Accounting for Lust

by Ylette Pearson

  Being at work most of the time meant slim pickings from the fridge. Shutting the door without finding anything worthwhile, Cassie bumped into Jake. He cupped her face in his hand, caught her lips in a sizzling kiss before marching her towards the kettle.

  “Morning.” He reached over her and took two mugs from the shelf. “Coffee. And then we have to talk.”

  Throat dry, Cassie only managed a nod. Her hands shook as she scooped the instant coffee powder into the mugs. Jake carried the mugs to the lounge just as the toast popped up from the toaster. She barely spared it a glance. Her appetite had disappeared with Jake’s words.

  “I’m sorry I intruded last night. I had no right to.” He dragged his hand over his closely cropped hair. “I acted unprofessionally.” Their eyes met and the heat in them turned her bones to jelly. She lowered her eyes to the mug in her hands.

  “We should stick to the job at hand.” Her body protested against her words, but Cassie persevered. “I needed last night, so I wouldn’t apologise for it, but having any kind of relationship besides the professional, will only complicate matters.”

  Jake nodded. “Agreed.” The silence stretched. “Why were you there that night?”

  She supposed he deserved an explanation. “My father had died after nearly a year of being terminally ill the previous week and I had to face up to the responsibility of running Adams Armoury Incorporated. Me. A boring accountant with no imagination, had to take over negotiating billion Rand deals with foreign governments.” She took a sip of coffee and stared out over the city.

  “I was scared out of my mind. That night was my last on the island. I wanted it to be memorable and as far removed from normal as possible. I wanted to live dangerously. You were the perfect solution to make me forget what awaited me here. Uncomplicated. No strings attached. Anonymous.” She stole a glance at him, but other than the muscle in his jaw working overtime, he remained motionless.

  “So why does someone want to kill you now?” Cassie winced at his direct words. She still had to be convinced that she was in any real danger.

  “After I took over the company, I found that despite several lucrative deals over the past couple of years, the company was in financial trouble.” Jake’s brow lifted in a silent question.

  “I knew nothing about running a company, but one thing I knew was accounting. The records made no sense and I asked Joshua, a forensic auditor, to help establish what went wrong. Lately we found that large sums of money disappeared through the corporate accounts. Someone systematically robbed the company to the point where recovery would be difficult. I received some threats, but dismissed them as sour grapes from the employees side.”

  “What kind of threats?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing dramatic. A few crude letters, and the day before yesterday a photo depicting me working late with the threat written over it.”

  “Why did you think it was just sour grapes?”

  “I still think most of it had nothing to do with our investigation. When I took over, the employees balked at having a woman at the helm. I had to be tough on them to prove I could do the job.”

  Jake grinned. “You were a bitch.”

  She blushed and tilted her head, considering his statement. “I suppose I was. Still am. I did what was necessary to get the job done.”

  He nodded in agreement. “What amounts are we talking about here?”

  “Up to now, we know of approximately fifty million Rand that is unaccounted for.”

  Jake whistled through his teeth. “The guy had at least fifty million reasons to want you dead. I’ve known people killed for far less. No wonder they want to stop you.” He rose from the chair and stood at the window again, rising on the balls of his feet.

  Cassie’s mouth dried. Could she really be in danger? What if she was wrong and the thief managed to kill her? It would ruin her father’s company and tarnish his reputation forever. Could she afford to take the chance?

  Her father worked hard at building the company. He neglected his family to such extent that his wife divorced him for a younger man and his children were inconvenient strangers. Only after she started her own accounting firm did she appreciate what he had achieved. To have it tarnished now through no fault of his own…

  Was she willing to give her life to protect that? Not that she had such an exciting one to begin with. But dying at twenty eight? Due to her own arrogance?

  “I suppose I do need protection.”

  “Yep, I think you do.” A wolfish grin spread over his face. “Maybe not only from the bad guys though. I will arrange for a female agent to stay with you during the evenings while I escort you to and from work.”

  The thought of another woman sharing her small space stuck in her throat. “I work long hours. Yesterday we only left early because you wanted daylight to prepare for eventualities.”

  He nodded. “I know and it wouldn’t matter. We don’t want to interfere with your work. All we ask that you listen to our commands when we feel you are in danger.”

  “That sounds fair.” The apartment suddenly stifled her. Besides the sexual tension still simmering in the air, a new menace had crept into the room. Cassie shivered. The weekend stretched out before her and she made her decision.

  “I’m going into the office again today and probably also tomorrow. It’s easier to work when there are no distractions from the staff.”

  Jake merely nodded and flipped open his mobile. She listened while he informed Matt of the arrangements, but rose during the conversation to fetch her shoes.

  Once in her room, her eyes fell on the flash drives she had hidden under her underwear. She’d forgotten about the drives and tucked them into her bra again before leaving the room.

  Jake had also changed into denim pants and trainers with an oversized shirt donned over the t-shirt. He opened the door and waited until she was beside him before he locked and they took the stairs.

