Page 21 of Mending Our Chance

Closing my eyes, I fought back my desire and forced out, “No, Marcus, it isn’t the right time.”

His fingers stiffened and gripped my tender flesh tighter. His thumb reached up to trace the hem of my pencil skirt while he held onto my thigh. Thank heavens I skipped the pants suit today. But this wasn’t going where we both wanted it to go. “Not now, Marcus,” I reminded him. “There is too much to do. Hazel will also be here in fifteen minutes. This is just a reaction to the battle we’ve just won.”

Marcus sighed and nodded. Setting his mug on the table, he slipped his other hand to my waist and steadfastly held my gaze as he persisted, “Why? Why would you stay for me, Felicity? I need to know.”

I shrugged. “I Think your ideas deserve a company and I’m going into the real world to prove myself—same as you.”

“Why me though?” he pushed.

It was such a simple question. However, it took me a moment to formulate my thoughts, desires, and actions into an answer that was worthy of my new partner. I took a deep breath and forged ahead, “I admire you, Marcus. You are a friend and you have something here.”

“A friend.” He tasted the word. “That was a quick change from ‘guy I dated and hate.’”

“I don’t know if I ever hated you.” I shifted a little on the table. He never took his hands off my thighs. “We can’t take this thing between us further, especially right now. We just started a business together. And if I accept a change in our relationship, I want things to grow between us. If you also want a better outcome than the last time we dated, it will have to wait though, because our business needs to be the main focus at the moment, not us.”

“I told you back then—”

“You did,” I cut him off. “But I wanted you bad enough to try, and I got really hurt because of it. I blamed you for everything, and I know now that I shouldn’t have, but it was easier to do that then look in the mirror and see the true culprit.”

Something flitted through his eyes. Was it possible that he had also been stung when he’d ended our relationship? Had our fling meant more to him that he’d let on? Was it because of the mitigating circumstances that he couldn’t see it through? But my time to ponder the past was cut short. In the next second, Marcus reared up so that his lips came crashing down onto mine. The kiss rocked me to the core.

Don’t run, was all I could think. Primal desire wracked through my body and I relaxed into his hold. Those hungry lips, framed by a day’s worth of stubble, were demanding reciprocity. And damn him, I gave it to him.

I grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and brought our bodies as close together as possible. His lips were hard and insistent. They parted ever so slightly and I took the chance to slip my tongue inside. I just wanted one little taste. The smoky flavor of bourbon hit my senses and I sighed into the kiss. This was so familiar, yet at the same time, new and exciting. It was our version of a handshake—an entering into a partnership. Would I get burned? Possibly, but the promise of something more was enticing enough to make me lose all control.

His hands fumbled at my back and I moaned, hooking a leg around his waist. A detached part of my brain realized that this handshake was going to get out of hand. The sound of the office door clicking closed was loud in the quiet room. We simultaneously sprung apart and I suddenly felt the loss of his warmth.

I snuck a glance behind him to see Hazel breeze in, remembering that it was Saturday. Hazel had Mondays off, but used Saturday to make up her forty hour week by coming in to work with me. The arrangement suited me fine given I had no classes on the weekend.

“Holy shit,” I whispered under my breath as I turned to stare into Marcus’ hooded eyes. They were dark with the promise of his desire. Lowering my gaze, I smoothed out my skirts while trying to calm my racing heart. Shooting a look toward his pants, I saw his ill-concealed erection, and suddenly, I was hungry in a way that bagels and coffee would never satisfy.

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