by Crimson Syn
Filthy Seduction
The Ravenhead Corporation
Crimson Syn
Copyright © 2019 by Crimson Syn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Created by Aria Tan
Created with Vellum
Author’s Quote
Falling in love with him I hadn’t expected.
But being in love with him
Is something I couldn’t stop
Even if I tried.
~Anonymous
Dear Readers
Hello my sinful readers and welcome to The Ravenhead Corporation.
For those of you who love your Dogs, those men who enjoy taking control away from you and putting you on your knees, then I introduce you to Lucian Steele.
Filthy Seduction is the third book of the Ravenhead Series and it continues a storyline that is filled with an intense new world of cybercrime, terrorists, and a past that rears it’s ugly head and stirs these lonely hearts.
Lucian Steele has fought against his inheritance for as long as he could remember. Ravenhead has only brought him stress and danger banging on his door. There’s no one he trusts on his executive board, especially not the sultry Sabrina Montgomery. She challenges him in every way possible. He should stay away, but instead he finds himself being pulled in by this high society Princess.
Sabrina Montgomery likes her independence, and there’s nothing more that she enjoys than having control of her life. But when she gets close to Lucian Steele it’s like her walls crumble instantly, and although she fights to hold onto that control, it’s only a matter of time before she willingly submits to the one man she can’t stand.
Naughty Reading,
Crimson Syn
Contents
Prologue
1. Sabrina
2. Lucian
3. Sabrina
4. Lucian
5. Sabrina
6. Lucian
7. Joseph
8. Sabrina
9. Sabrina
10. Sabrina
11. Sabrina
12. Lucian
13. Joseph
14. Lucian
15. Lucian
16. Sabrina
17. Lucian
Epilogue
EDGE
Prologue
Also by Crimson Syn
Stalk the Author
Prologue
Lucian
The soles of my feet pummeled the pavement as I took the tenth mile around the property. Ravenhead loomed to my left, a constant reminder of what was left to me by my father, Richard Steele. A burden that I never wanted, yet I was forced to take it over by a bunch of middle aged has-beens that didn’t know where their head ended, and their rear ends began- they were so far up each other’s asses.
My lungs burned as I exhaled and inhaled, measuring my strides as I took my morning run. I never slept much and by dawn you would find me here, just a few meters away from the dreaded Corporation, pounding away at its concrete.
Running was an outlet, a reprieve from all the shit that surrounded me. From the government officials, the top secret contracts, the schematics, the fucking weapons. Surprisingly so, in the middle of all these lethal, top of the line, US Grade armament the whole world seemed to be after, this was the only place I could ever find peace.
I let the adrenaline take me over and ran hard, the steady beat coursing through my body, the exertion heightening my senses. I ran until my legs felt like they were going to buckle and my lungs felt like they might burst. Looking down at my watch I realized I’d been running for nearly two hours. I was surprised I hadn’t collapsed somewhere on mile twelve or fourteen. Recently, I found that I kept blacking out when I ran and it was happening a lot more frequently ever since Catchfire appeared in my life.
The sun was already up in the sky and I needed to get myself to meetings. At this time of the morning no one was up on my floor. That was something I had insisted on, privacy. Drake Archer, my head of security, was the only soul, other than me, with access to my offices and my floor.
As I strode through the hallways I took off my t-shirt getting ready to jump into my private shower, but when I entered my office I realized my plans were going to change and take a completely different turn.
Taking the shirt, I wiped the sweat off my neck while I stared dumfounded at a set of long toned legs that stood before me. My eyes took in the long stems and they traveled slowly along the swell of a very delectable ass, one that seemed very familiar to me. The ass in question was encased in a tight black pencil skirt that wrapped around the most enticing curves I’d ever seen.
The purple silk blouse she wore molded to two perfect mounds that were sensually perched to entice me and stir my blood. She’d taken her jacket off and was standing with a cup of coffee by the floor to ceiling windows that looked out at the Catskill Mountains. The sunlight was starting to streak in and it highlighted that wild red hair I always dreamed of twisting in my fist.
“Sabrina,” her name rolled off my tongue with indifference. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, good morning to you too,” her reply was short and full of sarcasm. It was a familiar banter that I secretly enjoyed and openly hated. Sabrina was the daughter of Joseph Montgomery, the Director of Ravenhead’s Executive Board and my biggest competitor. To say that I disdained the man was selling it short, his daughter on the other hand, always intrigued me. More than I liked to admit.
I raised an eyebrow as I plopped down in my desk chair. I leaned over and turned on the computer screen, completely ignoring the fact that she was staring down at me, her arms folded across her chest, propping those succulent breasts up for me.
