I paused and held my breath as I waited for her response. I rarely encouraged my mother to spend weekends with me. I loved seeing her and Frank, but a weekend with them usually left me completely exhausted. Like oil and water, I never blended well with my mother for very long. I hoped my invitation showed her how important my marriage to Alexander was to me.
“What’s the day of the appointment? And what kind of dress did you have in mind?”
A slow grin spread across my face as an unexpected wave of happiness washed over me. I didn’t realize it before, but now, with my mother on board, it made everything so much more real. I was really doing this.
And soon, I would be Mrs. Alexander Stone.
25
krystina
I poked my head inside the door to Alexander’s office at five-thirty.
“Hey, are you ready to –.”
I stopped short when I saw he was on the phone. He waved me in and motioned for me to have a seat in the chair in front of his desk.
“That’s fine. I’ll be there at nine tomorrow. Will you be back by Wednesday?” He paused, and I assumed it was to allow whomever was on the other end of the line to speak. “Good. I don’t think Samuel would be able to handle it at such short notice. Krystina and I are going out tonight and he’ll be driving us. I’ll brief him before we leave.”
He must be on the line with Hale.
As I waited for Alexander to finish his call, I sat back and gave myself a moment to drink in his powerful frame. He stood behind his desk chair, his fingertips drumming against the back of it. His suit coat was off, which allowed me to appreciate the naturally wide span of his shoulders. He looked powerful, and nothing like the vulnerable man I had seen this morning.
He fixed his blue gaze on me, as if noticing that I was watching him. He winked, before pivoting gracefully to pace the large glass window. A part of me wondered if he was deliberately giving me the opportunity to check him out completely. After all, it was no secret that I loved to look at him. I would never get used to the impact of his face, so strong and masculine, with his sculpted cheekbones and lips that were both sensual and wicked. The devil peeked his head out from behind my shoulder and I shivered. It was far too easy to imagine Alexander’s lips pressed against my body.
Easy, girl.
I averted my eyes quickly before I pounced on him. I had left the office door open and I was fairly certain that Laura wouldn’t appreciate seeing an X-rated office party.
When Alexander ended the call, he sat down in his desk chair and beckoned me with one finger to join him. He had that familiar gleam in his eyes, dark and primal. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, swearing that he must have the ability to read my mind. I glanced behind me at the door.
“Hold that thought,” I told him. Standing, I hurried over to close and lock the door, then went back to Alexander. Feeling thankful that I opted for a pantsuit over a skirt today, I easily straddled his hips. Alexander pulled me into his arms and pressed a warm kiss to my lips. It started off sweet, but evolved slowly and seductively into something so much more. I felt him harden between our layers of clothing and I nearly moaned. I pushed down, seeking the friction to satisfy the ache that was building. However, instead of pressing against me like I wanted him to, he pulled back to look at me.
“How’s my angel?”
“I got to stare at you for the past five minutes, so I’d say that I’m doing pretty good.”
“Is that so?” he murmured and brought his mouth to my neck. “You liked what you saw.”
He didn’t phrase it as a question, but more like a statement. It was completely arrogant but, for some reason, I found it to be inexplicably hot.
“I did,” I breathed and tilted my head to the side, wanting him to ravage me. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever get enough of him. I was already desperate for him, yet we were just intimate less than twelve hours ago. Perhaps it was because of my fear of what may or may not be coming on Monday. Or maybe it was suppressed excitement over landing the Beaumont deal. I also thought it could simply be the fact that I was undeniably addicted. I suspected it was a little bit of all three.
“That was Hale on the phone,” he murmured in between bites to my neck and nips on my collarbone. I arched against him, encouraging him to take more.
“I assumed.”
His hands continued to roam, but he never stopped the conversation as he untucked my blouse. His hands slid up my back and deftly unhooked my bra. He cupped my breasts in his palms and began to knead.
“His mother is leaving the hospital to go back to the long-term care facility in the morning.”
“Hmmm…that’s good to hear,” I murmured. It was great news, but I didn’t particularly care to talk about it. I wanted to focus on his fingers that were pinching my aching nipples.
I reached down in between us and began to unfasten his belt.
“I’m going with him in the morning to bring her back. Also, don’t forget to clear your schedule for the Stone Arena ribbon cutting ceremony. It should be an all-day –.” He stopped and hissed when my hand wrapped around his length. “Fuck, Krystina!”
“I don’t want to talk,” I told him as I captured his lower lip between my teeth. He chuckled, his lips vibrating against mine.
“Why, Miss Cole. I never thought I’d hear you say those words.”
Without warning, Alexander reached out and swiped his arm across his desk. Everything, minus his computer, went crashing to the floor. I heard the shattering sound of glass.
“Alex! You broke somethi–.”
“Shh. You said you didn’t want to talk, so shut up,” he growled. Lifting me effortlessly, he stood and lay me back against the cool surface of the desk. “Take off your pants.”
Feeling weakened by the command and edge in his voice, I used one foot at a time to kick off my heels. His eyes were scorching, dark with unexplainable need, as he watched me shimmy my pants down my hips and over my thighs. I began to sit up so I could take them off the rest of the way, but he pushed me back down and did it for me instead.
