Rapid Pulse: A Limited Edition Spicy Romance Collection

by Gina Kincade

  "He said it will automatically send if he gets arrested."

  "We still have to call the police. Anything we do can be held against us if we screw up. We have to call them, explain the situation, and figure out a solution together. Once this is taken care of I am asking your father to transfer you back to New York and out of my life."

  "We aren't calling the police." She took a deep breath and dropped her face in her hands. For a second I was worried she would start sobbing, but after a moment she looked up at me. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I can't be the woman you need and I'm sorry that if this video gets leaked. It'll hurt you again."

  "Have you spoken to anyone else about this?"

  She shook her head vigorously. "Well, only you and Camille."

  "How much did you tell her?"

  "Everything, right after I came in here the first time."

  I dropped my head back, my face toward the ceiling. "That'll put her in a bind. If someone needed to question her or anything she's now 'in' this situation. Just don't mention her name and make sure she doesn't speak about it."

  I watched as she wrung her hands together. There was nothing else I wanted more than to reach out and comfort her. Even after her screw up I still wanted her. What the hell is wrong with me?

  "Well, the police are still my suggestion. Other than that, maybe try to talk him out of it but, if he's smart enough to set this up then he probably won't back off."

  I dropped my head into my hands and ran them back into my hair as I took a deep breath. What would this situation do to the company, the company that helped me become exactly the man I was today? If Mr. McGregor hadn't taken a chance at hiring me, I wouldn't be here in this high-rise office. I'd probably still be doing taxes in Podunk, Ohio. Everything I had, I owed to him and his family. I couldn't let it all be destroyed with one little video tape.

  "I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you thought about paying him off?"

  "My money is essentially my family's money. They'd want to know what it was for and I can't think of a million dollars worth of an excuse."

  I sighed, shaking my head at what I was about to say. The words poured out of my mouth before I could change my mind. "I'll give you the money."

  She laughed. "This isn't funny. Do you even have a million dollars?"

  I tried not to take offense to that. "Yes, actually, your father pays very well and it just so happens I work at an accounting firm. My money has been well tended over the years."

  "Regardless...I'm not taking it." She crossed her arms under her chest. She looked so damn sexy when she defied me. I used to love getting her riled up just so I could make love to her and bring her down.

  "I don't want to see that video so...for my sake, and for the sake of your father. Take the money."

  She reached into her pocket and handed me a slip of paper, staring at it intently. Her hands shook as she reached out and pushed it into my waiting fingers. An account number and bank.

  "Send it here. Once we get confirmation then it should be over."

  "These things are never over. I will take precautions though. I won't have this – this excuse for a man taking my money and running."

  "Do what you have to do. I just want this to be finished," she said, before walking out of my office.

  Chapter Ten

  I went back into my office, sat down and put my head between my knees. That was hard, really hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I didn't expect him to give me the money. It might have been worth it to let the video go to the media if only I didn't have to explain it to him. The look on his face would be seared into my mind forever. He loathed me now, but it was probably for the best.

  Every single time I mocked him, made fun of him in front of my friends, or laughed at him flashed through my memory. It was like a punch in the gut, over and over. I seriously hurt him this time, not that the rest of the times weren't painful for either of us...but this time I really hurt him, and there was no going back. I would go back to New York and never see him again if I could help it.

  I opened up my email and replied to Steve's.

  It's done. How do I know you'll keep your word?

  It took only moments for a response.

  You don't.

  I sighed. Great, now I just gave a million dollars to a sociopath who would probably let the video go to the media anyway. Guess I just needed to wait and see.

  A moment later, Jeremy entered my office, closing the door behind him. Why did this day keep getting worse? "I really hate you, you know that?" He said it like he was asking me about the weather, devoid of emotion.

  "Well, I figured..."

  "No...be quiet. I hate you so much and I have no idea what to do with myself. I want to punch you in the face, but at the same time I want to lay you across your desk and teach you a lesson."

  Wait, what?

  "Am I asleep?"

  "You aren't and I'm not joking. You are a real piece of work. You go around manipulating people, using them to your own advantage until you're done with them, and then throw them away." He leveled his eyes on me. They were dark, and he looked kind of scary and really hot standing there, all angry and disheveled. He started to pace back and forth in front of my desk and I watched for a moment. Finally, I walked around to comfort him.

  I put my hand on his shoulder and he grabbed my wrist, hard, pushing me back against my desk. Any other woman might be afraid, but I knew this man. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. He pressed his body along mine, and all I could do was stare at him. Still gripping my wrist he brought his lips down on mine, hard, with an edge of desperation.

  My body responded instantly to his, melting against him and the onslaught of his anger. I could do this for him. If he needed me to be an outlet, be a release, I could do that for him after everything I had put him through over the years.

  "You don't want to fight me off? Deny me?"

  If anything scared me, it was his voice. He sounded distant, hollow.

  "I want you as much as you want me."

  He shook his head. "No, you don't, not even close."

  I stared back at him, trying to see inside his head. What could I do to make things right between us?

