by Nic Saint
“Thank you for that,” he acknowledged with a bow. “I do work for my money, and so do my brothers and sister.” At the mention of his siblings, her eyes darted up, then shifted away again uncertainly, and he wondered whom she’d been talking to. “Look, why don’t you… help out Sonia or something. She’s always complaining how inundated she is.”
“You mean like being your secretary’s secretary?” she grumbled, clearly not too well pleased.
“Something like that,” he admitted. “Unless you have a better idea?”
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again and lifted her shoulders in a dismissive shrug. “I guess not.”
“Fine,” he bit, feeling disappointed. He had the distinct impression she was a very bright and talented young woman, but if she refused to open up to him, there was little he could do. “You’re dismissed, Miss Casey.”
Promptly, she raised her hand in a salute. “Aye, aye, sir,” and stood to leave.
A surge of anger, like the one that had momentarily swept over him that morning, now returned in full force, and before he could stop himself, he had crossed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. What started as an urge to shake the infuriating insolence from her system, quickly changed into something else entirely when she turned her frightened face to him, a haunting look of desperation in those bewitching eyes of hers. Then, before common sense could stop him, he pulled her in and claimed her lips for his own for the third time that day.
When finally he broke the kiss and let her go, he cursed himself for his impulsiveness as she stood panting within the circle of his arms, her breath coming in short bursts, her eyes turned away.
“I—I’m sorry,” he muttered. Again.
Then she abruptly turned to him, her brows drawn in a look of sorrow, and she gulped, “Kiss me again, Will. Please. Don’t stop.”
And against his better judgment, he crashed down his lips on hers, plundering her mouth with a passion and an abandon that was so alien to him that he felt he was losing his mind.
Chapter 10
There was an eagerness and passion to his touch that hadn’t been there before, Kelley knew. It was as if in spite of himself, Will had to have her, as if he was irresistibly drawn to her, as she was drawn to him.
It was madness, she knew. Pure madness. He was all she hated and despised. The symbol of everything she had fought against her entire life, and yet she felt incapable of resisting him.
She threw herself into the embrace, every fiber of her being wanting him, lusting for him so bad it hurt—deeply hurt. She knew she shouldn’t—and yet she couldn’t stay away.
His lips were soft and tender at first, then a wildness came over him that devoured her, a fire raging inside him that sparked her own and set both of them ablaze in a fury of folly. She licked against his lips, mashed her tongue against his, and when his hands descended on her twin mounds, she would have ripped her shirt to shreds only to feel his hands on her naked flesh, and his tongue suckling at her tits.
She wanted to be his so desperately, she cried out in agony as the fire consumed her. When she opened her eyes, she found him gazing into them with a tenderness that shocked her even more than his passion.
“What’s wrong, Kelley? Am I hurting you? Do you want me to stop?”
She reached up a hand and placed it on his cheek, then let it slip to his neck, and beseeched him, “Don’t stop, Will. Please don’t stop.”
And once again he plied her to his will, her own too weak to resist. When he carried her over to a door placed in the wall behind his desk, she was as pliant and willing as the worst hussy to ever throw herself at the mercy of a billionaire wastrel. But she knew he wasn’t a wastrel. He was honorable and irresistible, and yet she hated him—and wanted him.
He carried her into the next room and placed her on a softness she didn’t recognize at first. Only when her eyes grew accustomed to the dimness did she discover they were in a bedroom, and a large one at that. She let her arms spread out across the comforter, and watched as he slowly removed his clothes—the grey slacks, immaculate white shirt and tie and finally his boxers, then leaned over her, and slipped the T-shirt over her head, pinning down her arms as his lips traveled along her neck, down the hollow of her throat to her breasts.
She gasped in sweet surrender as his mouth took her nipples, softly nibbling for a moment before moving on. And when his hands released hers, she laced them in his short, curly brown hair as he continued to travel down along her belly, licking into her belly button and the piercing she treasured there, and then he was hooking his fingers in her pants and unbuttoning her trusty jeans and pulling them down over her hips, her panties receiving the same treatment, and then they were both naked.
In the obscurity of the room, his eyes glowed darkly, and when he moved his body along the length of her own, she eagerly clasped her legs around his waist, trapping him against her, and then his cock found the entrance to her sex of its own accord, as if drawn there by the same force that had united them, and then he was inside her, and it felt like coming home.
“Finally,” she breathed.
He eagerly agreed, and as he started rocking against her, sliding deeply inside her wet pussy, he felt as if this was what he’d been waiting for his whole life. To be with her—inside her—inside Kelley.
“God, Kelley,” he murmured, rearing up with the spreading energy of his surging sex. “What have you done to me?”
“What you have done to me,” she whispered back. “Made me yours.”
And she was his, he knew. All of her—as he was hers as well. They belonged together—he didn’t know why or who had decided it be so, but he knew it was true: they had always belonged together, even before they’d ever met.
