Boss: A Novel

by Lauren Love

I can’t let that happen.

  My heart is not a toy.

  The limo creeps up beside me on the road, keeping pace, but I don’t look. Kaden feels guilty and so he should. But I have nothing to say.

  “Claire, get in the car.”

  I keep walking.

  “I know you can hear me.”

  I flip him the middle finger like an immature teenager and keep walking.

  I hear Rowe chuckle and feel a smile twitching at my mouth.

  I think this is something that’s been coming for a while.

  I’ve felt so hollow, like I was floating in limbo for so long, that right now – I feel like I’ve found solid ground. It might make me just as miserable, but at least I’m in control.

  This is the right choice. The right choice for me and the right choice for him. This is the moment when the fairy tale ends.

  “Claire, we need to talk.”

  “What’s left to say?” I ask, not looking at him. “You’re clearly not happy and you’ve been looking for an excuse to get me out of the way for a while.” I wave my hands. “I free you from the ball and chain I clearly represent in your domain. Now go away.”

  He swears and tells Rowe to stop.

  I hear his door open and shut, then he’s beside me.

  I just roll my eyes and keep walking. His guilt is not my problem.

  Not anymore.

  “Dammit, will you stop!”

  He grabs my arm and spins me to face him, backing me up against the wall and crowding me against it with his large frame.

  I have nowhere to go and no escape so I look up at him and wait.

  What could he possibly have left to say?

  Isn’t this what he wanted?

  Me gone so he’s free to be with her?

  His hands are hard on my arms but they soften when it’s clear I’m not going to struggle. Slowly, so slowly, he slides his palms upwards, over my shoulders, up my throat to cup my face.

  He uses a thumb to wipe away a traitorous tear slipping down my cheek, then his mouth is on mine.

  Tender, intimate, it’s the kind of kiss I remember from those first few encounters, back when I thought – hoped – that he might one day love me.

  “I’m sorry, Claire,” he mumbles against my lips.

  It’s a breathless rasp and I swear I can feel his whole body vibrate against mine.

  “I’m a jealous idiot. The thought of you with another man made me crazy. But of course... Of course you’d never be so cruel. I know that. I just forgot. I just lost it.”

  His mouth closes over mine again and I’m lost in him.

  His mouth is hot and urgent, and his hands never leave my face. It’s like he can’t bear to be separate from me for even a heartbeat.

  “I was an idiot. A stupid bloody fool. Don’t ever doubt for one second that I want you in my life. If I had it my way we’d never be apart. Not for one second.”

  His words are like a dream come true and I feel warmth spreading through my veins at the feel of his body pressed so firmly against mine, his mouth so hot and passionate.

  This is how he is in my dreams, how he used to be.

  “Don’t leave me,” he begs, and I’m shocked to see his eyes shimmering. “Don’t you dare walk away from me.”

  His fingers run into my hair and he’s looking deep into my eyes, his almost black in his intensity.

  “I need you in my life. I know I haven’t shown it lately but give me another chance. Please, sweetheart, give me another chance.”

  “I...”

  I don’t know how to respond.

  I want to scream, yes.

  But I want to slap him and walk away forever.

  And I also want to shove him back into the limo and ride him hard and rough.

  “We’ll go away, right now. Tonight.”

  “What?”

  “We’ll take my private jet and go stay at my holiday mansion in Florida for a few days. Just you and me.”

  “I…”

  I want to say yes.

  But I also want to say no.

  My head is spinning, but how can I say no when he’s so clearly laying his heart on the line?

  It’s like he’s got some kind of emotional split personality.

  Love bipolar? I almost laugh.

  We’ve been together two years and though they haven’t been perfect, I know that we made a good team once. If he’s willing to try and make our relationship work then so am I.

  In fact, this might be the first really major argument we’ve ever had. Somehow I feel lighter having gotten out those pent-up emotions, and maybe he has too.

  “Just you and me?” I ask, my voice barely audible.

  “Just you and me.”

  I consider his offer.

  My heart is not a toy.

  I shouldn’t let him play with it. I should walk away now. This is the time to break.

  But how could I walk away from those eyes?

  “You have two nights.”

  “Two nights?” he asks.

  “Two nights to win me back,” I lay down the rules.

  He grins and nods.

  I let him lead me back to the limo and Rowe grins at me, giving me a wink as I slide in. “Good to have you back, Miss Claire.”

  Chapter 14

  We arrived at Kaden’s Florida mansion just after midnight.

  He’d kept my hand firmly in his throughout the entire journey, and now we were through the front door it’s like he can’t get enough of me.

  He carried me over the threshold, ignoring my squeal of protest, and then kicked the door closed. Now he has me trapped between the hard wood of the door and the solid muscle of his body.

  All the way I felt like I was walking on air.

  This is the Kaden I remember, the passionate man I fell in love with, that first night when he made me his.

  Smiling deviously into my eyes, he grabs my wrists and wrenches them above my head, planting them against the door before lowering his mouth to taste the sensitive flesh of my throat. His lips and coarse tongue tickle and caress my shoulder, kissing around the neckline of my dress, then returning, at length, to my mouth.

