Adored

by Tina Donahue

  She stopped lifting the pastry to her mouth.

  Roger frowned at Adam then tapped his spreadsheet. “As a team, we all need to be exceptional for the company’s success. I’m sure Danni agrees.” Not waiting to see if she did, he plowed ahead. “We’re excited about Painted Ladies’ new line. Can you give us some details and insight into it?”

  For more than an hour, Roger pumped her for information, making certain he jumped from topic to topic so she didn’t know his true intent. He wanted to know exactly how long they needed her services until they could replace her with a less-expensive colleague from the parent company, a young woman with little experience. Shortly before Danni had entered the room, Roger told Adam the score. It didn’t matter that she was largely responsible for what made this company a success and had an instinct for what would sell, she cost too much.

  Even at half her salary, she didn’t fit into their new budget.

  No fucking way would Adam use her to launch the new line, as Roger wanted, then let her go. Somehow he’d find another way to cut expenditures and change Roger’s mind. The company wouldn’t screw her. It was bad enough she thought he had.

  The truth burned in her eyes. They returned to him every time Roger wrote notes. Her gaze no longer questioned or accused. It might have been easier for Adam if it had. Her cool indifference cut so deep, his insides hurt like a sonofabitch. He appreciated how she felt, but her feelings toward him at this point weren’t entirely fair. It wasn’t as if he played with her emotions or exploited her in Vegas. He’d had good reason not to tell her anything, expecting today to be the beginning, not the end. Her job being in jeopardy had never crossed his mind.

  “Adam?”

  He took a calming breath that did zero good and spoke to Roger. “What?”

  Impatience made his ugly features less attractive, if such a thing were possible. “I believe we’ve covered everything we need to know, and can let our very able VP get back to her work.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “Thanks so much for joining us this morning, Danni.”

  “Anytime.” She shook his hand and left the room, offering no parting glance or comment to Adam.

  Roger joined him. “She has seven weeks.” He’d spoken sotto voce. “Make sure she keeps to the timetable. By the way, I’m not the enemy, all right? If I had known earlier, I would have told you.” He lifted his arm to glance at his watch. Instead, his attention shot to the reception area where Sunny and two other models laughed about something. Roger adjusted his glasses. “Ah, I have another meeting with… Production.” He didn’t try to hide his distraction. “See you at three.”

  He practically ran to the door and approached the models. “Hi, Sunny. I can call you that, right?”

  Adam stormed to the men’s room. The meeting left him feeling dirty. He punched the door open, washed his face, ran his fingers through his hair, and wanted several slugs of bourbon. After which, he’d lose what scant control he still had, would haul Danni into his arms and fuck her from one end of this building to the other and back again.

  He planted his hands on the sink and struggled to breathe. His teeth hurt, he was so goddamn hard, and she wasn’t going to be giving his cock any relief. Shit. How different he’d expected this morning to be. For days, he’d pictured his and Danni’s legs touching beneath the conference table while Roger droned on about the business. Adam could almost feel her naked toes sliding up his calf. They’d reach for a pen or printout at the same moment, their fingertips touching and lingering. Each time she looked at him, her submissive gaze would say he owned her. After the meeting, she’d follow him down the hall, obedient to his will. They’d slip into an empty office and he’d bury himself in her snug warmth, making good on his promise to have her where he wanted, when he wanted.

  Yeah right. His head fell forward. He rolled his shoulders, trying to relax. Didn’t work. He ran the company outlays in his mind to, at least, distract himself. The figures gave him a headache, but the mental exertion did deflate his cock. Now, if he could keep it down and find a quick solution to this mess. Cursing Roger and himself, he yanked the door open and flinched.

  Danni’s pale eyebrows lifted slightly. “Hi.”

  He needed a moment to slow his heart so he could speak. “Hi.” He cleared his throat and kept his voice down. “This is the men’s room.”

  Unlike their first encounter when he’d used those words, this time she didn’t admire his stiffening rod. “We need to talk.”

