by Lola Darling
Xander moves, and then I see him, Dominic, standing in his normal spot at the head of the table. The lines of his body are severe and my hands itch to knead the tension out of him. I don’t notice who else is in the room, or even that I’m staring until Xander whispers at me to sit.
That’s when he notices me.
Dom looks straight at me, his gaze like a cold wind. The tension before was nothing to the way his body tightens now. I slip into my chair and look away, trying to stay calm.
“What the hell is she doing here?” His voice is lethally quiet, just for us to hear.
“Oh relax,” Lillian smiles. “Don’t scare off my new Executive Liaison on her first day.”
“What?”
I want to slink down in my seat and keep going until I find China.
“My Executive Liasion.” Lillian repeats. “Juliet is one of the brightest interns this hotel has ever had. She must be, or you wouldn’t have given her so much… responsibility. I had to snatch her up.”
I feel his stare, and I don’t know if it’s worse to look, or continue to study the wood grain on the table.
“Moving on.” Dom finally announces. The rest of the people in the room pay attention. “I’ve come to a decision. We’re going to handle the Prescott problem by doing exactly what we’ve been doing.”
“So, nothing?” Xander looks annoyed.
“Keeping our dignity, Xander. Something you know nothing about.” Dom stares his brother down. “There’s nothing to gain by engaging in a smear war with Prescott. We’ll continue excellent guest service and—”
“Boring.” Xander leans back in his seat and props his feet on the table. “We need to fight back. The hotel is overdue for a redesign, and new publicity. The world needs to see us as a classic luxury hotel with a modern twist. You know, spice it up.”
A low murmur fills the room. I agree, which makes me feel guilty, too. My still heart lies with Dominic, but my loyalty is to the future of The Rexford. And I won’t have a job if the hotel implodes before I get a chance to make a difference.
Dom’s jaw sets like stone. “What do you have in mind? Letting some celebrity trash the place for some spicy press?”
Xander’s face lights up. “Exactly! Front page news. Better yet, let the paparazzi catch a congressman in bed with his eighteen-year-old golf caddy. Prime publicity, right there.”
Dominic stiffens. “Exactly what I expect from you. I’m in charge, and we won’t be capitalizing on sleazy press.”
Xander slides a look to Lillian. “Actually, we’re in charge. Between Lillian and I, we have the controlling shares.”
Dom takes a step back, as if his brother had physically punched him.
Lillian clears her throat. “I agree. Not with sleazy press, of course, but with a new strategy. Juliet, what do you think?”
There’s silence. Me?
“Her opinions don’t matter,” Dom grinds out between gritted teeth.
“I disagree. The best press this hotel has had in years was from the gala event she planned. Go on, Juliet.” Lillian looks at me expectantly.
I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the anger in Dom’s eyes. “Guests have commented on the outdated décor. A redesign can be subtle but powerful. A fresh advertising campaign will target the younger, wealthy demographic we’ve been missing. There’s a way to stay true to the Rexford’s history,” I add quickly, “but make some changes for good. The point is to give the press a new story, a reason to write about us. Business as usual isn’t a good story, but a great new design will be.”
I stop, waiting for Dom’s reaction. He doesn’t move for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he gets up from his seat and simply walks out. It’s a more powerful statement than any words he could have spoken.
Xander leans over. “Don’t worry. He’ll come around.”
I nod, but I don’t believe it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A week later, and I still don’t feel like I belong here on the executive floor. Lillian found me an office and even gave me use of an assistant, but I can’t help feeling like an interloper when all the other secretaries and interns look at me like I’m way above my station.
I try to keep my head down and focus on work. Lillian put me in charge of pulling together a team for the redesign: PR people, designers, and more. I still have the details of everyone who worked the big gala event, so I hit the ground running. I even found an amazing interior designer who’s restored some of the best old buildings in the country. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on the famous Rexford, and couriered over a portfolio of ideas almost the next day. Now a draft of the grand lobby is spread across my desk, along with fabric and paint swatches. I can’t stop running my fingers over the colorful rendering of what the Rexford could be. It’s stunning.
