by Linda Verji
She didn’t run for long. At exactly six-eleven, her mark walked into the gym. The treadmill she was on had a mirror in front of it so she immediately noticed his entrance. She also noticed how his eyes immediately scanned the hall, almost as if he was looking for something, someone. Her.
She looked away from the mirror just milliseconds before he found her. For the next few minutes she acted like she couldn’t see him. Given how he’d reacted to her treating him like he was invisible, she had a hunch of what would happen today. Sure enough Worth got on the treadmill right beside her.
Hiding a smile, she kept jogging.
Obviously, Worth expected her to acknowledge him because he kept staring at her. When that didn’t work, he started to run too. Even then, his gaze never wavered from her. She could feel its heat burning into her face then to her body. It was almost as if he was stripping her with his gaze, touching her. His gaze lingered on her breasts leaving them feeling oddly swollen and her nipples hard beneath the black sports-bra. The dampness that gathered in her pussy was as unexpected as it was unwanted. She was the one supposed to be doing the seducing here.
Though she was working hard to keep their eyes from meeting through the mirror, eventually, it happened. Sin could’ve sworn that she heard the air between them crackle. Her throat immediately closed up, and she felt a strange heat shoot through her. Somehow, she managed to keep jogging while giving him a brief nod of greeting. Worth didn’t acknowledge her greeting but the dark heat in his gaze left no doubt that he was just as affected by her closeness as she was affected by his.
Soon, she finished her set run and slowed the treadmill to a slow walk. Worth followed suit, his gaze never once leaving hers through the mirror. Her already racing heart sped until it felt like it would jump right out of her chest. When the machine came to a stop, she plucked her earphones from her ears then turned to him.
Now that she wasn’t running, she could get a proper look at him. The man was undoubtedly fit, from the muscular biceps that peeked beneath his t-shirt to the strong thighs that pushed against his joggers. His all-black outfit left him looking more than a little dangerous. She’d never realized that small drops of sweat trickling down the side of a man’s face could be sexy. Damn, he turned her on.
Forcing a smile, she greeted, “Hello, Worth.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Worth?”
Climbing off the machine to stand beside it, she explained, “Since we’re out of the office I can call you Worth, right?”
“Wrong!” he retorted before asking. “Will you keep coming to my gym?”
“Oh? I didn’t know you owned this place,” she countered, sarcasm dripping from her voice. From what she’d read this gym was part of a franchise that had nothing to do with Worth or his disgustingly wealthy family.
Her sarcasm wasn’t enough to dissuade Worth. Pinning her with his gaze, he clambered off his treadmill to stand right in front of her. Having him so close and so high above her should’ve been intimidating, instead it left her feeling annoyingly breathless. Worse, for just a brief moment, she imagined herself rising on her toes to touch her lips to hers.
Get yourself together, Sin. She gave herself a mental slap before lifting her gaze to meet his defiantly. “What?”
Something dark and dangerous glinted in his gaze. “Are you stalking me?”
Well, yes. Yes, she was. But she couldn’t admit, could she? She forced out a mocking harrumph. “Please! As if I have the time.”
With that she stalked away from him and headed towards the leg-raise machine.
She would’ve liked nothing better than to go home right then so she could get a hold of her unruly senses and quiet her racing heart. However, she couldn’t leave this place knowing that he’d won this round. No, she needed to make sure that she was all he could think about the whole day.
As she did her hanging leg raises, she was aware of all the stares she drew, but she was only interested in one man’s stares. Worth had now moved from the treadmill and was working his arms with the rowing machine. Though he was acting like all his attention was on his workout, Sin was sure that he was keeping an eye on her.
Sure enough when she groaned loudly, pretending to have pulled a muscle, he was the first to look her way. However, it was the man training next to her who got to her first.
“Is everything okay,” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“Ah. Ah!” Sin groaned as she gripped her thigh.
“Where does it hurt?” The man took a knee. “Let me see.”
