Penelope gives me a tour of the rooftop pool, the Sky Bar, the work pods and “chill zones,” which are unbelievably luxurious. Clearly no expense has been spared at Invested Enterprises. Another reason I really want to ke ep this job. Which means Mr. Best Night of My Life needs to remain firmly in his executive office and far away from my bed. I could read it in his eyes that he remembers me. Very well. Which means nothing, of course. He was abrupt, almost cold. As he should be. Whatever we shared in Hawaii is in the past. Where it will firmly remain. “I’ll email you the rest of the online forms you’ll need to fill in, Dusty,” Penelope says, as we get back to the offices on the lower floor. “I’ll send them now.” “Great. And thanks for the tour.” “My pleasure.” Penelope heads back to her office. I sit at my desk and wait for her email. Lacey is over at the coffee machine, so I take my opportunity. Pulling out my phone, I google him. Cash Maddox. Of course I’ve wondered what kind of life he went back to after our night in Hawaii. I knew it was possible he was in a relationship with someone else. Or that he was a player on the prowl. I pushed visions of him in bed with other women out of my mind too many nights to count. Cash Benjamin Maddox, 27, is a New York businessman, investor and philanthropist. He’s the third son of A. J. Benjamin Maddox III, who inherited the helm of Maddox Enterprises from A. J. Benjamin Maddox II, currently run by Alexander J. B. Maddox IV. Cash Maddox remains on the Board of Maddox Enterprises but left his role as Vice President three years ago to form Invested Enterprises, where he is CEO and primary equity holder. Invested Enterprises is currently valued at upwards of $10 B. Cash Maddox was ranked this year as #13 on the Forbes list of the richest Americans under 30. Wow. I continue scrolling. Cash Maddox avoids the spotlight and is known for his elusiveness when it comes to publicity. He attended last year’s Financiers’ Fundraiser with supermodel Adora Flynn and last season’s Met Gala with influencer Ashlynn Chamberlain. He briefly dated former model and heiress Rylee Winters, daughter of financier James Winters II; Rylee is currently employed as an investment analyst at Invested Enterprises, but the relationship is rumored to have ended after only a few weeks. Cash Maddox has had no known long-term personal relationships and appears to currently be single. Rylee Winters is a former model and heiress? Why’s she even working here in that case? And more importantly, how do I compete with someone like that? You’re not competing, I remind myself. It doesn’t matter to me who Cash Maddox has or hasn’t dated. He’s single. Not my concern. My inner sex goddess is screaming with glee over my chance encounter on the executive floor. But I mentally discipline the little psycho. He’s my boss. So? I will not jeopardize my career for an orgasm. How about five? I can’t help myself. I google Adora Flynn. Of course she’s breath- takingly beautiful. I type in Ashlynn Chamberlain. Also stunning. And finally: Rylee Winters. Okay, not on the same level as the other two, but she’s pretty in a severe, corporate kind of way, with platinum blond hair and bright red lipstick. Three photos of her pop up and she’s not smiling in any of them. Lacey sets a coffee down on my desk, making me jump. “I was making a skinny latte so I made two.”
