Page 48 of That First Night
Firing you isn’t even on the list of things I want to do to you, Peyton.
Well. Fuck me then.
* * *
After asking Emiline to stay with James because Thomas wants to see me at the office, I can’t help but wonder if she already knew. She was entirely too understanding. But she was happy to stay and watch a movie with James.
I stand at his office door with my hand raised to knock but allow myself a moment to gather my thoughts. The last forty minutes, I have been on the verge of breaking out into a full-blown fucking sweat. I took the time to fix up my hair and put on a bit of makeup to make myself look presentable. I’m wearing a deep blue sundress that hangs just below my knees with a pair of white sandals.
What did that text message mean?
What does he want to do to me?
My thoughts run rampant as I close my eyes one last time, take a deep breath and exhale, before I knock on the door.
“Come in.” I can hear Thomas say.
I open the door where I find Thomas resting against the front of his desk. His one leg is crossed over the other and his arms are crossed over his chest. He’s wearing a white dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I feel my nipples harden as my eyes trail down his body to take it in. There is fucking something about tattooed forearms on a man.This man. I just fucking can’t. I’m definitely sweating.
“Hey,” is the only word I manage to form.
“Hi,” he says with a stern tone. “How’s James?”
“Good. He was a lot better when I left to come here.”
“Okay.”Another fucking one-word response.
“Listen, Thomas. About last night—” I cut right to the chase because I’m done with this awkwardness between us. I can’t pinpoint exactly where I went wrong last night and it’s driving me mad.
“What about last night?” I see a change in his demeanor as he straightens his spine.
“I’m sorry I let it get that far.” I turn my gaze down to the floor. “I know it was very unprofessional of me. I know I am here for a job, and that I have to take it more seriously. I just wanted to—”
I’m cut off from my ramble when I see Thomas taking strides across the office to stand in front of me. Ever so slowly, his hand raises to my hair, where he tucks a strand of loose hair behind my ear. I close my eyes as heat spreads through my body because I can’t help how my body responds to his touch. My hands find his chest as if I’m ready to set boundaries and push him away, but I feel the strong muscles in his chest and I can’t seem to find the energy to do anything.
Both of his hands find the sides of my neck with his thumbs lightly brushing my cheeks and he delicately lifts my head so I’m looking directly at him. I find the courage to open my eyes, only to find him glaring into my soul. His deep blue irises turn a shade darker, and I notice his pupils dilate as his sultry eyes move from my eyes to my lips. He hovers over my lips with a sense of urgency, like he asked me to come here just to kiss me.
“We can’t do this,” I whisper against his lips.
“The way your body reacts to mine tells me another story, Sunshine,” he whispers back, lightly stroking my cheek bone with his thumb.
A shiver runs down my spine and I remain silent. I feel myself in a constant battle between my brain and my body. He’s not wrong, though. My body does react to him, and it drives me absolutely wild because it has never reacted this way to another man. Not Richard or any of my other past relationships. My brain is fighting its own battle that this might be just sex for him. It’s convenient because I’m living in his home. Let’s be real for a second, Thomas can have any woman he wants. I bet he’s had models kneeling for him after one look of him in that fucking suit.
“I thought,” Thomas whispers. His brief pause tells me he’s battling his own thoughts. “I’ve spent all day thinking that you regret last night. I know I crossed a professional boundary with you. Something I don’t ever do. But fuck.” He runs his hands through his hair. “I couldn’t stop worrying that maybe you regretted it.”
My mouth parts and I suck in a breath. We both crossed major boundaries that should have been a clear line in the sand screaming at us to not blur it. There is absolutely no denying the fact that I want this man with every fiber of my being. But he’s completely off limits. I don’t do casual sex and Thomas doesn’t do relationships. I'm asking for my heart to be broken if I keep this up.
My body betrays me in this moment, though, because the next thing I know, my hands are fisting his dress shirt and untucking it from his pants. Our eyes are locked on each other, both afraid that if either one of us blink, this moment will pass. My body trembles at the intensity of his stare as my hands move to his buttons and I begin to unbutton them one at a time.
“Peyton,” he whispers through gritted teeth, as he stands there unmoving with his shirt open and exposed to me. My eyes wander to his lips, and I see him roll his tongue over his bottom lip, causing my nipples to harden and a wetness to pool between my legs.
I shift my stance so I’m an inch closer to him and I feel his cock brush against my stomach. He swallows a lump in his throat when my hand moves to his belt to undo it. I feel a strong hand clasp around my wrist to stop me from going any further.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know,” I whisper as I shake his hand from my grip and lock the door behind me. Undoing his zipper with our eyes still locked on each other, I reach my hand inside of his boxer briefs and grip his girth.Holy fuck. I say it in my head but there's a small chance I said it out loud by the way the corner of his lip turns up. “I want to show you how much I didnotregret last night, Mr. Ford.”
He throws his head back and mutters a ‘fuck me’ under his breath.
