by Linda Verji
“Please touch me,” she pleaded unabashedly as her fingers knotted in his hair.
He kissed the edge of her jaw before lightly running his fingers along her pussy lips. “Like this?”
The frustration lining her forehead left no doubt that that light touch wasn’t what she wanted, and for some reason that left him amused. However, before he could decide whether to satisfy her or make her plead a little more, Sin set her own hand over his and pressed harder to show him. “Like this.”
Worth chuckled. He loved a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to say it, so he rewarded her. He slid his finger firmly between the plump lips. Threading his fingers through the creamy stickiness that coated her sex, he dragged his finger upwards until he got to her clit.
The moment he flicked that sensitive nub, Sin’s moan rent the air. “Aaah! Shit!”
When he began to strum and twirl the taut bud around, mewls of pleasure escaped her throat. Her passionate reaction was like an aphrodisiac, it sent his own desire rocketing and his cock jutting. Ignoring his own needs for the moment, he focused on pleasuring her. He moved his fingers downwards until he found her entrance.
Slowly, gently, firmly, he slid inside.
“Oh… my… Worth…” Sin closed her eyes and threw her head back. Her fingers dug into his shoulder with naked desperation. “Ah… yes… right there.”
Her moans were like music guiding the rhythm of his finger. In he slid, out he dragged. He stretched her and spread her walls. He couldn’t believe how tight she was. If his finger felt this smothered inside her, what would his dick feel like? Would she even be able to take him? He forced a second finger in – Yes, she’d be able to take him.
He picked up pace which resulted in louder moans. With each stroke, she thrust back into his fingers and her body trembled, an obvious sign that she was on the brink. Thrill shot through him. Seeing her so turned on, so desperate for him incited a primal instinct within him. The need to own her.
He withdrew his fingers from within her, drawing a moan of protest from her. Before she could beg again, he sealed his mouth over hers. His lips sipped and teased hers as he dragged her hips forward until his erection was pressed right against her. A throaty groan rumbled from within him at the contact. Even though his pants still stood between him and the ultimate pleasure, it was still arousing to feel her heat against him, to imagine what would happen once the fabric was gone and it was just them, skin to skin.
Desperately, he reached for his zip. He’d just lowered it when his phone rung, startling them both. In the blink of an eye, the impassioned kiss ended. Lips flushed and bruised, their breaths labored and harsh, they both turned to look at the phone. Even from this distance, Worth could see the name on the screen. Joel.
He wanted to ignore the call, even turned back to kiss Sin. However, instead of meeting him, Sin arched backwards. By the nervous look in her eyes it was obvious that the phone-call had jarred her out of the mood. Worth wasn’t even surprised when she shoved him away from her and hopped off the desk.
Meanwhile the annoying phone kept on ringing.
Avoiding his eyes, Sin muttered, “You should take that.”
Worth cussed under his breath. He wasn’t ready to let her go, but by her firm jerks as she straightened her dress it was obvious that the fun was over. Scowling, he pulled his zip back up then moved towards his phone. Even before he could get to it, Sin was already striding towards the door. By the time he swiped the answer icon, she was out of the office.
“What?” he barked into the phone.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Joel’s peppy voice echoed over the line. “You sound angry.”
“What do you want?” Worth interjected. He wasn’t in the mood to be teased by the man who’d just ruined his day.
“You in your office?” Joel asked. “We need to talk.”
Worth was tempted to say he wasn’t there then go convince Sin to come back and continue where they’d left off. But something told him that Sin wouldn’t be so easy to tempt this time. With a sigh, he admitted, “Yeah, I’m in the office.”
“’Kay. Give me fifteen.”
Those few minutes were enough for Worth to get himself together. By the time Joel knocked on his office, Worth had almost forgotten that just minutes ago, Sin was in his arms. Almost.
“What’s up?” Worth asked as soon as his friend settled in the seat across from him.
“Your assistant-” Joel gestured with his thumb towards the door, ostensibly indicating that he was talking about Sin, “- has been busy.”
Worth’s arched his eyebrows. “Huh?”
“Last night, when everyone was out of the office, she was in our department.”
“I know.” Worth hadn’t found it suspicious. Given that she was the CEO’s boss, it wasn’t odd for her to be roaming around in departments she didn’t work in. He’d just assumed she was at Finance to drop off documents or something like that.
“She was with Emanuel there,” Joel added.
Instant anger rocketed through Worth. That man again? Maybe it was time to replace the guy.
Before Worth could figure out a way to fire the guy without drawing a wrongful dismissal suit, Joel added, “Apparently, he’s tutoring her in accounting.”
Surprise shot through Worth. “Why would Sin need to learn about accounting?”
“That’s what I said,” his friend agreed. “Which is why I decided to check out the surveillance footage.”
Worth leaned forward. “And?”
“And nothing.” The right side of Joel’s mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “Our cameras caught nothing suspicious.”
Worth narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t be here if there was nothing.”
“You’re right.” This time Joel grinned. “But let me just say, your girl is good. If we didn’t already know her, I doubt I would’ve even caught it.”
