Page 25

It would be easy to mistake this for one of Ryan Ehler’s patented moves. Something he’s perfected with years of practice. But when I search his eyes, there’s nothing there but hope and need.

His lips brush against mine, soft and slow.

Each kiss lingers before dissolving into the next.

Ryan runs his thumb along my jaw and across my lower lip, easing my mouth open to deepen the kiss.

His fingers trail down my neck and across my collarbone then his palms pass so lightly over my arms that I have to suppress a shiver.

When his hands finally make it to my waist, Ryan pulls me even closer to him.

By the time the kiss ends, I’m pretty sure his hands are the only thing keeping me upright. It’s a knee-quivering, bone-melting sort of kiss. It’s also the sweetest kiss I’ve ever received.

“I want us to be together, too,” I say, more confident now of where I land on this issue.

Ryan smiles and presses one more kiss to my neck, right where my pulse is still racing.

“Right here at work?” he asks with a mischievous grin. “That’s very unprofessional of you, Ms. Stephens.”

I almost object to his turn of phrase until Ryan lifts me up and sets me on the desk, spreading my legs around his hips. All his hardness and heat overwhelm my senses.

Ryan’s fingers are working the top button of my shirt. My hands are on his belt. Then there’s a moment of recognition that makes us both stop abruptly. He takes a small step back and laughs.

In fact, we both laugh so hard that we lose our breath.

We are wearing the same clothes. Not like one of those couples who do fun runs and have the matching t-shirts to prove it.

Like the exact same clothes, from head to toe.

And they are the least sexy clothes of all time: a boxy sage green button-down adorned with various patches and badges paired with stiff, shapeless pants in a clashing shade of dark green.

Clunky steel-toed boots that take forever to lace up or take off.

Only someone like Ryan can pull off this look. As for me, I have the sex appeal of Gumbi when I’m wearing this uniform.

“Is it weird that I feel like I’m undressing my twin sister right now?” Ryan laughs.

“Um, yes…weird and gross.”

I start to slide off the desk, but Ryan puts a hand to my hip and stops me. There’s still a hint of humor in his voice when he speaks. Thank God for that. If he said these words in his growly dirty talk voice, I think I would have definitive proof that spontaneous combustion is real.

“I need to fuck you on this desk. I’ll never get it out of my head if I don’t have you right here. Take off your clothes and come back to this exact spot.”

He presses a quick kiss to my lips and turns around, already unbuttoning his shirt.

I fumble with my own buttons and practically trip out of my shoes and pants while keeping one eye on Ryan.

He shrugs off his work shirt then his undershirt, exposing the bands of muscle across his back.

The sound of his belt buckle coming undone elicits a pathetically Pavlovian response from me, considering that it’s a sound I’ve only heard once before.

Stepping out of my panties, I lean up against the desk exactly where Ryan left me a moment ago.

When he turns around, his eyes traverse the length of me, taking in every bare inch. A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, but he shakes his head as he closes the gap between us.

“I told you I wanted you in the exact spot where I left you.”

Ryan’s tone is dark, but his eyes are bright and playful.

I let out a little gasp as he picks me up and sets me on the desk again.

His hands run down my hips, his fingers grazing my inner thighs and then spreading my legs wide.

He brushes his lips against mine slowly then takes half a step back to admire me in this new position.

Who knew sitting on my desk completely naked would be such a turn-on? I start to wonder why I don’t do this all the time, but I already know: I would be fired and probably reported as a sex offender of some sort. More importantly though, it wouldn’t be the same without Ryan’s heated gaze on me.

Our next kisses are deep and slow. They’re honey dripping from a jar.

I’m suddenly aware of every single nerve ending in my lips.

The only thing that could possibly pull my attention away is the feeling of Ryan’s hands running down my sides, across my legs to my knees, and then over the soft, sensitive skin of my inner things.

His fingers find my aching center and press, stretch, curl inside of me.

