by Emily Bishop
“I don’t look at him in any way but professionally,” I protest. I believe my own words. I have no feelings for Booker Knight. Of course, he’s hot, but he’s an ass. I’m not attracted to people like that.
I’m attracted to people like Master. I think my head may explode.
“Yes, you do. You look at him like you’re starved and he’s the feast. You need to watch your behavior in this office, Sasha. My ass is on the line, too, if you screw up.”
Why is she being so mean to me? For all intents and purposes, and as far as she knows, I’ve done nothing wrong. She almost sounds like a jealous girlfriend, warning me off of her man.
Weird.
“I would never do anything to put you at risk, Lucy. You have to believe that. You were the one friend I had back home I wasn’t related to. I would never betray you. If I slip up in any way, I’ll make sure that it’s only a reflection of me and not you. You have to know that, right?”
Lucy lowers her guard, but not completely. “I just want you to watch your back, especially with the boss. Sasha, Booker is the kind of man who doesn’t get into relationships. He doesn’t get involved with anyone, ever. He’s famous for that. The man is all work and no play, a professional and nothing else. He isn’t capable of human feelings. That’s why he’s such a dick. He knows how to make money, and women complicate that. Don’t fall into a trap you can’t get out of.”
Her words slice right through me. I understand that she’s describing Booker Knight, but she has no idea who he really is. The man behind the mask is funny and kind and a little bit broken, just waiting to have his pieces put back together.
She acts like she knows him, but she has no idea. Not that I can tell her that.
“Thanks for the advice, but I don’t need it. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Booker Knight. I’m sure that whatever’s going on behind that door is none of our business. I should get back to work though.”
“OK. I’ll check in on you later.”
What is she, my mother? I fight back a stab of annoyance as I make my way back to my office, feeling small.
How am I going to survive this?
Chapter Sixteen
Booker
Goddamn stupid app.
I glare at my computer screen, then I glare at my closed office door. I know she’s behind it, somewhere. Out there.
Just waiting to see what my reaction will be.
What is my reaction? I barely know. I’m pissed, but I can’t quite pinpoint why. The truth is, this is entirely my fault. I let this go too far, and now both of us have to pay the price.
Whatever that may be.
I should have dropped my account well before the photo reveal. I should have tested the product and then bailed when it was obvious I was getting in too deep.
Idiot. Moron. Asshole. How could I have lost control of this situation? I never lose control.
Ever.
I glance down at my phone. Deleting the app was a good idea, but of all the worst things in the world, I miss her.
Goddammit. I miss someone who doesn’t even exist!
How do I know Sasha and Angel are one and the same? That Angel isn’t just some online persona Sasha uses to lure men in? The truth is that I don’t. I don’t know anything. I’m completely in the dark about what to do next, and I can’t fathom speaking to another human being until I figure out what the hell I’m going to do.
I try and focus on my work. I want to see if there was a way I could have prevented this—prevented our pictures from being revealed. I tap into the back-end and poke around, trying different glitches to halt the reveal.
A knock on my door disrupts my concentration. I don’t respond.
Another knock.
Is it her? Is she going to confront me? Am I ready for that? I don’t think I am. Maybe I should go on a long business trip to Europe for a month, then come back. By then, I’ll have fucked a few other women, gotten Angel out of my system, and Sasha and I can pretend none of this ever happened.
The thought of dismissing Angel like that has me pissed at myself again. What kind of man am I? I’m starting to sound like Kieran. At least the women I’ve been with have understood that emotions were not part of the deal. That isn’t the case with Angel… Sasha. She knows more about me now than anyone on Earth.
I shouldn’t have been so open. I should have been thinking with my head. Somehow, my dick and heart got involved, and now we’re tangled in this absolute disaster of a mess.
There’s a third knock, louder this time.
“For fuck’s sake, what?” I bellow at the closed door.
It opens, and Lucy peeks in. Her eyes are wide, her lips pressed together. Her shoulders are hunched.
She’s afraid of me.
Great. Now I have my staff openly fearing me in my own office. Perfect.
“What is it, Miss Shone?” I do my best to gentle my tone, but she still has her guard up.
“It’s well past lunch time, Mr. Knight. I wanted to see if you needed anything to eat.”
Considerate. I should have been nicer. Still, I can’t lift my mood as I stare at her. Am I hungry? Not for food. My stomach was twisted in knots all damn night, and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I came into the office and barricaded myself in.
“I appreciate you checking in, Miss Shone. No, I am fine. Thank you.”
She hesitates, which is unlike her. Usually Lucy accepts orders and moves on, like a good assistant. What is she up to today? Is everyone on a mission to drive me insane?
“Are you sure, sir? I think maybe a sandwich or some soup might be just the thing to lift your spirits.”
“Thank you, but no. Is there anything else?”
Her eyebrows narrow at my curt tone. Again, unusual. Since when has Lucy responded emotionally to any of my work demands? Has she always been this way, and I just never noticed until my own emotions decided to wake up?
Ugh.
“You have a few messages, and Kieran has called for you several times today.”
“I’ll bet he has,” I grumble.
