by North, Paige
“You’re supposed to be selling, not flirting.”
She crooked an eyebrow. “I guess flirting must be your job then.”
“What I do is none of your business.”
“Exactly. Same goes for me.” She tried getting past me but I blocked her path.
“Not quite…” I stopped her and slid my fingertip underneath her chin. She didn’t pull away. “You work for me. Everything you do is my business. Especially at a business function.”
“Are you crazy? You just dragged me out of a room like you owned me.”
“I do own you, Adley Carlyle.”
The funny thing was, she didn’t deny it. And in many ways, she’d owned me, too, because I’d set it all aside five years ago, just for her. Gone against my beliefs, just for her. Changed the course of my life, just for her. Some would tell me not to complain—it had paid off. Look at where I was now. Rich? Big fucking deal. Money was a cold soul mate.
I was a bitter man at only twenty-five. And whose fault had that been?
“Pfft. This is insane.” She took a sip of wine but I took the glass from her hand and set in on a shelf behind her.
“You’ve had enough.”
“Excuse me?” she said indignantly. “Who are you, my father?”
“Thankfully not.” Spikes of rage shot through me.
Her father. Even now, it was still about her father.
The thought that her father might still tell her what to do and that she might still listen to him even though she was a grown ass woman annoyed the living shit out of me. If she would just be her own damn person for once, think her own thoughts, we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. I would’ve loved nothing more than to stay with her five years ago, but her blind adoration of a terrible man had kept us apart.
She reached for her wine glass again, adamant to have the upper hand, but I took her wrist and pushed it behind her back. “I said, no more.”
Adley winced. Her green eyes scanned mine. “Are you serious? Let go of me.”
“You bet your ass I’m serious. In fact, it’s time we clear up a few things.”
“That would be fine with me.” She pulled away and rubbed her wrists, leaning against the shelf. “Go ahead. Put all the cards on the table. Stop playing games.”
“I’m not the one playing games, babe. I’ve been transparent from day one. You were the one who asked me not to be myself.”
Besides her anger, I felt her heat coming through that dress. She looked fire as hell in her salmon gown with gold accents and V-neck plunge that showed off her tight body and fine, ripe breasts. Her curves had filled in, and with her hair falling in waves over her shoulder like that, she looked like a Hollywood starlet from the olden days.
From the moment I saw her yesterday, I’d wanted her all over again, despite trying not to.
“What do you want, Dex? What do you really want?” Her eyes burned a hole me, but she had no right to be mad.
How much would I tell her? Adley was a smart woman. One false step and she would see right through me. I had to keep it vague. “I told you yesterday, I’m here for a purpose.”
“Which is?”
“To right a wrong from my past. I never forgave myself for tucking tail and running out of town when what I should’ve done was report your father to authorities.”
“Are we still going on about that?” She scoffed.
“Was it so easy for you to forget?” I asked. “Well, it wasn’t for me.”
“My father is innocent,” she stressed. “Okay? He didn’t kill anyone. Yes, he had an affair. I’m not happy about that, but that’s no reason to go to police. That’s between us as a family.”
My nostrils flared. A knot tightened inside my stomach. She still defended him, after all this time. “Your loyalty to that man knows no bounds, you know that?”
“What do you expect? He’s my father.”
I approached her slowly, staring her down, hating her and wanting to give her everything at the same time. “I expect you to be fair and look the truth in the eye, Adley. Even if it hurts.”
“So, you’ve come back to do that? To try and get my dad put in jail?”
“I’ve come back for justice. My own form of it, anyway, since you asked me not to talk to police, which I didn’t.” Did she not realize? Did she not see how much I loved her then? I would’ve done anything for her, and I did.
Her chest rose and fell with her measured breaths. I knew she wanted to bolt from the room or beat her fists against my chest or slap the shit out of me, but it was time for her to face the consequences of her actions now. You don’t ask someone to keep quiet when there’s been wrong done. And she’d asked that of me.
“Your own form of it?” she asked. “So, what, this takedown of his company was your way to punish him?”
“He never received punishment for his crimes, Adley. Neither did you.”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“You did—you asked me to carry a burden, as if I could do so lightly.”
“You’re insane,” she spat, scanning me up and down like I was made of bullshit. “You didn’t have any proof, just blind accusations. I’m not going to stand here and listen to this crap.” She tried moving past me, but I caught her by the waist and pushed her against the shelf.
She panted like a cornered mouse.
“I’m not here to discuss it. I’m only here to issue punishments of my own, and if you follow them to the letter, at the end, I’ll give you back the company. No questions asked, no strings attached.”
Adley narrowed her eyes. Her breath was soft and light and brought back memories that hurt. “What are you saying?”
“You heard me.”
