His Many Demands

by Parker, Ali

  "Horny this morning?" He chuckled and reached for her as she crawled on top of him and turned to face his feet. Desire pumped through him as she took his cock into her hands and worked herself down onto it. The position was deliciously wicked, the tightness of her body only accentuated by the angle. She reached behind her and pressed her hands into his chest as her chin lifted to the ceiling, and long silky strands of hair danced over his stomach.

  He reached up to grip a good handful of it and lifted his hips, wanting to give her as much cock as she could handle. That she was in the mood to fuck was a shock. They'd gone at each other half the night. Something inside of him shifted, and he wanted to force her to stop so that he could turn her over and make love to her nice and slow, but she seemed to want something else entirely.

  "So good," she mumbled and pulled against the hold on her hair as her moans filled up the room. She rode him like a champ, showing a much more aggressive, wild side of herself than he'd seen before. Where it was a part of her persona he wanted to explore, something told him that a shift had occurred. She wasn't making love to the man she wanted beside her for life. She was fucking a stiff dick. Nothing else.

  He gripped her hair tighter as the thought brought anger racing through him.

  "Give me more." She swatted at his balls as he grunted. The sensation sent a tendril of pain shooting through him.

  "You bet." He flipped them and pressed her to the bed on her stomach before moving to his knees and fucking her deep and hard. "Like this? This what you were after?"

  Her laughter caused his libido to die. She moved to her elbows, looking like a goddess in his bed. "Sex. It’s all about the sex with you. Life is just one big huge fuck, isn’t it?"

  He rolled off the bed and walked toward the shower. What the fuck was that? He'd reacted to whatever she was doing. He glanced back to see her flop back and laugh loudly again.

  "He wants me... he wants me not."

  Despair filled him as he closed the door and started the shower. Who was she? Where along the short journey had he lost her? He wasn't sure of the when, but it had happened nevertheless.

  She had asked for one more night, and they'd shared in six hours of making love to each other in ways that would forever stain him, but in the early light of morning, everything changed. She had changed.

  He wasn't surprised to see her gone and a note left on the counter for him when he walked back out.

  There was no reason to open it. He already knew what it would say.

  Her engagement ring sitting next to it spoke volumes.

  They were done. Over.

  Love wasn't enough.

  It was naive to think it would be.

  Chapter 82

  Bethany

  "Turn to page eleven, and you'll see our final report on the inventory system implementation for Zarpeth. As a member of the team, each of you needs to read through the document and sign off on the documentation. It's simply a summation of your work and our recommendations to Mr. Talling." Damon glanced around the room.

  He stood at the front of the conference room, Delilah beside him, looking like the angel she wasn't. The woman was stunning and stood far too close to Damon's side for Bethany's liking, but there was nothing she could do about it. Damon should have shifted over or made it more obvious that he was uncomfortable with her closeness, but he didn't.

  He continued to plow through the meeting agenda and barked his commands at any and everyone around the table. Something had to be going on between the two of them. Sex? Maybe, but there was no way to know for sure.

  Bile rose up in Bethany's throat at the idea of him sleeping with anyone but her. The memory of making love a few weeks back ripped through her mind's eye, weakening her. She'd been a total bitch that night to prove a point, and it had worked. He hadn't said more than two words to her over the last few weeks. What did she expect? She'd hit him where it hurt the most... in the bedroom.

  Bethany glanced down at the packet and flipped to page eleven, working hard to scan the page and getting nowhere. Her thoughts were scattered, her heart broken into a million pieces.

  She ran her finger across the page, blinking a few times to try and refocus. She didn't belong there. Delilah had made that more than clear over the last three weeks. The new senior manager at McKenzie and Bryant didn't seem to give a shit that Bethany was Kent's daughter. No one on the team seemed willing to go up against the bitchy blond, and Bethany refused to take the situation to Damon. He already knew all of it from what she gathered.

  "There were several reports that we received that were hard to decipher." Delilah brushed her long blond hair over her narrow shoulder and glanced around the room. "I didn't include those findings in the report for obvious reasons. If you want to see me after the meeting, Bethany, I can explain where you went wrong."

  Bethany glanced up, her neck and throat warmed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry? What was wrong with the report?"

  "You and Delilah can discuss that when we're done here." Damon turned his dark gaze on her, leaving her to feel even more disconnected.

  She glanced down without another word and swallowed the hot ball of regret lodged in her throat. She'd asked her mother to marry Kent so that she could get some help paying for her master’s. Never in a million years had she expected the proposition to be loaded with the requirement to work at M&B as part of the deal.

  You got what you bargained for. This is ultimately all your fault.

  "Any other questions?" Damon asked the group that sat quietly.

  Bethany glanced up at him, needing to see something in him that reminded her why she still loved him. She'd spent more time crying to Matt and Kendal than she wanted to recall. Both of them wanted her to fight for her relationship with Damon, but of course they did. They cared about the bastard almost as much as she did.

  The conversation with Kendal the day before in the parking lot at UT rolled through her mind, choking her with indecision.

