Colin.”
“Sloane.” His muffled voice brought with it a puff of hot air right over my clit. What a way to wake up.
But I had things to do, emails to send, calls to return. There was no time for his attentions. “Colin, while I appreciate what you’re—”
I couldn’t finish, my brain short-circuiting as he spread my lips and suckled my clit. I threw back the covers so I could see him, needing to find his eyes, but he wasn’t looking at me. No, he was focused completely on the task at hand—on loving my pussy with his mouth as he’d done every day since we’d started this…thing. This thing that had quickly turned from hate-fucking to something on the other end of the emotional spectrum. Something sweet and soft that made my heart squeeze when I thought about it. Something I wasn’t ready to put a name to yet.
As Colin lapped at me, spreadsheets, conference calls, and shipment logs danced through my head—all things I needed to finish before we officially broke for Christmas. I also needed to find time to go back to the B&B where I’d definitely not been staying the past week to grab more clothes and Colin’s Christmas present. I fisted his hair, my brain ready to push him off as my task list built, but my body overrode the directive. Colin was too good at what he was doing, and he made me want to forget everything except the feel of his tongue and hands.
I was helpless to resist.
Instead of pushing, I yanked him closer, loving how he growled against my skin. How he clenched my thighs tighter. He reared up like a beast, dragging me with him until my hips were off the bed and he held me up. Licking me from one end to the other and making me tremble. I couldn’t take myself away from him just yet. It’d be cruel…to both of us.
“Five minutes.” I tugged his hair and let my legs fall open a little wider. “You’ve got five minutes, then I need to get to work.”
Colin chuckled and pulled away, his eyes bright as they met mine, his stubbled cheek rough against my inner thigh. “Your boss is a real asshole to make you work on Christmas Eve.”
“Tell me about it. But the benefits are good.” I cupped his face, running a thumb over his lips, knowing the wetness all over them was from me.
“Just good?” He dropped me down to the mattress, holding my gaze as he opened his mouth and sucked my clit between his lips. Such a filthy image, so damned obscene. And I loved it. I arched and squirmed, knowing he wouldn’t need the full five minutes to get me off. Not when he was so intent on watching me fall apart. He was too good at this, too skilled. And I was a lucky, lucky woman.
“Fine. The benefits are amazing.” I groaned and grabbed his hair again, throwing my head back as he slid two fingers inside me. “They’re awesome. Tremendous. There are no benefits better. Now please, don’t stop.”
He definitely didn’t stop.
While Colin showered close to an hour later—he may not have needed the extra time, but he deserved it with me riding him until he’d groaned my name—I threw on a pair of yoga pants and a shirt, grabbed my phone to check my emails, and headed downstairs. The house was empty other than Colin and me. There was no need for propriety; I could’ve worked naked, and Colin wouldn’t have cared. Well, he’d have cared. Enough to probably fuck me from one side of my office to the other. That couldn’t happen, though. I needed to get my tasks done so we could celebrate Christmas Eve properly. With eggnog and sex under the Christmas tree. Lots of sex under the tree, and in front of the fireplace, and maybe—
One email stopped me in my tracks, the subject line enough to make my blood run cold.
Steel Shipment Not Yet Released—Unsure of Production Schedule Before Chinese New Year
“Fuck.” I practically ran to my office, lunging for my laptop. The steel we needed for the mall project, the conference call where we hadn’t pinned down Frank about final dates because I’d—
“No, no, no, this can’t be happening.”
But it was. Frank’s email laid out the problems with the factory, the not knowing if he could persuade them to speed up production for us, and the lack of direction after the last conference call on what we were willing to do to solve the issue.
Lack. Of. Direction.
That was one hundred percent my fault. I’d blanked out on the call because I’d dropped to my knees for Colin. I’d been distracted and focused on sex instead of work all week. I’d expected my team to follow up with Frank and me, but I hadn’t explicitly told them to, and now they were all gone for the holiday. I’d dropped the ball, something that never happened to me. Though I never slept with my boss, so…
“You snuck down without me.” Colin sauntered into the room looking clean-shaven and well-rested. And happy enough to make my stomach drop with dread. “I thought you might’ve joined me in the shower.”
“No time.” I tore my eyes away from him to focus on my screen, already calculating time zones and a normal person’s schedule. Would Frank still be awake? It was a possibility, which meant I needed to get on the phone. And whether Frank was available or not, I needed to stay away from Colin right then. I had to focus on work. “I have too much to do this morning for playing, Colin. Maybe I can swing by your office for lunch.”
