by Nadia Lee
She closed the distance between them. His lips were firm under hers, unresponsive. She pulled him closer, both hands on the back of his head, and opened up, tracing her tongue over the flat line of his mouth.
The longer he remained passive, the more aggressive she became, channeling her pain into the desperate act of kissing him. She didn’t want him to remain angry with her. She wanted him to know how sorry she was for being unfair to him and how much she appreciated his support. Just being there for her was huge. Her parents’ divorce was really unsettling, and she couldn’t even say why. She felt like one of those helpless kids she represented pro bono.
She rested her palm over his heart and felt its movement, like a fish caught in a net. Forgive me, Justin. Forgive me…
Finally some of the tension went out of him, and his hands traveled up her sides as he began to kiss her back. Relief and exhilaration flooded her. She shed his coat, let it glide over her and pool by the couch.
He pulled her into his lap and dug a hand into her hair, ruining the way she’d set it. She deepened the kiss, adjusting herself so she was seated with her sex flush against his erection.
He licked the small mole on her neck. “I don’t know why I can’t say no to you.” His breath was hot against her skin. “It should be easy to say no.”
“I’m glad you can’t. Because I can’t say no to you either.”
Chapter Three
Justin cursed under his breath. When Vanessa was like this, it was like all the hurtful words had never been spoken. He went weak for her even though he knew how bad she was. If any of his friends had had the kind of relationship he had with Vanessa, he would’ve advised them to get the hell out.
But none of that mattered when she was in front of him like this.
He pulled the flimsy blouse out of her skirt and unbuttoned it. She unhooked her bra and tossed it on the floor. Need thrummed deep inside his belly at the sight of her. He wanted to tell himself it was only because he hadn’t had sex since they’d broken up, but that would be a lie. Even if he’d had a dozen orgasms the night before, he’d still be hot for her.
“Justin…”
He undressed her the rest of the way, then carried her to the bedroom and placed her on his bed. Her crimson hair spread around her like fire. The sight of her there stroked a deep, primal urge in him. For the first time, she was in his bed. Hotel beds had their appeal, but this was more.
His fingers moved on auto-pilot. His shirt buttons came undone, cuff links dropped into a small crystal bowl in the closet. Shoes and socks disappeared, and his slacks and underwear vanished.
Vanessa’s eyes never left his body as he undressed. A deep flush tinted her cheeks, and her pupils grew impossibly wide and dark.
He moved over her, tracing the smooth curves of her calves and thighs. Her breath hitched as his fingers traveled upward, then he stopped, blowing gently at the black curls between her legs. She was already wet.
He dropped a soft kiss on her belly. “You look perfect.”
“So do you.”
With a little smile, he kissed and licked along her legs. They were lean and trim from daily jogging, and he loved their shape and strength.
He gently ran a finger along the seam at the juncture of her thighs. She was scorching hot and wet. He put her juices on his tongue and groaned at the pure honeyed taste.
Propping her legs on his shoulders, he feasted on her. Her back arched at the feel of his tongue, and he hummed with satisfaction at how responsive she was. Maybe her firm had kept her so busy since November that she hadn’t had a free moment to think about another man, much less actually get laid.
Jealousy spiked, but he kicked it down. This wasn’t the time. Vanessa was in his bed, moaning under his mouth.
He swirled his tongue over her clit and pushed his finger into her. Her inner muscles clutched at him, and he groaned at how responsive she was as he moved it in and out of her in that erratic rhythm she liked so much.
As much as he wanted to draw the moment out, he couldn’t wait much longer. His cock throbbed with the need to be inside her, and he wanted her limp and pliable from a powerful orgasm before he entered her.
Her hands twisted the sheet, and her breathing took on a staccatoed, panicked tone, like she was afraid he’d abandon her now when she was so close. He didn’t understand why; he’d never left her unsatisfied.
“Justin!” His name on her lips was the sweetest sound ever. He kept up the pressure as she rode wave after wave of the first of many orgasms he planned to give her that night. She was so beautiful, abandoning herself to the pleasure.
Finally she brought him up for a deep kiss. He lay over her, anticipating what was to come, and his cock grew even harder. She reached between their bodies and ran her index finger over the slick blunt tip of his erection, then put it in her mouth. “Mmmm. Yummy.”
“Wicked,” Justin murmured.
“And I live in L.A.”
“The wicked wench of the west.”
She laughed, the sound husky. Then she whispered into his ear, “Less talk, more action.”
* * *
Vanessa smiled when Justin gave into his need and trailed his lips along her neck, his hands traveling over her torso, moving closer and closer to her breasts. He made her feel so free in bed, like she could do or say anything and it would be all right. Maybe that was what kept their time together so fresh and hot. Nothing else could explain why she still wanted him like this after ten years of an on-and-off relationship.
Justin’s firm hand cupped her breast with exactly the right amount of pressure, making her draw a sharp breath at how amazing it felt. He flicked his finger over her aching nipple, and she clenched her inner muscles as she grew slick between her legs.
He took his time with her breast. Where was he getting the patience? She could feel his cock throbbing against her. She licked her lips. She wanted him inside her probably more than he wanted to plunge into her.
