Mister Diamond

by Chance Carter

  I began to bob up and down and my body burned. I wanted to make him gasp for air, wanted him to lose control of every faculty he had until there was nothing left but a thick pool of want. I added suction and slid down his pole, swirling my tongue along the underside.

  Nik’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. “Diamond...”

  My core throbbed and I went faster, relaxing my throat to take in more of him. I brought up my free hand and massaged his balls, eliciting a gasp and pleasurable moan. Nik was putty in my hands.

  I held his gaze and went deeper, deeper than I ever thought I’d be able to go. I felt him in my throat and swallowed. He gritted his teeth and ran his fingers through my hair, stroking me as much as holding on for dear life.

  I hollowed my cheeks and he groaned. I moaned in response, sending vibrations through his shaft, and Nik’s fingers tightened, pulling my hair from my scalp. It sent tingles of electricity down to the roots and I curled my toes. I needed more. I needed all of him. I wanted Nik to lose control, and I was getting so damn close.

  I bobbed faster, securing my hands on his hips. Nik’s breathing grew erratic.

  “Diamond,” he growled. “I’m going to cum.”

  I looked up at him. Challenging him. Nik’s forehead creased and he swore, squeezing his eyes shut. I could feel his cock grow in my mouth, pulsing. My jaw ached a little but I wasn’t going to let up. Not now, not until I got what I wanted.

  My eyes watered. I pulled out to the tip and sucked hard, then slid back down to the root. Nik started rocking against my face, mouth screwed up in bliss. I let him guide me, eager to taste his climax.

  Nik let out a sexy, strangled cry and flooded my mouth. I took him all in. I was balanced precariously on the edge of so many emotions—lust, love, guilt, happiness. I needed release too, but a different kind. Well, also the same kind.

  I licked Nik clean and rose to shakily to my feet. He lifted me into his arms and buried his mouth into the crook of my neck, humming against my pulse.

  “Gemma, I am so happy you’re here.” He started walking toward his bedroom.

  I chuckled lightly. “I could tell.”

  He stopped and looked down at me, nothing but sincerity in the bottomless depths of his chocolate eyes. “I mean it, Gemma. I was worried about you. About us.”

  Something panged in my chest. I didn’t know what to say so I just stared at him, and Nik continued to the bedroom. He deposited me gently on the bottom of the bed and I pulled him down beside me.

  “I’m sorry that I was so distant,” I said. “I needed a little time and space to finish figuring myself out. There was something I had to do.”

  “Shh,” he murmured, shaking his head. “We’re not done here yet.”

  “Just let me say this.” I met his eyes. “Please.”

  Nik gave a short nod and stroked his thumb over my cheek.

  I continued. “I’m also sorry for ruining your open house.”

  “None of that matters, Gemma. You’re here now.”

  “You were angry with me.”

  “And I shouldn’t have been. I’ve been angry about a lot of things recently.” His lips curved into a slight smile and my heart thudded to a stop. “I love you, Gemma.”

  Had I heard that correctly? Dominik Orlov loved me? I wanted to scream and run around and jump over things just for the hell of it. I wanted to burst into song.

  “I love you too,” I said. Warmth trickled down my bones.

  Nik smiled and kissed my neck, hand running over my stomach. “You know, I don’t think me telling you is enough.”

  “No?” I rasped.

  “No.” He nipped at the base of my throat and pulled back, looking down at me with a wolfish grin. “I think I’m going to have to show you.”

  “I think I would like that,” I managed to reply, even as my thighs turned to rubber.

  He smirked and rubbed a hand over the front of my panties. My jeans still hung at my ankles. “I think I would like that too.”

  I woke up in a pile of sunbeams with a big smile on my face.

  I had a long day of work and study ahead of me, made even longer by the fact that I’d never wanted to do anything less than get out of bed and Nik’s arms, but I felt better than I ever had. I was at peace.