Sin had no idea when or how Worth moved but the Good-Samaritan had barely touched her thigh when they heard a growl behind them. “Get your hands off her.”
Jackpot! Nothing can describe the exhilaration that swept through Sin when she saw Worth standing there glowering like a Viking who’d just found someone trying to steal his longship.
Startled, the kneeling man turned to look at Worth. “Sorry?”
“Get your hands off her.”
If the other man hadn’t moved just then, Sin had a feeling that Worth would’ve hauled him out of the way. Fortunately, the Good-Samaritan had a strong sense of self-preservation. He rocketed up to his feet then took a few steps away. Worth promptly took his place, kneeling at her feet.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Acting like she was annoyed, Sin hopped backwards – or at least tried to.
Worth stopped her by grabbing her thigh. “Where does it hurt?”
It was at that moment that Sin realized her mistake. The ruse was supposed to force even closer proximity between them and make him lust for her even more. However, she hadn’t factored in how good it would feel to have his hand on her.
Running his hand up the side of her thigh then down again, he said, “Tell me when I hit the spot.”
How do you tell a guy that the spot was right between her thighs and it had started throbbing from the moment his large hand had met her thigh?
With a fake wince, she hedged, “It’s right – right in the middle.”
“Here?” His palm came up to the middle of her thigh as he studied her leg.
“There.” She nodded.
“It doesn’t feel too tight,” he mumbled to himself as he ran his fingers along the front of her thigh. “You just need a little massage.”
“O-Oka-” Her words faded away when his hand firmed over her flesh.
The massage was no-nonsense, practical and quite innocent. All Worth did was massage the knots and fibers in her thigh, yet it felt like the most erotic thing anyone had ever done to her. The feeling of him carefully tracing the muscles of her leg then working them powerfully was enough to make her breath catch and every cell in her body come alive.
This wasn’t supposed to be happening. She needed to stop him.
“Stop.” She reached down to clasp her hand over his. “The pain is gone.”
“You sure?” He looked up at her. Though his features were without expression, there was an odd darkness in his eyes that hadn’t been there when he’d started the massage.
“I’m sure.” She forcefully jerked her thigh from his grip. The only pain she was feeling now was the strange ache in her pussy. “You can stop now.”
Later as she took a shower back at her apartment, Sin had to admit; this round was his.
*
SHE WAS GOING to kill him. Death by lust.
Worth let out a long slow breath as he lathered soap all over his body. Even though they’d parted almost an hour ago, he still couldn’t get Sin off his mind. He hadn’t realized just how desperate he was to get his hands on her. Despite the blasé expression he’d maintained during the duration of that damned massage, he’d been sweating bullets.
Even now, he still couldn’t forget how it’d felt to touch her. The feel of her firm flesh beneath his hand and the knowledge that he was so close to other parts of her had left him hard as a rock. Without conscious thought, he lowered his hand to his heavy erection. He hadn’t been this hard in mo
nths – so hard his own touch was almost unbearable.
He’d been too long without a woman, he thought as he stroked himself. Maybe if he had someone else, he could stop imagining himself getting Sin somewhere private so he could tear those damn leggings off her. He could see himself pinning her against the wall, her legs wrapped around him tightly as he thrust strongly into her.
Oh, it would be marvelous. Just imagining the feel of her tight pussy squeezing his cock was enough to make him groan. The sound echoed in the steamy shower stall, melding seamlessly with the sound of rushing water. He stroked himself from shaft to tip and back down then repeated the motions again and again.
Her voluptuous body would be pressed against him. Those breasts that he ached to touch and suckle would be cushioned against his chest as he thrust into her over and over again.
In. Out. In. Out.
The thought of her hot pussy clamping over then releasing him over and over again was too much. His balls tightened and his cock swelled in his hand as he pumped faster and faster. His lungs seized, his heart pounded and his muscles strained as semen spurted in thick streams to fall to the floor. The force of his orgasm took him by surprise. Clearly Sin had already gotten into his head.
