Bound Beneath His Pain: A Dirty Little Secrets Novel

by Stacey Kennedy

  Allie

  The offices around mine are empty and most of the overhead lighting is turned off for the night when I press my phone tight against my ear and grumble at Kevin, “Your clients are still undecided?” I glance at the clock, seeing it’s already seven and hating the fact that I’m still at work. I don’t want to be. But I can’t mess up my first deal at Holt. I told Micah I would kick ass. I gotta kick ass.

  “I’m sorry,” Kevin replies, voice full of sympathy. “I know you were hoping they would agree, but they aren’t the type of clients I can push. It’s not a no, it’s just a not tomorrow. I promise the second they agree to letting the Lowes see their house, I’ll call you, no matter the time.”

  I want to shake my phone and demand that Kevin shake his clients. Instead, I drop my forehead onto my hand. “Okay, thanks for calling and updating me.”

  “No problem,” Kevin says. “We’ll talk soon. Promise.”

  “Bye.” I hang up the phone. “Fuck!”

  “Language!” Liv exclaims jokingly.

  I glance up, finding her hovering over my desk. She gives me a huge, classic Liv smile that usually makes me feel better. It doesn’t even come close to improving my mood tonight. “Sorry.”

  Her smile slowly fades. “I take it things with the Lowes aren’t going well?”

  “Kevin’s clients aren’t budging and I’ve got nothing else to show them right now.” Because I knew better than to show Jenny a house that didn’t have everything on her wish list. Hell, I’d already shown her houses that had everything on it and she still hated them.

  “You’ve had difficult clients before,” Liv says, clearly reading my thoughts, and being her cheerleader self. “You’ve got this.”

  I pause and collect myself. “You’re right. I’ve got this.” I run a hand over my eyes, suddenly feeling tired. “Ugh. It got late so fast. Go home. There’s no point in both of us sitting here looking through houses.”

  “You sure?”

  I drop my hand and smile. “Yup. I’ll be on my way soon, too.” I hate working late. Or if I must, I try to do it from home. Then I don’t feel like I’m working all the time.

  Liv steps away from my desk. “Okay, only if you’re sure.”

  “Yup, I’m sure.”

  She gathers her things at her desk and then blows me a kiss before leaving our office.

  Before I go, and to ensure I don’t think about the Lowes when I get home, I draw in a huge deep breath, shedding any tension in my voice, and pick up the phone again, dialing Jenny’s cellphone.

  “Hello,” she answers.

  “Hi, Jenny, this is Allie from Holt.” I use my happiest tone. “I was wondering when you were next available for some more showings?” If I had nothing that perfectly fit her requirements, I’d at least show her a couple of the nicest houses I could find. Because showing something is better than showing nothing at all.

  “Actually, Peter and I are going away this weekend to the Hamptons. We won’t be back until Monday.”

  Score for me! “Sounds lovely,” I reply. “Leave this with me for the weekend then and I’ll find some more listings to show you on Monday morning. Does that work?”

  “Yes, that’s great. Goodbye, Allie.”

  “Bye.” I hang up the phone, flop back into my chair, and close my eyes, thanking the real estate gods. A couple more days to either let Kevin’s house pan out or to find something else spectacular is precisely what I need. The waiting game in real estate is the most stressful part, especially when dealing with people who have no patience. Luckily, I have lots, so usually things balance out okay.

  “Sleeping on the job? I should fire you.”

  I smile at the low voice filling my office, partly because I love the way Micah’s voice is almost caressing me with its rich vibrato. “I’m too important to fire,” I muse.

  “Now, that I won’t argue with.”

  I lift my head and reopen my eyes to him, suddenly well aware by the raising of the hairs on my arms and the flutter in my belly that we are very much alone at Holt tonight. I’m not even sure if it’s how he’s looking at me now in his commanding way, or if it’s only in my mind, but he seems decided about something. It’s like he’s decided about me. If I’m being honest, after today, I feel more decided about him, too.

  He leans against the doorframe, watching me carefully. “Another rough night, Miss Parker?”

