Boss I Love To Hate Read online

  I shook my head and proceeded to the bedroom. After I kicked open her door, I turned on the lights and laid her on her dark purple bedspread. No pretty in pink or frilly bedspread for Sonia, but I could’ve almost guessed that.

  I made my way around her neat room, which screamed organization. I’d bet her panties were even color-coded, just like her Post-its and pens. And, for the life of me, I had to know, so I walked over to the dresser and opened the drawer. Socks, all coordinated and separated by dividers—white, black, and multicolored.

  I opened the second drawer. “Jackpot.”

  Not only were her underwear sorted by color, but they were also sorted by type—thongs, lace, satin—and her organizers were labeled.

  I lifted a black lacy thong. “Well, well, well, my sexy little undercover devil. I would have never guessed this about you.” A chuckle escaped me. “Only you would label your underwear.”

  But that was why I needed her, didn’t I? She was organized where I wasn’t, and she had a photographic memory where she could most likely recite my address book.

  “Brad?” She stirred on her bed, and I slammed her underwear drawer shut, not ashamed one bit.

  Her eyes were closed, so I doubted I had gotten caught.

  When she reached for the strap of her dress, still lying down, and slipped it off one shoulder, I froze.

  “Can you get me out of this?” She squirmed awkwardly against the mattress, like a fish out of water.

  “Sure.”

  I approached the bed, bending over to help her to a standing position, and she wobbled within my hold.

  “Whoa.” Her eyes were still closed. “Dizzy.”

  “Easy.” I framed her shoulders to steady her.

  She was feverishly hot, and in a minute, she’d be half-naked. The thought had me unbelievably aroused. Was she wearing a lace thong right now? The thought of seeing her pink nip—

  Stop! I needed to stop.

  I was wrangling my restraint here.

  “Um.” I sat her against the edge of the bed and lowered her to her back.

  “Brad,” she whined, “I said, help me.”

  I swallowed, noting that her dress had slipped lower. “I’m going to grab you a T-shirt.” My mother would applaud my sense of respect at this point. If it were any other girl, I wouldn’t have bothered.

  I tugged open her drawers and chucked a Def Deception band T-shirt onto the bed.

  I lifted her again, and she leaned into me, practically hugging me, front-to-front, and I slipped the other strap of her dress off her shoulders. Like magic, her dress dropped to the floor.

  Holy shit.

  I held her at arm’s length because any closer, and I wouldn’t be able to control the urge to touch her all over.

  My gaze raked over her body with a hunger I’d never felt before, and her nearness sent my senses spinning.

  Her almost-see-through bra, a bra that crossed to her lower back, and panties were all she had left, all lace and all fucking sexy.

  I swallowed.

  “Wait.” I was scared she would topple over.

  I lifted her almost-naked form up in my arms and gently placed her on her back. When she held on to my neck, I fell on top of her, bracing myself against the mattress.

  I balanced on my fists, hovering over her, trying to think of workouts and planks and burpees.

  Tight core. Straight back. I could plank over her for over five minutes. But trying to divert my mind wasn’t working. Nothing was. Because thinking of working out only pushed through thoughts of how Sonia and I could burn more calories together. Naked.

  My cock stiffened as I peered down at her lacy bra that crisscrossed to her waist, the pink of her nipples peeking through. Nipples I wanted to bite.

  “Uh …” I was at a loss for words and in the most compromising position, hovering inches above her. It was so hard not to let my hands roam, to touch every inch of her, to let my lips fall to the crook of her neck and go fucking wild.

  “I fantasized about you once.” Her voice was seductively low.

  My cock twitched.

  Are you kidding me?

  I stilled, looking down at her lustful deep brown eyes. We were so close, a millimeter away from our lips meeting.

  “Was it after you threw darts at my face?” My voice didn’t sound as steady as it usually was.

  “No,” she replied, unfazed. “It was in a dream and so unexpected. I never thought of you that way.”

