Chapter Fifteen
Avery set her clutch on the ledge over the sink and washed her hands. The bathroom door swung open, and she smiled through the mirror at the woman who passed to the stalls. Her smile fell immediately after she was gone. The pretending was harder than she’d estimated.
But she’d keep doing it. She had no choice.
Carson Haggert wouldn’t break her.
Not that he was actually trying to do so. He was just being himself, and that was the hard part. She wanted every part of him. Even that distant, cool veneer he plastered on in the office.
She checked her lipstick and reapplied a fresh coat. Her stomach had been in a state of upheaval since she’d stepped from the cab. She could only hope she was hiding her nerves. The two glasses of wine had helped with that, along with her dignity.
She flat-out refused to let him see how he affected her. Not out of the Boardroom. There, she could give him everything—and had.
But this wasn’t the Boardroom.
Asshole.
She laughed at her scowl, but let her annoyance fire the anger that was holding her pride strong. Carson had opened a whole new sexual world to her, and that was the only part of her he was getting. She could fuck just to fuck, just like him.
The toilet flushed and that was her signal to bail before she was forced to make polite conversation. She’d taken two steps into the hallway when she was grabbed from behind. Her yelp shot free as she was swung around and hauled into the recess of another set of doors.
Her pulse raced with her reeling thoughts and the fear that’d launched her heart into her throat. She stared up into Carson’s stony face and tried to process what was happening. She sucked in a deep breath and got a heavy dose of his masculine scent. Sweet heaven.
His eyes blazed dark with things she couldn’t process. Want. Desire. Anger.
“What are you doing?” she managed to snap, confusion blending with her own anger.
He inhaled, nostrils flaring as he cupped her jaw, angling her head as he lowered his. “I have to have you.”
His mouth crushed over hers before she’d untwisted his words. He plunged in deep with a forceful swipe of his tongue that left little doubt to his desire. Any thought of struggling was snatched away beneath his ardent demand. He consumed her instantly, every stroke of his tongue and harsh gasp dragging her deeper into the spell he wove.
Her head spun, and her brain shut down until there was nothing but him. God, how she wanted him. This. Everything he was doing to her.
He bound her to his chest with his arm, her own arms trapped between them. He controlled the moment. The kiss. Her. If he let go right then, she’d crumble to the ground.
He forced her head back, and she arched to give him what he wanted. Every insistence she’d had fled with his heady touch. She could only think of getting more. Of feeling him in her, thrusting until she came.
She was alive with want, every cell burning to get closer.
The world went on around them, and she couldn’t get herself to care. The party was just down the hall. Anyone could walk by. Find them.
He spun them around, and her back hit the wall before she’d registered the move. He pressed in, his thigh spreading her legs, and she gave him everything. That wild freedom unleashed beneath his demand. Yes. She struggled to release her arms, her purse getting lost in her bid to hold him.
She dug her fingers into his hair and returned his kiss with the dark passion he’d released. Everything was adrift. Nothing else mattered but this moment. This heat. This man.
His groan was a low rumble that got consumed by their kiss. He inched back. His breaths heated her lips with quick gusts. He searched her, his eyes stormy with the lust he’d dragged from her.
Her chest rose and fell in a rapid pace, before he reclaimed her mouth. Yes. Her silent cry slammed through her on a desperate note. This wasn’t her. She didn’t attack a man in public.
But she was this woman with him.
And she loved it. Every gasping, naughty, wild second of it.
He ripped his mouth from hers to drag her closer. His breath cut over her ear. His whiskers scraped her jaw with each kiss down it. She struggled to land her own sloppy kisses, yet couldn’t break away from the line of fiery kisses he layered up her neck.
“I want to see you fall apart,” he mumbled near her ear, his tongue tracing a line around the shell. “Swallow your cries as you shatter.”
“Yes,” she whispered, the deep rasp tearing at her raw throat. Her hips undulated in a slow grind against his leg, but it wasn’t enough. An ache grew in waves from her pussy and demanded fulfillment.
He’d done this to her. He’d shown her how great sex could be. How thrilling it was to break from her own confining mold. And she didn’t want to go back.
Ever.
A door banged nearby, the vibration trembling through the wall behind her. The tactile reminders of their location added another layer to her lust. They could get caught at any moment. By anyone. Including someone from work.
He reclaimed her mouth, and she fell back, giving him everything. She trusted him, even here. Now.
He shoved the hem of her dress up, his fingers snaking between her legs to find her pussy. She whimpered at his touch. A hard, pressing swipe that dipped into her on a firm thrust before sliding up to her clit.
