Page 55 of Legally Mine

He let out a low whistle, his wide brow furrowed as if in pain. "God damn. I don't know if it's because I've barely seen you in the last two months, but...Jesus. You're not going to make this going-slow thing easy on me, are you, Red?"

I gave him a shy smile and didn't answer, just reached over and pulled him to me by the edge of his shirt. Like Jane, I was a bit toasted too.

"I said go slow," I whispered as he came close enough to be nose to nose, "not be monks."

Brandon gave me a wicked grin. "Sounds good to me," he said, and lowered his lips to mine.

"Ahem."

We broke apart, somewhat irritably, to find Eric standing next to us with a full pitcher, two pint glasses, and my whiskey soda, looking obviously uncomfortable with catching his boss and his roommate making out for the second time in twenty-four hours. Brandon stepped away, and I gratefully accepted the drink.

"Thanks," I said. "Next round's on me."

"Uh huh," Eric said. "Where did Jane go?" He scanned the growing crowd.

"She went...exploring," I said.

For some reason, it felt odd to tell Eric that Jane was chasing tail somewhere in the crowd. I knew he was under no pretense about Jane's nocturnal habits, but there was something about the way he'd been looking at her all night that made me hold back.

Eric looked awkwardly back at Brandon and me, then gave Brandon a fake interview smile.

"Mr. Sterling," he said. "It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Eric."

Brandon shook his outstretched hand, then sat down on the stool behind me and scooted my seat backward so I was cradled between his legs. I settled against him, practically purring at the feel of his warm skin through his thin T-shirt. I leaned onto his shoulder, and Brandon wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me even closer so he could gently kiss my neck.

"Right," said Eric with thinly veiled discomfort. "I'm going to go bring Jane her beer."

I couldn't blame him. It had to be hard watching your employer and your roommate cozy up together, but in my half-drunk state, I didn't have much of a desire to hold back. Not after craving this man's touch for over two months.

Without waiting for a reply, Eric started to weave through the crowd, clearly eager to be rid of us.

Brandon chuckled. "I think we offended your roommate's delicate constitution," he said before biting lightly on my earlobe.

His thumb started to toy over the bared skin of my stomach. I shivered, and not because I was cold.

"He's not offended," I said, even as I leaned into Brandon's deft touch. "Just wait until he's found his girl-of-the-night. He's just weirded out because you're his boss." I closed my eyes briefly as Brandon’s tongue touched the soft skin right behind my ear. Then they opened again as something else occurred to me. "Why don't you tell him to call you Brandon? It might be less weird if he didn't have to say 'Mr. Sterling' every time he saw you."

"I will, eventually. It's just kind of fun to fuck with him."

I twisted my head around, and Brandon flashed me a wolfish grin.

"You are so bad," I chided, even though I couldn't hide my own smile.

Brandon immediately captured my chin with his free hand and pulled me in for another brief kiss. "Want me to prove it?" he growled.

He kissed me again, this time much deeper and much longer. The arm around my stomach locked around my mid-section, a trap I didn't ever want to escape. Brandon's hand rested over my stomach, and his fingers teased the top of my jeans, dipping under the coarse material and then briefly back out.

Brandon groaned and broke away. I turned in his arms to face him and leaned back against the table. He looked me over again and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Slow, huh?"

I just bit my lip and nodded, even though it was just as hard for me to keep my hands off him. Still, I didn't really have a choice, I reminded myself with a pang of guilt that I pushed away. This was just how it had to be for another week or two.

He groaned again. "You're killing me here, Red. You couldn't have just worn a burlap sack or something?"

I giggled and took a sip of whiskey. "I'll wrap a bedsheet around me like a toga next time."