Dear Grumpy Boss: A Brother’s Best Friend Office Romance (The Harder They Fall)
Dear Grumpy Boss: Chapter 20

ELISE WAS IN THE shower when I let myself into her room. I shed my clothes on the walk to the bathroom. It had been a long day, filled with meetings I couldn’t cut short, despite my desire to do so.

When I reached the bathroom, I stopped in my tracks to stand outside the shower stall, watching Elise. Her head was tipped back, rinsing her hair. My dick throbbed as I took in her delicious, lush curves. Her gorgeous big tits. Her soft, round hips and sloped stomach. That ass that felt absolutely unbelievable when I was taking her from behind.

That ass that was covered in bruises.

What?

Tearing open the shower door, I dropped to my knees to examine her.

She screeched, spinning away from me. “Weston! What the hell?”

Gripping her hips, I tried to turn her. “What is that?”

“What?” She swatted at my hands. “Get up, you scared the shit out of me!”

“Why does your ass look like you just had the spanking of a lifetime?”

She went still, then slowly peeked over her shoulder at her backside. “Oh. It looks worse than it feels.”

“Explain.”

Her fingers hooked the underside of my chin. “Come up here and I will.”

Sensing I wasn’t going to win this right now, I rose to my feet and crowded her space until her breasts were flattened against me.

“Explain, Elise.”

She hooked her arms around my neck, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I went rock climbing today, and I fell a lot. You should have seen me, West. Actually, I have a video and some pictures. It took me a long time and a lot of falls, but I made it to the top of a ten-foot boulder. Can you believe that? Me.”

Her excitement and explanation eased some of my boiling concern, but I did not like seeing her pretty skin marked up by anyone but me. I did not like knowing she’d endangered herself around people she barely knew. I did not like that she’d shared this obviously incredible experience with the men from the factory.

“You could have broken something.” I slid my hand down her back to gently cup her ass. “I’m not convinced you didn’t.”

“I’m not in any real pain. It’s just that I bruise easily, like a peach. All my falls were onto a mat. I really wasn’t trying to hurt myself.” Her lips touched the center of my chest. “Tell me you’re proud of me.”

I squeezed her cheek, and when she didn’t wince, I was able to breathe slightly easier.

“There’s never been a day I haven’t been proud of you.” Dipping down, I captured her mouth in a slow, licking kiss. My heart hadn’t stopped thrashing. I wasn’t certain I was exactly pleased with her right now, but I needed her kiss like an anchor in a storm.

Her lips kept me from drifting into blackness.

I stayed in her sweet softness.

Eventually, I let her mouth go, and we finished washing ourselves. Shower off, I dried her, then quickly rubbed myself down with a towel while she combed through her wet hair at the vanity. I stepped up behind her, circling my arms around her to cup her breasts.

We looked good together. The top of her head aligned with my jaw. Her olive skin was a few shades darker than mine. My fingers spread wide over her breasts. Her dark-red nipples peeked out from between them. I was straight, while she was all curves. Her pink lips were plush and turned up at the corners. Light danced in her deep-brown eyes. My mouth and eyes were flat and intent, concentrating on Elise.

The contrast between us—our shapes, our shades, our expressions—was art. Sensual, erotic art.

“You’re gorgeous,” I told her.

She let her head fall back and reached up to cup the back of my neck. “You are too.”

“We look good together.”

A sigh fell from her. “I know.”

I rolled her nipple between my fingers and smoothed my other hand around her back, pressing on her.

“Bend forward for me.”

She caught my eye in the mirror and her bottom lip between her teeth. She was wary. Uncertain.

“Elise. Bend forward. Let me see what you did to yourself.”

“Bossy,” she murmured breathlessly.

Slowly, she bent in half, resting her breasts and elbows on the counter. I dropped to my knees behind her and pushed her legs apart so I could see all of her. Not just the mottled and bruised skin that made me feel like an untethered madman but the peak of pink nestled between her thighs. That made me feel mad too, but not in an unhinged way.

Trailing my fingers along her slit, I kissed each and every bruise on her round ass.

