Page 27 of Sensual Games

“No, thank you.” Dad chuckled, but I didn’t, staring at him so he would know I was serious. “I don’t need anyone thinking about that for me. I’m not going to be forced into a relationship with a woman just because I’ve passed a certain number of birthdays. These things have to happen on their own, don’t they? Just like you and Mom?”

“We’re only worried you’re missing out by playing the field.”

Of all times for a familiar ice blonde head to fill my imagination. Playing the field had led to that first night with Ivy, and I would never regret it. Flirting at the bar, getting turned on by her wickedly quick wit. The ultimate foreplay. Would I ever meet another woman who could keep up with me in and out of bed?

Why the fuck was I thinking about her now?

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. Mom will have her grandkids someday.” For once, I was glad for the distraction of business. Sliding a handful of printed reports his way, I explained, “The latest analytics from our online publications in the Midwest. Clicks to our sites are going through the roof, and ad revenue along with it. Ivy and I have been focusing on the social media accounts of those publications, driving traffic that way. No clickbait,” I added before he could ask. “Well-crafted posts that have people wanting to learn more.”

His eyes widened when he compared this month’s numbers to last month’s. “The girl’s got a good head on her shoulders. I’m glad you two are learning to work together. She’s been a good influence on you.”

He had no idea what a good influence she was. I couldn’t find it in me to be irritated at his condescension when he was right for once. “I hate to eat and run, but I have a quick catch-up session with the social media team.”

“Don’t let me stop you. And son,” he added on my way out. “Be sure to give Ivy my thanks. She’s doing great work.”

“I will.” Another strange thing. Last week at this time, I would have gone burning hot and boiled with resentment if I heard him say that. Maybe it was seeing the results of her expertise at work that helped me get over those early issues.

Or maybe it was her.

The woman herself. I found her at her desk, but instead of sitting behind her computer and typing furiously, she was giggling with a few of the other women while they drank iced coffee. She made it look effortless, getting along with everybody and relating to them instead of sitting at her desk, acting like her time was too important to be bothered with trivial things. Was that a skill she could teach me, or was it innate?

She didn’t notice me at first, giving me a chance to admire her beauty without her awareness. Her glowing skin, a smile that lit up the room. Her throaty laughter had me grinning by the time I closed in on them. “Good morning,” I greeted, my gaze lingering on her a bit longer than the others.

“Good morning, Mr. Diamond,” one of the women chirped.

“Come on, now. It’s Lucian.” I turned to Ivy, who was now chewing her lip like she was nervous. “I shared the latest analytics with the big guy, and he’s very impressed. Let’s take five minutes after the social media team meeting to catch up.”

“Sure thing.” She was a good actress. No one would know she held onto the back of my head while I buried my face in her pussy over the weekend. I was twitching in my shorts by the time I reached my desk, where I had to push those memories aside to prepare for the meeting. If I couldn’t compartmentalize what was becoming an obsession, I didn’t have a chance of succeeding around here.

What a shame I could barely keep my thoughts off Ivy long enough to get my shit together. We had kept it professional since the weekend at her insistence. I could play the game her way for a while if it meant that much to her.

Though I hoped she didn’t expect me to be a good boy indefinitely.

I should have been paying attention to social media best practices during the team meeting, but nothing interested me more than the same vanilla citrus perfume that had lingered on the pillows in our hotel room. She wore it now, the light scent playing on my senses while we sat side by side. I would never be able to smell it again without flashing back to that night. The thrill of breaking down her resistance. How she begged for me.

I shouldn’t, but I had to. Some things couldn’t be resisted, like the urge to nudge her thigh with mine under the table. She didn’t react at first, so I did it again, a bit more forcefully this time. No way could I be the only one almost panting, needing the reminder of our connection.

Still, she refused to respond. Only when I ran the side of my foot up her calf did she gasp, then covered it with a cough. I barely bit back a triumphant grin while she continued on with the next item on the agenda.

Note to self. Tell her to change perfumes if she expects us to ever get work done.

As the meeting finished, I turned to her, my need driving me. “I was hoping we could talk a little more about the headlines we’re using. There were a couple earlier this week that came a little close to clickbait for my taste.”

“By all means. Let’s talk about it.” Did she suspect my ulterior motives? She didn’t seem to, gathering her things and leading me out of the conference room without so much as a backward glance to tell me she understood where I was going with this. I didn’t give a shit about clickbait and had made that up on the spot for an excuse to be near her.

When we reached my office, I had her close the door while I went to the desk and pressed the button to frost the glass and hide us from everyone else. “Hold on,” she murmured, shaking her head but wearing a little grin. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Admiring the way her sky-blue pantsuit accentuated her tight body and made her gray eyes look almost blue. “Giving us a little privacy so we can have a meeting, Poison,” I replied, rounding the desk and coming to a stop behind my high-backed chair.

“This isn’t supposed to be a meeting.” She set her tablet and notepad on my desk, folding her arms while wearing a disapproving expression probably intended to chastise me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“There’s a lot of things I want to do now that you mention it.”

“This is dangerously close to workplace harassment. You know that, right?”

“Try to say that without smiling the way you are, and I might actually believe you.” I jerked my chin toward my MacBook sitting open on the desk. “And for your information, I pulled up the posts in question. I wanted you to take a look at them and get your advice on my gut reaction.”

Swiveling the chair around, I gestured for her to have a seat. “Really. Take a look.”

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