RISK

by Deborah Bladon

  "Excuse me."

  That voice is too sweet for it to belong to anyone who works here. It's melodic, like an angel. A sweet little angel who isn't old enough to understand that boys, and eventually men, have the ability to make you feel like a rare jewel and the gum on the bottom of their shoe, all in the space of an hour.

  I turn and look down. She's as precious as her voice. Perfect almond shaped green eyes and hair as red as mine. She's dressed in a pink T-shirt and matching skirt. Her lilac painted toenails on display in her little leather sandals.

  "Can I help you, Miss?"

  Her face brightens with a broad smile. "You called me Miss."

  "Little girls are Miss." I crouch so I'm looking directly at her face.

  "What are little boys?" She brings her hands together in front of her.

  "Trouble. Little boys are nothing but trouble." A deep voice interjects from the left.

  I turn toward it. It's Nolan Black with the slightest hint of a smile on his face and an attractive brunette at his side.

  Chapter 25

  Nolan

  "Don't lead her astray, Nolan. Boys aren't trouble. It's just certain men that are."

  Gretel Gallant is only saying that because I've turned her down, twice. The most recent time was six months ago when I went to her apartment to meet with her husband. She answered the door wearing only a diamond necklace after she sent her husband to pick up their daughter from after school care. She's as hot for my dick now as she was back then. She made that obvious when she approached me the second I walked into the store.

  "Cat got your tongue, Nolan, or are you silent because you know I'm right?"

  Jesus. You'd think she'd keep the snarky attitude at bay in front of her child.

  "What brings you and Leila into the store today?" I tap her daughter on the head. "You're too beautiful to wear makeup, Leila."

  "So is my Mommy."

  Ah, the innocent eye of a child.

  "Is there something I can help you find?" Ellie directs her attention to Gretel.

  "I'm a regular," Gretel says it like it matters. It grants her no special privileges. She's in the store at least a few times a week, often asking the staff if she can see me. She can't. I keep a fair distance between my cock and Gretel at all times. "We were just leaving."

  Ellie eyes Leila. "Is there anything I can help you with, Leila?"

  She shrugs, her hands disappearing into the pockets of the skirt she's wearing. "I just wanted to tell you that I like your hair."

  Ellie smiles softly, her fingers leaping to her bun. "Thank you. Your hair is really pretty."

  "Mommy says I can change it if I want when I'm older."

  Of course, Gretel would say that to a six-year-old. She's had more work done than most of the women in Manhattan combined.

  "I think you're perfect exactly the way you are," Ellie says the words that are dangling from the tip of my tongue. "There's one thing I think we need to talk about, though."

  "What?" Gretel barks, her hands leaping to Leila's shoulders. "Don't tell her that you like her nose."

  "I like it better than your nose, Gretel." I turn toward her, raising a brow. "I like the last nose you had better than this one too. The one before that not so much."

  She shoots me a look that says shut the fuck up, or it might be fuck me. Either way, it's not happening.

  "Did your Mommy pay for anything for you today, Leila?"

  Ellie's voice is soothing and calm. Gretel stands in silence as Leila shakes her head from side-to-side. "Not for me. She bought all those things in the bag for herself."

  "Did you bring any of your own money with you today?"

  Leila giggles, her hand darting to cover her mouth. "I don't have money. I have to earn it, and I don't like chores."

  Like mother, like daughter.

  "I can see that you have something in your pocket." Ellie points to the left pocket of Leila's skirt. "It looks like a tube of mascara. Is that what it is?"

  Leila looks back at Gretel before her eyes settle on Ellie. "Yes. It's mascara. I want it."

  "If you want to take something home from the store, you need to pay for it." Ellie's gaze slides over Gretel's face before she looks at Leila again. "Sometimes it's hard to resist taking whatever we want, but we have to earn money to pay for those things."

  "Mommy says she earns every dime she spends listening to Daddy talk."

