by Cynthia Sax
Breaking All the Rules
AN EROTIC NOVELLA
CYNTHIA SAX
Dedication
To my dear wonderful hubby for loving me as I am, for my buddy Bad Barb who has been waiting for this story, and for my amazing editor, Tessa Woodward, for believing in me.
Contents
* * *
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
An Excerpt from Flashes of Me
About the Author
Also by Cynthia Sax
Copyright
About the Publisher
Chapter One
* * *
THIS IS THE morning I break Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ notoriously uptight chief financial officer, the executive employees call the Iceman.
I hum the words to an extremely vulgar hip-hop song as I stride through the concrete-and-glass lobby, my phone in my right hand and the straps of my backpack slung over my shoulder.
Not even Jerome, the company’s powerful high-security guard, could dampen my enthusiasm today. He searched my black canvas bag for a record twelve minutes, wrinkling important papers and poking his clumsy fingers into delicate electronics. He leered and sneered at me, and I said nothing, tolerating the harassment.
Because today Nate will touch me.
I’ve spent months defrosting the Iceman, following rules I’ve crafted, rules he isn’t aware of. I can’t touch him unless he touches me. I can’t see him outside of our morning elevator rides unless he approaches me. I can e-mail him but not call him, check his agenda but not change it.
Even with these self-imposed restrictions, I’ll win, my victory growing more certain as our daily skirmishes escalate in intensity.
Every morning Nate takes the same elevator at the same time, his schedule as rigid and unbending as he is. Every morning I share the same elevator car. He looks at me. I look at him. We exchange a couple of verbal barbs, some increasingly steamy sexual innuendos, and then we part ways, going to our different floors, our different worlds.
I’m the green-haired rebel intern. Nate is an unemotional rule setter, a huge immovable wall I can’t stop pushing against, a challenge I can’t back away from. He drives me absolutely wild and I will have him. On my terms.
I glance at my phone’s screen. Shit on a stick. I have three minutes to trek to the elevators. Clipping my phone to my skirt’s frayed waistband, I march faster, the heels of my shoes ringing against the gleaming white marble tile. Video screens hang from the walls, displaying happy images of the conforming masses. Dark-suited corporate clones linger around the paid-to-be-perky receptionist.
Loitering isn’t an option, as there’s no flexibility in the Iceman’s timetable. I turn the corner and my heels squeak on the floor. No one is waiting for the elevators, the area empty. I press the up button three times in rapid succession, pleased that I’ll have Nate’s complete attention during our five-minute elevator ride.
Privacy is essential for my plan to work, as I’m not the type of woman any career-minded executive would choose to acknowledge publicly. I glance at my reflection in the elevator’s shiny metallic doors and wince. Although I no longer wear my temporary tattoos or visible body jewelry, the green hair and the holes in my ears, nose, and bottom lip remain, declaring my rebel status to the world.
This is who I am, who I’ve always been. I break rules. I push people. I don’t fit in anywhere. I tell myself I’m okay with this. In my heart I know I’m not. But I can’t change, not even for the Iceman.
The bell rings, the doors to elevator number four open, and my heart pounds. Nate stands in the back right corner, staring down at his phone, appearing as unapproachably handsome as usual, his blond hair short and neat, his broad shoulders clad in a form-fitting black suit, his crisp white shirt accentuating his golden tan. His tie is always black, always plain.
He wears the same clothing combination every day, and I want to peel the monochromatic fabric away from his kicking hot physique and lick him from his head to his toes. This impulsive act, while certain to be sexually satisfying, violates the rules of my game. He must touch me first. I keep my hands to myself and stride into the elevator, my hips swaying and my head held defiantly high.
Nate glances upward, our gazes lock and hold, and I forget to breathe, to think, to move. His eyes are the palest, coldest gray, a frigid blast of icy wind on a hot Californian day, and I want him as I’ve never wanted anyone else, my need for him carnal and raw.
