by Laurie Roma
Not listening to a damn word the guard was saying, Tag cursed again as he grabbed Caitlyn’s hand in his, pulling her forward into the top floor office lobby.
Caitlyn tried to jerk her arm free, but his hold was too tight. She tried digging her feet into the plush carpet to stop herself from being pulled with him as they entered the main office area, but Tag just swung her up into his arms as he continued forward with confident strides. With a shriek of outrage Caitlyn tried to free herself from his hold, but he simply kept walking.
“Put me down, you son of a bitch!” Caitlyn snarled.
“Well, well. Nice of you to finally show up,” a smug voice said.
Caitlyn froze, going deathly still. She let out a low sound of distress before she could stop herself as she turned her head. Carl was standing in the doorway of what looked like a conference room off to the right with Ryan leering at his side.
Tag frowned down at Caitlyn then his head whipped around to arrow straight at the bastard that had spoken. An overwhelming wave of protectiveness had Tag’s eyes narrowing on the two sneering men.
“Who the hell are you?” Tag’s voice was like the crack of a whip.
“Put me down. Put me down now.” Caitlyn kept her voice low, so only Tag could hear it, but he could hear the anger in her tone. Tag looked back down at her, his arms tightening reflexively, refusing to let her go.
“No.”
“Let me go!” Caitlyn shrieked as she swung her legs trying to get free. Tag relented, putting her down, but kept an arm wrapped around her waist to hold her at his side.
Carl was obviously stupider than he looked as he glared at them. “Would you shut up, Caitlyn. My name is Carl Lowenbaum. I’m one of the department heads of Manchester Klein. Who the hell are you?”
Tag’s smile was feral. “Tag Steele. Grayson Taggart Steele.”
Carl blanched, but he recovered quickly. He shot Tag a nasty smile as he chuckled. “Mr. Steele. Well, it seems as though you have already met my…colleague. I’m sure she has shown you just how…thorough she is at her job.”
“What?” Caitlyn gasped.
“Enough!” Such icy fury filled Tag’s harsh voice that it made both Carl and Ryan take an unconscious step back. “Get the fuck out of my building.”
Carl’s jaw tensed. Switching targets, he shot Caitlyn a look filled with such hatred she was shocked by it. “So that ice bitch routine at work is all show, huh? You just save it for people who can help your career. At least now I know how you really keep your clients happy.”
Ryan snickered at Carl’s side. “I knew she had to be doing something…extra.”
Caitlyn’s eyes went glacial. “Go fuck yourself. You’re just bitter because I’m better at what we do and all our clients know it,” she snapped. She was past the point of caring that Carl was her boss. Fuck it, he could fire her right now. She would not let Carl or Ryan talk to her that way.
“You little bitch.”
Caitlyn tried to leap at Ryan, hands reaching out as if she could already imagine them around his scrawny little neck, but Tag easily held her in place at his side. The icy fury she was sure was shooting from her eyes had Ryan stepping out of range of her reach.
“Coward,” she spat. “You fucking coward!”
“Consider yourself fired, slut,” Carl snarled.
Tag pulled Caitlyn back, forcing her behind him then he stalked forward like an animal in pursuit of his prey. Lethal rage radiated from him in waves that had Ryan backing away in sheer terror. Edged with burning rage, his eyes narrowed on Ryan, but then turned so the full power of his wrath was focused on Carl instead.
The blood drained from Carl’s face and he gulped.
“If either of you ever, ever speak to her like that again, I will end you. I will fucking break you in half. Be afraid, very afraid. You’ll get out now, in one piece. But next time, if you’re stupid enough for there to be a next time, I won’t be as generous.” Tag’s voice was soft, but with a lethal edge that made him even more terrifying.
And no one could mistake his feral smile as anything but that of a predator.
Tag jerked his head toward the security guards standing off to the side. “Get these assholes out of my sight, now.”
The security guards jumped forward to take care of Carl and Ryan.
