A noticeable energy shift occurs at my announcement. It sparks an exchange of glances around the table. I have no idea what the problem is, but I can’t be bothered to deal with it now. If these people have an issue with my decisions, they need to take it up with me or get the fuck out. I don’t have the patience for it.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
A few more people exchange knowing glances and I want to pound my hands on the table and stomp my feet.
“Come on, everyone, let’s get back on topic,” Kelly interjects.
The room is silent. I give her an appreciative nod before continuing with the rest of the business.
The meeting is less than halfway over when my phone starts ringing. “I’m sorry. Excuse me one moment.”
I fish the loud device from my pocket and see my father’s name on the screen.
Oh shit.
I may not be in trouble, but seeing his number flash across my phone always seems to lead to my receiving a tongue-lashing.
“I’m sorry everyone, I need to take this. Meeting adjourned.”
Everyone looks at me, puzzled by the abrupt end, but they start to stand and filter out of the room. I catch Anna scurrying away with Kelly by her side.
“Hello,” I answer once the room is cleared.
“Adam, you need to come to the house. We need to talk.”
“Dad, I’m in the middle of stuff here. Remember, I have a job now. A very important one.”
My attitude won’t get me anywhere with him, but I’m agitated and can’t seem to reign it in.
“Now, Adam.” He hangs up.
Shit, shit, shit.
I weigh my options. Dammit, there’s no point in prolonging the inevitable. It will only make him more pissed off. So, I leave the office and drive to Dad’s Central Park office.
The executive assistant, Doris, greets me and I saunter through the corridors, taking my time to get to my father’s office. Right before I enter, I straighten up and try to look confident, because I sure as hell don’t feel it. I’m not sure what to expect, but he wouldn’t take time out of his day to invite me over for a friendly chat.
“Sit down,” Wilhelm orders.
“Nice to see you too, Dad,” I quip before following the instruction and sinking into a plush chair across from his desk.
He stares at me over his fisted hands. “One week, son. That’s all it took.”
“For what?”
“For you to fuck it up.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This,” he tosses a gossip magazine down on the desk. “This is what I’m talking about.”
I stare down at the cover. It shows a picture of Anna and I bumping and grinding at the club opening last weekend, and mentions her full name as well as the details about her famed parents.
“Jeez, Dad. How many of these mailing lists are you on?”
Apparently my dad gets more tabloid trash than any beauty salon on the planet.
It really is scandalous how much paper he is wasting with all these subscriptions when the same rancid content is posted all over the internet. Not that I was going to be the one to point that out to him. Heaven knows I don’t need him getting the information even faster than he already manages.
“Dad, it’s not a big deal,” I say, shoving the magazine back to him. “We were dancing, so what? The only reason I was even at that club was because of Trendsetter. We were invited to do a feature on the club’s re-launch. It gave the magazine a ton of free publicity to the exact demographic that we need to reach.”
Wilhelm stops and considers me. I know what he’s doing. He’s running his own internal bullshit meter over me to see what turns up. “And the girl?”
“What about her?”
“Who is she?” He asks.
I shrug. It’s time to lie. “No one. I met her at the party.”
My father slams his hand down on the desk. “That’s bullshit, son! Why do you insist on lying to me?”
Shit, this is not going to end well.
Wilhelm stands and turns his back to me, looking out the expansive windows of his office that give a view of almost all of Manhattan.
“Sorry, Dad. Force of habit. I’m sorry. Her name is Anna Nash. We just hired her to do social media work for Trendsetter. I took her to the party on business, and we got a little carried away. That’s all, okay?”
He spun around and put both fists on the table, leaning over me. “No, son. It’s not okay. Do you have any idea what would happen if she sues you for sexual harassment? I know you don’t give a shit about the state of my businesses, but you should be smart enough to know that Trendsetter can’t handle a huge payout as a result of a lawsuit. And it’s not just that. Think about the reputation a woman’s magazine would have, when it comes out that the recently instated CEO is some kind of lecher.”
My veins turn icy cold at the title. “What the hell, Dad? That’s carrying it a little far, don’t you think? I didn’t force her to do anything. Never have, never will.”
Dad groans and runs his hands through his salt and pepper hair. “Do you really think that matters, son? Really? If this girl sues for sexual harassment in the workplace, it will be a media shit storm and the gossip columns won’t flinch at throwing a title like that at you. Sure, that’s not who you are, but that never stopped them before. It is not the reputation I will tolerate for anyone running any of my businesses, including you.”
The picture he paints has more bark than bite. I shake it away easily. I doubt Anna would do something like that. Besides, we didn’t even have sex! Although, if Kelly didn’t catch us, that was certainly where things were headed.
“It’s not going to go there,” I insist. “Anna and I were just having some fun. Blowing off some Friday night steam.”
“You think that now, but what happens when your little girlfriend realizes the kind of payout she could get shopping the story or filing suit? She’d be rich beyond her wildest dreams and your career and social status would be over. Just like that,” he emphasizes his point with a loud snap of his fingers.
“What do you want me to do? Fire her?” I ask. I grit my teeth against the very idea, but if it comes down to my trust fund and Anna's job, I knew which choice I would have to make.
