The firm press of his lips against her mouth made her sink into the warmth of his embrace. He tore his lips from hers, peppering the sensitive skin of her neck with tiny electric nips that made her bloodsizzle.
Her brain cloudy with desire, she clung to the last thread of clarity long enough to pull slightly away from him and look up into his eyes. Watching his gaze, full and heavy with need, only worked to frazzle the thin thread of restraint she was holding desperatelyto.
“Slade, we’re in youroffice.”
“I’m aware of that, darlin’. It ismine.”
He leaned forward to capture her lips again. She turned her head just in time, his lips meeting her cheek instead of the intended target of hermouth.
Mandisa watched him as she tried to make sense of the moment. She wasn’t certain why things felt off. Slade was an amorous man. He’d kept her satisfied since the first night they’d spent together in New York. But as much as he did to keep the fires burning between them, alarm bells were going off inside of Mandisa’s head rightnow.
“I tried my best to keep you in bed for a little morning fun, and you turned me down. Now, you’re practically painted on me. Whatgives?”
He tried to kiss her again, chasing her lips as she turned her face from one side to the other. “So you’re complaining because I’m giving you what youwant?”
He certainly was giving her everything her libido had been begging for this morning. His hands cupped the curve of her ass, pulling her closer to him, as his tongue and teeth laved and nibbled at her earlobe. She could feel her juices begin to coat her pussy walls and pool at heropening.
“Yes, I want this,” she murmured as her eyes fluttered closed. “I’m not trying to give your staff a show,though.”
He held her for a few seconds more before he lifted his head and looked down at her. This time she saw more than lust clouding his vision. There was reverence for her in his blue gaze. As if she was something vital and treasured to him, something of greatvalue.
“Hey, we talked about this. Even though I’m going home in a few days, we are not done. Slade, you don’t have to look at me like I’m the last slice of pie atThanksgiving.”
She snaked her hands up the firm planes of his chest, and they landed on his broad shoulders. She stood there, her hands still as his chest expanded with a heavy breath. “Why are you soworried?”
“Mandisa, long-distance relationships don’t exactly have a great track record. We don’t have a lot of history to anchorus.”
“Why do we need history when the present is so damnwonderful?”
Her words seemed to erase the long crease running between his brows. The stiffness in his shoulders remained, making her need to comfort himincrease.
“Go to your meeting, take care of your business, and I’ll be right here waiting for you when you’re done. You do that, and we’ll spend the next few days pretending the world doesn’texist.”
Slade tightened his hold on her and leaned to place a quick peck on her lips. “How’s a man supposed to resist an offer like that?” He granted her a crooked smile filled with delicious devilishness, making her skin hum with familiarexcitement.
“That’s the point—you’re not supposedto.”
The desk phone ringing behind him pulled his attention away long enough to reach behind him and press the speakerbutton.
“Mr. Hamilton, the board members are convening in the conference room. The meeting will beginmomentarily.”
“On my way,” Slade answered and clicked the speaker off. He leaned in for another kiss, threading his fingers through her braids, keeping her mouth positioned exactly where he wanted it as his lips parted hers. He dipped his tongue in her mouth to taste her, moaning in sublime pleasure when his tongue touchedhers.
The taste of Slade made Mandisa hungry for him. Kissing him was never enough. It always made her want to feel his skin on hers with no barriers betweenthem.
“You’d better go before I tie you to this desk,” she whispered as she broke the kiss, resting her forehead againsthis.
“Darlin’, you never told me you had a bondagekink.”
“I don’t, but for you, I’ll make theexception.”
“God, woman,” Slade uttered as he peeled her arms away from him and readjusted the firm bulge of his cock. He stood and fastened the buttons of his suit jacket before he walked toward thedoor.
He grabbed the doorknob, turning slightly toward Mandisa before he opened the door. “This isn’t going to be a pretty meeting. Things will probably get ugly. Do me a favor—stay here and wait for me. If you need anything, get my secretary on the intercom. I don’t want you to end up in the crossfire of what’s about tohappen.”
The heated sizzle his touch had left her with was replaced by a wary chill that made her senses go on alert. The crinkled lines around his eyes and the tense planes of his face conveyed the concern weighing on Slade. She hadn’t had enough experience with the corporate world to know if this was par for the course with business coups, but she would bet everything she owned his sense of dread had more to do with Bull Hamilton than whatever the status quo was for these types ofsituations.
She didn’t say anything. She simply nodded in response and waited as he kept his eyes fastened on her. He took one more breath, then sighed in satisfaction, opened the door and stepped into thehallway.
