“I’m perfectly capable,” I told him, and headed toward the entrance.
When I made it to the door, I turned to see Damien driving off and then froze with my hand clutching the handle. In my peripheral vision I saw a man getting out of a Range Rover.
Refusing to look Astor’s way, I pretended not to see him and pulled the door open, hurrying inside and letting the door close behind me. With my heart jack-hammering, I counted the seconds it would take for Astor to reach the building.
Hurrying into the elevator, I faced the foyer, reeling with what I had just been told. The man I’d been sleeping with had been sent to Cuba because he was dangerous.
Dear God, don’t let it be true.
Astor marched across the foyer to join me.
When our eyes locked, the doors shut. I held his gaze through the glass. Was I really staring at a man who’d murdered his father?
He stared back, bewildered by my state.
My glass tomb descended with a jolt.
When the elevator opened, I hurried into the basement, racing through its temperature controlled entrance. A burst of cold air hit me. I scurried toward my workstation, realizing the place was empty. Everyone had gone on their break, leaving me alone in here.
Perhaps Astor had been playing with a gun and it had gone off. I wondered what had caused the disruption that the police had been called for. All the scenarios were too terrible to contemplate.
I’d experienced so many different emotions since meeting Astor, but until now fear had not been one of them. Trepidation, yes, but not apprehension for what this man might be capable of. The bond between a son and his father affected a childhood in so many ways and this kind of devastation would have damaged him beyond repair.
Was it in his nature to kill? Had he killed anyone since?
Why him? While I was falling hard and fast and my heart broke for what he had to carry each day…guilt, self-hatred, a distrust of the world…all I ever felt from him was kindness.
My chest tightened when the elevator rose out of its glass structure and headed back up to the first floor. The mechanism stilled and then came the familiar twisting and rolling of cables that meant it was descending once more.
I focused on my workstation and dragged a notepad toward me, pretending to be busy. I turned to look in the direction of the elevator to convey a natural curiosity, not a terror-drenched panic.
Astor’s dark stare was on me as he waited for the doors to slide open. He stepped out and strolled toward me with his right hand casually tucked into his pocket. He glanced around at the empty workstations.
“Ms. Wren.” He closed the gap between us.
“Astor.” I licked my lips nervously.
“Everything okay?” He cupped my cheek with his palm. “You left before we had time to talk.”
“I’m fine.”
“Sure?”
I nodded, closing my eyes. I couldn’t get the terrible vision out of my head…Astor pointing a gun at his father.
The ping of the elevator as it began to ascend startled me and I opened my eyes.
Astor ran his thumb over my mouth.
“What did Damien want?”
“To talk.”
“About?”
I lowered my gaze.
“DAMIEN WANTS ME TO HURRY and sell the shop.”
“Nothing new there.”
“He’s going to buy a home on the water.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “They found a place.”
“In South Beach?”
“Yes, he’s in town for business. He might be checking into getting a job transfer. I forgot to ask.”
“What else did he say?”
“Something about a hurricane.”
“A category three has hit Jamaica. Did you see that?”
“Yes, it might head our way, right?”
He shrugged as though he didn’t care. “It could. I’m going to let the staff leave early.”
“That’s a good idea.” I gave him a kind look.
“Just visited the horses. With the weather turning I wanted to make sure they’ll be okay and my staff has everything they need.”
“Any news on the tourist from yesterday?”
“She’s going to be fine.”
“Thank goodness. And Ruben made it?”
“Back with his pod.”
“Great news all around, then.”
“I was so proud of you yesterday.”
“You were the real hero, Astor.”
He smiled. “If you ever want me to talk with Damien, I’ll tell him to back off.”
“I appreciate that.”
“He upset you.” Astor ran his fingers through my hair, grabbing a lock at my nape and forcing me toward him. He pressed his mouth to mine, forcing my lips open and ravaging my tongue, his moan of want reverberating through me.
This man’s affection felt like the brightest star shielding the truth, and despite everything he still set my body alight.
And yet there was a new threat looming…
I broke away. “Someone might see.”
“Don’t care.”
“I do.”
Astor intertwined his fingers with mine and led me toward the supply room. He opened the door and motioned for me to go on ahead.
Did he know that I’d found out about the incident at Bridgestone? Had I given myself away?
I walked in and headed all the way to the end of the small room, grateful we’d talk in private. My gaze swept over the neatly stacked supplies and then settled on the bottles of Orris bulb oils on the top shelf…those overly expensive flowers caught in liquid form before blooming.
I’d never know if one of them was once mine. That was the problem—I was clouded in doubt constantly and the strain was taking its toll. I needed relief from the stress and for some reason it was this man who always brought calmness my way.
Astor directed me to turn my back on him and place my hands on the shelf in front of me.
“Hold on,” he ordered.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Why?”
He leaned forward and buried his face in my hair, breathing me in. “All I could think of was getting back to you. You’re my sanctuary, Raquel.”
In a flurry of movement he hoisted the hem of my skirt above my hips and tucked it into my waistband, completely exposing my butt. Then he knelt behind me and tugged my panties down my thighs.
