First Impressions: The Fix Up Part 8

"Battle, yes! I feel like we should have body armor or maybe swords."

"I'll see if my a.s.sistant can run to the Thumb Wrestling Emporium before our next tournament."

She took another stab at pinning him, and Ben let her press his thumb down for a good three seconds before he slid out from under her. His father would roll his eyes if he saw this. It was hardly the most professional activity, certainly not something his father or any of the other suits at that party would be doing on a quiet Tuesday night.

But hadn't his dad always encouraged compet.i.tion and athletic pursuits as a platform for professional networking?

This probably isn't what he meant.

"Ready for me to put you out of your misery?" Ben flexed his thumb dramatically and flashed Holly a grin he hoped made his words sound less c.o.c.ky.

But h.e.l.l, she was training him to be confident in business dealings. Wasn't this good practice?

"I'd like to see you try," she taunted.

"Very well." He slid his thumb over hers and clamped down, pinning her digit with relative ease. Her eyes widened, and he felt her wriggling beneath him, trying to get free.

"Hey!" She giggled and tried to pull back, but Ben held tight.

"One, two, three, four, it appears I've won this thumb war." He held her gaze for a moment, smiling with triumph and maybe a little l.u.s.t. Then he let go of her hand and took off his gla.s.ses. He lifted the hem of his s.h.i.+rt and used it to wipe a smudge off one of the lenses. "I believe I've made my point."

Holly drew her hand back, though Ben was pleased to see she didn't put any distance between them. "What point is that?"

"Nerds can be fierce and valiant in combat."

"Nerds can also have six-pack abs, apparently." She reached out and patted his bare midsection, and Ben dropped his s.h.i.+rt hem and stopped polis.h.i.+ng his gla.s.ses. "Between those and the monster paws, you're unlike any nerd I've ever met."

"Monster paws?"

"Big hands, big feet-monster paws."

"I'll have to have that printed on my business cards."

She grinned and reached for his hand again. "Come on, best two out of three?"

"You want to thumb wrestle again?"

"Afraid you'll lose?"

Ben set his gla.s.ses aside and turned back to her. She'd gotten one thing right-he was no dummy. If she was offering him the opportunity to touch her again in any capacity, he was sure as h.e.l.l going to take it.

He locked his fingers with hers again and stared into her eyes. "You sure about this?"

She held his gaze, not moving, not blinking, not even smiling now. Then she nodded slowly, making no move to initiate the game. "Positive."

"Ready?"

"Uh-huh. Let's do this."

His gaze was still locked with hers, and he could see her chest rising and falling at a quicker rate than it had been a few seconds ago. He wasn't the best with social cues, but something told him she wasn't talking about thumb wrestling anymore.

"You know..." she said softly. "This is actually even more impressive than your abs."

"What's that?"

"I've been here less than an hour and you've already got me braless and tangled up in your bedding while we hold hands."

Ben felt the blood drain from his brain and head south. He held tight to her hand. "Technically, you're the one who took your bra off."

"Even more impressive. You got me to do the hard work. Clearly the mark of a strategic-thinking, alpha male businessman."

"So what would a strategic-thinking, alpha male businessman do next to demonstrate his budding leaders.h.i.+p skills?"

Her throat moved as she swallowed, and something that looked a little like fear flashed in her eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by something he thought might be l.u.s.t. Had he really inspired that?

"I suppose he might take the initiative to kiss me," she said softly.

"You think so?"

"Don't we owe it to your professional development to give it a shot?"

Her tone was teasing, but there was something else there. A challenge or an invitation. He wasn't quite sure, but one thing he did know-he desperately wanted to kiss her, had been thinking about it every minute since he first touched his lips to hers in the furniture store.

He let go of her hand and slid his fingers over the nape of her neck, moving slowly, giving her the chance to say no if she wanted to.

"Yes," she murmured, and she surged forward, knocking him backward onto the sea of blankets as her lips found his. She kissed him hard, then drew back, grinning on top of him. "And that's how you pin someone in thumb wrestling."

"I'm glad my uncle never played like that." He drew her mouth to his again, then rolled her over, pinning her beneath him on a fluffy blue down-filled comforter. He deepened the kiss and she responded in kind, soft and sweet and hungry. Her body arched against his as her thighs wrapped around him, holding him against her. He could feel the warmth between her legs and wondered if she'd ditched the panties when she changed in the bathroom. The thought made him hard. Harder. G.o.d, she felt good.

