“Why does she want to talk to me?”
Michael’s gaze fell to the now smaller amount of leather between them. “She wants to use you to her own gain.”
“Well, do you think I can help? After all, it is my family—”
Michael reached out and intertwined his fingers with hers. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but once Michael started to run the pad of his thumb over the sensitive flesh where her wrist met her palm, forming words became much harder. She became entranced where his big hand wrapped around her smaller one.
“There are a few good places we could order from.”
She had to rip her gaze away from where they touched. “Why are your palms callused?”
“From when I was younger. I didn’t always live in the city. I grew up in the country and my parents always kept my brothers and I busy with chores. Mostly manual labor to keep the family home up to standards. But I also played a few sports.”
“So you’re a jock?”
“Recovering jock. But when you’re in a Georgia high school, trying out for the football team is basically a given. And when your family is the richest one in town, making it on that team is also pretty much a given. As much as I’d like to think my athletic abilities earned me my spot, I’m not that naive.”
Lori turned his palm over and ran the fingers of her other hand over the veins and thinly veiled strength. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Well, I’ll have to show you my stats and prove it to you.”
“I might take you up on that offer.”
The car came to a halt and Lori’s heart kicked into high gear. Were they really at his place already? Though considering how much he made a year, it would make sense that he’d live in the Upper East Side.
He slid out of the car before Jerry could open the door for him and strode around to the curb side of the vehicle. Once he opened the door for her, Lori froze. Was she really going up there? She’d been to Michael’s apartment before. She knew exactly how clean and sterile it looked on the surface. Kind of like Michael.
His suit was always perfectly pressed and every hair was in place. But underneath that perfectly constructed exterior was something she never expected to find. A person. Funny and charming and not at all as polished as he liked to pretend. Once she got out of the car, there was no turning back. No. The ship had sailed the second she’d gotten in the car to begin with. When she left her cube. When she’d kissed him that morning. Maybe even when she’d stormed into his place just days ago.
But there was no going back. Lori stepped out of the car and took Michael’s hand again. Instead of eyeing the building breathlessly like she had the first time she’d come here, all she could focus on was Michael. As he moved, his back muscles played against the fabric of his suit. She’d stared at him like this that first day. Once again, she followed him into the elevator, fantasizing about how he’d look without that jacket on. Without his shirt.
Except her fantasies were about to become a reality. Once they got upstairs, she could do whatever she wanted to him.
“You look like you’re about to hyperventilate,” he said as the elevator climbed higher and higher.
“I’ve never had much of a poker face,” she said with a hollow laugh.
He squeezed her hand a bit tighter. “You’re not afraid, are you?”
“I thought I told you already. I’m terrified.”
“Well, the joke’s on you then. Because I’m really not all that scary.”
The doors opened and she followed him down the exceedingly short hallway to his door. Buildings like this either had no hallways or the elevators opened right into the fancy apartments of the owners. Her own place had a barely working lift and a hall that passed ten other doors before she got to her own.
But here it was three feet and then door.
Michael took out his key, but turned to her before he opened it. “You really look like you’re about to run.”
For as smart as Michael was, he really could be dense sometimes. “Did you ever think that maybe my antsiness has more to do with anticipation than fear?”
He smiled down at her. “Yes. But believing it would’ve made me pretty arrogant, now wouldn’t it?”
Lori stepped in closer. “I think that ship has sailed long ago.” And then she pushed up on her tiptoes in her sneakers and pressed her lips softly against his.
He kissed her back slowly, thoroughly. One hand splayed against her back and pressed her against him.
“Luckily for you,” she whispered, “I’m one of those crazy women who thinks arrogance can be sexy.”
She could feel his smile on her lips before he reached around her and unlocked the door in one deft move. It was especially impressive considering he didn’t take his eyes off her the entire time.
As soon as the door was open, Lori backed inside, wrapped her fingers in Michael’s jacket and pulled him in with her. He kicked the door shut with his foot as his mouth found hers again.
Now that they were in the privacy of his home, all bets were off. His formerly gentle kiss was now rough and demanding. In response, she pulled him closer even as she pushed his jacket over his shoulders and the expensive material crumpled to the floor.
She moaned as her hands roamed over his back, and her head fell back as Michael’s lips traced down the column of her throat. Her breaths came quicker, and she closed her eyes to revel in the sensations as his hands roamed over her body, skimming over her back, cupping her ass, and then traveling back up and catching in the hem of her blouse. He pulled away from her just long enough to pull the shirt up and over her head.
Before she could kiss him again, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her until her toes were off the ground. She grabbed onto his shoulders to steady herself as he carried her through the entryway and into the kitchen, where he set her on the island and spread her jean-clad thighs so he could fit between them.
Before she could become overwhelmed with how real it all was now, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. She let him sweep her away even as her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. To give her more room to work, he dropped his arms and rested his palms on her hips above the waist of her jeans. She moaned against him as his tongue teased her and she finally got the last button on his shirt undone. Without needing any encouragement, he shrugged it off and came right back to her.
