His hands lowered to my thighs grabbing what he wanted and it was all too much to resist. The dirty words, his powerful hands, and the risk, oh God the risk that at any moment this could destroy us, had my body weeping with my panties soaked with its tears.
“Or maybe something a little dirtier, like a naughty spanking causing your sumptuous ass to blush?”
I couldn’t help myself as I pushed my chest out at his words. One of his hands left my thigh and slipped under my blouse. I wanted to speak but as his fingers toyed the yellow lace of my bra every muscle in my body constricted at once, even my throat.
After what felt like hours but were merely seconds I found my voice, shaky but alive, “I . . . I’ve never been spanked before.”
His jaw ticked. Was he disappointed?
Maybe. This confession of mine might be the cold water we both needed to end this here and now. I had been with a few guys. Some in college and then one just after graduation and finally Trevor the douche.
But they were never adventurous in bed. The craziest sex I ever had was the stupid video Trevor took of us and he paid more attention to the camera than me during that.
“So it’s virgin territory. You really need to stop tempting me, Morgana,” Henrik said, his eyes ticked with some knowledge that I wasn’t to know about.
“First, the cute little skirt at your interview, then the sexy glasses, and now, you are telling me no man has ever caused you to squeal with a much-deserved spanking?”
His fingers forgot my bra and went with gusto to my thighs, causing me to whimper for more. My legs widened succumbing to the building pressure of what he created.
No more were we boss and assistant in an office building after hours, now we were just a man and a woman with a deep, primal urge. That powerful longing that caused his hands to slip under my matching yellow lace panties and me to groan and buck for more.
“Is that better, Morgana? Is that what you want from me? Or maybe just a little bit more.”
No, not a little. I want everything. Every night I fantasize about our clothes tangled on the office floor. Henrik’s chest, his arms, and especially his cock. Is it thick, firm? My mouth salivating of what it all would taste like.
As if he knew what I was thinking, Mr. Payne’s fingers slipped past the edge of lace and delicately traced my clit. It should have felt good, but it didn’t.
I jerked at the searing ache, like hot and cold at once, that bolted through me. Just the lightest of touch from him had me dripping for more. We were still clothed and had barely done anything and this had been the greatest sexual experience of my life.
He groaned and I saw it in his eyes. Whatever I felt, the intense pleasure coursing through my body, he wanted more. So I reached for him. But that was a mistake.
Henrik pulled back. “What did I say about touching me? I don’t think you really want this.”
I wanted to nod at him like a fool. Beg him to continue but it was the war behind his eyes that stopped me.
“So fucking beautiful,” he said.
The way Henrik gazed at me it was as if I stumbled into a conversation I was never meant to hear. One where my life, my heart lie in the balance.
I swallowed but feared reaching out to him. Normally, I would say something stupid, make light of the situation. Try to diffuse it, but something told me to stay still.
Did I care that anyone could walk in? Yes, but this right here was the best I felt in a very long time. It wasn’t just the sex. I mean, come on, we haven’t even had any yet. It was the way he looked at me. Like I was the best thing he has seen in a long time.
I don’t even remember the last time a guy called me beautiful. And that’s when it hit me. Trevor never called me pretty or beautiful. He would always ask if I wanted him. It was always about him. Never about me.
Maybe that’s why I am sitting here risking my job so I can be fingered by my boss.
I felt his fingers slip easily inside me. It’s what I needed. My body craved how his thumb drew perfect circles around my clit while his fingers pumped in and out of me. So exquisite was his touch that I hadn’t realized my hips were rocking to his rhythm.
I wanted to kiss Henrik. To pull him toward me and rip his clothes off but he didn’t want that. He liked to watch me suffer and at this moment I’d endure any pain his fingers were willing to give.
“Oh Henrik.”
The words crashed out of my mouth as I felt the orgasm ride close. My hips rocked madly and I grabbed a stapler for something to hold onto. I was lost and about to tumble over when everything disappeared.
My eyes opened, having shut them moments ago as the bliss was too much, to find Henrik turning his back to me. Not just that, but he was walking away.
Once he reached the door he stopped and for a moment I hoped he had changed his mind. That he didn’t do all this to mess with me. To make me hate him.
He stood at the edge of the department, about to enter the hall toward the elevators with his back to me. No words. No movement, just him there afraid to turn back at the mess he made.
I was about to hop off this desk and run after him but he finally moved. Henrik turned his head and said, “Ms. Drake, remember you are MY assistant. First thing Monday, you will be at your desk on the twenty-eighth floor. I expect my coffee delivered to me when I arrive. You are to do as I say or you will be . . . reprimanded.”
Then he left.
My mouth hung open at the crazy that just occurred.
Mr. Henrik Payne used me. He fucked with my body and my brain to get what he wanted. His wall never fooled me. Mr. Payne was a man who hated emotion.
He saw my weakness for him and he gave me what I wanted, only to make it disappear in an instant. To let me know he’s in charge. He pulls the strings.
Fine. He doesn’t want emotion from me, then that’s what he gets.
SIX
Payne’s Rule
Never let emotion distract from your best work.
