Playing It Safe

CHAPTER SIXTEEN


You know that feeling you get when you’re strapped in your seat on a roller coaster ride and realize there is no turning back? The cars start to lurch forward, inching ever so slowly uphill while your stomach is in knots. The clanking noises of the wheels churning along the track until you get to that inevitable first drop. But at that point all you can do is scream at the top of your lungs from both fear and excitement. That’s about as close as I can come to describing precisely how I feel as I approach the front doors of the gallery. I can almost hear Darth Vader’s “Imperial March” in the background if I listen closely enough. Jesus, I’m going crazy because I really do hear it.

Oops! That’s my dad’s ringtone.

I don’t know what’s worse right now, having to deal with my dad or having to deal with Alex. I take the lesser of two evils, which also buys me some time, and answer the phone.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Julia Ann, where the hell have you been? You and your brother up and disappeared on us the other day without so much as a good-bye. Your mother has been worried sick about you two.”

Great, just what I needed right now, a mental image of my parents being horn dogs because of a freaking screwdriver. “Daddy—”

“Don’t you ‘Daddy’ me, young lady,” he says with authority. “Just call your mother before she drives me crazy.”

“Daddy, she can’t be that bad. I bet she just—”

“She’s gone insane, Julia! She wants me to help her redecorate our bedroom. I keep telling her to do it herself, but she says she wants us to have a bonding experience and we should do it together.”

“Daddy—”

“Now I love the woman to death, you know I do, but if she thinks I’m going to Home Goods one more time just so I can follow her around like a goddamn lost puppy dog, she’s got another thing coming.”

I sigh loudly into the phone while I begin to pace back and forth at the entrance of the gallery. “Daddy …”

“Have you ever been to Home Goods, Julia?”

“Yes, I have, but Daddy—”

“Let me tell you what it’s like. It’s a f*cking nightmare, Julia. A nightmare. It’s a glorified Marshall’s with no clothes.”

“Daddy,” I say, trying yet again to get a word in edgewise, but he’s on a roll now.

“If I have to listen to your mother tell me about one more set of prints that would look fabulous in the bedroom, I’m going to lose my shit. Don’t even get me started on all the choices they have for bedroom linens.”

“Daddy—”

“Did you hear what I just said? I called them f*cking bedroom linens. They’re sheets, for chrissakes! See what she’s doing to me? And that’s the other thing. I—”

“DAD!” I yell into the phone. People walking by on the sidewalk stop and stare as I compose myself quickly. “I’ll call her tomorrow. I promise, okay? I really have to go though.”

“Oh, am I keeping you from something more important than bedroom linens?” he says sarcastically. “Welcome to my world.”

“I said I’ll call her tomorrow, but I really do have to go. I have an appointment that I’m going to be late for.” I confirm this by lifting my wrist to double-check the time. Three minutes to one o’clock.

“Fine, go on then,” he says in a huff. “I’ll let her know to expect your call tomorrow. But you know what would be better? If you stopped by the house instead.”

“Don’t push your luck, Dad.”

He laughs through his good-bye and hangs up. I’m left to wonder if my parents may need to start thinking about separate living quarters when I hear Sarah’s voice behind me.

“Are you coming in finally?” she asks all bubbly.

“I was just finishing up with a last-minute phone call. Is Alex ready for me?”

She does a wiggle of her eyebrows and holds the door open farther. “Are you kidding me?” she groans. “He’s been asking me if you’re here every two minutes for the past half hour.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. He said to tell you to go straight to his office as soon as you arrived.”

“Okay, thanks.”

My high heels click across the hardwood floor as I make my way to Alex’s office. Palms sweating, check. Heart racing, check. Stomach in knots, double check. Of course his is the very last door in the offices of the gallery, too. And to top it all off, it’s closed. Ugh, that means I have to knock and announce myself. I don’t think I can find my voice long enough to do that. But the heavens part for a brief moment when he opens the door, and then he’s standing right in front of me with the most mischievous grin I’ve ever seen.

