Sure, he’d heard all the time of people who had friends with benefits. But are we even really friends?
As far as Josh could tell, he and Shelly had friends in common, but as far as two individuals went, they hardly knew anything about one another.
One thing he was certain about was the fact that he’d told Mason a huge “hell no” to dating her, which worked perfectly since she had made it clear she wanted to keep things a secret.
So, of course, it all made perfect sense that he was now standing in the lobby of her place of employment, searching for her name, so he could go upstairs and get his sex on.
Finally, he spotted “Dr. Shelly Monroe, Pulmonologist, Level 8.” Good, the computer site was right. He made his way over to the elevators and stood with five other people.
One lady turned and looked him over quickly. When her eyes met his, she gave him a shy smile. Josh winked at her and watched a blush spread all across her cheeks. He grinned as the elevator pinged and they got in along with the others. They were both at the back of the crowd, and she kept sneaking glances at him. Each time he caught her, he smiled, and she blushed.
She was cute in a soft way. Her dark brown hair was held back by a black headband. Josh noticed she was fiddling with the strap of her purse as she looked at him, and he figured it was some kind of nervous gesture.
See, Josh thought, this is the kind of woman you are supposed to want, not the dirty-talking man-eater upstairs. However, when the elevator stopped at Level 7 and the young lady beside him moved to get out, Josh watched her go with only one thought. I’ll never be able to do what I’m about to with a woman like that. Wouldn’t that be a damn shame? After all, he had a feeling what was about to happen was going to blow his mind—literally.
***
Shelly glanced at her desk clock as it flicked to 2:03 p.m. He hadn’t shown. She hadn’t expected to feel so disappointed. It wasn’t as though they were an item—or ever going to be.
Sighing, she sat back in her chair, rocking it as she tapped her pen against the desk. She was in such a funk about it that she was about to call McKinney and tell him she needed to cancel their date tonight. Then, her office phone buzzed. Sitting up straight, she dropped the pen and answered over the speaker.
“Yes, Amy?”
“Dr. Monroe, there’s a Joshua Daniels here to see you.”
Shelly sucked in a breath and looked at the clock. 2:05 p.m. He was late, but there was no way in hell she was turning him away. She wanted this, and she wanted it now. Clearing her throat, Shelly buzzed her assistant.
“Send him in, Amy.”
Letting go of the intercom button, Shelly sat back in her chair with her legs crossed and her eyes on the door, waiting for him to enter.
She knew she had the advantage, and she planned to use it. Feeling her heart start to hammer inside her chest, she waited in dead silence, straining to hear the moment he was close. Then, there was a soft but firm rap against the wood. Choosing to stay silent, she watched as the handle turned, the door opened, and then—Holy hell, there he is.
The man was the very definition of sex. His hair looked as though he’d run his hands through it, and several long brown strands had escaped, falling forward into his face. He was dressed in jeans today—worn torn jeans that were faded and well-loved by the look of the washed denim. Up top, he was wearing a long-sleeved navy flannel shirt that was unbuttoned and hanging open over a white tee that molded over every delicious muscle of his chest. On his feet were workman boots, and for some reason, this hard-working handyman look was really pushing all of Shelly’s buttons in exactly the right way.
He stepped into the office and shut the door behind him, waiting silently for some sort of cue from her.
Finally, when she’d looked him over thoroughly, she stated, “You’re late.”
She watched as he brought his arm up and looked at his watch, and then he dropped it back down by his side and sauntered into the room.
“Not by my watch.” He moved around the chair that sat facing her, leaning across the desk. “Want to check, Doctor?”
She reached out and grabbed his thick wrist, tugging him further over the desk. He placed his other hand flat down on top of the glossy surface to brace himself as she looked at his watch. It did in fact show 2 p.m. Raising her eyes to his, she saw him quirk up an eyebrow.
“What was my punishment going to be?” He paused as she sat back in her chair.
