by Syn, Crimson
I stared back at him, reality quickly setting in. Lucian Steele had secrets, dark secrets that both scared and fascinated me. He was giving me an out, and my hesitation forced him to turn away from me.
“Lucian,” I cried out for him, but it was too late. He was right, this wasn’t a game. He confessed to wanting me, now it was my move. Let him take all of me, or leave him be.
6
Lucian
“I need the blueprints cleared, this is ridiculous.” I turned away from Maxwell who was giving me the rundown on the new products that had been shipped in. Maxwell Cunningham was my Head of Defense Manufacturing and according to my own directives, nothing was ever done without his approval, which was taking longer than it should have.
“I need to close this contract now, Cunningham.”
“I’m working on it, Lucian, but the products that were ordered are incorrect, and the contact we have for the blueprints is not adding up. They’re not going through the correct lines, it just all sounds suspicious.”
I looked over at him as his information registered. “Say that again. Suspicious?”
“Look, I have my contacts when I worked with Langley and the naval bases. The contract is for the US Navy, but when I checked them out, they’re names aren’t registering. The product we’re receiving isn’t even from the US, it’s from Prague. When the hell do we get shipments from Prague. So I checked them out, their company name doesn’t exist either.”
“And this is the contract sent to us by the Executive Board?”
He nodded. “Yes, Sir. It looked legit, but it’s starting to make me wonder. I don’t know about this, Lucian. I think we need Adam to look into this. After what happened with the Russians, I’m just apprehensive about the whole situation.”
I frowned, skimming over the contents of the contract. Steven Montgomery’s name was signed at the bottom, it had his imprints all over it. “Take care of it Max, take all the time you need. We won’t fulfill this contract unless we make sure everything is in order. And make sure you use secure technology. I don’t want any more hackers infiltrating our firewalls for trade secrets.”
“You got it.”
“Let me know if something’s up. I don’t trust those damn fools on the Executive Board.”
“You think they’re wanting to jeopardize Ravenhead on purpose?”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. And they’ll want to bring us all down with them.”
“I’ll get Adam on this, right away. By the way, Sabrina Montgomery was looking for you.”
My jaw clenched and my cock twitched at the sound of her name. “Oh?”
“Yeah, Lee said to tell you she’s been calling you. Looks like she can’t get enough of Lucian Steele.”
I glared at him and he chuckled. “Get some rest, man. You look like you haven’t slept in days. And call the girl up, I mean, what harm could she possibly do. Maybe she’s got a few points of her own.”
“I’m not going to expand.”
“No one said you had to, but I doubt that’s why she’s calling you. Lee said it was a pressing matter, one that you’ll want the response to.”
I remained quiet as I looked out my office windows, a light snow had started to fall signaling the start of the winter season. The bare trees swayed in the wind, that same wind that carried our secrets last night. As soon as I saw her in that black little number, I knew it was over. I didn’t care if the Senator was looking for me, or if I had a planned dinner with him. I was willing to dump him in order to get to my Princess.
She looked so beautiful as she came undone for me, her body giving in before her mind did. I liked that struggle she had in her. How she fought me at every turn yet enjoyed it. She needed a man to control her wild fire. But she’d hesitated in the end. Like most women did. They could handle me only up to the point where I asked for their complete willingness to serve me. They didn’t understand that giving up their control was freedom. But there was more to Sabrina that I wanted. It wasn’t just about my control- it was about her willingness to give it up to me.
Last night I wanted to explain to her, to tell her I only wanted to take care of her. To let her feel unequivocal pleasure in my hands and to make sure she knew I would never hurt her. I hadn’t felt so strongly about a woman in ages, but I wanted this woman. I had been rejected before. I had become used to it. But for some absurd reason, her hesitation had stung. I wanted her to succumb to me completely. To give me the chance to at least show her how I felt for her, but she’d stopped herself. That brief moment had me hesitating as well and it snapped me back to my senses.
Max had asked what harm she could possibly do. If only he knew, that the damage had nothing to do with Ravenhead, and had everything to do with its CEO. She held the power, the power to destroy me, and yet, she had no idea. My fears ran deep and if I let her in, would she betray me?
This was Sabrina Montgomery we were talking about. She was the epitome of a lie, brought to bring me down by Steven Montgomery himself. I couldn’t trust her. I must be crazy to think so. Yet I didn’t want to trust someone as badly as I did her. She was the one. The only one.
7
Joseph
“I want him brought down!” I slammed my fist against the mahogany desk causing it to vibrate and watched as copies of contracts fluttered to the floor. I glared at the men seated before me. The Grand Executive Board of Ravenhead Corporation, were a bunch of imbeciles who when presented with just the right number, could be so easily manipulated.
I knew how each of them ticked. I made it a point to know what they liked, what they despised, what debts they owed. Any information I could get my hands on was pertinent in the grand scheme of things. Information was key, and at the moment I was lacking in it.
