by Amy Valenti
HOT, RICH AND DOMINANT
Amy Valenti
Copyright 2012 Amy Valenti
License Notes
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* * * *
New and naïve…
When Nell starts work for the Cassidy Corporation’s marketing team, she doesn’t expect to give offence to the CEO’s young, gorgeous and enigmatic son during her first day. Sure she’ll be fired by the end of the week, she instead finds herself pinned up against the stairwell wall two days later, with his lips on hers…
Confused, yet curious…
It seems there are two sides to tall, dark and delicious Marc Cassidy, and something in Nell is calling the dominant in him to the fore. He wants her for his own, and he’s not afraid to show her how he feels. Though she tries to resist the intense chemistry between them, neither of them is convinced by her half-hearted protests, and it’s not long until Nell is plunged into the heady, unfamiliar world of sexual submission. Can she obey his orders and figure out if what she feels is more than just pure desire, and maybe unravel the mystery that is Marc Cassidy in the process?
HOT, RICH AND DOMINANT
Amy Valenti
Chapter One
Lunch in the cafeteria on your first day anywhere is a rite of passage—and it seemed that extended as far as my first day at the Cassidy Corporation. It wasn’t quite as bad as high school, with its tables of jocks, nerds, cheerleaders and angry misfit kids, but it was close. Even though there were no defining visual characteristics to the seating arrangements, I was willing to bet people wouldn’t take kindly to being interrupted by a new graduate intern who didn’t know the status quo.
“Let me guess—you’re new.”
The voice at my elbow startled me, and I smiled self-consciously. “I have that ‘deer in headlights’ look, huh?”
Then I actually registered what the guy next to me looked like, and heat crept over my skin. He was the kind of guy you gaze at from afar and wonder how you’ll ever get him to notice you—darkly handsome, snappily dressed in a suit that was tailored just right, with eyes that were good-humoured rather than arrogant. One stray lock of dark hair had fallen into his eyes in a way that just made me want to brush it away and then kiss him senseless.
Whoa, girl. Get it together!
“Not so much ‘deer in headlights’ as ‘first-day nerves’. C’mon. Sit with me.”
More than a little charmed, I followed him over to one of the two-seater tables over by the window. The city view was breathtaking from here, and the cafeteria was only halfway up the skyscraper that housed the Cassidy Corporation.
As I set down my pre-packaged sandwich, apple and candy bar, the guy spoke, holding out his hand. “I’m Marc.”
I shook it, hoping it didn’t show that at his touch, electric sparks zinged their way from my hand to my nipples and between my legs. “Eleanor—you can call me Nell.”
“Good to meet you, Nell.” He gestured for me to take a seat, then sat opposite me with a warm smile that melted the knot of anxiety in my stomach and sent liquid pooling in my panties. “How are you finding CassidyCorp?”
A whole lot better now I’m talking to you…
“So far? A whirlwind of forms and introductions. I’ve met more people and signed more paperwork today than I ever have in my life.” I shrugged. “But I’m excited to start working. I’m the new grad intern.”
Recognition dawned on his face, and he raised an eyebrow. The effect was just too hot for words. “You’ll be working with Stella on the anti-vivisection marketing.”
I’d met the woman earlier today, and she’d seemed nice. Busy, but nice. “Yeah. Wow. Grapevine travels fast. I’ve only been here since nine this morning.”
Something close to a secretive smile tugged at his lips. “I have my ways of knowing things.”
Before I could ask more, he gestured for me to eat and changed the subject. “So… met the big boss yet?”
I tried to remember what I knew about Elliot Cassidy. Apart from the fact he was the CEO and a millionaire—if not a billionaire—I was coming up blank. He hadn’t had anything to do with the process of hiring me. “Mr. Cassidy? God, no. I shouldn’t think I will, either—he’ll be way too busy to pay attention to the likes of me. High-powered deals and keeping the company running, or whatever.”
Something in his expression told me Marc didn’t exactly agree with that statement. “More like playing mini-golf in his office. How about his son? Heard anything?”
“What, are you the office gossip or something?” I joked, unwrapping my sandwich. “I’m starting to figure out how you knew I’ve been hired.”
He just gave me an enigmatic smile and waited.
Oh, what the hell? I could use a friend around here, even a guy who seemed more interested in gossip than a little old lady. Since he didn’t seem all that fond of the higher-ups, I decided to score a few brownie points by identifying with him. “No, all I know about the younger Mr. Cassidy is that he works here, too. Probably so Daddy won’t cut off his trust fund, though, right? Clocking in and doing the bare minimum so he doesn’t get written out of the will…”
Something flashed in those intense, gorgeous eyes just for a second. “I’ve heard that opinion a few times,” Marc said evenly.
Unsure of what I’d just stirred up, I took a mouthful of my sandwich to buy myself some thinking time. Before I’d finished the mouthful, though, a girl with a datebook under her arm approached timidly. “Sir? Could I borrow you for a moment?”
