Ally woke up late the next morning, with barely thirty minutes to get ready for work. She hadn’t wanted to drag her butt out of bed, and she wasn’t certain whether it was really the alcohol she’d consumed the night before, or the fact that she was going to have to face Travis.
Oh God, did I really ask him to kiss me?
She frowned at herself in the mirror as she hastily gathered her hair into a clip at the back of her head, in too much of a hurry to worry about braiding or a more intricate style. She’d only put on a minimal amount of makeup, just enough so she didn’t scare any of Harrison Corporation’s clients.
Running to her closet to grab a pair of shoes and a colorful belt to match the conservative gray dress she had thrown on earlier, she looked nervously at the clock.
Five minutes until eight o’clock.
Ally had no doubt that Travis would arrive at exactly eight, ready to leave for the office. He didn’t have any early morning appointments, but she could tell the time by Travis’s arrival in the morning. Travis Harrison was never late, and he arrived at exactly the same time every single day.
“Shit,” Ally cursed as the closet door caught her nylons, starting a snag that turned into a very long run in her panty hose. She watched as she turned her leg to look at it, irritated as she watched it go from her knee to her ankle. Snatching her black heels, she dropped them on the floor and fastened the black, gray, and red belt around her waist, adding some color to the drab dress. At least she could breathe in the ugly dress. It had a fuller skirt to accommodate her curvy hips.
Rifling through her dresser drawer, desperate to find another pair of black hose, the only thing she came up with was an ultra-thin pair of stockings and a black garter belt. “Crap,” she said, annoyed with herself for not stocking up again on panty hose. She eyed the sexy black ensemble warily, having dug to the bottom of her drawer to uncover it. She’d bought it on a whim a few years ago, and had only worn it once, when she and Rick were supposedly going out for a romantic evening to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, Rick had called her to cancel, claiming he had to study. She’d undressed and went to bed, washing the lingerie and never bothering to wear it again, feeling more than a little bit silly for trying to spice up their sex life. Rick had been too busy, too tired all the time. Now, Ally had to wonder if her ex-fiancé had been full of shit, even then. Just that thought made Ally want to trash the lingerie, but she was desperate, so she quickly put on the stockings, garter belt, and the sexy black panties that went with the set. It didn’t matter. They were black stockings, and nobody would ever know that they were attached to a fuck-me set of lingerie.
Ally cringed as she heard the doorbell ring, putting her heels on carefully so she didn’t snag the last pair of stockings she had. “How in the hell am I going to look him in the eye after asking him to kiss me? Maybe he won’t say anything. He knew I’d had a few drinks,” she whispered to herself hopefully.
Actually, she hadn’t been drunk when she’d asked Travis to kiss her. The alcohol had lessened her inhibitions, but she’d desperately wanted to feel what it would be like to have that sinful mouth of his on hers. Asking him to kiss her was possibly the most impetuous thing she’d ever done. He was her boss, for God’s sake, and a man who could have any woman he wanted. Still, those important facts hadn’t stopped her longing to see what his kiss would feel like just once. Ever since Travis had told her how desirable she was, Ally had wanted to see if his kiss backed up his words. Knowing Travis, he’d probably act like he didn’t remember, or maybe it wouldn’t even be important enough for him to recall.
She raced down the stairs as fast as her heels would allow, breathless by the time she opened the door. Travis looked immaculate as usual, but his stance was casual, his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. Ally’s breath caught as she took in his black designer suit, the only relief from the darkness of the outfit some small navy and gray stripes on his tie.
“Good morning, Ms. Caldwell,” Travis said huskily. “I trust you’re recovered?” His dark eyes perused her thoroughly, as though looking for any signs of a hangover.
“I-I’m fine,” Ally answered nervously, opening the door wider so he could enter, hating herself for being anxious. She couldn’t show any weaknesses to Travis. The man was like a shark that could scent blood in the water. If he knew he had her rattled, he’d swoop in for the kill. It was a trait that made him a good businessman, but a dangerous adversary. “Let me grab my purse and a cup of coffee to take with me. Would you like one?”
Travis sauntered into the living room, and Ally closed the door behind him.
“I’m not in any hurry,” Travis said casually. “Take your time.”
Ally looked at Travis, dumbfounded. Since when wasn’t he in a hurry? The man never wasted a single moment, working like a fiend every moment of the day. She turned, slightly confused, and walked into the kitchen, her heels clicking against the polished wood of the floor as she took down two mugs and poured the coffee that she’d set up to brew on a timer the night before. Quickly adding creamer to her coffee, she left Travis’s black the way he liked it, and headed quickly back to the living room. Travis had his back to her, looking at her bookshelves that lined an entire wall in her living room. She’d been planning on moving most of them into one of the spare rooms to use as a library, but she hadn’t bothered. She’d be moving soon anyway. “Here you go.” Ally handed him his mug carefully.
