She starts out slow and careful as she spits saliva onto their hardness and starts rubbing her fingers across their length. At the feel of her long, feminine fingers, Alex lets out a hard groan and tips his head backwards to rest against his clasped hands. He closes his eyes, focusing on the feel of Laura’s hand moving across his erection.
“Fuck…” Laura hears Nate pant as his hand closes around the back of her neck.
Then, she takes him in, her mouth closing around the tip of his penis, and when she starts to move her
head, push and pull and push and pull, Nate lets out a series of groans. As he feels her tongue swiping across his shaft and her lips gliding along the same length, all Nate knows is he doesn’t want Laura to stop. If only he could have her all to himself, but Alex and he came into this together.
Nate tries not to show the displeasure threatening to surface when Laura pulls away from his erection and moves over to pleasure Alex kneeling at her other side. As she swipes the pre-cum off the head of Alex’s dick, Nate busies himself by eating out Laura the way she did him.
He sticks a finger inside her pussy before he hovers his mouth over her entrance. Then, he starts to tug and suck, and he can hear Laura panting more heavily now. How the hell is she going to focus on sucking dick when someone else is eating her out too?
Nate’s usually a deliberate and technical guy, but there are times he gets restless and impatient. Such as now. With his erection twitching in restlessness and hanging in the air, he can’t wait anymore. He’s just right at the edge, but he’s not going to tip over and freefall looking at Laura suck dick. And he isn’t in a woman’s apartment to jack off at the sight of her. No. And so, he slowly pushes his erection inside her, the lips of her pussy closing around his hardness snugly. Then, he starts to push in and out and in and out, and he feels a sense of pride when Laura starts moaning at the pleasure while Alex’s dick is inside her mouth.
Then he starts to pick up the pace, restless, desperate, and wanting, and Laura has to pull her mouth away. She’s bound to sink her teeth into Alex’s skin just to keep herself from moaning too loudly, and Alex wouldn’t want that. With her bum up in the air and slapping against Nate’s skin with his every thrust, Laura feels like she’s in Shangri-la. Sex can’t get any better than this, but something tells her to wait. If Alex is as good as Nate, then she’s going to end up eating her words. And something tells her she will be.
When Nate pulls his dick out of Laura’s pussy, he moves towards the edge of the bed to give way to Alex. With the way the man’s looking at her, Laura knows that the night is far from over.
Chapter 6
It’s the second time in two weeks Laura’s called to Headquarters. This has never happened before, and when she steps out of the elevators and heads for the reception area, she doesn’t know what to expect. Last week, she was in the middle of a mishap when the Love in the Net website experienced technical problems and overbooked her. Good thing she turned that around, and that was an understatement. In the past days since she invited Alex and Nate over to her apartment, she can really see herself spending more time with both men. She looks forward to their messages, and they’ve even set a second date for tomorrow. There’s still a feeling in the pit of her stomach that’s unsure about the situation though.
What happens if one of them wants to take it to the next level?
Can Laura really be in an exclusive relationship with two different partners?
What happens if she falls for one of them?
What happens if she falls for both?
There are numerous thoughts racing through her head, and none of them end in ‘happily ever after’. One, two, or all of them will get hurt, and that she doesn’t want to dwell on.
“Laura!” Mia, the receptionist calls to her.
At that, her train of thought is broken. She blinks her eyes a couple times to wake herself up and then walks over to Mia. There’s a small smile on the woman’s face, very different from the usual ear-to-ear grin she usually sports when they see one another.
“How have you been?” Laura asks, leaning her elbows on the table. “I’m here to meet Madison. Can you please tell her I’m here?”
“She called me earlier and told me about the meeting.” Mia then presses the button to unlock the glass doors right beside the reception. “You can head straight for her office.”
At that, Laura mouths a small ‘thanks’, smile included, before she enters the back office of Love in the Net. There are different seat pods and humongous floor pillows at the side of the entrance. Three LCD TV screens line each side of the two opposing walls while below the screens are glass tables housing various consoles. The main entrance then expands to the formal workplace stations. To one side are rows and rows of cubicles with a light wood finish while to the other side are eight-seater oval-shaped tables for those who prefer to work in groups.
Madison Conrad’s office takes one corner of the office space. From where she’s standing, Laura can see that the boss’ blinds are drawn down as a ‘do not disturb’ sign. Either way, Laura knows Madison’s expecting her if she even called Mia to let her right inside, and so, her nude pointed toe heels move her in the direction of the big boss’ glass enclosed corner office.
Knock. Knock.
Laura hears shuffling from inside the room and then a, “Laura, is that you?”
“Yup.”
In a second, the door opens and Laura comes face to face with Madison Harmon, CEO and Founder of Love in the Net. As always, there’s not a hair out of place and not a single crease on her sheath dress. She looks just as she does every day, ready to rule the world.