  Her tongue darted out, licking my chin, and I held my breath. I couldn’t take much more of this.

  “They say that, in the subconscious, the truth comes out.” My chest seized, and my cock strained against the inside of my slacks.

  She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I fell into her, my heart pounding an erratic rhythm.

  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Mom and Dad, help me resist.

  “Kiss me, Brad.” She lifted her head and met my lips.

  I froze.

  I needed an intervention. I was on the last string of self-control. My breathing was labored, and my body flooded with warmth. I could kiss her in a room full of people, knowing nothing else could happen. But here, with her so fucking sexy and practically naked beneath me, once I kissed her, I doubted my ability to stop.

  “Brad …” Her tongue traced my bottom lip.

  And I gave in. Gave in to what I wanted. Gave in to her.

  Game over.

  I kissed her back, needing some of that sweetness, needing another taste of heaven, of her, knowing full well it wouldn’t be enough.

  “We should stop.” Because we should.

  She was drunk and we worked together, and I was about to ruin one of the best relationships that had ever graced my life.

  She pushed at my chest, went on her knees, shoved off my jacket, and ripped opened my shirt. Buttons flew everywhere. My ruined five-hundred-dollar shirt was the last thing on my mind.

  She fell back on the bed and leaned back on her elbows, staring up at me, taking me in.

  Her eyes were hooded and glossed over. Her curls untamed on the top of her head, strands falling over the side of her face.

  She looked like a damn angel. An angel I was about to corrupt.

  She pushed up her hips, grinding my hardness against her softness, creating this sensual friction that drove me mad. Soft moans escaped her lips as I gripped her ass and moved against her, my head dropping to the crook of her neck, my hands roaming from the swell of her hips to cup her breasts.

  “Sonia …” I breathed, my voice shaky and barely controlled. “This is a bad idea.”

  Because she was drunk, and she wasn’t in the right state of mind. If she were sober, this would be a totally different game plan.

  “I didn’t know you were so sexy underneath your suit,” she whispered, licking the seam of my ear, sending a jolt of pleasure to travel straight to my groin.

  I cupped her face. “You’re the sexy one.” I placed a chaste kiss on her lips and took in her body. All strength and beauty in her long, slim legs, her tight stomach, and subtle but firm ass.

  We were all lips and mouths, sucking and tasting. I flicked my tongue all over every inch of her.

  When she reached for the buckle of my pants, I grabbed her hand. It was like a douse of water had been thrown on me. I froze, breathing heavily.

  “I haven’t had sex in eight months, Brad, and I want to feel you inside me.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. How could I say no when she was basically begging me? But, if I let this happen, everything would change. I would be forced to fire her because it wouldn’t work in the workplace. Charles and Mason would kill me. Absolutely kill me.

  I hated that I was thinking about them when my cock was hard against her thigh. But above those things … she’d hate me, and because of that, I’d hate myself. She was drunk. And, when we had sex—which we definitely would—I wanted her to remember.

  Shit. My thoughts were a jumbled mess.

  I squeezed her hand
between us. “We can’t.”

  She whined and pushed her pelvis against mine, locking her legs behind my waist, tighter, harder. “Please …” she begged.

  I groaned. “You’ll regret this in the morning.”

  “I won’t.” She rubbed her hand against the top of my pants. “You don’t want me?”

  If she only knew.

  “That isn’t it. If you were sober, I’d give in to this, give in to what I wanted. I just don’t want you to regret this.”

  She peered up at me with sad, lustful eyes. “Why doesn’t anybody want me? Why am I not good enough?”

  Her words gutted me, a butcher knife to the heart. Why is this beautiful, smart girl so insecure?

  “Don’t say that. You’re beautiful. Stunning. And, if some dumbass of a guy isn’t smart enough to realize it, then it’s his loss, okay?”

  When my thumb brushed tenderly across her cheek, her lips trembled, and her eyes fell shut.

  She wouldn’t remember this conversation, but I had to make her understand.