  He pulls back just enough to look into my flushed face.

  We’re both breathing hard, overcome with lust. His chest is rising and falling roughly against where my nipples are pushing hard and sensitive against the front of my dress.

  “Mine,” he rasps, his eyes darkening with passion, and something else, something I can’t quite fathom. “Say it.”

  “I – I’m yours,” I say, equally breathless, and the words send a rush of desire flooding through my veins.

  His fingers release my wrists and gently slide down my arms, down my body till he’s cupping my hips, his large hands making me feel tiny.

  His smile is wicked and I have only a few seconds to suck in a breath before he slowly sinks to his knees.

  My dress is long, black, and elegant, with a slit up the side.

  He licks his lips teasingly as he gently strokes his fingers up my calves, pausing to circle behind my knees then higher up my thighs.

  He hooks his fingers into the waist of my panties and pulls them down. I step out of them and he flicks them over his shoulder.

  “You won’t be needing those for a long time,” he says, and his words make me blush.

  He lifts my leg and rests it on his shoulder, then leans closer, breathing me in.

  “I love how you smell,” he murmurs, then licks the tip of his tongue along the line of my already damp folds. “Yes, I love your beautiful pussy.”

  Then he’s taking me with his mouth, lapping at me like a man dying of thirst.

  All I can do is moan, my hands desperately searching for purchase to ground myself while my body trembles and shatters with pleasure.

  His mouth is pure unadulterated heaven.

  His tongue circles and swirls around my clit till I think I might lose my mind.

  He laps at it with firm, deliberate lic
ks of a man who knows how to make a woman come apart.

  It doesn’t take long and before I’m ready, my body is suddenly alive with bursting bubbles of molten heat and delight and I scream through my climax. When I open my eyes it’s to meet his heated gaze just moments before he sweeps me up into his arms and carries me up to bed.

  I can’t be passive any longer.

  With a shove at his shoulder, I push him onto his back and whisper what I want to do into his ear.

  He growls but complies.

  I have the feeling that if I want to be in control in the bedroom, it’ll only be during make-up sex.

  That’s fine with me.

  Most of the time I love how he takes charge, how he dominates and brings me to the brink time and time again. But this time I need to be in charge and I love that he senses my desires.

  I undress him slowly, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his wide, muscular chest, then slipping down his body to work on his pants. The heavy belt buckle frustrates me for a few seconds, but after fiddling, I work it out and rip open his pants with inpatient fingers.

  His cock is already rock hard and standing tall and huge, shooting from his pants like a tower of hot flesh. He gasps in the cool air but I quickly sooth the chill with my mouth.

  I take the silky tip between my lips and suck him deep.

  I remember being intimidated by his sheer size the first time we were together.

  Now his cock in my mouth feels like home.

  I suck and swirl my tongue around his length before bobbing my head in a rhythm that takes him deeper and deeper.

  His deep guttural moans are all the inspiration I need, and I suck harder and speed my rhythm, wanting too much to give him the same pleasure he’d given me just moments earlier.

  “Oh yes! Claire... yes, Claire... So good...”

  With an almost panicked groan he pulls my mouth off him and drags me up his body.

  Shoving his fingers into my hair, he drags my mouth down to his and kisses me, deep, wide mouthed, and urgent.

  “Ride me, lover,” he demands, cupping my face and kissing me again. “I need to feel my cock inside you... Nowhere I want to be when I come but inside your sweet…”

  Kiss.

  “Tight...”

  Kiss.

  “Ahh!”

  I position myself over his rigid penis and slam down hard, driving him deep before he can finish his sentence.

  We both groan in the perfect mixture of pleasure and pain and I throw my head back in the sheer ecstasy of being filled but my billionaire lover.

  Resting his hands on my hips, he stares up at me with something akin to wonder as I ride him in a long, sensual rhythm that stimulates my whole body to perfection.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he rasps.

  I can’t respond.

  I’m too caught up in the rhythm of our joined bodies to focus on anything but how perfectly we fit this way.

  His fingers slide up my stomach, over my ribs, and cup my bouncing breasts.

  While I take my pleasure from the man I love, he squeezes my breasts and drags his thumbs over my sensitive nipples.

  Flicking, circling, rubbing.

  He lifts up and engulfs one nipple in his hot mouth and I cry out at the thrills the sensation sends down to where we’re joined.

  Rearing up, his mouth captures mine again.

  My arms wrap around him as his wrap around me.

  I’m squeezing him with my whole body, my inner muscles clenching around his rigid erection as though telling me and him that this is where he belongs, in my arms, my bed, and deep and hard inside my pussy.

  I’m riding him hard and fast.

  I can’t stop.

  So good.

  “Babe...” he croaks. “Not gonna last... Need to slow down... Babe...”

  “No, please,” I beg.

  “Please.”

  I cry out.

  “So fucking hot,” he grits out between his teeth, and his fingers dig roughly into my hips. “Let it go, sweetheart. I’ll stay good and hard for you.”