With a nod that seemed a little irritated, Marc stood up. “Good to meet you, Eleanor. Hope the rest of your first day goes well.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, and watched him go with a soft sigh of mingled relief and disappointment. The guy was as changeable as a chameleon—good-natured one minute, wry the next, positively stormy not too long after that. And he was clearly pissed off with me—he’d called me Eleanor, not Nell, as I’d asked him to.
Maybe not relationship material, but God, just having him look at me turned my knees to jelly. Serious eye-candy. And now he was shrugging off his suit jacket and I was getting an eyeful of his deliciously shaped ass…
Stop staring.
“So! What were you and Mr. C, Junior talking about?” My co-worker, Stella, slid into the seat Marc had vacated and batted her eyelashes. “He’s dreamy, isn’t he? But oh-so-unattainable for the likes of you and me…”
* * * *
Dear Diary,
You know that awkward moment when you realise you’ve bitching about the boss’ son to a guy you never dreamed could BE the boss’ son? This intelligent, gorgeous guy with a smile that could melt an iceberg and a bank balance even bigger than the bulge in his just-tight-enough-to-count pants…?
Yeah. Figures no one else has made a faux pas that big on their first day at the job they’ve been dying for. ‘Oops’ just doesn’t seem to cover it.
Fuck my life, Diary. I’ll be fired by the end of the week, I just know it.
Chapter Two
I spent the next two days convinced I was going to face disciplinary action of some sort. Marc Cassidy hadn’t seemed like the type to bear a grudge at first glance, but I’d definitely offended him with my insinuation that he just loafed around trying to look busy.
Part of me wanted to apologise, but part of me just didn’t want to waste any more of his time. I mean,
what was the CEO’s son doing in the employee lunchroom, anyway? Shouldn’t he be going to exclusive restaurants on his lunch hour, or dining in the comfort of his own office? And why hadn’t he been surrounded by flunkies ready to carry out his every wish?
I’ll carry out his every wish, the slutty part of my brain quipped, and I squirmed in my seat, sighing and minimising the document I’d been not-reading for the past half an hour.
“Mind if I take my lunch break, Stella?”
“Go ahead, hon.”
I escaped out into the cool corridor, and decided to head for the cafeteria while it was still quiet. I doubted I’d run into Marc Cassidy there, but part of me really wished I could just drool at him from afar one more time. I took the stairs rather than the elevator, climbing them two at a time… and almost barrelled into someone who was just entering the stairwell as I was about to leave.
“Oh, God, sorry!”
Warm hands steadied me, and I looked up into the face of the man I couldn’t stop fantasising about. “Eleanor.”
Shit.
My pulse began to pound as I stared up at him. “Mr. Cassidy.”
He’d been hot from a socially acceptable distance, but now he was almost close enough to kiss, and I was a mess of flustered desire. I tried desperately not to show it, but he must have seen something in my face, because I could have sworn that just for a second, something in him responded in kind.
Marc blinked, and the moment was gone. A corner of his lips twitched with amusement. “I see you found your own grapevine sources.”
“I…” What should I say? Should I apologise for making assumptions about him? Excuse myself and run away?
He released his grip on my shoulders and twitched his eyebrow again. “Something to say?”
Defensively, I stepped back. Despite my first assumptions about him, something in his voice was checking the box in the ‘arrogant alpha male’ column right now, and I wasn’t quite sure how to react. He seemed like an entirely different guy to the one I’d encountered in the cafeteria two days ago. “No.”
He stepped forward, closing the distance between us again, and instinct made me step back some more. My back hit the wall sooner than I’d expected, jarring the breath out of me—or was that the fact he didn’t stop, the heat of his body pressing into mine in sharp contrast to the cool, smooth wall behind me?
That irresistible lock of hair fell into his eyes again, and I clenched my fists to resist the urge to tuck it back into place. He sensed me tensing up further and studied me intently.
“Are you scared of me, Eleanor?”
“No.” A stubborn streak flared to life within me, and I could see it surprised him—almost as much as it amused him. The guy I’d first met in the cafeteria was back, and I gazed up at him, hopelessly confused and turned on.
Focus!
“I want to know where you get off, quizzing me about how I felt about you and your dad when I’d only worked here a couple of hours.” I scowled up at him as his eyes darkened again, just a little. “That was manipulative, posing as a fellow employee when you’re clearly not.”
“I’m an employee. On the payroll and everything.” The muscles in his jaw tightened in a challenge.
“You know what I mean!” Damn it, I couldn’t let his body heat and his masculine scent and gorgeous face get to me. No matter how much he was sending my mind into a total tailspin.
“Where do I get off?” he asked, referring to my earlier question. The emphasis on ‘get off’ was clear enough that I knew he wasn’t taking it in the sense I’d meant it. It was all I could do not to moan aloud. “Anywhere I like. I’m the CEO’s son, remember? I can do what I like as long as I clock in and make sure my daddy doesn’t cut off my trust fund.”
I closed my eyes, humiliated. “I was making a general assumption. I’d never met you, remember? You just didn’t seem too impressed with Mr. Cassidy—your dad, I mean—and I just wanted to make a friend on my first day.”
