The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2) (6 page)

A small smile curled those delicious pink lips of hers and her eyes burned into his as she slid her palm up slowly.
 
He snagged it before she got too close to the junction of his thighs, even though he was more than tempted to let her continue her exploration without his interference.
 
Holding her soft palm in his, he asked lowly, “Christie, what are you doing?”

She slid off the desk gracefully and bent her body over his so that her lips were only inches away.
 
He gazed at them for a moment, feeling his heartbeat jump wildly in his throat, before he managed to drag his eyes upwards.
 
Adam wanted a taste of her so badly that his mouth was literally watering.
 
He wanted to feel her beneath him, feel the naked slide of her skin next to his.
 
He wanted to explore every inch of her body until he knew all the right places that drove her to madness.
 
Just as she drove him to madness.

Her lips touched the outer rim of his right ear and he couldn’t help the shocked, yet pleasured, groan that erupted from his throat.
 
The guttural sound shattered the quiet stillness of the office and Christie chuckled teasingly in his ear.
 
Frustration bloomed as the ache in his cock only grew.
 
It pressed against the zipper of his jeans uncomfortably and he squirmed in his seat to relieve the pressure.

Why wasn’t she touching him?

He emitted a sharp intake of breath as she bit gently on his earlobe.
 
His whole body jolted.
 
He was so aroused that he feared she’d make him come in his pants.
 
And
that
would certainly be embarrassing, so he did everything in his power to ease himself off the edge of reckless pleasure.
 
He thought about equations, his grocery list, his meeting on Monday…
anything
but this femme fatale.

“Lesson one, Adam,” she whispered hotly, her breath licking the sensitive flesh of his ear.
 
“
Anticipation
.”

Then she pulled back and stepped away.

It took Adam’s foggy brain a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened.
 
When he did, he was silent and rose from the chair, calm as can be.
 
Except for his raging erection, he was actually pretty proud that he held himself together so well.

He glanced at Christie, who stood by the door of the office.
 
If not for her flushed cheeks and shining eyes, Adam would think she’d been unaffected by her teasing.

Her eyes dropped to the obvious bulge in his jeans.

“Let’s go,” he said, flushing slightly, his voice rough with desire.

He walked out of the office, making sure both software disks were in his coat pocket.
 
He could hear Christie’s footsteps behind him, ringing off the ceramic floor of the gallery.
 
Every step made his abdomen tighten with need.

It was only then that Adam realized Christie would run him ragged during their little deal.

She’d drive him absolutely crazy with frustration and lust and longing.

Anticipation, indeed
, he thought.

*
   
*
   
*

Adam drove on the freeway, completely silent.
 
Every creak of the leather seat beneath him, every rustle of his coat, every scrape of his hands on the steering wheel set Christie on edge.
 
She began to wonder if she’d made a mistake by agreeing to his terms.

She was so aroused that if she were to touch herself with the lightest of brushes, she’d explode in a quivering mess.
 
With every rough bump in the freeway, she wanted to moan.
 
Just watching Adam back at the gallery, in his element, watching his long fingers caress the keyboard almost reverently, made her throb with need.
 
She hadn’t planned to start their ‘lessons’ at the gallery, but her panties had been completely
soaked
by the time he finished installing whatever the heck he was installing on Joseph’s computer.
 
She couldn’t help herself.

But since he’d made it perfectly clear that they wouldn’t be having sex in their little arrangement…it fucking grated on her nerves.
 
She wanted him with a ferocity that she hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever.

You just need to get laid
, she thought to herself.
 
It had been a while.
 
Perhaps, it had been
too
long and that’s why Adam looked so delectable.

No, that wasn’t it.
 
Adam had
always
looked delectable to her.

She squeezed her thighs together when another throb threatened to make her moan out loud.
 
She definitely knew what she’d be doing the moment she stepped foot in her apartment…

When they pulled up to Christie’s place a few moments later, she jumped out of the car.
 
She surreptitiously glanced back at the black leather seat just to make sure her arousal hadn’t somehow leaked through her jeans.
 
Yes, she was
that
aroused.

Adam killed his engine and walked her up to the stairwell of her apartment complex.
 
Neither one had spoken since Christie’s little ‘lesson,’ so she opened her mouth first.
 
“Thank you, Adam.
 
For tonight.
 
You don’t know how much it means to me.”

He nodded and a wry smile appeared, “Well, I’m not exactly doing it out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Right,” Christie agreed, smiling almost shyly.
 
Her heart fluttered.
 
Oh no, I’m in trouble
, she thought.

“Text me when your boss gets in.
 
I’ll call the number you gave me and keep him busy.
 
If he logs out while he takes the call, like you said he will, then I’ll text you the password, okay?
 
Just let me know when you delete the email.”

“Okay,” she murmured, shifting on her feet.
 
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow evening then.”

He nodded once, his dark eyes pulling her in.
 
“Seven?”

Christie nodded.
 
Then, she impulsively reached out to hug him.

Mmm, he smelled good.
 
Like clean linen and soap.
 
And just a hint of his spicy cologne.
 
She squeezed her thighs together again.

She kissed his cheek, feeling his stubble beneath her lips, and whispered, “Seven.”

Then she hurriedly climbed the stairs up to her apartment.

When she was safely behind her closed door, exhaustion crashed down on her in waves.
 
The clock hanging above one of her paintings read 3:14.
 
She’d have to wake up in less than four hours if she wanted to beat Joseph to the gallery.
 
She’d get in earlier just to be on the safe side.

