Power: Power Series #1

by Victoria Woods

  I slowly closed the distance between us until I was close enough that her hard nipples poked me through our clothes. Angry and turned on was a great look on her.

  I lowered my mouth to her ear. “Good. Then you wouldn’t care if I left right now and rang a friend for company?” I hadn’t been with another woman since I’d met her. She didn’t need to know that, though, especially not now, when I was trying to convince her that this was nothing more than sex.

  Her breath hitched as my nose tickled the spot on her neck right under her ear. “Don’t fall for me, Amelia,” I whispered. She pulled back and looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not a good man. I will hurt you.”

  Her eyes turned glassy at my warning as tears threatened to fall. I knew she understood.

  I felt like a bastard for making her cry, but it was necessary. I needed to cut her off before she could argue with me for seeing strippers and revealing even more of her heart to me. Once it was all out in the open, it couldn’t be taken back.

  I had no intention of settling down, and she needed to understand that before her feelings got hurt further. She was a brilliant girl with the potential for a bright future, and her time shouldn’t be spent pining for a bad guy like me.

  I couldn’t offer her my heart, but I could ease the pain of rejection. I reached out and wrapped my hand around her neck. I could feel her pulse accelerate from my touch. “You will answer the phone when I call you. Do you hear me?”

  She nodded while my hand still clutched her neck. I needed to be able to get ahold at of her at any time for her own security. The work that she was doing for me was dangerous, and I had to be assured that she was safe. It was one of the reasons that I had a driver take her to and from work. She might not be my girlfriend, but I still worried for her safety. I had experience with Tarun’s violence, when he had killed my mother, and for that reason, I was protective over Amelia.

  “Apologize to me.” I needed to hear that she respected my role in her life.

  Blinking back her tears, she conceded. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Good girl. Now show me how sorry you are.” I pushed on her neck and guided her weight down, causing her to fall to her knees.

  She knew what I wanted. Her hands moved to my waistband, where she undid the fly of my pants. She pulled down my slacks, taking my boxers with them. My cock sprung out at full attention, ready for her mouth. Precum was already dripping from the head.

  “Kiss me,” I ordered her. She obeyed, pressing her lips lightly to my head. A thread of my precum followed her as she pulled away. Her lips glistened with my wetness. I couldn’t hold back the groan that escaped me as she licked her lips to taste me.

  “Open wide, jaan.” I moved my hand to grip the back of her head. Wild tendrils of red hair fell from her bun and onto her face. I guided my cock into her mouth, enjoying the feeling as I made contact with her warm tongue. She used it to massage the bottom of my shaft with slow pulses. Her beautiful green eyes rolled back in her head as I leaked more arousal into her mouth. It felt like heaven. The way she savored me made me feel like a king.

  “Suck me,” I commanded, feeling emboldened by how eager she was to have me in her mouth. She puckered her lips and applied pressure around my thickness. Fuck me. I didn’t know how long I could last inside her before exploding.

  My desire for more took over. I pulled back until just before my head escaped her lips, then rammed myself back in. I hit her deep into her throat. Her eyes widened in panic and tears escaped the corners. It was probably deeper than anything she had ever experienced before, but I knew she could take all of me with a little extra encouragement.

  “Breathe, jaan. Relax your throat.”

  She exhaled forcefully out of her nose and relaxed her muscles. As soon as she recovered, I began moving in and out of her mouth. I pushed with such force that it would surely make her jaw sore later. Her hands grasped my hips for support from my abuse. More tears spilled from her eyes. Seeing her cry because of my size made my dick harden even further. I was so close to exploding.

  “Make yourself cum,” I grunted. She greedily slipped her hand into her yoga pants, as if she had been waiting for my order. I thrust myself relentlessly into her soft, pretty mouth. I was barely holding on.

  “Get there, beautiful.” She rubbed her clit furiously as I continued my assault. I felt her suck harder, and a moan escaped her throat, reverberating through my length. Her hips bucked as her orgasm pulsed through her. I followed her, feeling waves of fire fill my body as my own orgasm ripped through me.

  Hot cum jetted from my head, filling her small mouth. Some of it leaked out of the corners of her mouth, dripping onto her chin.

  I pulled my spent dick out of her. “Swallow.”

  She managed to gulp it all down in one swallow. I ran my thumb down her cheek, over her sexy freckles. My thumb collected my spilled arousal from her chin, and I shoved it into her mouth so she could suck the last bits of me off. She closed her eyes as she consumed more of me.

  I came down from my high and set about fixing my clothes.

  She snapped out of her daze. “Where are you going?”

  “Home.”

  “Oh,” she replied with the annoyance she’d had when I barged into her apartment.

  I sighed. “Amelia, look at me.” She raised her chin to look straight into my eyes. “Whatever you think this relationship is, stop. This cannot be anything more than sex.”

