Broken Headboards: Nights In New York Series Book 3

by Starr, Tara

  Really, what the hell is wrong with me?

  I can’t stop thinking about yesterday, and the way Austin’s soft lips felt right at home on mine. I’m still impressed I actually let him go after he kissed me like that. I mean, my body was begging me for more. If he hadn’t left when he did, I’m pretty sure that the night would only end inside his bedroom. Which is kind of an ironic thing for me to saying, being that I had promised myself nothing would happen between Austin and me.

  But the way he kissed me…! Between you and me, there’s no better assessment of what a man can do than the way he kisses. And, oh, judging by the way he kisses, let’s just say that I’m pretty certain I’d be in for a treat. A pretty dirty and sweaty treat that would leave me panting for hours. God, just thinking of how everything went down last night is enough to leave a mess between my thighs.

  Shit, I really gotta focus.

  I can’t allow this train to go off the rails just because I met a good kisser. Sure, he probably also has a six-pack hiding under his shirt, not to mention that he must know all the right things a man should do between the sheets. But I’m a serious businesswoman, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let any of that distract me.

  My main focus is the Clarendon Tower deal, not Austin Randall.

  Too bad that—despite all his charm and rugged looks—Austin seems to be nothing but a good seller when it comes to business. When it’s time to deliver the goods, he doesn’t seem capable of making his promises happen. All his talk of rawness or whatever bullshit he made up on the spot...yeah, it was a nice piece of conversation, but nothing more than that.

  Don’t take it the wrong way—I don’t mind one bit to have the Clarendon deal delivered to me on a silver platter. I just thought that this competition thing would be more fun. And in Austin, I thought I had a worthy adversary.

  As it is, it looks like I’m going to steamroll the competition, Austin included.

  Oh, well, make way for the future Furniture Queen.

  As my board meeting finally draws to a close, I saunter out of the room and head straight toward my office. Once inside, I lock the door behind me and tell Samantha to hold all calls.

  I pour myself a whisky. Probably too early for a celebratory drink but, hey, what the hell. I’m going to win the deal of a lifetime, and one of the hottest men in town has the hots for me. All in all, it’s been a good week.

  Just look at it this way…we’re not even halfway through this novel and I’m already the clear winner.

  Bringing the whisky back to my desk, I sink into my leather chair and fire up my laptop. I open the Austin/Oakmont folder—which I had digitized—and scroll through all the files filled with information about his company and the deals he has struck through the years.

  I only stop when I get to his pictures. I maximize one of them, a photo-op Austin did for a magazine a few months ago. ‘Meet the man making waves in the furniture industry!’ the heading proclaims with a bold font. A smiling Austin is staring back at the reader. He has his foot up on a modern chair, its straight and rough lines probably one of Austin’s designs, and has his forearms resting on his raised leg. Wearing a button-up white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he has dispensed with a tie.

  But I don’t care about his clothing. My gaze settles on his eyes, and I lean back on my chair as I imagine him looking back at me. God, I can almost taste his lips on mine all over again.

  My gaze continues down to his mouth, and I drink in the way his chiseled jaw seems like something straight off a romance novel cover. And his broad shoulders, as strong as those of a quarterback...I can already imagine him pinning me against the wall, his hands reaching for me to tear the clothes off my body.

  I definitely need to buy a better A/C, because it’s hot as hell inside my office right now. Yeah, I know, what a stupid excuse. But what do you want me to do? Admit that Austin, a man that should be my rival, leaves me so wet that I can’t even think straight? So wet that I locked the door to my office just so I could have some me time?

  Well, now you know. Happy?

  Pressing my legs together, I feel a heatwave go up my body. Staring at Austin’s picture, his smart eyes hypnotizing me, I let one hand fall from my lap to the hemline of my dress. My fingers are already sliding underneath my skirt when suddenly the screen goes dark.

  “What the—?”

