Breach (8 page)

“I’m going to lunch.
” I grabbed my purse and coat, heading out before I vomited. They really were vile.

There was a small bit of satisfaction
in seeing him squirm as I walked out. I’d bailed him out too many times in the past week; he could fend for himself. I hated them interrupting my work, and I was sick of it, not because I was jealous and wanted to scream out that he was mine while I yanked on their hair to drag them off of him. My stomach twisted in a knot as I imagined one of them with their hands all over his cock; their mouths on his hard flesh.

I wound my way around the cubes of the newbies and interns until I reached an open door.
Caroline was finishing up a phone conversation, holding up one finger for me to wait.

“Ready?” she asked as she hung up the phone. I nodded and waited as she grabbed her purse.

“Please, I need to get away from them.”

“Ah, he’s in a better mood
, and now they’re all over him again.”

I sighed
, picturing the scene as I left. “I’m not sure you can say Jennifer’s shirt is doing its duty today.”

“What does he do with all these women trying to climb into his pants?” she asked as we walked to the elevators. With luck, there was one waiting and we hop
ped on.

“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure he isn’t touching any of them.”
Because he’s touching me.

“Why do you say that?”

I snorted. “You should see the look on his face, I mean the
real
look. Their tenacity scares him. I’ve had to save him more than once in the past week.”

Her eyebrow arched up as she regarded me, a smile forming on her lips. “You’re attracted to him.”

I stared at her openmouthed. “I…I… Shit. Of course I am! Have you
seen
him?”

Her grin
widened, and she moved to look forward again. “I’m just happy to find out you haven’t lost your libido with two years of cobwebs up in there.”

I snorted. “Um, thanks?”

“We still on for Friday?” she inquired. I started to open my mouth, but she silenced me. “You promised me. Don’t make me call in reinforcements to drag you out.”

I threw m
y hands up in protest. “I’ll go. I’ll go.”

After a quick bite at a bistro down the street
, we headed back. While Jennifer was gone, Kelly had taken her place and was pawing all over him. The girl was only nineteen; did she really think she stood a chance?

Then again, guys often went for younger girls.

She was all giggles and flirtation, and he was smiling and joking back. I scowled at him for encouraging their behavior. As I sat down, I woke up my computer, placing my purse in the bottom drawer and attempted to get back to work. My irritation was too great, and only grew as their conversation continued. I turned to glare at them and was met with a grin; he was enjoying my torment. The man was so infuriating sometimes. He knew I was pissed and was rubbing it in my face.

“Kelly, have you set up
my appointment with the Sanders yet?” I questioned, knowing the small task I’d asked of her was incomplete. I was drawing at anything to get her out and away from him…
us
. We both needed to work.

“Nope,” she answered,
and then turned back to Nathan.

I cocked my eyebrow at her, attempting my best icy glare.
I couldn’t see it, since I was looking at her, but I could tell Nathan was staring at me. “I asked you to set that up three hours ago.”

“I’ll get to it,” she said in an annoyed huff and a roll of her eyes.

“Well, I’d say if you have time to sit in here and talk, you have time to make the call you should have made three hours ago.” My teeth were clenched at that point, my voice climbing an octave as I restrained myself from yelling at her. Nathan was still staring at me, but not in amusement; he almost seemed annoyed.

“Fine, I’ll go do it now.
” With a huff, she told him she’d be back before bouncing out the door.

“Better not be,” I grumbled under my breath. He was still staring, so I turned to meet his gaze. “What? It’s your damn fault they’re in here all of the time. You could at least
discourage
their advances.”

“How is it my fault?”

“Your damn pheromones are drawing in the bees and they’re pissing me off. You’re the best looking man in this office, and they all want you.”

“And you don’t?”

My face heated when he hinted for the first time at what we’d done. In a fit of embarrassment and nervousness, I chucked my stapler in his direction. Childish, but I didn’t know the right social cue for the situation, and I was afraid he would notice my deficiency. The stapler tumbled on the floor, missing him, and breaking apart.

“Back to work,” I mumbled.

“Yes, throw shit, Palmer, that’s mature,” he snapped, his brow furrowed with anger.

“Do you really want me to go there
, Thorne? Tell me, do you plan to screw one of them?”

His voic
e was low and steady as he said, “No.”

“Then why do you flirt with them?”

“Because I’ve found that being friendly makes people more apt to do what you ask without delay or complaint. You catch more bees with honey, Palmer.”

“
Oh, that’s right, I forgot you’re the friendliest person in the world.” My voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, wait, no…” I leaned forward and whispered so that no one except him could hear me, “You’re damaged and hiding behind a fucking mask.”

He snarled, leaning in
closer. “You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

He sat
back, jaw tight as he focused back on the screen, his demeanor ending all conversation.

C
HAPTER 6

H
e was in a foul mood the rest of the afternoon, but once in a while I found him looking at me again. Though I would almost call it a glare at that point. Kelly never made it back to continue her flirting, but she did stop by to tell me when my meeting was scheduled.