He slides his phone into his jacket pocket and the silver Rolex on his wrist gleams. This symbol of wealth and the establishment, a physical reminder of who Nate is, doesn’t squelch my lust. It perversely feeds my fantasies.
In my overactive imagination Nate doesn’t stay in his corner. He stalks toward me, hooks one of his arms around my waist, pulls my curves into his muscle, and—
“Miss Trent.” His crisp businesslike tone returns me to reality.
“Nate.” I mimic his curtness, breaking an unspoken company rule by addressing a top executive by his first name. I tap the button for the legal floor. This is the law-enforcing, super-quiet department I’ve been sentenced to. I don’t fit in there, but then, I’ve never fit in anywhere.
Except here. I belong in this elevator car. I belong with Nate. I claim the corner across from him and openly study the object of my obsession. “You spent another weekend alone, I see.” The lines around his mouth and eyes are deeply etched, attesting to his many months of celibacy. This pleases me. I don’t want Nate to touch any other woman. He’s my iceberg to melt.
He raises one of his eyebrows. “Have you added stalking to your long list of crimes?”
I roll my eyes. I was found guilty of three minor misdemeanors while I was a careless teenager and now I’ve been labeled a criminal for life. “Don’t flatter yourself. A blind woman can tell you’re not getting any.” I stretch the truth. His expression is as cold and as emotionless as it normally is.
Nate frowns, glances at his reflection in the mirrored walls, sweeps one of his hands over his perfect hair.
“What’s the matter?” I grin at him as I set my backpack on the floor by my feet. “Are all of the hookers in LA on strike?”
He returns his gaze to me and narrows his eyes. “You’re well informed.” Ice drips from his words, his coolness indicating I’ve scored a direct hit. Many people subjected to Nate’s subzero demeanor assume he’s a frigid, unfeeling bastard. I recognize it for what it is—a shield, as effective as my sarcasm and green hair.
“You bet I’m well informed.” It didn’t take me long to discover that every well-dressed, insanely beautiful woman appearing beside Nate in the newspaper’s society pages was a high-end escort. His hooker fetish doesn’t bother me. Nate is a faithful, serial-monogamous John, taking a long time to choose the right escort and then paying for her exclusive attentions.
“You’re not hideous.” I unbutton my formerly black blazer, the sole suit I own faded from having been hand washed every night. “Why do you pay for sex?”
“Everyone pays for sex in one way or another.” Nate visually tracks my movements as I shrug out of the garment, removing one more barrier between us. “Some muddle the price with talk of love and feelings. I prefer straightforward, honest negotiations.”
He prefers to live life on his terms, laws be damned. I find this sexy, very sexy. I
roll back my shoulders, my muscles tight from having carried the backpack, my movements deliberately sensuous.
Nate’s gaze lowers to the pale curves threatening to spill out of my favorite black leather corset. He peruses my breasts thoroughly, leisurely, his eyes darkening to a stormy gray. An exciting awareness radiates from him, causing my nipples to pucker and my body to hum.
“What are you doing, Miss Trent?” His voice is low and tongue-suckingly deep, making me think of entwined limbs and tangled bedsheets.
“I’m hot.” I drift my fingertips across my cleavage, teasing my skin, tormenting him, the man I must and will have. “And I’m moist. Do you have a tissue?”
Nate hesitates before extracting a neatly folded square of pristine white fabric from the inside pocket of his jacket. He holds it out to me.
I reach for the handkerchief, my fingers brush against his, and a sensual spark surges up my arm, lighting fires throughout my body. Nate’s mask of ice slips for two heartbeats, revealing a hunger as raw and as savage as my own. He then yanks his hand away, and this hunger is concealed, sealed by a layer of frost.
He wants me. Badly. I pat the sinfully soft cotton over my breasts, and Nate’s clean, fresh-out-of-the-shower scent transfers from the fabric onto my skin. He watches me, his expression carefully blank. Only his eyes convey his emotions, his gaze dark and intense.
