“I looked through it. It is fine the way it is. Once you complete it, we can add it to my research.”
“Great.” She nodded and opened her files. “We might have to go for a field visit tomorrow to meet someone in that company. It can’t all be done through the internet.”
“You’re right. I will ask Cole if we are allowed to do that.”
“You guys work too hard. It’s just an internship, guys. Relax.” Simon leaned back and inspected her nails. “A bunch of us are going to meet after work for drinks, do you want to come?”
Andi was stung by the way she was excluded out of that offer, but she didn’t show her ire. Instead, she kept working. Was it her imagination or did Hunter look at her for a brief second before he answered. “Thanks, Simone. But we’ve plans. Having a dinner at home. Some of my mother’s friends are coming over.”
“Boring!” said Simone. “If you change your mind, give me a call.”
“Sure, will do.”
Even Andi could sense that he had no intention of changing his mind. Maybe Simone got the message because she stood and strode out of the room. Andi didn’t say anything but a smile played on her lips. They worked together for a few hours. Andi made every effort possible to speak as little as possible and to not look at Hunter. Her heart desired to talk to him, to sit beside him, and perhaps touch him. But one small movement could lead to a flurry. She didn’t want to do that.
No more mistakes.
They simply couldn’t afford them.
Around six o’clock, there was a knock on the door and Justin strode in. He smiled at them. “Cole told me to find you guys here. Can’t believe you are still working? Relax, guys.”
“Dad, you’re supposed to encourage us to work harder.” She closed the laptop and gathered the files. Andi put them back on the shelves.
“In that case, don’t tell Cole I said that. Come on. I will take you home.”
“Where is Mom?”
“She is already downstairs.”
Andi didn’t know how they both managed to work together. Didn’t being with each other distract them as it distracted her to be with Hunter? Or perhaps they were already together so it was easy for them to compartmentalize that aspect of their life? With Justin, they made their way downstairs. Laura was already in the car, sitting on the passenger seat. Andi bent to take a look at the back seat. A huge box sat behind the driver’s seat.
“What is that?”
“Oh, yes. Those are some things I have to sell. Told Cole I would do it,” he said. “Do you think you and Hunter could sit comfortably together?”
“Why don’t you move it to the trunk of the car?”
“Can’t. Tried.” Justin scratched his head. “It doesn’t fit.”
“I could take a cab. It’s not a problem,” said Hunter.
“There is enough space for you both to sit, sweetie,” said Laura. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Indeed, it shouldn’t be. Two people could sit on the seat quite comfortably, and yet Andi was reluctant to sit next to Hunter. He opened the door for her and she slipped in. Damn it! What the hell was going on? The more she tried to keep her distance, the more fate threw them together. When Hunter sat down, she felt his thigh press against hers. The contact was enough to send a thousand bolts of desire straight through her veins. She felt as if she’d touched a live wire. Andi shivered, and she was quite sure that Hunter was able to feel her movements.
Justin sat. He took a look behind. “Ok, let’s go.”
The car lurched forward and with it started Andi’s trip to hell. She wanted to die. If the devil had offered her a choice, she would have accepted any deal to get out of this situation. Hunter’s hand lay on his thigh, but it was barely an inch away from her. Her fingers itched to grab it. She wanted to feel his smooth, warm skin. Within her heart was a storm of passion, but there wasn’t much she could do to quench it.
“So I heard you guys started working on a new project?” asked Laura.
“Yes, we did. It’s quite exciting.”
“Cole is very impressed with you guys. Says you are the best workers he has gotten in a long time. I told him impeccable genes always prove themselves,” said Laura with a laugh.
Andi smiled. “Sure, that must be it.”
