Work and avoiding Aaron kept me busy. I was looking forward to spending my birthday with my brothers. I was happy to find out Gabe was going to be able to attend. He was deep undercover and could not simply drop everything on a whim.
I choose not to work in the family’s security firm. That didn’t mean I was not made aware of what was going on with them.
On Friday, I walked into my birthday party wearing the simple yet elegant little black dress. I had my hair in an updo with curls hanging loosely around my face. My only accessory was a string of pearls. The pearls my mother had worn on her wedding day. The pearls had been handed down to me on my sixteenth birthday, pearls I should have worn to my prom.
Instead I spend it in the emergency room because my father had taken a bad fall during one of his drinking binges. I was the only one home and as much as I hated my father when he drank, he was my father and I did love him.
That fall however had gotten him on the road to sobriety. For that, I was more than happy to trade prom night.
“Wow, you look real pretty, Katie,” Gabriel told me and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. “Don’t want to mess with the makeup,” he teased.
“Anne told us there’s another party booked,” Braden snarled. “I told her we have dibs on the pool tables.”
“I think that goes without saying,” I assured him. “Why don’t we order dinner, have a couple of games, and we can call it a night before the next party gets here?” I was not interested in sitting in the corner with my brothers while Mr. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing was partying it up with hordes of eligible women hanging on his every word. I might have been the one saying no, but it didn't mean I had to sit back and watch what I was missing.
“I appreciate that you came in for my birthday, but I know you still have a job to finish. It’s enough that you made it here. Let’s skip to dessert, cut the cake, and then I’ll take your money at pool before you have to leave.” I was being practical. I understood the work my brothers did. I’d grown up with it.
Being here with my brothers to celebrate my birthday was the only gift I needed. At twenty-three, my career was on track, I was living on my own, and I had a handful of good friends. What more could I want?
I hugged my brothers goodnight at the door and returned to the table to retrieve my purse. I had accomplished my goal. I would be gone before Aaron and his party guests arrived.
I tucked my bag under my arm, turned around and ran smack into a rock wall—a wall of rock-hard chest and abs that belonged to Mr. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. I gasped and clutched onto him instinctively so I would not fall over backward. He did the same, gently gripping my arms to keep me in place.
My knees grew weak at the slight touch of his skin on my bare arms. He was wearing a tuxedo that should be classified as an illegal weapon against a woman’s senses. My nostrils flared as I breathed in his scent.
I had a sudden urge to hike up my dress, slid myself onto the pool table, and beg him to fuck me right there before anyone else arrived. A slight grin took over as I remembered accusing Haley of being an exhibitionist. I understood Haley better now, having experienced a longing so overwhelming that I would allow a man to ravish me in public.
Instead, I took a deep breath and pushed him away.
“You look lovely tonight, kitten.” I hadn’t seen him in a week, which was why everything he did, everything he said, served to heighten my awareness of him.
“Thank you.” I pointed to his tux. “A little overdressed for the bar, don’t you think?”
His enigmatic wicked grin had me holding on to the table to keep myself from melting to the floor.
“I cancelled my birthday party.”
“Aaron! Mackenzie went to all that trouble, not to mention I cut mine short so…” I caught myself almost confessing why I needed to get out of there before his arrival.
“I know. I was outside waiting for your brothers to leave.”
“You’re stalking me now?” I should be horrified… afraid. This took things to a new and dangerous level. Was I going to be one of those women my own brothers were going to have to protect? Why wasn’t I backing away, running from the situation for dear life?
“No,” he chuckled. He sounded amused that I had come to that conclusion. “I came to bring you your birthday present.”
I was not going down this road again. I would not be accepting anything from Mr. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. I stalked around the rock wall blocking my path to the door.
“Goodnight, Aaron. Happy Birthday.” I was all too aware that he was in step directly behind me.
I stepped onto the sidewalk and froze, just as I had the first night he’d followed me outside the bar. Before me was a stretch limo and the driver was holding a sign that read Happy Birthday, Katie. Welcome to New York.
“Happy Birthday, Katie. Welcome to New York,” I repeated, awestruck.
Aaron was anchoring me against his chest, keeping me from buckling to the ground. His hot breath whispered in my ear, “Happy Birthday, kitten.”
How could he have known that this was a wish I had buried long ago, a childhood dream that went up in smoke with my mother’s death and my father’s drinking? He somehow knew this was the one thing I coveted the most—a trip to New York City.
He had to be stalking me.
I remembered thinking that first morning he must have been the devil. I loved every sinful act we had committed that night.
Who was the traitor that had given the devil the knowledge of the one thing he could for buy me that I couldn't refuse?
The one thing I would make a bargain with the devil for…
Chapter 21
Aaron
She had gone rigid at my touch. This wasn’t the response I was anticipating. My little kitten should be melting in my arms, showering me with kisses for the birthday gift I’d presented her with… Her heart's greatest desire—the stuff dreams were made of.
