“And exactly what would that be?”

They turned in unison to stare at me in the doorway. Her eyes were wide and innocent. His were not.

“Maybe the most amazing edible masterpiece ever seen on the west coast,” Sutton said, standing up and coming over to hand me a pencil sketch. It was simple, skillful… a classically designed figure that reminded me of an Italian sculpture. Erotic and exquisite.

“I’m planning a little something in the penthouse,” Sutton went on, heading over to the bar to pour himself a drink, knowing full well I disliked his use of alcohol on the job.

“I’m aware,” I replied dryly. I shifted the papers in my hand and frowned down at Emily. “This can’t be the price you’re asking. It’s not enough by half…”

“I wanted the job…” she mouthed up at me, her eyes pleading. “Emi…,” I began, but Sutton cut me off.

“As a matter of fact, that’s the discussion you just rudely interrupted,” he said from across the room. “Emily and I were coming to an agreement, I think… weren’t we, sweetheart…?” He looked at her and I felt a wave of contempt run through me. “We’ve decided she’s worth a great deal more…”

He came over to us slowly, confidently and for a moment we stood almost toe to toe… eye to eye. I could see the telltale muscle twitching in his jaw. “Don’t you agree?” he asked, smiling… his eyes bright with challenge.

“What you saw behind that bar was nothing,” I said crossly. “And I don’t like this…

You’re getting in over your head.”

“I’m more than capable of making that cake,” she shot back as the elevator doors closed behind us. I’d gotten her… and myself… the fuck out of Sutton’s office before I’d given in to the impulse to wipe the satisfied smile off his face for good. “I know it’s ambitious, but he’s paying three times what I quoted. I know you warned me his parties can get a little wild, but it’s not like I’m a child…”

I let my eyes wander her sweet curves, made not less, but more tempting by the severity of her clothes. My body remembered the feel of hers, crushed against mine… my lips hungered for the taste of hers again… “I know you’re not,” I said, my voice deeper and more urgent than I intended. Through the soft grey knit of her sweater, I saw her nipples respond. They formed tight, hard balls that begged to be freed… begged to be sucked… One step toward her in the tiny elevator had our bodies within inches of each other. “Not a child at all…,” I breathed, “but you aren’t ready for the kind of games Sutton likes to play. Not ready at all…”

She was so close I could see the flecks of gold in her green eyes. Her lips parted as she looked up into my face and I could feel the warmth of her breath against my throat. “Emi…” The elevator doors opened with a quiet swoosh and we both exhaled hard, and stepped apart. The lobby was bustling with noise and activity, a hundred employees headed for home at the end of the day. I took her hand and led her out to the street.

“I’m over here,” she said, indicating the van across the street. “I appreciate your concern… really I do,” she said, digging into her bag for her keys. “But I can’t afford to turn down work, any work, but especially not this job. I know Mr. Boothe may not be the gentleman you are, but it’s not like we’re on his guest list. We’re just employees…”

I cut her off by pulling her into my arms. “I’m no fucking gentleman,” I whispered into her ear as people on the street pushed by us. “If you knew what I’d like to do to you, right here… right now…,” I took her heart-shaped face in one hand and teased her lips with the hint of a kiss. She drew in a fast, ragged breath and a delicious shudder ran through her. My cock was instantly hard. I took the keys from her hand and unlocked the van door. The seat was high… perfect…

I lifted her up, my hands spanning her little waist with ease. She put her hands on my chest as I lifted her off the ground and slipped her into the driver’s seat. And she left them there…

“Sutton doesn’t care who you are,” I said, moving in closer to her, letting my body fill the space of the open door. “He wants what he wants, like any man. And he wants you…”

“I only accepted the job,” she said back softly, looking me straight in the eye. Hers were brilliantly green, her pupils large and dark in contrast. “Simply because a man wants… doesn’t mean that he gets…”

I stepped in closer and she shifted her legs aside to allow it. Her slim skirt wouldn’t let her part her legs, but the male instinct in me knew, that given the freedom, she would have…

“What is it you want, Emi?” I asked, letting my hands slip from her waist to rest on her warm thighs. “A good little girl like you… sweet as a sugar cookie, just waiting to be tasted…” I heard her breath catch again and felt the last of my resolve slip away. “You smell of honey… and cinnamon,” I breathed against her hair. Waves of heat were coming off her skin, through her clothes and I smiled… pleased with the effect I was having on her… and knowing it was wrong… “What is it that you want?”

