Putting It to the Test Page 7
Her mouth watered. He’d unbuttoned his shirt just far enough to show off a dusting of chest hair, and she clasped white knuckles to the arms of her chair so her hands wouldn’t act on the impulses shooting through her head. Bent over like this, it would take nothing to sink her fingers into that dark, shiny hair, grab a hand to his jaw and devour him in one needy gulp. And she was almost desperate enough for excitement to do it. Without a doubt, Matt Jacobs would be a thrill, the mere thought halting the breath in her lungs.
He had sculpted biceps, muscles twisting in hills and valleys down those hard, rugged arms. For a fleeting second she wondered how they’d feel wrapped around her naked body. Carly had a fantasy about being bound and taken by a warrior lover, and those arms filled every corner of it. She imagined them holding her firm, keeping her captive and forcing her to accept the delicious sensations until she grew mad with desire, her writhing body no match for the force of his will. He’d torture her with that sensual mouth, invade her with his thrusting cock and silence her screams of delight with his hot, probing tongue. And then, only when she was fully spent and utterly—
“So what do you think?”
She jumped. “Huh?”
He gave her a curious look. “Earth to Carly. Did I lose you to something more interesting than our Web site?”
Absolutely.
“Oh. No.” She giggled like a preteen. “I was just thinking about something.” Clearing her throat, she released her hands from the chair and adjusted in her seat, hoping the motion might ease the throbbing that had propped up between her thighs. “Let me see,” she said, gradually returning to reality and the six computer screens in front of her.
She pointed to one. “I think the red one is very sexy.” Then she pointed to another. “But that olive-green makes a nice contrast to the logo.”
Matt returned his arm to the back of her chair. “My thoughts exactly.” Then, giving her a wink, he added, “Maybe we really are as compatible as everyone thinks.”
She blinked. “Who, me and you?”
“Yes, me and you.”
There was a look in his eyes she didn’t know what to do with, serious yet playful, maybe a bit sultry. She wasn’t sure if it was real or her imagination cutting in thanks to his nearness, but it definitely seemed as if something was lurking in his gaze.
“Well, I told you that survey can’t be counted on for much,” she tried.
He rolled his chair a little closer.
“Funny thing about that. I’ve been talking to Terry Haynes—the programmer over at Singles Inc. I asked him for a small favor.”
She held her breath. “A favor?”
“Yeah. I asked him to run our surveys using all our answers. You know, just to dispel all the chatter going around about you and me.”
She gulped. “And?”
“And our percentage went up. Ninety-one percent when all was said and done.”
Guilt lodged in her throat, causing her to choke out a cough. “That’s hard to believe.” She swallowed the hoarseness from her voice. “There must have been a mistake.”
He inched closer until the arms of their chairs were touching. “I’m beginning to think the mistake is you and I ignoring the obvious.”
She tried to nudge her chair away, but all the strength had drained from her legs. “Come again?”
Those gray eyes darkened, and the playfulness that had been there a moment ago turned into something smoky. With his chair as close as it could get, he bent in to narrow the gap between them, putting her nerves on red alert.
“You forget that I saw a couple of your answers to the survey.” He dropped his eyes to her lips. “I don’t think you were toying with Hall when you answered those questions on sex.” Then he dropped them lower. “I think you were telling the truth.”
She dug her fingers into her chair.
He inched closer.
“I think you and I might really be perfect for each other. Don’t you?”
“It’s only a silly survey,” she squeaked.
One corner of his mouth cocked into a smile. “I don’t think there’s anything silly about this heat between us. I think we might do ourselves justice by seeing where it goes.”
His brow arched and then twitched as he waited for her answer, but Carly was tongue-tied.
She really should object, knowing what she knew about the survey. A decent woman would. But as much as she tried to deny it, with Matt she didn’t want to be decent. She wanted to be delightfully bad. Because no matter how wrong he was about the results, there was one thing she couldn’t deny: she hadn’t lied on all the questions.
When it came to the section on sex, she and Matt truly had been the perfect match.
Her pulse revved up a few RPMs, leaving her fighting for air in the little space between them. He’d closed in on her, placing that delectable body on dangerous ground. His lids grew heavy, his gaze trailing a heated path down her chin, over her shoulder and across her breasts. He seemed to be gathering ideas along the way, and an ache in her chest begged to know each and every one.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked, not recognizing the low voice that seemed to come from her throat.
That playful look came back to his eyes. “Maybe we should go lock the door, rip our clothes off and see exactly how compatible we really are.”
“Are you kidding?”
That hadn’t been a scoff so much as a confirmation. With his rugged scent drugging her thoughts, his breath tickling the edge of her neck and those muscled arms twitching with anticipation, she was seriously considering doing this.
And why not? It was only sex. Wild, kinky, in-the-office-during-business-hours sex. The kind she’d been dreaming about since she’d realized she had a sex drive. For ages she’d been waiting for something exciting to happen to her, and now that it had, she’d forever kick herself if she dared turn it down.