Marc laughed softly, close to my ear, and this time I almost did moan as tiny vibrations skittered over my skin. “You made more than a friend.”
I opened my eyes to stare up at him, and my breath caught. He was gazing at my lips in that way guys do when they’re thinking only of…
Oh, God.
He kissed me, firmly and confidently, without hesitation. My entire body thrilled, and before I could stop myself I was kissing him back, my arms around his neck, his hard body pressing me back against the wall—emphasis on hard. He ground his growing erection against my clit, and I gasped against his lips, allowing his tongue access to my mouth. He cupped one of my breasts in his palm, squeezed, then rubbed his devious fingers over the raised bump of my nipple.
A floor below us, a door banged and voices echoed through the stairwell. Marc broke off with a whispered curse, and I tried not to sag to the floor as my limbs trembled.
“Come with me.”
Giving me no chance to protest, he grabbed my hand and tugged me through the door into the corridor, then down it to the elevator. I wondered if he made a habit of dragging dishevelled employees through the building, while making no attempt to disguise his hard-on.
Luckily for both of us, the hallway was deserted. I wouldn’t be getting a reputation as the office slut quite yet, then.
He tugged me into the elevator and hit a button. As the car began to move upwards, I tried to catch my breath.
Marc smiled—a slow, sexy smile I hadn’t seen before. “You’re hot when you’re flustered.”
Suddenly angry, I scowled at him. “Where do you…?” Shit. Almost said ‘get off’ again. I changed tack, but not before he realised what I’d been about to say. “You can’t just decide to drag me up to your office on my lunch hour, for…”
“For what, Eleanor?” he asked as I faltered. Something darkly predatory crept into his expression again, and it drove me wild. I looked away, but it was too late. He’d seen me melt under that hot, dominant gaze. “Are you insinuating that I’d take advantage of my position to coerce you into sex you didn’t want? Maybe threaten to fire you if you refused me?”
I wanted to accuse him of doing exactly that, but the pulse beating strongly between my thighs gave me pause. There was no way I could deny what I felt for him. I hardly knew the guy, but he did things to me that no man ever had, and I wanted more. Much more.
“If I was the dick you think I am, I’d have carried on kissing you no matter who walked past. People expect it of me, being the boss’ son, but your reputation would have suffered. I don’t want that.”
Before I could ask why he cared, the elevator arrived at the fifteenth floor. He walked out without looking at me, but whether he wanted me to follow or not, I was too hooked on him to go back downstairs now.
I headed down the thickly-carpeted hallway after him, turning the corner moments after he did and walking just a step in his wake. He didn’t look back, but something in his posture relaxed. Relief?
I couldn’t figure this guy out. What did he want from me?
Chapter Three
I followed Marc past an unmanned reception desk in a small waiting area and into a large, lavish office. While I stared around me at the gorgeous black and white décor, he dropped into the chair behind the huge desk. “Close the door.”
His abrupt tone pissed me off, even as I complied. “Yes, Sir,” I said sarcastically, leaning back against it once it clicked shut.
Marc’s head jerked up as he stared at me, and then that devastatingly sexy smile was back. “Oh, I like how you say that. Say it again.”
I gritted my teeth and said nothing.
“You’ll need training,” he said quietly, as if to himself. Then, louder, “Come and sit down, Eleanor, or I swear to God I’ll have to push you back against that door and fuck you so hard my secretary will hear you scream my name. And she’s in Paris on her honeymoon this week.”
Part of me was desperate to stay where I was, to test how serious he was. One look into his eyes
told me the truth—he’d do it, and enjoy it. And oh, God, so would I.
“Why are you treating me this way?” I demanded, to cover up my confusion and desire. Anger seemed safest, so I stuck with it, stalking over to the desk and staying there, with the obstacle between us. “I’m not company property for you to play with. I’m here to do a job, and no, I don’t mean a blow job.”
Did I really just say that?
He stood up, placing both hands on the desk and leaning forward, and gave me that overly confident, heated stare again. “Sit down.”
I couldn’t help but notice he was fully hard, the ridge in his pants unmistakable. I didn’t realise I’d licked my lips until the edge of humour crept into his voice. “Sure about that blow job?”
“Fuck you!”
I turned towards the door, intent on trying to get out of there, but he moved quicker than I did, grabbing my wrist to tug me back into his arms. His cock pressed against my abdomen, its firmness a testament to his arousal.
“I would very much like to fuck you. You have no idea. But I won’t.”
Disappointment sank into my stomach, and I glared up at him. I’d be damned if I let him see it. “Then why all this?”
Marc pulled me tighter against him, his lips inches from mine. “Oh, I wasn’t finished. I was going to say, ‘I won’t fuck you until you’re begging me for it’.”
Please, please, please, please, please…
“I don’t beg.”
He nuzzled my neck, and before I could control myself I’d tilted my head in tacit permission, desperate for contact. He brushed his lips against the sensitive spot just below my ear, sighing as if I were the most tempting, delectable thing he’d ever encountered.
“I could mark you here. Leave hickeys all over this gorgeous skin and make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”
His? My heart fluttered at the thought.
