The Assistant (15 page)

“Oh,” I murmured, looking down at my bare thighs. For some unknown reason, the idea of Adrian with another woman sent an ache through my heart – it was small, but it still hurt. I shook myself out of that idea, my eyes widening slightly at the thought. What was
wrong
with me?!

“Emily,” Adrian said, placing his index finger under my chin to pull my gaze up to meet his. “You’re the only woman that’s ever been up here. I promise.” He pulled me closer to him and looked down at me with a sincere expression. I looked up to meet his eyes and nodded in understanding before my gaze unconsciously trailed down to his lips.

Adrian noticed the movement because he suddenly inched closer, so that our noses were touching. My breath stopped in my throat as I looked back up to meet his eyes – which were staring at me with a lustful expression. He began to move in more – before the door of his bedroom creaked open, and in came the same maid who I had run into the last time I was here.

She was humming to herself while holding a duster and a bucket that was filled with chemicals, before her eyes landed on Adrian and me. She gasped in shock and I jumped away from Adrian’s hold – mortified that she had walked in on us almost kissing.

“I- I’m so sorry, Sir. I did not know you were home,” she stammered. Turning to me, she said, “Hello again, dear.”

“It’s alright, Maria,” Adrian replied after clearing his throat. “Continue what you were doing, don’t mind us.”

I glanced over at him briefly to find him looking as surprised as I was as he ran his fingers through his bed hair, making me bite my lip. I blushed and instantly turned away, my own shock finally settling in. I was about to kiss Adrian Kingston – my
boss
!

“Okay, so maybe I lied,” Adrian smirked, acting like the almost-kiss never happened. “There has been
one
other woman who has come here. She’s cleaning my ensuite as we speak.”

I was… hurt… by how casually he could gloss over what had almost happened. But I covered up my emotions with my usual sarcastic attitude and just rolled my eyes at his comment, barely missing a beat. He clearly was not affected by it, so why should I be?

“I should get going,” I said, before stretching out my own limbs and letting out a moan as they cracked in all the right places. My eyes snapped open as a groan sounded from Adrian, and I looked over at him in confusion.

“You need to stop that, Shortcake,” he grumbled, looking pained.

“Stop what?” I asked, still confused. He shifted in his position and my eyes travelled down to his crotch area, where an obvious bulge was sticking out, making me squeak in surprise and cover my eyes with the palm of my hands. My fingers felt radiant with the heat from my cheeks. “Adrian! Y- You’re the one that needs to s- stop.”

“It’s not my fault you sound sexy as hell when you moan!” he exclaimed, making me remove my palm from my eyes to glare at him.

“It’s not my fault you’re always excited!” I retorted, blushing harder.

He chuckled and pulled me back into him. I tried to avoid his crotch area and pushed myself away as far as I could, still recovering from the almost-kiss.

“Adrian, I need to get home,” I said again, looking up at him with a serious expression.

He held my gaze for a few moments before he sighed. “Fine.” He pouted. “We’ll eat breakfast then leave,” he stated, letting go of me and walking into his wardrobe – leaving me feeling flustered and confused about my feelings towards him.

***

I walked into my office Monday morning with the usual coffee orders in my hands, and almost dropped them all over the plush carpet in shock as a short scream erupted from my mouth. I walked out of my office and looked down the hallway frantically, trying to see if anyone else was as shocked and as panicked as I was; only to find everyone acting completely normal.

My legs started moving towards Adrian’s office – where I hoped to find Suzie – and I collided with a solid, familiar smelling body just as I opened the door. I barely managed to keep both cups of coffee intact.

“Shortcake,” Adrian said with a smirk as he wrapped an arm around my waist, keeping me pressed against his body.

“I- um…” I trailed off, biting my lip as Adrian’s presence made me temporarily blank out on what I wanted to say. My eyes looked beyond him momentarily, where I found men in trade boots and plain navy polo shirts moving furniture around in his office. “What’s going – hey! That’s my desk!” I exclaimed, recognising the familiar light brown wooden piece of furniture that they were placing in front of
my
desk chair, which now occupied the space where the sofa used to be in Adrian’s office. “What’s going on?!” I asked, turning back to Adrian.

“Welcome to your new office, Shortcake.” He smirked, taking his cup of coffee out of my hand.

I frowned and bit my lip as my eyes landed on his large, marble desk. “Where’s your office going to be then?” I asked in confusion.

“Right here,” he said after taking a sip from the cup. My eyes watched his lips for a split second before I tore my gaze away to look up at his hazel eyes, still confused. “We’re sharing my office,” he stated, raising an eyebrow as he waited for it to register in my mind.

“Why? Does someone need mine?” I asked, frowning.

He shook his head. “It’s more practical for you to be in the same room as me. This way, it’s easier to deliver messages to each other.”

My eyebrows shot up at his comment. “I’m sure that’s the only reason,” I noted dryly, before taking a sip from my own coffee cup and pulling away from his hold.

He chuckled just as a worker walked up to us. “We’re all done here. Is there anything else you want moved?” His eyes travelled over to where I was standing and raked over my body slowly as he asked the question. I glared at the man just as Adrian pulled me back into his torso.

“Yes,” Adrian snapped, “your presence from my office. Get out.” He glared at the worker, who was still making it so painstakingly obvious that he was checking me out. Adrian let out a low growl after the worker didn’t respond, a sound that rumbled throughout his entire body and sent waves over to my own.

