by Lara Norman
“So if I told you I have information accusing you of being their spy, what would you say to that?”
Davis gaped for a full thirty seconds before he blinked and closed his mouth. Was there a hidden camera somewhere? Someone that would pop out and tell him he was on candid camera. “You’re kidding, right? This is essentially my company, why the hell would I be in bed with Garmin?”
“Essentially, it’s your parents’ company, but why wouldn’t you want to bring it down? If Garmin outbids us—”
“Then they win one contract over the dozens I’ve brought in for you so far! Are you out of your mind?” He regretted his outburst almost immediately, but to be accused of tanking the company his father’s family founded in the nineteenth century was outrageous.
“Tony, unless you have proof of your accusations, my hands are tied.” Barbara gestured for Peter to leave the office, and she stopped in the doorway. “I think it would be best if you allowed Davis to get back to work.”
Tony stared him down, still behind the desk as though it held all the answers. Davis could be thankful that it was password protected, or who knew what Tony would have tried to fiddle with before the others arrived.
Finally, he stalked out and Barbara closed the door behind them. Davis realized the coffee and bagel still sat there, so he picked them up and trashed them. He had half a mind to pretend he’d gotten them for himself for a change, but he didn’t think he could stand putting food in his stomach at that moment.
His back ached from standing so stiffly. He moved to his chair and forced himself to relax. It appeared that Tony was trying to get him fired, and there were very few ways that could be done when your father owned the company. The best Tony could likely get was a transfer, but Davis was not about to let him ruin the career he worked so hard to obtain.
He was tempted to leave early for a change, but that would cause more rumors. He sent a text to Luna and asked if he could see her after work, then flipped his phone over and worked even harder on the next item on his agenda. He needed the sweet relief of her presence, but he knew she wouldn’t see his text until at least lunchtime. He desperately wanted to bury his face in her hair and let her tell him everything was going to be fine.
He debated calling his father. He’d sworn he could do this, that he wasn’t a fuckup, and he had to follow through. He would cut their competition off at the knees if that was what it took. Davis Healy was not a quitter, and Tony Holland couldn’t force it to be true no matter how hard he tried.
Chapter 17
Luna saw the text when she sent her kids off to lunch. She didn’t have cafeteria duty on Wednesdays, just a planning block. She pulled out her packed lunch and her phone, and thought he sounded like he was having a bad day. In response to his question about spending the evening together, she replied that she would come to his office as soon as school let out.
She was in the middle of grading that morning’s pop quiz with a bite of salad in her mouth when her classroom door opened. She glanced up automatically, expecting to see a student that forgot his lunch money.
Instead, it was Luther. “What are you doing?”
Her shoulders tensed at his tone. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
He came closer, not exactly striding toward her, but moving in a cocky way she’d never seen on him before. She didn’t like it. “I thought I’d ask if you wanted to grab lunch.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but you can see I’ve brought mine.” Not to mention, she would never go anywhere with him ever again.
“So, Dr. Christensen came to see me this morning.”
Luna’s heart thumped too loudly in her chest as Luther propped a hip on her desk. Too close, entirely too close. “And?”
“She’s calling it strike one.” His shadow fell over the test in front of her as he leaned into her space. “You squealed on me, huh?”
Needing the distance he’d taken from her, she pushed her chair back from her desk. “I told you I would be speaking to her.”
“I haven’t said anything to you since you said you’d go and tell on me.”
Why hadn’t she seen this side of him before she’d agreed on that damn date? “And then you watched me in the hallways, followed me to my car, loitered outside my classroom door. Why are you surprised that none of those actions are okay with me or the principal?”
Her pencil cup jumped and rattled when he slammed his palm on her desk. “I haven’t done anything!”
Luna stood, smoothing her sweaty palms over her pants. “I disagree. You need to leave my room.”
He rounded her desk, got in her face. “No, Luna. You listen to me—”
His words were cut off by an arm around his throat. She hadn’t heard the door, but she’d seen him coming. Boy, had she seen him coming. He was the hottest avenging angel she’d ever seen.
“The lady said to get out, so get out.” Davis released Luther and stood with his fists at his sides.
Panic wanted to take over, so Luna took a deep breath. “Go, Luther.”
They watched him leave, red faced and shaking. Luna crossed the room and pushed her intercom button.
The disembodied voice crackled in response. “Yes?”
“It’s Luna Moss. Can Dr. Christensen come to my classroom right now? It’s an emergency.”
“Let me find out where she is.”
“Thanks.” Shaking, shaken, Luna slid down the wall and sat right on the floor. Davis came to her side and sat next to her.
“I’m sorry I put my hands on him.”