I needed to get into Lucian Steele’s files, and I needed them now. The son of a bitch was sealed tighter than the New York treasury department. I needed to find a way to get inside his head. I’d waited too long and these men I had dealings with were quickly growing impatient. The reputation of Catchfire was in the hands of Lucian Steele. A little prick who had no idea what kind of a goldmine he was holding in his grasp.
I was supposed to be named President. I was the one who had the right to have access to all those blueprints, those contracts, that money. Me. The man who had started this damn company. The man who had broken his back getting that building up. Constructed it with my own two hands to make sure it was secure. Richard Steele knew nothing about the mechanics of the corporation, it was me. Instead, the fuckers before me had given it to Richard Steele’s lazy as fuck son. Lucian was nothing. Until his father died he was just a rich spoiled brat who didn’t even want the company, yet here he was making demands and setting stipulations. How dare he!
When Richard died, and he was named President and CEO of Ravenhead, I decided to take matters into my own hands. There was no way in hell I’d let an insignificant piece of shit like Lucian Steele run my company. He didn’t know it, but I had already taken the first initial measures to get to him. I had to admit he was good. He had a whole floor for himself, no one allowed to come in or out. But there was one soul I kept seeing in the cameras. The only person never questioned, always welcome.
Sabrina was my ticket into all his dirty little secrets. She didn’t know it, but my pretty daughter was the only one I could trust, the only one who had ever been able to get through his barriers. As much as he denied it to himself, he had a sweet spot for my little girl and I wasn’t opposed to using it to my advantage.
I’ve spent years of my life hidden in the Steeles’ shadows. Both father and son have been a thorn in my side and it was time I took what rightfully belonged to me, even if I had to kill Lucian Steele myself. His father hadn’t been difficult. A few private meetings, a misdiagnosis by a well-paid physician, a plethora of unnecessary drugs. and Richard Steele had been put down like the dog he was.
I had no regrets. He’d played his cards, shown his evil hand. First, he stole the company,
then he stole my wife, and several other wives, if I recall correctly. No one had been upset over his passing, least of all the board. Now his son was treading on thin ice, and if he didn’t watch his step, he might slip, fall, and break his little neck. With a little help, of course.
I walked through the Manhattan location of Ravenhead nodding at the employees, signing off on items that needed fixing or completing. Projects I’d worked so hard in preparing. This was my corner of the company where I could rule however I wanted to. Where I was respected and feared. That fear is what I thrived on. The fact that these people knew I had the type of power that could destroy them, that was intoxicating. But if they only knew just how much power I truly held, people like Lucian Steele just might think twice on fighting me on contracts. Either way, I had been able to sneak a few necessary deals under his nose with Sabrina’s help.
Taking my jacket off I hung it on the coat rack that sat in the corner of the office, and then I got comfortable in my expensive leather chair. It had cost me a fortune, but it was my throne. Turning on my desktop I logged onto Catchfire’s secured website. Everything about me was hidden, my codename, my existence. Catchfire had been a hybrid of Luminary. When Archer brought it down a few years back, I took the opportunity to gear it right back up. With all the information Drake Archer had given us during that time period I had been able to construct an even stronger website. We existed right under the most elite units’ noses, yet they had no fucking clue.
When I first put in a bid for a contract it was just a small taste of the darknet. I did my research, knew my buyers and my dealers and started with the first contract, quickly fulfilled by Lucian himself under pretenses of military contract. The deal garnished a little over half a million dollars straight to my pocket. After that, it became an addiction, a way to get back everything I had lost. As time went on, word got out and contracts were now offered a plenty. Millions of dollars floated in the darknet and I wanted in. I wanted the power, and no one was going to stop me from getting it.
No one.
Least of all a smug prick like Lucian Steele.
Turned out, vengeance was expensive. I needed the schematics to those new weapons, there were people willing to pay billions for them and I had already promised them to a few dealers, highest bidder would win them all. I didn’t really care who took them, as long as I got paid. But Lucian Steele and his minions were getting in my way. I had tried going though Drake Archer and that took a turn for the worst.
I didn’t expect him to have the connections he did. Underestimating Drake Archer was my first mistake, which I quickly learned from. I had to order one of my best hackers to be taken out, but when a sheep starts to flee the flock its best to put it down. He was good, but I couldn’t have him spilling all our secrets. That one tiny little shot through the head had cost me a fucking fortune.
Then there was the Bratva. What a mistake that had been. They were a complete mess, and Petrov had trusted the wrong person. I had gone through other means to get to him, and those means had been sliced open by Petrov himself. Too bad, Nick would have been a perfect asset to have on the team. Victoria Petrov though, that little minx knew exactly what to do to win over her precious little hero. Fucking Maxwell Cunningham, another hiccup in my way.
This time around I had concocted my own plans. Plans that involved my naïve daughter, plans that involved consequences. I hoped it didn’t get to that point, but my little girl was about to be the most important piece on that chessboard in order to bring the King to his knees and leave that Queen exposed for the taking.
8
Sabrina
“Dad, I need to speak to you.”
“Not right now, Sabrina.”
“But it’s important.”
