Page 113 of Smitten Pucking Orc

His hands found my waist, gripping hard.

I stepped back, holding his gaze, and shrugged my blazer off, letting it fall to the floor. I wore a silk blouse underneath. A pencil skirt. Heels that hurt. But the armor was disappearing.

“Better?” I asked.

“Getting there,” he rasped.

We crashed back together. Desperate now, his hands everywhere, mine pulling at his shirt. The kiss turned frantic, weeks of suppressed wanting breaking through every carefully maintained boundary.

“Is the door locked?” I gasped between kisses.

He pulled away long enough to flip the lock. “Everyone’s gone.”

“I don’t care.”

“Good.”

He cupped my face in his big, warm hands, and kissed me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ELLIE

He lifted me into his arms and carried me over to sit on the edge of the treatment table, the paper crinkling underneath me.

“I missed this,” he said against my mouth, nudging my thighs apart to step between them. “Touching you. Being close to you.”

I pulled my head back. “You had two weeks to tell me that.”

“I did.”

“So why now?”

“Because I can’t lose you.”

His hands found the buttons of my blouse, working them slowly. “Denver offered you everything.”

“Yes.” My breath hitched as he tugged another button free.

“A solid position, working with big-name athletes.”

“You talked to Crim.”

“Are you going to take it?” Another button.

“I don’t know.”

Button by button, he unwrapped me. He pushed the silk off my shoulders, slipping the blouse free, and stared at the purple lace like he’d forgotten how to breathe.

“Ellie.” My name came out strangled.

“What?”

“You’re wearing purple.” He traced the edge of the lace with one finger. “My color.”

Heat crawled up my neck. “It’s laundry day.”

“Liar.” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “You wore this for me.”