Sleep that night was impossible for Greyson after the kiss he’d shared with Belle. All he wanted to do was drive back to her dorm, whisk her away, and disappear for the weekend. She was unlike any woman he’d met, and since she’d started working in his office, he’d taken himself off the market. Several of his usual hookups continued to text him, wondering where he was, and he ignored them all.

Unable to sleep, he gave in and got up early, beating everyone into the office. He paced around his office, thinking about where to take Belle for dinner that night when he heard the familiar revving of an old Mustang.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered. He smirked when he saw the old black 1975 Mustang. “Thank God she can drive a stick.” He hadn’t even thought to ask.

He pictured her hand on the stick shift of the car as she drove and grunted when his jeans tightened around his sudden growing erection. Last night had been the same, wondering what would’ve happened if the kiss had continued. He’d wanted it to, wanted to take her sweater off slowly and see what sweetness lay underneath, to hold her breasts, and hear her whisper his name in the dark. One night with her was all he wanted, but after the moment in the car last night, he realized she was not a one-night type of woman.

It had been years since his longest relationship to date, and his mind told him he wasn’t ready for another one. His heart, though, told him to shut up and go after her. Dinner first. He promised they’d take it slow and see where the night went. If they wound up in his four-poster bed, he would not complain, and if not, well, he’d just have to be patient with her and amp up the charm.

“Morning, boss,” Belle called as she reached her desk. “Thanks again for the car, by the way. It’s incredible! Are you sure you don’t mind me driving it?”

Greyson turned. He hadn’t heard her come in—nor anyone else, for that matter. “Morning, and no, I don’t mind. Not one bit,” he replied as she sauntered in. Her snug jeans clung to her like a second skin, and her black leather, knee-high boots made his jaw clench. If he could peel those off her, watch her squirm beneath his touch…

“You look like you need some coffee,” she said. “I’ll go grab some.”

“Yeah, coffee, thanks,” he said and sat down hurriedly before she noticed his growing problem. “We’ll go over the plans for today after you’ve gone through e-mails and I make these horrible calls you left me notes about.”

She winked and closed the door behind her to give him some quiet.

He picked up the phone and dialed the first number, a call to the warehouse about shipping on some new gaming equipment. They were getting ready to do some in-house beta testing and the shipment was late again. Belle strolled in quietly while he was on the phone and set down his coffee. When she turned to go, he reached out and snatched her hand, holding it warmly in his. He brought it to his lips and loved the way her cheeks flushed before he let her leave. She twirled a ring on her finger as she smiled crookedly and left. She picked up her laptop and moved across the office to sit with Tim and the others for her shadowing.

“No, Mark, I said we needed them this week,” he snapped and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just get it done, alright? I don’t have time to mess around, not now. We’re pushing too close to our deadline.” The man said he’d do his best to get everything there by Monday, and Greyson sighed. “Thanks. That’s all I needed, man.”

He hung up and spun around in his chair, facing the windows. The door swooshed open smoothly, and he smiled, happy to see Belle again, but when he turned around, it was not her glowing face studying him hungrily.

“Hello lover,” Aiden crooned and sauntered close, swaying her hips in her tight dress that barely reached mid-thigh. “Long time no see.”

“What are you doing here?” he snapped as she walked around his office and slowly closed the blinds he always left open. “You can’t be here.”

“You said you’d call, but you didn’t,” she pouted. “I’ve been so lonely for you—aching, really. Haven’t you missed me, too? I know you do. Your desire was always so easy to see.” She let another blind fall to the floor, dimming his office. Finally, she went to the door, closed the blinds, and locked it.

Greyson swallowed hard as she strolled to his desk. “I’m not in the mood for this, and we never do this in my office,” he argued. “Really you should just… just go.” His eyes darted to her fingers tracing the top of her breasts, but surprisingly, his body remained calm. The raging erection he had earlier for Belle didn’t come back at the sight of the half-naked Aiden.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you enjoy our time together?” Aiden asked with a voice of silk. “I know you do, so why lie to me?”

“Really, you need to leave,” he stated, his voice dropping in tone as his anger rose, but she gripped the arms of his chair and rolled him away from his desk.

She straddled his lap, and he turned away as she kissed his cheek and his neck, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. “Oh, come on, just a little bit of fun. I know you want me,” she whispered and captured his lips with hers.

Greyson kissed her back out of habit, but as her hand slipped between them, reaching for his groin, he glowered at her as she glared daggers at him.

“What’s this?”

“I said I wasn’t in the mood,” he growled and stood, setting her on her feet. “Not now, and not ever again. I’m done, Aiden. Leave, or I’ll call security.”

“You’re always aroused for me,” she argued. “Are you… are you seeing someone else?”