  He tensed, reducing his ability to breathe even more. Given everything he wanted to do with her, talking wasn’t on his list. “All right.”

  Surprise lit her eyes.

  He guessed she’d expected him to stall or refuse her request. “Go on.”

  Women’s voices sounded down the hall.

  She sneaked a look in their direction. “Not here. Don’t say anything else.” She faced the voices. “Don’t you worry, Adam.” She spoke loudly for the others’ benefit. “I have that data. Come with me, and I’ll show you where it’s stored.”

  Reluctantly yet eagerly, he followed her past empty offices, her fragrance wafting toward him, driving him wild. Her ashy-blonde hair glided across her shoulders, reminding him how it fanned over his thighs as she’d sucked his balls in Vegas.

  Good times. He wanted more.

  Her ass bounced. He searched for a faint panty line or proof she wore a thong.

  She slowed and entered a corner office.

  The moment he was inside, she closed the door and leaned against it, arms crossed.

  Her cheeks flushed and her eyes shimmered. Tension filled the air.

  Never had he wanted a woman more, though he didn’t dare cross to her.

  She regarded him for a long, agonizing moment, possibly challenging him to confess.

  He didn’t speak. Actually, couldn’t, his pulse hammered too hard.

  She tightened her jaw. “Did you know about the acquisition when we were in Vegas?”

  Her righteous anger twisted his insides. If he could have run, he might have. He was only human and dreaded her rage or tears. “I knew the plans. I wasn’t certain they’d go through.”

  “That’s why you didn’t tell me?”

  He stepped closer. She stiffened. He stilled. “I didn’t want the acquisition to color your responses.”

  Her mouth fell open. “You mean you thought I might pretend I was having a good time after I spilled my guts to you about my fantasies and lousy boyfriends and…” She shook her head, her groan mortified.

  He struggled for the right thing to say. Shit, he hated seeing her like this and only because he’d made such a stupid decision to keep her in the dark about the acquisition. “What I meant is… would you have allowed me to touch you if you’d known?”

  She lowered her face. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  Sounded promising, but wasn’t the full proof he needed. “Because you genuinely wanted me or because I was going to be your new boss?”

  “What?” She approached so quickly, he instinctively stepped back. “You mean would I have slept with you because I wanted to get in good with the boss?”

  “No. Would you have thought you had to?”

  “Huh? No.” She gave him a dirty look then slumped. “Now if you’d been Roger? Yeah. He strikes me as a real prick. But I slept with you because I thought you were a nice guy and I genuinely liked and wanted you.”

  His cheeks burned at her using the past tense.

  She strode past him and rubbed her neck. “Am I going to be replaced? Tell me. Do not lie.”

  He couldn’t say anything. If he told her about Roger’s plans, she’d quit and would refuse to ever talk to or see him again, and he wouldn’t blame her. If he lied and she found out… Oh fuck. I am so screwed. “Danni, look at me, please.”

  She shifted from foot to foot then did.

  He wanted to give her a gentle hug. He didn’t budge. “You’re not going to be replaced.” Not an actual lie. Somehow he’d save her pos
ition, and she’d never find out about the planned replacement, because he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her. “You’ll have a job here as long as you want.”

  Her face scrunched. “I don’t want you to do me any favors.”

  “I’m not. I didn’t mean…” There was no way he’d ever get this right. “I’m trying to tell you, you’ll always have a job here because I know your talent. I said as much during the meeting.”

  “Where Roger pumped me about the new line and how long it would be before I launched it? Like he couldn’t wait to get rid of me? Does he think I’m stupid?”

  Adam pushed his fists into his pockets and opted to lie some more. “He wasn’t pumping you, he was testing me. Before you got to the conference room, he asked me about the launch and wanted to know why it would take seven weeks instead of five. I told him. When he spoke to you, he was merely confirming what I already said. He uses the tactic to keep staff on their toes.”