  It was a strange sensation to settle into. I didn’t have any knives hanging overhead, any skeletons perched inside the closet waiting to tear me to shreds. No pain. No fear. Just lots of love and the knowledge that somehow, someway, everything was going to turn out okay.

  No, better than okay. Everything was going to be amazing.

  Nik grumbled something beside me as I untangled myself from his arms.

  “I’ve got to get to work,” I said, laughing.

  “Noooo,” he complained. “Work is for suckers.”

  “We both know you don’t believe that.”

  Nik released a great sigh and relinquished his hold on me. “We need a vacation.” He slid one dark eye open and watched me get dressed.

  “A vacation?” I asked, pulling on my shirt. “You mean from the job you don’t have?”

  “A vacation from not having a job. It’s exhausting.”

  “I bet.” I poked the foot dangling out from the blankets. “You’ve got that interview today, don’t forget. I’m excited for you.”

  Last night after making up for lost time, Nik and I had lain awake for hours talking to each other about everything from Nik’s job interviews to my parental confrontation to a weird pigeon I’d seen. We could have talked for hours more, but one of us had to get up in the morning.

  “Right.”

  He turned onto his side and bundled the blankets in his arms. His biceps flexed and caught in the light, and the prospect of leaving had never seemed less tempting.

  “I’m excited for me too. Come back to bed and I’ll show you how excited.”

  Heat flashed between my legs but I forced myself to keep getting dressed. “You’re insatiable.”

  “Only where you’re concerned.”

  “Bank that feeling for now and we can celebrate when you get the job.” I leaned down and kissed him, intending for it to be a quick brush on the lips. Nik surprised me by hauling me down against his chest. I squeaked in alarm but he laughed against my mouth.

  We parted and he ran his thumb over my lip. “I love you.”

  I stood on shaky legs. “I love you too. We’ll talk later.”

  I left, and spent the day cleaning in a dream world. My happiness made quick work of my tasks, and Rosa gave me an approving smile at the end of the day before I left.

  Everything was wonderful. Life could not be better.

  Or at least that was how I felt until I climbed the stairs to my apartment, only to find the front door sitting ajar. Then it all crashed down on me like a ton of bricks.

  Chapter 29

  Dominik

  Whether I got the job or not mattered more than ever, but it didn’t feel like it. As long as I had Gemma, I could live in a cardboard box with the stars as my blanket and I’d be okay. We’d developed an even deeper understanding of each other than ever before and I knew I could conquer whatever came my way.

  I took the long way to the Rocks head office for my interview, enjoying the summer air gliding across my skin and reveling in the way a city already so alive could come to life even more in the sunshine. Children played in the streets, people strolled down the avenues holding hands, and birds chattered as though the forest they lived in was made of wood and leaves, rather than steel and stone. On days like this the city seemed to breathe, and I could practically feel its heartbeat through the pavement.

  The Rocks office wasn’t in a traditional office building, but a brownstone in Park Slope that looked residential at first glance. I nearly missed it and had to backtrack a few paces before making my way to the front door. It was open, and just inside was a small reception space set up like a well-worn living room.

  “Good afternoon,” said a perky brunette with
thick-rimmed glasses and a gap-toothed smile. “How can I help you?”

  “I have a meeting with Natasha Santos,” I said. “I’m—“

  “Dominik Orlov!” she cut me off. “Of course! Please take a seat. Can I grab you a coffee? Tea?”

  I shook my head and she disappeared into the next room. I chose a worn red leather recliner that creaked when I sat, and looked around at the decorations. No generic prints here—each of the paintings hung around the room was an original concept for a design, but straddled the line between design and art. My eye lingered on a water color diamond above the brick fireplace. I wondered if it was a sign.

  A second later, the receptionist returned with a woman I took to be Natasha in tow. Natasha wore slim fitting jeans and a plain black t-shirt, and she could have been anywhere between twenty and thirty-five. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun atop her head, and she smiled at me like we were long lost friends from high school.

