~Sienna~

I lean into the couch watching him fuss over me, his strong hands pull up my legs over his knees, carefully inspecting them for any cuts.

Warm palm skims my skin, sending multiple waves of current through my body.

I muffle a low moan, my body seems to suddenly drain away as his large hands wrap around my tiny feet, swallowing them whole. His eyes fill with worry as he checks me.

His hair falls forward from his bent position, messing up his style, but still, his handsomeness can’t be denied. Dark eyes, straight nose, five o’clock beard dusting his chin, a temptation any woman would fight for.

Older, yes, but devastatingly so.

It makes me wonder how many hearts he’s broken when he was younger.

I’ve had a secret crush on him from the first time I met him. It’s hard not to.

Handsome and fit, too fit for his age of fifty. Tall, broad-shouldered, sharp jawline, lean but firm muscles, and a charming smile when he chooses to give it.

I can’t stop swooning for the man, not that I ever dared act on it, since he’s my best friend’s father, and until earlier today, I had a boyfriend.

But now, without the shackles of my relationship and my best friend’s presence, it becomes hard to stop the temptation.

My hands ache to feel him, to rub them over him the way he does to me and I do.

“Sienna…” he raises his head, eyes narrowing on me.

He sounds so weak I can’t help but smile, feeling bolder.

“You’re handsome, Mr. Garrison.” I giggle, smoothing back his messy hair.

The softness of it whispers through my fingers like a breeze. “Hmm….”

“You think I’m handsome, Sienna?” He cocks a brow, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“You are, Mr. Garrison.” I nod.

His eyes flash and he shakes his head. “It’s Norman. Call me by my name.”

I bite my lip, a slow smile spreading across my face.

His dark eyes trace my movements, his nose flaring.

“Norman,” I whisper breathlessly, loving the way it rolls off my tongue.

His eyes darken, his hands tightening on my legs where he placed them on his knees.

“Stop that,” he growls.

But I don’t listen, I withdraw my leg, wrapping the other around his waist as I kneel in front of him, straddling him with my legs on either side.

My core still ache painfully, wanting to be filled, to be used by him.

“What are you saying, Norman?” I tease, aware of his hands on my thighs and my barely covered tits in his face.

“Si… Sienna, you’re drunk…” he rasps.

“Nope.” I smile. “I know what I’m doing. And… I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“I’ve had a crush on you since, like, forever… so I can never be wrong.”

I lean closer, tilting my head, watching the storm of emotions shift in his eyes, each one darker than the last.

I want to kiss him so badly, to feel his lips against mine, to know what he tastes like. My tongue flicks across my lips, he groans, but coughs to cover it.

“Why are you drunk, Sienna? What happened to you?” he suddenly asks.

The question startles me for a second. I’m right here, barely covered, and that’s what he chooses to ask.

I sigh, pouting in annoyance as I slump down onto his lap, not missing the way his thighs tense beneath me, but he doesn’t push me away.

“He cheated on me,” I state flatly, toying with the strands of his hair to avoid his gaze.

“He was going to propose, but instead, I caught him in bed with another woman.”

I hide the fact that the other woman was my friend, being played by two people close to me is an humiliation I refuse to share.

“Hey… hey, Sienna, look at me.” His hand wraps around my jaw, turning my face toward him.

“Don’t feel bad for being cheated on. It’s his fault for being blind, for losing someone so special, beautiful, and priceless.”

Heat creeps up my face, my long lashes fluttering as I listen to him. I never knew he thought so highly of me, I’d always had the impression that he disliked me, but now, it’s different.

I shrug. “It’s hard not to. Not when it feels like three years of my life were wasted. I just came here to avoid him like Nova suggested. But you—why are you here?”

“You were supposed to be on vacation with Nova and Miss Liliana, right?” I press.

He sighs, throwing back his head as his hands slide up my waist, caging me in.

My eyes snap to his, smiling softly, so much for the man who says I’m drunk.

“The last thing I’d ever do is spend three days in the same room with Liliana,” he snorts.

His eyes darken, fury replacing the desire and vulnerability from earlier.

“She’s had her chances, and she blew them. I know what she wants, but I’m waiting for Nova to realize the truth. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“She’s using my daughter to get to me, planning a vacation and making Nova hide the fact that she’s coming because it’s ‘for the best.’” His brow furrows, irritation lacing his voice.

“A leopard never changes its spots. I will be waiting when the truth finally hits.”

I don’t feel any sympathy toward Liliana because Norman won’t be here with me otherwise.

I don’t know their full history, but one thing is clear, Liliana doesn’t care for Nova, she only calls when she needs something and mostly misses their mother-daughter time together.

But Nova’s too caught up in her head, desperate for a complete family, for the love of a mother who wasn’t there while she grew up.

I place my hand on Norman’s chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart.

