Chapter 5

Five

Cherry

I screwed my boss.

I screwed my boss.

Technically he wasn't my boss at the time, but holy crap, I screwed my boss.

Or, who I hoped would be my boss. What if he didn't hire me? And why would he want to take me to his house? What did he have to say to me there he couldn't say here?

Shit. I really stepped in it now. I wanted to be responsible and show my parents I was a fucking adult and here I have not only slept with the enemy but I am also—potentially—working for him too.

Yeah, that will go over well at Sunday dinner.

"Crap, there are a lot of files," I said, looking up at the wall in awe. The expansive space was packed full of files from floor to ceiling with a scrolling ladder hooked onto the side of the large oak shelves. I always loved to see those in the movies and found just how helpful they really were.

I've been working for the last hour and a half. Thanks to Trish, who was fast becoming a friend, I learned Mr. Sloan's—Grayson's—filing system. Not only was it alphabetized but it was also color coded by theme and what stage of completion the case was in. Complicated yet beautiful, just like the man.

From my count, only a few files were marked red which Trish explained were lost cases. Three, to be exact, out of hundreds. Given the worn edges of the files and their contents I would bet he liked to pore over the cases to see where he went wrong.

Almost done, I looked at the stack in my hand. I climbed the steps to the middle and slid the files home.

After stepping off the ladder, I stood back and admired my handiwork. I snapped mental pictures so I could replicate the system for my own use for when the time came and I hung my own shingle.

I took another step and came up short when a wall of muscle greeted my back.

"You've done an impressive job."

Dark eyes stared down at me when I turned on my heel, eyes climbing high. Higher.

"Mr. Sloan, I didn't hear you come in."

"Grayson, Cherry. It's Grayson. I think once a man pops your cherry you can call the bastard by his first name."

The longer he talked the hotter the ire and fire in his eyes grew.

"Is that a fact?"

He nodded. "You should be kneeing me in the balls and walking out of here for what I did to you."

He looked like he spent the last two hours in hell instead of court. His hair looked like he raked his hands through it at least once every thirty seconds and irritation rode him so hard his breathing was hitched and his chest heaved with every other word.

All signs of frustration. Deep-rooted frustration at that. I learned how to read jurors in body language class. Good stuff, practical stuff I got to use on everyday people outside court, and right now it said Grayson Sloan was pissed off about our one-night stand.

"Grab your things. We're leaving."

I turned to see Sloan looking down at me, his stare unwavering. It made me nervous. My heart beat like crazy, and my knees wobbled so much I feared if I didn't stand my ground I'd be led out of here with no job to speak of and turned into arm candy because that was all he saw me as.

"No."

He narrowed his eyes and damn, if that didn't make him look sexier and harder to keep the steel in my spine. "Excuse me?" he growled low, closing the door behind him.

And locked it.

I swallowed the boulder lodged in my throat. "Just because you've had a taste of heaven, doesn't mean you get to dictate the rules." I sounded stronger and braver than I felt. Honestly, my knees were playing the Cha Cha Cha they were knocking so hard under this tight pencil skirt.

He stepped into my space, now standing close enough I could smell his intoxicating aftershave. Not that I minded.

His hand came around my neck and strong fingers collared the delicate flesh one at a time.

"I have a long memory and I remember you telling me I put you in heaven so that makes you my angel. Tell me I'm wrong."

His voice was deep and shivery-good. It reminded me of Christian Bale's in Batman. I'd sit on any jury just to hear him talk.

I noted his emphasis on the words I and my . I shuddered as his other hand came up to slip beneath my shirt and skim over my ribs in a whispered caress. I gasped.

I lowered my lashes to try to hide how much he affected me, but a finger to my chin had my head rising. He was tall and looked as if he worked out, unlike my own lawyer father and a lot of other men in the judicial system I'd met.

Wearing fitted gray pants with a pristine white button-down shirt and a striped tie, he was walking sex. His dark hair swept over his forehead and the hint of a black beard was sprouting on his angular jaw. Beneath my blouse, my nipples peaked at the thought of how that five o'clock shadow would feel on my thighs.

"Grayson," I moaned and the second my lips opened he was there. Claiming my mouth with his. Heat slipped into my stomach and I was right back in my bedroom wishing he could lower me to my bed and spread me wide.

My nipples bunched into the hardest little stones. I wanted his hot lips wrapped around them. His face buried between my thighs.

I raked my fingers into the long lengths of his hair and tugged him closer. Skimming the hot tip of my tongue over the seam of his lips, he opened, and fuck, if he didn't know how to take over right when a girl needed him to.