“Sir?”
“You can bring in the messages. I’ll take a look at them.”
“Very good, sir,” she says, perking up a little. Lucy likes to be useful, I realize. Maybe I should utilize her more often. It certainly beats calling Sasha into my office, with her stunning hair and perfectly plump lips and that personality that’s managed to entangle my soul in a twisted and complicated jumble.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
Lucy saunters back in and bends over as she places my messages on my desk before me. I’m granted a brief view of her ample cleavage before she straightens back up and smiles down at me.
“I don’t know what’s happened, sir, but I’m sure everything will work out fine.”
“Why would you assume anything is wrong?” I ask.
Something’s changed about her. It feels as though she’s trying to tempt me, to seduce me, but I must be projecting. Now that I know who Angel really is, perhaps I’m seeing things that aren’t there. Perhaps I’m overly suspicious that all the women in this office have been somehow playing me this entire time.
Of course, that’s insane. But still. This feels weird.
“I don’t know. You never lock yourself away like this. Also you screamed at me just for knocking on the door to check on you.”
A little pout drops her lip, and I frown.
“I’m sorry for that. It was unprofessional, and it won’t happen again. You are right that I’m dealing with something, but it shouldn’t be reflected here or on anyone who works here. Forgive me.”
She lifts a dark eyebrow in surprise. Do I really not apologize that often? I feel like I do. That’s twice in one week that people have seemed surprised by this action. Perhaps I’m not as considerate as I give myself credit for.
Then again, considerate doesn’t tend to make one rich. Or does it? Can I allow myself to let human emotions exist in a world that has made me a very
wealthy man without them?
Too deep. Don’t want to think about it.
“I understand. The launch is coming up soon and it’s a stressful time. Just know that you’re a very smart, very successful man, Mr. Knight. This is going to be the greatest launch yet.”
Her smile is filled with encouragement, but I can’t bring myself to smile back at her. Let her think that my anger stems from work stress.
In a way, it kind of does.
“Thanks again. You can close the door on the way out, please.”
With that dismissal, she nods and does as I ask. The door closes with a quiet click, and I’m left in peace once again.
Well, whatever kind of peace this is. It’s more like a personal hell, isn’t it?
I sift through the messages on my desk. Most of them are shitty hints from Kieran, taunts and threats to hit on Angel. I’m going to kill him. What if Lucy caught wind of what this actually meant? The best thing I can do is protect us both by keeping this deeply under wraps.
I hate secrets. I hate hiding. Rage fills my chest as I realize what a huge mistake I’ve made. More anger piles on top of that when I realize that deep down, I don’t regret it. It was nice to open up to Angel, to feel connected to another human being.
Why couldn’t that human being have been anyone else?
I growl and pace around my office a few times to release pent up energy. After my heart rate slows, I take a seat and open up a project I haven’t started on yet. I can’t look at that stupid app another minute if I want to keep my sanity. There is plenty to do starting up the new project, so I bury myself in that work. The sun crosses the sky behind me. Eventually it sinks below the horizon, and I continue to work in the dark, the glow of the screen my only source of light. Only when my eyes start to cross with exhaustion do I decide to turn off the screen and call it a day.
It’s well after hours. I should be safe leaving now, anyway. I shut off my computer and stand. My arms reach into the air as muscles in my back creak from being inert for so long. I should have gotten up and taken breaks, but that would have meant taking a chance on letting my mind think.
I can’t afford to let that happen. Not if I want to keep myself from going nuts.
I pack up my work bag, fully prepared to busy my mind with this project all night if I need to. A busy mind is productive and keeps those nasty little thoughts at bay. When I open my door, I peek out first to check if the coast is clear. The hallway is dark, the cubes all empty.
Good sign.
I can’t help but glance over at Sasha’s office. It’s empty. In this moment, I feel like a complete coward. I’m hiding from a woman, and for what? Because I don’t want to face the fact that she knows I’m a human being and not some money-crazed robot?
I release a breath and close my door behind me. My footsteps are muted as I walk to the elevator. I hear it ding, and the doors open. Clearly, I’m not the only one working late.
Great.
I consider stopping. I could wait for the doors to close, then take the next ride down. I really don’t want to talk to anyone. Of course, I’m being an idiot, though. Just take the fucking elevator. It’s time to go home.
When I reach the elevator, the doors are still open. Inside, a woman turns and presses a button, then her gaze collides with mine.
Sasha.
Of course. Of fucking course.
We stare at one another. The doors start to close, and I wonder if she’s going to let them. She holds her hand out, and they fling back open. She moistens her lips and glances down, then back up at me.
“Mr. Knight… Booker… I didn’t know. You have to believe that I had no ill intentions when this all happened. I honestly just wanted to test the app, and then I started to have feelings for… for…”
I continue to watch her. She’s wearing a nice blouse and a skirt, though both are a little wrinkled from a day at work. Her hair is tied back in a tasteful bun. Her green eyes are wide and scared and vulnerable.
In her, I see Angel. It’s clear as day to me now. Still, I don’t move.
She stammers beneath my steely gaze.