Hunter’s fingers twitched. Her gaze was drawn to them when he lifted his hand. He placed it on her thigh, and the bright lance of desire that skipped through her veins was enough to make her jump. She glanced at him. He was looking at her. Their lips were inches away. Andi felt as if she was drowning in his eyes. She wanted to lean forward and kiss him. Her hand moved as if it had a life of its own and settled on his thigh. Her lisp parted a sigh escaped her lips. She wanted to kiss him so badly, but Justin and Laura were mere feet away.
His fingers inched over her thighs and he pulled back her dress. She gasped when he touched her naked thigh. Her legs parted and his finger slipped inside. She felt it brush over her pussy. Now the storm was a wild tempest that swept and crested through every fiber of her body. She couldn’t look away. He turned his face and glanced at her father, and the brief respite made it possible for her to grip the box as if she needed support to sit. Her head leaned against the seat and she closed her eyes while his finger burrowed deeper between her thighs. She should have pulled his hand away. That was what she wanted to do, but instead she shifted so that he could rest his finger on her pussy. Moisture leaked through, and she felt it coat her panties. His finger wriggled around until he found the edge of her panties, and then it dived in. Now she felt it right against her skin.
Andi wanted to die.
There was no other way to find release from this torture that he inflicted on her.
“Andi has gone to sleep,” said her father. “Poor dear got tired today. Maybe I should tell Cole to ease back.”
She wanted to tell her father not to do something like that. Andi could deal with any amount of work. But what she couldn’t handle was this exquisite assault that Hunter was inflicting on her. His finger slipped inside her pussy and he pushed it in as far as he could manage. The sensations that swept through her frayed nerves were enough to make her scream, but with an effort she managed to quiet the noise that threatened to rip out of her throat.
“She is doing fine. Andi can handle the work,” said Hunter in an even voice.
“Yeah, you’re right. What about you? Do you like working there, Hunter?”
“I love it,” said Hunter.
His finger slipped out and then he shoved it deep inside her once more. Her body was on fire. Red hot flames licked her skin. Her fingers clenched his thighs and she squeezed. As if understanding her silent command, he picked up pace. Sweat broke over her forehead as he thrust his finger in and out of her wet pussy. She could feel the juices that clung to his finger, and she felt the shudder that went through him as he sat ramrod straight. He wasn’t unaffected by this as he pretended to be. Her fingers clutched his thigh tighter.
“Maybe you could think about investment banking as a career option.”
“Perhaps,” he said. “I have got time enough to decide.”
“Yes, of course, dear.”
Andi stopped following the conversation as every cell in her body was concentrated on the pleasure that sizzled and burned through her muscles. The strong and powerful sensations that rocked her made her dizzy. She longed to find relief. Her body craved it. His thumb brushed over her clit through her panties. He pushed hard on it. The orgasm that shook through her muscles took her by surprise. Her fingers tightened on his skin and she felt her nails digging into his flesh.
It must have hurt him but he didn’t even whimper.
“Here we are,” said her father.
Andi opened her eyes just as the car pulled in through the gate. Hunter withdrew his finger just as Laura opened her door. Hunter also got out. Andi kept sitting. The sensations that ran through her legs were so powerful that she didn’t think she could stand as yet. Justin opened the door from
the other side and grabbed the box.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she managed to say. “Everything is fine.”
Hunter extended his hand towards her. Even though she didn’t think she could handle any more contact between them, Andi didn’t have a choice. She simply was unable to stand on her own. Grasping his hand, she slipped out. As soon as she got a grip on the car, Andi let him go. He smiled, and she looked away. The nerve of the man! He knew exactly how she felt and he was taking pleasure in it.
She wanted to kill him.
She wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him until he became senseless.
Andi did none of those things. Once she felt a little more in control, she walked into the house while Hunter helped her father with the box. Her usual routine was to help Laura in the kitchen, but she went upstairs to buy a few precious moments of time. She had to do something about Hunter. If this continued, she would go stark, raving mad. Her sanity was on the line, and Andi knew it was time to act. The problem was she didn’t know what to do. Nothing came to her mind. No one could help her. She was all alone with this dilemma, and it was eating her alive.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Andi watched her father and his new bride as they sat on the couch. Both were engrossed in a reality show. It was the perfect opportunity for her to slip away and go upstairs. She badly wanted to talk to Hunter. He’d reduced her to a mass of blubbering jelly in the car and then behaved as if he did nothing significant. She marveled at his control and his ability to manipulate her at will.
