by Ravenna Tate
Liane wasn’t sure why this felt so right, but she was certain of two things. She’d held all this in long enough, and she was desperate for someone to talk to. Why shouldn’t that person be Emmett? He was handsome, charming, and he had no reason to hurt her. She wasn’t worried about her job. She knew she was good at what she did and he would be pleased with what she’d come up with so far.
She wasn’t really worried about anything. She’d lived her life for the past six years in hiding. Hiding from friends, coworkers, and anything even resembling a relationship. She could do no more for her father and grandmother than she’d already done, and there was no one left to find or care for. Wasn’t it time she took care of herself for a change? Her own needs had taken a backseat since that fateful day, and she was ready to pay attention to them again.
Liane drained her wine glass, and Emmett refilled it for her. Then she attacked her dinner, not because she was that hungry, but because he’d gone to all this trouble and she wasn’t going to waste the food. She could talk and eat at the same time. “You know about my marriage and daughter. I was at school the day of the storm, and Keith was at the pediatrician’s office with Molly for a check-up.”
“How old were you when you got married?”
“I was twenty-one, and so was Keith. Molly was born six months later.”
“That must have been difficult for you both.”
“It was, but we were determined to finish our degrees. Our parents were very supportive and understanding. Both sets helped us as much as they could.”
“So Molly was young when she died.” His voice was gentle, and she was grateful for that.
“Yes. She had just turned a year old.”
“I can’t imagine what that was like.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Wasn’t the university hit, too?”
His voice was so calm and soothing, and she marveled at how sensitive he could be. She had trouble picturing him as a ruthless business owner, and remembered what Stacie had said about suspecting the Weathermen only wanted people to think they were ruthless. “Yes, it was hit.” You can do this. “We had to evacuate to a shelter. I was gone for nearly two weeks with no word. I didn’t know if my family had survived, and I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. None of us could.”
Emmett’s face registered shock and empathy, and Liane was so grateful for that she nearly started to cry. “I didn’t realize you’d had no word for so long.”
“The entire town was gone. By the time we were allowed to leave the shelter, several government agencies had been set up with lists, and everyone except my father and maternal grandmother were on them. They were the only two still alive, but they were badly hurt. It took a long time to get them moved to a place in the same city underground with me.”
His gaze was sharp. He hadn’t missed the hesitation in her voice or the change she was certain showed on her face. “What do you mean by that?”
Could she tell him this? She had to. She’d come this far, and she might as well get the whole truth out. “There was a lot of red tape to deal with. I made plans to move underground and wanted my father and grandmother with me, but I had to hire an attorney to help me do that.”
“Go on.” The way he said it made the hair on the back of her neck prickle. Was he also a mind reader in addition to his many other talents?
“The guy did help, but there were a lot of people who needed the same kinds of help in those days. Everything was in chaos. I was twenty-two years old by then and had lost my entire extended family, plus Keith’s family. They had all left wills and life insurance policies, but I was clueless where to turn first. There were so many of them to try to find and bury, and I didn’t have anyone to help me. I had no choice but to trust all of it to a stranger.”
Emmett rose and sat next to her. Simply having him this close was a comfort, but her emotions were all mixed up now. She hadn’t trusted anyone for six years. He stroked her arm gently, and that helped a bit. His touch conveyed understanding and a sincere desire to help, not take advantage of her situation. This man wasn’t Connor, and he wasn’t using her. Seducing a woman you found attractive wasn’t the same thing as forcing a young woman into your bed in exchange for helping her bury her entire family, and her dead husband’s family.
“What happened, Liane?”
“An attorney named Connor Fargo offered to help me, but the cost was enormous since there were so many deceased people involved. I had already tried to contact too many others, and he was the first one who wasn’t too busy or greedy to start right away. Like I said, the town was in chaos, and I wasn’t going to move underground and simply leave my father and grandmother in a hospital. We all knew what was going on with the storms by then, and we also knew we barely had weeks to get below ground, let alone months or years.”
Emmett nodded. “I remember those days. It was the same all over the world.”
“Yes. What little news reports we received said so. He told me he’d start right away. He’d handle all the paperwork, make sure my relatives and Keith’s were buried, and he’d ensure my father and grandmother would be placed in a facility underground near me. In exchange, though, I had to sleep with him.”
He stopped stroking her arm and looked at her like he wasn’t sure what she’d just said. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was. I only did it because I was desperate. It was a stupid thing to do, but I literally was out of options and out of time. I had called close to one hundred attorneys, and he was the only one who even gave me an appointment. The agencies that had been set up to help people were swamped, and I was told by most of them to leave my father and grandmother above ground, and simply go.”
“But you couldn’t do that.”
She shook her head and wiped away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. “No. I couldn’t do it. Would you have been able to do that?”
“No, and that’s the truth. I couldn’t have done it either.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. To know that even one other person understood made all the difference in the world. “Connor said it would only be one time he wanted me in bed, but of course that turned out not to be true.” Her skin still crawled with the memory. “Each time a new obstacle came up where he had to intervene and wade through the legal mess, I found myself back in his bed for an hour or two.”
