Torrid Little Affair (Forbidden Desires #3)

I dropped into the seat in front of him, feeling like my workday had gone on a lot longer than fifteen minutes. Jesus, was that all it had been since I’d arrived in the lobby, feeling so hopeful about my future?Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I was a hot fucking mess.

“So . . . about the gift you left in my office?”

He stopped typing and looked up at me. “Yes?”

I swallowed a heavy lump in my throat. “She was for?”

His heavy brows drew together. “She’s meant to be your new assistant. She’s more than qualified. And if she does well, my hope is that she can take over the office manager position. She’s been training for this week with Alyssa, and has caught on very quickly.”

“Fuck.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the stirrings of a headache.

“What does that mean? Did something happen?”

Blowing out a frustrated sigh, I lifted my gaze to his. “Yeah. Sort of.”

And by sort of, I mean I nearly pulled out my cock and forced it into her pretty mouth. Jesus.

“Talk, man. I’ve got a conference call starting in three minutes.”

“When you said gift . . .” I waggled my eyebrows. “And I saw a pretty young thing sitting in my office . . .”

He wasn’t catching on. I was going to have to spell it out for him.

“I thought she was there for sex-to help me blow off some steam.”

“Jesus, Cooper,” Quinn growled. “Tell me you didn’t proposition her?”

I looked down at my newly shined shoes.

“Fuck,” he roared.

“It was a mistake. But honestly, dude, you never said you’d hired me an assistant. You said you’d gotten me a gift. Think about it.” I raised my eyebrows again.

But Quinn was shaking his head. “You’re here to work, not to blow off steam or whatever you call it. I assume that’s what you spent the last six months doing on the beach.”

“Again, my mistake.”

“So, what happened?”

“Well . . .”

“Don’t fuck with me, Cooper. What happened exactly.” He annunciated each word as though it was its own sentence.

“I propositioned her for sex, and she ran from my office crying.”

“Goddamn it.” Quinn rose to his feet and stalked toward the windows where he gazed down on the traffic below, his hands in his hair.

“I’m going to fix it. I just wanted you to know.”

“Good. Then what are you still doing in my office?” he asked, turning to face me again.

I nodded and rose to my feet, heading to the door and wondering if Alyssa had coaxed Corinne from the bathroom yet. And if she had, exactly what I was going to say.

The deep rumble of Quinn’s voice made me pause at the doorway.

“And, Cooper? You can find women to fuck on your own time.”

“Understood.”

He nodded. “Now, go make this right.”

I would. I had to. I couldn’t live with myself if Corinne quit because of my disgustingly chauvinistic behavior.

That wasn’t me. It wasn’t who I was. I’d always been the nice guy women could trust, the one who made them feel safe and comfortable, and even cherished. I certainly wasn’t some creeper only interested in sex.

When I approached Alyssa’s desk, Corinne was there-looking incredibly delectable in her fitted skirt that accentuated her curves and made my knees go weak. She had a body built for sin, and the caveman in me wanted to drag her back into my office and show her how amazing those God-given curves could be used, devoured, worshipped.

My brain might have thought that I was still nursing a heartbreak over losing Emma, but my body? My body had moved on, quickly cataloging the differences between the two women and deciding which was superior.

First, there was Emma, who was slender and delicate-and my brother’s fucking wife, my subconscious reminded me. She was graceful, beautiful even, but she sure as hell had never gotten my blood pumping like Corinne had managed to do in the few minutes we’d spent together.

Corinne was . . . well, in a league of her own. Her body was thicker, healthy in a way that was biologically pleasing on the most basic level to me as a man. She had ripe, heavy breasts and a slim waist, but luscious hips and a juicy ass that I was already in love with.

Fuck. The things that I would do to that ass . . .

She looked as though she was meant to birth children, to nurse them, to care for them. At the most primitive level, I wanted her, wanted to fill her with come and . . .

My thoughts slammed to a halt.

Shit.

Pull yourself together, Coop.

I wasn’t supposed to be fantasizing about her-I was supposed to be plotting a way to reassure her and keep her on my team. For work. Nothing more.

Jesus. I needed to get a hold of myself.

I drew a sharp inhale, noticing the way the skin on her face and neck was pink and blotchy. She was upset and had only just stopped crying, by the looks of it.

“I messed up. Can I speak with you for a moment?” I asked, my voice soft.

Alyssa gave her an encouraging smile as if to say, Don’t worry. Despite his aggressive behavior, he’s not a rapist. Promise.

Corinne nodded and headed into my office. I followed a safe distance behind her and left the door open.

“I am sorry. So fucking sorry. That was a misunderstanding.” My words came out in a rush. “My brother said he’d gotten me a gift, and I read into it. It was a massive mistake on my part.”

Corinne looked me over, her expression suspicious. “Do your brothers often give you women as gifts?”

I shook my head. “No. Never. I’m just a little fucked up right now, after some past . . . relationship stuff. And when I saw you, I thought maybe they were trying to cheer me up.”

She sniffed again, eyeing me warily. “I see. I’m sorry I freaked out like that.”

I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. You had every right to.”

Corinne looked down at the chair in front of my desk, and I gestured for her to sit. When she did, I took the chair next to her, rather than the one behind my desk. I thought it might seem less threatening to sit beside her, rather than across from her, but I hadn’t counted on the close proximity this would force us into.

“You’re not going to quit, are you?” I asked.