Charlie and Teresa were transfixed. Neither of them could do much more than idly munch on the chips they'd raided from Bear's lobby. Charlie's hands jittered from all of the imported coffee she'd guzzled since they arrived.

"So he buys you all this?" Teresa waved a hand about Skylar's dress. She'd been privy to watch her rush into the bathroom and strip off her leggings and sweater for a more professional outfit. Sock lines still ringed her ankles that had only just bore a pair of sneakers. Now, they put her pedicure on display in a pair of velvet green heels that wrapped a few inches above her ankles. They were the pop of color needed to pull off a solid black dress.

"There's a dress code," she insisted.

Teresa eyed her suspiciously. "Do you think he's buying all these other employees their clothes?"

"Oh my God! He wants to fuck you!" Skylar gawked at Charlie's brazenness.

"Shut up!"

"He does. She's right." Teresa shrugged.

"Okay, you guys got to go," she shooed then from her desk. "Seriously, it's late and I have to finish entering this data before I leave. Bear won't be happy if I don't get this done." The thought of upsetting him made something in her twitch.

"Will he punish you?" Charlie put a finger to her lips and made an obscene gesture.

"Out!" She pushed the giggling girls to the elevator.

The clock on the wall told her she had ten minutes to finish a thirty minute task. With a heavy sigh, she went back to her desk and the papers scattered atop it.

Nothing made sense to her, but then again she never expected it to. Her job wasn't to understand, it was to copy and enter data from the forms to the computer. Easy, but mind numbingly boring. Numbers and anagrams.

Ten minutes was over before she knew it and she was barely halfway through. The elevator dinged, bringing her out of her stupor.

"You're working late." It wasn't a question, merely an observation. Grace Wells glided into the lobby in a smart red suit and black heels.

"I'm just finishing up," Skylar replied.

"Is your boss here? I have some last minute changes to discuss regarding our contract." She admired her manicure, not bothering to look at Skylar.

"Maybe. I haven't seen him much this week. Hang on," she said and pressed a button on her phone.

"Yes?" She was surprised to hear Bear's voice.

"Grace Wells is here to see you," she told him in her best professional voice.

He didn't respond. The door to his office swung open and they were met with an exhausted looking Bear. Dark circles were prominent beneath his large eyes. The glittering emeralds looked muted--dull. And his posture lacked its usual dominance. "Ms. Wells," he greeted, motioning for her to come in.

The door shut behind them. Skylar punched in the last of her data and sat back with a groan. He'd been in there the whole damn time and not once did he try to talk to her. Was it something she did? Was he bored of her already? Did he finally tire of students and move on to bigger better things. The thoughts stung.

"I do hope you'll reconsider," Grace cooed as the door cracked open. "We'd make quite the team Mr. Cruor."

"I'm flattered. Gabby will get you a keycard in the main lobby on your way out." He pursed his lips and lifted a hand, showing her the way out.

Grace simmered and strutted out the way she came. His eyes shifted to Skylar. "Are you okay? You look," she searched for the right word, "overwhelmed."

He was gnawing at his lower lip. His gaze more wide and anxious than usual. "What are you still doing here?"

Skylar opened her mouth, but shut it and closed her files. "I didn't want to leave until I finished entering the quarterly report."

His hands fisted into his pockets. "You can go. It's fine."

"It's no trouble. You don't have to pay me for staying late or anything. I was just trying to be thorough. I know how important your work is." She gathered an armful of papers and tapped them neatly on the desk before placing them on the keyboard. "I'll just--"

"Wait," he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, I just...its been a week." One hand withdrew from his pocket to scratch the back of his head. His usually gelled hair was a bit loose, tangled even, and its true color of brassy blond showed through.

Skylar fingered the strap of her backpack. "You look like you haven't slept in days," she jested, but he didn't laugh. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His hand rubbed up the column of his neck.

"Feels like centuries," he sighed out.

Skylar chewed her lip and slung her bag over her shoulder. The extra weight always felt odd when she was made to balance in four inch heels. "I should get home." She inwardly scolded herself for sounding so anxious.

"Do you need a ride? Or are your friends driving you home?" Guilt washed over her at ever thinking ill of him. Even with visible exhaustion etched on his handsome face, he was still concerned for her.

