She turned back to finally make eye contact. Did he really just criticize her while he was standing there doing absolutely nothing? Her palms began to sweat and it took more self control than she knew she had not to scream in his face right then and there. She had to get out of here. She would tell Mr. Brimley she was sick and then go home.
“Fine, you do it.” She threw down the fork and spoon she was holding and made it almost all the way to the door when he caught her arm.
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.” His voice was barely a whisper in her ear.
“Really?” She may not have been able to throw a few choice words in his direction now that she knew he was her boss, but she could at least spit out the words she did state with as much venom-laced sarcasm as she could muster. “And what is it that you meant,sir?” She swore he shuddered.
“Sam. Don’t call me that.”
“What is it you meant, sir?” She dragged the last word out, making it a tad more breathy than the rest, and began to yank her arm from his, but he quickly twisted them around so her body was pressed firmly between him and the wall. Her two hands were held directly above her head with his one. She looked up to catch his gaze just as his eyes swept across his lips.
Her every curve lined up perfectly with every hard line of him.
“What are you doing?” She wanted to appear stern, but their proximity and stance made her breathless.
“I want to talk.”
“And you thought criticism was a good intro?” Her voice was too breathy, but this time it wasn’t on purpose. She couldn’t focus when all she could think about was how good he smelled and how much she wanted him to push further into her. How much she wanted to taste him and devour him. How much she wanted him to devour her.
That throbbing that always seemed to make itself known when he was around surged forward, and it took all the will she could muster not to press her hips further into him. But then he exhaled, his breath tickling the skin of her neck, and her hips shot forward, desperate to find friction and relief.
He moaned at her movement and then he was pressing harder into her. And, god, it felt so damn good. He pushed forward again, but this time he used his free hand to reach down and shift her hips just slightly to the side. She let out a small whimper as that throbbing became a persistent ache that blossomed and spread through every inch of her.
His lips hovered slightly over the skin of her jaw as he whispered. “I can’t help that being around you makes me forget how to fucking function.”
This time, he pressed his head against the wall closest to her ear and she could hear his ragged exhale. He stood there for too long. She felt her hands start to tingle from the position he had her in, but she wouldn’t dare move an inch in fear that he would pull away. She would let every part of her body go numb if it meant getting to touch him.
When the seconds turned to minutes, she became anxious. She needed him to say or dosomething. She couldn’t take this wonderfully tortuous hell any longer, and hoped that his choice would be to lean in closer instead of pushing further away.
“Talking requires the parties to open their mouths for sound to come out. You should try it.”
He laughed a little as his nose brushed against her cheek. “You are so fucking annoying. You know that, right?” His breath tickled her ear, and she knew he meant it in the best possible way. But then he shifted just slightly so his face was damn near pressed up to hers. “You drive me absolutely insane.”
“I could say the same for you.” She felt the slight stubble on his chin against her lips as she spoke.
He huffed out another laugh. “I wish that was the case.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Sam confessed. Her eyes met his and his grip on her loosened, but he didn’t let go.
“Even while you were on your date?”
“Even while I was out to lunch with a friend,” Sam quickly corrected.
His eyes closed and, before she could lean in further and brush her lips against his, he pulled away, placing a few inches
between them. Her hands dropped to her sides.
“Tonight is my last night here at Topline.”
“What?” Her voice cracked and she felt an immediate pang of sadness at the idea he wouldn’t be here at her next shift.
She shouldn’t feel that way. But she couldn’t fathom a world in which he wasn’t there the next time.
“I thought I could be around you, but I can’t.”
“Why can’t you?”
“Because. You are quicksand.” He closed his eyes.