Emmett’s eyes blazed, dark and threatening. A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“When I finally moved underground and found a facility to take my father and grandmother, I reported Connor to the bar, but nothing came of it. I don’t even know where he’s practicing now.”
He took his phone out of his pocket. “We’ll see about that. Spell his name for me.”
The image of a knight on a white horse raced through her mind as she spelled Connor’s name for Emmett. “I don’t know if you can do anything, but thank you.”
“Oh, I can do something. I assure you of that.”
They locked gazes, and Liane felt as though she were falling into a pool of clear blue water. Those eyes drew her right in. The spell was broken by a sound from the hallway. She cleared her throat. “And so, they’re still there, in that facility. For the past six months, neither one knew who I was when I went to visit, so I was okay leaving them because I know they’re being well cared for.”
“You can return anytime you want to see them.”
“Thank you. It helps knowing that.” She cut her gaze toward their plates. “I hate to waste this food.”
Emmett brushed a finger along her face, and her sigh almost sounded like a moan. “You’ve been through more than any one person should have had to endure. I’m going to look into this scumbag attorney. I promise you that, but for tonight … just for one night … let’s both put aside the past and focus on each other.”
“I’m ready to put it all aside.”
“What that bastard did to you was wrong, but I don’t blame you for giving in. You were so young,
and had no resources to help you deal with everything. I want you to know that’s not what I’m out to do. I’m not out to take advantage of you or hurt you.”
“I know that.”
He looked relieved. “Thank you. You’re an intelligent, straightforward woman, Liane. I’m not going to play games with you. I hired you for your skills, and even if you won’t have sex with me, you’re not going to lose your job.”
Her heart raced. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“I hope you will, because I think you’re beautiful.” He moved his hand to her hair and stroked it gently, the way one would do to a child. “This color reminds me of the sunsets I remember from above ground, and I’ve never seen eyes so pretty.”
He smelled great, he looked great, and he said all the right things. It wasn’t only surface attraction. She knew that. Underneath the slick business owner exterior was a compassionate man, and she was lonely. So very lonely. The last man she’d had sex with had been Connor. She’d avoided relationships like the plague since then. Wasn’t it time to enjoy a man again?
Liane licked her lips as he held her gaze. “So, where did you get the shrimp scampi?”
His laugh was soft and easy. “I told you that you’d owe me something very special for telling you.”
Liane’s entire body tingled. This was it. All she had to do was let it happen. “What will I owe you?”
Emmett cupped her face and this time she did moan. He kissed her, and it was so sudden and unexpected she barely responded. Then he released the kiss and gazed at her with dark eyes. “That, and more of the same. I want you in every room of this apartment. I want you wearing this dress but no underwear, and then I want you naked, tied to my bed.”
Holy fuck…
“And when we don’t think we can fuck one more minute, I want you in the bathtub, all slick and sweaty as our bodies move together. Are you on any contraception, by the way?”
She nodded. She’d never stopped using it after Molly was born.
“Good. I have no STDs. May I assume the same of you?”
“I have none.”
He grinned in a way that made her pussy wet. “Then we have nothing standing in our way, do we?”
Liane could barely breathe. She stared into those ice blue eyes and felt her resolve slip away as easily as one of those shrimp would slip off a fork. She wanted this man, and she wanted him now.
Chapter Five
Liane shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing is standing in our way.”
Emmett kissed her again, longer this time, but he released her mouth before she could part her lips to let his tongue inside. Her body ached for him now. Her pussy was soaked, and her nipples tingled. Every fiber of her being wanted to be naked with him. The light in his eyes was full of lust and amusement. No one had ever looked at her with such raw passion, and it sent her mind reeling with erotic images.
“Have you ever been tied up?”
She shook her head. Words weren’t possible right now.
“How about spanked?”
“Oh God,” she whispered.
He moved his hand off her face, down into the valley between her breasts and over her abdomen, lazily, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. She watched it move, aware of the tiniest details she hadn’t noticed before. He had several small scars on the first three fingers of his right hand, and the nail on the middle finger was an odd shape. Had he been injured during one of his adventures above ground?
When he reached her thigh, he brushed his hand over her skirt and then played with the hem. “Look at me.”
She couldn’t have disobeyed that voice if she’d wanted to. It wasn’t cruel, but it left no doubt it expected the listener to comply.
“Are you wearing panties?”
“Yes.”
“And a bra?”
“Yes.”
“Do they match?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
“Good girl. Make sure you always wear matching underwear from now on.”
“All right.”
He moved the hem of her skirt up, higher and higher, so damn slowly that Liane was sure she’d burst. The anticipation was killing her. Just as he was about to lift it high enough to expose her groin, a woman poked her head into the room.
“Pardon me, but do you want me and Jeremy to clear the dishes yet?”
