by Alison Aimes
“I was just…I was just…” Pierson’s sputtering trailed off.
“You were just drawing things out to put your hand on Ms. Bennett’s thigh.” Alexi tapped the files. “That seems to be a trademark of yours.”
He turned toward the smell of peaches and honey to explain. “In addition to testimony from his staff that yesterday he bilked Paul Winslow out of thousands of dollars in exchange for a promise to support his bid to be head, these files contain several sealed harassment suits from young female interns and law clerks against Pierson. We discovered them a few days ago. He’s been paying them all off and burying the trail deep, but we managed to pull the rat into the light.”
Her eyes flared. “He’s done this before?”
Alexi’s gaze shifted to the thickness of the file. “More than a few times.”
Her back went ramrod straight. “But it ends today.”
“Hold on.” Pierson skittered back a step. “What do you want?” He swallowed hard, his gaze shifting between the two of them before settling on Alexi. “You want me to call the board now and tell them to vote for you? I will. I’ll do it, but per our initial agreement, those files go to me, and this topic remains closed.”
“Nope,” he said.
At the exact same moment, a honeyed drawl shouted, “No damn way.”
Something in his chest loosened. It was a nice to hear her feisty as ever.
“My colleague Ms. Bennett is exactly right,” he agreed. “That was the old plan. Thanks to your pervy, asshole ways”—he blew out a breath—“there’s a new plan. A fairer plan.”
Behind him, Eaton muttered, “He is definitely not himself.”
“I gotta admit, even I did not see this coming,” offered Morales.
Alexi ignored them, the image of that speckled, old hand on Lily Bennett’s thigh making any other reaction impossible.
“Effective immediately,” he told Pierson, “you will hand in your resignation.”
“What? Absolutely not,” protested the scumbag. “I’ve been head of the Winthrop board since the beginning. I—”
“Have worn out your welcome.” Alexi slammed his hands flat on the desk. “If I could, I’d insist you resign as head of your law firm as well, but I know a lot of people count on you for their jobs, so I’ll just say this.” He loomed over the desk and into Pierson’s personal space. “I’ll be watching, and if I ever hear of any more stunts like this or any more harassment suits, you will be gone. Not from this job. Not from the legal profession. But from this planet. I don’t like bullies, and I don’t like men who prey on women. You. Have. Been. Warned.”
“You can’t just—”
“We can. We have.” His troubling obsession stalked to his side. Badass as ever.
Was it any wonder he wanted this woman so much?
He kept his glare locked on the steadily shrinking man. “Eaton? Morales? Do me a favor and take this piece of trash upstairs. He can announce his resignation to all present board members—and then call it a night.”
“But this is my event.” Pierson’s voice had risen to an outraged shriek. “You can’t just order me around.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“Come on, Pierson.” Morales got a good hold on the man’s elbow and led him around the desk. “I suspect it’s way past your bedtime anyway.”
Flanked by both Eaton and Morales, the asshole was still complaining as he disappeared through the door.
A charged silence filled the room.
He took a breath, unlocking the fists he hadn’t even realized he’d made, his blood still running wild and hot, even as his logical mind shouted what the fuck and catalogued the shit-storm implications of what he’d just done.
Because in making things right for Lily Bennett, he’d wronged Lena, casting aside a critical yes vote and squandering his chance to end this here and now in Lena’s favor.
So much for ordered, simple, or keeping his protective impulses in check.
“Thank you.” The whispered, Southern-tinged words produced a low tug in his belly.
“No problem.”
Understatement of the year.
He blew out a breath and swiveled to face his tormentor, the surge of lust and need that coursed through his veins at the sight of those big eyes and carnal lips knocking him off-balance yet again.
And if that was all there was to it, he could probably turn around and follow his friends back to the party and let them get their squawking and complaining out of the way. Play it smart from here on out. Find another fall guy board member and bribe him into securing his takeover… But his gaze was already running over every inch of her to make sure she was okay and his feet were set in stone.
He cleared his throat. “Guy’s a scumbag, and you never should have been in that position in the first place. He needed to be set right.”
“I wasn’t thanking you for that.” As usual, she surprised him. “Not that I don’t appreciate your help with Pierson. He was being an asshole. But I could have handled that on my own. I was about to handle that on my own.” She sucked down a deep breath and stepped closer, invading Alexi’s space and sending his body, already on high alert, into white-hot awareness.
“What I want to thank you for is not believing his lies. For not assuming I was trading sex for votes.” A flush pinked her cheeks. “With the way you and I keep going at it, I wouldn’t be surprised if—”
“Didn’t cross my mind.” Truth. “And if you ever again compare what you and I did to what that scumbag was trying to get you to do, there will be consequences…bad ones…the orgasm-denial kind.”
“Wow. You really are presumptuous.”
He moved closer. “Am I?”
The pull between them wound tighter.
“I’m not sure anymore,” she admitted, taking another welcome step in his direction. “When I was younger, I confused attention with respect, but I’m not so stupid now.” Another step. “Still, even with all the extracurricular messing around, I liked thinking I was earning your respect these past few days…I would hate to lose it.”