His fingers touched her chin and she nearly collapsed from the jolt that ran through her. He’d tipped his head toward her and now his lips were on the verge of touching hers, whetting her appetite for the smorgasbord of pleasure she knew this man could offer.
So what if the survey was a sham? The speeding thrill whipping through her was entirely real. After years of yawn-inducing sex, she had a real man at her fingertips. A dark, fiery man. The kind that scorched the air around her, soaked her wet with just a look and set her body ablaze.
This was the breathless life she’d been waiting for, and all she had to do was pucker up and take it.
Cupping her cheek, he brushed his thumb over her lips, and when he acknowledged that he hadn’t been kidding, she opened her mouth and drew it inside, stroking her tongue against his flesh to mirror what she’d like to do to other parts of his body.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. His body froze. And the playful look in his eyes disappeared.
Flashing a glance that screamed Yes! she circled her tongue around his thumb, then slowly sucked it down until her lips met the pad of his palm. Then she reversed the motion, easing back and dragging her tongue along the flesh all the way. His fingers caressed her cheek, but his eyes never left her mouth. They stayed captivated by her, and she knew by the look in them he’d gone hard as a rock. She could feel it in the stillness of the moment.
She was driving him crazy. He’d gone rigid as stone, not a muscle in his body moving as she stroked and sucked, the air getting hotter with every taste.
She loved this feeling of power, knowing that she was toying with something that could erupt with an intensity she’d only sensed in her dreams. He was fixated on her, the room devoid of everything but her lips making unspoken promises of undeniable pleasure.
And just when she began to consider moving on to better things, he cupped her face with both hands, shot out an expletive and crushed his mouth to hers.
7
OKAY, SO MAYBE toying with Carly had been a bad idea. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was about the stupidest thing he’d ever done, only to
be surpassed by what he planned to do next.
He hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. He was supposed to tease her, make her squirm a bit about the survey, raise a few flags of concern before he dropped the bomb that he knew what she’d done. Right about now he was supposed to be scolding her, not running his hands through her hair and shoving his tongue down her throat.
But that’s exactly where this had gone, and damn if he could find it in him to change course now.
He should have known that taunting Carly was a bad idea. From the moment he’d walked into Hall Technologies two years ago she’d been the forbidden fruit he couldn’t ignore. And like twisting a crank on a child’s mechanical toy, every month that went by had only strung him tighter. Her bright smile would turn the crank one notch, her throaty laugh another. Calming words, the way she hummed when she worked, the scintillating cleavage—twist, twist, twist. By the time this survey came around, he’d been wound so tight a wink might have caused him to snap. How he thought he could pull off a fake seduction and keep his pants on was a blunder for the ages. Carly calling his bluff had been one turn too many, and with the wheels set in motion, he had no idea where it would land.
He laced his fingers through her hair and drove the kiss deeper. She tasted like sweet peach tea, smelled clean as fresh lemons, and with skin soft as a buttercup, he wouldn’t be calling a halt anytime soon. His first sampling of Carly Abrams was what he’d both feared and expected, and without the will to put on the brakes, he surrendered to dig in and enjoy the ride.
Their lips still locked, she slipped off her chair and onto his lap, hiking the skirt up her thighs and straddling him with two long, smooth legs. The move freed his hands to explore all those delicious curves and valleys, and it wasn’t long before he found his way up her shirt and over those two luscious mounds.
She groaned. He hardened. She inched farther up his thighs and his cock stiffened more. He wondered how hard it would be to unzip his jeans and slide inside her, but with condoms in his back pocket and two bodies on one unsteady office chair, he didn’t dare risk it.
Squeezing her breasts in his hands, he pulled his mouth away and whispered, “We need to move.”
Those turquoise eyes had darkened, her lips had puffed and reddened from the stubble on his jaw, and while she went to work unbuttoning his shirt, she asked, “Does the door really lock?”
He bit the sensitive flesh under her chin. “There’s a dead bolt.”
She pulled open his shirt and stroked her hands across his chest. “We can really do this.”
Working his way up to one tender earlobe, he replied, “We can do anything you want, sweetheart.”
He skimmed his hands down her legs and slipped them up under her skirt, and she hissed when his thumbs reached the soft curls of her sex. He’d barely grazed the edge of her panties before the slick heat welcomed him, and his stiff cock twitched from the rush sweeping through him. Only moments into this, she was already hot, ripe and ready, and he sank his teeth into the base of her neck, needing to turn his focus away from the place that could tip him too early.
He’d wanted Carly too badly for too long, and her eagerness to push things further wasn’t helping his restraint. He hadn’t expected any of this. He hadn’t really thought that underneath the cheery schoolgirl a fiery siren lay in waiting, nor had he thought her staunch animosity toward him could peel away so easily. Yet here they were, poised to play out every fantasy that had haunted him since the day they’d met, and damned if he could hear a voice inside telling him not to.
He wanted her so much it hurt. He ached to soak in a piece of that sweet sunshine she carried around with her and he throbbed to explore the fiery woman he’d exposed. It wasn’t desire so much as hard, painful hunger, and when she slid her tongue under the curve of his jaw, he almost feared the deep sensations running through him.
