Just sex. And domination.
Well, she knew where she stood. If she got hurt then she had no one to blame but herself.
Her clothes hastily pulled on, she tiptoed out of the bedroom with her sneakers in one hand. Alex didn’t even stir. She smiled. He must be tired. She grabbed her backpack from the living room, taking another look around her in the daylight.
Tara shook her head. She didn’t belong somewhere like this. Alex’s apartment was beautiful. Everything gleamed. But it didn’t feel like a home. She glanced at the clock on the wall and swore under her breath. She was going to have to take a taxi or she would be horribly late.
***
Tara rubbed her eyes, hiding a yawn. She’d stayed late at work every night this week, plus she’d worked all weekend to get these damn spreadsheets finished.
She’d needed to get back into Tim’s good graces. He’d had a fit when she was late last week, and had actually given her a verbal warning. She’d been horrified. She’d panicked a little. She couldn’t lose this job.
“I’m going home now,” Tim said as he walked past her desk. He glanced down at her coldly. “I trust that we won’t have a repeat of the other morning.”
“No, sir.”
How long was he going to milk this? She’d worked for him for over a year and she’d been late once. She’d more than made up the time.
Damn, she’d love to tell him where he could stick his job. She’d worked long hours this last week, but he still looked at her with contempt.
“Good.” He handed her a pen drive. “Here are some files I’ve been working on. I need these tidied up and formatted. Why don’t you take it home and work on it.”
He walked out the door without another word. How the hell did his wife put up with him? Tara had met his wife, Gemma. She was a lovely woman. Sweet, quiet and totally undeserving of an asshole like Tim.
Sighing, Tara slipped the pen drive into her pocket so she wouldn’t lose it. She really wished he wouldn’t use pen drives, they were so easy to misplace. But Tim stubbornly insisted on using them.
“Hey, Tara, what are you still doing here?”
Tara glanced up to see Eloise standing in the doorway. Eloise was the personal assistant to Tim’s business partner, Ryan. She’d only worked here a few months. She was nice enough, but a bit quiet.
“I could ask the same of you,” Tara said with a smile.
Eloise attempted a smile back, but she looked nervous.
“I thought I’d stay back and finish some work. I just saw Tim leave and thought I’d head home.”
Tara often wondered if Eloise had a crush on Tim. She kept track of his whereabouts better than Tara did. She’d noticed Eloise watching him closely a few times. The other girl had to know that he was happily married.
“I’ll be here a few more hours yet.”
“Anything I can help with?” Eloise asked.
“Not unless you have a mad desire for formatting. Tim just gave me a pen drive full of work to do at home.” He was so generous.
“Including the Henderson bid?” Eloise asked.
Tara looked up at her. “Could be, I haven’t looked. Why?”
Eloise was acting odd. Odder than usual.
“Oh, no reason.” She laughed, but it sounded fake. Tara had grown good at reading body signals and Eloise seemed nervous and out of sorts. “I just heard Tim and Ryan talking about the Henderson bid earlier and it sounded interesting.”
The Henderson bid was a big one. If they won this it would mean work for the next three years.
“I could do that formatting for you if you wanted,” Eloise offered.
Tara had a really uncomfortable feeling about handing over the pen drive to the other woman.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll get it done. Thanks though.”
Eloise’s face tightened up. “Sure. No problem.”
Eloise left and Tara returned to the spreadsheet, working for another two hours to get it finished. By the time she was done, she was so tired she was practically seeing double.
She grabbed her work phone and put it in her bag. She pulled out her personal phone. She’d put it on silent and hadn’t had time to check it.
Ten missed calls from Alex. Crap. This last week they’d only managed to spend two nights together at his place. They hadn’t even gotten around to signing a contract—all of their time together had been spent in bed. The sex was amazing. He was sexy, dominating and hot. Very, very hot. Tara knew she was going to find it hard when this ended.
“Hello?”
“Tara.” Alex’s deep voice came through the phone. Despite his grumpy tone, she immediately relaxed at the sound of his voice.
“Alex, how are you?”
“Impatient.”
She raised her eyebrows. Alex was one of the most patient people she’d ever met.
“I’m not used to sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring.”
No, she didn’t suppose he was. She wasn’t avoiding him on purpose, still she felt kind of guilty.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been really busy at work.” She knew how lame that sounded. If some guy said that to her, she’d be certain he was brushing her off. “I’m free now.”
Alex had promised her a punishment for sneaking off after that first night they’d spent together. Thoughts of that punishment had kept her awake at night, wondering, dreaming. She wasn’t into a lot of pain, but she knew that Alex would never push her past what she could take.
“Where are you?” he demanded.
“At work. Well, I’m about to head home now.”
“At work? Still? What the hell kind of job do you have?”
“The kind I need to keep,” she said dryly. “My boss wasn’t thrilled that I was late the other day.”
“It’s ten at night! Surely you’ve made up for that. Give the taxi my address. I want to see you.”