  Her frown fell away. “He has the gall to do that to you? Wow. I’m sorry you have to put up with that. What a bastard.”

  Adam agreed, though for different reasons, and hated himself even more because she shouldn’t be apologizing to him. She looked so lost suddenly, as if she didn’t know what to say, do, or believe. “I want you to know, I didn’t tell you everything that night because at the time I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  Her gaze turned inward. “Can I ask you something?”

  He wished she wouldn’t. “Sure. But I did tell you the truth about not being involved with anyone.”

  “I wasn’t going to ask about that.”

  He drooped. “Given what you’d said about your old boyfriends cheating on you, I figured you thought…” He couldn’t finish. Every word leaving his mouth dug him deeper. “What did you want to know?”

  She wrung her hands. “When we were at the elevator, you said the look you saw on my face in the showroom was one you’d wanted to put there for a very long time. Did you mean it?”

  “Do you even have to ask?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Her eyes glistened. “As you said, I don’t have a great track record with men.”

  Oh, Danni. He used his softest, most sincere voice. “I wanted you more than you could imagine.”

  “Then.”

  Her unspoken question—What about now? —hung between them.

  His palms got sweaty. As much as he wanted to show her how he felt, he couldn’t. To get involved before he saved her position would be insane. If he wasn’t able to turn things around, and there was always the slightest possibility he couldn’t, she’d believe he’d lied so he could keep using her. Fucked for the moment, he said the only thing he could. “I wanted you.”

  Her chin trembled. “Thanks for being honest. Believe me, what happened before won’t compromise our working relationship. As far as I’m concerned, it’s forgotten.”

  She left the room.

  Chapter 5

  After the longest and lousiest day Danni had ever lived, she sank into her bathtub. A dozen candles illuminated the room, their lavender scent perfuming it and softening the shadows.

  She sipped her merlot, barely tasting the cherry-vanilla essence she liked so much. Her sighs punctuated an old Toni Braxton song and Adam’s voice replaying in her mind, saying he wanted her more than she could imagine.

  During the remaining workday, he’d zipped from meeting to meeting, not actually avoiding her, yet she only caught glimpses as he fled by. No matter who he spoke to, he radiated confidence and strength, a formidable mixture from his inherent brains and testosterone. The few times their eyes met he always paused, his caution saying he expected another ambush like when she cornered him outside the men’s room.

  That stung. He should have known she wasn’t the kind to make a scene. She’d led him to an empty office where they could be alone. Not once did she cry or raise her voice.

  Instead, she bared her soul far more than she intended and assured him their one impassioned night wouldn’t affect work. She’d already forgotten about it.

  Liar. Heart aching, she drank half her wine, closed her eyes, and slipped farther into the enticing warmth, reclining her head on the tub. Her bent knees broke the water, her legs falling open. Pushing away despair, she tried to concentrate on something less painful than what happened today or might possibly occur tomorrow. Pura Lopez heels she’d seen and hoped to buy came to mind, then the Indian restaurant her mom said she should try, and finally a new fantasy without Adam in the starring role. Yeah, she needed something to push him from her thoughts for good. Or at least during this night. Eager to forget, she tried an historical scenario this time—those daydreams were always wicked good.

  Fuck, she needed something great right now.

  Dates marched through her mind, along with images from books she’d read showing the period undergarments. She imagined a scene from the early 1700s, a port in a foreign land, which city didn’t matter. Rowdy men jammed the dock, their purses heavy with gold to purchase slaves. Most captives would end up on estates doing hard manual labor. A different fate awaited her and a few other women. Their virginity was the prize. Their destiny would be to welcome a man’s touch and deliver pleasure.

  The slave trader pulled her from his ship to the blinding light outside. The area stank of salt air and sex. When she reached the platform, her heart raced.

  Male voices cheered.

  A young man shouted, “I want some ‘a that.”

  An older man elbowed him. “After I’ve had me fill.”

  She shrank back.

