Page 27

When Pearl ushered me right into his office with a knowing look, I burst in with a smile. “I have a hot pastrami sandwich, looking for a mouth to feed,” only to find he was meeting with four other men in suits. Pearl closed the door behind me and left me standing there, stranded.

Each three-piece suited man stared at me, looking like I was from another planet. And I was, considering I’d worn my dress that was colored like candy corn with wide stripes of black on the bottom, orange in the middle and white on top, with black suede boots to my knees and a bright orange flower in my hair.

“Oh, I-I didn’t realize you were in a meeting. I’ll just drop this off here.” I awkwardly tiptoed over to his desk and dropped his sandwich into the middle of it. He stared at me as if dumbfounded to see me.

I swiftly turned and headed for the door, but before I reached it, he ordered. “Everyone out—except you, Chelsea.” I froze in place and watched the men dutifully empty the room.

Behind me, the footsteps rushing up to me from his pricey leather shoes matched the pace of my heart. His hands landed at my waist, and his body so close to mine caused a thrill up and down my spine.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Fuck, it’s good to see you.”

“You could have seen me every day if you’d come down from your tower.”

“I know. I had some…arrangements to make, and I was planning to come see you after you closed today. Come here.” He turned me in one smooth move, wrapping me in his arms and taking my lips. My heart thumped so rapidly, it wouldn’t have been possible to count the beats.

My hands landed at the back of his neck, fingering his short hair there. His suit felt like expensive fabric, probably made from a billion silkworms, and his cologne—Mm. Manly, seductive, powerful, just like Rex. I parted my lips, letting his tongue in, letting him claim me because the undeniable chemistry between us couldn’t be ignored.

He pursued me until I couldn’t possibly have any breath left in me. And when his lips finally parted from mine, I was jelly in his arms. My mind yelled,Just take me, use me, do what you want with me.

“Stay here.” He growled and walked to the door only to lock it and return, as if he read my thoughts. Then he came up behind me again, only this time, his hands landed on my thighs, grazing my skin under the fabric of my dress and lifting it up, exposing the black lace of my panties. He palmed my buttocks and fingered the lace.

My breath hitched. “What are you doing, Rex?” I whispered.

“Tell me to stop, if that’s what you want.”

I didn’t. I should return to the deli and help with the lunch rush, but he rendered me senseless with his attention.He shifted me toward the wall, my back landing against the wallpaper of golden stripes.

“That’s my good girl,” his voice, thick and sultry, praised me. He raised my arms above my head and pinned them there, claiming my lips again. His thigh shifted between my legs and I couldn’t help myself. I ground against the silk and muscle, seeking relief, while the thickness in his pants hardened against my stomach.

He kissed down my neck to my cleavage, and I finally found my voice again, but only in a whisper. “What are you doing to me?”

“Whatever you want. Name it.”

“I-I should go. It’s lunch rush and the deli?—”

“I can make this quick.” His hand dove into my panties, rubbing circles on my clit. “Someone is wet. Tell me you’ve been thinking of me.”

My thoughts stuttered, and I debated about giving him the satisfaction of knowing the answer, but my eyes betrayed me.

“Yeah, you have.” Damn, he was so arrogant sometimes, and why did I find that so sexy? “Fuck, thoughts of you have plagued me all week. I can’t stay away from your sweetness.”

“Yet you have. I was beginning to think I was just another notch on your bedpost.”

“No. You’re not at all like the others. I’d burn the damn bedpost down for you.”

I both hated hearing that and loved it at the same time. What if…what if things progressed between us? For the first time, I allowed myself to think beyond Christmas, topeek at a future with Rex. I’d have my deli, date Rex, enjoy living in the city. By this time next year, could I have Rex eating wedding cake out of my hands?

“Oh, God.” I shuddered, my legs shaking, and squirmed in his hold as he pumped fingers in and out of me.

“No, remember?Oh Rex,is all you need to say.”

“Your ego, I swear,” I chuckled, riding the edge, about to crash land on the other side. I reached for his belt. “I want you inside of me.”

He shoved my hand aside. “Later. Right now, this is all about you.”

“You say later like you expect to see me or something.” I was almost there. Another minute of this, and I’d be boneless in his hands.

“I do. I planned to ask you out tonight to a wine bar a buddy of mine just opened. Come with me.Say yes.”