Exposed Desires

POV: KAT

What were the odds of your skirt getting snagged in your panties right when your boss walked behind you? Humiliation clawed at my throat. I practically sprinted across the hot asphalt of the Delta Airlines parking lot, putting as much distance as I could between myself and the man staring at my exposed ass. First, I stumbled and spilled my coffee all over the pavement in a clumsy mess. Now this. He probably thought I was out of my mind. Worse. He saw everything.

Ronan Mercer saw my bare ass in black lace.

My chest heaved with panicked breaths. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and marched toward the towering glass doors of the office building. Tension coiled tight in my muscles, making my steps jerky and frantic. How do you recover from something like this? I wanted the concrete to crack open and swallow me whole. Shame burned my cheeks, hot and unrelenting.

I knew he walked somewhere behind me. I heard the steady, heavy thud of his expensive leather shoes against the pavement. What could I even say to him? Thank you for staring at my ass, Mr. Mercer? The idiot probably loved the show. He lived for this kind of dominance, this kind of twisted control over the people around him.

Behind his strict, tailored suits and his ruthless corporate professionalism, Ronan hid the soul of a shameless playboy. I spent the past year working as his assistant. I saw enough to know the truth. He cycled through women on business trips, corporate galas, board meetings, and press interviews. I was the one who had to manage the fallout. I bumped into his breathless companions leaving his hotel suites in the early morning. I poured them coffee. I ordered them cars. I smiled and pretended not to notice their smudged makeup and the lingering smell of his cologne on their skin.

I hated him for it. I hated him because, under the resentment and the sheer exhaustion of managing his schedule, a pathetic part of my brain wished I was the one in his bed.

Dealing with my crush on him was an ongoing nightmare. I was a twenty-five-year-old professional. I fought tooth and nail to climb the corporate ladder. I gave up weekends, holidays, and my personal life to prove my worth. Drooling over a man like Ronan made me sick to my stomach. My attraction defied all logic. He possessed a face carved from marble, a jawline that belonged on a billboard, and a gaze that commanded every room he entered. The media treated him like a living god. Women threw themselves at his feet for just one night.

I knew the real Ronan. He was an arrogant, cruel bastard who made my daily life a living hell with his impossible demands and icy demeanor. Thinking about his inflated ego made me want to turn around and kick him square in the balls.

I stopped in front of the elevator banks in the parking garage. The damp heat of the underground lot pressed against my skin. My pulse hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I needed to act normal. I needed to pretend my underwear had not just been on full display. I stared at the brushed steel doors and took a deep, shaky breath. My trembling fingers pressed the call button.

The doors slid open. I stepped inside the empty cabin.

Ronan entered a second later. He stood beside me, leaving a foot of space between our shoulders. We both faced the front. The silence in the small metal box felt suffocating. The air grew thick, pressing down on my lungs. I braced myself for a smug, degrading remark. He loved putting me in my place. He loved reminding me who held the power in our dynamic.

I kept my eyes glued to the digital floor display. I forced the words past my dry lips.

"Thank you."

The syllables felt like sandpaper in my dry throat.

"I didn't mean..." Ronan started.

His voice lacked its usual biting edge. He sounded off. He fumbled the sentence, his tone carrying a strange hesitation that I had never heard before.

I frowned and turned my head to look at him. I expected to find a mocking smirk playing on his lips. Instead, a wave of genuine shock hit me. The mighty Ronan Mercer looked flustered. His jaw tightened, and a faint flush crept up his neck. The man who ruthlessly dismantled CEOs in boardrooms could not even finish a simple sentence. A sudden, strange sense of victory sparked in my chest. I raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"Look at my ass?" I prompted, feeding him the words he could not manage to say.

He gave a stiff nod. He refused to meet my eyes, staring stubbornly straight ahead at the metal doors.

Suspicion flared in my mind. Why was he acting like a shy schoolboy? He took women home every other night. A flash of lingerie should not break his brain. Unless it affected him more than he wanted to admit. Driven by sheer instinct and overwhelming curiosity, my gaze dropped below his waistline.

My breath hitched in my throat.

A massive, rigid erection pressed against the front of his tailored suit pants. His dick was rock hard, straining the expensive dark fabric to its absolute limit. The heavy bulge looked thick and painful, jutting out with obvious, furious arousal. He was pitching a tent right there in the middle of a corporate elevator. The outline of his thick cock strained against the zipper so aggressively I could almost make out the shape of the head.

The oxygen vanished from the cabin. The silence transformed into a dense, crackling sexual tension that made the hairs on my arms stand up.

My body reacted on pure reflex. A sudden, intense rush of heat pooled straight between my legs. My clitoris throbbed, sending a heavy, aching pulse of desire through my core. Moisture flooded my panties. The friction of the lace against my wet folds made me let out a quiet gasp. Knowing my exposed skin caused that massive physical reaction in him shattered my remaining sanity. I made Ronan Mercer hard. I brought him to the brink of losing control just by walking in front of him.

I needed to escape before I did something reckless. My mind raced with dangerous images of dropping to my knees and tearing at his zipper to free that massive cock. I snapped my eyes back up to the steel doors. I cleared my throat, desperate to steady my racing heartbeat.

"I was in front of you. You didn't exactly have other options."

Why did I give him an out? I was practically excusing his erection.

The elevator chimed. The doors slid open to the expansive Delta Airlines reception area. I did not wait for him to respond. I bolted out of the cabin, practically sprinting across the polished marble floor.

"I'll be right back," I tossed over my shoulder.

I ignored the puzzled look of the receptionist and followed the gold signs down the corridor until I found the women's restroom. I pushed through the heavy wooden door and rushed straight to the sinks.

