Amorous (The Lincoln Series Book 1) (12 page)

“Too late. You’ve got the day off. You wouldn’t want me to look like a lying bastard to AJ, would you?” He placed his finger over her lips to silence her objection. “Now let’s just get you presentable enough to get you to my car.”

He kissed her again on her cheek and grabbed her coat. He had plans to carry out once he got her home, she could sleep later.

****

Marie loved Warren’s car. It looked brand new but it didn’t have the new car smell, it smelled like Warren. She inhaled a deep breath.

“What cologne do you wear?”

He laughed. “Whatever my sister bought me last year for Christmas. Do you like it?”

“Yeah. Your sister has great taste.”

“So do you. I really like the outfit you’re wearing today.” He chuckled. “Sorry about the skirt.”

“I’m just glad you had something for me to wear.” She looked down at the gym shorts he had given her and giggled at the way they were gathered at her waist and hung well below her knee. “That skirt was too tight anyway. It probably would have ripped the first time I bent down.”

“It wasn’t that tight. I think we were just a little too rough with it.”

“No, it was that tight. I just didn’t have anything else to wear. I forgot to pick up my suits at the dry cleaners this weekend. I’ll have to remember to do that later or I won’t have anything to wear tomorrow.”

“I’ll pick them up for you on my way home if you promise to wear that blouse again for me later.”

He reached over and flicked the top button of her blouse open then cranked the air conditioner.

“Stop it! What are you doing?”

She shifted in her seat and wiggled until she could get the button back in place so it would stay fastened. The improvising she had tried wasn’t working so well, especially when he kept messing with it.

“I want to see those beautiful perky nipples.”

“I am not going to let you flash my
perky nipples
to the world.”

“The windows are tinted, no one can see in. As for the rest of the world, no one else is ever going to see those nipples of yours. I can guarantee you that.”

She bit her bottom lip and squeezed her thighs together. Hearing him say she belonged to him sent desire rushing through her veins.

“I’m going to have to find you something a little less sexy to wear to work tomorrow. I can’t be fending off every man at the medical center who hits on you. I’d never get any work done.”

She rolled her eyes.

He took a quick glance at her. “Trust me. They do.”

“What?”

“I saw the look on your face. You don’t believe me, but that’s one of the things I like about you. You’re gorgeous and you don’t know it.”

“I am not.” She blushed.

“Yes, you are. And now my problem is how to keep all the wolves away from you at the office. I can’t say anything in front of AJ.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve been ordered to stay away from you. He’s afraid I’m going to distract you from doing your job.” He reached over and squeezed her knee. “So you can’t tell him about us, okay?”

“If you don’t want him to know then we can’t be doing what we did this morning. He’ll catch us sooner or later.”

“Not a chance, sweetheart. You just make sure you keep up the good work for the Golden Boy and leave the office sex to me.”

“Warren, I can’t lose this job. I don’t know if you realize this or not but a reference from Dr. Carrington is like a golden ticket. With his reference I can have any job I want.”

“You won’t lose your job because he’s never going to let you go, ergo no reference from him. He needs you too much.” He pulled up in front of her apartment and turned the car off. “That’s why he doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”

He put his finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. He kissed her softly then leaned his forehead against hers.

“AJ’s a good friend of mine but I won’t let him run my life.” He looked into her eyes. “I’ll make this work for everyone. I promise.”

He put his hand on her arm and stopped her from getting out, a playful grin on his face. “Allow me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m wearing your shorts and I look like a dork. You don’t have to be so formal.”

“I want to open your door for you because that’s what men do for ladies.” He grinned. “Even ladies who look like dorks.”

He dodged her finger when she tried to poke his ribs and came around to open her door.

She took his hand and stepped from the car. “You didn’t have to agree with me.”

“I don’t care what you look like. You’ll always be beautiful to me.” He kissed the back of her hand.

God, she loved his lips. They were warm and soft and every time they touched her body her temperature rose another degree.

He followed her up to the second floor and leaned against the door frame while she pulled her keys from her purse. When she turned the lock he reached over and flicked open her top button.

“Stop it,” she whispered. “One of my neighbors could walk by.”

Marie squealed when he pinched her ass as they stepped through the door.