“Please have seat,” she then says, walking around her desk to sit in her executive chair.
Laura then takes her own seat and waits for Madison to speak. When the woman leans her body forward and rests her elbows just right in front of her laptop, Laura suddenly feels a heavy weight on her chest. When Madison thins her lips into a straight line, Laura knows right then and there to expect bad news.
“I heard you went on a date with both Mr. Montgomery…” Alex. “And Mr. Anderson.” That’s Nate.
Laura tips her head into a slight nod. Did they do anything she doesn’t know about? Laura knows it can’t be the sex. She’s sure. Constant, no-strings attached sex is one of the most profitable services of the company, so they would never take that away. Then what is it?
“So how did your date go?” asks the CEO, then leaning back to rest her back against the chair. “Will there be a second one.”
Laura gives her another nod. Where is this going?
“I see. Another great job from you Laura,” Madison then says, though her face still remains impassive. “You really are one of the best in this company.” There’s still that weight on her chest. “But I’ll have to let you go…I wish you the best in all your future endeavors, and I’m sure you’ll do great whatever your next step is…”
WHAT?! Laura wants to scream out loud. Did she really just get fired after receiving praise for her work?
“Ms. Conrad…” she says, using her last name since she’s at a loss for words. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, Laura…I’m sorry to have to say this…” Then, the woman stands up and walks around her desk. She then rests a hand on Laura’s shoulder. “But to compensate you for your hard work during your time here, I’ll be giving you a generous severance pay, one we don’t give to all terminated employees.”
“But why?” Laura then asks, tone a little harder this time. She’s not going to leave the office without an explanation. “You just told me I was doing great, so I don’t understand why you’re terminating me.”
She hears Madison click her tongue, a show of impatience. Then, she opens her mouth to speak. “In three years, you’ll be thirty, and we’re a company who offers the most beautiful and eligible women. You know we have a rigorous selection process for selecting Premium Lovers…It’s hard to accept, but we all age, and our clients will
look for…” A pause. “Fresher fruit.”
Laura’s tempted to let out a string of profanities, but she knows that wouldn’t do anything to help her case. Instead, she chooses a different route, where reason supposedly trumps everything else.
“But that won’t stop me from landing and keeping clients,” she then tries. Right now, she’s more infuriated than distraught. She’s being laid off for unfair reasons. Her age, really?! “I am one of your top Premium Lovers. I know I’m better than some of the younger ones.”
Alpha woman versus alpha woman, Madison matches Laura’s fire with her own.
“My decision’s final, Laura…it’s best if you walk away quietly.”
And just like that, Laura leaves the woman’s office and entirely out of the building. With no job and that means nothing to do during the day and night, Laura decides to stay in bed. She decides to just face reality tomorrow and leaves a number of her messages unanswered.
‘Excited for tomorrow. Hotel booked. ;)’ – Alex
From Mia, ‘Laura, I heard about what happened. That bitch is just jealous. I heard through the grapevine she was ranting about your successful date with the two guys who came into the office last week.’
From Derek, another colleague, ‘Hey babe, the gang and I are free if you want to get wasted. Just shoot us a text.’
From Candice, one of her best friends and another Premium Lover, ‘Babe, drinks tonight? Xo’
‘See you tomorrow. If it hadn’t been for Love in the Net, we would’ve never met…;)’ – Nate
Chapter 7
“We know you’re in there, Laura!”
“We’re going to break the door down if you don’t open up!”
Laura doesn’t move from the couch. There’s no way she’s going to stand up when she feels so comfortable splayed out on the L-shaped furniture. Not to mention, there’s a whole day replay of her favorite cooking show. Nothing or no one’s going to get her to stand up.
It’s been three days since she lost her job in Love in the Net, and in those three days, she’s barely gone out. A number of her friends – her ex-colleagues Mia, Candice, and Derek included – have come to visit her to bring some food and drinks, most of it consisting of alcohol of course. She’s also received a few messages from Nate and Alex in the past days, but she never replied to them. She can’t think about dating and sex when she’s unemployed. She’ll get back to those once she feels more stable and secured.
If she isn’t going to come to them, of course they’re going to come to her. And with the continuous rapping on her door, she knows Nate and Alex are going to stay there until she comes out.
Bam!
Laura shoots up from the couch when she hears the sound of her door being broken. When she swivels her torso around, she sees her whole door smashed and lying on the floor. The hinges have been broken as if someone pushed the door with brute force.
“What the-”
Laura stops mid-air when Alex and Nate enter her apartment. When she meets their eyes, they give her a cheeky grin with Nate saying, “We’ll replace that right away.” Soon after, he then asks, “Why haven’t you been replying to us?!”
“We went to your office and Madison said you resigned.” That’s Alex, and Laura has to stop her jaw from going slack. “We tried calling and messaging you, but you’re obviously ignoring us.”
