I take an extra-long shower, inhaling the steam, clearing my head, resetting after Lily. The woman is abrasive, defensive and competitive, but get her into bed and she’s something else entirely. My cock twitches. It’s willing to put up with her feisty attitude just to get inside of her again.

Am I?

I can’t shut off this new desire to claim her, to rein her in and take control of her. Especially because she lets me. That’s the kicker. Lily’s a spitfire. She is steamrolling her way through her career, busting her ass to prove she’s just as good or better than the major players in our industry. She may be better, but even talent won’t guarantee her a seat at the table.

Helping her conquering the boardroom does not really matter to me. I want to know if she’s been waiting for the right man to come along and put her in her place.

In the bedroom.

No one can do that better than me.

I dry off and put on a fresh dress shirt and slacks. There’s no telling what else is going to happen between us. The night is still young.

I pull my laptop out and perform a quick search of her name in a few professional software developer databases. If she’s at a meeting with tapped, she has some experience under her belt. The results impress me. Lily Henderson has a strong development background with top-tier consulting firms. A few clicks get me to the website for her startup. No surprise there. She has worked on are complex, multi-year, big budget projects with massive industry leaders. Then she goes off on her own, probably expecting the offers of work would follow. I lean back against the bed’s headboard, wondering why she left and how come no one has swooped into another firm.

If that’s what she wants.

Judging from the fact that Forer is interested in her, my guess is it’s only a matter of time before she either lands a deal big enough to support her staying on her own, or she throws in the entrepreneurial towel and returns to work for the big boys.

Pulling my shoes on and grabbing my wallet, I head down the hall with a seed of a plan forming in my head. If Lily can keep her attitude in check long enough to listen to my proposition, there may be some hope for her.

As I turn a bend to the on my way to see her, she comes around the corner and crashes into me.

“Oh!” she gasps, staring up at me with curiosity. “Oh. You.”

I notice she’s wearing a coat and carrying a small suitcase.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Her eyes flash defiantly and she lifts her chin, though she makes no move to break away from my hold. “Really? I need to report to you that I’m leaving too?”

“You’re not thinking of leaving the hotel on foot, are you?”

Her pouty lips purse. No answer.

“That’s exactly what you’re doing. Maybe you need me more than you realize,” I tell her.

“We’re three blocks away from a Holiday Inn. I’ll manage.”

All I can do is shake my head at her poor judgment.

“What?” she asks.

“You live in New York and you still want to risk going into that storm? I didn’t think I’d have to convince a local to stay indoors.”

“Just watch me.”

I will, and I’ll enjoy it too, but then I’d have to come out there and drag you back inside kicking and screaming. Can we just skip that part, and get back to sipping on wine and spanking that fine ass of yours?”

“I don’t need this.” She rips her arm away from my hand and starts walking.

“You act like I’m beating down your door, sweetheart,” I growl. “And let me remind you, you’re the one who just kicked me out for fucking you right.”

Her eyes widen. That hint of fast-burning anger causes her breathing to change.

“Come with me,” I tell her before she can answer. “There’s something I think we should discuss.”

“I’m leaving,” she huffs, but doesn’t move or say a thing.

“Right. Into the storm to get yourself killed. To get frozen underneath a snow drift until it melts, or someone digs you out around Easter.”

Her mouth twitches. She’s breaking.

I turn and start walking, and smile at the sound of her footsteps behind me.

In my suite, I take Lily’s coat and suitcase, and point to the living room so she can get settled in, while I put her things away. A part of me mentally prepares for her objections to the offer I’m about to make. I don’t expect a simple yes from this woman, and I’m even less prepared for her to be standing at my bedroom door. Clearly she does not take instructions well.

Fuck, can I complain this time?

I stalk over to her, hard and ready as I pick her up and carry her the rest of the way to my bed. Our conversation is forgotten. What I need it to have her under me, to get inside of her, and to fuck her till she forgets her own name. I’m mildly annoyed that this is yet another time I have to tear at her clothes when we could have been naked or wearing robes this time around. If I keep having to do this, she may have nothing but ripped up rags to go home with.

Now there’s an idea.

We don’t stop until we’re both completely naked.