  “Dominik, so good to finally meet you.” She extended a hand and I shook it. “I hope you found the place okay.”

  “I’ll admit it wasn’t what I was expecting.”

  She chuckled. “We get that a lot. Come on through.”

  Natasha led me through a side door and into a large, open plan office. Mismatched desks huddled together around the room, and the same kind of decor as the reception space peppered the walls. A few people lingered in the kitchen space at the back of the room, chatting while they waited for a pot of coffee to brew. They whispered to each other when they saw me, but not in an unkind way.

  “My office is just upstairs,” she said, turning for the stairs.

  I followed, and a strange feeling settled in my gut. I felt at home here, even though I’d only just stepped inside the doors. I couldn’t tell whether it was the vibe of the building, or even just the cheery demeanor of those inside it, but something about Rocks felt right.

  Natasha led me into a small, plain looking room with a worn oak desk on one side and a standing desk on the other. Sketches littered the top of the tall desk, and I wondered if the paintings downstairs were all her work.

  “Take a seat,” she said, gesturing to a high-backed office chair across from her. She sat and opened her laptop, clicking through a few commands and then pushing it off center so it wasn’t in the way.

  “I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that we’re not the kind of glamorous business you’re used to,” Natasha said, almost apologetically.

  I chuckled. “The transport business is hardly glamorous.”

  “Still, we’re a small team. Dedicated, but small.”

  I smiled. “Not always a bad thing. I’m interested to learn more about what it is you guys do here.”

  Natasha’s eyes lit up and she turned the laptop to face me. “I’m glad you asked.”

  I’d done some research on the company, but I wanted to hear about it from the horse’s mouth. Natasha looked glad to enlighten me. She showed me their website, their blog, and the designs and concepts they’d been throwing around recently, all the while filling me in on what had prompted her and the other founder, Vicki to start their business.

  “Jewelry is one of those things that everybody gets as a gift now and then,” she said. “But even if there’s sentiment behind the pieces, they often don’t mean as much as they could. I can’t tell you how many boyfriends have given me a necklace, earrings, whatever, that I’ve then tossed in the back of my closet and forgotten all about. It’s been done, you know? The jewelry industry is all big business these days, and even the ones that try to achieve a down-to-earth feel don’t accomplish that.”

  She brought up a picture of a diamond necklace. Plain but pretty.

  “You want to know something about this necklace?” she said, pointing to it. “Everything from the diamond, to the gold, to the labor are fair trade. We keep comparatively low margins so that we can afford to pay the workers well but not overprice our goods. Each one is handmade with love by happy people, and on the back...” She flipped to the next image, a close-up of the back of the pendant. “We stamp it with something meaningful to the customer. Every piece we make is unique. This particular pendant is stamped with a Fleur de Lis.”

  She brought her hand to her chest and fingered the pendant there. The same one as in the photo, I realized.

  Natasha smiled. “My mom’s side of the family is French.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “That must take a lot of time, personalizing every piece.”

  “A little, but it’s worth it. It makes it personal to the person making it, too.”

  “You’re very passionate about this,” I noted.

  “I’m passionate about everything I do,” she answered. “What’s the point of doing it otherwise?”

  Someone knocked on the door and Natasha looked up. “Come in!”

  Another woman walked through the door, shorter and a little older. She had paint speckled hands and wore flowy linen trousers and a long white blouse.

  “Dominik, meet Vicki,” she said. “My business partner. And my mom.”

  “Lovely to meet you,” Vicki said, bowing her head rather than shaking my hand. She moved to the standing desk. “I hope you don’t mind if I take a few drawings and hit the road.”

  “Not at all,” Natasha replied. To me, by way of explanation, she said, “Mom doesn’t enjoy the business side of the business, and I’m starting to get in over my head. It’s why we’re hiring a CEO.”

  Vicki ducked out of the room quietly without another word.