Her hands suddenly slammed down on my desk and when she leaned forward I couldn’t resist anymore. My eyes drifted right to the opening of her silk shirt giving me an eyeful of deep cleavage and black lace. Fuck, she was tempting.
“My eyes are up here, Steele.”
“Yeah, but you’re tits are right where I want them, Montgomery.”
“Ass,” she clipped and straightened.
I sighed and tilted the chair back. Lifting my hands, I gestured for her to continue.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
“I was out for a run.”
“I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks!”
Her exasperation brought me satisfaction and I felt the beginning of a smile tugging on my lips. I lived to annoy the fuck out of her. Keeping her frustrated, kept them frustrated.
“You can take that smug look off your face, Steele. I don’t appreciate your uncouth behavior.”
“No one asked you to come by, Sabrina. So if we’re done here…”
I made my way to the door expecting her to follow. Instead, she stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“I’m not done with you.” Her eyes met mine, a fiery challenge burning within them.
“I have no time to chat with you. I have business to attend to.”
“I am your business that needs tending.”
“Oh, you definitely need tending to, don’t you?”
She narrowed her eyes on me and I stared back in amusement. She was a sexy little spitfire. I once again tried to get by her, but she impeded my path. I accepted her defiance and watched as her eyes widened while I closed the space between us. She stepped back, once, twice, until my desk blocked her from moving any further and her hands were pressed against my chest.
/> I wasn’t sure if she was holding me back or copping a feel, but either way was good for me, mainly because there was something about this woman that both tempted and irritated the fuck out of me, and I had this urge to discover what it was.
We both focused on her soft hands which lingered on my skin, emanating a searing heat that poured from her and spread along my bare chest. Her green eyes met mine and I watched them slowly dilate as her lips parted.
Oh, she felt it, this heat between us that ignited every time we were in one another’s presence. I couldn’t help but test the waters. Leaning in just an inch further, I could smell the citruses from her perfume, and feel the soft wisps of her wild curls brush against my cheek. My cock stirred as her breath hitched and her palms flattened against my pecs.
I gave her a slow, sly grin and her eyes slowly came to life as she snapped out of our lust filled fog. Shoving me back her eyes pierced me angrily.
“Put a shirt on, Steele. I’m not in the mood for your impertinence.”
I smirked. “See, I find the fact that you are in my private office at this ungodly hour impertinent as well. Say your piece and leave, unless you’re looking for something a bit more pertinent from me.”
I let my eyes lazily travel down the length of her curves making it clear just how impertinent I wanted to get with her, all the while enjoying how she squirmed beneath my gaze. Fuck did I want to make her squirm.
“We need an answer on what you want to do with the old grounds.”
“Nothing. I’m going to clear them.”
“They want you to expand. Break the land and create another building on that side of the mountain.”
“To be honest, that property is not the board’s concern. It’s my concern. Solely mine. My father left me that piece of land and no one, and I mean no one, will be staking ownership on it.”
“Then they are willing to purchase.”
“It’s not for sale.”
“Why do you make life difficult for yourself?”
“Why do you care?”
“Believe it or not, Lucian Steele, I am not your enemy.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“They want to have a facility nearby that will still function if one goes down.”
“Do they not realize what happened here a few weeks ago? I have FBI crawling everywhere, we’re lucky we didn’t get shut down again, and that’s only because of Drake Archer! I will not sell.”
She shook her head. “They want to take higher measures.”
“Do they now?”
“They’re discussing whether or not to keep you in office.”
I could feel the heat boiling in my blood as I took the few short steps up to her. She gasped as I caged her up against the desk, our breaths mingling.
“Tell them they can do what they want, but make sure to remind them that seventy percent of the shares are mine. I own Ravenhead, as I own them. They can either play fair or play against me, but I doubt the ladder will be beneficial to either party. I will not sell that property. They’ll need to find another place.”
“Lucian,” she whispered and her soft tone made me react in ways I shouldn’t. My muscles tensed and my loins ached. That soft whisper of my name had me yearning for something that lay dormant in me for the last few years. Something only she awakened and I hated the feeling. It made me lose control and I didn’t like not having control.
“I suggest you leave me be, Sabrina. I’m not the type of man you want to be around when he feels threatened.”
“I’m not threatening you, Lucian.”
Her eyes roamed my face and the look on her face was so sweet it took everything in me not to steal a kiss from those soft pink lips of hers. But I swore I’d never cross that line. Sleeping with the enemy would be devastating for Ravenhead.
“Go, sweet thing. Go before I do something we’ll both regret,” I gently traced her cheek with my lips and just as quickly as it had begun, I ended it. If there was one thing I couldn’t have, it was Sabrina Montgomery.
