Page 59 of Not on the Same Page

Casey stares at me, his face infuriatingly unreadable like it always is when he’s holding something back. It makes me want to squirm under his inscrutable gaze or jump up and leave altogether.

“Shouldn’t keep doing what?” he says finally, his voice low and measured.

I let out a frustrated sigh. “You know what.”

“I thought we were on the same page. Just ten minutes ago, you were telling me my personal life doesn’t scare you⁠—”

“It doesn’t,” I cut him off. “But we’d be stupid to continue this and pretend like it didn’t change things.”

“Is it so bad if it did?”

Would it be so bad if I fell for you and you left me too? Yes. That would be very bad. Especially in the middle of negotiating this deal.

I evade his question. “Once Imani signs with you, we’ve got five books to work on together. You’re a big hotshot now so I guess you get to make your own rules, but if Suzanna finds out...”

“How would she ever find out?”

I leap to my feet, my hands flailing away from my sides. “God, it is infuriating when you continually answer me with hypothetical questions. I don’t know how she’d find out, but I know I’d be in deep shit if she did, and I’ve got bills to pay and a job I’d like to keep. Not to mention a ton of other stuff you don’t even want to know about.” I clamp my mouth shut. I didn’t mean for that to slip out, and I dare to hope that he’s going to focus on the work part of what I said.

But when he slowly rises to his feet and comes around to the front of his desk, his intense gaze tracking me the whole time, I know I won’t be so lucky.

“What if I did want to know?” he asks, then catches himself. “That’s not a hypothetical question. That’s a very real one. What if I said I don’t care what changes between us. That I want you to tell me everything about you? That you can’t scare me away that easily?”

“I can,” I say on a shaky laugh.

Casey shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Try me.”

“No.”

He studies me for another moment, then leans back on his heels. A concession, if a small one. “I can’t make you talk to me, nor will I try. But Trina…” He takes two steps toward me, so close now, our chests could touch if I inhaled deeply. He brings his hands up to cup my face. “I’m right here. That’s not hypothetical either. Do you really want to walk away from that? I won’t stop you.”

My eyelids flutter closed. I can hardly think with the warmth radiating off him, his clean linen scent enveloping me.

“No,” I say again. It’s breathier, but no less true. All the worries about my job pale in comparison to this desire that rises within me. The only thing I’ve wanted since I walked in was to be in his arms. The next best thing would be to lose myself in his body, to borrow a little bit of his strength for a time.

I sense Casey shift, and one of his palms is replaced by his lips on my neck. “I’ll take whatever you give me,” he whispers, the words skittering over my skin and resting on my heart.

“This is all I can give you.” I press my palms into the back of his head, keeping him right there as he nips my collarbone, drawing a soft moan from my throat.

His hand meets my lower back, pulling me closer, and yes, this is exactly where I want to be. No feelings, but feeling something all the same—his tenderness, his lips at my neck, the building anticipation in my core. He meets my lips in a searing kiss, full of pent-up desire. There’s something else there too, though I can’t place it, and when his tongue starts dancing with mine, I don’t want to bother trying.

When I roll my hips against him, he chuckles darkly. “I thought you said you’re not going to fuck me in my office.”

“I’m not going to wait for an hour drive back to the city to have you inside me.” I start fumbling with his belt. “And besides, everyone is gone. This place was a ghost town when I came in.”

Something snaps in him. He takes his wallet out of his back pocket and removes a square foil package, then tosses the wallet on the ground. He walks me backward until my back hits the wall. As he kisses me again, he bunches the fabric of my skirt up in his fists, lifting it up my hips. He slips my panties to the side and drags a finger through my wetness, circling my clit in exactly the right way to make my knees buckle underneath me.

Gone is his tenderness from earlier. It has been replaced by an almost feral need to possess me—to claim me, I realize as he presses a finger into me, then another.

I clutch his shoulders, digging my nails into the fabric of his shirt. “Fuck, Casey,” I gasp. His fingers pump in and out of me, and his thumb resumes circling my clit. An orgasm builds so quickly, it takes me by surprise. “I’m going to come.”

“You’d better be quiet,” he demands. “In case anyone is still here. Can you do that for me, baby?”

I try to answer him, but my orgasm barrels into me like a speeding train. I lean forward, letting him support my weight and biting his shoulder to keep myself from crying out. He holds me through it, drawing out waves of pleasure as I breathe him in.

When it fades, he removes his hand and sets me back against the wall. “Are you okay to stand?”

Dazed, I nod as I bite my lip and allow my gaze to trail lazily over his body. Even fully clothed, he’s gorgeous. And lucky me, he’s still holding the condom in his other hand. “Are you going to fuck me?”