Andi wished she had the strength to stop him, but the truth was that she didn’t. And she hated it. Sometimes she wished to walk away from this place so that she never had to see Hunter again, but of course that was a pipe dream. She could never do it. It would set too may tongues wagging, and most of all it would hurt Justin and Laura. She could never do it after all the support they gave her.
She stood. No one spared her a glance, and yet she felt conspicuous and guilty. “I’m going upstairs,” she mumbled and then went out before anyone could stop her. When she reached the head of the stairs, Andi saw Hunter as he typed something on his laptop. He was wearing a white t-shirt and shorts, and yet he looked as if he was ready for a walk on the runway. The memories of his finger inside her and the sensations that followed ruffled through her mind. She flushed.
Andi cleared her throat. He glanced up. “We need to talk.”
“What?”
It annoyed her that he sounded distracted. Did he have something more important to concentrate on? Did she matter so little? “About what happened in the car…”
“It was a mistake,” he said quickly before she could complete her sentence.
She gaped at him. Was the man insane? Did he really think they could end this conversation with such ease? “A mistake? That was what it was? You can’t just…do that and then pretend it wasn’t a big deal.”
“You could have stopped me.”
Words got stuck in her throat. She wanted to pick up something and bash it on his head. Tears swam in her eyes but she was determined to not let them fall. Damn right, she should have stopped him but instead she took pleasure in the sweet agony he inflicted on her. “That’s not the point.”
“Look, I am sorry, ok. It won’t happen again.” Picking up his laptop, he strode towards the door.
She couldn’t believe he was walking away as if this didn’t matter. “You can’t just ignore whatever I have to say.”
He whirled to face her. “Don’t you see that I am trying to protect you?”
The statement was so absurd that she nearly burst into laughter. Surely, he didn’t expect her to believe that. “How the hell are you doing that?”
“Hunter,” said Laura from downstairs. “Come here a second, honey.”
Andi could only grind her teeth in frustration as he walked past her and strode downstairs. The man had more than enough nerve. How dare he try to pretend that he had her best interests at heart? He didn’t. She was just a body that he used whenever he felt the need for her, and then he left her broken. She wasn’t going to take this shit anymore. Andi walked into her room, closed the door, and burst into tears. It was her fault that she was in this mess. She shouldn’t have gotten involved with him in the first place. If she’d been cautious, she could have saved herself weeks of pain.
It was too late now.
All she could do was muster her resolve and fight him the next time he made an inappropriate move. She wasn’t his fuck buddy, and she didn’t want to be. Andi wanted a respectful relationship, and she could never have that with Hunter. He wasn’t interested, and even if he was, such a thing was not possible given their complicated family dynamics. The next day at work, she treated him with a distant politeness. A few times she caught him looking at her as if he meant to say something, but she glanced away before he had the opportunity to do so. She didn’t want to hear his lame excuses.
Cole walked into their conference room right before lunch break. “Hey guys, how is it going?”
“Wonderful,” she said before Hunter could speak. “It’s all very very smooth and I think we are right on schedule.”
“That is great to hear. I expected nothing less from you guys.”
“Cole, we might need to make some personal visits,” said Andi. “Some of the information is rather sensitive and classified and we won’t be able to get it off websites. Can we make arrangements to meet the employees of these companies?”
“Of course, absolutely. You can ask my secretary to make the appointments for you. When you go in, make sure that guys make the request in a polite and humble manner, not that I expect any uncouth behavior from you both.”
“I was actually wondering if we could split the list between us, and that way we would be able to work twice as fast.”
