A workplace romance can melt the heart of a real estate mogul Scrooge.
Over the three years Adam Meade has worked for Grant Alexander, his crush has steadily grown, until the annual holiday party, where he finally musters the courage—both actual and a touch of the liquid variety—to dare push their professional relationship in a vastly different direction. A tentative kiss ignites a blazing inferno and begins a stream of steamy hook-ups that the men soon recognize may extend into something much more than just physical.
However, nothing worth keeping is easy, and Adam will need a hefty dose of trust to avoid falling into the trap a scheming co-worker has created to destroy their new bond and allow him to salvage the Christmas of his dreams.
Reader advisory: This book contains very light threads of BDSM and reference to homophobia.
General Release Date: 19th November 2019
The amber liquid cascaded over the ice cubes like a delicious honeyed waterfall. The glass was too big and the frozen water too minimal, but the blessed soothing burn as the whiskey hit the back of my throat was exactly what the doctor ordered—or it would be as soon as the numbing effects of the alcohol set in
From the opposite side of the thick oak door, laughter, music and clinking stemware were making my head throb even more than the low-grade ache I usually managed throughout the holiday season. And by managed, I meant self-medicated with liberal amounts of alcohol any waking hours when I wasn’t pretending I had my shit together and keeping the company running like a well-oiled machine. Tonight I had barely started, and I was only on my first drink. With the amount of appetizers I’d pilfered from the table and brought into my office with me, it would take at least four more to get to the place of forgetting that I strived to find.
I lifted the glass to my mouth and drained it in one long, fiery gulp. I’d been getting through this for the past eight years. What were three more depressing, alcohol-filled weeks?
On the second try, I stood without incident and crossed the room for my second drink. I was grateful the knock on the door came after I’d safely recapped the decanter and returned it to the shelf.
I dropped my head back and groaned. Hadn’t these people learned by now that after I gave my Oscar-worthy performance of holiday cheer to kick off the party each year, I just wanted to be left alone in my office to embark on an epic solo bender and sleep it off on the brown leather couch I’d become well acquainted with over the years?
Drawing in a deep breath, I schooled my features to look as professional possible, despite the assault of memories contorting my psyche. “Come in.”
A head full of sandy blond, just-a-little-too-long hair poked around the side. “Aren’t you coming out, boss?”
Adam fucking Meade. Every year the man failed to get it through his head that the office Christmas party was a gift to my staff for working their asses off for me all year and helping my bank account tick up to a number high enough that I could continue to mentally flip off my parents each time I drove past their house. Being an outcast gay son was much easier to handle since my income surpassed that of my highly successful attorney father…times five.
I was happy to provide all the alcohol and revelry they had earned, as long as they left my depressed, drunk self secluded in my dark sanctuary. They all respected that, except for Adam. If his overly competent abilities to manage my schedule both personally and professionally, as well as the million other details I didn’t even know he handled, hadn’t turned him into the single most important person in my life, he would be fired for this.
Or fired for occupying far too many of my dirty thoughts outside of work. Because that was a line I refused to cross. Not even the piercing emerald gaze boring holes through me or the full lips drawn into an adorable pout could make me give in to my pleading dick, already straining against the zipper of my gray slacks. “No, Adam. Nothing has changed. Just like last year and the one before, I’m not going to join in the party. But do have fun. You’ve certainly earned it.”
I threw my head back and chugged more of the liquid lava, hoping the numbing abyss would soon claim me from the stabbing pain that always abounded during this time of year. I squeezed my eyes shut as the fire assaulted my belly. By the time I opened them, Adam had closed the door and was standing directly in front of me. His eyes glittered with mischief that was far more enticing than I should admit.
He pulled his mouth into a crooked smirk. I hated when he did that. Hated, loved, whatever. It’s all the same. “I was kinda hoping you’d say that…boss.”
I manufactured a cough and silently screamed at my rebellious cock to stop twitching with each inflection of his smooth voice. “Do you need something, Adam?”
The smirk erupted into a full grin. “I am so glad you asked.”
Before I could question him further, those lips I spent far too much time thinking about crashed into mine. He cupped the back of my head, keeping me pressed against him, exactly where I wanted to be.
This is wrong, wrong…ten thousand kinds of wrong. The small part of my brain not consumed by painful memories or dreams of Adam railed against the kiss, his touch and definitely against my reaction.
But the libido that hadn’t been satisfied by anyone other than my right hand for more than a year gave me a standing ovation. I was helpless to contain the whimper at the back of my throat or stop my arms from winding around his waist. His grip on me tightened, but the tongue that had demanded entrance in my mouth softened, slowly stroking mine. The taste of citrus and hops from Adam mingled with the smoky sweetness the whiskey had left behind.
It seemed impossible but he pulled me closer, grinding his hard length against mine through our clothes and fanning flames I couldn’t control. Years of lust combined with months of need drove me to my knees in front of him. In the space of two staggered breaths I’d unbuckled his belt, slid it free from the loops and tossed it across the room. “You need to tell me now if you don’t want this.”
Adam stroked down the side of my cheek with his soft fingers before gripping my chin. “I’m not stopping any fucking thing from happening tonight.”
My switch flipped and I became more frenzied than a rabid animal, clawing in desperation at the button and zipper of his pants. Once I’d freed him from the material and it lay pooled around his ankles, I couldn’t help but stare for so many reasons, not the least of which was the lack of underwear and the mouthwatering view.
“You don’t have to do this,” Adam offered.
It was an out, an escape—a moment I should have jumped at because nothing, absolutely nothing good could come from the owner of one of the most successful real estate development firms on the east coast kneeling in front of a subordinate—and not just any subordinate, my fucking personal assistant. This had cheesy, low-class porno written all over it.
But not one of those thoughts stopped me from wrapping my fingers around the base of his shaft, planting small kisses along the tip or moving to suck the head as I worked my hand up and down with determined purpose. I’d spent years dreaming of this moment, and even though I hadn’t consumed enough whiskey to silence the painful voices the holiday season incited, I’d had just enough to allow me this indulgence.
“Oh holy hell…”
His groan propelled me on and a war raged between my tongue and lips to see which could bring him more pleasure. His legs, planted in a wide stance on either side of me, began shaking and my already-healthy ego soared. It had been too fucking long. His enthusiastic response wiped away any hint of alcohol-induced haze in my mind.
He gripped the back of my head, using not enough force to prevent my movement but enough to solidify that he liked the gentle attention that my free hand was paying to his balls, tugging them every so often, just enough to make him gasp.
“Fuck, Grant, I can’t… It’s too… Oh hell.”
The heady sensation caused from his muttered curses covered my brain in a blanket of dense fog and left me with only one conscious thought… Devour. At the first taste of his cum, I groaned around his cock. The vibration was met with the hiss of an exhale from Adam. He pulsed his release inside my mouth.
I swiped my tongue across the slit, savoring the final drops, just before reality crashed into me.
My stomach turned to ice. I had just sucked off an employee. In my office. With the rest of my staff crowded outside the door, mere feet away.
What in the ever-loving hell am I thinking?
Coffee, chocolate, and books make up Lily’s world, often all three at the same time. Whether reading or writing she is a sucker for an over-the-top happily ever after… only following an appropriate amount of pain, of course.
When she is not writing or reading (which is not very often) she enjoys exercising her right brain in non authorly ways such as creating mosaics, crocheting, knitting, scrapbooking, and taking one man’s trash to create something new. But never, ever ask her to draw something. That is a beast best left alone.
You can find Lily on her website here, and follow her on Pinterest and Instagram.
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