“Oh. Thanks.” I slip my phone into my bag. Lacey slides into her chair. “Did you get to meet the famous and elusive CEO on your tour?” “Yes,” I say, smoothing my hair off-handedly. “He was in.” “Was he a grouchy prick like usual?” “Uh, no... not really.” Grumpy in a sexy AF kind of way, maybe. Lacey takes a sip of her coffee. “Dusty is such a cool name. Is it common in Texas?” “Not at all. Where are you from?” I’m learning to steer all conversations back to Lacey, so she talks mainly about herself. I’ve already decided to give her only the most necessary information about myself. I really don’t want to be the subject of her next juicy water cooler conversation. “A small town in Ohio not far from Toledo,” she says. “Boring as hell but I miss my brothers to the point of craziness. I went to NYU, so I’ve been in New York for almost five years now. I love it, of course. So much better than Ohio, obviously. The only things I really miss are my brothers, even if they are monster-truck-driving rednecks with no interest in culture whatsoever.” An email alert pops up on my screen. It’s from Penelope. Links to the online forms she wants me to fill in. I start working through them when another email pops up. The first thing I see is the subject line: tex. Oh shit. It’s from him. “What’s wrong?” Lacey asks. “Why are you blushing?” “Oh, it’s nothing.” I quickly minimize my email screen, bringing back up the online forms. I work on them until Lacey is distracted. She’s called over to Evan’s desk. Making sure no one’s watching, I bring up the tex email again. to: drose@investedenterprises. com from: ceo@investedenterprises. com subject: tex Dusty, You are required in my office as soon as you receive this. There have been some recent developments in the company and I want to make sure you have all the facts. Hayley will show you in. Cash Maddox CEO Invested Enterprises Jeez. Bossy much? But his stern message is having an effect on me, like everything about him insists on doing. I feel a pulse in a very intimate place. I guess he’s referring to the scandal, and it’s true it would be good to get the facts straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. to: ceo@investedenterprises. com from: drose@investedenterprises. com Ace, I bite my lip, immediately deleting Ace and r eplacing it with Mr. Maddox. It’s probably safe to assume that internal emails are visible to the tech crew. So I ke ep it mostly professional. Thank you for your message. I’ve had a briefing from a few of my new colleagues, so it’ll be nice to talk it all through. I’ll be able to get to your office by 11. See you then, Dusty By the time I finish typing my message, I squirm in my chair because the light pulse between my legs is warmer now. Yikes. He wants to see me in his office. Alone. I delete nice and r eplace it with ace, because I can’t resist. Then I hit send.
Why am I playing with fire? I close out my email window and finish filling out the forms. Lacey returns and as I’m getting ready to submit the forms to Penelope, my phone vibrates with an incoming message. I pull it out to take a quick look. I’m always hoping Sky might have some good news. I said you’re required in my office. Now. Oh my god. He’s texting me now? My heart is racing. I text him back. I’m sorry, I’m not sure who this is You know who it is How did you get my number? It’s in your file. And texts aren’t traced. Emails are. I need to see you now Fine. I’ll play along with this. But only so I can tell him face to face that we’re ke eping things strictly professional. Okay, boss. See you in 5 I wait for the three little dots of his r eply but there’s nothing. “Who are you texting?” Lacey asks. It’s a good thing I’ve decided I am one hundred percent not sle eping with the CEO, because nothing would slip past my attentive work colleague. “My sister.” A little white lie won’t hurt. I stand up from my desk. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” “Where are you going?” What to say? “I think I left something upstairs when Penelope was introducing me to Hayley. I better go check.” It’s a slightly lame excuse and she gives me a curious look but I’m saved when Evan calls her over to his desk again. I stop by the bathroom on my way to the elevator. I look flushed, but in good way. In a I’m-fully-alive-and-I-get-to-see-him-again way. Stop it. You will remain completely professional. You will not under any circumstances get carried away by how hot he is. You will absolutely not spend the entire meeting thinking about how well hung he is. Or how good it felt when his big cock throbbed inside you as you came together. I reapply my lipstick and smooth my hair. Lacey is chatting with some colleagues over their partitions. I straighten the skirt of my dress as I walk past them to the elevator, channeling the cool, confident, ambitious Dusty that got the job in the first place. All I’m doing is talking to the CEO about an important issue. It’s completely innocent. As I st ep from the elevator into the lobby of the executive floor, Hayley looks up from her monitor and waves me through. I like the fact that this is uninteresting to her, that she hasn’t stopped to look me up and down and wonder why I’m already being summoned to the CEO’s office—unless this is a regular thing and she’s so used to it that, by this point, it’s unexciting. Is that a possibility? I knock on Ace’s—Cash’s—Mr. Maddox’s—door. Almost instantly, he opens it. He holds the door open and I walk through, feeling suddenly like I’m entering his lair. I hear the click of the automatic lock as he closes the door behind me.