  I gripped her chin with one hand, making sure we were eye to eye. “Look at me, Sonia.”

  And she did.

  “You keep calling her an upgrade, but she’s not.” My hand brushed the apple of her cheek. “She has nothing on you. Nothing.”

  I was awarded with a sweet, slow smile. Her hand ruffled the top of my hair and then landed on the back of my neck. “Brad, will you kiss me again?”

  I arched an eyebrow.

  “Just kiss me and nothing else.”

  Her lips were plump, swollen, and sexy.

  My willpower was shot.

  I kissed her as though it were my first kiss of the day and the last kiss of my life. We kissed for what seemed like hours, exploring each other’s mouths and tongues. I loved the little moans that escaped her mouth when I nibbled on her bottom lip or the way she gripped my arms tighter or arched her breasts into my chest when I flicked my tongue on the roof of her mouth. Her delicate lips struck a vibrant chord in me. I lost focus, and kissing her was the only thing that mattered. I hadn’t known I could enjoy the art of making out so much.

  Or maybe it was just with Sonia.

  Her kisses slowed, and she pushed me to my back. I thought she was going to ride me, but she laid her head on my chest instead.

  “I’m tired,” she whispered, snuggling against me.

  My hands trailed up and down her bare back. “I’m horny.” My cock was rock hard, straining against my pants.

  She merely laughed. “Of course you are. You’re always horny.”

  This time was different. But I knew she wouldn’t believe me. I’d had drunk sex before, lots of times. I wasn’t drunk now. But, this time, the stakes were higher, and I didn’t want to risk it because I could lose it all.

  “You’re always so honest.” I kissed her temple.

  “Want honesty?” Her tone was soft, her breathing evening out. “You’re the best kisser I’ve ever had.”

  “Really?”

  She might as well have told me I’d won an Olympic medal.

  “Really. But don’t be too impressed. There weren’t that many before Jeff.”

  What she didn’t know and what I didn’t tell her was that she was the best kisser I’d ever had, too.

  I ran my fingers through the ends of her hair, repeating the motion over and over. She was still in her bra and panties, and I debated on getting her that Def Deception shirt from the edge of the bed, but I was again replaying what she’d just said, and I was too comfortable and content to move or care.

  Soon, we were both asleep, and I knew I’d have to deal with everything else in the morning.

  Chapter 14

  Sonia

  “Shit.” I gripped my pounding head, which felt as though a sledgehammer were playing Beethoven’s Fifth on the inside of my brain. I lifted my neck and then let it fall again, unable to open my eyes. My pillow wasn’t soft. It wasn’t fluffy, and it didn’t smell like my laundry detergent.

  I opened one eye and shot up to a sitting position, nearly toppling over again from the wild pounding in my head. But then I realized I was straddling Brad, who was clearly smiling.

  Why must I always find myself in the most compromising situations with this man? Always on top of him.

  “Morning, Shorts.” He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He was shirtless and sported the sexiest bedhead I’d ever seen on a man.

  I stood straight up on the bed and then realized I was only in underwear and a bra.

  I covered myself with my hands, walked off the bed, and face-planted on the floor.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!” The pain from landing on my elbow shot up my arm.

  Immediately, Brad was beside me, scooping me up and placing me on the bed.

  I pushed at his chest. “No.” The dizziness took over, and I fell back against the mattress. I threw one arm over my eyes. “Please tell me we didn’t sleep together.” I rubbed a shaky finger against my temple. “Please. Please. Please.”

  The bed indented by the weight of him, and he grabbed my hand and pulled it from my eyes.

  “We didn’t,” he said, all humor gone from his face.

  I squinted against the sunlight peeking through my curtains. I exhaled in relief. “So, we didn’t?”

  “No, Sonia.” There was that I’m up to no good smirk again.

  I swallowed hard. “Do I still have a job? Because I really, really love my job.”

