“But, while she’s making moves and being shut down, you not only hire a beautiful woman, you hired one that was more than eye candy. I’m someone who could figure out what she and Ernie and the rest were doing if I had my hands on enough files. She felt threatened, like her power throne was given away. And, now that you’ve told me this, so much more of the office dynamics make sense.”
I bit the succulent, butter covered shrimp, enjoying it even more as it’s juices sprayed my mouth. I hated women like that, and the knowledge I was dealing with petty jealousy and power play lightened the load considerably. I pointed at him with the fork in between bites.
“So,” I said, taking another small bite and swallowing it. “I come in. Smart, intelligent, great at my job, and I’m at least as beautiful as she is, arguably more so. Then, to top it all off, I’m nice to everyone else. People aren’t all listening to whatever she feeds them. She can’t control them. They’re starting to take my side.” I sipped on my expensive white wine.
“Since she’s obviously set herself up and used sex to control more than one man, someone like me would totally upset that balance of power. So when she’s sure we had sex together, she goes on the offensive. She has to get me out of the way. Setting it up to appear as if I’d stole the money is a brilliant move on her part. Her hands are still clean since she doesn’t have the hacking skills. I’m out of the office, leaving her queen bee again, and she can work to get her hooks in you, make you complicit in everything. Tell me, Nicholas, how many times did she work to get you alone or in a compromising position while I was on my forced vacation?”
He flushed red, and the bite of steak he’d been about to eat paused before passing his lips. He chewed slowly, thoughtfully. I could tell he wasn’t avoiding my question, but rather giving it deep thought. “Unfortunately, too many, and it frustrates me I didn’t see them earlier.” He paused and cut more of his steak. “That first day when you left the office looking like death scraped your insides and served them up to the demons of hell, she came in within minutes, offering comfort, words of advice. I’d been too caught up in my own regret and pain to think about her motivations or the insinuations behind her words.”
He took another bite, watching me closely. “You never did that. You never pushed me for sex, or tried to get me into compromising position. Women have played that game with me so long, I’ve missed that you didn’t. I only noticed because I’ve been trying hard not to be like all other bosses, even by accident, into making them think they had to be sexy for me to keep their jobs.”
I nodded. I’d witnessed it for the year I’d been there. “There are women out there working just to score a man.” I shrugged. “More power to them. But I don’t think this is the case here. She’s definitely of the compromising position sort. It’s a power trip for her. I would bet you a home cooked meal by yours truly that she has slept with all three men you have in custody and promised they were her favorite.
He narrowed his eyes on me. “Obviously, I am not stupid enough to take that bet. If it’s anything like the meals you’ve already made, I’d hate to lose it.””
I laughed and flirted with him by staring into his eyes then staring down into my meal. The blush wasn’t intentional though. Damn his eyes. They had me thinking of the beach at the ocean and naughty things. “I’m glad to hear that.” I laughed and cut another bite of my sumptuous shrimp. I’d finished most of the salad already.
“You’ve let me do most of the cooking,” he said.
“Did I?” I giggled. “Hmmmm. Maybe because I was too sore to do it most days.” I blushed again, though I tried to act suave. “Anyways, back to the subject at hand,” I said. “Whether or not you take that bet, I still think you need to set security on her.”
He completely ignored the last part. “You were quite delectable this weekend, too. However, I think you need punished for your sass.”
I grinned. “Looking for an excuse to use the whip?” Oh, how I loved to tease him.
He cleared his throat. “Maybe. Okay, back to business. As you say, I should put security on Kim, and you need to be extra careful at work. In fact, we need to come in together. I’ll pick you up in my truck.”
My ass tingled when he said he would punish me. Lordy, how did he work me up on sex even in the middle of a serious discussion. Holy hell. I took a deep breath. I stared at his eyes, wishing we were alone and not in public. I loved how he looked at me, especially when we were making love or I’d earned his approval as his sub. I wanted to take him home right now and have my way with him. Screw the office politics. No, screwing him would be much more exciting.
