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  "No," His voice was jagged, rough. He took a deep breath and looked away before continuing in a more even tone. "No, that's perfect. What work clothes are you wearing again?"

  "A wrap dress." I answered, unsure what that had to do with the situation and frustrated that his tongue wasn't in my mouth at this exact second.

  "Get it for me?"

  His use of "for me" sizzled through me as I went back around the curtain and scooped up the dress. He turned back to me as I came back out. I held it out to him. He didn't take it. He seemed to not want to come near me. I didn't know how I felt about that. On one level, I was grateful, but on another I felt a little jilted.

  With a nod of approval, he said, "Yeah, that's perfect. Put it on."

  I went to put it on but hesitated. Me getting dressed mere feet away from where he stood watching me was a million times more intimate than getting dressed behind a curtain. It was too much. I wanted nothing more than to close the distance that separated us and thread my hands through that glorious hair and kiss him until neither of us could think about anything but each other. But instead I nodded. Unable to tear my gaze from him, I stepped into the dress. As I crossed the front of the dress over itself, I wanted to scream against how wrong it was to be getting dressed when I wanted nothing more than to feel him against me. In me.

  But he just stood there. Watching.

  When I was done tying the belt around my waist, I couldn't do anything more than stare at him. There was so much I wanted to say, but I said nothing.

  "Beautiful," he finally said in a hushed tone.

  And right then, I didn't know if he was talking about the dress, or me.

  Chapter 3

  We were back in the elevator heading to the Big Boss'. Honestly, I couldn't tell you how we'd got out of that room. I'd like to think it was a fear for our jobs of what would happen if we blew off the big man. I was praying I wasn't the only one of us to with a proverbial hard-on from hell. I slanted him a glance from my peripheral and tried not to be disappointed by what I saw there. From all appearances, Jake looked just fine. Not at all like he wanted to slap the red stop button to stop the elevator and slide his fingers over my skin or his lips across mine.

  He straightened his tie. "When we get up there, I want you to just be yourself, ok?"

  I congratulated myself on not rolling my eyes.

  "Oh, sure." I dropped my voice to a whisper as the doors opened to the sixth floor. "Because as the loose person I am, it's very natural to drop my clothes in an office alone with two men and let them ogle me."

  "There'll be no ogling," he said through tight lips as we walked through the spacious lobby.

  I didn't know if that was jealousy I heard in his voice, but I didn't have time to analyze it as we walked into the plush executive level. Dark walnut beams lanced across the sloping ceiling. They contrasted just enough with the marble floor to create a majestic background for a very bored looking receptionist.

  Recognition swept across her features as we got closer, "Why, Jake Robinson. I haven't seen your magnificent self up here in awhile."

  Jake laughed. A deep laugh. Funny, that look she was giving him didn't make me feel like laughing at all. It made me feel more like punching her upturned nose.

  "Hey, Tilly. Mark is expecting Sophia and I. Can you let him know we're here?" he said, in a business-like tone.

  I restrained the urge to stick my tongue out at her as she picked up the phone and spoke into it. A few murmurs later and we were headed through the massive doors that reached the ceiling.

  I was just thinking how pretentious they were when I spotted Mark. He was standing with his back to us, looking out over the city of Denver. God only knew what he was thinking about. Probably contemplating his next victim. As we got closer, I just prayed it wasn't us. I know it was a knee jerk reaction to think that even though we were the ones coming to him with a proposal, but I operated under the motto that a healthy dose of caution where the boss was concerned wasn't a bad thing.

  As if to prove my point, even his crisp suit only dared crease when he turned to us. Sunlight filtered through his black hair as his head tilted to observe me. I say me because it was so apparent his attention was not on Jake. His features sharpened as his gaze traveled down and back up my body. If he'd been any less attractive, I would've been offended. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't an obvious ogling like I'd teased Jake about. In fact, if my eyesight wasn't as good as it was, I might not even have noticed. But I did notice.

  "Sophia." His voice was warm. "I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

  I nodded, not liking how delighted I was at a compliment from the boss. "Likewise. I hope all is well?"

