Contemptous CEO

by Myers, K. L.

  Her other hand lifted, but I caught it before it could land against my face. I’d had enough of this. My lips crushed against hers, rendering her silent. I kissed her like I hadn’t kissed anyone since the night before the day she walked out on me in California. It was an angry kiss. My teeth bit her lips as I took what was mine. It wasn’t long before she conceded and kissed me back with the same veracity.

  Reaching down, my hands grasped her thighs, and I lifted her against me.

  “Wrap your legs around me, Maddie.”

  I spoke between kisses, and she complied with my demand. With one hand wrapped tightly around her waist and the other firmly squeezing her breast, I walked her down the hall and into my bedroom.

  I was so turned on; my erection pressed firmly against my pants. No one had set my body on fire the way Maddie had. They say muscle has memory, well, my muscle absolutely remembered what it felt like to be buried so deep inside her, it was aching to be home again.

  Without hesitation, I climbed onto my bed and laid her back firmly against it. When I broke the kiss, her fingers abruptly touched her lips as if she wasn’t ready for mine to have left hers. My hand brushed away the hair that was stuck to the side of her face by her tears.

  “I’m sorry, Maddie. I didn’t mean it. I’d never do that to you.”

  Her hands raised and clasped the back of my neck. Pulling my head to hers, she became the controller and claimed my mouth. As I kissed her, I could feel the heat from between her legs as she rubbed herself against my length. She wanted me as much as I wanted her.

  My fingers found the way to her zipper and quickly lowered it. I couldn’t get my hands around her waist fast enough to thrust her jeans down her legs. I felt her kick them off the last bit of the way. I allowed my hand to reach between her legs, finding her silk lingerie soaked with her desire almost caused me to explode.

  “Lift up.”

  Maddie complied, allowing me to push her underwear down her legs. Her hands frantically unbuttoned my waistband and lowered my zipper at the same time. Before I had the opportunity to get her pussy fully exposed, she’d freed my erection, her hand squeezing it as she pumped. It was as if we were younger versions of ourselves when I thrust into her. Fully clothed except for the essential pieces we removed together. Faster and faster, our bodies collided, sweat coated our skin, and I could feel her release building. It wasn’t going to be long before we both exploded.

  “Xander!”

  Her screams filled the room as I felt her walls tighten and claim every inch of my cock. I tried to hold out, bring her to another climax, but my dick had other plans, and with the power of a volcanic eruption, I emptied myself inside her.

  * * *

  The alarm clock beeped loudly in an attempt to rouse us from my bed. Neither of us had the energy to move. Hours on end of sex, each orgasm better than the last, had taken its toll.

  “Baby,” I whispered in her ear, “we need to get up.”

  “No. I need to sleep.”

  Maddie's back pressed against my chest; my arms wrapped tightly around her. Shifting my hips, I pressed my erection firmly against the crack of her ass. It was a simple gesture to show her how much I loved her in my arms. But the action sent her flailing out of bed.

  “Oh, no. No, you don’t. If you start that, we’ll never make it out of this room.”

  I rolled out of bed and walked toward the shower.

  “Join me?”

  “Nope, I have one in my room that works perfectly fine.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I heard the bedroom door close behind her.

  Chapter 36

  Maddison

  The hot water pelted down on my shoulders. Oh, my God. What had I done? I’d lost count after the tenth orgasm, but now I was feeling every one of them in the soreness that consumed my body.

  What was I thinking? One minute, I was consumed with anger at Xander, like I’d never felt for anyone before. Ready to unleash vengeance on him if he tried to take my baby girl away from me. I knew he didn’t mean it, but just the fact that he even voiced it pissed me off. But then, those lips. I’d missed them for so long, and they felt so damn good, how could I not claim them? But where did this leave us? Sex didn’t solve any of our problems. It didn’t erase the last twelve years. But Jesus, it felt like it had before, and I had missed that so much.

  Stop it. Stop thinking about it. It was one night. You can’t let it happen again.

  Turning off the water, I emerged from the bathroom, ready to start the day. I quickly dressed and walked down the hall toward the kitchen. The smell of coffee was just what I needed to get my head on straight. Xander stood in front of the coffee pot in a three-piece suit mixing sugar into a cup before him.

  “When did you start liking sugar in your coffee?”

  “I don’t. This one is for you.”

  He placed it on the counter in front of me then reached for another cup and poured himself one. As he brought the cup to his lips, he turned to face me. His eyes roamed over my body as if undressing me with them.

  “Stop it. We shouldn’t have done that last night. It was one time, so we both could get it out of our system.”

  “One time? If I remember correctly, I heard you call out my name at least twelve times.”

  The smirk on his face as he lowered the cup from his lips pissed me off.

  “You know what I meant. There are too many unresolved issues between us to allow that to happen again. It just muddies the waters and doesn’t solve anything.”

  “What I know is that we do have a lot of talking to do and things to figure out, but if you think that isn’t going to happen again, well, you’ve got another thing coming. It will happen as much as possible.”