Warren followed her into her bedroom and snaked his arms around her. He pulled her against his chest and covered her breasts with his palms.

She dropped her head back to his shoulder and moaned. It felt so good when he touched her but she didn’t have time for this right now. She twisted in his arms and pushed against him.

“We need to stop this. You have to get back before AJ gets in.”

He looked at his watch. “It’s just past eight. My first meeting is scheduled for ten with Dr. Collins, which means I won’t be in my office until this afternoon anyway.”

He pushed her back onto her bed and pinned her down. He gently bit her neck. “Which also means we have time for some morning calisthenics.”

He pressed his thigh between hers and for a brief second she thought about giving in.

“Warren I’m serious. You need to get off me and get back to the office.”

He rolled over and sighed as she wiggled to the end of the bed and stood up. She could feel him watching her as she shed her mismatched clothing. Each second was a constant battle in her mind, warring between wanting him to throw her back on the bed and ravish her and wanting him to leave to eliminate the temptation.

“You need to learn how to relax, Marie. There’s more to life than work.”

“Exactly. Like eating and sleeping in a warm, dry place. None of which I can do without money. Money I earn from doing my job well enough to keep it.”

“I would never have thought you could be such a drama queen.” He scooted back on her bed and leaned against the smooth wood of the headboard. “I like you better when you let your passion run free.”

“There’s a time and a place for everything, and right now is the time to be serious. This job is very important to me.”

“And what about the rest of your life? You know, the fun stuff. When does that get to the top of your priority list?”

Marie pulled a sweatshirt over her head and sighed. She wanted fun to be at the top but she couldn’t afford that luxury at this point in her life. She would love nothing more than to be carefree enough to jump into bed next to him, but bills had to be paid.

He stood and wrapped his arms around her tenderly. “When are you going to start caring more about what you want instead of what AJ wants?”

“When I can afford to.”

“Well, sweetheart, if you’re waiting for that day you’ll be old and gray before it gets here. You have to stop and smell the roses once in a while.”

“Roses are expensive and if you stop and smell them too often eventually you’ll get stung by a bee.”

Warren laughed. “Well, I can honestly say I’ve never heard it from that perspective before. But if you turn me down the next time I want to play hooky with you I won’t bother looking for my own secretary and you’ll be forced to spend time in my office.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“That masterful plan will blow up in your face.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and headed for the living room.

“I happen to think it’s a great idea. You and me naked, wrapped around each other, making wild animal noises.”

“You’ve got a lot to learn about that place. If you don’t hire a secretary you’ll end up doing all your work yourself. Dr. Jameson is always looking for ways to get under Dr. Carrington’s skin and he’ll eventually remember you don’t have a secretary. Then he’ll cut the department’s budget to prevent you from getting one and try to force Dr. Carrington into sharing my position.”

He dropped back on the sofa and pulled her down on top of him. “Like I said, you and me naked in my office.”

“Warren, AJ always gets what he wants sooner or later. He’ll go to the board and they’ll put enough pressure on Dr. Jameson to back off. But by that time the budget will be redone and you’ll have to wait until next year to have your secretary’s position put back in.”

He kissed her tenderly. “That won’t happen.”

“It will.”

He squeezed her ass. “It won’t, Miss Know-it-all. I got an email from HR this morning. They’re interviewing for my secretary this week.” He kissed her again with more intensity. “I don’t want you in my office, I want you in my bed.” He pulled her tighter to him and pressed his erection against her mound. “Or your couch.”

Marie surrendered. After all a woman could only take so much temptation. She’d find a way to get her work done later. She let Warren roll her to her back and wrapped herself in the comfort of his embrace.

He pushed her sweatshirt to her elbows and covered her breast with his warm mouth.

Each flick of his tongue sent delicious sensations rushing through her body. She moaned when he slid two fingers through her lips and thrust them deep inside her.

Warren ran his open mouth up her neck and gently bit her earlobe. “This is much more fun than work, don’t you think?”

Her phone vibrated on the wooden sofa table behind her head.

He began slow sensual strokes with his fingers. “Ignore him.”

“I can’t,” she panted. She pushed against him but he didn’t budge.

