Chapter Seven

 

MYRA

James wants to make me a partner.

I’m speechless, and not just because he is so far off the mark it’s enough to make a grown woman cry.

As for his offer of a promotion?

I can’t say I haven’t thought about what it would be like to have a different position in his company, and not just the regular fantasy I have at my desk where he bends me over the yearly calendar. I’ve imagined what it would be like to have my own clients. I’ve practically been that woman any time James has been out of the office for business anyway. But it’s not what I want. It’s never been my dream. Working for him has always been because it’s him. A promotion isn’t enough to fix what’s wrong with us. And it’s not enough to base my life on.

I want more. 

“How about it, Myra? You’ll get a pay increase and a new office. Hell, you can even hire your own personal assistant. Some kid straight out of college who will be eager to fetch your coffee. An intern you can teach all your tricks.”

“I-I resigned, remember?” I’d hoped that being a little more straightforward with him this evening might make a difference in the way he approached our problem, but he’s blinder than a bat with faulty sonar, pinging from idea to idea in the hope of landing on the right one and getting nothing more than a damaged skull for his trouble.

“That doesn’t matter. You know I’m not going to accept your resignation.” Deep lines mar his forehead. “This is what you were asking for last night, wasn’t it? And I said no. It’s why you’re quitting.”

Not even close.

“Do you honestly think you would have said no if I’d asked you for a promotion?”

“Well, no, but...”

“And fallen over the goat?”

“The goat had it out for me. You saw it. That four-legged beast hates me.”

“It does not,” I chide, almost giving in to the urge to re-tuck the edges of the afghan before recalling how close I’d come to touching parts of him I’ve only fantasized about.

“Then why don’t you tell me what happened? Save me all this guessing.” His fingers wind around my wrist. “At some point, I am going to remember, you know.”

I’m not sure if it’s my pulse or his I can feel through his fingertips. Either way it’s a tad fast. If I can feel his, does he notice mine too? “I’m sure you will. Now why don’t you get some rest, James? We can talk about all this tomorrow.”

“Just tell me. How can I fix the problem if I don’t know what it is?”

Judging from last night’s effort to escape me, I’m not sure the problem is so much fixable as it is life-changing. “Do you think maybe this is one of those issues you can’t fix?”

“Of course I can. I thought we’d come to the conclusion that nothing was impossible when the two of us work together.”

“Did we?” I glance at where his cock tents the blanket across his lap. He’s still wearing those awful golf pants of Garrett’s. I should really help him out of them. I pinch my lip between my teeth. Between my hand, his dick, and some lube, we could definitely make the impossible possible.

“Of course we did,” he mutters. “You were there. The first time we had drinks with the rest of the team.”

“Our first ever Frost Inc. social engagement.”

“Yes. That’s the one.”

“I remember.” Everyone else left before midnight, but not James. He was sitting at the bar when I went to say goodnight.

***

That was probably the night my crush on him began in earnest, although I managed to ignore it for a while. I found him attractive, but that wasn’t surprising. With his wavy, dark hair and those shocking blue eyes, it would have been impossible not to. He was friendly, but that’s the kind of working relationship we had. So what if it also made my pulse speed up? And what did it matter that my daydreams started to feature him more and more regularly? More than forty hours of my week revolved around him. It was par for the course.

He shifts until he’s more vertically propped against the pillows, and drops his hands in his lap. “The point is, though, I know we can fix whatever is wrong here.”

“I’m not sure we can.”

“Just try me, Myra. When have I ever let you down?”

“You haven’t. Other than...”

“Last night.”

“Last night,” I echo. “But that wasn’t...”

“I know whatever it is was important or you would just come out and tell me.”

“Not that important. It can wait until tomorrow. Or the next day.” I fuss with his blanket, tugging and stretching it. Talking about it after so long…I wouldn’t know where to begin. I choked last night. Threw myself at him. I promised myself I wouldn’t shock him quite so hard this time. The plan is to put the idea into his head, not knock him over the head with it.

“Come on, stop it now.” He grabs my arm and unbalances me so that I’m bending over him, one hand clutching the couch for support, the other grazing his groin.

I gasp, and his fingers tighten on my skin. When I snap my gaze to his, he stares at me intently. We’re so close. My breasts are in his line of sight, but he keeps his eyes locked on my face. My mouth tingles when he darts his focus to it.