Most women would have dragged me into the limo and begged me to fuck them by now. I loosened my grip. She was not most women. That was the reason I was standing in front of the bar dressed in a tuxedo, waiting.
Katie stepped away and turned to face me. “Who was the traitor?” Her emerald eyes flashed steely and cold.
“The only person who could have told me, the only person you trust enough to tell everything to,” I answered, hands in my pockets to keep from reaching out to her. I saw the trickle of a tear and badly wanted to wipe it away from her cheek.
“He wouldn’t—you’re lying! He must have told Anne and she told you. She has a weak spot for you, but you already knew that and you used it to your advantage.” I wasn’t immune to the bitterness in the accusation she threw at me.
“I asked Anne what would be the one thing I could give you for your birthday that no one else ever did for you. I wanted to do something special for you.” I paused, took a step forward, and met her gaze.
“She told me there was only one person I could talk to.” I smirked. “Imagine my surprise when she told me who it was.”
“How did you get him to tell you?” She seemed to be thawing and possibly starting to believe I was only trying to give her the best birthday present of her life.
“I told him I wanted to give you something for your birthday that would make you fall in love with me.” I pulled her close and brushed my thumb across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear, but more continued to fall. “I don't think I got the whole story—he said it wasn’t his to tell. Only that after prom a group of kids rented a limo to New York and it broke your heart you could not go.”
I ran my hands through her hair and took out the pins holding her curls in place. “He said you had been saving for a long time to do this.”
“What’s the catch?”
I would not insult her intelligence with a lie. Of course there was a catch.
“You spend the weekend with me in New York. Come Sunday, if you can give me one legitimate reason we should not be together, I’ll let you…
I’ll let us go.” I was not completely convinced she believed me. Hell, I was not completely convinced I believed myself.
Katie’s laugh resonated the way it had that first night I heard it in the bar. “You really think I believe you’ll let us go?”
“I didn't say it would be easy, but yes, I would let us go.” What I wasn't saying was that my three weeks were up. I had to make a decision by Monday to return to my old life, which I no longer found gratifying, or come on board at Van de Graaf and accept my place in the family business—and face her every day.
My fate depended on her decision.
“And if I say no?”
Was she fucking serious? Did she not understand what it took for me to call her oldest brother and beg him for the information needed to win her heart? I risked getting my ass royally kicked for even thinking about touching Braden’s little sister.
Anne had been right, though. Braden's bark was far worse than his bite. He had given me the information in return for a promise. Braden told me that if it looked like Katie was teetering, this information could be the thing that made her give in. But I was not to use the information unless I could make that promise and mean it—truly mean it. Otherwise, I was warned to not even try.
“Katie, you’re shivering. At least sit in the limo or the bar while we discuss this.” The last thing I wanted was for her to get sick.
“Limo.”
The one-word answer gave me hope. If she had made up her mind to refuse me, we would be heading back into the bar. She slid into the seat and I told the driver to wait for further instructions.
I sat in the seat across from her rather than right next to her. She was skittish enough. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her to keep her warm. She flinched.
My jaw tightened. When had I become the enemy?
I remembered when. It was the day at The Upstairs when my jealousy had rendered me helpless—helpless in the knowledge that other men would be interested in her. That other men would want to touch her the way I had. The blind jealousy had me wanting to imprint on her soul, leaving her unattainable to anyone but me—the way she had crawled into my skin and imprinted herself on me, rendering me useless to any other woman.
She was squirming uncomfortably in her seat. I hoped it was for the same reason I had not been able to find my own comfortable position. The bulge in my pants was ready to explode at the sight of her. If I reached over and touched her, I was sure she would come for me at a single touch.
It didn’t mean she would come with me to New York.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her breasts rising, thrusting her hard nipples forward. Was she breathing me in, I wondered? Was she aroused by my scent, the sight of me in my tuxedo, my sheepish grin? I pulled out all the stops.
I was waiting with bated breath for her to respond.
Her eyes flew open. “Did you promise Braden you would not break my heart? Is that how you got him to betray me?” This time her voice was more teasing and less accusing.
“No,” I leaned forward and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“He made me promise I would forgive you when you broke mine.” There it was, on the table. God, I hoped I meant it. I wanted to mean it.
I caught the slight hitch in her breath. “Where do we go from here?”
“You spend the weekend with me in New York, we take a walk through Central Park, we window shop on Fifth Avenue, I fuck you senseless, and on Sunday, you break my heart.”
I moved to sit beside her and cupped her face in my hands. “Kitten, I want to give you this for your birthday, and what I want for mine is two days of ignorant bliss. If you’re going to break my heart, what does it matter if it’s tonight or Sunday? It won’t hurt any less.”
“The expectation for this weekend is non-committal sex?” There was the gleam in her emerald eyes I had been searching for all night.
