The design allowed me to cinch and tie it off myself and cleverly hide the strings, but I wondered if I’d overdone it. But the more I paced and thought about it, I decided it was my anxiety getting the better of me—notthe instrument of torture wrapped around my lungs. Besides, this dress was too delicate to fiddle with the corset strings any more.
The Rainbow Room was an iconic location in New York, one that I’d both researched onlineandvisited two separate times in person in preparation for this event. The planning process had allowed me to design my dress perfectly in sync with the venue. This silver-gray dress was dripping with beaded details to match the delicate, diamond-like curtains of the Rainbow Room.
My phone vibrated inside my handbag, and I fumbled to get it out. I was waiting for Damian to get here; he’d insisted on coming to pick me up so that we could arrive at the event together. I hadn’t dared to object. There was nothing I wanted more than to arrive on his arm, even though that wasn’t the normal thing to do for merecoworkers.
“Hello?” I answered breathily, this time due to excitement.
“You ready?” His deep rumble sent a jolt of desire through me. I couldn’t get enough of this man. His voice. His lopsided smile. The way he touched me. Oh, the way this man touched me. He’d pushed his fingers inside me no fewer than one hundred times since we’d started this…thing…and I only wanted more. I wanted so much from him that it scared me.
“Of course I am. I’ve been ready for twenty minutes.” My grin was already ear-to-ear, and I hadn’t even spotted him yet.
“Open your door.”
My heart skipped a beat as I rushed toward the door. He’d never come to my apartment before. I’d been afraid to invite him over, afraid of what might happen if we were left to our own devices in a comfortable space I called my own. It was the same reason our fooling around hadn’t ventured out of his office. I knew what a late night at the penthouse would lead to. And I was still dumb enough to believe that I could keep myself—my heart—safe by following the rules.
When I tugged the door open, Damian filled the doorway, looking somehow beefier and more refined than when I’d last seen him. His moss gaze was electric as it swept over me, taking me in. My cleavage was more conspicuous than usual, thanks to the corset, and that’s where his gaze lingered.
“Jessa,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “Damian.”
He took a predatory step toward me. A moment later, his arm was hooked around my waist, the woodsy musk of his scent washing over me, sending me into outer space.
“You look fucking stunning,” he growled into my ear, his other hand tracing the front of my dress, over the beaded details hiding the ridge of the corset. His fingertips brushed the exposed skin of my cleavage, igniting goosebumps in his path.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I teased, checking out his formal attire. He wore a designer black suit with lapels accented in the shade of aqua we’d selected for the event. The laces of his dress shoes reflected the same color. Damian’s longish chestnut tresses were slicked back at the sides. He was so handsome I wanted to combust. Luckily this corset would hold in any internal explosions.
We shared a long look, getting lost in each other’s eyes. Even though we still had to play it platonic in public spaces, it was getting harder to keep the cat in our collective bag. Our trip to the High Line, an old elevated train track turned into a public park, earlier that week had been spent fully hand in hand. He’d even kissed me on a bench. Of course, the office staff hadn’t been there—that’s what I kept telling myself, at least.
But it was times like these when it felt like something had irreversibly shifted.
We spent a lot of time looking into each other’s eyes. And it just didn’t seem like something you did with a fling. I wouldn’t know—I’d never had a fling—but deep inside, I could tell that this was serious for Damian. Serious like it was for me, too.
“How are we going to make it through the night?” he asked me, his lips already drifting along my jawline. “I won’t be able to get three feet from you.”
I giggled, tilting my neck so he could explore further. “We’ll have to find a way. I expect we’ll be thoroughly distracted.”
Damian grunted, then he dove for a kiss. I dodged it, pulling away.
“We can’t kiss tonight,” I said, sending him my most serious look.
His brows drew together, the poutiest look creasing his face. “Why?”
A laugh burst out of me. “Oh my god. I’ve never seen you look somad. Like I just told you that snack time was over.”
“Well, youarea snack,” he said, running his hands across the fabric of my dress.
“This lipsticksmears,” I told him, pointing to my ruby lips. “Tonight is too important to be looking like some whacked out sex goddess.”
He sighed, squeezing my ass cheeks through the dress. “Fine. But we’ll leave early.”
The simple ass grab sent moisture to my panties. It didn’t matter how many times this man had gotten me off within the four walls of his office. My body always wanted more and was capable of giving it to him.
But I knew as well as he did that our situation was unsustainable. I didn’t just crave more Damian—Ineededhim. All of him. I needed him buried so deep inside me his dick would come out the other side. I wanted to choke on him. I wanted to let him bend, flip, and fold me however he saw fit. We were poised to create something magical together.
Something I wouldn’t be able to walk away from.
That was the part that scared me.