by Jamie Knight
I pulled the envelope off the door and against my better judgment, opened it.
I know where you live, bitch. Watch your back.
I’d confront her as soon as I got into the office tomorrow. I wouldn’t mention it to Kane because I didn’t want to run to him with every silly little thing that happened in my life. I needed to show him and prove to myself that I was an adult who didn’t cower or cry at every little upset.
My bad luck with men had turned into bad luck with work colleagues. Funny, for the past few weeks I hadn’t been as superstitious as I had been and had even walked under a few ladders.
Maybe throwing caution to the wind had been a mistake. Tonight, I would do a few good luck rituals and smudge my apartment. I’d also double bolt the front door and check that all the windows were closed and the locked.
I crumpled the note and shoved it deep in my bag along with the other bits of junk. Once inside my apartment, I shrugged off my coat and threw it over a chair.
Only one person could help me alleviate some of the stress from my shitty day. I glanced at the time on my phone. It was seven my time, which meant it was midnight in London.
I needed to hear Kane’s sexy voice and see his beautiful face and maybe other parts of his anatomy.
I picked up my iPad and tapped his name. The call connected almost immediately.
His face filled the screen, and my heart skipped a beat.
“Hey, you,” I said with a smile. “How’s London?”
“I’m not in London.”
There was a knock on my door, and I gave a delighted squeal.
“You’re here? No way.”
“I needed to see you. As soon as my meeting was over, I flew home.”
“I guess being a billionaire with a private jet has its perks,” I said and then laughed. “I missed you so much.”
“Open your front door and show me how much,” he ordered.
I could hardly believe he was outside my apartment. I threw my iPad onto the sofa and rushed to the door where I yanked it open.
Standing there with a full day’s stubble on his chin was the man I was quickly falling in love with. His eyes were a little bloodshot and tiredness lined his face, but he’d never looked sexier.
With a squeak, I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist, then kissed him with everything I had.
“Take me,” I whispered against his lips. “Take me against the wall. On the floor. In the kitchen. Take me.”
He broke our kiss and pressed his forehead against mine.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m in so much trouble with you.”
Ignoring my plea for him to take me against the wall, he carried me into my apartment, and I kicked the door closed with my foot.
He turned and slammed me against the front door, pressing his hard body against mine, and I kissed him like a starving woman. Kissed him like I needed his breath to live.
“I’m going to fuck you right here, right now” he growled. “I want to show you how much I missed you.”
“You can fuck me any way you want anywhere you want.”
“I knew I picked the right girl when I picked you,” he said, biting my neck. “I’ve dreamed of fucking you up against a door. Would you like that, pet? Would you like to feel my cock in your pussy as you cry out and your neighbors hear?”
He nibbled on my earlobe and ran his teeth up and down the column of my neck.
“Hell, yes. I’m so fucking wet right now.”
He lowered me to the living room floor and ripped off my clothes until all was left were my thong and bra.
“Turn around and face the door.”
When I did, he cupped my ass in his hands and squeezed hard. He spanked one cheek and then the other. With each strike, his hands came down harder and harder, creating a hurricane of heat inside me.
“More,” I begged. “Give me more. Give it to me harder.”
“Brace your hands against the door frame,” he ordered.
I grasped the wooden door frame and spread my legs. He anchored his fingers into my hips, and I pressed my palms against the door. I heard him unzip his pants and my pussy squeezed.
“I can’t wait any longer. I have to fuck you.”
“Then do it.”
He moved my soaked thong to one side and slid his massive cock into my pussy. To begin with, his rhythm was slow and steady, but then he picked up speed, becoming faster and harder, but then he slowed down again, alternating between slow and shallow, and hard and fast, balls deep thrusts.
I was already close to climaxing, screaming into the door. Each time he withdrew, his hand came down on my ass—never the same spot twice. I cried out but not from pain, from sheer ecstasy.
The beginnings of an orgasm unfurled in my stomach and sizzled my skin. Kane slid one of his hands to the front of my body where he freed my breasts from my bra.
My nipples were already rock hard. Roughly, he massaged my tits before clamping his thumb and forefingers around each nipple, pulling them from my body.
That was all I needed to throw me over the edge. My legs shook, and I could barely keep myself upright. My pussy walls clenched and unclenched around his thickening cock, and a mind-blowing orgasm rocked me to the core.
“Don’t stop fucking me,” I sobbed not caring if my neighbors heard. “I have to come again.”
“Then come.”
Over and over again, he pumped. Each stroke becoming more demanding, and I wished I could see his cock sliding in and out of me, claiming me.
His thrusts were deep and oh so demanding. I braced my hands against the frame of the door, pushing back to meet him.
My muscles quaked at the intensity of his strokes. I reached down and scissored my fingers along my clit, trapping the swollen bud and then began massaging myself off. My inner muscles tightened refusing to let Kane leave.