“I don’t know if you’ll be in trouble for that. I’m more worried about that than Luther.” She clasped the hand he offered her, rested her cheek on his shoulder.
“What the hell was he saying to you?”
“He’s pissed that I went to the principal with my concerns.” Her breath came out in a quivery whoosh. “What are you even doing here?”
“I needed to see you. I knew you were at lunch because you answered my text. I’m having a shitty day.”
Her laugh lacked any humor. “I guess I am, too.”
“What in the world happened in here?” Dr. Christensen was a petite woman with gray hair cropped short. She came near the two that stood at her presence.
“It was Mr. Dixon. He came in here, angry with me for speaking with you. He kept coming closer, and he banged on my desk, got in my face. I-I guess Mr. Healy was coming to have lunch with me, and he intervened.”
Her silver-blue eyes sharp on them both, Dr. Christensen weighed her options. “Stay here, let me speak to him. I’ll be right back.”
They watched her leave, and once the door closed behind her, Luna turned into Davis and held on. She couldn’t tell if her fear of Luther had been rational or not, but it didn’t matter. Even if he never intended to lay a hand on her, he intimidated her.
“It’s going to be okay, Luna.”
“Probably.” She didn’t cry. She felt tears clogging her throat, but they didn’t reach her eyes.
The door opened once more, and the principal returned. Luna stepped away from Davis and straightened her spine.
“He isn’t on campus as far as we can tell. I’ve sent a few teachers to look in the parking lot for his vehicle. Are you all right, Ms. Moss?”
Luna nodded, saw the way Dr. Christensen looked over the desk. Test papers were scattered now, her half-eaten lunch sat there wilting, and her chair rested at an odd angle near the wall. When her boss pinned her gaze on Davis, Luna felt the first real flutter of nerves.
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day, Ms. Moss? I’ll find a para to fill in and tell the kids you’re not feeling well.”
Luna released the breath she hadn’t realized she held. “Thank you, Dr. Christensen. I apologize for the mess this has caused.”
“Well, messes can be cleaned up, can’t they? I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She left the room, closing the door behind her once again.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Davis commented as
Luna moved to her desk.
“We’ll see what the fallout is tomorrow, I suppose. Then I can determine if that was bad.” She packed her lunch away, stacked the papers and placed them in a folder in her filing cabinet. Mechanically, methodically, she put her things away and picked up her sweater. She promised herself she wasn’t going to fall apart. She was made of tougher stuff than that.
“Can I drive you home, or do you want to grab something to eat?” Davis asked as she walked past him.
She stopped, held out her hand. “I’d like to get out of here first, then decide if I’m going to hold it together enough to go out in public.”
He slid his warm, smooth hand in hers, and she felt herself settle that much more. His thumb rubbed over the back of her hand as they walked down the halls she loved. She sincerely hoped she hadn’t ruined everything with her stupidity. How much could one person be expected to pay for one mistake?
There was no car idling at the circle of driveway in front of the school. Luna had become accustomed to the low sound of the purring engine, the dark tint and the almost sexy lines of the vehicle.
“Where’s the car?”
Davis swung their hands. “I drove.”
Luna stopped, felt the tug on her arm as he continued without her, and resumed a pace meant to catch up with him. “You drove what?”
“The car. I didn’t go out and buy something new, I just gave Sorensen the day off. Believe it or not, he isn’t at my beck and call 24/7.”
“I thought he was. Literally, I thought that was his job.”
He pulled a key fob from his pants pocket, hit the button that had the car unlocking with a beep. To Luna, it appeared to be further down the aisle. “No. I drive myself all the time, you just don’t happen to be around when that happens.”
They approached the car, and she heard the engine running. “You didn’t even turn it off.”
He opened the passenger door and she entered the warm interior. The days were just beginning to be cold enough for a sweater or jacket, and she appreciated the heat all the more on her chilled bones.
“Why would I?”
Why would he? It was the type of car that ran with the doors locked, that started without a key in the ignition, that could probably cook and do the laundry too, if one had a mind to ask it to do so.
Once he sat behind the wheel, she looked over at him. “Can you take me home?”
“Of course.”
“Can you stay?”
He waited a beat before answering. “I wanted to tell you about what happened at work today, thought I’d get some sympathy and let you soothe my wounds. I wasn’t going to leave the office until at least seven, then take you for dinner and conversation before dropping you off at your door.”
“And now?”
“When I saw your text, I said to myself that I didn’t care about working through lunch for once. I wanted to sit in that classroom of yours that smells like paper and your perfume and tell you what a dick Tony is. Then I was going to go back to work and be the drone they expect me to be.”
Disappointment flooded through her. “So you can’t stay.”