  I look under my desk, to check if the laptop is connected to the electric socket, when the lights in my office go dark. Jesus Christ, what the hell is going?

  I hear the handle on my door turn repeatedly, but since I’ve locked it after coming in, whoever’s out there has no other option but wait for me. Blindly, I cross the office and finally manage to unlock the door.

  “Samantha? What the hell is going on? Power surge?”

  “I...I don’t think so,” she stammers, her glance flying from her bright cell phone screen to me. “The IT guys are in a panic right now. They called me the moment the computers went out.”

  “The IT guys?” I ask with alarm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I really don’t know how to say it, but...seems like all our data has been stolen,” she says to me.

  “All of it?!” I ask her, already anticipating what her answer is going to be.

  “All of it.” Sighing, she looks away from me, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “And that includes the plans for the next contest.”

  “Do we have backups?” I ask.

  Samantha just shakes her head.

  “The IT guys say this was a professional hit job and our backup servers are fried too,” she laments. “They knew exactly what to take out and they did it with efficiency. We have nothing left. All our designs will have to start from scratch.”

  Suddenly, I’m not enjoying this novel as much as I was a second ago.

  Just lovely.

  I know exactly who did this.

  Austin Randall.

  I swear to God I’m going to find him.

  And then I’m going to kill him with my bare hands.

  Chapter Twelve

  Austin

  “Are you fucking serious?” My office door slams open with Tess standing in the doorframe.

  She’s furious, and if it wasn’t for the concerned look on Miranda’s face, I would just laugh it off.

  “Hello to you too, Ms. Armstrong. Can I help you with something?” I smile politely and slide out of my chair, walking around my desk. I fold my arms and lean on the hardwood top, facing her.

  “Don’t be all smug with me. I know what you did,” Tess stomps forward, her eyes wide and face flaming red.

  “Miranda, it’s fine. I’ll take it from here,” I wave my assistant off and she nods, closing the door behind Tess. “Now, tell me. What did I do to make you so upset?” I say in a condescending tone and I deliberate plaster on an arrogant smile.

  I know what I did, and I know why she’s mad, but I’m not ashamed or feel one ounce of guilt. She had this fucking coming, especially after what she did to me.

  Tit for tat, baby.

  “Fuck, you’re so infuriating. You were behind the cyber-attack, weren’t you? You hacked into my computer system and gathered intel on me and…and took my designs,” she yells, crossing her arms in defense.

  But all I care about is how it lifts her tits up, giving me a perfect view of her cleavage.

  She is fucking hot when she’s mad. I mean, she’s gorgeous all the time, but now, when she’s wanting to rip me to shreds, she’s on fire. All I want to do is grab her by the waist, bend her in front of me and pound into her, making her scream at a higher octave.

  My dick hardens as she closes the distance between us.

  “Why would you accuse me of such a horrid act?” I pretend act as if I’m offended. “Though I’m not denying my part in your cyber-attack,” I admit, confusingly. What’s the point of lying? She already knows.

  “Do you know how unethical that is? To hack my computer and steal all my data? No,
that’s not just unethical, that’s illegal,” she spits out.

  I move closer to her, feeling her fumes heating me.

  “Really, Tess? I thought it’s just as ethical as spying,” I narrow my eyes and scan over her body. Her muscles tense, briefly and I see her fist clench, but her face remains stoic, showing no signs emotion. It’s damn impressive.

  “Do these look familiar to you?” I twist around, pointing to the camera on my bookcase. It’s pointed directly at my desk and when I turn it on, the lens zoom in and out. “Cameras that were sending direct feeds to your servers. You better be careful doing that, baby. Or else someone could use the signal and trace it back and know exactly which servers to hack into and destroy. Might want to watch out for that next time.”

  Her eyes widen in shock, darting from the camera back to me. But she recovers quickly placing her hands on her hips and lifting her chin up at me.

  God, I want to rip that tight dress off her and show her who’s really the mastermind here.

