by Lexy Timms
Hot tears ran down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to. It just seemed to make you all happy if I was dating someone like Dane—”
“You’re so pathetic,” Monica snapped. “A guy like Dane would never go for some assistant like you. Is he even your boss?” She turned to Dane, her eyes roaming up and down over him. “Is this even the real Dane? Or a hired imposter?”
“What did I ever do to you, Monica?” Allyson hissed. “Why are so mean to me?”
Monica rolled her eyes. “No matter how much of a screw-up you are, everyone feels sorry for you. Everyone pities you. Poor Allyson, she didn’t get a good degree. Be nice to Allyson, she can’t get a good job. Pity Allyson, she’s hopelessly single. She’s fat. She can’t help herself. Everyone feels sorry for you and I’m sick of it.”
“Enough!” Dane interrupted. “All of you, stop this right now. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Has it occurred to you that maybe Allyson lied because of the pressure you put on her? I’ve heard the snide comments you make, Monica. Everyone has. I’ve seen you try several times to humiliate her, like you’re doing right now. Get over yourself.” He turned. “And I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but the only thing you two seem preoccupied with is getting Allyson married to get her out of your responsibility. She’s a grown woman. She can take care of herself. You should be proud of how well she’s done. And she’s beautiful. You’re idiots to not see that.”
Allyson wiped her tears. “Dane, you don’t have to—”
“Oh, I’m not finished,” Dane thundered on. “James, you’re a good guy but you seem utterly oblivious to the pain your sister is in. You’re all a bunch of ingrates. Allyson is the one who planned this wedding. She was the one who refused to stay at this Lodge if you weren’t allowed to stay with her. She does everything for you and she gets no thanks in return. Have any of you ever asked her if she’s happy? Maybe she isn’t some hot-shot lawyer, but she’s damn indispensable to me. Nobody at Prescott works as hard as she does. Nobody is smarter, or better prepared. And to top it all off she puts up with me, and she puts up with all of you. Who the hell cares if she isn’t meeting your ridiculous expectations? Who the hell are all of you to judge?”
The entire place went silent. Even the string quartet had stopped playing. Her heart thudded in her chest and she was suddenly consumed by one burning need. Escape.
But not the kind everyone expected her to do.
Allyson snatched the contract out of Monica’s hand, grabbed Dane’s hand, and rushed across the lawn towards the main building of the Lodge.
* * *
When they got to their room she pressed Dane up against the wall, her mouth meeting his in a searing kiss. She tilted her head back to drink him in. His big, rough hands wandered up and down her body, skimming down her back to cup her behind and press her closer.
This was crazy. Everyone knew their secret now. They’d been exposed. There was no reason to keep up the act, but she craved him now more desperately than she ever had. No one had ever stood up for her the way he just did. Seeing him take charge to defend her set her on fire. Ignited her blood.
The contract didn’t matter. Possibly losing her job didn’t matter. She was going to have one thing.
Him.
With their lips still locked, she reached for the buttons of his jacket and started to undo them.
Dane broke the kiss to stare deeply into her eyes. “What about the contract?”
She still held the crumpled contract in her hands. With one quick motion, she tore the document in half and tossed the paper over her shoulder. “Fuck it. You want me.”
“I want you.” He was breathing heavily, fire blazing in the blue depths of his eyes.
The hungry look in his eyes made her wet with desire, and the place between her legs throbbed.
He grabbed her hands and pulled her against him. He crushed his lips to her as he wrapped his arms around her. Her tongue stole into his mouth and her hands found their way into his hair.
Somehow, he guided her to the bed. He set her down on the linen sheets and kneeled before her. He bent down and slipped her shoes off, his fingers and mouth making a trail up her thighs.
Allyson moaned and leaned back, closing her eyes tight. The feelings he created made her lose focus of everything but his touch.
Then he was on top of her, leaving a trail of hot kisses down the slender column of her neck. The sensation of his lips on her skin thrilled her.
“Hang on,” he said breathlessly, and rolled off her to get out of the bed. She watched him reach into his duffel bag and pull out a condom.
“Did you think you were going to get lucky this weekend?” she asked with a laugh.
He grinned. “No. I was a Boy Scout: I always come prepared.”
“Lucky me,” she said, mentally thanking his mother. She stood. “Could you help me out of my dress?”
He reached for her gown and helped her pull it off. She tossed the lilac fabric onto the floor and stood before him, not caring how she looked in her lacy underwear.
His eyes raked over her, and she felt the heat of his gaze. She felt like a gift being unwrapped under his scrutiny. The way he looked at her with such desire made her heart race in anticipation.
He held her gaze as he took off his suit jacket and shirt. She licked her lips and let her gaze drop, watching hungrily as he stripped out of his clothes. Damn, he was fine. Every inch of his body was perfection. From the hard muscles of his torso to his huge erection. Her eyes widened.
Good lord.
He flashed her a cocky grin. “Speechless again?”
That made her laugh, and she beckoned to him. His slid his hands up her thighs until he found the waistband of her lace panties and tugged. “I want to taste you, Allyson,” he said, his voice thick with desire.
