Lost In Between: Finding Me Duet #1

by K. L. Kreig

  Alone.

  I reluctantly agreed, knowing she was right. If I spent even sixty seconds alone with that fucker, he’d be sporting a collar of bruises around his neck from where I’d try to squeeze the life from him. My fingers have itched to call my father and demand he fire this asshole, but Willow convinced me she’d take care of it, and I have to trust that she will.

  Another thing I’ve never done. Trust a woman like this. She’ll probably never understand how hard this is for me to sit back taking no action when every cell in my body screams at me to fix this. To protect her.

  “Listen.”

  Noah’s voice cuts through my brooding. He punches a couple buttons on his cell before setting it on the edge of my desk. A very sultry, very familiar voice starts playing through his speaker.

  “I want to touch you…everywhere. Taste you all over. Devour you and consume you. And trust that this is merely a weak form of expression compared to what I’m feeling.” His eyes shut briefly. When he opens them again, I witness the restrained hunger in their depths. “But I’ll only ever do as you ask. This is trust between us. When you say stop, I’ll stop. When you demand more, I’ll exert myself until you’re satisfied.” His face is so close to mine, I just have to inch forward…one little inch…to taste him. “Now those are the clear safe words between us. So tell me to taste you and not to stop until you’re coming in my mouth.”

  “What the fuck?” I go instantly stone-cold hard and take a seat to cover it up. God knows I don’t need any more shit from Noah.

  “That’s your girl if I’m not mistaken.” The grin on his face is bursting with self-satisfaction when he sits down across from me.

  “What is that?”

  “It’s an audiobook.”

  “An audiobook? Of what?”

  “Well, this one’s called”—he fiddles with the app before answering gleefully—“With Visions of Red by Trisha Wolfe. It’s an erotic thriller.” Crossing his legs, he gets comfortable. “Pretty fucking hot, isn’t it?”

  I knew Willow recorded audiobooks, but Fuck. Me. I should have asked more questions. Romance? Erotica? I make a mental note to buy this one and listen to the whole damn thing. In fact, I make a mental note to find every audiobook she’s ever recorded and buy them all. I don’t even care about the stories. I just want to listen to her siren’s voice, that’s how pathetic I’ve become.

  I swallow hard and breathe. “Yeah.” I lift my eyes to his. “How did you get this?”

  Suddenly that murky vat of possessiveness I’ve been steeping in gets hotter and deeper and very fucking uncomfortable.

  First “Bill,” then Mergen, and now Noah?

  Why does this slice my skin apart?

  Is it because Noah was listening to the woman I’ve temporarily claimed as mine, or because any other jackass who downloads audiobooks can listen to her seductive voice, too?

  Or is it something else?

  “Fucking Maris. I need to fire her. Caught her listening to this at her desk, and when I unplugged her headphones from her computer, I heard Willow’s voice. It’s pretty distinctive. How are things going with the ‘girlfriend’ by the way?”

  He air quotes girlfriend, which pisses me off. I can’t focus on that, though, because the clouds edging my vision thicken. “And how is it you two met again? You never did say.” My swirling drum of envy is staining my skin. It’s not an attractive color on me.

  His smile falters, but he recovers quickly. “Really? I thought we covered that already.”

  “We didn’t. You’re avoiding the question just like you did the last three times I’ve asked.”

  “No. I’m pretty sure I told you we met at—”

  A commotion outside my office, followed by loud voices, one of them a familiar female, cuts off what he was going to say. Suddenly my door flies open, and standing there in all her glory is the very woman I can’t seem to shake.

  And she. Is. Pissed.

  But she is still so goddamn beautiful, my heart stutters. I feel her presence surround me completely. She’s not a breath of fresh air—she’s a fucking wind of change. I feel the transformation she’s brought to my life in every molecule, every blood cell. She’s bold, unique, challenging. I’ve been convincing myself she’s just a growing obsession that will pass, but I don’t think that’s true. She’s something bigger than me.

  “I told you, miss, you’ll have to wait until he’s free,” Dane practically squeals. His eyes plead with me to do something, but I only smile.