  “My camera or not, what you did and I did are not the same,” she insists.

  “Right. Okay. If you want to play coy, then so be it, but I think we both know how dirty we’re willing to go here,” I turn back to her, placing myself before her like a fucking marble statue.

  Truth be told, the dimensions are not that far off. I can easily pose as a model for one.

  Her eyes roll over me, assessing my next move, but I stand there, motionless, giving nothing away.

  “Dirty, who says I play dirty? You apparently don’t like it when a woman comes out on top…and beats you,” she mimics my stance, broadening her shoulders and widening her legs. I have to admit, she does it quite well, even though I’m not surprised in the slightest.

  This woman knows how to play with the big dogs. Hell, she is one of them.

  “I love when a women’s on top, when I want her to be. Don’t ever confuse that. But also, don’t be surprised when your competitor starts to play the same game you are,” I take a step closer, we’re now inches away. She smells of vanilla, honey, and a hint of spice, making her all the more appetizing. I am so fucking hard right now.

  I continue. “I aim to win, and I will do just about anything to win.”

  “So will I,” she sneers, keeping her eyes locked on my mine. “I do whatever it takes to win.”

  We stand in silence, steam rising from our fierce, sharp glares.

  A few moments pass, but I know exactly what I need to when I see a hint of lust and anger swirling in her eyes.

  She opens her mouth to say something, but I shut it for her, crashing my lips into hers. She falls into me, letting me take her in my arms. Her hands caress my chest and I squeeze her ass, eliciting a soft moan from her.

  Checkmate, Tess.

  She moves her hand down to my chest and pushes me away abruptly, shaking her head.

  “That’s what you call kissing?” she coos, and jumps up, wrapping her legs around my waist.

  “Fuck,” I groan, grabbing her ass and swiveling her around to my desk.

  She kisses me, forcefully, tugging harder at my hair. Her tongue intertwines with mine, allowing me to taste her sweetness. Fuck, I could fucking live off this.

  She grinds her hips, rubbing herself against my cock, stroking it over my pants. I thrust back against her, feeling her body jerk.

  Jesus Christ.

  She claws at my scalp, tilting my head up to hers. “Is that all you got?” She heaves, her tits nearly hitting my chin with each forced bounce.

  “Baby, I’m just getting started,” I pull my head out of her hold and release one of my hands, pulling the hem of her top down to release her nipple.

  I suck it into my mouth, grazing it with my tongue.

  “Ahh,” she moans, tilting her head back.

  She bucks her hips against me, trying to push me away and distract me.

  Nope. She’ll have to learn the way not to question me or my skills.

  I throw everything off the desk and lay her on it, pushing up her skirt up. Ripping her soaked panties, I throw it to side.

  “Austin!” She shrieks, grabbing my tie to pull her up into a seated position.

  She loosens the knot, dragging it over my head, and tears my shirt open, flinging the buttons onto the floor. Running her hands down my chest, she hums to herself and purses her lips at me.

  “Looks like you really do need to improve your durability,” she chuckles but her gaze shocks me to my fucking core, it has me panting.

  But I’m not letting her take control. Again. We’re proving something to each other. And, it’s me who will dominant her this time.

  I place my hand behind her knee, sliding her forward and she falls on her back, letting out a quiet squeal. A cocky smile forms on her lips and she places a heel on my shoulder, piercing the skin with its sharpness.

  I seethe at the pain but thrive off the feeling.

  I lick from the instep of her foot down to her inner thigh, stopping right before I reach her swollen clit, leaving her reeling.

  “Never underestimate my strength and ability to control,” I hang her foot over my shoulder, positioning her pussy right in front of me. “I’ll always be more sturdy than your pink velvet.”

  I free my cock from my pants and rubbing its head against her folds. She sighs and releases a soft chuckle before I slam into her.

  “Oh my God!” Her body jolts forward.

