by Sykes, Julia
“Hello, Mallory,” he said softly. Oh, so he was going to be one of those quietly angry, I’m-not-mad-I’m-just-disappointed types. Great. Well, Mallory would be damned if she let him get off the first shot.
“Mr. Cleary,” she coated the formality in as much venom as she could. “I am sorry for what happened earlier,” she began tersely, “but you do realize that this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Even though I’m just a servant, I do have rights. You can’t keep me captive on your estate for as long as you like.”
His lips twisted upward in a small smile. “Oh, can’t I?” He asked smugly. Mallory was enraged by his haughtiness. Well, she told herself that she was. But rather than tensing with anger, she felt her knees go weak as he pinned her with a knowing stare. There was something… seductive about his arrogance, the way that he utterly commanded the space around him. He stood and circled around the desk, slowly advancing toward her, a predatory gleam in his eye. Mallory took an unconscious step backward, swallowing against the sudden dryness in her throat.
She struggled to gather her wits about her as he approached. “No, you can’t,” she said with less conviction than she would have liked. Struggling for a more normal tone, she insisted, “I won’t stay here to be chastised by some entitled rich boy.” There, she had said it. There was no taking it back now.
To her surprise, Jake just chuckled at her, his sly smile widening to show his perfect white teeth. God, he was even more breathtaking when he smiled like that. He was in front of her now, in her personal space. He bent his head forward until his lips were nearly touching hers. She couldn’t move away; she felt frozen in place, captivated by him.
“Well aren’t you just full of fire?” His voice was low and soft, his breath tickling her mouth, teasing her. He was so close that she could smell him: wood and musk and champagne. It was intoxicating; he was intoxicating. All thoughts of her anger left her, pushed aside by the intense need that suddenly filled her, making her nipples harden against her bra and her pussy clench. Unable to help herself, she tilted her head back slightly and closed her eyes, offering her lips to him.
His mouth descended on hers slowly, his lips gently caressing hers. Then his tongue was at her lips, demanding entrance. With a small sigh, she opened for him, and his tongue delved into her mouth, taking her thoroughly. Suddenly, he tore his lips from hers and shoved her shoulders hard. Her body hit the wall of books behind her, knocking some of them to the floor from the impact. And then Jake was on her, his strong body trapping hers. Heat rushed to her sex, and Mallory moaned wantonly as he roughly took her mouth once again.
No man had ever done this to her; her whole body was on fire for Jake, enflamed by his rough, passionate treatment. His large hand snaked into her shirt, reaching into her bra and cupping her breast. Mallory gasped at the intimate contact, her nipples pebbling to hard buds. More. She needed more. Jake obliged her, his fingers closing around her nipple, pinching hard. Mallory let out a sharp cry as the pain turned to sweetest pleasure, making her sex throb.
Jake pulled away from the kiss as he continued to massage her breast. He regarded her, a slightly cold smile on his face, his eyes triumphant, pleased by her reactions to his skillful manipulation of her body.
“Man, am I glad I bumped into you,” he said with a smirk.
Mallory’s cheeks flushed, remembering her earlier embarrassment. “Sorry about that,” she said, a bit breathily from their passionate kiss.
“Don’t be.” His expression was amused now. “It’s not like it was an accident.”
Wait, what? Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
“You mean…” She began hesitantly, not wanting to accuse him of anything. “You knocked into me on purpose?”
Jake grinned. “Of course,” he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Mallory felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, dousing the heat that she felt for Jake. She shoved him off of her as her anger boiled back to the fore, strong and unrelenting. Well, she shoved at his chest, but he didn’t move an inch. When she spoke, her voice was tight with the effort of keeping herself from shouting. “Why? Why on earth would you do that?” Because he’s a rich, sadistic asshole who gets off on watching the underlings squirm, the more cynical side of her answered.
“Because I wanted you,” he said simply, as though he thought it a perfectly rational explanation for his behavior. Almost as if he thought it was a compliment.
Mallory was seething, her hands clenching into fists. “So you got me fired just so that you could bring me here after your soirée and have sex with me?!” Her voice was shrill, incredulity coloring her tone.
Jake frowned and stepped back from her, releasing her. “I didn’t mean to get you fired,” he said.
“Oh, well that makes it all better,” she snapped. “God, do you ever think of anything but yourself? Some of us have these things called ‘jobs,’ you know. We kind of need them to earn a living.” She sidestepped away from him, anxious to put as much distance between herself and the sexy snake as possible.
Jake looked troubled. “Mallory, wait,” he began, reaching out for her. She ripped her arm away from his grasp.
She eyed him levelly. “I’m leaving now,” she said coldly. “And if you don’t open your fancy gate for me, I will drive my car right through it.” Without waiting for him to answer, she turned on her heel and stormed out of his gorgeous mansion.
Chapter 3
Mallory didn’t wake up until noon the next day to make up for her late night. It had been almost three A.M. when she left Jake’s, and she hadn’t been able to fall asleep until the beginnings of dawn’s rays were peeking through her curtains; she had been too incensed to sleep. She simply could not believe what Jake had done to her. Not only had he gotten her fired, but he had tried to seduce her with only a few words, like she was some floozy who was just going to flop down on his desk and let him take her.