In a daze, I stepped out of them and watched him shove them into his pocket. “I better get those back.”
“It’s unlikely.”
Shuddering at his touch as his hand eased my hair over my shoulder, I refused to deny myself the pleasure he brought, wanting this intimacy more than my next breath. He’d awakened my adventurous side. Astor’s domination was arousing and formidable and all I could do was rock my hips back against his erection. He pressed his hardness into the arch of my lower spine.
A rush of adrenaline sent me reeling. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
Minutes ago, I could have made my getaway from this place. I could have gotten into that elevator and hurried out of the building. Yet I was so close to the truth I couldn’t back out now. Fighting my conscience, I tried to snap out of this trance of desire, this magnetic pull towards a man who could be my greatest enemy.
My greatest threat.
“Bend over.” He put his hands on my hips.
“No.”
He spanked my butt, sending a shock of desire through my body. The rush of pleasure from his touch sent a shiver of want up my spine as I leaned forward, reveling in this forbidden lust that had my skin tingling and my heart racing.
“Do you want my cock inside you?” he said darkly.
“Yes.” I clenched my teeth, frustrated at how fiercely I tried to resist him and always failed.
“Hold tight,” he warned. “I’m going to fuck you very hard.”
“I want this.”
“I know. I’m going to give you what you need.”
&nbs
p; I tightened my grip on the shelf, knowing he was right. Astor was always able to soothe me.
His hand came round and cupped me, his fingertip sliding along my clit. Ripples of pleasure made me gasp. I felt him part my folds and then his first thrust jolted me forward. I pushed back and braced myself to accommodate his enormity as he slid in deep and I tightened around him.
His pounding was immediate and demanding, his hands clutching my hips as he pummeled me possessively. His erection filled me completely, his balls striking hard and sending ripples of need through me.
This was pure fire and light…the meaning to everything I’d been searching for but had never found until now. It was both beautiful and cruel with its fragility.
He stilled and reached around again to play with my clit, flicking it so fast I had to close my eyes to endure the blinding pressure.
“Say you’re mine, Raquel.”
“I’m yours.” I squeezed him inside me insistently.
“Even if Damien falls to his knees and begs you to return, you are mine. Remember that.”
“Don’t.” I shook my head. “I want this to be about us.”
This was wild and daring and reckless, and yet my body felt alight with pulses of electricity. I had to grit my teeth to bare the euphoria of being fucked by him.
This is wrong.
But it felt so right as I welcomed each smack of his pelvis and each thrust of his cock, a hammering that went on and on. I didn’t want it to end.
He tried to pull all the way out, and my muscles seized him, causing him to sigh.
“This is our time,” he whispered. “I’m going to enjoy you.”
“Fuck me like you mean that.” I let go of the shelf and pressed my palm against his hand as it cupped me. “Show me how much you want me.”
He rammed himself inside me again, though this time harder, his hot breath on my neck, his fingers resuming their play on my clit, making it throb with pulses of bliss. These delicious sensations held me suspended in a rapturous state.
I want this to go on forever.
He pumped his hips savagely while I milked his cock, and suddenly my breath was snatched away by my climax.
“Let me come in your mouth,” he demanded as he pulled out.
I spun around and sank to my knees, staring up at him as I unbuttoned my blouse, silently counting the minutes we had left.
I yanked my bra down beneath my breasts, my fingers tweaking and caressing them as my gaze fell on his glistening shaft, being pumped vigorously by his strong hand as he directed the tip toward my lips.
Awed by his lust-fueled aggression and his spontaneous change from master to wanton man, I leaned over and suckled his balls, unable to resist tasting my own sweetness and savoring their plumpness as they tightened in my mouth.
“Jesus.” His gaze rose to the ceiling before returning to me once more.
I raised my chin and opened my mouth, ready for him.
“Pull your blouse wider,” he insisted.
Hurrying, I unbuttoned it further and eased the material apart so I was completely exposed, showing my beaded areolas. A gasp escaped my lips as he tapped my bottom lip with the head of his penis, and with precision sent a spurt of heat to the back of my throat.
I swallowed all of him, gulping his heat and licking the tip of his shaft as I raised my gaze to look at him.
Astor was panting like a man possessed, and then his mouth curled up in a ghost of a smile. “You’re a goddamned miracle, Raquel.” He reached low to wipe a trickle of cum from the corner of my mouth and ease it between my lips.
I lapped at his fingertip gratefully.
“Up,” he ordered, as he tucked his cock back into his pants and zipped them up.
Pushing myself to my feet, I stood facing him.
This man had again bewitched me completely and I’d lost track of time. “We need to go back,” I said huskily.
“Soon.” He knelt and then made sure my hem was securely tucked inside the front of my waistband. His face moved closer to my sex, and my clit tingled with anticipation. It was maddeningly erotic.
“Play with your tits,” he ordered.
I pinched my nipples until they were hard, and then kneaded my breasts.
He rested a hand on my leg. “Open your thighs wider.”
