Page 76 of A Ticking Time Boss

When I sit down on the couch, she takes a seat a solid few feet away from me. Tension is strong in the air and it’s strung me tight. But I fight to keep my voice casual. “I have all the streaming services. Choose whatever.”

“Oh,” she says. “It’s almost harder when there are so many choices.”

“Then I’ll give you none. Put on Gladiator.”

It works—Audrey smiles. “That was fast. Also, it’s too gory for a date. What about… this one?” She uses the remote to hover over a romantic comedy. I vaguely remember seeing it on a flight, years ago.

“Sure. I’ll mostly be watching you.”

She laughs and hits play. “Honest to a fault.”

“Sometimes, at least.”

Audrey grabs a pillow and tries to get comfortable. Slides a leg up underneath herself on the couch, curling up, eyes on the opening credits.

“How did you get a TV so big?” she asks.

“It arrived in a box.”

She snorts. “Do they even make TVs this big?”

I rub a hand over my neck. Truthfully, it’s a bit too large. Ostentatious. “It was a gift.”

“From an engineer who made it themselves?”

“An investor, actually. After we made a deal. He also owns a Korean electronics firm.”

Audrey looks over at me. Her lips look soft, and warm, and too far away. “So it’s a bribe.”

“Consider it more of a gift-in-the-hope-of-future-good-relations.”

“Which is the definition of a bribe,” she says.

“Can’t fool you, can I, reporter?”

She scoots closer. “Never.”

“Are you recording this whole conversation?” I reach out and drape my arm over the back of the couch. Letting my hand brush over her shoulder. “Will I be exposed on the front page of the Globe?”

“Watch out.” She leans into my arm, her voice a bit breathless. “I might be wearing a wire.”

I raise an eyebrow. “That sounds like something I should investigate.”

Her hand comes to rest on my chest, fingers curling around the collar of my shirt. “I think you should,” she murmurs.

I kiss her. My intention is to go lightly, to tease, but those thoughts derail when she parts her lips. Something short-circuits in my brain and I slip my tongue inside her mouth. My hands find her hips and twist her toward me. Away from the stupid TV and the joyous tones of a pop song.

Audrey’s hands slide into my hair again, the way they had just a few days ago, and I groan against her neck. The gentle tugging sends shivers down my body.

“There’s something different,” she whispers, breathless, “when we’re not doing this on steel bars two stories up.”

I grip her thighs, fitting her more snugly against me. “Yes. It’s even better.”

She chuckles, but the sound dies when I find the spot beneath her ear. It had made her tremble last time. I close my lips around it and lick softly, and as if on cue, she trembles.

I’m rock hard, near bursting in my slacks, and neither of us is undressed yet. I’m such a fucking goner for her.

She moans into my ear. It’s a quiet, wanton sound, and my hands tighten around her thighs. “Fuck,” I say. “I can’t believe the first time I heard you make that sound was on the phone.”

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