After removing the knee-high stockings from my feet, he began to slowly work up my body. He placed hot, open-mouthed kisses over every inch of exposed leg flesh as he went. When he reached the apex of my thighs, he breathed deep.
“I love your scent,” he groaned and pressed his face against the lace of my panties. “I’ve been hard all day from thinking about you like this. On my desk, spread wide for me.”
I arched under him, needing him to remove the fabric barrier between my sex and his mouth.
“Alex, I need you. Your tongue. Please,” I shamelessly begged. Not needing any more convincing, he looped his index fingers under the side of my panties and tugged them down. Grabbing my ankles, he spread my legs apart, exposing my sex that was already wet with arousal. Standing between my thighs, he leaned forward and slowly unfastened the buttons of my blouse.
The lights in the office were on, and the sky was just dark enough that anyone in a nearby building would be able to see exactly what was happening in Cornerstone Tower. Instead of being worried about it, I felt an incredible surge of excitement. It was strange and twisted. Indecently wonton. It wasn’t that I wanted others to see us, but the idea gave me an unexpected thrill.
I heard the weight of his pants and belt hit the floor before he shoved my legs apart further. He lowered himself and moved in, taunting me with slow and velvety tongue strokes over my throbbing bundle of nerves. Heat crept over my skin as that familiar moment of bliss built. I knew it wouldn’t take me long, as I was already drenched with desire before his tongue made contact. However, right before I could go over the edge, Alexander pulled back and stood to his full height. Grabbing my hips, he yanked me toward him and notched at my opening.
“Come around my dick,” he ordered.
In one swift thrust, he tore into me, so deep that I was nearly brought to tears.
“Ah!” I cried out, but found myself suddenly muffled when his
hand clamped down over my mouth.
“As much as I love your screams, you have to be quiet. This room isn’t soundproof. Do you understand?”
I nodded. He released his hand, but didn’t move inside me. Instead, he stayed still. I could feel him fully rooted deep, my walls rippling as I slowly adjusted to his wide girth. I was panting, anxiously wondering how long I could keep quiet. Desperation overwhelmed me.
“Alex,” I whispered.
“Yes, angel.”
“I need you to fuck me. Hard and fast. I won’t be able to stay quiet for long.”
A grin spread over his lips, primitive and wicked, as he took hold of my hands. He brought them to the edge of the desk on either side of my hips and curled my fingers around the edge.
“Hang on tight,” he told me. Bracing myself for the pounding I desperately craved, I gripped the mahogany wood so hard that my knuckles turned white. He reared back, and with one swift thrust, he slammed into me hard. Then again and again, until he took my breath away. He always knew what I needed, like he knew my body better than I did. I hooked my ankles around his hips, urging him deeper into me. With each powerful drive, he edged me closer and closer. Fire spread through my veins, heating me limb to limb as he rocked into me.
I gasped, relief and ecstasy flooding my senses as the tension mounted. Knowing I was close, he lifted my hips from the desk and drove in hard, hitting the spot that made everything turn white behind my eyes. My body seized around his and he groaned. I clenched my teeth to stifle my screams as he rolled into the last few strokes that would take us both over the edge.
krystina
The aftermath of our unexpected sexual frenzy left a whopping mess all over the floor. Papers, pens, and a shattered mug littered the carpet around Alexander’s desk. Yet, as I picked up the pieces of the broken ceramic and deposited them into the trash, I found myself smiling. We wrecked the place in our dying need to get naked, but I didn’t particularly care. Grabbing a quickie in the office was definitely something we needed to do again. I felt fantastic and more energized than I had all day.
As I began to button my blouse, I noticed Alexander watching me from the other side of the room. His wardrobe was already intact and he appeared completely put together, like we didn’t just engage in wild animal sex on his desk. I, on the other hand, was still a fantastically crumpled mess.
He was standing next to a tall file cabinet, his fingers drumming on the top like he was deep in thought.
“What?” I asked, as I slid a leg into my trouser pants.
“Once you’re finished sorting yourself out, have a seat,” he said.
Alexander removed a legal-sized manila folder out of one of the filing cabinet drawers. It was thick with documents and made a loud thud when he dropped it on his desk.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Provisional authorization to control my assets. I need you to sign it.”
The fiery energy I had been feeling was instantly snuffed out by his words. I stopped buttoning my slacks and shook my head.
“Alex, you said we weren’t going to talk about this stuff this weekend.”
“We don’t have to talk. You only have to read and sign on the dotted lines,” he told me matter-of-factly.
“Can’t it wait? We don’t even know what the DA will say.”
“Just sit down, Krystina. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.”
I sat in the chair, but I had no intention of signing anything. I wished he would stop being so pessimistic.
Alexander began to flip through the pages and explain his list of assets. I found my eyes growing wider and wider with every word he spoke. Many of his property holdings were high rise buildings. Some offered lease agreements, others had condominiums for individual sale. I expected as much. However, I didn’t anticipate hearing that they were not only U.S. based, but international. From the Florida Keys to Brussels, Alexander held real-estate all over the globe. One location even had a golf course. I knew Alexander was wealthy, but I had completely underestimated his worth.