Stepping forward with determined strides, Tag grabbed Caitlyn’s briefcase from the man in the suit holding it. He turned abruptly then stalked back to Caitlyn. Grabbing her arm, he all but dragged her with him into his office at the end of the hall, passing the very shocked face of his admin and slammed the door shut.
***
Chapter Eight
The minute the door closed, Caitlyn jerked her arm away from Tag and bolted to the other side of the room. Breathing heavy, she stared at him with contempt.
“Goddamn it. Goddamn it to hell and back! What the fuck, Mr. Steele? You fucking asshole! Everything, everything I have fucking worked for is screwed. How could you do this to me?”
“I didn’t do anything, Caitlyn,” Tag shot back. “How can you stand working with those pricks? Who gives a fuck what they think.”
“I do!” Caitlyn felt tears stinging her eyes and felt her nails bite into the palms of her hands as she clenched them into fists. “I just got fired. Fired! You may not fucking care about my job, but I sure as hell do.”
“I care! What can they fire you for, you didn’t do anything wrong! Hell, even if they don’t, you should quit. Your boss is a fucking asshole. I should’ve just beat the shit out of that little prick.” Tag growled as he yanked his jacket off, throwing it across the room. “Christ, if you want that damn job so bad I’ll call Richard Manchester and take care of this.”
“I just slept with a client!”
“I’m not a fucking client!” He roared as he stepped toward her.
“Back off. Back the fuck off now,” she ordered softly.
At her words Tag stopped where he was. She saw his hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his chest heaving in his effort to control himself. Adrenaline pumping, Caitlyn had to force herself not to look at the gleaming muscles of Tag’s chest peaking out of his opened dress shirt. As mad as she was, she still wanted him and that pissed her off even more.
Tag laughed bitterly. “This is a goddamn clusterfuck. Honestly, Caitlyn. Do you think I need outside resources to launch any of my products? Manchester Klein would have never even gotten a meeting without you. I asked for you.”
Caitlyn’s face went blank with shock as his words registered. “You knew? You knew who I was? Oh, this just gets better and better…”
Shit.
Tag wanted to pull at his hair and pace around the room, but forced himself to stay still. Christ, what he really wanted was to go back and do the last fifteen fucking minutes all over again. Taking a deep breath, he went for the truth instead.
“I already told you that I wanted to meet you after that first time I saw you. I found out what department you worked in and heard about the work you’ve done from some of your previous clients. All of them sang your praises, so yes, I set up the meeting. That doesn’t mean I arranged to get stuck in the goddamn elevator with you during a freaking earthquake. ”
“You lied to me,” she whispered.
“I didn’t lie!” Tag yelled.
“Tag! You said your fucking name was Tag!”
“Goddamn it!” he roared. “My name is Tag! Grayson was my grandfather. I have never, ever gone by that name. I didn’t lie to you. Anyone who knows me knows that my name is Taggart, but only my friends and family call me Tag.”
Caitlyn wanted to scream. She wanted to kick something to get rid of the rage and hurt inside her. She took a deep breath and turned away from him. His office was large, with every luxury, highlighted in vibrant, bold colors.
This was his kingdom.
An enormous desk sat at the far end, dominating the room. Leather chairs were placed on the receiving end of the desk and a matching sofa sat under
the large windows facing a flat screen plasma television. Art work that Caitlyn would bet cost more than her college tuition hung on the wall. The office was slick and stylish, just like the man who ran his company from this room, but it somehow seemed…empty.
Her quick survey just made it more obvious what different worlds they came from. This was just the perfect ending to her already royally fucked up day. Her temper deflated like a balloon, leaving her emotionally drained. She had just fucked one of the richest men in the country…in an elevator, no less.
And in doing so she lost her job.
Her voice was flat, void of all emotion when she next spoke. “I thought you were afraid of heights. Was that a lie, too?”
“No. I keep this office up here for show. My real office is on the seventh floor, just like I told you.”
Okay, she would give him that one. “You had ample opportunity to tell me who you really were when we were stuck together.”
