I Won’t Be In On Monday (The Annoying Hot Bosses Club #3)

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

R emington

I can feel Juniper’s heart racing next to me as I pull back slightly. I can't believe that I just kissed her. But it feels so right. Her eyes are wide, and her fingers are still trailing across the nape of my neck as I run my fingers across her breasts.

“So…” I say, staring at her, wondering if she's going to tell me off.

“So…" she says, repeating my words.

I reach down and brush her bottom lip with my thumb. She trembles slightly. “That was pretty epic,” I say, waiting for her reaction.

“That was definitely something,” she says, stepping back quickly and shaking her hands. “What just happened?”

“I think we just kissed.”

“But why? Why did you kiss me? I mean, we—“ She sounds flustered. And I hold my hands up in the air.

“I think I just went with the moment, and I felt like?—”

“You felt like what?”

“I felt like you were open and willing for a kiss. Did I get it wrong?”

She stares at me for a couple of seconds and shakes her head. I like that she doesn't play games. I like that she wanted that kiss as much as I did.

“Are you hungry? Shall we go and get a bite to eat?” I take a step back. All I want to do is fuck her, but I don’t want to rush this.

“I mean, I don't know.” She blinks. “We don't have to work anymore, and I'm sure Canyon is waiting for you. Actually, where is Canyon?”

“Oh, Lila and Skye didn't tell you? They're babysitting for me tonight.”

“Oh, that's awesome. They'll love her, and she'll love them,” she says, smiling at me widely. “I’m glad to hear that you were able to find someone who's not me.”

“I mean, I think Canyon still prefers you,” I say, teasing her.

“Well, of course. I’m amazing.” She grins.

Her stomach growls slightly, and she blinks. “I guess I am kind of hungry.”

“You want to get some Chinese food or something?”

“Maybe.” She stares at me for a couple of seconds and frowns. “But I'm not going to sleep with you, if that's where you think this is going.”

“What?” I step toward her and grab her hands. “No, I didn't ask you to dinner so I could sleep with you. I'm not going to lie, though, the thought has crossed my mind.” I press my fingers against the side of her neck and run them down toward her collarbone. “You have to admit we have chemistry.”

“I don't know what we have, but I'm still your assistant, and you know...”

“I know you have your date with Marco on Sunday.”

“That's not what I was going to say. I was going to say it's not, you know, appropriate.”

“What's not appropriate?”

“For you and me to, you know.”

“To have sex?” I say softly.

“Yeah. Plus?—”

“Plus, what?”

“I’m a virgin,” she says, blinking rapidly. “And I kind of was saving myself for someone, and—” she squeaks. “Oh, I don't even want to talk about this right now.”

“You're a virgin?” I'm surprised, but not really. Something about her gave off an innocent vibe.

“Yes, and I want my first time to be really special.”

“And you don’t think being with me tonight would be special?”

“Well, not really, seeing as we've never even been on a date, and you don't—well, you know.”

“I don't, what?”

“You don’t love me or anything like that.”

“Oh, you're waiting on love?” I say. “Are you also waiting on your wedding night?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you hoping to give yourself to your husband and have your first time be on your honeymoon? Like something really special and romantic?” For some reason, the thought doesn't anger me, even though I know I'm never going to be the man to marry her. For some reason, I want it to be special for her. I want her to have everything she's ever dreamed of, even if I don't really want it to be with another man. The thought confuses me because I want her so badly.

She looks up at me, pressing her glasses back into her eyes again. “I wasn't necessarily waiting for my wedding. I did kind of want to ensure I was sexually compatible with a man before I married him. But I do want it to be with someone who"—she shrugs—“has feelings for me that are special, and I know that he cares about me.” She points her finger at me and then back at herself. “I don't really think you have those sorts of feelings for me.”

“I mean—" I pause. I've always told myself that I would never lie to a woman to get sex. “I like you, Juniper,” I say honestly, and the thought hits me that I like her probably more than I even realize. “But you're right. I'm not looking to get married. I'm not even looking for a serious relationship. I don't want to lose you as my assistant. I don't want this to become complicated, so maybe we just go and grab dinner and forget the kiss ever happened.”

She looks slightly disappointed at my words. Maybe as disappointed as I feel. I try to ignore the rigid stick in my pants that's shouting at me. I take a step toward her. “But maybe before we leave the office, we can have one last kiss to cement the fact that we're never going to kiss again.”

“I don't know,” she says, smiling shyly. “Is that a good idea?”