Cole wrinkled his brow as he stared from her to Hunter. Andi wanted desperately to not go with Hunter. She didn’t think she could stand being in such close proximity with him. They would have to share a cab and be outside the office for long periods of time. It would complicate their already miserable lives. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t like interns to go in alone. It’s not safe, and it’s not company policy.”
She sighed. It was worth a shot. “Ok. Thanks.”
“Hunter, you have any questions.”
“Not really.”
She could tell that Cole was a little surprised by Hunter’s reticence. “Great then. You guys must be excited about the charity gala tomorrow.”
Andi glanced at him, completely baffled. She gazed at Hunter and he showed the same puzzled expression. “What gala?” she asked.
Cole stared at them as if he couldn’t believe they didn’t know this. “How could your parents have forgotten to tell you? We’re hosting a charity gala tomorrow downstairs in the main hall. The proceeds would to go help orphanages across the state. Everyone has been talking about it for days.”
If she heard any such news, she must have filtered it out. So engrossed was she in her issues with Hunter that nothing else registered in her mind. “Maybe I heard the rest of the interns talk but I didn’t really pay attention.”
“It is tomorrow, and everyone is going to be there….from the directors to the brokers and the interns, not to mention some of our clients. So I suggest you guys dress nice and prepare to have a great time. It’s a good bonding activity for everyone and it is for a charitable cause.”
“Sure, we will be there,” said Hunter.
Cole left. Andi settled into her seat. She expected hunter to say something about her attempt to get rid of him during the visits, but he concentrated on his work, and she did the same. Andi ate her lunch upstairs on the roof alone. Lately, she had been avoiding the rest of the interns. It was a silly move perhaps, but she found it easier to concentrate on her work when they weren’t around. Seeing Wesley made her angry, and whenever she met Simone she felt jealous. It was better to not be with them than to participate in the
ir endless chatter. She was quite aware that she was getting a reputation as a hard ass among them, but she didn’t care. Actually her interest in all things had waned ever since the day she made love to Hunter in the conference room. Despite her best efforts, she failed to fight the attraction that she felt for him. It was mind-numbing to not be able to control her body and hormones. When she came back to the conference room, Simone was sitting on the table next to Hunter while Katie lounged in a seat.
“Hey Andi. Where have you been hiding?” asked Katie.
Since Andi didn’t have any lingering resentment towards the girl, she managed a weak smile as she took her place. “Not hiding, working. Cole has given us a lot of work.”
“He is always doing that. The best trick to use is to do it slowly because the moment you finish one project, he gives another,” said Simone in a simpering voice. “That’s what I did.”
“We are here to learn. How can we do that if we don’t work hard?”
“Oh, Andi, you are so naïve.” Simone waved her perfectly manicured hands. “The only purpose of an internship is to finish it so that you can write it on your resume. Nothing else matters. In any case, you don’t even know which career you are going to choose. This may be useless to you in the long run.”
“I might go into investment banking,” she declared. Her gaze met Hunter’s. Was he thinking along the same lines? “Perhaps.”
“Well, whatever. You are way too serious, Andi. I hope you don’t behave the same way in college. It doesn’t take long to earn the nickname of a nerd, and once you are stuck with that, nothing is going to change.”
She wanted to tell Simone that she wouldn’t mind being a nerd. When she’d landed in New York, Andi didn’t have a worry on her mind. She was free and easy. Anything could happen, and she was game for it. At that time, she didn’t have a purpose in mind. There were no goals in her life, but now this experience with Hunter had taught her a lot. She’d learned that it was important to have good priorities. She didn’t want to make more mistakes that led to heartache and disappointment. Gone was the carefree Andi and in her place was the Andi who wanted to be cautious. Maybe she was boring, but she didn’t care. At least she would remain safe – and in the long run, that was all that mattered.
Secrets with My Stepbrother, Vol. 2 Page 5