Page 37 of Happy Endings

“I’m sorry.” He grabbed her hand. “That was uncalled for.”

She remained silent but didn’t pull her hand away.

“Trixie.” He took her other hand and held both in his own.

His fingers caressed the back of her hands. Suddenly the room felt very warm. Trixie inhaled deeply to clear her mind, but only Andre’s scent filled her nose.

“You underestimate yourself. You’re one of the most talented, badass women I’ve ever known.”

“Did you just give me a compliment?” she shot back a little too quickly. “I’m only here because of Keisha.”

“I’m tired of fighting with you,” he said, his eyes wide and hopeful. “Can we start over—on a friendlier note?”

Could they really be friends? All their arguing wore her out, too. It took a lot of energy to stand her ground with him and not let down her guard. Waiting for his next barb to hit her.

She nodded, eyes glued to his.

“Hi, Trixie, it’s been a long time. I’ve missed you,” he whispered. His strong, warm hands were still wrapped around hers.

“I—I—I’ve missed you, too.” She leaned forward and laid her head on his chest. “You smell good.”

Like that, the wall between them broke. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Trixie exhaled in relief. For this one moment, everything felt right between them.

ANDRE CUPPED HERhead and pressed his forehead to Trixie’s. Relief flowed through him. Though she didn’t want to talk about the past, she was opening up to him now. Here was his chance for a do-over.

“I want to kiss you. Do you want me to?”

She held her breath. Exhaled and nodded. “Kiss me.”

That was all he needed to hear. Andre’s lips crashed into hers. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tighter. The arousal that she’d doused earlier that evening rekindled. The need to touch her—claim her—overwhelmed him.

If she wasn’t ready to talk, then he would show her how he felt. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again and again. A soft kiss to apologize for how he walked out on her. A deep, longing kiss to welcome her back into his life. Andre was determined to make up for the last two years apart from her.

Trixie broke away from him, panting. He claimed her mouth again, and she eagerly returned the kiss.

“Maybe we should go to your office now,” she blurted in between their kisses.

“Are you sure?” He searched her eyes, terrified she would change her mind like she had earlier that night. “This isn’t part of our professional agreement.”

“I’m willing to make an exception if you are,” she said, nibbling his earlobe.

She sucked his earlobe before running kisses down his neck. He groaned. The tingles on his neck went straight to his hard cock, still aching from their interrupted moment earlier that afternoon.

“Fuck, Trixie. Don’t play with me. I can’t keep things professional between us if you keep kissing me like that.”

“Let’s call it research. A case study of arousal and pleasure.”

She shimmied on his lap, wiggling her eyebrows as her ass pressed against him. His hips instinctively pushed against hers, increasing the pressure against his throbbing cock. Electricity shot through his body. He groaned.

None of this made any sense to Andre, but right now his brain wasn’t in charge. His body was. He’d given her plenty of opportunities to turn him down, but she still wanted him. Yes, she wanted him.

“I have a better idea.” Trixie’s eyes gleamed.

“What?” He knew that look. Whatever idea had popped into her head was going to get them into trouble. The good kind of trouble.

“Let’s have sex on the bar. I’m always telling my customers to change things up.”

“That’s definitely not up to code.” When had she become so... daring?

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