by Long, A. L.
Dylan cleaned up the dishes while Rade went to his study. He had a full day tomorrow and wanted to be sure to get a head start in case Dylan had set up interviews that he needed to be there for. When he looked at the email that Gwen had sent him regarding his schedule, he responded right away, asking if any of his appointments could be rescheduled for a later time, in case he needed to leave. Rade knew that unless Gwen was sitting by her computer, he wouldn’t receive a response from her until the morning.
Finishing up what he was doing, Rade shut down his laptop and headed downstairs. When he got to the bedroom, he could see that Dylan was already fast asleep. While he was in his study, he considered what she said. Maybe it was time to put aside his feelings towards his father. Thirteen years is a long time to hold a grudge against someone. The feelings he had for his father weren’t going to bring his brother back. At twenty-nine, it was time to set aside his anger and forgive.
Slipping off his clothing, Rade slipped into the bed beside Dylan. Pulling her near, he took her in. Breathing in her scent was the only thing that could calm him. She was the antidote to his affliction. The sunshine on his cloudiest days.
In a hushed voice he said, “I love you.”
Dylan woke the next morning with Rade no longer beside her. Rising from the bed, she put on her robe and headed to the kitchen where she thought for sure he would be. The only greeting she got was the fresh smell of coffee brewing and a note leaning up against her coffee cup.
Sweetness,
Sorry to have left so early this morning, but I wanted to get things done in case you need me today.
I also thought about what you said. I’ve decided to give my father a chance. Thirteen years is a long time to have ill will towards him.
I contacted him early this morning and agreed to meet with him to see what he had in mind about finding Chloe.
If I don’t see you before this afternoon, I want to take you to lunch. I’ll be at your office at one o’clock.
Have a good day Sweetness.
All my love
R
Dylan took the note and held it to her chest. She was glad to hear that Rade was willing to give Garrett another chance. Hopefully they would be able to work out their differences. Lifting her cup from the counter, she poured herself a cup of coffee and headed back to the bedroom to get ready for work.
Getting to work thirty minutes early, Dylan began scanning through the applications she had chosen for the next phase of the hiring process. Separating them into piles according to job title, Dylan began contacting the future employees.
Hanging up the phone, Dylan scheduled an interview with the last of the applicants. Most of her interviews were scheduled for next week. She wanted to make sure plenty of notice was given to them as well as to Rade. More than anything, she wanted Rade present when she spoke with them. Cleaning off her desk, the time was approaching one o’clock and she didn’t want to be late for her lunch date with Rade. She knew how he felt about punctuality. Grabbing her purse, she stopped by Keeve’s office, then Mason’s, to let them know she was going to lunch. Both of them were so deep in work, she wasn’t sure that they even paid attention to her.
Waiting for a short time in the lobby, Richard pulled up to the curb. Rade exited the Bentley once the car came to a complete stop. Dylan walked towards the entrance, meeting Rade at the door. Something was different about him. Dylan couldn’t put her finger on it, but he looked more relaxed than he had in days. Rade had been through a lot the past week and Dylan was happy that this part of their life together was finally over.
Kissing her on the cheek, Rade walked behind Dylan to the SUV. Once they were settled, Dylan couldn’t hold back any longer. She needed to find out how Rade’s meeting with his father went.
“So how did things go with your father?” Dylan asked, looking into Rade’s eyes.
“It was good. He’s going to try and reach out to Chloe. He’s going to convince her that he has some information for her, but he can’t disclose it over the phone. He thinks her curiosity will get the best of her and she would be willing to meet him to find out,” Rade explained.
“Do you think she will do it?” Dylan asked.
“I don’t know. If she finds out it has to do with me, she might,” Rade said in a hopeful manner.
“I hope you’re right, Rade. She’s the last threat against us,” Dylan responded.
“One way or another, she’s going to get caught,” Rade said convincingly.
Dylan hoped that Rade was right. Chloe was smart. She would know when there was a trap waiting for her. Just like everything that happened, Chloe was always one step ahead of them.
Rade didn’t have a whole lot of time for lunch. He could have canceled his date with Dylan, but he had to see her. Leaving as early as he did, he didn’t get a chance to spend the much needed time with her this morning.
They choose to have lunch at the bistro that Dylan loved so much. Dylan remembered the first time they came here and how she convinced Rade to order one of their signature sandwiches. Dylan would never forget the look on Rade’s face when he took a bite.
A short time later they were seated and eating their delicious sandwiches. When they had finished, Rade had something else in mind instead of going back to the office. Taking Dylan by the hand, he led her to the woman’s restroom. He was glad to find that there was only one bathroom. Pushing her inside, he locked the door and lifted her small frame onto the countertop. Dylan was weak against his touch. Taking him in, she pressed her lips against his. Their kiss became more demanding as Rade slid his hands under her skirt. Taking hold of her panties, he pushed them to the side to gain better access to her slick folds. Placing his fingers between her seam, he began rubbing her until his finger dipped inside her.