Shit!
Even though he knew her game, she’d somehow plucked control from his grasp. It now felt like he was the prey and she was the predator. No, he couldn’t let this go on. He needed to take back the ball. But not today. Not when he was still this weak. He’d fold if she so much as stood next to him. Thankfully, he had two important meetings today and they were both outside the office. Hopefully, the day away from Miss Temptation would be enough time for him to come to his senses.
Worth’s meetings ended at about four in the evening. He was planning to head back to the office to get a bit of work in before the end of the day but his brother called and asked to see him at one of the bars downtown.
“Since when did Dad start letting you out of your cell this early?” Worth teased as he settled in the seat across his brother.
“I broke out,” Baron retorted with a chuckle.
“Ah! No wonder. I thought I saw James’ car as I was coming in,” Worth teasingly referred to their father’s assistant cum butler cum bodyguard cum spy.
“Where? Where? Where is he?” Baron pretended to look around earning himself a laugh.
If Worth were to describe his step-brother, he’d say that the man was deceptively average. Baron wasn’t a man who stood out in a crowd; not too tall, not too short, slim but not thin, brown hair, brown eyes, always neatly and conservatively dressed.
He seemed like an average man; until you really got to know him.
In reality there was nothing average about Baron. He was one of the smartest and most resourceful men Worth knew. The guy was a Princeton and Harvard graduate, and had both business and law qualifications. His personal and professional qualifications made it even more difficult to understand his decision to marry Claire or to allow Senior to treat him like crap. Claire and Worth’s father didn’t deserve the fierce loyalty that Baron so freely gave them. In Baron’s place, Worth would’ve dropped those two punks faster than hot coal.
“So what’s up?” Worth asked once the server had set their drinks in front of them. “You don’t usually call me out during the week.”
“Is there something wrong with a man wanting to have a drink with his brother?” Baron hedged.
“Nothing’s wrong with that.” Worth watched the other man keenly. “But you’re not the kind of man who’d just ditch work to have a drink with his brother. What’s up?”
Baron took a deep gulp of his drink then said, “Dad wants you to come home over the weekend.”
Worth promptly shook his head. “No way.”
“Come on!” Baron reminded him, “It’s your birthday.”
“Since when did he start celebrating my birthday?” Worth took a sip of his drink then added, “And why is he making you ask me? Did he lose his phone or something?”
His brother watched him for a moment then said, “You know why he’s asking me.”
“Yeah! He’s too proud.” Worth sighed noisily. “Is it so hard for him to just acknowledge that what he did was wrong and apologize?”
Senior was so desperate to get Worth to work at RGC that he’d taken to sabotaging W Sport. About four months ago, he’d started a campaign to get Worth’s investors to pull out. Luckily, one of the investors clued Worth in on his father’s scheme and he’d been able to stop it before W Sport starting bleeding. When he’d confronted his father, Senior had shown zero remorse and acted like that was just how business worked. To top it off, he wanted Worth to apologize to him for not wanting to work RGC. Yeah! That wasn’t going to happen.
Worth had stopped calling the old man until he apologized. Unfortunately, Senior was the kind of man who thought saying ‘sorry’ was a sign of weakness. So now they were stuck at an impasse, and Baron and his mother were the unfortunate conduits who had to pass messages between them.
Baron shrugged. “You know him.”
“That I do.” Worth sat back in his seat. “I’m still not coming home over the weekend. There are less painful ways to spend my birthday.”
“Come on, stop being stubborn,” Baron coaxed. “I think the birthday lunch is his way of apologizing to you. Mom says he’s even hired an international chef.”
“No it’s not. It’s his way of blackmailing me into giving in first.” Worth guffawed. “I bet he’s telling everyone that he doesn’t really want the party and that it’s your mom who’s insisted on it. I bet he’s forced your mom to invite everyone including Great Aunt Rose so that if I don’t go, it looks like I’m a disrespectful asshole.”