“Yes you can.” He increased his thrusts and sucked hard on her nipple.

“I need this job.” She reached for her phone but it was just beyond her fingertips.

“No, you need this right now.” He gently bit her nipple.

“Warren, please. I have to… Oh God!” Marie could feel her orgasm building. Maybe Warren was right, Dr. Carrington could wait a few more minutes. Every muscle in her body tightened and she could feel her climax was just a breath away. Just one more thrust—

Warren suddenly stopped and raised his head to look her in the eye. He rolled over and sat on the floor next to her. She could feel her body start to ache with the need to come, emptiness settled in her gut. It was a feeling she’d never felt before. She could feel the disappointment radiating from him when he reached back and handed her phone to her.

I need you to double check the figures for my New York conference. Douglas caught me on my way in.

“Shit! I knew this was a bad idea.”

Warren grabbed the phone from her hand to read the text message. “You’ve done that a million times already. It’s his typical bullshit when I’m involved.” He tossed the phone to the coffee table.

“It’s not his fault. Dr. Jameson makes his life as miserable as possible.”

“It is his fault, Marie. He’s using Douglas as an excuse to keep me away from you.”

Warren stood and straightened his clothing. He turned to her and adjusted his tie. “You’re off the clock at five. Don’t bother getting dressed. I’ll be back.”

He walked to the door and stopped.

“Warren, I’m sorry. I don’t know what you want me to say. This job is—”

“Important to you. I know.”

The emptiness in her gut was spreading to her chest. Why was he making her choose between him and her career? Why couldn’t she have both?

“Warren…”

He turned and walked back to her. He paused then pulled her into a warm embrace.

“No, baby, I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. Do whatever you have to for AJ.” He kissed her cheek and smiled. “But, I’ll still be back at five.”

Warren pulled the door closed behind him and she rushed to her bedroom window to watch him drive away. The emptiness had eased but her body still ached for completion. She forced herself to sit at her laptop and access her files at the office. She’d get Dr. Carrington his reports then she’d grab her Pearl Panther. There was no way in hell she could wait eight hours for Warren to get back.

Warren walked into the office Tuesday morning about seven. The only light was coming from the small gap under the door to AJ’s office. Warren walked to his own office without turning on the lights in the waiting room. The last person he wanted to talk to first thing this morning was AJ.

Warren wasn’t as worn out as he’d planned to be, and in fact he was a little wired. When he had arrived at Marie’s apartment after work yesterday he’d found her to be much too calm. She should have been edgier, ready to jump him when he walked through her door. Instead she’d played a little hard to get and then fell asleep on him before he was finished.

He pulled his keys from his pocket and whispered to himself, “I need to find that damned vibrator. If that’s what she wants then I’ll be the one controlling it.”

He unlocked his door and the hair on the back of his neck prickled. He turned around and found AJ leaning against the door frame of his office, waiting.

“We need to talk.”

Warren glanced at Marie’s desk.

“She is not in yet and I have not heard from her. Can I assume she will be, or are you planning to deliver another message for her?” AJ straightened his posture and shoved his hands into his pockets. “We can discuss this in my office.”

Warren sighed. He should have known AJ wouldn’t let this one go. He threw his briefcase on his couch and headed for the principal’s office.

AJ was standing at the far end of the room staring out the windows to the courtyard below. He turned when he heard Warren close the door.

“I warned you to stay away from her.”

“She was unable to work productively. I took her home—”

“To fuck her! Or did you even wait that long?”

“Who I
fuck
or don’t fuck is not up for discussion, AJ! My personal life is none of your business.”

“It is my business when it affects my Executive Assistant. Marie has an important job to do and she cannot do it well with your dick in her mouth!”

“Oh get off it, AJ, she busts her ass for you and you know it. You can’t control her life any more than you can control mine.”

“She is my Executive Assistant. I need her to be here, to be available to
me
when I need her.”

“You didn’t need her yesterday, or did you forget mentioning last week that I could use her on Monday.”

“I meant use her for secretarial work not as your personal whore.”

Warren flexed his fists. “Be careful, AJ.”