“It’s elegant, modern, and kissed with history,” I say excitedly, out loud to myself in my empty office. I don’t care. I want to kiss the drawing, but that might be crossing a line.
“How inviting.”
My head snaps up. Xander is leaning against the door frame with a charming look on his face.
I laugh. “I know it sounds weird, but this design is sexy.”
“This I’ve got to see.” Xander strolls around to my side of the desk and surveys the plans.
I wait, nervous. “Well?”
“Well, what?” He gives me a sly grin. “Oh, were you waiting for my opinion?”
“Yes!”
“Sorry. I’m not used to people caring what I think.”
I’m tempted to roll my eyes. Xander’s whole nobody-loves-me routine is half sincere and half attention-seeking, but I’m not falling for it today. “Boo-hoo,” I smile. “Talk.”
Finally, he puts me out of my misery. “I like it. With a few tweaks, it would be the perfect new look for this place.”
“Tweaks? Like what?”
“Well…” Xander surveys the plans. ‘This braid trim is too heavy for the lobby furniture. And this shade of blue is a touch too dark for the ceiling.” He flips through the swatches. “The Rexford’s elegance is subtle. Here.” He hands me new samples, and I hold them to the drawing. He’s right.
“You’ve got a really good eye for this sort of thing,” I say, impressed.
“I’ve seen almost every luxury hotel in the world.” He winks. “Mostly on my back.” I can’t help laughing..
“Seriously, Juliet, this design is amazing. Well done. Now, you just need to run it past Dom for the go-ahead.”
He says it casually, as if there isn’t a blood feud going on between Dominic and me. I’ve done a great job of avoiding him since the planning meeting last week. In fact, avoiding Dom is ninety-nine percent of the reason I hide in my office.
Cowardly. But I’ve always been good at self-preservation, especially when it comes to my heart.
My stomach knots. I really don’t want to see him today.
“You have to face him sometime.” Xander says.
“I was planning like a year from now,” I say grimly. “Maybe a decade or two.”
He laughs. “Welcome to my world. Just remember, he’s all bark and no bite.”
Bite.
I flash back to Dom biting down gently on my shoulder, locking me tightly in his arms as he moved deep inside.
Oh God.
I roll up the drafts and gather the swatches. “Wish me luck.”
Dom’s office door is shut and his secretary is nowhere to be seen. I tentatively knock. My heart is racing and the knock goes over too lightly. I can barely hear it.
Crap.
I knock again. Harder. And think about all the natural disasters that could conveniently occur right now. Earthquake. Tornado. Zombie apocalypse.
“Come in.”
I turn the handle and step into the room.
Dom is at his desk with a ton of paperwork in front of him. When he sees me, his expression goes hard. It’s like an invisible door closing between us, and I know I can’t get through it.
&nbs
p; “Get out.”
I find my voice. “I need to show you something.”
“Then send someone else.”
Don’t let him crush you.
I force myself not to wilt under his angry glare. Instead, I pull myself up to my full height and stare straight back. “I’m doing my job here. You may not agree, but at least you can be professional.”
Dom blinks, almost like he’s surprised. Then he gives me a curt nod. “Very well.”
I walk over to his desk and lay out the new plans. His cologne hits me, familiar and sexy as hell, but I fight to keep my head. This is no time for hormones to get the better of me.
I lay out the new plans. “There,” I tell him. “I know you didn’t want a redesign, so I’ve done my best to keep a sense of the Rexford’s original look.”
Silence.
When I look up, he’s studying me with an unreadable look. “Was this your plan all along?”
“This?” I motion to the drawing. “It’s close to what I had in—“
“No.” Dom interrupts, taking a step closer to me. “Conspiring with Lillian to steal hotel away from me. That first night, you dug your claws into me and I fell for it.”
I tense. “You keep acting like this was a big conspiracy, but I’m telling you, I didn’t know who you were that night. You didn’t say your real name.”