A moment of understanding slipped between us. This hadn’t been part of the equation when I’d come here a few days ago to bring down Carlyle Development, but how could it not be? She’d taken advantage of me, and now I would take advantage of her. What’s fair was fair.
“When does it end?” she asked, seemingly having accepted her fate.
“When I say it ends.”
I focused on her mouth, the way it parted as she fought for breath. Adley always did give away what she was feeling way too easily, unable to hide her true feelings. I knew she wanted me, some things never changed. Two atoms meeting again after five years would still react the same way.
“This is absurd.”
“It’s your only chance to get the company back, Adley. Believe me, I can do much worse than what I’ve done. I’m a very wealthy man now. I have unlimited means. If I wish to do it, I could crush you and everyone you know, and it wouldn’t even be a blip on my radar.”
Her glare cut through me. “Just try it.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. She really had no idea how nice I was being. “You know that my way is best. You know that…”
Slowly, I lifted her wrist above her head, pulling the other one up to go with it. Her chest rose, and I caught the unmistakable scent of her body wanting mine. It came from her pores, from the space between her legs, her heartbeat. I closed my eyes and breathed in her sweet intoxicating scent. To say I was already rock hard was an understatement. I’d been rock hard since yesterday morning when I’d finally seen her again.
“What punishment are you giving me?” she asked softly.
“You’ll find out soon,” I said, hovering over her, taking in the scent of her hair. “And yes, it will fit the crime.”
Something ripped through and out of me, unable to stay contained, and suddenly my lips were on hers, taking her in roughly. It was like no time at all had lapsed. She tasted the same, felt the same, yet she was elevated to a whole new level. God, Adley was delicious, and yes, maybe this was what I had wanted all along, but it had to be done this way. I had to tell her how I felt, made sure she knew what she had done. She’d pissed me off, asked too much of me, and now I’d make her pay.
The kiss didn’t last long. I wouldn’t give her that much.
&n
bsp; I was here for me, this body… I parted the deep V of her dress like a curtain, exposing her small tits I’d always loved and pushed one into my mouth. I sucked on it hungrily, swirling my tongue around her nipple. When she was younger, she hated them, but now, from the way she owned this dress like a goddess, it was clear she’d more than accepted her body in the five years since I’d seen her—she fucking owned it.
I moved to the other one and pushed it into my mouth as well, tasting the sweetness of her soft, tanned skin, flicking the nipple on my tongue. Nipping her with my teeth until she moaned, I sucked on them again, pushing them together as far as they would go, I slapped a breast and waited for the scorned look to come.
It did, but I tried not to smile.
I wasn’t here to play, as much as I loved this.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I told her. “You deserve it.”
Before she could complain, I took her wrists and spun her around, pushing her against the shelf, which shook with each movement. I lifted the back of her dress, biting my lip at the sight of her bare ass without panties. A perfect, golden round peach. Some women hid their imperfections with Spanx, shapewear, or other shit, but Adley was completely naked under the dress.
I spanked her ass and watched it bounce.
She bit her lip, crying out a little.
“Stop complaining. You deserve it.”
Reaching the front of her dress, I slipped the hem up around her waist and slid my hand down over her soaking mound. Wet—already. Like always, Adley needed no help in that department. She was fucking hotter than she used to be, and that was something I hadn’t been prepared for. The guests outside would wonder where we were, why I had led her down a hall and taken her into a room, but I didn’t care.
Let them wonder.
Let them imagine the horrors within this room where the real takeover was taking place.
Swiping my fingers over her, I felt the soft hair there, the bulging urgency of her clit against my fingertips. I pressed mine in until her head slipped back onto my shoulder, and she let out a moan.
“This is what you want?”
She nodded against my shoulder.
As much as it pained me, I then pulled my hand away.
“But you don’t deserve it. What you deserve is something else entirely.” I spanked her again. I couldn’t help it. Not only did she deserve it, but it felt good to smack her, feel her muscle bounce, then bounce again, hear the slap and watch her skin react with redness, hear her every moan.
With the last strike, I watched her clench her teeth and go rigid. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was holding down an orgasm, not letting me see it. She even shuddered as goose bumps appeared on her arms like a velvet outbreak. I whirled her around and pulled her dress back into place, covering up her breasts, and allowing the dress to cascade around her frame again.
I reached behind her, and she leaned into me as though I would kiss her again.
But I only reached for her glass of wine and handed it back to her.
Quietly, she took it.
I unlocked the door and held it open for her. “Now go sell. Do your job, and I’ll see you in the morning.” With a look of shock, she slipped out the door, eyes demanding an explanation, but I was done—for now. I’d also seen everyone I needed to see tonight and left in the other direction, down the hall, and out the service door.
My job here was done.
THE END OF PART ONE
Part Two is coming soon!
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