  Embarrassed that I had bluntly addressed her feelings, she shifted on the floor, casting her gaze to her hands in her lap.

  I continued because I knew she was listening, “I have no plans to settle down into a long-term relationship. I respect commitment too much to sully it with my lifestyle.”

  She took a few seconds to process my words. “Have you ever been in a relationship?”

  I didn’t want to get into this, but I had promised her I’d never lie to her when she asked me a question. “Once.”

  Her eyebrow raised in surprise. “When?”

  “A long time ago.” I was barely out of high school at the time.

  Amelia seemed disappointed at my revelation. “What was her name?”

  “Salena.”

  “Did you love her?” she pressed. Her curiosity always got the best of her.

  I hesitated before answering. This conversation was heading in a dangerous direction, and I should have ended it, but I continued, “I thought I could. I was engaged to her.”

  “Engaged?” she repeated in shock.

  “It was an arranged marriage. My father wanted to strengthen our alliance with a British distributor. In exchange for loyalty, my father promised a marriage between myself and his daughter.”

  “What happened to her?” Her eyes were fixed on me, unblinking.

  “I broke the relationship off after my father killed himself. I never wanted to get married and only agreed to because marriage alliances are necessary in our business. My parents were arranged, so I knew that feelings of affection could follow, hence why I thought I could love her. However, since my father was no longer alive, I didn’t see a need to honor the contract, especially when I hadn’t really wanted to settle down in the first place.”

  Hanging on my every word, she probed, “There must have been bad blood between you and her father after that.”

  “There was. He eventually started doing business with Tarun out of revenge. But I had too much respect for Salena to put her through a forced marriage.”

  “Do you still keep in touch with her?” Jealousy was evident in her expression.

  “No. We went to Harvard together, but after I called off our marriage, she moved back home to England.” Salena had understood my reasoning but had still been upset about the breakup. Because of that, we hadn’t spoken since.

  “Did you sleep with her?” she asked hesitantly, as if she knew I’d put my walls back up at her question.

  “What did I tell you, jaan? Don’t ask questions that you don’
t want answers to.” I had answered all that I needed to for one day.

  I left her on the floor, disheveled and with my cum smeared around her lips as I exited her front door.

  XIX. Amelia

  “So, have you decided what you want to do?” Nat asked as she sipped on her pumpkin-spice latte. I had confided in her the general details of my relationship with Shyam—or lack thereof.

  We had finally “discussed” what it was. I knew I cared about him, but I didn’t love him—yet. But after hearing about his stance, I couldn’t help but feel hurt.

  I had decided to skip my weekend tradition of camping out in my apartment and coding until morning in exchange for going shopping with Nat. I hated shopping, but I needed some dressier outfits for work. I preferred my comfortable wardrobe, but I stuck out in the sea of women with pencil skirts and black leather pumps and men with perfectly tailored suits. I didn’t necessarily want to wear heels to work, but I could do with some pantsuits or even some nice blouses. Nat was a self-proclaimed expert at shopping, so she was the perfect person to help me.

  “I don’t know. I’m not against hooking up. I’ve done it before. I just thought he cared for me as much I do for him,” I replied, then took a bite of my warm danish. It was one of the few fall days where the rain had held up so the sun could make an appearance, but the air still felt chilly, warning of impending winter.

  I had thought for sure there was something more growing between us. But when he showed up at my place and warned me not to fall for him, my hope had deflated. He was sending me mixed messages, and I was confused.

  “Guys like him are hard to read. They’re used to manipulating people and situations to get what they want. It’s why they’re such successful businessmen,” Nat said before taking another swig of her latte.

  She was right. Powerful men like Shyam were used to manipulating people. They were experts at leaving people yearning for more.

  “His brother said he was with a stripper the night we had sex for the first time.” I had been upset when I heard that. The thought that I was getting some woman’s sloppy seconds made me want to throw up. I’d wanted to give him a piece of my mind until he had stormed into my place like a raging bull.

  “Being with a stripper doesn’t necessarily mean he fucked her, right?” Nat asked.

  Deep down, I didn’t believe that he had slept with one either. Why would he have assured me he was clean when we had sex later that night?

  “I guess. But he made it clear that he didn’t want our relationship to go deeper than sex.” I diverted my eyes from hers to hide my embarrassment. I felt like I was just a booty call.

  “Is that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe it’ll be easier for you to use him as a reference for a bigger and better job later if you stay casual. No hurt feelings in the end to complicate things?”

  Too late. My feelings were hurt, and I felt rejected. He had said he didn’t want to drag a woman into his unsafe lifestyle. Yet, he had been engaged to some woman, and I was only good enough for the occasional hook-up.

  The way he had used me to give him head had been devoid of any emotion, but it had still turned me on. Am I so messed up that I enjoyed the way he used me?