His gaze roves hotly over my body. “Tex.” “Ace.” And my gaze roves—okay, hotly—over his. Now that I’m over my shock, I can fully appreciate the ridiculous specimen of A-list manhood that’s standing in front of me. He’s tall, and big. His dark hair is thick and slightly more unruly than you might expect from a CEO. He’s wearing an extremely well-cut suit but doesn’t seem entirely at ease in it, as though it constricts a barely-controlled wildness that’s a definite part of his vibe. The wildness that was like crack to me that night in Hawaii. And he’s doing it again. “Take a seat on the couch,” he commands. I have the urge to not obey his grumpy command but resist it. I don’t want to rile him, or myself. That could be disastrous. So I walk over to the plush seating area by the wall of windows with its killer view out over the Manhattan skyline. The cluster of leather furniture, the swanky built-in bar and this entire scenario reminds me of a scene from Mad Men. How many women has he invited into his office, sitting too close to them on his fancy couch? Maybe he does this all the time. “I don’t,” he growls. I slide him a look as I sit, taking up as little room as possible on the luxurious couch. “Don’t what?” “Invite women into my office. Ever.” “Unless they happen to be an employee.” I’m almost surprised I’ve said it. He can hear the light petulance in my voice. He can probably guess that I’ve googled him. And that his little tryst with Rylee Winters is still one of the office gossip club’s favorite topics. “That ended months before I met you.” I shrug a little. “It hardly matters.” “Of course it matters.” Ace stands in front of the windows, his hands shoved into his pockets. His big frame is outlined by sunlight, like his silhouette has been forged from molten dreams. He’s the epitome of suit porn. I let myself drink in the sight of him. His height. The cut of his clothes. The thickness of his hair. Everything about him is just... completely, wildly impressive. As I watch him all I can see is... my Ace. How the hell are we ever going to work together after... that night? “I thought I was going to lose my mind when I couldn’t find you,” he tells me gruffly. “Why did you walk out on me like that?” “That was our deal.” “That was your deal.” “You went along with it willingly enough.” “I went along with spending the night with you because you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever fucking seen. What I didn’t go along with was having the best sex of my life and then waking up in an empty bed with no leads, no trail, no nothing.” Okay, I guess we’re not going to skirt the issue. “I even searched the fucking airport to see if I could catch you before you flew out,” he says sulkily. He did? “You’re a lot grumpier in New York than you were in Hawaii.” Just an observation. “I’m grumpy because you lied to me. About more than one thing.” I know what he’s referring to, of course. Dallas. And the virgin thing. “That one was more of an omission than a lie.” “You should have told me.” In all honesty, I didn’t want him to hold back. I thought that detail might have made him more... careful. “I guess I wanted... the untamed beast.” “Well, Texas, that’s exactly what you got.” “I know.” I can’t help almost smiling as I remember the things he did to me. I really did get his beastly side. And I loved every minute of it. “Did I hurt you?” There’s a sincerity to his question that catches me off guard. And angst in his voice at the thought.
“No, Ace. You didn’t hurt me.” I realize my slip too late, calling him Ace. But he is. He’s my Ace. “It was perfect.” The dark heat in his eyes tells me he’s remembering. “It really was.” Was. Not is. Not will be. “I’m going to tell you everything you want to know,” he says. I feel my smile fade and my professional persona slide back into place. Enough about Hawaii. I’m here to do my job and begin the next phase of my career. “You mean about your relationship with your employee? That’s none of my concern.” “You can stop with the fucking attitude.” I glare at him. He’s so cocky. And downright rude. A grouchy prick, just like Lacey described him. I absolutely don’t want it to and I’m making a point of not letting it, but his damn aggression is setting little fires along my bloodstream. Can’t fight biology, girlfriend. You love him cocky and rude. You’re dying for him to dominate you right over the edge, just like he did in Waikiki. No. That can’t happen. I stand up, ready to leave, standing close to the windows. His smoldering blue eyes pin me in place. “Rylee and I lasted a few weeks, if that. It was hell then and it’s hell now. I’m working on getting her fired but I need a reason or she’ll sue for wrongful dismissal.” I look out at the floor-to-ceiling