Entice

by S. Layne

  “Oh God!” I shout. Tears drip from my eyes from the intensity and the mixture of pain and pleasure.

  “Let go,” he growls and his hips press me forward until my toes are off the floor and back again. “Dammit, Laurie.”

  I scream, my body clenches and pulses around him, and I feel him finally seat himself balls-deep inside me.

  He collapses over me, letting go of my wrists, but they’re still pinned between his stomach and my back. His ab muscles constrict and relax with sudden, quick pants, and his lips fall to the back of my neck.

  “So fucking beautiful.” He murmurs it over and over again, peppering my skin with quick, light kisses until his breathing returns to normal.

  When he finally pulls away, my entire body aches, and I cringe as he leaves my body.

  His warm hand presses against my lower back. “I’ll be right back.”

  I plan on staying right where I am. Forever.

  I can no longer move from the harsh treatment he’s just put me through.

  When he returns, I hear the familiar chuckle that seems sad and happy at the same time. “I didn’t mean you had to stay still.”

  “Can’t move,” I mutter into the sheets crinkled by my lips. “Sore.”

  “Shit.” He grips my hips and rolls me over. His eyes begin scanning my body fervently and tenderly. “Did I hurt you?”

  I shake my head. “Feels good.”

  His lips fall to my shoulder and down in between my breasts. “Can you talk in sentences?”

  “Not yet.”

  Another chuckle. Another flutter in my belly. It’s all I can recognize as he begins massaging my wrists and arms, loosening them from the previous tight hold.

  “I’m good,” I finally say when he’s wiped me clean and brought blood flowing back into my arms.

  “Come on, wild one. Let’s get you to bed.”

  I nod and allow him to pull down the sheets, and I crawl underneath them. I should wash my face and brush my teeth but I’m too tired, too worn out.

  I’m almost asleep, drowsiness pulling me under, when he climbs in behind me.

  “Staying?” I ask, my voice a hoarse whisper.

  “Until morning.”

  He doesn’t say it, but then the fantasy ends.

  In my dreary state, he wraps his arm over my waist and pulls me against him. I can’t help but say, “Thank you for thinking I’m beautiful.”

  “Don’t ever doubt it.”

  Sleep takes me as he presses his lips against the crook of my neck. The last thing I remember thinking, wondering, is if I’ll see him when I wake, or if he’ll already be gone.

  A stranger. A man who gave me what I needed when I needed it, only to become a memory.

  My eyes open as light begins breaking through my open blinds.

  I stretch my legs, cringing as the muscles ache. I can’t help but smile, thinking of how that came to be, when the warmth from the one who put them there slides over me.

  “Good morning.” Liam smiles and his hands move to each side of my shoulder. “How do you feel?”

  Amazing. Sated. Needy. My hips shift, giving him my answer.

  “My greedy wild one,” he murmurs, and his lips fall to mine.

  I duck, turning my head away from him until I can brush my teeth, but I don’t get far.

  “Don’t hide from me. Not on our last morning together.”

  I close my eyes and push the thought away.

  A part of me never wants to return to Denton. It means facing too many obstacles, and being with Liam hasn’t made anything easier.

  “Take me,” I whisper as his lips brush against mine. I open and allow him to taste me. Our kiss is slow, sweet, and everything you would expect from a lover. But that’s not what Liam is. It’s what he can never be by his own declarations and mine. I pull back and wait for his eyes to open. “Let me touch you today.”

  My eyes roam his naked chest and they move to his biceps before he can say no. “Please.”

  He nods and begins pushing the covers off of me. I relish the moment with tears fighting to fill my eyes as my fingers trace his muscles. He lets me, but I feel him tighten and tense under my soft touch and I know somehow this is difficult for him.

  Like he’s letting me in even though he doesn’t want to.

  I don’t want him to either.

  It will make our goodbye that much more painful.

  “Liam,” I whisper as his fingers brush against me.

