by Jamie Knight
Plus, I was starting to find my feet again at McKenzie’s, and I wanted to keep my job. If people found out that the rumors about Kane and me were true, my life would become unbearable.
I’d no longer be Reese Peterson, accounting nerd, I’d be Reese Peterson, the slut fucking her way to the top. Thanks to Sloane, and Simon’s firing, there were more than enough rumors circulating about me without me adding more fuel to the fire.
I was about to shut down my PC for the day when an email with the subject I Know popped into my inbox.
It was from an address I didn’t recognize.
A shower of spiky shivers raced down my back.
This didn’t bode well.
Despite my spidey senses telling me to delete the email, I clicked it open.
I know about you screwing Kane McKenzie, and soon everyone else will know. You think you’re above everyone. You get someone fired by crying sexual assault, but then you bend over for the big boss.
You may act innocent and sweet, like butter wouldn’t melt, but I know your type.
Watch who you step on because they might be the one to pull you down with them.
A cold sweat broke out on my brow and prickled my skin. I did a Google search of the email address. It was registered to a torrent site that protected its users, which meant they couldn’t be traced.
Whoever had emailed me was vicious and nasty and was doing whatever they could to cover their tracks. Only one person was mean enough to do this, and that one person was Sloane. I wouldn’t fall for her childish games or anonymous emails.
She could be as nasty and as jealous as she wanted. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of letting her know I knew she knew. I deleted the email. Sloane didn’t deserve another second of my time.
I shut down my PC and grabbed my bag, but before I stood to leave, Linda came out of her office and over to my desk.
“Is everything all right?” she asked. “Your face looks like thunder.”
“Everything’s fine,” I said, giving her my best smile. “I thought you were at a doctor’s appointment and wouldn’t be back.”
She rolled her eyes. “No rest for the wicked. Look, Reese, I hope you don’t think I’m crossing the line, but remember, you can talk to me if you ever need a shoulder to lean on. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I know Sloane has it out for you. I wish I knew why.”
I shrugged but gave her a smile.
“Me too, and thanks, I appreciate the offer of your shoulder.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her about the email, but then I decided against it. What was the worst Sloane could do? Spread more lies about me?
Linda crossed one arm in front of her chest and fluffed her pixie hair cut with the other hand.
“Does eleven on Friday work for your next evaluation? I thought maybe we could do it over coffee. Get out of this place for an hour or two.”
“Eleven works for me. Thank you.”
I grinned sincerely. I needed to keep Linda on my side.
“I’m excited to talk about my future at McKenzie Technologies.”
She raised her dark eyebrows and gave me a look, as if evaluating whether I was serious. I didn’t flinch under her perusal.
“As am I,” she said finally, with a little sigh. “Before I go, do you have any insight into the inconsistencies you found in that last account?”
I sighed.
“I’m still deciphering the files, and I feel like I’m falling into a rabbit hole, with tunnels and burrows going everywhere. I’ll have a report for you next week.”
She moved closer to me and leaned against my desk.
“Why don’t you let me jump on your PC for a few hours? I might be able to see something you missed. Not that I doubt your abilities…”
I shook my head.
“I would never think that. I can give you remote access too, so you can look at it tonight if you get a chance. I’d appreciate the help. Just when I think I’m at the bottom, I find something else. So many twists and turns.”
I felt bad that it was taking me so long. But I was doing my best. Maybe Linda could help me. I scribbled down my username and passwords and gave them to her.
“One way or another, we’ll fix this and make everything right,” she said.
She took the piece of paper, and with a small wave, went back to her office.
I left the building and shoved the email from my thoughts. Getting myself in a tizzy over Sloane and her childish games were pointless. She would soon tire of me and would move on to harassing someone else she deemed beneath her.
By the time I reached my apartment, the only thing I wanted to do was video call Kane and hear his voice. If I had my way, I’d be with him twenty-four-seven.
When I got home, I saw that taped to my apartment door was a white envelope with the word “whore” printed on the outside. Every hair on my body stood on end. This was beyond a joke.
Sloane needed to back the fuck off. I didn’t deserve her invading my personal space, and as much as I hated the thought of confronting her, I would have to.
I pulled the envelope off the door and against my better judgment, opened it.
I know where you live, bitch. Watch your back.
I’d confront her as soon as I got into the office tomorrow. I wouldn’t mention it to Kane because I didn’t want to run to him with every silly little thing that happened in my life. I needed to show him and prove to myself that I was an adult who didn’t cower or cry at every little upset.
My bad luck with men had turned into bad luck with work colleagues. Funny, for the past few weeks I hadn’t been as superstitious as I had been and had even walked under a few ladders.
Maybe throwing caution to the wind had been a mistake. Tonight, I would do a few good luck rituals and smudge my apartment. I’d also double bolt the front door and check that all the windows were closed and the locked.