“No! For heaven’s sake, son. Use your head. If you fire her now, that would pretty much guarantee a lawsuit. No, you have to keep her on staff, you have to keep her happy, and you can’t even give a hint of treating her any differently.”
“All right, Dad. Message received.” I stand, ready to run as soon as I’m sure there won’t be repercussions from the slip.
“It better be. I won’t tolerate this, Adam. I said I would give you a year, but so help me,” he pauses. “I still hold the power here. I can shut this thing down at any time and your trust can be shut down just as quickly. Where would you be, then?”
I don’t even acknowledge his last statement before turning to leave his office. I hurry through the corridors and only seem to exhale again once in the safety of my Maserati.
The conversation with Anna is still fresh in my mind. That, coupled with the new insight from my father, should be enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.
Should be.
As I drive back downtown, the only thing I can think about is the taste of Anna’s skin.
“One and a half billion, Adam. One and a half billion,” I recite to myself.
Chapter 12
Adam
On my way back to the office, I get a text from Anna. It’s only a little before five in the evening, and she’s at home in a panic—and it’s Monday. She just found out about the pictures of us in the club and was too humiliated to stay late at the office. Somehow, without much thought or effort, I drive over to Anna’s building. I reply and tell her to have her doorman let me up so we can talk about it. She says okay and I hand my car keys to the doorman to find a valet so I can get up to talk to her.
She let me in. I can’t believe
she’s in tears over this.
“My career is over before it even started!” she spurts out between sobs, walking back to her sofa, although she doesn’t sit.
“Don’t cry,” I tell her, hating to see the tears she’s not even trying to hold back. I wipe some away with my thumb and then lean forward and the kiss the ones that follow, tracing it from her cheek, past her nose and to the corner of her lips.
“My parents are going to disown me for this. These articles all mention their name, and make me sound like the wayward slut of a daughter. They’re bound to find out. This is their reputation too.”
She shudders in my arms and her fingers cling harder to my shirt, clutching as if I’m a life raft and she’s drowning. A part of me feels sorry for her, but another part isn’t able to empathize. I’ve never cared enough about anything, never been responsible for anything enough to take something so minor this seriously.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell her for the hundredth time. I pull her tighter against my chest. My nose is in her hair, the fragrance of vanilla and something else stirring my senses. I wonder what the rest of her smells like.
“Shhh, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out,” I assure her.
Deep down, I have no idea how I’ll manage that task. She has to figure out dealing with her parents, and I have to work out being close to this woman without risking my inheritance. I stroke a hand through her hair, and sink my fingers through the strands, pulling, forcing her head back until she looks up at me.
“You’re going to be okay,” I tell her.
The moment I say the words, I know it’s a mistake. Not a mistake about her being okay. A mistake to be this close. Dad made it abundantly clear that she was hands off. Even Anna herself told me to keep away.
Except now. Right now. There was something else in her eyes. Desire.
Looking into her beautiful green eyes swollen from weeping is my undoing. Her lips look so soft, tender and edible. They draw me to them, but still I hesitate. I won’t be rejected again. I shouldn’t even be here, touching this woman. I swore I would let this girl slip by. I can just fuck the girls where things aren’t complicated. I don’t have to beg for it. I tell myself she has to ask me. She should beg me for it.
But, holy shit, those eyes.
Sensing my hesitation, and probably knowing one of the reasons behind it, she says one word. “Please.” The she strokes her fingers through my hair.
What the fuck?
Just like that, huh?
“Are you sure?” I ask. I need the confirmation. I refuse to touch her until I’m sure she’s sure.
She pauses her crying, but is still somber, needy, clingy. “Yes. I want you.”
Her fingers dig into my shoulders and she arches against me, pressing her hips into my groin. I harden. It’s an almost instant reaction. I harden tighter when she pulls my head down to meet her mouth. Her tongue grazes my lips, licks at the seams before I open and welcome her in.
“Please,” she moans against my mouth like she’s been possessed by a sex goddess, and then licks inside again, her tongue curling with mine.
“Please what?” I challenge her and push her back, holding her at arm’s length. My eyes never leaving hers, I walk her backward until the back of her legs touch her sofa.
She shivers. It vibrates on my chest. Our eyes stay connected. She opens her mouth then closes it, as if she’s forgotten the words she wants to say. Finally, she opens it again and says, “Please fuck me, Adam. Hard.”
I growl, a sound that comes from deep within, a primal response to the lust firing inside since the second I met her. Lowering my head, I claim her mouth again. Deeply. Urgently. No hesitation this time.
Fisting my hands in her hair, I pull down again, and am rewarded with a groan. I pull down harder and her head falls back, exposing her neck. I trace my tongue down her pulse point, feeling it throb in rhythm with her heartbeat. I sink my teeth into her shoulder, biting the right amount of hard.
“Lift your arms,” I order her.
Like an obedient child, she does what I say. In a single movement, I pull her blouse up and over her head, tossing it to the side before tracing my hands back down her arms.
