by Lulu Pratt
“Well, forget you and your help.” He shoots back with equal animosity.
Before I know what’s happened, his lips are on mine and he’s kissing me. My back hits the wall and I scrabble for purchase, twisting my hands in his jacket, unwilling to let go.
Our tongues collide and I feel like I am on fire, the searing feeling burning through me. Anger and desire twist together to form something out of this world, something that feels all-consuming and vast. It feels like it is drowning me and I don’t know how to breathe.
All I can feel is his tongue, his lips. The smell of his cologne clouds my senses and I dimly register that he smells good. Really, really good.
His body feels hard against mine, even through the soft silks and cotton of his shirt and jacket. I can feel my breathing catching in my chest, threatening to overwhelm me. I feel dizzy and hold onto him tighter.
Furiously I grab at his hair and am satisfied when he gasps and pulls away. Then his hands are on the hem of my dress and I’m shivering, a gasp slipping out of me. My hands move from his hair to his tie and I fumble to pull it off, the silk moving easily within my hands. I tear at his buttons and hear him groan as his free hand moves to my zipper.
Without preamble, he’s unzipping my dress and I find myself shimmying out of it. I let it tumble to the floor in a heap and I am struck by the fact that he is seeing me in nothing more than my lacy underwear.
I undo the last of his buttons and push his clothing off his shoulders. He shrugs it off obligingly and he’s left wearing his dress pants and little else. My eyes widen at the sight of his cock.
He’s toned, gorgeously so. His abs are tight against his stomach and he’s nothing like I imagined. I always knew he looked good beneath those suits, but I had never imagined how good.
Before I can make a move, he’s grabbing me and carrying me to the couch. I gasp as he pushes me down. There’s something predatory in his eyes and when his lips find my neck, I melt.
He sucks my skin, his hands circling around my back and finding the clasp of my bra. He unclips it before I get the chance to protest and he pulls it off in one quick motion. I look up at him in nothing but my panties.
My breasts are exposed to the cool air and I feel my nipples harden, tighten with desire. He notices it too and he says, “So you do want me.”
Then his lips are on mine again, his hands roaming over my body. I’m writing beneath him, his skilled hands tweaking my nipples, palming my breasts, and claiming my body. He feels so good and I think that the world is spinning. I grab him, clutching onto him tightly, my fingernails digging into his skin.
He lifts me off the couch cushions, pulling my panties down my thighs. I part my legs and let him pull them off me. There’s a deep heat that burns in my center and I moan. My heels push against the couch as I groan and squirm.
When Cade fumbles with his belt, I know that he’s not going to wait, not going to hold back and I feel a thrill tingle down my spine, sending a searing dampness to my opening. This is incredible.
I can feel his breath on my skin, his low groans. My own skin feels slick with sweat and I am shifting beneath him, moaning and grinding my hips. I moan deeply as I shiver. My body responds, I part my thighs. Cade doesn’t hesitate, his fingers exploring the heat of my opening, pushing slowly within me and making me gasp with desire. I bite my lip to hold back the cry.
I shiver, arching, hands reaching for his pants, forcefully undoing them, fumbling as I undo the button.
I gasped, bucking my hips as his fingers push deeper within me. My breathing is shaky as the burning pleasures rise inside me.
“Cade… more.” I moan despite myself. I feel like my whole world is spinning and I want more, want to get lost in the pleasure that is Cade, in the way he touches me so perfectly.
He shifts and I hold him tightly, wrapping my arms around him, holding on for dear life. He is warm against me and his eyes are as electric as they have always been. My head is spinning and I bite my lip.
Cade groans and I feel his cock pressing against me. He’s impressive, hot and big. Oh so, so big. I’ve never felt anything like this and I groan deeply, shifting against him. A gasp leaves me as he slowly, slowly pushes his cock inside of me. I feel as if I am about to pass out, the heat that started at my opening has spreading to every inch of my body.