Something about it felt too right, and, whipping his hands up from under her skirt, he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed, feeling an unexplainable need to hold her tight and close.
Her response was a delightful gasp and the breathy suggestion that they take this party to the couch. She slid off his lap and held out a hand, and Matt was miles from arguing. Pulling out of the chair, he stepped to the door and flicked the switch to the dead bolt, turning back to her just in time to watch her skirt drop to the floor.
Without an ounce of hesitation, she crisscrossed her hands over the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her standing by one stuffy chair, her long, slim body clad only in a pale cream bra and matching silk panties.
He nearly choked on his tongue. Carly Abrams in the flesh was more beautiful than his fantasies. Dark, silky hair contrasted sharply against skin the color of cream, and her blue eyes nearly shimmered with expectation. She stood neither confident nor ashamed, simply offering herself for display, and Matt found the unassuming stance about as sexy as they come.
Puffing out a faint cough, he cleared his throat before choking out, “Are you trying to kill me?”
A deliciously evil smile curved one side of her mouth. “Maybe I am.”
“You’re off to a good start.”
Reaching behind her, she unclasped her bra and let it drop to her feet, exposing two perfectly beautiful breasts, and Matt clasped his hands into fists to keep from reaching out and groping them like a schoolboy.
“How’s this?” she asked, and when he didn’t answer, she slipped out of her panties and stood naked before him, a pair of black heeled sandals the only clothing left on her body.
When she moved to kick one off, he shot out, “Don’t!” and she raised a brow of intrigue, opting to stop and wait, her gaze telling him the rest was up to him.
And Matt couldn’t decide where to start. There were too many options. The most desirable was to plop her down on the chair, swing those luscious heeled legs over his shoulders and bury himself in oblivion.
And thirty seconds later the whole encounter would be over.
So instead he opted for plan B, one of several fantasies he’d had starring Carly since he’d taken a peek at those survey questions. Given that’s what had started this whole thing, he might as well find out if any of those answers were true. The fact that she stood there so unabashedly exposed left him suspecting she hadn’t lied about everything, and if so, he was about to have his best day on the job to date.
Slowly he strolled toward her, savoring the look of anticipation on her face, knowing he had the power to fulfill her expectations. He wasn’t a cocky lover for nothing, and if he was risking rumor spreading through the office, he intended it to be in his favor.
He snaked a hand around her waist and pulled her against him, and though she parted her lips, expecting a kiss, he simply held her close and stared.
“I intend to make sure you like this,” he said.
Tugging his shirt off his shoulders, she replied, “I’d like it better if you were naked, too.”
He allowed his shirt to drop, but when she reached for his trousers, he held her hands. “That time will come.”
A soft pout formed on her face and the shot of affection made him want to kiss it away. Miss-Sunshine-turned-fiery-vixen had a playful side, and as he eased her down on one of the chairs, he wondered how many more sides there were to this mystery package.
Kneeling in front of her, he spread her legs wide. “Don’t worry. Neither of us will go away unsatisfied.” Then he clasped his mouth to her breast.
She arched her back and moaned, and just as he’d wanted, the playful pout drained away to something sensual. He spent a short time sampling her breasts, licking the taut coral nipples, trailing a line down her waist so close to her sex she gasped before he turned and went back the way he came. He wanted to drive her crazy for him, to make her crave him as badly as he’d craved her. And when they were done, he wanted her to think of him as the best lover she’d ever had.
Because he wanted to be the best lover she’d ever had.
Again he trailed his mouth down her torso, teasing the flesh at her opening before trolling back up, and when he dipped a third time, he allowed his tongue to scrape between the slick heat of her folds.
The sweetness nearly pushed him over. The rush of breath to her lungs sucked the air from the room. And when she wriggled down in a gesture of offering, he denied her and turned away.
She let out a grunt of frustration, and he smiled.
“Did you like that?” he asked.
Her response was an agonizing, “Yes.”
“Do you want to come, baby?”
“I want you to fuck me,” she said, the statement so sexually out of character his cock nearly shot free of his slacks.
“I think you need to come first.” And backing up the demand, he spread her and placed his mouth right where it mattered most.
A squeak slipped from her throat, and her legs began to tremble as Matt slipped his tongue over her clit and the slick flesh around it. He ached to push a finger inside to see how tight she was, but he was already at the edge. Any more surprises from Carly would ruin the great run he’d started, so instead he caressed her thighs while he brought her to the edge of orgasm.
She whispered out words of warning he didn’t need to hear. He already knew she was close. He could feel her clit swelling against his tongue, could taste the sweet slickness from her core as the scent of arousal swarmed his nose. She was almost there, and knowing how much more he had planned, he didn’t hesitate to let her come fast and hard against his mouth.
Slim fingers slid through his hair, then grasped tightly as she sucked in a breath and exhaled a silent release. Her nub convulsed against his tongue, and he took it into his mouth and suckled it while he clasped his hands to her hips to hold her steady. He could tell she wanted to cry out, the low rumblings from her chest leaking sounds of desperate silence.