Illicit

Then he lowered his hands and splayed them on the desk, leaning back in his chair. The look he gave me sent a rush of heat between my legs and weakened my knees. “Forgive me if I don’t recall being anywhere near your bedside.”

I sucked in a quick gasp of air.

His dark eyes held mine, a challenge in their depths.

Sexual tension hung heavy in the air, and as each moment stretched out between us, my bravado slipped away.

And the way he watched me, eyes darkening the longer they lingered on mine…

I swallowed hard, gave my head a good shake, and remembered my goddamn professionalism. “Your manners, sir, could use a little work.”

Reed ran his tongue over his bottom lip, then pulled it between his teeth. That muscle in his jaw jumped, and she could practically see the gears whirring into clouds of dust within his mind. “Close the door, Ms. Blake.”

I swallowed hard, but didn’t move. Was he about to ream me a new one? Wouldn’t I want witnesses for that? Someone who might pass by and rush in to save me?

“Now.”

The single word command lit a fire beneath my feet and a blaze between my legs. My body shuddered in response to the power in his voice and I quickly closed the door, then turned to face him, my hand still wrapped around the handle in case he began screaming at me and I had to bolt.

There were other internships at other publishing houses–

“Sit.”

Without thinking, I did as I was told.

In a distant thought, somewhere among the chaos of all the other thoughts in my mind, it occurred to me that I’d do anything this man asked of me.

“I wonder…” He watched me, eyes narrowing as he allowed the silence to stretch out between us for so long that I began questioning whether or not I’d blacked out and missed the second half of his sentence.

I blinked a few times, searching my brain for what he’d just said.

“What makes you think you can speak to me like that?”

Raising my chin, I replied. “What makes you think you can speak to me the way you have been?”

One perfect, dark eyebrow arched. “And how is it that I’ve been speaking to you?”

I laughed. “Seriously?” Shaking my head, I covered my mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, but come on. Commands. Demands. Overall rudeness with a touch of aloofness.”

His eyes widened. “Aloofness? Hmm.” He licked his lips again and the motion hit me right between my legs. I quickly crossed them, pressing my thighs together.

Reed’s focus fell to my legs. He breathed deeply, then lifted his gaze. “We have a problem.”

I swallowed hard. “We do?”

“Yes, Ms. Blake. We do.”

I braced myself. He was probably going to fire me because I saw him at the Rabbit Hole last night and he wanted to keep his private life and his professional life separate–

“I don’t fuck my employees.”

I gasped.

“And I really want to fuck you.”

Eyes wide, I sat frozen in place. A million responses whipped through my head, words and sentences flying past on the screen of my mind. Some were nearly as inappropriate as his admission. Others were rebuttals. Amidst them all were little squees of joy because holy shit, I wanted that too.

But what came out of my mouth surprised even me. “Sounds to me like you have a sexual harrassment problem, Mr. Reed.”

His eyes widened and he sat back in his chair.

Ah shit. Now I've done it. He’d spoken candidly about the obvious attraction between us, and I’d hit him with sexual harassment.Nicely done, Ry.

“Do you feel harassed?”

I swallowed hard. Shaking my head, I admitted, “No, sir.”

“Good. That was certainly not my intention.” He breathed deeply, then gave a curt nod. “I’ll work on my honesty. I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable.” He had, but not for the reasons he probably thought. My discomfort came from squeezing my legs together with such force that it would be a miracle if I walked out of here without stumbling.

“It won’t happen again.” Reed steepled his fingers again and leaned back in his chair. “Now, tell me about the manuscript.”

The request startled me, such a quick subject change, and my brain took a second to catch up. If my body wasn’t so physically invested in our recent conversation–and his eyes weren’t still so darkened with lust–I might have been able to convince myself I’d passed out and dreamt the whole inappropriate conversation.

I pursed my lips, considering my options. Just moments ago, I’d been ready to quit.

But you know what? I could handle Cabot Reed.

And he could handle a little gushing.

I pulled the manuscript out of my bag and looked down at it fondly, wiping at the stains where my tears had fallen on the front page earlier. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever read.”