“I… I want you to know how much this company means to me. I would never do anything to jeopardize what you’ve created, what you’ve built. I need you to understand…”
I’m barely able to focus on what she’s saying anymore. I step forward and cross the distance between us. I take her face between my palms, and I press my lips against hers.
They’re just as luscious as I imagined.
Her body goes tense at the unexpected contact, but she soon melts beneath my touch. She wraps her arms around my shoulders as I deepen the kiss. I nudge at her lips with my tongue and delve inside, exploring the sweet cavern of her mouth.
She moans against my lips, and I grasp her hair as I pull her closer, enveloping her with my body. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and I can’t get enough.
Sasha will be mine.
Chapter Seventeen
Sasha
My whole body is on fire as Booker kisses me. I’ve never been kissed like this before. I’ve been kissed, obviously, but it was always so chaste. So respectful.
This is pure carnal passion. I can’t get enough of him. I press my body against his as he claims my mouth as his own, and I’m happy to let him. I imagined his face so many times with Master, and now I know what it really feels like to touch him.
To feel his lips against mine.
I hear his bag drop to the ground. The elevator doors close and we sink a few feet. Booker releases me, and I am left bereft and empty for a moment. I’m dazed and filled with lust, my mind completely clouded over. I watch as though from outside my body as Booker presses the button to hold the elevator, and we come to a complete stop.
When he looks back at me, his lips twitch upward in a sexy grin.
“Looks like we have all the time in the world,” he breathes.
Without hesitation, he’s back by my side. He sweeps me into his arms and kisses me again, his lips soft and demanding all at once. I open myself to him. I’ve wanted to give myself to him so much that I can only relish this moment, this sensation.
Booker’s hand glides up and down my back before it slides to the front and cups my breast. I gasp against his lips, and he pulls back a fraction of an inch.
“What are you going to do to me?” I ask.
It’s so much different, asking it out loud. I’ve only ever done this kind of thing through a text. In real time, it feels so much dirtier.
In the best possible way.
Booker continues to stroke my breast through my blouse. There are far too many items of clothing between me and that hand. I want to bare myself to him. I want to be naked before him, just as I’ve imagined, and I want his fingers to do the work this time.
His tongue.
He leans close so that his lips brush against my ear.
“It’s a surprise,” he whispers.
I shiver as his fingers move to the buttons on my blouse. He undoes each one, then pulls my white shirt out from my pencil skirt. His hand slides along the bare skin of my stomach as he skims his fingertips up to my bra. His eyebrows narrow for a moment.
“Hmm, this isn’t the direction I feel like taking. Let’s go this way.”
His hand glides back down until it reaches the hem of my skirt. He locks eyes with me as he loops his thumbs beneath the fabric of my skirt, then tugs it down. It slides to the floor, leaving me in nothing but a pair of black silk underwear.
“Lie down,” he commands.
Just as Master would.
I don’t break eye contact as I slide back along one of the walls, then land on my bottom. Booker kneels down and grabs my hips. He pulls them closer to him, then glances at each of my knees before he spreads them. I open to him, my pussy hot beneath the smooth fabric of my underwear. His eyes are hungry as he stares at my hot molten center. He reaches for me with his thumb and runs it along my slit, and my panties go wet.
&nb
sp; “That’s a good girl,” he says. “Nice and wet. Just like I want you.”
He runs his thumb up and down, and my juices leak through my thin panties. When he reaches my clit, I jump and gasp, but he doesn’t stop. He slides his thumb masterfully along my tender flesh until my hips rock and arch toward him. My body is begging for more.
Booker reaches for my underwear then and tugs them all the way down to my skirt, still stuck at my ankles over my heels. With one smooth motion, Booker tugs them all away, and I am naked from the waist down before him.
He spreads my legs again and lies on his stomach as he runs his tongue along the inside of my thigh. I watch him. I watch every move he makes. I want to commit it to memory, so I always know what this kind of pleasure looks like. So I can access the memory in my dreams.
His head moves closer to my vaginal lips. When he gets there, he looks up at me and grins, then licks the tip of my clit. I jump, and he chuckles, then clamps his mouth on it and sucks in and out. I moan and my head tilts back against my will as he sucks. His index finger toys with my outer lips before he slides it to my tight opening.
He slips a fingertip inside me while he continues his sucking motion. It’s the most intense sensation I’ve ever felt. His finger moves in a little more before he pulls it out and circles my opening, spreading my lips. His tongue darts out and slides along my slit, and I cry out in ecstasy. He removes his finger and replaces it with his tongue. He slides it into me and licks his way back to my clit, where he once again continues that delicious sucking.
My legs shake. His tongue flicks against my bean, and I can’t contain myself. My entire body pulses in an orgasm as I cry out. Booker’s tongue doesn’t stop. Instead, he flattens it and increases the pressure, lapping at me as my sensitive body alights in flame.
“Booker, I… I… can’t!” I scream.
I’m beyond incoherent. His tongue is my lifeline, and I don’t want it to break. My legs continue to shake as he keeps working to get me toward that second orgasm. Just like he said he would. Master is ever the generous lover.
