Page 29 of The Temptation (Executive Suite Secrets #4)

In a lot of ways, his office was exactly as I expected—a wall covered in leather-bound law books, leather and wood furniture, and lots of shiny brass.

But there were little unexpected things tucked away that squeezed my heart.

The paintings on the walls were light and breezy landscapes.

There weren’t many knickknacks, but I found one statue of a black kitten with wide green eyes.

As far as I knew, he didn’t have a cat. Was this in honor of a cat he’d had as a child? I needed to know the truth!

On another shelf, I found a statue of a young man playing a violin.

It looked as if it had been sculpted out of clay.

The figure was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but his clothes and hair were all pulled behind him as if he were standing against a strong wind.

I wanted to tease him about it but bit back my words.

I was more afraid that the statue would be removed from his office if I called attention to it.

All these secret things called to a hidden soft side that was so easily overlooked if you weren’t bothering to search for these things.

“To be fair, I haven’t always been this way,” I continued with a playful smirk.

“When I was a teenager making appearances at parties like this, I was something of a disaster. It wasn’t clear to me why I had to make nice with these people.

The only things I wanted to do were play my violin, listen to their applause, and leave.

” I wandered to the big sofa and dropped onto it with a sigh.

“My agent had to explain that being a prodigy wasn’t enough.

People wanted to say they had met me, had their picture taken with me, and heard me tell some witty story.

It was all part of the package I was selling. ”

Pierce’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “You sold my employees plenty.”

“I wasn’t selling myself to them.” I lifted my eyebrows. “That display out there was all for you.”

Pierce pushed off his desk and strolled closer, his hands shoved into his pockets. “You don’t need to prove to me how talented you are.”

“I think I do. You’ve not seen half the things I can do.”

Pierce rolled his eyes and stopped a couple of feet away, standing over me. “I’ve seen plenty.”

“Not even close.” I sprang up and pressed my hands to his waist, sliding them up his chest. Surprisingly, he didn’t stop me. He just watched, a wary look in his eyes as if he were still trying to decide how far to let me go. “Have you ever had any fun in this office?”

“Do I want to know what you mean by fun?”

I lifted on the tips of my toes, my lips barely an inch from his. “Oh, I think you know what kind of fun I’m talking about.” His breath hitched as I moved closer, but I didn’t kiss him. I dropped to my heels and walked away, crossing to his door.

With a glance at him past my shoulder, I locked it so no one could intrude upon our privacy.

“Simon,” Pierce growled, his voice full of warning, but there was a light to his eyes that hadn’t been there before. He was turned-on and didn’t want to admit it. “I believe we discussed how we were going to be just friends. I’m not in the habit of kissing my friends.”

“First: You did the discussing. I didn’t agree with any of the nonsense you were spewing.

” As I started walking toward him again, I pulled at my tie, loosening it until I could lift it over my head and toss it onto a chair or table.

Fuck, it could have landed on the floor—I didn’t know or care.

I wasn’t willing to take my eyes off him.

“And second: I plan to do a lot more than kissing. I’m even willing to skip the kissing part this time and get right to the fucking. ”

Pierce moved his head back and to the side as if trying to loosen up his neck, or maybe his skin was suddenly too tight. “This isn’t an appropriate place.”

I tugged at my suit jacket and let it slide along my arms to land crumpled on the floor. “That’s what makes this so fun.”

“We can’t.”

“You need this. Life has been really stressful for both of us. Your parents have been harassing you. I’ve been stressed about my concerto. We need this.”

I stepped between the coffee table and the couch, so close now I could hear his ragged breathing.

I lifted my hands to rest them on his chest, prepared to continue seducing him until I finally had him worn down to putty in my hands, but he grabbed my wrist and hauled me in so fast my chest crashed into his.

A gasp left my parted lips, and Pierce slammed his mouth on top of mine.

Ah. Got it . No more seduction necessary.

He was already seduced. However, he didn’t feel like putty in my hands so much as I was melting into him, ready to do whatever the fuck he wanted so long as he didn’t stop kissing me.

His tongue dove into my mouth and swept over every inch of it, as if he were laying claim to all of it as his domain.