She didn’t bother to correct him, but there was no way she could afford a taxi. She exited her building, smiling at the security guard. She immediately started walking toward the nearest bus stop. This was a good part of town and she wasn’t worried as she wandered down the street.
“Alex, I’m tired. I need some sleep—hey! Watch where you’re going!”
She turned to glare at the person who’d bumped into her, only to freeze at the knife she saw in his hand.
“Give me your phone and bag, lady.”
“I don’t have any money.” Losing her phone was going to suck. Plus, Tim would kill her since her company phone was in her handbag.
“Tara? What’s happening? Where are you?” Alex demanded through the phone.
“And I thought Lavaca was a safe street,” she muttered, trying to give Alex a clue.
“Hang up and give me your phone, lady.” The man swung the knife around, making her gulp in fear. He briefly stepped into the light from a building and she could see how crazy he looked. Drugs. He was on something. She handed over her phone without saying anything more to Alex. With shaking hands, she dragged her handbag off her shoulder and handed it over. The guy grabbed it and took off, leaving her shaking and scared.
She clasped her hands together, trying to warm them. Despite the warm evening, she was freezing. What the hell was she going to do now? She had no way of getting home. No way of contacting anyone. She looked around her. No way was she hanging around here. She ran back to her building and pounded on the door until the security guard opened it with a frown.
“I was mugged,” she said, panting even though she’d only run a small distance.
***
Alex cursed as he cruised down Lavaca Street, searching frantically for Tara. He couldn’t see her anywhere. He tried calling her phone again. It went straight to voicemail.
Cursing, he called Roarke.
“Hey, Alex,” Roarke answered.
“Do you know where Tara works?” Alex asked quickly. He had no time for social niceties. How the hell did he not know where she worked? “It’s important, Roarke,” h
e said urgently.
“Let me check my files. Here it is.” He named a building that was close by. Alex sped towards it. He barely managed to park safely before he was out and running. Fear filled him, stirring his temper.
What the hell was she doing working this late anyway? She had no business wandering around late at night on her own.
He pounded on the door until a security guard appeared on the other side. The skinny guard shook his head and pointed at his watch.
Alex glared at him. He had a tentative hold over his temper and it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge. Luckily, Tara walked up beside the guard before he could explode. She said something to the guard and Alex watched as the younger man unlocked the door.
He barrelled inside as soon as the doors opened and grabbed Tara by the shoulders, running his gaze over her body.
“Are you okay? What happened? Did that bastard hurt you?”
Tara looked at him slightly shell-shocked. “I’m fine. You didn’t have to come down here.”
“Of course I did.” Did she really think he could just sit at home after that phone call?
“Well, I’m fine as you can see, you can go home now,” she said dismissively.
Alex frowned. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said firmly. He glanced over her head at the curious security guard.
“Have you called the police?” he asked the guard who looked to be in his twenties.
“Tara didn’t want me to,” the kid replied.
Alex frowned down at her. “We’re calling the cops.”
“No,” she replied.
He gave her a stern look. “You were assaulted and robbed.”
“He didn’t touch me and all he got was my cell phones and an empty wallet. Thank God my laptop is at home.”
“That’s not the point. You were robbed and terrorized. He needs to be in jail.” He glanced over at the security guard. “Call the police.”
The guard moved to his desk.
“Don’t, Rob,” Tara said to the guard who paused. “I don’t want them called.” She stared up at Alex stubbornly.
Oh no way. This was not how things were going to go. He was in charge of her safety. From now on there was no way she would be permitted to walk around by herself at night.
He cupped her face between his big hands, marveling at their differences. His hands were huge against her delicate face. Far darker and rougher than her pale, delicate skin.
Alex lowered his voice as he stared into her amber eyes. “We are calling the police, Tara. You will give them your statement and then I’m going to take you home, understand?”
She opened her mouth and he quickly interjected. “And any more protest is only going to land you in world of trouble.”
Tears filled her eyes and he almost relented as she seemed to deflate right in front of him. But then she rallied, her shoulders going back and that glimpse of vulnerability he’d seen was gone.
“Fine, if it’s that important to you.”
Leaning in, he whispered. “It is. Don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you. I promise.”
“Tara, you okay with this guy?”
Alex glared at the security guard as he stepped toward them. His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously, but he held Alex’s gaze. Alex’s estimation of him rose.
“Rob, was it?” he asked. The kid nodded. “Thank you for looking after Tara. I really appreciate it.” He held out his hand and the boy shook it. Alex could tell he was nervous but he had a firm grip. “I promise, there is nowhere safer for her than with me.” He sent Tara a look, wanting her to understand that he meant what he said.
“If I had a girl as great as Tara I wouldn’t let her take the bus late at night,” the kid said.
Alex looked over at Rob who tapped his fingers against his thigh. “You’re quite right, Rob. That is an oversight I intend to fix.”
He spoke quietly, but Tara gave him a nervous glance nevertheless. She should be nervous.
There were going to be a lot of changes in her life.