Feeling the warmth of her tight channel, he curved his finger in search of her g-spot. As her body arched, he knew he had found it. Needing more, he removed his fingers and lowered to his knees, replacing them with his mouth. Lapping his tongue on her clit, he consumed the taste of her. Rade could feel that she was close when her hands tightened around his head. The grip she had on his hair was painful, but not enough for him to stop what he was doing. Dipping his fingers back inside her, he felt the tight grip of her walls as he moved in and out of her. Moving his mouth upward, he took hold of her clit, licking and sucking until her explosion took over, sending her over the edge. Releasing her hands that were so firmly gripping his head, Dylan pulled him up to her until her lips met his. With utter tenderness she whispered, “I love you.”
Helping Dylan to her feet, Rade kissed her one last time before he unlocked the door. Looking first right, then left, Rade and Dylan escaped unnoticed. By the look on the patron’s faces, Dylan knew that they were aware of what they had been doing and it wasn’t a quick trip to the restroom.
After the explosive orgasm Rade had given Dylan, it was hard for her to focus on work. Her thoughts kept deviating towards Rade’s mouth on her. God, his mouth could work magic, she thought, making herself wet all over again.
By the time the clock hit five, Dylan was all kinds of wet. Several times she had to go to the restroom to splash water on her face. She didn’t know what was going on with her. She felt clammy, almost nauseated. She blamed it on the sandwich she ate and the stress she’d been faced with over the last couple of days.
Heading out, she saw that Richard was already waiting for her. When she got to the Bentley, she could see that Rade wasn’t in the car. Looking over to Richard she asked, “Where’s Rade?”
With a smile, Richard replied, “He’s working late. He instructed me to make sure you got home safely.”
“Did he say how long he would be?”
“I’m sorry, he didn’t, Ms. Adams,” Richard replied, pulling away from the curb.
Dylan sat back against the seat wondering when Rade would be home. Needing to know how long she would be alone, she decided to call him.
“Hello, Sweetness. Are you on your way ho
me?” Rade quizzed.
“Yeah, Richard just picked me up. When do you think you’ll be home?” Dylan asked.
“Hopefully not too late. Don’t wait up for me. When I get home, you’ll know because I’m going to worship every inch of that beautiful body,” Rade said with a mischievous voice.
“I can’t wait,” Dylan said with a smile.
When Dylan got to the penthouse, she looked in the cupboard for anything that would settle her stomach. Pulling out a box of soda crackers and a can of ginger ale, she started feeling better.
By the time she went to bed, she felt like herself again. Knowing that Rade would be waking her when he arrived, she wanted to make sure she was dressed in her sexiest lingerie. Crawling into bed, Dylan grabbed her book from the nightstand. She tried to stay awake as long as she could. Looking at the clock, she could see that it was almost midnight. No longer able to keep her eyes open, Dylan fell into a deep sleep.
Rade wanted to get out of the office and on his way home before midnight, but with everything going on, he ended up staying a lot longer than he wanted. With his newfound relationship with his father, he needed to try and save the company he used as leverage to gain full interest in Spectrum. Once he was satisfied that everything was taken care of, it was close to two in the morning. Grabbing his jacket, Rade finally headed out. He needed to be near Dylan. Rade knew she would be fast asleep when he arrived at the penthouse. As much as he wanted her, he couldn’t bring himself to wake her up, so when he got to the penthouse, instead of consuming her, he took a cold shower.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Rade was so exhausted that when he hit the bed, it was all she wrote. As tired as he was, it was no wonder that he slept through the alarm on his phone. It wasn’t until Dylan snuggled up against him that he became fully awake. He didn’t care what time it was. He needed to satisfy his need for her, especially since he missed out last night. Rolling Dylan over onto her back, he removed the sheet from her warm body and began taking what was his. Seeing her, she was like an angel beneath him. Lowering himself down her body, he slowly lifted her nightgown up her body while tenderly placing soft kisses along her body. When her breasts were exposed, he couldn’t help but stop and worship the taut buds. Placing his mouth over one nipple while caressing the other, he was well on his way to satisfying his need for her.
Dylan began to stir, raising her back off of the soft bed. Taking hold of his hair, she forked her fingers through his thick hair, needing to satisfy her need to touch him while being touched. Missing him, she whispered softly, “Rade, I need you inside me.” Pulling her hands from his hair, he lifted them above her head. Pulling her nightgown over head, Rade encircled her wrist in the silky material. Slipping the ends of the material through the iron spindle, he knotted the two ends together securing her hands to the headboard. Continuing his decent on her, he lowered his mouth down her body, touching her very lightly with his lips. When Dylan began to squirm, he warned her, “You need to stay still, Sweetness.”
Doing as he asked, Dylan held her body still while Rade continued to worship her. As much as she wanted him to stop, she wanted him to continue more. Every breath he blew on her sent her body to places she never knew existed. The pleasure that was consuming her was almost too much for her to take. It was only when he bit down gently on her clit that she lost it. She came with such force, she could have sworn that the angels above were talking to her. Taking her out of her trance, she heard Rade’s voice. “My little beauty came without permission.” Rade wasn’t going to punish her this time. With all the emotions going every which way, he knew there wasn’t any way she would have been able to hold back her release.
