Cougar Boss

by Kerry Belchambers

  “A robot can be reprogrammed,” she said.

  I could tell this was one of her jokes but it wasn’t funny to me.

  “I’ve met a lot of women, but never one quite like you,” she said.

  “If my lifestyle is so unbearable to you, you should be happy you’re leaving.”

  “On the contrary,” she said as she approached me.

  “Isabel, don’t.”

  “What are you so afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid of anything.”

  I was standing between her and my desk and a wave of nervousness was slowly crawling up my spine.

  “Like you said, our business has concluded,” she said.

  “And you should be walking out the door,” I said.

  She placed her arm around my waist, moving unbearably close to me and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.

  “I know what I do to you, Amelia. You do the same thing to me. I know that’s why you can’t wait for me to get out of your life.”

  “Isabel,” I was barely audible.

  Her face was so close to mine and all those sensations were starting to take over again. There was a strange excitement forming between my legs and I didn’t know why but I wanted something I couldn’t even understand from her.

  “I want you, Amelia. I’ve thought about you every day from the very first moment I saw you,” she whispered against my lips. “I want to make love to you, over and over and over again. I want to see you lose control,” she continued.

  I tried to pull away but she wouldn’t let go. When I tried to protest, she crushed my lips with her own and awoke a savage animal in me that had been lying dormant waiting for someone brave enough to provoke it.

  She wasn’t soft or gentle like the first time she’d kissed me. She was angry and impatient and demanding and I found myself responding to her in a similar manner. I was lost in her domineering passion, drowning in it and my body was begging me to let her do everything she wanted to do to me.

  “Please stop, Isabel,” I said hungrily against her lips.

  I’d never experienced sexual desire or passion before. I’d never thought about its depth or degree. What Isabel was creating in me was a chemical reaction that was going to destroy me. This was too intense for me, too disastrously delicious. Couldn’t she feel it?

  As though she’d heard my thoughts, she slightly pulled away and broke the kiss while her arms stayed in place around my waist, but my body wasn’t paying attention to my brain. It was in a state of pleasurable turmoil. I crushed her lips as a fire burned inside me, threatening to wreck me.

  “Stop it,” I moaned against her mouth.

  I wanted her to stop the dizzying frenzy of sensations. I wanted her to stop the current flow of excitement running amok through my veins. It was like some aroused monster had been unleashed in me. I had no control.

  She broke the kiss and trailed her lips over my jaw then slowly down to the curve of my neck, sending bolts of lightning pleasure directly to that spot between my legs. I stifled a moan as I opened my eyes wide in shock.

  Every part of my being was awake and craving her touch and something more, something primal and dangerous. How anybody could drive such desperate yearning through another person was beyond me.

  I shouldn’t have given into the kiss. I shouldn’t have given into her. I shouldn’t have let her touch me. I couldn’t deal with this. I wasn’t familiar with it.

  “I don’t want to stop, Amelia. I never want to stop,” she said.

  How could she say that when she knew she was on the verge of erupting a volcano in me? “I can’t do this, it’s too much.”

  “That’s exactly why you should do it,” she said, her lips never breaking contact with my flesh.

  I wanted to feel her hands on my skin. I wanted to know the extent of how far these sensations could go, but I was too afraid.

  A moan escaped my lips when she kissed the curve between my neck and shoulder and my nails dug into her flesh. It was a good thing my hands were over her clothes.

  “Isabel.”

  She silenced me with a kiss and I automatically responded as though my body was already in sync with hers. God, she was so good at this. I never wanted her to stop either. But this wasn’t who I was.

  She came to a slow gentle stop and met my aroused gaze. I was panting for breath as I tried to regain my composure.

  “You’re so desirable, Amelia.”

  I didn’t know how, but I managed to pry myself out of her arms. My body was in an extreme state of arousal and I didn’t know how to stop it. It was like I was high on some drug.

  “I’m going to make you mine one day, Amelia,” she said as she slowly but steadily picked up her things and left my office.

  I walked over to my chair and slumped myself onto it. I rubbed my temple with my fingertips and tightly crossed my legs in an attempt to rid myself of the heat that had accumulated down there.

  It was impossible because my mind was still stuck on what had just happened. I could still feel Isabel’s hands on me, her lips hot and hungry on mine and all those million sensations traveling all over my body and somehow settling on that damp core.

  The door flew open and Eric walked in. I groaned in frustration because he was the last person I wanted to see or talk to.

  “I don’t have the patience to deal with you right now, Eric,” I said.

  “Kathy sent me,” he said.

  I took a deep breath and looked at him, and somehow his presence had the ability to take away my arousal. I must’ve resented him more than I even knew.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “She wants me to be in charge of the factory in Belize,” he said.

  I shot up to my feet. “You’re not qualified for the position.”

  He smiled, clearly amused by the disturbed state the news had delivered. He’d come to rub it in and I was letting him get to me. “You were controlling every branch in Europe when you were eighteen.”