  He smiles. “Already wet?”

  “Always.” For you. I’ve never been like this for James. Maybe in the beginning, but it’s been so long since I’ve been swept up with lust that I can’t remember.

  His fingers brush against my damp center before I feel him unclasp my garters I slept in.

  “This can’t be comfortable.”

  I laugh softly. It’s really not. “Someone wore me out last night before I could change.”

  “That’s okay.” He drops a kiss to my thigh and my head falls back. “I very much like undressing you.”

  The statement is funny. He hasn’t undressed me yet. Simply ordered me to. Regardless, I lie in the bed, squirming as he begins to tease my skin with his featherweight brushes and warm kisses as he removes my garter and stockings.

  “This stays on, though,” he says, playing with the edge of the lace babydoll. His eyes drop to my center and he licks his lips. “God…Laurie…”

  His voice trails off and his head dips to my core where he licks, one long swipe along my heated labia. I moan instantly, sinking into the sheets beneath me.

  “So fucking good,” he murmurs. His fingers begin helping, pressing against my clit, pinching it as his tongue continues to lave my sex.

  He fucks me with his tongue while my hips grind against his face. My wetness spreads everywhere and I can hear his fingers growing slick with my own moisture as I shamelessly screw his face.

  My hands clamp down on his hair and I open my thighs, spreading wider for him, until everything tenses.

  My thighs clamp down around him and I push my cunt into his face while I scream his name, holding him against me.

  “Damn,” I breathe, and my hands cover my face. “You’re good at this.”

  His low rumbling laugh tickles my stomach as he moves toward me.

  “I know.” He smirks when he pulls my hand away. “Now it’s my turn.”

  And he’s not kidding.

  Two orgasms upon waking up and I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to stay awake the rest of the day.

  By the time Liam has successfully given me another orgasm in the bed, and then in the shower, I feel like I could go back to sleep for weeks.

  Hibernate for a long season.

  I’m wrapped in a robe, leaning against the bathroom’s doorway and enjoying watching Liam redress in his suit from last night, when my phone dings on the nightstand close to him.

  It grabs his attention and he looks.

  I frown when I see his shoulders tighten before he turns to me.

  Silently, I keep my eyes on him and reach for my phone.

  I miss you and I love you.

  Please come home to me.

  ~J

  “The husband?”

  I stare at the message and notice my hand is shaking slightly. My skin cools and I close my eyes. The reality of my recklessness begins to crash down on me.

  What will James say?

  If there was any hope in reconciliation before, have I ruined it now?

  I push the thought down and toss the phone to the bed.

  “Laurie?”

  My eyes snap to Liam’s. They’re heavy with concern and I shake my head.

  “Yeah, the husband.”

  He swallows. I watch his Adam’s apple dip with the movement and my hands press into fists. He’s no longer mine to touch anymore.

  “God.” I wipe my forehead with my fingers. “I should probably just say thank you, huh?”

  “Not if you don’t mean it.” His hand
cups my cheek and I’m pulled forward until Liam’s lips press against mine.

  It’s quick, barely more than a peck, but even the small movement has my toes tingling.

  “I do mean it,” I tell him when he lets me go.

  His suit coat is draped over one arm and he looks absolutely delectable dressed in a suit I had a part in wrinkling. I smirk.

  “It was nice meeting you.”

  Liam throws his head back and laughs. “Thank you for the extra night.”

  Embarrassment floods my cheeks at the awkwardness. How do you say goodbye to a one-night stand you never plan on seeing again?

  Liam must sense my hesitation because he steps away from me, heading toward the door. “Busy day today?”

  I nod and run my fingers through my damp hair. “Yeah, brunch with my boss in an hour and then another day of conference meetings.”

  His shoulders tighten. It’s minuscule, but I notice and my eyebrows pull together.

  “That okay?”

  Liam clears his throat and looks away. “Sounds like fun.”

  Right. Not anymore if I can’t concentrate.

