by Ace Gray
I wanted to push up off his chest and stomp away. It was brilliant. And I was pissed it wasn’t mine to run with.
“I was getting close to making an offer when I met you at the auction. I kept hoping I’d run into you at some event so I could gauge what kind of a woman I was dealing with.” His brow crinkled. “Immediately, I wanted you and became unsure about Vesper. I was going to tell you when I made up my mind. I was so confused.”
He was quiet, completely unused to answering for his actions. I could relate. He clenched his jaw as his eyes shifted from me.
“If you hadn’t decided, why were your employees looking into Vesper in such a…ah…detailed manner?” Fingers crossed he would stay candid with me, even if I didn’t want to hear the answer.
“I never asked her to do it. Every other piece of information we had on you, or Vesper, was from legitimate sources like Manhattan Financial. Mostly it was a hunch that I liked the company and thought I could take it to the next level. Ally sat in on one meeting because I needed her input on systems integration as it pertains to new acquisitions.”
His demeanor changed again. “She went off her fucking hinges all on her own. We’re still trying to figure out everything she did. Jaime questioned her before she left; she did it to gain my attention. She thought if she helped acquire Vesper, I would fall madly in love with her. I don’t usually date, I’ve told you that. She thought this would be her golden ticket.”
Physical pain crossed his face.
“Kate, the amount of information she had… once we looked through everything…” He breathed deep and shifted a hand to cover his eyes. “There was in-depth information on Vesper and your development plans. She even got ahold of significant personal details.”
He was so upset he shook under my fingertips. I was livid, but not at him.
“How?”
His relief at my contained reaction was palpable. His hand shifted to my face; nothing but fierce determination flashed through his steely eyes.
“I don’t know. That’s what bothers me most. There’s detailed documents, full dossiers on everyone in your life, photographs that the Post would kill for. I hate to ask, but Laura would never do any of this, right?”
He held both sides of my face as my anger flared.
“How dare you ask about Laura.” I steamed and scrambled to bat his hands away.
“I just asked. Anyone else have access to personal files and tech information?” He got defensive.
“Nicholas, I already know someone from my company was in on it and we’re investigating. They’ve eluded me so far, but I’m a good judge of character. I knew you were trouble the moment I met you.” He was getting me riled up. “I’ll figure out who is responsible, and they’ll pay for it.”
“You will be careful. I got a good look at the information she had, and it’s not bullshit. She had a whole profile on you and where you’re going, the info on your tech desires, should you be able to make the chips smaller.”
“You saw all that!” I jumped up. “Fuck, Bryant. You of all people shouldn’t see that information. You’ll know exactly how to steal it away.” I pounded my fist into a nearby couch cushion.
He stood up and wrapped his arms around me. He had me thoroughly pinned and my full attention.
“Kate, I can’t steal Vesper. And I swear to God, I’ll never make an offer on it. Ever.” His tone had me arching away, eyeing him skeptically. “Don’t get me wrong, I want your company, but I need you. You are more important. I rarely make mistakes, but when I do, I learn from them.”
For some unknown reason, I trusted him.
“As a matter of fact, I took the liberty of setting up a meeting tomorrow with my top two developers. I want to discuss a partnership of sorts.” His hands left my body and he held them up defenseless. “Not ownership. Partnership.”
“What?” I went straight past relief to the edge of excitement.
“Look, I’m sorry I reviewed it. I tried not to.”
I put my hands to my hips and he scrambled to continue.
“I missed you, desperately, and it was a way to feel close when you wouldn’t take my calls.” He was apologizing with everything he had. “Sweets, if it’s all true, it’s brilliant, and I want in.”
Whoa.
He held his breath. I did too. This was the best business opportunity I’d been given in years. It was also the biggest personal risk I could fathom. I ran the scenarios for a moment but could only come to one conclusion: take it for what it is.
It was the offer I’d wanted before we’d ever met. I was flattered he liked my company and my product.
No, thinks I’m brilliant!
We’d established compliments from him were rare. Partnerships were even more so.
“Well, it sounds like we’ll have a bit to discuss tomorrow. Your office or mine? What should I have prepared?” I asked as I smiled at him and wiggled my arms around his waist.
“Thank God.” He kissed me slowly then pressed his forehead to mine. “My office. Nothing formal.”
His hands shifted to my face as he began to kiss me. I let my hands wander down his backside, feeling firm muscles under soft sweats. He coaxed my mouth open and began exploring me with his sweet tongue. My hands wandered back up and across his naked skin. The passion increased and I scraped my fingernails down his back. He groaned into my mouth.
There was a ragged quality to our breathing and movements. My legs shuffled restlessly against his as I tried to get closer. He read my mind and hitched one leg up to his hip. I shifted my arms from his back to his neck to keep my balance. I caught his lip with my teeth and pulled gently. When I let go he returned his tongue to mine and lifted my other leg, holding me off the ground. He pressed me gently up against the wall and kissed my neck and collar bone. I leaned my head back against the wall and opened my neck up for him. His hips began a familiar roll against mine and the gentle rub made my toes curl.