  “Take it, baby. You know want me,” I grind my teeth together, feeling the tightness of her wet pussy swallowing me.

  It feels so fucking good. I have to tense my muscles to stop from cumming right then and there.

  I’m not usually a minute-man, baby. But with her, it’s different. I don’t know what it is with this chick, but she fucking riles me up in mere seconds.

  “Harder,” she lifts her hips up.

  I thrust deeper into her, probing the depths of her fucking pussy, where I’m sure no man’s gone before.

  But, she stops me, kicking my chest back, and pushing me on my heels.

  She stands up and stalks towards me, shoving me down onto my leather sofa. Straddling me, she lowers herself onto my cock and swivel her hips in an agonizing motion.

  “Fuck, Tess,” I groan.

  She leans forward, and nibbles my ear, pulling my earlobe between her teeth.

  “You like a woman on top, right? You should get used to this feeling,” she slams down on me and moans loudly in my ear.

  “Fuck,” I growl and grab her hips, meeting her thrusts.

  We fall into a heavy, intense rhythm, our breaths staggered with sweat forming at our hairlines.

  “Yes…” She throws her head back and I lean forward kissing her neck and chest.

  I won’t let it end this way.

  She might’ve won the first round, but I will win the second.

  I grab her ass, lift her up and throw her on the cushions beside us, plowing into her before she can interject.

  “I will always win,” I grunt against the crux of her neck.

  I feel her orgasm building, the spasms in her muscles pulsing against mine. Her pussy clenches around me and my balls tighten.

  “Fuck…”

  “Austin!”

  I thrust into her harder and she cums. Her body thrashing underneath me, shivering from the waves of pleasure rushing through her. The sensation of her pussy milking me pushes me to edge and my muscles still. I explode, emptying everything I have in her.

  “That’s how you dominate a game, baby,” I declare.

  She huffs and pushes me out of her.

  “Sore loser?” I tease, I’m knows she’s feeling it regardless.

  She stands up, smoothing down her skirt and straightening her hair.

  “You wish,” she quips back as she walks over to her purse, pulling out a mirror to reapply her lipstick.

  “I think the correct words are, Thank You, Austin,” I raise my tone to mimic hers.

  She smiles, tightly, but doesn’t say anyth
ing, instead she proceeds to close the lipstick and throw it in her bag.

  She walks to my door and opens it, glancing back before she walks through it.

  “At least you’ve made this game a lot more interesting. But, next round, don’t disappoint me,” she jabs.

  “Until next round, Tess,” I say slowly.

  She hasn’t seen what a real fucking feels like.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tess

  “Sorry, ma’am, this one’s full,” the man tells me, repeatedly pressing the button on the elevator panel, trying to get the doors to close again.

  I look at him, hands folded over my chest, and grit my teeth as I recognize the logo on his polo shirt—Oakmont. Of course, instead of using the cargo elevators, reserved for specific shit like this, Austin had to make sure all elevators were packed with his furniture haulers right before the meeting started.

  He knew everyone else would take the service elevator, and so he made sure that the ones meant for the residents were all busy. All just so he could mess with me. Of course, by now even the service elevators are all full, the employees from all the other companies going up and down as they haul their stuff.

  I decide to wait for a bit, and try to squeeze myself inside of a service elevator, but none comes. Tapping my foot against the floor, I try every single elevator around me. Of course, none of them responds. To top it all off, I only have ten minutes left before the damn meeting starts. And I’ll be damned if I’ll show up late. I won’t give Austin the satisfaction.

  The stairs it is, then.

  I sigh heavily as I head toward the stairs, groaning as I make a mental count of the hundreds of steps separating me from the conference room floor. But I do it all the same, one step after the other.

  By the time I get to the right floor, I already have a few locks of hair plastered to my forehead, my calves screaming from the effort. Think I’m being too dramatic? Well, you try climbing fifteen stories worth of stairs on your stilettos.