“Hi, Sam,” I said as I stepped in.
Sam was the go-to guy for any printing needs. He was a young guy, maybe twenty, shy, but he seemed to love what he did. There were a few guys I’d caught in the office teasing him about his autism, and I went all mama bear on them. Sam was sweet and was great at his job. Some assholes just liked to put people down to make their fragile egos feel better.
“Oh, hey, Roe,” he replied as he stood. He walked over to a stack of papers, his brow scrunched. “What are you doing over at Thane Carthwright’s office?”
A sigh left me. “Serving time.”
He turned back to me, his features twisted in concern. “What?”
I shook my head. “His assistant is out and he needed someone from inside the company. I was the lucky pick.”
He smiled and nodded. “You are the best pick.” He held out my stack, not catching my sarcasm. “All done.”
“Thank you so much,” I said with a smile. “Have a good day.”
He waved at me on my way out. “Bye, Roe.”
I gave my desk a longing look and whimper, waving at some of my cube mates as I walked back to Carthwright’s office.
He wasn’t on the phone when I got back and I headed straight in.
“Your copies,” I said, placing them on his desk.
He barely spared me a glance. “I need you to shred those. There was a mistake. You’ll need to redo it with the updated file I sent you. Then you need to go pick up my dry cleaning from downstairs.”
His dry cleaning? Was he serious?
I blew out a steadying breath before I said something really bad for my career. “I need to ask you something.”
“What?” He still didn’t even bother to look up at me, further irritating me.
“All this crap because I spilled coffee on you?” I asked.
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes finally on me. “If that was all, I wouldn’t have bothered. I’m not a monster, but I get what I want.”
“And what do you want?” I asked as I placed my hands on the top of his desk.
His gaze moved down my body, then back up. It was a subtle move, but I noticed, and unfortunately so did every inch of my skin as it lit up.
“To teach you some respect for your superiors.”
“Oh, I have respect, but little for you.”
His gaze hardened. “You don’t even know me.”
“You’ve shown me well enough the kind of man you are.”
I took the stack of now useless papers on his desk and tossed them up into the air. They rained all around us as we continued our stare down. I had my hands flat on his desk, leaning toward him. He stood and leaned over as well, his posture mimicking my own, and our faces ended up only a foot apart.
“This is going to be fun, I see,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
“Ha! And here I thought you were smart.”
A delicious scent hit me when I breathed in. We hadn’t been that close since I’d spilled coffee on him. Spice, with a hint of grapefruit and musk. I breathed deeper, nearly moaning at how good it was. My word, the man smelled divine. I couldn’t imagine how damaging being closer would be.
My triumph and elation were marred by the heat that was spreading through my body. A little uptick of his lips, and I knew he caught me.
He straightened, and again I was aware of how he towered over me.
I bet he could easily pick me up and—
No.
I had to silence that line of thinking. It had been creeping into my thoughts all day, and his cologne only made it worse. Made him more enticing.
He was just so hot, though, and it’d been well over a year since anyone had touched me. A hate fuck sounded like a really good idea.
Get out all my pent-up anger and frustration, free me from having to think, and just feel. Lose control for an hour and be Roe again.
Up against the wall. One hand lightly choking me, the other squeezing my ass while his hips drilled into me.
“Are you listening to me?”
Huh? I blinked and focused on him again.
Fuck. Me. I’d gotten completely lost in a fantasy with the arrogant devil and ignored him.
“Should I be?” I asked, trying to cover my mistake.
“Did you just space out?” he asked.
“Yes.” No sense in lying. I was certain it was obvious my mind had wandered.
His brow furrowed and he cocked his head. “Are you on something?”
I shook my head. Only high on your hotness.
Stop, Roe. Stop before you do or say something you will regret.
“Just working through a fantasy.”
“A fantasy?” That perked him up, and a devilish smile crept onto his features. “Care to share with the class?”
“It involves you and a roll of duct tape across that mouth of yours.”
“Am I naked?”
“Sounds about right.”
A satisfied groan resonated from deep in his chest. “Then the most important question in this fantasy of yours—are you naked?”
Heat flooded my face, and I blinked at him. I looked away, unable to take his scrutinizing stare.
“Interesting.”
With one word, my jaw clenched and I glared up at him. “Fuck off. I don’t want anything from you. Who knows what diseases you’ve got.”
My behavior was a bit childish, but he unnerved me and I lost the ability to think, degrading me to tactless banter.
“None. Clean bill of health just last month. Can you say the same?” he asked, smirking at me.
Heat flooded my face again and I was probably the same shade as the tomato on the salad I had for lunch. That fantasy was trying to rear its ugly, disgusting…perverted, hot, panty-wetting self again at the thought of him bare inside me.
Where the hell did that come from? I’d only ever had sex with condoms, but there was something about knowing he was clean and that I was on birth control that set something off inside me.
“You don’t need to know anything about my health or sexual activity, but don’t worry your pretty little head—the only thing I tested positive for is a burning hatred for you.”
The only reaction I received to my spitting comment was his tongue wetting his lips. He knew he had affected me in a way I hadn’t wanted or expected.
“Were you thinking about being naked with me? Thinking about my cock?”
“Arrogant ass,” I grumbled before turning and stomping away.
“Miss Pierce, are you forgetting something?” His tone was light, but still held that edge of authority and assholishness.
“Pick it up yourself.”
There was no way I could continue to be that close to him.
Now that was a fun sparring match, I thought as I watched her ass sway with each step.
A groan left me as I sat, the head of my hard cock brushing against the fabric of my slacks. Our encounter had a different effect on me than it did the day before.
She made my blood boil then, but I didn’t understand what that meant until just now.
Miss Pierce.
Roe.
“This situation is your own damn fault,” I said, trying to calm myself before I did something rash.
She was beautiful and full of fire. Small, but feisty, with perfectly plump, kissable lips that I couldn’t help but imagine wrapped around my cock, her small hand unable to fully encircle my shaft, forcing her to use both hands.