  I didn’t know how that was supposed to make his point but he sounded like an idiot to me. I might’ve been young but I’d known exactly what I was doing. “Age is not a factor.”

  I didn’t even know why I was talking to him. I needed to have this conversation with my mother.

  “Don’t worry. I actually care about this business.”

  “If it was up to you, you’d run it to the ground.” I walked past him and headed to the elevator. When the private elevator to my mother’s office opened, I walked in and Eric followed.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I asked him.

  “You think I’m going to stay behind and let you bad mouth me?” he asked.

  I groaned, taking a step further from him. I couldn’t stand being in the same room with him so the elevator felt claustrophobic.

  My mother was on the phone when I walked into her office. I had a feeling she’d promoted Eric to get back at me for helping Isabel because she knew as well as I did that Eric didn’t deserve that promotion.

  “Hi, Aunt Kathy?” he said, turning into the blood-sucking parasite that he was.

  “Do you mind explaining to me what promotion he’s talking about?” I demanded.

  “Last time I checked, I was the boss around here and I can promote or demote anyone I please,” she said.

  Eric scoffed at me as he walked over to her side when she stood up.

  It took me a moment to realize I was overreacting and this was exactly what she wanted. She was an intelligent woman and she knew sending Eric to Belize was a mistake.

  Talking to her wasn’t going to accomplish anything and telling her that her decision was ill-advised was only going to equip her with armor. She was testing me, searching for weaknesses.

  “Okay, if that’s your decision,” I said.

  I didn’t stick around to watch her reaction but if she wanted to go to war with me, she was going to lose. I had every bit of her wit, intelligence and more.

  Chapter Twenty-Oner />
  It was my birthday. I was turning twenty-one. My mother had thrown me an extravaganza for a party. Every important person she knew was present and so was every successful eligible bachelor in New York.

  I’d wanted a small intimate party, but she’d said I was coming of age and therefore deserved the best of everything the world had to offer.

  It was three weeks after our little spat and she’d sent Eric off to Belize, though according to the reports I’d received, I knew she was regretting her decision.

  She was affectionate that night and it greatly disturbed me because it was all for show. She wanted every one of her guests to see what a good mother she was. She wanted them to think it was her hard work and effort that had molded me into who I was.

  This was supposed to be my party, but for some reason, it was more about her than it was about me. I didn’t mind though because I didn’t like the attention, but that didn’t stop people from coming over to chat with me.

  I was charming, just like my mother, polite and kind because these people were important and in one way or the other, my work was related to theirs.

  The party was being hosted at the Plaza and my mother hadn’t spared any expense. She must’ve spent several million dollars to bring that night to life. It was overflowing with expensive bottles of champagne and all sorts of foreign cuisine.

  She’d hired a band, one of her favorites of course, so the music was pleasant. The setting of the room was magnificent. I had to hand it to her, she knew how to throw a party.

  I was a little embarrassed because I was dressed in a knee-high Christian Dior dress that my mother had picked out for me. I’d changed at her penthouse and since I didn’t store any of my things there, I’d had no choice since we’d been running late.

  During the drive to the Plaza, we’d been silent all the way. Now, the dress which accentuated my curves a bit too well was drawing men to me like bees. The Prada heels I was wearing were exaggerating the length of my exposed legs making the whole situation a bit ridiculous.

  But I wasn’t going to complain. I wasn’t going to reveal my discomfort. I was a lady and I was going to behave exactly like one. I had a couple of glasses of champagne to calm my nerves and was able to maintain my calm through most of the night.

  Everyone wanted to talk to me, to wish me a happy birthday. I’d received countless gifts from people I’d never even heard of. There were celebrities present and a couple of rock stars who hit on me, which I found amusing.

  My mother didn’t fail to request my presence whenever she met someone she needed to make an impression on and I played my role flawlessly. Mr. Price’s presence was a bit of a surprise, which made me wonder if Isabel was there with him.

  I hadn’t seen or spoken to her since we’d parted ways and there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of her. I wondered if she thought of me, but when those moments came, I rebuked myself.

  I thought about everything she’d made me feel and sometimes it was so intense, I’d feel it all over again as though she was there with me. I detested those moments.

  There were reporters at the party as well. My mother had to make sure the media would share the news with the public of my coming of age grand party she’d thrown in the honor of my twenty first birthday. How vain.

  Around midnight, the party started heating up and my mother forced me to stay by her side so I wouldn’t disappear like I had at the previous party she’d hosted.

  I didn’t expect Eric to show up, but when he snuck around me and wrapped his arms around my waist, I cringed. His touch made my skin crawl.

  “Careful, there are people present,” he said, noticing my disgust.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I’m family. I had to show up to show my support.”

  A photographer blinded me with his camera when he took a picture of us with Eric’s arm around my shoulder.

  “If you touch me again, I’m going to cut off your arms,” I said through gritted teeth and he cautiously retreated.

  “Happy birthday,” he said, leaning in to peck my cheek but I pulled away right on time.