He went to kiss her again, but she held up a hand to stop him. “Hold on,” she murmured. “I’ve been waiting for this…” She took a moment to appreciate his beauty. The same dark hair from his head barely dusted his chest, and a more defined trail led straight toward the button of his slacks. She ran a finger over the ridges of his abdomen, reveling in finally getting to touch his beautiful physique.
While she was distracted, he leaned forward and ran his lips up the side of her neck. His fingers wrapped in her ponytail and angled her neck to give him better access as he nibbled on her ear, nipping a bit too hard and then using his tongue to take away the sting.
She moved against him and pulled his hips closer until the bulge of his cock was up against her core. As she rubbed against his erection, his hands frantically roamed over her sides and back before they rested on her shoulders and slipped off the straps of her black bra one at a time. He slid the straps farther and farther down until her breasts were free to his gaze. Her nipples were already hard from arousal, and another wave of heat shot through her as he stared so intently at her bared breasts.
“Fuck, Lori,” he murmured as he reached up to cup each one, softly rolling the pebbled tips between his thumb and forefinger. Her head fell back right as his mouth closed over a tip and she felt like a bolt of lightning struck her head on. She jerked against him as he alternated between using his tongue and teeth on the sensitive buds.
Her fingers tangled in his hair and she urged him closer as her hips rocked against his, eager to get more of him. But ins
tead of giving her more, he gripped her waist and picked her up until her arms were around his neck and legs around his waist. He started to move, but she couldn’t look to see where they were going.
“What are you doing?” she breathed.
“Bed. Now.”
Her entire body tingled at the realization he could only form one-word sentences. But soon enough, her own mind was just as cloudy as Michael nudged the door to his room open with a foot and tossed her on the bed.
Before she even had a chance to recover, he was undoing the button of her fly, and in one swift motion, he pulled her pants and panties off her body, only pausing to remove her shoes. She took the last step and undid her bra, leaving her completely bared to his gaze.
She sat up to kiss him, but he pressed a palm on her chest, between her breasts, and he pushed her down until her back met the silky smooth comforter beneath her.
Her breaths came deeper as he dragged his hand down her body, over her ribcage and stomach until his palm pressed against her aching clit.
Lori gasped at the shocks that raced through her body, and while she was distracted, he bent forward and replaced his palm with his tongue. Her hands fisted in the sheets as he licked and nibbled and teased her. The sensations only became more intoxicating when he pushed two fingers inside.
“Michael,” she moaned. The heat hit her hard and fast as he expertly worked her body. She thrashed and bucked beneath him, desperate for the release he pushed her toward.
And then he pushed one more finger inside her and she fell apart beneath him. She tried to catch her breath as the waves washed over her, and suddenly Michael was gone. She creaked her eyes open, only to see him standing at the foot of the bed, rolling a condom over his jutting erection.
Her mouth went dry at the raw power of the naked man above her. Good grief, he was handsome normally, but seeing him like this, seeing him looking at her as if he was thinking the exact same thing…she didn’t think she’d ever been so turned on in her life.
And then he knelt on the bed and crawled over her. His golden eyes met hers as he gently wrapped his fingers around her ankle and spread her legs for him. She held her breath as he settled between her thighs and slid his palm from her ankle to her calf and then higher to her inner thigh until it settled on the curve of her waist. He pulled her tightly to him until he was braced at her entrance.
Leaning in, he captured her mouth in a devastating kiss as he slid all the way inside. He swallowed her moan with his kiss as he ran his hands up her sides and along her arms until they were pinned above her head. He kept kissing her but didn’t move. At first, it was nice to get a chance to adjust to his size within her, but soon, she pushed her hips up against his, urging him to move.
He intertwined his fingers with hers, effectively holding her down, and started to thrust. He moved at a frantic and primal pace, his thrusts slammed into her, and each one took her higher and higher. She couldn’t move her arms, so all she could do was wrap her legs around his waist and hold on as another climax crashed hard and fast over her.
Only after she was coming down from her orgasm did he finally release her as he set one palm next to her head on the bed to brace himself as the other hand grasped her waist and held her still for him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as the thrusts came harder and faster until his entire body tensed over hers. His jaw clenched and the cords in his neck stood out as his own orgasm hit.
All Lori could do was stare breathlessly up at the power and beauty of Michael. He finally opened his eyes and looked down at her.
“I’m just enjoying the show.” She grinned.
“Oh, I enjoyed it too.” He shifted his weight off her. “Trust me.”
As he rolled off her, she pulled the blanket up and over her naked body, suddenly self-conscious. Now that they’d…done the deed, would he expect her to go home? She had no idea how one-night stands worked. One-evening stand?
Michael rolled off the bed and padded to the bathroom. Lori sat up and had a moment to look around at his bedroom. She’d been a bit too distracted when he’d carried her in here to pay much attention. The large room was very masculine. The black furniture was all modern and had hard angles. The hardwood floor was the only thing in the room that wasn’t black or gray except for the books that lined his shelves. Unlike his office, these books were mostly fiction. Mostly thrillers, but a few horrors mixed in. It made her wonder exactly how much she didn’t know about him yet. Things she probably should’ve known before sleeping with him.