It was almost six when I finished up the contract I was working on, and it seemed Nathan was
almost done as well. It wasn’t worth getting started on another one, so I decided to call it a night, packing up and heading to the elevator. I left him working, without saying goodbye or waiting.

It was just my luck, though, that when I was getting out of my car, his own pulled
in three spots down from mine. I refused to acknowledge him as we entered the lobby. My eyes avoided Thorne as I greeted Mike, the night guard, and I stayed as far away as possible as I pushed the button to call for the elevator. The air around us was charged as we waited, making me anxious. The ping alerted us to the arriving elevator and we stepped on together, each hitting the button for our respective floors.

As the doors slid closed, I kept my eyes trained to the front, but in the smooth metal, I saw
him lean down toward me. I held my breath.

His mouth stopped an inch
from my ear, his voice low and mocking. “Were you jealous?”

I tried to hide how he affected me, but the small, jagged breath I took was a telltale sign. “No,” I repl
ied, trying to keep my voice aloof and indifferent.

“You shouldn’t be. I don’t want them, and I don’t want you either.” His words stung
, even though I knew why he said them: to push me away. “No,” he whispered even lower, his fingers reaching out to play with a stray lock of my hair, tortured tones replacing all others. “That’s not true, is it? I don’t want to want you, but I do. I fucking crave you, but I can’t…I can’t give in.” He stepped closer, and the current that passed between us grew stronger, want taking over every part of me. “Please, Lila, push me away.” His body leaned into mine, his lips running along the column of my neck. “Don’t let me take you again.”

He was so close I could breathe in his intoxicating scent. It
made my legs shake and threaten to collapse out from under me. An inch apart was too far; I needed to feel him pressed against me.

“I can’t stop you, I want you
too much.” I turned toward him, my hand resting on his chest. “You’ve given me a taste, and now I want more. I
need
more.”

I lifted my eyes to meet his. T
he longing I’d heard in his voice melted from his face and turned to anger.

“Fuck.
” He backed away from me. “No. Don’t say that.”

I pulled on his tie,
bringing his face down to mine, my lips ghosting his. We were so close. “You’re like a drug, and I’m going through withdrawal.” My tongue snuck out, lapping against his lips. “I need your help.”

My hand slid down, grasping his thick cock through his pants. I was being forward, a trait I wasn’t used to, but figured it was because I knew he wanted me, and I needed him. He was reacting, his body rocking, pushing him harder into my hand as he released a deep breath, so I kept going. When his head lifted and his eyes met mine, heat rushed through me. His eyes were dark, wild, and clouded with lust, and I knew I was going to get what I wanted.

The elevator pinged, signaling we’d reached my floor. The war that raged within played out on his face. He wanted to follow me, but the part that was pushing me away
, kept him inside. The doors started to close, separating us, and his eyes widened before jumping through to join me.

His
hands gripped my waist, mouth latching onto my neck, pressing his erection into me as we walked down the hall to my condo. My body was lighting up with each step, the excitement of him soon being inside me, causing a flood in my panties. I was drunk on him.

My fingers fumbled with the lock, unable to get the key in due to the distraction of his chest molding to my backside. With a few more tries
, the door unlocked and we stumbled through. I turned and his lips captured mine, walking me back until I was pinned against the wall. My hands wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

“I
want your hands and lips on me. You’ve kept me waiting long enough, Mr. Thorne.”

“Fuck.
” His teeth nipped at my jaw. “What about my cock?”

“I want it in my pussy where
it fucking belongs.” I wondered where my assertiveness was coming from. Who was the woman speaking through me?

“I’
ll fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk.” His voice was low and rough. “You make me so hard; you better be ready to work your ass off for my come.”

“More,” I begged. My hands worked at undoing the buttons on his shirt as his hands moved to my ass, pulling me harder against him and his cock. I whimpered, my head d
ropping to his chest, panting with my need for him.

He snickered. “Excited, my little whore? Yes, that’s what you are, letting me fuck you the way I do. You know that’s not good, letting me punish you. My cock wants to be down your
throat, inside your pussy, and,” he paused, his grip on my ass tightening, “in your ass. You tease me with it every fucking day.”

I
’d never done anything like that before—the idea was scary to me, but somehow I knew I’d do it…for him.

I was able to get his dress shirt unbut
toned, but when I went to untuck the undershirt, he stopped me, moving my hands further down to his belt instead. Odd, but I didn’t ask. As soon as the zipper was down, I slid my hand in and wrapped it around his hot, silky cock. I pumped him a few times before I moved to my knees, lowering his pants as I went. I leaned forward, my tongue peeking out, and licking around the head before taking him into my mouth.

His hips began to move in small thrusts,
a groan leaving him. “That’s it, take it all. I’ll fuck your mouth until I come, and you’ll fucking swallow all of it. Do you understand?”

I moaned around him
, slipping him out from my lips. “Fuck, you have such a filthy mouth.”

“
You think you own my cock, don’t you?” He slapped the head of his cock against my cheek, running it along my bottom lip. “You don’t, little whore. You don’t own it, but you
will
take it.” He shrugged off his suit jacket, pushing my head back down his length. His fingers unknotted his tie before gripping my hair as his pace picked up.