His hand drifts from my hip down to pull up the fabric of my skirt until I can feel his hot caress on my thigh, and a moan escapes me even as I try to hold it back. Yes, I need more.
The loud knock at my door makes us startle apart so quickly that I can barely catch my breath.
“Fuck, Jos,” he mutters, pulling back, straightening his tie, and running his hand through his hair.
I struggle putting myself back together, as I pull my skirt down and fluff my hair. Damon shoots me a wicked smile before he wipes some lip gloss from the side of my mouth.
“Come in,” I finally manage to squeak out, as I stride back toward my desk. I need to get a grip on my libido. I’m like a sex-starved lunatic. Okay, maybe sex-starved isn’t too far off. I already know what Lainy would say about that.
Mel opens the door, carrying a bag of what I hope is our lunch. Nothing like food to distract your hormones, and mine need a distraction badly. She plunks it down on the coffee table, asking if we need anythingelse. I let her know we’re all set, and she’s out the door before I can even thank her. Good grief, she’s efficient. I take a deep breath to get my horny self under control before glancing at Damon. With as much dignity as I can muster after I practically climbed him like a tree, I gesture toward the sofa.
“Maybe we should eat and talk before we get carried away?” I say with chagrin. I don’t even want to know what my face looks like. The heat on my cheeks tells me my embarrassment is not a secret.
He arches a brow, giving me his signature cocky smile.
“Probably. I did intend to talk, but you look so fucking sexy today, and well… Yeah… that happened. Sorry, Jos.” He shrugs his shoulders as if to say he couldn’t help himself. Well, I couldn’t, either, so who am I to judge at this point? Okay, neither of us has regrets. Good to know. One thing that kiss did do was reinforce my desire to have this conversation.
Not the only desire you’ve got today.
Food. Focus on food.
We pull our food out of the bag and set it up to eat. Silence fills the room as we both concentrate on sustenance. That’s fairly typical of us, always on the run and eating quickly to get to the next item on our massive to-do list, so the silence isn’t uncomfortable. He finishes before I do, even though he’s got twice the food. He gets up to grab water out of my office fridge, and by the time he’s back, we’re both done eating.
“I’ll start,” I say with a smile, setting my take-out container down on the coffee table. I know guys get nervous when women say, ‘Hey, let’s talk,’ so I want to reassure him that won’t be the case here.
“Go for it. I promise to listen.” He looks at me and waits, giving me his full attention. Okay, no need for reassurance. How is this man so perfect?
“So, the other night, um, I think maybe we shouldn’t do that kind of thing anymore. Not that it wasn’t incredible because it was… definitely incredible… yeah.” I clear my throat. “But the, uh… cameras are going in soon, and I’m not porn star material.” I give him a lopsided grin, trying for humor to dispel the awkward tension. Awkward much?
“To be clear, what won’t we be doing? Exactly,” he asks carefully, looking concerned.
“Oh, yeah, I get how you would think…. Yeah, the sex at work part. The sex part was great…really great, but maybe we should talk before…um, more because… yeah.” Good Lord, if I could roll my eyes at myself, I would.
“Good to know. But the sex part was incredible, huh?” His smile is a bit cocky, but I guess that’s fair. I did say incredible. He reaches out and takes my hand, gently but firmly. “For future reference, I agree. It was better than incredible.”
“Um…okay,” It’s all I can manage to say, and my unsteady voice is breathy. I look down, trying to maintain some composure. The things this man does to me. “So, about the cameras…”
“You had the camera conversation with Eddie, too, huh?”
“Too? Uh, no, I didn’t, but I’m happy to see that you did.” I’m filled with an intense wave of relief. I was far more concerned about that than I was willing to admit.
“I was hoping to talk about what happened and what to do going forward. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the HR manual, which, by the way, is a disaster, but it doesn’t contain any fraternization language, so technically, that’s not an issue. However, I’m not feeling great about my behavior from an ethical standpoint. I also think we need to add something about fraternization in the new manual. I’ll make sure Jacob talks to the new HR director. I can’t believe it’s never been a problem before.”
I’m skeptical because of Kurt and Tad’s behavior. It had to have been a problem at some point. Which means they probably didn’t handle it legally.
“I agree. I’d really rather that we control the narrative on the fraternization issue. What about us? Where are you at with us?” He’s so calm, that deep voice I can’t get enough of, steady and patient. It settles my nerves.
“Us? I’m not sure. It’s pretty much why I avoided you yesterday. I’m sorry about that. I know it was childish. I just didn’t know what to say.” I pause and look up at him, hoping to get a read on how he’s feeling. Why did I offer to go first? I feel like I’m floundering. I find a man who’s willing to listen, and I can’t figure out what to say. Just my luck.
He frowns at my last sentence, then opens his mouth but closes it abruptly as he gestures for me to continue.
I hesitate, then grimace.
“So, I’m not sure what this is since it sort of happened by accident.”
Nice one, Jos.
“Not that it was an accident. I mean, it obviously meant something. I’m just not sure… Uh… What did it mean… to you?” I look at him hopefully. Maybe he’ll start talking so I can shut up because I’m babbling like an idiot. That’s not what happens, though. I take a deep breath and plunge right in again. Fuck it. There’s nothing to lose but my self-respect, right?