I took a step back and watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep sigh. “I’ll be back with a number.”
“Either be back and tell me you’re on my side, or don’t come back at all.”
“You know I can’t do that,” she whispered, her voice torn.
As she swept past me I grabbed her elbow, bringing her up against my chest. She leaned her head back, melting into me. “What are they holding over you that you can’t leave their side?”
She smiled sadly. “Everything. They have everything.”
“I could give you everything. Is it money? I’ll double it.”
She shook her head and gently pried herself from my side. “If it were only that easy, Lucian Steele. Just know that I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
I nodded. “If only I could believe that.”
I watched her walk out of my office and figured it was for the best. Sabrina Montgomery was not meant for me, even though my whole body vibrated when she was around. The extent of our relationship always ended in this, in sadness and bitterness. Better to leave that alone, there were more serious matters at hand.
1
Sabrina
Lucian Steele was the most aggravating man I had ever met. Pure fucking alpha, he thought he could rule me just like he did Ravenhead. He heated up my insides like no man ever could, and at the same time I wanted to run my fist into his throat for being an ass. Such a handsome face belonging to a cold blooded heartless human being. Because that’s what Lucian Steele was, a Wolverine made of titanium, a ruthless bastard.
It was like this every time I was near him. In a way, I respected him, but I also feared him. I did my best to try to keep the peace between him and the board. Fuck it, between him and my father. Every little chance to bring him down and my father was there. I knew he used me to get what he wanted out of Lucian, but as shitty as it sounds, it was the only time I got any recognition from him.
See, my father always wanted a son by his side. A man to run the business, a man who could do him proud. Instead he’d gotten me. I spent my entire life trying to live up to my father’s expectations, always being a Grade A student, speaker at my high school graduation, Sum Kum Laude in International Business just like my father wanted. But nothing I did was good enough for him. The only time I even got a pat on the back was when I got something done for him with Lucian Steele.
The first time I met Lucian it was like a lightning bolt had traveled through my body and ignited my soul. The man was handsome, powerful, and intelligent. His ego, on the other hand, quickly ruined that impression for me, and in turn, made me dislike him intensely. I didn’t hate him, I hated how he made me feel. Because as much as I fought it, as much as I told myself to run away, my body just kept begging me to surrender.
‘Just let him touch you’, it would whisper heatedly as he drew near. And fuck if I didn’t almost give in, especially this morning. God, that man was gorgeous. The way he smirked, the way he licked his perfect lips, the way he fucking breathed. The drop of sweat that slowly trickled along the hollow of his throat, traveling down his massive chest and along that forbidden path until it ended at the seam of his shorts. I wanted to lick him right there, along the crevice of those tight abs until I drove him wild with need. I wanted to fall to my knees and show him exactly what he did to me.
I slammed my fist on the steering wheel angry with myself. No man, not one, had this effect on me. But I had been warned by several people to stay far away from this man. He was no good, he was a liar. He’d cheated the board of thousands of dollars. I’d seen the proof, so why didn’t I believe it.
Lucian Steele has always been reserved, fuck, the only person he was willing to talk to, was me. Not one deal went to him without my knowledge. So why was he so adamant to remain hidden from the board. They were only trying to expand, to make Ravenhead a trusted name. I didn’t understand Lucian, he would even hinder projects on purpose. It was as if was set on creating havoc for my
father and the executives.
I didn’t understand him, no one did, which is why he intrigued me so. As I entered the city I had this feeling down in the pit of my stomach. My father was not going to be happy with the results of this meeting and I was going to be the one to pay for Lucian’s repudiations.
I parked the car in the garage and as I made my way to the elevators a man appeared out of nowhere. My body went on alert, but he simply stood to my right, not saying a word. I found him to be a little unnerving and I carefully positioned my keys between my fingers as we entered the elevator. He made his way behind me, and something told me I needed to run.
He sensed my reaction before I even made my move. Grabbing my wrist, he flung me around, slamming me face first into the elevator wall. With his free hand, he reached out and closed the door, trapping us inside. Struggling, I kicked back but he shoved me harder into the steel wall, making me flinch as my head banged against it. He held my left arm pinched between his knee and the wall, the other was held back and tugged until a sharp pain shot through my shoulder. I cried out trying to get out of his hold, but he tightened his grip and I knew.
“Move, and I’ll break it.” His deep menacing voice held me completely still.
“Who are you?” I grunted as he pressed my head harder into the wall.
“What do you want?” I seethed, angrily.
“Now you’re asking the right questions. I believe that you are well acquainted with Lucian Steele.”