“Call it birthday sex, makeup sex, breakup sex—I don't care, but sex is definitely on the agenda for this weekend.” Maybe I should have led with that instead of trying to appeal to her heart.
“I don't have an overnight bag.” The statement hung in the air, but she already knew what I was about to say.
“Yes, you do.” I reached behind us and pulled out a small case with basic toiletries in it. “The girls packed you a small weekend bag.”
“You were that sure?” She could go from hot to cold in seconds, but it turned me on to see her excited, even if she was angry with me.
“I was that hopeful.” I came down and claimed her mouth. I understood her lust for me was far greater than her common sense, and I wasn’t going to let her forget it. She needed a reminder of what her body did at my touch… what her body craved.
Her response was immediate, instinctive, and all consuming. I delved deeper, thrusting, probing, savoring her mouth like it would be the last time she gave in to me. By the time we came up for air, she was straddling me, tearing at the buttons on my shirt.
I took her hand to stop her. “Is that a yes?” I wanted her as much as she wanted me in that moment, and if all she wanted was a quick limo fuck, I would give her that. My need was so great, I would give anything she asked for.
“Yes,” she purred and continued her meticulous assault on my body, my mind, my very soul.
I pulled back. “Yes what?”
“Yes, I will go to New York, I will walk with you in Central Park, I will window shop on Fifth Avenue, and I will most definitely fuck your brains out. Then, when we both get this lust out of our system, I won't have to break your heart.”
I picked up the phone and gave the driver my instructions. We were headed to New York. I was disappointed that she believed it was only lust between us. Had she never been loved unconditionally? Did she not understand what she was feeling was not lust, but true love?
What if she was right? What if by the end of the weekend the novelty of her innocence and vulnerability wore off and it was I who broke her heart? I had spent the week not even thinking about another woman. The only way I could get relief was in the shower, fisting my shaft while thinking only of her, imagining my tight grip was her sheathing me with her tight pussy.
“Lay back and let me give you your birthday present,” she purred in my ear. “The first of many, many birthday presents.” Her emerald eyes glistened with the lust I knew she possessed for me. It mirrored my own of her, so why did I want to see more in those eyes?
Why was she not able to give all of herself to me?
Chapter 22
Katie
Why did he have to kiss me? One kiss and I was his for the taking. I had done my best to avoid him all week because I had known that all it would take was one kiss.
“I missed you.” I panted.
“You miss me or you miss this?” He was referring to his body I was ravishing in the back of the limo.
“Aren't they the same?” I couldn’t have him overanalyzing this, not when I wanted him so badly I was willing to agree to ridiculous terms to have him. “Lay back and let me give you your birthday present,” I purred in his ear. “The first of many, many birthday presents.” He might profess to love me, but that did not take away from the lust I saw in his eyes. Lust that mirrored my own. I would remind him why we were good together. It was purely a physical contact—a contact born of my innocence and vulnerability.
He had experienced with me things he never had, as did I with him. He was mistaking the immense emotion that came from that for love. We would spend the weekend in bed, and I would give him everything I physically could.
I enjoyed being adventurous with him. If I could convince him it was lust and nothing more, there would be no reason we could not continue to learn from each other, to teach each other.
He stretched out on the seat and relaxed, allowing me to take control. He had let me take control once before, and I enjoyed the power I had over him.
I controlled him, this beautiful man with predatory amber eyes that glowed when he w
as aroused. His tight toned body and muscular arms and legs affording him a stamina I was looking forward to exploiting.
I ran my hand down his chest and pulled at his shirt that was neatly tucked into his trousers. I caught a glimpse of the fabric stretching across his crotch, ready to burst at the seam. My body responded accordingly, remembering what it needed to do if I was going to take him inside me.
“These look very uncomfortable,” I cooed. It was a fact I was sure he was well aware of. I undid his button and then his zipper. He lifted his hips as I slowly lowered his trousers and shuffled myself in the seat across from him, giving me the leverage and space I needed to remove the encumbering piece of clothing.
I scanned his body, drinking in his magnificence. I licked my lips in anticipation of feeling his mouth on mine, then I made contact with his predatory amber stare.
I lifted my dress and removed my underwear. Splaying my hands across his naked chest for support, I straddled him, leaving his underwear intact.
“How long until we get to where we are going?” I wanted to know how much time I had to play with my prey.
“How long, not where are we going?” His voice was husky and shallow.
“Okay… Where are we going and how long until we get there?” I would play his little game.
“It will take a couple of hours to get to my apartment in the city. Is that enough time for you to give me my birthday present?”
“I think I can make that work.” The longer I sat straddling him, the greater my hunger. I marvelled at his restraint. He could have taken me the minute we stepped into the limo, yet he let me take the lead and take things at my own pace.
I traced the lines of his mouth with my tongue before making contact. I plundered and sucked on his bottom lip. He reached for me, and I grasped his wrists and pinned them above his head as high as my arms would allow.
Bastard Heir (The Heirs Book 3) Page 14
