After making a quick pit stop, I ended up at his office building about twenty minutes later.
“Good afternoon, Edie,” I greeted Seth’s secretary as I came through the door.
Edie smiled up at me from her desk. “Ms. Montgomery. It’s so nice to see you in person.”
I’d only stopped by Seth’s office once, when we’d planned on going out to dinner after he left work. Any other communication I’d had with Edie had been on the phone.
I smiled at the older woman. “It’s good to see you, too. I brought you a coffee. I don’t know if you indulge.”
She beamed. “I do. I love anything from the Coffee Shack. That’s so thoughtful of you.”
I set the mocha latte on her desk. “Is he in?”
Edie nodded. “He’s in a meeting with your brother Hudson.”
“Just Hudson?” I asked.
Edie nodded as she picked up her coffee. “Yes.”
I grinned at her. “Then I’ll interrupt.”
“I doubt either one of them will mind. I know Mr. Sinclair definitely won’t,” she teased. “You go right in, Ms. Montgomery.”
“Riley. Please.” Ms. Montgomery sounded way too much like my mother.
“Riley,” she agreed. “Let me get the door. Your hands are full.”
I had a coffee in each hand, so I was grateful when she opened the door to Seth’s office.
“Delivery,” I said cheerfully as I closed the door with my butt. “Since you usually bring me my fix, I thought I’d return the favor.”
My heart skittered as Seth’s eyes immediately went from Hudson to me, and he grinned.
He was breathtaking in a blue custom suit that made his smoky eyes more pronounced than usual.
And his covetous gaze was centered . . . on me.
That was one of the many things I loved about him. When I was in the room, it was like nobody else existed for him. He gave me his total attention.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said huskily as he stood up.
“Hi,” I said breathlessly. “I didn’t want to interrupt. I just wanted to return the many Coffee Shack favors you’ve done for me.” I moved to set his coffee on his desk.
He caught me around the waist and kissed me like Hudson wasn’t sitting right across from him. The embrace was short, but I could feel his passion even in the short show of affection.
“There’s so much sweetness in this room that I’m getting nauseous,” Hudson drawled.
I could feel my cheeks turning pink as I turned to my older brother. “I think I’m starting to enjoy a little bit of sugarcoating in my life.”
“Can’t say that I blame you,” Hudson said thoughtfully as he stood up and gave me a hug. “You certainly never got any of that in our family.” He hesitated before he asked, “No coffee for me?”
“I didn’t know you were here. What are you doing in Citrus Beach?”
“Convincing your boyfriend that he needs the Montgomery brothers as investors.”
I looked from Hudson to Seth. “And did it all work out?”
Hudson nodded. “I think we’ve discussed everything. And since I have another meeting in San Diego, I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Great idea,” Seth replied.
Hudson’s eyes narrowed as he shot a warning glance at Seth. “Just remember what I said about what happens if you hurt my little sister.”
“What happens if she breaks my heart?” Seth inquired with mock innocence.
Hudson shrugged as he walked to the door. “I don’t give a shit. If she does, you’d probably deserve it. I’ll call you tomorrow after I talk to Jax and Cooper.”
Seth snickered as Hudson exited.
“I can’t say that your brother isn’t painfully blunt,” Seth said, casually leaning against the desk as his office door closed.
I took a sip of my chai before I answered, “All my brothers are like that. But at least you know exactly where you stand with them.”
He picked up his coffee and chugged it. “I’d rather know where I stand with you.”
“I think you already know,” I teased. “I’m here with coffee before the workday is even over. I got your email.”
He raised a brow. “You came here to break the contract . . . again.”
“I came to bring you coffee.”
He put his cup on the desk. “Much appreciated, since I couldn’t get out today. The coffee was a bonus. What I really like is seeing you.”
I finished my chai and tossed the disposable cup in the trash.
As usual, he left me tongue-tied. Joking around was easy, but I had a hard time knowing what to say when his tone was so serious.
Seth was just . . . like that.
He could blurt out a compliment or lay his emotions out there so much easier than I could.
“I missed you,” I mumbled awkwardly.
He wrapped a steely arm around my waist and tipped my chin up. “Hey, don’t get all shy on me now. You’re welcome to come here whenever you miss me. I missed you, too, gorgeous.”
I smiled. Seth had a way of making me feel . . . valuable. And wanted. I could never be reticent in his company for very long.
Coming here had been totally spontaneous, and I didn’t do unplanned events. At all. Ever.
So it was nice to feel welcome when I’d actually given in to being unconstrained.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and my body suffused with heat.
I tried not to remember all of the intimate things we’d done the night before, but I was failing miserably.
He lowered his head and kissed me, and it was a much longer version of his previous embrace.
I reveled in the pleasure of Seth taking control with a ferocious hunger that he never failed to express whenever he touched me.
I got lost in the kiss as he stroked my back sensually, and then moved his hands down to cup my ass.
“Seth!” I gasped as he released my mouth.
“Jesus, Riley,” he said like he was in pain. “All I have to do is see you, and I get hard. When I actually touch you, I’m fucked.”
I was relieved when he expressed the fact that seeing me turned him on. Maybe because it was nice to know that I wasn’t caught in this madness alone.
I squeaked as he nipped at the skin on my neck, and then soothed it with his tongue.
“I needed to see you,” I confessed. “I needed to touch you.”
He groaned. “I think I feel that way every damn minute of the day, Riley.”
“Is this crazy?” I panted as his warm, soft lips caressed the space where my neck met my shoulders.
His fingers threaded into my hair. “If it is, I sure as hell don’t want to be sane again,” he said hoarsely.
I speared my hands into his hair, closing my eyes because the feeling of those coarse strands between my fingers felt so damn good.
This man completely consumed me, and I was more than willing to let him.
I’d never felt this way.
Hadn’t even known that I could.
Seth squeezed the cheeks of my ass through the denim of my jeans and jerked me forward to feel the effect I had on his body.
The moment I felt his erection against my lower belly, I moaned.
“Seth, we have to stop,” I said weakly, making no attempt to pull away because I just . . . couldn’t.