Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys) (10 page)

“I’d like that,” Lexie said. Before she could speak further, the elevator mechanism sounded, and it beeped loudly when reaching their floor. She popped up from her seat. “Coffee calls!”

Becky shook her head, her red hair falling over one shoulder. “Your boss is a slave driver. I don’t think I could deal with the demands,” she said, keeping Lexie company as she walked to the Keurig.

“I don’t mind,” she said honestly. The coffee was the easy part of her job. Facing him today was going to be the most difficult.

Becky shrugged. “Well, I’ve got to get back. I’ll talk to you later.” She smiled at Lexie before turning and heading across the floor to her desk.

Lexie finished stirring the two sugars into the coffee, drew a deep breath, and forced her legs to move toward Kade’s office, unable to cross the threshold. She stood in the doorway, observing him unnoticed.

Thanks to his splint, he couldn’t shave, and he’d grown a healthy beard. Instead of hiding his handsome face, the scruff defined his features, giving him an even edgier appearance. Her sex, already primed by him on Friday night, tingled at the sight of his raw masculinity.

Her high school/college boyfriend had been just that, a boy, in comparison to Kade, her feelings juvenile in contrast to the overwhelmingly female, adult sensations and emotions Kade inspired in her. But she didn’t have time to dwell on those differences now. Not here.

She shook her head, reminding herself she was at work and needed to do her job. And to do that, she had to put their night behind them.

“Good morning,” she said in an effort to capture his attention.

He jerked his head up and met her gaze, his green eyes almost emerald this morning, and they brightened at the sight of her. That was a first, but she’d be lying if she said the heat in his gaze didn’t thrill her.

“Lexie,” he said, his voice rough, as if he hadn’t yet used it today.

“I have your coffee,” she said stupidly, because why else would she be standing in the doorway with a mug in her hand?

“Come in.”

She stepped into the room, pretending just looking at him didn’t have her stomach doing back flips.

“I thought about you this weekend. Wondered how you were feeling.” He tipped his head, studying her.

She could say she was fine and let things go or choose the more difficult path and get the awkwardness out of the way by being up front.

She placed his coffee onto the desk and forced herself to meet his gaze again. “You mean was I hungover after my big night out? Or did I spend the weekend mortified that I jumped my boss in a back alley?” she asked, being up front and honest. Because Lexie always had to choose the tougher path.

An amused bark of laughter escaped his throat. “And here I thought you’d try to avoid me this morning,” he said, admiration in his gaze.

“Well, cowering isn’t my style.” She clasped her hands together in front of her, doing her best not to fidget. “I figured I should give you the opportunity to fire me if you want to. I know you said you wouldn’t, but Friday night was completely inappropriate and—”

“One hundred percent mutual,” he informed her, taking her off guard, as did the suddenly sexy smile on his lips.

She rocked back on her heels, nearly losing her footing in surprise. “Kade.”

“I’m not firing you. You keep me on my toes, and that’s not an easy feat.”

He had her on
her
toes now, completely off-kilter and aware from the look in his eyes that something between them had changed. And that something both drew her in and made her wary at the same time.

Especially when he continued to stare at her, devouring her as if he hadn’t had a meal all weekend. And considering he hadn’t kissed her since Friday night, maybe he hadn’t.

She shivered at the so-very-sinful path her thoughts had taken. He was her boss. The man whose moods changed on a whim. And he hadn’t broken eye contact, which had her entire body lighting up with desire only he managed to ignite inside her.

Wrong. It was so very wrong. Which didn’t stop her from wanting him badly.

Chapter Seven

K
ade stared into
Lexie’s wary blue eyes and knew he should take heed of the warning there. She wasn’t all in. She was obviously confused by what had transpired between them.

He wasn’t.

He’d had a long weekend to think, and he hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything except Lexie and what she’d felt like coming apart—around his finger and in his arms. She invaded every conscious and unconscious thought he’d had. He’d even dreamed about sliding his cock inside her and finding heaven in her slick, warm, wet pussy.

The more rational part of him knew he shouldn’t have let things go as far as they had on Friday night, but he hadn’t been able to resist. The sexy woman at the club had revealed another facet to the able assistant who had no trouble going toe-to-toe with him by day. Her confidence and fearlessness, at least when it came to dealing with him, was refreshing, and it turned him on.

Everything
about her turned him on.

She was different from the women in his past—from her honesty to her caring nature, Lexie was unique. Yet he couldn’t allow himself to believe it would last.

He had his past breathing down his neck, a reminder of what kind of betrayal the females in his life brought him and a threat to his future. As a result, he’d tried to convince himself that getting involved with Lexie further wasn’t a good idea.

None of which stopped him from both thinking about her constantly and deciding it was time to do something about it. Which was what he planned to do now.

She watched him from beneath hooded eyes, waiting for him to make a move, and he did. He strode determinedly around his desk and came up beside her, her sweet scent a reminder of that endless kiss in the alley. The combination of tart, like her personality, and sweet, like her taste, just did it for him.

He stepped closer, forcing her to look up at him despite her sexy-as-sin heels.

“You’re not firing me?” she asked, breaking into his wicked thoughts.

He smiled, something that seemed to come easier around her. “No, I’m not firing you.”

“Then what
are
you doing with me?”

“This.” He hooked an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and sealed his lips over hers.

She stilled, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders, and like the other night, he braced himself for a hard shove. Instead she curled her fingers into his shirt and kissed him back, her tongue gliding over his lips delicately in a sweet caress.