And that was nearly what had happened, which just made her even angrier with herself. She had never felt that sort of passionate heat with any man, and she most certainly had never had a one-night stand. Mallory enjoyed sex, but she was far from a nymphomaniac. There had been a couple of boyfriends in college, but none of her couplings with them even began to measure up to her few steamy minutes in Jake’s study.
She couldn’t blame herself entirely; the man was so hot it was practically sinful. And although she resented him for his high-handed treatment of her, she couldn’t deny that his confidence was a major turn-on.
But now she was padding around her modest apartment glumly, automatically showering and getting ready for the day, despite having nothing on her agenda. With no job to go to and no more teaching positions to apply for, there were few activities to fill her day. She felt like she was stagnating, being lazy. And she despised laziness. She supposed she could go to the mall today and see if any of the shops were hiring. Retail might be better than serving.
Suddenly, there was an unexpected knock at her door. Maybe it was Sally, here to collect her uniform to return to the caterers. With a sigh, Mallory opened the door. And then she closed it again immediately when she saw who was on the other side. Only it wouldn’t close; the toe of an expensive leather shoe was blocking it. She wrenched the door back open with a frustrated growl.
“What do you want?” She snapped at Jake. “And how did you know where to find me?”
Jake’s lips quirked up into a crooked smile, as though he couldn’t help finding her anger amusing. “Well, firstly, I came here to ask you out on a date. And secondly, I called the caterers and they gave me your home address.”
Mallory gaped at him. He thought she was going to go out with him after what he had done? And after revealing that second little nugget of information? “Isn’t that against the law or something for them to give out my personal details?”
His smile turned sly. “I can be very persuasive.”
Mallory hated him in that mome
nt. He was far too conceited, too smug about his own power and charm. “Well, there is no way I’m going out with you, so you can leave now,” she said coldly.
But that charming smile stayed firmly in place, his eyes twinkling. “Are you sure? I know the best little authentic Italian restaurant.”
“I don’t know what you’re not getting here,” she snapped, exasperated. “I said, no. Unequivocally no.”
His face fell, but there was something so dramatic about his expression that she knew he was being disingenuous. “Well, at least let me apologize for getting you fired. Can I come in and we can talk?”
She stared at him flatly. “No.”
Then something in his eyes softened, the lines around his mouth betraying true anxiety. It was the first trace of true vulnerability that he had exhibited. It clearly did bother him that he had lost her her job. “Please?” He asked humbly.
Moved by his display of contrition, she stepped aside so that he could enter. “Okay,” she said, somewhat reluctantly. “You can come in.”
A grin lit up his face. “Excellent.” There was a glint in his eye as he stepped over the threshold, a glint that Mallory didn’t trust at all. She was already beginning to regret letting him in. Nonetheless, her parents had raised her to be a polite hostess, so she led him into her modest living room and sat down on her couch.
“You can sit wherever you want,” she said, but she gestured to the armchair opposite her.
Disregarding her indication, Jake sat down on the couch directly beside her, so close that she could smell his heady, masculine scent. She had to restrain herself from leaning into him and breathing him in. God, he really was sexy. Now that he was so close, she could see that his eyes had taken on a greenish hue, turning them an almost aqua color. He took both of her hands in his, and heat flared between them. Discomfited by her intense reaction to his proximity, Mallory tried to tug her hands away, but he held them fast. She couldn’t deny that the feeling of being captured by him was arousing; her breathing hitched and her sex throbbed. A small, knowing smile played around Jake’s lips. She had to restrain herself from squirming under his amused scrutiny.
Mallory forced herself to gather her wits about her, struggling to put up walls against his relentless seductive onslaught. “So,” she began, a bit shakily, “I think you were going to apologize?”
“Oh yes,” he said, that same hint of anxiety returning to his expression. “I don’t do this often, but here goes: Mallory Williams,” he speared her with his blue-green gaze, “I am truly sorry for the grief I so callously caused you. I promise to do everything I can to make it up to you. Will you please forgive me?”
Although his apology was flowery and clearly rehearsed, it was genuine. Mallory found that she was moved by this softer side of him, like she was seeing the man under the usually-cocky mask.
“Yes,” she heard herself whisper, “I forgive you.”
The lines of worry around his eyes eased, and his face fell into his relaxed, conceited smile once again. The sincere man might have disappeared behind the arrogant mask, but it sure was a sexy mask. Mallory couldn’t help licking her lips as she felt the power radiating off of him, enveloping her. Jake leaned into her, and she found herself moving unconsciously to meet him. But she stopped herself at the last minute, pulling back slightly.
“What are you doing?” She asked weakly, although she had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen.
“Making it up to you,” he breathed, his voice low and seductive. And then his lips were on hers. There was no gentleness this time, only a rough, fierce plundering of her mouth. Then his hands were at the hem of her dress, tugging it upwards. Mallory compliantly lifted herself slightly off the couch so that he could pull it over her head. He sat back for a moment, admiring her. She shivered as he traced a gentle finger along the top edge of her lacy pink bra, and her nerve endings there jumped to life. As though he couldn’t hold himself back any longer, he swiftly reached around behind her and snapped open the clasp on her bra in one fluid movement. Mallory shrugged out of it, leaving herself completely bare to him except for her lacy pink panties.