"No," she lied, "I have one." The last thing she wanted was for him to pity her. "Have a good night, Bear." She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to lift up on her toes and kiss him--become tangled in his long arms. But she turned away and clicked her heels to the elevator. She could feel his eyes glued to her back. That slip of skin exposed where the dress dipped down her spine.

Part of her wanted him to chase her--to let her know that he wasn't having second thoughts, but the doors closed. Bear didn't come. She swallowed the lump in her throat and watched as the elevator ticked down to the sixteenth floor, the fifteenth floor...It stopped smoothly.

She could tell it wasn't Gabby before the doors even opened past a small gap. They didn't get a chance to slide open much farther.

Bear charged into the elevator, slapping the red button that would stall the elevator, and grabbed the sides o her face. Skylar sucked in a breath as he swallowed her surprise. His hot breaths made her realize how cold she was, and she found herself tugging him by the collar to savor all of his heat.

One hand stayed to cup her cheek, rubbing small circles with his thumb, but the other...The other trailed down. Down the heaving mounds of her chest. Down the feminine curve of her waist. Down the slender dip that lead to the throbbing apex of her thighs. She gasped when delicious pressure built under his touch.

Her eyes fluttered shut at the sensation--the slickness he caused. "Bear," she breathed.

He trailed heated kisses down her throat, nipping lightly at her tender flesh. His hand dropped from her face to balance against the row of mirrors.

The mirrors. God, she could see every angle of him bent overtop of her petite body. He was so massive compared to her. He pulled back and searched her eyes for something, consent or some sign that she was enjoying it. She arched her back, pressing her center into his palm.

He crashed his lips on hers again, and pressed his own need against her thigh. She moaned at the indirect contact and he shivered. He tapped his foot behind them and the elevator lurched upwards.

His hand continued its assault on her core. She couldn't move, couldn't think straight, couldn't do anything other than lean back and let him touch her. She thought she would faint when he dropped to his knees. Dropped and lifted one green shoe up to his chest, keeping his gaze fixed on hers as he unhooked the shoe. He repeated the process on her other foot and then kissed along her calf, her knee, her thigh.

She was aching, bleeding with pure lust and yearning for him not to stop. His lengthy fingers tugged at the hemline of her dress and pulled it up and up, until her panties were on display. His eyes glazed over with primal hunger at the sight of red lace. He palmed himself through his pants and gave her a wicked grin.

She fought to steady herself against the gold railing. His hand dipped into her panties and a satisfied smirk curled his pink lips. She flushed. His fingers worked at that little bundle of nerves, and he raised himself up to swallow her moans.

His touch was so calculating, so erotically expert, that it felt like the first time anyone had ever touched her. Every other guy crumbled in her mind and there was only Bear. Only his slender digits working her clit. Only his minty kiss enveloping her.

"Bear," she moaned. Her end was nearing and he plunged a finger into her core. She lurched forward just as the elevator stopped on his floor. He knelt down for a moment and hooked her legs around his shoulders. She cried out when his lips pressed into the wetness between her thighs.

She held onto him as he carried her to his office, never faltering as he nipped and sucked and licked at her. She was a panting mess when he finally tossed her onto his couch. She scrambled up, heaving breaths occupying her focus and making it impossible to speak.

Bear unbuttoned his charcoal gray shirt and let it drop. Hard, chiseled muscles flexed under a layer of ivory skin. He flicked his thumb over his belt and his pants fell away. A pair of silky black boxers did little to hide the impressive length beneath.

Skylar lifted a trembling hand to the zipper behind her neck and ran it down. "No," Bear said quickly. "I want to." Her heart raced.

He closed the distance and stared into her very soul while his hands slid down to her ass. "Stand up," he ordered, and she obeyed without question. The fabric of her dress shifted and slipped down her shoulders. He stood with her, hands gently sliding it down until it crumpled at her feet in a puddle of blue. He paused to look at her. Eyes roaming up and down her body with no shame.

She couldn't resist. Her hand reached out and pushed tentatively against the hard length beneath. "Skylar," he grunted when she squeezed. His mouth fell open in bliss as she rubbed up and down, and up and down. Feeling his twitch and throb under her palm.

She let go, unhooking her bra and letting it fall. He stilled. His emeralds darkening at the sight of her bare breasts. His throat bobbed and in one swift motion he tore the red lace and tossed it aside. She whimpered at the slight sting, but she felt she may come undone just by the way he was staring at ger naked form. "You're so fucking beautiful," he breathed. His mouth descended upon hers again. More need, more brazen want was in every flick of his tongue.