  Placing my cup in the sink, I reached for my phone and shot a quick text to Brookie to tell her good morning. This way, when she woke up, she would know I was thinking of her. We were waiting at the elevator when my phone rang with an incoming call from Brookie.

  “Brookie, why are you up so early?”

  Xander's questioning look told me he wanted to know, as well.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited to go shopping today, so both Hailey and I were up early. Did you know Dad texted Mr. LaCroix and told him to let Ms. Elodie know I could spend whatever I wanted? Mr. LaCroix said I should spend a million dollars. Can you believe it, Mom?”

  I narrowed my eyes at Xander.

  “Oh, he did, did he? Well, you have fun today, and Brookie, you need to be smart about your spending. Do you hear me?”

  “I will, Mom. Love you. Have a good day today, and tell Dad I said good morning.”

  “I will.”

  The doors to the elevator opened as I disconnected the call. Xander stood back, allowing me to enter first. I stepped to the far left of the car, hoping to put space between Xander and me, but he had other ideas.

  “Back up,” I pushed at his chest, “I’m not too pleased with you right now.”

  “What did I do now?”

  “You can’t just give Brookie an open-ended spending limit. We don’t do things like that in our home. We need to have similar restrictions, even if you have unlimited capital.”

  Xander moved several steps away and smiled. “Ah, so that’s what I did wrong. Noted. Don’t let the girl buy things she likes.”

  “That’s not what I said. It’s just that we live on a budget back home, and if Brookie can buy anything she wants when she’s with you, she’ll resent it when I tell her no.”

  “So, this comes down to you being afraid she’ll like me more?”

  “You’re an ass. It has nothing to do with that. Did you know Hollis told her she should spend a million dollars today?”

  The elevator car filled with a deep throaty chuckle.

  “Son of a bitch. Of course he did.”

  The doors opened, and Xander placed his hand at the small of my back, guiding me out and toward the glass doors that lead to the Town Car waiting for us.

  “I
t’s not funny, Xander. Brookie doesn’t know any better. We don’t have that kind of money, and she doesn’t know it’s a joke. You fly us here on your jet and tell her she can call it hers. This is all new to her. She doesn’t understand you were appeasing her comment.”

  Austin opened the back door for me as I climbed in and took a seat. Xander walked around and entered from the drivers' side.

  “I wasn’t appeasing her. That jet is at her disposal any time she wants to come to see me, so yes, it’s like her plane.”

  “Like her plane and her plane are two different things. You’re missing the point. Our daughter has to have boundaries.”

  Xander smiled at me then rested his hand on my leg. The heat from his palm sent a zing of excitement through me.

  “Our daughter? I like how you say that.”

  My lips tightened as I took a deep breath. Xander wasn’t at all getting the point, and I was slowly getting frustrated with him.

  “Okay, you’re right. We’ll set boundaries and stick to them.”

  Shocked, I replied, “I’m right? Did those words taste like vinegar as they came out of your mouth?

  Chapter 37

  Xander

  My time with Brooklyn and Maddie would end in a few days. And true to her word, our one night of unbridled passion appeared it was going to stay that way. Having our daughter around at night left little to no time for us to be alone, and my days were consumed with meetings and conference calls, leaving little for anything else. But today, I was going to change that. I’d ordered lunch in and cleared my schedule for several hours. Maddie and I were going to talk about the past and the future. It she ended up beneath me when everything was said and done, so be it.

  Millicent placed our meals on the table just as Maddie had entered my office.

  “Close the door behind you, Millicent, and hold all my calls, please.”

  “Yes, sir Mr. Livingston. Hello, Miss Hightower.”

  Maddie exchanged a few pleasantries with my assistant, then the door closed behind her.

  “Lock that door, Maddie. I don’t want to be bothered.”

  Maddie raised a brow in my direction but did as I asked before making her way to take a seat at the table. Lifting the top of the container and seeing the oversized burger in front of her, she moaned.

  “I think I just died and went to heaven.”

  I knew burgers had always been Maddie’s favorite thing. Standing from behind my desk, I moved toward the table and took the seat across from her.

  “We’re going to have a discussion. One where we won’t be interrupted, and you’re going to answer my questions, then I’m going to answer any you have.”

  Maddie's lips sealed tightly against the burger bun as she bit down. Her eyes rolled back in her head briefly before looking at me. Her “okay” was muffled by the amount of food she’d just bitten off.

  “Brooklyn told me you’d not had any long-term relationships and that you barely date. Is that true?”

  Maddie’s eyes grew big, and she choked on the remaining bit of food in her mouth.

  “She said that?”

  I nodded

  “I’m going to have to talk with that little girl.”

  “Answer the question,” I demanded.

  “I’ve dated a few men, but nothing serious ever became of it. Either they had a hard time accepting that Brookie came first, or their lives were too disordered for my taste.”

  “Brooklyn said she thinks it was because you were still in love with me. Is that the case?”

  Maddie set the remainder of her burger down, took a long drink from her glass, then contemplated her words.

  “It seems our daughter has her own opinion on the matter.”