I moaned and returned the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck while trying to press even closer.

Large hands moved along my back, massaging muscles and molding me into his harder body.

Long fingers dug into my ass and cupped the cheeks, hiking me higher so that my hard dick rubbed his through our trousers.

Pierce tasted of whiskey, and hints of his spicy cologne teased my nose.

Every kiss we shared felt like the first time, and I couldn’t get enough.

It made me frantic—anything to prove that I could be everything he could ever want or need just so he couldn’t reject me.

I sighed into his mouth, sinking into all the pleasure rippling through my body at the touch of his hands and the feel of him against me.

He broke off the kiss and lifted his head so I could meet his gaze. “You have to be quiet. We can’t let anyone hear us.” I nodded, and Pierce’s smirk returned. “But not too quiet. I like the noises you make.”

How the hell was I supposed to hold myself together when he said things like that? He was turning me into useless goo.

We continue to kiss ravenously while pulling clothes off each other.

My fingers fumbled on tiny buttons, and belt buckles jingled softly as pants were shoved to the floor.

A soft yelp might have escaped as Pierce picked me up and laid me on the couch.

I hissed as the cold leather met my flushed skin, but the chill was forgotten as Pierce’s hot body pressed into mine again.

We were still in our briefs, but it didn’t matter. The feel of him was exquisite. Soft skin covering hard muscles. All my dreams couldn’t compete with the reality of wrapping my arms around him.

Our lips met in another passionate kiss as we devoured each other.

I couldn’t get enough of him. And yet, all too quickly, he was moving, kissing his way down my neck and along my chest. That wicked tongue slipped across one nipple before he pinched it between his lips, sending shocks of pleasure through my body.

One hand shot into his hair while the other slapped over my mouth to keep me from crying out.

Being quiet was not one of my strengths with Pierce.

He peeked up, and the evilest grin spread across his face. His dark eyes twinkled with laughter . Oh, fuck. I was so screwed.

That perfect mouth licked and sucked across my chest and along my stomach until he was nuzzling the side of my cock with his face. My dick throbbed, begging for more attention and without the fabric barrier.

“Pierce!” I moaned behind my hand, the sound coming out muffled and pained.

The bastard kissed the head through my black briefs, exhaling his scorching breath through the material. “Not enjoying it?”

I jerked my hand away and glared at him. “Love it, but don’t.”

Pierce lifted his head. “You don’t like blowjobs?”

With my eyes squeezed shut, a tiny whimper escaped me. “I love blowjobs. I would die for you to suck my dick, but you can’t. There’s no way I could stop myself from coming if I’m in your mouth, and I really want you inside me.”

Pierce huffed a laugh. “I don’t exactly keep supplies for sex in my office. There’s no way I’m fucking you without lube and a condom.”

“I have that stuff!”

Before he could say a word, I was pushing and wriggling off the couch. I landed on the floor with a hard thud . Thank God for the thick Aubusson rug. I crawled on my hands and knees to where my jacket had fallen and dug through the pockets until I came up with a tiny bottle of lube and a condom.

“You planned this,” Pierce grumbled.

“Ha!” I crawled to him on my knees. “I have been carrying this shit with me since I moved to Cincinnati. I’m always fucking prepared.”

Near the sofa, I hesitated, waiting for Pierce to explode with some kind of angry response, but he surprised me. The man burst into laughter and tackled me to the ground. He shoved the coffee table aside and covered my body with his as he plundered my mouth again.

It lasted only a moment. He broke off the kiss and continued down my body, pulling off my briefs.

A shiver ran through me. I was completely exposed to him, and all the thousands of insecurities raced into my brain.

Was I not good enough for him? Was I too thin?

Not muscular enough? Not hairy enough? Were any of these the reasons he’d rejected me repeatedly?

Or would there be a new reason he rejected me now?

“You have no right to be so beautiful and talented,” Pierce murmured. His eyes ran slowly up my body, from my thighs to my face. One of his hands smoothed up my hip, his thumb brushing against the side of my cock. “It’s really not fair to the rest of us.”