CHAPTER 3
Chris
Oh, shit. When Ali Hartman walks into my office, I’m positive she’s an intern looking for a job. She looks that young.
“Hi,” the curvy brunette says shyly. “I’m Ali.”
She holds out her hand, waiting for me to shake it. I hesitate for a second. My eyes are being drawn to her large breasts. I’d estimate them to be DDs. The dress she’s wearing accentuates her voluptuous figure. What I would give to dig my fingers into her delicious thighs while my tongue….
What the hell am I thinking? Good thing I’m behind a desk because my immediate hard-on would be visible. Yeah, I’m a fucking dog and won’t apologize for it. Besides, no woman has ever made me hard just by walking into my office. I could really get used to this.
But like a champ, I shake her hand like nothing’s wrong. “Nice to meet you,” are my smooth words. “I’m Chris.”
She smiles shyly again. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carmichael.”
“Please call me Chris,” comes my low voice.
The woman nods and awkwardly like she’s nervous. I sit back down in my leather chair, my groin well hidden by my mahogany desk. I will my erection to subside, but Ali’s curves and her red, full lips are making that impossible.
“Please, sit,” I drawl casually, gesturing to the chairs across from my desk. “Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice.”
That curvy form perches itself tentatively on the edge of a chair. “Of course,” the woman says, biting her lip. Oh, fuck. It makes her mouth rosy, and I’m so fucking aroused. “I’m so glad your editors liked my book.”
“I liked your book,” I growl, holding up a copy of the manuscript. “I’ll be honest with you, we have never had a manuscript this good come to us before. We’re hoping you’ll agree to sign our contract immediately.”
Ali blushes and my cock twitches. What the hell? This is out of control, but something about Ali’s presence is making me want to do a lot of things I’ve never done.
“Tell me, what inspired the book?” I continue like nothing’s wrong. “The rich atmosphere of the small town, the family dynamics, the raw emotion. There has to be a story behind the story.”
She smiles sweetly. “Well, I grew up in a town just like Smithville.”
I raise my brow. “I thought you were from the city?”
“I’m from about thirty minutes north of the city, but it’s easier to say I’m from NYC,” she says with a gentle laugh. “I went to school here, anyways, so I guess I just got used to saying it after four years.”
“I see.”
She continues to smile nervously at me. I’m tempted to jump over my desk and kiss those beautiful lips.
“So I drew a lot of inspiration from my hometown, though we don’t have unsolved murders and my dad isn’t a serial killer. The human relationships and dynamics are real, but the plot is all me.”
I can see that in the writing. I’m surprised I didn’t pick up on it before. Only someone from a small town could nail small town life so well.
“Your book is incredible, Ali.”
She beams. “It means so much to hear you say that.”
“Do you think you’ll sign the contract? No pressure, of course. And you’re not legally bound by anything you say in here.”
She blushes again, biting her lip.
“I hope so. My agent is looking it over and requesting changes. We’re going to discuss it when she’s back in town next week, and I’ll have an answer for you.”
Ali shifts in her seat, causing her dress to ride down just a bit further. The mounds of her breasts threaten to pop out of the tight bodice of her dress. I lick my lips and quickly tear my eyes away from the delicious sight.
She catches my eyes as they fight to meet hers again. I avert mine when I see her gentle smile. Does this woman know what she’s doing to me? Normally, I’d say yes, but in this case, she’s so innocent. It’s possible Ali has no idea.
“Tell your agent we’re willing to make any reasonable changes to the contract if it means we can get to work on this project.”
Ali smiles. “I’ll let Darla know.”
“Do you have any questions for me?”
She thinks for a second. “Well, I was wondering what the process is if I decide to sign the contract. What comes next? What should I expect?”
“Those are questions I can answer,” I say. I shift into my professional persona as much as I can with a raging hard on. “After you’ve signed the contract, we’ll send your agent a check for the first half of the advance. Then we’ll send you some preliminary edits. Based on the draft I read, the edits won’t be substantial. Jenny will be your contact for those. Once you turn them in, we’ll do another round of edits if necessary. If not, you’ll get the second half of the advance when you turn in your final draft. If there are more edits, you’ll get the rest of the advance once the final is turned in. And then there’s a bunch of backend stuff we can go over when the time comes. Cover design, packaging, line edits. Traditional publishing is a long road. If you sign that contract, you’re stuck with us for a while. But you’ll like it, I promise.”
The pretty brunette smiles. “I think I would be really happy to be stuck with you for a while.” Ali blushes. “All of you,” she stammers. “All of Carmichael Publishing. You seem like a great group of people.”
I smirk, drawling, “I only hire the best.”