He’s wearing black pants and a freshly pressed white shirt paired with a simple black silk tie. Trust me, I can tell that it’s silk. His dirty blond hair is slightly unruly today and looks as if he’s just been running his hands through it. A stray lock of hair brushes across his forehead when he bows his head slightly at my arrival and opens the door wide for me to enter his office.

“We should discuss your ground rules first,” he says as I brush past him.

The only thing I have in my arsenal right now is my wry wit and cunning instincts. Bullshit. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to say or do. I’m completely out of my comfort zone here, and when he closes the door behind me, I can tell I’m in for it. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. Kind of like my spidey senses are kicking into gear. Well, that and the fact that he grabs me by the wrist and swings me around so that my back is against the door.

Alex lets go of me and clicks the lock into place while scrutinizing my face. He slowly brings his hands up and slides my sunglasses off and tucks them into my purse, which he also takes in his hands. He lowers it to the ground by our feet and moves his eyes away from me for a second to do so. I take the opportunity to try and smoothly move out of this position, only to find myself turned swiftly in his arms so that I’m now facing the door. And to be honest, I’m really not putting up much resistance. I really enjoy being manhandled by him. Yeah, I’m kind of surprised by that too, seeing as how I’m usually the one in charge.

For a few seconds neither of us moves an inch. Then he steps in closer until his body is flush against my backside. I feel his arousal pressing against me, and even though I don’t do backdoor action, it’s still a huge turn-on.

“As I was saying … your ground rules.” He places his hands on my shoulders and then runs them down my arms. “I’m of the opinion that they’re a waste of our time at this point because there are far too many things I want to do to you. And after last night, there is no f*cking way that I can stand to be away from you for one more moment.”

Alex takes my hands in his and raises them until my palms are resting on the door slightly above my head. When he lets go, he swipes my hair to the side and holds it in place with one hand while the other skims down the side of my body and eventually stops at my hip. He leans in closer so that his lips graze my ear, and I close my eyes, relishing the contact.

His breath is warm and his voice gravelly when he finally speaks. “Do you want me to stop?”


“I …”

“Julia,” he says seductively while his hand trails lower, sending shivers down my spine. He grabs a fistful of my skirt. “It’s an easy question.” He pauses and kisses me below my earlobe. “Yes …” Another kiss, this time on my neck. “Or no.” He punctuates the no with a thrust against my ass.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this aroused in my life. He hasn’t technically done one thing to me, yet I’m in his control. Under his thumb. Damn the Rolling Stones and finally figuring out what the hell that song is really about. Christ, why am I thinking about a freaking song that is probably more than twice as old as I am when I’m about to get nailed by Alex? Focus, Julia!

“No,” I murmur in between ragged breaths that are now coming in a rush.

Come on, did you really think I’d be able to hold up much longer? Me neither.

Alex immediately lets go of my hair and uses both hands to inch my skirt higher and higher. It ends up being bunched up around my waist, my panty-clad ass on full display for him. I give a silent prayer of thanks to the underwear gods that I’m wearing the good shit today. La Perla in the house, to be precise.

“Good girl,” he whispers roughly. His hands move to the buttons on my blouse, making quick work of them until it’s completely open.

His lips are nipping and kissing along my neck to my ear and back again, causing a rush of heat between my legs. I tilt my head to give him better access, and he takes the hint. But his hands aren’t moving anymore. I need him to touch me. Now.

“Tell me,” he demands as if he can read my mind.

“Touch me.”

At once, Alex’s hands are tearing down the cups of my bra and taking my breasts in his hands. His thumb and forefinger start pinching my nipples while his tongue sweeps a trail from my neck to my ear. I throw my head to rest on his shoulder and grind my ass against his dick like a cat in heat, needing more contact and arching my back in the process. His hand lets go of one breast to grab hold of my chin so that he can move it closer to his face. When our mouths finally connect, it’s off to the races.

His tongue darts out to taste me, and I suck on it slowly, causing him to growl into my mouth, and oh sweet Jesus, that alone almost makes me want to orgasm. I move my hand behind his head to keep him in place, wanting to deepen the kiss. It quickly starts to spiral out of control when he slides his hand down the front of my body, causing a hot trail of anticipation the entire way until resting just above the lace of my black panties.