  I brush off the sudden unease. “Meetings, notes. More meetings and notes. I wouldn’t call it fun.”

  Awkward, thick tension slowly builds between us. I rock back and forth on my feet, and my fingers tangle with the knot of my robe’s belt when Liam takes a quick step toward me.

  “Thank you,” he mutters, and grasps my cheeks in his palms. “Don’t regret this week. I don’t.”

  “I won’t.” It’s a lie. I will, although I don’t want to.

  But he silences me with another quick kiss, and when he pulls back, I’m breathless and hot all over again.

  My hand reaches out and grabs his shirt.

  “Liam.”

  I blink and let go. He’s no longer mine.

  His smile is sad when I take a step toward the door and open it.

  “See you, Laurie.”

  I nod and look away. I won’t see him again and I won’t lie.

  “Goodbye, Liam.”

  Without another word or touch, Liam walks out of my hotel room. I stand in the open doorway for several moments catching my breath, feeling unsettled.

  I had rough sex with a sexy man three months after my husband had an affair.

  I shouldn’t feel as guilty as I do, but by the time I close the door, the full weight of my choices begins pressing down on me and I know, somehow, Liam Parker isn’t going to go away as easily as I originally thought.

  I step into the hotel’s main restaurant and my eyes find the table where Liam and I sat just two nights ago. My hands immediately feel cold and clammy and I press my palms together to relieve the instant ache I feel inside my chest.

  I miss him already.

  And I don’t even know him. But my body remembers him and my tenderly sore muscles move stiffly through the restaurant while I search for Anne.

  She’s not hard to spot when I am finally able to pull my eyes off the spot where my affair with Liam began.

  Anne’s fiery red hair is pulled into an elegant chignon at the back of her head. I recognize her hair and her perfectly straight posture before I see her face.

  She faces away from me, sitting at a table for four, and has paperwork spread in front of her.

  As I approach, I smile as I watch her quickly scanning documents, initialing in spots, signing in others. She’s efficient and prompt and has become more than a boss in the last few years.

  Knowing she’s here for me, even if I can never divulge what I’ve been up to this week on the company’s dime¸ still allows me to breathe easily for the first time in days.

  “Good morning.” I smile when I catch her attention and then lean down and kiss her cheek. “How are you?”

  She closes the folder holding her paperwork. It’s a contract that I catch just a glimpse of before it snaps shut and she pushes it away.

  “Great.” She smiles and reaches for her coffee. “I ordered an omelet for you.”

  I take a seat across from her and fill my own cup of coffee with the carafe on the table. “Thank you. It’s like you know me.”

  “Countless brunches over the last five years and the only thing you’ve ordered is a southwestern omelet. I couldn’t imagine I’d guess wrong this time.”

  I laugh quietly and add cream to my cup. “You’re the best.”

  “So are you.” I scan the restaurant while Anne and I fall into an easy silence. She’s twenty years older than me, but her peaches-and-cream flawless skin makes her appear younger than she is. “Tell me about the conference yesterday.”

  I begin telling her about some of the meetings, new marketing tactics that have been working for similar companies and products, and am just finishing up when our food is delivered. In truth, there isn’t much to tell because I was so unfocused, and by my fumbling and disjointed sentences, Anne senses it.

  “You’re distracted,” she says, a forkful of eggs hovering in front of her.

  I look at my plate and sigh. Running a hand through my hair and pushing it back, I shake my head. “Just a lot on my mind.”

  “James?”

  I nod and then shrug. “Yes. No. I’m not sure,” I finally admit. In truth, very little of my distraction has to do with James. Most of my thoughts have been consumed by a six-foot something slightly British-accented rough-sexed man who I still feel on my skin despite the shower.

  “Hey.” Anne’s voice is soft and full of worry.

  I pull my eyes to hers and instantly regret the move. I see pity written all over her for me and my hand tightens around the handle of my knife. She knows everything, yet I still hate the look.