“Well?” he prompted.
I blanked. My mind having gone elsewhere, I couldn’t fathom what he wanted. “I’m sorry. I am not sure what you’re asking of me.”
He gave me a quizzical stare and then said, “You and me, carpooling. I’m going to pick you up at five in the morning, so we have time for coffee and still beat the worst of traffic.”
I flushed. Oh, that’s right. He’d asked me about that. I nodded and stared back down at the rice pilaf I still had left, picking at it with my fork. God, if he had any idea how horny I was right now, he’d probably ask for the check right away.
“Fiona, look at me.”
I lifted my gaze to his, falling down the well of that love/lust combo his eyes held for me. Much as he wanted to punish me, all of sudden, I wanted, needed, gentle. The office stuff had kept me riddled with stress too long. I needed the affirmation that all people weren’t like the ones trying to hurt me, to bring him down.
I saw a sweet look sweep across his face, his lips holding a quiet smile, his eyes resting on me as if I were something beloved to him. How in the hell had I ever resisted him, much less for a year?
The waiter came by just then to see if we needed anything. “Check, please,” Nicholas said, never taking his eyes off me.
My stomach hardened. We didn’t speak much on the way home. It didn’t take long as we’d gone out late and were closer to my home than not. For the first time, I was struck by an idea of how much he must like me. He spent most of his time at my apartment. Though nice and in a decent neighborhood, I knew that his home was big enough to hold office parties in because I’d been to one.
How intuitive of him to understand I needed my own home and the security of it when everything else was up in the air. And after the break in, he probably wanted to take me away to his place for safety, but let me face that as well so I would not be afraid of my own place.
I’d given him a key to my place, and he’d given me one to his home, so he wasn’t trying to keep me away either. I hugged that thought to myself. While Kim still had her freedom to hurt me, anything that helped me feel safer was welcomed.
He found parking and scooted out. I’d learned to wait for him to open my door when in his car. I’d argued at first, but he’d decided it was part of my care as my Dom. I could hardly argue with that. If it was part of what he wanted to do outside of the bedroom, I could deal with it. It hadn’t taken me long to get used to it, though.
We strolled into the lobby arm and arm and headed up the elevator to my apartment. Every time we were in an elevator, I blushed. I could not stop it. How could I? I could feel his hands on me as if we were reliving the moment. We almost never talked in the elevator, as if both of us had those pictures in our minds.
My heart raced as I imagined his hands on me. My floor dinged, or I may have jumped him right then. We walked down the hallway, holding hands. He unlocked my door, and we both went straight to the bedroom, shedding our coats as we went. My emotions had filled me too far for words. I just wanted him touching me, loving me, caring for me.
He began unbuttoning my dress, my back to him, pushing my hair around the front. As if he sensed my need for gentle, his hands caressed their way down my back as the shirt fell apart. The fabric whispered off my shoulders under his guidance. He pressed his lips on my neck, then moved up to my cheek, his hands on my shoulde
rs.
We stood there, in silence for a long moment. Then he turned me to him and finished undressing me, barely-there touches lighting a fire under me. Then I took care of his clothes, kissing him lightly here and there, letting my hair fall against his legs as I bent to take off his boxers and pants.
The hissed intake of his breath was my reward. I smiled a bit. I loved garnering those uncontrollable responses from him. Only fair when he had to but crook a finger at me to get me going. I stood up and stared into his eyes. Our bodies were but centimeters apart. The tension grew. I wanted to touch him, but there was something intense about the now, and I couldn’t stop staring.
Then he bent his head and met my lips in a searing kiss which melted my heart. I sighed into his mouth as his arms came around me. Then the kiss heated up and our tongues met even as our bodies aligned. Everywhere we touched became sensitized, and by the time he led me to the bed, every bit of me felt as if an ocean of light flowed through me.
