Joe didn’t need any more encouragement. He was almost at his limit.
Ali cupped him with her hands, and Joe managed to hold on, enjoying every minute of Ali’s foreplay. She stroked him gently, her soft hands on his silken flesh. He braced his hands on her shoulders, needing to touch her as she pleasured him. Her hand slid over him in ways that he’d only dreamt about, and he grabbed handfuls of her hair in both hands gently encouraging her to go on. But this was Ali, he kept saying to himself, and he wondered why tonight was different. She was different. She didn’t hold back in any way. She drove him absolutely wild. The picture she made on the bed was a visual he’d not soon forget.
Then, she took him into her mouth. “Oh, yes,” he muttered through gritted teeth. Ali held his hips and worked magic on him with her perfect mouth. Her tongue caressed his shaft and flames erupted. He held her hair tight as she moved on him. Little moans of pleasure erupted from her throat, and Joe’s whole body gave in to her, allowing her to have her way. He enjoyed every ounce of her sensual assault, whispering his praise in full surrender.
It wasn’t long before he reached his limit. He stopped Ali, pulled her away and climbed onto the bed, taking her with him. “Hang on to your hat, sweetheart.”
He entered her in one fully satisfying deep thrust. She was ready for him, and he could always count on that. He moved quickly, fiercely, his memory of what she’d just done to him, making short work of filling her with his powerful need. They climaxed together, the quick joining just chapter one of a very long night ahead.
Joe dozed after that, with a big smile on his face. He heard Ali rise and the shower go on. He pictured her in there, soaping up, scenting her body with some delicious fragrance, and he thought about joining her. But before those thoughts came to fruition, Ali walked into the room bare naked, wet hair flowing down her back and her face scrubbed clean looking natural and pure. Droplets of water glistened all over her body, her breasts full and ripe, nipples erect. Water clung to the tips, and Joe itched to lick those drops off her.
He lifted from the bed to do just that, but Ali stopped him with a gentle hand. “Lay back, Joe. Tonight I’m the boss.”
Joe’s eyes went wide. “Sounds good.”
“Oh, it is good.”
Joe imagined the most erotic things a woman and a man could do in a bedroom, and his heart began pumping like an oil rig striking a full-on gusher. And in the next hours, most of those erotic imaginings became staggering and stunning memories.
Joe leaned back with amazed joy as Ali straddled him one more time, riding him up and down, her hair dry now and flowing in wild curls past her shoulders, her beautiful body arching, her breasts tipped toward the ceiling, her face glowing and ready to fracture with the shattering of her next powerful orgasm.
They’d had several through the night, each one different and amazing.
Joe held her, stroked her breasts, flicking the tips, and watched Ali with half-lidded eyes, take him places he’d never gone before with a woman. Not like this. Not this potent and heady and downright sexy.
Ali unleashed her passion and rode him with frenzy. She pleaded and moaned with ahs of sheer breathless delight. Oh God, he’d never seen anything so humanly beautiful.
Joe knew this was it—their last time tonight. There wasn’t anything more they could possibly do to each other. They were spent and sated, and so when Ali climbed high, Joe met her there and they shattered together, in unison crying out each other’s names.
Ali stayed atop him a minute, looking at him with eyes that were unreadable. Then she climbed off, breaking their connection and lay beside him. Immediately, he wound her in his arms and held her. “That was the best sex of my life, Ali. I’m the luckiest man alive.”
With that, Ali burst into tears.
Ali bounded out of bed, her heart broken. Unstoppable tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t do this anymore. She hated lying to Joe, and the guilt ate at her each day.
She shoved her arms into her silk robe and walked over to the window, her body wracked with anguish. She hugged her middle tight.
“Ali, Ali, what is it?” Joe came up behind her. He put his arms onto her shoulders. “What have I done to upset you?”
Ali whipped around to face him, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. “Nothing, Joe. You haven’t done a thing. It’s me. I’m the guilty one here.”