  “Ask your question. Get it off your chest." Kendal took a step toward Bethany, his green eyes filled with so many emotions. She knew he had too much of his own shit going on to deal with hers, but couldn't help but dig for anything she could get on Damon.

  "How is he?" She pursed her lips and glanced down at the ground as another wave of pain shook her shoulders. There would be no holding herself together with him still in her life. She had to make the decision to fight for him or turn around and walk.

  "He's torn in half. He's devastated and has sunk down into being the bastard we both hoped he would never be again." Kendal reached out and pressed his fingers softly under her chin to force her to look up. "If you're angry, hurt, lonely, curious... if you care at all - go find him and tell him."

  "I can't, Kendal." She closed her eyes, not wanting him to see how destroyed she was from losing him.

  "Then lose him. It's your choice." He released her and walked around her to his car.

  His words and actions were heartless, but he was simply goading her to do something before it was too late.

  "All right. Get busy. No one is leaving before ten tonight." Delilah clapped her hands and walked toward Bethany. "If you'll hang behind, we can talk about your report."

  Bethany glanced up into the other woman's eyes and forced a tight smile. "I'd love to, but I have class in an hour. Maybe another time?"

  Delilah snorted and closed the door to the empty room. It would seem that Damon and everyone else high-tailed it out of the meeting as quickly as possible.

  Bethany let out a soft sigh and stood up, turning around to face the bitch who'd been riding her tail for the last few weeks.

  "I'm not sure if you and Kent have spoken, but I did pull him aside earlier this week just to let him know of the concerns I have with your performance."

  "Oh yeah?" Bethany put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side as anger burned through the center of her chest. "And what exactly are your concerns?"

  "Firstly, you show up when you want to.
" She lifted her fingers into the air, ticking off one thing after the other. "You leave when you want. You get the assignments you want. You're getting privileges that no one else is." She laughed obnoxiously loud. "Hell, you get better privileges than Damon, Kent's flesh and blood."

  "And what did Mr. Bryant have to say about your concerns?" Bethany reached down and picked up her bag, trying hard to keep her cool. She was the youngest on the team and the low-man on the totem pole. She might have a nice office on the top floor, but she was still going to have to work her way up to earn the spot that went with the office space.

  "Your report for the meeting today was short and didn't have nearly enough detail to include your findings in the group summary." Delilah crossed her arms over her chest. "So basically all the work you did is null and void seeing that you didn't document it properly. Bravo. Great job. I'm sure your father and your brother appreciate you spending their time and money to do a piss poor job that a guy off the street could do."

  The need to realign her nose raced through Bethany, but she pushed it down. It would be seen as childish and cause more problems than it was worth.

  "My documentation was in perfect alignment with what was asked of me. My senior, Patrick, actually pulled me aside to compliment the thoroughness of my work, so I think you might have lost a few documents in the mess you call your desk." She picked up her bag and walked toward the door. "But don't bother with looking for them. I'm putting in my notice today. I don't need this shit, and I most certainly don't need to work for someone that casually loses the top button of her shirt no matter which outfit she has on. It's inappropriate, and you look like a slut." Bethany shrugged as Delilah let out an angry sound. "I'll make sure I explain that to my father when we talk tonight about the reasons behind me feeling bullied at his firm. Have a great day, and here. You still need these."

  Bethany tossed the bitch a small container of breath mints and walked out into the hallway. After a quick stop by her office to gather her personal things, she walked to the elevator with her head held high.

  She and Damon weren't getting back together because she wasn't willing to bend to his rules nor his demands. She'd made a huge mistake in so many ways over the last few months, but it all started with a selfish request.

  "I should have never asked my mother to trade in her freedom for mine." She pressed the button for the first floor and moved to the back of the elevator as a torrent of emotion pumped through her.

  She got what she deserved, and her lesson was learned.

  Now it was simply time to unwind all that which she'd laid in place.

  "Time to make things right." She walked out of the elevator and didn't glance back once. The past was the past, and Damon belonged right there with every other mistake she'd made. She pulled out her phone and called Philip. He was the only friend she had in her life that didn't have a direct connection with Damon. Calling on Kendal or Matt would have been asinine.

  "Hey. Where are you? There's a buzz up here that you quit." Philip sounded a little out of breath.

  "I did. Are you busy in a little while? I need a drinking buddy."

  "You asking me on a date?" He snorted. "I thought you were sold out for the big guy."

  "If you're busy, then never mind." She closed her eyes and regretted calling. It wasn't a date at all. It was a desperate cry for a friend. Hers were either tied to Damon, in jail or trying to learn to walk again.

  "No. No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you. I'll pick you up at eight. Just give me the address."

  "All right. See you then." She hung up and texted him the address. Nothing would happen between them because he wasn't Damon.

  No one was.

  * * *

  "Bethany? That you?" Martha's voice was comforting in ways that didn't make sense, but Bethany was willing to take anything she could get.

  "Yeah," she called out to the Bryants’ cook and maid. "I just came by to talk with Kent for a little while."

  "He's out back, working on his golf swing. Take the stairs beside the pool down to the grass, and you'll see him." The older woman laughed as she stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Or just follow the sound of cursing. His swing is off today, and he's not too happy about it."