  "What do you want?" I asked him, trying to remain still with all that hard muscle pressed against me. His scent alone was driving me crazy, like fresh cut grass and sunlight. I didn't know if they could bottle it, but they should. "I don't know," he whispered, leaning down so his mouth was only a breath away from mine. "I hate you, but God help me, I want you."

  I waited for him to kiss me again but instead, he released my wrist and picked me up, depositing me on the side of the desk. The exact same position we found ourselves in last week. Something told me he wouldn't stop this time. He gripped my hips hard like he was trying to leave an imprint with his hands. I remained quiet and waited, seeing what he would do. He slowly brought his hands up my body, skimming over my skirt, then up over my shirt-covered waist, until each hand rested on either side my neck. This time I didn't wait. I leaned in and pressed my lips against his.

  "Kiss me," I whispered against his mouth. His hands moved up and cupped my head, tightening and holding me. He kissed me back with the same dark edge as earlier. His mouth felt and tasted so familiar yet so foreign at the same time.

  I reached down and hiked up my skirt so I could open my legs wider, letting him enter the space between, truly melding our bodies together. He removed his jacket, his lips still locked with mine. All that heat trapped inside his suit now pressed against my body, warming me all over.

  He gripped my hair hard, jerking my head back, exposing my neck to him. Slowly he kissed and licked a trail from my collarbone up to my ear. My nerves went on alert, every single one focused on the path his tongue created across my skin. Once he was tired of that—though I certainly wasn't—he started unbuttoning my blouse, slowly, precisely. Each button he released was a challenge, like he was waiting for me to tell him to stop.

  I had no such
intension.

  My upper body was now completely bare to him. Jeremy palmed both breasts, one in each hand. I slapped my hands back on the desk to hold myself upright as his head descended to my chest. He took a nipple in his mouth through the fabric of my lace balconette bra. I groaned at the sensation his tongue made on my skin. Breathing slowly through my nose became a priority once he unhooked my bra and took a nipple fully into his mouth. The wet heat of his mouth imprinted in my mind and my clit pulsed in time with my heartbeat.

  He lifted his head and stared down at me, his face unreadable. I was very good at discerning his moods, but right now, save the obvious, I had no idea what he was thinking.

  "Do you want me?" He asked against my lips, his breath mingling with mine.

  "Yes." I tried to convey the depths of that need in the one simple word and I prayed he understood. He stepped back from me. His arms left my body and the heat of his skin went with him; I sat on my desk, chilled. He didn't go far, but merely stepped back and undressed, all the way down to his socks. His body was a masterpiece that had taken him years to perfect, each hard line and dip of muscle created from hard work and patience. The "V" of his hips had to be the sexiest spot on his body; I'd spent many nights worshipping that place with tongue and teeth.

  He came back toward me and I waited to see which person I would be dealing with: the patient lover or the angry man. He slid me off the desk and jerked down my skirt. It pooled on the floor. I used his hand to steady me as I stepped out of my heels. Clad only in my lace panties, I dropped to my knees amidst the clothing on the floor.

  There was nothing soft about Jeremy; he was always precise and exact in everything he did, so seeing him frazzled was disconcerting and I wanted to fix it. I gripped him in my hand. He was already hard and standing at attention. I rose up so I could easily take him into my mouth, and then swirled my tongue around the crown. Pre-cum had already beaded there and I tasted him as I sucked him fully into my mouth. His hands jerked to my head, gripping my hair, and holding on to me as I pulled him in and out of my mouth.

  Years of being together had its advantages. I knew exactly how he liked to be touched and could get him off in a few minutes. Once I started fondling his balls, he jerked my head back by my hair. It stung, but added another level of sensuality to our encounter. This was something new; seeing him driven by lust and emotion was different and sexy.

  "Get up." He didn't pull me up by my hair, but I might have wanted him to.

  He lifted me up onto the desk again, clearing away everything and laying me back against the wood. Watching my face, he slowly pulled my panties down my legs and off my feet. It was an odd sensation to be naked in my office, but erotic in being so forbidden.

  "I'm going to fuck you until you shout my name. I'm going to fuck you so hard that later tonight you'll be sore and only be able to think about my cock inside you." He punctuated each word with a stroke of a finger down my wet pussy. Each pass made me clench, ready for whatever he wanted to offer. Finally he walked over and pulled a condom out of his pants and put it on. Without a word he opened my legs and sheathed himself inside me, all the way to the base of him.

  I gasped at the assault and the grip of his hands on my hips, digging into my flesh. He pulled out and slammed into me hard, pausing for a moment, and then repeating. I felt every inch of him flush against me. I would be sore later, of that I had no doubt. Each thrust was hard and fierce, his hands still digging into my sides. Once he got his rhythm he pulled my body off the desk so my upper back remained against the wood but my lower body was supported only by his body and strength.

