Claiming His Page 6

  “You need to leave.” Maggie sounds sure of herself, but she won’t look at him.

  “I’m coming back, Mags. And I’m getting to know Liv. You can’t stop me, you know that?” Damien shoots another hateful look in my direction, but doesn’t move towards me. When the door slams shut behind him and the bell stops ringing, I finally feel like I can relax.

  “Lance,” Maggie whispers, putting her hand on my arm. I feel her touch, but I pull away.

  I can’t be here right now. As much as I want to pull her into my arms and kiss away the tears that are forming in the corners of her eyes, I can’t be here.

  I don’t know where I need to be, but it’s not here.

  “Damien?” I ask her, finally looking at her. Her eyes are bright with tears and she bites her lower lip.

  An incredible sense of protectiveness rises in me. I don’t want anyone to look at her, and I sure as hell don’t want anyone else to touch her. Knowing that Liv is Damien’s isn’t what upsets me the most.

  It’s that she didn’t tell me.

  “I have to go.” Against my better judgement, and against everything that I want, I turn away from her and walk towards the door. It opens right as I arrive, and a flood of customers walk in, chatting and laughing.

  Turning in the door to hold it for them, I see the look on Maggie’s face.

  She’s heartbroken.

  So am I.

  Every person I’ve ever trusted has hurt me.

  I let the door shut behind me and walk down the street.

  Maggie

  My heart is pounding as I watch Lance walk out of my bakery and down the street. I know that I should try to stop him, but it’s hard for me to breathe. I bend over, trying to catch my breath before another customer walks in the door.

  The last thing I want to do is worry about dealing with customers, but then I hear the timer in the kitchen go off.

  Shit.

  I have to get that.

  I have to deal with customers.

  The only thing I want to do is chase after Lance, have him hold me, and explain to him what has happened. Being with Damien for as long as I was was a mistake, but what came from being with him wasn’t. My heart is aching, and all I can do is run to the kitchen to pull out the muffins before they burn.

  As I’m taking them out of the tin, I hear the door open and I glance up, praying that it’s Lance. Instead, however, a group of teenagers walk in, talking and laughing. Shouldn’t they be in school?

  I help them and try to look happy about it, but my mind is on Lance. I’m also terrified that Damien will come back.

  Even though I know that it will be hell for my company, I decide to close early. I must talk to Lance, and then I need to get Liv. I need to have her at home while I figure out what I can do about Damien, and how I can keep him from getting to her.

  Just as I’ve made up my mind to shut down early, I see a boy dragging his mom by the hand and realize that in the panic of the morning I forgot the cupcakes.

  Grabbing some frosting, I pipe quick swirls on top of half a dozen cupcakes, top them with sprinkles, and have them ready by the time the two of them make it up to the counter.

  His whole face lights up and he takes a huge bite of the one I hand him before his mom can stop him.

  “Tim!” She admonishes, but she’s laughing, and I feel a little of the weight on my heart lifting. “I thought you were going to wait.”

  He grins at her and shrugs, shoving the rest of the cupcake in his mouth and walking down the display case to see what else I have for sale.

  “Thanks for frosting them for us. I’m Kristen.” She holds out her hand and jerks her head towards her son. “He loves cupcakes more than anything. Do you cater? His birthday is coming up and I’d love to not have to do the baking myself.”

  She smiles shyly at me, and I can’t help but grin back. I know how it is to feel overwhelmed with planning a party, and before she leaves, I give her my number to call me.

  Even though I’m happy to help her, I just want to get out of my bakery. As soon as the two of them are out the door, I walk behind them, flip my sign to close, and lock the door behind me.

  Glancing up and down the street to make sure that Damien isn’t waiting for me, I take off in the direction of Lance’s work. I met Ben there once when I signed paperwork, so I know exactly where it is.

  The secretary looks up to greet me when I push open the doors to his building, but I ignore her and glance down the hall for Lance’s office. All of the doors are open, so ignoring the fact that she’s calling after me, I walk purposefully down the hall, looking in all of the open doors.

  Everyone here is well dressed and incredibly put-together, which makes me feel a little out of place. Glancing down, I realize that I still have on my apron. I’m also clutching a box of four cupcakes, which I hope will help Lance forgive me.

  He’s in the second to last office, and I’m grateful that I don’t have to continue to the end of the hall where Ben works. When I glance in, Lance is sitting at his desk on the phone, leaning his head on his hand.

  I pause in his doorway for a moment to take a deep breath and prepare myself for what I want to say to him.

  I messed up?

  Please forgive me?

  I should have told you about Damien?

  Before I know exactly how I want to start, however, I must move and catch his eye, because he jerks his head up and looks at me.

  A warmth spreads through my body as he gazes at me.

  “You know what? I’m going to have to call you back. Something just came up.” He hangs up the phone without waiting for a response, his eyes locked on mine. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes.” My heart is pounding but I manage to take a few steps into his office, still holding the box in front of me like a shield. There’s nothing standing between us now but a few feet of space and a box of baked goods, and I feel naked.

  “I…brought you some cupcakes.” I hold the box up so he can see it and am rewarded with a raised eyebrow. “And I came to apologize. And explain. Do you mind?”

