“That is just horrible. I can’t believe it.” I knit my brows and look straight ahead.
“Many of the shareholders demanded that I be reinstated as the CEO and chairman. The board quickly voted to bring me back. Since that time, the company’s earnings and profits have recovered. In fact, we had a record year.”
Kalin turns to me and narrows his eyes with a cold gaze. “But I still don’t trust the motherfuckers. I want someone who I can confide in, Annabelle. A partner. Someone who I can turn my back to without the fear of getting a knife in it.” His expression softens. “Someone who I can be myself around.” He steps closer toward me. “Someone who I can be vulnerable around without the fear of having it exploited. And, yes, Annabelle, if something more should come from it,” he says, clasping my hand and sitting next to me, “don’t sue me.”
“Me sue you?” I snicker.
He kisses my hand, and a warm smile spreads across his face, melting the pain in his eyes and bringing him back to me from his sad memories.
“I would never do something like that to you, Kalin. That’s terrible. I’m sorry you went through that during such a painful time. But what makes you know you can trust me, much less that I could run this company?”
“I’m a good judge of character. I knew when we spoke that I could trust you.”
“How?”
I can’t explain it. It’s something…” He holds his thumb and forefinger together, pausing. “…inexplicable. I just know.”
“What about my lack of business experience?”
“I consider it an advantage.”
“What about the sex?”
A flash of humor crosses his face. “Well, I consider that an advantage, too.”
“I’m being serious, Kalin. I mean, we’ve already had sex, and I’m your employee.”
“I think it is an advantage. We are more open with each other.” His eyes search mine. “We share our secrets. We look out for each other.” He turns away and gazes out the side window overlooking the bay. “I’m not going to lie to you, Annabelle. When I saw you, you were stunning. In many ways you reminded me of Rebecca. That was her name. She had the same innocence and beauty. But I’m not attracted to you just because you remind me of her. You have your own unique beauty. I told you, I just feel it.” He plants his fingers in the center of his chest. “It’s just there.”
“I thought you were talking about trust?”
“I was talking about you.”
“Is that why you said I’m inspiring?”
“Yes. I find you inspiring. It seems in this business, the more you know, the more dangerous you become. People use that knowledge to destroy you. I understand why they do it. People want to survive. It’s a competitive business where the winners come away with almost everything. So people get scared. But fear suffocates creativity and stifles ambition. I don’t want that in my company.
“So you see, Annabelle, no matter how much you know or how much education you have, that one flaw is fatal to you as a person and to a company if you don’t control it. Because when you are motivated by fear or greed—they are one and the same, you know—then it is like a fuse that has been lit. Sooner or later it will destroy you, and even harm those around you. And I don’t see any of that in you, Annabelle. Am I wrong?”
“No. I mean, I don’t know. I would never do that to you. I have never been in this environment before. But I am loyal. I always have been. To family, to friends.”
“To Lia.”
“Yes.”
Chapter Six
His mouth moves across my fingers, and I feel his whiskers on my hand. It is surprisingly erotic. His warm lips melt into my skin between my knuckles, and I angle toward him.
“What will people say if we’re working together and…?”
“After all that’s happened, I really don’t care. I just want to be happy right now, and you make me happy.” His eyes slide up to mine. “I know that you feel it too.”
I watch his firm, sensual lips trail up my arm, and I press my lips together to contain a silly smile.
“What?” He parts his lips while his eyes sweep over my face. “Tell me.”
“When we met, I felt something I couldn’t describe. But when I’m alone with you, it feels like nothing else matters. When we were alone on the elevator, I didn’t want the doors to open. It sounds silly. But I just wanted it to be us.”
Kalin scoots closer to me. “We don’t have to be in an elevator for that to happen. We can shut the world out anytime.” His warm lips and tongue continue their sensual caress over my hand.
“It’s just that you’re always so busy. When I saw you in the office, it looked like there was no way to reach you.”
“And yet I found you.”
“Yes.”
“And yet here I am.”
“True.” I can no longer control my silly grin.
