by Linda Verji
He expected her to confront him and ask what he meant. Instead she just puffed out angrily before shooting to her feet. “I’m going back in.”
Maybe she stood too fast. Maybe she was more tipsy than she thought. As soon as she took a step, she tripped on her own feet and started to fall forward. Worth moved fast, planting his body right in front of her and stretching out his arms. He caught her easily when her body fell into his.
“Aah,” she moaned and her hands came up to his chest so she could steady herself.
Worth’s world stilled. He’d only meant to keep her from falling, but as soon as she landed in his arms, all his common sense flew out the window. It’d been an eternity since they’d been so close, since she’d last touched him, and it sent electric awareness zipping through his whole body. His breath caught in his throat, his heart began to thump faster, and all his blood raced down his body to pool at his groin. His cock already jutting out in need, he wrapped his arms around her lush body and dragged her closer to him.
Fuck! It felt good to have her this close to him, every inch of her plastered so firmly against him. Her sweet feminine scent melding with his more masculine one, her warmth heating him, her breasts pushing against his chest, her taut stomach grinding against his cock; it was everything he remembered and more. He couldn’t help but tighten his arms around her waist.
When he looked down at her, he found her watching him with a wide-eyed gaze. He could see his desire mirrored in her eyes, see that she was just as affected by their closeness as he was. He could feel her awareness of him in the air between them as her scent met his nostrils. When her mouth parted in a drawn out breath, he couldn’t help but lower his gaze to her plump lips.
So, so pretty. Without conscious thought, he lowered his head. However, just as he was a hair’s breath away from tasting her again, she turned her face away. “No.”
Unfortunately for her, he’d spent the whole week lusting after her. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He grabbed her chin, turned her face back to his and swooped down.
At first she refused to kiss him. Her lips remained motionless against his even as she jabbed at his chest with her fists. Holding her tightly against him, he used his lips to coax her into surrender. Light nips on her lips, flicking his tongue along the seam of her mouth, suckling her bottom lip. When she parted her lips to take a breath, he swiftly took advantage and pushed his tongue in.
That was it; the spark that lit the fire.
She fell headfirst into the kiss.
Lust, swift and hot, leapt between them, surprising him with its intensity. She returned his bruising kisses with frantic ones, her passion matching his step for step. Even though he was short of breath, he didn’t pull away from her, couldn’t pull away from her. Her taste was too intoxicating, too addictive.
When he dragged his mouth away from hers to suck in air, their eyes met. Her liquid brown gaze was shadowed with wild need and her lips were swollen and bruised as she stared up at him. In that moment, Worth realized that he’d lost the battle. At least for tonight. There was no way he was leaving this place without her.
He brushed the tip of his finger over her bottom lip as he asked thickly, “Should we go?”
Sin’s tongue briefly jutted out to flick against his finger before she whispered, “Where?”
“My place.” Even without him saying more, they both knew what he was saying. He wanted her in his bed tonight. Self-control be damned!
After her initial albeit short-lived resistance, he expected her to say no. He expected her to tell him that after the way he’d been ignoring her this week, she’d be mad to go anywhere with him. Imagine his surprise when she nodded. “Okay.”
Worth could’ve sworn that his heart swelled. Excitement already bubbling within him, he offered, “My car is at the parking lot.”
“I need to go get my purse and coat first,” she said shyly while looking everywhere but at him.
Worth had to smile. He’d never imagined Sin as a shy woman and finding out that she still had a bit of innocence hiding beneath all that bravado was more pleasurable than expected. Turning her so they were facing the club’s entrance, he offered, “I’ll walk you in.”
“Are you kidding me?” She shrugged his arm off her waist. “What if the others see you?”
She had a point. Worth wasn’t interested in starring in the company’s rumor-mill. Still, he couldn’t help the nervousness that threaded through him as he watched her walk into the club on her own. What if she didn’t come out? What if he had to spend another day without her? What if…
He couldn’t help the grin that split his face when she emerged mere moments later clutching her purse and jacket. Without conscious thought, he strode forward to meet her.
