“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know I haven’t been helping.”
“You’ve already apologized for being an asshole,” she said. “And made it up to me.”
I did smile then, and her eyes sparkled with playfulness as she looked at me.
“Did I? Do you forgive me?”
“It depends,” she said. “On your further behavior.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” I said.
“Try to be nice,” she said. “And try not to be so bossy.”
“I am your boss,” I pointed out.
“Since when does that mean I have to do what you say?” she asked in a teasing voice. There was a smile on her face she was trying to fight back, trying to be serious, but I could tell she couldn’t help herself.
“You were pretty obedient the other night,” I said, the words slipping from my lips. She blushed again, an even deeper shade of red.
“Don’t get used to it,” she said to me.
“I guess I didn’t do a thorough job of convincing you that you’re better off doing what I say,” I said. I had no idea where the words were coming from or why I was saying them, why I was leading her into such a dangerous conversation.
“I guess you didn’t.”
I leaned back in my chair. My cock was rock hard and I was having trouble keeping the memories of the other night from my mind.
“What will it take to convince you?” I asked. She gave me a sly smile and shrugged.
“Something drastic, no doubt,” she said. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. Something drastic. We’d already done something drastic, and now I was on the edge of doing it again. I stood up and she looked up at me with her eyebrows raised.
“I really—I can’t work with you in this office,” I said.
Her lips parted in a question. “Why not?”
“You know exactly why not,” I said to her. “This isn’t working. I think—you should probably work with Louis for the time being. I think that’s best.”
“Really?” she asked. “You’re that desperate to get rid of me?”
“Yes,” I said. I was glad she didn’t look angry—she actually looked amused, something that made me even more aroused. I loved that little smirk on her lips, would have loved even more to wipe it off by taking her mouth in a kiss.
“I’m going to talk to Louis,” I said to her. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” she said, staring up at me. She shook her head as I made my way out of the office and down the hall to Louis. He was inside on his computer, while Kelly sat at a small desk in the corner of the big office.
“Kelly,” I said. “Can I have a minute to speak to Mr. Sylvester?”
“Yes,” she said, standing up. She was a nervous girl, nothing like Victoria, and avoided my eye on the way out of the room.
“What’s up?” Louis asked, although he looked a little like he knew exactly why I was there.
“I need you to take Victoria. We need to switch.”
“You want to switch trainees?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Is it that bad?”
“It’s bad,” I said, running my hand through my hair in exasperation. “I’d rather work with Kelly. If I’m going to stay away from Victoria—”
“We can switch, but I’m not sure how Kelly will feel about it.”
“It doesn’t really matter. They can compare notes and switch over. Victoria can work with you on the Walker case.”
Louis’s face screwed up in distaste. “I have Zachary on that right now.”
“Zachary? That little runt?”
I didn’t like Zachary at all and had hoped he wouldn’t make it past the first few weeks on the job. He didn’t seem to do anything, nor was he any particular asset to the company.
“Yes,” Louis said, his voice tight. “Jeremiah insisted—”
“Since when do you take orders from Jeremiah?” I asked him.
“There’s something going on with him. I don’t trust him right now,” Louis said. “I need to know what he’s up to, and working with Zachary will help.”
“What do you mean, he’s up to something?”
“He hinted something last night, made it seem like I’d regret it if I didn’t do what he said. It might have something to do with the board. I got an email from them—”
“I got it too,” I said grimly. “They keep citing Jeremiah’s last court case, how hard-won it was. It’s bullshit.”
“It is,” said Louis, sighing. “Look, do you really want to switch?”
“Please,” I said. “I’m desperate to get rid of her. I can’t even think when she’s in the room.”
“I’m not sure how much luck I’ll have when it comes to that,” he said. I gave him a curious look but didn’t press him. His words had a tone of finality to them.
“I’ll send Kelly over to meet with Victoria so that they can go over the cases. We’ll start the switch tomorrow. But you owe me.”
“I know I do,” I said, feeling a physical relief pass through me. The tension between Victoria and me was too much to bear. I only hoped that this would help take my mind off her.
12
Louis
I was almost nervous waiting for Victoria the next morning. I hadn’t spoken to her since the kiss, and every time I saw her in the hallway she greeted me politely but avoided further conversation. I’d been half-tempted to decline Xavier’s request to switch trainees—it was going to be uncomfortable for me to be around Victoria, too, and yet the offer had been too tempting to pass up.
I was fidgeting by the time the door opened, though it wasn’t in my nature. I was a calm man, collected, never nervous even in court. I was a natural performer, but I found it was harder to perform in front of Victoria than it was with anybody else.
Victoria met my eye when she walked in, holding my gaze for a moment as she took a seat at the desk in the corner.
“How are you this morning?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” she said, not looking at me. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, Victoria,” I said, staring at her face, at her gorgeous features. She was already blushing, her cheeks flushed.
“We should talk about this,” I said to her softly. “Otherwise, it’s just going to drive us crazy.”
