Taken by the CEO (The Scandalous Wentworths)

by Stefanie London

  “You make me feel…full.” She pressed her cheek to his so that her lips were right near his ear. These words were the kind that should be whispered. They were secret, intimate. They belonged only to him. “I can feel you all the way inside me, and it’s so good. It makes me ache.”

  “Jesus, Emmaline.” He smashed his mouth down on hers and wrapped his arms around her until there was no air between them. “That’s so fucking hot.”

  Locking her ankles behind his back, she rocked to meet him thrust for thrust. “When you make me come I feel like I want to fly apart. It’s like being on a rollercoaster.”

  The cupboards rattled as he pounded into her, and she had to grip the edge of the countertop to prevent herself falling. The scent of faded aftershave danced in her nose. The impulse to suck on his skin came like a flash of lightning, and she drew his earlobe into her mouth, worrying the skin with her teeth.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he panted.

  “So don’t.” She screwed her eyes shut in preparation to whisper something illicit into his ear. “Keep fucking me.”

  With a deep, desperate sound his whole body tensed, and he plunged deep inside her, shuddering as he came. Hard muscle clutched her so tight she could barely breathe, but she dared not move an inch and risk interrupting the best feeling imaginable.

  She’d made him feel good. She’d brought him to the edge and pushed him over with her words. Never before had she ever felt so powerful and so intensely bound to someone.

  There was no denying it—she’d totally screwed up casual sex.

  …

  After they’d come down from their incredible high, Emmaline had suggested they take their dessert outside. Now Parker sat on a wicker sofa piled high with cushions, wearing a pair of tracksuit pants and a hoodie he’d retrieved from the gym bag in his car. Emmaline was in his shirt and nothing else, which was by far the sexiest thing she’d worn to date.

  Steam curled up from their reheated apple pie—sans ice cream, which had melted into a puddle on the kitchen floor. The scent of cinnamon and brown sugar wafted in the air, mingling with her sweet vanilla perfume.

  At some point in the not-so-distant past this would have been his idea of hell. Cuddling and talking after sex? No fucking way. He’d never considered himself a romantic guy, because romance never figured into his plan.

  For him, business relationships were the ones that mattered, and his liaisons with women were purely physical, because that didn’t require him to trust. Watching his parents’ marriage fall apart in such a spectacular fashion had quashed any dreams that there might be a “happy ever after” in his future. If his father—who had everything in life—couldn’t be trusted to be grateful and monogamous, then what hope did anyone else have?

  But with Emmaline, there was more than something physical, and yet, there were no expectations. He saw her because he wanted to, not because she placed any demands on his time. In fact, the only demands she placed on him were in the bedroom…and he wasn’t about to complain there. Perhaps this was the happy middle ground between casual sex and a relationship. Friends with benefits.

  Then why had he jumped at the chance to get Mark out of the picture?

  “This is my favorite spot in the whole house,” Emmaline said, balancing her plate of pie in one hand while she lit a row of candles along the edge of the porch railing. “Some nights I spend hours out here with a pot of tea and a book.”

  Candlelight flickered across the stark white of the business shirt. She’d left the first few buttons undone, and her breasts pressed against the fabric, uncontained, beneath the cotton as she dropped down next to him.

  “When you’re not baking pie and seducing men,” he quipped, diving a spoon into his dessert.

  “Seducing a man.” She nudged him with her elbow. “You say it like there are others lurking in the shadows.”

  “We never made any promises to one another,” he said, trying to shrug off the little bubble of satisfaction at her words. “And I see you hanging around with that Mark guy a lot.”

  “We’re just friends.”

  “The way he looks at you…” His back teeth ground together. “I know that look, Emmaline. He wants you for more than coffee and conversation.”

  “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” She spooned a piece of pie into her mouth, her brow raised at him.

  “I don’t waste my time on jealousy.” Okay, so that was a total lie, considering how he was feeling right now. But it had never happened before because he’d never let himself get close to a woman. This was an outlier. An anomaly.

  “You’re not as unaffected as you like to think you are, Parker.”

  “And you’re suddenly an expert on me?”

  “No, but I can tell when people are hiding how they feel.”

  “Emotion can cause a lot of trouble,” he said carefully, picking up her feet and placing them in his lap. “I prefer to stick with what I think is right rather than what I feel.”

  “So you coming here has nothing to do with how you feel?” The gentle pressure of her toes kneading his thigh was enough to stir his cock and she laughed, a smug smile indicating that she thought she’d proved him wrong. “Please, explain how your moral compass led you here.”

  “There’s no risk because we’re both consenting, unattached adults who want the same thing.”

  “Which is?”

  “Sex.” Never had that word felt so inadequate. “Some damn fine sex, I might add.”

  “Hmmm.” She bobbed her head. “Agreed.”

  “And I’m not jealous.”

  “I think he doth protest too much.” She smirked. “It’s okay if you are. I’m kind of irresistible like that.”

  She couldn’t even get through the sentence without laughing. But it wasn’t a word of a lie—she may not see it, but he did. Emmaline tempted him to want things he shouldn’t. She tempted him to forget that people were greedy and selfish by nature, and that vows meant nothing.

