by Emily Bishop
“Enough,” he commanded.
His lips crashed onto mine, and his kisses were molten hot and urgent. His muscles bunched under my hands as he reached for something. The condom.
We came up for air so he could sheath himself. The sound of foil being ripped open filled the steamy room that was his shower. Turning me around gently once he was done, he lifted my hands until my palms met with the now warm tiles. Barrett reached around me, stroking my breasts as he nudged my legs open with his.
“You’ve been teasing me all damn night,” he groaned into my ear, his cock pressing at my entrance. “You take me closer to the edge than anyone ever has, you’re not afraid to take control, and you don’t just want me to fuck you. You drive me fucking crazy, so this is going to be hard and fast, okay?”
I nodded.
“Words, Demi.” He licked the shell of my ear, making me moan and push against him. “Not until you tell me you’re good with it.”
“Hard and fast,” I repeated dutifully after him.
With his lips pressed to my neck, he leaned me forward on the tiles and thrust into me powerfully. Waiting only a second for me to adjust to the delicious stretching sensation caused by him filling every inch of me, he started moving.
Barrett’s glorious cock stroked me at just the right rhythm, plunging deep inside me before pulling out and slamming into me again. He fucked me hard and fast, just like he’d promised. My entire body shook every time his cock pounded into me, and my ragged breaths were punctuated with short moans of pleasure.
My hands steadied myself against the shower wall, and I pushed my ass farther out to give him better access. His hips continued to rock into me, and his body leaned over mine. Barrett reached around my body to caress my breasts as he fucked me. Every single nerve ending inside me lit up like Christmas lights.
Soon, our moans mingled in the hot air, interspersed with the sound of wet skin on wet skin. He let go of my breasts and gripped my hips. His thick fingers sunk into my flesh as he held on tightly to get better leverage. His cock hammered into me, harder and faster. Every stroke plunged into the deepest parts of me, coaxing every ounce of pleasure from me that he could.
One of his hands left my hip and tangled into my hair at the nape of my neck. He gripped me by the roots, pulling my head back while he pounded into me. Barrett was in total control of my body, and I loved the way it felt for him to dominate me. It was manly and sexy, like no other man before him.
It didn’t take long before the slide of him inside me, his breathing rapid in my ear, and the feel of his hard body bracing against me had me screaming Barrett’s name as I came undone around him. My muscles clenched, and bright white light exploded behind my eyelids as pleasure flooded from my core, leaving me gasping when I felt him tense behind me.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” His groans tumbled into a single word before he dug his fingers like a vice into my hipbones and released deep inside me with my name on his lips.
He collapsed over me, his arms wrapping around my body as we both shuddered with pleasure.
“Good god, woman,” he breathed into my ear while our hearts slowed and the water washed away the evidence of our passionate lovemaking. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
I panted, trying to catch my breath. “You survived tonight, didn’t you?”
Barrett smiled against my neck. “Oh, I’m not nearly done with you, baby.”
“You have the stamina of a racehorse,” I told him, turning in the circle of his arms to plant a kiss on his dirty mouth.
“A prized stallion.” He smirked. “You’re not complaining, are you?”
“Never,” I promised him, following him naked and wet to his bedroom, without so much as one self-conscious thought about it.
We tumbled into bed together, our bodies tangled up in one another like we needed to be physically connected as much as possible. It didn’t take long for him to plunge inside me again for another, slower round of lovemaking.
Hours later, we lay sated and spent on his bed, a gigantic, dark, wooden four-poster big enough to host a family barbecue. My bones felt like they were made of Jell-O, and my eyes grew heavier by the second.
“I’d better get an Uber,” I said. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to stay awake.”
Barrett rolled onto his side, his features illuminated only by the full moon hanging like a Christmas ornament over the ocean beyond his window. “Why don’t you just stay the night?”
He reached out to brush my cheeks with his fingers. My skin grew hot under his touch. Without even thinking about it, I leaned in to him.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” he said. “This time, I’m not letting you run out on me.”
“I’m sorry about that. I was a little afraid last time. It had been a while since I’d been with anyone, and you were my new boss...” I trailed off, struggling to find the words for the rest of my admission that wouldn’t go all the way to the root of why I’d freaked out.
“I figured,” he said, his fingers lacing with mine. “Promise me you’ll stay this time, though.”
I paused, took a deep breath, then muttered, “Okay.”
“Good,” Barrett whispered. When he rolled onto his back, he took me with him, positioning me so that my head rested on his chest, right over his heart. “Sleep tight, baby.”
My heart did a little happy dance. I breathed in the lemony scent on his skin, left behind by the shower gel, mixed with sex and a musk all of his own. I loved it. As my breathing slowed and sleep threatened to drag me under, I realized that it was because I loved him.
Somewhere along the line, I had fallen utterly and completely in love with the man. The thought thrilled me as much as it terrified me.
Chapter 19
Barrett
“Hear me out before you knock me out,” Adam said as he burst into my office the following Monday morning.
I glared at him, already feeling the relaxation from spending the weekend with Demi seeping out of my body. “Whatever it is, the answer is no if that’s how you start.”