He pulls me toward him, his large hands clasping my elbows. Our lips are only inches apart, and his dark eyes are alive with warmth and desire. “The only one I want to impress is you.” His eyes drift over my face, and back to my eyes.
I shift in place from the heat of his gaze, my muscles quivering, wondering how he does this to me. It’s as if I cannot escape, and don’t want to, but this cannot be happening. Is he just using me? Is this even right? My mind wants to rationalize everything, but my body just wants to give in. I want to shut my mind off and just enjoy the heat of his kiss on my hand, on my body, on my lips. Almost as if reading the tension on my face, he answers my lingering doubts.
“You’re a top-level manager now, Annabelle. Just delegate your work. I won’t tell.” He breathes warm kisses on my neck. “Work hard, play hard,” he breathes.
“I think they were referring to taking a boat out on the weekend after working all week.”
“We’re on a boat,” he says with a wicked grin.
“We’re not moving.” I smile up at him.
Kalin moves his strong fingers over my neck, caressing me between light kisses. “There’s more than one way to sail, Annabelle. We can explore the coast some other time. Right now I am more interested in exploring you.”
Kalin continues to plant light, wet kisses over my neck, and I shift toward him on the sofa as warmth spreads over my body. I feel a delightful mix of soft, warm kisses and prickly whiskers over my skin. He lifts my hand and licks the soft flesh between my fingers, sending waves of heat to my groin. “You have such beautiful hands. So smooth, supple, and soft. Inspiring,” he says with an amused smile.
“Inspiring?” I grin.
“Oh, yes. Inspiring and arousing. You can’t blame a man for finding inspiration in beauty, can you, Annabelle?”
Before I answer, he takes my forefinger and sucks on it, his cheeks pressed in and his eyes ablaze with raw, carnal desire. Any sentiment for righteous protest is overwhelmed with lust and longing. I shift again, moving my hips toward him. His gentle carnal assault continues. He rolls his tongue between my fingers. Back and forth he massages my soft flesh with his tongue. How can this be so arousing? I sigh from the warm sensations that travel directly to my core. He moves from each space between my knuckles to the next, kissing and sinking his lips and tongue into each groove while his rough whiskers prickle my sensitive skin. The feeling is so erotic. I fidget on the couch from my arousal. The scent of his hair fills me, just inches from me now.
He groans as I run my fingers through his hair and tug gently. His hair feels so lush and soft. I release a thick wisp from my fingers, and it falls tousled around his dark eyes. His eyes meet mine, and his carnal look makes me ache with need for him. At this point I don’t care if he’s my boss or my secret indulgence. I just want him to take me right here on this boat. I glide my hands from his shoulders, over the rippling muscles of his arms, and to the strong contours of his sides, and pull his T-shirt over his shoulders and arms. He lifts his arms, and I pull his shirt off and toss it aside.
Kalin buries his face in my neck, and I wrap my fingers around the
nape of his neck. His breath is hot and arousing, and I angle my head to allow the familiar sensation of warm kisses and rough stubble to caress my neck. I close my eyes and moan. “Hmmm.” He glides down my neck with his lips and tongue, causing warmth to rush over my skin. His hand slips into my jeans and panties, and his fingers gently move over my moist center. “Kalin, please.” He slides his fingers inside of my wetness, and my hips writhe from the invasion.
He pulls his fingers out of my center and presses them to his tongue, slowly sliding his index and middle finger out of his circled lips. “Hmmm.” His deep, baritone voice vibrates to my core. I have never seen a man get turned on like Kalin, and it is sexy as hell.
Kalin moves his fingers over my waist and unfastens my belt. Placing his finger and thumb on the top button, he pushes it through the opening, and tugs the zipper down. After pulling my jeans and panties down to my thighs with both hands, he takes my hand and guides my fingers inside my heated center. My breathing is ragged. “That’s it, baby. Show me how you do it.” His eyes are burning with desire. He releases my wrist and I lie back and spread my legs. I rest back and move my fingers over my clit and angle myself to caress my moist flesh. Kalin eyes me hungrily as my mouth circles from the heat erupting between my legs. Fire spreads from my belly up my spine, and I lean my head back. “That’s it. Keep going,” he rasps.