He exhales and his body shifts under my hands while he lets out a raw groan. It’s not the kind of sound James makes, and it’s fascinating. Is this because of me? Because my fingers are...is it me that’s turning him on? Sex on a crumpet, could I have my wicked way with my boss right now?

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he whispers. “You’re always the one to help me when I get stumped, but if you can’t talk to me...”

Stumped? Glancing back at my hand, still so close to his groin, I clear my throat, but the truth is, I don’t know where to begin. Just like last night, I don’t know what to say. But I do know what to do. I think.

“Okay.” James loosens his hold on me. “Perhaps tomorrow we can hash this out, and you might actually give me something to work with since you don’t want—”

I drop to my knees beside him and trail my hand across his semi-erection. With a sharp intake of breath, he bows in on himself. My palm soaks up his heat through the blanket and those hideous pants. Need grows into a ball inside me, a hot urge to drag the blanket away and undo his pants so I can get my hands on his naked flesh.

“Myra?” His breathing shallows out as I rub along the hard ridge through the blanket. “What are you doing?”

“Should I stop?” Oh God, please don’t make me stop. This could be the worst mistake of my life if he’s not into it at all. I hesitate, almost lift my hand from his lap.

“Don’t.” He covers my hand with his and presses it more firmly to his erection. “Don’t stop.”

I do not need to be told twice. My insides melt like hot butter. I’m so going to need to change my panties after this. James wants me. He’s not turning me away. He’s not telling me that it’s a bad idea. Grabbing a fistful of the blanket, I drag it off him before I reach for his pants. He pushes his head back into the pillow, the sharp angle of his Adam’s apple standing out as he swallows down another groan. His long fingers caress my wrist as he rubs himself into my palm. I flip my hand over and squeeze his so that I can get to his fly and undo it. My heart is in my mouth and my chest is so tight I can’t breathe with the expectation. I know every damn detail about the man except for this.

I lick my lips as I take his hard, bare cock in my hand and give it a light squeeze. A soft breath pushes between his lips and the hand that holds mine tightens.

“Christ.”

My pulse gallops. Maybe he just needs time to get used to the idea that I want to be more than his assistant. Maybe he, too, wants to be far more personal than that, if this current situation is anything to go by. I run my hand up and down his length until his hips bump against my wrist each time.

“This is what I want, James.” I bow my head and whisper my lips over the fat crown of his cock. Flicking my tongue out, I swipe the bead of moisture from the top and taste him. “I know it’s so much more than a promotion, but I can’t help it.”

He shoves his hips up and his cock knocks against my lips. Obviously too much talking, not enough action. Perhaps now isn’t quite the time to tell him how I feel. No, give him a taste of what he could have if he weren’t so buried in his work first. I open my mouth and take him in. One hand wrapped around the base of him, I suck and wiggle my mouth up and down the length of him. He’s slick with my saliva, swollen hard in my mouth, and I desperately want to reach between my own legs and ease the tightness inside me. The idea of him touching me is like some weird version of heaven, only it’s a sauna and I’m permanently frustrated because he has only one good hand and it’s nowhere near where I need it to be.

His hips change rhythm, lose it. His erection is still hard in my mouth. A light rumble comes from deep in his chest. Again. I glance up at him as he relaxes under my hands. Eyes closed, lips parted, he lets out another one of those rumbling breaths. I gape and his still somewhat rigid dick drops with a wet plop against his abs.

“James?”

Nothing.

“James, are you asleep?” I scramble up off my knees. How could he fall asleep while I was giving him a blowjob? Was he asleep this entire time? No, I can’t believe he was, but what if this is because of the painkillers and the wine, and the... I am a terrible person, aren’t I? Taking advantage of him while he is incapacitated. What if he didn’t mean it when he told me not to stop? I quickly tuck him back inside his pants and pull the blanket over him. How embarrassing and awkward.

Especially if he remembers, and “don’t stop, that feels good” was really, Don’t. Stop. You’re skeeving me out. It probably was, wasn’t it? He just offered me a promotion with the company because he’s completely blind to my real motivations for leaving. It’s possible I read into it what I wanted to.

Which means it’s time to consider whether there’s any reason I shouldn’t take the job with Royal Cookie Co. And I better start looking for someone to fill my position with Frost Inc. The sooner the better.