by Riley, Alexa
“Of course I’m staying here.” Where else would I stay? Not having somewhere to go sends me into a panic. I’ve been alone since I lost Grams, but in this moment I truly feel alone and it’s a realization that rocks me.
“It will be too cold. Nick will only leave the heat high enough so the pipes don’t freeze. That won’t be warm enough for you to stay.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve got blankets and stuff, I’m sure I’ll be okay.” I take a step back from him.
Maybe I could call Linda from the clinic and see if I can stay with her. No way am I asking my brother to stay with him. If worse came to worst I’d just have to suck it up and hunker down tonight. I don’t want to have to ask Linda since she has her hands full with her life and kids.
“I won’t let you stay in a cold house. You will stay with me.” My mouth falls open in shock. He didn’t even ask me. It’s a demand, and I can read it in every line of his body that he isn’t backing down from this.
“I don’t even know where you live,” I blurt out as I look for a reason not to go to his place.
Going home with him feels intimate. I’ve never gone home with a man before. I’ve thought about it before when I’d lie in bed at night wondering what it would be like to be with a man.
“You’ll be fine. My sister lives with me,” he says.
“Yeah, because that’s reassurance. I have a brother, so you telling me your sister lives with you means nothing.”
His eyes narrow for a second as he tries to read me. Crap. I’ve said too much. It makes me wonder how much Brian knows about what Slate told me to do. Maybe he doesn’t know anything at all. I hadn’t thought of that until now. Maybe I’m being used to seduce him so Slate can keep Brian close. We all know Slate wants to work with him no matter what the cost. I’m reminded that I’m supposed to be agreeable and it takes away the indecision. I should be pissed, but relief slides through me that it’s out of my hands. I don’t want him to ask about my brother and I need to get this done. Then I have to come up with a plan.
“Never mind. You’re right. I’ll stay with you.” He steps so close to me so that I have to look up at him.
“Why do you keep doing that?” His hands come out and grip my hips as he holds me close and keeps me in place. His lips trail softly down my neck and I’m a puddle in his arms.
“Doing what?” I feel him smile against me and I close my eyes tight.
“How do you go from hot to cold so quickly?” He kisses me below my ear and I gasp when I feel his hot tongue. “You want to get close to me then run the other way?”
A small laugh comes from me, then he tightens his hands on my hips. “It doesn't matter,” I say dismissively as I try to maneuver out of his hold, but he doesn’t let me go.
“It matters,” he growls, making goosebumps rise across my skin.
“Does it? Does it really matter?” I throw back at him.
He begins to respond, but I cut him off. “Answer one question for me. You aren't going to stop until you get what you want from me, are you?”
His blue eyes widen a fraction and I can tell he’s trying to figure out what to say. My brother is good at that, too—making sure he says things in a way that keeps him from answering a question. He always tries to make everything seem fine when it really isn’t.
“I’ll get my bag.” He lets go of my hips reluctantly and I move away from him.
“I can’t,” he finally says with something like determination in his eyes. “I can’t stop.”
Maybe he knows that Slate ordered me to give him what he wants if he’s willing to admit he won’t stop coming for me. It stands to reason that he’d do just about anything to get what he wants. Including making deals with the devil.
When my eyes meet his, I have the strangest feeling that I’m actually the one with all the power and he’s the one at my mercy. It’s just too bad I have no idea what to do about it.
Chapter 5
Brian
She glares at the menu like it’s personally offended her. Her eyes narrow and she pulls it closer to her as she scrutinizes every detail. I don’t open mine because I’m too busy memorizing every detail of her. The way her blonde hair is tucked behind one ear and lies over the opposite shoulder. I see the tiny silver bird earrings she’s wearing and wonder where she got them. Her sweater hugs her tight and every sweet curve is caressed to show off how sultry her body is. I fist my hands under the table because they’re empty. I want to delve into her softness and get lost in her light.
Her eyebrows furrow as she mouths several words like she’s trying to pronounce them. Maybe I should have told her the entire menu was going to be in French, but she opened it up and refused to ask for help. There’s something so complex about her that I want to figure out. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met and this sexual attraction I have to her is unreal.
With a quick huff she closes the menu and slaps it on the table.
“Would you like me to translate it for you?” I offer, and she purses her lips.
“Of course you speak French.”
“I didn’t think it would upset you.” I can’t keep the laugh out of my voice as she rolls her eyes and takes a drink of water.
“It doesn’t upset me that you speak French. It upsets me that I didn’t know we were coming to a fancy place and I’m wearing a Christmas sweater and snow boots.” She looks around and I see a tinge of pink on her cheeks.
“I was trying to impress you,” I admit and lean forward to take her hand. To my surprise she doesn’t pull away from me, but she doesn’t look at me either.
“I don’t understand why you’d try to do that.”
“If several days of stalker-like behavior bordering on breaking the law for harassment weren’t any indication, let me just say that I really, really want to get to know you.”
“Borderline?” She looks at me and raises an eyebrow in challenge.
