Page 7 of Open for Negotiation
Time slows to a snail’s pace and she turns around to face me. Tension hangs in the air as if she is warring with herself with every fraction she moves, but when her eyes meet mine, her entire being softens. I can see the stress leave her body and just like that, she’s placing her hand in mine.
I walk backward toward the darkness of the alcove under the stairs, not letting my eyes leave her because I’m afraid if I do, she’ll disappear through that door and be gone for good.
“Max, what are we doing?” she says quietly.
“We are talking.” I lean back against the wall, in the dark, pulling her closer to me. “Can I put my arms around you?” I don’t want to cross a line. I don’t want to scare her.
She nods. “You shouldn’t, but I want you to.”
Like vines wrapping around a tree in the forest, I snake my arms around her body and pull her in close. She rests her cheek against my chest and releases steady breaths. I can feel her body moving, her chest inflating and deflating.
“I need you to look at me when I say this, Scarlett, and I need you to hear me, okay?”
She tips her head back so our gazes can meet. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice how her tongue darted out and licked across her lips. I want to taste them again.
“I don’t regret a single moment of what happened between us in this office or in my car.” I continue, “I think about it constantly. I’m a fucking wreck when it comes to you in my head. I close my eyes and I see you on top of me, biting your lip to keep from screaming. It makes it hard to concentrate.”
She speaks so softly that I have to lean in closer to hear her words. “Why did you just disappear on me afterward? I’m a big girl. I can handle anything you have to say.”
I exhale a sharp breath and slide my hands up to cup her face. “What happened between us was intense, Scarlett. I gave you space out of respect. I thought it best to just allow both of us time to process it. I thought I was doing the right thing, and then I get here today and you’re quitting your job because of me.”
“I just don’t see another option, Max.”
“You’re so fucking good at your job. I can’t and won’t lose you over this. You’re too much of an asset to Fortress… to this team… for me to let you walk out that door. We can look back on what happened… and is happening, between us as a fleeting moment that was a one-off. Anything to keep you from walking out that door.”
“That’s the problem, Max.” She raises her chin, seemingly finding some strength, confidence, and wants to say whatever’s next as boldly as possible. “It’s not a one-off, is it? Because I can feel you in my veins. All I want is more of you. I could easily lose myself in you and that scares the shit out of me.”
“Then we end this. We walk away right now.” Even as I say the words, my hands are exploring the curves of her body. They’ve made their way from her cheeks and down her arms. I’ve caressed her thighs and around to the small of her back. “We walk away and you stay here, at Fortress.” I smirk with arrogance I’m not afraid to let shine here and there. “We’re the best in the business, baby. You’ll grow here in ways you wouldn’t be able to anywhere else.”
“I can't stay here and not have more.”
More.
I know what more is, but I want to hear her say it.
“More of what?”
“This.”
She reaches up, clasping my face in her hands, and yanks me down until our lips meet in a fury.
In a split second, a decision made in an instant, I spin us around so she is smashed back against the wall. I can’t see her anymore, it’s too dark in the alcove, but I can feel her body. Feel her lips. Smell her perfume.
My cock, aching and growing in my slacks, pushes up against the soft flesh of her stomach and the sensation makes me groan into her mouth. I sink my teeth into her plump, lower lip and pull it away before letting it plop back into place.
“You taste so good,” I whisper, pushing her hair from her face before diving in for more of her.
She opens her thighs enough for me to slip my knee between, pressing into her center. I’m rewarded with a whimper from her lips.
“Oh God,” she says under her breath.
“Move, Scarlett. I need to see you come again.”
She throws her arms around my neck and begins to use my body as leverage to move her hips in soft, slow circles, grinding shamelessly into me.
“Keep going.” I kiss my way from her lips to her jaw and to the flesh just under her ear. “Make yourself come on my leg. I can feel how wet you are for me.”
I could easily lose myself in you.