A small dark part of him, one he’d kept tucked away for years, one he hadn’t allowed out since Anastasia, inched closer to Lily Bennett’s light. Not because he wanted to. Because he had no choice.
“You’ve got my respect, my admiration, and my attention.” He captured a strand of silky hair between two fingers. “The question is what do you want to do about it?”
Anticipation crackled in the air.
The battlefield between them suddenly narrowed to this one single moment.
“This.” Slowly, deliberately, eyes locked with his, she wrapped his tie around her knuckles and drew him to her inch-by-sexy-inch.
When only a sliver of space remained, he locked his neck muscles, ensuring his lips hovered just above hers. “Be sure, Lily,” he warned. “Be very sure. Because this time there’ll be no stopping. This time you’re all mine. And I’m not interested in treating you like a business partner or a rival, but like the woman I want to spread wide and fuck hard.”
Her eyes flared wide before narrowing with challenge. “Prove it.”
Without hesitation, she leaned forward and molded her sweet, smart, lush mouth to his.
For once, he wasn’t surprised by her courage.
Fucking thrilled. But not surprised.
Chapter Fifteen
Alexi’s fingers tangled in her hair, holding her captive, his tongue dueling with hers, taking control, making her moan.
Lord, the man kissed well.
Everything about this might be wrong, but it felt scarily right.
“Just once,” she whispered against his lips. “To get it out of our system. This doesn’t change a thing about our objectives.”
He nipped at her jaw. “Business is the last fucking thing on my mind right now, Armageddon.”
“Good.” She shoved hard against his chest, breaking from his hold—and almost smiled at his growl of frustration.
Hot, angry eyes met her. “What are you playing at?”
“No playing.” Stare locked with his, she strutted to the door, locking it with a satisfying click. That asshole Pierson had tried to steal her choice. Using his office to take it back seemed like a nice bit of karma. But, even more importantly, she couldn’t wait another heartbeat. She wanted Alexi Kazankov. Right damn now. “No interruptions.” Leaning against the door, she reached beneath her dress, triumph surging as his eyes tracked her every movement, his gaze hungry.
She slid her panties down her thighs, leaving the scrap of red on the floor. “No teasing, either.”
“Hell. I knew you’d be this perfect.” Nostrils flaring, his stare shifted from the scrap of red on the floor to her mouth. “Take down your hair.” His voice had dropped another octave. “I want to wrap it around my fist while I’m fucking you.”
She raised one eyebrow. Held his gaze. Then, desire pounding through her, she slid the first pin from her hair. And the next. Until she was completely unraveled. Until her hair was curling around her shoulders, skimming the nipples that thrust upward toward him, begging to be touched.
She opened her arms wide.
He let out a groan. “You are damn beautiful.” His gaze fell to her hand, a small scowl appearing. “What about the ring?”
She hesitated a moment.
“The goddamn ring, too,” he demanded.
“Don’t push too far,” she warned. “I don’t mind assertive, but I won’t be steamrolled.”
Still, after an internal check, she slipped the ring from her finger and placed it carefully on the small table by the door. Not because of Kazankov, but because the truth was she didn’t want Russell there for this, either. This was all about her. Her and her sexy, infuriating, surprisingly wonderful rival.
“Happy now?” She held up a bare finger. Her middle one.
His smile was full of heat. “So fierce. So fearless.” He shrugged off his jacket, tossing it onto the nearby chair. “Are you going to bring me to my knees first, Armageddon? Or do you think I’ll be the one to win this round?”
Whatever smart-ass answer she might have given was lost in a sigh of stupefying lust as his forearms flexed and he tugged off his tie. The movement so masculine, so sexual, it sent a rush of need straight to her core. His cuff links and white dress shirt came next. Slowly. Deliberately. No extra movements. No more words exchanged. No hesitation.
With every layer removed, more of his civility slipped away, the thin facade of the upstanding businessman disappearing to reveal the wolf beneath. Until he was standing in only sleek, dark tuxedo pants, his mouthwatering chest bared to her gaze, raw animal magnetism and power oozing from every gorgeous pore. The city lights just below making every sinful inch of him glow.
Liquid need pulsed between her thighs.
The man might be an arrogant bastard, but it was well deserved.
He was a living piece of art. Utter physical perfection. Blessed with wide shoulders and narrow hips, golden skin stretched by powerful honed muscle, washboard abs, and the hint of that sexy V that disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants. He was strength. Mastery. Power.
She was 100 percent certain she’d never seen anything as beautiful and dangerous in her entire life.
“Your move,” he challenged.
She was more than ready.
Stepping over her panties, she stalked forward until she was inches from his hard heat and mouthwatering muscles.
She tried not to squirm, tried not to show how desperate she was for his touch. “Afterward, we pretend this never happened.”
Without warning, he gripped her ass, her dress crumpling in his hands as he drove her onto her tiptoes—and up against the part of him she was dying to touch. “I don’t follow dictates.” He herded her backward. “I make them.”
“Not tonight,” she warned.
“We’ll see.”
Her ass hit the edge of the desk, the surface shockingly cool beneath the thin fabric of her dress.
She couldn’t wait to fuck Kazankov on it.
