by Maya Hughes
My panties were hanging off one foot and he slid my legs over his shoulders, my calves resting on his back, and then everything went blank. His tongue leaned down and teased my clit and I shot up on my elbows, my heart pounding. He sucked it into his mouth and rolled it around with his tongue. I cried out, my legs trembling, and he was only getting started. He teased my opening with a finger, before pushing it fully inside. I moaned and my head lolled back on my shoulders. He slid two fingers into my pussy and I could hear the wetness from here. I was soaked. There was no denying what he did to me as I cried out and my fingers clutched at the sheets.
“Nice and wet for me,” he said, nudging my clit with his nose before delving back in.
“Please,” I said, begging for more, my fingers threaded into his hair. The sandy colored silkiness giving me my anchor to earth. I needed it because he was driving me sky high. He pumped his fingers in and out before curling them forward and rubbing the spot inside me that no other man had been able to find. I yelped, my eyes rolling in my head.
I was so close when he nipped me on my inner thighs that were quaking with each and every pass of his tongue. He glanced up at me, locking eyes, and I remembered. His rule. Was I really going to ask his permission to come? It wasn’t like I hadn’t already been begging him before. For what, I wasn’t sure, but I knew what I was begging him for now. I needed this release. I needed it more than I needed to breathe.
“Please. Please Killian. Please let me come,” I begged, my voice desperate and quaking with desire. He redoubled his efforts and I did everything I could think of to stop from coming, but my body didn’t agree and the trembling increased. I made a mewling sound and he rubbed the spot again, the one I hadn’t ever been able to find myself, but somehow, he had. And in less time than it usually took me to get myself off I’d grabbed onto his head and slammed my knees shut around it.
“Come,” he said, his hot breath grazing my clit and it was like I was connected to a live wire. I shook and trembled while he continued pumping into me and lathing my clit with his tongue. I screamed as another orgasm ripped through me. I’d never had a double before. I didn’t know where I was, I couldn’t tell you what color the sky was, I wasn’t even sure I had a name.
I panted and shook, tremors running through me as I flopped back on the bed. He gave my clit one final kiss, wrenching a moan from me before he pulled his fingers free of me. The wet sound of my excitement heavy in the air. I closed my eyes and tried to get the spinning and my breathing under control. My heart thudded so hard against my ribs I thought I might have pulled a muscle.
It wasn’t until I heard the zip and jangle of the belt that I opened my eyes and sat up.
“What are you doing?” I mentally congratulated myself for being able to string four words together, as Killian grabbed a shirt out of the closet in the room and slid it on.
“I’m getting dressed,” he said, like he hadn’t just made me come so hard I thought I might die. “You’ll have to go out the front to pick up yours,” he said, fastening his cufflinks.
“That’s it?” I snapped, sounding like a petulant child. It grated on my nerves how needy I sounded. What kind of game was he playing?
“Good things come to those who wait.” He slid his shoes on and grabbed a suit jacket out of the closet. The jacket draped over his arm, he stood at the door expectantly. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Tears prickled the backs of my eyes. I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to cry. Had I done something wrong? Was this some type of trick? I’d been so ready to give everything to him. To throw caution to the wind and just go for it, but now I was being dismissed like a hooker who’d overstayed her welcome. I grabbed my panties off the floor and slid them back on, completely aware of how wet I still was. It was another slap in the face. Keep it together. Keep it together.
The walk back downstairs was like walking to my doom. Every thought I’d pushed aside before agreeing to go upstairs came rushing back. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I shouldn’t have done this. I was in way over my head. Why had I let myself be taken in by him? The tears I tried to hold back gathered in my eyes, but I squeezed them shut. I was not going to cry in front of Killian Thorne. It was probably what he wanted.
Once we got back to ground floor, he directed me to a door I hadn’t noticed before.
“This will take you back to the changing room.” My shoulders sagged with relief. At least I wouldn’t have to do the walk of shame through the bar. While people in there were doing a lot more than I’m sure we did upstairs, the idea of walking back through there without my mask, which I’d left back in his bathroom upstairs, made my stomach quiver in fear. While no one was allowed in here with cameras, the last thing I needed was for someone to recognize me.
I nodded and stepped into the dimly lit hallway, as Killian held the door open for me. I mumbled a “thanks" before starting my long walk back to my own version of real life.
“And Rachel,” he called out from behind me. “Don’t forget my rules.” The door slid shut as I glanced over my shoulder. He was gone now. What the hell was that supposed to mean? This wasn’t over? I got dressed in the changing room in a haze.
When my key slid into the lock of my apartment I didn’t even remember if I had taken the train or a taxi to get there.
The apartment was quiet. I checked the time. It was almost 11:00pm. Time traveled at warp speed in that club. I was ready to jump out of my skin at any moment. As I walked into my room, it was like I was seeing everything for the first time. Everything seemed so foreign, unreal. When his hands were on me, that felt real. That felt like nothing I’d ever felt before, but then he’d walked out on me. Put on his clothes like it was just another encounter for him. Who was I kidding? It was. Who knew how many women he’d taken in that room. How many he’d done the exact same thing to.