“I’m always seeing someone else, you know that,” he said and steered her towards the door. “Now leave and don’t come back. Don’t call me either.”

“You don’t have relationships. You said so yourself!”

Greyson shrugged and crossed his arms stiffly over his chest. “Things change. Now, get out.”

“You’ll want me again,” she leered and kissed him hotly, but Greyson didn’t react. “You’ll come to me when this doesn’t last. You always do.”

He reached around her, unlocked the door, and gave her a gentle shove out. The second she was clear, he closed it and leaned against the door. His body trembled with want, but Aiden’s face wasn’t the one that came to mind. Belle. That woman tore him up inside, and a horrible realization hit him. No other woman would ever arouse him as she did.

His hand clenched into a fist. He needed to make Belle understand what she did to him and give her a chance to open up more. At dinner, he’d charm her and let her see she could trust him.

She wants a relationship, a voice warned. She won’t just want one night.

He frowned and wandered around his office, slowly opening the blinds. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it. He wasn’t about to turn his whole life around for a woman.

Isn’t that what you just did? Aiden’s been your go-to girl for months, but you’re pushing her aside. You’re pushing all of them aside for her.

He growled at his thoughts and hurried out of his office. Aiden had left lipstick all over his neck, and it burned him to have it there.

* * *

All morning, Belle flew on cloud nine, especially after she saw the car Greyson left her. She loved it and thanked Carrie for teaching her how to drive a stick her freshman year. The car was beautiful. The second she slipped behind the wheel, a strange sense of freedom washed over her and she let her worries about the night before go. The kiss stayed with her throughout her dreams and turned into so much more. As she sat watching Tim and the others work, she felt the shadowy caress of his hands on her back and other places she’d dreamt about.

“Looks like boss man has company,” Davis said, his brow drawn with a worried glance towards Belle.

His look caught her off-guard, and she shifted in her chair. No one could know about the kiss last night, but she did show up driving the boss’s other car that morning. Her neck on fire, her face ducked, she worked on her assignment from Tim after seeing the woman disappear into Greyson’s office. Probably just a client.

“That didn’t last long,” Tim said a few minutes later. “Huh, well then.”

Belle couldn’t help it and looked around at the very attractive woman storming out of Greyson’s office. Her heart sank when she saw him reopening blinds in his office and duck out after her, lipstick stains on his cheek and neck. His shirt was partly unbuttoned, and when she caught his eye, his face paled and his feet paused.

Belle fumed but lowered her face again to her work, biting her tongue as her hand gripped the mouse hard enough to make Tim tell her to be careful. “You’re going to break that thing if you squeeze it any harder.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled and stretched out her fingers, trying not to think about the two of them lip-locked together in his office. Her stomach roiled and her hopes of the kiss being anything more than just a kiss for him dried up. “Gonna run to the restroom. I'll be right back.” Tim eyed her funnily but didn’t question her.

Belle reached the bathroom quickly and ducked into a stall, latching the door, and sat down on the toilet. She held her face in her hands as her anger boiled over. How could she be so stupid? She thought they had something growing between them… more than just carnal attraction. She was blinded by his nice side, by the car, his invitation to dinner. All the walls she’d constructed carefully over the years were pulled down brick by brick as Greyson let her into his life, but now, she knew he’d never change.

“It’s fine,” she whispered to herself. “You’ve been through worse disappointments. Just keep a smile on your face and do your job. You’re a real employee now. Just let it go.”

After a few deep breaths in and out, and telling herself denting the stall door would not be a good idea, she left the bathroom, ready to return to Tim and the team. She was about to sit down when Greyson’s growling voice called out to her.

“Belle, can I see you in my office?”

Reminding herself to stay calm and count to ten in her head—or thirty—she walked quickly to his office to find him pacing angrily back and forth like a caged animal. “Yeah, boss?” she said lightly.

“Where do you want to go for dinner?” he asked without stopping.

“I think I’m going to pass on dinner,” she said politely. “I remembered I have plans when we finish up here tonight.”

That stopped his steps, and he faced her, his hands clenched at his sides. “No, you don’t. You’re lying.”

“So what if I am?” she snapped, startling them both. “I don’t want to go to dinner, not anymore.” She turned to leave, but he reached her first and pulled her back around. “What?”

“I know what you saw, but it’s not what you think,” he growled.

“Really? I didn’t see a thing. I certainly didn’t see a much prettier woman than me leave your office or see you come out covered in her lipstick,” she jeered and yanked her hand free of his grip. “Nope, I didn’t see a thing, boss.”

He gritted his teeth, and when she stormed for the door, he blocked her path. “Wait, listen…please.”