He laid me back with care, following me down with a kiss, his hand stroking the nipple to a hard peak. He massaged it then back to playing with the tip. My body turned languid under his ministrations. His mouth moved to the other breast, and I wove my fingers through his hair as my body started up the climb to its orgasm. It took longer under the gentleness, but it rose just as strong, just as sure. When I neared my peak, he stopped sucking and positioned himself over me, just staring at me.
I’d never seen him look at me quite like that, like I mattered more than his next breath. It stopped my heart for a second, stole my ability to think anymore. Then, he entered me and kissed me at the same time. He rocked into me the rhythm strong but not frantic. I felt the clenching start, and my whole body started to shake, and I still hadn’t dropped over the edge into my orgasm. It hung there, ready to crash, but not quite going there.
Then he caught one hand in his and laced his fingers through it and put it on the bed beside my face as he still moved in me, strong and steady, and he just looked at me. I gasped as my body tightened even more, and he took my other hand, repeating the treatment, always watching me. That was it for me. I cried out and arched as the climax finally rolled its way through me like a hurricane, leaving nothing for me to hide behind, my heart, my soul, opened wide to him, the walls I had left crashing down in surrender to him.
He sped up his pace and came soon after, gathering me up in his arms as we lay there recovering. We’d still not said a word since entering my apartment. It felt sacred. I know I’d promised, with my body, more than I’d intended this early in our relationship. I didn’t regret it, but I also didn’t know how to go from here. He may not be there with me. And wow just didn’t sound right.
“I love you,” I said quietly. “If I need to find a different job, I will. But I can’t hide my feelings for you anymore. I’m not going to be able to pretend that it’s work as usual.”
He stiffened up beside me. “You can’t work with me?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean that. I meant I can’t work without revealing how I feel about you. I’ve fallen head over heels, and there is no way I can pretend otherwise day in and day out.”
He relaxed and pulled me in tighter. “You don’t have to. We will trap Kim up tomorrow. I need you safe as well. I will have to restructure things a bit at the office, but it will be worth every second. I enjoy working with you, and you’re the best in your division.”
Another reason Kim hated me, I knew. I’d taken that title from her within a month of starting and never lost it. I frowned. Maybe I had now. Losing a week of work while under a cloud…and God knew what the hell she’d said to my clients. Whatever happened, I could take care of things.
By the next morning, we’d devised a plan to trap her into revealing herself. We arrived together, and I went straight into his office with him. We went over the reports and accounts that were mine, trying to determine just how badly Kim had screwed us, but also, to keep me in his office to push Kim’s jealousy and rage.
I left with a flush on my face. His fault. He’d kissed me senseless, his hand going under my skirt, thrusting with power and strength which left me breathless, then told me it was time to return my desk. I clutched the files to my chest, hiding the hardened nipples, and went to my desk and began working. Soon, the flush had left as I went into full work mode. I’d become so deeply ingrained in my work, I’d about forgotten about our plan.
Kim walked by and pinched me as she went. I yelped a bit and said, “What the hell is that for?”
“What, you going to go tattle to the boss? Think you’re so high and mighty now that you’re sleeping with him?” Her sneer turned her face ugly.
The rage I saw behind the sneer was what worried me though. “I’m going to insist you don’t assault me again, or I’ll be calling in the police. I don’t need to be sleeping with the boss to not be treated like a punching bag.” I saw her mask slip when I mentioned police. A swift pass of panic had flashed on her face.
I stood and faced her, not liking how at a disadvantage I felt with her standing. I crossed my arms and tilted my head. “Hey, didn’t I hear a rumor you were sleeping with Ernie? In fact, not a rumor, but you bragging one day in the ladies restroom?” I took a stab in the dark as she seemed the type to have to reveal her conquests.
She sputtered, and her face turned so red, I thought she’d have an aneurism right there from her piss off. “I have slept with more men than would ever want you,” she said.
I gaped at her then snapped my mouth shut. “I…”
“Kim,” Janice said, aghast. “What a horrible thing to say.”
