by Mia Caldwell
Several hours later, we finally touched down in New York again. Kiona awoke just in time for us to hit the runway, and the process went about as smoothly as it had when landing in New Orleans. My usual driver, Gregory, was ready with the car to scoop us back up and take us home. While Kiona rested a little in the backseat with me, I reflected on our unconventional marriage and the fun that we’d experienced together…along with the impending meeting with Alphonse Megami.
I need to start making the arrangements for that, I thought to myself. Tomorrow, I’ll contact Kylie.
I thought about how useful my executive assistant had been these last five years as we ascended the elevator up to the penthouse. Kiona, still yawning slightly, was watching the beauty of the setting sun against the skyline as I found my thoughts trailing to the previous jams that Kylie had helped me avoid or mitigate. A couple of times during our honeymoon, I’d stepped aside to privately answer a phone call or series of text messages from my assistant, who was holding down the fort in my absence.
I still needed to figure out what to do about Coppersmith. His preposterous posing and wanton need to have his ego stroked at all times was making him trouble for me, and I needed better management…but it wasn’t time yet. When the appropriate moment came, Larry would fit the bill appropriately, and if the board wouldn’t accept him, I’d step in to sign off on his ascension myself. A little parting gift before I handed over the reigns of my company to Megami.
But that still left the problem of leaving a supervisor for the marketing department…and the training procedure for that would be somewhat time-consuming and problematic…
Is there seriously nobody capable of stepping up to that role, already IN my company?
Once again, I needed people in the right roles. Sure, this transition would cause significant upheaval in the company, especially after I gave everyone my parting six figure bonus, but with the right staff in control I knew they could weather the storm.
“What’s the matter?” Kiona asked, gazing at me thoughtfully with some concern.
“I don’t…wait, where are we?”
The concern across her face intensified. “We’re home.”
I glanced around. She was right. I was standing in the kitchen of the penthouse, and she was back on the other side of the divider. We were holding glasses of wine again, even. I shook my head – is this déjà vu? Didn’t we JUST do this a few days ago?
“Yes, I’m…I’m fine,” I nodded.
“You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve been saying, have you?” Kiona chided me with a mocking frown. “I swear, sometimes you just get wrapped up in that world of yours…”
“No, I was…it was just…I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I was distracted with work preoccupations. Could you repeat whatever you were saying?”
“I was saying that I really appreciate the trip down to New Orleans, even if it wasn’t a real honeymoon for a real marriage,” Kiona smiled. “You’re very sweet sometimes, even if you try to hide it. But you should know that you can’t hide things from me, Cole…”
That’s what I’m afraid of, I thought to myself before I realized that she was stroking my cheek with her palm. I glanced down at my wine – I’d already almost finished the glass. While absentmindedly wrapped up in thoughts about my company, I must have been unconsciously drinking it.
Not a good combination, I thought to myself. Drinking wine and lost in thought…how much have I been drinking? And how long have we been here? I glanced over to the window, seeing that the sun was already disappearing towards the horizon.
“Listen, I know what I see in your eyes when you look at me,” she whispered, standing on just the other side of the divider again. “I can see it in them now. You didn’t just pick me because I could play pretend. There’s some part of you that wants this to be real…”
I realized that she was right. You know what you have to do. I began to concentrate again, taking a deep, soothing breath as I closed my eyes. I can’t let her inside. I can’t let ANY of them inside. Just calm down…relax everything…and push the safety of those walls back up…
Before I could exhale, releasing the end of my self-conditioning ritual, Kiona’s luscious, thick lips pressed firmly against mine, and every last ounce of restraint I had collapsed out from under me.
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Chapter 16
Kiona
Cole’s warm lips were suddenly magnetic to the touch – I didn’t want to keep mine off of them. There was a crushing need in the way that he reciprocated my kiss, and I leaned forwards and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He pulled back just a sliver, but I crossed the distance, kissing him again openly, passionately. The energy between us was just too addictive. I had felt it with a light brush, here and there – whether he touched me or I, him – and my lips were lightning rods to his awesome, crackling power.
Then he held my cheeks in his palms, pushing back onto mine until our lips couldn’t stand the thought of parting.
I honestly don’t know what came over me. It didn’t have anything to do with the money – despite chasing opportunities, I wasn’t that kind of woman, and life would have been hell of a lot easier if I’d just slept my way into the right industries for the cash.
Maybe it was the wine, but it just felt right. I could pretend to love him, but the passion I saw in his eyes was more than pretend. I found myself more receptive to him. Sure, in a few weeks all of this would be over, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun…
It was more than that, though. There had been sadness in his eyes when he spoke. He might not have even known it was there. But the way he looked when he discussed everything – it was the same look that he had in the car. He was hiding something important – like an open wound, or some great burden on his shoulders.
And as soon as I understood that, as it clicked together while he spoke to me, the compulsion to make everything better filled me. We’re both broken people, but maybe together, we could be something more.
We soon smiled into our kisses, aware of the divider between us, but before he could pull away I pressed my lips against his again. We crossed around the edge of the counter, suddenly enveloping ourselves in one another more properly.
Without the barrier, we pressed together, our lips eagerly, desperately closing the distance. Cole dug his needful fingers into my meticulously straightened hair, his palms sliding up against my cheekbones and engulfing my temples. I tugged at his bottom lip with my teeth gently, inviting more of him into my mouth. His tongue snaked in, sliding against mine. I clenched into the back of his head, as we tasted of each other.
As stoic and emotionless as Cole Andrews had been, despite some small smiles and a laugh here or there, it was reassuring to feel the pressure of his need against my leg. That was when it was finally confirmed to me that there was flesh and blood, sinews full of vitality and need, connecting this impenetrable man of stone.
“I should…we can’t…” He murmured incoherently.
I smiled into our kissing. “We can…”
“You don’t have to do this…”
“It’s okay…”
He opened his eyes, staring deep into my soul with the aches of cautious, barely restrained pleasure. I nodded, slipping my tongue against his again, quietly gasping with pleasure as his teeth held it in place and tugged lightly.
I became aware now that we were moving across the penthouse, although I couldn’t grasp my bearings of where. All that mattered was the powerful energy between us – and how much I craved the might of his touch.
There’s no telling how much time passed, but I was soon tossed down to the most comfortable bed I’ve ever touched – a large, majestic king mattress, wrapped in luxurious bedding in a dim, spacious bedroom. At our presence, the lighting slowly adjusted to a warm, soothing level, shrouding us in enough light to see but enough darkness to conceal. Within that darkness, our passion intensified – as if our crushing need swelled to
fill the shadows.
Cole was kneeling beside me on the bed – I was ripping at his belt, eager to withdraw the massive weapon inside. He pushed me back down into the mass of pillows and took over, lifting my dress when I tried to bounce back up. He helped me out of it, casting it to the other side of the bed as he descended upon my body, peppering my skin with his lips.
My throat was wide open for his mouth, and he furiously, needfully kissed the space, moving his lips down my body in a trail of passionate pecks. I gasped in excitement as he reached back up, kissing my neck as his hands slid under my shoulders – I arched my back, and he took the opportunity to unclasp my bra. Pulling the garment aside, my flowing bosom was free, the puckering peaks ready for his pressing attention.
The billionaire grasped my breasts, kneading gently as he explored them with his trailing fingers. Catching my nipples between the knuckles on either hand, he squeezed them together, tugging the erect nubs as his lips descended upon my neck again. My back naturally arched once more, pushing my bosom into his capable hands, and he dropped his mouth to swirl his wet, firm tongue around a gracious, perky nipple. My fingers scratched down his back, eager to rid him of his unnecessary clothing, but he held me at bay. The nipple slipped into his mouth – he tugged with his teeth gently, flicking with his tongue, all the while still grasping passionately at my breasts.
I grasped onto his head, holding him down onto my breasts as he swapped to the other. His mouth was incredible against them, and I could barely stand to let him part…but then, after several moments, he began to pepper a trail of kisses down my stomach. My hands pushed him further down, and he slipped his fingers into the band of my panties, tugging them down my thighs and flicking them across the bed.
“You’re so wet for me,” he murmured softly, his warm breath wafting across my sex.
I could barely manage a nod before he plunged his middle finger inside. My lips shuddered apart as I leaned my head back into the pillows, enveloped in the feeling that filled me.
“Oh God, Cole…that feels so incredible…”
My slickness was already prepared for a second finger, and he indulged. His index met the middle, curling to slide against my inner button, and he worked my body perfectly as his lips pressed slow, meaningful kisses upon my inner thighs.
Pleasure whiplashed down my spine – my back arched and my throat groaned as I squeezed my breasts in aching need. As my fingers trailed across the nipples, I plucked at the peaks between the firm Venus mounds beneath my thumbs and the nearest fingertips.
His fingers retreated from inside, and he married his tongue to my wet, slickened channel. My hands could only be in one place now – wrapped around the back of his head, my fingers buried in his hair. I rode the billionaire’s face as he lapped away my juices, digging his firm tongue deeper inside me. With my thighs slid up over his shoulders, I cried out in ecstasy as I felt his thumb sliding across the bead of my passion, rubbing circles against my clit.
I was already wound so tightly with pleasure. I couldn’t last long under his masterful command of my body, and soon the crushing orgasm ran its course, flooding my mind with a burst of impossible desire as the release surged across my body. My lungs let out a passionate scream of pleasure, and I clutched onto his head as I rode out the climax.