  Ellie sighs, her hand darting out in front of her. "Can I have the mascara back?"

  "I guess," Leila whispers as she tugs it out of her pocket. "Daddy says I can't wear makeup until I'm twenty."

  "Your father can say what he wants, but I set that rule." Gretel snatches the mascara from Ellie's palm. "Mommy will buy you this, princess, and anything else you want."

  Ellie's jaw drops as Gretel grabs Leila's hand and they walk away.

  "That woman makes me crazy," she whispers as she watches Leila's face light up at the lipstick counter. "What lesson is she teaching her daughter?"

  "One she'll hopefully regret one day." I exhale roughly. "I'm sorry I missed your call earlier. I was in the middle of something."

  "No problem." She looks toward the entrance of the store, her eyes tracking a customer who just walked in. "I get it. You're a busy man."

  "We need to talk, Ellie." I take a deep breath, trying to steady my voice." I have a meeting soon. Can you come up to my office at two?"

  Her eyes drop to the plain white watch on her left wrist. "Is it business or personal?"

  "You work for Crew," I point out. "It's about last night."

  She looks at my hands, her teeth scraping at her bottom lip. "I'd like to talk about that too."

  "I'll see you at two o'clock sharp." That's only four hours from now. Four fucking hours for me to figure out how to tell this gorgeous woman that I'm not the man she thinks I am.

  "I might be a little late." Her gaze drifts to where a group of customers has gathered around a perfume display. "I'm having lunch with Liam at one fifteen, but I'll be sure to come up to your office as soon as I'm done. I need to get back to work now."

  She tosses me a look, but unlike Gretel's there is no ambiguity in Ellie's hidden message. It clearly says your loss, jerk. Your fucking loss is Wolf's gain.

  Well, shit.

  ***

  "Ellie Madden wants to talk to you," Eda announces as she blocks my path when I step off the elevator and approach my office door.

  "I just spoke to her."

  "In the last ten minutes?" She eyes me carefully. "She's called twice since I've been in, Mr. Black. It's obvious that she has an issue she wants to discuss with you."

  The issue is why I was such a raging asshole to her after we fucked. I got a business call last night when I was with her, then a personal call and before I could stop the runaway train of fate, Ellie was on her way out the door.

  I didn't need to hear from Eda that Ellie was trying to hunt me down this morning. The one missed call to my cell from her less than an hour ago and her body language downstairs inside the store said it all. Eyes in every direction but at my face, her hands fisted at her side, her stance wide. She looked like a kickboxer ready to hit the ring.

  I was tempted to shield my balls with my hand to keep them intact if she decided to unleash a roundhouse kick. The woman can drop me to my knees in an instant. No violence needed. A taste of her lips and a second inside her tight body is all it will take. The body I want again, and again. The body that belongs to the woman I wish I could spend all day talking to. The same woman who is having lunch with Liam Wolf and probably dinner with River Whatever-The-Fuck-His-Surname-Is.

  "What are you thinking about?" Eda nudges her glasses back up her nose.

  "Clowns."

  "Cute clowns or scary clowns?" She furrows her brow.

  I enter my office with Eda right on my heel. "Neither."

  "Clowns are one or the other, sir."

  Is she seriously schooling me on clowns right now? "These two clowns do
n't fall into either category."

  "Are they circus clowns or the kind of clowns that you can outsource to attend a party or whatnot?"

  I had no fucking idea that Eda knew so much useless information about clowns. "I'd like to outsource them both to a raft in the middle of the ocean."

  "I know a guy." She finally pulls the pencil from behind her ear and taps it against her chin. "I know a guy who could take care of that for you."

  "Take care of that for me?" I unbutton my suit jacket as I take a seat behind my desk. "Are you suggesting what I think you are, Eda?"

  "If the clowns you've met don't fit the bill, I know someone with floppy shoes and a red nose. He's great with kids and adults. His rates are reasonable too."