  He could deny his feelings for me, but he couldn’t deny our chemistry. We were explosive when we were together. But Nat was onto something. Whatever happened between us, I still wanted my letter of recommendation, and maybe it would be easier to move on later if we just kept the relationship sexual. Getting emotionally involved with a crime lord wasn’t the best move for a career-oriented woman like me.

  “You have a point,” I said, my head heavy with thoughts.

  “Maybe you should show him what he’s missing out on.” Nat pulled my hand and led me to the storefront of a lingerie shop. Mannequins scantily clad in luxurious satin and lace pieces posed in the window.

  I wasn’t the type to wear sexy lingerie and sashay around a man for attention. I preferred my comfortable cotton bras and panties to lace.

  “I dunno, Nat. You know that’s not my style.” I tugged on my knitted cap uncomfortably.

  “Sure, it is! Don’t knock it ’til you try it. I vote you wear something to make him forget about every stripper he’s ever met.”

  Eyeing a sexy black lace bra-and-panty set with matching stockings and a garter belt was enough to convince me. I was pretty sure I’d end up in his bed again because I couldn’t stay away, and I wanted to bring him to his knees. Without saying a word, I made my way to the front door of the shop and went inside.

  “Hell yeah!” Nat exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air as she followed me. “I raised you well.”

  ******

  Shortly after reaching home with my shopping bags in hand, Shyam sent me a text. He wanted to have a meeting about the search with Jai and me at his weekend house. A car would arrive in one hour to drop me there.

  I didn’t have much time to get ready and pack my laptop bag. I eyed the shopping bags on the floor, particularly the small pink one with the fancy black calligraphy scrawled across the front.

  I had just found my motivation to get ready quickly.

  XX. Amelia

  The car arrived right on time to pick me up. The driver helped me into the car as usual, and I settled into my seat because the drive would be a long one. I had brought my laptop for the meeting, so I could always use that for entertainment if I got bored.

  I unbuttoned my coat to avoid overheating in the warm car. I had decided on a black wrap dress that showed a hint of cleavage. Underneath, I wore the lingerie set I had seen in the store window. I had never worn stockings or a garter belt. I wasn’t used to this level of underwear, but the minute I put it all on and stood in front of the mirror, I felt sexy. My posture was straighter, and I liked how my body looked. I had always felt like my boobs were too small and my hips were too wide, but surprisingly, I thought I looked damn good in my new lingerie. I knew this was a business meeting with Jai in attendance, but knowing what I had on underneath gave me the courage I would need to face Shyam.

  I had ended up pinning my hair up into a low bun, leaving out tendrils to frame my face. I had kept my makeup sophisticated by lining my eyes with black eyeliner and dusting my lids with taupe eyeshadow to play up my eye color. My lips were nude, but I had lined them before applying gloss to give a cleaner look.

  I still had an aversion to high heels. They were pointlessly painful, in my opinion. Instead, I had opted for some black knee-high boots with three-inch heels for more support. I could still walk in them, but they gave me a little extra height, which always came in handy when facing off with such a tall and powerful man.

  I was confused about my feelings for Shyam. I couldn’t just turn off the part that cared for him. I understood his reasons for remaining uncommitted, but I hadn’t expected him to be seeing strippers or whoever while seeing me.

  That was the part that annoyed me most. He had made it sound like he wanted to whore around, but something in me knew that wasn’t who he really was. I was sure he had a vivid past with women, but he had been engaged. He had probably been faithful to Salena, since he was so adamant about respecting monogamous relationships. I hadn’t even considered marriage yet, let alone to Shyam, but I was jealous of what he’d had with Salena. I wondered if their sexual chemistry had been as heavy as ours.

  He had put distance between us, not even kissing me after the day he had charged into my apartment. However, the fire between us was too strong to be dimmed by his control. I could see it every time he glanced at me in passing at work—the hunger and desire. Our attraction was the one thing he couldn’t control, and I secretly loved that.

  As the driver pulled into the garage port, I realized I had spent the entire ride mulling over our situation in my mind. I was buzzed into the elevator, and it took me to the living area. As I stepped into the space, I was greeted by Jai.

  “Hey, doll. How’s it going?” He kissed my cheek to greet me, like I was a member of his family.

>   “Hey. Not too bad.” My mouth formed into a genuine smile. I had been anxious about coming back to this house, but seeing Jai eased my nerves.

  “Here, let me take your coat,” he said as he moved to help me slide it off my shoulders.

  “Thanks,” I said, pulling my arms free.

  “Look at you.” He took a long look at my outfit and whistled in approval. “Hot date tonight?”

  I blushed, unsure of how to respond. Just then, Shyam walked into the room and approached us. He was dressed in a white button-down shirt and navy dress slacks. His tie was gone, and his top buttons were undone, showing a hint of his hard chest. He was mouth-watering perfection. His smoldering eyes took in my figure from head to toe. I felt a shiver as he inspected me. His jaw clenched as his gaze combed my body.