I gasp against his mouth when his fingertips brush against the right spot.

Ryan pauses for a second, pulling back slightly from my mouth.

I expect a torrent of his dirty, filthy, growly words that are likely to push me over the edge.

Instead, he pours all of his intense focus onto my face, watching me react to this touch.

When I’m so, so close, Ryan withdraws his fingers and reaches across the desk for a condom that he must have taken out of his wallet when he was undressing.

“I need to feel you when you come.”

His eyes lock on mine again as he lines himself up and slowly pushes inside of me. It’s slow, slow, slow with one final deep thrust that reverberates through my entire body. I feel it everywhere. Nerves twist and unknot, electrifying me from within.

Ryan does this again

Again

Again

It’s slow, but not trepidatious. It’s the unspoken acknowledgment that neither of us wants to rush.

That both of us need to feel every single little movement the other makes.

It’s a quiet moment to be savored because there are no words that would make this moment any better.

It’s a sweet, silent confession with the undercurrent of need tugging at us from below.

I’m lost in the feeling of Ryan’s kisses, his skin against mine, his arms pulling me closer. He’s the only thing tethering me to the earth at this moment.

Pulling him in for another kiss changes the angle of him inside me, making me clench and moan against him.

Ryan oh so carefully recreates the motion, pulling us apart just enough to savor my reaction.

I bask in the warm affection that’s written all over his face.

Before long, I’m tumbling over the cliff and taking Ryan with me.

I try to keep my eyes open through it all, and I’m thankful that I don’t miss it when Ryan finally speaks, my name quietly humming from his lips as he pulses inside of me.

The sound buzzes in my brain as our breaths steady. Our bodies steady too, with Ryan still inside me as he plants a series of kisses across my lips.

The afterglow feels different than last time.

Maybe because we’re at work in my office, or maybe because this is different than last time.

Last time was a long-awaited release of the tension that had been building between us.

It felt like the end of something, but this feels like the beginning of something else.

It feels a lot like love.

After we get dressed, Ryan pretty much announces that he’ll be staying the night at my place. He’s already packed an overnight bag, which is waiting in his truck.

I can’t decide if this is a sign of sweet determination or a sign that his ego is at an all-time high after all. Either way, I don’t argue.

Okay, I argue a little.

But I don’t mean it.

We don’t have sex again that night. Nothing could top our office sex anyway.

Flashes of it play in my mind as we lie in bed. I never thought I’d be the type to have sex at work. In fact, having sex on the couch instead of in the bed was about as wild as I ever got with previous boyfriends.

Then I wonder about all the places Ryan has had sex. It’s not that I’m jealous. After tonight, I finally understand that Ryan and I have something different, something deeper than he has ever had with all the other women. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not curious…

“Have you ever had sex at work before?” I blurt out as we’re curled up in bed together.

“No, those are two things I usually prefer not to mix.”

“So, I’m the exception to this rule?”

He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear and smiles. “I think you already know that you are.”

“It was different than I imagined,” I say after a minute.

“What was?”

“Office sex. In the movies, the woman is always bent over the desk and there’s lots of sexy stockings and spanking.”

“What kind of movies are you watching?” he laughs.

I turn bright red because, yes – I am talking about porn. Thankfully, the room is dark enough that Ryan can’t see me blush.

“I’ve been single for a long time. Sometimes I need a little extra inspiration,” I admit.

“Well, we can always do it again…with more spanking next time.”

“I think we’ve pushed our luck enough for now, but speaking of the office: can I ask you a favor?”

Ryan nods.

“Can we keep this between us for now? At least at work? I need a little bit of time to get used to it before everyone else knows. Plus, Abby will kill me if she has to hear it from Hunter instead of me.”

“Of course,” Ryan says in a sleepy voice.

A pang of guilt shoots through me. I’m always the one holding us back from the next step. If Ryan weren’t so patient and persistent, who knows if we would ever make any progress at all?