“You need to get laid, Nate,” I bluntly state, hoping to shock him into action, to snap his control as he’s snapping mine.
Nate leans closer, looming over me, tall and overpoweringly masculine. “Are you making me an offer, Miss Trent?” His body heat weaves seductively around my chest, over my stomach, between my thighs.
“Would you be interested if I was?” I tilt my chin defiantly upward, bringing my lips nearer to his. “I’m not one of your vanilla sex yes-women.” I skim his handkerchief over my black corset, polishing the leather with the cotton square. “Do you think you can handle me, big boy?”
My challenge is a bluff. I doubt I can handle him. I haven’t had sex in over two years, all of my excess time and energy spent on the charity website and app I’m designing.
“I can handle you.” Nate’s voice deepens even more, his husky tones curling my toes. He meets my gaze, holding it.
In his eyes I see the temptation of locked doors and the lure of deep dark secrets, both of these impossible for me to resist. I lean forward, balancing on my toes, and Nate lowers his grim mouth until his lips are a lick away from mine. As he breathes out I breathe in, every inch of me conscious of every inch of him.
“But I won’t accept your challenge, Miss Trent, tempting though it might be.” He pulls away from me and the passion between us dissipates, evaporating into the cool air. “I only deal with professionals. I give them cash. They give me sex. There are no disappointments, no unreasonable expectations, no promises of love or forever.”
This is the second time he’s mentioned love. “I didn’t ask you for love or forever, Romeo.” I know who I am. I’m the girl a college boy screws in a back alley after a rave. I’m not the woman any man brings home to his parents.
“You didn’t have to ask me for love.” Nate watches me warily, his spine rigidly straight and his shoulders squared. “You grew up on a hippie commune. Peace and love are what you believe in.”
I jerk my chin upward, surprised he knows where I grew up. My past isn’t something I talk about. “You forgot freedom,” I point out. “Peace, love, and freedom are what hippies believe in.” I didn’t follow my parents’ all-natural path, being too fascinated with technology and other modern conveniences, but I do believe in those three ideals.
“Yes, freedom. You believe everything should be free,” Nate says. “Including information that should remain private.” His voice is edged with disapproval. “You don’t have any desire for money.”
He’s correct. I don’t have any desire for money. I do, however, desire him. Too much. If he asked me, I’d drop to my knees, unzip his black dress pants, and suck him dry right here, right now, in the corporate elevator, uncaring of the security cameras, of our coworkers, of my rules.
“Put your blazer back on, Miss Trent.” Nate slams the brakes on my sexual fantasy. “I’m not interested.” His gaze flicks to my breasts.
“Bullshit.” I ball up the handkerchief and whip it at him. Nate catches the fabric and nonchalantly stuffs the handkerchief into the right pocket of his pants, his control infuriating me.
“You’re very interested.” I thrust my arms into the sleeves of the blazer and yank the garment closed. “Right now you’re wondering if my breasts are as full, as soft as they appear.” His eyes flash a warning I can’t and won’t heed, my pride smarting from his rejection. “You’re asking yourself how I taste, if I’m wet, hot, tight.”
The elevator doors open and I don’t move. I stare at Nate, huffing with indignation and sexual frustration. I want him and I know he wants me. Why won’t he touch me?
“This is your floor, Miss Trent.” Nate’s voice drips ice. His response should cool me down. It doesn’t. It heats me up, pushing me to the point of combustion.
“The answer is yes. I am wet, hot, tight.” I grab my backpack. “I’m all of that and more.” I stomp out of the elevator. “And Nate?” I glance over my shoulder and meet his glacier gaze. “I taste delicious.” The doors close between us.
He’ll be thinking about me all day. I strut down the hallway, my head held high, a jaunty bounce to my walk.
The office walls are painted gray. The industrial carpet and cubicle dividers are a shade darker. My coworkers are dressed in black and white, their suits crisp and their hair neat.
