by Siren Allen
Signature frown in place, he glared at the door that was slowly creeping open. His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. After all these years, she still had this type of power over him.
This was just another reason for him to hate her. The door eased open. What the hell was she up to? A second later a head peeped around the corner. Nahm. Kang had never wanted to punch his friend in the throat as much as he wanted to right now.
“No Willow yet?” Nahm whispered.
“Go away,” Kang ordered.
Nahm entered the room, followed by the other two stooges.
“I for sure thought she’d be here by now,” Nahm said before sitting down on the couch positioned at the back wall. Lee and Shao joined Nahm on the couch. “She seemed nervous and a little frightened around you in the meeting. I thought for sure your kitten would rush to your side when you demanded her to.”
So, did he. “Don’t call her that.” Only he could call her that. And he hadn’t called her that in years. The only reason Nahm knew that name was because it was the name Willow was saved under on Kang’s cellphone.
“What do you guys want?”
“To be honest,” Shao told him. “We came to be nosey and to make sure you weren’t bullying Willow.”
“You’ve just met her and already the three of you want to be her defenders?”
“Not her defenders, per se. We simply think she needs protecting from the big bad wolf.”
“You’re the wolf in this case,” Lee pointed out.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
“Any time.”
Kang shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about me bullying her. I only want to talk to her about her proposal.”
“Really?” Nahm didn’t look convinced. “If so, why didn’t you ask her entire team to come?”
Shit. “Because she’s the head of the team. She speaks for them. It’ll be easier to just talk one on one with her. Then she can relay the message to her team.”
“If that’s the case, I should be here also,” Lee pointed out. “Since I’m the one who will be collaborating with her on this project.”
Kang held in his frustration. “This meeting doesn’t require your presence. I just want to talk to her about her ideas for this project and future projects.”
“You could’ve done that in the conference room,” Shao added.
“Or, I can do it in my office. What the fuck is wrong with you three?” Kang glanced down at his watch. She was late. Who the hell did she think she was? “I don’t have time for this...”
“But, you have time to worry about Willow’s marketing campaign,” Lee interrupted him. “You brought me here to help. Since this is my area of expertise, allow me to meet with her. Alone. In my office.”
What the fuck? Kang glared at Lee. “What did you say?”
“I said, allow her to meet with me, alone, in my office.”
“Why the fuck would I do that?” Was Lee interested in Willow? If so, they were about to have a fucking problem.
“For the same reason you’re meeting with her alone in your office. To discuss her marketing proposal. Allow me to help with this, so you can focus on other issues.”
“I got this, Lee.”
“I can handle it for you. I’m here to help. If you’re not going to let me help, what am I here for? Decoration?”
The three of them wore puzzled expressions as they stared at him. Shaking his head, Kang chuckled.
“I know what the three of you are trying to do. You’re trying to get me riled up and make me mad. Mad enough to reveal some sinister plan to you all. Well, guess what? I have no sinister plan. I only want to talk to Willow.”
Lee shrugged. “Fine. I want to talk to her also. I have some ideas I’d like to talk to her about regarding this proposal. I’ll stay.”
“And since I’ll be the one designing the jewelry, I’ll stay,” Shao added.
“I don’t have a reason,” Nahm told him. “But I’m staying also.”
He should’ve left all three of their asses in Korea. And where the hell was Willow? Kang looked at the clock. She was five minutes late.
“She must not know that you hate it when people are late,” Shao told him.
She knew. Her ass just didn’t seem to care. What had gotten into her? He’d had her right where he wanted her. He’d had the upper hand.
“She probably got held up by one of her co-workers,” Kang told them.
“Or, she isn’t coming,” Nahm countered.
“Shut up, Nahm.”
“I’m just saying boss. Maybe your kitten got tired of you picking on her. Maybe she’s on the phone reporting you to madam chairman right now.”
She wouldn’t dare call his mother. Who was he kidding? She would dare.
“Leave.”
“But...” Lee started.
“Leave now or your asses are fired.”
“I don’t actually work for you, so...”
“Damn it, Shao,” Kang yelled.
“Okay. Damn. Calm down.” Shao stood up. The other stooges followed suit. “I’m finally getting to see what Nahm was talking about. This Willow chick really does make you act crazy,” Shao said, as he walked toward the office door.
“I told you,” Nahm spoke up. “When he returned to Korea after college, he was colder than he is now. But, when he got drunk, he’d start talking about Willow. First, he’d list all the reasons he hated her. Then he’d go back and list all the reasons he loved her. Thing was, the lists were the same. He basically hated her because he loved her. It was crazy, man. Crazy.”
Kang grit his teeth as he watched them leave his office. What was the point of having enemies when you could have friends like his? Kang glanced at the clock. Willow was starting to piss him off. He stormed from his office.
“You going to look for her?” He heard Lee ask from behind him.
Not responding and not looking back, Kang continued down the hall. When he boarded the elevator, the secretary, Ms. Lynn, was already on. She smiled at him.
“Get off,” he growled.
“I’m going down...”
“Now!”
“Yes, sir.” She quickly left him alone in the elevator.