“To hell with good ideas,” I say, as I reach behind her neck and bring her face back up to mine. I press my lips into hers, and she sighs as she once again reaches up and runs her fingers through my hair. I run my own fingers down her back towards her ass and squeeze. She has a firm butt, and she presses herself into me further as my tongue enters her mouth. I can feel the swell of her belly against my hardness, and I know I'm growing. I should stop this moment. I should walk away. But I just can't. I don't want it to end. I want this to be something that she thinks about forever.

My fingers slip up under her T-shirt, and she pauses suddenly, her eyes opening and flying to mine. “What are you doing?” she whispers against my lips.

I suck on her lower lip and bite down, and she yelps slightly. I grin as I kiss her again. My lips move to the side of her neck as I press my lips against her skin. I feel her fingers on my shoulders now squeezing, and we're both silent as I reach up and pull her T-shirt off. She looks at me with wide eyes, staring at me beautifully. Her lips are parted and trembling, and I stare at her in her pink bra and grin. She's gorgeous. I reach behind her back and pick through her hair with my fingers and let it fall back. I run my fingers through her tresses. “So silky,” I say before I gingerly take her glasses off. “Is this okay?” I ask, and she nods slowly. I walk over and put them on the desk instead of dropping them onto the ground so they don’t break.

I head back over to her and run my fingers down the side of her face, toward her shoulders, and then to her bra strap. She licks her lips nervously. I wonder if she's going to tell me to stop. Instead, she reaches up and pulls on my tie. “Can I take it off?” she says softly, and I nod.

She quickly undoes my tie and drops it to the ground, not caring if it gets dirty, not that I care either. And then I feel her fingers on the buttons of my shirt, and she's undoing them one by one by one until all of them are done. I take off my jacket, and then she slides my shirt off me. She runs her fingers down my pecs towards my stomach and gingerly touches each ripple of muscle. I tremble at her soft touch. “I've wanted to do that since I saw you at your apartment that day,” she says, laughing slightly. “You’ve got abs for days.”

“Thank you,” I say, feeling proud of the hours I've put in at the gym. I'm glad she appreciates my body. I lean forward and kiss her collarbone.

“I'm still not going to sleep with you, you know,” she says.

“This is just us exploring,” I say. “And then we will go to dinner.”

“It was just meant to be a kiss,” she says. “One last kiss before?—”

“I know,” I say as I slip her bra strap down her right arm. She stares at me, unblinking, and I slip the left arm down, as well, before reaching behind her and unclasping her bra. It drops to the ground next to my tie. I stare at her naked breasts. Beautiful. I don't touch her, though, because I don't want to do anything that would make her uncomfortable.

She steps forward and presses herself against me and reaches up and grabs my head. “Kiss me,” she says in a demanding tone, and I chuckle as I press my lips to hers again.

I run my fingers down the silky skin of her back and slip them into the back of her sweatpants and over her panties. She moans slightly as she runs her fingers up and down my back, her fingernails digging into the skin. I lift her up and carry her over to the desk and push her back slightly. She looks up at me, a wide smile on her face. I grab her wrist and feel her pulse. It’s racing rapidly. “Don’t worry,” I say. “I won't take it too far.”

“I'm not worried, Remington.” She looks up at me. “Like I said before. I may be sugar and spice and all things nice, but I have a naughty streak to me, as well.”

I growl at her words and reach down and kiss her on the lips again. My lips then move to her nose, to her forehead, to her cheeks, to her ears. I suckle on her ear lobes, and she moans as she reaches up and pulls me down.

“You've got the most beautiful brown eyes,” she says as she gazes into them. “They're so dark and intense, yet I feel like I could just melt in them.”

“And you have the most beautiful blue eyes,” I say, gazing into their depths. “They're almost purple at times.”

“I know,” she says, grinning. “My dad says that I remind him of Elizabeth Taylor sometimes. He thinks we have the same eyes.” She blushes slightly. “Not that I am as good-looking as she was, of course. She was beautiful.”

“You're beautiful,” I say. “You're absolutely stunning. You know that, right, Juniper?”

“I’m okay. I mean, I’m a?—”

“Don’t you dare say ugly duckling or nerd.” I glare at her.

She wrinkles her nose. “But I do look like a nerd with my glasses, and?—”

“You don't have your glasses on now,” I say.

She nods slightly. “Are we crazy?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we shouldn't be here doing this. We both want different things, and I don't want this to be awkward on Monday.”

“What would be awkward?” I say, as I run my fingers down the side of her body, and she shivers.

“I don’t know. I just?—”

“You just, what?” I reach my thumb over her nipple and play with it gently. She bites down on her lower lip and closes her eyes as she emits a low moan. “Do you like that?” I say.

“Mmm,” she responds.

“Open your eyes, Juniper. Look at me.”

She opens her eyes slowly and looks at me, nodding. “It feels nice.”

