He growled again, going to his knees and yanking me up to his thighs. He held my legs behind my knees as he thrust hard. I gasped, the power of his body taking me by surprise.
“Yes!” I shouted.
He thrust again before dropping me back to the floor and coming over me. His chest pressed against me as his mouth covered mine. He began to glide in and out of my body, taking me on a ride that teased and excited every nerve ending.
I was hopelessly lost as he did things to my body that made all the erotic dreams seem like child’s play. I held on to him, digging my nails into his back and matching his thrusts with my open upward motion. In a flash, like being hit by a violent bolt of lightning, my body burst into a million rays of light.
I cried out, stiffening under him as I held on to him for dear life. I orgasmed so hard I felt like I was on the verge of passing out.
Chapter 11
Devin
Her lithe body turned to hot liquid around me. I felt her orgasm and had to pull my mouth away from hers to watch her face as I rocked her fucking world. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips red and puffy from my kisses. Her cheeks had red splotches of color on them, and she looked like the most satisfied woman in the world. Her nails scored my back as her own arched, sucking me deeper inside her tight sheath. Her pussy clamped down on my dick, massaging me as her orgasm rolled through her.
I kept moving, pushing my cock in and out of her, holding her in place as best as I could. Our bodies, slick with perspiration, slid across the floor. I couldn’t get deep enough. I got to my knees and pounded inside her, watching her jerk, her mouth open as every thrust triggered another spasm. Her eyes popped open, her hand reaching to touch my face. I nibbled at her fingers until she pulled them away from my mouth and gripped my shoulder.
“That’s it,” I breathed. “Fuck you feel so good.”
She moaned, her head moving back and forth. Her hair haloed around her as her perfect breasts bounced with every thrust. “Oh God,” she groaned.
“I want another one,” I demanded, determined to make her come again.
“I can’t,” she whimpered.
“Yes. You. Can.” I thrust deep, rotating my hips and scraping myself against her soft heat.
She cried out, her hands gripping my biceps. Her nails dug in. I shouted at the pain that triggered a deep sense of pleasure I had never experienced before. Her body rocked up, nearly bucking me off. I bounced back, pounding my body into hers. Her whimpers and gasps of pleasure were pushing me close. I didn’t want to blow my loud—not yet. I wanted to fuck her for hours and hours. I wanted to stay buried inside her until I had nothing more to give.
I was barely holding on. I was going to explode. Years of lusting after the woman had culminated in that very moment in time. My hand did not come close to the kind of pleasure her body could give me. It was the kind of pleasure that could never be duplicated. Only her body could make me feel this way. I braced myself, knowing it was going to be an all-consuming climax that made me feel like my head was going to pop off.
I roared as my body violently spasmed, erupting inside her hot passage. My head went back, my eyes squeezed tightly closed. I saw stars as my body spasmed and jerked inside her. I had no control over my thrusting hips. I damn near cried it was so good. I collapsed on top of her. I was instantly addicted. She had been everything missing from my life. My dick cradled inside her sweet pussy was what I had needed to feel alive again. I needed more of what we’d just done. I would never get enough. I knew that deep down in my soul. The idea that one more time would satisfy me had been a foolish notion.
I rolled off her, throwing one arm out to my side. The cool marble felt good against my heated skin. I dropped my other arm across my chest and stared up at the ceiling. The need for revenge had evaporated the moment her lips touched mine. I didn’t need to hurt her or shame her.
I just needed her.
I could forgive everything that happened in the past. None of it mattered. I’d recovered. I was doing well. It was time to move on. I knew she felt something for me. There was no way sex between us could be that explosive without some kind of cosmic connection. There was an invisible pull between us.
I smiled and turned to face her. I wanted to see where she stood on our reunion. We had some kinks to work out, but I was confident we could overcome the little things we still needed to work through. I expected her to look at me with satisfaction and maybe a little bit of admiration. I had rocked her world. We both knew it.
Instead of a smile, she sat up, jumping to her feet and walking back to where it had all started. She started to dress, jerking on her panties and struggling with her bra. I got up and walked over to help her. “Where’s the fire?” I asked in a husky voice.
She shrank away from me when my fingertips brushed over her shoulder. “Don’t,” she whispered.
“Elly,” I said, questioning what was happening. Fear replaced the heat in my veins, sending a cold shiver down my spine.
My nakedness was suddenly a weakness. I reached for my boxers and pulled them on, sensing the tenderness I had felt for her was all one-sided.
“I’ll expect your official withdrawal by tomorrow morning,” she said, her tone ice-cold.
“Excuse me?” I whispered, disbelief washing over me.
“You heard me. You got what you wanted. Walk away.”
I turned my back to her, pulling on my shirt. I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t let her see she had shattered me once again. Bile rose in my throat. My heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest and stomped onto the marble floor I had just taken her on. My ears burned with anger and embarrassment. I was a schmuck. How many times was I going to let the woman fuck with me?
“Walk away from a deal that could make my company a great deal of money?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Yes.”