  He doesn’t speak but just gestures at a chair in front of him. I hesitate and then close his door behind me before walking over to his desk, but I don’t sit down. I don’t trust my legs.

  “I should have told you about Liv right away, but I didn’t because I was scared. I was scared that you wouldn’t want to be with me, and I wanted to protect her. She’s had so much instability in her life and all I want to do is keep her from having people come in and out of her life without reason.”

  When I pause, I hope that he will say something, but he simply sits up straighter to listen. This is heartening, so I continue.

  “You’re different. I should have told you from the beginning, but then there was the problem that Damien is her dad. I stayed with him longer than I should have, and I regret that, but I don’t regret Liv. I want you to be part of my life, but you have to know how important she is to me.”

  Still he doesn’t move or say anything, and I worry that I’m running out of time to convince him of how important he is to me.

  “And I brought you cupcakes. Want one?”

  He hesitates for a moment and then walks around his desk before taking the box from me and setting it down gently on the chair behind me. It isn’t until he brushes a strand of loose hair from my cheek that I realize I’m holding my breath and slowly exhale.

  “What?” I whisper. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m just thinking that you’re the most beautiful and incredible woman I have ever met. You and Liv are a package deal, and I get that. I don’t care how you got here to me, Maggie, or what path you had to take. I don’t care who you were with or what you had to do to make it here to me. All I care about is the fact that you are here, you are with me, and I’m not going to let you go. Do you understand me?”

  I nod, feeling a swell of pleasure rush through my body. He nods and gently cups the back of my neck. At his touch I
feel goosebumps spread down my arms and a low coiling warmth deep in my stomach.

  I’ve wanted him to touch me since he walked into my bakery. Well, after I hit him with my towel.

  I wanted him to kiss me yesterday in my kitchen.

  Now it looked like I might get my wish. I can feel the heat from him, and I reach out to grab his hip and pull me toward him. When he takes a step forward and presses his body against mine, I feel his cock through his pants.

  Oh, my.

  So that’s what he’s been hiding.

  “Lance,” I whisper, biting my lower lip. I want this, God, I want this. I’m aching for him in a way that I’ve never ached for a man before. I need to feel him not only touching my skin, but inside of me. I want him to take all of me and leave me wanting more.

  He doesn’t respond, instead tipping my head up and dropping his to mine. When he kisses me, there’s nothing gentle in it. His mouth crushes mine and I gasp as his tongue slips into my mouth, tasting me and taking me. Lance is claiming me for his own and when I feel heat rushing through my body and my panties getting wet, I know that I’m going to let him have as much of me as he wants.

  Chapter 8

  Lance

  Maggie couldn’t honestly think that she could stroll into my office looking like a snack and I would let her away without having a taste. I heard what she said, and I appreciate it, but all I could think about was untying her apron strings and leaving her clothes on the floor while I took her for my own. My cock was hard as soon as I saw her leaning in the door.

  She was flushed from the cold and held a box of cupcakes, but I didn’t want her baked goods. I wanted to taste her and be completely enveloped in her, and no frosting was going to take my mind off of what I wanted.

  Now, if she would let me cover her in frosting and then lick it off, that was another story.

  I ran my hand up her side while I kissed her, squeezing her hip and pulling her in closer to me. She moaned, pressing forward, and I could feel her tits against my chest. The moan she let out was primal and deep and made something respond in me. It was all I could do not to rip her clothes from her body right there.

  But why not?

  I reached around her and untied her apron strings, lifting her apron over her head and tossing it casually to the floor. “I need you,” I tell her, biting her lower lip and tugging gently on it. Her skin is flushed and hot and she tugs at the waistband of my pants.

  “Strip down,” I tell her, stepping back so I can watch. She’s shy at first.

  “Here?”

  “Hell yes, here. I don’t give a damn about your cupcakes, Maggie, I want to taste you. Let me see you. Now.”

  Her eyes widen and at first I think that she’s going to refuse, but then she slowly lifts her shirt up and tugs it over her head, allowing it to fall to the floor. I take a deep breath and have to grab the corner of my desk while I watch.

  Without looking away from me, she slowly unbuttons her jeans and shimmies them down, kicking off her shoes in the process. Her underwear and bra are bright blue and covered in tiny cookies. It’s perfect.

  “Cookies?” I ask, a smile playing on the edge of my lips. She raises an eyebrow at me.

  “You don’t like them?”

  “The only reason I don’t like them is because they’re standing in the way of me and what I really want. Come here.”

  She doesn’t move but instead crosses her arms. Oh, God, when she does, her breasts are pushed up and practically spill out of her bra. I want to rip of the scraps of fabric she has separating the two of us.

  “Then I don’t like your suit. Take it off.”

  She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I strip down quickly then pull her towards me and turn her, making her sit on the edge of my desk. She’s warm and soft, all curves, and smells amazing, and I bury my face in her neck, kissing her collarbone and nibbling her ear.

  “Lance,” she moans, and my hard cock, already ready for her, drips precum on the carpet. I don’t care, except I want to make sure that when I come, I come in her. I want to claim her for my own and make sure that no other guy gets the wrong idea about who she belongs to.