“Okay, fine,” he said, his tone light and joking. “Good morning, Barrett. How was your weekend?”
“That’s not what I meant, asshole.”
I dragged a hand through my hair and finally tore my eyes from the latest sales figures on my computer screen. As I was expecting, there was a mischievous but determined gleam in his eyes. I knew it well. It was the one that always accompanied particularly crazy or bad ideas.
Usually, I loved that look. I was the first to say, “That sounds like a terrible idea. What time and where?” But this time, I had a bad feeling in my gut about it.
“Spit it out, Adam.”
“Well, you know how we’ve been talking about shaking things up a little?” Adam asked, clearing his throat. The distance he kept between us, instead of sinking into my visitor’s chair or couch like he always did, was my second clue that I wasn’t going to like whatever plan he was cooking up.
“We did that when we hired Demi to be the new face of the company,” I told him, my eyes narrowing at him.
“That’s exactly it,” Adam said, carefully surveying my expression. “We’ve hired her. But she hasn’t done anything significantly out of Stefan’s comfort zone yet. I came up with a plan for Demi and Stefan that will boost our sales through the roof.”
My fists clenched on my desk as I braced myself for the uncomfortable conversation that was sure to be coming soon. “Yeah? What is it?”
“A sexy photo shoot with Demi naked on the cover,” Adam said quickly, then grinned proudly. “There wouldn’t be a single copy of the magazine not sold.”
I answered without hesitation, shooting him down with zero need to think about it. “We’re not doing that.”
“Come on, Hart,” Adam argued. “It’ll be a great boost for us.”
“Our sales are doing fine,” I insisted firmly. “We don’t need a boost right now.”<
br />
Demi wasn’t going to be naked on anything but me, even if I wasn’t going to admit that to Adam. I knew exactly how foolish it would sound in an industry that prided itself on pushing the envelope.
Hell, I’d built the company on that very concept but I wasn’t buying into it. Not with this.
“Aren’t you one who always says we should take every leg up we can get?” Adam asked, his eyes narrowing as he gave me a suspicious once over.
“Yes, but it’s not the right time for this one,” I argued. “Demi has just started out. We don’t need something drastic with her yet. Why do it?”
“Knock knock,” Demi called softly from the doorway. “How is it that your assistant never stops me from interrupting meetings between you two?”
“Because they’re not meetings,” I told her, waving her inside. “Adam’s just talking shit.”
Adam spun around on the couch to face her. “I wasn’t talking shit. I was pitching a brilliant idea to boost our sales, and Hart over here doesn’t think you have the lady balls to do it.”
“That’s not what I said in the slightest.” My fingernails dug into my palms from how tightly my fists were clenched, and my teeth grinded against one another. “Fuck you, Adam.”
“Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly what he said,” Adam conceded under my withering glare. “But I still think it’s a great idea, and he won’t even consider it.”
Demi’s expression became curious, her eyes alternating between mine and Adam’s as her hands went to her hips. “Out with it then. What’s going on here?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about ways to boost our sales and—”
“Adam,” I warned him.
“No, I want to hear what this idea is. I’m assuming it has something to do with me, so I think I should at least get to hear what it’s all about.” Demi’s brilliant eyes met mine as we locked in a silent battle of wills.
“Fine,” I snapped. “You’re going to hate his idea anyway.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” she answered calmly, turning her eyes back to Adam. “Let me have it.”
“A sexy photo shoot with you naked on the cover,” Adam declared as if he were giving her the winning lottery numbers.
I watched Demi carefully, gauging her reaction as best as I could without sweeping her into my arms and looking deep into her expressive eyes. Her skin paled, and her hands twitched slightly when she was hit with the force of what he was suggesting.
“See what I mean?” I smirked at Adam. “She hates it.”
“I don’t hate it,” Demi objected. “I… uh… I’m just surprised, I guess.”
“It’ll be done artfully,” Adam said, using her shock as the opportunity that he needed to convince her. “It won’t be like porn or anything. We’ll get Stefan to send you all the proofs, and you can have a say in the final product.”
“No,” I interjected. “She doesn’t need a say in anything because it’s not happening.”
Adam opened his mouth, presumably to continue trying to convince her but he snapped it shut as soon as he saw my thunderous expression. I wasn’t taking any more of his shit on this, and it was spelled out very clearly in the look I was giving him.
“Why?” Demi asked in a slightly shaky voice.
“It’s not a good idea for the face of the agency, especially not the brand-new face of the agency. So, no, we’re not doing it.” My tone brooked no argument, and both Demi and Adam could tell.
“I’ll just leave you guys to it, then.” Adam sighed, shoving his hands through his blond hair and giving me another look before shutting the office door with a loud click behind him.
Demi moved toward me like we were opposite poles of a magnet without a choice in the matter. Her small hands rested on my chest as those cobalt eyes burned into me. Not bothering to hold myself back, I leaned down and kissed her possessively. Marking every nook and cranny of her mouth as mine because in that moment, for the first time in my life, I desperately wanted a woman to be.
She tasted heavenly, like mint and chocolate and mine.
