Well, I certainly hadn’t handled that very well. Hell, I’m not sure I’d ever handled anything more poorly.

I was angry, yes, but I wasn’t angry with Emma. Finding out she was still a virgin had reinforced just how young she was, and how I had no business being with her…and how fucking her had absolutely, unequivocally, without a doubt been the most erotic sex I’d ever had. Knowing she’d never been fucked before, that I’d been the first to fill her…hell, I was getting hard again just thinking about it.

But now what was I supposed to do? Fire her? Again, my conscience had qualms with that after having lured her away from another job. All right, so what were my options?

I could apologize—it seemed like the most appropriate thing to do. But thinking about going to her room now to tell her I was sorry for the way I’d reacted seemed like a bad idea. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d still be dressed. Or was she lying naked in bed? Would her body still be aching from what I’d done?

I hadn’t had the faintest idea she was a virgin—the possibility hadn’t once crossed my mind—so I hadn’t exactly been gentle with her. And while I didn’t like that I might have hurt her, the idea that her body would be reminding her incessantly that I’d been deep in her pussy excited me more than I cared to admit. So much, that I almost did it; I almost strode out of the office and down the hall to her room. What the hell was wrong with me?

Clinging to what shreds of self-restraint I had left, I stayed where I was. She probably really was still sore, and even if she didn’t tell me to go to hell—which she probably would—I’d be an even bigger ass if I pushed her for another round tonight. But damn, I wanted back in that pussy.

Unfortunately, her physical discomfort wasn’t the only reason I had to stay away. I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that virgins were dangerous territory, that they were far more likely to form emotional attachments—attachments that I had no place for in my life. It was the number one reason a guy like me avoided virgins like the plague. Emma was supposed to have been a good fuck, and nothing more. And she’d certainly been that. I had no doubt I’d never forget it, but it was best just to move on.

And I figured Emma herself would make it easier to do that. After the way I’d reacted, it was fairly safe to say that if I just left it alone, there was no way she’d be hoping for what happened to develop into anything more. Hell, she might just slam the door in my face if I showed outside her room now.

The thought bolstered my resolve, and I left the office, stealing one last glance back at the desk where I’d had her sprawled out just moments before. My step faltered as I passed by her room, but despite the hard-on that demanded otherwise, I kept going.

It wasn’t until I’d made it to my bedroom and closed the door that I realized that I hadn’t exactly come up with a game plan. Given what I now knew, I should never have had sex with Emma, but since I couldn’t erase it—and I wasn’t sure I’d want to erase that memory even if I could—I needed to figure out where we went from here.

I couldn’t fire her—not only would that make me a grade A prick, but I was pretty certain it wasn’t legal to fire an employee because I couldn’t keep my hands off her and discovered too late she should have been off-limits.

So, it seemed the only option left was to act like nothing had happened. I wasn’t generally fond of shying away from reality, but what choice did I have? It was the most logical route to avoiding further entanglements.

I laid down on my bed, still trying desperately to ignore the raging hard-on that was demanding attention. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to sleep like this, so I gave up right away, striding across the large room to the ensuite shower on the other side.

A cold shower less than fifteen minutes after sex! If there had been any doubt in my mind, that confirmed it—Emma was dangerous territory.

* * *

I awoke the next morning after a broken night of sleep to the smell of pancakes wafting through the air. It was a pleasantly sweet smell when it wasn’t overwhelmed by the scent of burnt dough and the sting of smoke. I didn’t have to wonder where the aroma had come from; she’d been on my mind the whole night and had followed me out of sleep. No wonder the dream I’d awoken from had Emma bent over the kitchen counter, while I slid my tongue up her thigh to her sweet slit. She might have tasted like pancakes in my dream, but I could still remember the taste of her on my tongue from last night, and that was a thousand times more intoxicating than pancakes.

Craving another sample already, but knowing that was out of the question, I debated spending the day in bed to avoid her. But since I wasn’t going to spend the day hiding away from my daughter, I got up and padded down the hall toward the kitchen.

I spied her from several feet away and stopped, clearly remembering what every inch of her looked like beneath the clothing she wore now. My fingers tingled in remembrance of her soft skin and I could almost taste her on my tongue. Breakfast had lost its appeal. It just didn’t compare to what I really wanted.

Nevertheless, Abby came into view a second later and I plastered a smile on my face as she came running toward me. I caught her up in an enormous hug and nodded to Emma, who’d turned in the direction of the commotion. Her cheeks grew pink and it was so damn sexy, reminiscent of the flush that had crept across her body last night.

But that was over. No more, I reminded myself. At the same time, I groaned inwardly at the way the blood in my veins had begun to empty into my cock once again. It was going to be a very long, very hard day—pun intended.

And it was, though not quite as bad as I’d expected. Yes, I’d spent the entire day imagining Emma naked and having her in every position imaginable. But once we’d left the house on an expedition to a nearby conservation area, it seemed both of us accepted that nothing could be discussed nor could anything else happen so long as we had Abby in our care. And so, when she sat down not far from me at our first rest stop and Abby dug gleefully through the knapsack of snacks we’d brought along, I was able to respond almost coherently when she asked me what it was I did for a living. And while I’d expected her to roll her eyes in boredom, I found myself relaxing to some small degree when she inquired enthusiastically about the intricacies of running a multi-billion dollar server security corporation.