Kalin unbuttons my shirt and pushes my bra down for access to my swelling peaks. When his mouth comes down on my hard nipple, my back arches and I gasp. With a skillful hand, Kalin unclasps my bra from behind and tosses it on the floor. Lowering his mouth to my skin just above my breasts, his tongue moves between my breasts and then slowly up the swelling flesh. He laves along the swell of my breast, before circling my nipple with his tongue. His fingers wrap around my wrist as I pleasure myself. “I want to taste you now.” His voice is gravelly and laced with hungry desire. He brings my fingers to his mouth and sucks my own essence from the tips. “Hmmm. You taste so sweet.” His teeth graze across my fingers as he releases me from his mouth. He guides my fingers back into my aching pussy. “Again. More. I want to taste you again. Show me how you get wet for me, Annabelle. Show me,” he growls.
I continue to pleasure myself and his mouth returns to my aching peaks, grazing my nipples with his teeth, and sucking my swelling breasts. The sensation is almost too much to take. He pulls my wet fingers out again and presses them into his mouth, his firm, full lips closing around my fingers. He sucks on the tips and circles his tongue around them. “Hmmm.” His baritone growl vibrates through my fingers, coursing through my arm and straight down to my inner thighs. Kalin slides his fingers to my aching walls this time, pressing into my g-spot and sending a current from my center that washes over my entire body.
“Oh, my God,” I moan. “Please. Please.”
He smears his fingers, wet with my essence, over my areola, and then he licks it up with his tongue. His eyes sparkle with delight, and his lips come down on my nipple, sucking the juices he smeared over my breasts while my body writhes against the sofa. “Please,” I beg.
Kalin presses his lips between my breasts, trailing kisses slowly down my breastbone, licking and tasting me along the way in warm wet tingles down to my stomach and to my waist. Running his tongue just above my mound, he continues his erotic assault, gliding down to my glistening center. “Just tasting you drives me crazy, baby. Now I have to have all of you.” He flicks and darts his tongue over my clit, and gently tugs at my pubic hairs. When I am ready to come, he stops. I wriggle from desire on the sofa, and Kalin stands and begins unbuttoning his jeans. I watch him with aching want. He pulls a sleeve of condoms from the nightstand and rips one off.
Kalin rolls the condom over his diamond-hard erection, and I am already on the verge of a seismic orgasm when he angles himself over me and with one powerful thrust drives his swelling cock into me. He thrusts himself into me again. The tantalizing sensation sends me over the edge, and I moan in delight as he pummels me with one savage thrust after another. Throbbing waves of pleasure build higher and higher until he finishes me off with a towering orgasm that explodes into a blinding light of ecstasy. He continues to pummel me as molten heat burns liquid fire through every nerve and fiber of my being. The eruptions blend into one climax after another and possess my shuddering body. Kalin thrusts back and forth, faster now before he braces himself and inhales deeply. He explodes into me and presses up on the sofa while the powerful orgasm rips through him. His eyes close tightly while pleasure washes over his body. He lets out a deep growl before he falls beside me, joining me in the heavenly place only we inhabit.
He exhales in relief and kisses my shoulder, now glistening with sweat. I toss my hand beside my head and allow my ragged breathing to steady. Kalin presses up from the sofa and puts on his jeans. He shakes his head while he dresses. “As incredible as this was… as incredible as you are, this is not the reason I brought you here, Annabelle. You’re just so damn beautiful. I had to have you.”
“I thought you were showing me the fringe benefits of working for you,” I tease, still catching my breath.
“That is exactly why I brought you here. All of this, whenever you need it, is yours.” Kalin extends his hands between working the buttons on his jeans.
“You’re kidding.” I shake my head slightly and I feel my mouth slacken. “Kalin, I still don’t know what I’m doing here. I mean, the sex is great. You’re great. But I don’t know what I’m doing with your company.”