I gripped the edge of the granite counter and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My brown eyes looked wild, blown wide with shock and unfiltered lust. A deep red flush stained my cheeks and collarbones. My breathing came out in short, ragged pants.

I ordered my brain to function. I gave myself a harsh glare in the glass.

Focus, Kat. You are here to pitch a major marketing campaign to Delta. You are a professional. You cannot let a hard dick ruin your career. You cannot let your own inappropriate wetness derail months of hard work. What would Richard think? He vouched for you. He pushed for your promotion. You cannot throw it all away just because your playboy boss pitched a tent in the elevator.

I ran my trembling fingers through my dark hair, trying to smooth down the rebellious strands. He did not even touch you. He just looked. It was a normal biological reaction to a bare ass. Men got hard all the time. But the sight of his thick erection burned itself into my mind. Would he react like that to anyone else? Or was it because it was me?

No. I needed to shut those thoughts down immediately. I grabbed my brown lipstick from my purse and dragged it across my lips. I needed a distraction. I needed to cure this pathetic obsession with my boss before it destroyed my professional life.

My mind went to Nolan. Nolan Mercer. Ronan's brother.

Nolan possessed the same striking genetics, but he actually smiled. He flirted. He made me laugh. He was incredibly charming and sexy, and he made his interest in me very clear over the past few weeks. Up until now, I rejected his advances because of the unwritten rules of the office, and maybe because I harbored secret feelings for his tyrannical brother. But those rules felt useless right now. Sleeping with Nolan might be the perfect cure. It would clear my head. It would break this toxic spell Ronan held over my body. Sex with a willing, gorgeous man was exactly what I needed to clear the fog of my sexual frustration.

I took one last deep breath, smoothed out my skirt, and walked out of the restroom.

I returned to the lobby with renewed purpose. Nolan stood by the reception desk. He turned his head and greeted me with a warm, sensual smile. His relaxed posture and inviting gaze offered a stark contrast to the storm I just survived in the elevator.

I walked up to him, letting a genuine smile cross my face. I decided to lean in. I decided to flirt back.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

Nolan chuckled, a rich, easy sound that sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. He stepped a fraction closer to me, testing the waters. We exchanged a few light comments, the banter flowing naturally. I felt the familiar heat of his attention. I welcomed it. It served as a shield against the memory of his brother's heavy arousal.

A moment later, heavy footsteps announced Ronan's arrival.

I glanced sideways. Ronan strode into the lobby. His temporary fluster was gone. The obvious bulge in his trousers had been managed, smoothed away beneath the drape of his expensive suit jacket. His face looked carved from ice. His eyes burned with a furious, dark glare.

Nolan noticed the shift in his brother's mood. He tipped his head, watching Ronan with amusement.

"Did something happen?" Nolan asked.

Ronan did not answer. He just glared at the wall.

"It would be easier to ask if there is anything that doesn't bother him," I shot back, keeping my tone light and teasing.

Nolan laughed. "I love your sarcastic sense of humor. Just be patient with him. Remember he'll be your brother-in-law soon."

I smiled up at Nolan, letting the flirtation drip from my voice.

"Remind me to keep our kids away from him."

Nolan bit his lower lip. The man knew exactly how to play dirty, and he used his charm to devastating effect.

Without a word, Ronan pivoted and marched toward the inner bank of elevators. We followed him. Nolan had already checked us in with the receptionist, so we had clearance to head up to the executive floors for our presentation.

The three of us stepped into the spacious elevator. Nolan hit the floor button and stood to Ronan's right. I took my spot on the opposite side, turning my back to my boss to avoid looking at his waistline again.

The doors closed.

Ronan cleared his throat. The sound held a sharp, aggressive edge that demanded immediate attention.

"Can you two maintain a professional posture, at least while we are in this building?" he snapped, his voice laced with pure venom.

Nolan shrugged, unbothered by the hostility. "Relax a bit, brother. Appearing in sync won't harm our image. After all, we're a marketing company."

Ronan turned his head, glaring daggers at us. "I don't know if you two understand the difference between being close and blatantly flirting."

A spark of rebellion ignited in my chest. I refused to let him dictate my interactions outside of work duties. He did not own me, and he certainly had no right to police my love life. I looked at Nolan, my lips curving into a deliberate smirk. I taunted Ronan by repeating my previous joke.

"I'll repeat. Our kids really won't get anywhere near him."

Nolan grinned, clearly enjoying the chaos and the way I challenged his older brother.

Ronan let out a deep, heavy sigh. He shook his head, fixing his icy stare on my back.

"I believe you know the proper behavior expected of you as my assistant," Ronan lectured, his tone strictly authoritative and dripping with condescension. "And it does not include making small talk with the company's head of public relations right before a major pitch."

My patience snapped. The sheer hypocrisy of the man standing behind me pushed me over the edge. Ten minutes ago, he was sporting a massive erection over my underwear, and now he dared to lecture me on office decorum.

I whipped my body around. I glared at him over my shoulder, meeting his furious gaze head-on.

"I know exactly what is expected. I am sorry if I am not meeting your expectations, Mr. Mercer. Maybe it is because I am having to adjust to the new job responsibilities, since having a bastard for a boss wasn't in my contract."

The air in the elevator froze. The temperature plummeted.

Ronan stepped forward, crowding my personal space. His defined jaw clenched tight, a muscle ticking wildly in his cheek. His eyes turned black with rage, a storm brewing in his dark irises.

"Be careful, Voss," he warned in a low, dangerous rumble.

I refused to back down. My blood boiled with fiery defiance. I tilted my chin up, staring right into his furious eyes, daring him to push me further.

"What are you going to do? Fire me?"