  “Oh, he’ll see me, Dane.” Her sugary words drip poison. She may be talking to my assistant, but there’s no mistaking the razor-sharp murderous tips are directed at me.

  “Don’t interrupt until I tell you,” I instruct Dane. After a few tentative glances toward Willow, he nods, backs out, and closes the door softly behind him.

  Blue to blue, our gazes hold fast until a noise to her left alerts Willow we’re not alone. When she shifts to Noah, her fire immediately dampens. A genuine smile brightens her stormy face.

  “Noah? Hi.” She says it so sweetly I feel like a seven-year-old who’s overdosed on Halloween candy.

  “Well, hey there, dollface.” In less than two seconds she’s in his arms and hers are willingly folded around him. All I can do is gawk.

  “I see you’re still covering this up.” She plucks at his dress shirt like maybe it will magically melt away under her fingertips.

  “Well, I can remedy that if you like,” he banters lowly. She laughs. So does he. He drops his voice, asking, “You making better decisions these days?”

  Sobering quickly, her eyes shift nervously to me then back to him. She nods.

  “Good to hear.” Dipping down, Noah kisses her on the cheek like they’re long-lost fucking loves, and I watch, dumbfounded.

  Ready.

  To.

  Blow.

  My mind is racing. Making up all kinds of shit that I don’t like. Outside I am perfectly still, but inside I am a raging fucking firestorm of hatred. And it’s all aimed at my best friend of thirty-six years, whom I could easily choke the very life from and not feel one iota of remorse.

  “I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” she asks him. Him.

  “And if you were?” I interject sharply, tired of the two of them making lovey-dovey eyes and acting as if it wasn’t my office they both barged into without invitation.

  “No sugar, you’re not interrupting a thing.” Noah shoots me a puzzled look before turning his attentions back to my woman. “So…this asshole here treating you right?” He thumbs my way with one hand. “Because if he’s not…”

  The innuendo he leaves hanging snakes my way slowly, like an oil spill. It pools at my feet until I fear I’m sinking into its inky-black void. When his other hand slides down her back as if it belongs there, it takes every ounce of will I possess not to lay him flat on my carpeted floor. Or stab him in the carotid with my Hermès pen.

  Willow’s eyes slip to mine, and for a just a split second, I see undisguised affection before the fire of her wrath burns it to ash. I know exactly why she’s here. I expected it, even, albeit sooner in the day.

  “I need a moment with said asshole, if you don’t mind.”

  Noah winces. “Uh oh. That’s my cue if I ever heard one. Nice to see you again, sweet thing. Good luck.” He throws the last part over his shoulder, but I’m not sure if he was talking to Willow or to me.

  When Noah’s gone, I take deep breaths until I marginally calm. Slowly I stride across the floor until all distance between us is gone. She watches me with a little trepidation and I see the bravado she walked in with waning. It’s as if she can see the tendrils of possessiveness rising from my skin, stretching for her, wrapping around her so many times she knows she won’t ever break free.

  I reach for her, and she takes a step back.

  Oh.

  Fuck.

  No.

  Faster than she can run, I whip my arm out and curl it around her waist.

  “Stop
,” she whispers. Her hand covers my mouth on its descent to hers. I wrap my fingers around her wrist and drag it to her side, holding fast.

  “Shaw…no.” Her voice is shaky. She sounds as nervous as she should feel about now. I am the hunter. She is prey.

  I’m crazed.

  Bestial.

  A savage on the rampage to show his woman she belongs to him. Only him.

  Mark.

  Claim.

  Ravage.

  These primal words loop through my head, the frantic mantra garbling together until all I hear is…

  Mine.

  I’ve known this woman barely more than a month, yet she has me unhinged like nothing else. My craving for her is illogical and unprecedented. But instead of fighting to get it under control, I continue to let it sweep me away.

  She didn’t make it far inside my office, and it takes me no time to back her up to the wall, pinning her hands behind her back.

  “Don’t tell me no again,” I rumble with reined-in fury.

  Eating her rebuttal, I crush my mouth to hers. Sweeping my tongue inside, I twist it with hers, taking everything I want. I remind her with a bruising force that, for now, she’s mine and no other man’s.