  “Don’t worry, no chance of me falling for you or anyone else.” He leaned back and watched the blackened clouds shadow the moon for a brief moment. “It’s not how I’m wired.”

  “No relationships, no family commitments,” she murmured. “What’s it like to be so unencumbered?”

  Lonely. The word sprung to the front of mind so sharply that it took Parker aback. But there was no denying it—his life was devoid of company. The whole time he’d lived in Boston he’d done his best to climb the ranks—that meant schmoozing with the partners at the consulting firm and wooing clients. But none of that was real company. Those people didn’t know anything about him, and nor did they care to. No one did.

  But taking a step to change that meant letting down his walls. Relationships required trust, and he was in deficit.

  “I know it’s none of my business,” she said, holding up a hand. “But that olive branch will go away eventually.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” His shoulders bunched, the natural defensive mechanisms that had kept him angrily sticking to his guns for the last few years rearing up inside him.

  “Your family will take the hint.” She laid a hand on his arm, so soft and reassuring that it made him want to run. To put the brakes on. But something rooted him to the spot. “If you’re okay closing that door forever, then don’t worry about it. But if you keep pushing your family away, eventually they’ll allow it, and that door will be closed.”

  “You’re right,” he said, swallowing against the lump in his throat as he pushed up from her wicker sofa. “It’s none of your business.”

  Her eyes dropped to her lap and she nodded. Parker felt like a dick, but he couldn’t let Emmaline get the idea that she had a role to play in his personal life. That was how it started—a simple piece of advice. Then suddenly there were expectations, demands. An opportunity for them to hurt you.

  It was clear to him now that he was allowing her to get under his skin, and that couldn’t happen.

  Chapter Four
teen

  Emmaline had been staring at her computer for a good five minutes without typing a single thing. The cursor blinked, awaiting her instruction, but the words wouldn’t come. Today was the deadline to supply the remaining documents to cement her ASTAR application. Everything was ready to go: the letter of commendation from her line manager, the case study that applicants were required to complete, and a collection of emails showcasing how she’d excelled in her HR Business Partner role.

  But she couldn’t seem to pull the trigger.

  Ever since Parker had come to her house for dinner two nights ago, she’d been feeling uneasy. About the ASTAR program, about their “arrangement,” for lack of a better word…about the way they’d left things after she overstepped the clear line in the sand by trying to give him advice about his family.

  It was all too messy for something that was supposed to have been a night of fun. But no matter how many times her fingers had hovered over the send button on the email telling Parker that they needed to end things, she couldn’t seem to do it. Fact was, she enjoyed his company way too much. She enjoyed the way he looked at her, the way he made her body hum on command. She enjoyed the way they’d sat together on her porch, overlooking the garden and eating dessert. He’d given her more attention in two weeks than Conrad had in five and a half years of marriage.

  But that didn’t necessarily mean that things should continue…

  This is what limbo must feel like.

  “Hey.” A voice caught her attention, and she looked up to see Mark’s smiling face. His floppy brown hair hung over one eye. “Have you been caffeinated this morning?”

  “I haven’t.”

  “Can I treat you?” he asked with a hopeful expression.

  The distraction was exactly what she needed right now. “Sure.”

  They made their way down to the café in the bottom of the building and grabbed a small table in the corner, which had a prime view of the executive reception area. An important-looking man hovered at the front desk, his hands clasped behind his back. Chest puffed out like a preening bird.

  Arthur Wentworth.

  Emmaline watched curiously as their former CEO talked with the woman behind the desk. He had a formidable presence—not unlike his son. But whereas Parker had an aura of confidence and grace, Arthur looked harder. Almost arrogant. Though she supposed that might be her personal views about how little the man had cared for the Wentworth Group staff tainting her perception.

  “So, I have news,” Mark said as he placed their coffees on the table. “I had a chat with Linda a few days ago, but she made me promise to keep it to myself until the details were sorted.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  He grinned. “They’ve offered me a six-month assignment to train all the new staff at our Geelong office. It’s another level up.”

  “Congratulations!” She gave Mark’s arm a squeeze. “That’s fantastic. I know you said you wanted to get some facilitation experience.”

  “I do. But Geelong…it’s so far away.”

  “Mark, it’s like an hour out of the city.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s not exactly in the bush.”

  “It’s far away from you,” he said with a lopsided smile. “Who’s going to be my coffee date if you’re not around?”

  “I’m sure you’ll find some other lovely lady to have coffee with.” She sipped her cappuccino and hoped that their conversation wouldn’t continue down this path. “Six months is nothing.”

  “The truth is, Emmaline, I think me going to Geelong could be a good thing.” He sucked in a breath as if mentally preparing himself.

  Don’t let him say it, don’t let him say it, don’t let him say it.

  “Since we won’t be working in the same office anymore, I thought maybe we could go on a date. We get along so well and…I really like you.”

  Crap.

  “I’m a great guy, I promise.” He held up three fingers in the traditional scout’s salute.

