Page 66 of Worth the Risk

“Don’t!” I push him back, reaching up to undo my hair and fluff it out. “Not at work.”

“Bossy,” he murmurs, just as the doors open to my floor.

“Don’t forget I need you in that weekly eleven a.m. meeting today.” I turn to remind him since he’s normally not a mandatory attendee for it. “We’re going over the budget for next fiscal year.”

“I’ll be there,” he confirms but leans forward, reaching his arm out to pull me back into the elevator for a quick but scorching kiss. “Have a good day, baby.”

I half stumble backward through the door just before they close between us, a mix of alarm bells and excitement ringing in my head.

The ease with whichbabyhas quickly replaced my name in his vocabulary and then my complete lack of self-control around him making me realize this could never just be a fun, sexy experience in my life. This is quickly venturing intooh shitterritory faster than I realized and what’s really terrifying is that I don’t want to fight it.

The butterflies that have been dormant for so long are finally making a comeback. I float into my office, placing my bag on my desk and getting into my workday as flashes of last night replay in my head.

Not just the intense moments of excitement or the orgasms that took me to heights of physical pleasure I didn’t know existed but the way he looked at me when he made love to me. The way he whispered over and over again in my ear this morning how beautiful I am. How long he’s waited to touch me, to hold me and feel my body beneath his.

Even at our best, before the cracks started to form and the doubts started to creep in, Noah and I didn’t connect like that. No man has made me feel that way before and it’s terrifying. Not because I’m scared to lose it but because I’m terrified of what it means.

I’m falling in love with Austin faster than I imagined possible or maybe I’m just realizing I’ve been in love with him all along.

I push the thoughts from my head as best I can, focusing my attention on the meeting I’m presenting in the next few hours.

“Good morning.” My back is to the room when I hear Austin’s voice.

“Good morning,” Miguel responds, along with my assistant and our own legal team.

I straighten my shoulders, keeping my eyes away from Austin as I hand out the reports we’ll be going over. I know damn well that if he looks at me, the way I know he’s going to look at me, I’ll lose my train of thought and look like an idiot.

“I know you all were sent a copy of this budget last month, so I fully expect us to be able to make any final changes today after discussions.” I launch into the heart of the meeting, keeping myself focused.

A few questions pop up here and there as we walk through all of the different sections of the budget. I step around the conference table, my eyes quickly passing over Austin. Thankfully, he’s distracted, his eyes focused on my legs. I glance around to the others, trying to gauge if they can see where he’s looking, but they’re all focused on the screen behind me or their own reports.

After the meeting concludes, a few of us linger, having one-on-one conversations as we slowly gather our items. I’m the last to leave. I reach for my laptop and turn to leave just as Austin walks back into the conference room.

“Someone was struggling to pay attention today.” I smirk, proud of myself for not losing focus.

“About that.” He chuckles, taking a look back down at my legs again.

“Oh God, what now?” I look at my shoes, thinking maybe I somehow stepped in something.

“As much as it turns me on to be the reason for your bruised knees.” He reaches his hand down and lifts the hem of my skirt an inch. “And as much as I enjoy looking at them, you might want to switch to pants for a few days.”

“Oh my God.” I repeat the phrase several more times as I stare down at my freshly bruised knees. Between the angry red scrapes of the rug burn and the brownish-purple hue of my skin, it’s pretty evident that I was on my knees for a considerable length of time. “Oh my God!” I say again, this time punctuating each word with a smack against Austin’s chest which only makes him laugh.

“I can’t apologize for it,” he says with a cocky grin. “We both know it wouldn’t be sincere.”

“This is so not okay,” I grunt. “How did I get beat up after one night with you?” I try to exam any other parts of my skin that are showing today, looking for other telltale signs of what I was up to last night.

“To be fair.” He unbuttons two buttons on his shirt and pulls it to the side. “I’m not totally unscathed.” There’s a much less obvious bruise on his shoulder but the distinct outline of a set of human teeth make it clear that’s where I bit him.

“Oh.” I blush, starting to reach my hand out to trace it when I remember we’re standing in a glass conference room. I glance past him, two employees walking toward us down the hallway. He notices, fixing his shirt back into place and buttoning it.

“In all seriousness though”—his voice drops—“how are you feeling?”

“Sore.” That heavy feeling hits my lower belly again when Austin’s eyes really settle in on me. He looks at me like everything else around him disappears. I clear my throat. “But good.”

“Satisfied?” he murmurs, not even noticing when the two men pass by the conference room window.

I nod.

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