They were men, she told herself as she entered her office two days later. How hard could it be?
“Tally, it’s about time you showed up.” Lucian slammed the upper file cabinet drawer closed, frowning as she strode calmly to her desk and stored her purse. “You’re late.”
“Not hardly,” she informed him with cool disdain as she checked the clock above the file cabinet. “I’m a minute early, actually. Why are you in my file cabinet?”
It was one of the reasons she hated dealing with files. She could keep them in perfect order, then Lucian, just as Jesse did, could mess them up with seemingly no effort at all.
“Looking for a file, obviously,” he grunted. “Where were you all weekend? I called.”
And he had, several times a day.
“It’s none of your business where I was this weekend. Which file were you looking for?” She arched her brows in inquiry.
“Anderhaul’s.” He was watching her intently now. “And I’m making it my business. You weren’t at home or online. I checked.”
“You wouldn’t know if I was online, Lucian,” she told him calmly as she opened the drawer and attempted to hide the struggle to peer into the top file as she began to search through the files. It took her only seconds to locate it. “Here you go.” She handed him the file efficiently before closing the drawer and going back to her desk.
“Why wouldn’t I know if you were online?” He was definitely irate.
“Because I now have you blocked.” She shrugged. “I don’t like liars and I refuse to talk to them.” She kept her voice even, carefully modulated; she knew it was guaranteed to set his nerves on edge.
“I did not lie to you, Tally,” he practically snarled. “I could have continued the charade but I didn’t want that between us.”
“How very decent of you.” She bared her teeth when she smiled. The very thought of the things she had shared with him made her furious.
“I could give you the things you need, Tally,” he told her softly. “All those dark little fantasies you try so hard to keep locked away; they could be yours.”
Tally took her seat at her desk, smoothed her skirt over her legs and adjusted the cuffs of her royal blue silk blouse before raising her gaze to meet his coolly.
“You have a nine-thirty appointment with the head of security to discuss the security measures being installed in the new labs, and right after that a meeting with Jesse to discuss the homing software the design engineers are developing. I laid the files out Friday before I left.” She ignored his offer, though she couldn’t deny the thrill of danger that exploded through her system.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed on her. “Make certain coffee and danish are available. I’ll need you at the meeting with Jesse since you were aware of the early stages of the contract to design the software. We’ll be working through lunch, so you might want to order in.”
Great. Working through lunch. She had hoped to escape him for at least a little while.
“I’ll contact Breilla’s.” She made a note to call one of the better establishments in the city. “Anything else, Master?” she asked sarcastically.
“Let me see those nipple rings.” The request was made as easily as one for a file would be.
Tally leaned back in her chair and regarded him curiously. She didn’t dare, not with the door unlocked, but how she would love to bring him down a notch or two. She lifted one hand teasingly, her fingers running over the small pearl buttons as she smiled back at him tauntingly.
It was just too much fun, teasing him and Dev in this manner. It was almost addictive.
“What will you give me?” she asked flirtatiously, her gaze dipping down to the bulge straining against his pants as she lifted her eyebrow suggestively.
Amusement flared in his brilliant green eyes and quirked the edges of his lips.
“I’ll keep your teasing in mind until the minute I have you stretched across my lap, ready for the spanking I’m certain you’ll deserve, and oh so enjoy,” he murmured as he moved closer to her desk, staring down at her with a sudden dark hunger that had her pulse leaping in response.
She sighed expressively, lowering her eyes demurely before peeking back up at him through her eyelashes. “Promise? Until then, be a good little boss and go make yourself useful so I can finish my own chores. I’ll let you know when your first meeting arrives.” She dismissed him coolly, turning to power the computer up and begin the day.
Tally gave the appearance of restraining a mocking smile, though her pu**y was weeping, clenching in arousal.
She was aware of him watching her for long moments and the reflective expression that came over his face as she continued to ignore him. She had no doubt that he was planning her punishment with great relish. But he had been doing that for months now.
“There are days, Tally,” he finally sighed, “that it’s a damned good thing I’ve become so fond of you. Otherwise, I think I’d find a deep, deep hole to bury you in.”
From the corner of her eye she watched as he turned and walked to the open doorway of his own office. When the door closed behind him, she stared down at the slight tremble in her fingers. Fond of her? It was little enough, but it struck a chord deep inside her. It wasn’t the words, but his tone. Deep, intense, making her want to believe it was conveying so much more than words spoken.
Wishful thinking. She drew in a deep breath, fought to regain her composure and turned back to the computer. She didn’t have time for wishful thinking.
* * * * *
Lucian managed, just barely, to put aside the hunger building in his c**k and attend to business that morning as needed. It was the afternoon he was awaiting. His calendar was clear for the rest of the day and he intended to begin the seduction of Tally then. He knew he was courting a sexual harassment suit; hell, if he were Tally he would have likely already slapped one in his face. The only thing saving him, he knew, was that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.
He knew she did. He could see it in her eyes, the knowledge that he held the key to her darkest desires. He knew her as very few people did. She had given him the key to her downfall and it made her madder than hell to know it.
The meetings progressed quickly. Thankfully, there seemed to be no glitches in the present projects and everything was running smoothly. Lunch was eaten during the final meeting with Anderhaul amid discussion of the finalized contract. The meeting moved quickly and just before two, the office had cleared out of everyone except Lucian, Devril and Tally.