"What?" Jenny screeched loudly. Renee lifted the phone away from her ear as her friend continued. "Not married? WTF? Are you kidding me? How did that happen? Is he lying?"
Renee smiled at the abbreviated slang. Oh, it was good having teenagers. They really did keep you young. The newest music, up-to-date slang, and of course, gorgeous black cherry toenail polish. She focused back on the conversation. "No, he's not lying. I just assumed the woman that calls all the time and says she's his wife really was his wife, and not his ex. He's divorced." She paused. "And he wants me to quit my job." Another pause. "So he can have sex with me."
She hurried to move the phone away from her ear again.
"What? You've got to be kidding, right?" Jenny questioned. "Did he say that? Has he heard the term sexual harassment? The guy must think he's God's gift. What are you going to do?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure that's why he wants me to quit. I guess he has it in his mind that it's not harassment. He's kind of right, Jen. You can't really harass the willing, you know? You of all people know how long I've had the hots for him. I guess he knows it."
"Yeah, but Renee, your job? You have to have your job. What the hell? Does he think you're independently wealthy, or what?" Her friend's voice was irate.
"I know, Jen. I don't think he's thinking with the big head. It's kind of captivating to watch him, one second he's so controlled, and the next he just loses it. When he kissed me today--"
"Whhhaaattt? He kissed you? At work? Oh my God. What'd you do? Was it good?"
"Yeah, it was good. Really good. Just like I thought it would be."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Play it by ear, I guess. You know I can get my old job back if I need to. I just don't want to be too easy. He's so arrogant. He expects to get his way about everything. I don't know." She sighed. "Enough about him. How are things going with you? How's Richard?"
"Controlling as hell. Possessive. Jealous. Spoiled. Awesome in bed. Hot. Unlike anything I've ever experienced. I'm freakin' addicted." Jenny laughed.
Renee smiled. "Cool. You deserve to go a little wild. Still think he's a mobster?"
Jenny answered, "I have no clue. He's so damn rich and I can't figure out where the money's coming from."
"Well, I guess we've both got stuff to work out."
****
The next day was dark and rainy and Renee was sitting at her desk when the internal phone rang. She picked it up and Robert's voice barked down the line. "Get in here. I want to talk to you."
He disconnected and she was left hanging onto the phone.
Robert watched her slip into his office after a slight knock. She stood back and he looked his fill. Yeah, the game had definitely changed. Miles and miles of leg hit him. Short skirt. Tiny waist. Long hair.
It was time. Fuck. It was past time.
"Shut the door."
Chapter Five
Robert leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. She closed the door and turned back toward him, but didn't move any closer. She didn't say anything. She stood there, quietly waiting. Quietly driving him out of his fucking mind.
Renee watched in fascination as his expression grew more menacing. His voice bit out at her. "I want you to quit your job."
Renee stiffened her spine and fought back with a simple word. "No."
His tactic changed immediately. "Come here."
She was horrified to feel a blush cover her face. She let out a tiny semi-hysterical laugh and shook her head. "No."
"Renee, come here, baby." He patted the shiny surface of his desk.
Christ, what would he do if she actually went over there? She was so tempted to find out. The clandestine nature of the moment hit her and went straight to her head. She took two steps toward his desk, and then stopped. "No."
He actually let out a groan when she stopped. "I'm getting tired of hearing the word no from those beautiful lips. Learn a new answer."
He stood up.
She stepped back.
He prowled across the room until he stood in front of her. He reached out and flipped the lock on the door.
Renee's nerves tightened at the sound of the bolt closing and she tried to control her breathing. He was so big. He had shoulders worthy of a New Orleans Saint. She knew he used to do hard physical labor for a living until he had taken a chance and opened his own construction company. It had paid off. He was rich by just about any standard, but he still had the brawny physique of a laborer.
She wanted this so badly it almost consumed her. But the stakes had changed. It wasn't her job she was playing for anymore. Jobs would come and go. How long had it been since she'd felt this way about a man? Had she ever felt this way? If she let him catch her now, it would all be over. He'd use her, get her out of his system, and that would be that. She wanted more. She couldn't let him know the way he made her feel, and she couldn't give in to him easily.
Her breath splintered when he reached out and pulled a lock of her hair into his hand. He twirled it around until his hand was fisted at her scalp. He leaned down and placed a single kiss to her lips. Her spine was flat against the door.
He lifted his mouth. "Say yes, Renee."
She shook her head. "No."
He ignored her. "This is a pretty little skirt, baby." His hand slid down and tightened around the hem. "Did you wear it for me?"
