"Beautiful," he murmured against her ear, watching as he cupped her breasts in the reflection. She arched seductively. "And mine."
Her eyes opened and clashed with his. Night had fallen and dots of light from neighboring office windows created a faux sea of stars. They stood at his desk, bared completely.
He put a kiss on her shoulder, then bent to retrieve a condom from his wallet.
"Hurry," came her plea.
"Moving as fast as I can, honey." He felt her pain. He wasn't drawing out the anticipation of any longer. They needed this—needed to celebrate how far they'd come.
Hell. He needed her, period.
She bent, hands on top of his desk, ass in the air. He reached for her hips, the tip of his cock stroking her slick folds. She was wet and ready.
He traced the delicate line of her back with his fingertips. Her hair fell over smooth shoulders when she lifted her chin. He memorized her like this—eyes closed, elbows on the desk, breasts full. She opened her eyes and her smoky, fuzzy twin had matching lust in her eyes.
Tilting his hips, he entered her and a sharp shout of "yes" left her lips.
"Tell me what you need." He gripped her tightly, unwilling to let her give him more before taking what she came for.
"This," she said. He slid into her again. "You."
He repeated the movement, hands wrapped around her hips as he drove her back against his thighs again.
"You," she gasped.
She needed him. Those words wound around and tickled a part of him he was desperately trying to ignore. The part of him that knew he wasn't what Merina should need.
She grasped his hand when he slowed down, and issued another command.
"Harder, Reese." Her reflection smiled. "I need you to give it to me harder."
That, he could oblige. Holding her, he pounded them both into oblivion, his mind buried under the sensation of her tight warmth and the sweet sounds of her release. She was shouting now, his name, the word yes and oh God and a please thrown in for good measure. If he could have gotten his tongue to work, he'd have shouted with her.
Merina knocked a stapler and the contents of his inbox to the floor, throwing her head to the side in a gorgeous display of ecstasy. One that accompanied her inner muscles spasming. Reese was caught, trapped there within her. As she took her orgasm, she drew his from him.
He came hard, so hard he had to bend over her to rest a hand on the desk, the other cupping her ass as he finished with a few final pumps. Chin on her back, he lightly scraped her flesh with his teeth.
She sighed, contented.
For several minutes the only sound in the room was hectic breathing. Until Merina cut in with that droll, joking tone of hers. "Remind me to bring you gifts more often.
He drew out of her, slowly, and discarded the condom in the wastebasket under his desk. That ought to be fun for the cleaning staff. Merina began collecting her clothes from the floor.
"Going somewhere?" He took the panties and bra from her hands and threw them on his desk.
"I was going to get dressed so we could go home."
"Soon." He lifted her into his arms, his own words curling around his heart like smoke. Just as delicate. Just as impermanent.
He carried her to the leather couch on the opposite side of the room and pulled her onto his lap.
"What's this?" She sat prettily across his legs, her arms looped around his neck.
He stroked the shape of her tattoo and watched goose bumps light her skin. So sensitive. So soft. So strong. Because it took a powerful person to be this soft yet assert herself as Merina had. And she was coming home with him.
A man who hadn't gone home in years.
He held her breast, stroking her nipple lightly with one thumb. When she shuddered, he kissed her. Softly, slowly, silently thanking her for bringing him to this point. Then he said it aloud.
"Thank you."
A bemused expression, then, "You're thanking me for sex?"
"No, smart-ass," he said, and that earned him the cocksure tilt of her mouth. "I'm being sincere. For a change." Her smile turned to a cute laugh. He gave her a brief kiss. "Thank you for doing this…whole thing."
"Oh." Her fingers twined in his hair.
"I held the VH over your head because I needed this," he admitted. "I needed you…" His throat grew tight when those words came out, and he had to swallow and force the rest. "I needed you, Merina. I've wanted CEO for as long as I can remember. Crane Hotels is in my blood. This company is my lifeline, my legacy. If Crane Hotels had gone to someone else…" He shook his head. "It's my worst nightmare."
His admission had left him feeling bare, ironic considering he was wearing zero articles of clothing. Merina gave his words room to linger, not speaking for a few moments.
"I used to see Crane Hotels as big and impersonal. Cold without personality. Like you."
"Ouch." He winced.
"I was wrong about you. About this hotel." Her lips pursed in humility as she glanced around the room. "You love this place the way I love the Van Heusen. It shows in the way you traded your life to live here. To oversee every part. To put yourself on the line and do whatever it took for CEO." She stroked his hair again. "You weren't going to let it go without a fight."
Just like she'd done for her hotel. Another thing they had in common.
She palmed his cheek. "And you're welcome."
He accepted another kiss and sank down onto the couch, comfortable with her on top of him.
"Was it all it was cracked up to be?" he asked as her hands wandered over his chest and down his torso.
"Sex with the CEO?" She palmed his erection and his mouth fell open. "Better than I imagined."
Like everything with her. Merina was better than he'd ever imagined. Better at handling his ex. Better at taking things in stride. Better at knowing what he needed—knowing when to forgive him.
Soon, her kisses turned hungry and his hands wandered to the space between her legs. Minutes after that, she was under him and he driving into her once again.
Her eyes on his, he lost himself in their amber depths, thanking her with more than just his words. With nothing to prove and nothing between them but a thin layer of latex, Reese took his time. Her orgasm came in gentle waves, her eyebrows pinching over her nose and her swollen mouth open and saying his name.