The anticipation was making Worth jittery and his voice had an edge as he prodded, “Caught what?”
“Somehow, without our cameras or Emanuel catching her, she managed to download our financial files from his computer.” Joel shook his head slowly as he added, “The only way I even knew was because I asked IT to check if there’d been any unauthorized use of Emanuel’s machine.”
“She downloaded our files?” Shock dripped from Worth’s voice. A heavy breath gushed from his lips as he sat back in his seat. For a second there, he’d forgotten just how dangerous she was. He asked, “Why would she do that? I thought you and Masterson said she was exclusively a gold-digger. What would she need our files for?”
“I don’t know.” There was obvious doubt in Joel’s voice as he posited, “Maybe she’s gone corporate spy?”
The thought was enough to send a shiver down Worth’s spine. “Did she find anything important?”
“Nothing that we can’t afford to have the public know. Even if Claire gets her hands on those files, there’s nothing she can do with them other than drool,” his friend assured with a chuckle. Joel suddenly turned serious, “But you know, maybe this is the time to toss her. Next time we might not be so lucky.”
“There won’t be a next time!”
“So you’re firing her?”
“No!” Worth answered more sharply than he intended. The thought of having to send Sin away left a strange yet undeniable ache simmering inside him. He didn’t want to do it, so he hedged, “It’s better to have her close to me than wandering about on her own. At least this way I can monitor her and control what information she gets. You and I just need to be more careful about what information we share with the staff in general. As for future projects…”
Even as the two men discussed measures to take to keep the company’s most covert information secure, Worth’s thoughts kept wandering towards Sin. So she was really determined to screw him over, wasn’t she? It was a cold reminder that to her, he was just a mark. Well, they’d see who’d end up getting screwed!
CHAPTER 11
Grin and bear it, Worth reminded himself. It’s just for two hours tops. He pasted on his brightest smile. “Hockey sticks aren’t the only equipment we sell.”
“Pish, posh, sticks.” Eugenia dismissively waved her fork. “When will you come back into the family?”
“Aunt Eugenia, did you bake the ratatouille yourself,” Baron interjected in a transparent attempt to change the subject and save Worth. He beamed at their aunt. “It’s delicious. Even better than the one you brought for Thanksgiving dinner.”
The attempt worked.
Eugenia turned to Baron with a bright smile. “Is it? It took me almost the whole day to make it.”
Several people around the large dining table, including Worth, stifled their laughter. Everyone knew that Eugenia’s idea of ‘making it’ involved asking one of the three personal chefs in her home to cook the meal and pack it.
“Thank you for coming.” Karen, Baron’s mother and Worth’s step-mother, leaned closer to Worth to whisper, “I didn’t think you would.”
“Yeah, right.” Worth chuckled. “I bet you’re the one who taught Baron how to guilt-trip me.”
“I swear I didn’t,” the blonde bespectacled woman insisted. When Worth gave her a disbelieving look, she chuckled. “Or maybe I did.”
Worth was quite close to his step-mother. Given that she was the only woman who’d been a constant in his life, it would’ve been strange not to be attached to her. Before she was his step-mother, she was his nanny, and even then she’d treated him like he was her son. Worth believed that marrying her was the best decision Senior had ever made. It was unfortunate that Senior didn’t feel the same way.
“Karen.” Senior cut into the two’s conversation. “A glass of cold water.”
Worth shot a disbelieving look at his father. See, this was why he couldn’t stand the older man. There were four servants in the room, all of them having been hired specifically for this occasion, yet Senior still couldn’t let Karen eat in peace. Despite having been married for more than twenty years, he still treated her like his personal servant.
Worth opened his mouth, ready to say something, but before he could Karen squeezed his hand under the table, her silent plea for him to keep quiet. To Senior, she smiled. “Sure.”
Worth watched her as she headed out of the room. How in the world was she able to bear it? It wasn’t like she’d get rewarded once Senior passed on. Senior had made that quite clear in the unfair yet iron-clad prenup he’d made her sign. Senior would’ve made the perfect mark for Sin.
“What about the other one?” Great Aunt Rose, who was seated next to Eugenia asked, “When is she coming back home?”
Great Aunt Rose didn’t need to clarify who she was talking about. Everyone at the table knew that ‘the other one’ was Louisa, Worth’s half-sister. The reason she didn’t merit a name was because she’d taken after Worth by refusing to toe the family-line. However, she’d gone a step further to gain possession of the title of The Ransom’s Black Sheep. Wild child didn’t even begin to describe Louisa – and she had the dreadlocks to prove it.
His expression already stormy, Senior grunted. “I don’t know. Ask her mother.”
Baron interjected, “Last I spoke to her, she was thinking of spending time in Fiji before heading back.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that will happen.” Claire, who was seated beside Baron, let out a mocking chuckle. “She’s been saying she’s on her way back for three years now.”
“Maybe you should just tie her up and bring her back,” Eugenia suggested.
While his family discussed what to do with Louisa as they ate their meal, Worth kept his silence. Why? Because he was partly responsible for Louisa’s gypsy ways. When she’d declared that she wanted to be a travel-writer, everyone else in the family had scoffed that it wasn’t a real job. If she wasn’t going to have a ‘decent’ career, then it was better for her to just find a rich husband, they’d said. Senior had even cut off her finances.