The slow, delectable rhythm created enough friction to turn me on and raise my nipples. I had wanted something ferocious, but this languid, luscious rhythm was something far more intimate. I relished each kiss and the new, wonderful feel of making up with Nicholas Bryant. My skin was on fire, consumed with tingling electricity; my body absolutely lost to him.
This. Is. Heaven.
I don’t know how long we stayed against the wall. We only moved when my lips burned; Nicholas strode down the hallway and suddenly a bed was beneath me. He peeled off my shirt and proceeded to kiss every inch of my overly sensitive skin. I moaned and arched my back. My nipples brushed against his wanting lips.
My mind went blank, and I became the best kind of wreck long before he pressed into me. The full feeling of him inside me amplified our connection and sent me to a level I didn’t know I could reach. Over and over and over. I was sure sex with him couldn’t possibly get any better—my body couldn’t be wound tighter—but then he’d find a way to nudge me just a bit closer to ecstasy. I was going to damn near die when I came.
The whole thing was foggy, except for the unhinged and satiated feeling. Our arms and legs tangled tightly together in a hot sticky mess. I screamed loud as sweat dripped from his brow onto my lip. When they came, I couldn’t breathe between the waves that wracked my body. I clenched onto him, and he came hard and fast inside me. He kept thrusting, forcing cum to drip down my thigh.
Nicholas collapsed, drained, on top of me then everything went dark.
20.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” Nicholas spoke from the chair next to the bed as rosy light filled the guest room. It felt right waking up at One Madison even if it wasn’t in the master bedroom.
“If that’s true why aren’t you here next to me?” I gave him a mischievous wink.
“I was trying to justify keeping you to myself.”
Thoughtful lines filled his face and my breath caught. If the thought of Vesper slipping through my fingers had been scary then the idea that Nicholas may change his mind qualifi
ed as terrifying.
“And?” My voice shook.
“No, Sweets.” He came to my side. “I meant it last night when I said I was too selfish to let you go. I feel guilty. My selfishness will get you hurt. I was watching you, searching for a reason besides desperate want to justify being together.”
His voice was dark to match his overwhelmingly gray eyes. He really was stuck on this. I pushed him onto his back and straddled him.
“Isn’t this a good enough one?” I gestured between us.
“As a matter of fact, you naked on top of me is a pretty good reason.”
His hands reached for my hips and my pulse soared. Instead of continuing the game he rolled me to my back and kissed my forehead.
“I’m sorry, Sweets. I have a meeting this morning that I refuse to be late for. I’m afraid you do too.”
I made a show of sticking out my bottom lip and pouting. “I have a feeling your meeting wouldn’t mind if you’re late.”
He shook his head as he stood and pushed the chair back to where it normally sat.
“You might not, but I have my two biggest developers coming in. They have a very demanding boss who doesn’t appreciate when their time is wasted.”
I straightened in bed. “Well I have to get home and get ready, then. I hate to ask, but can I use your car service?”
I was trying to find my underwear when he held them up in the crook of his finger.
“First, you should never hesitate to ask for anything. Second, I’ll call Jaime right away if you insist, but I have a few gifts I’d like to give you first. Come upstairs?”
I snatched my thong from him then twirled it as I walked past him and up the now familiar staircase to the master bedroom. He followed after I’d sauntered part way up, taking the steps two at a time. He went straight to the closet and pulled out a garment bag.
“Was I that much of a foregone conclusion?” I was only half joking.
“I told you I couldn’t think of anything else over the past two weeks. I saw this and imagined the way your body would look in it.”
Inside was a flawless, white cashmere dress. The Alexander McQueen would fit tightly through the body and hit mid calf with a scandalous slit up the back. The neck was wide and low with the hint of a sweetheart line. What really stood out were the sleeves; they were tight until just below my elbows where they plumed out in an almost baroque fashion.
“Nicholas, it’s gorgeous!”
He slid a McQueen shoebox toward me. I popped the lid off mid-slide.
Holy shit!
“I’ve tried to track down a pair of these for a year or so now. They’re too much.” The filigree-heeled boots inside were collection-only couture pieces.
“Nothing is too much for you. Will you wear them today? I’d like it very much if you got ready here.”
“I don’t have a bra or underwear.” I arched an eyebrow. “I suppose I could go without.”
“Ah, yes. About that. As tempting as that sounds,” he bit his lip as he pulled out one more bag. “These are more for me.”
The strappy lace bra and thong he held up had golden filigree that matched the boots. I nodded, excited, as I took them into the bathroom. He dressed quickly, came in to kiss my shoulder, and then strolled out of the room. I went about my morning routine feeling perfectly at home in the sprawling master bath. I was applying the finishing touches of mascara in nothing but the Agent Provocateur when his gravelly voice startled me from the doorframe.
“I will get absolutely nothing done today imagining you like this. If our meeting wasn’t important I’d bend you over that countertop and fuck you.” I couldn’t help but blush. “And damn it, that doesn’t help.”
He came up behind me and rubbed his hands up and down my legs. I shuddered at his touch and the whisper of soft fabric behind me. He pulled me up against his hard cock. I loved that I did that to him.
“Think of me like this,” he purred just before walking away.