Ali moved away from Joe, breaking off all contact. She put the middle of the room between them. She hated seeing the look of puzzlement on Joe’s face. “It’s just that I can’t do this to you anymore.”
“Do what, honey?” he asked, softly, being gentle with her. She was probably confusing the hell out of him.
“I’m not the person you think I am. I’m certainly not the soft-spoken, passive little woman I’ve been pretending to be since almost the minute you hired me back here. I don’t like wearing pencil skirts and business suits and putting my hair up in buns. I don’t even need glasses. Those are fakes. I always wear contacts.”
Joe slipped into his briefs and put on his glasses at the mention of hers. He shook his head. “What’s going on, Ali, really?”
“Really? Really? I’m in love with you. I mean, the Real Ali is, but you didn’t notice her, with her sassy mouth and trendy clothes and flamboyant nature. The whole time when we worked together in New York, you never looked at me as anything but your employee. If my hair caught on fire, you wouldn’t have noticed me. And then you kissed me goodbye at the airport, and I knew there could be something great between us.”
“It was a great kiss, Ali. But I wasn’t looking—”
“I know all about it. I know about Sheila what’s-her-name and how she broke your heart. I know you didn’t want an office romance and boy, you sure as hell stuck to your guns.” Ali softened her voice, “But then you called and asked me to work for you, and I came. I flew across the continent to work for you, Joe.”
“Ali, where is this going?”
She shuddered and her nerves went raw. “I’m trying to tell you. You wouldn’t notice the Real Ali, so I made up Fake Ali. I changed my whole personality to get your attention. You see, what we have now isn’t real. Nothing about me is real.”
Joe pointed to the bed. “That’s as real as it gets, Ali.”
“Yes, that was real. But all those other times, I held back—afraid to show you who I was.”
A storm brewed in Joe’s dark eyes. “I knew it. I sensed that something was wrong. The question is why the hell you thought you had to deceive me.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “I guess I was desperate to have you any way I could.” Ali took a breath to steady her nerves. There was no going back now. She had to own up to all of it. “Tonight I opened up and showed you the real me. I couldn’t go through with it anymore. I feel so bad about this, Joe.”
He remained quiet, as if trying to absorb her confession.
“I don’t want you to fall for a woman who is a fraud. That’s what I am, a fraud.”
“Noble of you to admit it, Ali.” She didn’t miss the sarcasm in his voice.
“I’ve been acting all this time. And I can’t do it anymore. I’m sorry, Joe.”
More tears spilled down her cheeks. She reached for a tissue and hastily wiped them away. “I’m bold and opinionated, and I say what’s on my mind. Men notice me. They want me. But not you, Joe. You never wanted the real me.”
“You’re blaming me for your deception?”
“No, I’m taking all the blame. It’s all my fault.”
Finally what she told him began sinking in. He pushed his glasses back and forth on his nose and then shook his head, casting her a look of disdain. “Then what Sheila told me about you was true.”
“Sheila?” Ali’s heart stopped in that instant. “What, how…”
“In San Francisco. She warned me about you. She told me about your mother—her five husbands and all the men in between. She warned me that you were playing me. I didn’t take her seriously
. But my curiosity got the better of me. I looked Justine Holcomb up. It’s amazing what a person can find out on the Internet.”
“You investigated me?” Ali’s temper skyrocketed.
“Not you but your mother.”
“And what did you find, Joe?” She put her hands on her hips, defying him to answer, while inside her heart was breaking.
“A lot, Ali. Your mother has quite a reputation for her conquests. She did just about anything she could to get a ring on her finger. Oh, I didn’t want to believe it. But you,” he said, his voice thick with accusation, “you’re just like her. You manipulated me, Ali. Admit it.”
“You’re confusing me with Sheila. She’s the one who burned you. And she had the nerve to warn you about me?” Ali’s shackles rose. The hairs on her arms stood on end.
Joe approached her, his voice firm and filled with disgust. “Sheila isn’t the issue here. You are. You knew all along that you were deceiving me, acting out a role to what? String me along?”