A scream fell from my lips. My body undulated, and my hips took on a mind of their own, slamming back against him. A blinding orgasm claimed me, and I squirted.
“Fuck, baby. You’re so fucking tight,” Kane grunted.
I felt his muscles quake, and on a roar, he exploded. I was aware of every spurt of his release spraying deep inside of me.
He sagged forward and holding onto me, pinned me against the door. After our breathing and heartbeats slowed down and had returned to a somewhat regular rhythm, he eased out of my pussy and turned me around until we faced each other.
“I don’t think I can live without you,” he whispered.
I reached down and wrapped my hand around his still hard and wet cock.
Gazing into his eyes, I said, “You’ll never have to live without me. I’m yours.”
“I know, Pet. Forever.”
Chapter Twenty-Four - Reese
Waking up snuggled next to Kane was the thing dreams were made off. I wasn’t sure if he meant to stay the night at my place, but he had. I’d fallen asleep in his arms and had woken up the same way. We’d even had time for a quickie.
He’d left an hour before I had. Since he’d come straight to my apartment from the airport, he’d had to go to the office early to change and shower. Another perk of being a billionaire—a shower and full closet in your office.
The birds sang, the sun shone, and as cliché as it sounded, there was a spring in my step. I was every Disney princess rolled into one. If things kept going my way, I was pretty sure I would begin spontaneously singing. Nothing would get me down today, not even Sloane and her emails or letters.
After grabbing my usual venti coffee, I made my way through the foyer and up to the fifth floor, smiling at everyone I met. Great sex had a way of making the world a better, shinier place.
Kane said I was his forever, and I believed him. I was the luckiest woman alive.
I switched on my PC to check my emails before I started my day. An email from whoever was stalking me glared from the screen.
Damn it.
Sloane would not give up.
I should have sent the email straight to the trash, but once again, curiosity got the better of me. There were no words just a picture of a bleary-eyed Kane leaving my apartment.
Oh, so not acceptable. That bitch’s stalking days were over. But I would not make a scene. I would talk to her in private.
I dialed her extension, and when she picked up, I barked, “Boardroom fiven now. You and I have to have a little chat.”
I hung up before she could reply. Enough was enough. With my coffee cup in hand, I headed straight to the boardroom and paced up and down in front of the windows.
The boardroom doors opened, and Sloane sauntered in. Her arms were crossed, and anger covered her face.
“So glad you came,” I said, not bothering to hide my disdain.
“Usually I wouldn’t, but I had nothing better to do.”
She did her best to appear disinterested by picking non-existent lint from her pristine suit.
“What’s your problem, Sloane?” I snapped. “Why are you doing this?”
Her cold eyes glared at me.
“My problem is you. Some little hick has taken the position I want. We all know what you’re doing.”
I leaned into the large wooden table and glared at her.
“You have no clue what I’m doing, and you have no right to try to destroy me.”
“Destroy you? You’re doing that all by yourself.”
She laughed a little.
I kept the table between us, so I wouldn’t grab her by the throat.
“Who did you hire to do your dirty work? Because I’m sure you didn’t lurk outside my apartment building to take photos.”
Her forehead furrowed, and she looked at me as if I’d lost the plot.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act all innocent. The photo taken outside of my apartment. The email last night and again this morning. The note stuck to my front door.”
“You’re even crazier than I thought you were.”
She looked even more confused.
I stopped in my tracks and lowered my voice a bit.
“Are you trying to tell me the encrypted email address [email protected] doesn’t belong to you?”
“You’ve lost your fucking mind.”
She pressed her palms onto the boardroom table and laughed.
“You’re accusing me of stalking you? I don’t like you, that’s obvious, but I have more important things to do with my time than stalk or send you emails. That’s not how I roll. If I want to hurt someone, I make sure they’re aware it’s me.”
Suddenly thrown off, I pressed my index finger to the side of my lips. “If you’re not emailing me and stalking me, then who is?”
She lifted her hand and waved it around.
“Are you blind as well as insane? You’ve made a ton of enemies. Your behavior with Simon and Kane has raised more than a few eyebrows.”
I sighed and rolled my shoulders back.
“For the hundredth time, nothing happened between Simon and me. He propositioned me. He threatened to drug me. Mr. McKenzie was there and helped me out of a horrible situation. We got to talking, he offered me a mentorship, and you’re damn right I took it because I don’t have a daddy who gives me everything I want, like you do. I worked hard to get where I am, and I’m not going to let you or anyone else ruin it.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Cry me a river. Enough with the poor me shtick. You’re as ruthless and as ambitious as everyone else. Don’t pretend otherwise. If we’re done here, I’m going back to work. If I wanted to get to you badly enough, I would do it, and I would let you know about it because I would relish every single moment of ruining your life. If you ever accuse me of anything like this again, I’ll make your pathetic life even worse than it is now.”
With a flick of her perfectly flat-ironed hair, she strode out of the boardroom. She was wrong; I was nothing like her.