  “That wasn’t the question.”

  “What was the question?”

  “Are you still in love with me?”

  Her hand shook as she raised the glass to her lips again. I could see she was stalling to answer the question, which told me the answer before she even said it.

  “I never stopped loving you. But you already knew that.”

  “Then, please help me understand why you would have kept Brooklyn a secret. I get why you didn’t tell me at first. But why not come clean during one of our calls over all the years.”

  “Because it's not something you spring on someone over the phone, and I was too afraid to have the conversation with you in person, so I made excuses to myself as to why I couldn’t fly out and see you. But then, when I was here, and you said you’d never saw yourself with kids, I knew I couldn’t tell you. That’s why I said I didn’t think working together was a good idea. I knew there was too much risk. That you’d find out eventually.”

  I felt my anger start to build, so I forced myself to take several deep breaths and calm down. Elodie was right. I had to either learn to forgive and move forward or let Maddie go and focus my time with just Brooklyn.

  “If I’d have said something different, admitted to wanting a family, would you have said something then?”

  “I think so. Seeing you in person stirred up every feeling I’d tucked away over the years. That’s why I got drunk that first night. If I hadn’t passed out, I would have told you to come to my hotel. After dinner that night, I’d made up my mind, I was going to invite you up to my room, and I was going to tell you.”

  “So, instead, you ran away without saying a word?”

  Tears welled in Maddie’s eyes.

  “I never thought you’d come after me. I thought you’d just let me go. I should have known better.”

  I stood and knelt before her, placing my hands on the arms of her chair.

  “You’re damn right. You should have known better. Have I ever backed down from anything I’ve wanted?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you think I would start then?” I lowered my head, resting my forehead on her knee. “Did you know uncle Mal knew about Brooklyn for a long time and never told me? I think he knew that if he shared that kind of news with me, I would leave him and the company to be by your side.”

  “Doesn’t that tell you something? That the two people who knew you best were sure you would toss away your career to be a husband and a father? He didn’t tell you for the same reasons I didn’t. We both wanted you to do great things.”

  I lifted my head and reached for her hand. Once it was firmly in mine, I stood, pulled her from the chair and walked her toward the sofa. We both sat facing one another.

  “I guess you both didn’t know me at all. I wouldn’t have stayed in California, I’d have made you come with me, and I’d have made sure I gave a 100% to both my work and family life. And, if uncle Mal would have told me when he found out, I wouldn’t have left the company. I would have found you and begged you to come to New York.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes once again. “Oh, really. You wouldn’t have been angry. You would have hopped on your plane, flown to California, and begged me to come to New York? Why do I find that hard to believe? After everything that’s happened, you still throw it in my face that I betrayed you and get mad.”

  “You’re right. I’d have been upset and probably would’ve reacted in the same way I have been behaving since finding out, but I would have shown you all the reasons why the two of you belong with me just as I’ve been trying to show you these last few days.

  “You said I could ask you any question, right?”

  “Yes”

  Maddie raised her left hand, placing her index finger between her lips as she thought about the one question she needed an answer to.

  “I’m not going to ask you about your dating, because truthfully, I don’t want to know the answer to that question.”

  I started to speak, but she placed her finger over my lips and shook her head.

  “It’s not important. The question I want to know. No, I need to know, is do you love me as much as you used to?”

  It was a simple question for me to answer. I’d never stopped loving her.

  “
I’m not going to answer that question, Maddie.”

  I saw the disappointment in her eyes. I reached forward, tugging at her legs and pulling her toward me until she was flat on her back, then I leaned in, placing my face to hers until our noses almost touched.

  “I’m not going to tell you because I’m going to show you.”

  Chapter 38

  Maddison

  Two Months Later

  Beep. Beep. I pressed on my horn one more time, hoping to get the idiot in front of me to move. The arrow had been green for several minutes, and yet the driver refused to move. My meeting had run late down in Escondido, and now I was in a battle with time to get to the school to pick Brookie up. I laid on the horn once again. Hoping to get the attention of the driver in the sun faded beater in front of me, I yelled out the window. “Hands-free, you idiot. Pay attention!”

  Beeeep. I laid on the horn this time, not caring if I offended the person in front of me, who’s phone was still pressed to their ear. Finally, as the light changed from green to yellow, the car began to move, and I followed suit.

  “Oh, shit!” I exclaimed as I entered the intersection and noticed the black SUV coming straight at me. I was in such a hurry; I hadn’t paid attention to the oncoming traffic. Stepping on the gas, I floored it, hoping to clear the junction before the SUV entered it. I was sure I was going to make it. Then came the screeching of tires on the asphalt, and I felt the impact of the collision as the SUV collided with the back of my car. I planted my feet against the floorboard and my hands on the roof to steady myself as my car spun out of control. That’s when the automobile flipped repeatedly. Glass flew everywhere as the windows shattered. The impact of my car against a steel pole forced it to come to a stop, resting upside down.

  I was in tremendous pain. My side felt as if a hot poker had been thrust into it.

  At least I’m alive.