* * *
THE TWENTY MINUTES or so that it took to get to Worth’s house felt like an eternity. Sin spent the whole drive oscillating between shame and excitement. Shame because she couldn’t believe that all it’d taken was a few words for her to say yes to him. After everything he’d put her through this week, she should’ve said no or at least made him beg more.
But along with that embarrassment came excitement. The moment he’d kissed her, he’d awakened the need that she’d tried to hide this whole week. Unbelievable desire had flooded her erasing all thoughts of resistance. Even now her whole body was tingling, aching for him. No wonder she was incapable of saying no.
They didn’t even make it to his bedroom. As soon as the front door shut behind them, he drew her inside the circle of his arms. Their mouths met hungrily and hands skated over each other, exploring. Their clothes fell off easily and swiftly. Within moments they were on the couch, him seated, her straddling his lap. Her hands on his shoulders, Sin positioned herself directly over his already sheathed cock and slowly lowered herself.
“Aaah!” Twin moans echoed in the room as his thick rod penetrated and sunk into her. The more she rocked her hips and worked him deeper inside of her, the wider he stretched her until she was sure that she couldn’t take anymore of him.
“There you go,” Worth whispered roughly as his hands tightened around her waist, forcing her to take more of him.
“Worth,” she gasped his name. That gasp turned into a moan when he tweaked her nipple over and over again. By the time he was fully encased within her, all she could give were whimpers.
“Fuck!” he cussed beneath his breath as his hands lowered to her ass. He squeezed and caressed the fleshy globes before guiding her to slowly rise then drop again. A growl erupted from his throat. “Siiiiin.”
His passionate reaction was the matchstick to her already fueled senses. Flames of desire licking at every nerve in her body, she began to ride him. She tightened her well-lubricated walls around him as she went down, squeezing his swollen length. She rose then came down again, milking him determinedly. Over and over and over again.
“Yes, yes, yessss,” she hissed and bit her lip, attempting to keep herself from outright screaming because of the delicious sensations wreaking havoc within her.
Worth met her desire with desperation of his own. His fingers dug into her ass, probably bruising her skin as he helped her rise and fall. Whenever she came back down, he bucked upwards, meeting her with a hard sharp thrust that forced moans from her lips. He fixed his mouth over hers, swallowing her moans. He sucked her tongue deep inside his mouth, the kiss unmistakable proof that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
She rose then dropped on him, rose then came down. Inevitably, pressure began building in her lower stomach. Her whole body seemed to be reaching upwards for… something. But before she could reach satisfaction, Worth flipped her until she was lying on her back on the couch. He came over her, fitting his lower body between her thighs.
Then he was in control.
With animal-like abandon, he thrust into her.
Damn, she’d missed this. The feeling of being possessed, the feeling of being his and his alone. Greedily, she took his every
stroke, squeezing him with everything she had. Worth held her tightly, both arms wrapped around her body, and kissed her. He pulled his long cock out then pumped it back in. Each stroke was as deliberate as it was expert. Each time he came into her, he hit a different angle until every erogenous zone within her was alight and begging for relief.
“Aah… aaah…. Aaah… ooh!” A series of uncontrollable moans began pouring from her lips. She pressed her feet into his butt, urging him deeper and deeper with each thrust. As if they had a mind of their own, her hips bucked up into his, desperately pleading for more and more and more.
Her body began to pulse, tremble, convulse. She was gasping for air, whimpering, screaming…
Her release was like a freight train. It slammed into her and threw her upwards into a universe where only pleasure and desire existed. The intenseness of her orgasm was surprising; it left her reeling and boneless. Worth kept thrusting into her until he also climaxed.
From his rough breaths and the way he collapsed over her, it was obvious that she’d wrung him dry. Pride and contentment bubbled within her. At least now she knew that she wasn’t the only one enjoying herself. He stayed over her for quite a while, but once he’d caught his breath, he sat up.