He eased inside her, moving slowly along the slick walls of her cunt, her vagina so soft and wet and hot that he felt as if he was melting inside her, melding with her and disappearing bit by bit until there was nothing left. And then she cried out, her body shivering beneath him, and he felt her pussy spasming around his shaft, milking him, and at that moment, he felt his balls contract, swollen to the bursting point, and for a moment he didn’t move, wanting to prolong the bliss of their union.
She stared up into his eyes, her arm hooked around his neck, and whispered, “Come inside me, Will. I want to feel your hot cum filling me up.”
She knew he was on the verge—teetering on the edge, and these words sent him toppling over the rim, and she felt his cock swell inside her, pushing up against her inner walls, the tip titillating her cervix, and then he grunted, his eyes squeezed shut, and the veins in his neck throbbing wildly, like his thick girth was throbbing inside her lower belly, he exploded.
His eyes shot open, and they locked their gazes, like their sex was joined, and as he shot a steady stream of cum straight into her belly—swirling into her womb—they were one. One body—one mind—one soul, and when he kissed her, their tongues slashing against one another, she felt his semen pulsating straight from his body into hers, and she didn’t know why but it filled her with so much joy that she was rocked into her own climax as he was in the throes of his.
“What was that?” he murmured as he nuzzled her throat, and she smiled. What it was, she did not know, but she loved it nonetheless.
“Destiny,” she whispered back. “That was destiny.”
Chapter 11
Roland Thornton checked the footage again, squinting at the screen, then shook his head. It didn’t make sense. Why would anyone attack a customer and then make up a cockamamie story like that?
Three times in the past week customers had been the subject of a violent attack by some random stranger with whom they had absolutely no business whatsoever. Luckily no one was seriously hurt on any of the occasions, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. This could be no coincidence.
Even though the attackers had been unrelated as far as he could tell, and they had all claimed different reasons for their actions, he could see the c
onnection. And the consequences. As the head of security for Thornton Enterprises, the incident had been brought to his attention by his brother Scott, who now ran the department stores. Sales were down, as loyal customers were starting to respond to the incidents, shunning the store, fearful for their safety as long as these lunatics as the press called them were allowed to roam free and continue their reign of terror.
The media, of course, had gone above and beyond to plaster the incidents all over the front pages. The rich and famous being attacked in their own store was big news. Almost as if Queen Elizabeth were being attacked while shopping at Harrods.
Roland eyed the footage once again. What worried him was that this last attacker had claimed to be an anarchist fighting the rich, and yet when offered the choice between attacking a genuine Countess or her lowly assistant, he’d taken a swing at the assistant instead. Something wasn’t right about that. Almost as if he didn’t really care whom he attacked, as long as it was one of Thornton’s highly valued customers.
With a deepening frown, he picked up the phone. He had to get to the bottom of this and fast, before sales numbers plummeted and the reputation Thornton had so painstakingly built up over the years was damaged beyond repair.
“Will? Roland. I need to see you. Yeah, about the incident. Oh, and Will?” He leafed through the incident report on his desk until he found what he was looking for. “Make sure that girl of yours is present at the interview.” He grinned. “Don’t act coy, little brother. You know who I’m talking about.” His grin widened. “Oh, yeah. News does travel fast.”
As he disconnected, he picked up another document from his desk, this one featuring the picture of a woman with short dark hair and an extreme fondness for eyeliner. It was a mugshot, and she looked much the worse for wear. Kelley Casey, twenty-three, had been arrested several times on charges of disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, hitting a policeman, damaging private property and inciting civil unrest. In other words, a real piece of work.
Her skill set, according to his information, was extensive, and all focused on IT. He shook his head as he studied her face. What was a known anti-capitalist agitator and hacker doing working for Thornton’s? And what idiot had put a gun in her hand and put her in the same room with his brother, allowing her to take a potshot at him? This thing had conspiracy written all over it, and only one man would go to such lengths to destroy Thornton Enterprises, he knew.
That man was Harlan de Montesquieu, owner and proprietor of HdM and Thornton’s biggest competitor in the luxury goods market.
Now, more than ever, Harlan was extremely dangerous. His eldest son had just died in an accident, and he knew Harlan blamed the Thorntons for the tragedy, as Ty had been fleeing Alaska at the time, trying to avoid an arrest instigated by Roland himself.
The affair had cast a shadow over Roland’s attempts to nail Harlan’s criminal activities to the wall of public scrutiny by revealing the man’s ties to the drug Mafia. In light of the death of Harlan’s eldest, Jack Thornton had decided to call off the dogs for now, out of respect for his enemy’s loss.
Apparently that hadn’t stopped Harlan from coming after the Thorntons by enlisting an army of anarchists to wreak havoc on the Fifth Avenue flagship store. Vengeance is a fickle bitch, Roland thought as he scrutinized another surveillance video, this one of his brother Will and Kelley Casey going at it in Will’s office bedroom.
He grimaced, the sight of his brother’s sexual escapades not something he wanted to feast his eyes on. But it was his task to protect his family from harm, and keeping a close eye on them all was but one of the ways he went about this.
So Will had succumbed to the treacherous wiles of this Mata Hari, huh? He quickly rose and draped his vest over his broad shoulders. He needed to put a stop to this charade, before the little hacker bitch tried to take Will out once and for all.