I turned to look at her. Her blue eyes were turbulent. “This was a business transaction. I offered it up and you agreed to it. I kept up my end of the bargain, and now it is your turn.”
I mulled it over. She was right. “I’ll walk away,” I quietly said. “I’ll walk away, and you and your father better never darken my door again.”
“Let it go, Devin.”
“I will absolutely let it go, but here’s the thing: it won’t matter that I walk away. Your dad can go ahead and get the deal. The fact is, he’s going to screw it up. He couldn’t manage his way out of a paper sack. He’s a fucking idiot and has no business sense. He’s on his last legs and he knows it. It’s sinking faster than the Titanic, and any smart person would avoid him and his black touch like the plague. He’s going to take Toby down with him. It’s going to destroy your father’s reputation.”
“Shut up!” she shouted.
“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” I sneered.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve seen the deal. This is going to work.”
I scoffed. “It could be a gold mine with a guarantee, and he’ll fuck it up. Do you plan on screwing your way through New York City to try and save Daddy?”
Her mouth dropped open. She flinched as if I had physically slapped her. I knew the hurt she felt. She’d been dealing me the same blows since she’d walked into my life. I felt the tiniest bit guilty, but I refused to take back what I had said. I had to make it hurt this time. I had to make sure I would never let myself fall into her trap again.
“Fuck you,” she hissed, bending over to grab her coat.
I didn’t try to stop her. She yanked it on and was out the door before I could have tried anyway. I closed the door, turning to lean against it and gently bouncing my head against the solid wood. I closed my eyes, trying to pull my shit together. I was all over the place.
I had been the highest of the highs and then been dropped on my ass and was feeling the lowest of lows. The sharp descent had left me shaken to my very core. I had been on the verge of telling her I wanted her to stay. She would have laughed in my face,
further destroying the modicum of dignity I was clinging to.
Once again, I acknowledged that only she had that kind of power over me. The power I kept giving her. I made a fist and hit the door. “Dammit! How fucking stupid can you be?”
I turned around and locked the door before walking into the study where I had the good stuff. I poured myself two fingers of strong whiskey and took a tentative sip. It burned as it trickled down my throat. It was exactly the feeling I had been going for. I took another, bigger drink and felt it burn deep into my belly.
I refilled the glass and headed upstairs. I wanted to shower. I needed to wash her off my skin. Even as I walked, I could smell her on me. I stripped off the clothes I had just put on and walked directly to my shower. I turned on the water, turning it down to a lukewarm spray. I stepped inside and let it wash over me.
I couldn’t believe I had fallen for her tricks again. Well, technically, she hadn’t tricked me. She came to my house with the intention of having sex. I had known that, but in my mind, I’d had no intention of actually fucking her. When it happened, it shook me to my core. I had foolishly thought it meant something different.
She had been about ready to walk out the door. The deal had been broken. The sex that followed had not been part of the deal in my mind. I had been wrong. I needed to accept the idea she felt nothing for me. Great sex did not mean feelings. She’d used me. Again. I kept falling under her spell. Every time I looked into those innocent blue eyes, I turned into an idiot.
“No more, Devin, no fucking more,” I hissed, pounding my hand against the tile wall.
I stepped out of the shower, finished off the glass of whiskey, and crawled into bed naked. I didn’t want to think. I just wanted sweet oblivion. Tomorrow I would rethink my plan. I said I would walk away from the deal, but what if I didn’t?
“Be the better man,” I said aloud.
I wasn’t Ron Savage. I would never lower myself to his level. I didn’t need Toby’s company. There were a thousand more out there, just waiting to be discovered. I would find one. Hell, I’d find ten. Ron didn’t know the first thing about properly vetting a company before he dumped his money into it, which was why he was in dire straits.
I always did my due diligence. Success was the best revenge.
Chapter 12
Elly
I got out of the cab and rushed inside my apartment building. I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with the doorman and just gave him a slight wave. I felt a little bad for being rude, but a conversation was just not going to happen. I felt so much shame. I couldn’t believe what I had done. I was humiliated and disgusted with myself. I wanted to run away. I wanted to go back to California and forget all about my trip to New York. I hated my father for making me come back.
I slid my key in the lock and quietly opened the door. I saw the flashing of the TV and hoped like hell Jane was asleep. I couldn’t face her either. She would want to know what happened. I shut the door, throwing the lock before kicking off my heels to keep from making any noise.
“Elly?” I heard her say.
I sighed. I wasn’t going to get away without facing her. “It’s me,” I whispered. “Is Lizzy asleep?”
“Yes. She’s in the room.”
I walked into the living room and saw her with a blanket on the couch. “I thought you would be asleep,” I murmured. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“I’m a night owl. You didn’t wake me. I wasn’t expecting you back tonight.”
“Neither was I.”
“Did you change your mind?” she asked.
“No,” I muttered. “I wish. I should have. I should have never gone there in the first place. It was stupid.”
