Free Falling Under You: A Fixed Trilogy Novella (1001 Dark Nights) by Laurelin Paige

like that.
    Then, because I’d really like that, I pushed my dinner plate away and scooted closer to him. I was as hungry for him as I’d been earlier—more now, possibly—and I was one to go after what I wanted. Somehow I’d forgotten.
    The scent of him made me dizzy as I nuzzled at his ear. “You know, I can stay tomorrow night too,” I whispered. “If you’d let me know now, I could be ready. Pack a bag or whatever.”
    With a cocky grin, he turned into me, his lips hovering above mine. “It’s your job to be ready anyway.” Oh, yeah. That. “And you really don’t need a bag. You can always steal my clothes.” He tugged at my shirt. “Or you could just be naked. That would be fine too.”
    Yes. Naked would be more than fine. “No bag, then. The point is I can stay tomorrow night.” I tilted my face up, intending to capture his mouth with mine.
    But Boyd only let my lips brush against his before pulling away. “I’m sure you can stay since that’s one of my evenings. But that’s not for you to decide.” He set his plate down on the table behind him. “I’ll ask you over if I want to and when I want to. Got it?”
    He didn’t even raise his voice, but immediately my eyes pricked. I’d been chided and rejected, and now I remembered why I hadn’t gone after what I wanted until now—because that wasn’t how this was supposed to work between us.
    “I did it again, didn’t I?” With a sigh, I lay back on the floor and willed the burning in my eyes to go away. “I’m sorry, I’m not good at this.” Translation: I’m stupid and small and inadequate and a terrible submissive.
    A tear slid down my cheek.
    Crying? What the hell? I never cried. Not when I thought about my dead mom. Not when my father beat my brother, Ben, to a pulp. Not even when Ben tried to kill himself. Crying was not something powerhouse businesswomen did. It wasn’t something I did.
    Quickly I wiped the tear away, then the next one, hoping they’d gone unnoticed by Boyd.
    No such luck.
    “Hey.” He stretched out over me, drawing my hands above my head, forcing me to look nowhere but at him.
    God, his body touched mine everywhere and it was incredible . He was firm and tight and, um, hung—I was pretty sure that bulge at my hip wasn’t even all the way erect.
    And while I was daydreaming about his girth, he searched my face. “You think that’s not partly why I’m interested?”
    My lips bent into a pout. (At least I was done crying). “You like me because I’m bad at the kind of sex you’re good at?”
    He laughed, an easy sound that was freer than anything I’d heard in a long time. Had I been that happy-go-lucky at his age? I didn’t think so. Had I ever been?
    “Oh, Norma,” he said soberly, brushing the hair from my face. “Stop thinking and listen to me.”
    I peered up at him, suddenly feeling younger just because of the way he looked at me, all serious and knowing. Affectionate, too.
    “I like the challenge, yes.” He placed a kiss on my chin. “And I like that you’re smart.” Another kiss, at the shirt’s collar. “And confident.”
    He gripped the hem of my shirt— his shirt—then pulled it over my head. He paused to admire me, causing my cheeks to get hot.
    “And you’re so strong.” He bent to draw my nipple into his mouth, sucking it to a taut peak before letting go. “And driven,” he said as he moved to repeat the action on my other breast.
    “And you have all this power.” He slid down my body, laying a kiss on my navel, which ironically left me feeling weak and very power less. “There’s almost no one over you, not just in the office, but the industry.”
    His next kiss landed right above the seam where my clit hid, sending a deep shiver through my body.
    I was a goner, but before I was all the way gone, I managed to ask, “And it turns you on to top someone at the top?”
    Boyd ran his tongue along my slit then answered without looking up. “It turns me on that I can give