  They rode to the office in silence and Cassie closed the door to her office with a sigh of relief. At least here she had the opportunity to put Jake out of her mind. After he checked that her office was safe, he disappeared. She booted her computer and accessed the network with an encrypted password. Checking the figures of the various accounts against the statements provided by Joshua soon commanded all her attention.

  Knowing what to look for, she spotted the missing millions Joshua referred to with ease. Checking and re-checking the access codes for the various accounts, she slumped in her chair. Joshua was right. Only a board member could have embezzled the funds. Although this narrowed the search to eight people, it was not going to be easy finding the culprit.

  All eight board members had access to all the accounts. Why that would be allowed, she’d have to find out. One by one, she revoked everyone’s codes and changed her own passwords. At least that should slow the person and prevent any evidence from going missing. She sent an email to Joshua advising him to change his codes and telling him about the revoked access.

  Cassie stretched her arms above her head to ease the kinks in her shoulders. Below her breast, the three flash drives bit into her flesh. She took them out and stared at them. What would she find? It could be a further clue to the identity of the culprit, but it could also be just personal documents of her father. If it was the first, she could use all the help she could get.

  She rose from the chair and paced the room. The drives glared at her from the desk. She must have a look, but why would he hide them there if it contained evidence against who-ever stole the money? Unless . . .

  No use speculating. Striding to her desk, she disconnected from both the work network and the internet and plugged the first drive into her computer. While she waited for the drive to register, she listened for any movement outside the door. Silence.

  The drive opened and Cassie stared at the list of files displayed. All the filenames appeared to be dates with locations in Power Point format. She opened the file dated three years ago and selected slide sh
ow. She watched the first slides run - and lost her breakfast in the dustbin.

  Slide upon slide of her father engaged in various sexual positions flashed over the screen. A date stamp and location marked each slide. Unable to watch further she paused the program, rose from her chair and paced the floor. Why would he have those photo’s? Did he know about them while indulging in his sexual fantasies?

  Jake rose from the chair as she flung open the office door. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Cassie shook her head. The words refused to form on her tongue. She stood motionless in the doorway with her mouth gaping like a fish on dry land.

  Jake gently lifted her chin. “Talk to me. What happened?”

  Could she trust him enough to show him the slides? Would it serve any purpose? For so long she had only herself to rely on and her own gut to guide her. Trusting someone else lead to heartache and disappointment. It was a lesson she had learned early with her parent’s rocky relationship. If she wanted something done, she had to do it herself.

  Maybe with his background in the security industry he would be able to help. Hell, she already shared a bed with him twice, what more did she have to hide? Just maybe your heart? She ignored the soft voice in her head. Her heart didn’t even feature in the equation. According to her previous lovers, she didn’t have one.

  “Cassie?”

  “I’m all right. I think.”

  She beckoned him to follow. “Come, let me show you. Maybe you can make sense of it.”

  Jake stood behind her chair as she opened the file again and rose from the chair. “I can’t watch this again.” Cassie turned her back to the computer and stared out over the city. Her laboured breathing echoed through the silent room.

  As the first image flashed on the screen, Jake sank down in the chair. At least his raging libido subsided with each photo that appeared. He recognised Graham Adams from his file. Not that these photo’s were the kind to display in a client file. All the scenes shared the same vantage point – a closet or behind some slated door or object.

  Jake narrowed his eyes. Her father didn’t know about the photos. Not once did he stare directly at the camera. Graham stared at his companion or had his eyes closed. If he took the photos as mementoes, one would expect him to at least look at the camera.

  “I don’t think he knew about the photos.”

  Cassie slowly turned around and met his gaze. “Why…” She cleared her throat. “How do you know?”

  “He is oblivious to everything but the woman with him. Someone hid the cameras in a closet or some slated container. The ladies however, looked straight at the camera in almost all the shots.”

  “Oh.” Cassie turned away as Jake opened more images. “He was being blackmailed.” Cassie’s voice was little more than a whisper and Jake longed to hug her to him.

  Jake rubbed his chin. It was going to be a bitch finding them though. All wore masks to hide their identities. He would need some time to study the photos and find possible locations where the pictures could have been taken.

  Jake forwarded through the slides until the last one. It contained only words. Blind man’s bluff?

  “Could be. Have you checked his personal bank accounts for any unusual amounts?”

  Cassie nodded. “When we first realised money disappeared from the corporate accounts, we looked in his accounts first.” She sighed and Jake wished he could hug her close and make this go away.

  “No large amounts deposited or withdrawn?”

  “No. For a wealthy man he lived a cheap life. He took only the salary needed to survive.”

  Jake’s respect for Cassie’s father climbed a notch. “Then I don’t think blackmail was the motive behind these photo’s. This sounds more like revenge.”

  He checked the last file. The date stamp read a year ago. Opening the file, he inhaled sharply.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  No explicit photos adorned the pages. Instead, images of Cassie flashed across the screen. Cassie at home. Cassie at work. Cassie at the mall. Cassie on the highway. Anger robbed Jake of speech, but he persevered until the last slide. You don’t want to listen – she’s going to die!

  Cassie peered over his shoulder and swallowed audibly. “I have three more drives. Let’s see if we can find the most recent one.”

