Page 14 of Dating the Boss

I growl and use my free hand to tuck myself back into my slacks. Then I hit the button again, turning the vibrator on to the third setting that sends a series of pulses, two short and one long, growing in intensity before falling back down to nothing. For the next minute, she squirms in her seat, grinding her pussy against the leather, doing her best to chase her climax before I turn it off and make a right-hand turn into my gated community.

She screams up at the moon roof in frustration, her body sagging against the backrest. “You really are a bastard, you know that?”

I laugh but say nothing, my smile telling her everything she needs to know. As we drive past a couple of houses, I’m relieved to pass the catering van as they turn off my street. I hit the remote, the garage door opening soundlessly as we pull up the drive. Seconds later, we’ve parked and I’ve shut the engine down, but before Brooklyn can reach for the door handle, I slide my fingers back into her hair and pull her to me, my lips on hers in a fierce and possessive claim. She melts against me, moaning as my tongue plunges into her mouth to slide against hers.

“Thank you for playing my game today, Brooklyn, but I need you to understand something before we go inside. Once we claim our prizes, I have no intention of letting you go. As far as I’m concerned this is Day One of forever, so those text messages you’ve been getting all day from the MatchMakers guys—the ones I can hear buzzing in your purse—they’re all getting the same fuck off canned response that I will dictate for you because after tonight, you are mine.”

7

BROOKLYN

Staring into Coulter’s eyes, I think he believes he means every word coming out of his mouth, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Do I want him? Of course. Do I think he’s perfect in every way? Absolutely. Do I believe he really wants forever with me? This is the part that’s tripping me up.

Why would someone like him want someone like me—forever?

Don’t get me wrong, I think I’m pretty great.

Pretty enough, but not a stunner—I’m considered attractive by most without being intimidating.

Thick, but comfortable with my body at the same time—I know how to dress for my shape and am not ashamed of my body.

Smart, driven, and educated, but not some rocket scientist who’s going to stop global warming anytime soon—although I could organize the team and help them achieve success, no problem.

I’m loving and loyal to my friends, snarky and witty with those I enjoy, but closed off enough that my circle is small and contained.

I’m a bit more than average, in my estimation, but not a member of the social elite. So, why would a man like Coulter Manning—aka, hottest and most eligible bachelor in Spring City—want me, forever?

I fall back into old my reliable, smiling as I bat my eyes teasingly in his direction. “You don’t have to say all that to get me into your bed. I’m pretty much a sure thing at this point.”

He smiles. It’s his placating yet charming smile he gives when he’s annoyed but unwilling to give the cameras anything other than a flattering angle. “Tell me you understand, Brooklyn.”

I swallow the excitement laced with a touch of fear of the unknown rising in my chest. “I understand, Coulter.”

Approval rumbles in his chest as he pulls me close again, nibbling along my jaw to my ear. “Are you hungry?”

I whimper, letting myself melt into his hands. “Not particularly.”

“Good.” He releases me abruptly, gets out of the car, and is opening my door before my brain has fully wrapped around his words. He offers me his hand. “Come on, baby.”

Now, I’ve been in Coulter’s house once before, when it was decked out for Christmas and we had an informal company get-together. That’s the night I got to see Coulter away from the office and the glitz and glam of the fundraisers and galas. I stayed later than most, helping the caterers clean up, and acting as a de facto hostess for our department heads and their families. Toward the end of the night, when there were very few people left, Coulter asked me to join him near the fire on the deck. It was freezing outside, snow flurries off the pine branches magically flittering through the air. He’d had me sit next to him on the patio sofa and draped a large blanket over me, our bodies too near to each other to be appropriate under normal circumstances. Then, he’d given me a special Christmas bonus, more money than I’m sure I deserved for someone who’d only been working for him for six months, as well as a gift certificate to one of our local spas.

Then he asked me to stay and have a drink with him.

We drank the smoothest whiskey I’ve ever had in my life. I think it was a thirty-five-year something or other that had been aged many more years on his grandfather’s bar. It burned in the nicest way down my chest, lighting me up from the inside—or maybe it was when Coulter draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to fight off the chill. Regardless, that night we talked about our dreams for our professional future like two old friends, only slightly delving into our personal desires. We both want families once we’ve accomplished a few career goals.

Actually, we want a lot of the same things.

He walks me into his house, through the garage, up two flights of stairs, and straight into his bedroom. Without preamble, he pushes me up against the wall and pins me with his wide chest, his tongue plunging into my mouth while his hands move everywhere. He hikes up my skirt and I shimmy my hips, as if he needs my assistance. And then he’s pushing the vibrator down my thighs and away from my clit, his fingers replacing it as he gently slides the rough pads across my sensitive flesh.

“Are you sore?”

“I was getting there.”

“I guess I should kiss and make it better, huh?” He grins, a devilish glint in his eyes.

I try to sass him with a raise of my brow, but the blush hitting my cheeks undersells it. “It’s the least you can do after torturing me all day.”

“Yeah.” He turns and hoists me into his arms, carrying me to his bed. “I think you deserve to be pampered after the hell I put you through today.”

---