Finally he pulled her nipple into his mouth, trapping the hard point between the roof of his mouth and tongue. The edge of his teeth scraped against the soft skin, and she tunneled her fingers through his silky hair as desire heated rapidly in her belly, like she hadn’t just had a powerful orgasm.
When he finally released her breast, she kissed him and rolled him over. As he watched her, she got on her knees and gripped the headboard. Then very deliberately, she spread her thighs and arched her back.
He nuzzled the gentle slopes of her buttocks, his hot breath fanning over her heated skin. She pushed herself toward him, and he stroked her clit. “You’re gorgeous like this.” He nipped her, sending a sharp tang of want along her spine. “Good enough to eat.”
“No more talking. Show me.”
With a soft laugh, he opened a drawer by his bed and put on a condom. Once protected, he gripped her pelvis and pushed into her, delicious inch by delicious inch.
She bit her lower lip at the sweet invasion, the way he stretched and filled her. When he was hilted, she moaned. It was incredible how having his cock inside her could make her feel so connected to him. “Justin…”
He pumped his lean hips, moving in and out of her in a rhythm she found irresistible. As the pleasure built, her lips parted in a silent cry. Something close to fear slid over her mind at how vulnerable and open she was to Justin right now. A small part of her wanted to pull back, but she couldn’t. The pleasure he gave her was so addicting, she was helpless to deny him.
Justin reached around and rubbed her clit. “Come for me.”
“Yes!” She screamed his name as a powerful orgasm consumed her. It was like being electrocuted with pleasure, and she felt like she would black out from the intensity of it.
His grip tightened as he thrust into her with more power and speed. She hung on to the headboard for dear life. He shouted as he climaxed, his body taut and strong.
She turned to watch him over her shoulder. He looked so primal with pleasure twisting his handsome face, and s
he held back a secret smile of satisfaction at knowing that she was the cause.
Some time later when his breathing slowed, he got up and went to the bathroom. Afterward, he returned to bed and wrapped his arm around her. Spooning her, he pressed his face against the back of her neck. “Spend the night with me. I’ll have my pilot take you to L.A. in the morning.”
She linked fingers with him, then waited until his body grew lax with sleep. There were so many reasons why she should leave…and just one reason why she should stay. But that reason seemed to trump all the others.
She turned to watch his face as he slept. Justin was just too perfect. She should never have come to Chicago or slept with him, no matter how right it’d felt. No other man had ever given her that panicked sensation of total vulnerability, whereas Justin never failed to arouse it.
If she wasn’t careful, he might take up a permanent spot in her mind. And that wouldn’t do. She knew what happened when people let themselves become that exposed.
* * *
Seven hours later, Justin woke up alone in bed. There was a small memo on the bedside table, and he reached for it.
Thanks for everything.
– V
He didn’t have to get up to make sure she was gone. It was a typical Vanessa post-coital good-bye. A fist over his eyes, he cursed. He really needed to get a woman who was better for him. This gut twisting feeling Vanessa gave him simply wasn’t good. And he was getting tired of the whole messed up hot-and-cold thing they had going, no matter how irresistible it was.
If a business associate had treated him like this, he would’ve cut the person out of his life instantly. Personal affairs weren’t exactly like business, but maybe he should make an exception for Vanessa. After all, hadn’t he learned that nothing was absolute, how there was an exception to everything?
Decision made, he sat up and scrolled through the huge list of women on his phone. Then he found the number and dialed.
* * *
Vanessa stuffed the panic away as she returned to her office from the bathroom. Still no period, and she wasn’t feeling even the slightest bit of premenstrual cramp.
The most she’d ever been late was one week. It had been five weeks since she’d left Justin’s bed.
“Are you all right?” her secretary Zoe said, looking up from her laptop screen with a newsfeed scrolling on the bottom. Something about some reality TV show star getting pregnant. “You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine.”
Zoe’s middle-aged face pinched, deepening the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. “They’re working you too hard. A hundred and twenty is much too much.”
Vanessa flashed the smile she always gave people who worried about her working too much. “Don’t let the partners hear you say that.”
She closed the door to her office and sat behind her desk. A mountain of documents related to Solaris Med demanded her attention, but she couldn’t focus on anything. She hadn’t been sleeping well, and she’d been busy. Like Zoe had said, a hundred and twenty hours might actually be too much, and that would explain why she hadn’t had a period in five weeks.
Instead of trying to come up with wishful reasons why she wasn’t having her period—menopause was not a plausible explanation—she picked up her purse. She had to know. “Zoe, I’ll be gone for an hour or so.”
“But you have a conference with Felix,” she said.
Oh crap. That was right. They were supposed to discuss the sexual harassment case and strategy. “Can you reschedule? Tell him I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” Zoe frowned, her dark eyes owlish behind rimless glasses.
There was a drug store not too far from the office. She bought a pregnancy test and went into the bathroom at the back of the store. After following the instructions, she stared at her slim watch as the seconds ticked by. She couldn’t be pregnant…she just couldn’t…
She glanced at the result box on the stick, and all the air whooshed out of her. She put a hand on the stall door for support as her knees turned to pudding.
