Page 83 of Between Love and Loathing
Her. She was the only fucking person.
“Think about it. Different parts are different colors. Like the whole rainbow, Dominic. You wanted balance, right? White and black. But also, the rainbow signifies inclusion and hope and what would ultimately represent peace.” She wasn’t letting this go.
And my ridiculous ass was listening to her as I turned to open my office door.
She bounced by me and turned her body so she could keep her connection with me as she walked into my office. “The waterpark area could have hints of blue, the dining could have hints of pink and red.” I lifted a brow. “Okay, I’m biased to pink and red, but honestly, there wouldn’t be that many changes.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked her, already contemplating the idea. It was something different. Something that could work well and be achieved if we moved fast. I was under the gun, and I hated that it felt like the thing that was missing in the resort.
“Because it’s exactly what the resort needs!” She swung her arms around my office and then hopped up to sit her nice ass on the desk. “Do I look good on this white desk, Dominic?” Her smile was sly as her eyes dipped down to stare at the bulge in my trousers.
“You look good anywhere, Clara.”
Maybe she was surprised that I’d answered positively without hesitation, because her mouth opened and shut before she whispered “Thank you” like no man had ever fed her a compliment. I needed to do it more, a lot more. “But think about how I would look on this desk if it were full of color. No one would see me. I wouldn’t stand out, right?”
My little fighter didn’t really realize, I think, that I was already obsessed with her and her excitement, how her skin turned pink when she started talking a mile a minute, how her eyes twinkled, how she fiddled with her dress like she was right now when she was waiting for affirmation from me. I walked toward her slowly, grabbed her legs and dragged my hands up them roughly, raising the skirt of her dress to find lace underneath. “Clara Milton, don’t you know you could be in the middle of a crowd at a concert on the other side of the country, and I’d still find you, baby, because you always stand out.”
I kissed her then. Hard. Rough. Much more raw and violent than I had in the elevator. This time, I wanted her to understand that I wasn’t at all joking. My body gravitated toward her, was magnetized by her, and would always search for her, find her, and try to consume her. I picked her up and carried her over to my office door where I slammed it shut and pushed her back against it.
I looked at her with anything but apathy while I rubbed my cock over her entrance, and her hands gripped my shirt, shoving me back for a second. “You’re distracting me, but I won’t be deterred, Dominic Hardy. This is a good idea.”
“Good enough idea that you shared it with your other designer?” I asked her before I lowered my head and kissed my way to the edge of her dress. I pushed the fabric to the side so I could graze my teeth over her nipple.
She gasped and her hands flew into my hair as she arched toward me. Then, she yanked my hair so she could bring me up to her face where she could take her turn devouring my lips, her hips wiggling fast over my cock. “He’s just Valentino, Dominic.”
“No. He’s just the guy you wanted to date not too long ago.”
She didn’t deny it. “He’s also a guy that wants what’s best for the resort.” Then she sucked on my bottom lip, nipped it, and dragged her teeth across it. The pain shot through me as pleasure, right down to my cock that twitched against her pussy.
“Careful, cupcake. You bite me, and I’m going to bite back.”
Breathing faster, her hands were at my belt buckle. “Do it then.”
She never ever backed down from a challenge with me. Others, she’d let them walk all over her, but I swear she wanted to test her limits with me, like I was the one she trusted, like I was getting a special treatment and my cock rejoiced in it. I sucked on her neck and then her tits as her delicate fingers wrapped around my length, stroking up and down, up and down. “God, I want this,” she murmured as her thumb rolled over my tip, spreading my pre-cum around.
Just then, my phone rang, and Clara’s phone beeped.
We both glanced at the time. “Shit. The meeting’s in ten minutes.” She shoved me back and I let her do so as I picked up my phone.
“Sir, we’re calling to verify that you made a purchase for $216,700.64 today at Divine Floral Arrangements. And $286,801.10 online at La Cornue. If you cannot confirm it or it is fraudulent, we can cancel the transactions.”
“For $216K and $286K?” I said the numbers slowly as I dragged my eyes over to hers. They were wide, vivid green, and had a hint of a spark. A fight in them. “No, it’s not fraud. That’s just my future wife throwing a tantrum. Go ahead and run the bills through,” I grumbled and clicked off the phone.
Fuck me, was she trying to drive me to the edge? I knew something was wrong with me because even as my heart beat faster in fury, I allowed for it. I was even smiling about it, enjoying that she had the balls to do it.
I should have been thinking she wasn’t equipped to run a bakery or have any responsibility within my business whatsoever, and yet I was on the verge of letting her keep the credit card if she wanted it.
I slid my phone back into my trousers and took two steps toward her. She took two steps back. “Clara.”
“Yes?” I heard how that rasp in her voice trembled and, fuck, I wasn’t prepared to deal with reprimanding her as her boss either because my cock instantly reacted.
“Please tell me there’s an error on my credit card with the florist and La Cornue.”
“Oh, I’m not sure, Dom,” she hummed.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Everyone calls you that or Mr. Hardy.”