He stood silent for a long moment, the tension in the room rising. This wasn’t what we did anymore; that wasn’t how I spoke to him. Not since we’d started this…thing. Not since I’d started to fall for him. But I’d just screwed up so badly, he’d lose more money than I could imagine. Badly enough I doubted my career would survive if word got out. I had no time to be in love with my boss, a thought that both felt so right and made me want to cry.
It was time to get back to business.
“Please, Colin.” I huffed, making sure my business mask was firmly in place before looking up at his confused face. “I need to do my job.”
He nodded, his eyes narrowed in a way that told me he didn’t buy my line. “Fine. But it’s Christmas Eve. You’re not working late.”
My smile felt plastic and fake. “Let’s regroup in a few hours and see where we’re at.”
I went back to my computer, waiting for him to leave. For the pressure on my chest to ease. When he finally left after not saying another word to me, I sighed and shook my head. Christmas Eve? I had a feeling I’d be working all Christmas Day, probably in another country, one that didn’t celebrate the holiday and would be in full work mode. But there was too much to do before I made that decision. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number for Frank, crossing my fingers he’d pick up. Jumping in the second I heard the phone click, not waiting for his greeting.
“Frank, it’s Sloane McLaren. We need to talk about the steel shipment.”
Jesus, she was magnificent when she worked, all focused intensity packed into the body I knew nearly better than my own. Didn’t matter if she wore a suit or yoga pants and T-shirt, she exuded power. And it made me hard as a fucking rock.
But she wasn’t in the mood for playing. She’d made that much perfectly clear.
Every time I’d glanced in at her, hard at work, brow pinched as she tried to figure something out, I had to remind myself this was what I’d hired her for. She was the best in the whole goddamn country, and she’d proven that every day.
She was proving it now, even when I didn’t want her to.
Whenever I’d slipped into her office, she’d shooed me away, either with her words or actually shoving me out from behind her desk. It was totally unexpected…and new for me. I never got distracted at work. I never allowed myself to be. Yet Sloane did that to me. I couldn’t concentrate on anything knowing she was in the next room, driving me crazy. Thank God I had her to keep things running smoothly, because I certainly wasn’t in the mind-space to do so.
After multiple unsuccessful attempts to distract her, I decided to go to the residential wing and make some calls. She could work during Christmas Eve day, but I was going to spoil her rotten tonight. The long corridors were quiet and empty, even though they were full of furniture. Furniture that no doubt cost a fortune but was just pieces someone had picked out to fill the space. It never used to bother me, being alone in this huge mansion while Sloane had gone back to the bed-and-breakfast, but after only eight days, it was already hard to remember how I’d survived.
I wanted the life Sloane brought to this oversized estate. I wanted the arguments and the pushback and the laughter and the fun. I wanted everything she had to give.
I just needed to figure out how the hell to tell her.
We only had a few more months left on the mixed-use facility project, and then she’d be gone. Back to Colorado before her next assignment. And I had no projects in the pipeline with which to entice her to stay.
Looked like I had to rely on charm and charisma.
Sloane’s scent infiltrated my bedroom, touches of her everywhere. She’d made a trip to the B&B to gather a few changes of clothes once it’d become apparent I wasn’t going to let her sleep anywhere but my bed. They hung in my closet next to my suits. Her brush sat on the counter in the bathroom, the bottle of water she needed every night perched on her nightstand next to her Kindle she’d not once had time to open. If she was in bed, she was either asleep or riding my cock.
“Jesus.” I reached down and adjusted myself, considering slipping into the shower and getting a little relief, but quickly dismissing the thought. I still needed to make some calls to get things set up for this evening.
First call was to Antonio Ricci, owner of Nonno Pino’s. The little Italian restaurant was the nicest on the island, the food spectacular. It’d be the perfect place for tonight. Once the restaurant was secured for our exclusive use, I dialed The Bloom Room to order some arrangements to be brought there. The atmosphere at Nonno Pino’s was nice, but I didn’t want nice. I wanted the best.
Three hours later, everything was set up. Hopefully, Sloane had been able to get done what she needed to, because she wasn’t working this evening. Our reservations were for seven, and the boxes of clothing possibilities would arrive around five. I’d broken the cardinal rule and peeked at the size of Sloane’s suits so I could have my personal shopper send over a few dresses and accessories for her to try on. My only stipulation? Every single one had to be red.
Fuck, the thought of Sloane in a red dress, lips the same color, eyes dark and wanting, made me ache all over. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to wait hours for dinner.
Knowing I needed to get out of the house if I had any hopes of letting her get work done, I shot Sloane a quick text to let her know I was leaving and grabbed my keys. I hadn’t checked the progress of the site since the last time Sloane and I’d stopped by, and I wanted to see what they’d been able to accomplish in a week.
Not allowing myself to even peek into her office, I headed straight for my Mercedes. Counting down the hours until dinner.