Boardroom Sins

by J. Margot Critch

  Rebecca took a deep breath. Alana’s words of wisdom gave her a newfound hope, strength. She could persevere. She could beat Brett. It was possible. She was a badass woman. “Yeah,” she said with a smile as she looked at the powerful, successful woman who sat across from her at the table. They were allies in a way, but what was more important, she felt she could count on Alana to be her friend going forward.

  “It’s no secret that you and Brett were hooking up when we were in college, even though you could barely stand each other.”

  “Yeah, if there was anything we had in common, it was sex and fighting.” Rebecca thought about it. “I guess some things never change.”

  “What happened to make him want to buy you out? I don’t believe that it’s strictly business. Something about this is affecting him more than I’ve seen. He doesn’t take kindly to people messing with The Brotherhood’s business dealings.”

  “I was hoping you could give me a little insight on that one. Sure, I beat them in a deal, they screwed with one of my suppliers, and then one of their employees came to work for DI,” Rebecca said, listing through her recent rivalry with Collins/Fischer. “I just don’t know why he’s gone so far with it.”

  “He’s stubborn, and when he sets his sights on something, he goes for it. But he doesn’t get that there are more important things in life than the job. I don’t know how to call him off. I wish I could help.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll figure it out. I have some tricks up my sleeve that he doesn’t know about.”

  “How are you fighting it? Think you can hold on to enough of the shares?”

  Rebecca straightened in her seat, eyed Alana warily and was immediately suspicious that there was an ulterior motive to today’s brunch. Was Alana just another head-on attack from The Brotherhood, to dig up information, distract her and loosen her grip on her company?

  Alana raised her fingers to her mouth. “Oh, God, I’m sorry, I can’t believe I was so intrusive. Forget I asked. I’m just used to talking like that with the guys. It’s always blunt shoptalk and strategy.”

  “It’s fine,” Rebecca told her, still maintaining a distance. She’d trusted Alana back in college and felt she still could. And she wanted a friend, but she would have to remember to be careful around all of them. Anything she said could easily make its way back to Brett.

  “Listen, I mean this,” Alana said. “Brett is one of my business partners and closest friends, but I am here with you as a friend. I know how isolating the business world can be sometimes, especially as a woman. But I’m here to talk if you need it. God knows that I do sometimes.”

  “Thanks,” Rebecca said, reaching across the table, putting her hand over Alana’s. Rebecca smiled, glad to finally be able to relax and build a new relationship and have a new start. Maybe that was what she needed in every aspect of her life. She didn’t have a lot of time to think about it because the waiter arrived, carrying their food. And for one afternoon, Rebecca could forget about the business, the past, and just focus on being a woman with no other worries than the fat content of her brunch.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  BRETT’S HOME WAS his refuge. And while he’d designed it to his specifications, he didn’t spend nearly enough time there. But even when he was home, he couldn’t exactly turn off work. There was always something to do, something that needed his attention. And with the extra work he’d taken on with the takeover of Daniels International, he had so much more to do.

  He sat at his desk, staring at the stacks of paperwork, contracts, bids, all the things he’d let pile up that week, while he had focused on the Daniels International acquisition. He was always so good at multitasking, but Rebecca had thrown him off his focus. He had to get his head on straight. So, every time his phone beeped, the announcement of yet another email that needed his attention, he exhaled and took a gulp of his long-cold coffee, then turned back to his work and tried to focus in quiet.

  The quiet was short-lived, however, when his doorbell rang. He looked up, not used to the sound or even having people in his home. He furrowed his eyebrows and considered ignoring it. He didn’t have time for anyone selling magazine subscriptions or passing out religious tracts, so he tried to go back to his work. But the bell rang again.

  Frustrated, his patience tested, he threw down the contract he was studying and stood. He stomped down the stairs to his front door and pulled back the door. “What?” he yelled before seeing who was standing on the other side. But seeing Rebecca outside his door did nothing to ease his tension.

  He looked at her. He was tired, and just one look at her made him want her, and he didn’t have the energy to fight the desire. He cursed his own lack of control. “What are you doing here?”

  She looked him dead in the eye. “We need to talk. And actually talk this time.”

  “I don’t think we do.”

  “Come on, Brett. Too afraid to have a conversation?” she challenged.

  “Not afraid, just not interested. I don’t think we have anything to discuss.”

  “For fuck’s sake.” Rebecca sighed. “Just let me in.”

  Brett stepped aside, and she pushed past him. “What do you want to discuss?”

  “I had brunch with Alana today.”

  “Okay.”

  “And it might have just been talking it out with another woman or the bottomless mimosas, but I’m so sick of this, Brett.” She stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Rebecca Daniels.”

  Brett looked at her hand. “What are you doing?”

  She didn’t waver under his stare. The one that made powerful men cower. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

  “Rebecca.” He sighed. “I’m too tired for this.”

  “So am I. Since day one we’ve hated each other, we were a threat to one another. But we’re adults now, and we’re still playing the same games for power and dominance. Brett, we need to start over before someone gets hurt.”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  “I don’t think it is. Why don’t we just forget the past, forget all the ways we’ve screwed each other over?”