He straightened and took a seat on the opposite side of the desk.
Shelly looked at him, sitting across from her, with his legs spread and his hands resting on his jean-clad thighs.
“I was going to send you away,” she said bluntly.
He seemed to think that over, and then nodded once. “Sure, you were.”
Shelly cocked her head to the side, and then stood. She watched his eyes track her as she rounded the desk and came to stand in front of it. Leaning back, she rested her butt up against the edge, looking down at him.
“You don’t think I would’ve?” she questioned, letting her eyes fall down to those spread legs and the expanding bulge in between. “My time is very valuable, especially around here.”
He tilted his head to the side, those deep brown eyes sliding down her scrubs before they came back up to rest on her face.
“Oh, I believe it. You’re a doctor, and this is a hospital. Of course, you’re valuable. Makes me wonder though if you brought me down here to tease or to deliver?”
Shelly had to hold back a smile at his direct question.
So, he thinks I’m a tease, does he? Well, he’s in for a rude awakening then.
Keeping her eyes on him, she leaned over to the side, pressing a hot pink–manicured nail to the intercom button.
“Yes, Dr. Monroe?”
Smiling the sexiest smile she had in her arsenal, Shelly let her eyes fall to his crotch.
“Why don’t you go and have lunch now?” she said to Amy.
Shelly saw his thighs bunch and raised her eyes to meet his hot ones.
“Are you sure?” Amy asked.
Without taking her gaze from his, Shelly pushed the button again and answered, “Yes. It’s slow, and I won’t be going back up to the units until around three.”
There was silence as they sat in her office, the air crackling with tension, and then the intercom buzzed.
“Okay, I’ll be back by three.”
Standing up and away from the desk, Shelly answered, “Very good.”
Then, she stepped forward until she was beside Josh’s chair. “Don’t you move a muscle.”
***
Josh sat glued to the seat.
He couldn’t have moved if the building was on fire, and he had a feeling in about two minutes it very well could go up in flames. He knew one thing for certain. He was on fire, and the reason for that was currently walking to her office door to—click—lock it.
Taking a deep breath, Josh closed his eyes and tried counting backwards from thirty to calm down. He’d known the minute he stepped in and saw her, sitting behind her big wooden desk in her sky-blue scrubs and lab coat, he was screwed.
The woman was so unbelievably gorgeous that it almost hurt to look at her. She literally looked like a Barbie doll and was absolutely flawless, except for all of her stupid notions about rules and secrets.
Today, she had pulled her hair half up and tied at the back of her head, leaving the rest of it to fall down to her shoulders in a straight line. Those amazing blue eyes of hers popped out even more with the scrubs she was wearing, and her curvy little body tested the boundaries of the flimsy fabric, somehow managing to make even them look unbelievably hot. A diamond in the rough, he thought. The lady was a diamond, and as he sat there trying not to explode before she even touched him, he thought he was most definitely the rough.
He felt her walk back toward him. As she moved by the chair, she reached out and dragged a perfectly pink-manicured nail across his shoulder. She walked in front of him a
nd stopped between his thighs.
Looking down, she asked softly, “Aren’t you going to undo your pants?”
Josh swallowed. Shit, this is really going to happen. She is really going to get down on her knees and give me a blow job in her office at 2 o’clock in the afternoon! Hell, maybe there is a plus side to this sex-with-no-strings deal.
Nodding, Josh moved to stand, and she took a step back. He wasn’t an overly tall man, but at six-feet, he topped her by a few inches. She looked up, watching his face as he started to undo his belt.
“So, this is it? I’m going to undo my belt, drop my pants, and then you will—”
“Get on my knees,” she interrupted, stepping up close to him, “take you in my hand, and then suck you into my mouth.”
Josh looked down at the face that was now only a couple of inches from his and breathed in deeply. The woman smells fantastic like—he sniffed again—apples.
“No small talk?” he asked with a raised brow as he finally undid his jeans.