“Why should I?” Her toe tapped angrily on the floor. “I’m an idiot to think you were actually being truthful with me about anything.” She walked forward, but he didn’t move. “I need to get back to work, boss.”

“Stop that,” he growled and closed the door, leaning against it. “You’re not leaving.”

Her mouth dropped open, and she glowered at him. “You can’t keep me in here and convince me to do anything after what I saw!”

“Nothing happened,” he insisted, but she eyed the lipstick he’d missed on his neck.

“Really? That’s nothing? Why are you doing this? I’m clearly not as attractive as her, so what do you want from me?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted and his words grated against her already raw emotions. “I don’t know, but nothing happened with her.”

“Sure it didn’t,” she argued, but he gripped her shoulders and forced her to meet his gaze.

“Nothing happened because no other woman gets me aroused, not anymore. Not since I met you, damn it.” His chest heaving, he let her go and ran a hand through his short hair, his eyes wild. “I don’t understand what you did to me, but you can’t act like nothing happened between us.”

“Says who?” she muttered darkly. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry. Finish the damn proposal yourself.”

She pushed around him and out the door before he could catch her again. Her eyes blurred with tears. She didn’t want to cry, and her chest ached as she hit the elevator button. When it took too long, she rushed for the stairs and down to the garage. The car keys she kept clipped to her belt were still there, and she jumped behind the wheel of the Mustang. His Mustang.

The entire car smelled like him, and it drove her over the edge. She hugged the wheel and cried at her own stupidity. She was always the strong person, but she let herself fall for a guy with good looks and money. Maybe there had been nothing between them but lust. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was amused at his lack of arousal for another woman. How she did that to him was a mystery, but that was his problem, not hers. She sped out of the garage and drove around aimlessly in the city.

When the sun was setting and the workday was technically over, Belle pulled out of the commuter parking lot she had parked in because it was safe to head back to the office. She’d left everything there and needed her laptop for the weekend. She should probably explain her half-day absence to Kelly, say she was sick or something, unless Greyson had taken care of it.

“Great, you just messed up again,” she lectured herself. “Strike two for Belle.”

The parking garage was mostly empty when she pulled in, and Belle waited at the elevator for the doors to open. She’d go in, grab her things, leave a note for Kelly on her desk, and get out of there. The office was empty, everyone having escaped for the weekend, and she walked to her desk. Tim had carried her laptop over and left a note with his cell number, hoping she was alright, and told her to call in case she needed a drinking buddy for the weekend.

Belle tucked it away, muttering to herself. How the hell did everyone know something had happened between her and Greyson?

“Doesn’t matter,” she whispered to the empty shadows of the office. “You’ll come back Monday and be professional. That’s all you can do.”

She glanced over her calendar for the day and cursed. She’d forgotten to print papers Greyson needed for Monday. It was curious that he wasn’t in his office. The proposal wasn’t finished yet, but maybe he took it home for the night. She hit print on the documents, but her printer jammed. Instead of wasting time trying to fix it, she rerouted the job to the copy room printer and read over a few more papers as she walked.

The printer hummed to life as she stepped inside, and she waited impatiently for it to finish. Heavy steps echoed in the room, and she whipped around to see Greyson blocking the doorway. The heat in his eyes ignited a want deep inside her, and the papers slipped from her hands, scattering to the floor at her feet.

“Greyson,” she whispered, their shared kiss in her mind. She struggled to speak, but she was too torn between her undeniable attraction to him and her own desires for him to hold her again. The woman from before… She knew nothing had happened, saw the honesty in his eyes, but she wanted to use it as an excuse, needed to push him away.

Greyson reached behind him and closed the door. When the bolt slid home, Belle licked her lips, wanting to find a reason—any reason—to turn him away. He prowled towards her, and like a deer caught in headlights, she couldn’t move away. Her breath quickened with each step. When his hand reached out to cup the nape of her neck, the fiery explosion inside her lifted her to her toes and their lips met in a furry of passionate heat. She was still angry with him, hated him for destroying her walls, and her hands tugged at his beard, dragging his mouth closer so she could devour him, but she was inexperienced with this dance, so he took control.

His hands glided up beneath her sweater, pressing against bare skin, and she moaned, leaning into his touch, wanting to feel his hands caress her whole body. She nipped at his lips, and he growled, his mouth claiming hers in a fierce battle for her moans. The storm raged around her, lifting her off her feet and straight into the turmoil of Greyson’s raging want, a rival to her own. She fought the buttons on his shirt, wanting to see the muscles beneath the fabric, and he groaned when she pressed her hands on his pecs, tracing his ribs until he captured her hands and lifted them over her head.

Her back hit the wall, and his kisses trailed down her neck as the swell of emotions burst free from their dam. Belle gave in and moaned with need, her hips grinding against his.