AJ crossed his arms over his chest. “Do not make this personal. It has nothing to do with emotions and everything to do with business. You crossed the line yesterday and I will not tolerate it. I know you and I know Marie, therefore I know yesterday was your idea.” He shook his head in frustration. “I am surprised she went along with it. She is usually more professional than that.”

Warren stayed silent for a minute. He knew AJ was right. Even when they were kids AJ had been the voice of reason when Warren wanted to bend the rules to his advantage. AJ kept him from doing a lot of things he shouldn’t have, but this time the stakes were higher, this time he had to win. He had no intention of giving up on Marie.

He couldn’t keep his relationship with her from AJ, but that didn’t mean he had to admit to it. He needed time to figure out how to make this work.

“AJ, don’t hold this against her… She wanted to stay and I talked her into going home.”

“So you did seduce her.”

“No!”

Warren scrubbed his hand through his hair. He hated lying to AJ but this time it was necessary. This job meant too much to Marie. Warren couldn’t let what he did yesterday jeopardize it.

“AJ…she didn’t look good and when I talked to her she said she hadn’t slept all night. She wasn’t going to make it through the day, but she was more concerned with not being here for you than she was about her own health. So I…convinced her to let me take her home.”

“Warren, just stay away from her. Find another Executive Assistant or even a secretary to screw around with. There are plenty of them here willing to put out without any strings attached.”

Warren shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that to her. She deserves better.”

“I mean it, Warren. Do not make me report this to HR.”

“Report what?”

“Read your employee manual sometime. The information in there can be quite enlightening.”

“AJ—”

“This discussion is over. I believe you have another meeting with Dr. Collins.”

Warren hesitated while AJ walked to his desk, effectively dismissing him as if he was no longer in the room. AJ could be a cold son of a bitch but unfortunately, he was right. Warren had crossed the line.

He walked to his office and closed the door. He needed a few minutes to clear his head. Dr. Collins was a real pain in his ass and if he wasn’t at his best for this meeting, his day was going to go to hell in a hurry.

****

The office was quiet when Marie sat down at her desk to work on the reports for Dr. Carrington’s presentation in New York. She had gotten a lot done at home while playing hooky yesterday. And Dr. Carrington had been in his office the entire morning on the phone so she was ahead of schedule with her preparations for his conference.

Warren returned from his meeting with Dr. Collins looking quite frustrated and headed straight for his office. He hadn’t so much as looked at her on his way. She swallowed the pang of disappointment and pretended not to notice.

Her instinct was to go to him and comfort him, but Warren had asked her to keep their relationship a secret for now because it would cause problems with Dr. Carrington. Still a part of her was afraid it had nothing to do with Dr. Carrington and everything to do with Warren being embarrassed by her. The tide of her insecurities came in to remind her she was on the curvy side of pretty and probably not as glamorous as the beautiful women she was sure he was used to being with.

The soft ding of a bell on her computer went off alerting her to a new message marked urgent. It was from Dr. Carrington. She snickered to herself. She still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that he emailed her messages and instructions instead of speaking to her directly through the intercom system on the phones.

Come into my office. No need to take notes. This will be brief.

She automatically reached for her PDA and hesitated. He said there was no need to take notes. Dr. Carrington could be easily annoyed if his instructions weren’t followed exactly, so she pulled her hand back and headed for his door.

“Please come in, Marie. Close the door and have a seat.”

His voice was stern and authoritative, almost like her father’s voice used to sound when she got caught in mischief as a little girl. And just like when she was a little girl, she did exactly as she was told as quickly and quietly as possible.

He leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers under his chin and sighed.

“Marie, I need to make you aware of a concern I have about Dr. Jackson.”

She fidgeted nervously in her chair. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what was coming next. She opened her mouth to speak but he continued as if she hadn’t.

“There is a company policy that prohibits superiors from engaging in personal relationships with subordinates. The policy is vague on whether or not the superiors must be directly over the subordinates. However, I am sure the administration would view Dr. Jackson as having influence over you despite the fact that you work for me.”

He dropped his hands and leveled her with an expression that was unmistakable. Dr. Carrington was drawing a line in the sand that she was not to cross, ever.

Her mouth went dry and she waited for the guillotine to fall. Either he already knew the line had been crossed or he was waiting to catch her crossing it. Fear kept her frozen in place.