Just then, his phone rang, and he picked it up without looking, recognizing the ringtone as the one he’d assigned to his wife.
“Hey, honey. Everything all right?”
“”I’m great. You?”
He switched off the video of Will’s carnal exploits with a grimace. “Fine. Just another day at the office.”
“Dad wanted to know when you have a free Saturday. He and his colleagues want to thank you personally for what you did. They want to set up a party in your honor.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary, hon. All in a day’s work, you know.”
A couple of weeks ago he’d been instrumental in freeing his Alicia’s father from an underground compound he was being held prisoner in by Harlan. It hadn’t taken long for the other prisoners to be freed as well, after Jack had put some pressure on the governor to take a closer look at the operation in the Nevada desert. Harlan had been forced to make certain ‘modifications’ to his space program by granting his scientists their freedom of movement. Most of them had walked out.
“Still,” Alicia insisted. “Without you they would still be locked up in that dungeon.”
“You know they all had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, right? Harlan still has a lot of clout. No one talks or they’ll be liable for breach of contract.”
“That’s just crazy,” she muttered. “Slavery? In this day and age? In America? You can’t allow him to get away with this, Ro. It’s just wrong.”
He smiled. His lovely wife was just as fed up about this whole thing as he was.
“One day soon we’ll put the man behind bars, honey. And that day is coming sooner than he thinks.”
“You think so?”
He stared down at the mugshot of Kelley Casey. “Trust me. Any day now the hammer will fall, and Harlan’s reign will finally come to an end.”
Chapter 12
Kelley knew she was in trouble the moment she saw the tall man stride from the elevator. Eyes dark and foreboding, he stared straight at her the moment she looked up from her workstation. Will had said something about his brother coming in, to discuss what happened at the store yesterday, and for her to be present at the meeting.
So this was the fabled Roland Thornton, she thought as she refused to look away or cast down her eyes. He was a force to be reckoned with, she knew, the oldest son of Jack Thornton and the most mysterious scion of that gigantic fortune. She’d made it her business to know all about America’s rich, old and new money alike, and the Thorntons were as rich as they came. Their fortune had been estimated in the billions, and Jack was a fixture in the Forbes billionaires list, a top ten of the world’s richest men. Roland was a close second, and the other Thorntons all featured prominently in the top hundred.
Yes, she knew all about the Thorntons, which was why she’d been so elated when her Uncle Jonas had offered her the job. Finally a chance to get up close and personal with some of the super-rich. Her joy had been short-lived, though, for she never got even a glimpse of Scott Thornton. And when she’d met his brother Will, she hadn’t even recognized him!
God. She really was a failure, even as a revolutionary. If you can’t even recognize the enemy when he’s staring you in the face, there’s little hope. And when you then go falling in love with them…
She sighed as she watched Roland disappear into Will’s office. Was she in love with her boss? Was she the epitome of the age-old cliché? The secretary swooning at the sight of her handsome billionaire boss? She shook her head miserably. If her brethren in arms could see her now, they would be appalled. More than appalled, they would rant and rage and implore her to return to the fold and tell this rich stiff to stuff himself.
Turtu had shown her the way out. All she needed to do was apply her hacking skills and make this charge against her go away with the tap of a key. Well, it wasn’t that easy, of course. It never was. Blackmail would be involved. Corporate theft. Secrets that could be peddled to befriended journalists and only withheld if Thornton Enterprises decided to drop the 3.5 million dollar claim.
But then she would never see Will again, a little voice spoke. She would ne
ver again be invited into his bed, or share his life.
Christ, another voice interrupted, this one more crude and gruff. The man is just using you, child. He’s just having his bit of fun with you! Don’t you know your rich pigs? Don’t you know how perverted and sick they are? He’ll use you for his personal satisfaction, and when he’s bored with you, he’ll fling you aside and choose another. You’re nothing but the fuck of the week for this guy. You know that, right?
No, she doesn’t, that other voice countered, sweet and lovely. He loves her, you know. He truly loves her. Didn’t you see it in his eyes? Couldn’t you hear it in his voice? He’s truly, deeply, madly in love with her, and soon he’ll ask her to marry him and then she’ll be Mrs. William Thornton—Kelley Thornton—and all her worries, financial or otherwise, will be a thing of the past.
She shook her head, and then plunked it down on her desk. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. All she knew was that the man had seriously screwed with her head—and the rest of her anatomy.
So he was a billionaire—so what? Not all super-rich were evil, were they? Some of them could actually be good and gentle and loving and incredibly, amazingly, scorchingly hot and sexy.
She let rip an exasperated groan, and was startled from her reverie by a hand on her shoulder. She yelped, and when she looked up, she found her gaze stopped cold by two penetrating green eyes—the same ones as Will’s, she instantly thought—and found herself being scrutinized by Roland Thornton.
“Come with me,” he said tersely, and strode away before she could respond. Leading the way to Will’s office, she followed on a trot, his long legs easily outpacing her own. As she passed Sonia, the older lady gave her an interrogative look, but she merely shrugged. As if anyone ever told her what was going on.