He groaned, nipping her lower lip until she parted and let him inside. He swept through the luscious depths of her mouth, losing himself in her sweetness. His tongue tangled with hers, thrusting in and out, drinking in her shuddering moans.

He wanted more. Needed to possess her. He grasped the back of her neck with his good hand, buried his fingers in her thick hair, and tilted her head for deeper access, sliding his tongue farther inside, getting more demanding with every sweep.

Her nails dug through his shirt, into his skin, arousing him beyond belief. He backed her against the desk, until her ass settled on the metal surface. Then, removing his hand from her hair, he slid his fingers up her silk blouse until he cupped her breast in his palm, her hardened nipple pressing against him.

His heartbeat sped up at the feel of the tight peak pressing hard into his skin. Never had he felt anything so good, and he’d yet to touch her bare flesh. He glided his lips down her jaw, pressing wet kisses to the pulse below her ear, using the time to breathe in and gather his wits, which had long since disappeared.

“This is wrong,” she whispered, causing him to realize he’d given her time to think too. But the words were coming out breathy and soft, her need obvious. “I work for you.”

“There’s no office policy preventing it,” he said, grabbing on to any rational reason to keep her right where she was.

He liked the feel of the lace covering of her bra against his hand. It let him imagine what her actual flesh would feel like to the touch. He wondered if her nipples would taste as sweet as her mouth.

“Kade, this is insane.”

“Agreed.” He swallowed hard against the pulse pounding in his temples.

She was right. It wasn’t a smart move. He wasn’t completely sure he’d ever trust any woman completely, but he couldn’t not pursue her. Couldn’t let her go.

“But it’s still happening,” he informed her, bound and determined to have his way. If she really didn’t want to be with him, he’d walk in a heartbeat.

He’d never forced himself on a woman. Never would, no matter what Lila had claimed. But this pliant, sexy female in his arms wasn’t saying no, and he had every intention of seducing her further.

Not here and now, but in the very near future.

He plucked her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it between the pads of his fingers. “We’re good together.”

A full-body tremor shook her, and she whimpered, the sound going straight to his dick.

“But, Kade, I need this job.” She pushed him with both hands, and he stepped back immediately.

“I respect that.” He met her gaze, trying his damnedest not to look at her puffy lips, red and swollen from his heated kisses. “Nothing that happens between us will affect your work here,” he promised her.

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “That’s naïve, and the one thing you, Kaden Barnes, are not is naïve.”

“No, I’m determined.” To have her in his bed and in his office.

In the short time they’d been together, she’d been a model assistant, despite him being an obnoxious ass. Her predecessors had walked out sooner with less provocation. He intended to keep Lexie happy on all levels.

She sighed, folding her arms across her chest, a move obviously designed to hide her full breasts and prevent him from staring. He glanced down, but that view didn’t help, her sexy skirt not a deterrent to the places his mind wanted to travel, and reminded him of when he’d slid his fingers up her tight skirt and played her body until she came. Hard.

He forced himself to refocus on her objections and ways around them. “When … if … things between us end, you’ll have a choice whether to continue working for me or move to another position here. Same salary, same benefits, no hassle from me,” he promised.

Not that he could imagine her leaving his employ. Or him.

“Make no mistake, no matter what, I intend to pursue you, Lexie. To make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to walk away.” He swept his hand through her hair, tugging as he pulled his fingers through the long strands. “So?”

She looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “You’re a hard man to say no to,” she murmured.

He felt himself grin. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

“So what’s next? We get to work?” She hopped off the desk and began adjusting her clothes, her cheeks pink and adorably on fire.

“We do, but one more thing. There’s a benefit I have to attend Saturday night, and I don’t want to go alone. Blink is a major donor, and I’m doing the representing at this particular gala.”

He and his partners took turns at various charitable events. Kade never brought a date and had shocked himself by asking Lexie now. But he was coming to realize that his feelings for her were stronger than the internal battle he fought with himself over letting someone in.

“What is the benefit for?” she asked.

“MHA of NYC,” he said, bracing for what she’d ask next.

“What does it stand for?”

“Mental Health Association of New York City.”

She sucked in a startled breath. “Is this coincidence? Me telling you about my mother and you asking me to attend a benefit for mental health?”

“It is.” They had more in common than she realized. Maybe not the same classification of issues, but they each understood mental health better than the average person.

“It’s also a cause that means something to me,” he said, leaving it at that. He wasn’t ready to share his reasons with her. He might not ever be ready. “I’ll pick you up at eight Saturday night.”

She blinked up at him. “You’re moving awfully fast.”

“I always do when I want something.” And he’d decided he wanted her. “Do we have an understanding?”

She ran her tongue over her lips, and he hoped like hell she was tasting him, because he sure as hell still savored her.

“We have an understanding,” she said at last, allowing Kade to breathe easy for the first time since she’d walked into the room.

*     *     *

Lexie knew how
to live in the moment. It was the only way she could get through life as she knew it. So she put Saturday night out of her head and went about her week, planning to keep things business as usual. Except there was nothing usual as Kade stepped up his game.

Tuesday morning, he brought her a hot cup of Starbucks, handing it to her at the same time she brought his coffee into his office.

“Thank you,” she said, surprised as she accepted the white cup with green writing.

He watched, a hopeful look in his green eyes as she took a careful sip of the hot brew, sampling the extremely sugary drink. “Mmm. What is this?” she asked, licking her lips for another taste.