“I didn’t know how.” Tag’s whisper had her looking back at him with defeated eyes. Anger had turned to despair and he couldn’t stand knowing that he put that look in her eyes.
“Was this a game to you?”
His nostrils flared with anger. “It was no game. What we have is real. Caitlyn, when we made love in the elevator—”
Caitlyn lifted an eyebrow and spoke softly, almost casually. “We didn’t make love, Tag. You fucked me.”
“That’s enough, Caitlyn,” Tag commanded with a low, firm voice. He radiated such casual superiority he wore it like second skin. Stepping toward her, he was one hundred percent pure unadulterated dangerous male. His eyes were blazing with temper, his expression granite hard with resolve. “Don’t do that Caitlyn. Don’t try to make what we did cheap because you’re hurt.”
Guilt swamped her because that was precisely what she was doing. Tag’s hands burrowed into his hair in frustration and then pressed his fingertips to his temple to try and quell the throbbing there. His hands dropped.
Tag didn’t know what to do.
He couldn’t lose her now that he had found her. The mere thought had him spiraling into panic. His heart nearly stopped beating at the raw hurt that he could see in her eyes. Her eyes that shone like brilliant aquamarines sparkling with tears in the light. Those eyes that could pierce his soul. Seeing her so wounded had the words just spilling out of him.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so fucking sorry I hurt you, but please listen to me. That wasn’t just fucking and you know it. I swear I was going to tell you, I just didn’t want to ruin the time we had together. Yeah, I wanted you so much that I couldn’t see straight, but I needed to be with you. Tell me you believe me. I can’t stand you thinking I was playing with you. It wasn’t like that. I know we just met but, god, what I feel for you is real. It’s so fucking real that I’m scared shitless that you’re going to walk out that door on me. Please, please believe me, baby. Don’t shut me out.”
Caitlyn felt her heart stop at his frantic plea and terrified expression. With just that look, all her anger defused. His eyes widened in shock as she walked over to him and reached up to stroke a hand over his clenched jaw.
“I believe you,” she whispered as the tears in her eyes spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
Tag couldn’t help reaching for her. His hands shook as he dragged her to him, engulfing her into the safety of his arms. Caitlyn could feel the stiff evidence of his desire for her pulsing against her stomach.
“Is that a natural state for you?” Caitlyn’s question was muffled by his shirt.
“Damn, I look at you and I can’t control my cock. I promise I’m usually not this sex crazed, but around you, I can’t seem to control it. Just ignore him, baby.”
Tag couldn’t seem to let go of her. He picked her up gently and strode over to the couch, placing her on his lap so he could keep her in his arms. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her, loving the taste of her on his lips. Placing his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes. “Thank you for believing me, baby. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”
Caitlyn let out a little laugh. “How could I not believe you? You don’t strike me as a man who says please or sorry easily.”
Tag smiled. “You’re right, I don’t.” He sobered as his eyes opened to connect with hers. “But I will say it to you when I fuck up. And I did fuck up, baby. I’ll try not to mess up often, but know that I’ll always apologize when I do. Just don’t leave me.”
“You scare me.”
Tag’s face was a mask of shocked horror at her whispered confession. “My God, you have to know I would never hurt you!”
She waved a hand in the air. “No, of course not. I meant I’m scared of how you make me feel. I know you were telling me the truth. What you said…I feel it too. And that scares me, because I’ve never felt this way before.”
They sat there for a moment in comfortable silence, the quiet murmur of voices outside the office the only noise intruding on their world. Tag’s voice finally broke the calm. “Baby, do you know you swear almost as much as me?” Just as he intended, Caitlyn laughed. The sensual husky sound of her laughter sent a wave of desire straight to his groin. God, he loved that sound.
“Yeah, I guess I can give you a run for your money—” she looked around “—or maybe not. And I have a wicked temper to boot.”
Tag gave a mocking shudder. “I know it. Trust me when I say I never want to piss you off again.” A scowl settled across his face. “Is that asshole really going to start trouble for you at work?”
