“Why not? I need to eat, and so do you. Get in, Sheri.” He held open the front passenger door, and out of sheer habit, she did as he said. But when he got in beside her, she made sure not to get sidetracked.

“I’m really not hungry. Besides…”

“I know, you only came with me to the exhibition out of a sense of obligation since I’m your boss,” he murmured, sweeping his gaze at her for a moment. “And now, you draw the line at having dinner with me?”

“Going out to dinner just seems…inappropriate,” she said firmly, not shifting her eyes from him.

“You know what’s inappropriate?” came his soft reply, his eyes straight ahead. “The thoughts of you running through my head all night. Especially each time you’re close and I can catch your sweet, seductive perfume. Like now. I’m gripping this steering wheel so hard just to keep from grabbing you and kissing you raw.”

Her mouth hung open, only to clamp shut again when his smoky gray eyes turned to her and blazed over her lips. “So, maybe you’re right,” he added. “Prolonging this is far from advisable. I’ll take you home now.”

The drive to her place passed in silence, Sheri’s mind in a whirl going over his words again and again. She tried to tell herself she must have imagined it, but no. The tension in the car was too thick to not be a result of the awareness of what Dean had spelled out so raw.

She tried not to imagine what thoughts he had of her, the ones that he’d termed inappropriate. Yet, she couldn’t help the things that sprang into her head. Did he picture her naked? Maybe he wanted to do things to her…filthy things? Or have her do them to him. Like maybe, reach across to rest her hand on his powerful looking thighs, stretched tautly beneath his pants. And then, slide her fingers up to his crotch, where she imagined he’d be throbbing with hard, hot lust for her?

Shit! Here she was getting excited all by herself. Blushing with shame at her errant thoughts, she turned and reached for the door handle. But to her surprise, he engulfed her wrist in his big hand and tugged her round to face him.

***

Dean told himself to let her go and just fucking breathe. He needed some air because it was getting too dark in his brain, leaving him almost lightheaded. Sheri still hadn’t pulled away or spoken. He could see the wildness in her bedroom brown eyes. He wanted to stop from taking the next step, but instead, he leaned forward. He seized her chin with his free hand and kissed her.

For the first few moments, she kissed him back, her mouth molding to his. And it was perfect. Her taste, her texture, it was intoxicating his senses. Dean groaned and in that split second, she reared back.

“Dean! Please don’t,” she gasped. “You’re my boss. I think we should…”

Well, she was the only one thinking because Dean could feel his blood flowing too fast in the wrong direction for that. His hands released her, the better to grab her shoulders and pin them back against the seat as he seized her lips again.

He kissed her hard. It was a crushing, demanding, and eating kiss. She was breathless by the time he tore his mouth away to kiss on her neck, just keeping from biting into her. He moved back up to her lips again, hearing her whimper as he drilled his tongue into her mouth. Her fingers gripped his lapels. His need for her was like a smoke bomb going off in his head. It wasn’t helping his willpower that she tasted just like sex – and smelled incredible. What was that? A hint of tangerine and ginger? How befitting…she was his sweet and spicy treat. And, she was driving him crazy.

He pulled back only long enough to press a few buttons to get his seat moved back as far as it would go, and then all but pulled her atop him. He heard her breathless gasp of excitement, and it made him throb even harder as he settled her on his lap before resuming the kiss.

Dean felt the softness of her femininity pressing against the length of his already turgid member. Not even their layers of clothes could hide their rampant mutual desire.

Grabbing her hips, he shifted her till his bulge could rub on her sex full on. Then, he moved his hands up her arms and pushed down one side of her neckline, sending her bra along with it and letting the cool air fall on her bare nipple. He let out a groan, feeling her fingers grip his hair. His mouth moved from hers to nestle into the soft skin at the base of her throat. He teased and licked her there, their breathing heavy in the confined air of the car.

Hungry for her, Dean dipped his head and captured one deep brown nipple between his teeth. Sheri’s fingers in his hair tightened, almost tugging at the roots. He swirled his tongue roughly around her puffy areole, but his teeth nipping at her sweet little nub was gentle. She arched, pushing more of her breast into his mouth. His other hand slid up and cupped her before squeezing on her flesh.