Travis turned to her and raised a brow. “You do realize, Ms. Caldwell, that you actually brought me my coffee today.”
“Don’t get used to it,” she mumbled over the rim of her coffee before taking a careful sip.
Travis smirked as he said, “You have eclectic reading tastes. I think you have everything from the classics to non-fiction to do-it-yourself books here.”
Ally shrugged uncomfortably. “I like to read.”
“What’s this?” Travis asked curiously, pulling out a plain, bound manuscript.
She leaped forward, trying to pull the bound sheets from his fingers. “Nothing of interest,” she told him adamantly. “Give it to me.”
“It has your name on it. Did you write it?” There was no scorn in his voice, only curiosity, as he held the manuscript out of her reach.
“Yes,” Ally answered irritably.
Setting his coffee down on one of the shelves, he flipped through the pages. “You’re a writer?”
“I’m an assistant and a secretary. And I’m a bartender. Writing was just a dream.”
“Why?” Travis’s gaze locked with hers, his dark eyes questioning.
“Because I wasn’t good enough to be published. I have the rejection letters to prove it,” she answered, annoyed. “Rick told me to quit dreaming and work harder at something that actually paid a wage. And he was right. We were tight on money. I needed an extra job where I actually got paid—”
“Is this a fantasy novel?” Travis interrupted, his concentration on the manuscript.
“Yes,” Ally admitted. “Young adult fantasy. It’s a series. I never quite finished the second book.” Not that she wasn’t itching to write the story, but there was just never a moment where she had the time to write. Someday she would finish the series, even if she couldn’t get it published.
“I’d like to read it,” Travis said thoughtfully, closing the manuscript gently and placing it next to his coffee. “So the bastard basically took everything away from you,” Travis stated quietly, his voice low and dangerous.
“What do you mean?” Ally asked, confused.
Travis crossed his arms in front of him and his brows narrowed, spearing Ally with a dark glare. “He made you quit school so he could finish. Then he made you give up your writing to work even more hours at a goddamn bar in a shitty neighborhood. He shamed you into doing exactly what he needed. Did he ever give a damn about you, what you wanted? Obviously not, or he wouldn’t have been hopping into another woman’s bed.”
Ally opened her mouth, wanting to tell him that Rick hadn’t technically hopped into another woman’s bed. He’d used theirs. But she wasn’t so sure her slimy ex hadn’t done some hopping, too. “It wasn’t all him,” she admitted reluctantly. “I wanted security, too. That was the plan. To finally have a life that wasn’t chaos, a life where I didn’t have to worry about pinching every single penny I had.”
“And was your life always so chaotic?” Travis asked as he stepped forward, stopping a few feet away from her.
“Yes. I grew up with one parent, and she was an alcoholic, drunk more often than she was sober. So yes, I wanted a normal life.” Ally’s heart was racing, and she took a deep breath and let it out. It wasn’t that she didn’t know that she was a codependent mess sometimes, but it wasn’t a topic she really wanted to discuss with someone like Travis. Actually, she didn’t really discuss it with anyone.
“So you busted your ass to make the wrong guy happy, a man who didn’t give a shit about what actually made you happy,” Travis stated flatly. “So when is it your turn, Ms. Caldwell?”
“I’ll have my chance as soon as I straighten everything out,” Ally argued.
“Will you? I wonder?” Travis said hoarsely.
“I can’t change the past. Yes…I was stupid. Yes…I was gullible. I need to learn from my mistakes and move on,” Ally said hesitantly.
“You’re a pragmatic organizer on the surface, but a dreamer inside,” Travis observed. “But one thing I don’t understand is why you took his shit for so long. You’re not the type of woman to put up with crap from anyone. I should know. He must have been one hell of a manipulator.”
Ally shifted uncomfortably. “He was.” Rick was never openly hostile or angry. Ally could have dealt with that by kneeing him in the balls and walking away. But he had a way of making her feel guilty and responsible for everything, and he’d played on her vulnerabilities. “He was very good at it.” Ally sighed. “I guess I wanted the dream, and I had everything planned out perfectly. It just didn’t work out exactly the way I had planned.” She’d dealt with everything Rick threw at her just for the possibility that some day she might have a normal life, making excuses for him just like she’d made excuses for her alcoholic mother all her life. She told herself life would get better, that Rick would be a better man once he wasn’t under so much stress. It wasn’t until the moment she’d seen him screwing another woman that she realized that she’d been the one living a lie. He’d always been an asshole. Seeing him with another woman had finally shaken her into reality.
