by L. J. Dee
He eased his hot, naked cock just inside me, his face etched with self control. He pulled out as I moaned out loud, trying to draw him deeper inside me and feel every inch of him.
“I want you, Jess, but with that comes trust,” he said, easing in further as he hissed through clenched teeth and I groaned at the exquisite torture. “Do you trust me?” he asked, sliding in a little further before pulling out completely and it was all I could do not to scream.
He reached beside the bed, pulling a condom from its wrapper as I watched it cover every delicious inch. “Do you trust me?” he growled, opening me up with the thick wide head.
“Yes, Lucas,” I breathed as he closed his eyes, tipping his head back before searing me with a piercing, intense gaze, burying himself inside me with one violent thrust of that incredible cock.
“Trust me.” It was almost a demand and I responded with force, wrapping my legs around him and pulling him deeper still. He was slow, deliberate, teasing and tantalising, commanding the pace of this measured pleasure and exquisitely controlled as I felt every movement of his length inside me.
“Feel this,” he breathed against my ear, kissing me delicately against my neck, moving down to my chest before he moved back up, his lips hovering deliciously over mine. “This is real, Jessica,” he said firmly, claiming my mouth with a sudden fierce passion, urgent thrusts that matched my need as I grabbed at his body. I pulled him closer still, running my hands through that glorious thick, black hair as his tongue fervently explored my mouth.
There was no space left between us as his body forced mine further against the soft mattress and closer towards the explosive abyss as I shattered beneath him, crying his name as he filled me with cum. “Trust me,” he said, pulling out gently, kissing me softly and stroking my face in the most tender gesture as I melted into his eyes.
“Don’t waste your time worrying about things that are never going to happen,” he smiled as I nodded, finally forcing myself out of bed, dressing and following him to his waiting car. He held my hand for almost the entire journey. “I’ll see you when I get back from Geneva,” he smiled, kissing me softly as I climbed out of the car, already counting down the hours.
Chapter 22
The time dragged and I missed him so much, trying to find some leads for the business to distract myself. I stared endlessly at the clock, realising it was only minutes since I’d looked last, wishing the days away. He’d reassured me, and every time those seeds of doubt surfaced I tried to push them away. I wasn’t sure why my own brain seemed intent on delivering this intense brand of torture. It was as though there were two people residing there and one was downright fucking evil.
I wasn’t sure if it was my sub-conscious trying to warn me of the dangers I faced and protect me from falling too hard, but I was internally at war. I couldn’t wait until he landed and I could be in his arms, safe and secure. Everything felt right when I was wrapped in his warm embrace. Even when he was flogging me or blindfolding me, I was where I wanted to be. But on my own, the questions and endless possibilities were haunting me, flooding me with negativity and intent on reinforcing the worst outcome.
I made my way up to his office. There were a few things in my old desk that I needed, but it was more than that. I wanted to be near where he worked and sat, drink in the pervading smell of Lucas that seemed to hang in the air of that room. He hadn’t called and part of me was grateful. Hearing his voice would only reinforce his absence and it was taking me all my effort just to hold it together. I’d have to get used to it. He went away a lot and she was in his life. I couldn’t change the past; all I could do was look to the future.
Melody was on the phone as I entered, scowling at me as I walked across to my old desk, pulling open the drawers and searching through the contents.
“It’s where he proposed though, Roberta. If he’s taken you there, it must be a sign. There are a thousand restaurants where you could hold business meetings. He is a meticulous planner. Nothing Lucas does is ever by chance,” I heard as my heart caught in my throat.
I glanced up, but she was looking towards the door as I continued to rummage through the drawers, telling myself I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but it wasn’t an option. I had to hear every word and I’d stay until the end of that call, no matter how much it hurt me.
“Oh come on, everyone knows he’ll come to his senses eventually. You and him were made for each other. Silus says that every time I see him,” she laughed as my gut clenched and bile rose in my throat. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You just need to vamp it up a bit and give him a reminder,” she laughed, listening for the next few moments as sickening images of Roberta seducing Lucas burst into my brain and this time I couldn’t shut them down.
“You made a mistake, but you’re a perfect fit. Lucas doesn’t even date, never mind propose marriage. I’m his PA. I know everything that man gets up to. Believe me, a bit of smutty fluff on the side won’t hold his attention, it never does. If you knew the number of bouquets of flowers he asks me to send, or trinkets he asks me to buy, you’d understand. He doesn’t even write the cards himself. No one lasts more than a couple of weeks. It’s just sex, Roberta. He doesn’t even take them out. When was the last time you saw him in the papers with a woman on his arm?” she laughed as tears pricked at my eyes and I tried desperately to force them back.
Melody didn’t know about our arrangement, I was certain of it. As far as she was concerned we were business partners and that was it. I knelt down, shielding myself from view in the guise of emptying the bottom drawers as she glanced across curiously.
“The last woman Lucas Hunter dated was you, and you will be the next. Go get him,” she smiled down the line as I grabbed my armful of files and disappeared back to my office without another glance.
I dropped them onto the chair, turning to my desk and staring at the huge bunch of roses that had arrived in my absence. I pulled out the card.
