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KATIE
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“YOU,” I TOLD THE GIRL in the mirror, “need to get a fucking grip. Remember who you are. Remember what you’re doing. Remember how much it took to get here.”
The girl just stared back, all big green eyes and freckles, her hair looking slightly frizzier today than it usually did.
There was a good reason for that. I’d spent most of the night running my fingers through it again and again as I paced the room, trying to figure out how to handle all the things that were going sideways in this case.
Joseph and his grabby hands. Rachel and her potential guilt—and her unwillingness to exonerate herself by acting like a real grownup. My failure for the first week of the case.
Adam and his insane actions last night in the bar. The jealousy I’d seen raging across his face when he threw Joseph across the dance floor. The concern that had colored every move as he pulled me up.
The shock on his face when I told him how inappropriate his actions were when we were supposed to be undercover and working a case.
The betrayal in his eyes. The hurt that made his mouth pucker. And the anger that followed.
I closed my eyes, blocking out the girl in the mirror—who was being completely unhelpful, anyhow—and tried to figure out how I felt about the whole thing.
I’d been furious last night. So annoyed that he thought I couldn’t take care of myself, and even more annoyed that he’d done something like that and put all my hard work with Joseph at risk. I’d spent the entire fucking night getting that inebriated asshole to trust me and start talking, and Adam had undone most of it with that insane move he’d pulled.
Of course, the moment he left, looking crushed that I’d spoken to him the way I had, I’d started feeling guilty. And right on top of that had come the...
Well, I didn’t even know what to call it, honestly. But it felt a whole lot like tenderness.
I hadn’t come from a broken home, or anything like that. Sure, my uncle had been killed when I was young, but my immediate family had been completely functional. My parents had loved me and raised me to be a strong, confident woman.
But I didn’t give people a chance to take care of me very often. I just couldn’t afford to, when so much of my life had to be lived in the shadows and on my own. I was used to handling everything on my own.
And that made the idea that Adam had been right there, trying to save me, something that felt a whole lot like a revolution.
Not a revolution. Something more important. Something a whole lot deeper.
“Conflict of interest,” I whispered to myself, knowing it was true. This was exactly the problem with getting too close to people. They got under your skin and started causing you conflicts. And when the person wriggling around under your skin was actually your boss, someone you weren’t going to be allowed to keep once the current case was over...
A loud knock sounded at my door, saving me from the rest of that thought, and I glanced at the clock. It was still relatively early, but maybe housecleaning had already started their rounds for the day. If they had, I was going to tell them to go away and come back later.
I wanted breakfast and lots and lots of coffee. I did not want someone puttering around in the room, cleaning up.
I got to the door intending to say just that and froze when I threw the door open to find Adam on the other side.
He looked... terrible.
Well, let me rephrase that. Because honestly speaking, it wasn’t possible for Adam to look terrible. He was the very definition of well-muscled, smoldering, rom com hero. Gorgeous. Especially when he wore the fake glasses.
But right now, he looked like he’d had too much to drink last night and not enough sleep. His beard was scruffier, his hair looked like he’d just climbed out of bed, and I was pretty sure he was still wearing the same shirt he’d had on yesterday.
He looked fucking gorgeous. And he was at my door, after I’d said what I’d said, which felt a whole lot like a relief. Because I was afraid he’d still be angry and hurt this morning.
“I didn’t sleep all night,” he said bluntly, his voice scratchy. “I tried, but I couldn’t. I was too upset about what I did last night. I’m so fucking sorry, Katie. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you could take care of yourself. I’m sorry I got in the way of your investigation. I’m sorry I almost blew our cover. And I never apologize, so I don’t even know if I’m doing it right. I don’t know if I—”
I grabbed him and yanked him into the room, cutting him off with my lips.
Hey, I knew what I wanted, and it wasn’t an apology. Yeah, I was grateful that he was offering one. But the moment I saw him at my door, all shadowed eyes and messy hair, I’d known the answer I wanted from that girl in the mirror.
I’d known that I didn’t want to be professional or grown-up or rational.
I just wanted the man I’d managed to hurt last night. Because somewhere between him trying to come to my rescue and then showing up at my door this morning, I’d realized that my feelings for him were a whole lot bigger than I’d realized.
***
HE PAUSED FOR A SECOND once I got him into the room, but then he flung himself right into the kiss, his hands coming up to my face to cup my jaw and angle my face so his tongue could delve deeply into my mouth. I groaned at the contact and tipped my chin up, telling him I wanted more, and before I knew it I was pressed up against the wall, my hands held above my head and his hips grinding against mine.
Damn, he was already hard for me. I could feel the outline of his cock pressing against my hip, hard and long and ready, and my hips began to rock of their own accord.
He broke the kiss and held my hands up higher, forcing my back to arch off the wall and bring my breasts up in front of me. His mouth went to my collarbone, his lips hot and busy on my skin there.
“And here I didn’t think you’d be happy to see me,” he breathed, sending chills across my skin. “I came here all set to apologize my ass off, just to get you to talk to me.”
I pressed up against him, already panting with need. “Turns out I just needed to get home and think about it to realize how I felt.”
He nipped my neck lightly, and my gasp turned slightly darker. “Are you saying you liked me trying to play hero last night? I didn’t think you were the type.”
I pulled his hair and yanked his head back from my neck. “Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t. Try it again, and let’s find out.”
That seemed to be the only thing he needed to hear, and it also brought the conversation phase of this little meeting abruptly to a close. He crushed his lips down on mine, all signs of playfulness gone now, and while he was kissing me, he managed to reach down and scoop me up. I was too busy wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him for all he was worth to pay too much attention to where he was going, but a moment later I was sitting on the counter in the kitchenette and he was between my legs, his hips rocking rhythmically against me.