He walked her back until she fell on the couch, her legs spreading for him. "I've wanted to taste you for so long, Skylar." She trembled as he sucked her clit, never breaking eye contact. "You taste so fucking good," he growled and the vibrations on her most sensitive region made her cry out in absolute pleasure.

His lips clamped softly onto her opening and he slid his tongue so torturously slow into her that she pushed into him. He retracted from her, leaving her writhing and panting for more. "Don't stop," she whispered desperately. That burning flame of his touch flickered away from her.

Bear let out a deep, rumbling laugh and stepped out of his boxers. Her mouth went dry. A rush of heat filled her as she beheld him. She reached out, unable to stop herself, and wrapped her hand around the base. "Shit," Bear hissed, jolted by her grasp.

Skylar sat up, intent of reciprocating the pleasure he had so generously given her. She pumped, moving her hand up and down the length of his cock. His sensitive skin was so soft, like velvet and satin, but he was solid as iron beneath. "Fuck," he breathed, his head rolling back. Skylar felt a surge of pride at the way she made him throb in her hand, and she took his moment of bliss to bring her mouth to his tip and swallow him down.

Bear moaned, long and low. He looked down at her and she felt her stomach clench. He looked positively carnivorous. His eyes were ablaze with greedy lust. In an instant he had her back on her feet, and with inhuman agility she was flung back on the couch only for him to catch her and lower her down slowly.

Her back arched as those expert fingers rubbed circles over her quivering center. She reached down to even the playing field but he stopped her. A breathy laugh loosed his lips and peppered her skin with bursts of heat. "If you do that again, I don't know how long I'll last," he punctuated his sentence with a kiss of sheer passion that made her hand fall away. 

Hooking her leg around his bare waist, she pulled him down on her. Laughing into her mouth, he took the hint and grinded into her. The feel of him pressing his erection against her thigh, her entrance, while moving his fingers so precisely and deliciously rhythmic had her moaning and begging for him to--

"There!" she cried out in overwhelming pleasure. "Right there, Bear!" His fingers had curled inside her, like the corner of his lips when he noted her satisfied expression. He pumped them in and out and in and out until a sweet, unrelenting pressure built inside of her. It built and built until fireworks burst through her core. She could feel him slowing down as her inner walls clenched and pulsated around his digits. 

Skylar cried out, arching her back and giving him access to nip and suck his way up the column of her neck. Her orgasm racked through her body like never before until her toes went numb and she'd forgotten how to breathe without shivering.

Bear didn't give her much time to catch her breath. She watched him raise his fingers to his lips, holding her gaze, and suck the sticky wetness off with the most hungry gleam in his eyes. He licked them clean and used that hand to lift her by the back of her neck. She was glad for the help up, because frankly, her entire body was still buzzing with aftershocks. No one had ever given her an orgasm--only she had. But Bear...he practically knew the map to all her hidden pleasure points.

Skylar didn't move, unable to do much more than feel him. Feel his tongue running across her pebbled breasts. Feel his cock throbbing against her thigh. Feel her body hum with delight every time his skin met hers. She lost herself to the pleasure he provided. 

The purple veins beneath his eyes were deepening their pigment. Almost black, they pulsed lightly with what she could only assume was the rhythm of his own pounding heart. His eyes were bloodshot, so visibly tired and worn. But his body sang a different tune--one of endless stamina. 

He positioned himself at her entrance and paused to gauge her reaction. Skylar bit her lip, wondering how all of him would fit inside of her at once. She swallowed, and looked up from beneath her dark lashes. He didn't look away from her as he pushed in and in and in, until she could feel him stretching her opening to accommodate his girth. "Fuck," she hissed. 

Bear's jaw slackened when she cursed. He was watching her carefully, and she sensed he was trying to see if he hurt her. He had, but she was rapidly growing used to his size and wanting more. She writhed beneath him, bucking her hips to show him she wanted more--needed more. "Bear," she crooned up at him, brows knitting together in arousal.

"Skylar," he answered in a single husky breath.

"Fuck me," she moaned. 

