Page 44 of My Sexy Boss
I shook my head, then looked at Victoria when she poked me in the side. “Go on. I’m good.”
“What do you mean?”
Leaning closer to me, she said in a low voice, “The woman with the chestnut-colored hair. That’s the one you’re talking about, right?”
I nodded. “Was I that obvious?”
“Not to the average person, but to a woman who’d like nothing better than to have you look at her like that, yes.”
“Sorry if I was rude.”
“Not at all. I can tell you like her a lot, and she likes you too.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“As often as you were sneaking peeks at her, she was doing the same to you. And don’t worry about me. I’m making a play for Daniel Hanson. I’ve been dying to meet him for a long time, but we don’t run in the same circles. He’s invited me to his table after I get my food, so it’s a win-win for both of us.” She smiled.
Setting my plate on an empty table near the buffet, I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’re a good sport. Daniel will be lucky to have a woman like you.”
She balanced her plate in one hand and gave me a soft shove with the other. “Go on, and don’t worry about taking me home. When I told Daniel that you and I weren’t a couple but just friends, he said he’d love to escort me.”
I whirled around and headed toward the French doors, opening them slowly and stepping out into the chilly air. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dark, and then I saw her staring at the view. I walked toward her, the small rocks crunching under my feet. She spun around, and the way the moonlight shone over her made me stir in my pants.
“Why aren’t you inside enjoying the party?” I asked as I approached.
“I needed some fresh air. It was stifling in there. What’re you doing out here?”
“Looking for you to tell you how beautiful you look tonight.” I reached out and grasped one of the tendrils hanging loosely over her neck and shoulders. It was so soft, and she watched me intently as I twirled it around my finger.
“Thank you. Shouldn’t you be getting back inside? It’s rude to leave your date alone.” Bitterness edged her voice.
I came in closer. “Is that what has you upset at me? Victoria is just a friend. She wanted to come to meet some new people, and she’s in there right now making her move on Daniel Hanson.”
She licked her lips. “She is?”
“Yeah.” I traced the bottom of her lip with my thumb and saw her shiver.
“People will see us,” she whispered, but didn’t move an inch.
“It doesn’t matter.” And it was true. All that mattered was the feeling of her sweet, soft lips against mine, and the way her body felt pressed against my own. I caressed my hands down her hips and over her waist, pulling her closer, pushing my tongue into her mouth and tasting her; she tasted like champagne, just as I expected, sweet and bubbly and addictive.
“Fuck, Cierra, I’ve been missing you all week.”
“You had a funny way of showing it.”
I pulled back a bit. “I came by to see you on Friday, but you’d left early. Don’t you know I’m fucking crazy about you? Did you think last Sunday didn’t mean anything to me?” I kissed her hard and deep until she moaned against my lips.
“It meant something to me, but you have your pick of so many women. I don’t know… it’s hard to believe it’s anything more than a fling for you. I don’t want an office fling. I can’t risk losing my job and—”
My mouth silenced her. When I let her come up for air, I said, “I pick you. I don’t want to be with anyone else but you. Plain and simple. Don’t ask why because I don’t know. I just know I want to be with you.”
“I want to be with you too,” she whispered, her lips grazing my ear.
That’s all I needed to hear. “Let’s go.”
“But the launch….”
“Lindsey and the others can handle the rest. We’ve done our part. I need you real bad, babe.”
She glanced down at the outline of my erection and her eyes widened, then slid up my body until they locked with mine. Blinking rapidly, she hooked her arm around my waist. “What’re we waiting for?”
In less than fifteen minutes, my Corvette pulled out of the hotel’s driveway, heading to Cierra’s place. She’d gone back in and told Lindsey she wasn’t feeling well and had to leave. Lindsey was more than gracious, and I suspected she enjoyed the opportunity of being in the spotlight. I said my goodbyes to the important figures, winked at Victoria when I saw Daniel’s hand on her knee and his mouth close to her ear, and met Cierra in the lobby. My grandfather would go apeshit if he saw me taking off early with an employee, but it didn’t matter. Cierra was worth it. She wasn’t just an employee.
Cierra wasn’t just an office fling.
She was so much more.
She was someone I had deep feelings for.