Baron’s guilty look was answer enough.
Worth laughed. “And you expect me to show up?”
“Do it for the rest of us,” his brother coaxed. “You know how he’ll be like the whole day if you don’t show up.”
Worth thought over it. He was tempted to refuse his brother’s request but empathy stopped him. As much as he wasn’t the type to take his father’s shenanigan’s lying down, he felt bad for Baron. Instead of coming after Worth for skipping the lunch, Senior would blame Baron for failing to bring him in then take out his temper on everyone including the dog.
With a sigh, Worth surrendered. “Fine. But don’t expect me to be civil.”
“I stopped expecting you to be civil a long time ago,” his brother teased with a grin.
The brothers chatted and drank for quite a while before Baron inevitably brought up his pet-topic. “So when are you introducing me to the future Mrs. Worth Ransom.”
“There is no future Mrs. Worth Ransom.”
“Still?” Though Baron shook his head disapprovingly, there was an amused glint in his eyes as he asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t women like you?”
Worth laughed. “They think I’m an asshole.”
“You’re not that much of an asshole,” his brother teased, “and I think I know a few women who like you. Claire’s friends are always asking about you. You should let her set you up.”
“Maybe I will,” Worth offered evasively. On the inside, he wondered how his brother would react if he told him that Claire had already set him up with a gold-digger who was currently working as his assistant.
Worth guffawed internally. Baron probably wouldn’t believe him. Though their marriage wasn’t all roses and sunshine, Baron genuinely loved and trusted Claire. He thought she was just a little temperamental, not the evil witch Worth knew her to be.
Why hadn’t Worth told Baron about what his wife was up to? Because he didn’t want to be the cause of the two breaking up. He’d already caused enough trouble between the two.
Long before Baron had married Claire, he’d had a one-sided crush on her. Back then Claire wouldn’t even give him the time of day. She was more interested in Worth. She’d only settled on Baron after Worth had made it clear that he’d rather be flayed alive than marry he
r, or worse, be in a love-triangle with his own brother.
The situation had understandably caused strained relations between Baron and Worth. What man would be comfortable knowing that he was only second-best to his wife? It had taken time for the brothers to get back to being close and Worth wasn’t willing to ruin it just because of Claire’s little tricks. He could handle her on his own.
“Don’t forget to come,” Baron reminded him as they parted.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there,” Worth promised as he waved his brother off.
One glance at his watch told him that it was a few minutes past seven. Were it any other day, Worth would’ve gone home but for some reason he didn’t want to. Okay, fine! The reason was Sin. He hadn’t talked to or seen her the whole day and oddly enough that left him feeling incomplete. Was he addicted to her? No, not at all, he assured himself. He just wanted to make sure she wasn’t ruining his company while he was away.
Aware that most of his employees would’ve left work by now, he called the security guy.
“Marty,” he greeted the moment the man answered his call. “Is my assistant still there?”
“Yes, sir,” Marty said. “She hasn’t signed out yet.”
Worth smiled. “Good. Thanks.”
As soon as he ended the call, he waved for a cab. Once in there, he gave the driver the directions to W Sport.
CHAPTER 9
“When someone owes you money, we call it accounts receivable,” Emanuel pointed out knowledgeably.
“So that’s an asset too?” Sin asked, feigning an interest she didn’t actually feel.
“Yes.” Emanuel nodded. “Things like inventory, property, equipment are also assets because they can be used to produce more inventory or sold outright to make cash. A liability on the other hand is something you owe…”
On and on he droned about the basic principles of accounting. Meanwhile, Sin plotted. Now that Worth wasn’t in the office, it was the perfect time to access his financial records. And this ‘lesson’ was the perfect way. When she’d settled next to Emanuel for her lesson, she’d noted that a few files on his desktop looked like what she was looking for. Her flash-drive was ready. All she needed was some time alone to copy his files.