  "Definitely. Please have a seat." He gestured to two overstuffed leather chairs in front of his huge oak desk. "So I hear you two have a proposal for me."

  As he took his own seat, Jake leapt into a pitch about sales numbers and the down economy. It was hard not to notice that everything I'd heard about Mark appeared to be spot on. He was all business, good-looking like I'd already seen from the company emails, but if the hard glint in his was to be believed, ruthless. My stomach wrestled with itself in anticipation. Jake had been very clear as to what he wanted me to do, even going as far as to give me an example he had put together of what I could say. He was the expert, but to me it didn't seem genuine, so suffice it to say, I was more than a little nervous.

  Just then Jake patted my arm and jolts of awareness went zinging through me, "--so that's where Sophia comes in. As a young, beautiful girl herself, she can show the more...hesitant, older buyers we have, how attractive the line is and the passion it inspires in our female consumers."

  He paused, and it took me a second to realize he was waiting for me to chime in.

  "That's right." I added.

  Oh great. That was a genius statement if I ever heard one. Mark stared at me. Obviously, expecting me to say more. Ok, this sales thing might not be my calling, but I'd be damned if I just sat here like an idiot. Trying to remember a few key talking points Jake and I had went over, I opened my mouth and started talking.

  "When you look at the stores, all of the stuff in the market is either geared towards house wives or some lame fantasy. There's nothing edgy out there. Nothing that makes you feel young, and...alive. And quality? Forget it. It falls apart only after a few times of wearing it. But that was before Wicked Intentions. We pack passion. and nobody beats us in quality."

  Mark was at least looking contemplative this point. That had to be a good sign. Suddenly, I blanked. I couldn't remember anything else Jake had told me to say. Crap. A moment of panic hit me and I tried to talk myself down. It wasn't like Mark had been told what I was going to say. The thought bolstered my confidence. Sex sold. I'd just jump right to the model thing.

  I took a shallow breath to steel my nerves and stood up. Time seemed to slow down as I unfastened the belt on my dress. I parted the front and saw Mark's eyes focus on the deep V at my chest. It was hard to tell if he was looking at the neckline or my breasts. As long as it had the desired effect, I told myself it didn't matter too much and pressed on. With a deliberate shrug, I let the dress slip off my shoulders. I felt the material skim down my body until it pooled onto the floor.

  Self-conscious, I fingered the material at the spot Mark was staring at on my cleavage. I was struck my how heavy-duty the material was.

  "You see the quality of the fabric lining the neck?" Leaning over the desk, I held it out for inspection. "You don't get that from just any lingerie company. And you want to talk about quality," I turned around so my ass faced him. I lifted a hand to draw attention to the contours of the piece and tried to ignore the fact that I was pointing at my ass. "Look at the way the bottom is cut. It covers without riding up. Just a beautiful design."

  I turned around to see how things were going. Mark was leaning forward, and I could almost see thoughts buzzing around in his head along with a touch of heat this time. I took it a
s positive sign and rushed on.

  "And look at that pinstripe. Pink satin and black pinstripe. It's young and just flashy enough to be sexy. Talk about signature Wicked Intentions."

  I stopped, out of things to say. Since it seemed silly to stay standing when I wasn't talking, I sat down back in my chair as primly as I could in my half-naked state.

  He leaned back and just looked at me. I tried not to fidget under his scrutiny.

  After a minute, Mark cleared his throat and turned to Jake, "Is that a new piece?"

  "It is."

  "Who made it?"

  "Simon Jackson, sir."

  Moving to his intercom, he pressed the speaker button, only waiting long enough for the deafening beep before speaking into it, "Tilly, get my assistant on the phone."

  "Yes, sir." was the only appropriate reply and Tilly obviously appreciated her job because it was the response she gave before passing us on.

  Only moments passed before a voice spilled like silk out of the speaker. It filled the room. "Yes, Mark?"

  "Anastasia, I need you to get ahold of Simon Jackson and have him send the drawings for his pinstripe one-piece over to production."

