by Laney Powell
“Sustenance will be good,” Kane said, breaking into my ruminating.
“Suddenly, I’m starving,” I smiled like the vixen I wasn’t.
He laughed. “Then I’d better feed you. What kind of gentleman would let a lady starve?”
“Are you a gentleman?”
“I can be,” Kane pinned me with his intense green eyes. “When I want to.”
“When there’s proper incentive?” I couldn’t believe myself. Something about him pushed me to… be more than I’d been before.
“Definitely when there’s proper incentive. Let me go and order the food, and we can discuss this incentive business further,” he said with a wicked grin.
As he left the room, I took the robe and wrapped it around myself, feeling very satisfied. While I wouldn’t tell Kane this, he was hands down the best sex I’d ever had. I’d really like to see if we could have a second round—but I wasn’t going to chase him. A guy like Kane had women falling all over him. A woman who found him attractive wasn’t something unique or unusual, so I needed to keep my excitement in check. No man would ever call me a clinger again. I straightened my shoulders.
I grabbed my phone from my purse and texted Mariah. I was a little late, but I hadn’t really had a minute since we’d gotten here. I’d just put it back when I heard his footsteps.
Kane came back in and held out a hand to me. “Care to join me? We’ll have something to drink while we wait for the food.”
I took his hand and let him lead me out into the living room. The warmth of his hand made me feel good. He had large, strong hands that made you feel safe and cared for.
He went into the kitchen, and poured two glasses of water, leading me to the island that looked out over a large window. I hadn’t noticed it when I came in. The lights of the city twinkled below. It was magical, being up here.
Kane held the seat out for me, and then sat next to, turned so he could face me. “So what do you do, Elspeth?” He leaned his chin on his hand, staring into my eyes.
It was almost uncomfortable. This intensity made me feel like I was the only person in the world, and that was a dangerous trap to fall into with a man like Kane.
“I work in IT in a bank,” I said.
His eyebrows went up. “I take it this is not a dream job?”
“What makes you say that?”
“The tone of your voice. That’s not the tone of a person who loves what they do.”
I shrugged. “I needed a job after school. It pays well.”
“What would you like to do?”
“You really want to know?”
“I do.”
I found that I believed him. “I’d like to develop programs for businesses. Organization, better back of the house systems, streamlining, that kind of thing?”
“That’s interesting,” Kane replied slowly.
“There is so much inefficiency in how a business is run. I see it in my department,” I said, warming to my topic. “I’ve talked to my bosses about ways that we can increase our efficiency, streamline some of the processes we use, and they’re just not interested. It’s so frustrating!”
Kane smiled. “There’s that passion.”
“It will happen,” I said.
“You want to work for someone else?”
“I don’t know. I’m finding that it’s really tough with managers not on the same page with me, but I’m not sure I’m ready to be my own boss.”
“That’s important to know. Too many people think they can run everything, and they don’t have the business skills.”
“You don’t seem to have that problem,” I laughed.
“No, I definitely like being in charge,” Kane replied, his eyes heating up as he looked at me.
The silence stretched out as the implication of his words sunk in. I could feel heat moving up the back of my neck at the thought of him taking charge of me.
I liked it. “I can see that.”
“Do you?”
I nodded. “Sometimes it’s nice to let someone else take charge,” I said. I wished my voice hadn’t come out all wispy sounding.
Kane, on the other hand, moved closer to me, his hand slipping into my robe. I hadn’t bothered to put anything on underneath, and he cupped my breast, giving it a squeeze.
A bell rang out.
Kane removed his hand, walking to a door. Twin doors slid open, and a man in a uniform handed over a bag.
“Your delivery, Mr. Raventon.”
“Thanks, Dave,” Kane said.
The other man smiled, and the doors slid closed.
Kane came back to me. “Let me help you with sustenance,” he drawled.
Kane
We talked as we ate, but there was more to eating with someone than talking. Especially as I was going for round two with her. I sat close to her at the island, making sure to brush my arm against her, nudging her with my leg. I loved seeing her in my robe. The only thing that would have been better was to see her in my shirt—I stopped myself. What in the ever loving hell was I thinking?
Whatever it was, it needed to stop. Right the fuck now. I didn’t have time for this. But Elspeth had asked me for this tonight. She was interested. So for tonight, I was all hers.
Every time we made eye contact, I felt my desire rise. My cock, too. She was sexy when she sat across from me eating her Peking duck.
“I can’t eat one more bite,” she declared, setting down her chopsticks, and pushing the plate away.
“Then perhaps you’re ready for some more… physical activity?” I asked suggestively.
“I think you’ve offered me appropriate inducement.” She looked down and then up at me. “How about this for proper incentive?” As she finished her question, she hiked herself onto the island, drawing aside the robe.
I thought my cock was going to explode in a shower of uncontrolled lust. In one smooth movement, I pushed away my plate and stepped in between her legs.