view, not convinced. “She seems like your type. Rich. Beautiful n —” “She’s not my fucking type, Tex,” he seethes. “You’re my type.” I can’t look at him. I stare out at the Empire State Building, ignoring that last line of his little rant. It’s too much to absorb, here in this wonderland of beauty and success. So I focus on the first half. I mean, what do I expect? He’s a hot billionaire. Of course he has a past. It shouldn’t shock me that he’s sl ept with at least one of his employees. “Anyway, you were smart to end it. Mixing business and pleasure is never a good idea.” “There was nothing pleasurable about it. The whole thing made me feel like jumping off the nearest skyscraper. I thought I’d never find what I was looking for.” At this, I do glance at him. His fists are clenched and he looks... just... unfairly handsome. He’s weakening my resolve with his honesty and all those big muscles that are threatening to bust out of his Hugo Boss. And there’s a hanging insinuation on the end of that sentence. But there’s no point in wishing that his insinuation will somehow overlap with the dreams I’ve had of him every single night. He’s my boss now. It can’t—and won’t—happen again. He walks closer to me and, just as I’m about to take a st ep back, he stops walking. “As for the insider trading accusation, someone leaked incriminating information from one of our internal servers. We don’t know who it was but we’re working on it. Noah and Colton were as shocked by it as I was and we’re working around the clock to resolve the situation. I’m not guilty of a crime.” He pauses, his gaze intense. “I wanted you to hear that from me.” I guess it’s nice of him to clarify that. “Okay.” He’s frowning at me like he’s waiting for me to doubt him. “I believe you. Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” I brace myself before I ask the question, but I need to know. “Are you going to fire me?” His eyebrows furrow, making him look even sexier, if that’s possible. “Of course I’m not going to fire you.” “I really want to work here. This is my dream job. It’s why I moved to New York and it’s what I’ve been working toward my whole life. I’ll make sure that... what happened between us won’t affect my work.” He’s quiet for a few seconds but his expression is stormy. “Under usual circumstances I’d agree with you. Unfortunately things are different this time.”
What the hell does that mean? “They are?” “Yes. They are.” “How?” “Let me take you out to dinner tonight. We can talk about it then.” It’s not a good idea. “No.” He eyes me, almost curiously. Like he’s never been rejected before. “Why not?” “Because you’re my boss, Ace—uh, Mr. Maddox.” “I don’t give a fuck about that.” “Well, I do. I can’t risk my job.” “You don’t have to risk your job. It’s just dinner.” I roll my eyes without meaning to. As if we’d be able to ke ep our hands off each other. “What if I...” “Fuck your CEO?” he offers helpfully. I glare at him. “Don’t say that.” His eyes are so dark, so full of emotion. I know him well enough after our night of passion that I can read him surprisingly well. He’s angry with me. He’s conflicted about the decision he’s already made. He’s as powerless to resist the chemistry exploding between us as I am. And there’s that mischief in him entwined with his rage and his lust that’s as addictive as a drug. A low anticipation settles de ep in my belly. I don’t know how this man does what he does but I have never in my life experienced such a desperate pull of white-hot lust. Exc ept for the last time, when you surrendered to it. I’m well aware that my panties are already saturated. Ace takes another st ep forward. Reflexively, I take a st ep back, until I’m half-sitting against the edge of his desk. He leans in. His big body is so close to mine I can feel the heat radiating off him. His voice is a low growl close to my ear. “What if I tell you I’ll fire you immediately if you don’t take your panties off right now and show me how wet that sweet pussy is for me? You know you’re remembering how good it felt when you rode my big cock, baby girl.” “Ace,” I whisper. “Stop. We can’t do this.” “We can’t not do this. I’ve missed you too much.” His voice is so low, so de ep. “I’ve been losing my fucking mind, Tex.” Damn it! He’s too close. Everything about me is leaning in, drinking in those top-shelf pheromones he’s radiating. My breasts rise and fall. My nipples have beaded into taut little wildly sensitive peaks. When Ace brushes his thumb lightly against one, I’m lost. Even my sane mind, which is my only hope, allows me to tease him. “This is wildly inappropriate, Mr. Maddox. I might have to r eport you to HR.” Sexy little crinkles appear around his midnight-dark eyes. “How about this?” He places his warm palm