  “You’ll figure this out, okay? And no matter what happens, I’m always here for you. I may be your boss, but I’m your friend and you know that, right?”

  Her eyes are no longer looking directly into mine, and the way her voice thickens at the end makes me pause.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, my eyebrows pulling together.

  She licks her lips and sits back in her chair.

  Instantly, my stomach flips. I’m no longer hungry. Anne has never been secretive in the past, but over the last few weeks I’ve sensed she’s been hiding something from me—something I know as she fidgets with her silverware, straightening it on her plate and not looking at me—I’m not going to like.

  “Anne…”

  “I’m selling the company.”

  I gasp and my lips part; my eyes fly open wide. “What?”

  All thoughts of breakfast are gone. No way can I eat now, not with this bomb being dropped in my lap.

  “I’m sorry, and I want you to know your job is secure. I wrote it into the contract for the new CEO, so I don’t want you to worry.”

  “Worry?” I hiss, leaning forward. “Why? How?” I shake my head. Full thoughts can’t be formed. I was her first employee, and like she said, we’re friends. How did I have no knowledge of this? “What are you thinking?”

  She pushes aside her plate and folds her hands neatly on the table. My head is spinning with this news. I always assumed Anne and I would work together forever. And it doesn’t matter if a contract secures my position—a new owner and CEO can do anything once they walk through the doors and she walks out.

  “I’m sorry.” She apologizes again, but I’m too stunned to snap at her.

  Anger and betrayal begin pulsing in my veins and my blood heats. I suddenly feel too confined in the booth and the leather at my back begins to stick to my sweaty skin through my shirt.

  “This is…I can’t even describe what I feel right now.”

  Betrayal screams at me. Someone else I trusted has just thrown me for a loop.

  “Listen,” she says and her voice lowers. I look around and don’t see anyone we’d know or recognize, so I assume her patronizing tone is to keep me calm.

  Fuck calm.

  My teeth clamp together. I maintain my composure as best as I can.

  “I’ve
given this a lot of thought and truth is that while I’m in love with our new ParaMed Cell product, I’m simply not the one who can do it justice. I was approached a few months ago when news of our copyright hit competitors’ offices, and while I tried to put it off, I truly think this is the best thing for not only my company but for the manufacturing and marketing of the Cell.”

  I swallow, unable to speak. My hands feel like wooden blocks, and I can’t even move them to reach for the water. I sit, stunned out of my mind, in front of Anne, and I can do nothing but blink until I’ve processed everything.

  “But…what does this mean?”

  “It means I’m out, effective immediately.”

  Holy crap. “Anne!”

  “I know.” She lifts a hand. “I know this is sudden for you, and I’m sorry, but I promised my successor I’d wait until this conference to announce the takeover.”

  Quiet conversations, private meetings with her doors closed, and deliveries I wasn’t allowed to open first flash through my mind. She has been planning this behind my back for a long time.

  “Wow.” My shoulders slump and I fall back into the chair behind me as the reality washes over me. She’s leaving. “What are you going to do?”

  Her teeth scrape against her top lip before she smiles lightly. “Travel.” She shrugs as if she has no clue, but she does. She knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s had it planned. The sharp sting of betrayal hits my chest. “I’ve done what’s best for this company and my payout is enough to live easy for a long time. I plan on taking time off, something I’ve never allowed myself to do, and then I’ll figure it out.”

  Travel the world. Sounds delightful. “Congratulations,” I snap, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. “When do you leave?”

  She hesitates and takes a sip of her water. “Tomorrow.”

  “Oh my god.” I drop my face into the palms of my hands. I cannot believe this.

  Between James, a couple of nights with Liam, and now this…

  “I need to go.” I stand abruptly and reach for my bag.

  “I’m sorry, Laurie. I know this is hard, but I know you’ll continue to do a great job. Selling to Parkorp is the right decision for the Cell. I’ll be making the announcement later this afternoon along with the new owner.”