  The thing was, she knew he was a great guy. Mark was funny, sweet, kind, and good-looking. She should have felt something toward him, but he didn’t ignite any passion inside her. Not like Parker did.

  “I like you, too, Mark…as a friend.” She tried not cringe at how cliché she sounded. But her experience at rejecting people was nil. “The offer is sweet, but I’m kind of seeing someone.”

  “I had my suspicions, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask.” Mark looked down into his coffee.

  “I don’t want this to change anything between us. I value your friendship.” She fidgeted with the tin of sugar packets on the table between them, a question niggling at her insides. “Why were you suspicious? I thought I was doing a good job keeping things quiet.”

  He looked up, his expression unreadable. “I had a feeling something was going on when he came to your desk, but I was hoping I was reading it wrong.”

  Emmaline’s stomach dropped. “When who came to my desk?”

  Mark rolled his eyes. “The CEO. Mr. Fancy Pants Parker Wentworth. Or is it Edward Wentworth? My dad always said you can’t trust a guy with two names. It’s him, isn’t it?”

  She sucked on her lip. They hadn’t exactly discussed how to keep their relationship private, but she had made it clear she didn’t want people to know. And she suspected, given his father’s past, Parker probably wouldn’t want it spread around that they were dating, either. Shit. Had she been that obvious?

  When your whole body flies into a hormonal frenzy at the mere sight of him, it’s not surprising that people notice.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Mark said. “You’ve got a terrible poker face.”

  “Please keep it on the down low.” She swallowed against the tight, anxious feeling in her throat. “I don’t know if it’s going anywhere, and I don’t want it to affect my reputation here.”

  “Sure thing.” He sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

  She’d never seen Mark get upset before—he was like a happy Labrador puppy most of the time. But now resentment burned in his gaze.

  “You should know he’s one of the judges of the ASTAR competition,” Mark said. “Unless you already knew that?”

  The implication was clear—he thought Emmaline might be sleeping with the boss to get ahead in her career. She fought back the urge to tell him where to shove his insinuations. She’d worked damn hard since she got this job, desperate to prove herself at every turn. Desperate to prove to herself that she could make up for all the years she’d wasted being Conrad’s trophy wife.

  “If you think those two things are related, then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.” She pushed back on her chair and stood, forcing her hand not to tremble as she reached for her coffee cup. “I deserve a spot on that program because of my work, not for any other reason.”

  Mark shrugged. “All I’m saying is that people notice those kinds of things. It raises questions.”

  “I’m not interested in people’s questions,” she said, her blood boiling. How was it that a guy who’d been nothing but sweet could suddenly turn into a resentful man-child?

  “You might be interested in one of mine. Did you know I was handpicked by the CEO for this assignment?”

  “What?” Emmaline’s lips tightened.

  “Linda said I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. Apparently Mr. Wentworth suggested that I would be the perfect person for this assignment.” Mark sipped his drink. “I thought for sure you’d get the first offer because you’re doing all that work for him with the engagement report, but Linda said he was adamant that I was the best choice. I didn’t think he even had a clue who I was. Don’t you find that strange?”

  The room spun and Emmaline gripped the back of the chair to steady herself. Was it possible that Parker thought Mark was his competition and that was why he’d given him the assignment?

  Don’t be stupid, not everything in the world revolves around you. Mark’s good at his job, so why would it be o
dd for management to notice that?

  “You should be thrilled,” she said, praying that her voice would hold for a few more seconds. “This is the opportunity you’ve been asking for. Don’t cheapen it by trying to take a shot at me.”

  She turned and left Mark glaring at her from the café. Screw him. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Ill-advised, maybe. But not wrong. Her application for the ASTAR program was solid before she even met Parker. She didn’t need to sleep her way to the top.

  But a sinking feeling settled in the pit of Emmaline’s stomach. This whole situation was getting muddy. Parker had never once mentioned Mark other than to tell her she could do better, and now suddenly he’d singled Mark out for a fantastic career opportunity. It didn’t add up.

  Maybe Linda was overplaying what really happened to make Mark feel good. Or perhaps Parker doesn’t feel the need to discuss other employees with you…you know, since he’s a professional.

  But despite all her attempts to calm her thoughts, something didn’t feel right. She had to talk to him, because if he’d done this to manipulate her—to control her—then she wouldn’t put up with it.

  No, surely he wouldn’t. Parker knew her better than that. She’d made it clear that she loathed manipulation. But that aside, Emmaline knew one thing that Mark had said was true—if it came out that Emmaline was made an ASTAR finalist while sleeping with Parker, questions would be raised. And that was the thing about questions, once they were asked they never went away. People would believe whatever they wanted to believe.

  Which only meant one thing…Emmaline would have to withdraw her ASTAR application.

  …

  Parker was sure he’d pissed off the universe. It was the only explanation for why his day was turning to shit. He’d been in his role as CEO two weeks, and already crap was hitting the proverbial fan. A major technology project had stalled due to some unexpected data security issues, their CFO had been poached by an overseas competitor, and they’d had to walk a disgruntled employee for leaking information to the press about their “poor treatment of staff.”