on my thigh, slowly sliding it higher. “Is this inappropriate?” “Ace,” I gasp. Tell him to stop! Walk away from him right now! “How about this?” His fingers slowly, slowly rub my clit over the damp, clingy lace of my panties as he watches my eyes. “Yes,” I manage to breathe. Pull your skirt down and leave this office immediately! “And this?” His fingers push the lace to the side, delving, teasing my clit in slippery little circles. I’m already very, very close to coming. But I absolutely need to stop this before we take it too far. I’ve worked too hard to throw it all away for one exc eptionally sexy CEO. “Please,” I breathe. “You can’t.” “But you’re so wet for me, angel girl. And I’m just getting to the best part.” His hungry eyes penetrate my soul. “Do you know how crazy I’ve been going since you left me? I can’t concentrate on the meltdown of my business because all I can think about is you. I’ve spent all my time googling like a fucking maniac. And now you’re here.” A flicker of emotion touches his expression. “Did you think of trying to find me?” I almost lie. Instead, I say, “Yes. But I didn’t have much to go on.” “I didn’t either,” he scolds. “If you’d found me, we both know you never would have agreed to let Noah hire me. This is a complication neither of us need.” The whiskey-and- cinnamon scent of him reminds me of the beach bar, the warm breeze at
sunset and the gentle roar of the ocean behind us. It felt so damn good to be near him. Then, and even more right now. His mouth skims the delicate shell of my ear. Code Five Alert!! my sanity is screaming. But my inner sex goddess knows she’s already won. I don’t pull away when he slides his strong, warm hand around the nape of my neck. Or when the fingers of his other hand continue to play me in the most intimate, devastating way, lightly skating and pinching, until the pleasure rushes tease me. “I can’t do it, Tex,” he murmurs. “I can’t see you and not be able to touch you. Not when I’ve been going mad with desperation. I’ve lost too many nights thinking about what I’d do if I ever saw you again to let you walk out of here now.” Of course I should push him away. I know I should fight this. It’s pure carnal desire and it’s every bit as dangerous as I knew it would be. “Ace.” His fingers are so slick from my own lust, they slide de eper inside me and the curl of them rubs against an insanely sensitive trigger. “Oh god.” “Why are you so fucking wet for me if you want me to stop, baby girl? Say the word and I will.” His thumb slides over my clit, flicking gently, and I’m so close to coming I see stars. “Oh.” “Oh? Or no?” My inner muscles quiver around his fingers. The swelling rush of my orgasm is waiting there, ready to crash over me like a tidal wave. But he’s not letting it. “Let me hear you say it.” “Ooh.” “Give me a yes, Texas.” Another slow, teasing caress. Oh, fuck it all. I can’t resist this man. “Yes. Yes.” “That’s my good girl.” His mouth devours mine, our tongues tangling and sliding. My brain is being overridden by the crazy need of my body. I’m confused and disoriented by the rush of heat that’s burning between us. I place my hand on his chest and feel his heart pounding. Ace’s fingers slide from my body. He grips me, ripping my panties, lifting me so I’m perched on the edge of his desk as he unfastens his pants. His gigantic cock springs free and—oh my god, I’ve missed him so much. I want it. He’s mine. I reach for his huge shaft, taking it in my hand, fascinated by the velvety heat, the long, hard steel of it and the rigid thickness. I run my fingers along the underside, tracing the veins, smoothing my fingertips over the silky head, swirling the moisture there. “Fuck, Tex. Wrap your legs around me.” I do, and his strong hands clamp onto my hips. His huge cock slides against my pussy and we both moan. This is so wrong but so freaking hot I couldn’t slow it down even if I wanted to. He feels too damn good. And there’s something even more primal about the way he’s fisting his cock and rubbing it over my pussy, parting me with it, letting the head almost slide inside me. He’s already crossed a very definite line and the worst thing is: I want him to. “I’m on the pill,” I gasp. “I thought I might... you know... New York and everything.” I want him to know, though: “There hasn’t been anyone else, Ace. Only you.” Ace’s eyes lock with mine and he stares de eply into my eyes. “There hasn’t been anyone else for me either. I haven’t been able to even look at another woman after that night in Hawaii. I don’t know what you did to me but you fucking branded me with your sweet perfection. I fucking need you. Right now.” Is he for real? But again, just like in Hawaii, I have no idea why, but I believe every word he says to me.