Oh well. Her body still hummed too much with pleasure from her multiple orgasms for her to have any regrets about being with Michael. “It’s getting late,” she called as she sat up, belatedly remembering that her shirt was somewhere in the entryway to his apartment. “Maybe I should head out.”
Michael came out of the bathroom, still completely naked. Lori’s mouth went dry as she drank him in with her eyes. “You can’t leave yet. I promised you dinner.”
She blinked as she forced herself to tear her gaze away and focus on his words. Dinner? Her stomach growled and she remembered that he’d originally asked her to dinner. And the longer she stayed, the more chance that they’d be able to do it again…
She smiled at him. “Dinner sounds great.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Michael looked up from his computer as Luke strode into his office. Ten thirty. This was downright early for his brother to be making an appearance. “Welcome back.”
Luke took a seat in the chair on the other side of Michael’s desk and rubbed his eyes. “I need a vacation.”
“You just had a three-day weekend,” reminded Michael.
“Working weekend,” clarified Luke. “You have no idea the lengths I go through to keep our clients happy.”
“I have an idea.” Michael narrowed his eyes as he looked Luke over. “You have lipstick on your shirt, by the way.”
Luke jumped to attention, maneuvered his neck to the side, and pulled out the shirt to get a better view. “Damn it. They’re all wearing that bright stuff these days. I think Cali might have some extra shirts for me. Do I have time to run home if I need to?”
“We don’t have anything together until later in the afternoon, but you’d have to check with Cali about the rest of your schedule. Speaking of, have you heard from our friend Ken?”
Luke licked his thumb and rubbed at the stain on his collar. “Not a peep. Should I have?”
Michael debated telling Luke that all his rubbing was just going to make the spot worse, but decided against it. If he couldn’t be bothered to put on a clean shirt, let him deal with the consequences. “Evelyn said we’d probably be contacted soon. Asked to attend a few events. Get to know people.”
“Good. That’s the whole point of all this, right? The sooner we find out who’s in charge, the sooner we can get out and maybe get our money back.”
Michael knew that Luke wasn’t concerned about the money, but he wanted to be done with the Thirteen Stars as soon as possible. “That’s the plan.”
Luke finally gave up on trying to clean his shirt via saliva. “Did you hear that Jace is still down there with Emma?”
Michael raised a brow. That was…interesting. “No. I knew he helped her home from the hospital.”
“And the son of a bitch never left. He’s sleeping in our family home right now.”
“It’s her home.”
“And she’s family. I don’t want this guy weaseling his way into her life. She’s young, she’s rich, she just went through a life-threatening experience.”
“Technically they slept together before Thirteen Stars tried to kill her.”
Luke groaned. “Please don’t remind me, okay? The guy is a stalker. He followed her from here to Georgia. That has to set off a few alarm bells.”
“Except his stalking her saved her life. So until she gives me reason to think otherwise, I trust her judgment.”
Luke considered Michael and tilted his head. “You’re being
surprisingly calm about this whole thing.”
Michael kept his expression blank. Cali wouldn’t have told Luke about him and Lori, would she? “What do you want me to do, Luke? Take the next plane down to Georgia and evict Jace from a house I don’t even own?”
“No. That definitely falls into the camp of what I would do. But still… Something is off about you. Did you go to a different barber?”
Great. Now Luke could sense when Michael got laid. “Does my hair look different?”
Before Luke could answer, a soft rapping came from the door, and Cali stood at the entrance to the office, holding up two cups of coffee. It really wasn’t in her job description to bring them drinks, but she made a point of going above and beyond whenever necessary. “I heard trouble was back and thought you might need a pick-me-up.”
Michael took the coffee and set it aside. Sometimes he’d prefer it if Cali didn’t go so far above and beyond. Mainly because he knew she’d be calling in all these favors eventually, and he didn’t know whether they’d be able to afford her when that happened.
Luke, on the other hand, had no qualms about drinking her offer. “Have I mentioned how much I missed you?” he asked before he took another drink.
“You always miss me.” She turned to leave.
“Wait,” called Luke. “Help me out here. What did I miss while I was gone?”
“Well, you messaged me yesterday that you weren’t making it in, so I already rescheduled all those appointments.”
He shook his head. “Not that. With Michael. Something is different and he’s not telling me what it is.”
A huge grin covered her face. “The brothers keeping secrets from each other? I’m shocked!”
“For the love of God, Luke. There’s nothing different about me.” He just needed to keep his cool and remain calm. There was no reason for Luke to have to know about Lori. At least not until Michael figured out what the hell he was doing with her. He might not sleep around as much as Luke, and he sure as hell had more of a connection with the women he took to his bed than his brother, but he was no monk. He knew he had no time for relationships, and the women he slept with were all okay with that.
Touching The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 5) Page 9