In Bed with the Boss Read online

  In Bed with the Boss

  Eden Proctor

  Contents

  Copyright

  Eden’s Newest Books

  In Bed with the Boss

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  In Bed with the Boss Copyright © 2016 by Eden Proctor

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book contains mature content intended for adults only.

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  In Bed with the Boss

  I’m an idiot.

  Everybody knows you don’t fall in love with your boss. Especially when he’s a cold, distant, tyrannical alpha male.

  I did it anyway.

  But I always hid my feelings…until that day. When I made an offhand comment he wasn’t meant to hear, and he took me up on it.

  If falling for your boss is bad, sleeping with him is even worse.

  So when he breaks my heart, I’ll only have myself to blame.

  Chapter 1

  Constance Wheeler rushed through the revolving glass door and made a beeline to the stairwell.

  There was no time to wait for the main elevator, so, moving as fast as her chubby legs would carry her, she rushed up three flights of stairs, hopped onto the service elevator, and rode it to the top floor.

  She was still slightly out of breath when she reached her desk, but was pleased to have arrived so quickly.

  The intercom buzzed before she could drop her belongings.

  “Nice of you to join us this morning. My office, two minutes.”

  Milo Preston’s voice was still deep even through the tinny speaker, and cold enough to chill the piping hot coffee she had risked his wrath for.

  She sat the cup down, put her delicious-looking blueberry muffin next to it, and gathered a pen and notepad, almost certain she wouldn’t get a chance to enjoy either the coffee or her breakfast for a long while yet.

  Constance stopped long enough to adjust her ivory-colored blouse, ensuring that the buttons hadn’t pulled apart during her impromptu sprint. That had happened more times than she cared to remember, and even now, she flushed with embarrassment at the thought of having accidently flashed who knew how many people, people that included her boss.

  When she was certain her shirt was arranged properly, she brushed back the stray curl that had fallen from the loose bun at the back of her head.

  Ninety seconds later, she exhaled a deep sigh and pushed open the door that separated her open office area from Milo’s inner sanctum.

  Funny how she hadn’t really thought of time in terms of seconds before, but after six years of working for Milo, his insistence that every second counted was one that had been pounded into her.

  And when she looked at Milo, who stood facing the door, hands behind him, waiting, she knew she had been right to hurry.

  Had Constance taken thirty-one seconds longer, he would have had some critique, so it was a victory for her, a small one, but a victory nonetheless, that he was forced to hold his tongue.

  Or hold it as much as one could expect Milo to.

  “Good morning, Mr. Preston,” Constance said.

  “Is it still morning?” Milo replied, his eyes boring into her.

  Constance felt her face muscles tense, but she didn’t respond.

  It was, in fact, morning.

  7:03 to be precise. A full two hours before Constance was officially scheduled to start her day.

  But Milo couldn’t care less about that, and if she knew him, which, after all these years she undoubtedly did, he had been counting down the moments until she arrived.

  Sometimes Constance wondered when he slept. No matter how early she got here, how late she stayed, he was always there, and expected her, his personal assistant, to be there as well.

  “Don’t just stand there, Ms. Wheeler. We have a full day ahead of us,” he said.

  Ms. Wheeler.

  Constance paused a moment, groaned inwardly, lamenting the loss of her hot coffee and warm muffin. Not even 7:10 and Milo was addressing her by her last name. Definitely not a good sign.

  What Milo considered a full day would be exhausting, so Constance bit back a sigh and took the cap off her pen, then settled at the small conference table in Milo’s office.

  She scribbled furiously for the next hour and a half, making notes as Milo always expected her to, her focus on him, but a small portion of her mind buzzing as she began to consider the logistics of handling the projects Milo was continually piling up.

  Well, most of her mind.

  But a small part, one that got a little bigger each day, was busy listening to the sound of his voice.

  Constance always tried to keep her focus on work, but despite her best efforts, she was easily sucked in by Milo.

  He was tall, at least a foot taller than her own five foot five. He was also broad, heavily muscled, his strong arms, tree-trunk thighs, and massive chest more at home on an athlete or man who worked outdoors and not a wealthy businessman. He was a knee-weakening combination, his amazing body and handsome features almost irresistible, at least to her.

  He was devastatingly handsome, but his looks, his money, his power and the way he wielded it didn’t affect her even a fraction as much as his voice.

  It always held an undertone of barely disguised scorn, but that didn’t matter to Constance. The sound of it was like magic, working through her body like her blood flowing through her veins.

  By now, her reaction was predictable.

  She’d hear his voice, and the first tingle of awareness would start to creep over her. Her nipples would pebble, growing harder with each word he spoke.