I call out cheery good-mornings as I pass people. A prissy woman with carefully arranged blond curls shushes me. A grim-looking woman clucks her tongue. Silence is the unspoken rule on the legal floor.
I don’t follow other people’s silly rules and wish the next coworker I meet a louder good-morning. My dad says I can’t help myself. I’m the evolution of the hippie, the offspring of two rebellious souls, genetically inclined for anarchy, taught to question everything.
All I know is I don’t fit in. Anywhere. I left the commune because the members wanted to restrict my computer time, their weak-assed attempt to convert me failing. I got booted out of the hacking community because I pushed too hard for peace and love. I certainly don’t belong here, at Blaine Technologies.
I venture deeper into corporate America. The sea of gray is constant and never ending. The lights are fluorescent. The hum of printers softens the quiet. Somewhere Mother Earth is weeping.
“Green,” Miss Yen, my boss, hollers, the tiny lawyer always knowing when I arrive. I hurry into her office, rapping my knuckles against the door as I enter.
My stylish boss clearly had no input in decorating her office. Ugly vertical blinds cover the floor-to-ceiling windows. An even uglier modern painting hangs on one interior wall, meaningless stripes of white and gray slashing a stark black canvas.
Filing cabinets line the perimeter, forming a wall of temptation I couldn’t resist. Their flimsy locks were no match for me. I scanned the contents one late night and found nothing of interest, Miss Yen keeping her secrets elsewhere.
She stands behind her black lacquer desk, her hands on her hips, a scowl on her beautiful face. Her dark suit hugs her slim body. A long silver scar skims across one of her cheeks. Gray file folders stuffed with paper are stacked on the desk in front of her.
My shoulders slump. I recognize these files, having spent six endless days compiling them. “Is there a problem with the expense reports?”
“Is there a problem?” The woman known as the dragon lady snorts. “You might say that. Finance rejected them.”
The finance department is Nate’s realm, staffed with employees as uptight and unbending as he is. “They rejected all of the expense reports?”
“All of them,” Miss Yen confirms. “If finance finds an error in one report, their new policy is to reject
the entire submission.” Her lips twist. “Supposedly they’re busy with security issues.” She glances at me. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Green?”
“Why would I know anything about that?” I strive to appear as innocent as I possibly can. If Nate had correctly named me as the culprit, Mr. Henley, Blaine Technologies’ head of cybersecurity, would have already fired me. He warned me that my next violation would be my last. It seems the company caps allowable employee offenses at thirty-two.
“Leave the other departments alone and focus on this task.” Miss Yen pushes the stack of files toward me. “Confirm each and every line. Once Mr. Lawford sets rules he doesn’t deviate from them. If the expense reports have errors he will reject them again.”
“Yes, Miss Yen.” Nate’s sexual frustration is causing trouble for everyone, and I should feel contrite. What I feel is smug satisfaction. His control is severely compromised, my victory over him imminent. I haul the files back to my gray cubicle.
No one else sits in temp row. Kat, my friend and fellow intern, has been promoted. She’s spending all of her personal time planning her fashionista wedding to Mr. Henley. Anna, another best friend, is a new mom and works for her husband, Gabriel Blaine, the CEO and founder of Blaine Technologies. Both women are head over heels in love with their executives.
I have nothing except a sure-to-be short-lived sexapalooza with an Iceman and a charitable side project I don’t know how to launch. The pinch-faced lady seated one row over fills the air with floral-scented fumes. I add one crazy work neighbor to my list.
I toss my backpack into an empty desk drawer, log onto my computer, and peruse the first expense report, confirming line after line. The coding is correct. The numbers tie back to the receipts. The only mistake I find is a two-cent variance on one of the totals, a freakish error due to exchange rates and rounding.
Blaine Technologies is a billion-dollar company and the expense reports have been rejected for a two-cent discrepancy. I grin. Nate will be mine before the end of the week.