  “I’m not pulling back from the buyout. I’ve got my own partners and shareholders to think about.”

  “I know you won’t be. And I wouldn’t expect you to. In regard to the takeover, why don’t we just see where that goes and let the better company win?”

  Rebecca still stood in front of him with her hand extended. She was right of course. He knew that he didn’t have time for games anymore. There wasn’t enough time or energy for him to do everything he wanted, and if he could put whatever was happening between him and Rebecca in its own little box, it would make his life a lot easier. He would own her company by the end of the week of course, but it didn’t mean that they couldn’t be civil until then. Something in him let go, and he smiled down at her. He took her hand in his and shook. “Hi, I’m Brett.”

  “So we can forget about all the crap and just be regular people and leave all of the takeover stuff in the boardroom?”

  “I’d like that.”

  He cupped his palm over her shoulder, her delicate skin left exposed by her sleeveless blouse. He dragged his hand downward, sliding over her skin. He could feel her muscles flex and tense under his touch. He couldn’t help but think that things could have easily been different with Rebecca. “I’m sorry it’s worked out like this.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I was just about to make some dinner. Why don’t you stay and join me? You know, to make up for the one we didn’t eat the other night?”

  Her breath was a shudder as the air left her body. And he grinned at her, taking another step closer so that they were only a whisper apart, her breasts pressed against his chest.

  “I should leave.”

  He ducked his head and skimmed his lips over the outer shell of her ear. “Yeah, probably. But you won’
t.”

  She blinked, and he knew from experience that her restraint was wire thin. Just like his. She blinked and looked around his home, and he knew it was to distract herself, to not relent to him.

  “This is a pretty nice place,” she managed to say before he couldn’t take it any longer and his lips slammed down on hers. He walked her back until she was pressed into the wall, trapped between it and his chest. He wrapped her delicate wrists in his hands and pushed to the wall, above her head.

  “I’ll give you the tour later,” he said against her lips before taking them again. Her lips parted and he took great advantage, plunging his tongue inside her mouth. It found hers and twined with it, stroking, tasting. Her flavor was one that he’d deprived himself of for over five years, and in the past few days, he’d drank from her like a man who’d survived a drought. He might have control over his past dependence on drugs and alcohol, but it was Rebecca who was his addiction, and he would always need his fix. If he’d learned anything, it was that there was no rehab for that.

  He took her hand and practically dragged her up the stairs to his bedroom. He couldn’t wait another second. They stood at the foot of his king-size bed, kissing, tearing, ripping at each other’s clothing. She lifted his shirt, and he pulled away only long enough to pull it over his head and throw it behind him. He reached around her and, finding the zipper at the back of her blouse, he pulled it down. It snagged briefly on the material, and he yanked it impatiently, pulling it too hard. He felt the fabric tear. He’d have to buy her a new top in the morning. He would buy her a thousand blouses or keep her in his home naked. He didn’t care. He let the ruined fabric fall to the floor with a light swoosh, and she pulled down her skirt and stood before him in her bra and panties.

  He stood back a little, to get a look at her. “Christ, Rebecca,” he muttered. “You’re so fucking beautiful. There are so many things I want to do with you. The last two times, it wasn’t close to enough.” He shook his head. “I have no idea where to start.”

  She reached back and unclasped her bra and let the lacy material fall to the floor. “Start here.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  WHEN BRETT TOOK a step back from her, Rebecca saw his eyes roam over her body as she stood before him in her pale blue satin panties and her black high-heel shoes. The dark, wild look in his eyes made her feel more like an animal’s prey than a woman, and a low growl emitted from his throat and exited from his parted lips. He took a predatory step toward her again, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifted her, not taking his eyes from hers. And he lowered her onto the center of his massive bed.

  She was mostly naked, but Brett still had half his clothes on. If he had any idea what a specimen of masculinity he was, he never let on, because he only watched her, and she felt like the center of his world. His hands went to his belt, where those oh-so-skilled fingers tackled the buckle and whipped the strip of leather from the loops at his waist with a quick swish. With a quick flick of his fingers, the button was undone and he lowered the zipper and pushed his jeans from his hips until they fell at his feet.

  Watching him from her place on the bed, her eyelids at half-mast with desire, she took in his body. He was a beautiful, powerful man. More muscular than he’d been eleven years ago, with more hair covering him than before. She couldn’t wait to ball her fists in the dark hair that covered his pecs and trailed down in a neat line that continued past the band of his tight boxers, which were appreciably tented with his erection. They’d been naked together many times, and recently at that, but that didn’t stop her from marveling at his body. He hooked his thumbs under the elastic waistband, and she held her breath as he dragged his shorts down, past the pronounced V of his hips, the veins that ran underneath his belly button to his groin. She caught a glimpse of well-groomed hair, and she was riveted, unable to pull her eyes away. But he paused, his hands frozen just as they were about to reveal his rigid length. She looked back to his face, and saw that he was watching her, a playful smile playing on his lips.

  Instead of completely disrobing, he joined her on the bed. “I’ve wanted to be with you again for so long, Rebecca,” he murmured as he knelt over her on the massive king-size bed. “The past week has definitely proved that you can go home again.”

