Tell Me You Want Me by Willow Winters
Suzette
How fucking dare he.
How dare this man who doesn’t know a single thing about me get to me the way he did? The way his piercing gaze seemed to see through me made my entire body heat. He pinned me where I stood. I felt the intensity of his hunger ignite through every nerve ending in my body, rendering me paralyzed.
I couldn’t even speak, let alone look at him. It was embarrassing. Every little thing I did in that room was horribly embarrassing. I’ll apologize, only because it’s the professional thing to do, but I’m not backing down. My team is worth saving, worth keeping. If he dares to fuck with me … I swallow thickly, knowing there’s not much I can do to stop him, but he’s going to hear every reason why he needs to back down before he ruins what I’ve spent a decade building.
I’ve heard rumors about him. All he does is rip apart things that aren’t profitable, selling them off or merging what’s worth salvaging with other companies. Adrian Bradford is a death sentence. He’s my worst enemy come to life and I despise Holt for leaving me in this man’s hands.
Steadying my breath, I raise my hand and form a fist at his door. One breath in, and I can’t even knock. My knuckles graze the wood and I can’t bring myself to do it. “Fucking hell,” I mutter beneath my breath.
How has he gotten under my skin the way he has? I’m a strong woman. I pride myself on it. And yet here I am, cowering in front of a closed door.
It makes me hate him all the more.
It’s not just the way he looks at me. Shaking off the anxiousness, the pent-up anger, and the desperate need to get out the rage boiling inside of me, I try yet again.
I’ll blame the hell I went through last night for being so shaken.
If I wasn’t so shocked, if I wasn’t so sleep deprived, if I wasn’t so passionate about everything that has to do with this job, storming into his office would be easy.
I know every nook and cranny of this business. When I got here, I knew nothing and quickly discovered the upper-level executives knew even less. Holt was a trust fund baby in over his head. I climbed a steep learning curve and brought my team with me.
How dare he come in here and think that he can take everything away from me? Everything that I’ve worked for. Everything that we’ve earned.
With an audible exhale, I nod. That’s right; that’s what I need to be focused on.
With another deep breath, I straighten my spine.
The image of him standing at the head of the conference table is burned into my memory. The hint of a five-o’clock shadow showing already. His dark gray, perfectly tailored suit and sharp jaw. He’s like the devil—charming and wicked; threatening yet thrilling. There’s a power beneath him that’s undeniable. A thought creeps into my mind. Even if he was stripped bare of every expensive fabric that graced his lean but muscular frame, even then, I imagine that man would look expensive as hell. It’s not wealth, it’s something else. Something entirely different than what I’m used to.
All of these men can walk around in whatever designer suit they’d like but they’d still look cheap. They wouldn’t know their dicks from the pens they use to sign away their inheritances. And yet here’s a man, the first one I’ve seen in a long damn time since my divorce has been settled, who makes all of those bastards who have hit on me, who have expected things from me simply because of their bank accounts, look like the arrogant pricks they are.
Every man I’ve ever laid eyes on in all of New York City pales in comparison to Adrian Bradford. And I was safely surrounded by others, in the light of day, for a total of less than ten minutes.
Here I stand, outside his door, daring to get closer to him and all alone, after hours … this door will remain wide open so long as I’m here. That’s for damn sure. There’s not a soul on this level and truth be told, I’m not even sure he’s in this room. It’s Holt’s former office and the top floor was reserved for him and meetings only. So … even if this door was open, we’d still be alone.
With my blood heating and my nerves running high, no matter how much I’d like them not to, I imagine what he’ll do. I imagine Adrian saying the kind of things that have been said to me in the past by men who have held power over me, like my husband used to, and it has a completely different effect on me today than it ever has before. The very idea of it turns workplace harassment from a lawsuit waiting to happen, into late-night thoughts in bed I share with my vibrator.
Knock, knock, knock.
My hand trembles at my side, but I hold my ground.
Raising my voice, I call out, “Adrian, I’d like—” The door opens far too quickly. I’m left with my mouth hanging open, my words spoken far too loudly and the rest of whatever I was going to say jumbled at the back of my throat.
My heart races as I realize just how close to this man I am. It’s no longer a thought, it’s reality. He’s a man who intimidates me. Not only because of his power, of him merely being in this building and what that means. But also because of what he does to me simply by existing. It’s sinful, it’s wrong. I fucking hate it.
“Ms. Parks.”
Fuck.
My name sounds positively sinful in the rumble of his baritone voice. His steely gaze never leaves mine as I stand there, once again paralyzed. Taking one step back, barely giving me enough room to come in, he motions with his right hand, his left hand holding the doorframe. I break the hold he has me under, shifting my attention to the wall of windows behind his desk.
