When Lex’s answer is finally here, I’m alone.
Alexander Coleman: I like it better, too. It’s more precise, rounder, and it means I can ask you out on a proper date earlier than I thought.
The breath I’m holding leaves my lungs with a surprised exhale. A dumbfounded smile slowly grows on my lips, my eyes reading his text over and over. He’s asking me out on a date. An official date. A real thing, like real couples do.
After everything we’ve already shared, it’s ridiculous for a date to mean so much. First the sex, then the genuine appreciation for one another, and now, the dating. Everything is backward.
Isowant to go out on dates with him. Maybe it’ll be awkward, but I long to go see a movie, go to dinner, or spend a day somewhere together. Everything has been behind closed doors, and I want us to escape the secrecy.
Not even taking the time to turn anything off, I jump out of my chair and swiftly walk out of the office. As I walk upstairs, I cross the paths of several people on their way to the lunchroom, including Tami, with whom I exchange a smile.
No one’s left in the hallway when I reach Lex’s door, so I confidently knock on it. His rough, oh-so-familiar voice invites me in, so I obey, my heart hammering a hectic beat against my ribs.
All the way from the door, I notice his sharp gaze behind his glasses, focused on his screen. He lifts his eyes after a few seconds to look up. I witness his surprise when he sees it’s me.
Lex follows my movements as I close the door and walk further in, like a hawk locked on its prey, and I fight back a smile, trying to look displeased instead.
“Did you just ask me out on a date via text?” I ask, raising a falsely condemning eyebrow at him.
A slow, knowing smile bends his lips as he cocks his head to the side, amused. He stands up with his natural elegance and comes toward me. “I was merely making an observation regarding what a month means.”
By the end of his sentence, he’s a foot away from me. With him towering over me like this, I should feel small and intimidated. Instead, I feel feminine, powerful, and strong. Because he’s mine.
My eyes move down to his tempting mouth, its corners barely bent upward in a failed attempt to conceal his amusement. Bewitched, I lick my lips, fighting the temptation. A languorous tension settles around us like static electricity charging the air.
God, how I love him.
Remembering we’re in the middle of a meaningful conversation, I gather my few brain cells still active and shrug my shoulders. “Oh well, I guess you won’t need an answer, then,” I tease, forcing myself to turn around.
Before I even take a step, he grabs my arm and tugs me into him. My mouth opens in a silent gasp, a flash of arousal warming me up from the inside out.
“Always a fucking tease,” he mumbles, his voice so low it flows like warm sand over my skin, making the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise. “Of course, I need your answer, you impossible dork.”
“You have to ask first.” My voice is weak, like my legs, but I hold firm.
His crooked grin proves he enjoys this as much as I do. “Andrea Walker, will you go out on a date with me?”
My heart seems to explode like a firework, pure happiness coursing through my veins. Still, I say, “I’ll have to think about it.”
I see him flinch before he understands I’m kidding. He groans, tightening his hold on me. “You drive me mad.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
Rising on the tip of my toes, I move up to claim his lips, but he fights it, keeping himself out of my reach.
“Say it.”
My insides melt into a wet pool of need and desire.Hi there, dominant Lex.
“Yes, I’ll go on a date with you, Alexander.”
I barely have time to finish his name before he hungrily takes possession of my mouth. In an instant, our tongues meet with greed, wet silk grazing and pressing, our hands grasping and pulling.
This isn’t forbidden anymore, but right, real, and strong. In our hunger to feel more, we stumble around until we end near one of the armchairs. Things are getting slightly out of hand, but I don’t care. I love this man with all I have; this is all I can think of. He, however, has more restraint than me, delicately pushing me away and framing my face with his warm hands. His loving gaze glides over my probably flushed face.
“We’ll work out the details later, but we’ll have to disclose it to HR soon,” he explains, his thumb caressing the apple of my cheek where I’m still a little red. Two weeks ago, signing those papers sounded so scary and overbearing. Now, I look forward to it.
I take him by surprise and shove his chest hard. He stumbles back onto the armchair, as I intended, and before he can react, I straddle his lap, grabbing his face with determination. His strong hands find their way to my hips, and I sense he’s trying to push me away.
