Tempted

I stare back through my lashes, trying not to get too caught up in the moment. Everything from the candlelit room to the gorgeous man sitting across from me makes me feel like I’m the only woman in the room, and it has this evening feeling like anything but a professional work relationship.

We both enjoy the rest of the dessert in a heightened silence. I’m focused on calming down the building desire while also attempting to quiet the voices that keep going between stop lusting after your boss and go for it.

“Are you ready?” Drew’s husky voice pulls my attention back to him. “Stan has the car out front.”

“Don’t we have to pay?”

He quirks a brow. “It’s already been taken care of.”

“Oh.” It’s all I can manage. My brain feels like mush.

My body’s on fire, and my head is screaming to throw all caution out the window and act on my desires as he ushers me out of the restaurant with his hand on the small of my back—creating goose bumps and butterflies with that simple touch.

We reach the Town Car waiting for us outside the restaurant when I stop short. Drew must not notice because he crashes into me. His body pins my chest to the car door.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, and all sanity leaves me.

I turn, finding my back against the car, body still trapped by Drew’s arms.

Our mouths are now inches apart as the energy crackles between us.

“Kiss me.” My voice is low and soft. Unsure, but desperate.

His eyes fly back and forth between mine, trying to work out if I really mean it, but seeing the look of concern coming from him is the push I need. He always puts my needs first, so now it’s my turn to take what I want, and what I want is his lips on mine. What I need is to kiss him.

Leaning up on my tiptoes, I bring my mouth to his. His lips are soft yet firm against mine. I have a moment’s hesitation when he doesn’t take things further, so I draw back, searching his face.

His eyes darken. “Fuck it,” he growls before slamming his mouth against mine, forcing my lips to part to allow his tongue entry. I moan around the expert way he massages my tongue with his. Pulling me into his chest firmly, he doesn’t relent, kissing me with abandon alongside a busy New York street for everyone to see.

I’m lost in his kiss when a horn blares behind us, and Drew pulls back to glare at the offending driver. He opens the door, and I take a seat.

“Stan, you know where to go,” he commands, lifting the partition with a click of a remote.

Not even a second later, his hands are all over me. Touching. Feeling. Caressing. My head’s thrown back, allowing him access to my neck. He trails kisses up the curve, biting my earlobe when he reaches it.

“Tell me this is okay, Bailey. I’ll stop if it’s not,” he says breathily.

“Please don’t stop,” I groan.

His hand trails up my leg, lifting the hem of my dress as he goes.

“This fucking dress,” he growls, “kills me.”

His tongue licks a line across my lower lip before his tongue is back to massaging. His fingers play at the lacy corner of my panties, and I’m about to lose it. It’s been so long since anyone has touched me, and Drew . . . well, he does it better than anyone ever has.

He removes his lips and leans his forehead against mine.

“As much as I want to take this farther, it’s not happening here in the car with Stan on the other side of that partition,” he says, blowing out a harsh breath. “I want you to think about this and make sure this is what you want.”

All the lust I was feeling moments ago evaporates at the knowledge that this isn’t happening tonight. It’s a sobering feeling to go from all in to hesitant.

“Think about it,” he says, opening the door and stepping out.

I hadn’t even realized we’d stopped.

He extends his hand to help pull me from the car. My knees are a bit shaky, so he pulls me into him, allowing me to adjust. He places a small kiss on my lips.

“You look beautiful tonight, Bailey.”

I have no words. Nothing I say at this moment would be intelligible.

He walks me to my door. “Get some rest. Think about things. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll get your paperwork filled out.”

I nod, and he places a chaste kiss on my cheek and turns to head back to his car.

The entire process of getting ready for bed is done in a daze. I consider everything that we did and everything that was said. He’s offering me this job with or without a fling. Carter said as much. Then there’s Harper’s opinion on him. In all fairness, he has basically said the same things. I’m not sure what else he can offer me other than a fling.