She looked down between their bodies, and then reached out, gripping the open denim and spreading it apart. She ran a finger up and down the hair leading down to his now painfully hard erection.
“What is there to say? The deal is what it is. You called. I answered. You’re here, and I’m willing.”
With that, he watched as she lowered herself down to her knees, looking up at him with her beautiful, perfect face an inch from his aching cock.
***
Shelly was so turned on she could barely talk.
Josh had her so hot and bothered that she was surprised she hadn’t melted through her scrubs. He was standing in front of her with his feet spread apart and his jeans wide open, and she was now dipping her hands inside his pants to lift him free. She heard him softly groan when her fingers wrapped around his naked flesh. Looking up at him, she blew a light hot breath across the tip of his throbbing erection.
“Fuck,” he cursed as his legs shuddered.
She felt his whole body tremble. Lowering her lashes, she bent over him and flicked her tongue across the swollen head. She saw his hands flex by his side and thought he might try and grab her hair, but he didn’t. He just clenched his fists steadily against his legs. Grinning against his pounding sex, she gripped the base firmly and stroked her tightly wrapped fingers around his hard length.
He let out a strangled groan and looked down at her. “The request was for you to suck it, I believe.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, Shelly whispered against his vulnerable flesh, “I believe you are correct.”
Then, she opened her lips and took him deep inside her mouth.
***
The woman is a fucking sex goddess, Josh had decided. She was from some other planet where sexy women were created to go around and torture helpless men. As she knelt at his feet, sucking his cock deep down her throat, all he could think about was possessing her—forever.
He really needed to stop thinking like that, but damn it was hard when she was sucking him like a pro and moaning as though she loved it. He refused to mess up her hair, out of fear she’d never let him touch her again, so instead, he kept his hands clenched by his sides.
He’d let his head fall back and was now thrusting his hips toward her to get his cock as deep as she could take it. Josh groaned when he heard her whimper. He wondered why there was some sick part of him totally getting off on the fact that this woman—this beautiful, smart, highly educated professional woman—was currently down on her knees sucking his cock. Fuck if that doesn’t turn me on.
Finally past his breaking point, he let go and reached up, gripping the side of her head, not caring anymore what happened after this immediate moment in time. He felt her moan around him, and the vibrations from her throat reverberated up his stiff shaft, sending shockwaves of pleasure up his spine, which then caused him to thrust harder.
She raised a hand and cupped his balls, squeezing gently, and that was all it took. Josh groaned loudly and thrust deep, spilling himself into her mouth. Then, he watched as the sexy siren swallowed every last drop.
***
Shelly sat back on her heels on her office floor and stared up at the disheveled man above her. What the hell is going on? This man makes me lose my ever-loving mind!
She was so worked up right now that she wanted to strip out of her scrubs and beg him to take her. His breathing was labored as he looked down at her. With his jeans open and his erection right there, barely deflated at all, Shelly thought he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life.
“Wow, Shel,” he said with a smug smile. He reached down, rearranging himself, and pulled his jeans back together, zipping up.
Shelly blinked and tried to gather her wits about her.
“That sure was something else.” He ran his hands up through his sexy hair, and then looked down at her where she was still sitting at his feet on the floor.
He held out a hand for her, and Shelly gripped it, letting him pull her to her feet. Once she was there, she was about to tell him no problem and send him on his way, but he nodded once and turned, walking to the door.
She watched as he unlatched it and reached for the handle. Before he walked out, he turned to look at her, sitting with her butt against the desk to hold herself up, and winked.
“Thanks again, Doc. Now, I feel great.”
With that, he left before Shelly could say one damn thing.
Chapter Eight
Seven o’clock rolled around, and Shelly found herself outside of Roger McKinney’s office. She knocked twice and waited until he called her inside. Entering, she noticed he’d changed out of his scrubs and put on a black buttoned-up shirt and some black slacks. While it was obvious he wasn’t in the same category as Josh and Mason, she found herself taking a second look at the older doctor.
