In the bathroom across the hall, Isa dressed—sans her panties since Eli had shredded them. She grinned at her reflection as she finished buttoning her dress. She knotted the fabric tie at her waist and fluffed her hair, admiring the hue of pink at the apples of her cheeks.
She looked damn satisfied. Felt it, too.
It’d been a long time since she’d looked at her reflection and saw anything but the hardworking, harried owner of Sable Concierge.
Sable.
She loved when Eli called her that. Sable was the name she’d chosen not only to set herself aside from her parents, but also to establish a new identity she could rely on. One that was separate from her parents, from Josh, from the financial industry.
Hearing that name tumble off Eli’s tongue, especially when doing what they were doing, made her feel sexy and sinful, in charge and take charge.
And the sex just now? What carnal, hidden cave had that crawled from? She’d never been so bold. Had never taken a man on a chair or stripped and touched herself in front of him—and never, ever would she have imagined doing it for a client.
She put her fingertips to her mouth to hide another smile that faded and faded fast. Eli wasn’t just a client. He was her friend. Now her lover.
She had a lover for the first time in three years who wasn’t tied to her by a promise. Who she wasn’t tied to her by familial obligation. It was…thrilling.
She stepped out of the bathroom and crossed to Eli’s office. He stood at his desk, fully dressed, both shoes on. His hair was disheveled from her running her hands over it while they made love. The sight of him standing there sure and strong made her heart skip a few necessary beats.
“So.” Granted, not the most inventive of conversation starters but she had to say something.
“So.” He slipped those capable hands into his pockets and her gaze trickled down his body, remembering the fullness of him inside her, the pleasure that singed her veins when he had his hands on her. She shuddered and didn’t even mean to.
He walked toward her and she met him in the center of the room. They didn’t touch. Finally, he came to her, so close she had to tip her head to take in his height. He slanted his mouth over hers, rewarding her with the softest touch of his lips before pulling away too soon.
She expelled a sigh, her heart thundering as her pulse chased to her belly before settling between her thighs.
“Same time tomorrow?” she asked, her voice low and husky.
He grinned and she nearly had to grab on to him to stay standing. Eli’s smile lit his blue eyes like the sun-dappled surface of the ocean. It lifted his cheeks and parted the longer scruff she found so sexy she couldn’t think straight.
“We have a bit of an ethics problem, don’t you think?” He gave her a teasing wink and she felt the firm press of his palm against her back.
“Next time fire me first.”
His smile endured and beckoned another of hers. “Deal.”