by Sylvia Fox
“Things were a little different, I know.” I shift in my seat, squeezing my thighs tight together. There’s a long-forgotten ache spreading through me, one I haven’t felt in a very long time. I want this man so bad it practically hurts. But why would he want me? I’ve gone from ambitious, driven, successful to…grabbing his coffee every morning. Back then, he said he loved how motivated I was to succeed. He said he liked my brain just as much as he liked my breasts.
I was at the top of the heap, or at least heading there, but now I’m at the bottom of the barrel.
Why would a man like Adrian Michaels ever go for the person I’ve become?
“Sometimes,” I say, swirling the wine in my glass, “things happen beyond our control. People don’t end up where they thought they would.”
His face turns more serious now, more concerned, like he truly cares about what happens to me. “Want to tell me what happened?”
“I do.” I look down at the table. Maybe now really is the time. I don’t feel ready, but there’s no changing the fact that Adrian needs to know about our daughters. It could change everything, not just this incredible tension between us but the job, the money, everything. But he needs to know. And his daughters need him in their lives, in whatever capacity he’ll give them.
I open my mouth to say the words.
6
Adrian
Something is troubling Becca’s pretty little head. I hate that she seems hesitant to tell me, because I want nothing more than for her to open up and share with me anything and everything in the world. She’s clearly been through something pretty serious since the last time I saw her, something that explains why she’s ended up working for me instead of at a law firm. Of course, if she doesn’t tell me, it will be easy enough for me to find out. My HR department knows everything about my employees.
Just as she opens her mouth, a large hand claps me on the shoulder. “Adrian, glad to see you came after all.”
Irritation flickers through me, but I hide it deep inside me just as I do every other emotion I feel. It’s Christopher McKnight. Of course it is. He cancelled the meeting, giving me what I thought would be the perfect opportunity to wine and dine Becca without going so far as calling it a date, but now here he is.
Fate has decided to throw me yet another curveball.
“Christopher.” I stand and shake his hand. We go way back, me and Christopher. Old college buddies who both ended up running our own empires, though he’s a lot more of a shark than I am. On his arm, there’s a woman, which is new. She’s pretty. Really pretty actually, but she doesn’t hold a candle to the woman by my side. “What a surprise.”
“Called your cell, but it was off. Thought you might have ended up coming here after all. Is it okay if we sit down?”
No, not really, but I can’t say that to him. I wanted this night to be about Becca, not anyone else. She’d been so close to telling me something, but her eyes shut down the moment Christopher appeared behind me. I’ll just have to find a way to get her alone some other time. Only to find out what she wanted to say, of course. Not for any other reasons involving her naked breasts and my cock.
Christopher makes the introduction to his new girlfriend, Lily, before joining us at the table. He seems different, happier, and it makes my heart ache. I want that, but the only person I’ve ever wanted it with is the one person I can’t have. Why, oh why, does Becca Silver have to work for me?
The business part of our dinner meeting goes fast. We talk about our contract for about ten minutes before the wine flows and the food lands before us. Becca seems to loosen up after a couple of glasses, her cheeks pink and laughter coming from her perfect pouty lips. And I have to admit, the wine goes to my head a little bit myself. So much so that I find myself asking her if she needs a ride home in my limo at the end of the evening.
We’re standing outside in the bright Manhattan night, and she’s shivering in her tiny little dress. Everything within me wants to wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her in close to my chest. I want to make her warm. Hell, I want to make her safe.
Plus, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind to feel her perky breasts pressed against my chest and her hard nipples poking through that thin silky dress of hers.
She catches me staring, and a shy little smile appears on her face.
“You’re cold,” I say. “Why don’t I give you a ride home to your apartment?”
“I’m going downtown,” she says. “You’re going up.”
I shake my head and take a step closer to her. “Doesn’t matter. My limo will go anywhere you need. In fact, I insist upon it. This was a work meeting, and I won’t have you spending your money on a taxi home.”
“I wouldn’t take a taxi.” She gestures to the nearest subway entrance.
“The subway?” My eyebrows raise high on my forehead. “At this time of night? No way in hell, Becca.”
She laughs, a light, tinkling sound that sounds so good to my ears. I need that sound in my life, more than just this night. “You have no idea what it’s like to be a normal person. It’s perfectly safe. I’ve ridden on it this late a hundred times before.”
“You can give me a lesson in being normal some other time.” I step forward and open the limo door, waiting for her to climb inside. “But tonight, after agreeing last minute to this work meeting with me, I’m taking you home properly.”
“Is that an order, Mr. Boss Man?” Her eyes are bright and full of laughter. It’s the most relaxed I’ve seen her since she started working for me, though I hadn’t noticed it until now. There’s a heaviness she carries around with her, one I want nothing more than to help ease. And this evening now is only the start of it. I’ll give her as many as I can until I see that smile permanently etched onto her gorgeous face.
“It’s an order alright.” I point to the leather seat. “Now get in.”