She supposed for a well-educated man, Roger McKinney was exactly the way he should be. He was extremely smart, slightly stuffy, and according to Lena, arrogant, and obnoxious. All of these qualities were what made him an excellent doctor and director, and a man her father would be extremely impressed to call his son-in-law.
The only problem with that scenario was Joshua Daniels, who kept flashing through her mind with his unzipped jeans and his sexy, satisfied grin.
“Shelly. You ready to get going?”
Smiling over at the man currently moving around his desk, she looped her arm through his when he offered.
“I sure am.” Pausing, she looked him over, and then commented, “You scrub up pretty good, McKinney.”
He shot her a slightly embarrassed grin, which was in direct contrast to his usual cocky attitude in work situations, and replied, “Thanks. You look absolutely stunning as usual.”
Smiling sweetly at him, Shelly squeezed his arm tight against her side. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”
***
Josh heard her the minute she walked in. He hadn’t meant to be at the restaurant when she arrived. He knew Monday nights were the Langley family dinner, and he’d been working like a dog all afternoon, trying to get the heck out of there before she turned up. However, luck was not with him, and maybe it was his own fault. After all, he had taken two hours off this afternoon for extracurricular activities, and now, it was coming back to bite him in the ass.
Standing in the building adjoining Exquisite, he listened carefully as she seemed to make her way through the restaurant. He couldn’t see her. But he could hear her talking, and occasionally, that sexy laugh of hers would echo through the air. Josh could swear he felt it stroke right down his arm, causing the hair at the back of his neck to stand up.
He was about to call it a day and leave without going next door when he heard a deeper voice fill the silent space. Moving closer to the connecting walls, Josh crept past the sawhorse and stood still as a statue.
“Dr. McKinney! It’s so good to see you again.” Josh heard his friend Mason say,
Listening carefully, Josh heard who he assumed was Dr. McKinney.
<
br /> “Thanks, Mason. You, too. I was thrilled when Shelly told me we were coming here tonight.”
Now, that got Josh’s attention. Standing straight up and inching backward, he accidentally stepped into the wooden sawhorse, sending it falling over with a loud crash. Shit! Looking around for a quick exit, Josh made a beeline for the door. He almost made it.
“Josh?” He heard from behind him.
Shit, shit, shit! Turning slowly, he saw Lena standing in the makeshift door.
“Yep. Hi, Lena. Sorry about the noise. I was just leaving.”
Please leave it at that and let me leave, Josh thought as he inched his way toward the main door.
He did not want to spend the next two hours sitting at a dinner table across from a woman who had been on her knees in front of him several hours ago and who was now entertaining her rich, smart Dr. Date.
But no, luck was definitely not on his side because Mason chose that moment to stick his head through the door.
“Josh! Come eat with us, man!”
Josh groaned, seeing no other way out, and made his way over to his friends. Shit.
***
Shelly watched in horror as Josh Daniels stepped through the makeshift door where Lena and Mason were now standing. He was dressed as he had been earlier, but now, he had a tool belt—oh god—wrapped around those amazing hips.
Lena must have noticed it, too.
Let’s face it. Who wouldn’t look at his crotch when that damn belt was designed to display it?
“You were leaving with your tool belt on?” Lena pointed out with a small laugh.
Shelly noticed Josh’s eyes glance over to her quickly, and then they moved directly to Roger where they zeroed in with an assessing gaze before returning back to Lena.
“Ah, yeah. I was on my way out and was going to put it in the back of my truck.”
Mason clapped him on the shoulder. “What’d you do? Trip over in the dark?”
Josh glared at his friend, and then nodded slightly. “Shut the hell up.”
Laughing, Mason moved to go back into the kitchen. Shelly kept her eyes on Josh as he moved around Lena. He then started to unbuckle his tool belt as he and Lena both walked over to a table across the room.