I writhed against the friction he was causing and threaded my fingers through his hair.
“Now,” I told him firmly. “Stop teasing.”
He reared back and gave me the cockiest grin I’d ever seen. “Katie, I never realized you were so pushy.”
I turned my nails into his scalp and pulled his hair harder. “What can I say? When I know what I want, I don’t like to wait.”
He growled in pleasure at that, his fingers already busy at the button of my jeans. Three flicks and he had them unbuttoned, and a quick movement had him sliding them down my legs and onto the floor.
He held my gaze as he stepped back between my legs and slid my panties to the side, his fingers brushing up against me.
I threw my head back, crying out at the contact of his fingers with the swollen, sensitive flesh between my legs.
“Look at me,” he growled.
I smiled slightly and turned my face back down to face him, one brow lifted at the command in his voice. “Are you telling me what to do?”
He bit his bottom lip, trailed his fingers through my wetness, and then slid two of them up into me. “Yes,” he muttered. “I am. Do you have a problem with that? I am, after all, your boss.”
I didn’t answer him. I was too busy rocking against his fingers, the muscles of my center growing tighter and tighter as he moved them in and out of me, pushing harder and faster and deeper and holding my eyes with his the entire time. I cried out for him, feeling everything clench around the one point where he was touching me, and he gave me that cocky smile again.
“Come for me, Katie,” he whispered. “Now.”
My body heard him and obeyed, and the world shattered around us, a cry tearing out of my throat and my head flying back in ecstasy at what he was doing to me.
When I finally came back to earth, breathing heavily and leaning against him with all my bones turned to jelly, he was kissing my neck softly, his tongue trailing across my skin like he was making love to me in a whole new way.
And it brought all of my senses right back to life.
“I hope you don’t think we’re done,” he murmured.
“Are you kidding?” I whispered. “You’re the CEO of a billion-dollar company. I expect you to be able to go all day.”
It was more than I would have said to anyone else. And it was more than I should say to him. But in that moment, with his fingers still playing with me and his lips on my skin, his cock hard and straining against his pants with how much he wanted me, I realized that I’d only been looking at one side of this equation.
I’d only seen the danger to my reputation and the case.
I hadn’t realized how fucking hot that danger could be if we stepped over the line. And I definitely hadn’t been trusting him to take care of me.
Now, though, both of those things had changed.
***
HE LAID ME DOWN IN the bed, stripped quickly, and slid into bed, using his legs to spread mine and slowly mounting me. I grinned up at him, and then arched up in surprise when his cock nudged my opening.
“Oh my...” I gasped.
“Are you too sore for this?” he asked, only half-teasing.
I met his eye and shifted my hips to press up against him, giving him the only answer he wanted to hear. “I’m not too sore,” I replied. “And I’m going to be sorely disappointed if you’re too hung over to manage it.”
He brought one of his hands up to my cheek and caressed me softly, his face going so tender that it almost broke my heart, and slid into me, pressing all the way in and then pulling slowly back out as he watched my face.
And then he made love to me, leaning down to kiss me as he moved slowly in and out of me, making my body sing for him until I began my orgasm and started to scream.
***
WE WERE STILL STUCK together when I started paying attention to the real world once more. My legs were wrapped around his waist, and his fingers were toying with my hair, his lips raining light kisses down on my neck and ear, which were within easy reach.
“That,” he murmured, “might have actually blown my mind.”
“You and me both.”
I could feel the turn of his lips as he grinned against my skin. “We should have had that fight months ago. It made everything so much better.”
“Well, no one ever said I was flexible. Sometimes it takes a hard situation to get me to see the light.”
He sat up a bit and smiled down at me. “I disagree, Ms. Walters. From what I’ve seen, you’re incredibly flexible. But when it comes to something hard...”
He reached down, took one leg, and shifted, pushing one knee all the way up to my chest. The effect was instantaneous. The movement shifted his position inside me, and he was still so hard that I was suddenly full again. And he was suddenly hitting a spot that was so sensitive that I almost cried out.
“You,” I murmured, my breathing ragged, “are incorrigible.”
“I am. And you’re incredibly sexy. My sexy librarian. At some point, we should combine the two.”
He pulled out of me and rolled onto his side, pulling me up against him and laying his hands flat against my belly in something that was so possessive and so affectionate that it made my heart feel like it was beating fifty times harder.
“But I don’t think I can go again. Even billionaires have to rest sometimes.”
“Pity,” I answered primly. “But as long as we’re here, let’s talk. What are you going to do about the ruckus you caused last night? Because we still need Joseph and Arthur to accept our presence. I don’t have anything we can use yet.”
“Easy. I’ve already apologized to them and asked to take them out to dinner. Told them I can’t really handle my alcohol and I should know better. Especially when you’re just the girl I ride to work with.”
I felt about fifty pounds of weight rise up off my chest at that.
“Very good. I see you’ve been listening when I’ve been speaking. And they believed you?”
“Course they did. I am a salesman, after all. Even better, I’ve told them we have to go to a regular restaurant. Which means I’ll be able to hear them. Which means that if I do something like wear a wire...”
“I’ve already got the equipment in my things,” I answered promptly. “I can show you exactly how it works.”
I felt his lips running along the shell of my ear and snuggled back into him. “Always prepared, aren’t you?”
“Hey, I’m the best in the business. I didn’t get here by fooling around.”
He pulled me tighter. “The best thing I ever did was hire you then. Let’s figure out who’s doing this so we can wrap this up, get back to the city, and stop hiding.”
That didn’t sound like a bad idea. It didn’t sound like a bad idea at all.