Immediate tension and an odd chill swarmed the room. Worth wouldn’t even look at her as he shifted her legs to the other side of his body then stiffly stood up.
“You can use that bathroom.” He pointed in the general direction of said bathroom. Then without another word, he strode away, presumably to his bedroom.
Sin wasn’t an idiot. By his stiff body language and cold tone it was obvious that this was his way of telling her to leave. Now that he’d gotten what he wanted, he was done with her.
Considering that this was the second time he was doing this, she shouldn’t have felt hurt. Yet she did. What the hell did he take her for? Some woman he could just screw then dump? She should just march into his room now and punch him. A moment later, her conscience reminded her that she wasn’t any different from him. After all, she’d also set out to use him just like he was using her now. She had no right to confront him.
Hurt and resignation battled within her as she went around the room collecting her clothes. In the bathroom, she stared at the mirror. It almost seemed like her reflection was laughing at her. Months ago – heck, even weeks ago – she wouldn’t have believed that she’d ever end up in this position; pining over a man who obviously just wanted her for sex and nothing more. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Worth wasn’t in the living room when she reemerged and Sin couldn’t bring herself to go looking for him. She was too embarrassed. After grabbing her purse and jacket, she made her exit. As soon as she got home, she headed to the bathroom. After preparing a warm bath and pouring herself a glass of wine, she stripped.
The bath was supposed to cleanse her. It was supposed to erase all the memories of Worth and the bitter taste of shame still dancing on her tongue, but it failed. All she could think about was Worth. What was going through his head? Did he really feel nothing for her other than lust? Why was he doing this to her?
Ten found her in the bathtub still wrapped up in her thoughts.
“I thought you were staying out all night,” Ten said as she set the lid of the toilet down then sat.
“I was-” Sin took a healthy gulp of her wine then shrugged, “- but I didn’t.”
Ten frowned. “Did something happen?”
“Not really.” Sin shook her head. There was no way she was going to reveal how disappointed she was in the way Worth had treated her, not when Ten didn’t even know that they were already sleeping together. Plus, Sin was too embarrassed. She was supposed to be the goddess of seduction, yet here she was being taken for a ride by a mark.
“You sure?” Ten prodded. “You don’t look okay.”
“Nah, I’m okay.” Sin forced a smile. In a blatant attempt to change the subject, she asked, “How did your new job go?”
Her friend studied her keenly, and for a moment it seemed like Ten wouldn’t let the subject drop. But she sighed and said, “Better than expected.”
“Really?” The unexpected news was a welcome distraction. Sin sat up, sending water sloshing around the edge of the tub. Setting her wine-glass on the table beside the tab, she asked, “Have found out something?”
A few days ago, Ten had found a part-time job at RGC’s cafeteria. It was the quickest way for them to get close to RGC’s employees and find out if the things Claire had told them were true.
“It’s true that Worth is the second largest shareholder in RGC after his father. And it seems like he’s set to inherit a large portion of his father’s shares too,” Ten confirmed. Frowning, she added, “But I’m not sure how much influence he has on the day-to-day running of the company.”
“What do you mean?”
“From what I heard, he rarely ever comes into the company, not even for Board meetings,” Ten explained. “However, there were lots of rumors swirling about how he’ll take over the company soon.”
“Maybe it’s just people talking,” Sin offered.
“Nah, it looks more serious than that,” Ten said. “I hear that it’s his dad who keeps telling people about how Worth will soon be coming into the company. Everyone there assumes that Baron is just a stand-in who’ll be demoted as soon as Worth comes in.”
The information only served to further confuse Sin. On the surface it seemed like Claire had told them the truth; that her husband's job was in jeopardy because of Worth. Moreover, how he'd treated Sin after sex counted against his innocence. Nice guys didn't treat women they'd slept with like trash afterwards. On paper it looked like Worth was the kind of jerk who'd use a woman with zero remorse. That he was the kind of guy who'd wield his power just so he could get into Claire pants.
