His to Possess (13 page)

He twitched inside her and she groaned. He couldn’t resist giving her delightful backside
another hard whack. “Do you like this?”

“Yes, sir.” The need in her voice sent his hormones soaring.

“We can’t have that,” he said, with an edge to his voice, and then he gave in to temptation
and smacked her ass again.

His cell beeped in his pocket, but he was damned if he would check a text now. Whatever
it was, Melanie would deal with it.

He drew back and thrust forward again. Her smooth passage, so hot and wet, hugged
his cock in a tight embrace. Then she squeezed her intimate muscles around him and
he groaned at the exquisite sensation.

He drew back and thrust forward. Filling her so deep. Then he thrust again. She moaned.

His office door opened. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ranier,” Melanie said, “Mr. Lane was concerned
so I thought I should…”

Jessica stiffened in front of him. Dane didn’t glance behind him, but Melanie hesitated
as she seemed to realize what was going on.

“Oh, my God, I’m sorry.”

He heard the door close behind her.

He felt Jessica start to pull away, but he tightened his grip on her hips. “You stay
right here.” He thrust again, driving deep into her. He reached around and found her
clit and teased it with his fingertips.

“Does that feel good?” he asked.

She groaned and pushed back against him. “Oh, yes, sir.”

He was so close, but he wanted her to come first. He stroked her clit a couple more
times, until she was gasping. He corkscrewed inside her, then began to thrust in steady
strokes. She moaned as he filled her again and again. She squeezed him and he felt
her body tense. Then she gasped and began to wail.

Watching her reflection in the glass, he could see the euphoric expression on her
face as she catapulted to heaven. He pumped deep, the spasms of her passage massaging
him, until his groin tightened and he shot inside her with steady spurts of liquid
pleasure. Ecstasy consumed him until he collapsed against her folded body, holding
her tight against him.

Finally, still sucking in air, he drew her to her feet and continued to hold her.

“That was incredible, but I see I’ll have to be careful what
tasks
I assign you in the future.”

He grinned as she turned to face him, but she gazed up at him uncertainly, as if she
was worried she’d done something wrong. He kissed her, loving her soft, sweet mouth
against his.

“Don’t worry. That was perfect.” He nuzzled her neck. “In fact, I love your creativity.”

“What about…” Her cheeks turned deep red. “Melanie came in.”

“I know. Don’t worry. She couldn’t see you. My body blocked her view. She probably
couldn’t even tell there was a woman here.”

“You really think she thought you were alone?”

He couldn’t help grinning at the thought that Melanie might have thought he’d been
masturbating in front of the window. But Jessica had been making sounds, and Melanie
would definitely have heard them.

“No. But there’s no way she could tell it was you.”

“What are you going to say to her about it?”

He smiled. “Absolutely nothing. And she won’t ask.”

*   *   *

Jessica sat on the couch in Dane’s office while he walked outside to send Melanie
on an errand. How he could face her only moments after her catching him having sex
in his office, she didn’t know. But then Dane was used to being in control and no
one questioning him. Especially his staff.

A moment later, he reappeared.

“The coast is clear,” he said.

She stood up and smoothed her skirt, then walked to the door. She peered out to ensure
no one, let alone Melanie, was outside the office, then she strode quickly to her
office. Even before she sat down, her cell phone beeped. She pulled it from her pocket
as she sat down and checked the display.

I could really use a coffee. Want to join me in the lobby?—Melanie

Jessica drew in a deep breath, then typed in her response.

Sure. Be right down.—Jessica

She collected her purse from the drawer and walked to the elevator. Melanie was waiting
for her in the lobby. It was a warm day today, so they didn’t need their coats.

She forced her mouth into a smile and waved as she walked toward her friend. “You
decided to enjoy the sunshine?”

Melanie just nodded. “I can use the fresh air. Starbucks okay?”

“Sure.” She followed Melanie out the glass door and they strolled two blocks down
to the Starbucks they often went to in the afternoon.