“God, you’re sexy, Mallory,” he said, the hint of a growl in his gravelly tone. His strong fingers tangled in her hair at the base of her scalp, grasping a handful of it and sharply tugging her head back. He again took her lips with his, his tongue thrusting against hers. The sensation made her sex swell and throb, her clit aching to be touched.
At the same time, she was desperate to touch him, to feel his hard muscles. Her fingers fumbled blindly at his shirt buttons, somehow managing to get them all undone. She pressed the fabric back off his shoulders and down his upper arms, caressing his corded muscles as she did so. She couldn’t suppress a shiver as she felt overwhelmed by his masculinity, by his powerful physique; he could do anything he wanted to her, and there would be nothing she could do to stop it. Taking his hands from her body, Jake finished pulling off his shirt. Mallory took a moment to marvel at him, tracing her fingernails gently down his well-defined abs, lingering at the trail of dark hair that disappeared into his trousers.
Jake hissed in a breath as she touched him, tugging at the hair there. He unbuckled his belt and pulled it from his belt loops. There was a soft, rustling sound as the leather brushed against the sleek material of his pants. Mallory shivered delightedly at the sound, anticipating that he would unbutton his pants next, revealing his hard cock that she so desperately wanted. But instead he grabbed her slender wrists in one large hand, pressing them together with her palms facing one another. With his other hand, he looped the belt over them, pulling the tongue through the buckle until her wrists were trapped. He then wrapped the length of it around and around, until he finally tucked the end of it into the cuff that he had created.
Mallory started at her wrists, wide-eyed. She tugged at the belt, but there was no give; she couldn’t possibly free her hands. She had never played a game like this, but the rush of heat to her pussy told her that she liked it. There was a niggling fear at the back of her mind as she realized her vulnerable position, but that only turned her on more. Her panties were soaked with her wetness.
Jake pressed a firm hand to her shoulder, pushing her down onto the couch. He then pulled her legs along the length of it so that she was lying on her back. Grabbing her bound hands, he roughly shoved them over her head and held them there, completely stretching her out before him. His eyes roved up and down her body appreciatively until they came to rest on her face once again. He speared her with his intense gaze, which was a deep blue now.
“Keep your hands there,” he commanded her sternly.
She swallowed and nodded faintly, aware that she was leaving herself completely at his mercy, but unable to deny him.
Then his mouth was at her throat, his hot breath making the sensitive skin there tingle. She could feel his firm tongue lick up the side of her neck to her ear, making her moan at the erotic tingles that it sent dancing through her body. He paused for a moment, and then his teeth closed gently on her earlobe, tugging at it as he teased it with his tongue. Mallory gasped at the sensation as her eyes rolled back in her head blissfully.
And then he was leaving a trail of soft kisses down her neck and onto her chest. He stopped when he reached her breasts, running gentle fingers around them, circling, making her nipples harden to stiff peaks. Bending down, he pursed his lips and blew a stream of cool air directly onto her right breast, teasing her.
“Will you go out with me, Mallory?” He asked, holding her on the precipice.
What? He was asking her out on a date? Now?
“What?” She asked aloud, breathless. He just shook his head, smiling, and did the same to her left breast, making her nerve endings jump to life. She was nearly quivering with need now. But he did not touch her nipples as she so desperately wanted. Instead, he touched his tongue to her sternum, trailing its warmth downward until he reached the top of her sex. He hovered there for a moment.
; “Will you come out with me?” He asked again.
But Mallory was too frustrated to listen. She tugged at her hands, trying to free them so that she could touch herself. “Touch me, Jake,” she whined. “Please.” Her sex was throbbing painfully, her need more intense than it had ever been in her life. But Jake just lowered his head further, planting soft kisses along her thighs around her pussy, never touching her where she craved.
“Come out with me, Mallory,” he commanded this time, murmuring against her sensitive skin.
“Yes,” she caved, giving him what he wanted. “Please, Jake!”
She saw a flash of his white teeth as he grinned, triumphant. Then his mouth was on her clit, sucking the hard bud into his mouth, his teeth grazing against it.
Mallory exploded, her pussy contracting as her orgasm rippled through her, making heat flash over her skin, her entire body quivering.
As she came down off her high, Jake pushed himself up off of her, reaching for her bound hands. He tenderly unwrapped the belt, freeing her and massaging her wrists where the leather had bitten into them as she struggled. He pulled her up into a sitting position, resting her back against his hard chest, holding her against him with a strong arm around her waist. Mallory relaxed into him, sighing contentedly.
She reached out to touch him and could feel his impressive length though his pants, hard and ready for her. “Is there anything I can do for you?” She asked throatily.
He hesitated for a moment. “As much as I would like to, we don’t have time. I’ll be sure to take you up on the offer soon though.” She could practically hear him smirking. “But for now, we have to get going.”
She craned her head back and looked at him quizzically. “Going? Going where?”
“On our date,” he said, matter-of-factly.