He is gasping and the sound thrills me, sends shivers down my spine. One arm is braced against the couch and I feel his tense muscles as he begins to rock slowly within me, entering me further. It’s all consuming and I find myself gasping for breath. My hands clutch his skin and I gasp. Sweat trickles down my skin and I squeeze my eyes shut.
The only thing left is the feel of him. The anger has faded away to a burning kind of lust, to a shiver that just won’t quit, to a low groan in my chest and the fact that all I can feel is him. I hold onto him tightly as he thrusts into me. I gasp. So strong and confident and better than I could have ever imagined.
I writhe beneath him, squirming and bucking and arching my hips in time to the rhythm that shivers down my spine and into my soul. It’s everything I could have ever hoped for and more. He moves faster and harder. He pushes within me deeper and suddenly, I feel terribly light headed. The pressure is building, the heat threatening to overwhelm me completely. Pleasure blinds me and I groan. The feel of his cock, the friction against my opening, the strong thrusts.
I’ve never felt this amazing and it’s all I can do to hold on as my climax rips through me, strong and fast and deep. I’m holding on for dear life, moaning as I gasp. Wave after wave crashes down on me, blinding me to anything else. Cade shudders with release soon after, holding me tightly as he shudders and grunts. It feels incredible, and I can’t think straight. It’s perfect, all consuming, dizzying. I love every moment of it.
I never want this to end. The glow that fills me is warm and comforting and settling in a way that I hadn’t understood before now. Sure, I’ve found pleasure, but never like this. So I just hold onto Cade and he holds onto me in return.
And when I catch his eye, something passes between us, and I know that everything is going to be all right. Warmth floods me, and I fall asleep right there, on the couch, in Cade’s arms.
It’s no fairytale, but it’s perfect.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ADAM JONES
The meetings have been going well the last few weeks. Of course, by well, I don’t mean well for my case. Things have been going better between me and Cade. I still can’t get Ellen off my mind and every moment with her has me hoping that we’ll turn into something more, that the uncomfortable relationship we are in will blossom into something better.
I don’t hate Cade. I no longer want to see him fall, and the thought disturbs me. My job is my life and I have never wanted to fail a client before. But I am seeing more and more of Cade’s motivations, what drives him.
If he didn’t cling so tightly to Ellen, we might have already become friends. The tension between us is still thick, but I feel like it is something I can let slide, something I can deal with.
I sit at my desk sipping coffee and browsing through emails. I’ve still found no evidence, nothing that I can use against them, even if I wanted to. I’m about to shut down my laptop and call it a day, when an email from Ellen catches my attention.
My pulse races as I open it, wondering why she’d be emailing me – she’d already sent through the paperwork. It’s a forwarded email, and as I scan through the words, I begin to feel light headed.
“Oh, man…” I breathe.
The evidence that I need has dropped onto my lap. Fate, intervention, a dodgy email system. Whatever the reason, Ellen has emailed me evidence of their ploy, the fact that their relationship is fake. It’s an email with documentation, as well as a brief outline of their relationship and transactions. Clearly meant to just be between the two of them, but now it’s been leaked to me.
I swallow. This is big. This could send everything crashing down for them and land
me a damn good paycheck. It would be what they deserved, for lying. Yet the excitement I feel in my chest is for a different reason entirely.
If they are not really in a relationship – if it has all been faked, then the chemistry between Ellen and me has not just been in my head. The longing gazes that Ellen shoots my way, the way she lingers with me at the end of a meeting. All that means something – it must.
Hope blossoms in my chest. I have a chance with her after all. Cade and Ellen’s relationship is as fake as can be, and there’s not much more to add to that. I find myself smiling, my day feeling brighter already.
I glance at the email and push print. I slip it into an envelope and grab my phone. I need to see Ellen and I need to see her soon. If I discard the evidence of their faked relationship, then we all get what we want. Cade gets his money, I get a chance to win Ellen’s heart, if she wants me and she gets whatever payments they’ve struck between the two of them.