I wanted Morgana.
But I left.
I didn’t turn back. I didn’t finish what I started.
I was a dick.
Thoughts of her hair a twisted wreck as I pulled her toward my mayhem flooded my brain. It was almost like her body was made for mine. And yet, I kept walking.
She had to hate me now. Maybe this would make her quit. Did I even want her to leave now?
Yes. No. I didn’t know.
Why did I just do that? That wasn’t like me. Something about Ms. Drake was making me crazy. I didn’t mess with women and then just walk away. I slept with them. Satisfied them. Then I walked away.
I shouldn’t have hired her. This was all a mistake.
She smelled addictive and I wanted to choke on her sweet taste. To fall into her lap and melt there never getting up again, but I had to stop before it went too far. Nothing good could come of a relationship like this, one of sex and work.
Someone will get hurt, and I’ll be damned if it was going to be me.
I made it up to the twenty-eighth floor and washed my hands in the bathroom. Heading into my office, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was the doctor.
Finally, someone could tell me about the surgery.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Payne, this is Dr. Gerald.”
Relief washed over me for only a moment before anxiety took its place.
“Is he okay, just let me know?”
“Very good. David is doing as good as can be expected. He’s breathing.”
I dropped to the couch and felt my muscles finally relax.
“He’s breathing. Oh, thank God. Was the surgery successful?”
“About that, Mr. Payne.”
I furrowed my brow. That didn’t sound like something a doctor would say after a successful surgery.
“Yes?”
“David hasn’t woken yet from the surgery.”
“Well, when will he wake?” My fingers pulled at my hair.
The line was silent for a worrying
beat too long. “David is in a coma.”
“He’s in a coma? You never said anything about a coma.”
The ringing in my ears drowned out the doctor’s words. I tried to listen, pressing the phone against my ear but it was like an echo. He was talking numbers and possibilities, and all I heard was coma.
“Wait. Wait a minute. So, there is a chance he may never wake up? I came to you because you are the best neurosurgeon in the country, and now you are telling me David not only may never walk again but he may never wake up?”
“With any surgery, especially to the brain, there is always a slight possibility that the patient might not wake, but I don’t think that is the case here, Mr. Payne. This is just David’s body taking over from where I left off. He is healing, but I will have a better idea tomorrow about things. That was why I called. I wish to meet with you and Ms. Blackburn tomorrow. I have discussed this with her.”
“Yes, Tiffany and I will be there.”
The doctor mentioned the time for the meeting, but I stopped listening again. Everything went blank except for one thing, throwing the office plant across the room. That was purposeful. Everything this evening, maybe even this month, had been out of my control. The world around me shook, leaving me disoriented and stumbling to find answers.
Except for that plant. I was the one disturbing that green leafy filled pot. It crashed to the floor with a loud thud. Maybe that’s my heart. That sad little plant, working so hard to grow until I came along and killed everything around it while ripping it apart.
“Mr. Payne, are you all right?”
I gazed down at the cell phone and realized the call ended, but I didn’t remember hanging up.
I thought I was alone. Having done enough damage to Ms. Drake I tried to still my features, hide the anger in my tone. “Ms. Drake, contact housekeeping and arrange to have someone clean this up.”
The corners of her mouth curved down, and I saw something in her eyes I didn’t care for, pity. Instead of watching the woman of my dreams, the one I fought to keep at a distance, I saw a woman full of judgment and disappointment. She looked at me like a wounded animal, so I turned from her, content on watching the freezing snow being battered against my window.
“Of course, sir. But are you all right?”
For some reason, I found that funny. A plant was dead. A boy I loved was in a coma. Yet, I was the one being asked if I was okay. Who gave a flying fuck about me? It was just so laughable.
I’m the guy who got the big clients. The person who would come to work early and stay late to make sure this company stayed relevant, alive. The one thing I was not was the guy people were concerned over. At least, not anymore.
“No, Ms. Drake, I’m not all right. I haven’t been all right for a long time. Now just go home and have a restful weekend. I’ll see you first thing on Monday.”
I heard her sigh. “Mr. Payne, something is obviously bothering you. I hear it helps to talk about it.”
Why did people always say that to me? I did that once. It didn’t help. In fact, I felt worse. All the pain and regret bubbling to the surface every time I went for “help.” I didn’t need help, I needed to forget.
I turned to face her. “I am not seeing a fucking therapist!”
Her lashes fluttered as she shook her head. “No, I mean me. Sometimes we need someone to just listen as we let it out.”
Why didn’t she hate me? I have banished her from this floor for the past several weeks and just left her on the brink of orgasm, and yet she was concerned how I was feeling.
Damn it. I hated that she was so nice. I need her to hate me.
“You are my assistant, not my therapist.”
Ms. Drake rolled her eyes. “Yes, you made that quite clear downstairs in the sales department.”
There it was. The words that I deserved. That put a smile on my face.
I made my way to the couch and practically melted into the cushions. This night had been terrible, except for touching Morgana. That was the silver lining to this dark and stormy day.
