When he was finished, Isaac cupped her shoulder blades and leaned forward so her back was submerged in the water, washing the soap away. Without thinking, she tilted her head back, dampening her hair, and unwittingly exposed her breasts to the air.
His tongue flicked at one of her nipples and she yelped, and then moaned when he did it again. And again.
Isaac cupped and lifted her flesh in his hands. “Your breasts are so—”
He never finished as she held on to his head, keeping her abdomen tight so she wouldn’t fall back into the water, while his tongue curled around each stiff tip, never yielding, never lifting. So warm and wet and steamy.
Finally, he broke away and caught her bottom lip in his teeth. “Let’s get out of here.”
Isaac exited the tub first and wrapped a towel around his waist. He smiled when her eyes locked on his torso where the fabric wasn’t smooth.
When she managed to stand, she found that her legs were rubbery and she almost fell down. But Isaac grabbed her hand, wrapped her in a towel and swooped her into his arms.
The bedroom was only a few feet away and Isaac laid her on his enormous bed before slipping away to draw the curtains shut. He lit two candles on the dresser before returning to her side.
Isaac unwrapped her body from the towel and drew in a breath. She closed her eyes while he stood over her and rubbed her dry with the towel.
When he was finished, Autumn turned on her side and balanced her head on one elbow. His eyes were questioning when she reached out her finger and crooked it between the towel and his waist. With a just quick snap of her wrist, the towel was on the floor and his shaft was throbbing before her. She sat up and slipped him into her mouth, almost to the full hilt of his length, still moist from the bath.
He tilted his hips and groaned as she savored his length with her tongue, enjoying the thick fullness of his skin in her mouth, so velvety soft yet so virile. Capable of creating life and giving pleasure.
His groans became more guttural and he wove his hands through her curls as she sucked hard on the core of his strength. Teasing and taunting him to release, to expend the power he had over her, which she was now controlling with such acute mastery.
Finally, he clasped her cheeks in his palms, breathing heavily and she released him. Smiling, she fell back on the bed and stretched her arms over her head. Without a word, he slipped his hand under the small of her back and clutched at her waist, moving her farther up on the bed. The weight of his body upon hers made her yearn even more to be connected to him.
“Autumn, you drive me crazy enough to tell you that I think I’m falling in love with you.”
She opened her mouth, dumbfounded at his confession and was just about to speak when he covered her lips with his own.
Edging her legs apart with his knee, he broke away and whispered in her ear. “Now just let me show you how much I love you.”
Autumn gasped as he slid inside her easily and she wrapped her arms around his torso while he rocked his hips and her entire world.
Back and forth they moved together, the bedspread rippling underneath and around them. Isaac nipped at her breast, and her arm muscles tightened as she clenched the little dunes of fabric. She discovered that holding on only intensified the sweet agony, so she held on tighter.
Autumn lifted her head from the bed, hair matted against her neck. “Isaac! Oh, God. Please. Don’t. Stop.”
She folded her knees to her chest, inviting him to plunge deeper. He did and, within moments, dove deeper still. The heavy weight of his testicles slapped between her thighs and against her moist outer lips until she thought she’d go mad.
As Isaac increased his pace, so did the fierce whirlwind of emotions that surrounded them, until release poured forth from a cloud of ecstasy.
Eyes wide open, hearts on fire, time forgotten.
Chapter 14
Autumn plopped down on her sofa, limbs extended like a scarecrow, and rubbed her eyes. She had read once somewhere that Sundays were either a time for reflection or regret. Today, she’d experienced plenty of both.
Her eyes welled with tears, still overwhelmed at Isaac’s admission of love. Part of her wished his words were only a result of the heat of the moment. The other part prayed they were true.
He’d told her before she left on Friday that he was taking his children on their first ski trip. So, other than a few text messages, she hadn’t been in contact with him all weekend. Maybe that was a good thing. He would get used to her not being around and she would get used to missing him terribly.
Autumn wiped the rag in her hand across her forehead, not caring at the moment that it was full of dust, and gazed out the window. It was already dark, the oppressive blue-black wintery hue that made her gloomy mood seem all the more real and her present situation downright inescapable.
Was this how a woman in love was supposed to feel?
Autumn didn’t think so. Nor did she think she could face Isaac again, not when she’d betrayed him.
He didn’t know that yet, but that’s what she did.
Tomorrow morning, she was going to walk into Sterling’s office with the final report of her investigation. As far as she could surmise, Isaac was innocent. And now that she knew him and loved him, she realized that there was nothing else he could be but completely free of wrongdoing.
She was the only one who had committed a crime whose only sentence was a broken heart for both of them.
Autumn straightened and leaned over to dust the coffee table. She saw her reflection in the glossy surface and wondered how she was going to explain to Isaac that she was leaving New York in two days.