“I want… I want…,” she breathed out as I ran my fingers down her thighs, down to her knees and the edge of her skirt. “I like when you touch me…,” she said, almost so quietly I didn’t hear. The street sounds were loud around us… people kept moving past, talking on their phones and to each other. The whole world moved fast all around us. Only the few inches of space between our bodies held a tense and exquisite stillness…

“It’s not safe,” I said softly, running my bottom lip along hers and tasting sugar. “We’re right on the street… here in public.” I ran the tip of my tongue over hers and felt her fingers bite into my shoulders. I leaned in enough to let her hard nipples graze my chest and felt my own shudder roll through me. Before I had a chance to catch myself, I slipped one hand under the hem of her skirt. My fingertips slid up between her legs until I reached silky wet panties. Her lips were already swollen and pushing against the thin fabric. ‘Tell me no,” I whispered against her mouth. “Tell me now, or I won’t be able to stop…” I felt her tongue seeking mine and groaned, knowing I should pull away but powerless to do so. “...Stop me,” I begged.

“Don’t,” she said, the word pursing her full lips against mine. I froze for a single heartbeat…

Then she reached down and caught the edge of her skirt and pulled it up higher. Her creamy thighs pressed together, trapping my hand where it was. “Don’t stop,” she begged me. “I want you to…”

I kissed her hard, straining my chest into the soft fullness of her breasts. I ached to push her skirt up to her waist, unzip and bury myself inside her. Instead, I let my fingers slip under the elastic of her panties and plundered her mouth as I pushed two long, demanding fingers slowly inside her. She was sweet and dripping wet… I was knuckle-deep in an instant and she was gripping me hard, with her thighs and her pussy. The sound she made drove me on… that perfect sound a woman makes when her need is finally filled… I wondered what sound she’d make if it was my cock buried deep…

“Oh, god… Chase…,” she gasped out, between kisses. I caught her bottom lip in my teeth and held her as she rocked her hips against my hand. I kissed her neck, the hollow under her ear… and reaching a discrete hand under her sweater to cup one round breast. I ached to suck her, but satisfied myself with working her harder with my fingers. She was like velvet inside, soft and warm. If not for the people around us, I would have spread her legs wide, gone down on my knees, and taken the taste I hungered for so badly.

“Is this what you need, Emi?” I asked, finding the spot inside that made her writhe. I stroked it hard, pulling my fingers up with every stroke out and then pushing in deep and working her clit against my knuckles. “Is this what you needed… when you saw the girl at the party…? Did you want to be the girl getting fucked behind the bar?”

I pushed in deep and was rewarded with a warm gush of slippery fluid. I leaned back only enough to look into her face, to see how badly she needed what was building inside her. Her eyes glittered, her body tense and straining into my hand. She looked into my eyes and I could see what it cost her to keep from crying out. She bit into her lip and I ached to hear the sounds she was holding back, ached to see all the flesh I didn’t dare uncover… I felt her body stiffen in my hands and felt the spasms begin deep up inside her. As badly as I needed release of my own, I pushed her instead. Hard, unrelenting… I wanted to push her over the edge… I put my mouth to her ear and felt her clench my fingers, her muscles rolling the length of my fingers and I gasped the question against her hot, damp neck…

“How does it feel… being the bad girl for once? Spreading your legs and taking your pleasure… where anyone could see…?”