“Oh, shit,” I said. I held up a finger and went back to my room, grabbing a couple of condoms and shoving all but one of them into the pocket of my robe. As I went back to the kitchen where Elspeth waited, I tore open the last condom and rolled it on. “I can’t wait,” I growled.
“Then please come here,” she said, opening the robe fully and spreading her legs.
I sheathed myself in her in one stroke, grabbing her ass to anchor myself as I drove into her again and again.
Elspeth put her hands on my shoulders, and leaned back, giving me greater access to her body. Her head fell back, and her mouth parted. “Oh, God, oh Kane,” she moaned.
That was like a red flag to a bull. I thrust faster and faster, wanting to fall into her and never come out.
Elspeth cried out, pressing her pussy against me like she never wanted to let me go. It made me feel like the manliest man to ever walk the earth to know I’d brought her to orgasm again. It was so hot that it brought me to my own, and I shouted as I pulled her to me, wanting to leave no space between us.
Elspeth let go of my shoulders to lean back on her hands. “You do show a girl a good time,” she said.
It sounded like the purr of a satisfied cat. She glowed like the sun, like a buttercup—even without her golden dress.
“My pleasure,” I said, leaning in to kiss her. “You want to join me in a shower, buttercup?”
“No thank you,” she said. “Buttercup?”
I flushed, feeling heat on my neck. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Your dress tonight. It made me think of a flower.” I shrugged, willing my face to return to its normal shade. “About that shower. You sure?”
That little smile made an appearance. “I’m sure.”
“I won’t be long,” I said, kissing her lips, loving how soft they felt against mine. I went to my room and took the fastest shower ever. When I came out, a towel around my waist and drying my hair with another, Elspeth sat on my bed, dressed again in her shimmering buttercup dress.
“You’re leaving?” I ask
ed, not even bothering to hide my surprise.
“I need to get home,” she said.
“You—” I stopped myself. I’d been saying lots of things that weren’t me tonight. My brain took over and stopped me from offering something I might regret immediately after I said it. “How are you getting home? Let me drive you.”
“No, that’s alright,” she said. “I called for a car.”
“Let me,” I said.
“Kane, it’s okay,” Elspeth said with a smile. “I can do it.”
In her tone I heard a rebuke. I felt stung, although I didn’t know why. This was what I wanted, right? No strings, no unreasonable demands. It was exactly what I wanted.
So why didn’t I like the way this felt? And why did I care so damn much about how I felt? These were all questions I didn’t even like having to ask, much less answer.
“Then at least let me walk you out,” I said. It came out with a bit of a snap.
If Elspeth heard it, she ignored it. “That would be great.”
Still in only a towel, I walked her out of my room and to the elevator. “This will take you down to the lobby of the building,” I said.
“Thanks, Kane,” she said.
“For?”
“A great evening.” Elspeth pulled my head down to her to kiss me. “A really great night.”
The doors slid open. As she stepped in, she turned and looked at me.
Then the doors hissed closed.
Elspeth
I watched him as the doors closed. There was a moment before the elevator moved—I hoped that it was because he was pressing the button to open the doors back up and invite me back in. I was not going to chase him. Even as my heart broke a little when the elevator began to move down.
I will not cry. I will not cry. Suck it up, buttercup, I thought before I could stop myself.
Even though I thought there was something there, it wasn’t there for both of us. And that was fine. I’d known that when I agreed to meet him in the bar. I knew that it would result in us going back to his place. There was no false expectation.
But there was hope, and you can’t stop yourself from hoping, even when you know there is none. He’d made no promises, not that I would have asked for one. I knew he wasn’t the kind of man to make them. Even though he’d given me a nickname.
And while it hurt, I was all right. He was a fantastic man, and one that I’d enjoyed. This had broken my sex drought in the best possible way. That was going to be my line, and I would stick to it. He’d broken the drought all right. Like a monsoon. I texted Mariah again to let her know that I was just waiting on my ride.
I’ll call you when I get home. I added. I wasn’t up for a play-by-play breakdown of things right now. I wanted to go home, take a long hot shower, or a bath, and mull this over. Ease my hurt feelings. I’d wanted him to stop me from leaving—and until he didn’t, I wasn’t aware of how badly I wanted it.
It hadn’t happened, though.
And I’d have to live with that.
* * *
Later that day, after I’d turned into a prune in the bath, and spent over an hour on the phone with Mariah, I fell into bed. It was Saturday morning by now, and the rest of the weekend stretched before me.
I went to bed early that night and dreamed of Kane Raventon.
Kane
I watched the doors close and heard the elevator start its descent. Why hadn’t I stopped her? Because I didn’t have what a woman like Elspeth would want. Would need.
Would deserve.
That thought was pretty shitty. Every woman wanted me. But Elspeth—she’d walked out with a kiss and that tiny smile that she deployed like a lethal weapon.
I cleaned up the kitchen and went to bed. When I woke the next morning, I was tired, and grumpy as fuck. I showered again and went into work. I liked to go in and see how things went from the night before on the nights I didn’t close.