  I kinda hate how easily he reads me. It makes me feel like an open book. Though I know that also comes from being a savvy businessman. Reading people well is what makes him good at what he does.

  I want to reply: My first deal with Holt is going to shit. I have a spoiled-rotten client who has no idea what she wants. All she knows is she wants a house better than her friends’. Instead, I tell him, “You could say that.”

  “Is Jenny becoming a problem for you?” he asks seriously, and I get the feeling if I say yes, he’ll intervene and fix the issue.

  Not something I want.

  “No, of course not,” I lie breezily. “The market is slow, so it’s been a frustrating week.”

  The pinch of his brow is fading away, my answer seemingly appeasing him, and a devilish grin rises to his face. “I spent a good couple of hours at the gym today working off some frustration myself.”

  “I could use a punching bag right now.” I power off my computer. Now that I have more time to find the Lowes a house, I’m getting the hell outta here. Slippers, a hot bath, and reality shows fill my mind with delightful promises of a relaxing night.

  When I glance at Micah again, there’s a new twinkle in his eyes. Even his voice lowers a little when he adds, “I bet I could remove your frustration faster than any punching bag.”

  I rise from my seat and push my chair under my desk. “Sure you could.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  I freeze at the way his voice dips even lower now. I’m not sure why in the hell I’m baiting him. I should shut my mouth and say nothing, but I’m so damn tired of fighting this and fighting him. A little harmless flirting didn’t hurt anyone, right? “Unless you’re going to let me punch you in the face, then no, I don’t think so.”

  His grin is so haughty it should have me shutting this down now. But then I look into his eyes and the game is over. Earlier I lost all my judgments about him. Apparently, with my assumptions about him gone, I also lost the final shields I had up against him. Those eyes…that voice…those lips…that body, my nipples pucker beneath my blouse so quickly my breath is gone, heat is spiraling and pooling low in my body, making me wet, just that easily.

  One brow arches. “Now, that sounds like a dare.”

  I stay silent, not sure I can get proper words out. Because now I realize something that I should’ve thought about when I started this conversation. Flirting with a normal guy is harmless. Flirting with Micah is a dangerous game, because not only does he know how to flirt back, he’s confident enough to take that flirting and see it through to the end.

  I discover he’s taking my silence as acceptance of his dare, because he’s entering my office and locking the door behind him. I should be saying no, but I’m not, and we both know that I won’t. Not anymore. Because I want him as much as he wants me, and the arch of his mouth tells me he knows it, too.

  My mouth waters and my belly quivers when he clicks the button on the panel by the door and the blinds begin automatically shutting around us, except for at my back, where the skyline is glowing bright in the night. With each step he takes toward me, my breath hitches; my heartbeat hammering in my ears. He says nothing and I say nothing, as he moves right into my space until my back is flat against the glass; both his hands pressed next to my head.

  No one can see inside my office anymore, the blinds are completely shut, but I’m more focused on Micah and the way his woodsy citrusy scent circles in the air around me. My skin is flushing with an unnatural heat, and by the time he presses the strength of his body against mine, I’m shaking in a way that I can’t
control. I want him to deliver on the promises he’s been silently giving me since we met.

  When he lifts his hand to my face, dragging his fingers along my cheek, I nearly open my mouth to beg him to fix this ache inside of me. To somehow make me me again, where everything makes sense, and where I’m not a woman so consumed with lust that logic leaves my mind.

  He presses the long length of his erection against my stomach, making me so damn needy to feel every inch of him, then he pins me between him and the glass, holding me still. I’m not even thinking about if this is wrong anymore, all I know is the way he’s looking at me and how right he feels. Beneath his strong stare, I see a man hungry to devour me, and I want him, too. Desperately.

  He grips my chin, those assessing eyes watching me carefully, as he slides his thumb across my bottom lip before addressing me again. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

  I should. I know that. But there isn’t a damn thing inside of me that’s thinking with logic. “Don’t stop.”

  Then his lips are on mine, and he becomes everything.

