Page 17 of The Fix Up

“Dammit,” she muttered against his fly. “I just had it.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just hold still.”

“My pleasure,” he murmured, thinking this whole experience was a lot more pleasure than he’d ever imagined. Hell, if he’d known pants shopping was this much fun, he would have done it years ago.

Of course, it was probably obvious to Holly just how much he was enjoying the experience. He willed his hard-on to go down, but with Holly moving her mouth over his fly, there was little chance of that happening anytime soon.

He glanced down to see the crown of her head level with his hips. Her dark hair shone bright in the dressing room light and Ben had a serious urge to run his fingers through it.

Great idea, dumbass. Stroke her hair while she mouths your cock.

She tipped her head to the side for a better angle, and Ben admired the flutter of her lashes, the softness of her cheek, the flex of her jaw muscles as she worked the thread. Her fingers squeezed his ass, and Ben squeezed his eyes shut, thinking he was seriously going to lose it if she didn’t get that thread pretty soon.

“Holly, maybe we should stop?—”

“Got it!” She sat back with a look of triumph, her hair tousled and her lipstick smeared. She reached for his fly and before Ben could brace himself again, she gripped the zipper and gave a firm tug. “Voila!” she announced, sliding the zipper up and then down in illustration.

“You got it,” he said, hoping he sounded suitably impressed instead of a little disappointed. He shoved his glasses up his nose and offered her a hand up. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.” She let him lift her to her feet as she grinned up at him, her eyes glinting with mischief. “All in a day’s work.”

“I can’t say I envisioned that as part of our arrangement when I signed your retainer.”

She smiled and squeezed his fingers. “At least now you know I’m willing to go above and beyond to get the job done.”

As far as Ben was concerned, she could go above, below, down, up, and perform any sort of job on him at any time. But he nodded and let go of her hand, pausing to straighten his shirt and take a step back from her.

“Okay then,” he said. “In the first few hours of acquaintance, I’ve kissed you, gotten naked a few feet away from you, and had your mouth on my junk. I’d say it’s time to take things to the next level.”

Holly’s eyes went a little wider and she licked her lips. “What’s that?”

“Time to meet my dad.”

CHAPTER5

Ben stepped through the doors of the conference room, making a conscious effort to straighten his posture the way Holly had coached him in his office a few minutes ago. He surveyed the scene, pushing back the wave of dread that hit him as he took in all those jovial faces, the too-loud voices, the conversations he’d really prefer not to join.

“Here, let me straighten your tie,” Holly said, stepping around him to make the adjustment he didn’t know he needed. Still, the feel of her hands fiddling with the fabric on his chest filled him with an unexpected calm, and he felt a little less dread about the prospect of joining the crowd.

“Any last-minute tips?” he murmured as she smoothed down the tie, then took a moment to adjust the lapels of his jacket.

“Just do like I told you to,” she said, her voice soothing and low. “Smile. Introduce yourself to people you don’t know. Shake hands firmly. Ask questions about people to show you’re interested in making a connection.”

“I’m interested in grabbing a drink,” he said, eyeing the bar in the corner. “Can I get you something?”

“A glass of red wine would be great,” she said. “Just remember what I said about keeping consumption to a minimum. Think of it as a prop—something to do with your hands, rather than something to guzzle.”

Ben had plenty of ideas what he’d like to do with his hands, but he just nodded and practiced holding eye contact with her the way she’d coached him to demonstrate he was paying attention. “Got it. Red wine, walk slowly, don’t guzzle.”

“And tip well,” she said as he started to turn away. “That’s another aspect of being charming.”

“In that case, I’m already plenty charming.” He nodded toward the bar. “Do you want to join me and choose your wine?”

“No, I’d like to observe you in your natural habitat so I can do a better job offering you tips.”

“Here’s your first tip: This is about as far as it gets from my natural habitat.”

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