“Bullshit!”
I snap. I’m sick of him treating me like I’m the enemy. I never meant for any of this to happen, and no matter how angry and betrayed he’s feeling, he doesn’t get to push me around. “You want to know the real story?” I demand. “Or would you prefer to just keep hating me? You haven’t given me a chance to explain. You just jumped to conclusions and never backed down.”
“I saw the explanation. Those photos were clear enough.”
“For God’s sake, Dom, listen to me! My friend is a decoy for a private investigator. I was a standin for her that night, that’s all. I had no idea who you were, or why someone wanted pictures of us together. I was just supposed to flirt, maybe kiss you a little. That’s it!”
Dom hesitates, just for a moment. “I don’t believe you.”
“I left, remember?” I exclaim angrily. “You came after me. You were the one who wanted to go upstairs. You wouldn’t let me go.”
Dominic takes another step closer, and my skin lights up with awareness. I should step away, but I’m not going to back down.
“Why did you go upstairs with me?” Dom demands, just inches away. I can feel the heat from his body, that overwhelming physicality taking hold of me like a drug. “If fucking me wasn’t the job, then why didn’t you get in the cab and leave?”
“Because that part wasn’t on the books.” I tell him. “ I wanted you.”
“Me or my money?”
“Fuck you, Dominic.” I start to turn away. “Not every girl you meet is a gold-digger. Some of us don’t need six figures to screw you.”
He catches my wrist before I can leave, and pulls me back against his body. For a moment I’m crushed there, feeling the heat, his powerful muscles tightly coiled and ready for release.
Lust slams through me, clenching between my thighs as his lips graze my earlobe. “You’re right,” he murmurs, sexy and raw. “If I recall, you needed much, much less.”
He trails his fingertips down my collarbone, to the first button on my silk blouse. I freeze, paralyzed with a sudden need that burns every inch of me.
He still hates me. I know, he doesn’t believe a word I say, but somehow, that doesn’t matter. All I want is to feel his hand on me, and his body taking me, hard and fast.
His fingers close around my breast. A moan slips from my lips, and it’s like the signal he’s been waiting for. In one swift move, Dom spins me around and shoves me over his desk. My hands go down on the surface to brace myself, my ass pressing into him automatically. I grind back against the hardness in his pants until Dom yanks my skirt up over my hips and my panties down around my thighs.
Cool air hits my naked skin, and a moment later, a stinging slap rains down on my ass. I yelp in surprise and pain.
“That’s right,” Dom growls. He wraps one hand in my French braid, using it to arch my body back as he spanks me again. “You deserve to be punished for what you’ve done.”
Another slap rains down on my naked ass. The sting slams through me, but it’s oh so sweet. I grip on to the edge of the desk, feeling a wild heat like nothing before. Fuck, I’ve missed him so much, this dominant power that makes me lose all control.
Dom presses me back down onto the desk, then slowly circles it, watching me from all angles. “This is where I pictured fucking you, that first night we met.” He casually unbuckles his belt and opens his pants. “Did you know? I wanted to bring you back here, and make you beg, naked and spread for me. Screaming my name.”
“Dom…” I whisper, already needing his dick buried deep inside.
He smirks. “Not loud enough. Not even close. But I promise, once you got every last inch of my cock grinding that G-spot til you break, you’ll be screaming the whole fucking hotel down.”
Yes!
I know better than to break position, but I thrust my ass back, wanting his touch again. He moves behind me again, and suddenly forces my legs wider apart. Then his hands are on me: grabbing, stroking, kneading my ass. His fingers zero in on my clit and rub in a punishingly pleasurable burst of friction. Fuck! I moan into the desk, grinding back. He thrusts two fingers into my wetness and my moans get louder. It’s the middle of the day, there could be people right outside the door, but I don’t care. My whole body is wound so fucking tight, I need him, and I need him hard.