Renee stood in frozen excitement in Robert's grasp. Her brain turned to mush. The other day in the archive room he had dominated her, shocked her with his strength and intensity. Today, his seduction had changed. Gentleness exuded from his voice. His manner was just as fierce as before, his movements sure and possessive, but his voice was gentle. The change in personality was tipping her off balance.
His eyes were deep brown as they stared into hers. This was so good already she thought she would die. She swallowed a gasp as she felt his hand slowly drag her skirt up and bunch it around her upper thighs. She knew if she looked down, her panties would be showing.
Her eyes started to glaze and close. His fist tightened in her hair. "No, no, no. Keep them open for me."
Renee valiantly opened her eyes.
"That's good. You've got such pretty eyes. Now. We've got some negotiating to get through." He lowered his head and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. Her eyes slid closed again.
Renee let out a small moan and felt wetness on her panties. She hung in his grasp while he sucked and licked her bottom lip.
He pushed his torso into hers and she felt the hard ridge of his erection. Her breathing became more labored.
He lifted his head. She opened her eyes and they fastened on his. "Good girl." His voice was deep. "Okay. You don't want to quit your job. I'm going to let you win that one for now. But you're going to have to give me something in return." She jerked in his arms. He controlled her movements. "Shh… Shh… I want some verification you understand where this is going."
She hung in silence in his restraining arms.
His voice became gravelly. "Nod your head if you understand."
Renee's head jerked up and down just once.
"Good. Of course, I get to choose the proof." His hand slid from the hem of her skirt to the feminine mound between her thighs. He cupped her heat through her panties. Her eyes closed as his mouth came down over hers.
Robert felt her softness all around him and thought his head was going to blow off. God, he'd wanted to screw her for so long. He didn't know if he had the control to keep this in check. Sex in the office was not how he wanted their first time to be. Hell, sex in the office was what he'd been trying to avoid. He needed to maintain control. But he had to touch her. Now.
Renee's body was pliant as she stood captured between his big body and the door. The twin stroking of his tongue in her mouth and his hand between her legs was drugging her. She began pushing against him in frustration and growing arousal.
He roughly pushed her panties aside and found the feminine slit at the heart of
her. His lips and tongue began a subtle sucking motion as his large, blunt finger pushed for entrance. Renee's heartbeat shifted into overdrive as the core of her rained heat between them and his finger slid inside.
Her inner muscles greedily clasped his finger and she gasped into his mouth as he groaned into hers. She broke the kiss to draw oxygen into her screaming lungs. He let her drag one gulp of air and immediately took her mouth again. The onslaught was brutally physical. He drank from her mouth and showed her no respite. His hand pushed at her, his finger rendering her helpless in his arms as he stroked her to within moments of orgasm.
He lifted his head and looked at her, hanging in his arms. She balanced on a precipice as he growled at her, "You're going to give me what I want. This is only the beginning."
Renee recognized the arrogance and conceit in his voice as he lowered his mouth back to hers. It wasn't enough to keep her from flying over the edge. Her body stiffened as an intense orgasm consumed her.
She leaned against the door, her mind fuzzy and her heartbeat out of control, as she tried to come down.
The ringing of the phone jolted her back to reality.
It interrupted the tense silence around them and wouldn't let up. Robert removed his hand from her as gently as possible and steadied her against the door. He walked over to his desk and grabbed the phone. "Thibodeaux."
Renee tried to control the hysteria bubbling up close to the surface as she straightened her clothing. She saw him turn to face her as he listened to the caller. An indefinable expression crossed his features that quickly turned into antagonism. Toward the caller. Toward her. Renee was disturbed and distressed as he continued to listen in silence and stare at her with smoldering fury.
And then all hell broke loose. His rage came to the surface. "No. Goddammit, Cameron, she's my secretary. You cannot fucking have her phone number." He paused to listen as Renee stared in shocked silence as she realized the conversation was about her. "It's not your fucking business whether she's married or not. Stay away from her. Don't call her. Don't come by here. In fact, I'll bring the blueprints to you when they're ready." He slammed the phone down.
His scowl became ferocious. Renee recognized the unappeased arousal and anger radiating from him. His eyes never wavered from hers as he started toward her again. The stupor she had fallen in left her in a rush as she felt him coming down on her. With only seconds to spare, she flicked open the lock on the door and turned and ran.
Chapter Six
Renee left work at five on the dot and drove straight to the nearest pharmacy. She wasn't on the pill because she hadn't been in a relationship in awhile. She didn't have any birth control in the house whatsoever and didn't trust herself not to need any.
She refused to get pregnant. A lot of things might happen, but she would be damned if pregnancy would be one of them.
At five-forty-five she walked up the stairs to her second story condo and looked up into the face of Robert Thibodeaux, leaning against her door, his arms crossed.