  The faint sound of typing on a keyboard came across the phone before she spoke again. "I assume we are bypassing the approval committee?"

  "We are."

  "Very good. Will that be all?"

  "Yes. And Anastasia?"

  "Yes, Mark?"

  "Thank you."

  "My pleasure."

  He clicked the light off and swung his chair back around to face us. I could see his decision written across his face, and I didn't know whether to be excited about it or not.

  "This has real potential." he said, his voice animated. "Do it."

  Chapter 4

  Jake and I stepped into the elevator. The doors shut behind us. My mind reeled from everything that had happened. Only this morning I was hating my job, stuck in an endless rut of reports and office politics. And now...this.

  The elevator doors closed with a hush. Was I really going to be in sales? It seemed so unreal. I'd never even thought of myself as a salesperson before, yet here I was about to be just that.

  And to blow my mind even further, I was going to be traveling with Jake. Charming, melt-your-bones Jake. The same Jake, I just realized, who had yet to press a number for a floor. I slanted a look at him from my peripheral. He looked a little flushed. Maybe he wasn't feeling well. There had been a lot of excitement over the last hour, and he had been pretty quiet since the presentation.

  "That was unreal, wasn't it?" I said, as I reached to press the four on the elevator panel to go back to my office.

  His hand came out like a whip, latching onto my wrist. The move shocked me, and at first I looked around, trying to find what was wrong. That was until he looked at me.

  His eyes were dark with desire. As soon as I saw his lust so raw and ready, I could feel my own rush to the surface.

  With a deliberate raise of his eyebrow, he shook his head. My pulse came to a crashing halt and then took off racing as he pressed "B" for the basement. Oh my god. Was this really happening? There was no reason to go to the basement. We didn't have anything to store. There was no sane, logical reason to go there.

  Then again I wasn't feeling very logical at the moment.

  "Jake?" My voice trembled.

  Even though my heart was already doing it, I didn't dare hope again.

  He laid a finger on my lips as he backed me up against the elevator wall. "Shhh."

  It wasn't a hard order to obey when he quickly replaced his finger with his lips. His beautiful lips. They were perfect, melting against mine. I felt like I was floating in a dream as the elevator whisked us down and our lips danced together. His mouth slanted over mine and he swept his tongue across my bottom lip in a silent question I was happy to oblige.

  I opened my mouth to give him better access and met his tongue with my own. The slickness of our tongues together was like an underwater heaven, and I was drowning. I moaned into his mouth. He angled his lower half to press against me in all the right places and took my lips in a bruising kiss that stole my breath. Drenched in need, I bit at his lips. His fingers bit into my arms as he pinned me to the wall. I wanted him to take me right there.

  The ding of the bell was jarring enough for me to realize that we were still in the elevator. I pulled back reluctantly. My lips felt bare without his on them. The doors whisked open and the hallway stood there, innocently void of life.

  He grabbed my hand, "Come on."

  I stumbled after him trying to fully comprehend what was happening. We came to a intersection in the barren hall and he stopped to pull me close.

  "This way," he breathed into my ear.

  His moist lips touched my ear and the world dropped away. Whether it was an accident or not, I didn't care. I reached out to touch him. My free hand found its blessed way to his hips in front of me. I wanted to touch him. I needed it. My fingers skimmed the skin above the waist of his pants. He groaned, a sound thick with need. It was the kind of sound that made me glad to be a woman.

  With a wild look, he spotted a door with the word "cleaning" printed on it. Tugging my hand from his waist, he pulled me into the small room and pushed me roughly against the door, forcing it closed with my weight. He threaded his hands into my hair and grabbed my hair at the base of my neck with a suddenness that ripped a gasp of pleasure from my throat.

  He moved his lips to my ear. His breath came ragged against my neck.

  "You like that?"

  All I could do was whimper in response. He took it for the approval it was and proceeded to kiss along the base of my ear down to my collarbone. He nibbled along it as his other hand pulled the skirt of my dress higher on my thighs. My desire burned hot, mere inches from his fingers.