  Rebecca looked up at him. “Then what are you waiting for?”

  A wicked smile crossed his lips, and his body covered hers. His warmth burned her as her arms encircled his neck and pulled him closer, until he was pressed against her. He grasped her wrists in his large hands and pushed them against the mattress on either side of her head. She was his captive, and she had no problem with that. She would stay bound by him forever if he wanted.

  He kissed her long, hard, his lips playing hers, demanding her acquiescence, and she surrendered to him. Holding her wrists in place, he palmed her breast as his lips and teeth descended over the stiff bud of her nipple. He nibbled on her lightly, and she arched her back toward him, causing her chest to crush into his face. He didn’t complain. He released his grip on her wrists, focusing all his attention on her breasts. He feasted on her. His mouth deliciously tortured one breast while his fingers played on the other, caressing, squeezing, nipping.

  The way he played her body, the way he brought her so close to the edge only stimulating her breasts, was something she hadn’t experienced before. She had never been so sensitive, and she was torn between pulling him closer and pushing him away to keep breathing. He was a master of her body.

  His touch moved lower as he dragged his lips and his fingertips down her torso, until they found their rightful place at the band of her lace panties. She was glad she’d carefully chosen her lingerie when she’d dressed earlier today.

  He hummed in appreciation as he hooked his thumbs underneath the band. Slowly—torturously so—he dragged them down over her hips, and she aided him by lifting them off the bed. He looked up at her, and a wolfish smile played on his lips. He looked like a man who was about to take everything he wanted and, goddamn, Rebecca threw her head back onto a pillow that smelled like Brett and closed her eyes as he pulled her panties over her ankles and his mouth descended onto her pussy.

  The minute he touched her, his tongue sliding along her wet, needy crevice, the scream that pealed from her lips and rang through the room shocked her. It felt like years since she’d been touched, tasted like Brett was doing now as his tongue and lips found all her most sensitive spots. And she supposed it had been. No one she’d been with since Brett had affected her in such a way, making her desperate, making her shake with need. His lips closed over her clit, and the bundle of nerves was grateful for the attention. But she needed more. She could feel his cock, hard against her leg, as his mouth drove her wild with need.

  As his mouth worked diligently, he thrust a finger inside her, then another. It was close, but not what she needed. But she was already so far gone with his mouth and fingers, she found herself perched at the edge of pleasure. With his other hand, Brett grasped her ass, one of his fingers intentionally skirting the sensitive puckering, and she felt herself being thrust over the cliff, raptured with pleasure. She cried out and grabbed the back of Brett’s head, pulling at his hair. Not that he needed to be persuaded to stay of course, because he stayed with her for every glorious beat, licking, touching softly as her thunderous orgasm washed over her.

  When she could breathe again, Rebecca released her grip on Brett’s hair, and he rose up over her. He covered her again, his lips tracing her jawline, grazing over her earlobe. “Fuck, you taste so goddamn good,” he said roughly before taking her lips in another scorching kiss. She could taste herself on his lips and tongue. And it was a highly erotic sense that made her want more, more of him, more of her, more of them.

  Brett moaned into her mouth and pulled away abruptly. “It’s gotta be now, Becca. I can’t wait another second.” He rolled away from her to the edge of the huge bed. He reached into his bedside ta
ble and withdrew a square foil packet. He tossed it on the bed and returned to her, knelt above her. Her legs were spread wantonly, bracketing his thighs, and she watched, riveted, as he finally lowered his short designer boxers. His rigid length sprang out, long and hard, from a neat cloud of dark curls.

  Her eyes hooded from her orgasm, she watched him as he grasped his dick in his fist and gave a couple of languid pumps before rolling the latex over himself. Still kneeling, he reached for her, grabbing her waist, and he lifted her, pulling her to him as her legs locked around his hips so they lined up perfectly. With just the subtlest of movements, she felt Brett position himself at her core, and with one solid thrust he was inside her.

  He pulled back his hips a little and then thrust back into her. She came to and found her rhythm, meeting him thrust for thrust. He grunted in her ear, a rough sound, wild, but it did something to her. It turned her on. And she moved frantically, smacking her hips against his, increasing her pace, trying to take control, but she knew it wouldn’t last for long.

  Brett slammed her back down to the mattress and lay on top of her. His pace quickened as he thrust inside her, his hips pumping wildly, driving his cock into her at a blinding pace. She could barely catch her breath as he brought her to higher and higher peaks of pleasure, until she felt herself flying as another orgasm took her over. She cried out Brett’s name, her nails driving into the skin of his broad shoulders. His groan was loud, and she felt him stiffen above her before he exhaled. Then his body loosened, and he rolled off her and landed heavily beside her.

  * * *

  Brett disengaged from Rebecca and disposed of the used condom before rolling back onto the bed. He was spent, but he was ready to go again. He would always have enough energy for Rebecca. He threw his forearm over his eyes and attempted to regain his breath. He felt her breathing beside him on the mattress. God. Being with her again—being inside her—was more incredible than he ever could have imagined, better than he remembered from his college days. And more amazing than sex had been with any other woman he’d been with in years.