He was going through files on his desk and hadn’t even bothered to look up at me. “It’s serious.”
“I’m sure it is, honey.”
“Dad!” I stared down at him and he blatantly ignored me.
“I’m sure you could handle it.”
I stood there for a minute, as his assistant and another manager walked in and hovered over his desk. Was he really the person I wanted to go to with this information? Especially since he didn’t seem to care much about anything but his precious work.
There was only one person I could go to, and as much as I had been avoiding him, I couldn’t do this on my own. Another threat had come in this morning. Another order I couldn’t go through with, I wouldn’t go through with it. And I needed help.
An hour later I stood outside of his apartment. I hesitated for a moment, but then I decided this was my best option. What Catchfire had asked of me would be threatening thousands of people, and I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. I’d never be on their side. He was the only person I felt I could trust.
Knocking, I held my breath. I could make out his footsteps as they approached. The door opened slowly and there he was, looking every bit the arrogant sex god in his crisp white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, he still wore his navy blue vest, and his sleeves were vrolled up showing that dark dust of hair on his forearms, his leisured stance slightly leaned to the side as his eyes roamed down my body and heated my insides.
“Can I come in?”
He smirked and pushed back against the doorframe and swinging the door back for me. “Please.”
Standing in the hallway of his apartment, I start to take off my coat, hitching my breath as his fingertips glided along the sides of my neck and came to rest on my shoulders. Slowly, so slowly, he removed the garment, his fingertips stroking my bare skin as he swept it down my arms.
He hung it on the hook beside him and when I turned my head, there he was. His body pressed to my back, his lips pressed against my neck while he began a rhythmic flow up and down the back of my forearms. I clenched my fists, holding my breath, and waited.
“What are you doing here, Sabrina?”
His soothing whisper did things to me. Made my body hum and melt against him.
“I came here because I didn’t know where else to go.”
“Is that so? And why is that?” His lips running down my neck, goosebumps forming on my skin.
“I…I…I can’t remember,” my head fell backwards as he left an open-mouthed kiss along my shoulder, his tongue tasting me and erasing any thoughts from my mind.
“I missed you,” he rumbled, wrapping his arms around me.
His words lifted me, such simple words that held so much meaning. In the midst of the heavy lust that wrapped around me, I somehow remembered I needed to give him an answer.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Yes what, sweetheart?”
I took a moment, swallowing as his hand wrapped around my neck. His lips pressed to my ear and I shuddered. “Yes, what?”
“Yes. I’ll do anything for you.” The words left my lips without any hesitation. I didn’t come here for this, I knew that. But I welcomed the haze he held me in, allowing me to escape from the world. All I could think was how warm he felt, how safe, how good he smelled. His hand and how it tightened around my neck.
“Are you sure? You have to be certain that this is what you want.”
I nodded. “Yes. I want this. More than anything.”
He nipped at my earlobe and my pussy clenched, needing him again.
“Is that what you had to tell me?”
“No,” I whispered, not wanting to ever leave his embrace as his hand swept around my waist. I was trapped in the arms of Lucian Steele, my Father’s worst enemy, the only man who could ever make me feel so alive. His muscled arms made me feel like I could do anything as long as he was by my side.
He chuckled and began to move us further into the apartment. My eyes catching the glimmer of a light in the living room, soft music was playing, the scent of rich food made my tongue water. But he continued to move us down another hallway, his member lengthening and hardening as my ass brushed in motion against him.
“Why do you look so good all the time?”
He bit my neck and I gasped, my feet faltering, and I cried out as he twirled me around and lifted me into his arms. Wrapping my arms around him, my lips met his in a torrid kiss. He continued to walk us towards the back of the hallway, his tongue tangling and stroking mine, producing moan after moan in me. He was taking us somewhere, I’m not sure where we were going. I didn’t really care. It wasn’t until he set me down and twirled me around that I realized we were in his bedroom.
“If we do this, Sabrina. You need to understand, no matter what we do, you have the power, Princess.”
“I have the power.”
“Every ounce of it.” His hands swept up my back and stopped at the top of my dress. In the silence, the soft sound of the zipper dragging down, exposing my back, was sensual. He left the dress open and softly kissed the nape of my neck. Unclipping my hair, his fingers dragged through it and he let the soft strands fall across my shoulders. I shuddered as I felt him inhale my scent. My tummy did flips as he took his time undressing me. Sliding my dress down, unhooking my bra, his fingers dragging up my spine, leaving a delicate trail of heat.
“If you came to me, that means subconsciously you wanted this.”
“I came to tell you my concerns.”
“You haven’t mentioned them yet,” I gasped as his breath hit the curve of my neck, his nose gently dragging along it.
“That’s because I can’t think with your hands on me.”
“Then don’t think and just feel.” He dragged the straps off and the dress fell to the floor. My bra barely holding on and I moaned as his hands cupped my breasts and slid the bra right off.
I didn’t want to give in so easily, but it just felt so right being in his arms. So right, it hurt.
9
Sabrina