I dial her number and wait for her to pick up. The phone rings out, but I am not worried. I decide that she’s probably at her apartment – it’s her day off, after all. I’ll surprise her.
I leave my office in a hurry, swinging past the flower stand as I catch a cab to her apartment block. I feel giddy as I get closer, and I keep the envelope close, arranging my features into a cool and confident mask. I cannot seem overly eager and completely break my charm.
I step out, flowers in hand, marching straight to the elevator. I know my way to her apartment – we’ve met there before, Cade, Ellen and I. When I arrive at her door, I’m not surprised to find it unlocked, but I am surprised to find it ajar. It’s slight, but I’m perceptive and I can tell it hasn’t been shut properly.
I feel concern. Caution rises within me and I barely bump the door, brushing it lightly. I immediately wish that I hadn’t. My concern evaporates into nothing, turning into dust. There, in the hallway, barely five meters from the door, is Cade. In his arms is Ellen and they’re doing as nature intended.
Embarrassment coils its way around my heart and they freeze as they notice me, both of them still breathing heavily. For a moment, no one speaks, and no one moves.
Then I step outside of the apartment, “I’ll found evidence of your deception.” I glare at them both, “Your trust fund will be hearing about it shortly.”
I slam the door. This time, it clicks shut, and so does my heart.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CADE HARLOW
Ellen is running behind me, trying to keep up. For once, I don’t care that I am outstripping a lady in my stride. I don’t care about anything but getting to Adam’s office and tearing him to shreds.
How dare he come into Ellen’s apartment unannounced and then leave in a fit of rage when he finds us in proof of a relationship? I’m seething. No, it’s more than that. I am livid and I am more than ready to tear him to pieces. I curl my hands into fists and stare straight ahead. I probably should have taken a cab, this way works better.
I’m burning off energy that is thudding through my body, calming my pounding heart a little and settling my mind. I need to think clearly. I need to find out what proof he has and find a way to dispute it.
I will not let my whole world crumble to the ground just because he has jealously issues. My body and mind are on fire and I hear Ellen calling out, “Cade, wait! Be reasonable.”
I can’t be reasonable. I can’t stop until this is sorted out. I slam my hand into the elevator, the button blinking dully as I wait for it. Ellen catches up with me, sounding and looking breathless. I should be feeling guilty, but I don’t have it in me at the moment.
I know I should be calm, be reassuring Ellen, but right now, I just need to get this sorted. I need to tell Adam exactly what a bastard he is, in no uncertain terms. We step into the elevator and it closes behind us. Ellen turns to me. “Cade, you need to think about this,” she implores me.
“I have.” I answer shortly, “I’ve thought about how I am going to teach Adam Jones a lesson.”
She frowns and I can see the worry in her eyes. “Please don’t do anything rash.”
I shrug, “I’m not promising anything.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but the doors open quicker and I am out before she can say anything. I don’t knock on Adam’s door. I don’t wait. He sure as hell didn’t announce himself and I am not going to extend the courtesy to someone who just doesn’t deserve it. There is no chance of that happening.
I open the door and march straight in. He’s at his desk and for a moment, I feel my heart clench. He looks miserable. He looks downtrodden and dispirited in a way I have never seen him before. I almost reconsider myself. I almost stop myself long enough to ask if he is okay.
Then he is on his feet and the look has disappeared completely. Instead, he’s glaring at me angrily, “My office is not welcoming visitors.”
The way he says it, so professional and removed, stirs something within me, “Yeah? Well neither was Ellen’s apartment.”
I cross the space between us, nothing but the strip of desk wood keeping us apart.
“You need to get out, Cade.” He says, his voice shaking with barely contained rage.
“Yeah? Well that’s not going to happen.” I feel the tension race through me, making me feel almost sick. I relish it, slamming my hands onto his desk, “What proof were you talking about?” I grind the words out.
He smirks and it looks ugly and unfeeling, “Proof is proof.”
