Page 22 of Business Casual

Disappointment flooded my gut like cement, but I smiled anyway. “Okay.”

He met me at the front of his car and then escorted me home. With his hand on the small of my back, he walked me the short distance even though it was entirely unnecessary.

It’s probably for the best, but damn…

I wanted Tre Franklin.

“I had a really good time getting to know you—the real you—tonight, Tre,” I told him as I pulled out my keys. Once I unlocked the door, I turned toward him. “It was an unexpected good time.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Imani,” he uttered.

I started to open my door when he grabbed my arm. “What made you go to that restaurant tonight?”

“You mentioned it earlier and it made me have a taste for it.” I tilted my head to the side. “Why?”

“Were you hoping I’d be there?”

“Not consciously,” I admitted. “But I’m glad you were.”

“My head”—he ran the back of his hand up my arm, over my shoulder and across my cheek— “is going through every reason why this is not a good idea…”

My heart thudded in my chest as I quietly stared into his eyes. His touch felt so good I was unable to speak.

“But my gut…” His eyes lingered on my lips and when I licked them, his eyes darkened.

“What does your gut say?” I wondered breathily.

He exhaled audibly. Stepping forward, he pressed his body against mine, pinning me between him and the door. The electricity pulsed in the fractional space between us.

“My gut has been telling me the same thing about you since I saw you this morning,” he admitted in that deep, silky smooth way that made my insides melt.

“And what’s that?”

He slid his hands over my shoulders and then with his fingers securely around the back of my neck, he dragged his thumbs along my jawline. “That you’re special.”

My head tilted up waiting for him to kiss me, but he didn’t. I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. I waited for anything to happen, but it didn’t.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “But the real question is… am I worth it?” I whispered.

The question was barely out of my mouth before he crashed his mouth into mine. He kissed me with enough passion to take my breath away.

I moaned in surprise as I wrapped my arms around him. Butterflies started at the base of my stomach and fanned out. I felt them in my chest as he deepened the kiss. It wasn’t just fireworks that went off in my head, the kiss blew my mind. Fire burned through my entire body.

When our tongues touched, we moaned into each other’s mouths and the sound sent shivers through me. My head softly bumped against the door as he deepened the kiss. The sensation traveled down my spine and I found myself clutching his shirt in an effort to keep myself upright. My heart thudded in my chest and because we were so close, I could feel his doing the same.

A deep growl from the base of his throat soaked my already wet panties. “Imani.”

“Tre.”

He closed his eyes for a second and his thumbs strummed my jawline. “We should stop,” he said.

I pushed myself up on my toes and brushed my lips against his. “We should. I know.”

“I’m your boss.”

“I know.”

He ran his nose down the slope of mine. “This could be bad for business.”

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