Page 26 of Grumpy Boss in Love

My gaze jumped to his face. “Oh…”

“And I’m not uptight.” His eyebrows puckered. “You barely know me.”

Having not learned my lesson after touching him, I continued to tease him. “Your ties and socks say it all.”

He threw back the contents of his glass and glowered at me. “I beg your pardon?”

“They’re boring.” I shrugged.

His outraged expression had me pursing my lips to stifle my giggle. When he glanced down at his plain black tie, I had to slap a hand over my mouth. There was no holding back my laughter when he lifted his pant leg to study his socks as if a major discovery had just been made.

He glanced at me with disbelief. “Who the hell even pays attention tosocks?”

Through bouts of laughter, I said, “I do. And you’re seriously off your tie and socks game. I think you might need my help, Elliot.”

He fingered his tie and gave it another worried glance, and I grinned. The ever-confident and grouchy Elliot was utterly adorable right now. He seemed genuinely worried about his boring accessories. As I gazed at him, my heart flipped.

Uh-oh. Something was happening here. Getting to see Elliot in a mode other than severe professor and boss was seriously messing with my head because I think I liked his other side.

His lips quirked at the corners. “Okay. How exactly would you remedy my boring ties and socks situation?”

Smirking, I scooted closer and took up his dull black tie. My fingers brushed his chest in the process and I think I heard him pull in a sharp breath. Perhaps the alcohol had gotten to both our heads because Elliot didn't pull away, scold me for being handsy, or put distance between us. Instead, he watched me with curiosity and what I thought was growing heat in his eyes.

“Well, I’d recommend patterned silk. They’re all the rage right now.” My eyes lifted to meet his. “You should trust my fashion judgment.”

“Mhmm.” Still, he stared at me.

“Yes, a little color would help to nix the prudish vibe you’ve got going on.”

He lifted one eyebrow, but the amusement that gleamed in his eyes was unmistakable. “First, I’m uptight and now I’m a prude.”

“Aren’t you?” My words had gotten significantly breathier. And had Elliot leaned closer?Oh, dear.

“Not in the least,” came his throaty timber.

I gulped because the way his voice had dropped made his words ooze with sex appeal. And maybe I wanted him to show me hownotprudish he was… I wanted it so much that I wetted my lips and leaned closer to him.

His lip actually touched mine. A small part of me thought he’d come to his senses—because apparently, I was too far gone—to put a stop to this madness. But was it really so crazy?

I think not because it felt too good. Getting out of my head, I put my focus on enjoying the moment and what a moment it was. Elliot’s mouth moved over mine gently at first, as if testing the water… and then the water becamescorching. He delved deeper, applying tongue action, and I melted against him with a whimper.

His hand crept up to palm my nape to tilt my head for optimal exploration. Each graze of his lips against mine and each swipe of his maddening tongue sent sparks shooting through my veins and it all headed down to my core.

He was ravenous, but so was I. My fingers threaded through his hair because admittedly I’d wondered a few times how the silky espresso strands felt. They felt good. The pressure of his mouth on mine felt good. He smelled good… intoxicating. All in all, this was the best kiss I’d ever had. Never had I lip-locked with a man whose kiss was so domineering and hot enough to melt my panties off.

Elliot let out a sexy, throaty growl and lifted my legs to pull them over his thighs. Now I practically sat in his lap while he made love to my mouth. Clearly, I was wrong. Elliot was not a prude. I never should have judged his sexual abilities by his ties and socks.Ridiculous. Just the way he kissed alone screamed that he was a sensual expert. Seriously. He had to be the best kisser in this hemisphere. His palm slid up my bare thigh, making me shiver, and then it slipped between my legs and inched further up.

The heat of his fingertips so close to the part of me that hadn’t gotten any attention in… Well, ever, had my senses returning. I was dunked with a metaphorical bucket of cold water, and I gasped as I scrambled out of Elliot’s hold.

His breathing was as harsh as mine, and for a moment, that was the only sound in the back of the limo. My fingers touched my lips in pure awe while Elliot watched me through hooded eyes that told me he wasn’t done with me. I wanted to dive back into his arms and give him the chance to show me what else he could do with that skillful mouth and those fingers…

But I couldn’t… Things had gotten way out of control. “We can’t.” My words came out as a hoarse whisper.

Elliot blinked, and he parted his lips as if to respond, but I scooted further away from him. “You’re my boss. I can’t make out with the boss. God, what was I thinking?” Frantically, I searched for my purse because I was ready to jump out of the moving vehicle. “Oh, my god,” I groaned. I sucked faces with Elliot Westwood and it was amazing. “Oh. My. God.”

The limo stopped, and I spotted my apartment building.Thank you!

“Ruby…”

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