“Tag, Carl fired me.” Tag gave her a curious glance as she laughed. “I was surprised he didn’t piss himself the way you came down on him and Ryan looked like he was ready to run.”
Tag grunted. Mirth faded as she rolled her shoulders and sighed. “That son of Satan won’t take me back. I guess it doesn’t matter anyways, I can’t work with him after what he said.”
Tag kissed her forehead. “I don’t need Manchester. I never did. I wasn’t lying when I told you the meeting I scheduled was for you. Initially, I was hoping to steal you away and get you to work for our marketing division. I still want you here. I know our relationship might not make this easy for you, but I know we can work it out.”
“Umm, you as my boss? That could get a bit sketchy don’t you think?”
Tag leaned back, his face determined. “You do good work, Caitlyn. I’ve done the research and know what you are capable of. My people know I was after you, professionally. You would be even better if you worked with a team of people who had half a brain. Just promise you’ll think about it.”
“Can you make it worth my while?” she asked, trying for a little levity.
Tag named a salary that made Caitlyn’s mouth go dry. He then rattled off benefits that would make the most jaded of men weep with joy.
“Oh God.”
“And that’s what I was going to offer before I could include myself in your bonus package,” he said with a grin.
“Stop. Stop now. I need to think about it. Shit, I can’t think with you being all nice and stuff.” Caitlyn cradled her head in her hands. She knew she would take the job, but damn it, she didn’t want to let him know he had her so easily. Steele Technologies was top dog in the industry, several actually. It was a goddamn international powerhouse. Working for Steele Tech would be the ultimate gig. She looked back up to see the jerk had a knowing smirk on his face.
“Take all the time you need, but now the crisis has passed, I think I want to take you home with me where I can make love to you on a bed.”
Damn, that sounded good to her. “I should go home and change or something.”
“Baby, you won’t be wearing clothes that long, so don’t bother.”
“You’re not off the hook yet, jerk.”
“Are you going to punish me?” He sent her a lascivious smirk.
Caitlyn grinned slowly. “There is no punishment great enough for your crimes, but I will try my very best to think of something.”
<
br /> ***
Chapter Nine
As Caitlyn and Tag left his office, the man in the suit who had held her briefcase jumped up from the chair he had been lounging in. He was a handsome man and he reached for her hand so he could kiss it. “Hello Ms. Watson. My name is Adam Montgomery, Tag’s right hand man. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Let go of her hand, Adam,” Tag snapped. “She doesn’t need you slobbering all over her.”
Caitlyn sent him an amused glance, but was distracted when her cell phone rang. Adam stood there with a wide grin on his face as he watched his usually stoic friend pull Caitlyn back to his side away.
Ah, the mighty have fallen…
“Tag, I need a sec.” Adam said, smiling apologetically to Caitlyn.
She waved them off as she moved away to take the call. It was her boss, and she knew what was coming. Taking a deep breath she answered and got an earful. Carl started screaming as soon as Caitlyn had answered. She tried to stop his rant, but he couldn’t hear her as he steamrolled right over her. Anger surged through her as he continued to spew fifth at her and what a disgrace she was to Manchester Klein.
“Carl! I don’t need to justify myself to you. You already fired me, so I don’t have to listen to you anymore, asshole!” Leaving him sputtering she flipped her phone closed. Shooting a look over at Tag and Adam, she met Tag’s dark penetrating eyes. A slow smile spread across his face as he simply walked away from Adam. He grabbed Caitlyn’s chin, titling her head up and kissed her hard. She moaned as he took the kiss deeper then pulled back as Adam cleared his throat.
“Caitlyn is going to be working for the Steele Enterprise marketing group,” Tag announced in a loud, clear voice.
“Welcome aboard.”
“Hey, I didn’t accept yet!” Caitlyn pushed away from Tag.
“You will,” both Tag and Adam said at the same time, earning both of them a glare in return.
“Men,” Caitlyn muttered dryly as she headed for the elevators.
****