Nothing.
But she was right about one thing: if she wanted to ruin me, she would make sure I knew about it.
I mentally ran through everyone else in the office. The only other person who could be responsible for this shit storm was someone who no longer worked at McKenzie, and that someone was Simon.
When I got back to my desk, Linda was waiting for me.
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I said with a fake smile.
“You’re more upset now than you were last night.”
She frowned and hovered around me as I sat and turned to my computer.
“You’re sweet to notice, Linda. It’s no big deal, honestly, just a few personal things that need to be sorted out.”
“Do I need to get HR involved between you and Sloane?”
“We’re good. Promise.”
“I hope so. The last thing I want is office drama.”
She tapped her fingernails against my desk, then walked away.
Linda reprimanding me like this was exactly the last thing I needed the day before an evaluation.
With a sigh, I turned back to my monitor and checked my email again. Another email from I SeeYou popped into my inbox.
Are you worried? You should be. I see you when you’re sleeping… I see when you’re awake…
My stomach roiled, and a sour taste filled my mouth. I had to talk to Kane. I dialed his private office number. The one I hadn’t used before. He picked up immediately.
“You’re a mind reader. I was about to summon you to my office. We have some business to take care of.”
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“I have to talk to you. It’s pretty important. Something’s happened. I mean, it might be nothing, but it might be something.”
“Come straight up. I’ll cancel whatever meetings I’ve scheduled.”
“Like I said, it might be nothing, but it’s something you need to be aware of.”
I stood to leave, but before I reached the elevator, Linda made a beeline for me.
“You’re not going to the restroom again, are you?”
She glared at me, her eyes like daggers.
“I have a quick meeting with Mr. McKenzie about the mentee program. He wants to see me in his office.”
Her lips narrowed into a thin, disapproving line.
“Fine, but after that, I need balls to the wall. It’s month’s end. And to think I had high hopes for you.”
To show her disappointment, she shook her head.
“I’ll stay late to make sure I get everything finished.”
“Make sure you do.”
What was her problem?
One moment she was friendly.
The next moment she acted like she couldn’t stand me.
****
Melissa stood at the penthouse coffee bar, flicking through a magazine. When she saw me, she pulled me into a hug. The scent of vanilla and citrus drifted off her, and I couldn’t help but take a long sniff of her hair.
What was her secret? How did she always manage to look and smell so good?
“I hear things are going well with you and Kane,” she said, releasing me from her embrace. “He’s like a different person these days. Amazing what regular fucking will do for someone.”
“He’s not the only one. I really like him,” I confessed. “I mean, I more than like him, which is strange because I’ve never allowed myself to feel that way about anyone before. Everything is just different with him.”
I tried to express my happiness, but my anxiety pulled my lips down into a frown and I started picking at my nails.
Melissa looked me up and down and frowned herself.
“Is everything okay? You don’t seem your usual happy-go-lucky self.”
“Honestly, I’ve been getting some threatening emails and letters,” I admitted, leaning into the bar next to her.
Her eyes widened in shock. “Since when? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The first one came last night, along with a letter taped to my apartment door. I got two emails this morning. One of them showed a picture of Kane leaving my apartment building.”
Worry crinkled her eyes.
“You should’ve told him last night when he was with you.”
“I know,” I said, “but I was so glad to see him that I didn’t want to ruin it. And I didn’t think it was anything worth talking about.”
“Go talk to Kane immediately. If anything else shows up, let me know ASAP. I’ll log into your emails to see what I can find.”
She motioned for me to go into Kane’s office.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this, and whoever is behind it will pay dearly.”
“Thanks, Melissa.”
I nodded and gave her a little wave.
Telling her about the emails and letter lifted some of the weight from my shoulders. Keeping it a secret was the wrong thing to do, and probably dangerous.
When I knocked on Kane’s door, he called me in right away. He hadn’t shaved, and he looked good enough to eat, sitting behind his desk with the sun illuminating him from behind.
He wore a navy suit and a light gray shirt with no tie. When he saw me, a broad smile lit up his face. Knowing he was happy to see me filled with warmth and want.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” he said, leaning back in his big leather chair.
I swallowed hard and clutched my star pendant. There was no easy way to say this except by blurting it out.
“I’ve been getting threatening emails. I thought they were from Sloane. They’re not. I confronted her. Now I’m guessing maybe Simon is behind them.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“Can you forward me the emails?”
“Sure. Melissa is also looking into them.”
I logged into my email account on my phone and forwarded Kane the emails.
“I don’t know where they’re coming from. They’re encrypted and the IP they’re sent from can’t be tracked.”
He clicked on his inbox.
“I have the best email support department in the world. If anyone can find out who’s sending these to you, they can. For now, I want you to take a few days off and spend it at my Hamptons house. Don’t come into the office until we get to the bottom of this. I have many enemies, and I don’t want them coming after you to get to me.”