  She responds instantaneously, her mouth reaching for mine when I pull back to look into her eyes, making sure this is okay.

  Fuck. I only see hazy capitulation. I blink a few times to make sure I’m not making up her submission because it’s something I want, something I desperately need from her. But I’m not. It’s still there, flickering soft and sweet. It calms my raging jealousy.

  “For the love of God, Willow, you’re going to destroy me.”

  I think maybe you already have.

  “The car,” she croaks on a ragged breath.

  She’s referring to the sleek black custom Audi A6 I had delivered to her house this morning. I had that train wreck of a Fiat towed away. One can only hope it’s being used for scrap metal already. I knew she would protest, her pride keeping her from accepting my gift, which is why I had that piece of shit hauled away. She’ll have no choice but to keep the Audi if she wants to get around in anything other than public transportation.

  “I don’t want to talk about the fucking car,” I growl. I don’t want to talk about anything other than how fast I can push my greedy cock inside of her welcoming heat.

  “But I can’t—”

  I clamp her lips together with my fingers. “Not. Now.”

  Gaze bolted with hers, I reach over, lock my office door, and punch a button on the wall that starts the descent of the automatic blinds before leading her by the elbow across the room to my desk.

  She watches me carefully, her heaving chest tinged the delicious shade of want. Her shallow breaths whisper softly, but the language is dirty, raw. The words sinful. It takes true control not to rip the goddamn dress she’s wearing smack down the middle, conquering her like a medieval warrior who’s returned from battle, amped up on adrenaline.

  My voice is thick and rough when I speak. “I want to devour you, Willow. Eat you. Drink you. Gorge myself on you. Expunge every other fucking man from all parts of you.”

  Her eyes close and open again in slow motion.

  Once her blurry gaze is fastened on me again, I step fully into her. Brushing my chest to hers, I lay a finger gently on her temple and lower my voice to barely audible. “I want only me in here.” I tap.

  Her breaths quicken, and that sexy pink darkens. It’s intoxicating, fueling my insatiable need for more. Feathering down her cheek, I trace her lips until they tremble. “And here.” Leaning in, I press my mouth perfectly to hers, sucking her lower lip when I ease back.

  She fights the droop of her eyelids as I skim her collarbone, teasing past the swell of her breast. When I pause over her heart, her muscles tense, and I watch those shutters close. Guess the idea of owning this piece of her is off the board.

  Fine, I’ll move on. For now. But instinctively I know I’m circling back for that.

  Never looking away, I take my time skirting over the flat of her stomach, the curve of her hip, the strength of her toned thigh. I watch her liquefy further and faster the lower my hands slide. She moans my name loudly, grabbing hard to my biceps. Probably because two fingers are now buried deep in her snug, dripping heat. She’s primed and panting and already writhing against my palm, lost to me once again.

  “And I unequivocally want to erase every fucking man from this sweet spot, Willow. This,” I pump fast, working her up quickly until I feel her walls flutter with her impending orgasm. Then…I stop. Her eyes fly to mine as a whimper of protest leaves her throat. “This belongs to me.”

  Sweet Lord have mercy. When her pussy clamps down on me as I say that, I struggle to back away. I fight the temptation to drop in front of her, spread her thighs, and defile her until the sun goes down.

  But I need her to concede. Need it. Her strength is my weakness. So, taking a step back, I lean against my credenza. I slowly lick the fingers I just sank inside her, fighting the urge to strip her myself when she curses low.

  I leisurely scan her body, commanding, “Lose the dress.”

  A slim brow curves in a show of expected defiance, yet when she speaks, her voice is high and breathy and wanting—a dead giveaway this turns her on. I wonder if she realizes she’s closed off in every other aspect but so easy to read in this one?

  “Do you always have to be the person in charge?”

  I cross my arms. “That’s rhetorical, I assume.”

  She laughs, only it’s short-lived when she sees I’m serious. Licking her lips, she looks at the door briefly, deciding how to proceed. My forehead creases when I widen my eyes, just daring her to defy me.

  Do it, I silently challenge. Push me. Deny me. Unleash the beast salivating for you with nothing but your impudence.