I wanted to smack him for distracting me, but he disappeared before I could lunge after him. Now I had no choice but to fantasize as we conducted business.
In the elevator I looked up from my coffee to find Bryant unabashedly studying every inch of my body. I lost my previous train of thought and my heart started pounding. He casually leaned into the wall and used his index finger and thumb to rub his chin. I could feel my nipples tighten against my new clothes. I was about to beg him to touch me when he pushed up from the wall. I let out a sigh of relief, grateful he’d read my mind. At the last moment, when he was almost up against my body, he turned. With impeccable timing the elevator dinged and he strode out the door.
I had to drag my frustrated body out after him. I was in trouble if this was how our meeting was going to go. I wanted him to take me seriously, and I couldn’t keep my wits about me while playing these games. As I click-clacked across the lobby, I shifted my coat onto my shoulders, hoping it would act as a buffer from his touch.
“You will stay close to Jaime and me on the sidewalk. Do you understand?”
I only had time to murmur an incomplete “Wha…” before the door opened and paparazzi clamored around us. I stayed close but only because of the madness.
Once inside the car Bryant immediately got on the phone. My brow creased while he barked orders. He noticed my frustration and gently started to trace circles on my inner thigh. Each one made me slightly more crazy. Then he tucked under the fabric of my skirt. I had to stop him or soon I wouldn’t be able to function.
I went to brush his hand away, and instead of moving, he squeezed hard on my thigh. He didn’t pause, nor did he turn to look at me, but I got the message. He would stop when he damn well wanted to. This was super huge, gigantic trouble.
We got out at Bryant’s building and he yanked me close as we went upstairs. He stayed on the phone the whole time but made a point to keep shooting me looks from under his eyelashes that threw me off balance. I would have enjoyed the anticipation if it weren’t for the meeting looming over us.
It was 8:30 and I was getting antsy. I wanted my BlackBerry. Now that I wasn’t dodging anyone I felt naked without my contacts, schedules, and emails. I’d been stupid to get rid of it in the first place. I automatically frowned.
“Everything OK?”
I hadn’t realized Nicholas had wrapped his phone call. He was still gruff from whatever conversation had transpired.
“Yes, Bryant, I just realized I don’t have a BlackBerry.”
“Kate, I’ve asked you a million times not to call me Bryant.” His words had bite.
“I know, I’m sorry. I forget because I like it. It’s strong and sexy and powerful, like you.”
His brow furrowed, and I couldn’t tell whether he was angry as he rounded his desk. He stood in front of me, his eyes searching mine.
“Sweets.” He smiled as he bent to kiss me tenderly. “So very few people are allowed to call me Nicholas that I love hearing it roll off your tongue. But I’ll try not to mind if you call me Bryant, either.” He returned to his desk.
Before thinking I asked, “How do you feel about Nick?” I half expected him to growl; it seemed far too casual for such a powerful man.
Instead he laughed. “If it makes you happy, then why the hell not? You’d be the only one allowed to.”
He sat down and his eyes shifted when he reviewed the next stack of papers on his desk. Gray swirled as he reluctantly pushed them toward me.
“This is what we’ve been able to find in Ally’s personal files about you and Vesper.”
My eyes had to match his as I reached for the papers.
“Thank you,” I replied as I glanced over the first page.
He didn’t say anything in response, nor had he been kidding. This was in-depth, personal, and completely confidential. As I read on, my stomach heaved. There was information on my company, our designs, plans, my high school, college, athletic achievements, ex-boyfriends, and even the history of Vesper—complete with the facts abou
t my parents.
When I finished, I threw the papers back at Bryant’s desk and stood. I had to move. I went to pace, but my body couldn’t support my weight. My knees buckled and I grabbed the back of the chair at the same time Nick caught me.
“Are you OK?”
I leaned my head into his shoulder and shook it. “How could someone find all that? I…I…thought we stopped her before she found anything.” I could barely swallow.
“I don’t know. I hired additional security to find out. They’re working on it.”
“Working on it? As in this is still an issue? Should I be worried?”
“Trust me.” His voice was icy, but his firm grasp told me he wasn’t irritated with me. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I nodded, because—well—what else could I do?
“The boys will be here shortly. If you need a moment you can sneak into my private bath.”
He kissed up my neck and nibbled on my ear; I was able to let a little tension go. I walked into his bathroom and splashed water on my clammy skin. As I dried my cheeks I made up my mind to trust Bryant. It was unnerving to have someone besides Laura know everything—particularly because I hadn’t chosen to share, and I knew so little about him—but I honestly didn’t think he’d take advantage of the situation.
“Better?” He was speaking from behind a Wall Street Journal when I reappeared.
“Yes.” I let out a deep breath. “I decided to take your word for it. I’ll trust you.”
He set the paper down to reveal his crystal clear eyes. Those eyes pulled at my soul each and every time I saw them. So honest, innocent, and completely at odds with everything else about him. They had me weak-kneed and short of breath. I searched every inch of his face and blushed. The room started to hum with electricity and my hands unwittingly moved to the zipper at my back. He stood and began to loosen his tie.