Her heart surged. “I—”
Effectively cutting her off, he slammed his mouth down on hers, kissing her with so much passion and fire that she should have proved spontaneous combustion really happened to humans on a daily basis. That’s how hot his kiss was. His mouth moved over hers, and he dipped his fingers between her thighs, pressing against her aching core.
It was barely a caress. Barely a touch.
But it drove her insane.
She whimpered into his mouth, curling her hands into empty fists. He broke off the kiss, his fingers moving faster and harder. “Don’t come until I tell you to. You’re not allowed. You understand me?” he asked, his voice hard.
She swallowed a cry. “What? No. I can’t—”
“Do. Not. Come.”
His fingers moved faster, and he claimed her mouth again, sucking her lower lip in between his teeth and biting down just enough to sting a tiny bit. As he kissed her, he kept touching her, driving her closer to the edge. She moaned, rolling her hips impatiently. He pulled back, ending the torment.
“You’re trying to come. I told you not to.”
“But I can’t—”
“You disobey me like that in bed, then you’ll be punished. You disobey me, I stop.” He gripped her butt hard, his fingers biting into her skin. “You understand me, sweetheart?”
She nodded frantically, her stomach tightening in a small ball of need and frustration. “Yes. I…I do.”
“Good girl.” He nibbled on her neck and moved his fingers between her thighs again. The second he touched her aching core, she moaned. “What do you want, sweetheart? Tell me.”
“I want…” She bit down on her lip. “God, I want to come. Please.”
He grunted in satisfaction and increased the pressure. “You’re allowed to come this time. I’ll let you have this one freebie, but next time? You’ll beg me first.”
Allowed to come? He couldn’t be serious…
She closed her eyes, the need he brought to life getting even more intense at his cocky words. “Oh my God. Yes.”
“Now.”
He kissed her again, still massaging her throbbing center through her pants. Within seconds, she came, stars bursting in front of her eyes as she sagged against the wall. He ended the kiss, pulling back enough to study her.
Withdrawing his touch, he patted her cheek. “That’s about as nice as I get in bed, Tara. From here on out, I’m not going to hold back. Keep your distance, or pay the price.”
She gasped, blinking up at the clouds. If that had all been a ploy to scare her off, it had failed miserably. If anything, it only made her want him more. “Oh my God.”
“You already said that.”
“I can’t believe you just…we just…here.”
“Yeah. We did.” Stepping back, his fingers clenched into fists and then opened at his sides. “And now playtime is over. It’s time to go home and get to work.”
“What?” If by work he meant bringing her home and doing all of those things to her that he’d mentioned earlier…then hell yeah. If he meant working on the code and making her bash her head against the wall, then hell to the no. “But—”
“No buts.” He slashed his hand through the air. “I’m not that guy you knew anymore, Tara. I don’t want to play games. I want to get my job the fuck done. That’s it.”
She licked her lips, her heart plummeting to the ground. “But you could be.”
“No, I can’t. I’ve seen things. Done things. Things that don’t let me be that guy anymore, Tara. Ever.” He plucked her toy cat out of her arms and shook it under her nose. “This man who wins you things and flirts with you isn’t me. That’s the old me. The new me wants to get our work the fuck done so you can go back to your life—and I can go back to mine.”
“I liked the old you better.” She snatched the cat out of his grasp and hugged it. “The new you sucks.”
He looked away. “Lucky for you, you won’t have to know him much longer.”