Moment of Weakness: One Moment, Book 1 by Toni J. Strawn Read Free Book Online

door.
    Abby wondered how the hell he had any energy left.
    “Ms. Harkness specifically asked me to get her.” The concierge’s crisp tones had a definite edge.
    Abby got to her knees and grabbed her blouse. She shoved it on, uncaring that she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. She motioned for Marcus to unlock the door, folding her arms to hide the view of her swollen, tongue-lashed nipples.
    The concierge swung into view. His mouth twitched. No doubt he was catching the scent of sex and come and sweat from three hours of the most satisfyingly, physical sexcapades Abby had ever put herself through. And she’d do it again with Marcus in a heartbeat. Which is why it could never happen.
    “Thank you. I’ll be right out.” She smiled reassuringly as Marcus shut the door on the concierge’s censuring face. “You’re so bad.” Abby had intended to tease Marcus about his rudeness, but he was right there, capturing her lips with his own.
    His throaty moan told her they were both still eager. “So, are you willing to admit you want more? That you want to stay the night with me?”
    Marcus’s questions yanked Abby straight back to reality like a cold slap.
    She sucked in a breath as the air became heavy and uncomfortable. Marcus stared at her, his eyes cutting through the layers she hid under to touch on something raw. This was exactly why she’d stayed away from him. This was why she’d let Logan’s flirty overtures tug her in an entirely different direction.
    Because it was safe. Yes. She wanted to stay. She could at least admit to herself that all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed beside Marcus and snuggle. Snuggle, for fuck’s sake—which was why she needed to leave. This way wasn’t for her. She craved intimacy but it was a slippery slope toward having any real feelings. With real feelings lay hurt. Like Nathan.
    A bark of sharp laughter jarred her back to the boardroom and Marcus’s stare hardened.
    “No, best not.” He turned away, reading her rejection.
    Hollowness exploded from the inside out, gnawing a giant hole somewhere in the region of her chest. Depriving herself was easy, but his look of disgust was something else. Although, it still wasn’t enough to give in.
    “Best not.” She echoed his words before she could change her mind. She grabbed her clothes and struggled into them, each piece adding another barrier to hide behind, a physical blockade against her need for him.
    “Abby.”
    Her name was a plea and it broke something within her.
    “You knew the rules.” She turned on him sharply. “Now deal with it.”
    His face closed down and any hint of softness fast disappeared. “Yes. Let’s not forget the fucking rules,” Marcus said. He snapped open the door.
    The concierge’s face remained stoic as Abby slipped out. As if he couldn’t tell she’d been fucked on every surface in the room, every inch of her body licked, sucked and totally satisfied.
    Marcus followed her silently to the lift. On their way to the boardroom, there had been excitement and heat, an indefinable spark of energy between them. Now only a cold chill licked the air. Abby pressed the call button, fighting the sudden, overwhelming urge to cry. She gritted her teeth, thankful when the door opened. Yet she hesitated to get in.
    She hated this. Hated the sting of anger peppering the air. Holding them apart. Abby rubbed at her arms, her fingers numbly gripping her wallet. She wanted to hold on to the memory of when they’d been flesh to flesh, heat to heat, for a moment longer. It was all she had to take with her. But if she stepped into the elevator with Marcus now, that too would be gone, buried under stinging looks and recriminations.
    The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. At the last moment, Abby ducked out of Marcus’s way and made a run for the service door.
    “Abby!”
    Something in his voice made her stop. Or maybe she just wanted one final look.
    She turned.
    “I haven’t finished with you