They’re paned windows running from floor to ceiling, and the city is vibrant behind them. I know from experience it’s loud as hell far down from this high-rise. But right now, this sight could be a painting, a beautiful masterpiece of a deep blue sky turning a dusky gray with silver buildings that creep into the clouds, the yellow squares of illuminated office windows slowly bringing light to the incoming night.
I’ve never stepped foot in this office before. I’ve never been invited here by Holt, I only knew it was his office. From here on out he’ll be known as the asshole who took a hefty paycheck instead of giving this company what it truly needed. Essentially, he got a get-out-of-jail-free card and we got … Adrian Bradford.
The room is sparsely furnished. A hardwood maple desk carved with intricate detail catches my eye first. From the smell of lemon in the air, it’s been freshly polished. A dark auburn leather wingback chair sits at its head, with two high-back lounge chairs across from it.
Other than that, the vast room is empty, with blank walls that have been freshly painted as if it were brand new. In other words, on the market for the new buyer.
Anger simmers inside of me.
It’s only when the door shuts behind me that I remember exactly what I’m doing here. Although the city will never cease to amaze me. I shudder at the click behind me, turning quickly to find Adrian between myself and the door. Tapping the face of his watch, Adrian tells me, “It’s nearly six, Suzette.”
“Suzette?” is all I can manage. There’s tension between us, thick and hot.
His full lips slip into a smirk. “That’s what I said.” He’s calm and so damn sure of himself. Everything I normally am.
“Oh, I’m Suzette now?” Even to my own ears the indignation sounds feigned. My voice quavers as I add, “Only a moment ago I was Ms. Parks.”
With a single step forward, Adrian adjusts the expensive silk tie around his neck and his expansive, barren office ignites in an instant.
For a moment, a very quick moment, his icy blue gaze drops to my lips but then they reach my eyes again before I can object to wherever his thoughts have gone. “I said it’s nearly six,” he murmurs. “Well, after five.”
My fingers busy themselves with the hems of my sleeves. I haven’t felt so nervous in ages, not since I first stepped foot in this city. All of the anxiousness that comes with starting over, starting something new that pushes you out of your comfort zone is not unfamiliar to me, although it’s been a long damn time since I last felt this way. Not since my divorce was finalized.
“Is that a way to tell me to hurry up, Mr. Bradford?”
“No. Not at all. After six I have other business to discuss with you.”
“After six?”
“Once work is over.” He swallows and my treacherous mind focuses on the cords of his neck. The curves of it, the strength there and that masculine scent, fresh and clean with a hint of sandalwood.
“I beg your pardon, but I’m here on business.”
“Yes … other business than what we discussed this afternoon.” My pulse races as he locks his gaze with mine. I can’t help but to feel like the prey, already caught by a much too powerful hunter. One who wants to play with his dinner before devouring it whole.
“Other business?” Again my voice falters. I make the next statement firm. “What could I possibly want to discuss with you? Other than the threat of you simply stepping into this building.” I add with indignation, “My building.”
With the little courage I can muster, I lift up my chin. Feeling what I felt hours ago in that boardroom creep back into the forefront of my mind, I try to shove it down. He’s no longer a sex god reducing me to a puddle of want. He’s the man who threatens my very career. And for what? For statistics on the balance sheet? For the likelihood of an easy payout rather than doing the hard work?
Just as the thought hits me, Adrian checks his watch again. “It’s six now, Ms. Parks.”
His domineering stature abates as if he’s slightly more relaxed. He reaches up to loosen his tie. The act does horrible things to my conviction.
“You’re in need,” he states beneath his breath. I can barely focus on his lips as his deft fingers work to undo the top button of his shirt. In one step, he’s far too close and the smell of his cologne turns heavenly.
“Excuse me?” I whisper, not as confidently as I’d intended. It’s darker than it was, as if the night fell around us, granting much-needed privacy.
Leaning down so his lips grace the shell of my ear, he whispers, “All you have to say is that you left something outside this office.” Shivers run down my shoulder, then lower. My nipples are already hard and I curse the fact that I haven’t been touched in months for how much I want this man to do horrible things to me right now.
With my lips parted I can barely comprehend what he said. As he takes a single step back, giving me more room to think, he removes his tie completely. The silk whispers in the air as it slides against his collar. It’s the only sound I can hear other than the beating of my heart. He doesn’t turn around fully and he doesn’t take his eyes from mine. He locks the door with one hand and tosses the tie on the floor.
