His Secretary with Benefits

“Not well enough for this.”

He was out of the shower and back again in seconds with a towel wrapped around his waist. With a flick of his wrist the water was off, and he wrapped her in a towel. She was up in his arms again and back on the bed. He was gone before she knew it.

“Dry off. I’m heating up the soup,” he ordered from the kitchen. When he came back into the bedroom, he was dressed again, with his hair already drying. Seeing her having troubles with the shirt she had picked out, he crouched before her and helped her button it quickly. After settling her into bed, he placed the tray over her legs, dropped a kiss on her forehead, and began to move away.

“Paul?” She couldn’t help the confusion that ran through her.

“Sweetheart, you are ill, and I am a bastard if I stay here one minute more. I will get into bed with you, but it won’t be to hold you like last night. You’re killing me here. I’ll be back after work. Eat your soup and sleep, okay?”

She nodded and watched him go with a smile. He cared about her.

***

Later that night, she made sure to shoo out Tina before he got there, and was relieved that he actually came. Surprise and delight went through her as she saw the duffel bag he carried. “I hope you don’t mind, I just didn’t want to have to get up at five in the morning again to make it to the office.”

“Sure. I just feel bad that you feel you have to be with me. I mean, you probably had other plans...”

“You know by now if I’m not in the gym or with you then I’m working. Every once in a while, I’ll head out for drinks with some friends or business clients, but that’s about it. Don’t look like that. It’s just drinks—there is no picking up of chicks.”

“But why do you have me and not want to pick up chicks?” She couldn’t stop the words that tumbled out. She was scared she had annoyed him or made him angry.

He sighed and led her back into living room, pulling her into his arms. “My parents didn’t have a great marriage. It was stiff upper lips, let’s keep it going for the kids. I told myself my marriage would be different, but it wasn’t. I was blinded by a pretty face and all the right words. I was twenty-seven and all my friends around me were getting married, and I thought it was the right time with the right person. The ink wasn’t even dry before Tiffany started spending money and dropped the sweet and tempting act. At least I got out before we had kids, after only eleven months. The divorce lasted for almost two years—it was longer than the marriage. She was dead set on getting money. Thankfully, the judge saw through it all and she didn’t get a dime.

“After that, I decided to keep it light, no commitments. It was actually Kelly who offered herself up, and I was too drunk and horny to turn her down. After that, it seemed like the best way to do things. I like things the way they are and I don’t want them to change. Are you okay with that?”

She said yes, knowing she was lying. She would take him for as long as she could keep him. That night he did his best to behave, but she had other ideas. It felt like forever since she’d had him, and she wanted him badly. When he took her, he made love to her, soft and gentle and so very beautiful.

Chapter Four

Six weeks later, Laura was finishing up a contract, and waved as various employees made their way out of the office. Paul had been gone for three days and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. He had an office in New York that was about half the size of his Chicago office, and he did most of the running of it through phone calls, but every few months he’d go out to check up on things. She was feeling quite pathetic in feeling the need to stay at the office because it kept her close to Paul. The idea of going home to an empty apartment wasn’t appealing in the slightest. She’d already gone out with the girls once this week, but both were busy now, and Tina was once again fighting with her boyfriend. One more hour, she promised herself, as she moved on to proofing the next contract.

The ding of the elevator surprised her, and her eyes blurred a little as she looked at the corner of her computer and saw her hour was up and that the office was empty. Fuck, was all she could think as she watched Reed Cantor spot her and smile. She hated the man, he made her skin crawl, but he was also their current big fish. Paul had been working with Reed for the last two weeks, looking for space or a building for him. Normally, she was at Paul’s side, but in the last week or so she had made one excuse or another to get out of going when it was a search that included Reed Cantor. In the past, she’d had clients eye her, but it was all they did. Paul was always careful to keep his body between hers and a client, and he had allowed his hands to linger on her more times than not. His touches were subtle but clear—she was his—and his clients hadn’t blinked. He’d gotten pissed at her once for letting a client close enough to touch her. It didn’t matter that the client had simply looked at her with greedy eyes and hadn’t laid a hand on her. Paul hadn’t cared. He had nodded easily when she slid out of showings with Cantor.

“Well, look what we have here. Sweet little thing has been left all by herself. I’m quite surprised.” He made his way toward her with a smirk. Laura hated the idea of him standing over her, but she refused to come out from behind her desk.

“Not that surprised. I know you are well aware that Paul is in New York and won’t be back until tomorrow. I believe you are working with Garrett. Since both Garrett and Paul are not availabl

e, if you’d like to leave a message, I will be happy to pass it on.” Her words were clipped but clear.

“Sweet thing, no need to sound so stiff with me. I know that you aren’t stiff for Paul. I know you just melt when he touches you. Hell, when he looks at you, it is a sight to behold the both of you. You wouldn’t want to make me angry, now would you? Aren’t you supposed to keep clients happy and satisfied? Come on now. Just a little smile for me, sweet thing.”

Laura’s stomach tumbled. He was a client, but Paul had been adamant, and in all honesty she didn’t want anyone but Paul’s hands on her. Would Paul be angry if one of his biggest commissions walked away because of her? Her smile was stiff and tentative. He took it as an invitation, and leaned on the desk and smiled. His hands were small and white and pasty, and when he laid one of them on top of her own, she wanted to gag. He caressed her up her arm and she couldn’t do it—dear God, no, she couldn’t do it. She pushed away, her other hand attempting to wipe his touch off.

“I want you to leave right now, or I’ll call security. I mean it.”

“How sad Paul will be, I’m sure, to learn of your actions. I’m quite sure.”

“No, I’m not sad at all. In fact, I’m proud of my employee for not giving in to harassment. Get your ass out of my office, now. Or I’ll remove you myself.” Paul was there, at her back, his hands on her shoulders.

Laura wanted to cry with relief. He had come up the freight elevator and through the stairwell that was closest to his parking spot. She watched Reed Cantor shrug and walk away. She couldn’t move until she heard the elevator ding and knew he was gone. She watched Paul pick up the phone and call down to security so they could make sure Cantor left the building and wouldn’t be allowed back in.

“What the hell was that?” His voice was tight, like a lash against her soft skin. “I have told you repeatedly, no one touches you but me. You practically invited that fucker’s touch. You smiled at him and you let him touch you.”

“I’m sorry. I was worried. I know how much the commission on him could be, and I wasn’t sure. I was scared of ruining it for you. Then when he touched me, I just couldn’t. It felt so gross.”

Paul yanked her up and around to face him. “You thought I would put a commission before you?”

Anger was etched into every line of his face, and she shook her head. “No, not really. At first I wasn’t sure what to think, but then I knew you wouldn’t. I’m sorry, Paul.”