Page 17 of Selfish Suit (Steamy Latte Reads Collection #1)

THE INTERN

IVY

“ M y bathroom is to your left.” I let Nolan into the condo. “We can go back to the lobby to talk when you’re done.”

“Well, damn…” He smiles, looking as in awe as I was when I first saw this place. “Why can’t we just talk up here?”

“I just don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, crossing my arms. “To your left and make it quick…”

He ignores me and walks over to the windows, taking in the city below.

“Are your parents on their way?” I ask.

“No, um…” He clears his throat. “I lied about them coming. I just wanted to send you on a guilt trip because I thought you were ignoring me.”

I roll my eyes. “How mature.”

“Sorry.” The smile on his face reveals he isn’t slightly apologetic. “Do you have anything to drink?”

“There’s an entire coffee bar downstairs.”

“Oh, come on, Ivy.” He walks over to me. “Is it really like that now?”

“I don’t know,” I say, honestly frustrated. “We’ve been ‘on a break’ with status checkups for almost two years now, and sometimes I honestly forget what the hell we’re still holding onto.”

“I’ll make the drinks myself then.” He moves past me and into the kitchen, making a beeline for Dominic’s custom wet bar.

“I really would prefer if we went downstairs.” I notice him loosening his tie.

As if he can’t hear me, he pulls down a flight of shot glasses and fills them with vodka before pushing them toward me. Then he makes a glass of whiskey for himself.

“This brand is like five hundred a bottle,” he says. “I’m impressed that you’re making enough to buy something like this now. Six months ago, you could barely afford to get a decent six-pack of beer.”

I knock back a shot.

“Are you going to ask me what I’ve been up to, Ivy?” He takes a long sip. “I’ve made some huge upgrades in my life, too.”

“Sure.” I resist the urge to roll my eyes and knock back another shot.

“Well, six months away from you—well, ‘us’—flew by in a flash, and I really did learn a lot about myself and what I want in a relationship.”

“Me too.” I pause, thinking I heard the elevator chime on the other side of the door, but it can’t be.

It can’t be…

“I’ve always thought you were a go-getter,” Nolan says. “And you’ve always had the most creative mind I’ve ever known. There’s even?—”

He stops talking as the front door swings open, as Dominic strolls inside, still wearing the custom navy blue suit.

“Um, who are you?” Nolan asks.

Dominic doesn’t answer. He just clenches his jaw while glaring at me.

“Babe?” Nolan sets down his glass. “Who is the guy walking into your place like he thinks he owns it?”

“Like I think I own it?” Dominic asks. “Is that what you just said?”

“He’s my roommate.” I shoot Dominic a please help me out look. “He’s part of the, uh, huge intern-plus-executive-office-share program I mentioned to you.”

“Ohhh.” Nolan nods. “Oh, okay.”

“Yeah, okay.” Dominic keeps his eyes on me. “Can I speak to you in private for a second, roommate?”

“Excuse me…” I barely manage to Nolan, and I follow Dominic down the hall and into his parlor room.

He shuts the door behind us, and I can literally feel the heat rolling off his body in waves.

“So,” he says through gritted teeth, “you cut your apartment search early today to come home and fuck another man in my condo?”

“No. We weren’t even supposed to come up here, but?—”

“You have two minutes to get him the hell out of my place, and then I’ll deal with you after that.”

“Dominic, listen.”

“Two fucking minutes.” He dismisses me with nothing more, and I return to the living room.

“Everything alright, babe?” Nolan asks.

“No,” I say. “And I need you to stop calling me ‘babe,’ when we’re on a break that never seems to end. I’ll have to talk to you some other day.”

“Well, that’s fine.” He shrugs. “I was only trying to see you to say that I think this latest break has been good for us, and I miss you, but I’m not quite ready to get back together.”

“So why did you make such a big deal out of wanting to see me?”

“I wanted to see where you are—like in life. To see if you’re leveling up like I’m leveling up,” he says. “And it looks like you’re finally getting my vision, and I think with another six months, we’ll be good so…”

He steps forward and presses an unwanted kiss on my cheek. “Don’t give away what’s mine and don’t let anyone else touch you, okay?”

I’m juggling far too many emotions right now to even respond to that.

“I’ll call you tomorrow to see if you want to have one final lunch before we set a new break check-in date. We’re not over just yet, right?”

I don’t answer that. I just walk him to the door and into the hallway for the elevator.

I resist giving him a hug when he holds out his arms, stepping back and serving him a fake smile instead. When the doors close and take him away, I let out a breath and return to the condo.

The moment I step inside, Dominic grabs me by the waist and pushes me against the wall, his eyes heated. “Help me understand why you had the audacity to bring another man into my condo. Now.”

“I’m not allowed to have guests?” I try to soften the mood, but he tightens his grip.

He’s not amused at all.

He briefly releases his right hand from my hip and wipes the cheek where Nolan left a kiss on my skin. Then he grips me once more.

“Don’t try to change the subject on me.” He speaks slowly. “If he had tried to fuck you in my condo, would you have let him?”

“I…” The bluntness of his question catches me off guard.

“Do I need to repeat my question?”

I shake my head.

“No, you wouldn’t have let him fuck you, or no, I don’t need to repeat my question?”

“Both.”

“I wasn’t aware you were in a relationship.”

Me either… “So, staying with you does have strings attached?”

“I’m just saying I didn’t know you had a boyfriend—a shitty one at that.”

“What would you know about good relationships?” I hiss. “None of your bios mention anything about ever being married or engaged.”

“I’m really impressed with your way of trying to skirt around the goddamn issue here,” he says. “It’s not going to work, but for the record, I’m flattered that you’re researching me. You might actually learn something.”

He pulls me even closer against his body, trapping me with no space to move. “Your ex-boyfriend is not welcome to come up here again, and if the guest isn’t related to you or a close female friend, I don’t ever want to walk in on you with another man again.”

“Hope you’ll extend me the same courtesy when it comes to your one-night stands.”

“I haven’t slept with anyone in over nine months.”

“Yes, well…” I try not to stare too deep into his eyes, but I can’t help it. “I won’t have male company again, and?—”

“You’ll also tell him to fuck off because someone else has touched you.” His hand slides under my dress, trailing up my thigh with purpose. “Because you’ve found someone else who makes you come so hard you forget your own name.”

His mouth brushes against my neck—hot, possessive, unhurried.

“And if I don’t?”

As if that’s the permission he’s waiting for, he grabs a fistful of my ass and sinks his teeth into my skin, then captures my mouth with his.

The kiss is rough, full of heat and frustration, dragging every unspoken moment between us into one collision.

I moan against his tongue as he deepens the kiss, pinning me tighter between the door and his body.

I wrap one leg around his waist, desperate for friction, and he slides his hand between my thighs—fingers slipping inside me like he already knows the shape of my body. He strokes me with precision, his other hand bracing my hip as I grind against him, breath catching with every movement.

“If you keep fucking with me—” he growls into my mouth, “I’ll show you who you really belong to…”

I come hard—shaking, gasping, unraveling against him—gripping his shoulders like I need something to hold me together. And he doesn't stop. He keeps me right there, held in place, grounded by his strength as the orgasm rips through me.

He watches me fall apart, watches the last bit of control drain from my body as I cling to him, trembling.

When I finally catch my breath, he lets his fingers slide out slowly, lifting them to his mouth without breaking eye contact. He tastes me, slow and deliberate.

“You’re done with him,” he says it as a statement, not a question. “End it.”

“Yes…”

“Good.” He releases me and steps back, adjusting his shirt collar like nothing just happened. “See you at four-thirty in the morning.”