‘Oh, no!’ she thought in dismay as she saw the black blotch that covered far more of the fabric than she’d initially noticed. Not only was this silvery gray blouse one of her favorites, but she’d just recently had to discard two other items from her already limited wardrobe - a sweater that she’d snagged on something and torn an irreparable hole in, and a blouse that had simply become worn and frayed from so many washings. She’d stretched her budget far too thin after buying the dress and shoes for last month’s Christmas party, and certainly couldn’t afford to buy anything new for some time to come.

Tessa bit her lip uncertainly, for the stain would be almost impossible to get out, especially given its location along the side of her torso. How the ink had landed in that particular spot was something of a mystery, but if she had any chance at all to salvage the blouse she was going to have to do some serious - and swift - scrubbing.

Quickly, she unbuttoned the blouse and stripped it off, shivering a little as she stood there in a pale gray lace bra and her navy skirt. She pumped some liquid hand soap directly onto the offending stain and dampened it before scrubbing the fabric almost desperately.

“Darn it!” she cursed, as the ink stain seemed to be spreading rather than disappearing. Not willing to give up hope just yet, she applied more soap and continued trying to wash the stubborn blotch away. But after a third application of soap, Tessa had to regretfully admit defeat. The stupid ink stain wasn’t budging, and she was going to have to throw out the blouse. She could try to have it dry cleaned, of course, but that would likely cost almost as much as the bargain rack blouse was worth.

She was wringing the water out of the garment since she still had to wear it home, stained or not, when she froze in horror at the sound of Ian’s deep voice as he walked inside his office.

“Are you still here, Tessa? It’s well past time for you to have called it a day. What are you -”

His voice trailed off abruptly as he caught sight of her framed in the doorway of his bathroom. Tessa felt like a deer trapped in a hunter’s scope, knowing she ought to move or look away, but felt far too shocked to do so. He stared at her in stunned disbelief, his gaze raking over her nearly nude torso, her full breasts almost spilling out of the fragile lace bra.

Horrified, she clutched the damp blouse to her chest, her cheeks on fire as she glanced away and began to babble almost incoherently. “I’m - I’m so sorry, Mr. Gregson. I, ah, got printer ink on my blouse and I was just trying to rinse it out. I didn’t know you’d be returning and, oh, God, just let me put -”

“Look at me.”

Startled, she responded immediately to the commanding tone of his voice, one that didn’t allow for disobedience. She raised her gaze to his and gasped when she saw the barely controlled lust on his handsome face – eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, his cheeks darkly flushed. She was petrified and enthralled at the same time, and dimly became aware of how badly her legs were shaking.

“Come here.”

Another of those brief, succinct commands. He was a man of a few words but they were more than enough to make himself understood. Slowly, her gaze remaining transfixed on his, she walked across the office until she was standing a few inches away from him, still holding her ruined blouse up to cover as much of her breasts as possible.

But Ian apparently had other ideas, for he clasped both of her wrists firmly, forcing her to release the blouse until it fluttered to the carpet. His eyes took in every inch of her bare skin, lingering on the heavy swell of her breasts, and Tessa closed her eyes in embarrassment as she felt her nipples harden in reaction.

“No. Look at me. Open your eyes and look at me, Tessa.” Another command from him that she didn’t dare resist.

She was starting to tremble all over as she forced herself to open her eyes and meet his intense, burning gaze. Without breaking eye contact, he backed her up against the closest wall, effectively trapping her between it and Ian’s tall, powerful body.

He drew both of her arms above her head, pinning her wrists in place with just one of his big hands. He used his other hand to caress her cheek, his thumb brushing gently over her lips, causing her mouth to gape open in surprise. His hand continued its downward path, brushing over her collarbone and shoulder, traveling down her arm and the side of her ribcage and then, ever so slowly, back up her abdomen until it stopped just below her breasts.

“Christ, look at you.”

His voice was guttural, barely recognizable, and filled with so much raw need that Tessa was nearly swooning.

“Ah, God.”

That was her voice, more like a long, drawn out moan, as his hand cupped one swollen breast. His thumb expertly manipulated the taut bud of her nipple through the lace of her bra, and his touch was like an electric shock that pulsed through her entire body.

With a low growl, Ian leaned into her, shoving her further back against the wall. His mouth descended towards hers, and her head fell back helplessly as his warm, firm lips caressed a sensuous path from her temple to her flushed cheek to the soft spot just below her ear. His lips continued moving across her throat, to her chin, and then finally claimed her mouth in a blistering, domineering kiss.

Tessa felt as though she’d been in a dreamlike sleep state for twenty four years, and was just now awakening into the real world. The few times she’d been kissed in her life had never come close to anything like this - this sensation of drowning, of being devoured - and she realized faintly that this was the first time she had ever truly been kissed. Ian’s mouth was hungry and demanding, his tongue parting her lips with ease and thrusting possessively inside her mouth.

He released his grip on her wrists, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his body closer into hers, and silently urging him to take even deeper possession of her mouth. She was growing dizzy from the almost brutal demand of his kiss, and was only vaguely aware when he began to slide a bra strap off her shoulder. It wasn’t until his hand closed over the bare, warm flesh of her breast that she realized what he’d done, and by then she was far too overwhelmed with the pleasure his touch brought to care.

“Ohhh. Oh, please, yes.”

Tessa didn’t realize the high, desperate whimpers had come from her lips. Ian’s long fingers were splayed over her breast, the tips rolling her nipple, plucking it to an even harder peak. He swore softly beneath his breath but otherwise didn’t speak, his mouth nuzzling again at that tender spot beneath her ear. With one hand still fondling her breast, he used the other to lift her leg, wrapping it around his hip. This movement brought their bodies flush against the other, allowing Ian to nestle his immensely swollen cock into the juncture of her thighs. At the same time, he reclaimed her lips in another of those all-consuming kisses, his tongue now ravenous as it plundered her warm mouth.