Cruel Temptation: An Age Gap Romance (Cruel Beauty Trilogy Book 1)

by C Standing

  Cupping the back on his neck, I bring him in close, my heart flipping in my chest as something deep and profound runs between us.

  “How are you feeling, baby?” Rick asks, tracing his thumb over my cheek.

  Right now, in the privacy of his home and curled in his arms, I feel whole. Like nothing can touch us.

  I won’t lie, after being on my own for over a decade—after refusing to let anyone get close, this is an amazing feeling.

  I never allowed myself to depend on anyone other than Joey, because relying on people gives them a power over me that I never want anyone to have.

  Except him.

  The way he looks at me, like I’m the most important thing in his life, makes me breathless. The adoration in his touch, like he’ll never get enough, has me thinking I could rule the world.

  And I want to feel like this forever.

  “Exhausted.” I grip the lapels of his blazer and burrow into his chest, breathing in his cologne. “But happy.”

  God, what aftershave does he use?

  I need to buy that shit in bulk. It’s exquisite.

  “How’s your lip?” I notice the bright red welt forming on his lower lip from where I bit him.

  “Worth every fucking minute of pain.”

  “Why are you dressed for work?” I take in the sexy as hell three-piece suit that clings to his body in all the right places.

  God, what I wouldn’t give to rip that shirt from his body and run my tongue over every inch of him.

  Kneeling down beside me, Rick sets his phone on the nightstand beside my head. “I have to head in for a few, but I’ll be back to take you out to lunch.”

  My stomach drops at the thought of not spending the whole day with him. “You’re leaving me?” I ask with a playful pout, knowing full well he has an empire to run.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he warns, dragging my lip between his teeth. “You know I’d rather be in bed with you.”

  Pulling back, I toy with the smooth silk of his tie. “Aren’t you the boss?”

  He gives me a lopsided smirk, knowing where I’m going with this. “I am.”

  Slowly, sensually, I glide the fabric through my fingers. “Can’t you just let someone else deal with the issue?” I sprinkle kisses along his neck, pressing my breasts against his chest. “That way you can deal with this.” I take his hand and lower it between my legs.

  “Jesus,” Rick hisses, wasting no time in sliding a long finger through my wetness. “Fuck, baby. You’re killing me.”

  “Stay,” I purr, rocking my hips onto his fingers. “Let me make it better.” I cup his straining erection over his slacks.

  “Christ.” Rick clenches his teeth. “You’re a goddamn temptress.”

  “It’s your fault.”

  “As long as it’s only with me, I couldn’t care less.”

  “Do you have to go?” I peer up at him with pleading eyes.

  Looking like he’s about to spit fire, Rick frowns and brushes a strand of hair away from my face. “I’ll be back before you know it, sweetheart. I promise. Make yourself at home. There’s some food menus in the drawer downstairs, order yourself some breakfast.”

  Disappointed, I sink back into the pillows. “I’m sure I can survive half a day without you,” I mutter, dryly.

  “I have no doubt about that,” Rick grumbles, grumpily. “But I don’t want you to. I fucking hate that this is cutting into my time with you.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I assure him.

  “Keep the bed warm for me,” he husks, kissing my shoulder.

  Um, excuse me?

  Does he think we’re in the 50s or something?

  I raise an indignant brow. “Sorry, City Boy, but that kind of request can only be put forward by men who don’t plan on leaving me after they’ve spent half the night buried inside of me.”

  His face falls. “Don’t play with me.”

  “Oh, I’m not playing, sweetheart. I have every intention of checking out that sweet ass jacuzzi on your balcony.”

  “You didn’t bring up any swimwear.”

  “I won’t be needing any.” I wink suggestively, laughing as a growl fills the air around us.

  “You better not be thinking about going out there naked.”

  “What if I am?”

  He scoffs obnoxiously and drags a frustrated hand through his hair. “Yeah, that’s not fucking happening.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  Rick opens his arms out wide. “Because any fucker could see you!”

  “Rick, be reasonable. You own one of the tallest buildings in New York, who the hell is going to see me?”

  His jaw tenses. “It’s not up for debate, River. You’re not going out there without any swimwear, and that’s final.”

  “And what if I do?” I challenge him.

  Rick’s eyes turn menacing. “Then I’ll fuck every hole in your body repeatedly until you’re begging me to stop.”

  A shiver of desire ripples down my spine. “Is that supposed to intimidate me?”

  I love riling him up.

  “Don’t think I won’t do it, baby,” he threatens. “Last night you gave me a taste of that sinful fucking body, and now I’m addicted. If you disobey me or go against my orders, be prepared to pay the consequences.”

  My nipples harden at the thought of him charging through the door in a jealous rage, before bending me over the side of the jacuzzi and taking me hard and fast from behind.

  God, yes.

  My body tingles.

  Biting my lip, I squeeze my thighs together. “Go to work, City Boy. You have a world to conquer.”

  Yanking me in for a kiss, he crashes his lips to mine. “The only thing I plan on conquering is you.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Rick’s eyes flare with excitement. “On second thought, I hope you do disobey me.” His lips twist up into a wicked smirk. “It’ll give me something to look forward to.”