When Louisa had come to Worth for help, he couldn’t turn her away. She was his little sister. How could he say no to her? He’d funded her initial travels, and thus begun her endless tour of the world. Of course he wanted her to come back home, but if traveling and writing about it made her happy then that was all that mattered.
As soon as the meal was over, Senior ordered Worth to follow him to his study.
People said that Worth was a carbon copy of his father; and it was true to a certain extent. They had the same name, same eyes and were both tall and athletic. Though Senior’s hair was already graying and he was carrying a couple of wrinkles, it was quite obvious that with time, Worth would look the same. But that’s where it stopped; their looks and their name.
Their personalities were as different as night and day. Where Worth was gruff and an introvert, Senior’s personality depended on who he was dealing with. He was sweet and diplomatic with RGC’s shareholders but stingy and mean to his employees. He was Mr. Charming to the ladies who attended the same sports-club as him, but an inconsiderate chauvinist to his wife. He was a forward-thinking mentor to the university students he regularly gave talks to but demanding and retrogressive whenever it came to his own sons.
In business, Senior’s only measure of success was profit. To him the ends justified the means. It didn’t matter how he got his money as long as he got it. But the funny thing was that in his books and talks, he always sermonized about the importance of business ethics and social responsibility. Frankly, Worth was amazed at the older man’s ability to keep all his faces straight.
“If this is about me coming back into the company-” Worth settled in one of the armchairs in the study. “-then don’t waste your breath.”
Ignoring his son’s words, Senior headed to the mini-bar. After pouring himself a drink he strode back across the room and settled in the armchair opposite Worth’s. He said, “Claire’s hosting a charity auction at her museum on the twenty-fifth.”
Worth lifted one eyebrow. “And you’re telling me this because…”
“You need to be there!”
“Is that an order or a request?” Worth asked.
His father just stared at him, but the answer was clear in his hard gaze.
Worth’s first instinct was to say no, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Why do I need to be there?”
“Her father is selling one of their wineries,” the older man explained. “I need to get a foot up on the bidding process. If he sees that our family supports his, it might sway him.”
Wow! Worth’s wasn’t even surprised that Senior’s sudden interest in their in-laws had something to do with profiteering. He chuckled. “You have a one track mind, I’ll give you that.”
Senior’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Worth paused to think over his father’s request.
Though, he wasn’t interested in anything involving his father or Claire, there was the matter of Sin and Claire’s alliance. This auction was a good opportunity to force the two women in one room and see how they interacted. Maybe he’d get lucky and find out what their plan was.
He met his father’s gaze and nodded. “Okay, I’ll come.”
Senior’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’ll come? Just like that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Suspicion clouded the older man’s face.
“Why?” Worth laughed. “You just asked me to come to the auction and now you’re unhappy that I said yes? Fine, I won’t come.”
“No, no, no. You’re coming.” Senior quickly retreated but doubt still glittered in his gaz
e. A moment later, he asked, “So when do you plan to come back to the company?”
“Dad!” Worth let out an exasperated sigh.
“You can sigh all you want but I won’t quit,” Senior said. “I’m getting older now. It’s time to settle the business.”
“The business is settled,” Worth countered. “Baron is doing a great job there.”
“He is,” Senior agreed. “But he’s not you.”
Worth scoffed. “You mean he’s not your biological son.”
“He doesn’t have Ransom blood,” Senior agreed shamelessly. “I can’t trust an outsider with our legacy.”
“An outsider?” Worth couldn’t hide his disbelief. “Do you hear yourself? If you were going to do this, then you shouldn’t have brought him and his mother into your house. You shouldn’t have convinced him to ditch his law career and get into RGC. Don’t you even feel bad?”
“What’s to feel bad about?” The older man’s expression was unconcerned as he took a sip of his drink. “I gave them a roof over their head, and Baron would never have ended up where he is without my help. Plus we’re paying him good money at the company.”
“And you think that’s enough?” Worth asked. When his father only shrugged, he had to shake his head. “Wow! You really know how to treat your family.”
The criticism flew right past Senior without even grazing him. He demanded, “Come back to the company.”
“Give up,” Worth countered.
“No.”
Worth shrugged. “Then I guess we’re at a stalemate.”
“Just for now.” His father gave him a toothy smile. “I’ll get you back.”
Though Senior’s tone was soft and he was smiling, his words were an obvious threat. Still, the threat didn’t scare Worth. It annoyed him. Senior would– if he hadn’t already – come up with another harebrained scheme to disrupt W Sport’s operations. The scheme wouldn’t work, but it would still be annoying as hell to nip.
Ugh! Worth clicked his tongue as he drove back to his apartment. Why couldn’t his father just leave him alone?
The family drama left him restless enough that as soon as he got to his place, he headed to the pool for a swim. Even twenty laps across the sizeable pool weren’t enough to soothe him. After showering, he tried watching a movie, but it just left him feeling jitterier. Before he knew it, he’d reached for his phone.