I seriously could not fathom why she said that. Maybe my inner bitch wasn’t as well developed as hers. “Well, none of mine are sitting in jail cells,” I replied. Then again, it had been a rough few weeks.
Kim’s fury burst out, and she ran straight at me, knocking me over my desk, the computer coming with me. A loud snap echoed in the room a split second before my scream pierced the air. Pain ratcheted through my arm, but I concentrated on defending myself. I kicked at her face with my stiletto heels as she tried to jump me again. It scraped her cheek hard, and she jerked back and held it for a second, her mouth rounded in an “o” of surprise.
I brought my leg back in preparation of kicking her again just in case. I cradled my broken arm, careful to not touch the protruded bone which had ripped through my blouse, staying on the floor, the flat screen behind me, its base digging into my back. Excruciating pain lanced through me in time with my heartbeat. My arm shrieked with acute nerve pain. Tears leaked from my eyes, but I didn’t let loose a good cry. I held myself as immobile as possible, but if she jumped me again, I’d probably pass out from the pain when I tensed to defend myself. I stared her down, though.
I don’t know who, but someone apparently told Nicholas. Next thing I knew, he stood over me, facing Kim. “Security will be here momentarily. I suggest you don’t move,” he said, his voice barely audible.
I shivered at the lethal sound of it, which set off the pain in my arm and back. With him protecting me, it was harder for me to maintain my tough exterior. The blood from the break soaked my blouse and was dripping to the floor through my fingers which held the arm. I whimpered as the pain crushed its way through me.
Nicholas looked back at me when I whimpered, worry evident in his eyes and by the furrowing of his brow. Behind him, I saw movement.
“Look out!” I shouted.
He turned and blocked her adroitly, managing to turn her around, her arm behind her back, and her face in the desk. Relief shot through me that Kim was now subdued. All at once, colors pushed in swirls in my vision as the rest of it went dark.
“Nicholas,” I whispered. “I—”
6
With eyelids like dirty sandpaper, I tried to blink some moisture into my dry eyes. My throat hurt, my nose itched, and my whole body felt like a lead pipe had been taken to it with no mercy. Thirst clawed at my insides, demanding immediate slaking.
; I tried to speak, but my lips barely moved. I heard a motion to the side of me. With great care and effort, I turned my head to the sound. “Nicholas!” Though I’d tried to call out, it came out as a croak.
Nevertheless, he swirled to face me and ran to my bed. “You’re awake. Thank God. Don’t scare me like that ever again.”
“What.” I tried to swallow, but too dry.
“Water?” He grabbed a large pink pitcher with a straw in it off the hospital tray and held the straw to my lips.
I took it gratefully and drank. He pulled the life-giving sustenance away much too soon.
“The nurse said you could have small amounts at a time, but not to overdo it. I’ll give you more in a minute.”
I nodded to show I understood then tried again. “What happened?”
“What do you remember last,” he said, evading my question.
“Kim tackled me over the desk, and you swooped in like an avenging angel.” My speech was slow and halting, but he just held my hand as I spoke. “My hero,” I added.
He brought my hand up to his face and rubbed it along his stubbled cheek then kissed my knuckles. “You have a broken arm. It’s required multiple surgeries. I’ll let the doctor explain how badly fractured it was. Your back is badly bruised from how you fell on the screen’s base. It’s… Also, the break severed the main artery in your arm, and you’d lost a lot of blood by the time the police secured the scene and allowed the EMTs to come get you.”
I stared at his face as he spoke, wonder hitting me. He’d spoken the words once in the heat of sex, but this was… He loved me, like deeply, beyond the physical. That’s the only thing that made sense of the disheveled appearance, the five o’clock stubble above the line of his usually neatly trimmed beard, wrinkled clothes, the strain in his voice, the new lines on his forehead.
Then it hit me. The stubble was darker and thicker than I’d ever seen it. “How long was my surgery?”
“They…it took a lot longer than they’d expected. You’ve had multiple surgeries and a blood transfusion.”
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 98