by Tia Siren
“What sort of reputation do I have?” I asked.
“That you’re a tiny bit”—she pinched her fingers together to exaggerate her point—“of a womanizer. A ladies’ man. A player, if you want to be gangster about it.”
I shrugged my shoulders because I couldn’t argue with that theory. “Never claimed to be a nice guy, so I’ll say that last part is true.”
“It’s true?” Joanna straightened up in her chair. “What am I doing here with you alone then? Is this all some sort of plan on your part to get me alone?”
You have no fucking idea. The thought of dragging Joanna up onto the table to kiss her madly and go crazy on her delicious-looking body ran through my blood hotly as I squirmed in my chair to hide the fact that I was rock hard imagining it. The wine was hitting Joanna in ways that I’d never seen before, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I could feel the edges of my own self-control starting to deteriorate. My inhibitions were lowering like Joanna’s with each sip of wine, but I couldn’t stop myself even if my life depended on it.
“I care about you,” I said. “I know how dangerous your situation can get. I didn’t want to think about you going home to that piece of shit just to show up at my office again with even more bruises.”
Joanna’s hands shot up to touch the dark marks around her neck. “It wasn’t always like this you know. It used to be good between him and me.”
“Let’s not bring it up right now,” I said. “Okay? Just let the idea of him go. I don’t understand why women think that men like Sid will ever change. It’s like you romanticize the idea of a bad boy with some real fucked-up demons in him.”
“All of us have demons,” she said. “Don’t you have some?”
“More than I’d like to admit,” I said with a painful grimace. “The point is that you have to let go of what you think people are and see them for what they actually are. You don’t deserve a guy who makes you feel like you aren’t worthy enough to be loved, because you are worthy. More than you think.”
Joanna didn’t say anything for a long time as she mulled over my words. Instead, we sipped wine together in silence before she suddenly looked up at me with blazing eyes. It wasn’t the intensity that startled me, but the lust I could see dancing clearly in her eyes. I felt myself harden even more as the air between us sparked with energy.
“You aren’t who I thought you were,” Joanna said, setting her wine glass down. “You claim to be this womanizer prick, but I don’t think you are. I think you hide behind that façade to protect yourself from what happened with your ex-wife.”
I tensed at the sharp accuracy of those words. I didn’t get a chance to recover, though, because Joanna slipped out of her seat to stand in front of me with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. She swayed a bit on her feet, so she used the kitchen table to steady herself for a moment.
“I know I won’t ever be able to fully repay you for what you’ve done for me, but I have an idea for repayment that you might like.” She leveled a surprisingly sober glance at me. “If you’re up for the challenge that is.”
Chapter 12
Joanna
What the fuck was I doing?
In a matter of hours, I had escaped an abusive boyfriend who was already trying to figure out where I had gone by calling my parents. I’d gone from living a life full of fear and anxiety to standing in front of Bastian Burke in his log mansion outside Park City.
My wine-muddled brain didn’t know how to comprehend the past few hours. Even the last few years of my life seemed like they were scribbled in a foreign language. I had no clue how the hell I had ended up in the situation I was currently in.
Yet staring down at Bastian with lust reflecting in his eyes, it felt natural to want this. I wanted to feel the strength of Bastian’s body against mine. I wanted those arms wrapped around my waist as he went at me with everything he had. I wanted to feel fucking good for the first time in years.
Standing in front of Bastian, I felt something stir deep within me. I didn’t care right there and then if I was playing with fire by trying to seduce my boss, my protector in so many ways. I wanted him. I had wanted him since the day he had hired me on the spot to be one of his assistants.
“What sort of challenge are you imposing on me?” Bastian asked, his voice a low and husky murmur.
I held out a hand for him to take. He grabbed ahold of my hand, and his strong fingers brushed along my palm. My stomach churned nervously as I pulled him up to his feet before leading him out of the kitchen. We walked along the hallway together, and I felt the tension radiating off Bastian in waves.
Once we reached the living room, I motioned for him to take a seat near the fireplace that was crackling happily. Bastian took a seat gingerly while his dark eyes studied my face intently for a clue as to what I was planning to do.
“Just sit back,” I said. “Relax. Enjoy.”
“This is crossing a lot of lines,” Bastian said in a warning voice. “Think about it, Joanna. I don’t know what you have planned here, but it might not be a smart idea right now with the two of us drinking.”
I paid little heed to his reasoning. For once, I wanted to do something impulsive that made me feel good. I didn’t care what Bastian said. I could see the partial bulge in his pants as he shifted in the chair again. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him.
“This is going to be my gift of thanks to you,” I replied, pretending to be braver than I actually felt. Inside, I was trembling like a leaf with nerves as Bastian’s eyes darkened even more. “You’ve done so much for me, and I know what I’m doing. I swear to you that I do, so let me just show you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
“Joanna—”
“Hush,” I whispered, reaching for the top button of my blouse. “You don’t have to a say a word, Bastian. Just watch.”