He glances at my hand, then at my face, silent, but his eyes bore into me, saying everything.

I press my body into his, trailing my hand down without breaking eye contact, savoring the way his heartbeat races.

His hands flex on my waist, dangerously close to my bare ass with my dress ridden up.

My body shivers slightly, the hairs on my skin standing on edge and I bite back a moan.

Just a little more and I’ll have his hands right where I want them.

“What about now?” I whisper, rocking my hips gently.

“Being here with me. Alone in a room.”

My other hand tugs at his neck, pulling his face nearer.

“Do you like this… instead?”

His hot breath ghosts across my face, my gaze clinging to his lips, inviting, tempting. All I have to do is press on by an inch and they’d touch.

Any thoughts of consequence have long vanished from my senses, the only thing on my mind is this perfect man.

I want him, I want him so bad it aches.

I can feel it too that he wants it as much as I do.

His hardness beneath me, pressing against me, the only thing separating us is his fabrics of our clothing and my tiny panties.

But he resists, I can feel it from the way he’s leaning back, holding my body in place. His body reaction, though, betrays him, and I plan on exploring that.

I’m far too gone to want to stop now and I don’t want to think, I just want to feel.

As his gaze drops to my mouth, his eyes hardening, dark and burning, I swear he’s going to kiss me when he leans in.

~Sienna~

“You’re young, Sienna. You have your whole life ahead of you. You deserve more than this old man.” Norman smiles, moving his head back.

The wrinkles on his face squeeze as if to back up his words, but they do nothing to diminish his handsomeness.

“Do you like being here, with me, instead?” I ask again, ignoring his excuse.

Silence.

His lips press to a thin line, a soft sigh escaping his nostrils.

“Anything is better than being in the same room with Liliana.” He finally says.

I grin, eyes glittering mischievously as I slip my hands into his hair. “Yeah… you can say that again.”

I laugh lightly. “I love being here with you too.”

He groans, hands tighten on me as he shut his eyes. His grip loosen around my waist, trying to move me off his laps, but I remain locked around his neck.

“Fuck! Sienna, you’re not in your right mind.” He hisses, brow furrows, sighing helplessly.

He wants this as much as he tries to stay away and I know. I see the way his eyes darken with desire, the tension pulsing through his veins.

“I’m not a good man. Hell, I can’t be too different from you ex—“

“Did you ever cheat on your ex-wife?” I interrupt, narrowing my eyes at him.

He frowns, sitting up and pulling me with him. “No. I would never do something like that.”

“Good. Then you’re nothing like my ex-boyfriend.”

He shakes his head. “No, Sienna, you’re not getting it.”

“What did you do?” I press.

But he just stares blankly at me.

“What’s the reason for the breakup with Liliana?”

He takes a deep breath, his hands ghosting circles on my waist.

I don’t know if he’s even aware of his touch, but his mind seems far away.

“She left. She divorced me because I wasn’t up to the standards she wanted for herself.” His voice is low, raspy.

“Ohhh.”

That surprise me, of all the reason I expected, this wasn’t one.

“Does Nova knows?”

“No.” He whispers. “She left when Nova was very young. Nova always looked forward to seeing her mother again, thinking she was just busy with work.”

He sighs. “All those years, managing my growing business while raising Nova, the last thing I wanted was to traumatize her by telling her her mother was never coming back. By the time she grew up, I think she understood on her own. But Liliana’s return now… it’s giving her hope again. I just have to wait for Liliana to show Nova her true colors. I don’t want to be the one to crush my daughter’s feelings.”

“It must have been hard, doing everything by yourself.” I say softly.

I shift on his laps, searching for a more comfortable position to ease the numbness in my legs.

“It was, but it was worth it,” he replies, slipping his hand under my ass and lifting me as he adjusts, lying back on the couch and pulling me down with him.

One of his hands rests at my waist, the other stays on my butt. The new position makes me acutely aware of his body, solid, hard everywhere, the ache between my thighs tempts me to grind against him.

With nowhere to place my hands, I places them on his chest, my head tilted slightly upward.

“Did you ever have another lover since then? Someone more than just satisfying your needs?” I blurt before realizing.

The question has been turning in my head, so long that it just slip out, his eyes snap to me, surprise.

He’s handsome, even if he doesn’t try to be, they are women that would throw themselves at him.

“I’ve had lovers. Some lasted weeks, some months. But it was nothing serious. I always made sure they knew.” Norman shrugs.

“I mean someone you can’t stop thinking about. For a long time.” I insist.

If I’ve already asked I might as well press further.

He stare upward, his nose flaring with each breath, I don’t miss the way his length hardens against my thighs.

He must have really liked this person.

All of a sudden, I don’t want to know anymore. A sharp sting gnaws at my heart, my teeth biting into the inside of my cheek, I already hate this person.

“It’s you,” he whispers.