Despite her exhaustion, once she washed her face and climbed into bed, she reached for her trusty vibrator in her nightstand.
 
The whole way home Christie kept fantasizing about Adam.
 
His smell, his voice, those damn, sexy glasses that drove her absolutely crazy.
 
She imagined those long fingers working
her
like they had the keyboard.
 
She’d been aroused for nearly an hour, so when she touched the vibrator to her throbbing clit, she was immediately moaning and writhing on her sheets.

Tossing her head back, her eyes slid shut and she whispered, “
Oh
, Adam.”

As though his name was a trigger, she orgasmed.
 
It seemed like she came for hours on end.
 
Her toes curled in pleasure, her abdomen clenched as huge waves dragged her down deep into the abyss.
 
When she resurfaced, she was shaking and panting.
 
She let out a small, tired laugh of disbelief, tossed her vibrator to the floor for morning clean-up, and then drifted off to sleep with a content smile on her face.

*
   
*
   
*

At 7:30 the next morning, Christie strolled into the gallery.
 
Joseph usually never arrived before nine, but she came early regardless.

Her heart beat wildly in her throat as she crossed the main gallery floor to the back offices.
 
Her pulse didn’t become steady until she peeked into his office and saw that there was no sign of him.

Sweet relief relaxed her muscles, but it was short lived.
 
There was still the possibility that he could check his emails on his phone before he ever stepped foot in the gallery.

With a shaky expelled breath, she crossed to her tiny office and sat down in her squeaky chair.
 
She felt on edge.
 
Her skin felt too tight.
 
If anyone were to walk by right now and say ‘hello,’ she’d probably drop dead of a heart attack.
 
Jane Austen’s Mrs. Bennet popped into her mind, muttering on about her ‘poor nerves.’
 
That’s what she felt like.

Damn.
 
When Christie started comparing her life to characters in Jane Austen novels, she knew she was in bad form.

Christie gradually tried to relax.
 
It wouldn’t be good if her ‘poor nerves’ were on edge for another hour and a half.
 
Besides, no one would be in the gallery on a Sunday besides Joseph.
 
She didn’t have to worry about anyone popping in unexpectedly.

Her phone dinged with a text message, making her jump and let out a small cry.

Stop it, you’re being silly
, she chided herself.
 
Taking a calming breath, she reached into her purse and extracted her phone.
 
Her bangles and bracelets jingled on her arms, reminding her that she should probably take them off.
 
Especially if she needed to sneak into Joseph’s office undetected while he took a call in the front.
 
She jerked them off, all except one.

Flipping her phone over, she saw it was a text from Adam.
 
Her heart did that fluttering thing again, but she ignored it.
 
No good would ever come from analyzing that feeling.

Adam:
Please tell me you’re awake.

Biting back a smile at his thoroughness, she responded quickly.

Christie:
I’m just enjoying a nice, relaxing lounge in bed.
 
I’ll probably shower soon and get in a little after nine.
 
Probably right after I go to the gym, get my groceries, and walk my cat.

Adam:
Haha.
 
Very funny.

Christie:
Wish you were here in bed with me.
 
;)

He didn’t respond and Christie grinned, tucking her phone back into her purse.
 
Texting him for a few minutes had taken the edge off her anxiety, so she figured she should probably start putting together the press kit.
 
Just in case she actually retained her job by the end of today.

When Joseph came in at exactly 9:24, Christie had already finished writing the exhibit introduction and gathered all the artists’ information.
 
She heard Joseph’s footsteps right outside her door, heading towards his office.
 
They paused and she swung around in her chair, hoping her nervousness wasn’t obvious.
 
She stood to greet him.

Show time
, she thought, fearing she’d throw up all over his black loafers any second.

“What are you doing here?” he asked suspiciously, his dull, brown eyes looking tired and more than a bit annoyed.

“I, uh, came in because of the press kit,” she started uncertainly.
 
Christie peered at him closely, trying to gauge his expression.
 
Did he know?
 
Her hands felt damp so she wiped them on her pants.
 
“I didn’t have all the information at home.”

He scrutinized her for a moment and then dropped a bomb.
 
“I got your email.”

Shit, shit, shit!

Her face paled twenty shades and the room spun.
 
She thought she might faint, so she reached out a hand to steady herself on the desk behind her.

“You can tell Mr. Callow that we’re still working on the Golden Road exhibit.
 
But make sure to invite him to the exhibit opening on Tuesday evening.”

She stared in disbelief.
 
He wasn’t talking about her ‘go fuck yourself’ email.
 
He was referring to one of the many ‘back-up’ emails Adam suggested she send, just in case he happened to glance at his inbox before he came into the gallery.

Joseph hadn’t read it yet!

She could kiss Adam right now.

“Right,” she breathed.
 
“Of course.”

His eyes narrowed, taking in her pathetic state.
 
But he didn’t say a word, probably because her well-being wasn’t his concern.
 
As long as she got the work done and didn’t make him look bad.

He turned and left, heading towards the open door of his office.

Christie jumped into action and scrambled madly for her phone.
 
Why did she toss it back into her purse?
 
It was like a black hole!
 
She lost a few precious seconds searching for it, but once she successfully located it, she sent off a quick text to Adam.

Christie:
He’s here!
 
I’ll make sure he logs in and then I’ll give you the signal to call.

Carrying her phone with her to Joseph’s office, she peeked around the doorway.
 
He was just setting his briefcase on his desk.
 
The glow of his desktop screen illuminated the gloomy space and she watched as he plopped down into his chair and turned his focus on his computer.