“No!”
“Get your hands on my money?”
“No!”
“Blow my mind with sex, so I wouldn’t catch on.”
She slapped his face.
Joe grabbed her hand and stared at her. Through tight lips, his voice cold and hard, he looked deep into her eyes. “I never wanted to believe it of you, Ali. But it’s all clear now. Your clothes, your personality, you changed it all to fool me. Hell, you even changed your bedroom habits. Your mother taught you well.”
He dismissed her, just like that. He grabbed his clothes, slipping into his pants quickly, and walked out of her bedroom without a second glance.
She jumped when she heard the front door slam. And burst into tears for the second time tonight.
Tumultuous emotions roiled in Joe’s gut. He walked at a fast pace, trying to burn off some of his anger and despair. He’d sent the limo home, thinking he’d be with Ali until the morning. So now he found himself furious, barefoot and half dressed walking down the highway toward home.
It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell Ali he was in love with her. That would have made her charade complete, he thought with disgust.
She’d already made a colossal fool of him.
Yes, he’d noticed changes in her, but who could figure a woman’s mind? Joe thought Ali had been a little more contemplative lately due to the newness of her surroundings. Maybe she’d felt out of her element and needed time to acclimate to California living. She had few friends here, and all that combined could have an effect on a woman.
But Ali hadn’t felt any of those things. No, she’d simply had one goal in mind—to trick him into a relationship.
She was just like her mother.
Joe had read accounts of how Justine Holcomb left her first husband for a wealthy oilman. Then a few years later, she’d become a caregiver for an ailing supermarket mogul and had divorced husband number two and moved on to husband number three. She had ties to famous male actors, real estate tycoons and clothing designers. More husbands, more boyfriends, the list went on and on. No wonder Ali never wanted to talk about her family. Speaking of it would have tipped her hand.
After Joe’s fury subsided a little, he pressed Nick’s number on his iPhone. The phone rang several times. “I hope I’m interrupting,” Joe grumbled after his brother finally answered.
“What?” Nick sounded flustered. “Joe, is that you? Do you know what time it is? Like two in the morning.”
“Early for you. I need a ride.”
“Now? What the hell. Can’t you call—”
“No, I’m in no mood to explain myself. Just pick me up. And don’t keep me waiting.” Joe gave him the location and plopped himself down by the side of the road.
Ten minutes later, Nick showed up in his red Ferrari, and Joe got in. “You look like crap, man. Have a fight with Ali?”
“More than a fight. Just take me home, Nick, and don’t ask any questions.”
Nick cast him a concerned look and didn’t offer up any snarky remarks, for which Joe was grateful.
When he got home, he emptied half a bottle of Scotch, drank himself into oblivion, replaying his argument with Ali in his head until he couldn’t think anymore. He fell into bed and slept off the effects of the alcohol.
In the morning, he frowned at the clock by his bedside when he saw the time. He’d slept past noon and rose with a splitting headache. Apparently, he hadn’t slept off all the liquor he’d consumed. He felt like hell.
He lumbered downstairs for a cup of coffee and found both brothers sitting in the kitchen. Tony was here? And Rena, too? They all gazed at him with sympathetic eyes.
He whipped around abruptly to walk away. The quick movement brought pain to his skull. He rubbed his head.
“Sit down, Joe,” Nick called to him.
“I’m bad company today,” he muttered.
“I’ll get you a cup of coffee,” Rena said, her voice hopeful.
He turned, and she sent him a sweet look. He could easily blow off his brothers, but his sister-in-law deserved better treatment. “Thanks.”
Rena was already up and pouring his coffee. She brought it to him and gestured for him to take a seat at the table. He hesitated a second, then sank down in the seat. He directed his attention to Tony. “What are you doing here?”
“It was my idea to come over,” Rena said. “I was hoping you’d come down while we were here.”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because, um,” Rena began, looking guilty about something. “I know what happened between you and Ali.”