Shock and excitement screamed through her system. She valiantly tried to get her shit together before she spoke. "You don't waste any time, do you?" She shouldered him out of the way as she slipped her key in the lock.
"I wasted seven damn weeks." He put his hand against the door and pushed it open when the lock turned. He followed her inside, turned and relocked the door.
Renee moved over into the small kitchen and put her purse and sack from the pharmacy down. She watched him look around. She knew what he would see. She swore she wouldn't apologize for the difference in their circumstances, and then proceeded to do just that. "I know it's not much. But it's mine. Mine and Brittany's. We've lived here for fifteen years. I bought it new, so although it's small, it's clean and it's mine."
"Hey. Don't be so defensive. I don't see anything wrong with it. I've lived in much worse. It's been years, but trust me, this place is a mansion compared to some of the places I've lived." He moved away from the front door and into the small living area and looked around. "In fact, it's really nice."
Renee looked at her place through his eyes. Although tiny, the condo was eclectic and mirrored who she was. She had lovingly and frugally decorated it in tiny increments over the past fifteen years as money allowed. When they moved in here, Brittany had just turned four years old, and extra sleeping space had not been a requirement. Getting into her own place had been way more important than the size. Looking back, Brittany's pre-teen and teen years had been tough, but they were a team, a unit, and they solved problems together.
The front door opened into a tiny living room that was separated by a wall that held a small dining area. Both rooms connected to the small kitchen. The bedroom and bath led off to the right from a small hall. The kitchen had a small bar with two barstools, and since a dining room was not important, Renee had given the room privacy by hanging large gold and cream draperies across the entrance. A day bed was inside, as well as a small desk and chair. There were pillows that added splashes of color and the curtain gave a dramatic effect, and her friends often told her that her condo looked like it came straight from a home décor magazine. That made her feel good, because most everything in the condo was either from thrift stores, or she had sewn it herself. Before Brittany left for college, she usually slept in the converted room. But when she was young, Renee often gave up the bedroom when her daughter had sleepovers and slumber parties. It had worked for them.
Renee looked back at Robert who had sat down on the couch. She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Make yourself at home."
He smiled at her, slowly and maddeningly. He patted the couch beside him and raised his eyebrows.
"No way. I don't know why you think you have the right to come here, but I'm going to go take a bath. I was mauled at work today. Please lock the door on your way out." Renee turned and fled to the single bathroom the little condo held.
An hour later, after a long hot soak, Renee prayed he would be gone when she opened the bedroom door. Just in case, she slipped into shorts and a t-shirt instead of the big comfy robe she wanted to wear.
She stopped abruptly when she looked at the couch. He was sound asleep, on his back. One leg on the couch, the other booted foot on the floor with an arm thrown over his forehead. Renee caught her breath at the sight of him. He looked different. Not so scary. Not so mean. Completely as sexy. She was momentarily thrown. What was she supposed to do with him?
She decided to ignore him and went about her business. It was going on seven and she was hungry. Unfortunately, she knew he would be, too. She decided to make enough for two, and if he didn't eat it, she would put it in the fridge for tomorrow night.
Robert slowly came awake to the smell of something cooking and the rattling of pans. He lay still while he absorbed the new environment he was in. The food smelled delicious and he cracked open one eye to see Renee industriously moving around the small kitchen.
Her face was clean of make-up, and with a little peach t-shirt and shorts on, she looked like she was in her twenties, when he knew her to be thirty-eight.
The scents and sounds of a home jolted him. He hadn't really thought about what to expect when he came here after work today, but this wasn't it. His sole perception of Renee had been from his contact with her at work, and the one time at the wine bar. All those times she had been dressed for social contact with her make-up and hair impeccable. He had never seen her out of that element, and what he was experiencing now was a curiosity to him.
He watched her in her own territory. She moved with an economy of motion that told him she knew a kitchen well. He was aware her daughter was at college, and she looked like a young mother without any chicks. The house suited her, as did the outfit she was wearing. And to a guy that ate exorbitant amounts of fast food, whatever she was making smelled amazing.
Renee saw his movements in her peripheral vision. Her hands shook slightly when he stood and stretched and prowled toward the kitchen. He pulled out a barstool and sat.
Robert ignored the comment. "That smells amazing. What is it?"
Renee tightened her arms across her chest and glowered at him. When his eyes dropped to her chest where the t-shirt had tightened across it, she felt a blush spread up her neck to her face.
She was far from comfortable with this situation. "Food."
He ignored her antagonism and smiled. "Yes, thank you, I'd love some."
Renee rolled her eyes and turned away to ladle soup into bowls and put the sandwiches onto plates. She prepared drinks and placed everything on the matching placemats.
Bedded by the Boss Page 3
