It wasn’t her fault. I knew it wasn’t, which was why my anger was directed at the little shit who thought he could step in on my territory. I stole another glance at Mallory’s face, noticing the bit of extra makeup she wore—those damn pink lips again—and the fact that her hair was down for the first time at work.
She dolled herself up for me. And this prick thought it was for him.
Barely suppressing the urge to snarl, I stalked forward and ripped his arm from the wall beside her head. The look of relief on her face barely registered. I was far too focused at glaring down my nephew.
“Have you already forgotten the conversation we had in my office?” I ground between clenched teeth. “Or do you want to be fired for harassment?”
“Uncle Brian—”
“Go.”
Jeremy’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he slowly backed away, shooting an apologetic glance at Mallory before disappearing into the break room.
Once we were alone, she sighed and whispered, “Thank you. He just said he wanted to talk and—”
“My office,” I hissed, interrupting her and ignoring her wide eyes. “Now.”
The tension refused to leave my body despite all my efforts as I followed her down the hall. Her shoulders were squared with confidence, but the light shake in them belied her nervousness.
She had no idea what was about to happen.
Neither did I.
I wasn’t gentle about slamming the door shut behind me and when she tried to open her mouth to speak, the loud click of the lock flipping caused her mouth to snap shut. We stared at each other for what felt like a long time—her with wide, confused eyes and me with narrowed slits, my breathing completely out of control.
“Brian?” she softly questioned. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the sweet sound of her voice. “Are you okay?”
No. I wasn’t okay. Especially not when I felt her hesitant touch on my shoulder. It felt like jolts of electricity shot through my body. I’d never felt anything like it. Not with anyone but her.
Take her. Now.
The need was too strong. I couldn’t ignore it. I had to act.
With a growl, I yanked her against me and smashed my lips against hers. A muffled moan barely cut through the fog of lust and registered in my brain. A moan of surprise and desire—not of protest.
It was all the confirmation I needed to lift her right off the floor and blindly walk to my desk. When we hit resistance, I broke away from her lips and sat her on the edge, pausing only long enough to hike her skirt up so I could spread her legs and step between them.
Mallory whimpered, breaking off to a moan when I pressed my hard cock directly against the thin cotton covering her core. I ground against her like a fucking animal, taking pride in the womanly gasps she emitted as well as the way she shuddered when I took her bare thighs in my hands and directed her legs to wrap around me.
As I kissed her again, something in the back of my mind registered that some of her shaking was out of fear. It was clear to me that she was in deep enough to let me do whatever I wanted, but the fact remained—she wasn’t ready.
Tell me to stop, I desperately thought as I forced myself away from her lips and buried my face against her neck while I continued rutting against her. Please tell me to stop.
I must have spoken aloud because her shaky voice replied, “N-no.”
“Fucking hell,” I groaned before her hands cupped my cheeks and pulled me back up.
Her face was flushed with desire and her pink lip gloss was smeared all around her mouth. Her hair was askew from my hands running through it at some point.
She looked just like I imagined her looking post-sex and we hadn’t even gotten that far. She looked wrecked. I imagined that I looked similar, only in a far more crazed way. It certainly felt that way.
The little bit of self-control I had left was on the verge of snapping when her chin tilted up and she kissed me. My eyes stayed open and I watched hers close as she gently moved against me.
The hunger of my kiss was a lot different than the sweet naivety of hers. The message she was trying to get across was clear—and ultimately what pulled me back from the edge.
I meant something to her. I was the most important. Just like I wanted to be.
It took only a split second for me to recognize that in the short time I’d known her, she’d also become the most important to me. I allowed my eyes to fall shut and kissed her back just as tenderly as she did, only pulling away when I felt her hands beginning to trail down my chest.
It took all my strength to take the one step that separated our bodies. I missed her warmth immediately.
“I’m sorry,” I said roughly, clearing my throat as I shook my head. “I’m so sorry.”