Power: Power Series #1

by Victoria Woods

  Shyam left my bag by the couch and pulled on my hand firmly, leading me into the bedroom. The walls were dark and only a small bedside lamp illuminated the room.

  As soon as we were inside, his hands grasped either side of my face and pulled me to him for a scorching kiss. He massaged my tongue with his, using slow, meaningful strokes. My hands moved to his chest, clutching his shirt.

  He undressed me, lifting my sweatshirt over my head and pulling my jeggings down to free my legs. I kicked off my shoes to make it easier to step out of my pants.

  I lifted his shirt up and he helped me pull it off. I worked on his jeans, discarding them onto the floor in the growing heap of clothes. He pulled off his boxers, revealing his fat cock. My eyes dilated in arousal. I removed my bra and panties, leaving myself fully naked in front of the tanned god before me.

  Shyam stared at me with a look of hunger that I had never seen before. He backed me up until the backs of my knees hit the bed. Pushing us onto the mattress, he lay over me and rested his hardness on my belly. Precum wet my skin on contact. We kissed until we needed to catch our breaths.

  Warm, wet lips skimmed down my neck. I felt his tongue lick at my skin as they ventured lower. He palmed my tits—squeezing them, rubbing them. His teeth found my nipple and clamped down onto it, causing sparks of pain and pleasure to radiate through my chest and down to my pussy.

  I hooked my legs around his back and pressed my pelvis up, begging him to enter me. This time, he didn’t make me wait.

  He separated my pussy lips with his fingers and shoved himself into me. “Fuck. I missed this,” he grunted as he pushed himself all the way in, hitting my cervix. He wanted his dick to touch all of me. He pumped into me, propping himself up with his palms grasping my tits.

  His strokes were slower than usual, causing him to have more contact with my walls than when we had fucked hard and fast in the past. This wasn’t fucking. This was something else.

  I felt myself teetering on my edge. He leaned in closer to me, with his mouth hovering just above my lips. Our breaths blew onto each other’s faces. I dug my fingers into his hair and pulled his mouth over mine, kissing him as I gripped his dick with my pussy.

  I felt my muscles bear down on his shaft. Orgasm hit me, causing moans to rip from my throat. “Babe,” I shouted as I came harder than I ever had before.

  The fire in his eyes burned bright hearing the endearment that had slipped out of my mouth. I’d thought it would scare him off, but instead, he pumped harder into me. His body shook as he exploded inside me, spilling his warm cum into my slit. He groaned as he filled me until our juices leaked down my ass.

  He adjusted himself on top of me, with his forearm resting on the mattress above my head to keep from crushing me under his big frame. His nose nuzzled the side of my neck as we caught our breaths. My fingers pressed into his back, holding him close to me.

  He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, giving his body a chance to body recover.

  I turned my head to look at him in the dark. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

  He didn’t look upset or withdrawn. “I liked it.”

  “You did?” I asked in surprise. “I know this isn’t something serious between us, but it just came out.”

  “Jaan, I said I liked it,” he said gently to get me to stop justifying it. After a beat, he asked, “Do you want to go home tonight?”

  I don’t. “What do you want, Shyam?” The ball was in his court now.

  “I’d rather you stay,” he said unapologetically.

  Closing the distance between us, I snuggled into his side. “Then I’ll stay.”

  XXVI. Amelia

  Christmastime was my favorite time of the year. The air was light with cheer and the decorations always made me smile.

  When I’d lived at home, my parents would take me to the tree farm so we could cut down our own tree and make the house smell woodsy, like a pine forest. I would always choose the burliest and most rounded tree. My mom would make an event out of it, dressing us up in red plaid shirts and rainboots. We would always sit near the firepit at the farm and sip some hot cocoa after strapping our tree to the top of the car.

  Holiday festivities in the city were certainly different than in the Pacific Northwest. The decorations here were more elaborate and extravagant. The stores were decked out like Christmas playgrounds for the masses. It was a whole new level of holiday for me, and I loved it.

  Nat and I decided to invite Blake to take part in our holiday excitement at the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center. It was my second year in attendance, and this year seemed more packed than the last, but we didn’t mind the crowds. It just added to the merriment.

  I was bundled up in a red chunky-knit sweater and jeans paired with comfy over-the-knee boots as I waited in line for hot cocoa. I shoved my hands into my coat pockets even though they were covered by gloves because it was really cold out. I was glad I had remembered to put on my knitted cap for extra warmth.

  I made my way back to my friends while trying to balance three steaming cups of cocoa in two hands. Blake came to my aid, grabbing two cups from me.

  “Thanks, Amelia,” he said. He looked handsome in his black coat and jeans, with a charcoal scarf around his neck. He passed a cup to Nat.

