Echo (Bleeding Hearts #1)(36)
He was on the phone, rattling off a bunch of figures and terms I didn’t understand. Something to do with the financial aspects of his business I presumed, but it all sounded foreign to me.
I rocked back and forth on my black pumps for a moment as he arched his brow at me in question. He wanted to know what I was doing there. But I couldn’t answer him because I didn’t even know myself.
So with purpose, as if it had been my plan all along, I strode around behind him and placed my hands on his shoulders. He stiffened immediately, but I didn’t let it dissuade me. I had to try something. Anything to break this cold front between us.
I sank my fingers into the tense muscles and worked them over in a way I hoped felt good. I’d never given anyone a massage before, but I figured it couldn’t be that difficult. When Ryland made a small noise in his throat, it gave me some encouragement.
My strokes became broader, using more pressure as I moved along the curve of his neck. My hands had a mind of their own as they threaded through his dark hair and massaged his scalp. That was when he decided to cut his phone call short.
I listened as he rattled off the appropriate goodbyes and spun his chair around, staring up at me with an odd expression.
“What are you doing, Brighton?”
The intensity of his questioning eyes made the guilt inside of me swell. He could see through my act, and I felt I was letting him down. Why that should bother me, I had no f*cking idea, but it did.
“You’ve been stressed all week.” I cast my eyes to the floor. “I was trying to help.”
It wasn’t a lie. He had been stressed all week, and I didn’t know if it was from work or me.
“You can help me by going home,” he replied. “It’s late.”
I nodded, but couldn’t move. I couldn’t accept that this was it.
I surprised us both when I crawled onto his lap and pulled his lips to mine. I’d never done anything so bold, and I worried the impending rejection was going to sting all the worse for it. But I learned something else about my power when Ryland sighed and pulled me closer. He cupped the back of my head and deepened the kiss, drinking me in as though he’d been starving for my touch.
His need fueled mine, and before I could stop myself, my hands were everywhere. Unbuttoning his vest, sliding beneath his dress shirt and raking my nails down his chest. He groaned and pulled away, his eyes liquid fire as he gathered my wrists in his hands.
“I know this is going to sound hard to believe. But I don’t usually make a habit of having sex in my office.”
The mention of sex in his office ruffled my feathers in an unexpected way. I had visions of him bending other women over the same sofa where he’d taken me, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. My mission became that much more important, and for once, I didn’t care about the warning in his tone.
I slid off his lap and kneeled between his legs, dragging my fingers over the bulge in his pants as if to prove my point. He was hard, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to refuse me right now. I clutched the zipper with my fingers and challenged him with my eyes as I pulled it down tooth by tooth.
I hadn’t even really touched him yet, and already his breathing had changed. I considered it a victory as I slipped my hand inside and he didn’t protest. I reached through the opening of his cotton briefs until I found what I wanted.
He was hot and throbbing against my palm as I pulled just enough of his cock out for me to play with. The idea of him sitting in his leather office chair with me between his spread legs turned him on. It turned me on too.
His hands clutched the arms of the chair as I swirled my tongue around the head, collecting the clear liquid that had gathered there. His cock jumped as I licked him from root to tip in one long motion.
I didn’t think it possible, but the rigid flesh grew even more as it fell back against his belly, visibly pulsing with need. I still wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I decided to go with my gut and play with the soft sack resting at the base. I’d had the urge to taste that velvety skin ever since the first time I’d brushed it with my hand.
It was just as soft as I remembered. His head fell back on a sigh as I explored him with my tongue. His eyes drifted shut and his mouth parted, and it was then that I knew I had him. And it wasn’t a point for my game, it was a point for me.
I sucked him back into my mouth and played around with different techniques, listening to his breathing to see what he liked best. His hands threaded through my hair, but this time he wasn’t trying to take control. He simply let me do what I wanted, appreciating every second of it.
When he came, it was with a long and ragged groan. The difference in his posture was obvious, and my heart skipped a beat knowing I had the power to ease his tension.
“Come up here.” He patted his lap.
I climbed into his lap and relaxed in his arms while he stroked my back and kissed my neck.
“You look tired,” I murmured against him.
“That’s because I am, baby girl.”
The ocean between us grew smaller by the moment, and when my eyes locked with his, I was afraid of what that meant for me. For my heart that I was supposed to be keeping out of this.
I reached up to clasp his face in mine while I stared into his eyes.
“Still mad at me?”
He blew out a breath and clutched me tighter. “I don’t like to worry about you.”