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Leah
“I can’t believe I forgot my keys,” she whispered as they walked back into the office.
There wasn’t anyone left—she’d seen a few people at happy hour—but otherwise they’d all gone home. And right now, though she wouldn’t admit it, home was the last place she wanted to be.
She’d actually had fun with Shane tonight. Which meant she not only won her half of the bet, but she felt pretty good about it. And him. Of course, he’d also won his half of the bet because they’d made progress on the manuscript, but what was she going to do? It benefitted everyone.
“I’m pretty impressed with how in touch you can get with your feelings,” Leah told Shane as he followed her to her desk.
He’d insisted on coming back up with her. He perched his shoulder on the partition around her cubicle. “It’s a total lie that guys don’t have feelings.”
“You just pretend you don’t? To make you seem cooler?”
He grinned at her—and she’d never paid attention to his dimples before, but right now, in her more-than-tipsy state, they were actually pretty cute. “There’s already one woman in the relationship—don’t need to have two.”
She snorted. “Relationship.”
“What? You think men can’t have relationships? Isn’t that what all these swoon-worthy books are all about? Women getting their hot animal sex, but with a committed partner. A guy who’s more than happy to woo the girl, give her plenty of orgasms, and then marry her.”
Leah looked away from him, feeling the heat of his words in her pussy. Orgasm. She didn’t need him to say that to her—not when it’d been long enough she was having to take care of business at home.
“That’s fantasy,” she murmured.
“It’s is.” He watched as she shuffled through her bottom drawer and pulled out her laptop and keys. “That’s exactly what it is. It’s everything you want, everything you need and, in these stories you can have it. You just have to know what you want. Then you can be in tune with the character.”
Too bad she had no idea what she wanted. All Leah knew was that she wanted this job. In her fantasy, she had a career she loved and…that was it. She wanted love—and sex—no, needed it—but she was much better at the professional stuff.
Leah could work. Leah could edit. Leah could follow orders. But when it came to romance, even sex, she practically felt like a virgin.
“So…what do you want, Leah?” Shane asked.
She glanced away from him again—from the look in his eyes. He was teasing her, and she knew it. Best thing to do: deflect.
“How are you not, like, completely wasted right now?” she asked.
“I am…buzzed. And totally fucking turned on because we just practically wrote an entire shower scene and I didn’t get any of the benefits.”
Her mouth dropped open. Holy shit. “I can’t believe you just said that out loud.”
“Just proving to you that fun and responsibility can go hand in hand.”
She stood quickly, even though it made her head spin. “I think you’ve made your point.”
He stepped closer to her, trapping her in her cubicle. “You sure? Because I bet I could make my point a little clearer.”
Her heartbeat picked up and heat pooled between her legs. “I don’t know how.”
She wasn’t sure why she’d said it—in fact, it had just slipped out—but Shane’s eyes glinted. He’d taken it as a challenge, and Shane never seemed to back down from a challenge.
“You don’t know how clear I can make it,” Shane murmured.
His hands skimmed up her arms, and then back down. When she just stood, shocked, he gripped her hands and brought them to his chest. “It’s not rocket science, Leah.”
She didn’t think he’d ever said her name before. And definitely not with his voice so low, so husky. Almost like…like he wanted her.
“I’m…not good at this,” she said, and heat rushed to her cheeks immediately. Might as well tell him she hadn’t had sex in more than a year. That she’d only ever been with one man—no, a boy, really—and this feeling was practically foreign to her. “I think we should go.”
She pushed around him, trying not to look at his face. He was right—she didn’t know how to have fun. They’d worked well together tonight, she’d broken out of her shell, and now she was practically running from him.
Leah jammed her finger against the button for the elevator. Hurry, hurry!
Shane stepped up beside her, arms crossed. “You might just lose this bet yet.”
The doors opened, and so did her mouth. He looked almost happy.
“I’m not going to lose this bet,” she said, stepping inside.
He followed her and faced her as the doors closed. “Prove it.”
Before she could change her mind, Leah rose on her toes and brushed his lips with hers. He gave a low growl, and then made her gasp when he gripped her arms and pressed her against the elevator wall. Without releasing her, he reached out and pressed the red button on the panel, bringing the elevator to a stop.
“We can do better than that,” he said, breath warm on her lips.
Then, suddenly, his mouth was on her. Her jaw, her neck, and traveling lower. “Oh, God…”
Her whole body came alive and an ache formed right between her legs, practically making her pant with longing for him. To feel his hands on her, his body naked, his cock inside of her. She’d never felt this much need before.
She strained toward him, breasts pressed against his chest as his hands wandered.
“Touch me,” he commanded.
Her hands were tentative when she lifted them, but they seemed to have a mind of their own when she finally touched him. She ran her fingers over his chest and to his arms—God, they were perfect. Strong, toned—enough to keep her pinned against the elevator wall without any effort at all.
“This is what those romances are about,” Shane said. He gripped her waist, fingers squeezing hard. “Losing yourself in the moment—letting yourself feel. And only feel.”
All she could do was moan, because his lips were brushing her ear, and his fingers were skimming her abdomen, dipping under the waist of her dress pants.
“What do you feel?” Shane asked.
“Wh—what?”
Shane jerked her pants, yanking her hard against him. His cock dug into her hip, twitching against her, ready to take what he wanted.
“What do you want, Leah?”
She hitched a breath. “You. I want you.”