A strong hand cupped my ass and I was against a bookshelf, leg wrapped around his thigh. My skirt pulled higher and higher and before long I had it around my waist, the lace of my panties teasing from the fringes.

"Fuck, I missed you, Cherry. Dreamed about finding you. I must have searched every woman's Facebook page in this city trying to find you, crazy as that sounds."

He kissed me again. Feverishly. I stopped breathing and didn't care for air until we both came up gasping. "Come home with me. Let me convince you to give whatever this is between us a chance."

I didn't realize I'd said yes until I was already in his Town Car being driven to, I don't know where by a chauffeur, and frankly I didn't care. I felt safe and that was all that mattered.

A strong hand came to rest on my thigh and another slid into my hand, our palms connecting as the car slowed and Grayson ushered me through a rotating door.

Inside the elevator his hands did more than just hold mine. Alone, he pinned me to the steel wall of the box, and the entire ride up I found out just how hungry a wolf can really get. His lips seared a scorching path up my back. One tug and tiny white buttons pinged off the marble flooring.

"Grayson," I gasped.

Warm hands wrapped around the ample weight of my breasts, and suddenly I was fully exposed to whatever he wanted to do with my hard nipples. My matching bra tugged down, my breasts sitting high. Okay, this was happening. Again. And I loved it.

The bell of the elevator dinged and he pulled me through the doors.

I didn't have time to take in much except that we were alone and, in a penthouse, high above Los Angeles.

Strong arms pulled me into a broad chest. "What are we doing, Grayson?" I searched his eyes for some kind of answer. Hands molded to my ass and one swoop I was in his arms, skirt around my waist and legs around my boss. His hot, throbbing cock nestled between my juicy folds once again. But this time, neither of us were leaving. Not tonight.

"We're discussing the terms of your employment. First one being you are to never wear anything I can't hike up and slip my hands under freely while you are in my office."

"Oh, I see. One correction," I teased. "You assume I still want to work for you. I mean what kind of employer talks dirty like that to his assistant?"

"Dirty, huh?" Hot, hungry lips wrapped around my nipple and I was knocked off kilter when he flicked the tip of his tongue against the rosy bud. I held on tight and shimmied my hips against his shaft. "It looks like I might have to spend the night convincing you how much you'll enjoy working for me."

"I'll need to learn the benefits. See if they are worth my while."

Damn, he felt so so good there. He made me feel beautiful and wanted. But I was more than that. I wanted to be more than just someone's assistant for the rest of my life. I had goals. Dreams.

He crooked a finger beneath my chin as he pulled back to look down at me. "The benefits are hard, stiff to swallow but comes with a juicy bonus."

"Ahh, I see." I might be a one-timer at this sex stuff, but he made me feel sexy and like I was capable of anything. Life would be glorious if he teased us both enough to where days ended no other way than with him feeding my hungry pussy the fat, throbbing cock I knew he had tucked behind his zipper.

My heart started to beat faster. I backed up, one step at a time, kicking my heels off as I went. "Prove it!" I demanded.

He grinned wide and before I made it to the room down the hall that I hoped was his bedroom he pounced, pinning my arms behind me. Pushing my tits high, he dove in, devouring one nipple and then the other.

Grayson must have felt the shift in my thoughts. He eased me down his body and held me close. We leaned against the wall.

"What is it, baby? What's wrong?"

"Grayson, I'm more than just someone to help you out in the office. You need to know that. I'm working toward my own law degree and have plans."

He held my gaze prisoner. I was trapped, and there was no place else I wanted to be. He cupped my face and it would be a lie if I said I didn't notice how the man's thick biceps and broad shoulders stretched his button-down. He looked good, sexy good, but he also made my heart melt with how much tender care reflected in his touch and in the glint of his dark eyes.

"I can only hope I can be a part of them all," he cooed, leaning in to brush his lips over the shell of my ear.

I creamed my panties. It was ridiculous how hot and fast my body responded to him really.

The way he touched me. His voice. His scent. It all left me reeling. But when I honed in on his words, I paused. What did he mean by that? My life wasn't exactly set up for a boyfriend, but he made me feel...I don't know. Like anything could be possible. That working for him and dating him was no big thing. But a voice in the back of my mind spoke up that we've known each other for all of a handful of hours.

Honestly, I wasn't sure I could stop myself from seeing this through, whatever it may bring. He slipped his hand and into mine and looked back at me with a fiery gaze, sending anticipation and hope through me like a rocket.

Walk away? Nope. Not when I got to live out one of my fantasies and sleep with my boss.

My heart thundered in my ears and spiraled to circle around my clit until I throbbed with need all over for him. I ran my forefinger down his bulging zipper. "Tell, me Grayson, does this mean, I'm hired?"