Chapter 3

Bedroom?" he asked huskily when he'd moved his lips to her throat. All she could do was point and he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist, and carried her into the small room. He laid her on the bed and began to undress her, unbuttoning her shirt with slow, sure fingers and unclasping her bra in the front to free her breasts. Susan gasped when he touched her there, when he leaned down to pull each nipple between his lips and suck them until they were hard and aching. While he did this, his hands worked to unfasten her skirt and pull it down around her ankles and off until she lay in front of him in only her plain white cotton panties. His palm traced a line down her stomach and stopped at her panty line so abruptly she moaned.

Tyson lowered his face to kiss her then, climbing on top of her. She wanted to feel his skin against hers. She wanted to feel every part of him. While she unbuttoned his shirt, he pulled her thighs apart and traced his fingertips up and down, teasing her so that she was pushing her hips up to grind against his.

The skin of his chest was warm and smooth and felt so decadent against her, felt better than anything she'd ever really experienced. He tasted good, too, like cinnamon gum and amber liquor, and she couldn't get enough of his tongue.

When he took her panties off, she caught his eye, her body feverish.

"What is it?" he asked, looking over her face.

"Is it going to hurt?"

He groaned then, burying his face in her neck.

"Susie, I can't do this right now," he said, crawling off of her, standing up and looking down over her body.

"Why not?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbows. "What's wrong?"

"I will hurt you if we do this right now. I'm not used to being gentle."

"I don't care," she breathed, lifting her head to capture his lips between her own. "Please."

He took her wrists and laid her down, kissing her once more, then groaned as he set to dressing himself.

"I want you sober," he told her. "And unafraid. I want to see that you're completely comfortable with me before we do this."

She nodded. She supposed she understood. How would he feel if she showed up to work tomorrow shy and regretful, with her hair tied up tight and her proper shoes as if nothing had happened? She would prove to him that she was ready.

"Good night, Susie," he said, kissing her forehead, then her lips. "I'll see you in the morning."

Susan felt different the next morning. She had slept naked and the cotton sheets felt good against her bare skin. She took a moment to feel her body with her hands, touching between her legs, her breasts, tracing her own lips with her fingertips. When she got out of bed, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself in full. It was something she rarely did, something she avoided. Her body had not been something she associated with particularly good sensation. But the night before, despite the fact that he had barely touched her, had made her skin feel alive with possibility. She went to work looking much as she had when they'd gone out the night before. Her long hair flowed down her back and her shirt was unbuttoned enough to show an expanse of bare skin. When he saw her, his eyebrows lifted and he looked her over for a long moment.

"Good morning," he said, smiling. She shut the door behind her and went to him, bold as anything, wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face to kiss him. He responded in full, backing her up against the desk so that she was sitting on top of it, his mouth working hungrily at hers while she ran her hands up and down his chest.

He pulled away just before she could begin to undress him. She was hungry for him, had thought about him all night after he'd gone. Susan felt wanton and unlike herself. Or, like a better version of herself, freer and more relaxed.

"I've been waiting for this since I met you," he said, licking her top lip in one stroke.

"So have I."

"So we'll wait."

"We'll wait," she agreed reluctantly.

They went about the day as usual aside from flirty, sensual glances exchanged in passing. Susan laughed more, felt more languid. Something within her had changed at his urging.

When the three men from the merger arrived to iron out the details, Susan didn't blush when she caught Edward staring. Instead, she held his eye, bit her lip and lowered her lashes so that he was the one who looked nervous. The other one, a very tall, dark-haired man named Will, noticed their exchange and looked at her with a knowing smile.

"It looks like your assistant here has caught the attention of my colleagues," said the third, a man named Jackson who was broad and thick as a bull.

Tyson cleared his throat and looked at her, charmed, showing no hint of dismay or jealousy. There was something more like pride in his eyes, something warm and welcoming her to continue if she liked.

"I think your colleagues have the right idea," said Tyson, tapping the bottom of his pen against the table. "But now is not the time."

"Perhaps later?" piped in Will. "A drink to celebrate?"

"Perhaps," said Susan, and all four men looked at her with grins on their faces and enchantment burning in their eyes. She felt powerful and richer than the three of them combined, drunk on her own charm and influence. They continued on with their meeting and afterward Edward pulled her to the edge of the room while the other men chatted.

"Tell me you're single."

She laughed. "I am." Kind of. She wasn't sure what she was doing with Tyson but was free in the meantime, as far as she was concerned. And she wanted to play around a bit.

"Good. Let me take you out."

Susan noticed he spoke in commands rather than questions. He was used to getting what he wanted.