Page 35 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

“It’s fine, Ezra. I’m okay.” She gives him a tight smile. “This brute doesn’t scare me.” Then she gets in the car and I slam the door shut.

“She was crying.” I stop at Ezra’s word. “I don’t know what happened, but she was crying so I took her to dinner. It’s not whatever it is you’re thinking.” Ezra glares at me, then spins away. I stare at Charlie, who just waves me off.

I give her a terse nod and round the back of the car to get in from the other side. “Take us home, George,” I instruct, then press the button to raise the privacy partition.

“Autumn,” I start, not sure what to say. She folds her arms across her chest and twists away from me to stare out the window. She doesn’t want to talk. Message received.

The ride home is filled with a terse silence; sometime along the way, it starts to rain. As soon as George stops the car in the driveway, Autumn shoots out the door, slamming it in my face. I sigh as I reopen the door and get out. “Autumn!” I call out, but she doesn't answer, racing through the front door.

I jog up the stairs after her and catch her just before she disappears into her room, where I’m sure she’ll slam the door in my face again. “Autumn, listen.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you.” She rips her arm from my hand, angrily. “You wouldn’t listen earlier.”

She marches into her room, and I allow myself in after her. “You were in a restaurant alone with my brother. Wearing that! What was I supposed to think?”

“Oh, I don’t know. That we were eating? And what about you? You came in with another woman. What about her!” She gives me a withering glare.

Confusion creases my brow. “That was nothing. Charlie is a business acquaintance. Why were you—”

“Charlie!Charlie! You’re on a first name basis, and you expect me to believe that she’s just abusiness acquaintance? Do you take all of your acquaintances to private one-on-one dinners?”

“Sheisa business acquaintance,” I grit out. “And yes, I occasionally meet business associates outside the office. But let’s get back to talking about you.”

“What if I don't believe you? Should I go find this Charlie person and slap her in front of the whole town for being with you!”

My lips part as I watch her. She’s really angry at me, and it’s glorious. Not to mention the thought of scrappy Autumn is making me fucking hot. I like this side of her…too much.

“I shouldn’t have hit Ezra. I got caught up in the moment,” I admit softly.

“You think? Why would you even do something like that? What were you thinking?”

That’s the thing. I wasn’t thinking. Fuck, what is she doing to me? I shove my hand through my hair, agitatedly. “I don’t know. I saw you sitting there with my brother, laughing, happy and carefree, and I saw red. I thought it was a date.”

“So what? You were jealous?” She rolls her eyes.

“No,” I snap.

She stares at me with a look of complete boredom on her face, clearly not convinced by my declaration. “Youwerejealous. Alex—”

“No,” I growl as I stalk toward her. She starts to back away, but she’s not fast enough. One hand grabs the side of her throat while the other slams against the wall next to her. “I wasn’t jealous, Autumn. I was fucking furious.”

But I was jealous. Out of my mind with jealousy in fact, but I’ve come to a sudden realization.

“You know why I wasn’t jealous?” My thumb encircles the front of her throat. Her neck is so delicate that I could nearly wrap one hand all the way around it. She tips her chin in invitation, and I crush her body against the wall with my hips. “Because jealousy is for a man who can’t have what he desires. But that’s not me, is it?” Her pulse hammers against my thumb. I drop my head to drag my nose up her face.

“Because you’re mine, Autumn. You’re fuckingMine.” Damn the consequences. I tighten my hand around her throat slightly as I crush my mouth against hers, eager for her sweet taste. Her hands flutter up; but instead of pushing me away, she drags me in.

I groan at the taste of her surrender. Revel in it. That’s right baby. You’re mine now. All mine. And I won’t let you fucking forget it. My pulse races as my tongue sinks into the warm recess of her mouth, heat spreads through me when her tongue meets mine. Blood rushes to my cock, hardening it. My balls draw up painfully as the fierce need to fuck her – claim her – hits me, driving me almost feral.

I tighten my grip on her throat even further and grind my cock against her stomach. She releases a throaty whimper that I swallow eagerly as her body tightens with need. I release her throat and drop both hands to her waist, slowly trailing them to her pert little ass. I knead the firm flesh between my palms, then pick her up and push away from the wall in one quick movement. She breaks the kiss on a throaty groan, and her legs wrap tightly around my hips.

I spin away from the wall and lead her to the bed in the center of the room. As I place her gently on it, her dress rides up her thighs. “Alex,” she coos softly, treading her hands up to the back of my neck. And fuck me if I haven’t thought about her saying my name in this exact position a thousand times. And it never lived up to what she’s doing to me right now. She’s killing me slowly and oh so delicately.

My gaze drops to the exposed flesh of her legs, I slowly bunch the skirt of her dress up to her waist. I pause, waiting for her to protest but she doesn’t say anything. She’s giving herself to me, in full, and I’m ready to collect and prove my worthiness. Her satiety is my utmost concern and my only focus. I like to have the best, and I treat my possessions with the care andattention they deserve. I’m a man of obsessive attention to detail and determination to be superior in all my endeavors. She is no different.

My eyes slowly roam back up her body, taking in every inch of her offering to me.Mine. I grab her chin and tilt her face up. “Look at me.” Her hooded eyes slowly open and lock onto mine. I grip her hips and shift her to the center of the bed before I push her shoulders until she’s flat on her back. She goes willingly.

I spread her legs and get to my knees between them. Finally breaking eye contact, I drag my nose down the silky soft skin of one thigh, then the other. Her legs quiver in my hands. I shift my attention to the scrap of silk between her legs. I press my nose into her and inhale deeply. Her sweet scent is intoxicating, and I tighten my grip on her hips as I place an open mouthed kiss over the material. Autumn shifts restlessly, but I press down firmly on her legs to keep her in place. I’m going to enjoy every inch of her, slowly and thoroughly.

---