“You very much have the wrong impression of me,” he says and I breathe out although I don’t know how. My chest rises and falls with every heavy breath I take.
“I was praying you would walk through that door,” he tells me. Adrian takes a step forward with his right hand undoing the buttons of his white dress shirt one by one, starting at the top. My gaze slips down his torso, following the line of buttons to the bulge in his pants.
My God. The temperature in the room erupts.
“I was hoping you’d come see me to work out our … differences. I was prepared to spend all fucking day listening to you rant, taking every insult with stride. I was ready to let you get it all out.” For every step forward he takes, I take one step back until my ass hits the edge of the desk.
“I would be very surprised if I had the wrong impression, Ms. Parks. But I’d like to get one thing clear.” With both of my hands gripping the edge of the desk, I peer up at him, bracing myself. He reaches out and brushes against my jaw with his thumb.
His touch is as commanding as his tone, his stare, every detail about him. I’m left paralyzed. Caught in a trance.
“After six o’clock, all of that shit ends and what’s between us is between us.” I stare into his eyes, barely breathing as he continues. “I’ll say it again; all you have to do is say you’ve left something outside of this office.” His eyes search mine and I believe him. If I were to say it, he’d back away. He’d let me leave. And then what? Would this tension be gone? Would he pretend it didn’t exist?
The reality of what’s happening and the consequences of the decision I’m about to make are far too real in these few seconds.
With his eyes on my lips, his thumb moves there, parting them slowly so that just the tip of his thumb presses down, enticing me to suck it. He’s far too close, far too intoxicating, far too tempting.
“Have you left something outside?” he questions. That deep voice rolls through me again. I know what’s appropriate in this situation. I should jerk my head back from his touch and tell him that I did leave something outside. Mention the HR complaint I’m filing against him. That’s what you’re supposed to do when an asshole like Adrian backs you up against his desk.
It’s what I should do. I know it. And yet … I know damn well that I want him. I want this.
The aching need between my thighs reassures me that I fucking need this.
Instead of answering, I move my mouth just enough to bite down on his thumb, my teeth sinking into the tip of it. The deep groan at the back of his throat is stifled and with that little movement, I force this rather dominating man to shift in front of me. “I’ll need you to answer me, Ms. Parks. Because if you haven’t left anything outside, I’m going to fuck you against this desk like I wanted to the second I laid eyes on you.”
It’s a heady feeling to bring a man like him to the point of desperation. The desire ignites in his eyes and I push him just a little further, flicking my tongue against his thumb.
His eyes close and he speaks without opening them. “Have you left something outside?”
It seems simple,in a way. He was right when he said I was in need. And letting this man do whatever he wants to me would soothe an ache I’ve had for days. A pent-up need that’s been dying to be sated. It would be everything I’ve needed since I gave my ex the finger and fell down the black hole of an endless to-do list.
Of course it would. Look at him, in his expensive suit with his thumb still tracing a path on my lip and his eyes shut. He’s hot. He’s more than hot. He’s everything I could possibly want in a man. Physically, at least. It doesn’t matter that he’s an arrogant asshole. I can still hate him as much as I did when I first stormed in here, but right now … I’m worked up and hot for him.
When his eyes finally open and he stares back at me with an intensity that burns inside of me just the same, I barely speak, “I didn’t leave anything outside.”
Before the last word is spoken, his lips are on mine, devouring them. Both hands cup my face, pulling me in and my hands splay against his broad chest. He’s all man beneath the suit. Strong muscles bulge and tense.
The layers of fabric between us are in the way and I do my part to help strip them off. Adrian isn’t hesitant about a damn thing. His hands roam, his lips mold against mine and with every small movement I make, he meets it tenfold. I don’t think a man like him is capable of being timid about anything. He puts his tongue in my mouth, glides it against mine, and seems to taste me more deeply than any man ever has before. Wanting more and forcing small sounds from me as his hands roam and the zipper is pulled down my back. The chill of the air greets my bare skin and I have to break the kiss, breathing in the cool air as I arch my neck and throw my head back. Adrian doesn’t stop, doesn’t pause for anything. His nimble fingers work my dress, sending goosebumps down my skin where his fingertips leave traces of his heated touch.
As I stare up at the ceiling, he leaves a trail of openmouthed kisses down my neck. Hot and greedy, it’s enough to pull me back to him.
To rid myself of any thoughts other than those drenched in lust.
Scorching desire prickles over my skin and I find myself kissing him back, maybe a little desperately. Shamefully so. I’ve always wanted to be kissed like this. It’s every girl’s dream to be kissed like the other person can’t get enough of you. It’s only fair if I kiss him back just as hard and make him think I want this. Adrian can think whatever he wants about me. He can think I hate him. He can think I’m melting for him.
