Page 31 of Single Mom’s Secret Diary (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection)

Avery

T he lab is quiet when I show up to work. Wyatt isn’t in his office, but I find him in the bigger storage room. I never see him in there. He’s got Laurel’s clipboard in hand and a pencil to make marks with.

Frowning, I approach and lay my hand on his arm. The dour expression on his face transforms, grows a bit easier when he sees me.

“Hey. What are you doing? Isn’t that Laurel’s job?” I peer around for her again. “Did she call in sick?”

She doesn’t seem like the type.

“No.” Something twists in his face before he goes a bit more blank than I’m used to seeing. By now, he’s usually touching me, leaning in for a kiss or something.

“What happened?” My hand falls away, back to my side.

“I fired her.” A rough edge enters his voice.

“What? Why?”

He relied on her for so much in this place. Why would he fire her? I mean, she’s a piece of work, but she was good at her job. Good at handling him as a boss. Even if she obviously wanted more from him.

“She vandalized company property.” Those big hands clutch the clipboard a little harder, like he’s ready to snap it in half.

I shake my head in confusion. “That doesn’t sound like her.”

He blinks at me and softens his tone. “I’m not sure how much I’m legally allowed to tell you.”

Ah, that makes more sense. His usual struggle with most kinds of human interactions is present, and our personal relationship is at war with our professional one, so I don’t push it.

“Okay. I’m going to go check in with Ezra.”

Wyatt nods, falters, and then reaches out for me before I take two steps away. I go to him easily, giving him a soft, sweet kiss before I retreat. On my way upstairs, I try to puzzle out what Laurel would have vandalized and why she would jeopardize her job for something so trivial.

Not that I’m not relieved to have her gone. She made my time in the lab less pleasant, although I’ve gotten used to ignoring the daggers she shot at me any time I was near.

When I peek into Ezra’s office, he’s not there, so I step down two doors to Ryder’s. He’s on the phone, wiping a hand down his face. Seeing me has him gesturing me inside.

I close the door behind me and step forward slowly. He stands, attention focused on me as I come around his desk and within reach.

“I need confirmation,” he says into the receiver as he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear.

I smile up at him, placing my hand on his chest.

“No, I’ll wait.” Ryder leans down to kiss me. It’s soft, chaste, but it drives hot need through my center. He rubs the back of my neck, staring into me before his attention is split again. “Yes. Monday at the latest.”

A smile cracks across my face at how good he is at multitasking. I press myself into him to test that balance, kissing along his neck, throat, jaw. He sucks in a slow, staggering breath, fingers tightening in my hair.

It’s another long minute, and I let my hands roam his sides and back.

He grows hard against my belly, barely restrained by his slacks.

Ryder’s chest expands under my mouth as I tease the skin bared by the extra undone button.

If he were a woman, it would be scandalous, but on him, it merely makes him look roguish.

Which is hot.

My tongue dips out to the little indent between his pecs, and he barely restrains a groan.

Another deep breath, and the receiver turns toward his mouth. “Thank you, Susan. You’re a life saver.”

The phone dropping back into its cradle frees Ryder’s hands and attention. He grabs me by both ass cheeks, turns, and lifts me to the edge of his desk. Stepping between my knees, he presses us more fully together so I can feel just how much I’ve turned him on.

His mouth descends on mine, kissing me soundly and making me wish we didn’t have so many clothes on.

I wrap my legs around his waist, and he rolls us together.

He cups my face in both hands, laying the most earth-shattering kiss on me before he retreats. “It’s not my morning. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Ryder sounds like he’s drunk off a few kisses. I can only grin up at him.

Apparently, he doesn’t need an answer because his mouth is back on mine and then traveling down my throat, biting at that sensitive spot that curves into my shoulder. His hands slide and squeeze every curve and valley of my body.

The questions I came up here for are slowly fading to the back of my mind as Ryder palms my small breast and pinches my nipple until it hardens. It zaps pleasure down to my core and gathers moisture between my thighs.

It’s so hard to think straight when his hands are all over me.

Breaths coming in soft waves, his mouth is hot at my ear. “Did you lock the door?”

“No.”

He growls at me, tipping my hips to thrust his hard-on against me through our layers of clothes. I’m not in a skirt today, though, so there’s no easy way for us to fit together.

Maybe that’s a good thing since I still have questions lingering, prodding at my enjoyment, dampening my arousal.

“Ryder…”

Another kiss finally shatters my thoughts. Fuck it. My questions about Laurel can wait. There’s no reason I should let that woman ruin this moment. I tug him closer, scraping my nails down his back through his dress shirt. He rewards me with a low groan.

When Ryder pulls at my belt loops, he curses. “Damn this jumpsuit.”

I laugh. “There are other ways to play that don’t need a locked door.”

Those bronze eyes blaze at me. I plant a palm against his chest and push him back a step so that I can slide off his desk. Slowly, I guide him to his chair, and he sits for me.

When I sink between his knees, his eyes widen and his nostrils flare. I swear his cock twitches against his fly, ready to be freed and played with. Dropping his zipper slowly has his chest expanding in anticipation, and I grin as he pops free.

Ryder’s fingers weave through my hair as I wrap my hand around his length and stroke him. Tipping him forward, I press my tongue flat against the underside of his head, cupping and licking him in slow, firm movements until his grip in my locks tightens.

I smile before I take him in my mouth.

“Oh, fuck.” That low, sultry tone eggs me on, so I suckle on him, adding pressure until another string of curses falls from his mouth. He sinks in the chair, knees spreading wider as he sprawls for me.

I trace the ridges of his cock as I bob slowly, enjoying the way his eyes shine as he watches me and the soft, panting noises he makes the more I work him.

A knock at his door jolts him upright, but I only suck him deeper.

Ryder’s mouth falls open for a breath before he snaps it shut and clears his throat. “Yeah?”

With his voice a little garbled with pleasure, relief flashes across his features. After a few tense seconds, Ezra asks, “Have you seen Avery?”

Ryder, the traitor, looks down into my eyes.