“You damaged yourself, baby.” I dragged my tongue along the edge of the valley between her cheeks. Goose bumps sprung up in my wake, and Elise shuddered. “Was it worth it?”

“What?” she breathed.

“Hurting yourself.” I licked along the other side. She was so soft, driving me out of my mind. “Was it worth it?”

“Yeah. It was worth it before you got down on your knees for me. This is a really, really good bonus.”

“I’m the bonus?” I thrust two fingers inside her. “Not the main event?”

She mewled, arching her back. “It was a really big rock, West.”

“Was it?” My thumb found her clit. “That’s special. Did it make you come harder than you ever have in your life?”

She laughed and moaned all at once. “That would have been strange.”

I kissed my way up her back and clamped down on her shoulder. Her ass pressed into me as she rocked on my hand. I licked her neck, jaw, and ear, making a mess of her. Her sounds of pleasure echoed off the tiles.

“I’m coming, West.”

As she started to let go, I pulled my fingers out and slid my cock in their place. Her head reared back, hitting my shoulder. I cupped her throat, rubbed my thumb along the hinge of her jaw, and dipped down to lick inside her open, gasping mouth.

“I think you need a reminder,” I said against her lips.

She turned her head, nipping at my bottom lip. “I do?”

“Yes.” Jerking my hips, I slammed into her. “Look at us, baby.”

She turned back to the mirror. Our eyes met. Desire flared between us in our reflection. There had never been a time when I had been more attracted to a woman. It was madness what simply looking at her did to me.

“See what I do to you?” I stroked her hair, gathering it away from her face. “This is the main event. You and me, like this. Nothing’s bigger, is it?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing.”

“When I’m inside you, it’s you and me. Nothing else matters.”

“It’s the same for me.”

“This body is important to me.” I slipped my hand from her jaw down to her breast, kneading it hard. “It kills me to see you hurt when all I want to do is make you feel good.”

“You do. Better than anything I’ve ever experienced.” She pushed off the vanity, meeting each one of my thrusts, taking me deeper, harder. “Please, West. Please.”

“Do you want more, beautiful?”

“Mmmhmm. More, please.”

“Anything, Elise. Anything you want, I’ll give it to you.”

Later, after we left the room for dinner and a drink at the hotel bar, after I’d told her the boring, tedious details of my day and she’d shared the heart-stopping pictures and videos of hers, after we’d showered and fucked again, after a movie and a blow job on the couch, after pajamas and yawns and running from the end of the night, we gave in and tucked ourselves under the covers.

We rolled toward each other, and I stroked her cheek with my thumb. “Are you good with everything?”

Her lids were heavy as she blinked at me. “Everything?”

“Yes. Everything between us ending tomorrow.”

“Mmm.” She pressed her cheek to my hand. “Yes. It has to, doesn’t it? I don’t want to sneak around, and telling Elliot would be—”

“Impossible.”

It would destroy our friendship, that I knew. He would see me going after his sister as a betrayal. There was no gray area for Elliot. Right was right. Wrong was wrong.

The rules were unspoken, but they were stamped all over Elise Levy.

Off-limits.

No-go zone.

Even if that weren’t true, I had enough experience with relationships to know I was bad at them. I would never hurt Elise, which meant we could never be more than a lost weekend.

She was sleepy and unbothered, nuzzling my palm as her eyes drifted closed. Perhaps she wouldn’t even want more than what we already had.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Westie. Go to sleep.”

“I’m not worried.”

Regretful, not worried.

She rolled into me, her head on my shoulder, fingers splayed on my stomach. I pulled her closer, arm wrapped around her.

She was soft, fitted against me like she’d always been there.

This was temporary.

Ending soon.

But for now, tonight, Elise was mine.

The flight back to Colorado was subdued, but at least Elise sat beside me. With my hand tucked in the crease of her thigh, I spent most of my time reading emails and reports, glancing over at Elise intermittently.

She read a paperback for half the flight, absently stroking my hand and wrist every once in a while.

With a sigh, she closed the book and her eyes.

“Finished?” I asked.

Her lips tipped up. “Yeah.”