Once they bought their coffees, they sat down at a table by the window. Jessica’s
stomach clenched. She wasn’t sure what to say or, worse, what Melanie was going to
say. Did Melanie know she was the woman in Dane’s office? Would she confront her about
it?

Melanie stared at her coffee cup, and the anxiety on her face made Jessica realize
that Melanie was just as uncomfortable about this as she was.

“Um … is something up?” Jessica asked, finally breaking the silence.

Melanie glanced at her, then back to her cup, nodding.

She waited, but the silence continued.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Yes, but … no.”

“No?” Jessica’s nerves frayed. Oh, damn, she must know.

“I mean … I shouldn’t.”

Shouldn’t?

“Why not?”

“It’s … about Mr. Ranier.”

A wave of relief washed through her.

“And someone else,” Melanie continued.

She tensed. “Who?”

Melanie shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is, I walked into his office…” She
clenched her hands into fists. “Oh, damn, I really shouldn’t tell you. He trusts me.
But … you are his assistant. You should know what you might be walking into.”

“Please, just tell me. I promise it won’t go any further.”

Melanie nodded. “Okay.” She drew in a deep breath. “He had that meeting with Mr. Lane
from Human Resources.” She glanced at Jessica as if for reassurance that she should
continue.

“Yes.”

“Well, Mr. Lane left Mr. Rainer’s office after about fifteen minutes and said he needed
to reschedule the meeting. He said that Mr. Ranier was feeling sick. After he left,
I texted Mr. Ranier to see if he needed anything, but he didn’t answer.” She leaned
forward. “He always responds, so I got worried. What if he was really sick? What if
he’d passed out or something? I knew he was in there alone—at least, I
thought
he was—so I broke his most basic rule and walked into his office.” She stared at
Jessica with haunted eyes. “I was just concerned about him.”

“And he wasn’t in there alone after all?”

“That’s right. He was with a woman and…” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice.
“They were doing it.”

Jessica bit her lower lip. “Oh, my God. Did you see who it was?”

Melanie shook her head. “No, all I saw was a little of her backside, but I’m sure
it’s someone who works at the company.”

Relief surged through her.

“You poor thing. That must have been really embarrassing.”

“It was. That’s why I needed to get out of the office. I’m not even sure how to face
him.” Her hands clenched into fists, her pink-polished nails digging into her flesh.
“Oh, damn, I wish I hadn’t walked into his office. He’s going to be so angry about
that.” She stared at Jessica. “Do you think he’ll fire me?”

“Oh, no, Melanie. I’m sure he won’t. Don’t you think he’s just as embarrassed as you
are?”

She stared at Jessica in amazement. “Really? You’ve met the man. Do you actually think
he’s even capable of embarrassment?” She shook her head, toying with the plastic lid
on her coffee. “No, moments later he walked out calm as you please and sent me on
an errand, no doubt so he could sneak the slut out of his office.”

Jessica’s stomach clenched. “Is it really fair to call her a slut?”

Melanie’s head jerked up and her eyes narrowed. Then they widened.

“Oh, my God, it wasn’t you, was it?”

Jessica’s gaze jerked away from her friend’s. Oh, damn. Why couldn’t she have kept
her mouth shut?

“Was it?” her friend prodded.

No matter how much she wished otherwise, she couldn’t lie to Melanie. But she couldn’t
say the words either. She just gazed at her friend with a guilty expression.

“Oh, Jessica. That’s a really bad idea.”

“I know. You already told me what you think of office liaisons.” She couldn’t bring
herself to say office
romances
because that’s not what she and Dane had.

“But Mr. Ranier? Oh, Jessica.”

“Melanie, look, it’s not the same as with you and Rafe. I’m not in love with him.
And I made it clear that I don’t want anything more than a physical relationship.”

Melanie shook her head. “I can’t believe he would go along with this. Having sex with
someone who works for him. It’s
such
a bad idea.”

She wrapped her hands around her coffee cup. “Well, I didn’t work with him the first
time we did it.”

Melanie jerked her head to stare at Jessica with wide eyes. “What?”