‘Thinking about you. L’
If I’d received these an hour ago I’d have been elated. Now I just felt sick, hurling them face down in the bin, tearing the card in half and wondering whether he’d got Melody to send them. It crossed my mind that maybe she knew and she’d said those things on purpose, but I was out of her hair now, not threatening her job and I couldn’t imagine even Melody hated me that much. Besides, she was already on the phone and in the middle of that conversation when I walked in.
Confusion was swirling through my brain. I wanted to trust him and I had no other choice. He’d be back tomorrow and I’d know for certain as I made my way home, idling away the hours playing knights and castles with Dex and trying to push those hurtful words from my mind.
It had been three days of hell. He’d assured me it was business, but the evil green monster was set deep inside me and it felt like he was chewing away at my insides.
I’d been told I had nothing to worry about, so why the hell did I feel so uneasy about her? Probably because she was everything I wasn’t. I felt certain she’d be a damn sight more together than I was right now. As I entered the revolving doors of Hunter Industries, I froze dead in my tracks at the sight that greeted me.
They were standing in the middle of reception, the beautiful brunette with her hand on his arm and he was laughing whole heartedly in a way he had rarely done with me. He was relaxed and natural and my heart clenched in my chest. She looked utterly beautiful; she looked like she belonged with him.
I was glued to the spot, unable to move or tear my eyes away as they locked with his and he was smiling. Even from this distance the electrical current that ran between our gaze was palpable, my heart exploding across my chest as my stomach knotted in nauseating agony.
I tried to remember those words, the promises he’d made before he left, but they carried no weight at this moment. A picture spoke a thousand words and my eyes were not deceiving me. I couldn’t smile back, gripped with an anger that I’d never felt before, as every insecurity in my head came
spilling to the fore.
His smile suddenly faded as the red mist descended and I ran across the reception, straight past Lucas and launched myself at Roberta. I pulled those glossy chestnut locks with all my might, ripping out her hair extensions in chunks as I slapped her face and raked my nails through her skin, leaving deep bloody grooves that left me glowing with satisfaction, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to cover those up.
Her pale blue suit was dripping with angry red stains as I felt her nose crunch and break against the knuckles of my fist, kicking, hitting and lashing out as Lucas and the security guards stood there and smiled, egging me on.
I smashed my fist into her stomach as she doubled over in agony, kicking her legs from beneath her as she writhed on the hard, shiny floor, staring up at me in shocked confusion, the contents of her Chanel purse littered across the floor. “Vamp that up, bitch,” I snapped as she flew upright, finding her feet and bearing her fangs and I knew the real fun would begin now.
Roberta had claws, but she couldn’t reach me, I was too fast, ducking and weaving taking a blow to the ribs as Lucas gasped. I was like an animal, raw and raging, hitting out and determined to finish her off. She was fighting back and hitting hard, but I felt nothing, spurred on by the hate in my gut. One final blow to her head and she went down as I stood victorious, staring at her through the predatory, satisfied eyes of a victor, turning my wild glare on Lucas.
He stared at me sternly, his face contorted in shock and bewilderment .That piercing gaze was chastising and very real, yanking me from my demonic daydream. I turned a jealous stare once more on the woman standing before him with not a scratch on her, looking like she’d stepped straight from the pages of a glossy magazine and it was her who was expressing a victorious smile.
Lucas was still staring at me curiously as I snapped my face away angrily, ignoring him as he shouted to me, sprinting towards the stairwell and the safe haven of my office.
I’d tried to push the rage back, trust what he’d told me and listen to logic and reason, but the pull of that evil green fucker was way more powerful, his appetite fed by the words of Melody and I couldn’t control this. Emotions weren’t logical or rational. They didn’t listen to reason and right now mine were all over the place.
I was furious, fuelled by jealousy and I couldn’t see straight. I’d lost my temper and it wasn’t pretty, the ferocity of my thoughts ramming home just how consumed with rage I’d been. Not since Pippa Plant had I felt such an animalistic urge to destroy, only this time I’d held back.
I wasn’t sure if that was maturity, social conditioning or neither. There was no doubt that if she’d have had my sister on the floor, she’d have got everything that was coming to her. I hated her and at that moment I had hated him – loathed him for ever being engaged to her. Why her? Why did it have to be her?
I was pacing my office as angry tears stabbed at my eyes. If I’d thought that day in the restaurant was bad, this was a million times worse. He had me on the back foot, stirring up emotions I hadn’t felt before and it was as unsettling as it was incredible. It was only seconds before the door burst open and Lucas entered.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his curt tone laced with irritation as I looked up at him and something inside me just snapped. This time I couldn’t swallow it back.
“I wasn’t born to a billionaire father with an Oxford education and a silver fucking spoon in my mouth. I’m glad for you, I really am, but if you think I’ll come running because you throw me a sexy smile or wiggle your dick in my face, you’ve got another think coming. She can’t leave you alone, but make her stop, Lucas, because it hurts like hell. Just go back to her, or find someone else to crawl on their knees for you. I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of willing replacements, but don’t drag me into it,” I screamed.