  "I'll keep that in mind." My gaze moves to the corner of my desk and a small ceramic elephant. A gift I'd purchased more than a month ago, but always forget here in my office. I scoop it into my palm. "I'm not in need of a clown right now, but thank you."

  "Anytime." She takes a step closer to my desk. "She likes you. You know that, right?"

  "Who?"

  "Ellie Madden."

  My head pops up at the mention of Ellie's name. "Why would you say that?"

  Her lips curve up into a smile. "I have four daughters, Mr. Black. I know when a young woman is sweet on a man. I heard it in her voice when she called."

  "You think she's sweet on me?" I cock a brow.

  "Almost as sweet as you are on her, sir. Almost."

  It's something. I want more, everything, all of Ellie, but for now, I'll settle for it.

  Chapter 26

  Ellie

  "You followed me to lunch," I accuse as Nolan shuts the door of his office. This time he sent his assistant on a mission to find the marketing notes for an online campaign for a skin care product that launched last year. She eagerly took on the challenge, telling him she'd be back in ten minutes. He told her if she did that she'd need to find a new job.

  His hand goes to my waist, edging me back against the closed door. His breath, laced with the lingering aroma of a midday shot of something thick and strong, maybe whiskey, blows over my lips. "Let's call it even since you followed me last night."

  I try to look away, surprised that there's a flush creeping over my cheeks. His hand jumps to cup my chin. His eyes, dark and unyielding, stare into mine.

  "I did," I admit. "I didn't mean to. It just happened."

  "It never just happens." He slicks his tongue over his bottom lip. "I didn't just happen to arrive at the restaurant three minutes after you and Liam did. I was on the sidewalk outside Matiz when I saw him wave to you as you left the store. I watched you greet him. One kiss from him on your left cheek and a hand, your right one, on his forearm."

  I swallow hard trying to suppress all the anger I'm feeling. I'd noticed Nolan almost immediately when he took a seat four tables over from where I was sitting with Liam. I felt his eyes on me until he left the restaurant five minutes before I did. I was tempted to skip our meeting, but curiosity wouldn't let me. "You had no right to do that. I was having lunch with him to talk about something important to me."

  "You had no right to follow me last night." His eyes drop to my chest before they trail back to my face.

  He's right. I didn't have a right, but I had a need. An overwhelming need to see where his driver was taking him.

  "I was curious. I wanted to know where you were going." I try to jerk my chin free, but his grip is too tight. It's firm, tender, the promise of that touch on my body keeps me in place. I ask the question that's been silently haunting me since last night. "Did you go there to meet a woman?"

  He looks directly at me, his voice calm and in control. "No."

  "Did you fuck someone else last night after you fucked me?" My heart is racing with the uncertainty of how I'll feel if he tells me he did.

  "No, Ellie. Absolutely not."

  "Why did you go to that building?"

  He pauses. "I live there."

  I shake my head, curbing my urge to push him away from me. "You live in the apartment you took me to. The one we fucked in."

  His chin drops faintly. It's so slight that it's barely noticeable. "I own the apartment that I took you to. I used to live there. I don't anymore, but some of my things are still there."

  "You made me believe that you live there now." I stare into his eyes. He can't win this. I won't let him. I'm not going to be made a fool of by a man again. Ever.

  "I let you assume that I live there now, Ellie," he says roughly.

  I clear my throat. "So you don't have a hotel room that you take women to? You have an entire apartment?"

  His phone buzzes in the pocket of his suit jacket. "I haven't taken any other woman there recently."

  "Recently?" I spit out a laugh. It's a joyless sound inflated with bitterness. As much as I haven't admitted it to myself, I wanted to be different. I didn't want to be just one of many to him. Not to him. "What is recent to you? Two days ago? Three? A few hours? When's the last time a woman was there with you?"

  "Five years, three months, fourteen days."

  The precision of his answer jars me enough that it catches my breath. "What?"