But Cole wasn’t done with me yet.
And I was ready for him.
As the billionaire rose between my legs, my fingers slipped straight to his belt again, eager to release the restraints on his rock-hard passion. Cole graciously tossed the blazer aside, removing his tie as I unclasped the belt and unzipped his slacks. He began unbuttoning his long-sleeved top, grinning confidently down at me as I reached into his boxers, grasping the powerful tool with my fingers for the first time.
The size of it was incredible – but the sheer heat emanating from it made my jaw drop. He radiated power, even between his legs, and groaned as I began to stroke his mighty cock.
Cole withdrew from my touch long enough to shed the rest of his clothing. He knelt between me, a handsome, chiseled specimen of masculinity perfected – the washboard abs stretched down to a cut V joining his hips, as if pointing down to the long, thick, incredible tool at his disposal.
“Are you ready?” He asked calmly.
“Yes,” I murmured softly, drawing out the syllable.
Cole shifted off of the bed for a moment, returning with a condom from the drawer. Slipping the wrapper against his teeth, he tugged the plastic open and expertly sheathed his weapon. Next, he leaned down against my skin, supporting himself with his elbows as he reached down for the forthcoming point of no return…but my hand grasped his cock first, eager to take control of this moment.
“No, let me,” I whispered into his ear, tugging on the lobe lightly with my teeth as I stroked him gently. Rubbing his cock against my lower lips to tease us both, I could feel him groan a deep, hearty murmur of satisfaction from within his chest.
I adjusted my hips, lining him up…
…And I pushed the billionaire inside.
I knew that it was going to be a squeeze, but I hadn’t anticipated how much he would stretch my walls. Taking it gently at first, Cole tactfully retreated when necessary, only to capture further ground when he pushed inside. My ankles naturally slid along his calves as his overwhelming cock tunneled further into my slickened, yearning canal, wet with desire. Within a few more slow pushes, my body was adapting to his size; he was hilting himself into me now, his hips against mine.
My fingernails surged down his spine as he ratcheted up the ferocity, thrusting slower at first, and then harder, faster, absolutely dominating me. When my eyes opened and I gazed into his, the dim lighting twinkled ever so subtly against his pupils, and I saw him for what he really was – impressively powerful, highly reserved, and in need of connection. Why he had cut himself off from everyone around, I didn’t know; but our bodies were intertwined and his passionate, hungry eyes bore into my sight, I saw every last, heavy ounce of his need.
Our hips rocked together thunderously, dueling with our wills – I was submitting to his power, yes, but only on my terms. Cole, on the other hand, continued to dominate my body. His lips found my neck again; his powerful hand clasped my leg beneath the buttock. My lover was thrusting rapidly, uncompromisingly into me, pushing both of us to our brinks.
I could feel him coming close, and I knew that I was so very near the edge myself.
His hand grasped my face, palming my cheek as his lips crushed into mine. Cole’s thrusting was growing frantic now, and I could feel my own pleasure uncoiling once more, ready to flood my body.
One last gasp from us both – my inner muscles clenched tightly around his cock as I came, letting the cries rip from my heaving chest. Clutching his cock like a vise-grip, I felt his cock empty his seed between my legs, secured with our protection.
“That was…fucking…incredible…” I murmured in ecstasy, my body sapped of strength.
“You’re goddamn right it was,” he agreed, sliding against my side and pressing his lips to my shoulder, and my neck, and my lips…
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Chapter 17
Cole
When I woke up the following morning, Kiona was snuggled up at my side, her arm draped over my chest. I didn’t move at first, simply basking in her body warmth, and memories of the previous night’s pleasure.
Unfortunately, I had wondered fleetingly at first if she was just making a move over the money, but her passion had been clear and sincere from the start. The ferocity with which she chased my lips, eager to have me, could not be so easily acted – and if the look in her eyes had been as fabricated as her work history, then there was truly neither passion nor love in the world.
With these thoughts in mind, it occurred to me that it was Thursday morning. Why is Thursday important? That rings a bell. With something of a mental shrug, I decided to let her sleep in, although I was already thinking about climbing out of bed and concocti
ng a magnificent breakfast for her.
Let’s see…what do I have in the kitchen? I wondered to myself with a sly little grin. I could probably whip up some eggs benedict, sizzle some sausage…
As I considered the options, my eyes trailed over to a clock on the wall – reading half past eleven. A flush of memories and realizations snapped into my head.
Oh, crap.
Post-coital civility be damned, I was going to be late for something I couldn’t afford to miss.
Removing Kiona’s arm, I leapt out of bed, whipping out my cell phone. Gregory had tried dialing for me a few times, which meant that my contingency was hopefully in effect…