Her stomach fluttered. His words were so direct. Like he was totally unashamed of what he wanted to do to her. “I want you to,” she managed to choke out. With his eyes on hers, she lifted her hips to help him peel her panties off.
He knelt between her thighs and looked up to give her another wicked grin. When he put his hot mouth on her wetness she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. Overwhelming pleasure spread through her.
He gently pushed her to the bed and she lay down willingly. He followed, lapping her up. He swirled his tongue slowly, coaxing her towards heaven. A moan escaped her throat. Having her boss between her thighs like this was indescribable. This was forbidden. Dangerous. She’d never in her life broken the rules like this, but it felt so good she didn’t want it to stop.
Dane’s grip on her thighs tightened, and he groaned a sound of pleasure that made her think he was enjoying it as much as she was. His tongue teased her, ravished her as he licked her furiously. She grabbed the sheets, needing something to hold onto as she broke apart. Her climax was sudden, hard and fast.
His hands ran up her torso to her breasts, her body trembling under his fingertips. With one skilled movement, he managed to unhook her bra and toss it aside. Her nipples hardened as his hands gently skimmed over her full breasts.
“You are so beautiful,” he breathed.
She didn’t have the body she’d had when she was in her early twenties. Her hips had widened, and her stomach wasn’t as firm. But under his gaze she had never felt so desirable, so sexy.
“I want you to come,” he murmured.
Stars exploded behind her eyes as she shut them tightly. His words and touch sent her over the edge. She panted and cried out as she came, trembling and opening her thighs for him.
“Are you ready for me?” he whispered, his mouth now by her ear.
She’d been ready the moment she met him. “Yes.”
He slipped the condom on and she pulled him to her. His hand stroked her hair gently, his eyes locked on hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist, ready for him. With one powerful stroke he thrust into her tight, wet heat, filling her and stretching her like no man ever had. A moan escaped her throat.
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As he rocked into her, she lifted her hips to meet each hard stroke. To give him as good as he gave her. With each thrust he was deeper and deeper inside her, filling her with ecstasy. Being so close to him, being such a part of him, made her body sing. She had spent years keeping him at a distance, and having him inside her now was an illicit bliss she’d never thought possible.
Her wetness clenched around his hard shaft. He groaned loudly, his thrusts becoming more frenzied. She sensed he was fast losing control, like her, on the edge of euphoria. Her eyes met his. In their depths, she saw her own desire reflected back at her. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. A dark haze of lust flashed in his eyes and his lips met hers.
He teased her mouth open with his tongue, and the sensation of his tongue colliding with hers while he pounded into her drove her wild. She came again and a second later he followed, his last hard thrust making her come so hard she cried out his name.
Dane slowly pulled away to lay back down on the bed, and then gathered her in his arms. They held each other, gasping for breath. She placed her head on his chest, the wild beating of his heart seeming to match the rhythm of her own.
Chapter 7
Dale held Allyson tightly to him, never wanting to let her go. Her soft skin glistened with sweat. The flowery scent of her hair was more intoxicating than the wine at the reception. Minutes slipped by, and he held onto her until his heart rate slowed. She looked up at him, and he stared into her dazzling green eyes. Something sad flashed in them and she pulled away to sit up. The warmth of her touch was gone, and it filled him with a sudden emptiness. He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said softly.
“Do you regret what we just did?”
“No. Never,” she said earnestly. “It was wonderful. You’re wonderful.”
He sat up. “But?”
“When your mother called about me, you said she was trying to set you up with Katherine Handel,” she breathed.
“I don’t give a damn about Katherine Handel.” She wanted to bring this up now?
“You said Katherine was jealous of me.”
He thought they had put that whole business behind them, but he’d clearly thought wrong. First her family, and now this? “Why are you doing this?”
“I knew Monica figured we were just pretending from the moment she saw us. You heard her, she knew you’d never want someone like me.” She tucked a stray lock of her silky black hair behind her ear.
He scoffed and sat up. Women were nuts. “What the hell does Monica know? She doesn’t know me. And clearly you don’t if you think that about me.”
“So, if I was to walk into your mother’s office right now and tell her what we did, you’d be fine with it?” she demanded.
He hesitated. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Yet somehow the tabloids always find out about the latest heiress on your arm,” she countered.
“That’s my mother’s doing,” he said through gritted teeth. “Allyson, what’s going on? I thought you wanted…this.”
“And what is this?”
He didn’t know. Not yet anyway. When he’d decided to be her date for the wedding, he thought he had everything under control. He’d help Allyson, keep his meddling mother at arm’s length, and that would be it for an eventful weekend. Never in a million years did he think he’d get into bed with her. Sure, he had fantasized about it, but he wasn’t the type to have affairs with subordinates.
But being with her this weekend had changed so much so quickly. He saw how much pressure she was under with her family. The stakes weren’t as high for her as they were for him and Prescott Global, but he understood what she was going through. Saw her get through it all with kindness, and grace, and warmth. Allyson was better than her family deserved. They didn’t understand her. He did.
“You’re scared,” he said instead.