“You know?” Joe sipped his steamy coffee while holding his head steady. “News travels fast.”
“Ali called me this morning. She’s very upset.”
Joe gave a slight nod. “She should be.”
Rena leaned back in her seat and sighed deeply. “Oh, believe me, she is.”
“If you ask me, having a woman that amazing go to such great lengths to get you to notice her ain’t the worst thing that could happen, man,” Nick said. “You’ve got rocks in that geek brain of yours if you haven’t figured that out yet.”
“I didn’t ask you.” Joe sent his brother a grim look.
Nick glanced at Tony, who in turn glanced at Rena. His sister-in-law put her hand on her growing belly, and Joe was reminded to tread carefully with her.
“Joe, she really cares about you,” Rena said.
“Until the next sucker comes along.” This time he took a big swallow of his coffee and burnt his tongue. “Damn it.”
“I think you should hear her out,” Rena said quietly.
“If you know what she did, then how can you ask that of me? She’s a phony. Just like her mother.”
“Oh, Joe,” Rena said, nibbling on her lower lip. She glanced at Tony, who sent her a nod of encouragement. “What if I told you I had a hand in that little scheme?”
“I’d say no one forced Ali to follow through with it. You probably thought you were helping. She knew better.”
“The last thing Ali wants is to be like her mother. Perhaps you’ve judged her too harshly.”
“I’ve been burned before, remember?”
Rena flinched. “I know, Joe. But Ali seemed so perfect…”
Joe rose. “Thanks for stopping by. I’ll live.”
He left the three of them and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. At least he had a day to get Ali out of his system—until he had to face her at work tomorrow.
Ali called in sick on Monday. It was the first time she hadn’t come to work since Joe had met her. On Tuesday, he walked into his office and stopped short when he spotted a young blond woman sitting at Ali’s desk.
He approached her with furrowed brows. “Who are you?”
She smiled wide, showing sparkling white teeth. “I’m Georgia Scott, from the Short Notice temporary agency.” She rose from behind Ali’s desk and put out her hand. “You must be Mr. Carlino.”
“Joe Carlino,” he said, still try
ing to figure this out. He shook her hand absently. “Where’s Ali, Ms. Pendrake?”
“I don’t know. Ms. Pendrake called our office yesterday and said you needed a temp. That would be me. She faxed me very detailed instructions.” The woman lifted up several sheets of handwritten papers.
Joe nodded, unnerved seeing Ali’s desk occupied by someone else. “Did she say how long you’d be here?”
The woman shot him a quizzical look. “At least two weeks.”
Joe entered his office and listened to his messages. He had four, and the last one was a breathless Ali.
“Hello, Joe. Under the circumstances, it would be best if I didn’t work for you anymore. I know you think the worst of me, and I’m not going to beg you for forgiveness. I made a mistake, and I’m truly sorry. I’ve arranged for a temp and hope she works out until you can find a suitable replacement for me. You’ll have my official resignation on your desk tomorrow. If I’m nothing else, I’m efficient.” She laughed sadly into the phone before the message ended.
Joe stared at the answering machine for several minutes, feeling a hollow sense of loss.
And that feeling persisted the rest of the week. He’d made several attempts to call Ali, but his pride had him clicking off before the phone could ring. What could he say to her? He didn’t even know who Ali was anymore. It wasn’t just that the hair, makeup and demeanor had changed but it was the entire idea behind it that galled him. Was she really that calculating and devious?
Made a man think what else she would have done to gain his attention.
By the middle of the next week, Joe dreaded coming into work each day and not seeing Ali behind her desk. He’d thought he’d get used to seeing Ms. Scott there, typing away, bringing him reports, making his appointments, but that surely didn’t happen. Worse yet, he hadn’t lapped his swimming pool since the day Ali quit her job. He’d lost his desire and found most mornings he dragged himself out of bed and forced himself to go to work. His well-ordered life had taken a nosedive.
Seduction on the CEO's Terms Page 15