Holly moaned and pressed her body tighter against his as Ben skimmed a palm down her arm, feeling goose b.u.mps rise on her flesh. He kept kissing her, pretty sure he never wanted to stop. Something about this reminded him of a high school make-out session, though he couldn't honestly say why. Graduating from high school at sixteen meant he'd missed out on a lot of those milestones, but he wasn't missing a d.a.m.n thing now. She felt warm and soft beneath him, and her whole body was molded against his.

Ben broke the kiss to plant another one behind her ear, then down her throat and over her collarbone. Holly moaned as he slid lower, lifting the hem of her s.h.i.+rt to make a trail of kisses down her rib cage, over her belly, then up again.

"G.o.d, that feels good."

"Mmm," he murmured, pus.h.i.+ng aside the elastic inside the s.h.i.+rt. He wasn't sure if it was there to hold her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in place or to deter unwanted groping, but the way she was writhing and gasping beneath him told Ben none of this was unwanted.

His mouth found her nipple- She gasped and threaded her fingers into his hair. "Don't stop."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

He took his time on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, licking, sucking, dipping into the hollow between them and resurfacing on the other side to give the same attention to the other one. By the time he came up for air, Holly was panting like she'd just run a marathon. She pressed a hand to his chest, then pushed him away.

Ben started to apologize, but she got to her knees and pulled off her top. She flung it across the room as he sat up too, putting them face to face. She reached for him again as he slid his hands up her sides to cup one breast in each hand.

"You have the best hands," she moaned, pressing so hard against them he thought he might hurt her. He squeezed softly, making her groan again, and he marveled at the notion that he could rouse such a response in her. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were perfectly sized, not too big and not too small, just the right fit in the center of his palms.

He found her lips again and kissed her, breathing in the scent of flowers and b.u.t.tered popcorn. Holly moved against him as he slid his thumbs over her nipples again just to hear her gasp. He felt her fingers clutching at the hem of his s.h.i.+rt, and he let her pull it up and over his head so they were skin on skin. She felt so f.u.c.king good, so soft and warm and pliant against him.

Her fingers clenched around his biceps, and he let her pull him back down to the ground beside her. Lying on his left side next to her, he let his right hand move down her abdomen, his fingers dipping under the waistband of the gray cashmere pants. He went slow, giving her a chance to say no or remind him this wasn't a good way to establish a business relations.h.i.+p.

Instead, she raised her hips so he could slide her pants the rest of the way off. Christ, he couldn't believe this was happening, but he seemed powerless to stop it. His fingers trailed between her legs as she opened them wider.

"G.o.d you're wet," he murmured.

"I swear I don't usually do this with someone I've just-"

"Shhh," he murmured, kissing her to halt any explanation she felt she might need to deliver.

He wasn't interested in judging her. He was interested in tasting her.

He slid down her body, leaving a wet trail of kisses as he went. First her belly b.u.t.ton, then her hipbone, then the crease of her leg, then- "Oh my G.o.d!"

Her fingers gripped his head as his tongue probed her center, tasting, teasing, circling. Holly arched her back and clutched his hair as his tongue made slow circles around her c.l.i.t. G.o.d, she tasted amazing. He s.h.i.+fted his weight to one elbow, freeing his right hand to move between her thighs. He slid one finger in, making her gasp again as he circled his tongue faster, working the sensitive nub.

He let his finger glide in and out, feeling her press against him with each stroke. She tensed around him, and he flattened his tongue, wanting her to feel him everywhere.

"I'm close," she gasped, and the words sent a jolt through him.

He could feel her coiled like a spring beneath him as he licked her again. It was a powerful feeling, knowing all he had to do was slide his finger in again, stroke her just once more with his tongue and then- "Ben!" she screamed and dug her nails into his shoulders, bucking against him. He was delirious with the taste of her and the tight clench of her body around him. She screamed again, and he dropped one hand to her hip to hold her steady as he licked and stroked and sucked until he felt her go slack beneath him.

Ben drew back and rested a hand on her belly. She was lying back on the comforter with her eyes closed. Her cheeks were flushed and damp and a strand of dark hair lay plastered to her cheek. Ben had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life, and he wanted her all over again.

Holly opened her eyes and smiled. "Holy cow. That was amazing."

Ben grinned. "Science geeks study a lot of human anatomy."

She laughed. "Was that the secret? I thought it might be the monster paws."

