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But suddenly there was no more room in her mouth for an apology, or words—there was barely enough room for her own tongue and teeth as William swooped in and captured her lips in a devastating kiss. Poppy had experienced only the barest taste of him before when he had kissed her, efficiently and stiffly, aware all the while of their audience; now, she was subsumed by him. He kissed her hard enough to force the small of her back up against his desk, but Poppy ignored the bite of the beast beneath her. They were both being conquered in that moment. Her hand came up to grip the back of William's neck as he pressed in, and her feet came up off the floor. He moved between her legs and pinned her against the desk. She couldn't break away if she wanted to, and boy, did she not want to. Escaping from William Jameson was the furthest thing from her mind. His mouth possessed the whole of her attention; his tongue swept the seam of her lips; his insistence could not be ignored…
Was she imagining things, or was the kiss accompanied by cheering and applause?
When William pulled away, he wore a look of triumph on his face. Poppy, delightfully dazed beneath him, noticed the light flush in his cheeks and disheveled hair. Maybe his victory wasn't as complete as he would like to think.
The authors hooted and hollered. This time, Poppy didn't apologize for her sheepish laugh. She tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear and allowed William to help her to her feet. "See? That wasn't so bad." She wished she didn't sound so out of breath.
"Not bad at all," William agreed. His hands lingered on her waist, and Poppy decided not to call attention to them. The authors descended, chattering excitedly; the whole meeting had been unorthodox from start to finish, but there was no lack of inspiration and activity in the room. It was exactly the sort of atmosphere Poppy had hoped to instigate, but she hadn't expected it to come at the price of a kiss. She sensed William's eyes on her; when she glanced up, he looked away, his attention conveniently called to one of the enthusiastic writers on his left. Poppy smiled to herself and stroked a hand along the glossy wood surface beneath her.
Maybe she could learn to love this damn desk, after all.
Chapter Five
William
"Poppy."
The authors were all packing up to leave. Poppy was at the doorway to his office already. She turned when he called her back. Her long blonde hair, styled in ringlets for the meeting, swished and cascaded over her shoulder.
Was every move she made planned to perfection? Or was it possible that she was naturally, quite unassumingly, the most sexually appealing woman he had ever met?
Today had been a wake-up call. He vowed to set aside more time to think about the matter. Hell, it was probably asking too much of himself that he find time to schedule it. Poppy Hanniford wasn't someone to be scheduled. She was an invasive thought as much as she was a formidable rival, and William couldn't get enough of her. The challenge she posed was too addictive, and thinking about her…
Scratch thinking about her. Not thinking about her was becoming impossible.
"Can I speak to you in the hallway for a moment?" he asked her.
"Certainly, William."
He didn't allow his face to register surprise at also being called by his first name. He had just had Poppy Hanniford pinned beneath him on his desk; he had just had her pillowy lips crushed beneath his own. Their working relationship had changed in an instant, and they had shared that tectonic shift with an eager audience. It seemed ridiculous to keep sticking to the same old formalities now.
William walked with her toward the elevators. He had nothing left on his schedule for the day, but he always managed to find one project or another that required his intervention. He would get back to regular business as soon as he had seen her out.
"After your inspired little twist on the meeting in there, I've had some inspiration of my own," he admitted.
Poppy blinked in surprise. For a moment, those green eyes were completely unguarded, and William realized the implication of what he had just said. His quiet tone was undeniable; it sounded as if he was leading into asking her on a date.
"Really?" she replied. "I'd love to hear what you were thinking."
I'm not so certain you would. His thoughts when he had her up against the desk had been completely filthy. They were inescapable, and what's more, William didn't want to escape them. He wanted to vividly entertain every detail of what he would have done to her in such a compromising position had they not been sharing the room with seven others.
William punched the button for the ground floor and held the door for her—unnecessarily, but Poppy walked graciously beneath his arm. He followed closely behind.
"There is a new high ropes course that has gone up just outside of the city," he said. "Every major corporation has been hit with an invitation to host their team-building exercises there."
"I wouldn't know anything about being a major corporation." Poppy's lips quirked in that irresistibly knowing little smile of hers, and it was all William could do to leash himself from leaning in and tasting it. The doors of the elevator closed behind them, which made his impulse all the worse. He had never been around someone who tempted him to lose control like this before. It was intoxicating.
"Give yourself a bit more credit. Or don't," he added as an afterthought, "if that's part of what contributes to you getting ahead."
"I'm not being modest, William. I'm being objective. Wildflower Agency is still a small fish compared to the shark that is Jameson Ad Agency. That being said, we did receive an invitation to try out the ropes course."
William snorted in amusement. "Finally, she gets back to the point."
"I promise you I never left."
"I'm proposing that we take advantage of the discount the course is offering at the moment. I need to refocus my team. I think it would benefit our work with the publishing house if we did it together."
"I disagree," Poppy said. "I've already checked out the ropes course online. I don't approve of the techniques they use. So much emphasis on physical strength and skill makes the course less accessible to the members of my team who aren't athletic. It would only promote disunity, if you ask me. And I think we can both agree that's not the best way to go about building up team morale."