I crumpled the note and shoved it deep in my bag along with the other bits of junk. Once inside my apartment, I shrugged off my coat and threw it over a chair.
Only one person could help me alleviate some of the stress from my shitty day. I glanced at the time on my phone. It was seven my time, which meant it was midnight in London.
I needed to hear Kane’s sexy voice and see his beautiful face and maybe other parts of his anatomy.
I picked up my iPad and tapped his name. The call connected almost immediately.
His face filled the screen, and my heart skipped a beat.
“Hey, you,” I said with a smile. “How’s London?”
“I’m not in London.”
There was a knock on my door, and I gave a delighted squeal.
“You’re here? No way.”
“I needed to see you. As soon as my meeting was over, I flew home.”
“I guess being a billionaire with a private jet has its perks,” I said and then laughed. “I missed you so much.”
“Open your front door and show me how much,” he ordered.
I could hardly believe he was outside my apartment. I threw my iPad onto the sofa and rushed to the door where I yanked it open.
Standing there with a full day’s stubble on his chin was the man I was quickly falling in love with. His eyes were a little bloodshot and tiredness lined his face, but he’d never looked sexier.
With a squeak, I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist, then kissed him with everything I had.
“Take me,” I whispered against his lips. “Take me against the wall. On the floor. In the kitchen. Take me.”
He broke our kiss and pressed his forehead against mine.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m in so much trouble with you.”
Ignoring my plea for him to take me against the wall, he carried me into my apartment, and I kicked the door closed with my foot.
He turned and slammed me against the front door, pressing his hard body against mine, and I kissed him like a starving woman. Kissed him
like I needed his breath to live.
“I’m going to fuck you right here, right now” he growled. “I want to show you how much I missed you.”
“You can fuck me any way you want anywhere you want.”
“I knew I picked the right girl when I picked you,” he said, biting my neck. “I’ve dreamed of fucking you up against a door. Would you like that, pet? Would you like to feel my cock in your pussy as you cry out and your neighbors hear?”
He nibbled on my earlobe and ran his teeth up and down the column of my neck.
“Hell, yes. I’m so fucking wet right now.”
He lowered me to the living room floor and ripped off my clothes until all was left were my thong and bra.
“Turn around and face the door.”
When I did, he cupped my ass in his hands and squeezed hard. He spanked one cheek and then the other. With each strike, his hands came down harder and harder, creating a hurricane of heat inside me.
“More,” I begged. “Give me more. Give it to me harder.”
“Brace your hands against the door frame,” he ordered.
I grasped the wooden door frame and spread my legs. He anchored his fingers into my hips, and I pressed my palms against the door. I heard him unzip his pants and my pussy squeezed.
“I can’t wait any longer. I have to fuck you.”
“Then do it.”
He moved my soaked thong to one side and slid his massive cock into my pussy. To begin with, his rhythm was slow and steady, but then he picked up speed, becoming faster and harder, but then he slowed down again, alternating between slow and shallow, and hard and fast, balls deep thrusts.
I was already close to climaxing, screaming into the door. Each time he withdrew, his hand came down on my ass—never the same spot twice. I cried out but not from pain, from sheer ecstasy.
The beginnings of an orgasm unfurled in my stomach and sizzled my skin. Kane slid one of his hands to the front of my body where he freed my breasts from my bra.
My nipples were already rock hard. Roughly, he massaged my tits before clamping his thumb and forefingers around each nipple, pulling them from my body.
That was all I needed to throw me over the edge. My legs shook, and I could barely keep myself upright. My pussy walls clenched and unclenched around his thickening cock, and a mind-blowing orgasm rocked me to the core.
“Don’t stop fucking me,” I sobbed not caring if my neighbors heard. “I have to come again.”
“Then come.”
Over and over again, he pumped. Each stroke becoming more demanding, and I wished I could see his cock sliding in and out of me, claiming me.
His thrusts were deep and oh so demanding. I braced my hands against the frame of the door, pushing back to meet him.
My muscles quaked at the intensity of his strokes. I reached down and scissored my fingers along my clit, trapping the swollen bud and then began massaging myself off. My inner muscles tightened refusing to let Kane leave.
A scream fell from my lips. My body undulated, and my hips took on a mind of their own, slamming back against him. A blinding orgasm claimed me, and I squirted.
“Fuck, baby. You’re so fucking tight,” Kane grunted.
I felt his muscles quake, and on a roar, he exploded. I was aware of every spurt of his release spraying deep inside of me.
He sagged forward and holding onto me, pinned me against the door. After our breathing and heartbeats slowed down and had returned to a somewhat regular rhythm, he eased out of my pussy and turned me around until we faced each other.
“I don’t think I can live without you,” he whispered.
I reached down and wrapped my hand around his still hard and wet cock.
Gazing into his eyes, I said, “You’ll never have to live without me. I’m yours.”