  That feeling was only the beginning, but it was the one that stoked the low fire in her belly, a fire that soon ignited and moved lower and lower until her pussy was drenched and clenching around emptiness that Milo would never fill.

  More than once, she had left his office, mind spinning from the seemingly unending amount of work he expected, body completely aflame from listening to him talk.

  And him none the wiser.

  That was a good thing, because Constance didn’t think she’d be able to bear it if Milo knew even a fraction of the thoughts that raced through her mind whenever she was near him.

  But despite how he made her feel, how incredibly turned on she was whenever she was within a hundred feet of him, there was always an underlying truth she could never avoid, no matter how much she wished it otherwise.

  She was Milo’s assistant, nothing more.

  And it stung, made her feel beyond stupid for desiring him so deeply when she was simply a part of the scenery to him, no more or less valuable than the computer on his desk, the copier down the hall.

  Not that she would have expected anything else.

  Constance had always faded into the background, been good, reliable, but no one of note.

  Her hair, when it wasn’t pulled back, hung long and heavy, curling slightly on the ends, but otherwise unremarkable. As were her brown eyes. S
he was average height, and had spent many years of her life trying to reach average weight. She’d given that up years ago and accepted that she would always be curvy, just as she would always be average.

  And it didn’t bother her.

  Most days.

  But sometimes, usually on those late nights when she finally came home for the few hours before she had to go back to work, she would think about what it would be like if she were different. What would it feel like if for just a little while she was the kind of woman who would attract Milo’s attention.

  No chance of that happening.

  Over the six years she’d worked for him, she had seen Milo’s type and it couldn’t be more different from her. Milo’s type was beautiful to Constance’s average, interesting and exciting to Constance’s dull.

  So she had consented herself to her role and tried to squash down that pesky attraction for him. But doing so got a little bit harder every day, especially when Milo was his most demanding.

  It was fucking twisted, but the more demanding Milo was, the more attention he focused on her, the more Constance savored it. She used those moments when he was focused on her as fodder for fantasies.

  Constance told herself it was harmless, that it meant nothing that she dreamed about her boss. He was smoking hot, and she was human, so there was no harm in it.

  That was what she told herself. But deep down she knew the truth.

  She was in love with him.

  In love with cruel, heartless, thoughtless Milo.

  “I’m not paying you to daydream, Constance.”

  Milo’s sharp-toned voice broke her thoughts, and Constance blinked, then looked up at Milo, realizing that she had lost track of what he was saying.

  “Sorry. Haven’t had my coffee today,” she said, ending on a little giggle as she shook her head, trying to clear it.

  “I’m not interested in your excuses either,” he said.

  Her mouth snapped closed, and she glared at him for a split second, then quickly made her expression as blank as she could.

  “Of course not, Mr. Preston. I’ve taken the notes I need. I’ll get started on these projects now,” she said.

  Without waiting, she stood and exited his office.

  It always happened this way. Constance would get caught up in some thought, and Milo would remind her of how obnoxious he could be, remind her that he felt nothing for her at all.

  If only her stupid body could get the message…

  Because even though she was practically buzzing with anger, that ever present and growing desire was still there.

  She felt it with every step she took, the dampness between her legs not allowing her to forget it.

  “Pull yourself together, Constance,” she muttered, frowning that she had said so out loud, her little habit of talking to herself one she had never been able to shake.

  She paused long enough to give one last lingering look to the breakfast she wouldn’t eat, and then, on a deep sigh, she got to work.

  Chapter 2

  Fuck.

  Milo ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the spot Constance had just vacated.

  This…thing with Constance was getting out of hand.

  Once Constance had come in, Milo had sat and had stayed seated the entire time she’d been in his office.

  Not his usual preference. He liked to pace when he thought, but there hadn’t been an alternative.

  Because if he had stayed standing, there was no way Constance, daydreaming though she might have been, would have missed the raging hard-on that tented his pants.

  Milo exhaled, trying to get a hold of himself, and trying to understand what she did to him.

  He had barely been able to speak, so intent he was with watching Constance as she furiously scribbled notes, then stopped, looking off into the distance as she thought.

  Milo wasn’t sure she was aware of it, but she’d done it for years. Milo had noticed it immediately.

  At first he’d thought it was a sign of inattention, and he’d been certain she wasn’t going to work out. But over the years, he had learned that Constance’s mind was sharp, a rival for anyone that had ever worked for him.

  So he overlooked her apparent thoughtlessness, spent a little time puzzling over the source of it.

  And then it had become something else.

  He’d started looking forward to it, looking forward to her.