But today, seeing that we’d had another great night, I didn’t feel my normal sense of satisfaction. Nothing was working for me today.
Finally, after lunch, I left. In the mood I found myself in, I’d be firing my entire staff and facing wrongful firing lawsuits. Even then, leaving wasn’t my choice.
Grace came in and threw me out.
“Whatever it is, Kane, get your shit together,” she said. Then she walked back in, leaving me starting after her. She’d never spoken like that to me in all the time I’d known her. I must be really bad.
I went to the gym, did a few rounds in the sparring ring, and came home still feeling all wrong.
This was going to be one hell of a week.
* * *
By Wednesday, I knew that my prediction was more than accurate. I’d come close to losing my temper at least once every day this week, Nothing made me happy—not the numbers from Go, which for a weekday, were stellar, or my staff being on point, or the great writes-ups Go was getting from all the VIPs that I’d invited the previous Friday night.
And as I sat in my office glaring at the screen on my computer, I knew what the problem was.
I wanted Elspeth. She was amazing. She loved cars. She apparently loved sex with me. She wasn’t in awe of me, trying to get something from me—none of that.
But she’d walked away, I didn’t even know what bank she worked for. I had no way to get in touch with her — Wait.
Her friend. Mariah.
I pulled up the guest list for the VIPs. She worked at a local magazine.
“Nina, I’m going out,” I called to my assistant as I left.
“Thank God,” she called back. “Bring back some decency when you come back.”
I stopped. “I do own the place, you know,” I said to her.
“I know. It’s why you’re still alive,” she replied.
I had the best staff, even if they felt free to express their opinions at will. A good manager encouraged people to express themselves. It made people more invested in the good of the company.
Perhaps I’d encouraged a little too much ownership. But that was something for another day.
Today was about stopping by to see Mariah. I got to the magazine office in record time. Once inside, I asked for Mariah Barrington, and when she came out, she didn’t bother to hide her shock at seeing me.
“Mr. Raventon. This is a surprise.” Her tone indicated it was not a welcome one.
Shit. Had Elspeth said something negative? What could have been negative?
“I wouldn’t normally bother you at work,” I said, ignoring the fact that she was looking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable, “But Elspeth left something with me, and I would like to get her number so that I can return it.” I smiled like this was something I did regularly, that I wasn’t a stalker.
“You can leave it with me,” Mariah said. “I’ll probably see her before you do.”
Once again it was what she didn’t say. Her tone said that I wouldn’t be seeing Elspeth again.
Which I didn’t understand. I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Except let her leave. I could see the doors closing on her as I stood there like a dumb fuck.
“No, this is something I’d prefer to give her in person,” I said pleasantly. I’d faced down far worse glares than the one Mariah was directing at me.
She crossed her arms.
I wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. I could see that. “I’ll give you my number. If you’ll pass it along, she and I can make the necessary arrangements.”
Mariah just looked at me, and I felt the weight of her consideration. Condemnation was more like it. But I wasn’t going to walk away. I needed to see Elspeth, my life and current principles be damned.
“I’ll pass it along,” she said, her lips tight with disapproval.
I took a business card from my inner jacket pocket and handed it to Mariah. “I’d appreciate it.”
She took it with a small nod.
I smiled and left, inwardly seething. Why the hell wouldn’t she just give me E
lspeth’s number?
Because Elspeth had pulled a one and done on me.
Me.
No one did that to me, but she had. What else could it be?
I didn’t bother going back to the office. There was no sense in it. I’d just piss myself and my staff off even more.
She had to call me. If she didn’t, I had to master this. But I was hoping for a call. Because I didn’t know how to master this.
Elspeth
I’d been hanging on to the card and taking it out to look at it, oh, hundreds of times since Mariah had given it to me on Wednesday night.
“I don’t know that you should even bother,” she said. “He clearly didn’t have anything for you. Who knew that Kane Raventon was a stalker? These rich guys,” she finished with a roll of her eyes. “They think anything or anyone they want is there for the taking.”
“That might not be it,” I said weakly.
“Get your head out of the sex clouds,” Mariah said to me, but her tone was kind. “I know he was great in the sack, but that doesn’t mean shit in relationship world.”
She had a point. She made sense. But I kept looking at the card, debating what I wanted to do. I’d already thrown it away twice. And retrieved it from the wastebasket.
His cell was on there. Making a decision, I pulled out my cell and texted him. I had to do something. This ‘what to do’ refrain in my head would drive me crazy otherwise.
Me: Mariah told me you stopped by her office to return something I’d left. I wasn’t aware I left anything.
He responded almost immediately. You did leave something.
Me: What is that?
Kane: You left me.
I sat back in my chair. Whatever I’d been expecting, this wasn’t it.
Kane: Hello?
Me: I wasn’t aware you were something I could leave. And you let me go, I thought. You let me walk out.
Kane: Come see me.
Me: What will I find if I do?
Kane: Someone who wants to see you again.
Me: For what reason? You are a busy man.
Kane: I make the time for the things that are important.
Me: Am I important?