She shrugged. “It was definitely a wild idea. I’m glad you walked away. What are you going to do about the deal now?”
I grimaced and rubbed a hand over my face. “I didn’t exactly walk away,” I admitted. “That would have been the smart thing to do. I’m obviously not smart.”
“You are smart. You’re the smartest person I know.”
“Book smart maybe, but I’m clearly lacking in the common-sense department.”
She laughed. “I don’t know if that’s true. I’ll agree you aren’t as world wise as I am, but that doesn’t mean you’re clueless. You tend to believe the best of people. I tend to be a little more jaded.”
“You’re not jaded, you’re smart. I should have partied with you more.”
“You were too busy studying, and that is a good thing.”
I blew out a breath. “Do you ever feel like you’re just making one wrong move after another? Like everything you do is wrong?”
She shrugged. “I probably do a lot wrong, but I just don’t dwell on it. I like to keep moving forward.”
“I wish I was like you,” I groaned.
“I think you are perfectly you.”
I wanted to smile. I couldn’t. I was miserable. “I don’t think I like myself very much. I’m not a good person.”
“Yes, you are.”
I slowly shook my head. “I’m not,” I whispered. “No good person would do what I did.”
“What happened?” she asked gently.
The shame I felt was a physical weight on my shoulders. I walked to the couch and sat down. Jane turned the TV down and looked at me, waiting for me to tell her.
“I hate him,” I breathed.
“What happened?” she asked again.
“I got there, and he had a nice dinner waiting. We ate and tried to make small talk, but it was useless. Then, when I told him I was ready to do what had to be done, he told me it was a joke. He never intended to have sex with me. He only wanted me to offer myself to him so he could reject me.”
She rolled her eyes. “What an asshole.”
“Yes, he is, but that’s not the worst of it. I ended up having sex with him anyway.”
She frowned. “I’m not sure what that means. Did he force you?”
“No! God no. He’d never do anything like that.”
“Okay, then he changed his mind? You guys brokered your deal?”
I nodded. “Yes, I guess you can say that. I was leaving and then I stumbled, and he caught me and the next thing I know, we were naked on the floor in the foyer.”
“Wow that sounds pretty hot and heavy.”
“It was, and I feel like shit.”
“Why?”
“Because I pretty much used sex to gain money.”
She sighed and shook her head. “You are not a whore. And if you’re being honest with yourself, the sex wasn’t just about business.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears sprang to my eyes, and instead of fighting it, I let them out. I bawled out the shame. Jane got up from the couch and leaned down, hugging me and rubbing my back as I let it all out.
I sobbed a little while longer before I decided I had cried enough. “I’m good,” I said, rubbing my fingers over my face and wiping away the tears.
Jane got up and went into the kitchen. She returned a few seconds later with some paper towels. “I’m sorry, but you need to stay away from him. You can’t let him control how you feel about yourself. You’re a great mother. You are a loyal daughter, and you are my best friend. I love you. I know you are kind and generous, and your only downfall is caring too much.”
I sniffled. “That’s for sure. I have no reason to cry. I went over there to have sex with him, and that’s what happened. I can’t really be mad at him for taking me up on that offer.”
“You can feel however you want.”
I shook my head, shaking away the sniffles and the sadness I felt. “It’s done. I got what I wanted. My dad has his deal, and I don’t have to come back.”
“I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
“Thanks. I’m good. Thank you for coming tonight.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t leave town without saying goodbye.”
I hugged her. “I won’t.”
I walked her to the
door, locking it behind her before heading for bed. I knew I should shower, but I didn’t have the strength. I was completely drained. I was so glad my dad wasn’t there. I couldn’t have looked him in the eye. As much shame as I felt, I felt just as much anger at him. He’d gotten us into the situation.
I didn’t understand why he was doing what he was doing. He was on the verge of bankruptcy, losing everything. It was hard for me to understand how he had fallen so far. I had grown up wealthy. My grandfather had inherited a small amount of money and had turned it into a fortune. My father had inherited the company, and I thought things were going well. I had no idea he’d burned through the inheritance and practically ruined the company.
I closed my eyes, trying to pretend the last couple of hours had never happened. I was in bed alone. It was definitely not the way I had envisioned my night going. I’d thought I would be spending it in bed with Devin. I wasn’t sure if that made me happy or upset.
Lizzy stirred in the little bed next to mine. I waited to see if she would fall back to sleep. When she started to fuss, I climbed out of bed to comfort her. I picked her up and carried her to the big bed and climbed in next to her. I snuggled her little body close to mine. I loved her with all my heart and being. She was perfect. Devin had given me the best gift in the entire world. It was impossible to hate him when he’d given me something so beautiful.
“Shh, baby girl, Momma’s got you,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head.
She was soon fast asleep. I loved that I had the power to comfort her, to make her feel completely safe and at ease in her little world. I wanted that feeling. I wanted someone to cuddle me and make me feel better.
“It’s going to be okay,” I murmured. “Momma will fix this.”
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