Emmett didn’t move his hand. In fact, he seemed totally nonplussed that he’d just been caught feeling her up. “Yes, Kim, but leave the wine. And then give us privacy please.”
“Of course.” She and a man stacked the dishes on a cart so quickly that Liane knew they must be used to this. She pushed away those thoughts. No one else was here now. She would not allow his past conquests to intrude on this evening.
Once they left and had closed the panel doors on both sides of the room, Emmett smiled at her. “Now where were we? Oh yes.” He moved her skirt up over her groin and then her abdomen. “Those are very pretty. You like things to match, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“So do I.” Emmett released her skirt and gently pulled her to feet. “Take them off but leave the dress on.”
Liane found it difficult to take a full breath. She removed the panties and then glanced around, wondering where to put them. He took them from her and tossed them on top of her laptop bag. “Now the sandals.”
Those she simply kicked off and left on the floor.
“And now the bra.”
She had a trickier time with that, but he didn’t seem to mind waiting. In fact, he grinned the entire time as he watched, and then once again took it from her to place with the panties. “That’s better.” His gaze traveled slowly over her body until Liane was sure she’d go out of her mind with need. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m very excited right now.”
“Excited how? Sexually? The way you feel before a presentation? The anticipation of a new adventure?”
“Sexually.”
“Good girl. That’s how I want you all the time. Wet and ready for me. Are you wet, Liane?”
She moaned softly. “Yes. Very.”
“I thought so. I can smell it on you.” Emmett moved away from her, and she watched him light candles around the room, then open a credenza to reveal a sound system. Soft music filled the room. She recognized the tune. It was current, and very popular with teens who liked to make out in the dark. Her giggle sent another grin to his face.
“Something funny?”
She told him what she was thinking about the music.
“That’s why I chose it.” He held out his hands. “Would you care to dance?”
“Oh … um … okay. I haven’t in forever.”
He was next to her now, smelling fantastic and exuding sexual energy. It was so powerful she could feel it, and it was such a new experience for her that she grew lightheaded. She and Keith had fumbled around so much in bed that while Liane had enjoyed it, she’d never really known what it felt like to make love to a man who was confident and practiced. Connor had been nothing more than a rutting pig. She’d always fantasized about this, and now that it was real, she didn’t know what to do with it.
Forty-eight hours ago she’d been saying goodbye to her father and grandmother in another city. Now here she was, with one of the richest men in any city, slow dancing in his dining room, wearing nothing but her dress. It felt like a dream, but it wasn’t.
The bulge in the front of his pants as he pressed his body closer to hers was certainly real. The way he held her in his arms with quiet assurance was real. And the easy grace with which he guided her around the room was as real as it got.
Emmett moved closer still and nuzzled her neck, planting tiny kisses up and down it. “You’re a good dancer.”
“That’s because you’re so easy to dance with.”
“You flatter me.”
“Ah, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re a gorgeous charming man.”
Emmett smiled at her, his face mere inches f
rom hers. “And you are a beautiful, sexy woman who has never really lived.”
He released her hands and cupped her face, then kissed her. This time, he took her mouth with an urgent fervor that took her breath away. She reached around his waist and clung to him, letting his tongue inside. Deep moans escaped her throat as his mouth moved over hers in ways she’d only dreamed of, and when he finally broke the kiss, she was panting.
“I want you,” he said, his voice rough and deep. “I want to make love to you. No strings attached. Can you handle that? I don’t do the romance thing, Liane. I only see one woman at a time, and right now I want that woman to be you. Can we do this? Can we see where this leads us? I want to dress you up and take you out, and show you things you’ve only dreamed existed.”
Her mind reeled with everything he’d just said to her. She hardly knew which question to answer first. “I want all of that, too. I want to make love to you, too.”
He moaned softly. “Are you sure?”
“Oh yes. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
“Oh, Liane…” Emmett kissed her again, smashing his lips against her mouth and then shoving his tongue inside until she could barely breathe. If he hadn’t been holding her she’d have collapsed onto the floor. He tangled his fingers in her hair and gave it just enough of a tug that she knew he meant business, but not enough to cause any real pain.
She pushed her hips against his erection and moved her tongue over his, imitating his movements. She needed this man inside her right now or she was going to die from desire. Was that possible? It had to be, because she’d never felt such intense longing.
His mouth still on hers, he backed her up against the sideboard and then released the kiss. “Turn around.”
Once again, she obeyed without hesitation. Emmett leaned her over the furniture, next to her laptop. Her bra and panties stared her in the face as he tugged her hair until her head was back, and then he licked her neck. “I’m going to fuck you, Liane. And you’re going to take it.”
She cried out in pleasure as he moved his other hand over her ass, giving each cheek a couple of hard smacks. The dress wasn’t thick, and it stung, but she absolutely adored it. He let go of her hair and pushed the dress up, revealing her ass. “Oh yes. I knew you had a nice one.” His hands caressed her cheeks, moving down the backs of her thighs and up her lower back. “You are exquisite.”