"That too."

"Seriously, you could teach cla.s.ses. How'd you get so good at that?"

He planted a kiss on her hipbone, tamping down the urge to feel c.o.c.ky. "Uh, not to get too clinical, but there's a distinct advantage to long fingers and a good angle."

Holly laughed and sat up, brus.h.i.+ng her hair from her cheek. "So that's a G-spot, huh? And I thought I was the one here to teach you the lessons."

Ben watched a crinkle form between her brows as she played her own words back to herself in her mind. Apparently, she didn't like the way they sounded, because she sat up a little straighter and reached for her s.h.i.+rt.

"Look, I guess I should have thought of this before we got too carried away, but this probably isn't a good idea."

"You mean for me to write you a check and then have you end up naked on my living room floor?"

She grimaced. "Ouch."

"Sorry," he said, wis.h.i.+ng he hadn't tried to be flip. "I didn't mean to make it sound like prost.i.tution."

"No, I'm sorry. I feel like I should reciprocate here, and G.o.d knows I really, really want to-" She shot a look at his crotch. "Really." He watched her throat move as she swallowed hard. Then she turned and yanked her s.h.i.+rt on. "I feel like I shouldn't take your money now." She pulled on her pants, her fingers fumbling with the drawstring. "This whole thing is a little unethical, but you're right-it's the money changing hands that makes it really bad."

"Look, I was just joking. There's no reason this should interfere with our professional relations.h.i.+p."

"That's just it. I can't go sleeping with a client. That's like the most unprofessional move in the book."

"Technically, we didn't sleep together."

She rolled her eyes as she cinched the waistband of the cashmere pants, and Ben tried not to take the double knot personally.

"Okay then, we didn't sleep together, we had s.e.x," she said. "Let's not get hung up on semantics."

"I'm not faulting your word choice. Just observing that no s.e.xual intercourse took place. I went down on you, you came, end of story."

The flush in her cheeks told him the story was far from over, and Ben was inclined to agree. Still, he pressed on. "Look, we can still maintain a professional relations.h.i.+p here."

"Ben-"

"Please, Holly. I need you. Having you there coaching me through the event tonight was a G.o.dsend. I can't do this CEO thing without you. Not yet, anyway. I still have a lot of work to do before I'm fit to fill my father's shoes."

She frowned, which Ben felt like doing, too, as his own words echoed in his ears. The last thing he wanted was to be his father, but that's exactly what he was counting on Holly to help him do.

If you're trying not to emulate the worst of your dad, hooking up with a woman you hired is probably not the best move.

Dammit. Okay, he could still fix this.

"Look, I can be good," he said.

"No kidding." A ghost of a smile crossed her features, but she bit her lip and dropped her gaze. "Sorry, not helpful. Also, I'm really sorry about leaving you high and dry. If you want, I could-" Her voice trailed off, but he caught her meaning as her gaze s.h.i.+fted to his crotch.

"It's okay. You're right, we should keep things professional between us. Please-let's give it a shot."

She looked down into her lap and fiddled with the tie on the front of the cashmere pants. "No more fooling around?"

"Scout's honor," he said, raising his hand with his palm toward her, thumb extended, fingers parted between his middle and ring finger.

Holly stared at his hand and frowned. "What the h.e.l.l kind of Boy Scout were you?"

"I wasn't. That's a Vulcan salute."

"Star Trek?"

"Yep. Much more meaningful to a geek than any Boy Scout pledge. As Spock is my witness, I'll do my very best to keep my hands off you."

She stared at his hand a few beats, and he wondered if she was pondering the magnitude of his geekiness or remembering how his fingers had felt sliding in and out of her.

At last she raised her hand, moving her fingers into her own version of the Vulcan salute. "Well okay then," she said. "Live long and prosper and grope no more."

"You slept with him?" Miriam raised her palm in a gesture Holly wished didn't leave her thinking salacious thoughts about Ben's monster paws and his Vulcan salute. "Come on," Miriam urged, waving her hand in Holly's face and jingling the gold bracelet on her wrist. "This calls for a high five."

"I'm not high-fiving you," Holly whispered, glancing toward the conference room door. She'd had it soundproofed when she and Miriam first took over the s.p.a.ce and had it built out to their specifications, back when they were just starting out with First Impressions. Even so, she didn't want to take any chances. "Besides, as Ben pointed out-we didn't technically sleep together."