I obeyed, needing more lust-filled seconds promised by this man’s strokes and pats to my pussy.
Astor’s gaze held mine as he ran his tongue along my clit, up and down and around, slowly at first and then more fervently, sucking and lapping and brilliantly nudging me toward another orgasm. He reached up, easing my hands away from my breasts and taking hold of them, pinching and twisting my nipples so firmly it became hypnotically seductive. I forced my pelvis toward his face, reaching back to hold on to the shelving to steady myself. With my trembling thighs splayed to expose myself, my blouse open with my swollen breasts on show, I was gone completely, enraptured entirely by his relentless possession of me.
Astor continued devouring me, consuming me like this act of intimacy could save him, his twisting fingers pinching in rhythm and casting an incantation that held me over the precipice of nirvana for what felt like a lifetime.
My limbs were trembling violently from the strain of my pose and yet I remained in position, my focus mesmerized by the way he owned me, wanting to please him so that he’d not stop his brilliant mastery.
I shook violently through another climax, too euphoric to care that I must have looked like a wanton siren rocking my hips against his chin as his tongue lashed me.
Panting, my skin flushed from another orgasm, I watched him rise to his feet and find a paper towel. He dabbed me gently down there, patting me with such a sensuous touch that I feared it might send me over the edge again.
Astor smiled as he shoved the paper towel into his pocket. “I’m hiding the evidence.” He tucked his shirt into his pants and gave me a roguish smile.
I pulled my hem down and straightened my skirt, still trembling.
He stepped forward and cupped my cheek with his palm. “Report to my office in fifteen minutes.”
“Report?” I mirrored his words.
“Yes, I want to talk with you about our collaboration.” He leaned toward me and kissed my neck. “I’ll be leading the design but I want your help. There’s something special I want to show you, too. The formula I told you about that I’d like your input on.”
It was mine. He was talking about my formula.
He seemed to realize the change in his tone had affected me. “Raquel.” His thumb eased past my lips. “I need you passionate and ready to bring out your seductive side.”
“Is that what this was about?”
“It can’t hurt, right?” He looked dangerous in that moment.
Pressing my hand to my lips, I swooned at his devastating presence. Even after what Damien had told me, I was still spellbound whenever Astor came near me. This, this was a kind of madness that had taken possession of me.
He buttoned up my blouse. “I have your taste in my mouth and that means I take a part of you with me.”
“Astor,” I whispered.
“Is it enough?” He eased a strand of hair behind my ear.
“What do you mean?”
His fingers traced my lips. “Do you want to take a step toward something more?”
I lowered my gaze because there was still this undercurrent of mistrust between us.
“Think about it,” he said softly. “Let’s start with this perfume. Working on it together is a process we can both trust.”
“A collaboration born out of passion,” I agreed.
Yet I’ve already created it.
“I’ll see you in my office. Let’s get to work.”
I nodded, sensing our time together was running out.
Astor stepped away and opened the closet door, pausing for a beat then turning around to face me. “It’s safe to come out. They’re not back yet.”
“Just need a second.”
“Sure you’re okay?” He gave me a gentle smile.
“I’m inspired, Mr. Beauregard. I’m ready to wow you.”
His face was marred with confusion. “Raquel, if I admit that you and I—” He turned away for a second and then glanced back. “The last time my life felt this perfect…”
His words roused hope in me. “Before you went to live in Cuba?”
Astor’s brows shot up in surprise. “Yes, right before then,” he said softly.
“What happened?”
Don’t tell me…don’t break our spell.
He hesitated. “I made a decision back then…the wrong one. But it was also the only one.” He left, closing the door behind him.
I stared at the spot he’d been standing, my heart aching for him and for myself, too, because today could not be undone and words could not be unspoken.
I headed to the restroom and within minutes had freshened up and straightened my clothing. A comb through my hair and a dab of lipstick and I was ready to face the world again, though I felt a little awkward with no underwear on.
This day was beyond extraordinary and I needed time alone to process all I had learned. I also needed time to recover from these blinding orgasms. Astor knew he had the advantage when he rendered me weak like this…and for a second I wondered if that was the point.
I rode the elevator all the way to the executive floor. Stepping out onto the upper level, my gaze took in the luxury design of chrome and glass and the many doors leading off to what looked like private offices. A centrally located reception desk had Taylor sitting behind it.
She threw me a wave. “How’s it going?”
I closed the distance between us. “Good.” I glanced around for Astor’s office. “How are you?”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m fine. The boss is in a great mood, too, so you’re in luck.”
“Oh, brilliant.” That made me smile.
Following Taylor’s gaze, I looked behind me.
Astor was leaning against a doorjamb. “Thank you for coming up, Raquel.” He looked thoughtful. “I haven’t seen you since…”
I tilted my head, amused by his humor.
“I was just bringing her in to see you,” Taylor said.
When I stepped inside his office I was immediately impressed by the blue glass desk in the center of the room, a sleek-looking iMac resting on top of it. Photos of all the exquisitely designed Beauregard bottles created over the years lined the walls.
Perfume Girl Page 19
