Chapter 10

All my life, I had been clumsy. My ex had always thought I did things on purpose, for attention, but in reality, I wished that was the case.

It wasn't that I didn't pay attention. I just couldn't always get all the parts of my body on the same page about what we were doing when we were doing it.

When I spilled lukewarm coffee all the way down my shirt, I yelped and dropped the takeout cup on the floor. Watching helplessly as creamy liquid splashed across the tiles, I whipped my shirt over my head. Moaning in frustration, I could only be thankful that everyone else had left for the day.

For a beat, I thought I heard someone just after the coffee had hit my shirt and I froze, but when I didn't hear any other sounds, I crossed to the cabinet against my wall to pull out a spare top. Having lived so many years with chronic awkwardness, I'd learned to keep extra clothes, shoes, and socks within my immediate vicinity at all times.

I'd only just taken out a clean shirt when my door banged open. My heart leaped into my throat and I closed my eyes, praying that it was just a ghost.

"Serenity?"

A low groan caught in my throat when I recognized the voice. Out of all the people in all the world, why did it have to be Dash?

I spun slowly to face him, forgetting for a minute that I was only wearing a bra. "Dash? What are you doing here?"

He held up a manila envelope. "Delivering the signed catering contracts. I'm sorry for bursting in. I thought I heard a cry."

Heat flushed my cheeks and my heart slammed against my ribs as the humiliation really sank in. Finally remembering I was holding another shirt, I squeaked and spun around again, quickly slipping it on before I turned back to him.

Dash was in the same suit he'd been wearing this morning, but his tie was loosened and his jacket wasn't buttoned up. His dark hair was a neat as ever, but it wasn't as impeccable as before. I still wouldn't call it messy, but to him, it probably was.

A lock of that longer hair at the top of his face hung across his forehead, and as I looked at him, I was surprised to see that his pupils were slightly dilated. His lids were just a tiny bit heavy and his lips were suddenly parted.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize lust when they saw it and I swept my tongue across my lips as our gazes held, that sexual tension from before zapping through the air again now. Blinking a few times, he gave his head a small shake and offered the envelope to me.

"Don't take this as criticism, but you could streamline this process by doing all the paperwork online."

"I, uh, yes." I dipped my head to hide my face behind my hair while I tried to compose myself. Moving forward to take the papers from him, I managed to hit the corner of my desk and I stumbled forward, my hand already stretching out for the envelope.

I caught myself even as I teetered forward, but he must've reacted too, and we ended up holding hands, our faces only inches away from each other when I finally looked up. Dash's dark eyes locked on mine, his features so much stronger and more regal from so close up.

We were both breathing hard, his body as hot and hard against mine as it had been in my dream this morning, but with the scent of his expensive cologne now adding to the experience, it was so much better than in my imagination.

I felt his heart thumping against my chest, and I didn't mean to, but I wound up dropping my gaze to his lips while intending to study his strong jaw. Dash let out a low, almost whisper of a groan, but in the silence of my office, I heard it.

Heat bloomed on my cheeks again and my teeth sank into my lower lip. I dragged my gaze back up to his. I had no idea what to say or how to act.

My clumsiness had struck again in front of him, the most elegantly graceful man in the whole damn world. How does this keep happening?

I screamed the question at myself in my mind, but my actual mouth seemed to have forgotten to form any words. Instead, all I could do was focus on all the different sensations I was feeling right then. His hand was dry and strong in my own, his fingers like protective vises as they held mine.

That masculine, expensive scent that was woodsy with something else underneath. A deeper, richer undertone that reminded me of top-shelf whiskey. I inhaled, my body pressing closer to his as my chest rose.

I had no idea what this was, but it felt so intimate that I couldn't bring myself to take a step back. To break contact or to reclaim my hand. Part of me expected him to do it at any moment, but instead, he seemed as caught up as I was. His eyes stared deep into mine as we both kept breathing hard.

Suddenly, Dash leaned into me, his voice a low growl as his head descended. "Fuck it."

Fuck what?

As my brain formed the question, his mouth crashed into mine and my thoughts scattered. I hadn't been expecting it at all, but the kiss certainly wasn't unwelcome. My body reacted to his like it was a long lost friend. My arms acted on autopilot as they wrapped around his neck while my torso melted into his.

My lips opened of their own accord. My tongue delved into his mouth and explored every last bit of it as it stroked against his. My brain left the building, handing over the wheel to my body and racing off somewhere far, far away.

Without thinking at all about what I was doing, I gave in to the moment completely. My hands cupped the back of his head, the shorter hair at the sides soft against my palms while my fingers slid into the longer hair at the top. For a guy, it was impossibly silky and thick, and I committed the feel of it to memory as I held him to me.

His lips moved in perfect sync with my own, firm but soft, his movements sure and swift. I moaned into his mouth, dipping my head back to give him the fullest access I could. He took it without hesitation, his kisses growing deeper and more passionate as his hands moved to my hips.

He gripped them tight, guiding me around so that my ass pressed into the edge of my desk while his body sealed against my front. Sparks flew behind my eyelids, my every nerve on high alert. He kissed me just as intently as he had in my dream, but this was better.

So much better that I almost couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was real.

Dash lifted his hands away from my ribs, running them up and down my sides. I shivered against him, moaning softly into his mouth, and my head dropped back. He didn't skip a beat, running his nose along the length of my throat as if he was breathing me in before he sealed his lips over my skin in a hot kiss.

Memories of the dream rushed through me again and my own hands dropped, pushing into his waistband and tugging his shirt out of it. He didn't stop me, simply moving his torso away from my own so I could pull the fabric out of his pants completely.

I moved onto his tie next, freeing it from the loose knot and then tossing it away. Without knowing or caring where it landed, my fingers found the first plastic nub of a button and I worked it out of the hole while he finally pushed his hands in underneath the back of my own shirt.

Dragging his fingertips along my spine, he coaxed another moan out of me before a throaty chuckle escaped him. In my dream, the sound had been a clue that what was happening wasn't real, but now, it made reality dawn that this time it was in fact happening.

Undeterred, I undid his buttons and lifted my arms when he reached for the hem of my shirt. He pulled it off in one smooth motion and threw it on the desk behind me. When the side of my hand brushed against leather, I knew I'd reached his belt. I wrapped my fingers around the open edges of his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders before wrapping my arms around his neck once more.

After kissing a path to my cleavage, he sucked my breasts into his hot, wet mouth, soaking my bra, but I didn't mind. My nipples were rock hard and even the fabric against them made them that much more sensitive.

The next thing I knew, his hands were back on my hips and he was lifting me effortlessly, setting me down on the edge of my desk and taking another step closer. His hips were now wedged between my thighs and I could feel the outline of his cock pressing against me.

Another moan broke the silence between us, but I knew it was mine. Dash made softer, deeper sounds than I did, like he was unaware of them but the pleasure was emanating from deep within his core.

When he slid his hands up my thighs, I shuddered, aching for him and knowing that if I let him go any further than this, it was going to go all the way. And he's the son of a client.

Gathering the last bit of self-control I had left, I curled my fingers against his chest and, hating myself for doing it, pushed him anyway. "Should we really be doing this?"

The question snapped him out of the lust and he broke away from me, stumbling back and blinking as if he were coming out of a trance. Half naked and breathless, he lifted his chin, visibly pulling himself together as he shook his head.

"No, we definitely should not be doing this."