Page 28 of Red King (The Dragon Tributes #7)

28

P aisley

A week later…

Ecstasy tears through me, and I groan, holding on more tightly to the edge of his desk.

I look back over my shoulder. Arctic’s neck muscles are roped. He gets this look of intense pleasure. He crouches over just a little, his abs popping even more.

He’s so damned gorgeous that I have to look away, closing my eyes.

He jerks against me, his hips hitting against my ass. My breasts are mashed up against his desk. He’s groaning now, the sound filled with such pleasure it makes me come harder. I feel warmth inside me as he spills his seed. I feel my body milking him as I take the last of my own pleasure. He slows down, his cock still moving in and out of me. The sound of our ragged panting fills his office.

Arctic finally stops moving; I think I feel a kiss at the base of my neck. A soft brush of his lips. The action warms me and scares me, so I’m going to pretend it didn’t happen. His chest is heaving against my back. I still feel his dick throbbing inside me. He’s still semi-hard. We’re both struggling to catch our breath.

“I could get used to lunch meetings that start like this,” Arctic says as he pulls out. “Don’t move.”

I stay where I am, feeling his cum leak out of me.

He returns with a wad of tissue paper, which I use to mop it up, pressing it against my core, careful not to get any on my clothing.

It helps that my pants are hanging over the chair. My underwear is on the floor, together with my shoes and socks.

By now, we have a routine.

He goes into the bathroom and cleans up. It doesn’t take him long to return smelling of cologne and mouthwash, since he went down on me.

It takes a little longer for me. I strip and use the showerhead to clean myself properly down there. I lather my body with soap and then wash off. Then I spray myself with perfume and sit across from Arctic, who is typing something on his computer.

“What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Good news.” I smile. “We have our first engagement.” I give a little squeal of excitement because it’s wonderful.

“Really?” Arctic looks genuinely happy. He leans forward, placing his elbows on the desk. “Who is it?”

“Lauren – ironically, it’s the lady who ran and fell when you guys did your demonstration – remember her?”

“Of course I do.” He’s smiling broadly.

“Well, she and Burn are in love. They’re moving in together and are engaged to be married. He got her a fancy ring and everything.”

“That’s great. That’s really wonderful.” He leans back in his chair. “Our first success story. We need to organize an engagement party. It’ll be an opportunity to get more candidates and Tributes together. What are the latest stats?”

I frown. “Not great. A third of the Tributes are still holding back. They aren’t dating the candidates. They’re…” I pull in a breath. “We did an anonymous survey, and it turns out that they’re holding out for you, Arctic.” I bite on my lip, pulling it into my mouth while I think on my next words. “We should probably stop…having sex.” I meant to say that in a better way. “You should start seriously looking at the Tributes. You have ten to choose from, including Hannah, who you seem to like.”

As per usual, he’s completely unreadable. He seems to be mulling it over.

“You want to end it?”

“I wouldn’t put it like that, but I think we have to…yes.” I nod.

He makes a noise like he’s considering my words. “I think you’re jumping the gun. We’ve barely started fucking. We spoke of several weeks before stopping.”

I cock my head and scrutinize him. “Did we put a time to our arrangement? I don’t think we did. I think we agreed that as long as we were both satisfied, that we would continue, but—”

“Aren’t you satisfied, Paisley?” His eyes are on me. He’s still unreadable.

“You know I am.”

“Do I?” He steeples his hands under his chin.

“Um…yes.” I roll my eyes. “You should know it. I come every single time you’re inside me, and without fail. Thank god for insulation, or we would have been caught a long time ago. Yes, okay. I love having your cock inside me. I’ve never come so damned hard and so often in all my life.”

He leans back in his chair, looking both relaxed and uptight. I don’t know how he does that.

“Well, then?”

“Well then, what?” I shrug.

“If you’re having a good time, we shouldn’t stop just yet. I’m not ready to stop. If you’re still enjoying yourself, then we should keep seeing each other, at least—”

“I just told you that a third of the Tributes—”

He shrugs a shoulder. “I know what you told me, but I don’t care. They can wait. They’re not going anywhere.”

I snort-laugh. “They might. You never know. There are more candidates.”

“That’s fine, too. Let them date the others. I’m willing to bet you that most of them will wait it out. There’s still plenty of time.”

I all-out laugh. “The arrogance. Can you hear yourself? I really think we should end this soon. Cathy will start to get suspicious. I’m shocked she hasn’t figured it out yet. Sally must know.”

“Sally will never utter so much as a word. She’s my most loyal—”

“Cathy would shout it from the rooftops. She still thinks you’re interested in her, by the way. She’s told me several times that she’s caught you looking at her with interest.”

“It’s not her I’m looking at.”

“I know that, and you know that, but it’s a problem. You said you would be more careful.”

“I am being more careful. I can’t help it that you wore that cocktail dress again last night. The one that showcases your tits…and your legs. The one that makes your eyes stand out…and your hair, too. That’s not my fault, Paisley.”

I giggle. He’s so damned cute. “We’re going to get caught.”

“Bullshit! Let’s keep seeing each other until the end of the week, and then I’ll start dating the Tributes.” He sounds like it’s going to be the most difficult task he’s ever had to endure. Like he’d rather eat hot coals, and I’m secretly glad.

I’m happy he feels that way, which is wrong, wrong, wrong! Even more reason to stop this madness.

“Okay.” I lick my lips. “Just until the end of the week.” I look down at the agenda because I can’t remember what else there was to discuss. “Oh, yes, the demonstration is all set for tomorrow. Thorn and Steel gave their approval. We get to see you all shift and fly. I doubt that anyone will run this time.”

“Let’s hope not.” He levels me with a sexy stare.

“What?”

“Did you give my idea some thought?”

I giggle. “Yes, and I’m not doing it.”

“It’ll be fun,” he insists. “Come on, Paisley.”

“It’ll get us caught. What happened to being discreet?”

“Slip away during the demonstration. No one will be paying any attention to you. They’ll be too busy looking up at us.”

“It’s a recipe for disaster.” I laugh. I have to admit that there is some appeal to sneaking away to meet Arctic and almost under everyone’s noses.

“It’s not. It’ll be fine. Slip away, and I will meet you in the little forest next to the field, behind the big boulder. It’s very secluded.”

“So that we can have outdoor sex?” I sound incredulous because it’s crazy talk. “What about your security detail?”

“They can go to hell.” His eyes darken. “Do you know what it’s like to be followed everywhere you go? To have someone monitor everything you do? It’s a pain in the ass.”

“I can well imagine, but they are still a factor.” I pull some hair behind my ear.

“Let me worry about Steel and my security detail. We’ll have to be quick, and you’ll have to be very quiet.”

I gasp, my mouth falling open for a second or two. “What do you mean, I’ll have to be quiet?” I laugh. “You’re the one who likes to roar at the top of your lungs every time—”

He laughs. “You’re right. We both have to be quiet.”

“Okay, then. I guess you only live once.” I sigh and then smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing the show. The Tributes are excited about it, too.”

“You’ll do it, though?” His eyes are bright; his smile is so naughty, it makes my blood heat.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

He groans, and the sound is so sexy it tightens my belly.

I feel sad that this is about to come to an end. But it has to.

Every minute I spend with this man tells me that we’re too much. Since the night Arctic lost it so badly and broke down in front of me, things have changed between us. We’ve progressed to being more than just a hook-up but pretending that we’re not. I’m right to end it. I should be sticking to my guns, but a few more days can’t hurt.