deny that sex with you is incredible.”

He grinned. Sara was good at offering compliments while keeping him humble. “Better than incredible,” he added, just to tweak her.

“But I’m not looking for a hookup. I’m not interested in being a booty call like Veronica. Someone you contact when there’s no one else around and you feel like getting laid.”

Kellan didn’t care for her comparison. “You’re nothing like Veronica.”

“I don’t do casual sex.”

He started to contradict her, but she raised her hand to cut him off. “I agreed to try it for one weekend. I need to…” She paused, as if she was weighing every word before she spoke. Kellan didn’t like it. Didn’t want her to feel as if she had to guard herself around him.

“What?” he prodded.

“I can’t keep things separate—” She bit her lower lip, and he realized whatever answer she gave him wouldn’t be the truth.

“Emotionally,” he filled in for her, not bothering to make it a question. “You’re afraid you’ll fall for me?” He forced himself to smile, to appear amused, though the idea of being on the receiving end of Sara’s love wasn’t as frightening as he would have imagined. He quickly blamed the absence of panic on the lack of blood in his brain. It would take him a little while to recover from the climax that just rocked his world. He didn’t want a relationship. That fact hadn’t changed. He just needed to prove to Sara that her concerns were unfounded. “Seriously? Have you thought that through? The sex might be great, but after that meeting we left this morning, I’d be surprised if you felt anything other than hate for me.”

“I don’t hate you. You annoy the crap out of me, but…” She blew out a long sigh. “I don’t hate you. You’ve been my boss for years, and even when we disagree at work, we’re still friends outside of the job. You know that.”

He had learned early on in this gig as hospital admin, he was commander-in-chief of the Dark Side. He actually drank his coffee at work in a Darth Vader mug simply because he thought it was funny and proved he was willing to take the heat associated with the job. He was a businessman, and at the end of the day, it was his responsibility to see that the hospital was running efficiently and within budget.

Doctors and nurses saw the people in need. What they didn’t understand was that he did, too. While he may see those faces projected in numbers, he still saw them. Still understood that the hospital’s role in the community was to heal.

“We’re also friends who set the sheets on fire. I’m struggling to see anything wrong with that.”

“If I’ve learned anything this past weekend, it’s that you should never say never. I used to believe hell would freeze over before I had sex with you.” She raised her hands as if to say
look what happened there
.

“I’m just asking for another week or two.”

She laughed. “So now it’s two weeks?”

He loved the way her face lit up when she was amused. Her blue eyes sparkled, and the tiniest dimple appeared in her right cheek.

Then he recalled the second part of their deal. He had begrudgingly agreed to accompany her to her fundraiser, but now it seemed like to perfect way to convince her to come back to his bed. “It’s a little less than two weeks until the gala, right?”

She nodded slowly, and he realized she’d forgotten about that caveat. “Yes.”

“So, we’ll make that the new deadline. For everything. Two weeks to explore some more of those sexy, kinky desires of yours. After the gala, we let life return to normal.”

She didn’t respond immediately. Kellan took that as a good sign. She was actually considering his offer. Then she shook her head. “No, Kellan. My answer is still no.”

“Sara—”

“I’m not interested in just sex. I want a real relationship. Dating, commitment, and all the emotions that go with that. We both know that’s not something you can ever give me. So I need to keep looking for a man who can.”

Her words hit him hard, knocked him off balance. She was right, he couldn’t give her that. Could he?

No. He couldn’t.

She studied him closely, and Kellan was helpless to shield his thoughts, the panic and confusion she must have seen on his face.

Fuck. This wasn’t how he’d intended for things to go down.

“Good-bye, Kellan.”

Before he could form a response, she rose and left the room.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there before his frustration turned to anger. She was walking away because he wouldn’t commit to her?

There was no way she hadn’t felt the strong sexual pull between them. It had been there all weekend and again, just now, when he had taken her on the desk.