Untangle Me
Page 4
Her father promised to call back after talking to his lawyer. Ivy hung up the phone and stared at her computer screen. The accompanying letter explained the uncovered negligence and an apology for the hardship the plaintiffs had suffered. Her father’s signature was all that was needed to receive the money. She kept rereading the letter, but each time found nothing suspicious.
The weight pushing her down and the pressure to provide for her parents drifted away. She thought about all the improvements her parents could make to their house, to their way of life. Her hand trembled as it hovered over her keyboard. Up and down she moved the cursor as she read the documents over and over.
What changed?
Why were they paying now?
She’d confronted the man that could make this happen.
Seth. It had to be Seth.
Before she got ahead of herself, she had to think through another question. Had he known all along or did she give him enough information to uncover the truth? A ruthless man who’d always known would have buried the truth further. A man like Seth didn’t spend this kind of money to get laid. Not a man of Seth’s stature. It wasn’t necessary. He could simply replace her with someone else.
Tears streamed down her cheek. If he was behind the settlement, she was almost afraid to hope it was true. He’d done an amazing thing for the families hurt by that building. She needed to know more.
After several attempts to contact him, she called her assistant.
“Candy, I can’t find him anywhere. His office won’t tell me where he is and he’s not answering his phone.”
“Interesting how things can change in just a week. I’m sure he’ll call when he’s ready.”
“I said some pretty terrible things to him.”
“He deserved them all. Just because he didn’t know the truth then doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve your censure.”
“According to the letter, the man behind the mess was fired during his very next project. The first after Seth became chairman of the board.” Ivy paced her apartment. “He was fired for trying to do what he did on my dad’s project, only it appears he got sloppy with the cover-up and got caught.”
“You need to talk to Seth.”
“I know, but I can’t find him.” She brushed her fingers through her hair and tugged.
“Do you think he did this to win you back?”
“Maybe. I bet he’d have done it regardless.” More tears pushed at the backs of her eyes. “I had him pegged all wrong. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want anything to do with me.” Her stomach rolled uncomfortably.
“Why don’t you sit down and put in one of your favorite romantic comedies. I’m sure you’ll hear from him.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, a movie, good idea. Thanks, Candy.” She walked into her front room. “I’ll talk to you later.”
She set down the phone and it buzzed.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
“Seth! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” She swiped at her cheeks.
“Apparently you haven’t been looking hard enough. Open your front door.”
With the phone still held to her ear, she stepped to the door and peered out. Seth. She took a sad, little calming breath and opened the door. He held a bouquet of paper dollars folded like roses on long green stems and tied with an elegant red bow. The tears pushed over the edge of her lids and tumbled down her cheeks. She hadn’t lost him, but could she hold onto him?
“Where have you been?”
“I couldn’t get the fold right.” He looked down at the paper flowers. “I found an origami specialist.” He shook out his right hand, which was a bright shade of red. “She took a ruler to my hand every time I made a wrong fold.”
“You poor thing.” Ivy took his elbow and pulled him towards her. “Come inside, let me take a look.” Once she shut the door behind him, she set down the phone, took the bouquet from him and set it on her counter.
“She was really sweet, until that first wrong angle,” she heard him say as she went to the bathroom to grab the aloe. “She told me her mother was rolling over in her grave.”
Ivy giggled. “You’ve probably given her nightmares.” She smeared the green gel across the top of his hand.
“I think I’m going to have nightmares.”
Ivy squeezed her lips together to hide another giggle. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I don’t deserve your thanks. I don’t even deserve your forgiveness.” He took a deep breath. “I was on the board when your dad had his accident.”
“I know. I read the letter too.”
“I got on the board of several companies that year. I didn’t always know what was really going on.”
“I know, and the following year when you did, you took care of the problem.”
“That I did. Today, I made sure that perp is not working in the industry. He’s working at a dump outside of the city.”
She picked up both of his hands in hers and squeezed.
“Ivy…Brad’s a nice guy and closer to your own age. I’ll walk away if you’d rather be with him. I didn’t fix this just to get another chance with you.”
“I know.” She smiled up at him. “Brad is a nice guy.”
“He is.” He pulled his hands from hers and rubbed the back of his neck. “Brad’s the best. I know he’d make you happy.”
“Why are we talking about Brad? I’m guessing you didn’t fold all those dollars to convince me to go out with him.”
He looked her right in the eyes. “No. I folded each one for you.” He stepped forward and caressed her cheek. “But I want you to be happy.”
“Is that all?”
“No.”
“Our bets have only been for one dollar. Why did you fold so many?”
He leaned in and stopped an inch from her lips. “I realized I didn’t want you to give me one more chance.”
