There was a buzz around the room after Miller’s little scene. A few of the tables asked for their bills, while others ordered drinks, some of them hoping for a repeat performance or more of the soap opera drama. A few of the less tactful people asked questions but I shrugged them off. It was hard enough keeping the drink orders straight, without having the scene from earlier replaying in my head. It helped that Miller stayed locked in his office for the rest of the shift, making it easier to ignore the elephant in the room.
As I dropped the last payment off to the bar, Miller appeared. “Tess, I need to see you in my office, please.”
Slowly, I spun to face him. His jaw was clenched but he said nothing as he turned and walked back down the hall, making it clear that he didn’t intend to wait for an answer. I glanced over at Derek, who had his eyes narrowed, his gaze bouncing back and forth between the two of us. What could Miller possibly want? And why wouldn’t he just leave me be?
I followed Miller down the hall to his office. The door stood ajar so I didn’t bother knocking. After his display in the middle of the bar, whatever he had to say to me was completely irrelevant. Miller stood in front of his desk, leaning back against it.
“Take a seat.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m fine where I am.”
“Tess, we need to talk. Sit down.”
I remained standing, avoiding his demand because I knew that if I backed down, I’d give him all the power. I was hardly strong enough to resist him in normal situations so I couldn’t afford to submit. “What do you want, Miller?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking my stance and raised an eyebrow. A feral glint in his eye, he walked over to stand directly in front of me. For a moment, he stood there watching me. Waiting for a reaction, maybe? He lifted his hand and curled it around my nape. The simple touch made my pulse race, and that was before his thumb caressed my neck.
The voice in the back of my head screamed at me to push Miller away, to put distance between us. But my brain had little control of the situation. My body was in charge. And just like that first night, it liked Miller’s hands on me. There was no reason for it and I had no idea what possessed me to let him do it, but when Miller lowered his lips to mine, I did nothing to stop him.
His lips were warm, with a softness that belied the control he had over the kiss. My body had given itself over completely. Lust poured hot and heavy through me. In that moment, I would have given anything for him to take me over to the couch and taste every inch of my body.
Except, that wasn’t all I wanted. I didn’t want to be another in a long list of women. A part of me wanted him to choose me—to be the woman to snare Miller Hawes and domesticate him. Maybe it was naïve to think I could do it. No, it was naïve, no maybe about it. I thought about the countless women before me who must have wanted the same exact thing. I thought about the cruel way he had discarded the blonde earlier. Then his mouth opened and sucked my lower lip into his . . . and I ceased to think at all.
My pulse sped.
Our tongues tangled.
Our bodies connected from our lips down to our toes.
And still it wasn’t enough. I wanted to feel Miller’s hard, smooth muscles against my bare skin. The memory of the way he’d moved deep inside me pushed to the forefront, wiping out the rest.
When I was sure I would soon die without air, Miller broke the connection of our lips but not of our eyes. With a smirk he rolled his hips, letting me feel him hard and ready against my stomach. I was trapped. Not only by his body blocking the door, but also the way he made me feel with just that one look. That one taste. I tried my best to ignore it, to look away from him, to remain unaffected, but it was useless. None of what he’d done in the past could compete with the sensations I’d felt during the last few minutes. All it had taken was one lingering kiss and all my resolve of the last few weeks was obliterated.
His thumb continued to caress my neck. “For days, I wondered what it was I should do with you.”
“And what have you decided to do with me?” My voice was low. A sensual tease.
“I know I want to bend you over the desk right now and fuck you until you can’t walk.”
I moaned low in my throat, unable to stop at the mention of his delicious idea. “Why don’t you?”
“Because we’re at work. That doesn’t mean you can’t meet me at my house later, though. So many more opportunities behind those doors.”
“Later is possible,” I said, still breathless. Our conversation was not making it easy for me to get myself under control.
“I like the sound of that. Then we can set up the rest of our arrangement.”