Our conversation is coming to an end, but I don’t want her to leave. But as long as she’s in this office, I’m never going to get my cock to deflate.
So I finish the conversation smoothly, the way I always have.
“It was nice to meet you, Ali,” I drawl, walking around the desk. My cock still strains against my dress pants, but I’m counting on Ali being better than I am. I may not be able to keep my eyes off her breasts, but she can keep her eyes off my groin. Hopefully.
Ali stands as well, holding out her hand for another shake. I take her hand in mine, grasping firmly. Her small hand is warm against my palm.
And shit, but sparks fly. I can feel it. There’s electricity in the room as our eyes meet, our hands touching one another. She gasps slightly, cheeks flushing as those big breasts heave. My erection wants out of my pants, and I want inside this woman. I can’t deny my instant attraction to her. I had hoped to get her out of the office before I made any stupid decisions, but I’m well beyond that point now.
So like a bastard, I yank Ali to me, causing her to topple into my broad form. She steadies herself on her tall heels using my muscled chest as her anchor.
“Sorry,” she gasps, as if she fell into me on her own.
“Don’t be,” I say, towering over her. I gaze down into her eyes, hoping she feels the same passion I do. Based on the way she’s licking her lips, I’d say she does.
Before she loses her nerve and runs away, I lean down and crash my lips hard against hers. She gasps and then wraps her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss.
“Oh,” she says as my tongue parts her lips and sweeps the inside. She moans against me, pushing her hips into mine.
“One second,” I say, reluctantly removing my lips from hers. I quickly shuffle to the door and flip the lock. My employees don’t usually walk in unannounced, but the last thing we need is to be caught doing what we’re about to do. Carmichael Publishing has a strict no fraternizing policy between employees and authors, even potential authors. Getting caught would be disastrous to both our careers. Especially mine, since I basically wrote that rule.
But hell, some rules are meant to be broken.
I turn my attention back to Ali, swooping down for another luscious kiss.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her while nipping at the smooth curve of her neck.
“So are you,” she breathes. I laugh and nip at her skin again.
As our kisses intensify, I wrap my arms around her and pull down the zipper of her tight dress. Ali jumps at my touch but doesn’t stop me. She kisses me harder. I slide the dress down to her waist, revealing her bra-covered breasts.
I take the large mounds into my hands and squeeze while I kiss back down her neck. Just as I suspected, her tits were made for my hands, filling my palms with silky skin.
Ali moans when I squeeze harder, giving me the okay to keep going. I unlatch her bra with expert hands and let it fall to the floor.
We pull apart for a second, and Ali looks at me with a tentative smile. Something tells me she’s not used to doing things like this. She might even be a virgin.
I step forward, so Ali has to step back until her ample ass is level with my desk. I pull her dress the rest of the way down her body and lift her wide hips onto the finished wood.
“I’m going to fuck you, Ali,” I growl, blue eyes burning.
She answers me with wide eyes. This woman is definitely a virgin, or at least it’s been a long time since a man treated her the way a woman should be treated. As much as I want to slam into her right now, I know Ali needs me to take it slow. I don’t usually take it slow with women, but this female is already different. Why not break more rules for her?
I kiss my way down her neck to her breasts, taking her left nipple into my mouth and sucking. I twirl my tongue around the tight little bud as I work on her beautiful, large breast.
“Oh god,” she moans. “Keep doing that.”
“Your wish is my command.” I continue sucking on one breast while kneading the other.
I close my teeth around her nipple, and Ali cries out. The sound is pure pleasure and music to my ears.
I switch my attention between her breasts until her mewls reach their maximum volume. Shit, she’s loud, but I love it. I kiss and nibble my way back up to her mouth, which parts under mine. The woman tastes amazing. Like sunshine and something I could only call goodness.
While our tongues dance, I slip my fingers into the waistband of her panties. She adjusts her ass on my desk, so I can pull the fabric down easily.
My fingers find her slit already soaked for me. I trace her opening with my fingers, causing her entire body to shiver.
“Oh, yes,” she mewls. Her arms hold her up on the desk, her head falling back with pleasure.
I take the opportunity to insert one finger inside of her, then another, until I’m three fingers deep. She moans with every thrust of my digits. With my other hand, I rub her tender button to increase her pleasure. Her head falls forward again and I catch her lips with mine. She groans into my mouth, wiggling on the desk.
“Don’t stop, I’m so close,” she pants.
I pull my fingers away and lick them clean. Her eyes go wide but then her breath hitches.
“Why did you stop?” she mewls.
“I want you to cum on my cock,” I tell her.
She gasps, and I prepare for what I’ve wanted since the moment I set on eyes on this delicious female.