Her heart stopped beating and she squeezed her eyes closed.
“What if I mess up?” He lifted her chin with his finger. “I want you to know that a fight, or a misunderstanding, or ruler wielding little woman isn’t going to keep me from coming home to you.”
“Oh, Seth.”
He leaned forward and claimed her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her whole body into his. Comfort and warmth seeped into her, releasing her anxiety. His lips were firm and his tongue demanding as it pushed its way into her mouth and in the next second he pulled back.
“I want you, Ivy. I want you in my life. I want to make you happy and I want to make you mine.”
“I’ve been yours, Seth. Since that first call, I knew it.” She pulled on his neck to pull him closer. “This last week has been the worst. I was so conflicted and I feel terrible for doubting you. I promise to never do that again.”
“Then it’s done. You’re mine.” His face lit up in a satisfied smile.
Making his eyes shine and the little lines around his luscious lips crinkle made her heart sing. He’d untangled her from the mess that had plagued her family. He’d also unlocked her heart and opened her body and mind to incredible pleasure. Seth was her match and her hero, the hero she didn’t know she wanted. Ivy looked into his eyes and knew she’d found the love she’d been looking for.
Epilogue
One Month Later
Ivy scrolled through her email, hoping she hadn’t missed anything in her mess of an inbox. Seth would arrive any moment to take her out to dinner and she couldn’t concentrate on much else. He’d been sending her requests all day to take off her panties. In one of the first texts, he promised to tie her up and rip her panties off if she didn’t comply. That message did nothing to encourage her to take them off. Most of the day, she felt compelled to leave them on, but she did end up shimmying out of her panties after the last promise he texted.
The office phone beeped and Candy texted that she was leaving for the day. A flutter rippled th
rough her body as quick as water falls off a cliff. She stood, packed away her laptop, and put her office phone on the floor. She walked around the empty desk, adjusted her lavender blouse, and waited for the man that had captured her heart.
The clack of his shoes hitting her wood floors sang out and she gripped the edge of the desk. He stopped in the doorway, a lavender rose in his grasp.
“Your lobby is a tease. I love this color on you.” He tossed the flower. His crisp clean shirt was unbuttoned at his neck and he worked at loosening his tie. “Did your parents’ flight take off on time?”
“Yes, they should land in Rome tonight.” She was transfixed by his strong hands and the way they unraveled the knot. “Your butler is picking them up at the airport.”
“Good. He’ll take good care of them. I’ll check-in with him tomorrow.” He stalked towards her. “Your desk looks clean.”
“I thought it was best to clean up a bit.”
“You’ve removed the barrier.”
“I have.”
He stopped when his legs landed between hers and he clasped the nape of her neck, forcing her to look up to see his eyes. The temperature of the room had been increasing with each passing minute. It had only been that morning when she’d last felt him inside her, but she needed him again.
The last month with Seth by her side had brought her immense joy. Not only had he single handedly changed the course of her family’s life, he’d cemented himself in her life as well. He’d taken over her submissive training and she was looking forward to the day she’d call him Master.
He’d shown her, one day at a time, what life could be like when you deny yourself nothing. Sure, she no longer had to worry about the cost of material things, but that’s not what had made the difference.
She understood now why her parents had been so content since her father’s accident. They had each other. Now, she had Seth. He was her man, her Dom, her partner in life and that single fact brought happiness into her life.
She leaned back as he grasped one of her legs. His strength surrounded her and her pussy wept with need. Inch by inch, he lowered her back to rest on her desk. She reached out her hands and grasped the edge of the desk behind her.
“Please, Sir, I need you.”
He claimed her lips. His tongue pushed into her mouth and hers swept past his in a delicious tangle. Her pelvis arched up to meet him and was met with his hard ridge. Their moans mingled as their pelvises danced.
Peeling himself off of her, he stood and worked at his belt, then zipper, and finally released his cock.
“You want this?” His hand worked up and down his length.
“Yes, please, Sir.”
He swept the head of his cock through her wetness and pushed in slowly. She watched pleasure wash over his expression. Inch by inch, he pushed all the way in.
“I love you, Ivy.”
“Oh, Seth, I love you too.”
His slow thrusts increased with intensity. Hitting the back of her cervix, he filled her. She looked into his eyes and found the home she needed. They came together and she wrapped her arms around him, followed by a simple kiss to his forehead.
The first time they’d made love on her desk, he’d pushed her desk across the room and her monitor crashed to the floor, but since then he’d had a handyman bolt the desk to the flooring. Someday, he’d break the desk and she could only imagine the fun they’d have in the process.
The End
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Other Books by S.J. Maylee:
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