  “I don’t need an excuse to redden that creamy ass, but holy fuck, do I want one.”

  Her pouty lips fall open in the perfect shape to fit my straining dick. I swallow my need to push her onto her knees and have her take me to the back of her throat until neither of us can think, but only because I want to bottom out inside the hot, enveloping warmth of that sweet cunt even more.

  “Is that so?”

  I smirk, waiting patiently. Goddamn, I’m hard.

  Moments click off as we both fight for power, though she’s not fighting that hard. In fact, she’s folding quicker than a losing poker hand. But it doesn’t matter. The smallest taste of her insolence has enslaved me. It’s a push and pull that’s addictive, and she’s my own personal brand of contraband. I understand Annabelle’s plight so much better at this precise moment. This high Willow’s giving me is unique and nothing short of habit-forming.

  The moment she gives, I sense it. Her demeanor changes, becoming more playful.

  Face bright with mirth, she reaches behind, and my cock jolts at the sound of metal teeth being separated. When the maroon shift slips off her body, I audibly gasp at the vision before me in tiny candy-apple lingerie.

  “Fuck, Willow. Are you trying to kill me?”

  The silk hugging her tits showcases her high, perky, barely covered nipples. In fact, I see hints of areola peeking out the tops. And the panties? Jesus H. Christ. The panties have bows that tie at the sides. In one swift move, they’ll be laying on the floor next to her clothes.

  “I take it you like?”

  I force my eyes away from her sinful body back to her gorgeous face. A corner of her mouth is kicked up in sass. I simply stare. Could I ever tire of her? I’m not sure it’s possible. “I more than like.”

  The shy smile she gives me is temporarily blinding. But the impairment lasts only seconds before I remember I have a half-naked Willow standing in front of me, waiting on her next command. And half naked just won’t do.

  “As fantastic as that bra makes your tits look, I want it gone.”

  Surprisingly, she obeys. She silently reaches between her mounds and flicks her fingers. With a simple p
op and straightening of her arms, the sexy garment slides down and joins the growing pile at her feet.

  I look to the only remaining piece of clothing—if one could call them that—and gruffly command, “Take them off, Willow. Slow. Sexy. Make me crave you so fucking much I can hardly breathe.”

  “You sound a little breathless already,” she pushes cheekily.

  I can’t help the tug I feel at the edge of my mouth. “Panties. Now.”

  “You seem to have a thing for me undressing for you.”

  I grin broadly, owning it.

  She bites her lip. I groan. Regardless of what comes out of her mouth, she can’t hide how her body reacts to my dominion. She loves it. Needs it even, I’ve decided. Which works just fine for me.

  Pushing myself up, I step into her. Cupping her cheek, I look deeply into bewitching seas of blue that have undoubtedly trapped hundreds of men in their depths. “Do you want to know why?”

  In my hold, she nods, her lips now parted.

  “The answer is quite simple. I want to know that you’re giving yourself to me, Willow. Me. That you’re thinking of my breath grazing your neck when you tug the zipper open. That it’s my mouth sucking your straining nipples when you unwrap them for me. I want you fully aware that it’s my cock that will be sliding between those quivering thighs when you step out of your silk and lace.” I let my lips fall to her ear, brushing the rim with each syllable. “Because, Willow, I want you handing me the reins of control. Willingly, graciously, no reservations, trusting that I won’t take anything you’re not offering.”

  Her peaked nipples brush my starched shirt with each quick rise and fall of her chest. I wonder if it’s as arousing to her as it is to me.

  “Oh,” she expels on a strained breath.

  I chuckle lightly, easing back to the table behind me. I drop my gaze quickly to her little bows as I loosen my tie. “Now, where were we?”

  With a straight face, that little minx does exactly as I ask.

  And it is the sexiest fucking thing I have ever seen. Hands down.

  Twisting one knee in front of the other, the move presses the juncture of her thighs together. Eyes meshed to mine she grasps the end of one ribbon between her thumb and forefinger and pulls away from her body. The bow unravels, but because of the way she’s now standing, gravity can’t catch the fabric fully.