Davis put his hand on her leg, stroked upward. “For once, I’m going to remember that my father owns the fucking company, and I’m going to act like the entitled snob half my coworkers think I am.”
Luna grinned. “I like that plan.”
She liked it all the more when she screamed his name, splayed out on her bed with his face between her legs.
“We’re going to bronze your tongue,” she said as he climbed up her surging body and settled over her. “And we’re going to sell it. I’ll make millions.”
“Baby, I’ll give you millions without you needing to coat my tongue with molten metal.”
She laughed until he slipped inside her, gasped instead, and gripped his hips with her thighs. “Fuck.”
“I’m trying.”
He pulled away before slamming home, setting up a pace that left her breathless. She couldn’t do more than gasp for air and squeeze her eyes closed as he fucked her roughly. He changed his angle, raising her pelvis and delving deeper. She didn’t even know his cock could hit that spot so intensely, so thoroughly. What she thought was gone came roaring back as she came again, clenching and curling around him. His name fell in a litany from her lips, but he encouraged her to go further.
“I can’t. Nothing left.”
“Oh, there’s more. Give it to me, Luna.”
She looked up to see his brilliant blue eyes boring down at her. His relentless pounding had her thinking maybe he was right. Still, she’d never had more than two orgasms at one time.
“Fuck, Luna, touch yourself. Please.”
She couldn’t. She didn’t even do that alone, much less with someone watching.
“I’m so close, love, give me one more.”
“You do it,” she begged. Yes, she was close. So close she felt it running deep under the surface, ready to drag her under in a cloud of bliss.
“You want me to stop fucking you and move my hands?”
She whimpered. “No.”
It was there, nebulous, but within reach. If.
She let her arm drop from his shoulder. He didn’t shift his focus, didn’t indicate he was aware she moved. He held her ass tight in his grip as he held her off the mattress and drove into her hard and sure. She cried out when he yanked her higher, penetrated deeper, and knew she could do it.
Without thinking of what she was doing, she moved her hand until she found what she was after. Her body already held the sheen of sweat, her pussy already dripped with her desire. Her fingers fumbled until she was certain she’d found her clit. The shock wave she caused by circling it encouraged her as much as Davis panting at her did.
“Yes, God. Oh, Luna.”
Her hips bucked into his, the rush of heat spread around her and through her. She’d never come so hard in her life, not even in all the times Davis made her soar.
He snapped his hips a final time, pausing with his body pressed to hers so tightly he trapped her hand between them. She couldn’t possibly have cared.
“What was that?”
He lifted his head to kiss her nose. “Multiple orgasms equals more intensity.”
He dropped his head to her neck again, and she basked in his closeness. She wiggled her hand until she could free it, then ran both hands over his back.
“Better use of your time than a crappy day at the office, huh?”
He chuckled into her neck and finally rolled off to flop on the bed beside her. “Without a doubt.”
Chapter 18
He had no idea what he was going to do about his job. He’d left the office early and not returned, which he never did. If he considered his father his boss, it wouldn’t matter. If he considered Tony his boss, it absolutely would matter. A lot. He figured the problem had something to do with the fact that he didn’t act like the owner’s son. He wanted to impress them, to come in and do the job like anyone coming in at entry level.
And look how they fucked him over.
So on Thursday morning, he strode in at five minutes until eight and sat behind the desk with a fancy coffee and a danish. He left his door open and took his time flipping on the computer and getting started on work. He silently dared anyone to say anything, especially Tony. He was debating calling his dad and having a nice long chat about the whole situation. In fact, he would do just that after he finished eating his breakfast.
“Healy.”
Ah, the dulcet tones of his superior barking his name. “Yep.”
“Where the hell is my coffee and bagel?”
“I didn’t get them.” Davis shimmied the mouse until he located the cursor on the screen and clicked on a file.
“Why the hell not?” Tony stood with crossed arms and a scowl on his face.
“Because, sir, I am not your personal assistant. Go back to sending Joan to fetch your coffee. I’m done.”
“You’re done? What the fuck does
that mean? Get your ass out there and do your job.” Yes, a heavy temper was evident in that tone, that stance.
“I am doing my job. I’m kicking ass doing what I was hired to do. I’ve brought in more money than you have since I began in this division, did you know that?” Davis stood, pressing his palms to his desk. “Whose name is on the doors, the letterhead, and every completed file we send out of here?”
Tony clenched his jaw. “Healy International.”
Davis threw his hands in the air. “What a coincidence! That’s my name. I wanted to impress you by working hard, but it appears that all I did was exacerbate your nasty side. Get the hell out of my office and don’t even think about crossing me again, or I will have you fired.”