“So, tell me what’s with the hot and cold?” I ask, changing the subject on how eager I was to get her to go out with me. “You were silent as a church mouse on the way here and now you’re scowling at one of the nicest restaurants in town like it stole Christmas from all of Whoville.”
A smile pulls at her lips until she can’t fight it any longer. Her fingers lace with mine and it’s then I see her relax. My body does the same and I feel that charge between us from before. It’s always there, lying low and ready to snap, and right now it’s buzzing like lightning after it strikes.
“It’s just all really sudden. I met you for five seconds on a dark night and suddenly you can’t wait to get to know me? It sounds a little ridiculous to me.” The way she tilts her head to the side makes me want to kiss her neck again.
“Maybe to you.” I shrug as I rub the pad of my thumb over her palm. “But in my experience, when something like this feels this good, you have to hold on to it.”
“So, you’re a player?” Her body straightens and I shake my head as I smile.
“Oh no, far from it. I’m too busy being a workaholic to date. What I mean is that I’ve built my company into one of the greatest in the country and I can tell you within seconds of seeing a deal if it’s going to succeed. I trust my gut and it’s never led me wrong.”
“Is that what getting me to go on a date with you was about? Seeing if this was a good deal?”
“Claudia,” I say, sitting forward. The feel of her name on my tongue gets me hard and I’m thankful for long linen tablecloths. “If you keep shitting on my desire for you, I’m going to take you back to my place and turn you over my knee.”
Her face flushes and she bites her lip. I wonder if that wouldn’t be an agreeable solution for the both of us. I tuck that information into the back of my mind for later.
“I want you because the second I saw you my soul crawled out of its dark hiding place and for the first time in my goddamn life it attached to something. You. You’ve awoken this…this thing in me and I don’t know what it is or how to control it. That’s why
The waiter thinks now’s a great time to pop up and ask what we’d like to order. I breathe through my nose for a second to calm myself and Claudia looks at me like I’ve just explained the theory of relatively.
I rattle off what I think Claudia would like to eat and then order two extra entrees in case I’m wrong. I’ll just have whatever she doesn’t like the look of. Once I’m finished, I hand the menu to the waiter and look back at Claudia and she’s staring at me with her lips parted slightly.
“What?”
“Whatever you ordered sounded really sexy.” She laughs, and it warms every part of me. Mostly the region below my belt, but that’s been hot for her for days.
“Is that all you have to say after I’ve basically told you that you’re my soulmate?”
She takes a sip of water before she shrugs again. “I’m not sure I believe in that.”
“You’re lying.”
I was honest when I said I trust my gut. This guy Slate is shady as hell, and the more I looked into his proposal and his other business dealings, the more I didn’t like the look of it. But if I need to sacrifice my reputation and all that I’ve built for a chance with Claudia, then it’s worth it. I see the way she looks at me and the way she reacts to my touch. It isn’t just on my side of the table that things are happening.
“You don’t know me well enough to know if I’m lying.” The waiter brings a basket of bread over, and when she reaches for it, I tug it out of her grasp.
“I know all I need to.” I look at the assorted basket of bread and then back to her. I reach into it and pull out the single croissant hidden on the bottom and slather it in butter. I put it on her small plate and nudge it towards her. “The rest I’ll learn in time.”
She licks her lips and I do a poor job of hiding my smug smile, but within seconds she’s enjoying it and the sounds are making me weak. It can’t be legal to be this hard in public.
“You picked out the pastry I’d like the best. That doesn’t really constitute soulmate-ship.”
“Then tell me what does.”
She looks at me thoughtfully for a moment then lets out a huff. “I guess it’s just a feeling.”
“Agreed,” I say, running my eyes up and down her body.
Chapter 6
Claudia
He asks me questions non-stop through dinner and I do my best to answer him while still protecting my secrets. Like how I’m scared of what my brother is capable of and how I have to please him or this could end badly for me. But Brian is so clever that by the end of dinner I’m telling him all about my grandmother and how much I miss her. I can’t believe what I’m saying but it feels good to talk to someone about her. Mark is blood, but even he didn’t show near the sympathy that Brian does when I speak of her. I didn’t realize that I needed that until I got it all out.
“Where are we going?” I ask as I we get into the back of the car and the driver pulls away from the curb.
“I’m taking you home.” His voice sizzles across my skin and I can feel the anticipation grow in my belly.
What I want right now is have him whisper French in my ear while his hands caress my body. I took French in high school and loved the language. When I was younger I dreamed of going to Paris one day, but I know that was nothing but a fantasy. Hearing Brian talk effortlessly to the waiter at dinner reminded me of all those fairytales I pushed aside.
I couldn’t believe what he told me about soulmates and how he thinks I’m his. I wanted to argue with him and tell him he was wrong, but I didn’t know how. I’ve always thought that it’s possible, and when that moment came I’d know it deep down inside of me. I didn’t have the conviction to tell him he was wrong, because the stirring inside of me might be what that is. Could all that’s bubbling up be because he’s the one? How has fate twisted us together and put me in this situation with him? I’ve been given to him to entice him into working with Slate, an incentive for a partnership that I don’t think he should make. But if he doesn’t, all that I know will crumble before me.
