Page 52 of Open for Negotiation
“Way too confident, sir.” She rises up to her knees, declaring her final guess loudly. “Colonel Mustard in the library… with the revolver.”
I check my cards and I don’t have any of them.
“Let’s see then.”
She excitedly takes the envelope from the center of the board and extracts the three cards placed there in the beginning and when she lays them faceup on the table, she starts her gloating.
“Oh, look at that! I win!” She gets to her feet and does a little dance that is absolutely fucking adorable. “I beat you. You said I wouldn’t. In fact, you tried to BET me that I’d lose. Have anything to say for yourself? Perhaps, any crow to eat?”
I lace my fingers behind my neck and lean back against her sofa, “Good game, baby. Just be glad you didn’t have Monopoly. You wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“I’m on such a high right now that I’m almost willing to go buy it just to kick your ass at that too,” she teases.
“I have a better idea.”
“Oh? What’s that? Me kicking your ass in Scrabble?”
“Not exactly. I was thinking more along the lines of you bringing your ass over here and sitting across my lap. I’d like to hold you.”
I extend my arms out to her, wiggling my fingers.
“Are you giving me grabby hands right now?” She tilts her head to the side and plants a hand to her hip.
“Grabby hands?” I wiggle my fingers again. “If that’s what you call them, sure. Grabby hands.”
“Who can resist those?”
She comes to my side then steps over me, planting one foot on either side of my hips and then lowers her body to straddle my waist. I bend my knees, giving her something to lean back against.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask her when she takes my hands and laces her fingers through them, holding them steadily between us.
“How I never thought in a million years that this would be happening.”
Her cheeks are flushed right now, probably from the alcohol more than anything else, but she looks stunningly beautiful. It’s actually disarming. I’ve never bore witness to a woman this perfect inside and outside before, let alone feasted on her, had my hands on her, been inside of her. I’m a fucking lucky bastard.
“I never thought it would either, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to happen. I’m glad it is, because there is nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you.”
“Do you ever worry about what people will think if they find out?” she asks, releasing her grip on my hands to rest them on my shoulder. I answer that by gripping her waist, holding her steady.
“Not for myself, but I worry because I know it’s something you’re concerned about, and I don’t ever want anything to happen to you that would make you feel uncomfortable.”
“What happens if this gets out?”
I exhale sharply through my nose, “Well, HR would probably want to have a conversation. Regardless of me being the CEO or not, they’d be lacking in their job if they didn’t. At the end of the day, Scarlett, there is nothing in the paperwork that explicitly says we can’t see one another. We just have to make sure that work remains unaffected, and I think we are both professional enough to keep that line clean, don’t you?”
She nods. “I am. We are. Work is work. This is… whatever this is.”
“What do you want it to be?” I slide my hands slowly up her sides and back down, smiling when her eyes drop closed in pleasure.
“I just want you. A title doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“There isn’t even a title for this, baby.” I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “And I’m all right with that. I’ve told you this before and I’ll keep saying it. I just want you. That’s it. Whatever that looks like at the end of the day.”
“I have to be honest with you…” She looks down, like she’s ashamed of what she’s going to say next, but I capture her cheeks in my hands, bringing her eyes back to mine.
“That’s all I ever want.”
She turns her face enough to kiss the palm of my hand. “All of this drama with Miranda scares the shit out of me. I try really hard to avoid that in my life now. I’ve worked hard on it because I have a lot of… past trauma that makes it very triggering for me.”
