Page 44 of The Man I Once Hated

I notice Luka across the room, glass in his hand, scanning the crowd for me. I could ride out the rest of the night with him blathering over me, or I could leave. Slinking off, I make a mad dash onto the street. I’m ready to blow off the mixer because there’s one other place I’d much rather be.

Sliding into the back of a cab, I direct the driver to the Spencer’s offices.

* * *

I shutthe door behind me and lean against it, waiting. Edward is poring over a spread of documents on his desk, biting the back of his pen. The only light in the office is the dim glow right beside him and the slivers of moonlight peeking through the blinds. It washes over his face, lending him a stern look that I don’t often get to see. He’s always so playful and charming, it’s alarming at first, to think that there’s this side to him.

“Looks serious.”

His eyes dart up and his expression softens immediately. “Cara… What are you doing here?”

“I spoke with Gio,” I say with a slow smile. It’s easy because most of my excitement has seeped out of me in the cab ride over.

Now I’m feeling a different kind of excitement. The kind that belongs exclusively to Edward.

He drops the pen and rounds his desk, his movements deliberate, almost predatory. The look in his eyes tells me he’s sensing the rise in my arousal. That he’s dealing with a similar kind of feeling. Alone, finally, the tension in the air between us seems to come alive, buzzing with anticipation from what was started in the cloak room.

“I had nothing to do with it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Edward says, his voice low. His eyes devour me, a precursor of what he’s about to do.

“I didn’t say that.” I push off from the door and walk over to meet him in front of his desk. “Miranda kind of gave it away that it was all her…”

He lets me press up against him, but doesn’t move to touch me. Just looks at me. I tilt my head, lifting my mouth but again, Edward doesn’t move. The bulge in his pants, though? That makes it clear to me how badly he wants to.

A knowing smirk on his lips, he says, “And now you’re here… Why?”

More games. I’ve grown used to it. In fact, the way he likes to play gets me going too now. It’s such a turn-on, when he has his way with me like this. Exerting his unique power over me but in a way he knows makes me feel good.

I curl my fingers around the lapels of his tux, bucking my hips to brush up against him. “Why do you think?”

His eyes flutter closed, his jaw twitching under the weight of the restraint he’s practicing. He’s so good at it though, that up to this point, he still hasn’t touched me.

Then, suddenly, Edward’s eyes open and he locks his fiery gaze with mine, a familiar storm brewing. Raging arousal is the only way I can describe it. The kind that sets my skin on fire, every nerve ending springing to life with electrifying clarity. One need, one goal… I want him to ruin me.

“Turn around and put your hands flat.” He nods his hand in the direction of his desk, and then waits.

I suck in a sharp breath, his command sending shivers through me. But I don’t waste any more time and do as I’m told. Turning slowly, I bend over his desk, placing my palms flat on the cool mahogany surface.

He comes up behind me, the bulge in his pants rubbing against my ass. “Lower.”

I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from moaning at the sound of his firm instruction, and bend lower, offering my behind to him. The moment he finally touches me, I close my eyes. Edward moves with painstaking slowness, gathering the length of my gown as he edges it up. His fingertips ghost over my calves, then my thighs, and finally the bare cheeks of my ass as he arranges the reams of fabric to rest on my lower back.

His breathing is measured but strained, and I can tell that it’s taking a lot from him to keep from ravishing me the way he usually does. A warm surge of arousal floods between my legs and my core aches with my need for him. But I lean into it, the drawn out anticipation too good to give up just yet.

“Now spread your legs.” He nudges me with one knee and again, I do as I’m told. “Beautiful,” he whispers under his breath, and gives my ass one hard slap.

This time I can’t bite back the pleasured cry that ushers from my lips. My arms are shaking, legs going the same way.

“You like that?” he asks, gently stroking the tender area with his thumb.

I nod my head, swallowing back a whimper.

“Well, if you want me to do it again then you’re going to have to behave,” he growls, pinching both my cheeks in his hands. “And if you want me to do more…” He grinds his crotch against me. “...you’re going to have to be quiet. Understand?”

I nod again, using everything I have to keep my throat closed. Because God, I want him to unravel me. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

“That’s a good start,” he says, the muffled sound of a zipper breaking through the ringing that’s started up in my ears.

He’s right up against me, so I feel every move as he uses one hand to shimmy his pants down and unsheath his turgid cock. It springs free, rigid and hot as it smacks my ass and I can’t help the reflex that has me urging myself toward it, arching my back even. The memory of him, what he feels like when he fills me up, is just too sweet to resist. I want him now and I can’t wait another second.

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