“You’re so soft, so beautiful,” I say to her as her skirt falls to her feet. She’s exquisite, long and lithe, athletic and strong, but with a softness in all the right places. I unhook her bra and it falls down, exposing her incredible breasts. After touching them earlier this morning, I need to taste them. I can’t resist. I bend and nuzzle my face against their softness.
I breathe in the scent of her, wishing I knew the names of the oils she prefers so I could give them names inside my mind. Leaning down, I capture her nipple in my mouth, grazing it with my teeth. I circle her nipples with my tongue before taking one deeply into my mouth. I suck deeply, rhythmically, pulling until she moans again. I scrape the sensitive flesh with my teeth and she gasps. I lick away the pain, savoring her.
“I love how you taste…how you smell.”
I really do. She’s perfect and I feel caught up in her sensuous spell. I’m damned worried I’ll fuck this situation up, but for now all I can think about is I need to be gentle but strong, need to give and receive. Hell, I’ve got to stop thinking and just feel. My body knows what to do.
“I need you inside me.”
She pulls my arms, urging me down on the sofa with her now that her need is as great as mine. She wants me.
Has all our fighting simply been foreplay?
“Sweetheart, I will be inside of you,” I say, as I follow her down and settle between her legs. I whisper to her, “My tongue will be inside you. My fingers will be inside you.”
I lean down to kiss her again, pulling her bottom lip between my teeth. I let it go, and look down at her again. Thrusting my erection against her thigh, I finish, “My cock will be deep inside you. In exactly that order.”
“Yes… please.” Her voice is breathless, halting. She’s squirming beneath me, her fingers in my hair, pulling and tugging. She presses into me, needing pressure. I lift my knee and press it between her legs, fulfilling her silent request.
I kiss her again, taking my time, making sure I go nice and slow. I lick down her neck and recapture her breasts before trailing down her belly, dipping my tongue into her naval.
When I’m kneeling before her, I take her in, my fingers trailing up and down her thighs. She’s wearing panties, a shear bit of lace that’s already soaked through.
“You’re so wet,” I say and trail my finger up the center of the cloth. She arches and moans. Mmmm, so sensitive. I push the fabric aside and get my first glimpse of those glorious pink lips. The urge to lick and suck them is too great. I settle between her and dip my tongue into her nectar.
She arches against me again, pushing into my face and I give her what she wants and needs. I lick up her folds and deep inside her, tasting her sinful juices. Going back for more.
I love this, going down on a woman gives me ultimate control. I love the taste, the smell, the softness. More than anything, I love driving them wild.
Anna bucks and her hands are in my hair and she’s grinding her sweet pussy into my face. I capture her clit with my teeth and she cries out. I suck… soft, then hard, taking my time with that sensitive bundle of nerves.
I feel her body tightening, her breathing changes. I smile against her pussy, knowing she’s close to the edge. I lift my head, backing her away.
“No,” she cries, a lost sound deep in her throat. “Please.”
“Please what, Anna?” I say, my tongue trailing up her folds. I pull her panties down her thighs and bring them to my nose. Her eyes dilate as I inhale. “Please what?” I repeat.
“Please.” She swallows and her hips arch as if by their own accord. “Make me come.”
I growl and lift her thighs, spreading her wider before me. I push her knees toward her chest and watch her pussy lips blossom in front of me. I dive, tongue and fingers thrusting, grazing, touching, needing t
o drive her wild. One finger, then two are inside her while I tease her clit in my mouth.
“Yes,” she cries out as I thrust into her, curling my fingers to find the rough spot just inside her. Her body jolts, as if struck with bolts of electricity. I stroke and pound into that spot. She cries out again and her body tightens. Her pussy bears down on my fingers, pulsing around them as she comes, her cries turning into strangled gasps.
I don’t give her time to settle, but push my tongue inside her again. In and out, I finger-fuck her before circling her opening, around and around, sliding my tongue down past her opening to her ass. She gasps and tries to pull away. I hold her thighs tighter and dip my head lower, enjoying all of her.
“God,” she cries out as I rim her and trail my tongue back up to her center. We’ll need to explore that more another day.
The angle of the sofa is awkward, so I pull her to the carpet, then stand to discard the rest of my clothes. I find my wallet and pull out a condom, but before I can roll it on, she’s on her knees, her hand outstretched.
“Let me.”
Taking the packet in one hand, she takes my cock in the other, her soft hand wrapping around the base. Her fingers can’t close all the way around it, and I have a moment of pride when she looks up at me, clearly impressed.
She touches her tongue to the tip, licking away a drop of pre-cum that’s gathered there. Opening her mouth, she takes more of me inside, making it nearly half-way up my length. She gags—we’ll have to work on that—before pulling away and trying again. This time she gets a little bit farther. She pulls back and then licks down my length, finishing with her tongue swirling around my balls.
As good as this feels, I need to be inside her. I retrieve the condom packet in her hand. She leans back and watches me roll it on and lies back on the carpet again. I fall to my knees and nudge her soaking wet entrance. I hesitate, just at the gates of paradise. I wait… and wait.
She looks up at me and raises a hand to my cheek. She strokes a thumb across my lower lip and utters, “Please.”
The Billionaire's Seduction Page 16