Yet doubt still remained. Something kept nagging Sin, telling her that she only seeing half the picture, that there was a lot more to this story than what she was being told.
CHAPTER 14
On Monday, Worth was back to acting like she was just his assistant, like they hadn’t slept together again. Sin couldn’t understand it, but worse it left her feeling annoyed. Not with him but with herself. He was just acting like his usual self. He’d already kicked her out of his bed once so it wasn’t strange that he’d done it again; she was the idiot for assuming that it wouldn’t happen again.
What the hell was wrong with her? She’d never been this weak. In fact, she was the type to snicker when she met a woman who was being led by the nose by some man. Yet here she was, pining after a man who obviously thought of her as someone to scratch his itch and nothing more.
God, she was a disaster!
Worse, she couldn’t even confront him. Were he any other mark, she would’ve engineered a teary-eyed confrontation and told him how she was hurt. Judging from her experience with other men, he’d feel guilty and start treating her better. But she couldn’t do that in this situation. Not when she knew that she was just as wrong as he was. Not when she was still trying to figure out if she should even use him.
On Wednesday midmorning, Worth called her to his office. Nervousness pulsing through her, Sin wiped her moist palms on her red skirt before knocking on the door.
“Come in,” he called out.
When she entered, she found him on his computer. “You called for me?”
“Yes.” Worth turned his keen gaze to her. “Do you have plans tonight?”
“Huh?” Sin blinked. Why was he asking her that? So he could ask her to his place again then treat her like a roach afterwards?
“Do you have plans tonight?” Worth repeated.
Sin wanted to say No. She really did. But her mouth had a mind of its own and she found herself shaking her head. “Not really.”
“I have a fundraiser tonight,” he said. “I’ll need you there. Do you have something to wear?”
Sin’s heart skipped a beat. She knew about Claire’s fundraiser. In fact she’d RSVPed for W
orth and confirmed that he was coming with a plus-one. What she didn’t know was that she was the plus-one. It was one thing to be partners with Claire and another to be in the same room with her under Worth’s watchful gaze. Sin knew that she was quite capable of acting like a stranger, but what about Claire? What if she outed them?
“Oh, I forgot.” Sin tapped her forehead as if it’d just occurred to her. “I have a previous engagement.”
Wentworth’s eyebrows rose. “Is it more important than your job here?”
What was she supposed to say to that? His question stumped her and before she could make up a good response, he interjected, “If you don’t have something to wear, see Marcel. He’ll rent you a gown on my tab.”
As soon as Sin got back to her desk, she tried to call Claire. The lady didn’t pick up. Sin called several more times but each time only the dial tone greeted her. Finally, she had to settle on just leaving Claire a message. Though Sin managed to get her work done, panic laced her every breath. By the end of the day, it felt like her whole body was knotted with tension.
At exactly seven p.m., she stood outside her building waiting for Worth to pick her up. Though she was wearing a black cape over her gray, ruffled, cocktail dress, the cold breeze still bit into her arms and legs. By the time Worth’s black Mercedes pulled up in front of her, her teeth were already chattering.
Worth’s driver jumped out to open the backseat door to her. With a grateful smile, she nodded at him then entered the car and settled beside Worth. Whoever said that suits were a weapon knew what they were talking about. The stylish, coal-black tux Worth was wearing gave him a James Bond-esque vibe. Quite a few ladies would be left breathless tonight – as was she.
By the darkening in his eyes as he gave her a lingering onceover, it was obvious that he liked what he saw too. However, he didn’t say anything. He just turned his gaze back to the front.
The ride to the gallery was as silent as it was racked with tension. Sin couldn’t help but be nervous. Claire still hadn’t gotten back to her. What if she revealed that they knew each other? My God, it would be a disaster. It would ruin everything they’d done up to now. Sin snuck a glance at Worth. On the other hand, maybe it would be a good thing if their plans were ruined. Then she wouldn’t be so confused. Then she wouldn’t have to hurt Worth when her heart wasn’t in it.