“Dr. Jackson is well aware of this policy but I am afraid he may try to find a way around it. Warren always did like to push the limits. Do not let him lead you down a road you might regret.”

He stood from his chair and paced gracefully to the door. With his hand on the doorknob he turned to her with a serious expression.

“I believe you have some reports to complete. I would hate for you to get behind.”

She wanted to run and hide with all her might but instead she somehow managed to hold her head high and walk past him to her desk. There was no need for her to respond. He preferred to have the last word anyway and he knew she understood his meaning. If her work suffered in any way, she was done. He would have no problem terminating her.

****

Warren finished reviewing his notes from his meeting with the MDs. The last one was starting to eat away at his conscience. The psychologist on call last night had hospitalized a thirty-four year old woman who was borderline suicidal. She had gotten caught in the middle of a workplace scandal that had ended in several employees being terminated, and she was the first one they let go. Her only crime had been to trust the man she loved, her boss.

According to the therapist’s notes she had put everything into building her career and had made it to vice president of operations. Her boss had promoted her then used her to hide his deceit. He had used her emotions against her and when she questioned something he did, he played on those emotions and she believed him because she wanted to. She didn’t want to believe he would do anything wrong. Then when the walls came crashing down, he betrayed her and let her take the fall, essentially ending her career and destroying her reputation.

Warren couldn’t help but compare her to Marie. They had similar career goals and lifestyles, and they were both in a relationship with a superior. But he wasn’t using Marie. He cared about her. Marie could trust him not to get her fired…he hoped.

At least he wasn’t embezzling or planning a take-over. He just found her irresistible to the point he couldn’t maintain his control around her. She made him crazy with lust.

He closed his eyes. He had to be very careful when AJ was around. If he gave him any reason to believe they were together, it could cost Marie her job. AJ had threatened to report their relationship and that could be a big problem. He was confident he could strong arm AJ if he had to, but the administration of Central Valley would do what they wanted no matter what Warren did or said. Marie was banking all her hopes and dreams on this job. She would be devastated if she lost it and he’d never forgive himself.

He paced to his door and hesitated. He wanted to talk to her about this, but exactly what he wanted to say he didn’t know. He laughed to himself.

“You dirty dog, you’re just trying to think of a reason to be close enough to touch her.”

He opened the door and saw her walk into AJ’s office.

“Shit,” he whispered. It was Marie’s turn to go to the principal’s office.

Now he did know what he was going to say.
‘Ignore the Golden Boy, he can’t run your life if you don’t let him.’

If AJ was going to play hardball then so was he. He closed the door and leaned against it. Nothing was going to keep him from Marie, especially AJ.

****

“Damn it!”

That was the third time Marie had run the budget report for AJ’s New York presentation and the third time she had forgotten to add an item.

“Great. I’m going to get fired because I’m an idiot, not because I’m a slut. How ironic is that?”

“Personally I prefer the term Sex Goddess to slut and you are most definitely not an idiot.”

Marie jumped and knocked her stack of papers to the floor when Warren spoke from behind her. She had been so engrossed in her work she hadn’t heard him come out of his office.

He spun her chair around and caged her in as he leaned over her.

“And I am your eternal sex slave. How may I serve you today, my queen?”

“We can’t do this here, Warren. If we get caught we could lose our jobs.”

“You must be speaking of that little snippet in the employee handbook about superiors and subordinates.”

“He talked to you too?”

“AJ was kind enough to point it out to me.”

“That means he already knows about us.”

“It doesn’t matter. My interpretation of that little rule differs from AJ’s.” He licked the shell of her ear.

She put her hands on his biceps and wanted to push him away but squeezed his arms instead. “It does matter, damn it. If he turns me in to HR—”

“He’s not going to tell anyone about us.”

“Then he’ll just fire me himself.”

“No, he won’t. You’re his right hand and he’s not going to cut it off just to spite me.”

Marie could feel her body heating. The familiar ache for his touch was building. But she couldn’t let her body rule her mind this time. She needed to stay strong.

“This isn’t about you. This is about me not losing my job,” she said.

“No. It’s about you getting what you want. And you want this.”