by Hamel, B. B.
Divas is real. It’s going to make money. It’s just a matter of time. These guys can see it, they can see beyond my father’s stink.
I need that right now.
I take out my phone and dial. Shaun picks up on the second ring.
“I was wondering when I’d hear from you,” he says.
“Sorry, I was in a meeting.”
He chuckles. “Your move?”
“It’s a big one,” I say. “I’m still ironing out the details, though.”
“I guess you won’t tell me.”
“Nope, sorry, not yet.”
“That’s fine, whatever. I’m just happy you called.”
“Are you?” I smile like a moron. I just convinced powerful, rich men to back me, but hearing Shaun say that he’s happy I called makes me blush and smile and makes my whole day better.
“Of course.” He sighs. “What a night. You know the only thing that would’ve made that night better?”
“Champagne?”
“Nope. You, naked, with your sweet, dripping wet little—”
“Shaun,” I warn.
“I’m just saying, I wish there weren’t cameras around.”
“Well, there were.” I bite my lip. “Look, I feel like I should say something.”
“Yeah? Okay, go ahead then.”
“Whatever’s happening here… is it business?”
He snorts. “God, no. It’s all pleasure for me.”
“And the baby? I mean, if I weren’t pregnant… would you be pursuing me so hard?”
“Yes,” he says without hesitating. “Listen to me, Klara. I want you and I always get what I want. The baby is just a nice little bonus.”
I laugh bitterly. “Bonus, huh?”
“You might think it’s scary now, but believe me. When that baby comes and I’m there to take care of everything, you’ll be happy.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Darling, I have more money than you can even imagine. It won’t be easy… but it’ll be as easy as it can be.”
I sigh and smile. “You’re so arrogant.”
“I know. But remember the way I made you come so hard? And had you begging for more?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“That’s not arrogant. That’s just knowing what I can do.”
I bite my lip. “I shouldn’t call you anymore. You just get me worked up.”
“It’s not hard. You love it.”
“Yeah, yeah. I just want to say… god, I don’t know what I want to say anymore.”
“Come over tonight. I’ll cook you dinner. You can tell me what your big move is.”
I hesitate. “I don’t know.”
“You’re coming,” he says. “I’m tired of this little runaround. You want me, Klara, and I want you. Give in to it. Let me make you feel good.”
I let out a breath. “Fine,” I say. “Okay, fine. You win.”
“It’s not a matter of winning, my dear. It’s a matter of getting what we both want.” He chuckles softly. “I’ll see you tonight around eight?”
“Okay.”
He hangs up the phone. I hang up next and let out a breath, tilting my head back, a smile on my lips.
God, this is dangerous, so dangerous. I’m playing a game that might backfire at any point, but I can’t help myself.
He’s right. It’s time to stop pretending.
I want him. I want to give myself to him. And sooner or later, he’s just going to take me. So I might as well enjoy myself in the process.
14
Shaun
I text Klara letting her know that I’ll send her a car, and start cooking around 7:30. She arrives at 8:00 exactly, thanks to my car service. She comes inside and smiles as she takes a deep breath. “Wow,” she says. “What is that?”
“You’ll see.” I lead her into the kitchen, sit her down at the counter, start to pour her a glass of wine, but then think better of it. I get her a glass of water instead and she smiles at me gratefully. “It’s my specialty.”
She laughs as she sips her drink. “I thought rich boys never learned how to cook.”
I brandish a wooden spoon at her. “That’s just a stereotype. I know how to cook, clean, and do my own laundry. Well, I know how to hire people to do those things, at least.”
She laughs. “Seriously, where’d you learn to cook?”
“Boarding school,” I say. “When I got older, I stopped coming home during the summers. My prep school let some students stay on campus so long as they had a job and could provide for themselves. So every summer, the dining hall would close, and I just sort of… had to learn.”
“Come on. You could’ve survived on ramen noodles and hairspray. You were a teenage boy.”
“Good point. A friend of mine taught me.” I smile a little, remembering those days. “We used to steal wine from a local shop and get drunk while cooking these god-awful meals.”
“I hope this isn’t one of them.”
“No, this is one of the keepers. It’s simple, don’t worry.”
She watches me as I get busy. I’m nearly finished, so there’s not too much to watch. I dump out the pasta, cover it in cheese, add in the sautéed shrimp, and that’s it. I serve out two plates nice and neat and carry them out onto the porch. I have everything set already. I let her have the seat that overlooks the ocean, and I sit facing her.
I’d rather watch her, anyway.
“This is really good,” she says, taking a huge bite. “Holy crap. This is amazing.”
“Thanks,” I say. “You know what the secret is?”
“No, what?”
“Butter. Lots of fucking butter.”
She laughs. “Okay, yeah, that makes sense.”
I grin and take a bite. She makes another happy noise then leans back in the chair. “Okay, this is nice,” she says.
“Right? I love this place.”
“It’s big though. Don’t you get lonely?”
“Sometimes. Maybe you can come keep me company?”
