Page 42 of Mister Rival

“I meant a five-minute quickie look over the house for my clients.”

I narrow my eyes. “Sure you did.”

He shrugs and I find myself taking a step back to let him in. I bolt the front door because I’ll head out through the garage where I parked. “Business is business.”

“Which clients are they?” I inquire. I’m buying for time, busily trying to gather my wits about me because I was not expecting to see him. That and my traitorous body is already humming at the sight of his gorgeous frame in his Hugo Boss suit and polished shoes. And that hair… it’s styled to perfection like always. He’s delicious, there’s no two ways about it.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He keeps walking toward me as I shuffle backwards down the hall, hoping I don’t snag my heel and tumble backwards. “You look a little flushed, Ali. Are you okay?”

I turn quickly and walk through to the enormous open plan living and dining area where my briefcase and papers await on the large chestnut dining table.Pull yourself together!

“I’m fine. I’m just surprised to see you, that’s all.”

“Good surprise or bad surprise?”

When I spin around, he’s standing close to me. For what would be considered appropriate for work colleagues? We both fail on all levels.

I stutter my words at first, which makes his lips twitch again, like he’s fighting a smile.

“H-how could it be bad?” I breathe, pressing my palms against the table for dear life. I need to do something with them other than reach out and grab him by the tie and yank him close, which is what I want to do.

He cocks his head again and takes another step. “I just needed to see you. This past weekend at the reunion? I can’t stop thinking about it.”

My heart thunders so hard it’s more like a jackhammer, my pulse soaring through the roof at his admission. “Me too. But we agreed, it’s business as usual.”

“I agreed to nothing,” he states.

“We have to work in the same town, we can’t—” I’m struggling to breathe.Does it sound like I’m panting right now?

“We can,” he says. “I have to touch you, kiss you, at least one more time.”

I reflexively reach my hand to his tie but instead of pulling it, I smooth my hand over it. And I shouldn’t, because I can feel his chiseled chest underneath and I know what awaits there… Oh, lord have mercy.

“Won’t you let me?” He presses.

“Here?” I balk.

He looks around. “Not a bad idea, you dirty girl. It’s vacant anyway, right? So there’s no chance we’d get caught.”

My heart feels like it’s actually beating on the outside. He wants to have sex with me right now? He’s such a dirty man. “Tris, we can’t!” I wonder if my protest sounds believable because it’s really only half-hearted.

“You keep saying that, but we both know we can.”

“We need to talk.”

He brushes his fingertips down my arms, sending shivers down my spine. “So, let’s talk?”

He doesn't mean a word of it, because talking is the last thing on his mind. I know by the way he takes another step and I feel my ass hit the edge of the table. His hand drops to my waist and he pulls me flush against him in one rapid movement. The first thing I feel is his hard cock pressing into my hip.

I gasp and look down. “H—happy to see me?”

“Always.” He grins, moving some of my fallen hair away from my face. His fingers stroking my shoulder gently. “I’ll be much happier when I’m inside you.”

Chapter Twenty

ALISON

I flush crimson. I’m just not used to anyone talking to me that way, especially when I’m at work. He has me all undone and flustered in a matter of minutes.

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