Paws off the Boss by Casey Griffin (best summer reads of all time TXT) 📖

He was on the phone, pacing back and forth behind his desk, stroking his tie.

It stirred something deep in Piper’s belly. He looked so professional, so powerful, so in control. She wanted him to use some of that control on her.

The door was open, so Veronica tapped on the glass door to announce their presence. Aiden turned to see who it was, and his eyes fell on Piper. Her knees buckled.

“I’m sorry. I’ll have to call you back.” He hung up the phone. “Thank you, Veronica.”

The moment she left, Aiden crossed the room and closed the door. Piper didn’t miss how he glanced out the glass wall to make sure no one was watching before he kissed her on the cheek. Maybe he wasn’t just afraid of Holly or Tamara seeing them together, but anyone. Or perhaps it was his “I don’t like mixing business with pleasure” motto.

“You made it.” He moved around to the other side of his desk until it stood between them.

“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here?” she asked after the cool reception. “I could study at Starbucks or something.”

“You have your exam soon, and there are plenty of spare offices you can use. If the boss catches you, though, just say you’re the new temp.” He winked.

It was obviously easy for Aiden in that setting. To be the boss, to be in control. It was a comfortable role for him. He had his safety blankets like his tie to readjust, his desk to hide behind, papers to reshuffle. Piper found it quite annoying. Naughty thoughts forced their way into her mind, making her want to break the rules, to toss those papers aside and create some chaos.

“I’ve already got a cover story,” she said. “I can say I’m here for a singing telegram. I just finished a gig a few blocks from here and haven’t changed yet.” She raised her backpack that contained her clothes and textbooks in explanation.

Aiden stopped straightening the papers on his desk. “You’re still wearing your costume?” He gave a fleeting look over her shoulder, out to the hallway. Since his office sat at the end, anyone who stepped out of their door and looked that way could see them.

His eyes drifted back to her. He cleared his throat. “Which one is it?”

She batted her eyelashes. “You’ll just have to use your imagination.”

He perched on the edge of his desk, eyes darting back and forth from her coat to the hall. Temptation animated Aiden’s face as he considered experiencing pleasure while in his place of business.

“Surely, you can give me just a peek.”

She followed his gaze down the hall. Seeing no one coming their way, she reached for the belt on her raincoat. Slowly, she untied it, running the length of the belt ends through her fingers until they dropped to her sides. Gripping the collar, she slid her hands down the lapels, keeping them closed, teasing him.

His flirtatious gaze remained fixed on hers until she spread open the coat and revealed the costume beneath. The short skirt was striped red and white, exposing nearly every inch of her smooth legs. White stars speckled her collared Old Glory blue vest. It hugged her waist and pressed her breasts up so that they bulged out the top of the sparkling gold bra underneath.

“The American Flag?”

She shrugged. “It was for a military send-off party.”

He grew still and contemplative. He could have been in an art gallery, appreciating a masterpiece.

Closing the coat again, she tied the belt around her.

Aiden snapped back from wherever he’d gone—which was certainly not at work. “Hey, I wasn’t finished.”

“That was more than a peek,” Piper said. “That was like a gawk. Or a stare.”

“No, no.” He slid off his desk. “It was barely a glance. A glimpse at best.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you installed all these revealing windows.”

“I can take care of that.” He brushed past her, crossing the room to hit a knob next to the light switch. A motor whirred softly, and the blinds slid across the glass wall, completely obscuring the outside world. He locked the door and loosened his tie as he moved toward her.

Piper gasped. “But Mr. Caldwell,” she teased. “This is completely inappropriate for the workplace. What would Larry Williams say?”

“I don’t give a damn what Larry would say,” Aiden growled, his voice low and thick. “I’m feeling rather … patriotic at the moment.” Bending down, he grazed her lips with his.

“I can tell,” she muttered. “I can feel your flag flying at full mast.”

He smirked. “That’s only half-mast. You’ll know when it’s full.”