“I told you, I didn’t mean to sleep with him—”
“Not that, Victoria,” I said to her, not wanting to talk about Xavier. “About the parking garage.”
“The kiss,” she said in a quiet voice.
“Yes, the kiss,” I said to her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”
She looked up at me finally, biting her lip. “It’s my fault,” she said, and she sounded almost angry.
“It’s not. I kissed you,” I said to her. “It was all me.”
“I—I wanted you to. I was hoping you would.”
“Oh,” I said in surprise. I hadn’t expected those words to come from her, especially not after what had happened with Xavier. She blushed an even deeper shade of red, glancing away from me, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes.
“Hey,” I said, getting up automatically and crossing the room to her. I knelt in front of her and took her hand in mine. The look on her face was surprised and for a moment I thought she would pull away, but instead she held onto my hand, her jaw trembling.
“What’s wrong, Victoria?” I asked her in a gentle voice.
“Something’s wrong with me,” she said. My heart ached at the tone in her voice, as if she was broken.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I said. I was on my knees in front of her, my face level with hers. All I wanted was to comfort her and make it better. She stared at me for a moment and I brought my hand to her cheek, stroking her cheekbone with my thumb.
“There is nothing wrong with you, Victoria,” I said to her, wiping the tears from her face. “You are absolutely perfect in every way.”
She paused, studying my face before she leaned forward and kissed me softly. I hesitated, kno
wing it was wrong, trying to recall how crazy it had driven Xavier to do just this. But before I could stop myself, I was responding, tasting her mouth in slow, sensual strokes of my tongue. Her breath seemed to catch in her chest as we kissed, and I found myself with my hands on her knees, brushing the soft skin of her thighs with the tips of my fingers. She deepened the kiss, her hands in my hair, her mouth moving slowly against mine as I pushed her dress up slowly over her thighs. It was a bad idea, something I kept repeating to myself over and over, but being near her and knowing how wet she must be overwhelmed my senses. I lowered my face to kiss the nape of her neck and she lifted her hips slightly to let me pull her dress above them.
“I think I know a way to cheer you up,” I said to her, my voice coming out low and gruff.
“What’s that?” she breathed as I lifted her in my hands and set her on the desk. I knelt down again and nuzzled the inside of her thigh, pulling down her tights to reveal a tiny pair of black lace panties. I nearly groaned when I saw them, saw the tops of her thighs glistening with her pussy juice. I leaned in and nuzzled between her legs, breathing in the scent of her sex. She closed her legs then, a shy look on her face.
“Are you—do you want to use your mouth?” she asked.
“I’m going to eat your pussy,” I said, nodding.
“Oh,” she said. “I’ve never—nobody has ever done that before.”
“Wow,” I said, my cock somehow growing even harder, throbbing against my zipper.
She bit her lip and I leaned in to kiss her again, slowly pulling down her panties. The sight of her pussy was gorgeous—swollen and soaking, her folds pink and glistening. When I spread her thighs, I could see everything, including her sweet, needy clit. She squirmed when she felt my breath between her legs, and I planted a soft kiss on the outside of her pussy, wetting my lips with the sweet flavor between her thighs. She whimpered at that alone and I looked up at her.
“Quiet,” I said to her with a grin. “Cover your mouth with your hand.”
She did as I said, looking down at me as I licked from the bottom to the top of her slit. I met her eye as I did it again, then again, barely flicking her clit with my tongue. I wanted her worked up, wanted her first time to be explosive. I wanted to feel the force of her coming on my mouth.
“Does it taste okay?” she asked, that shy look on her face again, combined with pure lust.
“You taste like fucking heaven,” I said, then dipped my tongue into her pussy, tasting her right from the source. She moaned against her hand as she clamped it back over her mouth, and I immediately felt addicted to the sound, even if it was muffled. I started to lick her in earnest, touching her clit every time I got to the top of her pussy. I stroked it with my tongue, alternating between sucking and licking as she started to hump her hips against my face. I brought my hand to her pussy and started to stroke the lips while I lapped at her clit, then slipped one of my fingers inside of her, just teasing her opening with the tip. She spread her legs even further, wanting more, and I happily slid my finger deep inside her tight little pussy, pumping it in and out as I looked up at her face. Her eyes were on mine and there was a pleading look there, one that begged me to fill her up. I slipped another finger inside, curling both of them upward as I tasted her clit.
“I’m gonna come,” she breathed. “Louis.”
“Come in my mouth,” I said, then gave her no choice, licking her furiously as her hips started to buck against my face. I held her there, pulling her close, burying myself in her as she gushed all over my fingers, her pussy dripping onto my hand.
I pulled away when she was finished, fighting back the urge to fuck her right there on the desk. I bent to pick up her panties and handed them to her with another soft kiss.
“How was that?” I asked her. “Good?”
“Amazing,” she breathed.
“And do you feel better?”
“Yes,” she said, looking into my eyes. I felt no regret for what I’d done, not like Xavier had seemed to. The only guilt I felt was remembering how I’d reacted to him.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. She nodded, kissing me again, a soft smile on her face. I was glad she seemed pleased and not upset, and I helped her down from the desk. She sat back down in her chair and cleared her throat.