“Maybe,” she says with a smile. “If you’re good.”
“Oh, I like that.” I lean toward her. “Are you in a good mood?”
“Maybe.” She shrugs. “It’s because of you, of course.”
“Liar, but I appreciate that.”
She laughs. “Fine, it’s because of what happened earlier today.”
“Ah,” I say, watching her. “You want to talk about that now?”
She shrugs. “We can, if you want.”
I lean back in my chair and sip my wine. I already know what she did. One of the guys in her little meeting called me as soon as he left. Even though I’m new in town, I do have some connections.
But I want her to go at her own pace. I can tell this is important to her, and really, I love how happy she is. This right here is all I ever wanted, just one big smile on her lips.
“I met with some investors today,” she says. “And they’re going to help me buy Truth Hurts.”
I smile. “Good.”
She raises an eyebrow. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Yep.” I shrug. “You should’ve done this from the start.”
“You’re not… annoyed? I mean, I’m making an offer to steal this place out from under you.”
“I was only ever buying it to give to you,” I say, leaning toward her.
She bites her lip. “So you keep saying. But come on, Shaun. You would’ve been my boss, and I never would’ve heard the end of it.”
“True enough.” I shrug. “What can I say. I like to boss you around.”
“Well, now you won’t get to anymore.”
“What a shame.”
She narrows her eyes. “You’re really okay with this?”
I nod once. “I’m really okay with this.”
We lapse into silence and she eats. I can’t read her expression but I can tell something’s bothering her. I let her enjoy the food for a bit before she finally decides to broach the subject again
.
“I don’t understand any of this,” she says finally, sitting back in her seat. “I mean, you act like you don’t care about the company at all, but then you try to buy it out from under me. You keep saying you’re doing it for my own good, but if that were true… why don’t you just let me win?”
I watch her for a long moment. “You want the truth?”
“Please,” she whispers. “I’m frustrated.”
“I want you, Klara. I want you and that baby.” I lean toward her. “You’re already mine and you just don’t accept it yet.”
“But that… that doesn’t explain anything.”
“If you take this company, you can run from me. You can keep denying what you want. But if I’m the one that buys it and gives it to you… then you can’t get away from me.”
She stares and shakes her head. “God, Shaun. Why would you do that? I don’t… I don’t get it.”
I get up and walk around the table. I offer her my hand and she takes it reluctantly. I help her up and bring her over to the balcony. Together we look out over the water. I put my hand on her lower back and lean forward. “Look,” I say. “I could buy all of this in a heartbeat. All this land, all these companies. I have more money than you can even dream of.”
She squirms against me. “I don’t need to hear how rich you are.”
I grab her wrist before she can pull away. “It’s important. All my life I could just buy what I wanted… but now I want you. And I can’t buy you.”
She stares at me. “But that’s what you’re trying to do.”
“Maybe… maybe I’ve gone about this the wrong way.” I reach up and run my fingers through her hair. She shivers and blinks as I grab on tight and tilt my head. “I’ve never wanted someone like I want you,” I say. “I’ve never needed someone like this before. You’re carrying my baby, Klara… you’re going to be in my life.”
“But I don’t know what I want.”
“That’s the problem. You don’t know, but I do.”
She lets out a groan. “Shaun—”
“No more,” I growl. “I’m sick of these games. You’re mine, Klara. You can struggle and fight all you want. And maybe that will be fun. But just know, you’re all mine, every inch of you.”
I kiss her. I kiss her and hold her tight against my body because I’m not lying. She’s mine, every inch, every breath. And I’m not letting go.
I’m sick of the games. I’m sick of the uncertainty. All I want is this woman tight against my body, moaning my name, giving me every inch of herself unconditionally.
“Shaun,” she whispers as I pull away.
“Forget about business,” I growl. “Forget about all that.”
“How am I supposed to?” she asks. “I can’t. It’s all I have right now. I mean, I’m going to have this baby, and then the future is going to be so much harder, and I’m just… I’m scared.”
I tighten my grip in her hair. “I swear to you, Klara. I’ll take care of you and the baby. You won’t have to worry about money. You won’t have to worry about anything. I’ll get a nanny, I’ll get ten nannies. I’ll build a daycare next door to the Truth Hurts offices. I’ll do anything that’ll make your life easier and make the baby’s life better. I’m not running from this. I’m running headlong into it.”
She stares at me and smiles. She smiles then laughs and pushes herself against me. I hug her hard and hold her there for a long time as she laughs, almost wild with it. I feel like she’s losing herself, or at least coming to grips with something she wasn’t sure she was ready to see.
“So what now?” she asks.
“Now?” I shrug. “Now we can do whatever you want.”
“My father probably knows about my offer.”
“Maybe,” I admit. “I’m not so sure.”
“Why not?”
“Well…” I trail off. “I’ve been doing a little digging about you and your dad.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Have you now?”
“Of course.” I smirk at her. “I need to know who I’m doing business with.”
