Page 25 of Let's Call a Truce
We were both laughing, and I realized I’d never heard his laugh before now. Definitely his snigger when I made a misstep, or his chuckle when teasing me, but never this full, animated laugh that burst from him. It was lyrical and mesmerizing.
His laughter died off as he met my eyes, his own softening as he took me in. I realized too late, when he stopped me from falling, I ended up straddling his lap, barely any space between our bodies.
I took a deep, shuddering breath as he kept surveying me. Before I could stop myself, I leaned down and captured his lips with my own. I heard his sharp intake of breath and felt a moment’s hesitation. I was about to pull away and apologize, but his grip tightened on my hip, pulling our bodies closer as his other hand curled around the base of my neck.
His response was more than enthusiastic, and the sigh from his lips lit a fire under my skin. I needed him, needed his touch on every inch of my body. I was desperate to bring us as close together as possible.
He ran his tongue along the seam of my lips, and I opened for him, welcoming anything he wanted to give me. The hand at my hip slid slowly up my torso, stopping to cup my breast through my shirt, and I moaned into his mouth as his tongue danced with my own. He ran his thumb back and forth over my nipple, smiling onto my lips as I shuddered on top of him.
My heart fluttered around in my chest like it was trying to escape. I felt his hard length through his slacks and pushed myself down to meet it, eager for any friction I could get. He pulled away with a groan, quickly picking me up and setting me on the edge of his desk before recapturing my lips.
Our movements shuffled around the items on the desk, and the crash of his stapler and tape dispenser hitting the floor caused us to jump apart.
The second his hands left me, a sinking sensation flooded my body. He was my colleague, someone I didn’t even like most days. Here I was, throwing myself at him. I put myself at risk of a scandal at a job I loved. The door wasn’t even locked. What if Eduardo had forgotten something and come back? Finding me grinding on top of his new VP of architecture would have lostme the job. And for what? A hookup that would mean nothing to either of us? Even as the argument crossed my mind, a small voice whispered,You know that’s not what this is.I pushed the thought far enough back that it didn’t exist anymore, angry at everything leading to this decision.
I touched my swollen lips. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Ben watched me with guarded eyes, waiting to see what I said next.
“I can’t believe we did that. That was so inappropriate.” I glared at him across the room.
He let out a pessimistic laugh. “Don’t go pointing your anger at me. You’re the one who kissed me, beautiful.”
“You can’t call me that. And I may have kissed you, but you’re the one who conveniently arranged me on top of your dick.”
“You mean when I stopped you from falling after you literally threw yourself at me?” He rolled his eyes.
I groaned and ran my hands through the top of my hair, gripping the high bun. My mind ran through the past few minutes. “That should never have happened.”
“Why not?” he asked casually, but the tension in his shoulders made me question his nonchalance.
“Because we work together and we hate each other.” I turned my back to him, straightening my clothes and trying to compose myself.
He was quiet for a few seconds, then sighed like I’d disappointed him. “Look, if we’re going to work together in our new roles, I think we need to move past this feud. It’s late, and I’m starving. Another truce so we can go get some food?”
“Together?” I asked, as though he’d asked me to eat a bug.
“Yes, together. We’ll talk about the interviews and put all of this behind us.”
I paused for a minute. He was right. We couldn’t continue the way we had if we were both sitting on the executive board. I’d found a job I not only loved, but that respected the responsibilitiesI had at home. That was rare, and I couldn’t jeopardize it over something this petty. We stared at each other, both trying to hold out until the silence became too uncomfortable to handle.
He broke first, taking a step closer to me. “Have dinner with me, Juliana.”
God, his eyes were beautiful any day, but when they were all serious and intense? I was so screwed.
“I am hungry,” I said cautiously.
A broad smile took over his face. “It’s a date.”
“Wait, what?” I sputtered as he turned away from me to grab his wallet and keys from the desk. “No, it’s not.”
He smirked at me over his shoulder. “It’s a turn of phrase.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and his gaze moved down to my mouth.
“Stop that,” I said.
“Stop what?” he asked, the picture of innocence.