  “Your mom did the paintings downstairs?” I asked.

  Natasha nodded. “She was my inspiration, really. She can be a bit of a shut-in at times but she’s an artist to the core. Every birthday and Christmas she gives me a new painting or drawing as a gift, and I wanted to find a way to take that same feeling of intimacy and transfer it to jewelry, so that everyone could have the chance to buy it for their loved ones.”

  “And you’ve done well.” I nodded approvingly.

  Natasha pulled a face. “Too well, I’m afraid. I feel like I’m on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and I forgot to put on a seatbelt. I need someone to take our success and tame it, make it sustainable.”

  The challenge interested me. The company was fledgling now, but I could see it reaching the utmost heights of success in the right hands. And I wanted those hands to be mine.

  Natasha and I talked for over an hour, and when I left it felt like we were old friends. She said she would speak to her mother about our meeting and consult with a couple other members of staff, but that she’d give me a call later on that day. All in all, however, I was feeling positive.

  I decided to capitalize on my good mood by doing something productive. Though there wasn’t a buyer for the penthouse yet, there would be soon, and I needed to find somewhere else to live. I settled onto my couch and opened my laptop, searching through pages and pages of real estate. This was a job I should have done a lot sooner, but I hadn’t been able to face it until now. I’d finally cracked through that barrier.

  Just as I started making a list of phone calls to make, my phone rang. It was Gary.

  “Hey Gary,” I answered.

  We hadn’t spoken since yesterday’s disastrous open house, but I could only imagine how pissed he was at me.

  “Perhaps I should start instigating fights at open houses more often,” he said. “There’s been an offer on your place.”

  “No shit.” I rubbed a hand over my chin, my five o’clock shadow scraping my palm.

  Faintly, I realized it could have been Fyodor, making good on his spiteful threat. Then I realized I didn’t care. I was beyond all that now. Whatever happened to my place from here on out wasn’t my business anymore. It had sold and that was that.

  We made plans to meet tomorrow to discuss the offer and I hung up, walking to the fridge to grab myself a beer. Just as the bottle hissed open, my phone rang again. I recognized the number as Natasha’s and my heart picked up a little.

  “Hello?
”

  “Dominik, hi. It’s Natasha from Rocks.”

  “Hello, Natasha. How are you?”

  “Fantastic!” she said, enthusiasm dripping through the phone. “I’ve talked to everyone else and we all agree. We’d love for you to take the open CEO position.”

  “That’s incredible news.” I smiled and the sting of the penthouse sale eased.

  “Can you come back into the office tomorrow to discuss the particulars?”

  Tomorrow was turning out to be a busy day.

  “Of course.” We arranged a time to meet and I hung up, taking a victorious swig of my beer.

  I had a job. Not a prestigious one, and one that would just as likely flop as it would fly, but one with potential. I was excited to dig my hands into it.

  I rang Gemma. Even though I knew she was studying tonight, I hoped I could persuade her to let me take her for a celebratory dinner. I’d only just seen her this morning but I was dying to see her again.

  The call went to voicemail and I frowned.

  Chapter 30

  Gemma

  I knew I should call the police. That’s the exact thing you’re supposed to do when you get home and realize that something’s amiss, that somebody has been inside who shouldn’t have been.

  Molly left for work after I did, and sometimes she forgot to lock the door but she always at least closed it. We didn’t have anything worth stealing so it didn’t seem to be a big deal, but I knew of at least one or two people who might show up to harass me. I didn’t enjoy the idea of walking into my apartment to find them waiting.

  But what if I called the police and they showed, only to find that my roommate had accidentally left the door open a crack? I would be mortified.

  Anyway, the adrenaline kicked in two seconds after discovering the crack and left me too wired to even think about doing anything other than investigating myself.

  I approached the door with caution and poked my head inside. The rank smell of wine tickled my nose and it didn’t take long for me to locate the source of the intrusion.