  He stared into my eyes as he fucked me, daring me to stop him, to tell him no. Each stroke ignited my body, building me higher to the edge of something stronger than an orgasm. He didn't seem to be slowing down, or even close to finishing himself. I watched him, my pleasure depending on his. I remained quiet and compliant in his arms until he lifted me off the desk completely. I wrapped my legs around him for support as he lifted me up and down on his dick with ease. This close to his face I heard each breath, each gasp, and I could tell he was getting close. As his breath hitched so did mine. As he forced himself in and out of me I held onto his neck and rested my head next to his face.

  The orgasm surprised me with its spark. I had been focused on being and doing exactly what he needed and in that focus my own release started. He started to bounce me up and down harder, faster, and soon the spark ignited to a full flame. My body caught on fire and I came with his name on my lips. He continued his assault and I held on as his body slammed into mine. He finished hard, groaning loudly against my neck, sweat beading at his brow. He suddenly stopped, holding me hard and still against him, fingers digging into my ass. His breath came out in ragged peaks, hot and heavy against the skin of my neck.

  He lowered me to my feet, slowly and carefully. My knees buckled as I came down and he caught me around the waist before I hit the floor. Gently he stood me up and held me against him until I was able to bear my own weight. We were silent because there was nothing to say. We both dressed quickly, and he fixed the pins in my hair before slipping out of my office.

  I sat at my desk in a fugue state, wondering what that was and why I enjoyed it so much. Each movement sent a ripple of pleasure across my skin as if he were still touching me, still inside me. I was on the brink of orgasming again, just sitting in my desk chair, my body throbbing from his hands, his lips and his body. Had that been worth a million dollars?

  Chapter Eleven

  The next week was awkward at best. Every time I passed Jeremy in the hall or had to speak to him I felt the shadow of his body against mine. I tried to concentrate and focus on work, but all I could see was him pressing me against my desk.

  I might have to take this lovely piece of furniture back to the States with me. I patted the wood fondly and turned back to my computer. Combing through days of emails, I found one from my father.

  Baby,

  I miss you. I know it's hard being away from your friends and your mother. In two more weeks you can come home. I just wanted you to have this experience. You're going to take over for me one day.

  Love,

  Dad

  I could hear his voice in that email. I missed him so much it hurt. I thought this trip was a punishment, but it wasn't, and I needed to let him know I wasn't upset with him anymore. Every day of my life I thought about myself. Everything revolved around me, it always had. Not often did I concern myself with my Dad's opinion or Jeremy's. It was always my way or the highway. My Dad saw past that and loved me regardless and my mother too, even though I didn't show them nearly enough respect.

  Daddy,

  See you soon. Hug Mom for me.

  XOXO

  Tony

  Well, at least Jeremy could go back to his peaceful world here and finally leave me behind. He hadn't touched me or spoken to me in any way he wouldn't to the secretary since that day in the office. I missed him. I missed his quiet intensity, the tiny little things he did every day to remind me that I was his. They used to annoy me, and it felt like he was trying to claim me. Now I wanted him to, and he was nowhere to be found. Paying a million dollars to your ex-girlfriend's almost-lover might do that to a man.

  I closed my computer and decided to go home for a bubble bath. I wouldn't get anything else done anyway. I passed Jeremy's door on the way out and stopped to stare at him for a moment. The life he built here was sparse, and even his office was bare and cold. Each wall held evidence of his degrees and accomplishments, but nothing of his family or friends. His head was bent steadily over his work, oblivious to the outside world. Every movement he made was precise and distinct. I always loved that about him.

  Loved?

  I pulled away from the doorway back into the hallway.

  There was nothing good to go along with this line of thought. I was leaving in two weeks, leaving him, forever.

  The thought brought tears to my eyes and I rushed to the elevator.


  Chapter Twelve

  She thought I didn't want anything to do with her now. Every time she spoke to me it was as if I was dying and she didn't want to offend me before I took my last breath. It was a welcome change from her usual snark, at first. Now I missed the way she challenged me at every turn and really made me work for her affection. I just couldn't bear to look at her after the way I used her the other day.

  I wanted to hurt her, mark her, and make her see me as worthy all in one shot. All I did was drive myself insane with guilt. I saw bruises from my fingers on the skin of her arms and neck. It was unforgivable, and I had no idea how to apologize. How can you apologize for something like that?

  The city skyline shone bright outside my window. She was leaving soon and I still couldn't think of a way to make things right between us. She'd made it very clear she didn't want anything to do with me. I wanted to make it right, but maybe it would be better if she just left, our lives finally separated enough for us to be apart.

  There was once a time when we were inseparable. We spent weekends in bed, eating take out, watching movies, and holding each other. The first time she told me she loved me was while she was wrapped in my arms as we watched The Cotton Club. Richard Gere had always been her favorite. She whispered the words and I heard every syllable even with the sound of the movie playing in the background.

  If I could go back to that Tony, the one that I loved and loved me unconditionally, I would. Ever since she went from protégé to master, she had changed, became someone totally different than the girl I met in the boardroom that day. She was more mature, on top of everything – including me.

  Then, she started locking herself away as if her emotions didn't matter, like they were something inconvenient. I convinced myself that I could bring her back to her old self, show her what she was missing.