Oh, fuck yes. She shivered with the need that shot from aching to volatile in a heartbeat. He stroked her hard and fast right where it drove her crazy. He knew her body and used his knowledge to bring her orgasm crashing over her.
She clenched down, muscles constricting before her release broke free. It ignited from her core to shudder through every nerve ending before tingling out her toes and fingers. She gasped, her cry halted by his palm. He clamped it over her mouth, cutting off her voice and air.
Her eyes flew open as another ripple of passion clenched through her womb. He stared down at her, eyes crazy with desire and awe, his want so clear. He didn’t hide anything, and she soaked up every addicting drop of his focus.
Their connection strengthened her release until the last raking spasm mellowed into a languid drift. She sank into the wall, and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Her first deep inhalation was snatched away by his kiss. It was firm yet slowly gentle. A soft brush. A peck. Another. And then another until he rested his forehead to hers.
His breath rushed over her cheek mimicking her own. Her pulse raced, the rhythm pounding in her ears. He nudged his nose against hers in a tender touch of lazy want. He kissed her again, his hand coming up to cup her cheek.
She floated in the buzz that ripped logic from her head and filled her with hope. It was dangerous and scary and impossible to stop. Not that she wanted to. Not now.
The door slammed again. A pair of women’s voices drifted down to break their bubble. A small sound of protest leaked from her lips when he eased back. He stroked a thumb over her cheek with those tender brushes that eased down to flutter through her chest and circled her heart.
He was so dangerous to her, and she couldn’t get herself to care.
She drew in a long breath and caught the musky scent of her own arousal. There was something so very naughty about that. Was it on his fingers, or had she come that hard that it filled the air? Either one was raunchy and delicious at once.
He swiped his thumb under her lip, his eyes tracking its path. “Did you bring a coat?”
It took a moment for her brain to catch up to his question. “No,” she answered on a raspy croak.
“Fix your lipstick and then meet me outside.” He sealed his command with a soft kiss that had her stomach fluttering again. That mix of hard and soft was totally her weakness. One she’d never realized before him.
Her slow nod was an automatic confirmation she didn’t question when she probably should have. But she wanted to go with him, and that was all that mattered right then.
He bent down to retrieve her dropped purse. Her hand shook when she reached to take it from him. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice lost behind the silly fantasies spinning free with the hope that’d escaped.
His smile was warm if small. He ran a hand through his hair, straightened his tie and jacket before stepping up to place another kiss on her lips. She closed her eyes and savored the unspoken promise that remained. The gentle confirmation flowed down to eradicate any doubt that’d tried to sneak in. He was giving her something and she’d take it, whatever it was.
“Go,” he murmured.
Her eyes fluttered open, her strength returning at the nugget of truth sprouting to life. This wasn’t the Boardroom. This wasn’t prearranged.
This was something else. Something more.
She reached up and used her thumb to wipe away the ring of pink that stained the edge of his lips. Heat blazed in his eyes as his tongue snaked out to lick the pad, the tease both a reminder and a temptation. Need swelled swift and hot to crest over her chest and clench her pussy. She wanted him again. Right now. Here.
He cleared his throat, stepping away. “I’ll get my car.” He glanced down the hallway before looking back. “I’ll see you in a few.” Promise burned in his gaze and seared her lust with every intention outlined within it.
He strode away, back straight, composure in place when she still doubted if she could stand without the support of the wall behind her. Wow.
A smile curved over her lips in a secret slide of wonder. This was happening—had happened. Her stomach flipped, and she pressed a hand to it, inhaling. There were so many risks involved. Her job, her dignity, her heart. And every one of them was worth it if it meant she could keep feeling like this. Wild. Free.
Powerful.
Understanding dawned in a spark of awe followed by an amazed giggle. She’d never applied that word to herself and sex before. Not before Carson. Not until he’d shown her how her sexuality affected him and other men. Not until she’d owned the sensual side of herself—and set it free.
And I’m not going back. She shoved away from the wall, shoulders pulled back. A sense of ownership trickled down from her full breasts to her damp panties. She lifted her chin and stepped from the alcove. She smiled at the women exiting the bathroom, a delicious wickedness igniting at their quick double takes.
She waited for the flash of shame that threatened only to find none. Not even when her reflection confirmed that she looked as thoroughly debauched as she felt. Her lipstick was smudged in a telling smear of pink, and more than a few strands of hair had escaped the clips that held it up.
Her grin was knowing and wonderful. This woman staring back at her was someone she’d never dared to be—until Carson.
And Avery really, really liked her.