Her fingers tighten, her grip almost painful. I smile against her skin. And lift my fingers to the top button on her blouse, pausing for a moment. She doesn’t stop me, so I deftly undo it, freeing more of her for me to worship.
“Oh Luca,” she moans softly as I kiss the mound of her breast. “I…”
“Me too, wonder woman. I want you so fucking badly.”
She releases her hold on me, stands, and moves swiftly to straddle my legs, sitting in my lap. “We shouldn’t be doing this here.” Her lips find mine as her fingers again loop behind my neck. “Anyone could catch us.” Another kiss and a roll of her hips that has me digging my hands into her lower back. “But I don’t want to stop.”
That last is a pained whisper and I realize I have to be the responsible one right now. Which, not gonna lie, feels really fucking good. My mature, put together Isla is a wanton mess, ready to throw everything out the window, just from a few kisses.
“Okay. We have to stop.” I lean back slightly, moving my hands up her sides to cup her shoulders, squeezing gently. “I promised you I’d make sure we kept this a secret, and if we go any longer, I’m not going to be able to stop myself from bending you over this desk.”
Thatwas the wrong thing to say, judging by how Isla tips her head back with a soft moan. “I want that so badly.”
“Someday. When the office is empty. I’ll make it happen,” I promise.
The look she gives me is full of heat. “You better.” She shifts, standing up and glancing down to where my dick is obviously tenting my pants before giving me a smirk. “I’d apologize for that, but I’m not sorry.”
Pushing myself up to stand, I capture her lips in one last punishing kiss. “Never apologize for what you do to me. I fucking love it.”
A knock on my office door has me swearing under my breath and Isla stepping back quickly. “I’ll open it while you get behind your desk,” she whispers and I nod in agreement before moving as quickly as I can to sit down where my desk will hide the evidence.
Isla smooths her hair and takes a breath, squaring her shoulders before winking at me and saying loudly “Alright, that sounds like a plan. Thanks for the update.” She opens my door to Dom, who’s frowning down at his phone.
“Why was your office locked?” He looks up and sees Isla, his eyebrows raising as he looks to me then back to her. “Never mind. Hello, Isla. Hope your trip was good last week.”
She nods and slips out around him. “It was, thanks.”
After she disappears, Dom folds his arms over his chest. “Did I interrupt something important?”
I glare at him but don’t answer. After several seconds, he sighs and sinks down into the chair that Isla was just sitting in. When she wasn’t sitting on me, that is.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business,” I reply curtly.
Dom shakes his head, his expression a mixture of pity and concern. “Luca. I’m your partner, your friend. You dating one of our employees is absolutely my business. It might not be against some written rule, but it sure as hell is risky when we need her to finish her job.”
I sag in my chair. He’s right, and I’m not being entirely fair. “I’m not sure what to tell you. We like each other. And we tried to stay apart, but it just didn’t work. So we’re not going to deny things any longer. But we’ll be careful and we’re not going public yet. I’m handling it.”
Dom’s shoulders lift up and down as he takes in a long breath and lets it out. His jaw clenches as he stares at me, the pity in his gaze giving way to a hardened determination. “Okay, so how exactly are youhandling it? Because messing around in your office isn’t the smartest decision. People are gonna wonder what’s happening when your office door has always been open and now it’s closed and locked when she’s in here. Not exactly subtle. How long are you keeping it a secret? Does her kid know about you? Cedar Creek’s not a big city. If you’re out together, someone’s going to see something. Have you thought about that? How can you date her if you can’t be seen with her in public?”
His barrage of questions sets my blood boiling. Not only with anger toward him, but with the fact that he’s asking questions I don’t have answers to. And I hate that uncertainty. “I don’t fucking know, okay?” I explode in a harsh whisper. I lift my hand and rake it through myhair. “I don’t know. It’s new, and we’re being careful. She’s got a lot at stake and I’m not that selfish of an asshole that I’d ignore all of it and push her for more than she’s ready for.”
Dom leans back in his chair, his face relaxing into a slightly more understanding expression. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry I’m pushing you like this. But that’s where the friend part of me comes in. I care about you, and you know I want to see you with someone instead of staying miserable and alone. And if you’re happy with Isla, then that’s awesome. I just don’t want this to backfire on either of you.”
I nod, feeling my frustration start to recede. “I know you’re coming from a good place. And you’re not asking anything I shouldn’t be asking myself. But truthfully, this really is new. We don’t have it all figured out yet. She was at the conference last weekend. Her son has ABS. We ran into each other, and well…” I shrug. “I guess being away from real life was what tipped us over the line. I couldn’t stay away from her any longer.”
He exhales, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Damn. I didn’t know that about her kid.”
“Yeah. I did, which is why I really should’ve told her about me. But I didn't, so she found out when she saw me at the conference.”
Dom whistles. “Was she pissed?”
I finally smile, thinking back to how amazing Isla was at handling the revelation. “No. Surprised, yes, but not mad. We talked a lot that night, but then one thing led to another, and now” —I spread my hands out— “we’re here. Do you think you can just step back and let me figure this out with her?”
“I will, just be careful. For both of you, okay?”
“Trust me, I will be.”
