Chapter 23: Compromising Situations

AVA

My face felt like it was on fire, and I inhaled shakily. This was the second time I’d found myself in a ~very compromising~ situation with my boss at my house.

What made it so much worse was the confusion that came with it.

I wondered how we had gone from standing forehead-to-forehead to not even looking at each other to brushing our teeth together and grinding on each other.

It made me wonder if he would have another mood swing tonight and walk out on me again.

“Ava?” Cyrus’s low voice shook me out of my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Mind if I lie down on your bed?”

My heart was pounding in my chest. “By all means,” I said, trying to sound unbothered. “There are extra blankets in the basket over there.” I bent my arm awkwardly behind my back to point.

“You can turn around.”

Butterflies surged through my belly. I wanted nothing more than to look at him, to see what he looked like after having removed an unknown amount of clothes, but he was also still very much my ~boss~, so I felt a little weird doing so.

I rolled over slowly, and my breath caught in my throat as I looked at him. Beside my bed was the single most beautiful man I had ever seen.

Cyrus’s angular features matched his chiseled body. Every part of him seemed to ooze masculinity.

His hair looked extra disheveled from taking off his undershirt, and he’d removed everything else besides his boxer briefs. I quickly averted my eyes.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

I slowly turned my eyes back toward his face and tried ~very~ hard to keep them there.

Cyrus looked amused. “Have you never seen a man in his underwear before?”

I bit my lip, thinking of a witty reply. I ~had~ seen men in their underwear, just none that looked like…this. Also, none of them had been my ~boss~.

He stepped closer. “Ava…are you a virgin?”

My stomach flipped, and I gasped audibly.

Cyrus chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Don’t answer that. There’s probably some sort of rule against bosses asking their employees about their sexual history.”

“There isn’t,” I blurted out and then immediately cursed myself.

He leaned back and raised his eyebrow. It was taking absolutely everything in me not to stare at his body.

“Go on,” he said.

“I looked it up. When you told me relationships inside the company were frowned upon. There aren’t any rules about employees dating. Much less involving the boss.”

Cyrus smirked at me. “You looked it up, huh?”

I scooted lower and lower in bed, trying to disappear beneath the duvet.

“Well, that changes things,” he said. “I ~was~ going to stay on top of the covers, but since there aren’t any ~rules~ stating that I can’t…mind if I get underneath?”

My heart was pounding against my ribs so hard it was almost starting to hurt.

“Wouldn’t want you to get cold,” I whispered.

Cyrus chuckled as he lifted the covers and slipped underneath. We lay there on our backs, next to each other but not touching.

I could feel heat radiating off him, warming my side and sending pleasant sparks throughout my body.

“I’m going to turn off the lights,” I announced, but I waited until he agreed.

“All good things happen in the dark,” he replied, making my body feel suddenly warm.

I rolled over and flipped the light switch, encasing us in darkness. I felt Cyrus shift beside me, and when I rolled back, my shoulder hit the hot, smooth skin of his arm.

I was too nervous to move, so I just lay there, basking in his heat and intoxicating scent.

“I don’t hate you, you know,” he said, breaking the silence.

I turned my head to face him, but it was too dark to make out his face.

“I overheard you and Tobias talking that day.”

My breathing sped up. “Stop eavesdropping.” I turned away from him again.

Cyrus scooted closer, gently sliding his large hand onto my ribcage, his fingers millimeters away from my breast. The world started spinning around me, and I felt like I was falling.

I scooted backward ever so slightly, until our bodies connected. My frame fit inside his so perfectly. It seemed like mine had been carved from his.

Cyrus pulled me closer until all parts of us were touching, and he stuck his nose into my hair. He inhaled deeply, as if I were the oxygen he needed to survive.

I felt drowsy, and I snuggled into him even more, my eyelids suddenly heavy.

“I don’t hate you either,” I managed to say before my eyes closed and I drifted off.

***

I slept like a baby, easily the best night of sleep I’d had in years. When I woke, reality came crashing down on me. I was lying there, intertwined with my ~boss~.

His heavy, muscular arm was wrapped underneath mine, and his wrist rested between my breasts.

His chest was pressed flush against my back, and I could feel it rising and falling with each deep, sleepy breath.

Our legs were interlaced like an intricate braid, and his swollen crotch was pressed against my butt. ~Well, hello there.~

I wanted nothing more than to turn around and look at him, but I was too scared to wake him, too scared to break the spell again and return to being icy and stiff toward one another.

So I just lay there, listening to his quiet breathing, wishing things could stay like this forever.

After a while, Cyrus started to stir in his sleep a little, jerking his arm softly and mumbling incoherent words. His hips bucked, pressing his length into my back, making me blush.

Then I felt him bury his face in my neck, and I got goosebumps all over.

“Morning,” he finally grunted into my hair, his voice even lower and hoarser than usual.

I stiffened but then relaxed, realizing he hadn’t pulled away yet, even after waking up. I contemplated feigning sleep but ultimately decided to turn around.

“How’s the patient?” He stuck his hand into my hair, and his fingers gently brushed over my scalp in search of the bruise from last night.

“I slipped into a coma and died,” I said dryly.

Cyrus smirked. “Died and went to heaven?”

He looked at my lips. I couldn’t help but lick them as I nodded. A shadow fell over Cyrus’s face.

“Don’t do that.”

My eyes widened slightly. “Do what?”

“Lick your lips like that.” His voice sounded strained.

My eyes narrowed, and I dipped my tongue out of my mouth ever so slightly. Cyrus’s breathing sped up, and his hand that was resting on my ribcage started to grip me tighter.

“Don’t,” he warned.

My insides stirred, coaxing me to continue.

I started to run my tongue over my upper lip very slowly, until suddenly Cyrus’s hand shot up, grasping a fistful of hair, and he tugged gently—but definitely firmly—tilting my head back.

I gasped as he buried his face in my neck.

“I told you not to.”

I just nodded my head. I felt him smile against my skin, which stirred the flock of butterflies that now lived in my stomach. I squirmed against him, and I felt his hands grab me.

“Stop squirming,” he said, stilling my body with his.

I stopped.

“Good girl,” he purred into my ear, doing all kinds of things to all kinds of areas of my body.

Cyrus moved his head back to look at me. I covered my face with my hands.

“What’s happening here?” I asked him, my voice muffled by my palms.

He rolled onto his back and stretched. “Nothing. You hurt yourself, and I made sure you were safe.”

I closed my eyes, trying to swallow the pang of hurt I felt. I nodded and sat up. “Well, I survived. So you can go now.”

Cyrus’s brows lowered a little. He inhaled deeply and got up out of bed.

He walked out of the room, still dressed in only his boxers, which left ~very little~ to the imagination, as his member was straining against the fabric.

I took a deep breath before following him into the kitchen. I found him going through my fridge.

“Can I help you?” I asked cynically.

“Pancakes or eggs?” The muscles of his back were on full display as he started pulling ingredients out.

“Waffles,” I said, pulling the iron out of a cabinet.

We quietly prepared breakfast together. Cyrus took care of the waffles while I cut up fruit and made coffee—my specialty. We sat down on the barstools and dug in.

He mocked an impressed face as he looked down at the cappuccino I’d made for him. I shot him a look and scooped some strawberries onto my waffle. He took a sip and turned to me dramatically.

“Damn, now I know why all everybody does is stand around drinking coffee with you all day.”

I laughed and wiggled my eyebrows at him. We ate the rest of our breakfast, and Cyrus put our dishes in the dishwasher.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s go take a shower.”