Page 28 of A Temporary Forever

Anticipation builds inside me, fluttering in my stomach, swelling in my chest, soaring in my core. Merde, this man is intense.

He stares at me for what feels like several lifetimes, his breath warm on my face. He smells of something earthy and chocolate, which is so unexpected and welcome. I want to bury my nose in the crook of his neck and feed my senses on his musk.

“I’ll pass.” He drops his hands.

I stumble backward, dizzy from the loss of his butterfly touch and confused by his words. “You’ll pass?” I snap.

My legs hit the coffee table behind me, and I lose my balance, but before I can fall, Caleb snakes his arm around my waist and jerks me to him.

Now the light touch of his fingers threw me off, but his palm on the small of my back…Dieu aide moi.

“Yes, black swan, because I might be attracted to your beautiful dancer body, and my cock has a mind of his own when I’m around you, but I’m not going to sleep with you.”

He lowers his mouth to my ear. “Not to save yourcareer or your stay in New York, not as a sacrifice or a bargain. Not until you want it, need it so much that fucking me is the only thought on your mind. Not until you beg me for it on your knees, because your pussy weeps for my cock.”

Chapter 9

Caleb

The Merged offices take up two floors of prime real estate in a glittering skyscraper in the Financial District. Ironically, not too far from Quaintique-Linden.

“Mr. van den Linden.” A receptionist with a headset in her black dreadlocks jumps to her feet and rounds the sleek white counter, eating the distance between us while talking to the mic.

“Mr. Stone will be with you any minute. May I offer you a coffee?” she asks me, gesturing to a spacious corner with white leather sofas.

The Monday morning commotion buzzes in the background. Who would have thought I’d find myself in an office only a week after I forever exited thelast one?

Before I can sit or ask her for a coffee, Xander saunters in.

“Roxy, I’ll take it from here. Thank you.” He winks at her and extends his hand to me. “I’m glad you called, Cal.”

“I’m still not sure four partners is a good idea,” I say as we round the corner.

“Let me introduce you, and you can form your opinion then.”

We walk down a hallway lined with glass-walled offices. The place reminds me of an ad agency or an architecture firm. It’s nothing like the stuffy equity firms I’ve been to before. Most of the cubicles and offices are empty, their future occupants not yet hired.

“I wish you’d have told me who they are so I can be better prepared.”

Merged is about to launch their operations officially, and there aren’t public records available yet.

At this point, it’s a true start-up before it even started, and the idea of being on the ground floor of something excites me even before I have all the details.

Details that I could have—and should have—dug up if I was operating at full capacity.

But my mind has been veering off. I haven’t slept well since Celeste left on Wednesday night. The image of her standing between my legs has been driving me crazy.

When did I grow a conscience? Since when do I refuse a woman?

I keep telling myself it’s because she is more trouble than I care for. My cock strongly disagrees. The boner her visit left behind needed several rounds of jerking off.

The result? Sore hand, partial physical relief, and my mind still questioning my sanity.

And the fucking hurt on her face. It was there for a blink before she put on her haughty mask and huffed.

When you beg me on your knees.

Fuck, I hope she will. Sooner rather than later. And the anticipation thrills me more than it should.

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