By Design (BWWM) [Complete]

Chapter 5: Breaking of Barriers

For the past month, Taiwo's time was completely consumed creating rough sketches of skirts, dresses and shirts. She was truly taken aback when Connor asked for her opinions and experience, and even more so when he specifically lured her into creating the designs herself! At first she was concerned she'd royally screw up, but then she pulled from her early days of sketching. Her mother often needed someone to ink her images on paper since she'd not the skill herself. When she was satisfied with her final drafted images, she encased them in sheet protectors and a white binder and placed it on Connor's desk. Happy with her performance, she skipped back to her office to relax on her sofa. Before she could stop herself, she'd drifted off to sleep.

Entering his office, he noticed it was a little too quiet. Sauntering across to the connected room, he found Taiwo asleep, resting on her side. Leaning against the jamb, he crossed his legs and folded his arms over his chest, drinking in the sight of her peaceful face. So this is what she looked like at rest, he thought. He'd been dying just to see a piece of her in a vulnerable state. When he wasn't looking, he'd been given this gift and hoped there was more to come. Quietly he ambled in to sit next to her, surveying into her appearance. He ran his knuckle over her cheek and finger down the bridge of her nose. Sensing someone near, she opened her eyes, startled to find Connor sitting so close.

"Don't get up." Turning onto her back, she looked up at him, her mind racing.

"Why are you here?" she croaked.

"I work here."

"You know what I mean." Trying to sit up, she felt his hand press into the valley between her breasts.

"I told you not to get up. You're a hardheaded woman."

"I beg your pardon?"

Planting both arms at the sides of her body, he leaned over her, mere inches from her supple lips. Taiwo's heart and throat constricted as she did her best to look past him. Connor wouldn't allow anything but his presence and scent to dominate her senses. Closing her eyes, mentally counting back from one hundred, she hoped to calm her fluttering heart. Of all the men she'd crossed, he was the only one who made her nervous, made her unsure of herself, made her aware of the fact that she was still a woman. She shouldn't have had to second guess what she wanted. When she opened her eyes, he was still there holding her wary gaze.

"What do you want Tai?"

She wanted to run, far away from this man. Panic began to crawl up her throat. The thought of being trapped against this sofa with him consuming her space, her air, was proving all too much. Connor knew if he pressed any harder she'd snap. That wasn't what he was after just yet, he wanted her to bend just a little. Gently lifting his weight, he rose from the sofa, leaving her staring straight up at the ceiling. Releasing pent up oxygen, she ran over to the door and closed it. Leaning against the blinds, she slid down row by row listening to them crackle until she rested on the floor. Connor reveled in her coming undone. She wasn't as immune as she liked him to believe. Settling at his desk, he poured over the images Taiwo concocted. He was departing from the classic look in favor of something more earthy that had soul to it.

These drafts were exactly what he had envisioned. The pieces were more tribal yet elegant. One skirt bore a repeating block of white and green. Some of the tops were solids, others multi-colored. As he flipped through more drafts, he could tell where she was going, this line would tell a story unlike one he'd ever hoped to convey. Tucking the binder into his satchel, he pushed back from his desk and knocked on Taiwo's office door.

"What?" she squeaked.

"We're finished for today. Allow me to take you home."

"I drove." she retorted from the other side.