I feel restless and close to begging when he lightly traces his fingers along the edges, touching and teasing me everywhere but where I want him to. Alex breaks off the kiss to look at me with pure desire in his eyes at the same time his hand finally breeches the thin lace. When I feel the brush of his thumb against my already oversensitized nub, I almost come on the spot. Then he quickly follows that up by putting a finger inside of me and slowly withdrawing it.

“F*ck, you’re so wet,” he says through gritted teeth.

He’s now full-on finger f*cking me, and his thumb is rubbing circles on my * when I moan out loud—really loud—temporarily forgetting where we are.

“If you want me to keep going, you’re going to have to be quiet. Can you do that, Julia?”

“Yes,” I answer, in between choppy breaths while his finger is moving slowly in and out of me at an erotic pace.

I reach behind me to press my palm against his erection, and I only get a few rubs in before he grabs my wrist and pins it against the door again.

“Is that what you want?” he asks roughly.

When I don’t answer him right away since I’m on the verge of splitting in two, he stops his ministrations and gently tugs at my earlobe with his teeth. He lets go only to trail his lips across my neck while removing his hand from inside my panties. The next thing I hear is the sound of his belt buckle being undone, immediately followed by a choir of angels in my head singing, “Hallelujah.”

“Answer me. Do you want me to f*ck you?”

“Yes.”

After a second or two of hearing his clothes rustle behind me, Alex leans in again and presses his lips to the nape of my neck before bringing his mouth to my ear to whisper, “Turn around.”

I do as I’m told. His tie is gone, and his dress shirt is unbuttoned to reveal his perfectly tanned and toned flesh. His eyes covet every single part of my semi-undressed body. It feels as if his hands are touching me while he does this, taking his time to look me over, committing every curve to memory. Finally he breaks out of his spell and drops to his knees in front of me. He yanks my panties down to my ankles and over my high heels. When I try to remove my shoes, he looks up at me and says, “Leave them on.”

I feel his lips and tongue inching up my inner thigh as his hands slowly move up the backs of my legs. At the first brush of his tongue against my *, my eyes close and my head falls back against the door with a loud thud.

I’m not going to last long. I wish I could, but I know I’m not. It’s like a double-edged sword. You want that sweet relief so badly, but getting there feels just as good if not better. Especially when you have a man who knows what the hell he’s doing down there. God, there’s really nothing worse than a guy who can’t go down on you properly. Right, ladies? Then you have to give the shoulder tap and try to give directions, and who has time for that? Not this girl. But with Alex there is no question; he’s hitting all the right spots. When he inserts his fingers inside of me, it takes all of me to stave off the impending explosion. But he can tell I’m close because not even a second later he takes the vulnerable flesh in between his teeth and sucks on it with the perfect amount of pressure, and the first ripples of my orgasm start to roll through me.

My hands move into his hair as I ride the wave and to keep him in place, wanting to prolong it. When it gets to the jumpy, hypersensitive part of the ride, he slows it down by removing his fingers and lazily licks me until he places a light kiss on my inner thigh. With my eyes still closed, I give a small tug on his hair to let him know I want him to stand up. He does, and I immediately start making quick work of unzipping his pants.

I open my eyes just as Alex takes my face in his hands and starts to kiss me again in an unhurried manner. I can taste the remnants of me on his lips, and it drives me further into a state of desperation than I ever was before. It’s one of those teeth-scraping, tongues-battling, out-of-control kisses while my hand dives into his pants and takes his cock in a strong grip. I’m pumping away—thank you, stress ball reliever—when he breaks off the kiss and dips his head to start sucking on a nipple. His blue eyes peer up at me as it pops out of his mouth, and he swirls his tongue along the pink tip before doing the same thing to the other one.

That’s it. My breaking point. I want him to bury himself inside me like yesterday. I shove his pants down his hips and look down at his dick. I take it in my hand to stroke it again. Magnificent. Circumcised, smooth, hard enough to hammer nails with, and standing up at attention waiting to get on with the f*cking. It’s not often I feel the urge to drop to my knees and blow a guy until his eyes roll into the back of his head, but glancing at Alex as his breathing becomes more erratic, I instantly want to.