My head snap down to him, heat creeps up my neck, my core throbbing with painful desire.

“I told you I’m not a good man, Sienna.” He breathes.

“What kind of man lusts after a twenty-years-old girl—the same age as his daughter?”

My blood drains from my head, I can’t believe I’m hearing this from him.

“I can’t stop thinking about you since the first time Nova brought you for our summer trip. I thought you were going to be one of her bratty friends.”

“That was four years ago.” I marvel.

“But then, you came—in those ass-fitting shorts, a hazard to your youthful age. I couldn’t stop staring. It took everything in me not to pin you to the wall and rip them off you.” He groans, eyes shutting as if reliving the moment. “I fantasized about all the ways I could take you.”

He forces a rough laugh. “Can you imagine? An old man like me fantasizing about you—my daughter’s friend.”

“I thought you hate me.” I say.

He frowns. “Why would you think that?”

I shrug. “You’re always scowling when looking at me. You avoided me, left me and Nova most of the time. I thought I was intruding on your father-daughter dates.”

He palms my butt, thrusting up against my thighs, a low gasp escape my lips at the sudden move, my hands fisting in his shirt.

“Does it look like I hated do?” he groans. “I stayed away because I didn’t trust myself not to do those things to you. And… you’re young. Too young.”

I grind against him. “I thought you didn’t like me, but it didn’t stop me from crushing on you, Norman.”

I sit up, straddling him fully, his confession giving me bravado, I can’t stop repeating it in my head that he likes me.

“What…. Sienna—“ he tries to sit up, but I push him back down.

I start unbuttoning his shirt, my fingers itching to feel his hard muscles.

“You shouldn’t do that,” he says weakly, but he doesn’t stop me.

Dark hair dusts his chest, trailing down in a thin line disappearing into his pants. I lick my lips, sucking my bottom lip into my mouth, his eyes burn, tracing the motion.

I lean down and suck one of his nipples into my mouth.

“Fuck!” His voice sounds strangled.

His hands wraps around my thighs, trying to restrain himself as my lips move to the other nipple, teasing and sucking. After a few minutes and I pull away his eyes are blazing, his neck thick with veins.

“I want you to do those things you fantasize about,” I whisper, my breath shallow. “For once, I want to do what makes me happy too.”

“You have to think about this. Your… boyfriend, he could come back.” His voice rasps. “You were close to being engaged. You’ll have the life you wanted. I can’t give you that, Sienna,” he whispers painfully.

I lean closer, lips hovering over his, eyes glittering with mischief.

“Do you want him to come back?” I murmur. “Because I’ve flipped past that page.”

“Sienna—“

I don’t wait for his words as I seal his lips, soft, incredibly soft lips.

He doesn’t respond at first, but he doesn’t push me away either.

“Mmm…” I hum, slipping my tongue into his mouth, one hand combing through his hair, the other pressed firmly to his chest.

Mint and grape flood my tongue, sweet, intoxicating.

He growls, his hand slipping under my dress as he bites my lips, sucking on my lower lip, his other hand groping my breast.

Yes! Oh fuck, yes.

It’s the only mantra that keeps ringing in my head.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll regret this, but right now this is all that matters.

~Sienna~

“Babe!” I scream into the phone, bouncing up and down in my apartment with a huge smile on my face.

“This better be good, Sea.” Nova grumbles.

I roll my eyes at the ridiculous nickname.

“I just got an email from the company—they want me to start TOMORROW!”

“Really?” Nova beams. “Oh my God! Babe, I’m so happy for you.”

I chuckle, toying with the strands of my hair. “I’ll have to get up early to catch the first bus. I’m literally the first thing they’ll see tomorrow morning.”

“Huh, huh!” Nova teases, then sighs. “I’d loved to give you a ride, but I have to pick up my dad from the airport very early. He’s got this big meeting at the office.”

“Ohh.” I swallow, gripping the phone tighter.

“It’s fine, okay? I’m going to be alright on the bus.” I forces a laugh. “I’ll call you tomorrow with updates.”

“Alright,” Nova yawns through the phone. “But we need to celebrate this. What do you say—Friday night, in the club?”

“Alright.”

“Good, Love you.”

“Love you too.” I whispers through clenched teeth as the call ends.

I drop onto the bed, my phone trembling in my hand and my heart pounding loudly in my ears.

It’s been two weeks since that night and I’ve done everything to avoid seeing him again. I’ve stayed away from Nova’s house, always finding excuses when Nova insisted.

I don’t want to remember that night, don’t want to remember that stupid, drunken mistake.

It shouldn’t have happened, but it did and I can’t even bring myself to regret it. Guilt claws at my chest for betraying my best friend.

Even hearing his name drags the memories back, the forbidden touches, his lips everywhere, the way he took me to heights I’d never imagined, over and over again.

Sex has always been good, but with him it was more than good, it was unforgettable.