“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry, Ms. Drake. I have a bit of a problem when challenged.” I scratched at my face to rub away the disturbing memory of speaking with her grandmother.
“So that’s why you did it, because you were challenged by my grandma?”
She realized it was her grandmother who challenged me. I didn’t even say who. Her family must be really interesting people.
“That’s partly why, Ms. Drake.”
I should just admit that I’ve been attracted to her since the moment she first sat across from my desk. But I don’t want her to think I only hired her because I wanted to fuck her.
That really sounded awful.
It’s not that bad, I could explain how I wanted to make her quit and then fuck her. Wait. That sounded worse.
Morgana began to laugh while shaking her head. Could she hear the thoughts in my head?
“Ms. Drake, are you feeling all right?”
She startled as if she didn’t realize I sat beside her.
“Yes, of course.”
“You were giggling a moment ago, and now you are frowning. I don’t understand.”
“I just thought of something funny in my head. Now don’t change the subject. You were saying that was only partially the reason for what happened downstairs.”
Yes, downstairs. The only highlight of the day was a mistake. A beautiful, luscious mistake.
“I’m sorry for that. It was completely unprofessional, and that’s one thing I never am, unprofessional. But with you, Morgana . . .”
I think she was drooling. I might have been too. Hopefully, I was not.
“Ahh! I can’t think straight. You are so . . .”
“Refreshing, hypnotic, charismatic?” She tilted her head and the corner of her mouth tipped up.
“No, I was going to say irritating, accident prone, and a bit goofy.”
Morgana wasn’t smiling anymore. “Gee thanks. Never has a man been so eloquent when describing me.”
I reached for her and shook my head. “No, that came out wrong. I mean, yes, you are all those things but you are also wickedly smart, funny, and when I look at you all I can see is my dream come to life. You are so beautiful that if you didn’t have those faults, you wouldn’t be real.”
She’s definitely drooling now.
“So, why did you just leave me there, alone, downstairs? If you feel this way, you have a terrible way of showing me.”
I didn’t want to leave you.
“Because it’s not right how I feel, what I have done. This job is important to me, just as your job is important to you. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize either. It is important for me to focus on work right now. That may seem like a lame excuse, but it’s the truth. Can we just be boss and assistant?”
SEVEN
Morgana’s Problem
Milkshakes
Those beautiful, deep mocha eyes sparkled.
Her laugh, pitch perfect. Throaty with just a hint of sweetness. And her hair. Don’t even get me started on her hair. Thick, chestnut, something 1990s Cindy Crawford would kill for.
She stuck her delicate hand toward me, “I’m Henrik’s girlfriend, and you must be Morgana. I have heard some interesting stories about you.”
My grin was instinctive. Something I learned growing up with a mother who taught me to kill with kindness. Only, I took it to the next level. I made kindness manic and something that would be more suited for a straitjacket.
But I didn’t care because Henrik lied to me. He stood right next to his sexy, sweet girlfriend and pretended like yesterday never happened. Like he didn’t have his powerful man fingers all up inside me giving me the best pleasure of my life.
Oh, and he can forget about that truce we made before leaving his office. The one where he said those wonderful things about me being beautiful and smart but the job was important. And he didn’t want to mess anything up for me or for him.
That con
versation was obliterated the moment he walked into this diner with his made to order girlfriend. The way Henrik’s eyes widened when she introduced herself, he’s obviously lying to her too.
“Girlfriend! Well, that is so great. Isn’t that great you guys, and isn’t she beautiful?” I said as I gazed around the booth I just hopped out of.
Evaleen Bachmann, who I had become friends with since working at Mimir, sat there trying to hold back laughter. While Aria was trying to reach for me and pull me back down. But I was having none of that.
My arms flew around the gorgeous Tiffany like she was a long-lost friend. I hugged her before pulling her back and giving her the smile of my life.
“Oh, Tiffany, I mean it, you are simply divine,” I said as I stumbled back into the table.
Evaleen’s chocolate milkshake tipped over. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the frozen chocolate moved across the table and down my leg, puddling in my shoe.
Did that stop me from smiling? Hell no.
Despite the potential frostbite to my foot I refused to be beaten down by the lies of my boss.
Until Aria got out of the booth and pulled me away.
We moved down the narrow hallway and into a small square bathroom that included a toilet, a sink, and room enough for one person to stand. Aria took that space so I sat on the toilet seat and slumped forward. All peppy energy from my pseudo-excitement of meeting Tiffany, now vanished.
“Morgana do you know why a dick gets hard?”
I raised my head and saw Aria, completely serious while leaning against the dark wood paneled wall.
“No why does a dick get hard, Aria?”
“To stay in shape,” she said as she folded her arms, proud of her answer.
Me? I was baffled. She knew my feelings for Henrik. I had confided in her last night about what happened. And here she was making jokes about dicks.
“It’s a scientific fact that a penis needs to periodically be engorged to maintain a healthy tone,” she added.
It wasn’t even the afternoon and I was already tired. Exhausted from an emotional morning.
Rules of Payne (Cake Love Book 1) Page 4