“You see what you do to me?” he growled as he ground his hips against her and the swollen bulge in his jeans pressed into her belly. “This is all because of you.”

Belle couldn’t find the words, and when his hands lifted her sweater over her head, she didn’t care to. His eyes narrowed, and he cursed. She shifted nervously, having never let a man see her in a bra before, but the way Greyson’s eyes caressed her skin without even touching it, the way his lips parted and eyes darkened with his growing arousal, soothed her nerves and she relaxed easily into his touch.

He slid one bra strap down, followed by the other, sending goosebumps down her arms. His lips curled in a dangerous grin, and he kissed her again, his lips seeking the depths of her soul. Belle held onto his shoulders, needing to grab something to keep herself grounded, but he turned her around and held her against his chest. The words were on her lips to tell him she’d never done this before, but when his hand slipped into her bra and held her firmly, she moaned and forgot everything else. His erection pressed into her back, and she bit her lip, wanting to feel him, grasp him as he kissed her, but when her hands moved to do so, he stopped them gently with a chuckle.

“Not yet,” he whispered.

He undid the button on her jeans instead, sliding down the zipper, and she gasped when his hand moved easily down the front of her body. His fingers tugged gently on her curls before slipping lower, reaching for her swollen lips. She knew she was wet, felt it even before his hand cupped her. He groaned in her ear, nibbling the lobe before kissing down her neck to her shoulder.

His fingers pressed against her clit, rolling it, and she squirmed in his arm as his other hand slipped back into her bra, tugging and teasing her nipple into a hardened point. The storm was fierce, unstoppable, as desires she never knew she could feel welled up inside her, ready to burst free. For the first time in years, she let her control go and tumbled down into a haze of raw emotions that shifted her hips, seeking out the touch of his hand against parts of her body never felt by a man before.

His hand pressed into her and moved in a steady rhythm, back and forth, building momentum and heat until she couldn’t stand it. She wanted more of his touch though her body tried to get away, overwhelmed by the ecstasy growing inside of her. He maneuvered a finger within her lips, rubbing and thrusting until she cried out his name and her body shook in his arms. Her knees went numb, and she clung to him, needing him to hold her up as the storm consumed her.

He kissed her neck sweetly, his hand slowly freeing itself from her jeans as he turned her in his arms.

“Is it… is it always like that?” she asked quietly, her eyes hooded as the last waves of the orgasm rippled across her.

He straightened with a frown. “Was this your first one? Ever?”

She nodded as the reality of what had just happened slapped her hard in the face. “Shit, what did we just do? We’re at the office,” she yelped and backed away quickly. “You’re my boss! We can’t do this—oh God, holy shit.” She fixed her jeans quickly and glanced around frantically for her sweater. “I have to go.”

“Wait, Belle, just hang on a second,” he urged, but she shook her head.

“No, no we can’t do this… I can’t do this, I’m not ready,” she whispered, not looking back as she ran out of the copy room to her desk. Greyson followed, his shirt still unbuttoned, showing off his perfectly sculpted chest that made her lick her lips. For a second, she almost gave in, but she remembered she had no experience with this whatsoever and scooped up her bag and jacket. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”

“Will you slow down for one second so we can talk?” He reached for her hand, but she pulled out of reach. “Just hang on.”

“It’s not you, it’s me,” she said and laughed harshly at herself. “That sounds God-awful.”

“Yeah, it does. What are you running from?”

“Whatever this might be, or is, or… I have no idea. I can’t do this. I’ve never done any of this before, and you were great,” she added hastily, her lips lifting as she remembered just how great. “Incredible, actually, but I can’t navigate this, and you’re my boss and I have to go,” she finished lamely and ran for the stairs.

She heard him curse and follow her, but when she reached the stairs, she sprinted, nearly falling as she ran. Greyson called her name a few more times, but she had a head start and reached the black Mustang just as he burst through the door.

“Hold on!” he called out.

Belle shook her head, panic filling her at the way her life was suddenly too complicated for her to deal with, revved the engine, and took off, leaving Greyson in the dust. At a red light, she dug around in her purse for her cell and called Carrie.

“Hey. I’m picking you up, and we’re going out,” she told her friend the second she answered.

“Two weekends in a row? I like this,” Carrie said with a laugh. “Why are we going out? This have to do with your boss again? And why are you out of breath? Oh my God! You did the dirty at work!”

“No, I didn’t… well, mostly,” she said but sighed when Carrie squealed so loudly on the other end she had to put her phone down. “Just get ready. I’m almost there.”

She hung up and gripped the steering wheel hard, trying not to remember how Greyson touched her.

This is going to be a long weekend. What was I thinking?

It didn’t matter. They had crossed a line together, and there was no going back.