He clicked his mouth shut while his eyes flicked down to where my fingers were slowly working the buttons loose on my blouse. I swallowed the nerves lingering in the back of my throat as I felt the fabric part to reveal a glimpse of my belly and the valley of my breasts. Thankful that I had thought to wear something lacey, I slowly shrugged out of my blouse to let the fabric drop down to the floor near my feet.
Bastian swallowed thickly. His eyes roved over the exposed skin, and he gripped the arms of the chair in what appeared to be an attempt to keep himself still. A part of me wished he wouldn’t hold back while another part of me relished in having this type of control over someone. The bulge in his pants grew even more.
I reached down with trembling fingers to undo my belt buckle. The fabric of my jeans loosened around my waist. I undid the zipper next, and with some effort, I managed to sensually shrug out of the skintight fabric without making a fool out of myself. I turned slowly in a small circle to give Bastian an ample view of my ass. I could feel his eyes threatening to burn trails across my skin. I heard the intake of a sharp breath as well, an indication that so far, he liked it.
I can’t believe I’m doing this, stripping naked for Bastian Burke. My boss.
The thought made me giddy, but I had a feeling the wine had more to do with my lack of inhibitions than the effect Bastian had over me. I had imagined doing something like this for a very long time just to feel sexy and wanted from a man like him.
An ache throbbed between my legs as I reached back for my bra clasp and tossed the garment down to the floor. My nipples were hard, longing for Bastian’s touch. I turned slowly with my forearm covering myself while I looked over at Bastian, who sat rigidly in the chair next to the fire. A vein throbbed on Bastian’s forehead as he clenched his jaw. His eyes were focused on where my arm covered up my breasts.
I lifted my arm promptly. A groan escaped Bastian’s lips.
“Fuck,” he whispered, shaking his head at me. “What are you trying to do to me, Joanna?”
“Nothing that you wouldn’t enjoy,” I replied, and his eyes visibly widened at that. “Do you want me to stop?�
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“Fuck no,” came the hasty answer that made me smile. “I just don’t want you do something you are going to regret tomorrow.”
“What do you think I am going to regret?” I asked as seductively as possible.
I approached with small steps while I watched Bastian wrestle with his own emotions and thoughts. He pressed himself back into the chair when I stood directly in front of him.
“This entire thing,” Bastian choked out. “I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of you.”
“You saved my life,” I said simply. “I don’t think you have it in you to take advantage of anyone.”
“You’d be surprised by how fucked up I can be,” he said. “I’m honestly no better than your ex-boyfriend, Joanna. I know you think I’m not like him, but we could spend hours talking about the fucked-up things I’ve done to women over the years.”
I shook away that confession because of the haze of wine and lust penetrating through the very core of me. Reaching down, I grabbed ahold of Bastian’s hand that was clenching the end of the armrest. I pulled it up and forward to let his fingertips skim along my right breast and nipple. Heat shot through me at the sensation of his fingertips teasing my sensitive skin there. Bastian’s hand twitched violently in response to it.
Feeling even bolder, I reached down with my free hand to grab the hemline of my panties. I didn’t care how brash and stupid this was. But Bastian jerked back from me to grab ahold of my wrist and stop my hand.
“Joanna,” he whispered harshly. “Stop it, okay? You’re going to regret this tomorrow morning because you’re drunk. This isn’t how it’s going to go down between you and me.”
I tugged my hand away from his strong fingers. “I’m well aware of what I’m doing, Bastian. I’m not that drunk.”
Bastian sidestepped me to grab a blanket from the couch. He draped it across my shoulders with a troubled frown spreading across his face and then took a step back from me.
“You’ve never been like this before,” he said. “It’s not right. I know you’re too vulnerable from what has been going on with you. I can’t do that to you, okay?”
Tears filled my eyes much to my horror. I twisted sharply on my bare feet to gather my clothes from the floor and hold them tightly against my stomach. I knew he was right, even if a part of me didn’t want to admit it. I was rushing forward blindly to the first thing that made me feel good. It didn’t make it necessarily right, even though I was confident now that Bastian held the same attraction for me as I did for him.
“Hey,” Bastian said softly. “Don’t get upset, okay?”
“I’m not upset. I’m…” Embarrassed. Humiliated. Horrified. I sucked in a deep and calming breath despite how fuzzy my body felt to be standing naked next to Bastian. “I normally never do this sort of thing. I swear to you. I don’t know what is going on with me.”
“You’ve been through a lot. I know who you are, Joanna. You don’t ever have to worry about me questioning the type of woman you are.”
I laughed humorlessly at that. “What sort of woman am I?”
“You’re beautiful for starters.” My heart skipped to hear that coming from Bastian’s lips, but I didn’t dare turn around. I could feel him standing right behind me. “You’re very smart at whatever you set your mind to. You care about every single person you have in your life. It doesn’t matter who it is; you always try to make sure they are happy. I don’t know many people who are like that.”
“It’s called being a people pleaser,” I remarked, but a smile spread across my face. “It’s gotten me into trouble numerous times, but thank you for all that. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
I clutched the blanket around me tightly as I turned to look up at Bastian’s amused eyes. He cupped both of my cheeks tenderly before pressing a warm kiss to the top of my forehead. My stomach fluttered at the sweet gesture.