“Please, Dominic!” The words tear from my mouth as he finger-fucks me from behind. I ride him hard, chasing the climax, but two fingers are nothing compared to the goods I know he’s got waiting for me.
“Fuck me,” I demand through gritted teeth. I don’t want to beg. I’m going to make it an order. “Fuck me hard, right now.”
Dom growls, pulling his hand away. I collapse, panting and needy on the desk. No! For a moment, I wonder if he’s going to leave me here, so close, but then I hear the yank of his zipper.
He enters me hard, thrusting deep, all the way to the hilt.
“Yes!” I scream, slammed into the desk with the impact of his thrust. Dom grabs my hair, and pistons into me again.
“You feel that?” He demands, his cock filling me all the way up. “You belong to me. This sweet cunt is all mine. And I’ll take it whenever I damn please.”
He grips my hips, his fingernails digging into my flesh as he fucks me hard and fast, just the way I need it.
“You can lie to me all you want, but your body can’t pretend.” Dom reaches to grab my breast, squeezing at my stiff nipples until I want to sob with the pleasure. “It knows who the boss is. And I’m not going to stop until I’ve claimed every inch of you from the inside out.”
He thrusts so deep, so goddamn deep I could lose my mind. I want it to last, to feel him inside me all day, but I’m close again, my climax rising up in an unstoppable surge of heat. I grind back against him, meeting every stroke, loving how deep his cock drives, how the friction sets me on fire. He spanks my ass again, just the right side of pain, grinding up inside me in a harsh, angry rhythm. Our grunts fill the room, animal and raw.
“Say it,” he demands. “Say you belong to me!”
I clench my jaw. I won’t give in. But then Dom slows his pace. Oh God. Now he’s thrusting slow and deep, gripping me against his body so I can’t escape, can’t push back, can’t do anything but take his cock one mind-blowing, meaty inch at a time.
“Dom…” I moan, struggling in his arms. But his cock is unstoppable, and I’m close. So close!
“Say. It.” Dom growls. I can hear the tension in his voice, feel the rigid drive of his body. I want to disobey but fuck, I can’t resist him, not like this.
I break.
“Yes,” I scream, feeling my body constrict
with pleasure. “I’m yours, I belong to you!”
Dom lets out a roar. With a final epic slam he thrusts up inside me, so deep and so good I come hard enough to lose my mind. I feel him shudder, hear the groan echo through him as he collapses against me, spent.
I lay against the desk. My heartbeat measures the seconds until Dominic moves away from me. I hear him pull up his pants, but I’m too wiped out to move.
Jesus H Christ. That was the most epic fuck of my life.
“Clean yourself up.”
Dom’s voice comes, cool and measured. What?
I struggle upright and turn – then wish I hadn’t. He’s buckling his belt a few feet away. His expression is unreadable, distanced and aloof.
Is he serious?
“No.” I struggle upright, pleasure still coursing through my system. “No way do you pull that bullshit on me now. Not after that.”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Act like an adult and talk about it.” I demand. “This, what we have between us, it’s real OK? And you can’t just fuck it away.”
For a moment I see it on his face: pain. The kind of agony I’ve been feeling, hurt and betrayal. Heartbreak, too.
Then it’s gone.
“I can’t.” He says, his voice cracking raw. Then he walks out, and I’m all alone.
Again.
I stay there a moment, slowly pulling my skirt down and tidying my hair. Even though I wanted this, I feel numb.
I can’t keep letting him do this to me.
No matter how much I was falling for him, no matter how deep I thought our connection ran. That’s over – he just made it perfectly clear. And I’m not the kind of girl to let a man treat me like this, yell at me, and judge me, and fuck me like I mean nothing to him.
It’s over now; it has to be.
I’m done.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
After what went down in his office, I don’t want to look at him again, but Dom is suddenly everywhere. It’s like he’s making a point of being where I am. The hall, the elevator, even the freaking breakroom. Considering he has a fancy espresso machine and a Keurig in his office, I don’t brush that off as coincidence.