Then morning came with harsh reality, a bitter pill I couldn’t swallow. I’d had to sneak out barely dressed before he woke.

Got home under a hot bath and scrubbed at my skin as if i could wash away the truth.

For a week I avoided Nova, but that didn’t work and finally I figured its best to avoid the house.

But one question has linger on my mind ever since. Did he regret it?

I feels awful, but I can’t stop wondering.

I sighs, slipping under the covers. It’s better this way if they never meet again, I don’t even know how I’d face him.

I have a job to prepare for better to sleep early.

***

“Ms. Davis?” A woman calls, stepping out of the elevator.

She’s in a pantsuit, tall and slim, with oversized glasses, maybe in her late forties.

“Sienna, please.” I say, standing up from the chair I’ve been sitting, waiting for the director.

“Right. Sienna. This way.” The woman walks ahead down the hallway, speaking as she goes.

“My name is Glory, HR Director. If you ever have an issue—work or staff related, I’m available to help you, anytime.”

She sighs, glancing back at me. “Well, I hope you last longer than the rest.”

Confusion flickers across my face.

“It’s not about you child.” Glory says with a shake of her head. “Our boss is hard to please. Always expects a little extra from his staff.”

I nod, my fingers twisting together.

“I’d love for you to work with us but it’s in your hands now. Be punctual, be flexible, meet all his demands. Maybe then…” she trails off as we step into an office.

Glory settled at the desk, and gesturing to the chair opposite.

“You’ll be placed on internship for a month. If the boss is pleased with your performance then, you’ll get a permanent work badge.” She slides over a temporary paper card.

“You’ll need this for the securities, to be allowed to access the work building. Welcome to Gray Stone Luxury Real Estate and Hospitality.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” I whisper.

“Now, let’s go meet the boss.” Glory stands, grabbing a file. “He hates being kept waiting.”

I forces a smile, trailing behind Glory as she walks toward the elevator.

I’m not sure if I should be excited or terrified. A job in my hands, but it could slip away if I fail to please this infamous boss.

What kind of man is he and how will I survive past the month and earn my permanent work badge?

I watch Glory press the button for the top floor, my stomach tightens with each acceleration of the lift, my hand wipes at the tiny beads of sweat on my nose.

You’ve survived a lot of things to reach this stage, Sienna, you’ll be fine, whatever happens.

The elevator doors slides open, revealing glassy tiled walls and floors, white and gold décor and an air thick with power greet me.

We pass two offices on each side of the hallway with nameplates on the doors, General Counsel and Executive Secretary.

Woah! One of this is going to be my office.

My heart swells with joy, I’m finally taking a step toward my future dreams even if the long term stay isn’t yet guaranteed, I’m determined to put in my best.

We finally come to stop at the third and last office, the biggest one on the floor.

The nameplate reads, CEO.

Glory presses the button on the door handle, after some seconds the it dings and automatically. opens.

A golden chandelier sparkles from above, glass walls, shiny leather chairs and a vast masculine space.

The air in the room was soothing, faint scent of mint lingers in the air, almost familiar.

At the desk, a man with dark, styled hair has his back to them, the office telephone cord trailing from his hand.

He turns just as the door closes behind them, and I freezes.

Hot breath settles down on me, my ears rings with a deafening sound. I’m rooted to my spot, can’t move or utter a word as I stares at the man with a soft smirk on his lips, eyes locked on hers.

“Sir, this is Ms. Davis, your new secretary. And Sienna, this is—“

“Leave it, Glory.” He voice cuts sharp, eyes not leaving her face. “You can go. I’d like to have a word… with my secretary.”

“I also brought the files—“

“Leave.” He hisses.

Glory pauses, looking between them from the corner of her eyes but smiles anyway. “Of course, sir.”

She turns, heading out. “I’ll be in my office, Sienna.”

The door clicks shut.

His gaze drifts lazily down my body, climbing back up to my face before settling in a slow smile.

My knees nearly buckle, but I manages to hold myself, my breath stuttering, cold sweat breaks down my spine.

When Nova pitched this work for me, I never knew it would be here with him. If I’d known what her father really did, I would never have come here.

“Sienna.” He breaths, leaning back against his chair, studying her like a decadent meal.

“M…. Mr. Garrison.” I whispers, fist trembling at my sides.

His brow arches, eyes narrowing on her. He studies her for a moment, then says. “I seem to remember you screaming Norman with so much passion instead.”

My eyes widen, a sharp breath tearing from my lungs.

The memories crashes over me, his fingers, his tongue, God….

My nipples throbs painfully against my shirt, my pussy clenching, I can feel it pulsing, yeah, definitely wet.

Fuck! I blowout a breath.

His eyes stay fixed on me, steady, heated.

“I—I…”

He cocks a brow, waiting.

But I can only open and close my mouth, saying nothing, my inside tightening.