Free Going Down: The Elevator Series by Katherine Stevens

to ourselves going forward.”
    “Oh. I see. So I should probably not do this, then?” He ran the back of his hand across my cheek and down my throat until it ghosted across my breast.
    I gulped. “Well, let’s not be too hasty.” My tenuous resolve was slipping again. “At least until we figure something out.”
    “That seems wise,” he said in between soft pecks down my neck. “We should definitely not touch each other until we have a solution to our problem.” He pushed my blazer off my shoulders and tossed it on the floor. Without realizing it, I had removed his jacket, cast aside his tie, and was undoing the last of his shirt buttons.
    “I mean, for sure we should keep it professional at least during workdays. You know, until we have a resolution.” I did that breathy thing again. I bit down on his shoulder when he rolled my nipple through the lace of my bra.
    “I couldn’t agree more. Strictly professional,” he mumbled from somewhere between my bosoms. “Baby, did you wear this bra for me?” He pulled the left cup down and sucked the peak into his mouth. My leg latched itself around his hips like a prehensile tail. He ground himself into the juncture of my thighs, pushing me further back onto my desk, and we both ignored the ka-chunk of the stapler.
    My senses were on overload. “Maybe—oh God, yes, right there—maybe, if we just keep it platonic—harder, baby—until lunchtime—oh, Dwight D. Eisenhower!”
    “That’s it, Cici. Let go,” Cole murmured while he worked me through the confines of our pants. “I want to take you on this desk right now.”
    “Yes!” I yelled. He unbuckled his belt and worked on the button of his trousers. “Oh, wait, no!” I grabbed his hands.
    “No?” He raised his brow, halting his movement.
    I pushed him off me and tried to tuck everything back where it belonged. “My presentation. I’m so late.” It took three attempts to get my shirt buttoned up correctly. “Fudge sticks.”
    Cole raked his hand through his hair. “Shit, Cici, I’m so sorry. I lost my head.”
    I rifled through my top drawer, pulling out the hard copy of my materials. “I think we both did. I don’t think very clearly when you do that thing you do.”
    “What thing is that?” he asked as I raced toward the door.
    “That thing where you stand there and breathe and just generally exist on the planet.”
    “Cici, wait!”
    I turned back to face him. “Cole, I know we need to sit down and have a serious talk. There’s so much that we need to figure out. It’s going to have to wait until a little later, though.”
    “But, Cici, I really—”
    “Cole, I know.” I cut him off in a soft tone. “I know this is a crazy, impossible situation. I want this to work, too. I like you a lot, if that’s not evident. I’ve never felt this strongly about anyone, and we’ve only just met. I wish I had all the answers, but I don’t. The only things I’m certain about are that you make my knees week and my tummy do this fluttering thing. I want you desperately, and knowing that I’m not supposed to have you is causing me physical pain. I realize I ran away this morning. I’m not running away this time. I’m coming back. I promise.” I flitted over to him and placed a delicate kiss on his lips.
    “Cici,” he muttered against my lips. “I was only going to tell you that you have some Post-It Notes stuck to your back.”
    Oh.

Cici vs. The Sister Wife
     
     
    The presentation was never-ending. I may have been absent the day they handed out coordination and verbal filters, but I had a business composure that was second to none. I could turn it on with the flip of a switch, and I was never more grateful for that skill than today. If only I could transition it to my personal life…
    The suits asked far too many questions they already knew the answer to and did the usual dance of pretending they weren’t even interested in our services. I was happy to dance with them, but I really