“I should get to work,” she said. “There’s a lot left to do on the Walker case.”
“Always so on-task,” I said. “I knew you’d be a good employee.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you think so.”
I winked at her, going back to my desk. We spent the rest of the workday in a comfortable quiet, and I was surprised that my mind was calm and at peace. I didn’t struggle with what I’d done, but I found myself wanting more, and I kept glancing over at Victoria throughout the day to see that there was a small smile on her lips.
13
Victoria
I smiled at Louis as I left, chewing my lip as I made my way to the elevator. I’d been thinking about what we’d done all day, squirming in my seat remembering how good his mouth had felt. I felt none of the guilt I’d felt with Xavier for some reason—things with Louis were just so much simpler, so much sweeter than they could ever be with Xavier. I tried not to think about what it meant that I’d been with both of them. My guilt would overwhelm me if I did, and for now I just wanted to enjoy the afterglow of what Louis had given me.
I noticed that something was wrong as soon as I pulled up to my apartment building. The light in my apartment was on—I could see it through the window. I frowned, staring up at it, knowing I’d turned the switch off before I’d left that morning. I went inside, climbing the stairs to my apartment. The door was cracked open and I heard music from the other side, as if somebody had turned on the radio. I felt angry and indignant as I pushed the door open, looking around for whoever was inside. There was nobody in the front room, but I froze when I saw the words scrawled on the wall over and over in red. The word “slut” was covering the walls, almost every inch of the front room. I stared at it, my mouth open as I started to walk around the apartment. My things were all over the floor, some of them broken into pieces. I searched the rest of the apartment, my anger and fear building. I had a feeling I knew who this was—it could only be my brother, though I hadn’t thought he would ever sink this low. I almost cried as I pulled out my phone, dialing the number and bringing it to my ear.
“Hello?” Louis said.
“Hi, Louis?” I said. “Um—something happened and I need your help.”
“What is it?” he asked, an urgency in his voice. For a moment, I paused, wondering if I should really do this, knowing how it would end up. But in that moment of fear and anger, for some reason, the only thing I wanted was for Louis to comfort me. Earlier in the day he’d put me at peace, made me comfortable in a way I’d never really felt before.
“Can you come over?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said without hesitating. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” I said to him, then hung up. I suddenly felt nervous, wondering why I’d called him at all. Once he showed up, I was relieved to see him. I immediately wrapped my arms around him once I opened the door and he held me close, stroking my hair before pulling back.
“What happened?” he asked with a frown. I took a deep breath and let him in. I saw his eyes widen when he saw the wall, gaping at it before he turned to me.
“Who did this?” he asked. He sounded angry and there was a tense look on his face. “Did you call the cops?”
I shook my head, sinking down onto the couch. He took the seat next to me and took my hand right away, turning it around to stroke my palm with his fingers.
“I didn’t call the cops. I’m pretty sure my brother did it,” I said.
“Your brother? Why would your brother do something like this?”
I sighed. “I’m estranged from my family. I used to be really close to my brother, but after—after what happened, things changed.”
“What happened?” he asked. His voice was gentle, curious but not pressing.
“I can’t talk about it,” I said. I’d never talked about Jacob to anyone, not after how my family had taken it.
“Okay,” he said. “So you had a falling out with him.”
“I told him about you. About Xavier,” I said.
“Oh. I thought you were estranged?”
“I just—I felt so guilty about what happened with Xavier that I went back to church. I saw my brother there. We used to be so close, it just felt natural to tell him what was bothering me.”
“Am I bothering you?” he asked.
I shook my head. “You’re different to Xavier,” I said to him.
A small smile passed over his face. He leaned in to kiss me, taking my mouth with his. The kiss continued for a long time until he shifted our bodies so he was on top of me, the weight of him warm and comfortable, soothing. I tasted his mouth over and over, sucking on his lips as my arms wrapped around his neck to pull him close.
“This is a good idea,” he said against my lips, though he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. “This is how it’s supposed to be between us.”
I nodded, kissing his jaw, his neck. I agreed with him entirely. When he was touching me earlier, it had felt natural and right, unlike it had been with any other man. Being with Xavier felt good but this felt different, something that was meant to be. Louis’s kisses were slow and sensual as he started to undress me, peeling my clothes off slowly. He looked me over when I was naked, a sweet smile on his face as he kissed my neck, my collarbone, the space between my breasts. His hands cupped them, and he fondled them gently, stroking my nipples with his thumbs. He lowered his face to take one between his lips, sucking on it gently and tracing it with his tongue.
“You know I wanted to do this the moment I met you?” he asked, teasing my other nipple, sucking it between his lips to make it even harder.
“You did?” I asked him.
“Mostly I wanted to taste your pussy,” he said, and I felt a shiver run through me just remembering how that had felt. “But I wanted to fill you up, too. Make you come on my cock.”
Two Dirty Bosses Page 7