“Yes, sir.” She giggles and slides into the limo, a thrill going through my body. Something about the way she says boss and sir makes my cock twitch in my pants. The idea of giving her orders—a special kind of order—makes my need for her rise up so strong inside me that I think I might need to hide my bulging crotch from her view.
Get down on your knees, I think, and let me feel that gorgeous mouth of yours wrapped around my cock.
Inside the limo, she sinks against the leather seats, sighing a happy little sigh. “You’re right. This is much better than the subway.”
“You should always listen to me, sweetheart,” I say without thinking. Sweetheart? Shit. That’s not the kind of thing a boss should be saying to his employee, but of course, there’s a million little things I’ve done tonight that I probably shouldn’t have.
She doesn’t seem to notice, or if she does, she doesn’t let on. Instead she kind of snuggles a little closer to me, the heat from her body warming me up inside. “Your wish is my command.”
I almost groan. Little does she know what my real wishes are.
And despite my best efforts, I’m finding it difficult to remember why I can’t go for what I want. Becca Silver isn’t just any woman. She’s different. She’s special. Maybe we could have a relationship without things getting strained at work. There’s no reason it can’t work out. In the past, it’s been a line I’ve refused to cross, but only because I was never tempted to cross it in the first place.
“So, you enjoy following my orders, do you?” I ask in a voice that’s more than a shade deeper than it was before.
“Of course I do.” She blinks up at me, her gorgeous blue eyes framed in endlessly long eyelashes. “You’re the boss. I do what you say.”
“Even though we have a history?” I can’t help but ask.
She shivers. “I thought you didn’t want to bring that up at work.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” I say, “we aren’t at work right now. We’re in the back of my limo, and there’s no one around to hear.”
Her eyes widen, and her lips part. She’s just begging to be kissed right now. Hell, she
’s begging to be fucked. And I want nothing more than to answer her with everything I know she wants and needs. No one would ever have to know. Not even my driver would be aware. He knows I value my privacy, and he’d never lower the divider between us unless I asked.
“Well, in that case…” She shifts toward me, lifting her chin. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Vegas. There’s something I need to tell you.”
This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. Fuck the rules. Fuck being her boss. No other woman will ever compare, and the wine swirling through my bloodstream has made my every objection disappear into the hazy past. I can’t spend the rest of my days watching her just outside of my grasp without letting myself get near.
Hell, I can’t even make it a week.
“Wait. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, too.” I press my finger against her lips, and she gasps, her entire body trembling. “I’ve thought about you ever since that night, regretting the fact I didn’t get your number. You got into my head, and I’ve never been able to forget you. And it’s taking all my self-control not to take you for mine again.”
The vein in her neck begins to flicker, tempting my mouth to nibble on her sweet, delicate skin.
“All this time….?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.
“For two fucking years, I’ve wanted you, Becca Silver.” I shake my head, amazed that I’m finally speaking the words aloud. “And even though I’m your boss, and you should be completely off-limits, I’m finding it hard to find reasons why I should hold myself back.”
“I’ve wanted you, too,” she breathes. “But I need to tell—”
That’s all I need to hear. With all my caution tossed into the wind, I crush my mouth onto hers, tasting her sweet lips and tongue for the first time in two fucking years. Cherry lip gloss, wine, and pure lust. She sighs against me, opening her lips to kiss me with a feverish kind of energy I hadn’t expected.
My cock strains against my belt. This woman will be mine tonight.
7
Becca
He did it. He kissed me. And oh my god, it’s everything I’ve wanted and more. It takes me back to Vegas, to the sparkling lights and the whir of slot machines, to the thrill deep down in my gut. Back then, I thought falling into bed with Adrian was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life. But this tops it, especially when I shift on top of him, straddling him in the back of his limo.
His hands grip my hips. I grind against him, feeling his delicious hardness between my trembling thighs. His cock pulses, straining to get out of his smooth pants. I need him. Oh my god, I need him. So much so that my panties are soaked with my desire.
He rips my pantyhose, and his hands grasp for my ass, his skin sliding against my skin. I gasp, more turned on than I’ve ever been in my life. I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips against his mouth, hungrily tasting him, licking him, feeling his tongue lapping against mine.
His hands move to my shoulders, shoving aside the tiny little straps holding up my dress. The dress slides down my arms, and my breasts pop out from the material, bouncing as I continue to grind against his hard crotch.
I hadn’t worn a bra, so I’m out on display for him, my nipples perking up just for him. He takes my swollen nipple in his mouth, licking the areola with the skill of a man who knows exactly what he’s doing. And it drives me wild. My lust drips down my leg, and the ache intensifies so much that I no longer feel anything but the pain between my thighs.
I need to feel him inside me. Now.
As he continues to suck on my nipples, sending shockwaves of exquisite pleasure through my entire body, I reach down to unzip his pants. He murmurs and groans, a low deep growl I feel deep in my gut.