“You remember he gave me a ride when I came here for the job fair?”

“Don’t tell me you had sex in his limo?”

“No, we wound up having dinner together that night and we hit it off. That led to
us going to my room together.” She shrugged. “I’d never had a one-night stand before,
but I was really attracted to him.”

“So it must have been a total shock when you found out he was your boss.”

She remembered those heart-pounding, stomach-fluttering moments when she’d first walked
into her new boss’ office only to see Dane sitting there.

“The biggest shock of my life. I almost walked away.”

“Your instincts were right on, but,”—Melanie bit her lip—“I’m glad you didn’t turn
down the job.” She shook her head. “So this has been going on since you got here?”

“No.” She really didn’t want Melanie to think that. “When I told him I couldn’t work
for him … because, you see, I was worried he’d hired me because of the sex, you know?”—and
she didn’t want Melanie to think that was true—“he said he really wanted me to work
here and that we could keep a business-only relationship if that’s what I wanted.”

The look of disappointment in Melanie’s eyes faded a little. “I hope you’re not worried
that you don’t deserve this job, or that you were hired for the wrong reason. You
are exceptionally qualified for this position, and you’re doing an excellent job.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“Obviously the agreement between you fell apart.” A grin spread across Melanie’s face.
“So he was that good that you barely lasted a couple of weeks?”

“Well, he does excel at everything he does.”

Melanie laughed. It started out as a chuckle, but quickly grew into full-blown laughter.
“I can’t believe that was
your
butt I saw in there. And with Mr. Ranier!
So
awkward!”

Jessica couldn’t help laughing herself. “Well if anyone was going to walk in on us
and see my butt, I’m glad it was you. And you don’t have to worry about Dane … I mean
Mr. Ranier … talking to you about coming into his office. When I asked him about it,
he said he wasn’t going to say anything.”

Melanie smiled. “Well, I guess there are some advantages to being a friend of the
boss’ girlfriend.”

“No, not his girlfriend. I don’t want a romantic relationship. It’s just a physical
thing between us.” It made her uncomfortable admitting that out loud to someone.

“Well, you’re a grown woman and you can make your own decisions. I just hope you know
what you’re doing.”

Jessica smiled sadly at her new friend. “I hope so too.”

*   *   *

Jessica glanced at Melanie’s empty desk as she walked toward Dane’s open door. She
must be off on an errand. She slipped into Dane’s office, carrying a stack of folders.
Dane was at a late lunch, and she wanted to ensure that he had all the information
he needed to review for this afternoon.

She set the folders on his desk, and then turned to the wooden filing cabinet behind
it. She was sure she’d seen some useful background material on the electric car battery
design in there last week. She crouched down to open the bottom drawer and started
scanning through it.

“Hello, excuse me, miss.”

Her heart stopped cold at the familiar male voice. She glanced around and almost toppled
over at the sight of Storm standing in the doorway, big as life. But instead of wearing
faded jeans and a T-shirt, he wore a tailored suit, and his normally spiky hairstyle
was combed down smooth.

Her heart thundered in her chest as she stood up. “What are you doing here?”

Oh, God, how had he found out where she worked?

“Jess?” He strode across the large office and before she could react, he’d pulled
her into his arms. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

She knew she should pull away, but the feel of his strong, familiar arms around her
numbed her wits. It felt so good.

His lips found hers and she melted against him.

She couldn’t believe she was in Storm’s arms again. She’d missed him so much.

Longed for him.

Been so lonely without him.

But, damn it, the bastard had walked out on her without a word of remorse.

She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed until he eased away. He gazed down
at her, his sky blue eyes glittering with happiness.

“Why are you here?” she demanded.

“I was hoping to find you. I can’t believe my luck finding you so quickly. What are
you doing here?”

“I work for Ranier Industries. I’m Mr. Ranier’s personal assistant.”

He smiled. “You’re kidding.” Then his smile faded. “But you don’t know…”

His words trailed off.

“Know what?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that I found
you.” He captured her lips again and her heart stammered as a turmoil of emotions
swirled through her.