  She seldom looked at him, too busy thinking or writing, but that had given him plenty of opportunity to observe her.

  Brown hair, brown eyes, nice, curvy body. Attractive, but not eye-catchingly so.

  At least at first thought.

  As time had passed, he’d looked deeper, saw that her brown hair was threaded through with streaks of amber, that her brown eyes had little flecks of the same amber. And her body…

  Nice curves, he’d thought initially, but now he knew that phrase in no way described her.

  She always dressed in professional clothes, nothing fancy, but when Milo had noticed the way they clung to her body, he hadn’t been able to stop noticing.

  The way her breasts filled her thin blouses. The way her skirts hugged her perfect ass. The little sliver of thigh he could catch glimpses of when she crossed her legs.

  The hard-on that had only just started to calm came back with a vengeance. Constance, sweet, soft perfection.

  And sometimes she looked off into the distance with a little Mona Lisa smile on her face, one that intrigued him almost as much as her succulent body.

  More than once Milo had wanted to ask what she was thinking about.

  Whom.

  He curved his fists before he could stop himself. The thought of someone else putting that smile on her face made him want to punch someone every time.

  It had also led to some of his more regrettable behavior.

  Whenever he’d seen that, he’d been even more of an asshole, made her work longer those days, but he didn’t care.

  The alternative was knowing that Constance was leaving him, going to whoever put that smile on her face, and that was something he couldn’t abide.

  All of it was probably for no reason. They seldom talked of personal things, but Milo knew she wasn’t involved with anyone. Hoped that was still the case, and, as fucked as it was, would do what he could to make sure it stayed that way.

  He pressed the buzzer. “Constance, you’re going to stay late tonight.”

  Chapter 3

  Constance sighed when she finally stepped out of her heels, pausing for a moment to lean against her locked door.

  She checked her watch.

  10:48 p.m.

  Looking at her watch and having the late hour confirmed only intensified the exhaustion that weighed on her.

  She thought about calling her Lexi, but knew that at this time of night her friend would be busy enjoying her newlywed status.

  Instead, she pushed her weary body off the door and peeled off her clothes right there in the living room, happy to be free from the constricting garments.

  Then she headed to her kitchen. A glass of wine was just what she needed.

  After she got her drink, she made a beeline to her couch, plopping on it unceremoniously.

  When Milo had finally saw fit to let her go home, she had been eager, excited. But now that she was here, she was antsy, drained.

  It wasn’t her house. She loved the cute little ranch that she had decorated exactly to her tastes. Milo was a nightmare, but he paid well, and allowed Constance to live a financially comfortable life.

  And a lonely one.

  She had thought about getting a cat, but knew there was no way she could care for the animal with her erratic schedule. And if she couldn’t care for a pet, what hope was there of maintaining a normal social life?

  Any social life at all?

  None.

  She looked through her dim living room, the sound of the silence so incredibly loud.

  “Don’t pretend like you don’t know wh
y, Constance,” she whispered out loud.

  She often raged against Milo, said it was his fault that she was alone. And that was true, but not the whole of it.

  What effort did she put into finding someone? When was the last time she had even tried?

  Eighteen months ago her sister had set her up with a nice guy from her office. It had gone exactly nowhere.

  On the surface, they’d had everything in common, but the sad truth was the guy, as nice as he had been, wasn’t Milo.

  No one was, and she hadn’t yet figured out how to make herself accept that no one ever would be.

  She and Milo would never happen. She told herself that was a good thing because she would be left to deal with the repercussions. Even if she could get his attention, there was no way she’d be able to keep it.

  Milo dated models and socialites, not frumpy secretaries.

  And even if he did, it would be a fleeting thing, something to try out and discard quickly. And Constance would be left to mend her broken heart.

  Still…

  Even though logic told her there was no chance, even though she would never risk her heart in that way, she sometimes wondered.

  Milo could be beastly, but he had these moments of almost tenderness that she never quite understood.

  Like tonight, when he’d had his personal chef prepare dinner and insisted that she stopped working to join him.

  The meal had been practically silent. A word or two about the business at hand had been exchanged between them, but that was it.

  And the thought that there was some intimacy in that moment, that they didn’t need the words because they were so comfortable with each other had gotten into her head.

  Once, she thought she caught him looking at her, though at the exact moment they had locked eyes, he’d dropped his fork and stood, signaling break time was over.

  There had been nothing uncommon about the meal. She ate dinner with Milo more days than not. He was pretty adamant about it, in fact. More than once he had chided her for skipping lunch and had ignored her attempts to skip dinner. Constance had always assumed it was because he wouldn’t be able to get work out of her if she keeled over from hunger.