  The slaver tugged on the chain wrapped around her wrists and secured her hands to a post on the block. Trapped, she cowered.

  Males leered and grinned. Their shouts and lewd comments had already died down, their greedy eyes banishing privacy. Her only clothing was an eighteenth-century corset in blood-red damask. The laces were so tight, the neckline so low, her nipples scraped the edge, threatening to spill over. In back, the corset stopped slightly above her naked ass. In front, it trailed to her smooth mound, shaved in preparation for the sale.

  The men murmured, their obscene comments growing louder, their lust harder to control.

  Her skin dampened from their ruthless desire and the sun beating down on her arms, breasts, and ass. Sweat beaded at her temples, intensifying her natural fragrance.

  Two sturdy young men offered the same price for her flesh.

  “Ye both cannot have her.” The slaver shook his fist. “One has to offer more.”

  A new voice called out, “What if three of us offer the same?” The man’s cultured diction marked him as an aristocrat.

  He stood at the edge, taller than the rest. His dark hair complemented his lushly lashed blue eyes. A small scar on his right cheekbone heightened his virility.

  Adam.

  Her fingers stalled on her clit. She frowned, refusing to fantasize about him. He’d said he wanted her. Past tense. Not, ‘I want you’ as in the present. They’d had their one night and now it was over. She wouldn’t yearn for him and drive herself nuts.

  Doggedly, she returned to her fantasy, imagining a man different from Adam, one with dark blond hair and hazel eyes, his build burly and dangerous.

  Voices rose and fell within the crowd. The slaver called out, “What do you mean, if three of us offer the same? Speak up ’afore I lose what little patience I have left.”

  The first young man, short and barrel-chested, shouted, “He means we all can buy her for the same price, with that being three times the coin to you.”

  The second chimed in, delight playing across his plain features. “She’ll belong to each ‘a us.” His broad shoulders and thick neck betrayed his strength. “While one mounts her, the other two can watch.”

  “Or help.” The short man ogled her. “Her breasts and mouth will surely need tending to, won’t they?”

  The slaver laughed.

  She fought for each breath, consumed with worry about the burly man mounting her from beh
ind, while the short one ordered her to lick his cock, and the third ran his rough, impatient hands over her breasts. Afterward, they’d each demand their moment alone with her. The others would recline nearby and observe each intimate detail, biding their time while they prepared to take her repeatedly and in newer ways than their fellows.

  “Then it’s done.” The slaver’s voice rose above the din. “She belongs to you three bastards.”

  The crowd roared its approval.

  After the slaver released her from the post, the chains hung heavy on her wrists. Her pussy clenched. She awaited the burly, blond man, expecting him to take possession.

  A shadow fell across her face.

  Adam gazed down at her.

  No. She tried to push his image away. It wavered briefly, only to return, insistent and unrelenting.

  Welcomed too.

  He wore dark breeches and a white shirt, the sleeves billowy, customary for men during the period. A sapphire ribbon held his long dark hair at his nape. A faint breeze ruffled his opened collar, revealing his nicely furred chest. “You won’t get away from me now.”

  His resonant voice brooked no argument.

  Defiant at his impudence, she frowned. “I belong to the others first, you last.”

  Fury darkened his eyes. “For that, you will pay.” He slid his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to keep her face turned to his. “And know this—I’ll have you where I want, when I want.”

  He slung her over his shoulder.

  She gasped.

  Boisterous cries thundered through the crowd.

  Adam gripped her naked buttocks then slipped one finger between the cheeks and into her anus.

  She inhaled sharply, her senses overloaded at his arrogant touch and too many fragrances: linen, leather, and hot male skin.

  He slid another finger to her slit.

  She moaned.

  His chuckle matched the spectators’. “For an obstinate virgin, it would seem you’re well prepared for me. So soft and wet you are. You.” He spoke to the slaver. “Here’s your bloody gold.” Coins hit the platform, all clinking, some rolling away. “Stand aside. I need use of your ship’s cabin.”