“You’re a smart woman, smart enough to get anything you want,” Travis said huskily, stepping close enough to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Did you love him?”
Ally glanced up at Travis, their gazes locking together, and she was unable to look away. His expression was stoic, but his eyes were heated with a mesmerizing stare that made every thought except him fly out her brain. “I-I don’t think I ever knew him. I think I loved the idea of a plan and a normal life.” Travis was close enough to smell now, and Ally stepped back for her own self-protection, her back hitting the living room wall. She’d already made an ass of herself the night before. Travis was her boss, the billionaire boss from Hell, and she needed to remember exactly who he was. For some reason, she had memory problems when he got this close, like everything in her body overheated and short-circuited.
Travis moved forward and braced one hand against the wall beside her head, the index finger of his other hand moving in a pattern from her ear to her cheek. “Ask me to kiss you again, Alison,” he demanded, his finger tracing her lips.
Ally wanted to break eye contact, wanted to run as fast and far away from Travis as she could possibly get. The grim expression on his face was at odds with the torridity of his dark, liquid eyes: a look that both frightened and enthralled her.
She didn’t want to think about his rejection the night before, or why he wanted her to ask again. Finally, she simply asked, “Why?”
Travis took the coffee from her hand and set it on a small table next to him, his eyes never leaving her as he tipped her chin up, his thumb stroking over her skin as he answered, “Because I’ve been waiting all night for you to ask me again, this time when you’re sober. Ask me,” he rasped demandingly, his breath moving in and out of his lungs as though he’d just finished a long, hard run.
Oh, how Ally wanted to heed this one command from Travis. She wanted to feel those hard, demanding lips on hers more than she wanted her next breath. But she whispered, “I can’t. You’re my boss. I’m your employee. We can’t do this.”
“The hell we can’t. You’re fired,” he grumbled.
Maybe this was the one time that Ally appreciated the fact that Travis canned her on a daily basis. “Fine,” she answered, grasping his dark, immaculate tie and yanking his mouth down to hers, unable to overcome the temptation to touch him, have him touch her. Her eyes slid closed, her senses immediately intoxicated by the feel of his hot, demanding mouth covering hers, his insistent tongue overcoming any resistance or hesitance she may have had earlier. She opened to him, and he plundered, taking what he wanted, and at the same time giving her exactly what she needed.
Ally moaned into his kiss, her hands spearing into his coarse, dark hair, shivering at the feel of the strands sifting between her fingers. He palmed her ass with one hand, brought her up hard against his muscular, heated body. His fingers grasped the clip in her hair and pulled, releasing a cascade of blonde locks down her back. Fisting her hair, he tilted her head back further, allowing him complete access to her mouth.
Sweet Jesus, I’m in trouble!
Travis kissed like a man possessed, and Ally responded, giving back exactly what he gave to her, lust crashing over her body like a tidal wave. Her core flooded with liquid heat, and she rubbed her body against him in frustrated passion, irritated because she needed to feel his heated skin against hers. His heavy suit jacket kept her hands from touching his bare skin, and she wanted it gone. She wanted everything gone.
Travis tore his mouth from hers, panting. Another tug on her hair bared the sensitive skin of her neck, and his mouth explored, as though savoring every exposed surface of her body. “If you don’t stop rubbing that luscious body against me, I’ll have you naked and on your back within seconds,” he warned her ominously, his low voice muffled against her temple. “Or naked up against the wall,” he added harshly.
For one crazy, wild moment, Ally wanted to call Travis’s bluff, press herself against the large erection she could already feel against her lower abdomen. But she felt too raw, too exposed. And leaving herself open to Travis would be just another stupid mistake. He was too dark, too tempting, and far too unpredictable. The last thing she needed was to have a fling with her boss and lose her job. As much as she wanted him—and she definitely did—she was terrified of what the outcome of an affair with Travis would be. He was a heartless prick. Maybe he felt like playing with her now, but he’d find another toy soon enough. And she’d be out of a job.
“We’ll be late for work.” Ally tried not to whimper.
“I own the company. I don’t think we’ll get in trouble,” Travis answered lazily, nipping at her earlobe.