With a growl Bear obliged her request. He grabbed her knees and pulled her down. Thrusting slow at first, he picked up speed and pounded into her mercilessly. Sweat beaded on her skin as every nerve in her body was intent on feeling him. Every delicious inch of him rammed into her tender flesh. That hot, silken glove that fit him so snugly--so perfectly--it was like he was made for her pleasure, and she for his. 

Riddled with a violent gravel in his voice he rasped, "Does that feel good?" 

Skylar's mouth watered at his question. "Yes," she whispered, closing her eyes as that pressure in her abdomen built once more.

"Look at me," he breathed, pace slowing. "Look at me," he growled, hand gripping her chin and forcing her head back. Bear hovered over her, and she opened her eyes to see him panting and looking ready to burst. He pulled her by the shoulders and brought her down as he thrust into her. 

"Fuck!" she cried. He hit so deep, so goddamn deep, that her eyes rolled back. He moved in and out of her like he had the factory directions to her body that not even she knew about. "Bear," she panted when it became unbearable.

"Not yet," he moved to her lips, nipping. She looked up into his green eyes and whimpered. His pale cheeks were flushed with color. Sweat dripped down his brow. Her nails dug into his back, desperately trying to keep herself from falling over the edge to oblivion. She didn't think she could walk if she came that hard again. 

He slanted his lips against her, teasing her tongue with his own. He tasted of spearmint and...her. Her body burned for him. Every thrust, every kiss, every move he made sent warmth blazing through her. He shifted, flattening her on the couch as he sat up and hooked her legs over his shoulders to settle even deeper into her. "Bear," she moaned, feeling her willpower slip at the newfound pleasure the position brought.

"Don't you dare," he ordered. Something akin to pure, male dominance flickered behind those green orbs. "Not yet," he grunted, thrusting faster. But she couldn't contain it--couldn't stop the explosion of pleasure from gushing out of her. 

Skylar could hear it in his voice, in his shaking words, but the sloppiness of his once perfectly precise thrusts was what gave away his nearing end. She tried--fuck, she tried--but, it was useless. He awakened something in her that needed to be let out. "Bear!" she cried out his name as a surge of ecstasy racked through her body. He slammed into her over and over again, eliciting screams of unabashed bliss, until he pulled out of her and began to pump his hand up and down his shaft.

Skylar moved fast. Faster than he clearly expected. She knocked his hand away and replaced it with her own. "Oh my--fuck," he groaned when her mouth slipped over the tip of his cock, matching her hand for speed as she sucked and sucked and sucked, relishing in the small twitches of his cock. Her tongue flicked over the tiny slit at the tip, making his legs shudder. Pride swelled within her chest.

His hands fisted her hair and held her in place. He came. Hot and thick, sliding down the back of her throat--he came. She swallowed him down, letting her hand drop and taking as much of him into her mouth as possible. Her eyes watered from the depth she managed, and when she gagged, he trembled. She pulled back, licking her lips and wiping away a bit of spit from her chin. 

Bear collapsed on the couch, cock standing upright, and stared at nothing as he fought to catch his breath. Skylar could tell she was a mess. Her hair was wild, her makeup undoubtedly smeared if the sheen of lip gloss on Bear's lips was any indication. Unless it was something else of hers that caused his plump lips to shine. 

"That was--"

Bear cut her off, grabbing her face and pulling her down to kiss him. He smashed his lips on her and she knew he could taste everything. That sweet mixture of him and her and raw passion. She'd never been so loose before, so absolutely uninhibited. She may as well have been a virgin before she met him. It all felt so new, so perfect. "That was amazing," he said for her.

Skylar beamed at the handsome millionaire. His eyes widened and he shot up, grabbing her arm. "What? What is it?" she whimpered at his grip.

"What happened to you?" She had to think for a moment before her eyes trailed to what he saw. There, halfway up her arm, was a perfect set of fingerprint bruises. Mr. Collins.

"Oh, it's nothing, I was--"

His hand left her arm and he sighed, moving to tilt her chin up. Her gaze locked on his, and she could have sworn those eyes of his pulsed in his skull. "Tell me what happened to your arm."

"I was tutoring my math teacher's daughter, and he grabbed me before he took me home." She blinked and a wave of nausea washed over her. "It's nothing though," she said with more control. "Nothing," she repeated more to herself than to him.

Bear only nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Let's get you home," he muttered.