I start to slide down the door to do just that when his hands grip me under my arms to pick me back up. He lets me go for only a moment. Next thing I know he’s lifting one of my thighs and picking me up as if I’m light as a feather so that I’m forced to wrap both of my legs around him. I feel the tip of him right at my impatiently wet entrance, teasing me as it slides up and down. On one trip down I adjust myself in his arms to better position my hips and try to trap him. The bastard eludes me and chuckles.


“Alex, if you don’t f*ck me right now, I’m never talking to you again,” I demand in a low hiss.

“Is that so?” he asks before sucking on my bottom lip.

“Yes.”

He slides the tip upward again, brushing my * with it this time, and I moan his name out loud.

“Your wish is my command,” he rasps.

His arms, which are holding me up, come down slowly to lower me onto him. It’s agonizingly erotic to feel him entering me inch by torturous inch until I’m fully seated on him while he stares intently at me. I feel full and have an incredible need to start moving, but he holds me completely still. He brings his forehead to rest against mine as a rush of breath escapes him. Cupping his face in my hands, I pull him away and latch my lips onto his, wanting to have his tongue invade me while he’s inside me. I grind my hips against him, and we both moan at the contact.

“F*ck, you feel so goddamn good,” he says, his voice a whisper and his breath hot against my lips.

“Please move,” I say back to him and grip his hair. “Now.”

With that, the corners of his mouth turn up to reveal a sly smile, and he slides out of me until only the tip is left. I whimper at the loss and pout.

“Do you want me to beg? Is that it? Because I will. I don’t give a shit anymore.”

“Would you?” he asks. “Would you beg me to slam my cock into you?”

I lean my head forward and lick the outline of his ear and whisper, “Please slam your cock into me. Do it hard and fast and don’t you dare stop.”

I barely get the end of that sentence out before he thrusts into me so hard that I see stars. My back rams into the door roughly, and it sounds as if we may have made some cracks in the wood. Apparently Alex is very good at taking direction. Good to know.

“Oh my God,” I cry out in between ragged breaths.

“Shh,” he says and covers my mouth with his hand.

Alex spins me around with my legs still wrapped around him and carries me to the edge of his desk with his pants around his knees. I look behind me to see a couple of stacks of papers and general office supply crap.

“How important is all of this stuff?” I ask, pointing at his desk.

“Not as important as you.”

With a devious smile on my face, I shove every single thing off his desk, and it all goes flying everywhere and anywhere. He pushes me back so that I’m lying down on his desk. I open my legs as wide as I can for him, and he licks his lips at the sight. I have no shame at this point, and it feels fantastic to be so reckless. I beckon him with my finger, and he obeys. Again with the directions—such a good boy. He guides himself inside me and picks up right where he left off.

It’s hard and fast, just how I need it to be. I’m quickly approaching the brink again with every thrust of his pelvis. With our bodies now slick with a slight sheen of sweat and the sweet smell of sex in the air, he props himself on his forearms to look down at me. I bring my hands up to twist my nipples in between my thumbs and forefingers, and he lets out a string of curses under his breath while watching me.

His thumb trails along my bottom lip, and I take it in my mouth to suck on it. “You’re going to kill me, you know that?”

I answer him by lifting my knees higher and giving him a better angle. Alex responds by taking his thumb out of my mouth and wedging it in between us to brush my * as he continues to drive into me.

“F*ck yes!” I yell, not caring anymore who is listening to us.

My inner walls grip onto his dick as one of the most intense, mind-blowing orgasms burns through me. I faintly hear Alex say something about how good it feels before he lets loose and groans into my neck when he comes hard, and it’s the most exquisite sound I’ve ever heard in my life. Right up there with the sound of his belt buckle coming undone.

We lie still for a few minutes, trying to get our breathing back to normal. Finally he lifts his head from the crook of my neck and kisses me, long and deep. When he breaks off the kiss, he brushes away hair that is sticking to my forehead and says, “Just so you know, we’re going to be doing that again.”

I’m not running anymore; he’s caught me fair and square. So my answer to that is simple. “I’m counting on it.”