“What the fuck?” he said, staring at me momentarily in stunned, wide eyed horror before assuming that familiar mask of calm.
“Don’t ever speak to me like that, Jess,” he said so seriously that I suddenly felt sick. It was that voice, the same one that issued the orders and commands that so often had me begging for more, or willing and waiting to take my punishment. It was the same tone that made my body sing with the most delirious passion, and the very desire that stirred my soul and my senses. It was also exactly what I had to avoid if this ‘compartmentalisation’ wasn’t going to come crashing in on me, crushing me under the weight of its intensity.
“I can’t do this, Lucas. My desire to please you sexually, to submit to you, to be owned by you is overwhelming my life. All the time you were away with her I couldn’t concentrate or focus. I’m losing myself. Look at me now. I’m so angry, I wanted to kill her, but part of me just wants to get on my knees until you’re happy with me again. Everything is seeping together and I can’t deal with it. I’m consumed with jealousy, however irrational you think that is. I can’t be that beholden to you for my emotional and physical wellbeing. I can’t compartmentalise, I’m too invested,” I said, swallowing hard as he walked towards me, standing in front of me, eyes burning into mine.
“You’re not the only one who is fucking invested here,” he said firmly as I shook my head.
“I’m not talking about money, Lucas,” I spat in anger as he cast me a ferocious glare as though I’d just slapped him.
“Be careful,” he growled as a wave of remorse crashed over me, rendering me immobile and knowing my emotional outburst had been unfounded and undeserved. This was my fault, not his.
“What were the last two words you heard me say when I was buried deep inside you, Jess?” he asked as I swallowed hard, reeling at the anger that was burning in his eyes.
“Trust me.” My choking voice cracked as I said it, trying to pull myself together and explain my erratic behaviour. “I do trust you, Lucas, it’s just...” I started, stopping immediately as he fixed me with a truly menacing stare.
His eyes glanced across to the bin, where his flowers were crushed and broken and I wished I’d let the cleaners in last night. I hadn’t wanted the company. His gaze met mine, blazing with pure rage.
“Evidently, Miss Evangelista, you do not,” he snapped, striding out of the office as I stared after him, utterly dumbfounded and crippled with guilt. I’d hurt him and I knew it. I was brimming with anger, awash with confusion, pulling out my phone and dialling his number even though I knew I shouldn’t. All I wanted now was to put this sorry situation behind us and get back to how we were. He didn’t answer.
Christ, why couldn’t he just understand how much I’d missed him? Probably because it was an irrational, unwarranted and truly volatile display of my fear and insecurity and absolutely the last thing he deserved or expected this morning.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, making my way up to his office and berating myself for being such an idiot. I couldn’t concentrate and I needed to sort this out. The green eyed monster had got the better of me again and I had been accusatory and unfair, pushing open the office door to be greeted by a smirking Melody who looked me over with momentary disdain.
“Is he here?” I asked, trying to sound a whole lot calmer than I felt.
“Yes,” she said as I made my way towards his office. “But you can’t go in, he’s with Roberta and asked not to be disturbed,” she grinned as bile rose in my throat. Part of me wanted to punch her lights out and storm into that office and find out once and for all what the hell was going on. I knew Lucas well enough to know he liked sex in his office and from the twisted smile that was firmly in place on Melody’s face I knew that my hurt was written in every feature of mine.
“No problem, I’ll wait,” I snapped defiantly, walking over to my old desk, putting my feet up and crossing my legs, looking over to the glass of Lucas’s office, agitated and anxious. I couldn’t see in, but I hoped he knew I was there. If he was balls deep in his ex-fiancée it might be enough to put him off.
“You can’t sit there,” scowled Melody as I turned an an
gry glance on her.
“Says who? I’m sure Mr Hunter will chastise me if it’s inappropriate,” I shouted as she shook her head, turning to see Roberta glower at me as she exited Lucas’s office looking absolutely thunderous. What the hell had gone on in there?
My gaze followed her out before I turned to see Lucas standing in the doorway looking furious, beckoning me inside as I swallowed hard. “Take the rest of the day off,” he barked at Melody as I stood there trembling slightly. The door closed behind him and he walked towards his desk without so much as glancing at me, looking up eventually as I watched him closely.
“Sit,” he said firmly, watching me intently as I rounded the chair and sat, the desk providing a barrier between us and all I wanted was to touch the man sitting angrily opposite me, resting clenched fists on the desk and staring silently.
“I know you’re angry with me and I’m sorry for what I said. I was jealous, Lucas, and I lost my temper. I shouldn’t have and I know that, but it’s really hard to control it,” I said, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
“Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it. You have no fucking idea, Jess,” he said icily, sending a cold shiver across my skin and I wondered for the first time if I’d blown it completely. I’d brought our relationship to work and overstepped the mark, shouted at him, phoned him, stormed into his office and broken more than a dozen rules that were written in that damned contract. I’d also failed to do the one thing he needed me to do above all else.
“You have acted in a way that displeases me enormously,” he said. “It is not your place as my submissive to question me, and how many fucking times do I have to tell you that we are exclusive and Roberta is business?” he asked, staring at me so intensely it knocked the breath from my lungs.