  “The only thing you’ll be looking forward to is your hand, Mr. Blackley.”

  He groans, running his tongue along my lips. “You, and that sassy mouth.”

  “Don’t act like you don’t love it,” I taunt him.

  “You know I fucking do.”

  I shove against him, pushing him away. “Go, do your job, and leave me in peace.”

  Rick stands from the bed, adjusting his suit and hair. “I’ll be back by lunch.” He snatches my lips in a kiss. “Be a good girl and keep her nice and wet for me.”

  I bite his lip. “Don’t worry, I will.”

  After he leaves, I climb out of bed to use the bathroom, when I spot his phone is still on the nightstand.

  Does he need this?

  Should I take it to him?

  Just as I lean over to retrieve it, the screen lights up as a message comes through, and I notice he has several missed calls from someone called Sadie.

  I want to see you

  I stare at the phone, my eyes narrowing in confusion.

  Who the hell is Sadie?

  And why does she want to see my man?

  Apprehension and paranoia fill my chest as I try not to read too much into those four words. There isn’t necessarily anything untoward about the message, this Sadie could be a friend, colleague or even a relative.

  I gnaw on my lip and set his phone back on the nightstand.

  Don’t overreact, River.

  It’s probably nothing… but why does it feel like it’s something?

  It’s a little after ten in the morning, and I’m stuck behind my desk chugging down my fifth coffee of the day, needing the caffeine to replenish the energy River drained from me last night.

  Last night… fuck.

  What a night that turned out to be.

  Hands down, one of the best nights.

  Why I’m here when I should be back in my apartment, making love to the beautiful woman lying between my sheets, is beyond me.

  I must be out of my damn mind.

&nb
sp; It kills me that I’m not with her.

  I hate that I wasn’t there to wake her up properly, to taste her lips and worship her body, maybe take a shower together, and sit with her as we eat breakfast.

  It’s the domesticated bliss that I never thought I’d want after my last attempt at a relationship, but it’s all I can think about with her.

  Needing to get my hourly dose of the beauty consuming every thought, I sign into my iPad and pull up the live security feed in my apartment. Being one of the wealthiest men in the world means I need to have eyes on me at all times. Hence the cameras placed strategically around my home.

  Leaning back in my chair, I brace an elbow on the arm and rest my chin on my middle finger.

  My eyes scan the empty bedroom, and I smile at the perfectly made bed.

  Man, this fucking girl.

  I flick my gaze to the camera recording the upstairs hallway.

  Not there.

  I move to the kitchen.

  Nothing.

  Beginning to feel a little alarmed, I sit forward, steepling my hands.

  Where are you, beautiful?

  The feed then switches to the balcony, and I damn near swallow my tongue as I watch her gorgeous body move fluidly through the clear blue water in my pool.

  My cock jolts in my slacks. “Christ.”

  Goddamn, she’s a fucking vision.

  A vision who’s getting every beautiful hole in her body fucked when I leave for lunch.

  Such a filthy little tease.

  If she thinks she can torture me like this and expect to get away with it, she’s in for a rude awakening.

  I’m just about to call up to the apartment to let her know how much trouble she’s in, when the intercom on my desk buzzes.

  I press the button. “Yes, Pasty?”

  “Miss Cavendish is here to see you.”

  Jesus fucking Christ.

  Goodbye erection.

  Groaning, I pinch the bridge of my nose. There isn’t enough coffee or alcohol in the world to get me through even two minutes with this woman.

  Sadie Cavendish.

  My worst fucking nightmare.

  This woman just doesn’t know when to stop.

  If I could get away with murder, this disruptive bitch would be first on my list.

  I swear, the woman is the devil incarnate.

  Sadie is my kids’ mom, and my first attempt at a real relationship.

  I knew that I wasn’t in love with her from the beginning, but she’d suggested we give it a try for our son’s sake. Stupidly, I agreed for our reputations, and because I didn’t want him coming from a broken home.

  I wanted my son to have the kind of childhood and upbringing I had. Full of fun, laughter, and love.

  But things between us progressed too quickly.

  We went from being each other’s one-night stand, to new parents who had no fucking clue what we were doing, and trying to make a go of something that wasn’t there.

  We’d gone from zero to one-hundred within the space of a few months, and it was too much for me. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t find it within myself to feel anything for her.

  Yeah, it might make me sound like a cold-hearted bastard, but if love isn’t there, then it isn’t there. You can’t force it.

  Despite my concerns, I'd blocked out every logical thought telling me to jump ship, and given our relationship, my all.

  I’d had it ingrained in me from a young age to give everything two hundred percent. It didn’t matter if it was something as trivial as writing an assignment for school or clenching one of the biggest and most lucrative deals in my company’s history. I gave everything my all—I didn’t have it in me to give anything less.

  But no matter what, our differences were glaringly obvious. We were like chalk and cheese. Oil and water. We just didn’t mix.

  She was a materialistic party girl, with a fatal allergy to responsibility. Meanwhile, I was the level-headed entrepreneur who’d rather have open-heart surgery without anesthesia than spend a night surrounded by fake-ass, money-hungry, bloodsucking leeches.