The worker snapped his gaze away from me and looked over at Adrian with a fearful expression, before he gulped and nodded, leaving the room quicker than I could blink.

“Fucking dickhead.” Adrian scowled and said under his breath, making my eyebrows shoot up in surprise once again.

“Adrian,” I said in the calmest tone I could manage once we were alone in his office.

“Yes, Shortcake? Are you finally going to confess your undying love for me?” Adrian asked wryly.

I rolled my eyes and glared. “Why did you move my desk? And I want the
real
answer this time.” I emphasized the last part, once he opened his mouth to respond to my question.

“I want to spend more time with you,” he stated, shrugging casually before going around to sit at his desk.

I stayed frozen in my position from shock, before I shook myself out of it and mentally fought against the ecstatic feeling that was erupting within my insides. Recovering, I moved to take my seat behind my desk. I realized quickly that the workers had jumbled up the items on the desk. Sighing in frustration, I began repositioning my stationary and paperwork so that it was organised the way I liked it to be. I finished with a flourish, and looked up to find Adrian smirking at me.

I let out a startled squeak and fell off my desk chair from the shock, landing in an awkward position with my legs  in the air and my arms bent in unnatural positions as Adrian began to chuckle.

“Did I frighten you, Shortcake?” he asked as I saw him peer over my desk to smirk down at my fallen figure.

I glared up at him before trying to get out of my awkward position; well aware of the fact that my pencil skirt had managed to slide down and put most of my legs on show. He chuckled again before I felt his strong arms wrap themselves around my waist and pull me up – over his shoulder. A sense of déjà vu flashed through my mind as I remembered the day he forced me to go to lunch with him, and I scowled at his backside.

“Adrian, put me down.” I hissed, flushing.

He walked back to his desk and sat down before letting me down on his lap while keeping me in the position he put me in – which was straddling him. “Okay,” he smirked, making me glare at his plump lips.

“Adrian, someone might walk in!” I exclaimed, pressing my palms against his chest to try and push myself off of him.

“I’ve locked the door,” he stated, still smirking.

I glared down at him before letting out an exasperated sigh. “I need to get back to work.” I tried, hoping to convince him with a new logic.

“I’m your boss,” he replied, that smirk of his growing impossibly wider. “I’ll tell you when to get back to work.”

“Just let me go!” I whined, pouting slightly.

“Kiss me,” he stated, looking into my eyes with a serious expression.

“What? N-No!” I stuttered, attempting to glare at him but failing miserably from my flustered and shocked state.

Adrian studied my expression for a moment, before glaring slightly. “Where do you want to go this weekend?” he finally said, rapidly switching subjects.

“This weekend?” I repeated, confused again as I temporarily forgot the fact that I was straddling Adrian in his office.

“The trip I told my mother we’re going on. Where do you want to go?” he elaborated, pulling me into him so that he could reach over to his desk and grab his coffee off the table.

I groaned, remembering the night of the fundraiser. “Adrian. I told you that isn’t happening. I barely know you! Just take one of your fan girls. I’m sure they’re more than willing.” I glared, suddenly in a foul mood at the thought of Adrian going alone on a weekend trip with someone like Anna.

“No. I want you. Besides, it’s
you
I’m ‘sleeping with, remember? Or do I need to refresh your memory?” He smirked, before bringing his lips to my neck again, making a small gasp escape my lips from the sudden contact.

“I…” I trailed off as he kissed my soft spot again, and I bit down on my lip to stop a moan from escaping. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to prove to your mom.” I said carefully, trying to conceal my heavy breathing.

His hands unwrapped themselves from my waist and made their way down to my thighs, which he gripped firmly, keeping me in place. “You,” he said as he placed another kiss on my neck, “are,” he placed another kiss near my jawline, making my eyelids flutter closed, “absolutely beautiful,” he finished, placing a kiss dangerously close to my lips, making my eyes snap open in shock.

“Adrian…” I trailed off, looking into his hazel eyes with a serious expression. My cheeks were still slightly flushed at the thought of his lips being pressed against my skin, and I tried to recover from it as quickly as possible. “You need to stop this,” I declared, making my tone as firm as I could.

He stared back at me for a while, before sighing. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he mumbled, taking me completely by surprise once again.

“What?” I asked, still trying to process the fact that he didn’t reply with a sexual remark or a comment regarding the fact that I was in love with him.

“I don’t apologise often, Shortcake,” he said with a small smile, “and I sure as hell don’t repeat myself when I
do
.” He removed his hands from my thighs – only to wrap his arms around my waist once again.

I rolled my eyes at the gesture as I continued to calm my breathing, all while I glared at him. “Hey! You didn’t answer my question!” I exclaimed.

He smirked before replying. “How do you expect me to even
think
straight with you on my lap right now? There’s only one thing that’s straight on my body, and it’s not going to help you unless you help me get rid of it.” I stared at him in confusion for a moment, before my eyes slowly travelled down to his pants, where the same bulge from yesterday morning was sticking out, making me groan and push myself off him in an instant. “Adrian!” I groaned again, covering my eyes to avoid looking at it. And just like that, the Adrian Kingston I came to know had returned as he chuckled at my reaction.