Kneeling between her legs, it was time for Rade to get his fill of pleasure. Guiding his thick cock between her legs, he plunged inside her inch by inch. He wanted the pleasure he was about to give her to last. He made sure his movements in and out of her were slow and precise. Pulling out just to the tip, he slowly moved back inside her. He knew her release was close. Her back began to bow off of the bed, sending her closer and closer to another unforgettable release. This time she would need to wait. He wanted them to come together, his seed mixing with her juices. “I want you to wait until I tell you to come,” Rade ordered, plunging deeper inside her.
Taking her where he needed her to be, in a soft voice he whispered, “Come for me, Sweetness.” With her screams of ecstasy filling the room, Rade lost his control and came with her.
Their little morning pick-me-up caused both of them to be late for work. Dylan only had a couple of days to get caught up at work. Soon she and Rade would be leaving for Vegas to join her dad and Sally in their vows of marriage. Dylan was excited for her dad. He deserved so much. Mostly he deserved to be happy.
Thinking about her dad made Dylan think about when her happy day would arrive. With everything that was going on, she wasn’t thinking about making wedding plans. The only friend she had was Lilly. Dylan didn’t care too much about having a big wedding. She wanted something small with only family. This was something that she needed to talk to Rade about. They would need to decide on a date so that Dylan could begin planning. She didn’t really even know where to start. She didn’t know whether to get a wedding planner or try to plan it herself.
Pushing away her thoughts of wedding cakes and wedding dresses, Dylan dug into her work. With all of her interviews set up for next week, she could finally concentrate on other tasks, like re-evaluating the financial records for BlackStone. When the IRS investigator came to the office to do a review of the financials, it worried Keeve and Mason. They wanted to make sure that everything would be in order for the next audit. They wanted to make sure it went more smoothly than this audit did. It was for this reason they suggested Dylan go through the records and make sure everything was in order.
Halfway through the review Dylan had to take a break. Her brain was swimming with numbers. Pushing from her desk, she decided to take a quick walk to the corner deli to grab some lunch. As she was heading out of the building, she noticed that Peter was sitting on the couch in the lobby. Walking up to him, Dylan asked, “I’m going to grab something to eat.”
Rising to his feet, Peter said. “I’ll join you.”
Rade insisted that Dylan be protected 24/7. With Chloe still out there and her psycho tendencies, Rade wasn’t about to take any chances that she would be coming after Dylan.
As they walked down the sidewalk, Dylan had to wonder what actually happened between Lilly and him. She wanted to ask Peter, but felt like she might be intruding on his privacy. Then she thought about Lilly. Lilly was her best friend. Dylan would do anything to make her friend happy.
When they got to the deli and placed their order, Dylan went for it and asked Peter, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Go for it,” Peter said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“What happened between you and Lilly? You two seemed so happy together,” Dylan asked.
Wiping his mouth with his napkin, Peter looked at Dylan. “I honestly don’t know. One minute we were together and the next she was on her way to Paris.”
“Lilly seems to think that you were keeping things from her,” Dylan said bluntly. If she was going to find out what happened between them, she wasn’t going to hold back. Based on Peter’s look, he wasn’t expecting her to be so direct.
“I did keep things from Lilly. Sometimes my job requires me to keep things confidential,” Peter said choosing his words wisely. He knew what he was keeping from Lilly didn’t pertain to work, but Dylan didn’t need to know that.
“That’s what I told her, but she seemed to think it was more. If you still care about her, you should talk to her,” Dylan suggested.
“I’m dangerous, Dylan..,” Peter paused. “I mean with the kind of work I do.”
“Do you still care about her?” Dylan asked.
“More than you’ll ever know,” Peter said affectionately. “Can we not talk about this?”
Dylan an
d Peter walked back to the office building in silence. Something she said must have affected Peter because his mind was elsewhere. What Dylan didn’t understand was why Peter wouldn’t fight for Lilly. If he really cared for her the way he admitted, why wouldn’t he make every effort to be with her? People have long-distance relationships all the time and they seem to find a way to make them work out. It wasn’t like Lilly would be living in Paris forever. Dylan knew Lilly would be coming back to the States to help her with her wedding plans and there was no reason why Peter couldn’t go to Paris to be with her.
Dylan was working diligently when Mason stepped into her office. Looking up from her computer, Dylan greeted him. “Hey, Mason, I’m going through the BlackStone financials. Everything looks good so far.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. Do you have a minute to take a break? I want to talk to you about something,” Mason asked, taking a seat in front of her desk.
“I always have time for you. What’s on your mind?” Dylan asked with a smile.
“Well, I’ve thought a lot about this. How would you feel about heading the Spectrum facility here in New York? I know that you have put a lot of time in getting it up and running, and with the interviews coming up, I think you would be a perfect fit for the position,” Mason admitted confidently.
“I don’t know anything about running a business, Mason. I’m just a financial advisor,” Dylan replied honestly.
“You aren’t giving yourself enough credit, Dylan. Look at everything you’ve done already. It doesn’t take a genius to see that you were meant to head the office here. I haven’t spoken to Keeve or Rade about it yet, but I’m almost positive they would agree that the CEO position should be yours,” Mason argued.