He pressed a button and waited for the doors to close. Ms. Lynn had just said yes sir to him. Why didn’t it make him feel the same way Willow’s yes sir had? He pressed the button again, wishing it would make the elevator go faster.
When he finally reached the marketing department, he stalked over to where Dez and Kizzy were seating. They were chatting and smiling until they saw him.
“Where is she?”
Kizzy opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Uh, where is who?” Dez asked.
“You’ve got five seconds.”
“If you tell me who you’re looking...”
“Four.”
“Mr. GM, you’re creating a scene.”
“Two.”
“Hey! How are you already at two?”
“One.”
“I thought she was with you. She went to the bathroom and then she was heading your way. That’s all I know.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Dez had lied to him. Murmurs drew his attention to the on lookers. Members of the marketing department were watching his exchange with Dez. Fuck. Kang turned and headed back to the elevator.
He wanted to go to the bathroom and search for Willow there. That would just add more fuel to the rumor fire he’d created. As the elevators slid shut, he watched a group of employees rush to Dez’s desk.
He hated office gossipers. What he hated more than gossipers, were people who caused scenes at work, creating reasons to gossip. And he’d done just that. Fuck. Kang slammed his hand against the elevator door.
Why the fuck wasn’t the elevator moving? Oh. Right. He hadn’t pushed a number. He pressed the button then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He needed to pull it together.
He was unraveling. He couldn’t afford to do t
hat. Not now. Not here. Not because of her. Not again. When he exited elevator, he noticed that Ms. Lynn was not at her desk. Good. He didn’t feel like dealing with her.
He stepped forward then stopped, gaze jerking to the staircase door. Willow had mentioned that taking the stairs were quicker than taking the elevator. He glanced around him. None of the stooges were around to see him going into the stairwell to look for her.
He quickly walked over to the door and entered the stairwell. A gasp shocked him. He stared left. Leaning against the wall was his target. The female he was looking for. Willow Thompson.
His presence shocked her. She’d just taken a bite into the pastry she was holding when he faced her. She froze, pastry still in her mouth. Her freezing didn’t stop the cream from the pastry from squirting out when she bit into it.
The corner of her mouth was now stained with blueberry filling. A few droplets had dripped to her chin. It was the most erotic shit he’d ever seen in his life. At the moment, Kang couldn’t remember why he was looking for her.
He faced her fully. She didn’t move. Pasty still between her lips, she watched him. Kang held in his smile. Typical Willow. Hiding from him to eat desserts. Countless times in college, she’d told him she wanted to lose weight.
He didn’t think she should. He’d always thought she was perfect just the way she was. But she’d wanted him to be her accountability partner, so he had. Problem was, he often caught her hiding in the tree house in her back yard, eating candy when they were on holiday breaks.
His Kitten hadn’t changed. Unable to help himself, Kang took a step forward. Then another. And another. Until he was standing toe to toe with her. Pastry still between her lips, she eyed him nervously.
Kang normally didn’t eat sweets. Yet, he suddenly found himself craving a blueberry pastry. He lifted his hand and swiped his thumb across her chin. Blueberry filling now stained his thumb.
He slowly lifted his thumb to his mouth. It was sweet, just as he thought it would be. Yet, it hadn’t satisfied his craving. He wanted more. He wiped his thumb along the corner of her mouth.
That taste left him unsatisfied also. Perhaps, it wasn’t actually the Danish he was craving. Perhaps, it was her. Always her. She lowered the pastry from her lips. Chewing slowly, her gaze drifted from his.
She stared down at the floor as she finished chewing and swallowed the bite she’d taken. Kang watched her every movement, feeling like a half-starved man who’d finally found something to feast on.
When she finished that bite, she licked her lips. One glimpse of her tongue had his cock pushing against his boxers. Kang balled his hands into fists then shoved them into his pockets. He couldn’t touch her. She wasn’t his to touch.
“You shouldn’t do that in front of me,” he whispered. Even he could hear the yearning in his voice. He prayed she didn’t.
Still not looking at him, she replied in that low, sweet voice of hers, “D-do what?”
“Lick your lips.”
Her eyes rose to meet his. Neither looked away. Neither moved. Her gaze was searching, as if she was trying to figure him out. His was daring, daring her to lick her lips again.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. She licked her lips. He’d warned her. As usual, his little rebel hadn’t listened. Play with fire and you will get burned. Flames of desire were erupting inside of Kang right now.
Even so, he was still nervous. This wasn’t some random female. This was Willow Thompson, the female he’d loved all his life. The only woman he’d ever loved. Despite how badly her rejection hurt him, he still wanted to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her. But he didn’t want to do anything she’d regret.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered, lowering his head toward hers.
He didn’t want to stop. Yet, part of him was wishing she’d push him away. If she did, that would put their relationship back on track. They could go back to being enemies. If she didn’t, what would that make them? She didn’t push him away. That confused him, yet, it thrilled him also.
Should he stop?
Or should he do what they both seemed to want?
Chapter Five
She didn’t push him away.
