Page 95 of Business Casual

Am I going to get back to the table and everyone is going to know? Or has everyone known this whole time?

He hesitated for just a moment, and I felt my anxiety skyrocket.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice rising.

“It’s a longer story that I can’t get into now, but let’s just say she sent a message,” he shared. “But my point is, I’m sorry I put you in this position. If she knows anything, she hasn’t said anything to my father. So, I called in a favor with Syd and asked her to be my date for the night.”

I glared at him. “Well, it’s a good thing you two still are able to do favors for one another.”

“Come on, Imani.”

The sincerity in his eyes caused the knot in my belly to tighten. Even as I tried to reel it in, the energy between us was too charged. I couldn’t break the connection we had. He was under my skin.

I took a shaky breath. “I should go.” Turning on my heels, I started to walk away from him. “Goodbye, Alex.”

“Don’t call me Alex,” he replied, following me to the powder room.

“Why?” I said, not bothering to look back at him as I opened the door. “Your girlfriend calls you Alex.”

Grabbing my arm, he quickly spun me around and with his free hand, he pulled me into him. I gasped as my body collided with his. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he uttered, holding me close.

“I’m not doing this with you right now,” I murmured unsteadily.

“And I’m not walking away with you thinking I lied to you.” He leaned down, his mouth hovering over mine. “I’m not with her. I don’t want her.” He let go of my arm and placed his hand on the center of my back. “I want you.”

I opened my mouth to respond but before I could, he kissed me hard and with enough passion to take my breath away.

I moaned in response.

“I only want you.” Pulling away fractionally, he rested his forehead against mine. “And I’ve only wanted you since I met you.”

Something deep in my gut tightened as the fingers he had on my exposed back moved against my skin. His touch washed over me. I wrapped my arms around him, and our mouths met again passionately. The noise that escaped him caused me to curve my body into him, deepening the kiss. When his tongue grazed mine, it sent shivers down my spine. And with each tiny suck of his bottom lip, I felt him get harder.

“Imani,” he groaned, backing me into the wall.

Just hearing him say my name like that was too much for me.

His hand moved from my back to my ass to my hip. I lifted my leg against his side, and his fingers followed the split in my dress. Using the wall for balance, he angled me so that I kept my balance as he pawed at the underside of my exposed thigh. Slowly he moved upward until he was cupping my bare ass.

“Tre,” I moaned against his mouth, pulling him closer.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered between kisses. “I’m sorry I made you feel anything other than good.”

It was as if the more he kissed me, the more I wanted from him. That kiss was lust in its purest form and my panties were soaked with it.

“Forgive me?” he asked as his tongue met mine.

“Yes,” I panted. “Yes.”

He let my foot gently hit the floor, but he never removed his hand from under my dress. Moving from my hip to my groin, his fingertips traced my panty line. “Is this all for me?”

My heart was beating so hard that it felt like it would explode. “Yes.”

The only way someone would see what we were doing was if they came out of the powder room. The way our bodies were positioned, no one walking down the hallway would think we were doing anything but kissing. But the fact that at any time someone could walk down the hall excited me.

His fingers slipped underneath the damp lace and made contact with my waxed flesh. “I like talking to you, laughing with you, sharing with you, bouncing ideas with you, tasting you, fucking you.”

I closed my eyes. “Oh God.”