Duke motions me inside, leaving the door open. He leans against his desk and folds his arms across his broad chest. I stand, nervously wringing my hands together, like a damn school girl in front of her professor.
“Go ahead,” he says.
I blink. “Sorry?”
Impatience pinches his handsome features. “You obviously have something important to talk to me about.”
“It’s just…” I’m shaken by the tone of his voice, and my confidence deflates faster than a popped helium balloon. “Well, I…”
“Spit it out,” he snaps.
I straighten, take a deep breath. “I had a really nice time last night…” He quirks an eyebrow. It takes all my willpower not to glance away. “…but now that we work together...” I cough. “Or rather, now that I work for you, I don’t think it would be appropriate for anything else to happen.” My heart beat picks up speed. “Not that I was assuming anything was going to happen.”
He doesn’t say anything, which turns me into a blabbering mess.
I giggle awkwardly. “It’s just that I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression about me.”
“What impression do you think I have?” he asks, his expression unchanged.
A lump grows in my throat. “Well, I’m not sure, really.” Except I know that it can’t be good. Professional. And that’s what I want—what I really want. I think. “I’m good at my job, Mr. Kingston. I know the product, and I’ll work hard and dedicate myself to this company.”
“I have no doubt.”
The knot across my shoulder blade begins to unwind. “And I think it’s better if there are no miscommunications. No distractions.”
Duke uncrosses his arms and walks across the room to close the door.
“I agree,” he says.
My relief is somehow dampened by an inexplicable sense of disappointment. As though deep down I wanted him to disagree, to say that I could have him and still do my job without guilt. Which is ridiculous. Whatever happened between us last night was a mistake, a lapse in judgment. For both of us.
Duke extends his hand. “Here’s to be being professional.”
We shake, and an electric bolt zips along my spine. I try to disengage, but his grip tightens. He stares at me with an intensity that makes my knees go weak. I’m wet. My nipples are as hard as pebbles.
“Mr. Kingston?” My voice drops to a whisper. “What are you doing?”
Chapter 10
Duke’s eyes flicker with a glimmer of mischief before he yanks on my wrist, turns me around, and bends me over his desk. My palms land flat against the surface, my cheek pressed into a stack of paper.
His hand slides down the back of my leg. “You are an incredibly presumptuous young lady.” He tugs on the edge of my skirt and then pulls it upright, exposing black lace underwear that barely covers my ass. He sucks in a gasp. “Did you think you could tell me how to run my business without consequence?”
My breath hitches. “I—”
He silences me with a hiss. “You do not have permission to speak.” He hooks his fingers into the waistband of my panties and tugs at them so hard they tear. I feel what’s left of them slide down my thighs.
His voice is deep and rumbling as he growls his verdict. “And you must be punished for your impudence.”
Before I can ask what he means, his palm connects with my bare ass.
What the hell?
I bite my lip so as not to cry out as the sting ripples all the way up my spine. He spanks me again, this time harder. His hand lingers, fingers trailing dangerously close to my pussy. I’m too shocked to protest. My body wars with wanting him to stop and needing more.
“Again,” he says, and I close my eyes, bracing for whatever comes next. My skin hums under his touch. I chew on the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood. It shouldn’t, but my arousal grows stronger with each swift paddle across my ass.
My pussy is already dripping from the excitement of it all.
He leans close, pressing his hard cock into me through the fabric of his trousers. His breath whispers across my neck. “You’ve been a very bad girl. But you took your punishment very well.”
Am I supposed to thank him?
His hands move to my waist and he spins me around. Blood rushes to my head. He grabs my ass and lifts me onto the desk.
“What…what are you doing?” I stammer.
He wheels a chair around and sits. “I’m going to reward you…”
Right. Okay. I swallow hard.
Everything happens so fast. He pries my legs wide and pushes on my stomach until I’m flat on my back across the desk. My chest heaves. I’m so wet I catch a whiff of my own sex. He breathes deep. “You smell good, baby.”