Instead, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin, bringing her lips closer to his. Those flames of desire roaring inside him began to rage. Kang lowered his mouth and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss that hid the true passion he was feeling.
He didn’t want to frightened his kitten away. He didn’t want to mess up this once in a lifetime opportunity. Her lips were soft against his. Just like they were in his dreams. Kang teased her lips, begging them to open.
Once they did, he was gifted with his first taste of her. One taste was all it took. He was addicted. Unable to keep his hands in his pockets, Kang placed one hand on the wall beside her head and the other against the back of her neck.
Holding her steady, he teased her tongue with his, loving the way she tasted. He could taste the blueberry pastry on her tongue. What started out as a sweet tender kiss, slowly became something more.
Willow surprised him by dropping her pastry to the floor then clutching the front of his shirt and deepening the kiss. She leaned closer to him as her tongue danced with his, arousing him further. Kang didn’t know how much more of this he could take.
Willow’s kiss became more demanding. She gripped his shirt tighter. He loved every moment of it. His body wanted more, needed more. If they kept this up, he’d be fucking her in the stairwell of his company.
Not wanting too, but knowing he should why he still could, Kang pulled away, bringing an end to a kiss he’d craved for a very long time. He stared down at Willow’s upturned face. Her eyes slowly opened. The desire he saw in her gaze shocked him.
“Kang, don’t stop,” her breathless whisper shredded his grip on sanity.
“Fuck, Willow...” he growled before lifting her up and pressing her body against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his waist. He kissed her with all the passion he’d been trying to keep buried inside.
Her arms wrapped around him. Her hand gripped his hair, holding him close, keeping him from pulling away. He had no intention of pulling away. Not this time. Not ever again. He’d tried to back away. She’d told him not to stop.
So, he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop holding her. He wouldn’t stop kissing her. He wouldn’t stop loving her. This time, he wasn’t letting Willow go. Not ever. A groan ripped from him when Willow rolled her body against him.
Who the fuck had taught her to move like that? She did it again and he nearly came in his pants. Kang thrust forward, pinning the lower half of her body to the wall, keeping her from grinding on him.
He would be the one who did the grinding. She moaned when he thrust forward again, grinding his hard cock against her center, wishing there wasn’t any clothes separating his body from hers.
She moaned against his mouth as he rocked against her. His hands cupped her ass as he held her up. Her body was so curvy, so fucking sexy, made for loving, made for fucking. And he wanted to fuck her until she admitted that she was his, had always been his.
Not physically, but mentally, emotionally. Emotionally, he’d always belonged to Willow. He’d tried fighting it, tried denying it. He’d never been able to shake it. What he felt for her was unshakable, unbreakable.
He loved the woman in his arms. Even when he wanted to hate her, he couldn’t. Not truly. Willow was the woman in his heart. The only woman who’d ever been in his heart. And Kang knew he’d never be happy with anyone else.
He just had to prove to her that she could be happy with him. He also needed to figure out why she’d rejected him in the first place. It made no sense. Especially with the way she was kissing him and clutching him right now.
Her nails dug into his scalp. He didn’t care. The building could fall down around them and he wouldn’t care. As long as he had her in his arms, nothing else in the world mattered. Gripping her ass, he pushed against her again.
His cock pulsed
, wanting to be set free so he could dick her down properly. This was neither the time nor place for that. That didn’t stop Kang from pushing against her again, loving the way her body shuddered as he gyrated.
He wanted to make her cum. Fuck the clothes that were standing in their way. He could still make her cum without removing one article of clothing from her beautiful body. Kang tore his mouth from hers.
She whispered his name. Her nails dug deeper into his scalp. She pulled his face down to hers. Kang lowered his lips to her neck instead, drawing another moan from her and causing her grip on his hair to ease up.
He pressed kisses against her throat while grinding against her center, wishing he could slide into her heat right now. Wishing he could fulfill every fantasy he’d had for her throughout the years.
Willow clutched him tighter and pressed her body up against his as she moaned his name. Her breathless moans were the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. Better than any symphony, any orchestra.
Her body shivered. Or was that his? He couldn’t tell. All he knew was that he needed her. And right now, it felt like she needed him too. He humped her faster. Her back slid up and down the wall with each thrust he delivered.
Her hair fell free of its ponytail, and dropped to her shoulders, falling over his face as he tongued her neck. He gently bit into the sensitive flesh of her neck. That small act granted him another moan.
Who the fuck knew dry humping could feel this damn good? He hadn’t even done it in his younger days. Now, he was a grown ass man, hunching in the stairwell. This shit would be laughable, if it didn’t feel so good, if Willow wasn’t clutching him so tightly.
If her body wasn’t trembling like she was about to cum. Kang ground against her, pushing against her center, pressing his cock against her heat. Her nails dug into his shoulder as she tilted her head back and screamed his name.
He increased the speed of his thrusts. His own orgasm was looming over the horizon, ready to rain down on him. He couldn’t cum until she did. He couldn’t nut until her panties were slick with her orgasm. An orgasm he’d caused. A first between them. Hopefully, not the last.
“Kang... I’m about to... I’m about...”
