Page 97 of Love to Hate You

“Yes.”

His mouth came crashing down on hers and the way he kissed her made her knees go weak and her heart stutter to a stop. It was as if she were too afraid to move for fear that it would break the moment.

He ran his hands down her arms, over her breasts, gently cupping her hips.

“You’re shaking,” she said.

“It’s the adrenaline,” he said, and she felt a stab of disappointment.

“From the meeting?”

He pulled back. “From seeing you. Whenever I see you, especially when you’re smiling and doing what you love, it’s like I need to feel what you’re feeling. Be a part of it. Be a part of you. How does that make you feel?”

“Desired.” She unbuttoned his jacket. “Sexy.” She slid it down his arms and let it fall to the floor. “Precious.” She went to work on his vest. And when she had his tie undone, she yanked him toward her. “Yours.”

Then it was her turn to blow his mind with a kiss that led to another and another until there was no oxygen left to spare. His hands were everywhere, then suddenly she was magically shirtless and his mouth was giving her a love mark in her cleavage.

Summer’s head fell against the door.

“What does blue mean?” he asked, and she was a little confused.

“Blue?”

“The bra. It’s blue.”

“Oh,” she chuckled. “Blue is for bold. A Boardroom Barracuda who knows their worth. I wore it for you.”

He stopped, his hands gentling, almost worshiping, and his gaze met hers. He kicked out her office chair, took a seat, and pulled her onto his lap. “For me?”

“So you wouldn’t be alone in that meeting. How did it go? Did you kick ass?”

“By the time I was done they were pissing themselves. I’m still CEO, the man behind the push to get me out is gone, and Randy and I even talked through our differences. He found out about the NDA.”

She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no. How did he take it?”

“Hard at first, but instead of walking away and playing tough love like I would usually do, we talked it out. And he is officially the VP of business development.”

“That’s a great job for him.”

“I know. His first assignment is to get more sponsors for our grand opening.”

“That’s only a week away,” she said.

“He can do it,” Wes said confidently. “And I will be with him every step of the way.” That confidence slipped a little and his face flushed. “Speaking of steps.”

Oh no, she thought, this was it, the this-isn’t-going-to-work conversation. Something had felt different last night when he’d dropped her off at her door and chosen to sleep at his penthouse rather than stay with her. For that matter, he’d never invited her to his place. They’d always stayed at hers.

“I felt like last night we took a step backward,” he said. “Maybe it was because everything was going too good or I was so focused on the meeting that I retreated, but I didn’t like how it felt.”

“And how did it feel?” She cupped his cheek, on which a five o’clock shadow was already forming even though it wasn’t even lunchtime.

He wrapped his arms around her middle and hugged her hard. “Lonely. So fucking lonely and I hated every second of it.” His mouth wandered down her neck. “I was up all night thinking strategy and about you and what you’d feel like beneath me. Next to me. Jesus, I can’t think when your tits are out.” He grabbed her shirt off the floor and stuffed it over her head.

“That bad.” He pushed up against her and it was rod-of-steel bad. “I can take care of that.”

She started to fumble with his buckle and he placed his hand over hers. “What I have to say is important. I need to be working on all cylinders.” She wiggled her ass. “You aren’t helping.”

“Because you won’t let me.” She batted her eyes.

---