“I’ve never done it bareback before,” he tells me, as he’s sliding his cock inside me in a way that’s very much bareback. “Ever. I take that stuff seriously.” If there was a moment when I could have stopped this, it’s now over. We’ve made the decision to trust each other. And we’re too damn hot for each other to overthink it. I know I’ll only have myself to blame if this blows my whole world up, but everything about me is centered in the place where his heavy cock is pressing into me. He feels so unbearably good. Ace isn’t conflicted either. “I’ve thought about you every night. All day, every day. Dreaming of fucking you just like this.” With no barrier between us, the slick, skewering pleasure is unendurably good. My orgasm starts slowly. I’m riding the wave. It’s a sure thing, taunting me with the magnitude it’s promising. Ace thrusts and his big cock slides de eper. The stretching burn of his impossible thickness makes me dizzy. “Fuck. You’re so damn tight, baby. So fucking beautiful. I want to fuck you on my desk. I want you to sit on my face and I want to eat your pussy every morning for breakfast. I want to bury my cock so de ep and come inside you until you’re full of my cum, baby girl. You’re mine.” He grips my ass, thrusting de ep, until I’m fully impaled. I can feel every vein on his thick cock as he fucks me like his life d epends on it. “Ace,” I moan and he takes my cry in a kiss, thrusting his tongue into me, kissing me as lustily as he’s fucking me. “Come for me, Tex,” he hisses, like he’s losing control. “Let me feel you.” “I am, Ace. I am.” The pleasure explodes in a rich, feral rush. Each ripple of my orgasm grips the huge, thick length of him and he groans like his heart is breaking. I feel the hot throb of him and the flooding wetness, de ep inside me. My pussy milks him tightly as he comes and comes. It lasts a long time. “Holy fuck, Texas.” We’re both panting. Ace kisses my closed eyelids, then my dewy cheekbone. He licks his tongue across my bottom lip as I slowly return to myself. The chirp of his email inbox tries to bring us back to reality, but we’re still locked in this pulsing, secret, pleasure-heavy bond. Holy fuck is right. “I just did it with my CEO. On his desk.” “You dirty girl. You just got a promotion.” “Very funny.” It occurs to me then that there’s an office full of people outside that door. Or at the very least, a highly attentive assistant. “I hope that door is soundproof.” I can feel his soft chuckle inside me and it almost brings tears to my eyes. I should be mortified. I’ve very possibly just thrown my career away in a moment of total abandon. And I’m emotional because he feels so good all I can think about is how much I want to stay here and do it all over again. “It is,” he says. The comment jars me a little. Why does it need to be soundproof? Does he do this all the time? Did he fuck Rylee on this very same desk? I hate myself for even thinking it right now. “Hey,” he murmurs, looking down at me almost sternly, like he’s reading my mind. “Kiss me.” I don’t, because all my doubts and fears and questions are swirling through my head, but he tilts my chin up to him and kisses me anyway. Teasing my mouth open with coaxing licks and nips that make my pussy clench around his barely-softening cock, which slides de eper inside me. Damn him. “We need one more orgasm each and then we’ll go back to work.” “No. I should go.” I push at his chest—and it seems amazing to me that we’re still fully clothed. My skirt is bunched around my waist, my arms
and legs are wrapped around him and my panties are long gone, but other than that we’re barely ruffled. It makes our spilling, throbbing connection seem even more erotic, somehow. And I’m starting to come again. “One more,” he purrs, gripping my ass with both hands, lifting my hips higher so he can slide even de eper. “Someone’s been eating their Wheaties,” I breathe. “That’s not all I’m going to be eating, every fucking chance I get.” Oh god, I’m really close to coming again. “You deserve this after leaving me,” he growls. “Hanging me out to dry, lying to me, walking out on me.” He thrusts with each accusation, like he’s making a point, until I can feel that he’s fully hard again. “Are you Superman or something?” I breathe. “Clark Kent-ing around in your executive office?” “You could have at least left me your number.” “I didn’t know if you’d call.” “Of course I would have called.” Another de ep thrust and I am very, very close. “You really looked for me at the airport?” “I had them make an announcement over the loudspeaker. But your flight must have already taken off.” I weave my fingers into his thick hair. I need an anchor. And I want to mess him up. I want to claim him. He’s mine. He’s reading every squirm and every whimper. His drives are measured and relentless. He coaxes a rising surge. “Come for me, gorgeous girl. That’s it. Can you feel me?” “I feel you, Ace. I feel everything.” “That’s my good girl.” His thick bulk pushes the pleasure to