If I’m going to do this, I’m going to take as much as I give.
All I care about is the way it’s going to feel when he takes control of all the heat between my legs. Will he kiss me there too? Will he be just as ravenous as he is now?
He kisses me harder, demanding more with a rumble from deep in his chest when he puts his hand on one of my legs and slides it slowly up under my dress. There’s no hesitation at all with this movement. He got all he wanted from me when I told him I wasn’t leaving. Now I’m his to take.
He pauses there before breaking our kiss and letting me breathe, his hand gripping my upper thigh. It’s only then that I feel his cock pressed against my leg. He’s hard and I wasn’t mistaken earlier … no wonder he’s so fucking arrogant.
I shiver when he reaches my panties. They’re not full coverage ones, because those don’t sit well underneath my work clothes, but they’re not a thong, either. His fingertips play at the band. Then he cups me through the cotton fabric and I moan into the kiss.
“You’re hot for me,” he says into my mouth. “I knew you would be the second you started to mouth off to me.” Adrian strokes against the fabric and when his knuckles brush against my clit I’m all too aware of how sensitive I am for him. My head lolls to the side and I sink my teeth into the fabric of his shirt. My hands fist his dress shirt, pulling it from his suit pants with a desperate need for it to be ripped from him and get on with it.
“Good girl. Such a good little slut for me.” My back arches and I rock myself into his hand. “Fuck you,” I mutter but even as I do, the pleasure builds and Adrian chuckles. He’s playing me like a toy.
The words make me hot even though I know they shouldn’t. I roll my hips against his hand and he groans a deep rough sound, wrapping his other hand around the nape of my neck to pull me in close.
“Do you want to be my whore or my good girl?” he asks me.
I can only gasp as his fingers slip past the band and his thumb rubs ruthless circles against my clit. Moaning, I don’t answer him.
“Degradation or praise?” he presses further.
I have both hands on his chest, slid under the expensive fabric of his shirt. “Whatever you want. I just need you inside of me.” The plea is desperate, and I don’t give a fuck.
He doesn’t say a word as he smiles down at me like he’s won. For a half second, I worry he’ll leave me like this, wanting and admitting it so boldly. The fear is gone just as quickly as it came. His hands go under my ass and he roughly lifts me onto the surface of his desk. Adrian uses one hand to push my legs apart and I balance myself on the desk while he shoves the hem of my dress up to my hips. The fabric rolls up in an awkward bunch and remains there. This dress isn’t meant to be treated like that, but he doesn’t care. He’s busy pulling my panties off and down over my shoes, which fall to the floor with dull thuds. Finally, his fingertips meet my bare, wet center.
It turns me into a woman I don’t know. A woman who five minutes ago was coming in here to tell him to keep his hands off my department. Now I’m so hungry for his touch that I practically throw myself into it. Adrian doesn’t allow it. He takes what he wants, and he pushes me away from him, one hand splayed across my chest while reaching for his belt buckle with the other. His cock springs out with a flash of lust in his eyes. “Spread wide, Suzette.”
I obey and he pulls my hips closer to the edge.
His eyes sweep down to my spread legs and he groans, his hand working at his cock. He wants the same thing from me that I want from him. He wants to work off some of the tension from endless meetings and boardrooms and constantly working, constantly holding everything in.
With a hand on the back of my head, he bends low to kiss me as he nudges the tip right where I need him. Adrian isn’t taking time to make sure I’m ready and he doesn’t have to. I’m more than ready for him. He pumps his hips and I hang on to the desk to stay on it.
Fuck! He fills me with a single hard thrust, his hand coming down to brace my ass so he can fuck me deeper. My hands fly to his shoulders, needing to hold on to something more solid. My body’s hot all at once and tense. My heels dig into his ass.
“Fuck,” I moan. Not slowing down in the least, Adrian’s lips find mine again. “Fucking perfect,” he groans. I bury my head into his chest, my eyes closing and my teeth biting down in my lip as he fucks me like he owns me. He whispers, “Take it like a good girl.”
A cold sweat covers my forehead as I pull away, stifling my moans as best I can.
It’s dirty to do this and so wrong. It’s against every rule of office life to spread your legs on a man’s desk … especially when he’s your boss. And certainly when he’s your boss’s boss. My body doesn’t care. It clenches around him, making him grunt, and his lips capture my screams of pleasure. My release builds and rises like the tides on the shore until it’s crashing down on me. The only option I’m left with is to hang on for dear life.