“What proof is it!?” I barely register the way I am raising my voice, the way my hands are absolutely itching to grab him by his tie and make him stop being so composed, so settled even as he tears my world apart.
I narrow my eyes, but he doesn’t so much as flinch, “That is between me and my client.”
“The trust fund that hired you to dig up dirt, right?” I tighten my jaw.
“I’m not at liberty to say.” He shrugs with indifference.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I stare at him. “Why do you enjoy tearing people down, huh? What did we do to you?”
“You’re a liar, Cade.” He says the words as he looks straight at me, “You deceive your family, you lie about your life. It’s not my fault your lie is crumbling around you.”
“A liar?” Something ugly rises inside of me, “I’m pretty sure you just saw damn good proof that me and Ellen are together.” I ask, “Are you just a sore loser?”
That strikes a chord with him. “Regardless of anything I did or didn’t see, you’ve been lying about this from the beginning. That’s all I need.”
We stare each other down for a long moment, “I don’t believe you.” I murmur.
“No?” Anger ignites in his eyes and he grips his desk tightly. “Then I suppose you also don’t believe that I was sent emails of the whole thing?”
I go pale. There is no way that he could have gotten his hands on those.
“Ellen sent them to me.” He stares at me darkly, “Probably a mistake, but who cares? I got my hands on it and I’ve already sent it all off.”
I hear a gasp behind me and realize that I’ve forgotten all about Ellen following me in. From the way Adam looks up, it’s clear he didn’t notice her either. There’s a moment when his eyes widen and I see Ellen’s hands fly to her mouth.
Her eyes fill with tears and she looks horrified.
“Ellen—” Adam calls out, but she’s already turned and ran down the hall, away from the room, away from the both of us.
I hear the elevator rush down and I know that I will never catch her. Anger spikes through me and I lean over the desk. The next thing I know, I have Adam’s shirt in my hands.
I push myself over the desk and we slam into his neat little filing cabinet. There’s a crash as everything tumbles down around us and I hear Adam gasp. It’s a satisfying sound and I tighten my hands on his shirt.
“How dare you?!” My voice is low, “What the hell has Ellen ever done to you, huh?” I can’t think straight.
Fo
r a moment, Adam just stares at me with wide eyes. He’s so close that I can see the pulse fluttering in his neck. Then his hands find my arms and rip me away from him. I refuse to let go and we’re thrown onto the floor.
I grapple hard with him as he lands on top of me with a force that leaves me winded. He’s a solid guy beneath those suits. I grab his tie and relish at the way it makes him react, his hands leaving mine and grabbing the fabric around his neck instead.
Still, I don’t let go. I didn’t happen to put my tie back on at Ellen’s. Lucky me. I pull harder and his body tenses against mine, “Listen here.” His eyes flicker to mine.
“Ellen hasn’t done anything but work hard every day of her life.” I tighten my grip, “Understand?! She’s done nothing to deserve this, even if I have. You didn’t need to do it like that.”
My grip slackens for a second, and that’s all that Adam needs. His knee finds my stomach and I try not to throw up, feeling winded. He pushes his knee firmly into my chest now, and I’m left gasping.
“Well, if you hadn’t enlisted her help, she wouldn’t be caught up in your lie!” His words are harsh and I can see the flush rising to his skin.
“She needed the money and who else was I supposed to ask?!” I want my words to be harsh, but instead they sound pathetic and I glare at him, daring him to challenge me.
I can smell his scent. It invades my senses and overwhelms them. It’s a good scent, I can’t deny it, unlike the softly feminine ones that I am used to. I can feel his heart beating, see the beads of sweat on his brow.
The pressure on my chest lessens and I take in a deep breath, but I don’t move. Neither does Adam. For the longest time, the world seems to stop, to slow down. Nothing else exists but the rumpled front of his shirt and the scent of his sweat and cologne.
Then he pushes himself off me and slumps back against the wall. He sighs and rubs his face, and I move to sit beside him. Everything aches and I’m sure he feels the same way. We sit in silence for a moment, before he speaks.