To tell him the truth, she’d have to reveal the reason she was hired at Paxton in the first place.
To spy, to lie and to betray.
Not to love and then to leave.
But that’s exactly what she planned to do.
Autumn moved her bare feet against the edge of the couch and felt something hard.
She slid to the floor and saw her favorite slipper, which had been missing for over a week.
“So that’s where you’ve been!” she scolded, wedging her hand underneath the sofa to retrieve it. And with it came a set of papers, stapled together, that she hadn’t known were there.
Autumn backed up against the sofa and sat cross-legged on the floor. The paper was a detailed report of a recent investment transaction conducted by Isaac for one of his clients. It was dated six months earlier, and attached was a copy of the check the client had given as payment. After flipping back and forth through the pages, she could not find any record that the client’s payment was applied to Paxton’s account.
She threaded one hand through her hair. She’d reviewed hundreds of similar documents for the past two weeks, and somehow she’d missed this one. It must have slipped under the couch on one of the many nights she’d fallen asleep there.
No big deal, she thought as she stood and walked into the kitchen. She would simply follow the same process she’d used with all of the previous reports and check it against the Paxton’s accounting system.
She sat down and quickly logged into the Paxton financial network, yet after a few minutes of searching, she could find no record of the transaction.
With a ball quickly forming in the pit of her stomach, she logged out of the Paxton network and logged in to Isaac’s personal bank accounts. After an advanced search, she discovered the exact amount of the client’s check appeared as a deposit in one of Isaac’s accounts.
Autumn’s heart sank and she banged a fist on the table, wishing she’d never found the missing document. How could he have done it, she thought. How could he have stolen all that money?
No matter how she felt about Isaac, keeping this information to herself wasn’t an option. She had to tell Sterling.
She calmly packed up her laptop and slid the report into her bag. Her phone buzzed and her pulse quickened when she saw it was a text from Isaac. She slid her thumb over the top to read his message.
Back home. Missed you. Still cold from skiing.
Can I stop by so you can warm me up?
Autumn stared at the letters for a while before she turned off the lights in the rest of the apartment and headed to the bedroom. It was only when she’d gotten under the covers that she deleted Isaac’s text and cried herself to sleep.
* * *
The next morning, Autumn left early to avoid running into Isaac and had breakfast at a diner. The pancakes were delicious, but so large that she knew she’d be in a carb coma before ten o’clock. She was on her second cup of tea by the time she arrived at Paxton and she went directly to Sterling’s office.
His door was open, but she rapped on it anyway.
Sterling looked up, his brows knit together in a way that made him look instantly angry.
“Looks like the yen is going to ruin my Monday again,” he muttered irritably.
“At least the Dow closed on an upswing last week,” she offered. “And we closed the Witterman deal.”
Sterling looked thoughtful, and then sighed. “Sometimes I wonder why I got into this business.”
“To make money?” she offered, wishing he would stop waxing philosophical so she could tell him the bad news.
“No, Autumn. To change lives. Money can do that, you know,” he instructed with a wan smile.
“It can also ruin lives,” Autumn replied, pulling out the report she’d found last night.
“What’s this?” Sterling asked, putting on his reading glasses.
“This is a report from approximately six months ago, a client by the name of Ginsaro.”
Sterling reached for the report and she handed it to him.
“Yes, what about it?” he asked impatiently.
“I discovered client funds were never entered into the Paxton financial system. Instead they were deposited into Isaac’s personal checking account the same day.”
Sterling laid the paper on his desk and glared at her.
“In your email last night, you indicated that your investigation was complete and that you found no potentially criminal evidence.”
Autumn nodded. “At the time, that was correct. But late last night, I discovered this document underneath my couch, and then I logged on to the network and—”
He waved his hand, cutting her off. “Are you sure about all this?”
“I wish I could say no, but I can’t.”
Sterling nodded grimly and picked up his phone. He stabbed at the buttons. “Felicia, get in here,” he barked.
Autumn’s stomach clenched. If Felicia was being called into the meeting, that could only mean one thing.
She approached his desk and hoped she wouldn’t sound like she was begging. “I think you should give Isaac a chance to explain. There must be a reason or perhaps a misunderstanding.”
Sterling raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, Autumn. We have procedures in place to deal with these kinds of situations.” He checked his watch. “He should be here any minute. If you recall, we were scheduled to talk at nine-thirty about finalizing the Witterman deal. Eleanor will be here just before noon to sign all the paperwork, which in light of your discovery, I will now personally handle instead of Isaac.”
Felicia stalked into the room without knocking and without acknowledging Autumn.
One of the perks of being the boss’s daughter, Autumn thought.
