“What do I get when I win?”
Wyatt’s lips stretched into a lazy grin. “I’ll go get you that coffee now.”
Mia watched Wyatt’s broad back and shoulders as he turned away, thinking that this may be one bet she’d enjoy losing.
Punishment and Reward
Mia
Mia was walking backto the lab from a division meeting, immersed in her phone. Specifically in the raunchy exchange she and Wyatt had a couple of nights ago. It pained her to admit that she felt his absence,mostlyfrom her bed.
Laughter greeted Mia as she approached the hub. She didn’t need to get close to know what the source of excitement was. The second she lifted her head from the screen she could feel Wyatt’s energy in the room, quickening her pulse and pulling her to him.
“Mia!” Giles turned to her with a broad smile, radiating with enthusiasm. “Wyatt’s back!”
“Doctor Bissonnette.” Wyatt nodded her direction from his perch on one of the couches. He addressed her with familiar politeness, no heat or even a sliver of warmth.
“Doctor Jenkins, welcome back,” Mia answered with the same intonation. She was just as skilled in playing this game, even with the liquid heat centering low in her abdomen, tugging at her belly with need.
“Thank you.” Another courteous smile, and Wyatt was standing. “I have some work to catch up on, but we should have a hub dinner on Monday, my treat.” He shoved one hand into his pocket and pointed with the other at Giles. “You choose, somewhere fun and tasty.”
Giles was beyond himself, eyes shining and smile broadening. “Fun and tasty, I’ve got you covered, boss.”
“Great. Back to work everyone.” Wyatt retreated to his office and the group quickly scattered to their various duties, but Mia was too stunned to move.
They hadn’t seen each other for a week, but the entire time they’d been texting. Not only sexting but also about the hub and Wyatt’s meetings, sometimes about silly things like a new coffee shop she’d discovered or a new wine he discovered in one of his many official dinners. And here he finally was, flesh and blood standing right in front of her, and he barely gave Mia a second glance, not even for a professional chat.
The bastard, she seethed in her mind, turning after Wyatt and making a conscious effort not to stomp.He thinks he can play me that easily?
She reached Wyatt’s office. His door was wide open, but she stopped short of entering, lightly rasping her knuckle against the doorframe to get his attention. “Doctor Jenkins, a moment of your time.”
“Yeah, sure, come in,” he answered without lifting his gaze from his computer, pretending to be distracted by whatever he was working on.
Mia walked in and shut the door behind her, the fiery heat in her body amplifying with every inch she cleared between them.
“How was your trip?” she asked, forcing herself to take measured strides.
“Boring but successful.” He shrugged, finally lifting his gaze from the screen to her. He couldn’t mask the fire in his eyes, a flame that seared through Mia’s body with almost painful longing. “I know there are a lot of hub updates from the week I wasn’t here, I saw your report on the newest experiment and Giles’s proposal, and I promise I’ll make time to sit with you properly. But Ihaveto finish these funding applications first.”
“That’s not why I’m here.” She rounded his desk, spinning his chair so he faced her and straddling his thighs, crashing her mouth against his.
“Mia,” Wyatt growled in a low rumble, placing his hands on her waist and pushing her away before she managed to wiggle her hips closer to his. “Total separation, it’s the only rule I gave you.”
“You can’t fool me, la bête,” Mia said in a breathless murmur, cupping Wyatt through his gray slacks. He was hard like granite and need flooded Mia’s body. She hadn’t realized how much she’d been craving him until now. “I need you inside of me, now.”
With a swift move, Wyatt stood and placed Mia on the table.
“You think I haven’t been dying to bury myself in your tight little body since the moment you walked into the hub?” His voice had an edge to it, gruff and desperate, his fingers flexing almost painfully against her flesh. “But this is theoneredline I asked you not to cross, for your protection as much as mine.”
Mia knew Wyatt was right, but the knowledge faded away under the onslaught of yearning for the feel of his body against hers. She fisted his shirt, locking her ankles behind his back and engaging every muscle in her body to pull his solid bulk to her.
Wyatt groaned into her mouth, loosening his hold enough for Mia to tip her hips into his, the neediest parts of her feverish for any kind of contact.
Mia gasped when Wyatt’s fingers closed around her throat, holding her steady as he pulled away. His eyes were dark, dissolute in a way that made Mia tremble with desire under his touch. Dominance was seeping out of his skin, further intoxicating her, edging her closer to madness.
“Wyatt,” Mia panted, clutching his shirt. “Please.”
“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” It was pointless to deny, and she was too far gone to even try. “Did your sweet pussy miss my cock, Mia?”