“I’m a man.” He chuckled deeply. “Do you think I was going to fight against a striptease? Get real now, Jo.”
I giggled even though a part of me felt titillated that he had given into temptation for a moment to look at my naked body. He had been aroused, too. Very aroused.
“Go upstairs,” Bastian said. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning. Okay? I have to make sure the fire is good to go throughout the night.”
“All right. Good night.”
“Sleep well.”
I left Bastian standing in front of the fireplace while I walked up the large staircase in the direction of the guest room. The air upstairs was a bit nippier than in the hot living room, but I imagined the temperature of my skin had nothing do with the fire. It had everything to do with Bastian.
I let the blanket drop from around my shoulders as soon as I was locked inside my room. Out of habit, I checked my phone for messages before setting it back down on the bedside table. No more reason to check. I didn’t have to worry about Sid wondering where I was or having to answer to him.
I pulled the sheets back on the bed to burrow deeply inside them after turning off all the lights. The ache in between my legs didn’t ease up. I half-listened to Bastian move about downstairs with a small bit of hope that he would come up to keep it going. Shaking that away, I reached down to feel the wetness between my thighs on my fingertips. I let my head sink back into the pillow while pleasure washed over me under the steady rhythm of my fingers. I imagined Bastian sitting in that chair next to the fireplace with shadows dancing across his face.
I trembled in the aftermath of my peak before I rolled back over to stare out at the wintery night through the small window across from the bed. I fell into a deep sleep before I could think about anything else.
Chapter 13
Bastian
My cell phone rang from near my bedside, waking me from a troubled and light sleep. A headache throbbed in my temples, and I reached out to grab the damn thing without even glancing at the caller ID.
“Who the fuck is calling me so early?” I growled into the phone. “This better be a damn emergency or a wrong number.”
“Who the hell says it’s so damn early?” Ashton asked.
I forced my eyes open with a grimace to look up at the ceiling of my bedroom while letting out a painful groan.
“What time is it?” I asked, rubbing at my eyes. “It’s not seven, right?”
“Try 9:23 a.m.,” Ashton said. “What the hell is going on, Bastian?”
Shit. I rolled over onto my stomach to look at the tiny alarm clock next to the bed. He was right about the time. I had slept in after spending the majority of the night tossing and turning in bed with images of Joanna’s naked body burning in my mind. I let my face sink into the pillow while the headache in my temples continued to throb.
My head wasn’t the only thing throbbing, either. I could feel my rock-hard and painful dick pressed up against the mattress. That had been the main reason I hadn’t been able to sleep all fucking night long. I had resisted going low enough to jerking off to a woman I did actually care about—especially a woman who had just escaped an abusive relationship. I didn’t have many morals when it came to sleeping with women, but when it came to Joanna’s situation, I didn’t want to cross the line. I wanted to give her the respect she deserved, and getting involved with me would only land her in further heartache.
“Nothing is going on,” I mumbled into the phone. “Can I call you later?”
“Not until you tell me what is going on. I’m at your office right now with the documents for the fashion company you were planning to buy. Remember?”
I swore into the pillow. “Roger was supposed to take care of that. I told him to rearrange my entire schedule this week.”
“Roger is not a good assistant. I don’t know why you bother keeping him around the office when he just mucks it up. Joanna was the one who did a good job. Speaking of that, I heard an interesting rumor this morning about the two of you.”
“Nothing is happening between us,” I said qu
ickly. Unfortunately. “I don’t know what you’ve been hearing, but nothing is happening between us.”
“I haven’t heard that there is anything going on between you two,” Ashton said. “A woman named Sabrina informed me that the office has been getting a lot of threatening phone calls from someone who wants to talk to Joanna. From what I gathered, she left the building yesterday morning and no one has seen her since.”
“Okay,” I said.
“I have a feeling that you know more than what you are letting on here, Bastian. You realize that people are talking about what is going on. There is a lot of talk at the moment about why you’re not in the office to handle a few accounts.”
“I’ll get to work on those accounts today from my house in Park City,” I said, irritation sweeping through me. “It’s a long story, Ashton. I don’t want to get into it out of respect for Joanna.”
“So you do know where she is then? Her friend here is contemplating a missing person report. Do you really want that type of press going on right now?”
“Fuck.”
I pushed myself up into a sitting position to glare across the bright room despite the cloud cover. There was a good couple feet of snow outside with more trickling down. I needed to get into the barn to get out the truck and snowplow to get the roads manageable again for Roger, who now had to come drop off more things for me.
“Joanna is with me.” I relented because I didn’t want Ashton prodding this even further. “Her ex, the one who is probably calling, has been roughing her up. I told her to come stay with me until things settle down.”
Ashton breathed into the phone. “Christ, man. No offense, but why are you involved in that type of situation?”
“Because Joanna walked into my office with marks all over her neck from when the bastard strangled her.” My fingers curled up into fists. “I need to make a phone call to my lawyer about all of the shit he’s pulling. Don’t speak of this to anyone else either, Ashton. I don’t want someone in the office spilling the beans to him when they answer the phone. It could get her hurt.”