I pull her to sit on top of me and part her legs to straddle my thighs. My hands massage her generous breasts, relishing the hard points between my fingers. Lily moans. She arches her back, pressing her breasts further into my hands. I massage and knead her flesh, but I’m greedy to suck and taste and bury my face in her cleavage. Sitting up, I wrap my lips around one nipple, then the other. The wait has been too long, because I suck against each one and precum spills from my cock between her legs.

I need a condom. Fast.

Releasing her nipple, I toss her onto the bed to get myself ready.

“You’d follow me to the Holiday Inn,” she says out of nowhere as I get the condom from the pocket of my slacks.

I look over at her. She’s relaxing on my bed, waiting for me with her hair half covering her face and her hips cocked jauntily in my direction. The only way this image can be any more perfect is if she’s in my real bed. The empty one waiting for me in Silicon Valley.

Returning to bed, I climb on top of her, bracketing her in.

“You wouldn’t like me too much if I did,” I tell her, brushing the hair from her face.

“Is it because you’re too full of yourself to go after a woman?”

I shake my head. “That’s not it.”

“What then?”

I bury my hands into her hair and grip a fistful, twisting and pulling the slightest amount. Her lips open in a soundless cry. Her breathing picks up its pace. “Because, I’d have to punish you. Trust me, you haven’t known pain yet, Miss Henderson.”

Excitement flashes in her lust-filled eyes.

I chuckle. She wants to hate me, and yet just like the expression on her face right now, her body tells me another story. She wants to know. To test her limits.

Or mine.

She twists to get out from my grip on her hair. I release her hair, but I don’t move away. I want to devour and worship this woman at the same time, to control her and still see that spark in her eyes, and most of all, I’m ready to fuck that cocky little attitude right out of her.

“Get on your back,” I tell her. She glowers at me. I shoot her a warning glance. She obeys, just like she really wants to. “Spread your legs wide. Show me how wet you are for me.”

“You’re joking,” she murmurs, but her cheeks flush and her breasts heave with each new inhale and exhale.

I believe she likes the idea, so I wait. A few seconds pass. Smiling, she takes hold of her thighs and pushes them apart to reveal her pink folds as they spread, glistening with her slickness. I run my finger down her opening, eyes locked with her as I slide along her wet folds and then place my finger into my mouth. Lily watches me, her eyes dancing as I suck her sweet taste.

“I think you’re ready for me,” I whisper.

She bites her bottom lip. I get the condom on, part her legs and holding the base of my dick in one hand. Her eyes fall to my length and her lips part slightly.

“Look at me,” I say. “Here. In my eyes.”

Her pupils slowly lift. The instant they lock onto mine, I lower myself and thrust into her, grabbing her ankles in my hands. Breathy, uneven whimpers leave her between each thrust. As her eyes begin to fall closed, I slow down, twisting my hips and driving up into her sweet spot.

“Keep them open,” I tell her.

Her lashes flutter open. “Why?” she moans with a hitch of breath. The force of my thrusts shifts her up the bed with every stroke, bouncing her perfect tits up and down.

I grin wickedly. “Do you really want me to stop?” I circle my thumb around her clit as I wait. “You didn’t answer me,” I say.

“N-no. Don’t stop.”

I keep my thumb on her mound as I sink into her. Her pussy clenches tight around me, dragging me deeper into her. I unleash everything I’ve got and she shakes, crying out my name as she comes. If only she knew the effect she has on me by uttering my name from her pouty lips.

I pull out of her, and she finds some hidden reserve of energy. Lily sits up, rotates her body so her legs are on the pillow, and floats forward to my groin. I could stop her, but her eyes look at my dick with reverence. She removes the condom effortlessly. After a momentary assessment, she licks her lips, opens her mouth, and takes my cock head deep into her throat.

“Fuck,” I hiss.

My eyes close on their own, and my head falls back. She alternates licking and sucking, cupping my balls, massaging and teasing them against my body. Pleasure bunches in me. I won’t last long now, not after being inside of her. Gripping Lily’s hair, I drive into her mouth for several more pumps. I can’t ignore what we do to each other. As I look down to gaze upon her, she tightens her hand around my balls, increasing the pressure to the point where I can’t hold back. I cum hard into her mouth, groaning as she greedily swallows it all down.

I release her head and pull her into bed beside me. She relaxes for a few minutes, but soon, we’re back to where we were again.