Then all rational thought fled as Brant surged deep while she slammed her hips down to meet him. She had never been one to climax from intercourse alone, so she was shocked to feel her body climbing quickly toward release. When he reached up to pinch her pebbled nipples, she felt her control slipping away. The pleasure was so great, it bordered on pain. She felt a momentary panic as her senses were completely overloaded by him.

“Brant . . . I . . . ahhh . . . it’s too much.”

Brant seemed to sense what she was feeling and he slid an arm up her thigh reassuringly. “It’s okay, Em, just let go. I promise I’ll be right there with you.” At his words, her body came completely apart in his arms. She screamed his name and saw stars behind her tightly closed lids. Her core clenched and shuddered around Brant’s hard cock. When she started to sag, completely wiped out, he braced her with his powerful arms as he pumped deep inside her one more time and joined her in release. His big body shook as he growled his pleasure.

“Holy fuck,” he moaned as she collapsed against his chest. She could still feel his cock hard inside her and marveled at his stamina. Neither of them had the will nor the strength to move until the ringing of the bedside phone caused them to jump apart. Brant cursed under his breath before grabbing it. She heard what was obviously a wake-up call on the other end of the line before he dropped it back in the cradle. “I set that last night just in case.”

Emma yawned against his chest. “Good idea. I guess you don’t have time for that breakfast now, do you? I’ll just take a nap while you’re gone.”

Brant swatted her butt. “Maybe I need my assistant along today.”

“Ouch!” She tweaked one of his nipples in retaliation. As the afterglow began to fade, Emma started to fidget. Suddenly it felt awkward to be lying on Brant’s chest with his cock now nestled between them. The room had gone silent as if they were both lost in thought. She was more than ready for him to leave so that she could have some time alone to process what had just happened. Damn, what time was that meeting again?

Almost as if reading her thoughts, Brant looked over at the bedside clock and groaned. “I’ve got to get going. A car is supposed to pick me up downstairs in fifteen minutes.” They both stared at each other in silence for a moment. Normally, this would be the point where there would be a good-bye kiss or something after what they had just shared. She wondered if a fist bump would be acceptable.

She knew it was probably the coward’s way out, but she decided to let them off easy. She rolled off him and did a dramatic yawn before pulling the covers over her. “Have a good day, dear.” Brant remained where he was for a moment before she felt the bed dip as he stood. He had very little time left to do anything other than grab a quick shower and throw his clothes back on.

As he was leaving the room, she felt him pause next to her side of the bed. She kept her eyes carefully closed. “Emma . . .”

Damn, he wasn’t going to just go away, was he? She held her breath, part of her hoping he would go . . . another part of her wanting to see that he wanted to stay. “Hmmm?”

“I . . .” She tensed as he paused, seeming to struggle for his next words. Finally after what seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds, he said, “Our flight leaves at three. I’ll have the car swing by and pick you up on the way to the airport. I don’t think I’ll be back before then.” She nodded her head and held her breath. Hopefully he’d leave it at that. After another long pause, she finally heard the door open and close.

Once she was alone she sagged against the mattress in relief. The morning after had never felt so weird. The verdict was in, her uptight boss was a sex god. Her toes curled just thinking about what had happened between them. What a body all of those suits hid! Brant was ripped and seriously blessed in the equipment department. She would never admit it to him, but he had rocked her world.

He was confident, sensual and surprisingly accommodating. He had let her be on top when she had insisted, but she had little doubt who had actually held the power between them. She would have followed him off a cliff had he asked. The problem was, how did you handle having the best sex of your life knowing it should never happen again? Ever. Could she go back to her usual relationship with Brant knowing that just one look from him was likely to send her up in flames? She rubbed her jaw, still feeling the effects of her root canal. She wished she could blame her lack of judgment this morning on pain medication, but desire alone had clouded her mind.

Brant stepped inside the rental car gratefully and shut the door. After giving the driver the address of his destination, he settled back against the leather seat. Fuck, what had just happened? Even after the explosive orgasm less than thirty minutes ago, he was still throbbing with desire. He had only himself to blame. He had been so furious with Emma this morning that it had taken only a few smart comments from her to push him over the edge of rational thinking. Once he felt her mouth against his, he lost all sense. It was like pouring gasoline on glowing embers.

He had admitted to himself more than once that Emma was a very attractive woman—and sure, he had admired her often in a more than professional capacity. But their battle of wills had always kept things from getting out of hand. He might be looking at her ass one minute and then wanting to choke her the next. It had always been all about checks and balances with them. Her attitude usually checked his desire and kept their relationship in some kind of twisted balance. Today, everything had worked just the opposite. He had completely lost control and there hadn’t been a damn thing he could do about it. As soon as he had touched her creamy skin, kissed and licked the rosy peaks of her breasts, it had been all over for him. Nothing short of her telling him to stop would have worked—and that hadn’t happened. They had both been completely swept up in the moment. It wasn’t until she was lying on top of him and some of the haze had cleared that he had started to panic. Immediately he had wanted to grab his clothes and run, something he never did. He wasn’t that kind of guy. It wasn’t even that he wanted to get away from Emma; it was exactly the opposite.

The question now was where to go from here. Was he capable of acting as if it had never happened? Did he even want to? He knew how it felt to be inside of her now; it was seared on his brain and would be hard to ignore. Damn, it had been the hottest experience he could ever remember having. Why did it have to be with someone he worked with? Hell, he could maybe handle that, but not with his assistant. It just felt so wrong to him. He had been half afraid that Emma would chop his cock off this morning when reality set in. Feeling no closer to an answer, he decided he would take his cues from her. If she didn’t mention what had happened, then he would follow her lead and not bring it up. Somehow, he would keep his hands off her, if that was truly what she wanted. If only they were heading back to the office today, things would be easier, but instead he was going to be pushed into even closer quarters with her and with her family. He could only hope that he didn’t look guilty and that her dad wasn’t a big man.