She didn’t respond. His accusation hung in the air as the silence grew louder. He knew that she believed the lies her sister had hurled at her. That she wasn’t good enough. Didn’t deserve the best. Earned whatever mistreatment she got from her family of ingrates. Allyson believed it, and now that she’d proven them wrong she was terrified. She was throwing Katherine in his face to drive a wedge between them.
She bit her lip. “Your mother would make you fire me if she found out what we did.”
“My mother can’t make me do anything,” he said flatly.
“No, but she can tell Katherine, and Katherine would have her father call off the merger. Prescott would be ruined.”
“So, what are you saying? First we pretend to be together, now we pretend we’re not?” He shook his head. He couldn’t keep up. “Allyson, this is crazy.”
She sighed. “You’re just fighting this because you can’t stand being told what to do. But deep down you know I’m right. You’ve put your heart and soul into Prescott. You wouldn’t be reckless enough to ruin that for some fling with an…an assistant.”
Some fling? Is that what she thought this was? He didn’t know exactly where things were headed with them, but he’d be damned if this was over. The only thing worse than getting into a relationship with an employee was using that employee for incredible sex. He wanted her. Damn. He wanted her again now. And he also wanted to see where this was going. “This is just a friendly fuck.”
She didn’t even blink at his words. “I don’t need a sympathy fuck.”
“Excuse me? You think that’s what this was?”
She shrugged, unable to meet his gaze now. “Maybe.”
He reached over and lifted her chin “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got a different woman every month. I’m not your type.”
Frustrated, he raked his hand through his hair. “That isn’t true.”
“What isn’t true? The new woman a month thing or not being your type?” she asked.
“Both.”
“So, the women you date have nothing to do with business?” She crossed her arms.
He tried not to stare at her beautiful breasts pressed against her arms and trying to escape. Heat throbbed through him, and he ignored his dick asking for more. Instead, he focused on what she’d said. All those heiresses were his mother’s doing. His love life consisted of his mother throwing blue bloods his way. A lot of those blue bloods were more than likely a business strategy to his mother. They were beautiful, and he was often too busy to have a normal dating life, so how could he refuse? But he’d spent the last three years comparing those women to Allyson. “I wouldn’t say nothing,” he muttered.
“Right,” she said, “which makes me the worst business decision you’ve ever made.”
Before he could say anything more their bedroom door flung open, and Monica came barging into the room.
Allyson gasped and reached for the sheet, trying to pull it around her and Dane’s hips. “Monica! What the hell are you doing?”
Allyson’s mother and father hurried in right after. They all stopped short, shocked expressions on their faces.
“Get out!” Allyson cried. “Can we have some privacy please?” She glared at her family.
“I’m so sorry,” her mother said, but continued to stare.
Her father’s face went bright red and he put his hand over his eyes, obviously horrified. “I thought you said this was fake!”
“I…that’s what the paper said,” Monica stammered. “You two can’t be together. You just can’t!”
“Why are you even here?” Allyson snapped.
Dane sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t getting up, or going to say anything. Allyson needed to handle this herself. Plus, he was naked with half a hard-on.
“We came to talk to you,” her mother said. “We wanted to tell you it didn’t matter if you lied about Dane. I’m sure there are plenty more rich men at your job.”
Allyson groaned. “You guys really haven’t learned anything. And I�
�m sure Monica just came here to gloat.”
“Well, you can see now that we’re real,” Dane said, grinning
“No, we are not real,” Allyson muttered. “Can you guys please leave?”
“How can you not be real?” Mrs. Smith demanded. “You’re both naked in bed.”
Allyson narrowed her eyes. “It won’t happen again. I don’t want Prescott to go under. Now can you please give us a minute here?”
Dane suspected her words were more for him than her family. He shot her a look, but she ignored him to motion for her family to leave. Grumbling, they all trooped out of the room.
Allyson buried her head in her hands and groaned. “This is just great. Now I’ve been humiliated for the second time today.”
“It could have been worse,” he said. “They could have walked in on us while we were doing it.”
Her eyes widened. “We’ve been really careless.”
“Maybe.”
She turned to look at him. “Your mother can’t find out.”
He didn’t argue. Couldn’t argue. Because his mother finding out meant a world of trouble for not just Prescott, but for Allyson. He had put her in that position. If he had turned her down this wouldn’t have happened. But he hadn’t wanted to turn her down. When she ripped that contract in half he’d been on cloud nine. Now, with her family finding them together so quickly, he realized how reckless he had been. If anyone at Prescott discovered what they’d done this weekend, Allyson was in trouble. “You’re right. She can’t.” A sharp pain shot through his heart. “Nobody else can. You have to remind your family about being discreet.”
She nodded. “I knew you’d eventually listen to reason.”
His phone rang on the nightstand. Reaching for it, he saw that one of the managers from work was calling. He sighed. It wasn’t even Sunday and the weekend was over. Work was calling. Somehow, he and Allyson had to go back to Prescott Global on Monday and act like none of this had ever happened.
This was over. Whatever had happened between him and Allyson would never happen again.