  “Why don’t you go suck up to my mother,” I said, moving away from him.

  I preferred entertaining anyone else in the room over spending another second with him.

  At around one, I was so bored out of my mind I wanted to blow my brains out. I never got a second to myself. I never got a moment to breathe. It was so annoying, I thought my jaw would get stuck in the permanent position with the smile I’d forced on my face all night.

  I needed to get out of there but everyone was hovering around me like predators on prey. When I decided to excuse myself, I was fed up with the over showering of attention.

  I left the room and immediately headed for the elevator, anxiously waiting for it to open before anyone discovered I’d ditched my own birthday party. When the doors opened, I got in and held my breath and when they closed, I exhaled in relief.

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” she said.

  I knew her voice before I even turned to face her.

  “I didn’t think you’d come,” I said, failing to turn around to look at her because I could already sense an incoming storm.

  “I wasn’t sure you wanted to see me.”

  I felt her moving closer to me and held my breath.

  “You look so good, Amelia,” she said breathlessly as her hand moved gently and slowly along the curve of my waist.

  She took a step closer to me and I could feel the warmth of her body fusing with mine and it made me tremble in restrained desire. She flattened her palm over my stomach and a strange unexpected sigh escaped my lips.

  She was infecting me like a virus and taking full control of my body. She used her other free hand to move my hair aside, leaned close and softly kissed my neck. All sorts of goosebumps crawled up my skin, making every strand of hair on my body to rise in anticipation. I was so hot for her and she was barely doing much to draw such a reaction from me.

  “Isabel,” I moaned.

  It was my birthday and my mother had said I deserved everything the world had to offer and I knew exactly what I wanted.

  “Yes,” she said, planting another kiss on my neck as she breathed into my ear, sending shivers of intense arousal through me.

  “Get me out of here,” I said.

  In one swift motion, she turned me around, pinned me against the wall and crushed my lips with hers. She demanded entrance with her tongue, and I readily granted it.

  Her hands were on my stomach, on my waist, on my hips, they were all over and I loved it. She lured my tongue into her mouth and I sought after treasures I never knew I desired.

  There was a deep dangerous longing growing inside me with such violence, it frightened me. I’d never wanted anything or anyone so bad. I wanted her to undress me and make love to me right there against the elevator wall but before we could go any further, the doors opened and we pulled apart.

  Luckily, there was no one outside the elevator. Isabel closed her hand around mine and stepped out. I obediently followed after her which was completely out of character for me.

  When we got to the exit, she gave the valet her ticket and turned to face me while we waited for her car. The air outside was cold but my body was still hot from what Isabel had done to me in the elevator.

  I could see the lust in her eyes. I could read her mind because everything going through her was the same thing going through me. We were an extension of each other.

  She moved closer to me and I realized that if it wasn’t for the powerful engine of the black Aston Martin that came to stop where we were, I would’ve been willing to let her do anything she wanted to me right there.

  “You want to drive,” she offered, handing me the keys to the car.

  My father had been a collector so I loved automobiles. I took the keys from her hand and slid the door open, taking a seat on the extremely comfortable driver’s seat.

  Wh
en she got on the passenger seat and buckled up, she asked, “You like it?”

  I stepped on the gas just to hear the powerful roar of the engine once more and my heart started racing because of the adrenaline pump. “I love it.”

  “Good, because it’s your birthday present.”

  I looked at her in shock. “Are you serious?”

  When she nodded, I squealed in a cocktail of arousal, joy and excitement.

  “This is the side of you I wanted to see,” she said.

  It was a side I never knew I had, but I kinda liked it. “Thank you,” I said, referring to the car right before I punched the gas and flew out of parking.

  I glanced at her for a second then stepped on the gas, driving faster than the traffic rules allowed, and used my quick reflexes to navigate through the light traffic. In ten minutes, I was parking the car outside my building.

  “You’re a good driver,” she said as we got out.

  “I was around a lot of cars growing up. Wrecked a few too,” I said, revealing the first detail about my past to her. “Come on.” I took her hand as we approached the doorman at the entrance. He nodded politely as we walked past him and entered my building. We passed the reception area and headed to the elevators.

  “Great place,” she said.

  “Thanks.”

  When we were in the elevator heading up to the penthouse, she pulled me back in her arms and kissed me senseless. I lost control again. It seemed to be an often occurrence whenever she kissed me.

  The moment the elevator doors opened into my penthouse, I knew my whole world was about to change. We parted momentarily and made our way inside.

  Now that we were there, alone, I was suddenly starting to grow nervous. I had no idea what I was doing and I didn’t really know if I was ready for whatever was about to happen between us.

  I pulled away from her and went to stand in the middle of the living room. My heart was racing in a mixture of anticipation and arousal. She seemed to have that effect on me and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

  I could see the lust in her eyes and it was as primal and dangerous as the fire brewing in the pits of my core. I wasn’t so sure if this was a good idea after all. Was I rushing into something I wasn’t ready for?