  "It's been a long time." He skips past the oddity of his last reply as if it means nothing. "I take women I want to fuck to an Executive Suite at the Bishop Hotel."

  "You didn't take me there."

  He leans in, pressing his lips to my temple. "I want more than to fuck you, Ellie."

  "What do you want?" I look up and into his eyes. They've softened, transitioned from defensive to open.

  "I want to know you. I want you to know me."

  ***

  "You already know me." I push my hands against his chest, but the man is solid. He's a wall. "You commissioned a complete background check on me when you hired me."

  "Is that so?" He smiles.

  "Yes." I nod toward his desk. "You had a file with my name on it on your desk when I came in that morning with my list of security improvements."

  He doesn't flinch. "You're very aware of everything around you. I was surprised you didn't realize a car was following you last night while you were following me."

  Shit. I didn't think of that. Why would I think of that?

  "Was it a security detail?" I scan his face, looking for some subtle reaction but there's nothing.

  "Yes. That's exactly what it was."

  "Why?" I hesitate a moment, then ask. "Why would you need that? You own a cosmetics company. It's not like you're the President of the United States."

  That draws a smile to his lips. "A man doesn't need to run a country to require extra security sometimes, Ellie."

  "Elaborate on what that means."

  "It means that people, other than the President, need security."

  "Why do you need personal security?" I press my hands against his chest again, but there's no movement on his part. He won't budge. "Are you in trouble?"

  "Define trouble." He dips his chin, the grin on his lips widening.

  "You think this is funny?" I shake my head, frustrated and embarrassed. I didn't expect this at all. I felt victorious in some twisted post-fuck sense when I followed him last night. It was as if I'd caught him doing something before he could hurt me.

  It still hurt, though, not in the same bone-numbing way that it did when I realized that Tad had cheated on me with who knows how many women. When I saw Nolan leave his apartment last night, I felt a sense of loss over what could have been.

  "Not funny." His smile disappears, replaced by calmness. "There's an occasional threat directed my way. I'm never sure if it's a disgruntled customer or an actual lunatic. If it has any weight, I have security personnel who follow me until things settle."

  "I didn't know."

  "Now you do," he says, his voice low. "I think it's interesting that we both felt compelled to follow the other."

  "Why did you follow me to lunch?" I ask hoarsely.

  "I consider Wolf a threat. A much different thre
at than those that require extra security, but still, a threat."

  I'm buoyed by the answer as much as I am irritated. He doesn't own me. He fucked me once. That doesn't grant him a ticket into my soul. "A threat? Because you think he wants to sleep with me?"

  "He doesn't want to sleep with you, Ellie. He wants to fuck you and I'm not about to let that happen."

  Chapter 27

  Nolan

  Following her to lunch was a spontaneous, cock driven decision. I was coming back from a meeting with Kristof when I saw Liam on the sidewalk in front of Matiz. I waited, in plain view, until Ellie emerged from the store, her face beaming as she approached him.

  She held back when she got close. The only contact a quick brush of his lips across her cheek and her hand sweeping across his arm. They walked side-by-side, not touching, to an Italian place around the corner that serves overcooked pasta and sauce from a jar.

  I could have easily stopped there and turned back toward the office. I didn't. I took a table, ordered a whiskey and spent the next hour trying to read their lips. It was useless. She knew I was there. Her face gave way to what was going on inside of her.

  Conflict. The anger from my presence combined with her confusion about last night.

  I didn't know she followed me until Kristof mentioned it during our brief meeting right before I saw Ellie with Wolf. She watched me come out of the building she thought I lived in before seeing me walk into the building I actually live in. It's not how I wanted her to find out, but I'm pleased it's out in the open. I'm glad that she knows at least one of my secrets.

  "Liam doesn't want to fuck me." There's irritation in her tone.

  She pushes against my chest and this time I take a step back. It surprises her enough that she doesn't move immediately. So I take another step, to the side this time. She passes me and moves to sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk.