Carson Bellphrey gazed out the crack in his heavy oak door at a pair of tan calves. He knew that it was insane to lust after your secretary. Which is why he'd fought the feelings stirring in his head—and in his pants—for the past four months. Lately it had been getting harder and harder to tear his eyes away from her. Hell, every time she walked into his office he was painfully aware of the fact that he hadn't had a sexual encounter in over two months.
When he and his partner had hired Dawn over a year ago, it had been as a favor to their retiring secretary Greta who had served them since they'd opened their own practice. There had been other, more qualified applicants, but Greta said her niece needed a break, and assured he and Justin that she was a fast learner. That proved to be true. Only Carson didn't remember Dawn dressing quite so, lord help him, enticingly back then. And unless he was making something out of nothing, it seemed as though Dawn's eyes held some unidentifiable emotion when they were trained on him.
In fact it had been that look he'd been picturing just the night before while he got himself off. Except in that scenario her eyes weren't sparkling from across his large desk. They were staring upwards, her candy apple red lips wrapped around his manhood as she kneeled before him. Carson bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning out loud at the mere image.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought him out of his thoughts. "Excuse me, Mr. Bellphrey, sir, a-are you okay?"
Carson gaped for a second, and then managed to regain some composure. "Yes, I'm fine Miss Lawson. Is there something I can do for you?"
"You asked me to come in for a dictation." The way she paused before saying the last word made Carson shudder.
How could someone with a body that caused images of rumpled sheets and long passion-filled nights to pop into his head manage to sound so pure? It was a paradox that did nothing to lessen the pressure in his pants. "You're right, of course. Sometimes I think if I didn't have a secretary I wouldn't ever win a case."
It was his attempt at easing some of the tension that hung in the air between them, but it sounded forced even to his own ears.
***
Dawn Lawson studied her boss intently. In the past five minutes she'd seen two sides of him that she hadn't been aware he had. First she'd walked into his office to find him reclining in his chair, eyes closed, a vulnerable expression on his face. Being someone who filled a doorway, wore powerful black suits every day, and had a string of successes in the courtroom longer than anyone else in the county, vulnerable wasn't something associated with Carson Bellphrey. And now, he looked nervous.
Ever since she'd been hired at Bellphrey & Parker's Law Office Dawn had walked on her tip-toes. She knew the only reason she had gotten the job was because her aunt put in a good word. Because of that she worked twice as hard as Mary, the other secretary, and feared getting canned at any moment. Only recently had she started to feel more secure with her position. And now she sensed something was wrong. Why else would Mr. Bellphrey be nervous unless he planned on firing her?
Maybe he thinks I'm one of those girls who gets hysterical when being fired. Well, she wouldn't prove his assumption right. She would take any bad news he gave her without sniveling like a baby.
Throughout the hour it took her to take down the message Carson wanted sent to his latest client, Dawn found herself wondering why he wasn't getting to it. He wasn't kidding anyone. He couldn't even hold her gaze for more than a few seconds before looking elsewhere. That meant only one thing—something was up.
Dawn may not be an expert when it came to reading men. In fact she considered herself pretty stupid when it came to anything possessing a Y chromosome. But she could tell when she was about to be fired. That had happened often enough that she'd learned the signs. What she didn't know is when he would drop the bomb. She only hoped it was soon so that she didn't have to see his magnificent broad shoulders—the ones that filled suits perfectly—set rigidly. The shadow covering his face didn't take away from his handsome features, but she'd much rather see him smiling.
Before leaving his office, Dawn turned, responding to the statement he'd made much earlier, "You're a good lawyer, Carson, you could certainly win cases with or without a secretary." Dawn decided to bait him. Try and figure out if her job really was in jeopardy or if she was suffering from paranoia. "At least, you could certainly go on without a secretary like me…"
She waited for him to deny her words. Say that she was an important part of the firm. He didn't say anything close to that. He didn't say anything at all. The temper Dawn's grandmother had always frowned upon started to flare.
***
Her toned legs seemed to stretch forever. Especially because the skirt she wore was on the short side. Not that Carson minded of course. The only downside to her fantastic legs was that he'd been staring so intently that he completely missed what Dawn had said. So instead of responded, he just sat back and asked if she could bring him a refill on his coffee. And even though she nodded, Carson saw a spark ignite behind her eyes.
Had she caught him burning every inch of her legs into his memory? Carson knew he should care, but he was so disappointed that she appeared to frown upon his appraisal that he didn't. Why did the one woman he was interested in have to be the one he couldn't touch? And damn it if he hadn't been trying to come up with a plan to get around the company policy of not dating employees or clients. The very policy he'd helped create was now destroying his potential sex life.
The way Dawn walked reminded him of a model on a runway. Hips swaying, chin held in a confident manner, and he knew from previous observation that her ass was doing a sexy little dance that could make him hot under the collar.
She handed him the coffee and then asked if there was anything else she could do for him. His mind went into overdrive trying to come up with a reason for her to stay in his office. I must be a masochist at heart, he thought sardonically. "Why don't you go check on Justin and then come back?"
Fists on her hips, Dawn took a completely defensive stance. "Mr. Bellphrey, unless you've forgotten Mr. Parker is out all day today. Remember?"
"Oh…yeah." He felt incompetent and flustered. Never in his life had a woman made him come so unglued. Being very experienced with women, he no longer got too worked up over them. Which meant he should be wary of Dawn. Of the way she could make him go from perfectly-professional to wanting to get down on his knees and beg for it in five seconds.
"Why don't you just do it?"
Unsure of her meaning, Carson met her usually warm blue eyes. The ones that were now hard as granite. "Do what?"
She snorted, "Do you want me to walk out myself? Quit so you don't have to do the dirty work?" He didn't answer. Didn't know what to say. She wasn't making sense. Stalking over to his desk she put her hands flat, leaning down to his eye level. He doubted she was aware of the view she was giving him. "Why don't you just fire me?"
The idea was so absurd that he laughed. Judging by the additional fury that shone in her eyes, it had been the wrong thing to do. But he couldn't help it. "I don't want to fire you, Miss Lawson. I want to fuck you."
Carson immediately went rigid. Had he said that last part out loud? All it took was one look at Dawn and he knew the answer. Someone, he thought, is going to get sexual harassment charges pressed against him. Eyes wider than the Grand Canyon, Dawn didn't move an inch. In fact Carson wasn't sure that she was even breathing.
He stood up cautiously, and moved around the desk, "I-I didn't mean that. I'm terribly sorry. What I said was very unprofessional and completely uncalled for."
She countered every step he took forward by taking two backwards. Only when her back hit his door did she look up at him. The vulnerability in her eyes wasn't something Carson wanted there. With his hand poised above her cheek he fingered a few strands of hair that had escaped her bun. They were luxuriously soft. He wondered what it would feel like grazing his bare chest, but stopped the fantasy before he let out a groan. "I'm not going to hurt you, Dawn. I would never do anything you didn't want to do." When she said nothing he swallowed hard, wanting so bad to kiss her pliant lips, but needing her permission even more. "Do you believe me?"
Seconds dragged on into years until she nodded, slipping her pink tongue out to wet her lower lip. Carson about went cross-eyed. He maneuvered his legs outside hers, allowing him to get closer. Her breasts pressed up nicely against his chest, and he was about to introduce the flat of her stomach to the bulge in his pants when he became aware of her lips. They were moving. "Kiss me, Carson."
As if he needed to be told twice. Pressing his mouth to hers, Carson was going to take it nice and slow until he felt Dawn's lips part, her tongue licking across his lips. Surprised, but completely turned on he let her take the lead. Allowed her tongue to explore his mouth. Enjoyed the way she sucked lightly on his tongue when it followed the retreat of her own.
His hands ran up her lithe body, stopping occasionally to caress the undersides of her breasts, or to trace the column of her throat. Slowly she eased their lips apart, looking up at him—her eyes still have closed with pleasure, "Mary called in sick, you know. We've got the whole office to ourselves…"
If that wasn't an invitation, what was? Still, the last thing Carson wanted was for someone to walk in and find him with his pants down around his ankles, Dawn's long legs wrapped tightly around his waist. He reached down and locked his door, and then pulled the blinds to the window that looked out into the lobby.