He was a self-made empire.
When he began to explain how each property was maintained by various property managers, I began to feel overwhelmed. When he told me that he set up bank accounts in my name, ready and waiting to be filled with an astronomical transfer of funds, pure panic set in.
Feeling stunned, I shook my head again. I didn’t want any of this to belong to me. The only thing I wanted was for Alexander to be with me. Material possessions meant nothing unless he was a part of the package. Not to mention, I wouldn’t even know what to do with everything he owned. The idea that I could make decisions for his company was ludicrous.
“Alex, I’m not signing this.”
“Stop being obstinate. This is only a provisional agreement. It will only take effect if something were to happen. If there’s an investigation, I can’t afford a possible freeze of my assets, particularly the liquid ones. Stone Enterprise wouldn’t be able to operate. Too many of my properties are intertwined, and they rely on a steady cash flow.”
“Alex, I can’t have this responsibility! I don’t know the first thing about what you do!”
“You don’t have a choice. This is bigger than your wants and desires, Krystina. Hell, it’s not even just about my real-estate holdings either. You’re forgetting about the foundation. I mean, imagine what would happen if the funding to the women’s shelter was cut off. You need to sign. But rest assured, there are provisions in here that require Stephen and Bryan to advise you as needed until I can take back control of the company.”
I thought about what he was saying.
Until he can take back control. This isn’t permanent.
“This is only a temporary thing?”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
I pursed my lips. By signing everything over, even if it was temporary, he showed an extraordinary amount trust in me. However, I knew I couldn’t sign the documents while there was a secret between us.
“Before I sign, I need to tell you something about Thomas Green.”
Alexander’s head snapped up from the documents to look at me.
“What about him?”
My heart began to pound loudly in my chest. I didn’t know how he would react to my deceit.
“I went to see him,” I blurted before I could chicken out.
His eyes narrowed and he leaned back in his chair. Folding his arms, he stared pointedly at me.
“Why did you go see the DA, Krystina?”
I told him about what I did and how I decided against my original plan. I thought about leaving Hale and Samuel out of the story. I didn’t want to get them in trouble. However, if I were really coming clean, I knew it would be best to lay it all out there. The truth never stays hidden for long anyway.
I made sure to reiterate that I didn’t divulge the contents of the article or his past to the DA. I wanted to reassure Alexander that no harm was done, but I couldn’t get a read on him. The entire time I spoke, he never said a word. His jaw ticked, so I knew he was angry. Other than that, I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling about my confession.
When he stood up and stalked to the door to grab his overcoat, I panicked.
Is he not going to speak to me now? Does he not trust me anymore?
I had to know what was going on in his head.
“Alex, talk to me. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that you need to sign those fucking documents now so we can go home,” he snapped as he roughly pushed his arms through the sleeves of the coat. “I’m starving and I want to grab something to eat before we get ready to go out.”
He still wants my signature. He still wants to go out.
I took it as a good sign, but I knew he was fighting to control his anger. I couldn’t afford to piss him off anymore. Grabbing a pen, I pressed it to the paper and quickly scrawled my signature over the required pages.
“There. I signed,” I said. I dropped the pen
and stood up to walk over to him. “Now please, Alex. Tell me what else you’re thinking.”
He turned to face me as I approached and took a step toward me. His blue eyes penetrated me, flashing fiercely. Feeling intimidated and unsure of what that flash meant, I moved back a few paces. He continued toward me until my back was against the wall. Placing his palms against the wall on either side of me, he boxed me in.
“You. Drive. Me. Crazy.”
I winced from the way he punctuated each word.
“The situation we’re facing is driving me crazy, Alex,” I whispered. “I had to do something.”
“You shouldn’t have gone to the DA. As for Mac Owens, that idea was just fucking insane. How could you possibly think of putting yourself out there like that? All of your pain. Your suffering. Reliving it. Everything you went through would have been on the front page of every newspaper!”
“I know that, but at the time I felt that it was worth the risk. Please don’t be angry with me,” I pleaded, even though I knew he had every right to be mad at me for lying and putting myself in jeopardy.
“But I am fucking angry with you!” he swore again ferociously. He slapped his hand against the wall, causing me to jump.
“I’m sorry, Alex. I was only trying to protect you.”
He lowered his head, inhaled slow and deep, before connecting to my gaze once more. When he spoke again, he wasn’t nearly as gruff. Only resigned.
“I’m not worth that sort of risk, angel.”
“Yes, you are. I would risk everything for you. Even if it meant leaving myself vulnerable.”
“Look, this isn’t worth fighting over. At least not right now. In time, you’ll understand the need to protect your privacy and why I shield you from the press. I might be furious, but I understand why you did it.”
“You do?”
“I do, even if I think it was the dumbest idea you’ve had to date,” he scoffed. “You don’t need to protect me. I’m just glad Hale got to you before you had the chance to talk with Mac Owens. He’s ruthless and not someone you want to tango with.”
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