“Good,” I say as I cup her breasts gingerly and kiss the valley between them all the way down to her belly button. My tongue darts into her belly button, and she squeals, bursting out laughing. I stand up and stare down at her. “What is it?”

“I guess I'm just very ticklish,” she says. “That tickled a lot.”

“Did it?” I say as I look down at her half-naked on the top of my desk. I wonder where else she's ticklish. I wonder what other noises she would make if I were to put my tongue in other places. I dismiss the thought. I know I can't take it that far. My hands don't seem to agree with my brain as they rest on the side of her hips on her sweatpants.

“What are you doing?” she says, staring up at me, mouth parted as I start to tug down her sweatpants. I pull them to mid-thigh and stare at her black panties. She’s changed out of the thong from earlier. I want to open her legs. I want to taste her. I want her to understand what it is to have an experience that is both orgasmic and magical at the same time. But I stop myself because I know I can't go that far, not with her. Not yet.

I pull her sweatpants back up and grab her hands and pull her off the table. She blinks at me and chews on her lower lip. “Is everything okay?” she asks, as she reaches over and touches my chest hair again.

“Of course,” I say, bringing her lips to mine and kissing her again. “But I think that I need to stop now.”

“Oh, you're not attracted to me?” she asks sadly. I burst out laughing. “What? That's not funny.” She glares at me. Her breasts jiggle slightly, and I rub my palms against them roughly. She moans loudly, and I press my lips against hers, sucking and kissing as I slip my fingers down into her panties. She’s wet, and I easily slip two fingers inside of her.

“Darling. I've never been more attracted to anyone in my life,” I whisper against her lips, and she squirms and moans. She tilts her head back, and I kiss her neck. I pick her up and place her on the desk, pushing her back. I tug her sweatpants down, along with her panties, and rub her clit with my thumb. She’s trembling as her breasts bounce back and forth, and I grunt. She sits up slightly, her hair tousled, her eyes dazed. She reaches over and unzips my pants and rubs my cock. I still, loving the feel of her fingers on me.

“We should stop.” I grunt. “We literally just spoke about the fact that you want your first time to be special and?—”

“We’re not going to have sex,” she says, her lips parted as she plays with the tip of my cock. My cock grows harder, and I pull her up against me. I kiss her hard and crush her breasts against my chest. My fingers move back to her wetness, and I move my cock up to brush against her clit. She moans lightly, and it takes everything in me not to thrust inside of her.

“We have to stop.” I groan, trying to have restraint. “We've already gone too far,” I say, pulling back and quickly picking up her bra and handing it to her. “You should put this back on.”

“Why?” She’s flustered.

“Because I want to do things to you that will make you blush as red as beetroot. I want to make you scream. I want to make you call out my name. I am ten seconds away from fucking you silly, Juniper, and I know you don’t want that.” A part of me wants her to tell me that she wants me to fuck her. All she has to do is say the word and I’d be inside of her so hard and fast.

She nods slowly as she pulls on her bra. I sigh reluctantly as I pick up her shirt and hand it to her. “We should get something to eat. I'm sorry that I ruined your plans for your date. That was selfish of me.”

“Why did you do that?” She blinks. “I just don't understand.”

“Because I didn't think Marco sounded like a great guy.”

“But you didn't know anything about him.”

“Maybe I was jealous, okay?” The words come out before I can stop them. Her jaw drops, and I let out a sigh. “I mean, I don't know why I was jealous. Obviously, I have no reason to be jealous. But the thought of you going on a date with this man… I don't know, it just didn't sit right with me. And so I thought maybe—" I shrug. “None of this makes sense. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything.”

“You were jealous. But why?” She steps forward. “Is it because?—”

“Is it because what?” I ask.

“Is it because you think I have a good relationship with Canyon, and you want me to babysit her more often?”

I stare at her for a couple of seconds and shake my head. “What are you talking about, Juniper? If I wanted you to babysit Canyon, why would I be jealous of you going on a date with some random man?”

“I don’t know, but?—”

“But nothing. I know that you're innocent, but sometimes I just wonder if you're absolutely clueless.”

She glares at me.“I'm not clueless. I was just wondering. I mean, you did want me to babysit Canyon before so you could go on a date, and you did tell some lady that I was nothing, just your assistant.”

“What are you talking about? When did I ever do that?”

“When I was at your house, I overheard a conversation.”

I stare at her for a couple of seconds and shake my head. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“There was a lady you were speaking to. I guess she wanted to go on a date that night, maybe have sex or something. And you really wanted to. But you were telling her you were with me, and I guess maybe she got upset, and you were like, ‘Oh, you have nothing to be upset about. I would never do anything with Juniper.’”

I blink for a couple of seconds. “You were listening to my conversation?”