“What are you so worried about?” he asks, touching my chin and breaking my concentration.
“Nothing,” I say as his fingers lightly stroke my jaw and then tuck my hair behind my ear.
“You’re worried?”
I don’t know why, but I nod slightly. He has some sort of kinetic power over me that demands I tell him the truth. He leans in close so that the scent of him encompasses me and I mold my body to his.
“There’s nothing for you to worry about.” He whispers something in French right before he places his lips against mine and then he kisses me with so much tenderness I have no choice but to believe him.
My arms wrap around his neck as his hands move down my body. I feel him everywhere as I open my mouth and let him take over. He’s hungry for me and he kisses me like an escaped convict. It’s passionate but possessive as he pulls me out of my seat and onto his lap to straddle him. His hands go to my ass and I grind down on him, seeking purchase in the place where I need it most. I pretended not to watch him adjust himself when he stood up from the table after dinner. But I saw how hard he was and all I could think was that I did that to him. Now I’m rubbing against it like I’m getting paid to do it and my body is lighting up at every nerve ending.
“Tell me you’ll let me inside you,” he says as his mouth moves to my neck. “Tell me I can fuck you bare on my living room floor because I don’t think I can make it to the bedroom.”
“Oh god,” is all I can manage when his palm cups my sex and squeezes me.
Things have gone from zero to sixty in seconds, but my body doesn’t need time to catch up. I’m primed as I dry hump his hand and I feel his fingers rub just the right spot.
“Feel how hard I am,” he says, and he places my hand on top of his pants so I can feel his length. I do the same to him and squeeze him a little until he groans. “Are you on the pill?”
“No,” I say, and my voice sounds desperate. I’m climbing higher and I might just cum from this right here.
“I’ll pull out,” he says as he kisses me again and I nod. What else am I supposed to say? I’ve been given to him, but right now I’d agree to anything he wanted.
He’s charming and sweet, but he’s also a magnet that’s pulling me in. I’ve never had this kind of chemistry with anyone before, and when he touches me my mind goes haywire. The only thing that makes sense is how good it feels and I want to keep it going.
I feel myself soaking my panties as my fingers tighten on his suit, but then suddenly the car comes to a halt. Brian pulls away from me and he looks just as surprised as I am. For a second he blinks and then he realizes what’s happening.
“We’re here.” He practically jumps out of the car and half carries me with my bag over his shoulder. “Thank god my sister isn’t home.”
“Slow down,” I say, and a laugh bubbles up as he walks into a gorgeous lobby that looks like a hotel but without all the people.
“I can’t, beautiful. Not when it comes to you.” He hits the button for the elevator and it only takes a second for it to open.
As he takes me inside, I notice that it’s all glass and I can see out into the lobby as it goes up. There are dozens of Christmas trees down there and the elevator is playing Christmas music. I haven’t really been super excited about the holiday, but looking up at Brian and seeing a few flakes of snow in his hair I’m somehow desperate for a winter wonderland. What is it about falling for him that makes me want to enjoy the holidays?
The elevator keeps going up and he presses my back against the glass while he holds my face and kisses me. He’s hungry again, and though my almost-climax was cut short, it’s back and begging for him to finish what he started.
My legs wrap around his waist and he groans as I grind against him. I don’t have any experience with any of this, but I know what feels good. I might be innocent when it comes to sex, but I’m not dumb. I’ve gotten myself off enough to know what works and if I keep this pressure up, I’ll get there just like this.
A chime goes off, but he doesn’t stop and I feel his hand slide up my shirt. He yanks down my bra and his fingers pluck at my nipple as his hard cock rocks against me. I’ve never had anything but my own hand there and his expert touch is too much. The chime goes off again and I realize it’s the elevator doors opening and closing. I have no idea how many times it’s gone off now because time has no meaning.
Brian must realize it the same time I do because he steps off with me in his arms and carries me through a door. I hear it close behind us as he drops my bag to the floor then he gets on his knees in front of me.
“I have to taste it,” he says with desperation in his voice.
He tugs down my jeans and I lean my shoulders back against the wall. He only gets them halfway down my legs before he’s tearing at my panties and then burying his face between my thighs. He wiggles his tongue between my lips and I cry out at the feeling. It’s warm and soft as he laps at me and I reach down to grab his hair.
“More,” he growls in frustration as he tries to push my thighs apart.
I step out of my jeans and he moans in relief as he puts my leg over his shoulder and opens me up. His whole face is on my pussy and I’ve never felt anything so good. All of my troubles and worries about the future are gone and my only focus is feeling good.
“Brian!” I call out and roll my hips forward. “I’ve never done this before and it feels so good.”
“Are you trying to make me cum on myself?” he says before his tongue goes back to my clit.
“Yes,” I answer honestly, because that would just be hot as hell.
“As you wish,” he says, and I hear him unzip himself.
I glance down to see his arm moving fast and I gasp when I realize he’s jerking himself off while he eats my pussy.
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