She was.
Chapter Four
“Have you heard? Kerri’s pregnant.”
Justin looked up from a pile of documents as his great-uncle Barron walked into his living room on a Saturday. “What? No. Congratulations.”
“I imagine it’s a boy.”
Barron took a seat without waiting for an invitation and pulled out a box of sugar cookies and a tumbler full of Earl Gray tea. They were his favorite, but he knew Justin didn’t keep any at home.
Despite his age, Barron looked as solid as ever, glowing with good health. If Justin hadn’t known better, he might’ve thought Barron had found an elixir of eternal youth. As usual, he wore a bespoke suit, hand-tailored in Europe. The dark navy of the silk looked good on him. His watch flashed on his wrist. It was an old, inexpensive piece, but he’d never thrown away any of his late wife’s presents.
Justin was happy for his cousin, but at the same time a sharp envy formed in his gut. It seemed like everyone was with the one they wanted to be with except him. And he hated this pathetic, lousy feeling of jealousy and self-pity. Neither was like him. Damn you, Vanessa.
“How far along is she?” Justin asked, forcing a small smile. Nobody needed to know about his personal problems. He’d already made up his mind to move on.
“Only six weeks.” He held up an index finger. “But I have a hunch about this child.”
Justin nodded, leaning back in his seat. “What can I do for you, Barron?”
His great-uncle wouldn’t have flown all the way to Chicago just to talk about Kerri’s pregnancy. As much as Barron adored his granddaughter, he was a busy man, busier now with a new-found love. Shocking that he actually felt something for another human being. More shocking that a woman actually genuinely liked him. Most of the women who’d buzzed around him did so because they wanted his money and influence.
Barron pulled out a sugar cookie. “When are you going to produce a child?”
Justin suppressed a sigh. This again. “When I find a woman who wants me, not my money.”
The older man snorted. “I’m surprised none of your exes thought to get pregnant. That would’ve been the easiest way to get you to marry them.”
“Child support is cheaper and infinitely preferable. Besides, I’m sure our lawyers would win the custody battle.”
“They better, given how much they’re paid.” Barron expected the very best from everyone who worked for him—that was to say, to give him everything he wanted when he wanted it.
“If that’s all—”
“If you don’t find a wife soon, I plan to find one for you.”
“Please, no matchmaking.”
“There are heiresses who wouldn’t want your money.”
“How many who are worth twenty-five billion?” Justin steepled his fingers. “You know how it is. No limit on greed.”
Barron sighed. “You know why I groomed you myself, don’t you? To carry on the family legacy. Grow it, for subsequent generations.”
Justin nodded.
“And that means you have certain responsibilities to me, as well as to the family. One of which is that you marry and produce an heir whom you can groom yourself. I’d like to see this before I die.”
“If you ever die. I swear you’re going to outlive us all.”
Barron laughed his booming laugh. “You say that now, but I’m not young anymore. I’ll die soon enough. I mean what I said, Justin. Marry that London girl you’re with.”
Justin narrowed his eyes. London Bickham had a sizable trust fund, and she was funny and nice, but she sometimes bored him. Still, she was a good distraction to help him forget Vanessa.
“Don’t give me that look. London’s a good girl. Pretty too.”
The intercom buzzed, thankfully giving Justin a small reprieve. It was London.
“Speak of the devil.” Barron smiled, his eyes twinkling.
“We have a lunch date,” Justin said.
“When I was your age, I picked the girl up at her house.”
“She’s a modern woman. Has her own driver’s license and everything.”
A few minutes later the elevator doors opened, London strolled in. Many assumed it was her golden hair and wide blue eyes that made her look like a child’s doll, but Justin disagreed. It was her eyes, completely devoid of intellect or a single original thought. Still, he preferred his rebound to be the polar opposite of Vanessa.
London’s hips swayed, making the hem of her pale green dress swirl around her thighs. Her unbound curls cascaded over her slim shoulders, and she didn’t show any surprise at the sight of Barron. “Hello, Justin. Barron, I didn’t know you were going to be in Chicago.”
“Don’t mind me.” He brushed invisible cookie crumbs from his clothes.
“Are you joining us for lunch?”
“No. I have to return to Maryland.”
London smiled blankly at Barron, while Justin relaxed. Maryland meant only one thing—he was going back to Stella Lloyd, the new love of his life. Justin made a mental note to send her a big basket of gourmet European chocolate and flowers. Barron was technically retired, but in actuality he was semi-retired, always nosing around at Sterling & Wilson. It had the unfortunate side effect of undermining Justin at times. But ever since Barron had met Stella, he’d been too busy in Maryland to drive Justin insane, and for that the woman deserved a lifetime of chocolate and flowers.
“You two lovebirds have a good time,” Barron said, heaving himself up and leaving.
“He’s so sweet,” London said.
Justin hid a cool smile. “He’s not bad.”
Most people who’d ever worked for or with him would never call Barron “sweet.” He was a faithful disciple of Machiavelli—make people fear you and crush them when they mess with you so they could never rise up against you, ever. And unlike Justin, Barron was fully capable of applying it to everyone, including his own family.