  “Fuck yes!” The words rip from my throat in a scream and all at once my body shatters into a million wonderful pieces.

  “Claire!”

  He lets out a roar that I swear rocks the room and then stiffens, his cock swelling and flexing as he empties himself inside me…

  It takes us a long time to get our breaths back afterward.

  The whole time, he can’t seem to stop touching me, kissing me, telling me how incredible I am.

  Cradled in his strong arms, I fall into a wonderful slumber.

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, I’m straddling his hips and being very naughty while he feeds me strawberries.

  How could I even consider leaving this man?

  The near breakup that exploded last night seems like a blur to me now.

  It’s clear that this was just what we needed. A little holiday to reconnect…

  And boy did we connect.

  It makes me blush when I think about how wanton and downright randy I was last night. It was like all my inhibitions disappeared, leaving only a horny bad girl up for anything and everything.

  “We should do something,” I say after chewing and swallowing another morsel of strawberry.

  “Again?” he asks, mocking fear. “After last night I’m not sure I have any bones left.”

  I flush. “Was it too much?”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” He laughs then cups my face and kisses me. “You never have to worry about being too demanding. I can guarantee I will never complain about having too much sex.”

  I smile and kiss him back. “I may hold you to that.”

  “I’ll give you something to hold,” he growls and I laugh again, slapping his shoulder.

  “I was talking about getting out of the house. Maybe we could go to the beach or something. It’s a lovely sunny day out there.”

  “Too many people at the beach,” he grumbles. “I want you all too myself. Why don’t we take the yacht out?”

  “Will you show me how to sail it?”

  “Anything you want,” he says and kisses me again.

  I haven’t seen him smile like this in such a long time.

  He’s like a different person, but still my Kaden.

  Chapter 16

  I’m just coming out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and drying my hair, when I hear Kaden speaking impatiently into the phone.

  “Calm down, tell me what happened,” he says into the phone, giving me an exaggerated eye roll when he sees me coming into the room. “Okay well, we knew we might face these kinds of setbacks when we started negotiations.”

  I feel my heart sink at the expression on his face.

  It’s his work face.

  I sit on the bed and watch his tall, lithe body, wrapped in a towel as he paces the room, snapping into the phone.

  He’s still possibly the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.

  His whole body moves like a panther as he paces.

  No doubt the guy on the other end is imagining Kaden in one of his tailored suits, sitting behind a desk. Only I get to see him like this. His wet hair messy and flat on his head, the shadow over his chin, the remaining water droplets clinging to his wide back and chest hair.

  “Alright!” he stops and sits on the edge of the bed, frowning apologetically at me even as he keeps speaking into the phone. “I’ll come in and deal with it. I can be there in a couple of hours.”

  He slaps the phone onto the bedside table and then looks back at me. “I’m sorry.”

  “You have to go, I know.” I’m disappointed but not really surprised.

  I cup his face in my hands and kiss him on the mouth.

  “It’s okay. Go do what you have to do.”

  “I’ll be back by tonight, and we’ll go check out the nightlife.”

  He kisses me again but I can feel that he’s already thinking about work, so I let him go and watch as he shaves and dresses.
<
br />   I spend the morning walking along the beach paths and enjoying the sunshine.

  Everywhere there is music playing, and the food smell combined with the scent of sand and sea are almost overwhelming.

  When I spot a colorful-looking market I make my way over, buy ice cream, and just wander around, looking at the various arts and crafts and homemade jams and stopping to look at a stall selling bikinis and colorful patterned wraparounds.

  I’m sitting at a beachfront restaurant, waiting for my order, when I spot a familiar face and smile.

  “Damon!”

  He looks up from the newspaper he is reading and grins when he spots me sitting only a couple of tables over.

  “Hey, Cinderella.”

  He stands and strolls closer. Indicating the opposite seat he says, “Do you mind?”

  I nod and say, “Please.”

  And he sits.

  “Did you follow me here?” he jokes, narrowing his eyes.

  “You can’t call yourself a famous director until you have at least one stalker,” I joke.

  The conversation between us flows easily, like it did at the party.

  I tell him about the huge argument I’d had with Kaden and how we’d come here to get away from everything.

  “So where is he?” Damon says.

  “He had to go fix something at the office.” I’m already laughing before I finish the sentence. “Okay, that’s enough of my whining. Tell me what you’re working on at the moment.”

  He lets out a long-suffering sigh and tells me about the advertisement he just finished, showing me on his phone.

  “I’m working on a virtual portfolio right now but I need a way to let people view my stuff that doesn’t just look like a page of social media.”

  “Can you show me?”

  An hour later, we’re back at the mansion and I’m sitting cross-legged on the couch as I sketch out a possible interface.

  He’s lying on his back on the floor by my feet, describing what he sees in his head.

  This is always my favorite part of starting a new project. Planning, throwing out ideas, and the growing anticipation as I slowly turn a concept into reality. I love the feeling of taking something from a person’s head and turning it into reality.