  Every day, I’d done something else wrong.

  Fuck, I think she made it her life’s goal to see how many arguments she could pick with me. It was like Chinese water torture, and over time it wore me down to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore.

  I’d like to think I’m a pretty reasonable and understanding guy, but listening to that every second of the day? Fuck no.

  Every person has limits, and I’d reached mine.

  Two months after Christian was born, Sadie upped the ante, complaining that I was working too much. That I was neglecting my duties as her partner.

  I mean, what the fuck did she expect?

  That she could call me a deadbeat father and I’d bend her over my bed and screw her senseless?

  Too fucking right I was neglecting my duties.

  As far as I was concerned, my only and most important priority was being there for my son.

  She was just an extremely irritating thorn in my side. One I had every intention of dislodging.

  Still, wanting some peace and quiet, I took her words under advisement and decided to take a step back from the company so I could focus on raising my son and keeping her somewhat happy.

  At first, I’d thought she was suffering from postpartum depression, but as time went by, I knew it was all a smokescreen for what she really wanted: me at her beck and call twenty-four-seven—which, believe me, if she’d been anyone else (like River), I would’ve had no issues with it.

  Hell, I’d have dropped everything and come running.

  But like most things in our arrangement—because let’s fucking face it, it wasn’t a relationship—I did everything I could to appease her, gaining nothing but resent and spiteful remarks in return.

  However, being away from a company I’d given my blood, sweat, and tears to make a success, was starting to grate on me. She was pushing me out of my own goddamn business.

  Blackley Inc. is my company.

  A company my father fought tooth and nail for.

  Sitting on the side-lines while others ran my business was a bitter fucking pill to swallow.

  Then there was the whole male pride. I’ll always be a wealthy man with more money than I’ll ever spend, but there’s something about working my fingers to the bone and knowing that I’ve provided a decent life for my son, that inflates my ego.

  Sitting around all day twiddling my damn thumbs was not my forte.

  And I was really starting to resent her for it.

  Our arrangement was toxic from the start, but I refused to acknowledge it. I strongly—and foolishly—believed that if we worked at it hard and long enough, the love, the passion, and the chemistry I craved, would magically appear and everything would fall into place.

  Spoiler alert: It didn’t.

  In fact, the hell Sadie was dragging me through had only been child's play compared to the misery she unleashed on me from there on out.

  Even the sex, an act of intimacy I crave, became more of a chore than something I actually enjoyed.

  I have certain... sexual preferences that I love to explore, and it didn’t matter what she did, she never satisfied me. When your partner is more conventional and judgmental, it puts a somewhat dampener on the excitement.

  I like to think out of the box and get a little hands-on, whereas she’s more restrained, content to stay with the realms of traditional, lights off, missionary sex. I love sex. All aspects of it. I enjoy expanding my horizons, divulging in new things, and pushing boundaries. After all, rules are made to be broken, and limits are designed to be tested.

  I wasn’t demanding we try anything too extreme, but maybe some light spanking, introducing toys, or a little role-play.

  Instead, I was made to feel like a monster. Like an abnormality who deserved to be locked away, and left to rot with the scum of the earth.

  Every suggestion I made was shut down.

  Hell,
every time I tried to go down on her, she’d stop me, claiming it was unsanitary and vulgar. Eating pussy is something I love to do, but I can only be told no so many times before I stop trying.

  She flat out refused to compromise, and I was forced to settle.

  I was made to fulfil her needs, but she refused to meet me halfway.

  There was no spark or spontaneity between us. The desire—the insatiable need—wasn’t there.

  Well, for me at least.

  After a while, the initial attraction I’d once felt for her faded into nothing. Could you blame me when I’m constantly being belittled and made to feel like a freak of nature? It had gotten so bad I couldn’t even get an erection around her. Hell, I didn’t want to get an erection.

  I didn’t want to be anywhere near her.

  The further away she was, the fucking better.

  Which is why I insisted she move into one of the several guest bedrooms in my house. I needed to regain control of my life.

  Which, of course, led to cheating allegations.

  Her storming into my office and accusing several of my younger female employees of doing the job she was evidently failing at: pleasing me.

  My home was meant to be a place of peace and relaxation. A place where I could escape the backstabbers and bullshitters of the world, not go home to one.

  I wanted to be a good father to Christian—I am a good father. But like fuck was I going to be treated like her verbal punching bag just because she was an uptight and poisonous bitch.

  What the fuck was I meant to do?

  Aside from giving her the blood running through my veins and the heart beating in my chest, I’d given her everything.

  But I was done being the yes man, and bending to her every whim.

  I’m Rick Fucking Blackley. This is my fucking world, and my goddamn kingdom.

  I’m a ruthless bastard, and I’ll take down anyone in my path. At this moment in time, that just happens to include her.

  I’ve finally found something worth holding on to with River—I’m finally happy. I’m not about to let her venom stand in the way of that.

  It’s time she realized who she was fucking with.

  “Send her in.”

  Let the games begin.