  "Thanks." Bethany glanced over toward Martha and paused as she stepped out of the kitchen.

  "What's the matter? You look like someone died." She ran her hands over Bethany's shoulders, squeezing softly. "You okay?"

  "No." Bethany glanced down. "I quit today."

  "Quit what?" The look of shock on Martha's face didn't help the sickness playing around in the pit of Bethany's stomach.

  "The firm. I can't do it anymore." She shrugged. "Let me go talk to Kent, and we'll catch up when I'm done."

  "All right, child. I'm here for you." She pulled Bethany into a warm hug. "Just don't make decisions in haste. There is nothing good that can come of that."

  "I know." Bethany squeezed the older woman once more and pulled from her arms. "Thanks."

  "Anytime. I'm making lasagna for dinner tonight if you want to stay," she called after Bethany.

  "We'll see." Beth walked out onto the patio and paused, closing her eyes and letting the coolness of the fall weather roll over her exposed arms. She was still dressed in her business casual attire, but it felt more appropriate seeing the conversation that was soon to take place.

  "Dammit to hell!" Kent's voice rose up from the side of the house, and Bethany let out a slow exhale. He wasn't just her boss. He was her new father, and he'd made a lot of promises to her as his new daughter. He'd kept every one of them, and where she needed to have a conversation with her dad that night, she needed the first one to be with her boss. Hopefully he would understand.

  "Kent?" She walked down the stairs beside the pool and stopped a few feet from him as he turned. A big smile lifted his lips.

  "There's my beautiful girl." He turned and walked toward her, pulling her into a hug. "Damon called and said that you left the office upset."

  "I'm not sure how he knew that, but it's been a rough day." She leaned into the hug, enjoying the warmth of his connection. "Can I talk to my boss for a few minutes and then my dad?"

  "Of course, kiddo. Or, you could just talk to your dad." He took a step back and reached out to cup her face. "You're hurting."

  Beth pressed her teeth into her lip and shifted her eyes toward the dark blue sky. She nodded, unable to get anything out for a moment. Tears burned her gaze, and she couldn't help but wonder how many more tears she would have to cry. It was a fucked up mistake to ask for help in the way she did. Everything that had gone wrong in her life felt somehow connected to that moment she asked for help.

  "I quit today. I can't work for M&B." She lowered her chin, letting her tears fall onto her cheeks. "If that means you can't help me with my master’s program, then I'll get a loan. I know that was part of the deal, but me being there is toxic for the team, and it's hurting Damon. I can't do it anymore."

  "I'd never take a gift away from you, Bethany." Kent brushed a few more of her tears away. "If you don't want to work at the firm, I'm perfectly fine with that. Of course I want you there with us, but I know things aren't as they should be between you and Damon. We're family before anything else. I want to see you two reconcile if it's at all possible."

  "I don't know what's possible, to be honest with you."

  "Stay for dinner and let's talk about all of this. The three of us. You, me and him."

  "No. I can't. I'm heading back to campus. My apartment is still mine." She moved back and brushed the rest of her tears away. "I don't want to get into the details of why I quit. I just need you to know that if you want to take back the funding for my-"

  "No. I want you to know that it's yours no matter what happens, okay?" He reached out and cupped her cheek. "I'm not going to let this go without looking into it. I hope you understand that. If something is wrong with my firm, then I have to fix it."

  "I know, but I think you'll find that the
only thing that was wrong with it is now gone." She cupped her hand over his. "I need to go. Thank you for being here for me."

  "I always will be."

  She pulled back and turned to walk back up onto the patio.

  "And Bethany."

  The look of worry on his face left her wanting to scurry away so she could cry in peace. Why was it that when she was in pain and someone was kind to her, it broke her down fast?

  "Yes?"

  "You're not the thing that's wrong with the firm. Don't believe your own lies, kiddo. They'll do nothing but destroy the truths."

  She nodded and jogged up the stairs, avoiding the kitchen and walking out to the front of the house to her car before anyone could see her.

  There was no changing her mind.

  Her quitting M&B was final.

  No matter what.

  Chapter 83

  Damon

  The meeting had been short, which was good, but fuck if he didn't have a million things to say to the beautiful brunette that stole his heart. His pride kept his tongue tied up as he walked out of the room and took a sharp right to walk back to his office.

  Delilah was upset about Bethany's report she'd turned in, but he'd yet to see it. After he checked his messages, he would ask his new senior manager to produce Beth's report so that he could check it out himself. It was a coaching moment that he could have with Beth if nothing else.

  "Damon." Delilah stuck her head in the room, her blue eyes a little wide as if she were scared.

  "What? Make it quick," he barked, glancing up from a pile of papers on his desk. She was beautiful and reminded him of a better version of Krista, but she was the past. He couldn't even force the feeling that something might happen between them. It wouldn't happen now like it didn't when they were younger. He was unfortunately lost to everyone thanks to Beth. The hope that fluttered around his chest every time he saw Beth was enough to leave him cynical and sickened.