  “I fucking love cocoa!” she said as she warmed her hands around her cup. She had opted to be themed out instead of warm, wearing a dark-red corduroy skirt with leggings underneath and a white peacoat. Her bright-orange hair was styled into braids on either side of her head. She looked like a badass elf.

  “Do you know how to ice skate?” Blake asked us.

  “I do!” I shouted over the loud noise from the crowd surrounding us. I loved ice skating. I wasn’t amazing, but I could stay upright for more than a minute.

  “Oh, hell no! I’m not going to bust my ass on that ice!” Nat exclaimed dramatically.

  “You’re just scared to ruin your outfit when you crash,” I teased. Blake chuckled.

  “Whatever. Don’t hate because you ain’t great,” she said, flashing us her middle finger, indifferent to any children who might have been watching.

  “Come on!” Blake took my cup and set it down next to his. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me toward the rink. I turned back as he dragged me along and waved to Nat apologetically for abandoning her.

  After renting our skates, we stepped onto the ice. The rink was full of different levels of skaters. The more seasoned ones zoomed past us. Blake seemed to be steadier on his feet than I was.

  “Do you skate a lot?” I asked.

  “I took lessons when I was a kid.” He crossed one foot over the other, following the curviest edge of the rink.

  “Skating lessons in California?”

  “Hockey,” he said as he glided gracefully alongside me.

  “Still…in California?” I reiterated.

  “I know it doesn’t seem like the type of place for winter sports, but we had a rink near my house.”

  “Isn’t hockey kind of…violent?” I asked, putting my arms out for extra balance.

  “Not kind of. It’s very violent. But I was young when I played, so we weren’t trying to prove our manliness by beating the crap out of each other yet.” He flashed me a grin that lit up his handsome face.

  His smile was infectious, and I returned the sentiment. “You seem to be really athletic.”

  “Yeah, being active is a huge stress reliever for me, especially since I have a nine-to-five job. It helps doing something active after work to release all the tension from the day. What about you? Play any sports growing up?” he asked.

  “Ummm, not really. I was too obsessed with computers to leave my room. But since I lived in the Northwest, my parents forced me outdoors. They’d make me hike with them sometimes or go kayaking in the summer. They were big into camping too.” Although I knew my way around a computer better than the average person, I could also fish, start a fire from sticks, and pitch a tent. I didn’t lik
e doing those things, but my parents had made me learn so I could help while we camped.

  “That sounds peaceful.” He turned so he was facing me, skating backward.

  “I used to hate it, but now I miss it.” I would have given anything to go back to the days when I had lived at home and my dad had still been alive.

  I was too wrapped up in our conversation to notice a large nick in the ice in front of me. The front of my skate caught in the hole, causing me to tumble down to the ice. Blake tried to catch my hand on the way down, but I pulled him down with me.

  He landed on top of me, his firm arms encasing me on the ice. His eyes caught mine as we lay there amidst the other skaters zooming around us. His expression turned serious as his gaze drifted toward my lips. Oh no.

  I cleared my throat to dissolve the silence between us and turned my face away from his as I tried to push up to stand. He quickly righted himself first and then extended his hand to offer me help. I accepted his assistance and got up as quickly as I could.

  “I’m such a klutz,” I said, nervously laughing off the whole thing.

  Blake followed my lead, downplaying my rejection. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. Just more embarrassed than anything,” I said as I ran my fingers through my hair to hide any evidence of my fall.

  “At least you’re a graceful faller.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes like it normally did. This was just a polite smile.

  I chuckled. “You’re too kind, but thanks!”

  We made our way out of the rink and pretended our almost whatever on the ice had never happened. We found Nat stuffing her mouth with a warm cinnamon bun. She had frosting smeared on the sides of her mouth.

  “Hey!” she said with her mouth full.

  “Hey,” Blake and I answered in unison.

  “How was the rink?”

  “Great,” I said, adding a “Where’d you get that from?” to get her to change the topic.

  “The booth at the far end. I would have gotten you all one, but I didn’t know how long you’d be skating for. It tastes so good warm!”

  “Oooh, I’m going to go grab one,” I said, hoping to put some space between myself and my friend who almost kissed me.

  “Allow me,” Blake said, sounding as eager as I was to get away.

  “Oh, thanks.” I smiled.

  “No problem. I could go for one too,” he said, then he rushed off in search of treats.

  I sat next to Nat on the bench to rest my ankles.

  “Your boyfriend is going to be sooo pissed!” she sang as she rocked her shoulders side to side, dancing to her little song.

  “Who?” I asked. “Shyam?”

  “Do you have more than one now? Oh wait, I think you just might!” she teased. Ugh, she saw us.

  “I don’t have any boyfriends.” Shyam and I were a lot closer lately, but I still wouldn’t label him as my boyfriend, especially since he had made his feelings clear about it in the past.