***
Tara looked over at Alex as he drove his car through the streets. They’d both grown silent once they’d entered his car. She was so tired she didn’t really think she could string together an intelligent sentence. They’d spent hours with the police and she still had to go in tomorrow to talk to a sketch artist.
Alex insisted that she come home with him, so she’d made him drive to her apartment so she could grab a change of clothes. She’d decided to grab her laptop too—she felt better having it close at hand.
Tomorrow she’d have to contact her brother and let him know that her phone had been stolen. She really, really wasn’t looking forward to telling Tim that her company phone had been taken.
He’d probably fire her.
That would really be the icing on this god-awful week.
“Tara? Tara?”
She glanced up, only to see that not only had they stopped moving, but Alex had gotten out of the car and was holding her door open for her.
“Shit.”
With hands that shook, she really should eat something, she undid her seatbelt then took his hand. She groaned as they entered his apartment and she looked at the clock.
“What’s the point of going to bed? I’ve only got to get up again in four hours.” She sat and waved her hand at the drink he held out. “No thanks.”
“It will help you sleep.”
“I don’t drink much.” She rested her head back. “I’m just going to sleep here, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay.”
Tara gasped as he pulled her up into his arms.
“Shouldn’t you be more upset?” he asked.
“Should I?” she asked as he walked with her down the hall. It was kind of nice to be carried like this. “Why?”
“Why?” He paused, looking down at her incredulously. “Because you were just robbed. A man drew a knife on you. Most people would be terrified. They’d be thinking about taking some time off, not getting to work the next day.”
She had been terrified. She just didn’t want to think about it, because if she did then she might freak out. She didn’t have time to indulge her fear. She had things to do. Maybe people who had next week’s rent in the bank could spare the time to freak out.
Alex placed her on the bed, his hands on his hips as he stared down at her. “Do you normally work so late?”
“No. I was late to work the other morning. I was just making some time up.”
Alex raised his eyebrows. “I’d say you made the time up and more. What kind of boss would let you work until ten at night when there was no one else around?”
The asshole kind. But she didn’t say that out loud. It was disloyal, even if it was the truth.
“Why didn’t you take a taxi home?”
Because she couldn’t afford it. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Alex, I’m tired. I’ve had a hell of a night and I have to be up soon. Could we talk about this another time?”
Alex held out his hand and she took it, letting him pull her off the bed. He began stripping off her clothes. She grabbed hold of his hands as he reached for her bra.
“I can do that,” she told him.
“I know,” he said, brushing her hands away. “But I want to do it.”
She let go of him. If she hadn’t been so tired she might have put up more of a protest. But then again, maybe not. It was kind of nice to have someone look after her.
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a large t-shirt, slipping it on over her head. She climbed into bed with a sigh. Alex tucked the covers around her before removing his clothes. Tara could barely keep her eyes open to watch, a sign of just how tired she was. Still, she managed to get a glimpse of his firm stomach and wide shoulders before her eyelids dropped down.
The bed dipped as he climbed in. He pulled her close, holding her tight against his body. She placed an arm over his stomach, snuggling in.
“I want you to stay home tomorrow,” he t
old her. “Get some sleep, laze around.”
Tara yawned. “Can’t,” she mumbled.
“I’m sure your boss will understand given the circumstances.”
She snorted. “A hurricane could hit the city and Tim would still expect me to come in. I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t fire me for losing his cell phone.”
Alex stiffened beneath her. “You didn’t lose it. You were robbed.”
“Let’s hope Tim sees it that way. He’s not particularly easy going.”
“Well, he’d better see it that way,” Alex said grimly. “I’ll make sure of that.”
As she drifted off, Tara thought to herself how nice it was to have someone take care of her. She was also glad there was no way Alex and Tim would ever meet.
***
Alex woke as he was elbowed in the side. A flying hand caught him in the nose and he rolled to his side quickly.
“Tara, what the hell,” he said before he realized she was in the midst of a nightmare.
“No, no, just take it,” she cried out.
Shit. She must be dreaming about the robbery. He knew she had to be more upset than she’d let on.
“Tara, wake up.”
She started to cry and his heart broke.
He shook her. “Tara, wake up now,” he said firmly, expecting instant obedience.
He had to smile wryly as she went instantly floppy, falling into a deeper sleep. Even in her sleep she defied him. What was he going to do with her? She should have called him as soon as she’d gotten safely back to where she worked. Instead, Rob told him she’d been planning to walk back to the bus stop.
Why the hell would she walk to the bus stop late at night instead of taking a taxi? It hit him then and he felt like a complete idiot. She’d been robbed. That asshole had taken her cash and credit cards. Still, he was sure Rob would have lent her the money. But did she have the money to pay him back? He frowned, thinking about where she lived. How come she lived in such a crappy apartment when she worked such long hours? Was her boss taking advantage of her?
Tomorrow he’d been laying down the law with the lovely Tara. She was independent and strong and he didn’t want to change her. But he would be instigating some rules for her to follow.
For The Love Of Sir Page 7