  There is no time. There is no thought. There is only the way he expertly kisses me, driving me higher, until my knees weaken. His kiss is slow at first and deliberately builds with each swipe of his mouth against mine. He’s nibbling my lips, sucking on my tongue, and I’m lost in how perfect I feel beneath his hands. I begin rubbing my stomach against his erection, tempting him to deliver on all those dark promises.

  He slides a hand across my face to the back of my head, where he tangles his fingers into my hair, locking me where he wants me, which is exactly where I want to be. A flare of heat descends through my body and I shiver, feeling his other hand begin traveling up my thigh. I widen my legs, knowing where he’s going and wanting him to shamelessly go there. His gravelly chuckle brushes against my mouth, but I still can’t open my eyes. I’m lost, completely unraveling in the way his hands hold me, control me, own me.

  Each second feels like a minute long as he takes his time inching my skirt up to below my buttocks. I’m aware that I’m against a window. That by some chance anyone in the high-rise next to ours, who’s looking through binoculars, might see me. But those thoughts don’t shut me down, they wake me up.

  He wakes me up.

  He makes me feel alive.

  His fingers slide against my inner thigh, slowly, tenderly, appreciatively, and his kiss turns more urgent. I don’t know my body anymore. I’m reacting to him like I’m a puppet and he’s holding the strings. Each touch, each slow swirl of a finger, each time he stops, each time he moves again, it’s all a way to tease me and to steal my mind, placing my soul totally in his hands.

  By the time he tucks his fingers beneath my panties, sliding them aside, I’m a quivering mess that can hardly even kiss him anymore. My lips are parted and I’m panting, while he’s nibbling and licking my mouth where he wants, taking me how he wants, yet giving to me also. The cool air brushes my hot, slick flesh as he strokes the tip of his finger against my slit.

  “So wet, Allie,” he murmurs, stroking me again and again. “So fucking perfect.”

  I want to respond.

  I can’t.

  My legs are quivering as he stops kissing me, his lips resting on mine, our breaths brushing across each other. The tip of his finger works its way over my silky arousal, bringing all that warm wetness up in my sex, where he begins circling my clit with the lightest touch. My hands somehow find his arms, and I’m feeling his muscles flex, as his finger is moving faster, swirling harder. I move to lean my head back, when he nips my bottom lip. “Don’t move, love.” He slowly licks where he bit, soothing away the pain. “Stay still for me.”

  His fingers tighten in my hair and my mind silences, wanting to let go. I moan loudly and then I can’t stop, as he begins pressing harder on my bundle of nerves, working his finger from side to side—not fast and out of control, but focused and intent. Pleasure is sweeping like liquid fire through my veins. I’m gasping for air, shamelessly grinding myself against his hand.

  “Christ, you’re a sexy little thing,” he declares, fisting his hand in my hair, pulling on the strands.

  Then there is no me and him anymore. There is only the purest sensation sizzling through my body as his fingers do a spectacular dance across my clit, moving fast, and faster yet, as each second passes, sending me flying high.

  I know nothing until I know sheer satisfaction, and even after my mind returns to the present, it takes a few minutes to feel my body fully again. I can’t even open my eyes. My body is humming in glory. My frustration is gone.

  His lips find mine in the softest, sweetest kiss that is so contradictory to the man himself. It’s exactly what I need, and I don’t want him to ever stop, melting right into him until he whispers across my mouth, “Good night, Allie.”

  I have one second to look at him, seeing the coiled power he’s containing before he’s gone. I slide down the window, a panting, satisfied mess. “Oh, my God…”

  Chapter 6

  Micah

  I wake to a sheen of sweat covering my overheated flesh from a dream I want to forget. Too many days have passed since I met Allie, and my cock is aching for attention, to no surprise of my own. A smart, sexy woman bewitches me and I want to make her mine soon. Watching Allie orgasm last night, while not being buried deep inside of her, was a torture I can never endure again. I’ve gotten myself off three times since watching her come from my touch and it’s done nothing to rid me of my hunger.

