“Thank you,” she said.
“I’m just going to go ahead and jump right in. We both know what happened at the bar,” I started. She drew in a breath, straightening and sitting up higher in her chair. It looked like she was about to say something, but I launched further before she could get a chance, wanting to make sure she heard what I was planning on saying before she said anything. “I just wanted to say, no harm, no foul.”
That wasn’t exactly the way I planned on saying it, but the words tumbled out before I could figure out a better way.
“What?” Merry asked.
“I mean, nothing is going to happen to you. Your job is safe, your place on the team is safe. No one is going to think about you any differently, mostly because no one has to know about it. We’re just going to chalk it up to too much beer and not handling our alcohol as well as we thought we could,” I explained.
Merry huffed out a soft laugh, and I figured that was good. I had done my job.
20
Merry
That was it. After all the worry and building myself up for what I had assumed was going to end up being some sort of showdown between the two of us, or at the very least, me apologizing profusely, it was all over. The conversation took only a matter of moments, and Quentin had been almost dismissive about the situation. Somehow it had all worked out, and I didn’t even have to throw myself at his feet and beg for mercy. I never even got to the point of attempting to sound logical and in control of the situation. He had swept in and made everything okay. I was speechless and didn’t know how to react. He offered me a smile and headed toward the door.
I watched him go to leave and knew I couldn’t just let the conversation drop. As much as it was a good idea for us to just put it behind us and chalk it up to a one-night lapse in judgment like he suggested, it felt like there were still things unspoken. I needed him to understand how thankful I was that he was reacting that way and also just for what he and the rest of the company meant to my life.
I moved around the desk and took a step toward him.
“Quentin,” I said to stop him.
He turned back around and looked at me.
“Yes?”
I took another step toward him and reached out to touch his arm.
“Thank you,” I said. “I just wanted to thank you again for… everything. Especially for this. I’ve been so worried.”
He nodded, but his expression hadn’t changed. His eyes were locked on my lips, and I watched his shoulders square as he drew in a deep breath. I didn’t have time to think about anything else.
“Fuck it,” he murmured.
There was no chance to respond before he wrapped the arm I touched around my waist and pulled me in close against him. His mouth dropped down onto mine, and he kissed me deeply. The pressure of his arm around my waist guided me backward toward the door, and I heard the click of the lock.
I moved to step back, to gain some space and break the kiss that I knew if I stayed in, I would lose all control because of. But he stepped with me, and our lips never parted. I melted into the moment, aware of only the passion that was rising through my body and the butterflies in my belly. His pulled me up and into him, and I stood on my toes as he lifted me easily and carried me backward. Our movement stopped when we reached my desk, and I reached behind me to push the assortment of pens and papers away.
All rational thought tumbled out of my mind as his lips left mine and trailed down my neck. My legs spread open, and he pushed himself between them and I could feel his stiff erection through his slacks. It pushed against my hot core, and I was suddenly desperate to have him inside of me. I reached up and yanked on his tie, loosening it enough for me to get to the button at his neck. Our lips met again, and I worked my fingers down his chest, opening his shirt with a frenzied need to feel his skin. His hands had reached around me, unbuttoning the button at the top of the dress behind my neck and then pulling at the zipper down my back. The merest touch of his fingers on my spine made me break out in goosebumps. He ground his hips into mine as he pulled on the shoulders of my dress, and I leaned back to let him pull it down. As it fell to my waist, he spared no time unclipping the bra in the front clasp and pushing the cups aside to let my heavy breasts tumble out into the cool air of the office.