Control by Ali Parker Page B

life for us as individuals. How if we could just find that thing that wakes us up in the morning and drives us forward with anticipation and lust... we can have a better life, a better tomorrow.
    "Sometimes that's your job. Sometimes it's your kids. Your father." He glanced over at me. "A love interest that drives you mad with a combination of lust and adoration."
    A resounding chuckle echoed around me as warmth rose up my chest and coated my cheeks and chest. Was he talking about me? Did he want something more than to tear my panties off of me and hear me moan his name a few times later that night? I couldn't fathom anything so far-fetched.
    "So let's pretend it's your job and start there." He glanced up as Jackson walked around the table and handed out a pen and tablet of paper to everyone. "Write down three things right now that excite you beyond belief."
    I glanced down at the paper and couldn't force a cognitive thought to form. All three of my things would have been him or various parts of him. Maybe I needed to look into his past, to see what his story is. Maybe I could stop acting like a bitch in front of him and show him the woman I wanted to be, the one that lurked below the surface of the alpha in me. I was scared too, but maybe with a little more research, I'd be willing.
    "You gotta write something." He stopped beside me and pressed his hands to the table as he glanced down at me. His dark blue eyes stole my breath for a moment. "Alexis?"
    "Sorry." I turned my face away from him and jotted down three things as he hovered beside me.
    Love. Lust. You.
     
    *
     
    "Hey. Wait up." Cole moved up behind me as I walked quickly toward my office.
    "What's up?" I glanced over toward him and tried to ignore the way my pulse spiked when he was near.
    "Did you mean what you wrote in our first session this morning?" He stopped at my door and slid his hands up the frame as I walked in and turned around to face him.
    "Hmm?" I tried to play it off.
    "Did you mean what you wrote this morning?" He pulled a sheet of paper from the folder under his arm and walked in my office, dropping it on my desk.
    I picked it up and gave him a cheeky smile. "Oh, this? I just had to put something down. You were hovering over the top of me. I felt like an idiot."
    "Right." He turned and walked to the door.
    "Cole." I didn't want him to go just yet. I was lying, and we both knew it. Why the hell was I working so hard to protect myself? I'd been hurt a million times in my short life. What was one more?
    He closed my door, locked it and moved over to pull my blinds down. "Yeah, baby?"
    "What are you doing?" My nipples budded as he turned and licked at his lips.
    "Just giving you a little bit of what you're after. That okay?" He set his folder down on my desk and moved around to my side of the office slowly, taking his time.
    My hands were shaking by the time he reached out for me and slid his hands over my hips to grip my ass.
    "How do you know what I want?" I pressed my hands to his chest and moved closer, unable to stop myself.
    He leaned over to his left a little and squinted. "Let's see. Love, lust and me. Right. That's how."
    "Bastard," I whispered and pulled him flush against me. "You drive me crazy with your sexy smile and your smoky voice."
    "Smoky?" He smiled and leaned down, kissing me hard and squeezing my ass again. "Don't moan and get us in trouble."
    "We're not fucking in here."
    "Can we make love?" He brushed his lips by mine and licked softly along my jaw, down my neck to the top of my breasts.
    "No," I breathed out and rubbed myself against him. "I'm not getting fired for you."
    "I make a lot of money. You really don't need this gig." He smiled and stood back up before cupping my face and leaning down to kiss me repeatedly. "You smell so good. Tell me you're wet."
    "Find out for yourself." I kissed him again and lost my train of thought for a minute as he growled and ran his hands down the front of my dress only to tug it back