“What?” Her eyes flew wide.

“This epic, dirty-girl list you have. If I’m #7, who else is on it?” The thought of tracking them all down and burying their bodies before they could touch Paige flew through my mind. Way to go caveman.

“No one. There’s only you. I only want you.”

I claimed her mouth. She tasted like wine and something a tad sweet, and it made my dick throb so hard I had to push against her.

Only me. I wasn’t a nameless trophy fuck. I was the only one this insanely brilliant woman wanted, the only one she trusted with this list of hers, and I wanted her just as badly.

Gasping between my lips, she hooked her leg around my hip, shamelessly grinding against my dick as she sucked my tongue back into her mouth. “Fuck,” I growled.

I had the woman pinned against the wall, and still she was taking control like no one else ever had. It would be so easy to sink into her—a quick unzip and slide her panties to the side, and she’d be screaming my name.

Holding her hands up with only one of mine, I trailed my free hand down her side until I felt the smooth skin of her bare leg, her dress hiking up to her hip. My fingers met black lace—and not fucking much of it—as I grabbed her ass and hefted her against me. Before she could hop to lock her ankles around my hips, I gently nudged her leg down. Stopping took the effort of a hundred two-a-day practices, but I kissed her one last time and backed away.

The creaminess of her skin was flushed, and her perfect breasts moved up and down as she caught her breath.

“Not tonight,” I said.

She eyed the evidence of just how much I fucking wanted her. “Why?”

Because this is what you think you want, but it’s not what you need.

I stepped closer to her, just enough to touch her chin. “I told you. I’m in control. I’ll give you what you want, but only when you want it most.”

“I want it—”

“No,” I cut her off, smirking. “You think you do. Just wait.” I winked at her and gave her a light kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for dinner,” I whispered before returning to the table to grab the contract. “I’ll sign this and bring it back.” I tapped the folder as I opened her front door.

“When?” She asked, her hands popped onto her hips.

“Soon.” She shut the door behind me as I stepped down her porch and walked slowly to her driveway.

As I waited the ten minutes for my driver to pick me up, I battled the urge to say, “fuck it,” bust back through her door and carry Paige to her bed and sink deep inside her like my body begged.

She wasn’t a woman you fucked quickly to get out of your system. She was the kind you savored. The slow burn that only made the flames brighter the longer you stoked it. Paige was a living, breathing flame. I just hoped I was strong enough to withstand her fire.

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

Paige

 

 

Monday morning and I was a tension-riddled mess behind my desk. It’d only been two days since dinner with Rory and his more than successful tease. I craved him like a glass of ice water on a hot day. His skin, his scent, his touch, were all I could think about. Which definitely didn’t help me focus as I finalized the details on an employee appreciation event for a thousand staff members from different departments in the company.

The event was a bi-annual occasion we held in order to keep up morale as well as give employees the chance to voice any concerns or ideas they had for the future of the company. It was a tradition, and one I looked forward to each time. Still, if I wasn’t careful, I’d be scheduling the event at the Shark’s home rink with no more entertainment than to watch Rory shred the ice during practice.

A buzz rang from the intercom on my desk. I clicked the button. “Yes?”

“Mr. Turner is here to see you.”

“Send him in.” I clicked off the com and smoothed my hair down while slipping my bare feet into my black pumps. I didn’t have any meetings today and had gotten comfortable while approving the event coordinator’s band choice for the appreciation party this weekend. Comfortable wasn’t a word my father understood.

The wooden doors to my office swung open—my father was never one to make a subtle entrance. He wore one of his traditional gray, pinstriped suits that brought out the silver in his hair.

“Paige.” He opened his arms as I came around my desk.

“Father.” I hugged him, genuinely happy to see him. I always missed him when he went out of town on business, which often kept him away for weeks at a time, even when I was a child. I’d gotten used to seeing him around the office, where we would have daily lunches if meetings and schedules allowed it, and once he retired…well, I guess I’d have to grow up after all.

“You look lovely,” he said, pushing me out and glancing at my three-piece black pant-suit and blazer combo.

“Thank you.” I didn’t miss the emphasis in his compliment or the silent this is what the CEO of our company should present herself as part of the sentence. It didn’t bother me, as long as he was done lecturing me about the damn red dress. It had gotten me into more trouble than I knew how to handle—though it was also responsible, at least in part, for snagging me Rory for the next three months, too.

“Everything set for this weekend?” He took a seat in one of the leather chairs I kept in front of my desk.

“Yes.” I sat back down in my chair, clicking a tab on my computer. “Jeannine says she has something special planned for the self-serve stations.” I chuckled at my father’s panicked look. Our designated go-to caterer, and my best friend since sixth grade was one of the best chefs in the country—it was her wild lifestyle that had always concerned him. Started with the night she’d snuck me my first shot of Jack Daniels freshman year in high school. Father had flipped, forbidding our friendship, but my mother had talked him down.

“You know she’ll take care of everyone.” I shifted my full focus on him. “And this year I’ve made a few changes.”

“Oh yes?”

I nodded. “We always stock enough food and drink to feed two times the number of guests, and since we always offer a casual yet classy atmosphere, one where patrons can pick and choose from the courses, I’d like to invite the frequenters of one of the local shelters to dine after our guests have served themselves.”