Damnit, why can’t I get that damned word, that feeling, out of my mind? The kiss broke when a frustrated growl reverberated from my chest. I ripped my body away from hers, shoved my hands into my hair, and walked over to the window, turning my back on her.
“Hey, what’s going on, Barrett?” Demi’s scent drifted to my nostrils as her thin arms came around my waist. Her breasts pressed into my back as she leaned her cheek between my shoulder blades.
“Nothing,” I told her, bringing my hands to where hers were hooked together over my stomach, stroking the soft skin there.
“Isn’t it usually the woman who says nothing when there’s clearly something wrong?” she asked, her tone light but I heard the underlying worry.
My shoulders relaxed, both from the feel of her against me and the fact that she just seemed to have that effect on me when I was riled up. “I guess. I just, I really don’t think you should even consider doing this shoot.”
“Why, because you don’t want other people to see me naked?” she teased softly, tightening her arms around my waist.
“No,” I lied. “I just want to keep the images associated with the face of my agency classy.”
“So, nudes aren’t classy?” Demi asked, pressing kisses onto my back.
My skin burned where her lips pressed down, even though there were at least three layers of clothing between my back and her lips.
“They can be, I guess,” I admitted. “But it’s a fine line, Demi, one I don’t want you or this agency to fall foul of.” It was as much as I was ready to admit out loud. Besides, I’d told her that I was refusing that she do the shoot in order to protect her, too, not just the agency.
“So, it has nothing to do with you being uncomfortable with my being naked for millions of people to see?” Her voice betrayed a knowledge that there was more to it than I was letting on.
“Nope, but it won’t be good for your career if that’s what you’re associated with—”
She cut me off by sliding around me so that her back was against the window as she peered up at me with a shy little smile.
“If you don’t want me to do it, then I won’t do it, Barrett,” she told me, her eyes churning with a passion so alive that it threatened to swallow me whole. “That’s all there is to it. You only have to say so.”
“Fine, then I’m saying so,” I mumbled, transfixed by her.
“It’s a done deal, then. I won’t do it.” She smiled. “See? It can be easy if you just communicate with me.”
I sighed but I couldn’t help returning her smile as my hands went to her hips and I drew her roughly against me. “Have I told you lately that you’re really something different, Demi Fowler?”
“You know.” She pressed a finger to her mouth and pretended to think. “It’s been a while, actually.”
“In that case, you’re really something different, Demi Fowler,” I said, then claimed her mouth again as one word repeated like a mantra in my mind.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
For the rest of the day, I was plagued by thoughts of her. The shy little smile on her lips, the way they felt when they pressed against mine, and her perfect little sighs. The way she sounded, screaming my name as she came. It was more than sex, though.
I replayed every moment we’d ever had together. The way she’d turned me down originally, the quiet strength when she came over to the booth the next day and asked flat out if the job was still available, her laughter as I’d regaled her with the Adventures of Barrett and Nancie. On and on it went.
By the time I went to bed that night, I strongly suspected that I might have fallen for her. Hard.
Chapter 20
Demi
“Come on, Mom. I promise you I will have my phone glued to my hand, and I will call you with updates every hour.”
The machines from the intensive care unit of the hospital my dad had been admitted to beeped dully out in the hall
way where I was trying to convince my mom to take some time to rest.
“Oh, honey, I just don’t know,” my mom protested, wringing her hands. “What if you have an emergency at work or something?”
“I won’t,” I told her. “We have no photoshoot scheduled for today, and it’s not like they’re going to need me for an unplanned surgery or something.”
I was grateful to have some time to spend at the hospital. Every time I had spoken to my mom for the last few weeks, she’d sounded bone tired. I tried to go to the hospital as often as I could to give her a break, but most of the time, she refused to go anywhere, just as she was now. But she needed rest. Exhaustion was wearing her down, and if she didn’t start taking care of herself, I feared I’d end up with both parents in the hospital.
“How about this?” I asked. “If I hear a peep from the office, I’ll call you to come back.”
Adam and Barrett were in meetings all day, anyway, and as much as I hated the thought that Barrett and I wouldn’t be spending the day together at the same shoot, I knew that they were jampacked and wouldn’t be needing me.
My mom chewed on her bottom lip, the circles around her eyes so dark that she looked like she was going to a Halloween party dressed as a vampire. Finally, her shoulders caved, and she nodded. “Okay, but call me every hour.”
“I already said I would, Mom. Go get some rest.”
She planted a soft kiss on my cheek and stumbled toward the exit. It was a good thing they still had their driver on staff, since I wasn’t sure she was even going be able to stay awake farther than the parking lot.
Once she pushed through the revolving doors, I turned to go to her seat at my father’s side. My strong, commanding father who never backed down, who ran his business with an iron fist and wits of steel, was a shadow of his former self in that bed. The sheets were draped over a low cage so as not to put too much pressure on his frail body.
A lump formed in my throat as it dawned on me that I’d thought of him as invincible not so long ago, but something as simple as his bed sheets could now hurt him. My knees shook as I sank into the uncomfortable chair next to his bed, pulling my e-reader out of my bag.