All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and go to sleep. Maybe in the morning everything would make sense again. I hopped in the shower and dragged myself back into my room. My eyelids heavier than they’d ever been. Dahlia breezed by my open door.
“Hey,” I called out. She yelped and threw her keys, hitting me right between the eyes.
“What the hell, Dahlia?” I said, glaring at her and rubbing the sore spot in the middle of my forehead.
“You scared the shit out of me, Rachel,” she said, clutching her hand to her chest, gripping the fabric of her bright yellow halter in her hand.
“I mean, I only live here,” I said, bending down to pick up her keys to the shop.
“Sorry,” she said, at least having the decency to look embarrassed. I dropped the keys in her hand. “Why are you up so late?”
“I had a work thing,” I grumbled, pulling on my pajama top. My phone dinged on my nightstand. Mr. Thayer’s special notification.
“When don’t you have a work thing?” she asked, rolling her eyes and leaning against my door jamb. If she only knew.
“It was a special project I’m working on. It went in a direction I didn’t think it would.” I plopped down on my bed.
“Tell me about it,” she said, pushing off the door and sitting down beside me.
“Have you ever gotten involved with someone you know is just going to seriously fuck with your head? Like maybe completely destroy you, but you can’t help it?” she asked, laying back on my bed. I held my breath. It was like she was living my life right now. I tried to think about everything going on with her lately. She’d been a bit quieter than usual. Working longer hours with her triple crown client, as I’d dubbed him. I hadn’t been a good friend, just being all wrapped up in my own shit.
“What’s going on?” I asked, laying down next to her. She had her eyes closed and shook her head.
“It’s nothing. I’m being stupid. I don’t have time for complications. I don’t have time for attachments. Gotta keep it light, right?” she said, pushing up from the bed. I reached out and grabbed her arm, trying to stop her from running out before we got a chance t
o talk.
“Dahlia, you know you can talk to me. I’m here for you. I can go out and get a carton of ice cream and we can watch a movie or something. I don’t really feel like trying to go to sleep right now, either.”
“Sounds good, but instead of ice cream, we can order some Chinese food. Plus, we still have that macaroon tower your mom sent over yesterday,” she said, hustling out of the room. “I call dibs on the raspberry ganache ones.”
We sat up the rest of the night gorging ourselves on sweet and sour chicken and macaroons and watching old 80s movies. This was what I needed, I didn’t need the distractions that came with Killian. Mr. Thayer would want results from me and I couldn’t let my own bad judgement screw up everything he’d built.
As the movie finished and Dahlia jumped up to get another helping of rice and chicken, my phone vibrated from where I’d tucked it under my leg. Work email. I relished the distraction, only it wasn’t a work email. It was a text.
Unknown Number: Don’t forget my rules, sweetheart. I expect you to be back at Ace’s, tomorrow night at eight.
Oh shit. It was him.
Me: And what if I don’t show?
Killian: Then I guess you’ll never know what I have in store for you…
The throbbing was back. Everything I’d said and felt since he zipped his pants flew out the window like it had all been in my imagination. The deliciousness of what he might have in store for me was so tempting, I practically licked my lips. Dahlia threw herself back on the couch with three macaroons stuck in her mouth and two bowls of food in her hands. She shoved mine toward me.
Me: I’ll see…
I replied before shoving the phone back under my leg as Dahlia turned on the next movie. I couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the night. My mind wandered to what exactly Killian had in store for me. Was I really going to go back there? Was I going to be able to handle whatever he was determined to dish out? He knew he had me caught. That I wouldn’t just be able to walk away.
Dahlia passed out halfway into the movie. I turned off the TV and shook her. Her phone was tucked in beside her. The screen flashed as message after message rolled in, lighting up the dark room. It seemed someone else was up to all kinds of mischief of her own.
11
KILLIAN
I’d dealt with a lot of shit in my life. My mom, my dad, those were things I didn’t even like to think about. The collect calls kept coming and I wasn’t be able to ignore them for much longer. I’d put in hard work into everything I did, to make sure I got the results I wanted It didn’t always happen the first time, but I made it happen. And I went after what I wanted with vigor. I did’t let anything stand in my way.
I didn’t think I’d ever wanted anything in my life more than I wanted to kiss Rachel. Not even the mergers I’d been working on for the past year gave me as much satisfaction as I had when I had her face in my hands, my lips inches from hers. The way her lips part when she’s surprised. The small, little noises she made when she’s just about to come, before the moaning started. I wanted to drink those sounds from her lips as I slid myself into her.
I don’t think I’ve ever had to do anything harder than getting up from my knees in front of Rachel and not sliding myself into her. It was sheer force of will that held me back from covering her and slamming into her until we both passed out into blissful oblivion. That same will told me I needed to leave. It showed me I wasn’t in control of this situation. She was in control and she didn’t even know it. That was why I made the rules. Why I needed her to know that I wasn’t going to bend to her will. She was going to bend to mine.
