My Guilty Pleasure

“Open for me, Joey,” he whispered, then placed a kiss just below her belly button.

An elusive sensation she couldn’t name curled inside her. She didn’t think, doubted she could muster more than a fleeting thought, as the anticipation heightened. She merely obeyed and opened her legs for him.

He settled to his knees on the floor and carefully scooted her to the edge of the bed. He pressed her thighs even wider, opening her to him completely.

He lightly brushed his knuckles over her folds. “Hmmm,” he murmured softly. He circled her opening with the tip of his finger. “So wet.”

Her breath momentarily stilled at the awe in his voice. Desire burned volcanic hot, making her a willing casualty to his demand for control.

She wasn’t accustomed to being so exposed, regardless of the situation. In her world, she was the one in control. Always. Sebastian obviously had other plans.

She felt that mysterious sensation curling inside her again, but before she could name it, she felt the first feathery brush of his tongue against her sex. Her heart nearly stopped beating. When he gently suckled her clit, and his fingers dipped inside her, gently thrusting and withdrawing, she knew she’d just died and landed right into heaven.

The intensity of the pressure building inside her was nothing short of exquisite torture. Little else mattered except the moist warmth of his mouth and fingers making love to her, pushing her that much closer to what promised to be a mind-blowing orgasm.

He grazed her clit with his teeth and her body tensed from the intensity of sensations. She closed her eyes and the world exploded. Blood pounded in her ears and rushed through her veins. Nothing mattered except the primal need for satisfaction.

Sebastian struggled to rein in the need clawing at his belly with knife-like sharpness at the sexy sound of Joey’s cries of pleasure. He wanted to be inside her, to feel her body tense and clench when she came.

Without giving her a chance to cool, he reached for the bedside table and snagged a condom from the drawer. He quickly sheathed himself, then moved them to the center of the bed.

She welcomed him inside her, lifting her hips to meet his initial thrust. Coherent thought escaped him. His concentration centered on the ebb and flow of their bodies coming together in an explosion of heat and fulfillment.

There was nothing gentle or slow about the way they made love. She met him, thrust for thrust. Her breath came in short, hard pants. He struggled for his own breath when her body tightened around his thick shaft as another orgasm rocked her body.

He felt wild and primal as he stroked her body with his. He drove into her again and again. Deeper. Harder. Tension climbed. His body burned from the strain of muscle as he lost himself in the power of his own release.

Eventually his senses began a slow return. The first thing he became aware of was the leisurely sensation of her fingertips gliding lightly over his back. He moved off her, but pulled her close and dragged the bedclothes over their cooling bodies.

She snuggled closer and he draped his leg over her hers. With her head nestled in the crook of his arm, he closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet, musky scent of their lovemaking.

“Joey?”

“Hmm?” she murmured drowsily. She wiggled closer, her backside rubbing enticingly against his groin.

“I think it’s safe to say we just trashed our professional relationship.”

4

JOEY ZIPPED UP her jeans and winced, certain the sound echoed so loudly throughout the sparsely furnished room it could be heard in the next apartment. She knew she was being silly, but she was hoping to escape without waking Sebastian. Or more honestly, hoping to avoid an awkward situation.

Only hours ago, just before she’d eventually fallen asleep sprawled across Sebastian’s chest, the pinkish gray fingers of dawn had been creeping across the city’s winter skyline. Without a clock handy, she’d guessed the hour now to be somewhere in the vicinity of noon. She snagged her watch from the nightstand for confirmation. Twelve-twenty.

God, why had she slept with him? Not that she hadn’t enjoyed every perfect second, but that was beside the point. In two days she’d have to face him again, fully clothed this time, and she had every intention of pretending last night never happened. A feat she imagined would be next to impossible. Especially now. They’d made love again and again, taking their time to fully explore each other’s bodies. It’d been beautiful, sweet, and had caused something to stir deep inside her—something other than her libido.

Oh, yeah. She was so out of there, if only to distance herself from the memory of their lovemaking and that strange little flutter she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, explain.

She crept around the bed in search of her bra and found it dangling from the edge of a tall moving carton near the closet. After slipping into it, she scooped up her top a few feet away and pulled it on as well. Her boots lay on the floor near Sebastian’s side of the bed. As quietly as possible, she stooped to pick them up, but couldn’t find her socks.

Full sunlight streamed through the windows, which made it easy for her to see them peeking out from under the bed, but she practically had to crawl beneath it to snag them. Her breathing stilled when she heard Sebastian stir.

Please don’t wake up.

Slowly, she lifted her head, peeked over the edge of the mattress and let out a startled gasp. Sebastian lay on his side, his head propped in his hand, staring down at her…and wearing nothing but a lazy smile.

Damn. So much for escaping unnoticed.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice thick from sleep.

“I didn’t want to disturb you.”

He chuckled. “Sure you didn’t.” His thick hair was mussed and his smile went from lazy to cocky. The man looked way too sexy and far too tempting for a woman filled with morning-after regret.

“Um…I have to water my plants.” The excuse was beyond lame, and from the skeptical light that entered those dark, bedroom eyes, they both knew it. But dammit, he seriously rocked her composure. What did he expect? A Rhodes scholar?

She dropped onto the edge of the bed to slip on her socks. He shifted beside her and brought his body closer to hers. Warning bells went off in her head. Lordy, but the temptation to crawl beneath the covers with him again was tough to resist.

He smoothed his hand down her back. She thought about the pleasure those hands could bring her and her resolve nearly crumbled.

She stiffened her spine.

“We have a problem, Joey.”

“Great deduction, Watson.”

He ignored her sass. “I want to see you again.”

A different kind of regret filled her. In all honesty, she’d love nothing more than to spend more time with Sebastian, in and out of bed, but it was out of the question. Forget that he was technically her supervisor, he was smart, sexy and dangerous. The kind of guy that could easily break her heart. The kind she could easily fall for…hard.

She shoved her foot into her boot and tugged. “Sorry,” she said with a shrug as she glanced down at him. “It’s pumpkin time, Cinderella.”

He frowned. “It’s only Saturday.”

“Can’t,” she said brusquely, then pulled on her other boot. “I’m busy.”

She wasn’t. She had no plans whatsoever until tomorrow afternoon, but he didn’t need to know that. Although Molly would more than likely have worked herself into a feline snit by the time she did get home. Her persnickety cat didn’t appreciate being left to her own devices all night and half the day, but a treat and some cuddle time would smooth her leopardlike fur to some degree.

She cast a quick glance in his direction. If his narrow-eyed stare was any indication, he wasn’t buying her line of BS. Too bad. She needed time to distance herself from him, to regain her composure before she faced him in the office Monday morning.

Good luck.

She let out a sigh and stood. “I think it’s best if we just pretend last night never happened.” She located her leather jacket near the bedroom door and shrugged into it.

He swung his feet to the floor and came off the bed in one easy movement. Heaven help her, she stared. She just couldn’t help herself. In the light of day, Sebastian Stanhope was even more glorious.

The erection he was sporting wasn’t half-bad, either.

Heat rushed to her face and she lifted her gaze to his. “I had a lovely time,” she said in a nervous rush, “but I really do have to go home.” To take a cold shower.