“One, I didn’t resign,” she then says. She reminds herself to confront Madison later on and send the woman a lengthy ‘love letter’. “And two, how did you do that to my door?!”
Alex and Nate look at one another, and Laura knows they’re already having a full-length conversation between them without saying anything. When Alex asks, “Don’t you work out?” Laura’s bullshit meter goes off.
“I’ll call the chauffeur to ask him to buy a door. Then, I’ll be the one to install it,” supplies Nate as he reaches for his phone in the pocket of his jeans. Of course, he’s avoiding her question. “Let me go call Ricky now.”
Laura doesn’t let him leave. “Hold up,” she says. “Seriously, how were you able to do that?”
“Do what?”
Laura lets out a heavy sigh and crosses her arms over her chest at the sight of the two men playing dumb. She then moves over to her doorway to block the way, even though they could easily just move or push her to the side.
“You’re hiding something from me.” When the two men make a move to open their mouths to reason out, Laura quickly cuts in, “I know because you’re doing the whole ‘communicating with your minds’ and purposely leaving me out of the conversation. Seriously. I may be an escort or prostitute or whatever the proper term is, but I’m not stupid.”
“We’d tell you, but then we’d have to kill you…”
Laura purses her lips for a second. “Ha-ha very funny.”
“You’re stubborn, aren’t you?” Alex then says, letting out a chuckle in an attempt to lighten up the mood. Then, he walks over to Laura and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “But seriously, we really do have to kill you if we tell you our secret.”
Laura cocks an eyebrow up towards him and bites the edge of her bottom lip. “You do know saying that kind of thing makes me want to know more, don’t you?”
For the nth time since they crashed her place, Alex and Nate give one another that look, and when they turn their heads back to meet Laura’s curious emerald eyes, Nate lets out a sigh and then says, “You’re not going to let this go, aren’t you?”
“I’ll even withhold speaking to you guys again.” When Alex tips the corner of his lips into a sly smirk, Laura knows exactly what he’s thinking. “And sex too.”
Alex breaks down laughing, shakes his head, and ruffles the top of Laura’s hair. “Of course, you will. You win, then. Don’t say we didn’t warn you when we have to slit your throat open and hide your body in a dumpster.”
Nate clicks his tongue. Being the more cautious of the two of them, he doesn’t agree with Alex’s decision. There’s no need to tell Laura. It’s for her own safety anyway.
“Alex…” Nate warns. “Are you sure…?”
“I’m just right here, guys…”
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Nate barks out a bitter laugh and looks at his friend in disbelief. “Seriously? You’re trusting her with-”
“I can hear you, guys…”
“If you’re so adamant on not telling her, then you can leave,” Alex starts, growing impatient of Nate’s warning. “I’ll stay here. I can tell her on my own.”
“Alex…”
“Man, seriously…you think too much at times.” That’s Alex, running a stressed hand through his blond hair. “Worse comes to worst, I can handle her.”
Nate lets out an aggravated sigh. “Fuck you, man,” he says, although there’s a hint of a smirk on his lips. “If she runs away screaming, you take the front door and I’ll take the emergency staircase. That way, she can’t escape.”
When they finally tell her in the privacy of her bedroom their best-kept secret, Laura stares wide-eyed at them. Alex and Nate expect her to ask them to leave and slam her non-existent apartment door in front of their faces. Instead, she raises an eyebrow up into a look of confusion, and then says, “What’s a bear-shifter? Are you both high?”
When Alex stretches his arms out, closes his eyes, and lets the transformation take place, Laura’s emerald eyes widen by the second as Alex’s tanned arm turns into a thick coat of black and his fingers are replaced by claws resembling a bear’s. Then, he changes back to his previous form – nails, fingers, and an arm of thin, negligible hairs.
“What the-” Then Laura stops mid-speech. “You two definitely weren’t kidding…”
Chapter 8
“Now, you understand why you can’t tell anyone this?” Nate says. His voice is calm and cool although there’s a warning in his eyes.
Laura nods her head slowly, still trying to let the secret sink in. “How did this happen? When?”
Ale
x then lifts the corners of his lips into a small smile as he looks down at the woman at his side. He has to admit Laura looks adorable at the moment. With the way she’s biting her bottom lip, he wants less talk and more action when it comes to her. Thankfully, Nate’s more than willing to answer her questions.
“The gene was passed on. Only a child with two shifter parents can inherit the gene…” Nate then says, trying to read what Laura’s thinking. He can’t.
“So you have super strength…” Laura then says, more to herself than to them.
Nate nods his head. Yes.
“B-but…how?” Suddenly, there’s a blush on Laura’s cheeks, and she tips her head slightly downwards to shield her face. She’s embarrassed but curious at the same time.
Pursuit: A Bad Boy Romance Page 58