  He blinked, and for a moment, I thought he was going to say no. And then I would cry or throw up. Because I loved my place and being on my own, and I still felt sick from all the liquor I’d had yesterday.

  His eyebrows pulled together as though he were contemplating, but then, with a tip of his chin, he answered. “Yes. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  “Thank God.” My eyes flew to the ceiling and then back to his face. “Why am I practically naked then?”

  “You asked me to help you out of your clothes.” He rubbed his thumb at my bottom lip, and I pushed his hand away.

  I tilted my head. “I did? I don’t remember that.” Shoot, when did this happen?

  I tried to replay my last memory from the night before and realized I didn’t remember coming home. Well, this couldn’t be good.

  His expression was tender. “You don’t remember a lot of things from last night, do you?”

  A whole slew of scenarios filtered through my head, but the worst one—where we were both doing the naked dance together—had been avoided. Thank goodness. Nothing would’ve been worse than that.

  “What else happened?”

  He swallowed, and then the smile slipped from his features.

  “Tell me, Brad!” I held my breath. My voice was whisper soft, and my body lay still, as I was afraid of what he was going to say. “Brad …”

  “Well, what’s the last thing you remember?”

  I paused, trying to recall. “I remember the ceremony and …” I cringed. “… part of the reception but not too much. I had a lot to drink.”

  “You didn’t throw up. I’m pretty impressed.”

  “I never throw up,” I said matter-of-factly. “But I never black out either.” I guessed there was a first for everything. I blinked up at him.

  “Well, I’m sure you’ve never had that much to drink either.”

  He lay beside me, one arm behind his head. It should’ve been uncomfortable that I was practically naked beside him, but shit, I simply lay there as though I were fully clothed. Plus, he wasn’t looking at my body like a creep; he was scouring my face.

  “I have never, ever been that drunk.” I rubbed at my temple, and the pain seemed to subside. “And I never will again.”

  Brad held this secret smile as though he were replaying all the embarrassing things I’d done last night in his head.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What else did I ask you to do? You’re holding back. I know you are.”

  He held a secret smile. “Kiss you.”


  My eyes widened. “When?”

  “Last night, after you told me to undress you.”

  “All right then.” But then I remembered he had kissed me. “We kissed after the ceremony.”

  “We did.” He dipped his chin. “There was more.” And his stupid smile appeared then.

  “When, where, how? Just tell me.” The back of my neck turned unbelievably hot, warmth spreading down my body. Could your stomach flush with color? ’Cause I was pretty sure mine was right now.

  I didn’t know what was worse—not knowing or having to relive the whole ordeal by him repeating it.

  “Kisses on the dance floor and some more back here.” He laughed.

  “Like peck kiss? Muah or … more?”

  “So much more.” His tone was cocky and indulgent. “So much. We made out for hours.”

  I groaned and threw one arm over my eyes again. “You are so enjoying this. I hate you.”

  He chuckled, a deep sound in the back of his throat. “You wouldn’t be able to tell from how you were acting last night.”

  This was way too amusing for him. I slapped his chest, and when I tried to hit him again, he held my hand and intertwined our fingers.

  Awk-freaking-ward.

  There were boundaries, and we had broken every single one of them. I tore my hand from his and sat up, surprised that my hangover had quieted to a dull hum in my head.

  I decided it was better to not know.

  “Well, since that crapfest is over, you’d better get going. It’s Sunday, and we have work tomorrow.”

  I moved to the edge of the bed, reaching for an old T-shirt. After putting on my Def Deception band T-shirt, which was thankfully long enough to cover my butt cheeks, I placed one hand on my hip, expectantly looking at Brad. I raised an eyebrow and tapped my foot against my worn carpet. He needed to get out of here ASAP.

  Amusement shone in his eyes. “You’re cheapening the moment and everything that happened last night.”

  I wanted so badly to wipe the damn smirk off his face.

  “Get out.” I pointed to the door and watched as Brad slowly sat up, his hair a disheveled mess but his face still GQ handsome.