It didn’t escape my notice either that although both of us had been walking on pins and needles, painfully aware of the other and still reeling from the night before, she’d been the one to breach the barrier and try for a normal conversation. I was impressed. She had been embarrassed last night—in no small part because of the horrendous way I’d reacted—but she refused to let it dominate her. She was definitely a remarkable, young woman.

While I spent fifty seconds out of every minute thinking about getting her naked again, there were those brief spaces in between where I was focused on her company. She didn’t spend much time talking about herself, more interested in how I’d toppled the corporate ladder instead of climbing it, but I managed to wrestle a few details from her in the times she was distracted with Abby.

Apparently, Emma was as intelligent as she seemed, since she’d graduated from high school at sixteen and then obtained her undergraduate degree in just three years. It made me wonder why she’d taken up a career in gardening, but perhaps the corporate world just wasn’t for her. I couldn’t blame her. It was cutthroat and the most genuine relationship you could hope for was with an assistant who would drop you like a hot potato for a bigger paycheck. Hell, I’d considered bowing out on more than one occasion, particularly since Abby had come into my life. But it’s what I’d done for the past fifteen years. I’d been fresh out of college when I founded the corporation, and I’d built it from the ground up. One day perhaps I’d walk away, but not yet.

I tiptoed out of Abby’s bedroom after tucking her in and reading her a tall stack of storybooks, but I paused in the hallway when my feet tried to steer me in a direction that was off-limits. I knew where she was; I’d been painfully aware of her proximity the entire day, but that didn’t make it any better an idea now. In fact, it was worse than before. Yesterday, I’d known very little about Emma aside from her being hot as hell and appearing to be rather good with kids. Now, I knew she was smart and courageous, kind and passionate. And that was just too damn much to know about a casual fling. Even if she hadn’t been dangerous virgin territory, I was wise enough to know I should be running for the hills, not letting my legs compel me down the hall toward her room. And if I had a lick of sense in my head, I would have been fighting the urge to knock on her door.

But I was a fool.

I raised my hand to knock, but before I could make contact with the smooth wood, the door swung open.

Her hair was wet and her skin still glistened with a fine sheen of moisture. She stared up at me with eyes wide. Obviously, she hadn’t been expecting to find me there. But what the hell was I supposed to do now? What man on earth could have resisted the invitation of her lips, slightly parted and rose-hued even without lipstick? How could I keep my hands off her slick skin?

Maybe if I hadn’t seen the spark of desire in her eyes I would have been able to walk away. If she hadn’t swayed innately toward me, I might have had a chance. But despite what a prick I’d been the night before, it was clear that she wanted this.

Besides, it wasn’t really wrong, and it didn’t have to lead to anything more. After my inappropriate end to last night, wasn’t it only fair to make it up to her with hours of unadulterated pleasure?

That was the only reasoning I needed. I grasped onto it and reached for her without a word.

I covered her mouth with my own, my tongue playing against the seam of her lips, not gently but demanding entrance. She opened for me easily and I plunged in, mimicking what my body so desperately wanted to do to her pussy.

But I wanted more than her mouth; I wanted to taste every inch of her, to drive her wild with my touch, to shove my cock in every one of her holes.

I pulled my mouth away and moved lower…her neck, the upper swells of her breasts. But it still wasn’t enough.

I grabbed onto the neckline of her dress with both hands and tore it straight down the middle. Fuck! She hadn’t been wearing anything underneath the dress, and I could already see her wetness glistening on her thighs.

The sight of her made my mouth water, and I couldn’t resist. I dropped to my knees and spread her legs roughly before gliding my tongue along her slit, back and forth, and then plunging into her pussy, tasting her at her source. God, she tasted even better than she smelled. Her moans grew louder every time I thrust inside, but the sight of her pussy…her scent…the sound of her moaning in pleasure…it was all too much.

I needed to have her—now! I stood up and yanked off my shirt while the buttons flew everywhere. She reached out to touch me, to graze her too-innocent fingers along my naked chest, but I grabbed her hands quickly, yanking them over her head and pinning them against the wall. There was no way I had any hope in hell of maintaining even a modicum of self-control with her hands on me.

I unzipped my pants with my free hand and my cock sprung free, throbbing painfully for her. But it wouldn’t be painful for much longer. I lifted her off the ground and settled her over top of my dick, lowering her down as slowly as I could—though it seemed to drain every last bit of restraint I had left. I withdrew and drove in again, pulling her down hard on my cock. God, no woman had ever felt so incredible.

I thrust in over and over again, listening to the sexy sound of her moans as each one grew louder than the one before. She was so damn, tight, I wasn’t certain how long I’d be able to hold out.

“Ryan, please, I need to touch you,” she whispered, and I only noticed then that she was pulling against my hand holding her wrists. There seemed little point in denying her then since it was unlikely I’d be able to hold out much longer no matter how much she kept her hands to herself.

So, I released her hands, and she moved wildly across my body. Her fingernails grazed down my back, while the soft pads of her fingers glided up my arms. My skin seemed to burn with exquisite fire everywhere she touched.

I increased my pace, fucking her faster, harder. Her fingers dug into my back and I could tell by her erratic movements she was close too. So close.

And then her whole body seemed to contract; her hips bucked hard against me, driving my cock in deep and her fingers dug deep into my shoulders, as she toppled over the edge, leaving me free to follow right after her.

But a moment later, when I lowered her gently to the ground, I knew I wasn’t finished. That everything that had happened had been nothing more than a warmup. I wanted more of Emma. I wanted all of her. And it was going to be one hell of a long night.