She tossed her blond hair over her shoulder. “What’s going on, Daddy? I’m in the middle of something important.”
“I need you in here for a meeting that I’m having with Isaac in just a few minutes.”
Felicia cocked a brow and stared at Autumn. “Isaac? I just saw him running down the hall to his office. Do you want me to go get him?”
“No need,” Sterling replied. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon. You two might as well sit down and wait.”
Both women settled down into chairs at a small conference table that was located diagonally from Sterling’s desk. Autumn wished she could stare at the buildings outside rather than at the door, but her back was to the windows.
There was a tense silence in the room, as they waited for Isaac. No one bothered to make small talk.
Through the corner of her eye, Autumn caught a glimpse of Felicia, who was watching her intently. More than anything, Autumn wished she could wipe the smug look off her face. The witch knew something. It was almost as if she was expecting trouble and was getting ready to enjoy it.
When Isaac arrived, Autumn drew in a sharp breath.
“Good morning, Sterling. How was your weekend?” he said cheerfully, walking in.
From the doorway, the two women weren’t visible, but as Isaac approached Sterling’s desk, he turned his head.
Autumn’s heart beat faster as he caught her eye and nodded, his eyes lighting up in a way that was only meant for her.
The memory of those same eyes squeezed shut as he kept pace with the urgent rhythm of his lovemaking scraped through Autumn’s mind and her body warmed at its most intimate core.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you ladies there. What is this? A party?” he joked.
“I’m afraid not,” Sterling replied, his tone anything but funny. “Please sit down.”
Isaac edged a quick glance at Autumn. Somehow she was able to keep her face unchanged, although inside she wanted to scream. At herself mostly, because she was powerless to warn him about what was going to happen next.
He sat and crossed one leg over a knee. “Sure, what’s going on?”
Sterling pulled his chair closer to the desk and folded his hands. “It has come to my attention that some client funds are missing from the Paxton accounts. The money was deposited into a personal bank account, instead of ours.”
Isaac looked confused. “So, what’s that got to do with me?”
Sterling glared at him. “The client is yours and so is the bank account.”
Isaac slowly put his foot on the floor. “What are you talking about? What client?” he asked, leaning forward.
“Dr. Ginsaro,” Sterling replied.
“But he passed away months ago. I’ve been trying to get in touch with the lawyer handling his estate, but no luck.”
“That’s a very convenient excuse,” Sterling snapped. “A game of phone tag doesn’t explain how $100,000 ended up in your bank account and not ours.”
“But I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Isaac insisted, raising his voice. “I’ve never even seen the check.”
“First of all, watch your tone. Second of all, as of right now, you are suspended without pay, pending further investigation of these allegations.”
“B-but, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Isaac sputtered.
“Felicia!” Sterling said, ignoring Isaac. “Call custodial services and get Isaac a box so he can take his personal items with him. You have thirty minutes to leave the premises.”
Isaac leaned forward in his chair, looking as though he wanted to throttle Sterling’s neck.
“But this is bull! What evidence do you have?”
“We have certain documentation, which will be shared with you upon approval of our counsel. May I suggest you retain your own attorney?”
“I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t do anything!” he raged.
His eyes caught Autumn’s again, and this time they were frantic. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly, hoping he would
avoid further trouble and just go. Although she yearned to speak up and defend him, she couldn’t deny what she’d found, any more than she could deny her feelings for him.
Felicia got up and walked over to Sterling’s side. “Don’t make me call security,” she warned.
Isaac flattened his palms on his thighs and stood abruptly. With his chin high, he stalked out of the room.
Felicia followed him to the door and Autumn heard her mutter “Good riddance” under her breath as she shut the door. She sat in the chair Isaac had just vacated.
“Do you want me to prepare the termination papers?”
Sterling didn’t glance up from his computer, where he was already typing away as if nothing had happened. “Hold off until I tell you to move forward.”
Felicia folded her arms and huffed. “But why? We have everything we need to fire him.”
Sterling stopped typing and stared at his daughter as if he was seeing her for the first time. “Not quite. Hold off. End of discussion.”
“Well, at least tell me why Autumn is here. For legal purposes, we have rules around who is supposed to be present in the room when someone is reprimanded or terminated. Only you and I should have been in this meeting.”
“Autumn is here because she is the law,” Sterling responded grimly.
Felicia turned around and Autumn enjoyed the look of shock on her face. “You’re a cop?”
“No, I’m a private investigator under contract with the U.S. government, to investigate suspected cases of corporate fraud.”
She faced Sterling. “Daddy, how did you know?”
“I had some suspicions and I hired Autumn to look into things more carefully.”
He stared at his daughter, and Autumn detected a hint of challenge in his eyes.
When Morning Comes Page 15