I’ve never felt more wanted, more needed, so full of control in my life. This man has been thinking of me just as much as I’ve been thinking of him. And it turns up my lust a thousand percent more.
I pull out his cock, and I suck in a sharp gasp of excitement. It’s just as hard and as big as I remember. I stroke the long length of him, feeling the soft skin and the ridges lining his dick. When I reach the head, I slip my finger along the tip, enjoying the silky feel of his pre-cum on my fingers.
“I want you to fuck me,” I whisper as I guide him toward my dripping pussy.
“Sweetheart,” he says in a low gruff voice. “It seems you’re the one who’s going to be fucking me. And get to it. I can’t wait to feel your hot pussy wrapped around my cock.”
No one has ever spoken to me this way, and it sends thrills along my skin. I shift on top of him and press his cock inside me, moaning loud when he presses my slick walls as wide as they can possibly go. Sparks of pain and pleasure rip through me, and I drop back my head as stars dance in my eyes.
This feels good. Almost too good. Even better than I remember.
I ride him, grinding my entire body against his. He holds on tight to my hips, guiding me along as I let my lust take full control. I’m like a wild animal, bouncing on top of him like this, but I don’t even care how wild I look. I want him with every cell in my body, and it won’t be long until I get the sweet release I’ve craved for so long.
In fact, it comes in only moments, crashing down on top of me with such a force that I scream out his name. Over and over again as the orgasm consumes me.
He follows close behind, panting into my ear, gripping me tight, and whispering my name just like he did two years before.
It’s the perfect ending to a perfect night. So perfect I even have tears in my eyes.
8
Adrian
When we reach Becca’s apartment, I don’t want to let her go. I want to sweep her into my arms and carry her back to my Upper East Side penthouse where she’ll stay for the night and many more to come. And I especially feel this way when I realize where we’ve stopped. A garbage-littered, rundown side street in Chinatown.
My Becca lives…here? I peer out of the window and frown up at the building. Graffiti smears across the building’s front and the fire escape is faded, rusted, and sagging at the hinges. The front door looks hardly secure, a single lock separating Becca from whatever unsafe things lurk the streets at night.
This just won’t do.
“There’s been a change of plans,” I say in the tone of voice I use only in the boardroom. It’s the voice when I mean business, the one no one can ever argue against. “You go upstairs and pack yourself a bag. You can stay with me. There’s plenty of room, and it’s only a few blocks from work.”
Becca scrunches her eyebrows together. “Stay with you? Wow, I’m flattered, but—”
“Boss’s orders,” I say with a smile. If I give her no chance to object, she won’t. The way she climbed on me to grind against my hips like an animal…I know she’s been wanting me all these months just the same way I’ve been wanting her. That kind of sex, that kind of passion, it doesn’t come from nowhere. It comes from pent-up desire, of yearning for the one person you think you’ll never have.
I know this because it’s everything I felt myself.
And now that I see where she lives. Well, I can’t let the woman of my dreams sleep in a dangerous dump, now can I?
“Adrian…” She frowns.
She isn’t happy. This isn’t the reaction I expected.
“Is it the fact I’m your boss?” I ask. “Because I sure as hell thought we got past that…what with the whole sex-in-the-limo situation. Staying with me doesn’t have to change anything at work. You’ll still have your job. Until you get back on your feet, that is. It doesn’t have to be complicated unless we make it that way.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip and sighs, her gorgeous blue eyes flicking across my face. It’s as if there’s something weighing on her mind, something that has nothing to do with the boss situation. But what else could be stopping her from jumping right into my bed (and my heart)?
Unless…
“Don’t tell me there’s some other guy in the picture.” I close
my eyes, trying desperately to keep all signs of emotion off of my face. I don’t know what I’d do if I found out Becca has a man. Just when I thought I had her again, once and for all.
“No, it isn’t that,” she says, glancing out the window and staring up at the dark and dingy apartment building. “It’s just…I can’t pack up and leave my life like that.”
“Why the hell not?” Frowning, I try to understand, but it doesn’t make a fucking bit of sense to me. “No offense, Becca, but as far as I can see, you’ve got a shitty apartment on a bad street. What’s to leave behind?”
“I, ah…” Her cheeks burst with color. “It’s not that easy to explain, but I guess it’s now or never…”
The front door of Becca’s apartment building swings open, and a woman around Becca’s age steps outside with a baby on each hip. She squints her eyes at the limo, smiles, and waves. And I can’t help but notice that Becca’s whole body goes stiff, and her lips press together into tight, white line.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“My next door neighbor,” she says quickly. “Listen, there’s something I really need to tell you.”
I shake my head, barely believing my eyes. “She’s keeping two young children in a place like this? I can’t believe someone would be so irresponsible and cruel.”
Becca’s spine straightens, and her eyes narrow. She and her neighbor are obviously close, and she doesn’t like what I’ve said. But that doesn’t make it untrue. I thought it was bad enough when I thought of only Becca living alone here, but a woman with two babies? That’s even worse.