“Good ending?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned to me. “A happy one.”

I smirked. “Fiction then.”

She dragged her hand down my face. “Shush, you cynic.”

“Realist. How many happy endings do you personally know about?”

“Plenty. Aren’t your parents married?”

I shifted in my seat, squeezing her thigh. “They’re not a prime example of everlasting love, Elise. Try again.”

My parents’ marriage was for show. They may have loved each other at one time, but I had no memory of affection between them. These days, they shared a home, but their lives were entirely separate. I was fairly sure that wasn’t the kind of happy ending in Elise’s books.

She tapped the divot in her chin. “Rebecca.”

“Should I know who that is?”

“You should since she works for you. Rebecca is married to her high school sweetheart, Sam. She still blushes when she talks about him. So, I’d say, yeah, happy endings are real.”

“Hmmm.” I angled my upper body toward hers, my nose brushing hers. “I think I need a bigger pool to believe it.”

“We’re not in California anymore, West. What are you doing?”

“We’re not home either.” My lips brushed hers. “Give me another hour or two.”

“Aren’t I out of your system yet?”

Cupping her jaw, I sucked her bottom lip between mine. “Getting there. Another hour or two and I’ll forget what you sound like when you come. It’s already getting hazy.”

“Wow, I feel sorry for you.” She licked the seam of my mouth with the tip of her tongue. “I’ve completely forgotten what you feel like in my mouth. In fact, I’m not entirely certain who you are.”

“Strange that you’re kissing me.”

“Well, you started it. I thought it would be rude if I pushed you away.”

With a huff, I fell back in my seat. She grinned at me before picking up her phone and opening the Kindle app.

“Do you have another book to read?” I asked.

“Mmmhmm. I downloaded a horror story.” Her eyes flicked to mine. “Don’t worry, there’s no happy ending. I read spoilers. Everyone dies except for the hero, who spends the rest of his days all by himself in a big, empty penthouse, counting his money.”

I pinched her inner thigh, making her squeal. “I’m reporting you to HR for insubordination.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Do your worst, Mr. Aldrich.”

Though it pained me, I always hired a driver to take me to and from the airport. The idea of leaving my car in the elements made me too twitchy.

This time, I patted myself on the back for my foresight. As soon as I climbed into the back seat beside Elise, I had her face in my grasp and my mouth on hers.

She made a yelp of surprise, and her hands flew to my wrists, but when I licked her lips, she sank into the kiss and let me in. The drive home wasn’t long enough to do anything more, but I intended to use the last of our time alone wisely.

Elise had other ideas.

She pulled back, panting, rubbing her fingertips over her wet lips. “Weston, don’t.”

“Tell me why not.”

She let out a long sigh. “You know. We can’t do this here. Drawing it out will only make it harder.”

I took her chin between my fingers, scanning her face. “You’ve given me no indication that ending this is hard for you.”

“Obviously it is.” She pulled her face back out of my grip. “We had fun, but I now know a side of you I didn’t before and it’s going to be hard to shut that off. I will, but it won’t be easy.”

“I will too. It’s better that way.”

Her head bobbed sharply. “It is.”

I took her face in my hands again, rubbing my lips over hers. “What harm would one more time do? I don’t think I can shut this off until I have you again.”

She shuddered, resting her forehead on mine. “Weston…it’s not smart.”

“Nothing about what we’re doing is smart, Elise. Tell me yes. Tell me you’ll come up to my place and let me have you.” I rolled my forehead back and forth on hers and pressed on her bottom lip with my thumb. “I fucking need you, baby. Give me today.”

Her breath swept over my mouth as she exhaled. “I—”

“Don’t say no.”

She pulled back, her dark eyes latching on to mine. Her fingers stroked the thick stubble on my jaw then lowered to slide along my throat.

“One more time,” she whispered.

The feeling of relief that crashed over me was shocking in its strength. But I didn’t stop to analyze it or ponder why. I had Elise in my arms, my mouth on hers, devouring her sweet lips, her curves pressed against me.

One more time.

It would be enough. I had no room in my life for anything more.