  With these thoughts in my head, I move, naked and hard, toward the hotel’s bathroom. The Phoenix awes in its beauty. Even I remain impressed by the modern décor as I enter the marble rectangular bathroom. My rock-hard hard-on is standing straight up, unmoving with my steps and throbbing, reminding me how much I want Allie as I stride past the floating vanities and freestanding tub. I enter the glass-enclosed shower and turn the water on to hot, stepping inside to get the job done.

  This woman…fuck, what she’s doing to me.

  Steam fills the shower while I drop my head, letting the water run down my neck and along my back. I grab my erection none too gently and stroke hard and fast for release. I envision Allie’s lips around me, sucking deep from tip to base and back, rolling her tongue over the round top. Precum seeps from my cock, teasing me, and the water is making me believe it’s her. Then her eyes come into mind, those warm, soulful, ocean blue eyes, sliding past all my defenses and seeing me beyond my shields. My semen emerges, shooting from the tip with a deep grunt, leaving me trembling. Christ, she’s controlling my mind and my body, and I need to do something about that. Today.

  Once I recover, my breaths still heavy and deep, I shower quickly and dry off using the towel left on the tub by the hotel staff. I push Allie into the background of my thoughts, trying to recall what day it is and what I need to do. I dress in the freshly pressed black suit and light blue tie awaiting me in the closet and then I pick my cellphone up off the dresser.

  The phone rings twice before I hear, “Levi.”

  “I’ll be down in five minutes,” I tell him.

  “Copy.”

  I click End on the call, shoving my phone into the pocket of my trousers, and grab my keys from the dark wood dresser. I take a quick look at myself in the mirror above, adjusting my tie to perfection. I notice the shadows under my eyes, the darkness there swirling in the gray, threatening to come out. I cannot allow the beast freedom, not with Allie around.

  Silence surrounds me as I leave the hotel room and move toward the elevator, making my way down to the lobby. The staff is bustling when I arrive, which I assume is an order given by management. As the owner of Phoenix, I don’t doubt the managers are staying on top of their employees to look busy while I’m there.

  The manager quickly moves to me from across the lobby. “Do you need anything this morning, Mr. Holt?”

  “Nothing at the moment, Francis,” I reply, not a hitch in my step, traveling through the large foyer and passing the fountain of angel
s in the center.

  The exterior door opens before I can ever get there and the bellboy smiles. “It’s a fine day, Mr. Holt.”

  “It is, Christopher.” I return the smile to the elderly gentleman who has worked this job for the last ten years. He won’t expect a tip from me, nor will anyone else here. I give Phoenix employees healthy amounts at the holidays as my gratitude for a year of good service. “Enjoy it.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Christopher replies, closing the door behind me.

  The sunny morning greets me, and the air is cooler than yesterday when I find Levi waiting at the curb, wearing his uniform of a black T-shirt and black cargo pants. He opens the car’s door and I hurry into the backseat of the black Bentley.

  I fasten my seatbelt as Levi shuts the door and then takes his position in the front seat. In mere seconds, we’re driving down the street. I’m far away from thoughts of Allie deliciously sucking my dick and far from the dream that ruined my sleep. One thing I want to revisit. The other I do not.

  Some people have nightmares that haunt them. Others have happy dreams and enjoy them. In my late teens and early twenties, my dreams were filled with my deceased mother. While they might appear pleasant, I hate them. They make me feel weak. When my dreams return, so do my demons.

  “You look like shit.”

  I glance at the rearview mirror, spotting Levi’s eyes watching me carefully, assessing my mood.

  “A dream,” I answer his statement.

  “It’s been a long time since you’ve had one of those. Is Mom making more appearances lately?”

  Though thoughts of my mother are never far away, I reply to his question, “No. It’s another woman who’s haunting me now.” I intend to fix that, too.

  I grab my phone from my pocket and fire off a text to Neil and then I retreat in my mind, forming a plan for my first meeting this morning.

  By the time we reach Holt, and I’m exiting the elevator into the offices, I’m prepared and ready to face one of my greatest challengers. I’m even more confident as I pass Neil sitting behind his desk.