“I know, Pet. Forever.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Reese
Waking up snuggled next to Kane was the thing dreams were made off. I wasn’t sure if he meant to stay the night at my place, but he had. I’d fallen asleep in his arms and had woken up the same way. We’d even had time for a quickie.
He’d left an hour before I had. Since he’d come straight to my apartment from the airport, he’d had to go to the office early to change and shower. Another perk of being a billionaire—a shower and full closet in your office.
The birds sang, the sun shone, and as cliché as it sounded, there was a spring in my step. I was every Disney princess rolled into one. If things kept going my way, I was pretty sure I would begin spontaneously singing. Nothing would get me down today, not even Sloane and her emails or letters.
After grabbing my usual venti coffee, I made my way through the foyer and up to the fifth floor, smiling at everyone I met. Great sex had a way of making the world a better, shinier place.
Kane said I was his forever, and I believed him. I was the luckiest woman alive.
I switched on my PC to check my emails before I started my day. An email from whoever was stalking me glared from the screen.
Damn it.
Sloane would not give up.
I should have sent the email straight to the trash, but once again, curiosity got the better of me. There were no words just a picture of a bleary-eyed Kane leaving my apartment.
Oh, so not acceptable. That bitch’s stalking days were over. But I would not make a scene. I would talk to her in private.
I dialed her extension, and when she picked up, I barked, “Boardroom fiven now. You and I have to have a little chat.”
I hung up before she could reply. Enough was enough. With my coffee cup in hand, I headed straight to the boardroom and paced up and down in front of the windows.
The boardroom doors opened, and Sloane sauntered in. Her arms were crossed, and anger covered her face.
“So glad you came,” I said, not bothering to hide my disdain.
“Usually I wouldn’t, but I had nothing better to do.”
She did her best to appear disinterested by picking non-existent lint from her pristine suit.
“What’s your problem, Sloane?” I snapped. “Why are you doing this?”
Her cold eyes glared at me.
“My problem is you. Some little hick has taken the position I want. We all know what you’re doing.”
I leaned into the large wooden table and glared at her.
“You have no clue what I’m doing, and you have no right to try to destroy me.”
“Destroy you? You’re doing that all by yourself.”
She laughed a little.
I kept the table between us, so I wouldn’t grab her by the throat.
“Who did you hire to do your dirty work? Because I’m sure you didn’t lurk outside my apartment building to take photos.”
Her forehead furrowed, and she looked at me as if I’d lost the plot.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act all innocent. The photo taken outside of my apartment. The email last night and again this morning. The note stuck to my front door.”
“You’re even crazier than I thought you were.”
She looked even more confused.
I stopped in my tracks and lowered my voice a bit.
“Are you trying to tell me the encrypted email address [email protected] doesn’t belong to you?”
“You’ve lost your fucking mind.”
She pressed her palms onto the boardroom table and laughed.
“You’re accusing me of stalking you? I don’t like you, that’s obvious, but I have more important things to do with my time than stalk or send you emails. That’s not how I roll. If I want to hurt someone, I make sure they’re aware it’s me.”
Suddenly thrown off, I pressed my index finger to the side of my lips. “If you’re not emailing me and stalking me, then who is?”
She lifted her hand and waved it around.
“Are you blind as well as insane? You’ve made a ton of enemies. Your behavior with Simon and Kane has raise
d more than a few eyebrows.”
I sighed and rolled my shoulders back.
“For the hundredth time, nothing happened between Simon and me. He propositioned me. He threatened to drug me. Mr. McKenzie was there and helped me out of a horrible situation. We got to talking, he offered me a mentorship, and you’re damn right I took it because I don’t have a daddy who gives me everything I want, like you do. I worked hard to get where I am, and I’m not going to let you or anyone else ruin it.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Cry me a river. Enough with the poor me shtick. You’re as ruthless and as ambitious as everyone else. Don’t pretend otherwise. If we’re done here, I’m going back to work. If I wanted to get to you badly enough, I would do it, and I would let you know about it because I would relish every single moment of ruining your life. If you ever accuse me of anything like this again, I’ll make your pathetic life even worse than it is now.”
With a flick of her perfectly flat-ironed hair, she strode out of the boardroom. She was wrong; I was nothing like her.
Nothing.
But she was right about one thing: if she wanted to ruin me, she would make sure I knew about it.
I mentally ran through everyone else in the office. The only other person who could be responsible for this shit storm was someone who no longer worked at McKenzie, and that someone was Simon.
When I got back to my desk, Linda was waiting for me.
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I said with a fake smile.
“You’re more upset now than you were last night.”
She frowned and hovered around me as I sat and turned to my computer.
“You’re sweet to notice, Linda. It’s no big deal, honestly, just a few personal things that need to be sorted out.”
“Do I need to get HR involved between you and Sloane?”
“We’re good. Promise.”