“And that’s the other reason I brought you here, Annabelle.”
I shift toward him and frown.
“I do have ulterior motives.”
“What do you mean?” Was Lia right? Was he going to tell me about his dark dungeon now?
Kalin fastens his belt, and reaches for his T-shirt. God, he’s just beautiful. I try to focus on what he says while my eyes roam over his chest and flat, rippled stomach. If he’s using me it’s really not such a bad deal, I muse. He says, “I want to tell you the truth about why I selected you to be my marketing specialist.”
I pull my jeans up and pull my shirt over my shoulders. “Should I be running for the door now?” I smirk as I button my shirt.
“Sure. You can even keep the cash bonus.” He rummages around in the kitchen and brings me a bottle of water. “But I prefer that you stay. And I prefer you give me a chance to explain exactly what is happening.”
“Okay,” I acknowledge, taking the water.
“Would you like a glass of white wine?”
“Yes, please.” I straighten up and toss my just-fucked hair over my shoulders. Kalin looks wonderfully delicious with his tousled hair and chiseled body, and I wonder how I must look. I focus my attention back to him. He pours us a glass of wine and turns back to me.
“From Loire Valley, France.” He smiles, handing me a cool glass of wine. I put the glass to my lips, tasting the juicy tropical fruits. My mouth feels like an explosion of rich citrus tastes of lemon and orange mixed with apple. It is light and fresh and rich all at the same time.
Kalin takes a sip of wine and places the glass on the counter.
“When the board demanded that I be cut loose for taking too much time off, I was at risk. Our shareholder agreement states that only two major shareholders or more can determine who the CEO and chairman are for this company. So even if I own fifty percent or more, which I do, I cannot vote myself in. The board can still control the company. That’s where you come in, Annabelle.”
“How?”
“I don’t trust the board, or anyone else in this company for that matter. A lot of people came into this company that I, quite frankly, would never have hired. I don’t trust them, and I don’t much like them.” He turns his head toward me, and his face tightens. “Not after what happened. That is why I need someone I can trust with my very life. This will give you power with the board. You can even fire me.”
“I can fire you? How? You’re my boss.”
Kalin runs his hand t
hrough his hair and turns to me with a deadpan expression. “Because I’m giving you a twenty percent stake in the company.”
“What? Twenty percent stake!” My eyes widen. “That’s impossible. That would make me worth…millions.”
“With my forty-eight percent remaining, that is a clear majority. But you can also break from me and vote with the board and the minority investors of just over thirty percent. You are the final vote, Annabelle. You hold all the cards.” He smiles.
My mouth is agape, and I pull my knees to my chest on the sofa, rocking back and forth. “This isn’t possible.”
“It is possible. I’ve already arranged it. All I need is your signature, and you will own twenty percent of the stock, transferred from me to you.” Kalin steps toward a large bourbon cherry hardwood desk, unlocks the drawer, and pulls out some papers. He places them in front of me on the coffee table. “You will hold a senior management position, a seat on the board, and have full voting privileges.”
My mouth slackens. “I don’t believe it.”
“Believe it, Annabelle. I’m giving you the deciding vote in the company.”
I place my hand over my mouth, taking the contract with my hand. I can’t digest everything that’s happening. It doesn’t seem real.
“Don’t you have a close executive colleague or someone in management who you can trust?” My brows knit.
“No.”
“Then why would you trust me?”
“I have to. I don’t have a choice. Besides, I told you I was a good judge of character.”
“Then why do you have managers who you don’t even trust in your own company?”
“The board hired them. The managers who I trusted either left or were let go during my absence. They control the compensation now, which has become very management friendly. They voted themselves pay increases, school tuition payments for their kids in expensive private schools, even private security.” Kalin glances down and back up to me. “Don’t get me wrong. That is all fine, if they earn it and increase the value of the company. But what they are doing is taking it from the workers. It is no longer about creating more value and sharing it, but taking it.”
Undeniably His Page 6