  The next drive only contained further images of her father – dated roughly two years ago. The last drive was dated the week before Cassie’s father died. Jake swallowed. His gut told him Cassie was in way over her head. He’d learned to trust his gut over the years and he didn’t like this one bit.

  Images of Cassie flashed over the screen again, but this time the photos held more menace. The first one depicted Cassie standing next to the road after an accident.

  Cassie paled, “I remember that day. The other driver bumped me from behind and just sped off. It had happened so quickly I couldn’t even see what car it was. He nearly ran me off the road.”

  Image after image of Cassie in situations of stress flashed over the screen. Each image had a caption threatening the next time it would be worse. Jake swallowed his fear for her. He was no good afraid. He was very good when he was pissed. And he was getting thoroughly pissed as the images continued. The last image showed Cassie holding her father’s hand in hospital.

  “He died three days after that. They released him the following morning and he came to the office. The next day he was dead.”

  Jake pulled her up against him. Her body trembled against his and he folded her in his arms. “How did he die?”

  She buried her face in his chest, finding comfort in the steady beat of his heart. “They said his heart just stopped beating. The doctors couldn’t explain why when he was so much better, he suddenly had a relapse.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth and lifter her face to him. “I think the photos caused too much stress.”

  He hugged her for a moment more before reluctantly letting her go. “Do you still have much to do? We should get out of here before it gets too dark outside.”

  Cassie glanced out the window, amazed to see the light had faded.

  “I still have a couple of thing to take care of. Give me another hour.”

  Jake nodded and Cassie watched him shut the door. She ejected the drives, connected to the network again and finished checking the figures, trying to keep her mind off the photo’s. When Jake opened the door more than an hour later, she was ready to leave. Outside, dusk had fallen and very little daylight was left.

  “You’re ready to go?”

  Cassie nodded. “Let me just collect my things.”

  She closed the computer and grabbed the drives. She’d already stuck her hand into her bra when her eyes caught Jake’s. His pupils dilated and the fire in them scorched her to her toes. Involuntarily her eyes dropped to his pants. Yep, she excited him.

  Her body reacted to the signals in his and she scoffed herself. How could she think of sex at a time like this? After seeing those horrid photos of her father? After realizing she might have a killer on the board. And that she might be his next victim. It wasn’t normal. Was it? What was wrong with her?

  Jake cleared his throat and took a step towards her. Their air grew thick between them. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and the muscle in his jaw worked overtime. “We don’t have time for this.”

  It sounded if he needed convincing more than she did. Hell, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted him hot and naked and out of control. Images of her sprawling on the desk with his hands and mouth all over her, tightened her nipples in anticipation. Wetness flooded her pussy.

  “We should get going.” His voice was hoarse with want and it fuelled the fire in her veins.

  With her eyes capturing his, holding the gaze, she lifted her buttocks onto the edge of the desk, lifting her feet slightly off the floor. She ignored the slight tremor in her hands as she started to undo the knot of the t-shirt at her nape. Desire rocked through her as his eyes darkened some
more. He ran his tongue over his lips and Cassie stifled a groan. No man had the right to be so gorgeous. So deliciously male.

  Before she could slip the bands of the top from her shoulders, he closed the distance between them. Cupping her face in his hands, he captured her lips in a kiss that seared her to her toes. She dragged him closer. He tugged at the bands of the t-shirt while his mouth trailed a path of fire from her neck to the top of her breasts.

  Cassie wanted him closer, much closer. Jake quickly dispersed of her top and bra and lifted one breast to his lips. She hung onto his shoulders where the hard muscles rippled. Sucking on her already engorged nipple, he lowered her to the desk. His weight pinned her to the cold smooth surface before he slowly unbuttoned her jeans and took them off. Cold air brushed over her naked thighs, heightening the pleasure of his hands drifting over her legs.

  They didn’t have time for this. She wanted him now. Inside her. Filling her. Cassie reached for the top of his jeans.

  “Greedy are we?” His soft chuckle filled the room, caressing her senses. He ripped off the shirt, dropped the holster next to her on the table and shrugged out of his jeans. His erection sprang free and Cassie writhed on the desk. Her pussy already flooded with hot moisture, waiting for him. Ready for him.

  He tugged her hips towards him, pulling her ass to the edge of the desk. He spread her legs wide, opening her up to his gaze, to his touch. His thumb found her clit and she rocked against his hand as he stroked and pinched. Parting the swollen lips, he laved them with his tongue, drinking from the moist opening. He replaced his thumb with his tongue and slipped a finger inside her pussy.

  She writhed against his hand. Begging for more. Jake obliged by stretching her further with two fingers and then three. Turning and wriggling them until she could stand it no more.

  “No. I want you inside. I need . . .”

  Jake didn’t wait for her to finish before she heard the tear of foil and he shoved his cock inside her. His balls caressed her ass. He filled her, stretched her to capacity and then some more. Slowly he started to move, the muscles in his neck straining. She met him stroke for stroke until the pressure became too intense to be satisfied with his slow rhythm. Wriggling her hips, he inhaled sharply. And pounded into her.