This…this lack of civility, this battlefield, this rough and raw…this was what she’d been craving against all common sense since he muscled his way into Russell’s office.
She was damn sick of playing it safe.
Before her next breath, she was turned around to face the window. Kazankov loomed behind. Bigger, stronger, harder. Dark to her light.
Her first test. Still the fear never came. No ugly memories, either.
Only the sense she was exactly where she wanted to be.
“Beautiful.” His thigh slid between her legs, spreading her. One palm landed on her lower back, bending her at the waist like an offering, before his arms caged her and he linked their fingers, flattening her palms on the wood. “You in this red dress is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” He nuzzled her temple, a bare brush against her skin. The gentleness an erotic contrast to his rough handling of moments before. “Did you put it on knowing how badly it would make me want to rip it off you?”
“Yes.” Heaven help her. She had.
“Good.” His jaw nuzzled the sensitive skin, the tendons in his forearm flexing as they disappeared under the crumpled hem of her dress. His hand snaking its way upward inch-by-torturous-inch, exposing her knee, the back of her thigh.
The man was a master at far more than negotiation.
“The things I’m going to do to you.” Without warning, his hand cupped her pussy. Making her moan. Making her arch her back in wanton need.
“I’ve wanted you like this for a long time.” The heel of his palm glided in light, barely there, ruthless circles over her center. “Imagined you like this every damn time you opened that smart mouth and took me on.”
“Why?” The pleasure washing through her was almost than she could handle. “Because you think this is you bringing me to my knees?” She rose upward, grinding herself against his palm. “I can promise you, you’re wrong. This is me getting exactly what I want.”
His dick pressed harder into her spine. “This is both of us getting exactly what we need.”
His admission eased something inside her.
Then, he pushed one thick finger inside her and all concerns over who was besting who disappeared.
“Oh Lord…that’s good.” Eyes sinking shut, she moved against his hand, no pride, no thought to negotiation. Uncaring of anything but the rough, steady rhythm of his fingers as one worked her clit and the other plunged inside just the way she craved. Breaking her down. Making her lose control.
Until she was so close…her body teetering on the painful precipice.
Yet her body wouldn’t let go, old habits dying hard, old doubts creeping in. Especially the fear that Francoise had broken her for good.
“Eyes on me.” As if he knew her thoughts, Alexi’s command anchored her once more. “I want you looking at me as you come. I want you knowing exactly who’s handling you.”
On a moan, her gaze locked with his through the reflection. A man who was a thousand times more ruthless than Francoise could ever be and yet who held her now like she was something precious.
“We already know there’s no halfway between us, Armageddon. No polite pretense. From the start, it’s been explosive, raw, honest, and fucking irresistible.” On a grunt, his teeth clamped down on the sensitive tendon at her neck, his hand never letting up its exquisite torment against her clit. “Burn me with all that fire. I’m fucking desperate for it.”
That was all it took.
She came hard, screaming his name, an animalistic keening sound falling from her lips as she jerked against his palm. Shattering into a thousand pieces.
It was an extraordinary gift. A piece of herself restored. One she’d never expected to rediscover, especially with him.
Over her shoulder, their gazes tangled.
The awe in his stare stole her breath.
“You come like you do everything else.” His hand slid from between her thighs. “It�
�s the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
She’d cashed out on her face for years, but she’d never felt truly beautiful until this moment.
Her heart, closed for so long, cracked open an inch—and she couldn’t make herself regret it.
Swiveling around, she opened her arms. “Fuck me, Alexi. I want you inside me.”
Her ass was lifted and slammed onto the desk in the next second. “I like when you call me Alexi.”
“Don’t get used to it,” she teased.
His gaze darkened. “I planned to taste you. To watch you come again.” His voice was guttural, his movements jerky as he drew a piece of gold foil from his pocket, and then shoved his pants and boxers to his thighs. “I had so many sensible plans. Days to imagine all the ways I’d make you beg, but as always, Armageddon, you fuck up all my strategies.”
His thick cock thrust upward, hard and long and thick, as beautiful and commanding as the rest of him.
The sight of it had her legs splitting wide.
He groaned, rolled the condom on in a flash, and then gripped her hips, yanking her to the desk edge. “Pull down your dress. I want to watch your tits bounce while I fuck you hard.”
His words aroused her all over again. Her finger shook with need as she fumbled with the halter tie, the cool air washing over her exposed breasts as the material fell away.
“Fuck. That’s good.” His eyes locked on the hard, pink tips as he surged inside.
She gasped, struggling to accommodate him, the mix of pleasure and pain sharpening her need.
Imagining didn’t do the reality justice. It had always been rape with Francoise. And Russell had been far too sick.
She’d heard the stories of other women but never experienced firsthand the thrill of being filled, of having every nerve lit from within as Alexi worked himself deeper inch by inch. His narrow hips and rock-hard ass clenching as he rocked his way inside.
“That’s right, solnyshko. Spread those legs. Let me in. Take another inch. Take it until you’re riding my whole cock.” He thrust harder, his voice a rasp as his hand palmed her nipple, sending her spiraling higher. “Until I’m balls deep inside you and surrounded by that sweet, soaked pussy.”