“Surprise!” he exclaims, holding his arms out to the side. He steps into the room and shuts the door behind him.
It’s seeing him in the flesh that makes me realize how much I’ve missed him. How in such a short amount of time I’ve gotten used to him being a part of my day-to-day life. We both take a few steps toward each other, drinking the other in. The hungry look in his eyes steals my breath and hints at things that make my center ache with liquid heat.
My eyes move to that sensuous mouth of his. It’s quirked up at one corner, as if his thoughts aren’t exactly pure and innocent. And I hope they aren’t because then they’d be matching mine.
My body vibrates with his nearness, confirming that time has done nothing to dampen the instant pull he has on me. I surpassed stepping cautiously off of the edge of falling in love with him a long time ago and am now currently plunging headfirst.
Our eyes lock as we slowly close the distance between us, and I know it’s not possible, but in that instant I swear that I see a flash of my future in his eyes. The revelation unnerves me and releases the butterflies I have flitting around in my stomach.
We stop within a foot of each other, and I angle my head up so that my eyes can remain on his. “Hiya, Ace.” I smile at him, my pulse still jumping erratically.
“Hi,” he mouths, that shy smile tipping up the corners of his lips. We stare at each other for a beat, and before I can process the thought, Colton’s hands are fisted in my hair, yanking me forward, his lips claiming mine. He tastes of mint and urgency and everything Colton, and even though I’m drowning in him, I still can’t seem to get enough. His tongue licks in my mouth and teases by pulling back and then darting back in again.
His mouth captures my moan as he lowers his hand on my back and skirts under my sweater to draw his calloused fingers against my bare skin before pressing me into the hard length of his body. And just when the kiss starts to soften and become tender, Colton’s mouth dominates mine again, our hands becoming a series of touches and movements as if we can’t feel enough of each other.
He breaks from our kiss, his forehead resting on mine and his breath panting against my lips. “I couldn’t let you resort to your hand, Rylee,” he murmurs, and I can feel his lips form a smile as they press against mine, smothering the carefree laugh his words incite. “You’re mine now. I’m the only one allowed to give you pleasure.”
Before I can think of a witty retort, Colton’s mouth is on mine again, his tongue delving between my lips, his body pushing me backwards so my hips hit the edge of the conference table. He presses me to sit down, nudging my legs apart with his knee, and steps in between them. I am now at a height disadvantage to him, and he leans over and cups my cheeks in his hands, his tongue soothing over where he just nipped my bottom lip. I keen with need as he continues his tantalizing assault on my mouth and all sense of coherence is lost.
In an unexpected move, he pulls his face back, his hands still framing my cheeks in possession, and stares at me. His eyes swim with emotion as his jaw clenches from unspoken words. We stare at each other and pant from the need that is driving every action and subsequent reaction. Feelings I want to confess die on my lips as the pad of his thumb reaches over to graze them tenderly. Something has shifted between us, and I can’t put my finger on it, but the look in his eyes tells me all I need to know: He wants me as much as I want him. Any doubts of mine that he wants another vanish with this singular look.
“I missed you, Rylee,” he says softly before wrapping his arms around me and folding me into him. He places his cheek on the top of my head, his arms squeezing tighter. Hearing him say it, admitting that I am a part of his everyday life too, warms me on the inside.
“I missed you too,” I murmur as I melt into the comfort of his arms, “more than I want to admit.” A small sound rumbles in his chest, and I know that my words have affected him. We sit like this for a few moments, reveling in the warmth and comfort from each other that we’ve missed over the past week and a half; we’re absorbing what we’ve finally acknowledged, verbalized, and are both accepting in our own ways. I plant a soft kiss over his heart without thinking. “I really like my surprise. You sure know how to spoil a girl. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he tells me, kissing the top of my head again. “I wasn’t sure how your office would react if I were to waltz in and take you over the edge of your desk.”
“What?” I laugh out loud as my body heats at the thought. I lean back so I can look up at his eyes. “That was your plan, huh?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“I believe you once told me that you were far from desperate,” I tease, throwing his words back at him.
He chuckles softly before pursing his lips. “That was before I spent an endless amount of time, in God knows how many boring meetings, thinking about what exactly I’d like to be doing with you.” A lascivious grin spreads across his lips. “And to you.”
“That’s a lot of dirty thoughts.”
“Oh, Rylee, you have no idea.”
I swallow loudly, the lust that leaps in his eyes and darkens his irises giving me a hint. “So, you planned on acting out these impure thoughts in my office? On my desk?” I arch my brow in mock disapproval, but the smirk on my face betrays me.
“Yep. I told you,” he says, playing along, “I take what’s mine when I want it…”
“With an audience of my co-workers?”