I didn’t even make it to my apartment. I took myself in my hand back in the room upstairs, sitting on the bed. The sheets still smelled like her. She’d left her mask behind and I stared at it as I came so hard, I shouted into the silent air of the room. It took everything in me to not pull her back through the doorway downstairs, throw her over my shoulder, and fuck her within an inch of her life. But I needed to play it cool. I needed to ensure that I was getting everything I needed from her.
I wasn’t going to let her use me for the information she needed without having my fun too.
RACHEL
Maybe staying up until five in the morning on a work night wasn’t the best idea. I stumbled out of bed after what amounted to about a forty-five-minute nap and was sure to make as much noise as possible getting my morning coffee, but just my luck, Dahlia slept like the dead and didn’t have to go into the shop until late. Lucky bitch.
The day dragged on and I swore I hit my head on my desk as least twice before lunch. During my lunch break, I laid on the floor in one of the vacant offices and locked the door.
Killian: Don’t forget…
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I just closed my eyes and dreamt of exactly what I wanted him to do to me. When I woke up, I was at least able to keep my eyes open. Then the realization set in for what I was going to be doing this evening. Every time I saw Rhys I got that sour gut feeling. I’d shake it off and keep working. I was helping. I was definitely helping. Not just trying to get my rocks off with a man so absolutely delicious that I wanted to peel his clothes off with my teeth, who was going to rip my life apart. It had nothing to do with that.
“Rachel, I need you to get the reports ready for the hospital dedications and schools this week.”
“Right away, Mr. Thayer.” I brought up the files. He gave me the look. “I mean, Rhys.” He was giving away over three million dollars this week. And this was a slow week. He’d kicked everything into high gear once the board challenges came up. His donations in the millions that month were looking to be in the tens of millions for next month. He went through all the paperwork and financials, personally. All the people he helped would be in jeopardy if Killian got his way.
“Thanks Rachel, you’re a lifesaver,” he said, smiling at me. I dropped the folders off on his desk, the pit in my stomach growing bigger.
As I waited for five o’clock to roll around, every email, every meeting was like torture. I left the office the minute my phone blared five o’clock, something I never did, and hurried to the apartment to get ready. Shower. Shave. I even threw on some perfume. I showed up outside of Ace’s five minutes before eight. When I turned up to the front desk, though, they didn’t show me to the changing rooms. They escorted me upstairs. Right to his doorstep. The security guard opened the door to the room and I peeked around. No one was here. A small ball of sadness hit me and I glanced back at the security guard, who’d just closed the door behind him. Leaving me inside.
I didn’t have a mask. I didn’t have a band wrapped around my wrist, but I felt just as naked as the first time I’d showed up there. I stood there, fidgeting with my clothes, until I saw the notecard tented on the bed. I traced the masculine writing with my finger. ‘Rachel’. I flipped it open and there was one word scrawled inside. Strip.
I hesitated. This was a point of no return. I was sure I could open that door, head back downstairs, never come back, and that would be the end of it. But I didn’t want it to end. I sucked in a deep breath. I dropped my bag onto the chair in the corner before sliding my way out of my clothes. I folded them neatly and put them on the chair. Okay, now I really felt naked. I debated whether or not to keep my underwear and bra on.
I finally settled on taking my bra off, but leaving my panties on. I put my glasses on the table beside the bed before deciding to put them back on. He’d seen me with my glasses, it wasn’t like I was trying to seduce him. I was standing naked in the middle of his private room of a sex club. I wasn’t exactly being coy. Then came the decision of where to sit. On the other leather chair in the corner, on the bed, standing. I bounced from place to place until I heard the door handle turn. I prayed it was Killian entering the room. I placed my arm over my breasts and held my breath as the door opened.
With his light hair reflecting in the low light, I let out my breath, happy it was him. Tingling energy flowed through me as I thought abo
ut what he might have in store for me. He closed the door behind him and walked to the chair, setting his own bag down.
“I said, strip, sweetheart,” he said, crossing the room to me. “That doesn’t include panties.” Coming face to face with me, he slid his hands along my hips and the electricity of his touch traveled all the way to my toes. Killian ran his hands under the waistband of my panties, and slid them down over my ass until they pooled at my feet. His hands explored my stomach and along my back. My breath came out in small stuttered breaths until he tipped my chin up with his fingers.
“If you want to ask your questions, you’re going to have to be a better listener,” he said, running his thumb along my lips. My tongue darted out all on its own and licked the tip of his finger. His pupils dilated, I could see it, even in the low light of the room. The bright blue, giving way to blackness as he growled and rested his hand on my shoulder. My knees went weak and then I was sinking. Sinking to the plush carpet. My hands resting against his hard thighs under his suit pants.
I stopped myself from reaching for his belt buckle. He took his time. The anticipation of seeing his cock nearly overwhelmed me. My mouth watered as he unzipped his pants and took it out, stroking himself.
I’m not a spy. I’m not trained in espionage. But this was all for the job, right? Helping so many people. At least that’s what I told myself as I was on my knees, in front of Killian, who stroked his cock in my face. I wasn’t quite sure if I’d be able to fit all of him in my mouth, but I was prepared to try. My mouth watered thinking about what it would feel like as I swirled my tongue around the head and stroked my hands up and down his shaft.