Dear Lord, if she didn’t get away from him now, she would tear his clothes off. He pulled his head back to give her a scorching look, one that almost had her stripping him right there. His hair was mussed, like he’d just rolled out of bed—or gotten screwed—and his clothing was askew. It was a whole new look on her boss, and damn, it looked really good on him. It made him seem more approachable, and even sexier than he normally looked. “I forgot. I don’t have a job. You fired me.” She tugged playfully on his hair.
“I could think of a few things that would probably persuade me to re-hire you,” Travis answered in a graveled voice, his hand tightening on her ass possessively.
Unable to handle the exquisite torture of Travis’s touch for a moment longer, Ally ducked under his arm and scooted away from him. “We shouldn’t have done that,” she said unhappily.
Travis straightened his tie and smoothed his hair back down. “It was just a kiss, Alison.” His eyes shuttered and his face turned to his usual, stony expression.
Just a kiss? Bastard!
His tone was mocking, irritating, and she wanted to slap him for calling what they’d just done simply a kiss. For her, it had been an earth-shattering, panty-melting experience, an embrace that still had her body melting from the heat.
Without another word, she picked up her purse, turning her back on him. “Right. Just a kiss. Nothing spectacular,” she answered nonchalantly, hoping none of the hurt she felt could be detected in her voice. Really, did she even know what a normal hot kiss was like? Maybe it really wasn’t anything extraordinary. She had very little to compare it with.
She turned in time to see Travis picking up her manuscript and slugging the last of his coffee. For a moment, she considered arguing with him about taking her book, but she wrote so people could read the stories she had to share, therefore it really didn’t matter. He moved to take the mug to the kitchen, but she intercepted it and dropped both cups off in the sink herself. Picking up her hair clip from the floor, she scraped her hair back and tightened the clasp. “Time to go,” she said, breezing through the living room to the door, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt.
Travis caught up with her at the door, grasping her upper arm as she opened the door. “He was a fool to lose you, Alison,” he said gruffly. “And if I thought you were ready and wouldn’t regret it, I’d be fucking you right now. Watching you come would be one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done.”
Ally gaped at him for a moment, stunned at how fiery he could be at one moment, and then turn to ice the next. Her face flushed, and she could feel the sensual electricity flow between them, knowing that one misplaced spark would fire a roaring flame. “I doubt that. And it was just a kiss,” she reminded him with false sweetness in her voice.
“It was more than that,” he admitted, his eyes raking over her face, searching for…something.
Ally turned away, unable to withstand his scrutiny. She’d exposed too much of herself already. Opening the door, she waited for him to step through before locking up behind him. As she turned around, she saw that he was dangling a set of keys in front of her face.
“I did promise,” he said, sounding almost pained.
Ally swiped the keys. “I promise I’ll get us to Harrison without a scratch on the car.”
Travis shrugged. “It’s not the car I’m concerned about.”
He helped her into the driver’s seat and buckled her in, and then took his own seat on the other side. “You’re not used to the vehicle.”
Travis proceeded to give her clipped instructions all the way to work, even though Ally handled the car just fine. She may not have ever driven a Ferrari, but she understood all the car had to offer. Occasionally, she accelerated too fast, causing Travis to snarl at her to slow down. When she finally pulled the sports car into Travis’s personal parking space, he grudgingly admitted she had driven well, but spoiled the compliment by reminding her that she drove too fast. Like she was going to drive a Ferrari like a grandma? Had Travis not been snapping at her for her speed, she would have liked to open the engine up a little more, although there were few places where she could do that in the city. Still, the experience had been exhilarating.
“Thank you,” she told him sincerely as she handed back his keys outside the Harrison building. “You just helped me complete one thing on my bucket list.”
“I hardly think turning twenty-eight requires a bucket list, Alison,” Travis replied, straightening his tie as they walked into the building.
Ally shrugged as they stepped into the elevator. “You never know. I might get the death penalty after I kill my billionaire boss from Hell,” she answered smoothly, shooting him an evil smile. “Do you have your phone?”
Travis scowled at her. “Yes. Why?”
“I just wanted to add some reminders.” She was such a liar, but whenever he started to act like he had a stick up his butt, she had wicked thoughts.
He handed it over with a masculine sigh. “If you change the ringtone, you’re fired.”
“Would I do that?” She put a hand to her chest, giving a false look of horror and dismay.
Travis glared at her. “Yes,” he growled.
Ally did put in a few reminders as they stood in the elevator.
And then she changed his ringtone to a popular and very sexually explicit song, making sure the volume was full blast.
She smiled at him innocently as she handed it back, reminding herself to call him during one of his meetings today. With that supremely satisfying thought in mind, she stepped out of the elevator and made her way into the office, her grin broadening with every step she took.