Piper’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t think of a comeback. He drew closer. His lips drifted down her neck, tickling her skin. Moving her hands up his chest, she groped the hard muscles beneath his shirt. She peeled off his jacket and dropped it to the floor in a rumpled heap.

Her hips were squirming to press closer even as she said, “But you’re at work.” She wanted to hear him acknowledge the pleasure, to throw away the business side for a moment and give in to it. To give in to her.

He slipped her coat off and tossed it across the room. “You’re not trying to prevent me from expressing my love for my country, are you, Miss Summers?”

“No, sir,” she breathed. “It’s your constitutional right.”

He backed her up until her butt hit the desk and leaned her back. “It’s my duty.”

“You’re obligated, really.” She reclined across his desk, dragging him down by his tie until he laid his mouth against hers. “I don’t think I’ll get much studying done here,” she said between kisses.

“True.” He trailed his fingers down her plunging neckline. “But I might get a little done myself.”

“And what will you be studying?”

“Anatomy.” He tugged at the top button on her vest until it popped open beneath the pressure of her breasts. “Particularly yours.”

He slipped each button free until he could slide his palm across her bare stomach, exposing her golden bra. Pulling away, he took a moment to run his eyes over her body. When he bent to kiss her again, she reached for his flagpole to discover it at full mast.

“Oh, glory,” she breathed.

At her touch, he moaned against her mouth. Pleasure had clearly won.

Aiden’s hand burned hot over her calf, her knee, and all the way up her leg. She squirmed on the desk. His fingers crept up the soft skin of her inner thigh.

She gasped for air, unable to stand it. Her heart hammered. Her head spun with anticipation until she heard ringing in her ears. It wasn’t until Aiden grunted in frustration that she realized he heard it too.

Reaching for the phone on his desk, he pressed a button. “Veronica, I’m busy at the moment. Hold all my calls.”

Her harsh voice blasted through the speaker. “Sorry, sir. Larry Williams would like to speak with you regarding the rezoning for—”

Aiden practically leapt over the desk to pick up the receiver, cutting off whatever she was about to say. “Veronica, I have Miss Summers in the room. Please refrain from discussing business around other clients”—his eyes flicked to Piper—“er, people. … Yes. Fine. … Tell him to wait for a minute, and I can speak to him privately.”

The second he hung up the phone, he tightened his tie again. Back to business. So hot and heavy one moment, then ushering her unceremoniously out of his office the next. It was jarring, to say the least. Piper slid off the desk and pulled her raincoat back on.

“I’m sorry,” he said, picking up his jacket. “But this is important. We’re on a tight schedule with this project.”

“Of course. I understand.” Which was a lie. She didn’t, really.

Aiden was the boss. He could have told Larry to come back. What was Veronica about to say that he didn’t want her to hear? Why was he being so secretive? It was taking his mixing business with pleasure thing a bit far.

“The bathroom is down the hall if you’d like to change,” he said. “Ask Veronica to show you to a spare office after. Stay for as long as you like. Maybe we could do a late dinner tonight?” he asked, a kind of pleading hopefulness in his face.

Piper softened a little. She’d felt his flagpole rise and knew that he was as sorry as she was. “Sounds good.”

There was a knock on the door. Piper fumbled to check that she’d done up all her coat buttons, hiding any evidence of the American flag beneath. Once she was all sorted, she gave Aiden a nod, and he opened the door.

The chief operations officer stepped into the office. She could finally put a name to the face—or smell. Old Spice.

“Come on in, Larry,” Aiden said.

Piper gathered her backpack and swung it over her shoulder, eager to leave. However, when the businessman noticed her, he did a double take.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were already in the middle of a meeting,” he said.

The way he said “meeting” made Piper blush. She formed the most innocent expression she could, like she and his boss hadn’t just made it to third base on his desk.

Aiden gestured to Piper. “Larry, you remember Miss Summers.”

“How could I forget? Did you come to entertain us again with another little song?”

“No.” She bristled but then reminded herself of what she wore beneath her coat. “Aiden offered to let me use a spare office to study.”