  Plucking at the strap of her bra, I free her tits and suck on them, making her moan. Her nipples are hard in my mouth, and before I can stop myself, I drop to my knees in front of her, shove her legs open, and scoot the fabric of her underwear to the side.

  She’s dripping wet and smells amazing, and I bury my head between her legs, licking and stroking her. When she begins to buck into me and calls my name, I stand, panting, and wipe her from my face.

  “I need to take you, Mags,” I tell her, gently squeezing and massaging her thighs. “But I don’t have a condom.”

  “I don’t care,” she whispers back, reaching down and pulling my cock. Moaning, I step forward as she runs her hands up and down my length, rubbing my precum into my tip.

  She can’t put her hands on me like that and think that I can stop myself.

  I pull back and center myself between her legs, pulling her by the knees to make sure that she’s perched right on the edge of my desk. From here I can look into her eyes and make sure that everything is okay.

  “You ready?”

  She nods, grabbing me by the shoulders and wrapping her arms around my head as I slide forward, slowly pushing into her.

  She’s tight as hell and I have to stop a few times to readjust.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “You’re just so big.”

  “Relax. I got you.”

  A few more thrusts and I’m fully seated inside her, where I belong. I wait a moment to clear my head before I begin to thrust, carefully sliding in and out of her, now gripping her hips so that I can pull her in to me.

  She’s gripping my shoulders now, her fingernails digging into my skin, her eyes closed as I slide in and out of her. Maggie is so tight and so gorgeous, and I know that I’m not going to be able to last very long with her.

  I just want to make sure that I take her with me when I fall over the edge.

  I slide a hand to her clit and begin to rub it, carefully moving with our bodies as we come together. This is what she needed, and almost immediately I feel her muscles start to tighten around my cock. She’s going to milk me, and I’m going to fill her.

  “Lance, don’t stop.” She’s panting now and opens her eyes, staring deep into mine.

  I gasp as I thrust forward again, feeling myself close to peaking.

  Suddenly, she shatters, completely tipped over the edge, and throws her head back, still hanging onto my shoulders. Her muscles are tight around my cock, and I couldn’t pull out even if I wanted to.

  I don’t want to, of course. I have finally found my way home and I don’t ever want to leave her.

  I come, coating her with my hot seed, still trying to thrust as we both ride out our orgasms.

  After a moment, however, I stop, and rest my head on her shoulder, panting. We’re still connected, and I’m still in her, where I want to be.

  She sighs, a soft sound that cuts straight to my heart and makes me want to protect her. It’s now that I decide I’m going to do everything I can to keep her safe. I don’t give a shit about Damien, about what problem she had in the past, or what we will have to deal with.

  “Lance? Is everything okay?”

  Before I step back, I kiss her forehead, and she closes her eyes for a moment.

  “Everything is perfect. You’re perfect. Now, Maggie, there’s one little problem.”

  I pull out of her and grin at her when she looks at me in concern.

  “Well,” I say, holding out some fingers, “there’s a few problems.” She raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms over her body while I start to tick them off.

  “One, and this one is a big one, I’m starving. Two, we’re naked in my office and definitely need to clean up. And, three, I’m supposed to go on a double date with you this weekend and I have no idea how I’m going to concentrate now that I’ve seen you naked.
It’s my favorite look on you, by the way.”

  “I can take care of number one.” Maggie grabs her box of cupcakes and pulls two out, handing one to me and starting to lick the frosting off of hers in a way that makes my cock twitch back to life. Holy shit, her tongue has me thinking all sorts of dirty things, and I almost miss what else she has to say.

  “Two, it’s your office, right? Don’t you have a bathroom around here or something? And three, I want you to be naked all of the time. Have since I first knew you, so it only seems fair.”

  She has a bit of frosting on her lower lip. Without thinking, I lean forward and lick it off, enjoying the way she gasps a little at my touch.

  “I’m sorry, I heard you talking but I couldn’t concentrate.” Our lips are barely touching, and as good as this cupcake smells and looks, it’s going to have to wait.

  There’s something else I want to have, instead.

  Maggie

  I can’t believe I just had sex with Lance Parker. In his office. On his desk, for chrissakes. The same desk where he probably fills out tons of tedious forms. The same desk where he was sitting and leaning, looking bored, just a few minutes before I walked in.

  We got cleaned up, and even though I’m sure everyone knows we just had sex, he walks me to the front of the office like nothing happened. My skin is flushed, his tie is crooked, and, hell, we smell like fucking, but nobody says anything.

  Everyone on staff is getting something delicious from my bakery, I’ll tell you that.

  “I have to go get Liv,” I tell him at the door.

  “I can come with you. Make sure that Damien isn’t around.”

  “Thanks, but I think this is something that I need to do on my own. I don’t know what she’d say if she saw you there since I…haven’t told her about you yet.”

  “Really? I told my dog all about you. He’s thrilled to meet you.”

  “You don’t have a dog. Really? A dog? Did you take him to the barkery?” I narrow my eyes and stare him down.