An Act of Persuasion(3)

Ben tried to imagine how she might react to a sexual advance from him. If he tossed the book aside, tugged on her hand and brought it down on his lap, would she pull away? If he let her see his erection, let her know what he wanted from her, would she reciprocate?

He could see it so clearly. He would pull her onto his lap, he would cup her face in his hands and lower her mouth to his so he could finally, finally know what she tasted like.

“What?”

Again, he blinked. “Huh?”

Anna closed the book and carefully set it on the edge of the couch. She looked at him as if somehow she knew what he’d been thinking. Like she could read his wicked sexual thoughts. She licked her bottom lip again and he almost groaned against the near painful swelling of his penis. He adjusted the robe over his lap hoping it didn’t draw her attention down there.

Or hoping it did.

“You’re staring at me,” she accused him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was looking at you. You always exaggerate.”

Her eyes dropped for a second to where his hand was trying to casually bunch the material in his lap.

She met his gaze and he knew he was caught. He thought about leaving, going to bed. They would ignore this awkward incident as if it never happened and she would continue to be nothing more than his assistant. As it should be, his rational brain tried to convey.

Instead he sat there and said nothing.

He watched her swallow and wondered why she hadn’t gotten up and pretended to need something from the kitchen.

You know why. You’ve seen the way she looks at you.

It was an insidious thought. One he’d stifled for months as Anna extended her duties from being his employee to his primary caregiver. Or maybe she had been looking at him like that for years. He didn’t want to think about that.

She unfolded her legs and he thought that was a good thing. She would leave now and end this uncomfortable moment so he didn’t have to. Because, in truth, he didn’t want to. Instead she shifted so she was on her knees on the couch directly facing him.

“Ben.”

He stared straight ahead. He couldn’t answer her. He was too conflicted. If he looked at her, he might act on these impulses and he knew intellectually that doing so could only end in disaster. There was no future in this. Hell, there was possibly no future in him.

“Look at me.”

Typical of Anna. She made everything so damn messy. Not at work. No, in that arena everything was neat and efficient. But everywhere else around her there was clutter. The way her hair swept across her eyes. The way she was always smiling. She made him feel...not like himself. He didn’t care for it.

He turned his head to look at her but still he said nothing.

She was the one, the bold one, the courageous one, to cup his face in her hand. She leaned over him and pressed her lips against his.

On a sigh his mouth opened and he felt her tongue slide inside and rub against his. It was such an awful pleasure. His whole body lurched at the unfamiliar contact and then his decision was made.

He would never say he allowed his body to dictate his actions. The idea that sexual need could overcome good sense was preposterous to him. What he was making right now was a rational choice.

In this moment, he needed what she was offering. Because the reality was this might be the last time he ever had a woman. In an odd way it seemed fitting that the woman would be Anna. Reaching behind her neck to hold her still he took control of the kiss, thrusting his tongue against hers and relishing in the feeling.

When she started to pull away he almost didn’t let her. It was as though she was his very own oxygen mask, and he wanted to inhale her inside his body. But then she stepped off the couch and moved to stand between his legs. Legs he opened to make room for her there.

Brazenly she pulled off her T-shirt, then the tank top she wore in lieu of a bra. He was looking at her pert breasts with large brown nipples.

I always wondered what color they would be.

Pulling her forward he dipped his head so his mouth was even with one nipple. He teased it with his tongue before pulling it into his mouth to suck. At first he was gentle, but the feeling of Anna’s hands on his shoulders squeezing his muscles urged him on until he was sucking on her with deep pulls. He released her to move to her other breast—such a divine thing that women had two to play with—but she pulled away again, this time to pull off the yoga pants and panties.

Slim but soft, with a smattering of freckles over her body, she looked like some dream he’d imagined once. His eyes were pulled to the small thatch of curls between her legs and he had this idea that she would taste like strawberries and cream.