“Not jealous.” She has me pinned between her body and the car, so I feel every slight movement as she shakes her head. “I mean, I sort of was. I am.” Her admission sends a flare straight to my heart. “But what if we find a middle ground? Like…” Her eyes search mine. “We have to be honest with each other. And if it reaches a point when one of us doesn’t want to do this anymore, then we stop, no hard feelings.”
“Friends with benefits?” I ask, wanting to understand.
“I think it’s more than that.”
My gaze darts down to her lips, and it’s near impossible to stand here and talk our situation out rather than kiss her again. But she’s right. Whatever I’m feeling is light-years beyond casual. I nod.
“You said it would be a good time. So let’s have that. Let’s have as much good time together as we can before you go.”
The way she says that crushes me, so I pull her closer, wrapped up in that sweet scent of hers. “Daze.”
“People in workplaces date.”
“True.”
“We don’t have HR to report to.We’reHR.”
“We should tell the assistants setting up the gallery.” My hands skate up and down the arms of her jacket, rubbing to give her added warmth. “Because of my last job, I don’t want them to think something’s going on that’s not supposed to. Is that okay with you?”
“Of course. And they’ll understand. You and I aren’t just coworkers. We know each other.”
Daisy draws me into a long, slow kiss. She coaxes my mouth open, her tongue darting in to play with mine. My hands travel down her coat, skimming her too-perfect ass at the bottom. She moans into me, and my dick jumps.
“Just, when you leave,” she says, panting in between kisses, “make sure you say goodbye.”
Pushing her back by her shoulders, I level her with a stare. “Do you think I wouldn’t do that?”
“Promise me. When you leave, you’ll say goodbye.”
“I promise. Of course, I promise.”
I used to believe that Daisy flipped switches on her emotions, but I’m beyond wrong. She doesn’t refuse to feel things—she feelseverything, maybe too much. She protects herself the same way I do. We’re both putting our hearts on the line here, and we recognize that at the end of this, we won’t be the same.
Our breathing syncs as we melt into each other. Then, she’s grinding into me, I’m gripping onto her with every ounce of strength I have, and we’re wearing too much clothing to be making out like this. If she keeps rubbing against my hard-on, I’ll be driving home with a mess in my pants. I rake my hands under her coat to slide it off, chucking the garment into the cab of the truck.
“Get in,” I order her. “Now.”
She shoots me a puzzled look, her eyebrows high. “Here?”
“You don’t get to kiss me like that and then expect me to wait forty minutes to feel all of you.”
She gulps and scrambles into the passenger seat. Once I close the door behind us, I draw her onto me so she straddles my lap. The hem of her dress rides up her thighs, and the lean muscles there are more beautiful than any piece of art in any museum. Transfixed by her body, I run one hand up her leg. When I lift my gaze, I get a face full of Daisy’s chest, which makes my pants impossibly tight. She rests in front of me, breasts rising and falling with each inhale and exhale. I trace the neckline of her outfit with my hands, and she shivers underneath my touch.
“Cold?”
“No,” she says, breathy. “The opposite.”
“I like this dress on you.” I look into her eyes. Her head is only slightly higher than mine. “I want to fuck you in it.”
She doesn’t give a response so much as whimper one. I rest my thumb against her lips, bee-stung and glossy. I was an idiot to think I could get her out of my system. When she rolls her hips forward, angling her crotch against me, I groan.
My lips make a map of all the places I adore. I kiss every freckle, every tattoo, every curve. I worship her neck, traveling from one shoulder to the next, while I slip under her dress to finger around the edge of her panties. She’s already soaked through the fabric.
“I haven’t even felt you come on my hand yet.”
“Hurry up, then.”
“Daisy.” I push her underwear to one side and find her clit, applying gentle pressure that makes her writhe. “You like to think you’re in charge here.” Her body is slick and soft, and my middle finger follows her wetness until I’m inside her and beckoning her closer. She bows her head against mine, gaspingout anohwhile rocking her hips to dig harder against my hand. “That’s not how this is going to go. Understand?”
