Page 14 of Susie's Orc

“Yeah, well, I guess I enjoyed it more than you did.”

Jonah goes absolutely still. “You think I didn’t enjoy myself?”

Cheeks still flaming, I break his gaze. “Well, I mean, you didn’t exactly let me return the favor. And you left so fast, I just assumed—”

“Susie,” his voice is low and serious, and when I look back up at him, he’s glancing around to see if we’re being observed. When the faint sound of voices reaches us from around thecorner, he takes my mug from my hand and sets it on the counter before putting a gentle hand on my elbow. “Come here.”

Letting him steer me down an adjacent hallway, I don’t protest when he opens the door to the office supply closet and nudges me inside. He follows me in, closes the door. There’s barely any room to move with his massive frame taking up most of the tiny space. I suck in a breath at the nearness of him, and am immediately overwhelmed by his woods and sunshine scent.

Damn, he smells good. I thought so on Friday, too, but in the confined space it’s impossible not to notice.

Jonah turns, takes a step even closer, and I scoot away until my back is pressed up against the metal shelving unit. He moves with me, placing both his hands on the shelf on either side of me and caging me in with his body.

This is overwhelming, too, the sheer size of him towering over me, the warmth radiating from him. Overwhelming, but also incredibly sexy. Damn it. And what he says next doesn’t help matters in the slightest.

“Don’t think for one second I didn’t enjoy myself with you, Susie Grove,” he says, leaning down to speak softly next to my ear. “Feeling you come around my fingers and hearing all those little noises you made was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever experienced.”

My insides go liquid, and I reach out to grasp at the front of his shirt. “Then why did you leave?”

His eyes lock onto where I’m holding him, and he lets out a harsh breath before he answers. “I really did have to come back to the office.”

I shake my head. He’s not getting off that easily. “But even before that, you didn’t want to take things any further.”

“I didn’t want… I didn’t want to presume you wanted anything more.”

“I offered. You weren’t exactly pressuring me.”

Another harsh sigh. “I know. I just…”

He trails off, brow furrowed and eyes distant with whatever’s got him so tied up in knots.

Whatever’s up with him, it’s clear he’s not ready to talk about it.

Maybe I should just leave it there, walk away, let him sort his own shit out and get back to me, but something in me can’t accept that.

Just like Friday, I want more.

I want Jonah to know I’m open to this, open to him, even if it has me making a fool of myself all over again.

If he’s not ready to tell me everything he’s thinking, that’s okay.

As a matter of fact, we don’t have to talk at all.

Flattening my hands against his chest, I slide them up, up, up until I reach around his neck and sink them into his soft hair, gripping lightly and tilting his head back so he has to look at me. With our height difference, I need to lean up onto my toes to get my arms all the way around him, but even that small reminder of how big he is thrills me all the way to the tips of those toes. Holding his gaze and moving in slowly, slowly enough that he has more than enough time to stop me if he wants to, I kiss him.

As soon as my mouth touches his, something in Jonah snaps.

One of his hands plunges into my hair, and the other splays across my ass, lifting me up and forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist. He backs me into the shelf and it clatters, threatening to send boxes of pens and staples and copy paper crashing to the floor, but I couldn’t give a shit right now. I open my lips, letting him in, and devour his deep, satisfied groan.

Jonah tastes just like he smells—fresh and bright and earthy. He plunges his tongue into my mouth, and though it’sa slightly strange sensation to have his tusks pressing into my skin, it doesn’t seem unnatural or uncomfortable.

It’s just… Jonah.

He pulls away from me with a sharp gasp. “Susie…”

“Yeah?” I ask, panting.

“I’m really, really fucking sorry about leaving like that.”

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