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“It’s only fifteen minutes, Chloe. We lost sight of him for fifteen minutes, and he’s fine.” He leaned back and looked at me, scouring my face for signs of worry. “I’m sorry, Chloe,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to experience seeing someone suffer.”
I looked up at Sean as he ran his fingers up and down my cheek. “Thank you,” I said.
He was holding me close, and neither of us felt the need to step away. His arms tightened around my back.
I saw a flicker of a smile on his lips, and it was gone instantly.
“Don’t thank me yet. Pretty soon, you’ll see the grump that I am, darling.”
I leaned into him. “I like him too, by the way.”
His expression gave away his surprise.
“Grumpy or not, both sides of you are just fine, Sean.”
He leaned in closer, and our foreheads were touching.
“Chloe, if you keep talking like that …” He broke off. “I’m going to forget that I’m your boss. I’m going to do things that I have no business doing as your boss.”
When I looked up, I could see the raw need in his eyes and the restraint he was exercising to hold himself back. I reached up and touched his face, his cheek rough against my palm.
“You’re far too good to forget yourself, Sean,” I said softly.
He leaned into my palm and closed his eyes before he let out a groan. “You’re killing me, Chloe,” he muttered.
I wanted to kiss him so badly that I couldn’t think straight anymore.
No other man had claimed my thoughts every waking moment the way he had.
I was desperate to feel his lips on mine. I reached out to touch the smooth lapels of his jacket, my heart thundering in my chest when I felt him pull me to him firmly.
His lips were on mine in an instant, his hands cupping my face as he tilted my chin up. His lips moved with expert rhythm over mine, and I closed my eyes, sinking into the heady sensation that took over.
His tongue teased my lips, demanding to be let in.
I opened up to him as I pressed my body against his hard chest. Sean uttered a low moan at the back of his throat as though he was losing his restraint.
The kiss was every pent-up bit of suppressed feeling and passion, all rolled into one, and it quickly turned possessive.
He pushed me against the wall of the elevator, my back hitting the steel handrail. His body was pressing up against me deliciously as he kissed me fiercely.
I whimpered as my hands snaked around his neck, tracing the outlines of his hard shoulders before I pulled him even closer. My body sparked to life, my thighs clenching together as heat pooled between the?—
The jarring sound of the elevator doors opening hit me just then, followed by the rush of wind as I abruptly let go of Sean. He froze.
In the distance, I saw a boy, unmistakably Lucas, next to a girl, Brianna.
I felt a rush of emotion when I realized we really hadn’t lost him. They were here.
Sean’s eyes were on me, and when I looked back at him, he was scanning me, his face inches from mine. The emotion in his eyes took my breath away. Desire.
“They’re here,” I whispered, and he took a step back.
That gap robbed me of that feeling of security I’d just had with Sean’s arms wrapped around me, his warm voice in my ear, and the feeling of being crushed against him.
Sean turned around and took a step toward Lucas when I put a hand out, stopping him.
“Give Lucas a chance to finish his conversation with Brianna,” I said, noticing that Lucas was speaking fast. “And could you please not be tough on him about leaving the hall abruptly like he did? Especially not in front of Brianna.”