  “I’m guessing your ‘revenge lingerie’ didn’t work?” She took another huge bite of her bun.

  “He liked it, and that’s all I’m sharing with you about that.” I really didn’t want to share the details of how I had tied him up and fucked his brains out. Although, thinking about it right now made my inner-most muscles clench.

  “Then he won’t mind that you’re hanging out with Blake tonight? You know…since he’s not your boyfriend.”

  Shyam was possessive over me. He had nearly beat the shit out of his brother when he’d caught us alone on my first day at Sethi Tech. I was sure he wouldn’t be too thrilled with me hanging out alone with Blake.

  But I wasn’t alone. We were in a group, and it was purely platonic—at least on my part. I wasn’t going to tell him about my awkward moment with Blake on the ice, especially since we weren’t exclusive. I didn’t owe him an explanation. It would just be too much drama about nothing.

  “No, not at all,” I lied.

  “Good to know,” she said, cocking an eyebrow as a sly smile spread across her lips.

  XXVII. Shyam

  “How many possible combinations of bits have we cycled through to decrypt the coordinates?”

  “Nearly half a million. And no matches yet.” Jai leaned back into the couch in my office.

  I leaned against the fireplace mantle, with a migraine spreading over my skull.

  “Fuck.” I rubbed my eyes in frustration. We had had no luck decrypting the coordinates from the picture of Salena yet.

  “This could very well take weeks longer to decrypt. Or it could fail altogether,” Jai said.

  “There has to be a match. We’ll just have to keep trying.” We needed to get to Tarun to save our business and free Salena. She didn’t deserve to be caught up in any of this because the men in her life had decided to live the way they did. She was innocent in all of this.

  I scrolled through my phone to check my messages for any updates from my men back in India. I saw a missed message from a number I didn’t recognize.

  Hey, just wanted to invite you to a party for our fave girl! Amelia’s birthday is next Saturday, so let’s meet up at Giovanni’s at 8 p.m. And remember, it’s a surprise, so don’t say anything to her! XoXo

  “Who the fuck is this?” I said aloud. Obviously, it was one of Amelia’s friends, but I didn’t know much about her personal life, so I couldn’t name any of them. I had seen some of them when I’d interviewed everyone at IP Innovations, and in passing at Nirvana.

  “What?” Jai asked, looking up from his own phone.

  “Amelia’s birthday is next week and one of her friends texted me an invite. I have no clue who it is.”

  “Ohhh, yeah, I got that text too. It’s one of her IP Innovations friends, Natalie. The one with the orange hair.”

  I recalled the girl he was talking about. She had also been at the club with Amelia when I had first had her to myself. How did Jai know who she was? He had interacted with her even less than I had.

  “How did you get an invite?” I asked.

  “I guess I’m one of Amelia’s friends, too.” He smirked.

  I wanted to be with her on her birthday, but the idea of a party with tons of jabbering girls made my migraine worse. I preferred to get her alone and do filthy things to her twenty-four-year-old body.

  I’d thought I couldn’t get enough of her before, but after being apart from her for a week while she was in Seattle, my hunger had increased. I had missed her presence. I had been in a bad mood all week waiting for her to come back to me.

  I knew she could have found her way home from the airport, but I couldn’t have waited another minute to see her. My thoughts strayed to her often throughout my day, but when she went back to Seattle, I couldn’t get her out of my head. I kept wondering what she was doing and if she was safe. I longed for her sweet smell in my bed and her delicate touch on my skin.

  She was the best lay I’d had. She made me feel like a fucking king every time she came around my dick and screamed my name. The other night when she called me babe, she made me come harder than I had ever come in my life. I thought my chest was going to explode from how fast my heart raced during my release.

  When she told me that she wanted to move back to Seattle, I saw red. I knew I’d have to let her go eventually after we finished our mission, but a pit formed in my stomach just thinking about it.

  If being away from her for only a week had driven me nuts, I couldn’t imagine how letting her go for good would make me feel. She was brilliant and beautiful and deserved to spend the rest of her life with a safe and well-providing man—and I would still want to tear that man up alive, even though he would be better for her than I was.

  Now that she was back, I wanted her all to myself and didn’t want to share her attention. But I supposed it was selfish of me to expect her to spend her birthday with just me.

  “Well, are you going?” Jai asked.

  “And let you spend her birthday with her while I do all the work?” I c
aved and did something selfless for once. “Yes, I’ll go.”

  “Great. I’ll sign your name on the card. You bring the balloon bouquet,” my pain-in-the-ass little brother teased.

  XXVIII. Amelia

  Nat said she was taking me out for my birthday. We were going out to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant and then out for dancing and drinks.

  I assumed it would just be the two of us because I didn’t know who else would be able to come out for my birthday during the holidays. People were probably busy on weekends doing their Christmas shopping or making plans to fly home to visit family.