“Oh, is what we’re doing called business now?”
“Very, very dirty business. But yes, business.”
She laughs and pushes me away. We stand side by side leaning on the balcony overlooking the ocean. It rolls in and out, pulled by the tides, pulled by the moon. “So what did you learn?” she asks.
“Everyone hates your dad.”
She laughs. “I could’ve told you that.”
“I know, but they really, really hate him. I don’t think he had any friends at all in this town.”
She slowly stops laughing and shakes her head. “You know what gets me?”
“What?”
“He used to be so charming. He still is when he’s not drunk or high. The only reason Truth Hurts exists at all is because he charmed half this town when he was younger. But now he just…”
“He lost it,” I say. “Or he got complacent. I don’t know which.”
“Whatever it is, I know it’s not coming back.”
I put my hand on the small of her back. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” She gives me a bitter smile. “You love it.”
“I don’t love that you’re losing your father. This would be simpler if he weren’t such a dick.”
“True.” She sighs. “But then again, I might not ever get to head up this company if he were more competent. There’d be other people in line, not just his daughter.”
“Good thing then.”
She grins at me. “Oh, great, so you’re an optimist?”
“Yep. Glass half full. Or all the way full and overflowing, if you’re a Lofthouse.”
“The world really does roll over and give you anything you want, doesn’t it?”
“Only because we take it.”
She leans toward me and I pull her in tight.
“Look, I don’t know what’ll happen from here,” she says. “Things could get bad. Or weird. I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to worry.”
“But I do.” She shifts and turns to me. She tilts her chin up in my direction. “You’re wrapped up in this now whether you want to be or not.”
“You have your own investors. What do you need me for?”
“My father isn’t going to let you just… walk off. I think he likes you. Well, I think he likes your family name.”
“Ah,” I say, nodding. “I was wondering.”
“I’m sure he researched you all. I did some digging of my own.”
“What did you find?”
“Nothing,” She admits. “Which scares me the most. You all own tons of companies… but that’s all I can find.”
I grin at her. “The rabbit hole is a lot deeper than you realize.”
“I’m sure it is.”
I pull her tight and kiss her. She kisses me back and this time, I don’t let her pull away. I can feel my desire rolling through my body and I know I need her, right now, right here. I turn and push her back against the balcony, dropping to my knees.
“Shaun,” she whispers, eyes wide, looking around.
I unbutton her jeans. “We’re alone,” I say, tugging them down. “Just relax.”
15
Klara
He stares up at me as he takes off my pants. I let him and feel the cool salt breeze caress my skin. I shiver and grab tight onto the balcony railing as my jeans come off. It’s a comfortable California night and he throws my pants aside, kissing my thighs, my stomach, before pushing my legs apart.
His tongue laps at my panties but he doesn’t waste time. He pulls them off, smirking at me before dropping them off the side of the balcony.
“Shaun!” I say, turning around. I grab at them but miss and watch them go fluttering down to the sand.
I feel him pin me to the balcony. His hand slaps my ass and the other grabs my hair. I gasp and let out a groan.
“You asshole,” I say. “I don’t have any other.”
“Good,” he whispers. “You don’t need any.”
I moan as his hand slides between my legs. He teases my pussy and it takes me half a second to realize how dripping wet I am.
Our conversation flashes through my mind and in an instant, it all crystallizes into hard truth.
This is what I want. God, this is what I need. This man, his hands on my body, driving me wild.
He purrs like a jungle cat and slides his fingers up inside my pussy. I moan as he slides them back out and rolls his fingers along my clit. I shiver and moan and he kicks my legs open wider, grabbing my hair hard. He spanks me then fucks me with his fingers, sliding them in and out, fucking my pussy from behind. I groan, moving my hips back against him, making him growl in response.
“Doesn’t this feel good?” he whispers in my ear. “You’re dripping wet, you know. Have you been soaked since the second you stopped inside my house? Have you been thinking about this, my darling?”
“Maybe,” I admit.
“I know you have. I know you wake up in the morning and think about my thick cock between your legs, fucking you deep, making you moan. You want it, my darling Klara. You want to be taken, possessed, owned, controlled. You’re a strong woman, and I admire that, but…”
He slaps my ass hard, pulls my hair, kisses my neck.
“But you love to be taken and dominated, you dirty girl.”
I shiver at his words, because I know they’re true.
When he touches me, when he grabs me, takes me, pulls my hair, slaps my ass, I feel free. I feel free of all the pressure, all the worries and problems. I can take him, let him take me, let him give me pleasure. It’s all I need, just him touching my skin, my body, making me moan and writhe in pleasure. He can do whatever he wants with me, and that drives me wild with need.
He drops to his knees again and spreads my ass wide. He licks me from behind, so filthy, something I’ve never let someone do before. But with him it’s natural, he takes me, does what he wants, when he wants, and it feels right. He licks my pussy, licks me all over, before standing and grabbing my hair. His fingers slide deep inside me again before finding my clit and teasing it.