Page 28 of Company Ink

"I don't mind nerds! I don't! You know I don't have a type but whatever that man is, he's like the anti-me. I asked him if he's ever traveled, and he told me he's afraid of airplanes. And get this, it's not because of the flying, it's because of the germs." Axel snorts, spinning me around to the thumping and rhythmic sound of the booming music. "Oh, also, did you know that airplane trays have eight times more germs than the toilet flush button?"

"He sounds like a keeper," Axel quips as the music changes to a slower, more sensual beat. "Wanna Rumba, babe?"

"Fuck yeah! I'm so glad we took those dance classes together," I laugh.

Axel and I begin to sway our bodies in fluid, flawless, and passionate movements, hitting every beat, extending every arm, grazing each other as we let the soulful music enter our bodies.

Axel pulls me closer to him, grabbing my thigh and pulling it up to his hip. He leans down to my ear and whispers, "You have an admirer."

I roll my eyes. "Is Carson watching?"

Axel smirks. "It's not Carson." He dips me in a circular motion, my curled hair almost sweeping the ground. He leaves me hanging for a beat and I blink to make sure I'm not seeing things. Even upside down I can recognize Adrian's smoldering and tightened gaze.Shit!Has he been here the whole time?

Axel jerks me upright. "Holy fuck! That's Adrian," I whisper, completely stunned. "Like my boss, Adrian."

"I thought so," Axel muses, twirling me into his arms, his devilish eyes growing wide. "He's been watching you for a while."

"He has?" My face flushes as Axel gives me a final spin. I sift a hand through my sweaty hair as we stand in the middle of the dance floor catching our breaths. "Should I go sayhito him?" I ask.

"No fucking way!" Axel shakes his scolding head, fanning out his dress shirt. "Lethimcome toyou."

I nod in understanding, letting out a sigh. "Okay. Good plan. I'm going to go to the bathroom to freshen up." We're both covered in a sheen of perspiration and my feet are screaming bloody murder right now.

Axel leans over and places a lingering kiss on my cheek, something heneverdoes. "Just in case he needs some extra motivation," he says smoothly.

I stifle a hearty laugh. "You're so conniving! I love it!" I exclaim, kissing him back and then heading towards the hallway that leads to the bathroom.

I can't believe Adrian is here! Did Axel see him earlier and that's why he suggested to Rumba? He's fucking crazy if that's the case. It's literally the most sexual ballroom dance there is! It's like making love on a dance floor. I only saw Adrian's face for a brief second, but he looked quite pissed. I suppose he doesn't know that Axel is just a friend, let alone someone who is definitely no threat.

I splash some cold water on my face and chest while I check my reflection in the mirror. Jesus, I look like I just finished doing hot yoga; my face is glowing and pink, my hair is in complete disarray. Shit, I kind of hope Adriandoesn'tcome up to me—I look a hot mess.

Straightening out my crop top, I swing the door open and take two strides into the dimly lit hallway. Before I can take another step, I'm pushed up against the maroon wallpaper, a familiar hand on the base of my chest. I gasp as my back sticks against the cold hard surface.

Shit!

twelve

pandora's box

"What're you doing here?" I whisper, my heart pounding against my chest, my mind hazy from the endorphins and alcohol, from the fact that his hard, lean, and warm body is hovering over me, his intense gaze free of all reservations.

Adrian looks down at me with hooded and wondrously lustrous eyes, his hand moving up my chest to my neck and into my tangled hair, tugging it, forcing me to tilt my head.

"I'm saying fuck it," he says, his tone strained and gruff and completely arousing.

"I thought you said we can't," I breathe, lifting my hand up and mindlessly caressing his sculpted and rising chest.

"I know what I said." His dark, heated eyes pierce into mine so deep that I can feel his hunger in every nerve ending, every atom. "But I don't seem to care anymore."

"Adrian—" I try to suck in some air but it's as if all the oxygen on God's green earth has disappeared and I'm left panting, bewildered, and completely helpless under his powerful and all-consuming gaze.

"Do you know how sexy it is to hear you say my name like that?" he rasps, lowering his head down to the crook of my neck, his balmy and sugary breath filling my lungs, his nose brushing against the soft shell of my ear.

"So smooth—" He drags his rough hand down my jawline, his calloused thumb grazing my bottom lip. "So sweet." He leans his forehead against mine, our ragged breaths playing off one another. "So,fuckingirresistible."

My lips part in surprise and Adrian seizes the opportunity, colliding his lips with mine, raw, depraved, and utterly debilitating. My arms wind around his neck, pulling me closer to him, molding our bodies together as his mouth attacks mine in wet, passionate, and controlled kisses.

His hips thrust forward, pushing me flat against the wall, every ridge and crevice of my body plush with his. His hand pulls and tugs at my hair, as our tongues clash and dance and fight with one another. I let out a whimpering breath and Adrian swallows it with a deepening kiss.

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