The Boss Project(66)

“Look at me, Evie.”

Fuck.

The moment was already awkward, and all I wanted to do was run back to my room and hide under the covers. But that would make things even worse. So instead, I put on my big-girl panties and took a deep breath before looking up.

Our gazes locked, and I watched as Merrick studied me. Long seconds ticked by as my heart ricocheted against my rib cage. I watched in fascination as his pupils grew darker and larger, and a ghost of a devilish smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Merrick shifted from next to me to in front of me, putting one hand on either side of the counter.

“You want me as much as I want you, Evie. I can see it.”

I felt like a deer caught in the headlights with a car barreling down the road. Yet I couldn’t seem to get my feet to move. Maybe they didn’t want to.

Merrick’s eyes were filled with so much heat, I actually started to sweat.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” he said.

“You’re…” It felt like he could see right through me, so rather than lie, I told him something that was true. “You’re my boss, Merrick.”

He looked down for a minute before locking eyes with me again. “Is that the only reason?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

A wicked grin spread across his face. He held up one finger and then took a few steps to grab his cell from the kitchen table. Looking at me, he swiped and tapped before holding his cell up to his ear.

“Who are you calling? It’s after one in the morning.”

He held my eyes as he spoke into the phone. “Hi, Joan.”

My eyes flared. He was not calling the head of HR in the middle of the night, was he?

Merrick listened for a minute and then nodded. “Yeah, everything is fine. I’m sorry if I woke you. But I’ve been struggling with something and wanted to run it by you.”

I couldn’t hear what she said, but I was positive we were both thinking the same thing: Our boss is a damn crazy person.

He continued. “I think it’s best that we build a wall between myself and Evie Vaughn. If employees are supposed to be able to confide in her, they should know her boss can’t pressure her to reveal anything they might disclose. The best way to do that is to not have her report to me.”

My mouth dropped open.

Merrick looked over and covered the phone. He motioned with his hand for me to close my mouth and whispered, “Rest that jaw. I’ll need it open later.”

Oh

My

God.

He continued on the phone without missing a beat. “I think it’s best she reports to you for day-to-day issues. And since the board brought her on, they should have hiring and firing authority.”

Merrick’s eyes sparkled as he stared at me, still listening on the phone. After a minute, he smiled. “Perfect. Except this can’t wait until next week. I’d like it to be effective immediately. Thanks, Joan. Sorry again for waking you.”

He swiped his phone off and tossed it on the table, looking pretty damn proud of himself. “Problem solved. Anything else we need to take care of?”

He looked at me with so much determination, I got the feeling I could tell him the house needed to be picked up and moved, and he’d find a way to lift it onto his back.

Something Kitty said to me a while ago suddenly jumped to the forefront. “If you want to be happy, you need to see it in your future and believe it. Find a new path, you can’t be afraid to try new turns. Make a left instead of a right. Zig instead of zag.”

But then again, hadn’t I gone down this path—a man I worked with? I knew where that landed me.

My eyes lifted to Merrick’s carved stomach. I definitely never explored a path like that—one filled with peaks and valleys of taut muscle. I salivated at the thought of running my tongue over them all.

I want this.

No, I need this.

I groaned. “Fuck it.” I flew into his arms. Mr. Confidence apparently hadn’t been expecting it, because while I was busy wrapping my arms around his neck and climbing him like a tree, he stumbled back a few steps. Once he regained his footing, he crushed his lips to mine. Our mouths opened in a tangle of desperation with teeth clashing and tongues frantic to find each other. One of his hands slid down to my ass, while the other gripped the back of my neck and pulled me yet closer. I couldn’t get enough. He was overwhelming all of my senses at once.

Merrick walked with me in his arms until my back hit a wall. Then he pressed his hips to me, pinning me in place while he reached around to the back of his neck, gathered my hands into one of his, and stretched them up and over my head. I kissed him hard, feeling desperate to dig my nails into his back, but so turned on that I couldn’t because he was restraining my hands.

He bent slightly, used one hand to pull my thigh up, and suddenly I could feel his erection grinding into my clit. I whimpered, feeling a little breathless, and that only seemed to egg Merrick on. He growled, rubbing between my legs with his rock-hard cock, and I swear I almost came right there. We were just kissing, and he was going to get the job done faster than I’d been able to.

He shifted his head to my neck and sucked along my pulse line. “You had your fingers inside your pussy earlier, didn’t you?” he whispered.

I couldn’t form words, but nodded.

“Were you thinking of me?”