He smirked. “Oh, I’m not even close to being done.”

Evil bastard. “You’re not?”

“No, because then I’d have you take your nipples, one at a time, and pull, hard, until I said stop.” His words caused her nipples to harden against the rough lace of her bra. “All the while you’re trying to forget how desperately you want to come.”

“Even though I’d want to keep my hands much lower?”

He nodded slowly. “But you can’t because I won’t let you come if you don’t obey. And make no mistake, Alessandra, you won’t come until I decide you’re ready to be fucked.”

She swallowed hard.

“Still think you’d like being controlled?” He smirked. “Hypothetically.”

All she could manage was a small nod.

His eyes narrowed briefly as he appraised the situation, then his expression turned into something darker. It was a look she’d come to know well, one that never failed to leave her breathless. “Take your panties off,” he ordered softly.

Her mouth gaped open. “The door isn’t even locked.”

“It wasn’t a request.” His stance altered as he gazed down at her. “Do it.”

He watched with hungry eyes as she reached under her skirt and slowly peeled the scrap of black lace down her thighs. “Spread your legs. Show me how much you want me.”

A thrill shot through her at his rough command and she shivered. Being exposed to him, so open and vulnerable while he stood before her fully clothed was more of a turn-on than she would have ever thought possible. Parting her thighs, she revealed herself to him, and in return was rewarded with his sharp intake of breath.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, dropping to his knees before her. “So swollen and wet.” A single finger skirted her trembling opening. “You’re aching to feel me inside you, aren’t you?”

“God, yes . . .” She lifted her hips in a shameless plea for more, but he kept up the maddening pace, circling her in a lazy, leisurely rhythm. Every so often his fingertip would dip inside, only to withdraw and begin again. She was near mindless with the need to be filled when he finally pushed two fingers inside of her.

Allie’s head fell back against the leather chair. She was wound so tight, she knew all it would take was one skilled flick of his wrist to send her spiraling over the edge. But instead his hand remained perfectly still.

“Don’t come,” he said. His voice was harsh with a barely leashed restraint. “Not until I say you can.” With that his fingers began a slow and teasing pump in and out of her quivering flesh.

Somehow she managed to stop herself from grinding against his palm, resisting the urge to ride his fingers to the shattering orgasm she craved. But she couldn’t hold back her plea. “Please, Hudson,” she begged.

“When you come it will be with my cock inside you.” His fingers moved in a circular motion. “And I don’t think you’re quite ready yet.”

He added a third finger and a moan was ripped from somewhere deep inside her. She dug her heels into the carpet in an attempt to stem the wave of pleasure that threatened to consume her. He kept her on the edge, driving her mad but never giving her exactly what she needed to get her off. When the first tremors of orgasm grasped his fingers, he removed them, leaving her a quivering, panting mess. He held her gaze as he brought his fingers to his lips, tasting the evidence of her arousal. “Hmm, yes, I do believe you’re ready now.”

She nearly sobbed with relief.

“Bend yourself over the desk and lift your skirt.”

All thoughts of office decorum left her and she hurried to obey. A second later she heard the faint click of his buckle followed by the metallic sound of a zipper.

“Hold on to the edge and don’t let go,” he ordered, his voice hoarse and urgent.

She did as he asked, her fingers curling around the mahogany top. His hands gripped her waist and she felt the blunt head of him slip against her as he guided himself to where she was wet and more than ready.

“Brace yourself.” He spread her legs wider with a push of his foot against hers. “This is going to be hard and fast.” With no further warning he surged forward with a powerful thrust of his hips.

Allie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out. She loved it when he took her like this, rough and unapologetic in his use of her body to bring them both the pleasure they craved. His need to claim her, to make her his own, ratcheted her desire for him to an almost unfathomable level.

He growled her name as he eased slowly back, then with a shift of his hips slammed into her again. Over and over he took her, pushing her forward with each punishing thrust. “Hold on,” he ground out between clenched teeth. She tightened her grasp on the desktop as he yanked her back to meet his hips, angling her body so she felt every hard inch of him. His drives were merciless and in no time she felt her insides begin to quicken.

Bending over her, his lips grazed her ear. “Now, baby. Come for me.”

On command her body exploded with an orgasm so intense her vision blurred. Hudson cursed and jerked against her, driving to the hilt one last time, then stilling as he followed her over the edge. She was vaguely aware of movement as he fell back in the chair, pulling her with him and cradling her in his arms. They sat like that for several minutes while their breathing calmed. When Allie finally lifted her head to meet his gaze, she found his eyes filled with nothing but warmth and tenderness.

“How was that?” he asked, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

“Amazing.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and a quiet giggle escaped her lips. “Adventurous. Arousing . . . Awesome.”

He chuckled quietly. “Allie’s orgasm brought to you by the letter ‘A’”?

She looked up at him and smiled. “More like the letter ‘H’. As in holy hell, Hudson.” She laughed. “That was intense.”

He met her grin with one of his own.

“You supposedly came in here to argue with me,” she reminded him. “Hope you have a decent poker face, Chase, because right now you look like a man who’s thoroughly pleased with himself.”

“Perhaps they’ll believe I got what I came for.”

Allie rolled her eyes. “That was bad.”

“Terrible puns aside, I actually did have something to discuss with you.”

“Oh?”

“I’m taking you to the lake on Friday,” he said. It wasn’t a question, and from the way he said it, there wouldn’t be much discussion either. Still, Allie protested.

“You know I love your lake house, Hudson, but—”

“But nothing,” he said, cutting her off before she had a chance to list the numerous reasons why they couldn’t go away together. “I’m tired of stealing time. I want a whole weekend with you, a three-day weekend, no less. I want to go to bed with you and wake up with you and fuck you senseless during every hour in between.”

Her breath caught. “When . . . who . . . I mean how . . .” she stammered, her mouth trying to catch up with her brain.

Hudson laughed. He planted a swift kiss on the top of her head before hauling her to her feet. “Trust me, I have a plan.”

Chapter Fifteen

Allie’s schedule was tighter than ever. With the holiday weekend approaching, Colin had extended her calendar well into the evening hours. From breakfast meetings to late-night e-mails, work consumed her every waking moment. It should have made time fly. But the end of the week held the promise of uninterrupted quality time with Hudson Chase. No sneaking around, no stolen moments behind closed doors, no covert texts or furtive glances. Just three days alone with the man she loved. The thought was never far from her mind, and so despite its hectic pace, the week crawled by. And by late Friday morning it seemed as though time had actually ground to a halt.