an impossible peak, shattering me again. I cling to him as my inner muscles work his own orgasm with long, tight, silky pulls. He groans like his heart’s being ripped from his chest. After the waves calm, Ace strokes my hair sort of absent-mindedly. “Tex?” “Yeah?” “I think I’m addicted to you.” I laugh a little. “Or maybe you just like sex.” “I especially like sex with you. With no barriers. That right there is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” His inbox chimes again. “Fuck,” he growls. He kisses my face. Then he gently pulls himself from my body with a gush of liquid. Wow. He stands above me, all hulking and outrageous. His mussed-up hair frames his heart-breaking face. Even though I might lose everything for what I just did, I love this. The cool, unapproachable top-floor CEO turned untamed sex god. You’ve lost your mind. Yes. And it’s almost worth whatever happens because nothing has ever felt so good as he feels. Ace pulls some tissues from a box on his desk and cleans me. “I’ve made a mess of you.” It’s incredibly intimate, and the thread of tenderness almost overwhelms me. There’s a closeness between us that the reality of this situation shouldn’t really allow. He helps me up and smooths my skirt back into place. Then he picks up my ruined panties from his chair and holds them to his face, taking a de ep breath. “These are mine. I’ll know you’re at your desk without them, your wet little pussy overflowing with my hot seed.” I bite my lip. Yikes. It’s true. “What are you doing to me, Texas?” I almost say, working for you? But it sounds wrong. “Leaving you.” He frowns at me. “Until tonight.” “No. Ace n —” “Tonight,” he says again, in his CEO’s voice. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” “It’s the only idea I can live with.” “So... I’m going to be your dirty little secret? Is that how this works?” “We’re going to be each other’s dirty little secrets. No one has to know. The
last thing the company needs is another scandal right now.” “Am I a scandal?” “Since the second I saw you.” I shake my head. This is crazy. “Maybe... we just needed to get it out of our systems. It was a shock to see each other again and n —” “We both know that’s not true. Nothing is out of my system. In fact you’ve just made my problem a hundred times worse.” He st eps up behind me, his hand gripping my hair and pulling lightly. He leans in and presses his mouth to my neck, biting gently, licking. “I’ll see you tonight. We need to have an actual conversation. Without you jumping my bones before we can talk.” I give him a look and he grins. Damn, he’s beautiful. “My driver will pick you up after work.” “I’m really not sure if n —" “If you’re serious about working here then I’m afraid I have to insist.” I hate that he’s putting me in this position. He’s using his power over me to get what he wants. He’s not inviting me for coffee, somewhere impartial where there’s no chance our conversation will turn into anything more. He’s bringing me to his home, straight into the lion’s den. I know if I agree to go, I’ll end up in bed with him again. But if I don’t, then what? We’ll just prowl around each other, totally distracted until we end up fucking in the stationery closet and getting caught by an intern on an innocent Post-It run. At least if we talk, there might be a way to salvage my job. A way to make it work. An arrangement. And if not? Well, the damage was done from the moment I let Ace summon me to his office and fuck me on his desk. “Okay.” He raises one eyebrow. “You’re right,” I admit. “We do need to talk.” “Good. A car will be waiting for you at five o’clock. The security guard will make sure you find it.” “Fine.” I straighten my clothes one last time, wishing I had a mirror to see just how disheveled I look. Will they know? I try to smooth my hair. “Do I look...” “Like you just banged your CEO on his desk?” “This isn’t funny, Ace.” “It’s a little bit funny.” He grins almost guiltily, tucking a loose strand behind my ear. “You look like the sexiest, most stunningly beautiful girl in New York, that’s how you look.” It’s hard to know if this is two people who might be on the verge of something real. Or if it’s just me literally dripping with the ultra-hot CEO’s cum on my first day of my new job. Is this how love stories start? Or is it how people—me, specifically— crash, burn and lose their jobs? “I, um, I guess I’ll see you later, then.” “You’ll see me when my driver brings you to the back door of my apartment building.” “Back door? Oh. Right.” “We’ll be discrete until I can get a ring on your finger.” What? I stare up at him but he smirks and opens the door for me, knowing I can’t r eply to that now that we have an audience. “Y-yes, Mr. Maddox.” As I go, I try to catch Hayley’s eye. I’m desperate for a read on whether she thinks anything is up, but she’s buried in paperwork and doesn’t seem to notice me leave. Either that or she can’t bear to look me in the face after she just heard me begging the CEO to fuck me.