  I strained against the hold he had on my hair. "Yes, yes."

  It was a chant that became a sigh on my lips as he finally reached the moist spot between my thighs. His finger rubbed over my soaked panties, alternating between the barest of touches and deep ones that parted my folds through the fabric. Then with a quick flick of his fingers, he undid the snaps on my panties. His fingers slipped easily over my bare lips. There was a small, maddening pause, before he finally gave me what I wanted and slid one finger inside me.

  "Holy god, Sophia." He sighed in my hair as he moved his fingers in and out of me. "You're fucking gorgeous."

  But I couldn't process his words as his fingers picked up the tempo. I was going to die. No question. I curled my fists into his shirt as shocks danced through my body. I bucked against his fingers, needing more.

  "Jake...oh my god."

  He covered my mouth with his. As he delved even deeper inside me and his tongue flirted with my own, I quivered and arched against him. It was almost too much to bear.

  He continued his onslaught, and I knew it wasn't long before I was going to come. Then suddenly his fingers were gone, and he was pulling at the strings of my dress.

  "I need to see you." His voice was thick with desire.

  My dress fell to the floor for what seemed like the hundredth time today. But this time it wasn't the dress I was concerned with. It was the raw look of lust on Jake's face as he placed his hands on either side of the deep v-neck and watched my breasts pop out as he pulled the fabric away. The look on his face was so full of wonder that I found myself looking down too. My nipples were a dusky rose between the shadow of our bodies. They formed little buds, giving physical evidence to the lust raging through my veins.

  Then timed seemed to stand still as his head bent down towards them. I held my breath, sweet agony twisting inside me. It seemed like an out-of-body experience as I watched his tongue snake out to taste the tip of it. I crashed back to reality when I felt it connect with my nipple. It was like a lightning rod attached to my pelvis. The white hot desire was immediate. I cried out. He responded by taking more of breast in his mouth. I wrapped my arms around him, wanting to keep h
im there forever. With a quick movement, he placed his hands on my waist and lifted. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  He continued devouring my breasts as he turned around and walked us two steps to a cleaning cart. Placing my ass on it, he followed me down as he laid me onto its narrow surface. Never once did his attention leave my breasts, even as he moved his hand down my body. My hips tilted in anticipation, and he didn't disappoint as he slid not one but two fingers between my wet pussy lips.

  I hissed in appreciation as he worked them in and out. He gave a gentle bite to my nipple before he let it go and lifted his head to stare into my eyes. My lips parted at the intoxicating intensity in his green eyes. Jake. My Jake. It was insane. I couldn't believe this was happening.

  A smile crooked at the corner or his mouth. Before I had time to wonder at it, he moved down my body. I choked back a gasp as he spread my legs with a sudden grip on my thighs. His head disappeared below my body line. I grabbed the sides of the cleaning cart and pulled myself up to get a better view. Just as I did that, my body was rocked by his tongue finding my clit. He flicked it and did swirls around it with his tongue and even sucked on it with little kisses as his fingers continued to move in and out of me. I watched him, transfixed by his head's movements between my thighs and the delicious things it was doing to my body.

  Then he withdrew his fingers and pressed them, wet, against my thighs. Crouching lower, he whispered something against my folds, before dipping his tongue into me. He ran his tongue from bottom to top and left to right and round and round. A flood of sensations overtook me as he went on, and try as I might, I couldn't follow the movements anymore as it became a blur of sensations rocking my body. I decided it didn't much matter as my arms collapsed, weak with lust, and my head fell back. On some level, I was aware of the fact that I was staring at the mop basin as he licked away my sanity.

  Then the most amazing thing happened, he moaned against my lips, a long, deep moan. The unexpected vibrations sent a tidal wave of bone-searing shocks through me. I reached down to grip his hair as a rush of heat scorched me and threw me over the edge. I screamed my pleasure to the wall as my orgasm ripped its way through my body. I rode wave after wave, his fingers biting into my flesh as my thighs tried to squeeze shut with the force of my orgasm.