Page 106 of A Ticking Time Boss

He rests his head against my shoulder, soft hair tickling my neck. “What about it?”

“Since you and I are in a relationship…”

“We very much are,” he confirms against my skin. His hands tighten on my hips. “I’m never letting you go.”

I smile against his cheek. “So we’re in a committed relationship. But you’re also my boss’s boss’s boss, and we can’t have people at work knowing. Does that mean we’ll be sneaking around indefinitely?”

It seems like an impossible riddle to answer.

“Not forever,” Carter says. His voice is confident.

“Okay,” I murmur, “but how will that work? I really like my job, and I happen to really like my boyfriend too. I don’t want to give either of them up.”

“Happy to hear it,” he says, grinning crookedly.

I laugh. “You’re enjoying this.”

“Hearing you say over and over again that you like me? Yeah, I am.”

“Carter,” I complain.

His hands settle more firmly around my waist. “We’ll figure it out, kid. I’ll never do anything to jeopardize your job.”

“I know that. But you just took over the newspaper. And you have grand plans for it, and I definitely don’t want you to sell it.”

“I might have gathered that, too, yes.”

“So we’re at an impasse.”

Carter’s arms flex beneath my hands and he lifts me up, depositing me on the kitchen counter. Leisurely, as befits the Sunday morning we’re enjoying, he reaches for the hem of my T-shirt. I let him peel it off me—his own shirt, really—and toss it behind him. It lands halfway in the sink.

“I don’t see an impasse,” he says, eyes moving in heated circles across my face, hair, stomach, chest. “I only see perfection.”

“Carter…”

He steps closer between my splayed thighs and I lock them at his hips. A problem we may have, but I’m not ready to give either of my two passions up. Nothing will stop me from having him—or my career.

“I won’t be running the Globe forever,” he says. “You know, Tristan stepped down from running Exciteur when he met Freddie.”

“She worked at the company?”

“She was a trainee when they met.”

I grimace. “Ouch.”

“It was tough, but they’re perfect for one another. She’s got a great head for business too. Anyway, he stepped down when they got serious.”

I trace the outline of his bare abs. “He stepped down? From the position of CEO?”

Carter nods. His hands are moving over my bare back, down to the lace edge of my panties and up again. The man is a damn fine multitasker, I’ll give him that.

“Yes. It’s an option here too,” he says.

I shake my head. “You worked for years to buy the Globe. Didn’t you tell me about all the preparation you did, to learn about the industry?”

“You’re more important.”

“You’re not giving up your career,” I say, “and neither am I.”

---