“Not on purpose. I was about to come back in, and then I realized you were on the phone, so I waited. But you were loud.”

“I wasn’t saying that because I wasn’t attracted to you or because I could never see anything happening. I was just saying that to let her down gently.” I grab Juniper by the neck and bring her towards me again. “I think you're fucking sexy as hell. I want to take you right here, right now. You can feel how hard I am, so you know I'm not lying. But I respect you, and I care about you. I want to ensure that I don't ruin whatever it is that we have just because I want to feel myself inside of you.”

She blushes a delicious color of pink, and I grin. “You see, you're too innocent for me. Even now, when we haven't really done anything, you're blushing. You're shy. Nervous.”

“I’m not that nervous,” she says, running her finger down my chest. “Maybe I want those things, as well. Maybe I’m okay going a little further than just a little kiss.”

“What we had was more than just a little kiss,” I say, chuckling. “My cock was nearly inside of you.”

“And maybe I’m okay with that,” she says. “Why don't you actually ask me before making decisions for me?”

“So, what are you saying?” I blink at her. “Are you saying that you?—”

“Well, right now I'm saying that I want to get something to eat, so maybe put your shirt on, and let's go grab some food.”

“Oh, okay.” I'm disappointed now. “So, the other stuff is on or off the table?”

“What other stuff?” She blinks at me.

“You know, like me giving you your first orgasm.” I grin at her.

“I’ve had orgasms before, Remington.” She bursts out laughing. “I'm a virgin. Not new to the world of pleasure.”

I stare at her for a couple of seconds. “So, did these orgasms come from a boyfriend or a vibrator?”

She grins. “A very good vibrator that my best friend Poppy got me years ago.”

“I'm better than a vibrator,” I say, happy at her response. “Not that I like to boast.”

“I don’t know if you know how good vibrators are. I've been told by many friends who have had plenty of sex that men don't usually give them as much pleasure as the vibrators do.”

“Trust me,” I say, growling. “I consider that a challenge. And one day, I will prove to you that I am better than any vibrator that ever existed.”

“Oh, yeah?” she says, licking her lips nervously. “You'll prove that to me, will you?”

“I will.” My eyes are sparkling now at the look in her face. “Something tells me that you're up for that challenge.”

“I don't know if I am,” she says, looking away. “Maybe.”

“Maybe, huh?” I'm about to ask her if she wants to come over the next evening when my phone rings.

“You can take that,” she says.

I look down at the number and see that it's Abigail, a woman I had gone on a couple of dates with a few months ago. They'd gone pretty well, but then she'd had to jet over to India for a yoga retreat that she was teaching. “No, I'm not going to take this,” I say.

“Take it. It’s fine,” she says.

I answer the phone. “Hello.”

“Hey, Remington,” Abigail says in her sultry voice. “What are you doing?”

“I'm here in the office, actually. How are you?”

“I'm back in New York for a month or so before I head off to Costa Rica to teach a wellness retreat.”

“Awesome. Welcome back to the city.”

“I was wondering if you would like to grab dinner tonight.”

“I'm afraid I can’t,” I say, looking over at Juniper, who I can tell is listening to my side of the conversation, because she's so obviously looking in the other direction and not making eye contact with me.

“Oh, well, that's a pity. What about tomorrow?”

“I don't know if I can tomorrow. I'll have to check my schedule.”

“I'd really like to see you,” she says. Ppick up where we left off.”

I think back to where we left off, me inviting her back to my place, and then changing my mind and taking her to a hotel. I think about us in the hotel with her in the bath, waiting for me. I think about how I'd been about to take off my clothes when she started talking about having kids and wanting to know if I'd be a sperm donor, but doing it the old-fashioned way. I told her I'd think about it, even though I had no interest.

“So, tomorrow?” she asks. “What do you think?”

“I'm not sure. I actually might have plans,” I say. “Look, can I give you a call back later?”

“Okay,” she says, sounding disappointed. “But I'll be thinking of you tonight when I play with myself.”

“Sounds good,” I say and hang up. I look back over at Juniper, and she looks annoyed. “What's wrong?”

“That was another woman.”

“How do you know it was a woman?”

“I could tell by the way you were talking and the fact that she was basically asking you to meet up tonight. You know what? I can go home if you want to go out with her and get laid.”

“Juniper,” I say, grabbing her hands and pulling her to me. “Stop. I’m not interested in these other women. I just want to focus on my relationship with Canyon and you know, work.”

“Yeah, because you’re not looking for a relationship, are you?”

“Exactly. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t both enjoy a little fun, right? I ask her softly.

Her eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe we can come to a mutually exclusive arrangement.” I kiss her lips and then her neck. “Maybe we can give each other the release we both know we want.”