His to Protect: A Second Chance Billionaire & Virgin Romance

by Vivien Vale

  How does he expect me to talk right now? I open my mouth, but all that comes out is a low, needy moan. I look around anxiously, but no one seems to have noticed. Everyone at the other table is wrapped up in conversation.

  Fuck it. I give in to what I really want. “Just shut up and make me come,” I manage to say.

  Tilting my head back, I do let my eyes fall shut. Wes cranks up the vibrator even more, and the next thing I know, I’m biting my lip and gripping my thighs as I come so hard I don’t know how everyone in the restaurant isn’t taking notice.

  When the waves of pleasure finally subside, I open my eyes and gape at Wes.

  He simply smiles and tosses back his drink. I can’t believe we just did that.

  I take another sip of my drink. I need more alcohol in my system.

  After a minute, he says, “Seriously, Kylie. Tell me about yourself.”

  I stare at him for a minute. We’re not going to talk about what just happened? I don’t even know what to think, so I do the only thing I can. I answer him. “Well, there’s not much to tell. Up until now I’ve basically been spending all my time working as hard as I can to make ends meet.”

  I can tell by Wes’s face that he doesn’t expect that answer, that he has questions he wants to ask, but he doesn’t know if it will be rude. At least, I like to tell myself that he’s as gentlemanly as that. Maybe he’s just confused, and that’s the end of it. It was pretty random.

  “My dad left us when I was in high school. It was…complicated. My mom and I moved back in with my gran because my mom didn’t earn enough to support us. I send her whatever I can spare to make it easier. My gran is retired, and my mom will have to retire soon, too.”

  Wes nods slowly, his face an unreadable mask. “You’re very selfless,” he says.

  I shake my head. “It’s not selfless. I owe my mom. She fought through it all when she could have just given up. She deserves me to do the same.”

  He looks like he’s thinking about something, looking at the table intently.

  “What about you?” I ask, trying to move the conversation away from whatever makes him look so troubled.

  He looks up at me and smiles. “My dad is a bit of a hard-ass,” he says. “My parents are still together, but he’s not home often and when he is I have a lot to live up. Mostly, it’s my mom and me, and we’re close.”

  I nod. It’s interesting to see another side of Wes, to see the human behind his serious business mask. I’m not sure what to make of it. I don’t want to think about it too hard because I can’t let it complicate things.

  “And girlfriends?” I ask.

  Wes looks at me with laughing eyes. “Are you asking if I’m single?”

  I shrug. “I guess so.”

  He shakes his head, laughing. “I’m single. So, the other day in my office wasn’t wrong.”

  He looks at me, and his green eyes are bright and intense. “I loved it,” he says. “I love what we just did, too.”

  I blush. My cheeks and my ears are red-hot. He chuckles, and I know he can see it even in the dim lighting in the bar. I look down at my drink, feeling silly.

  “I loved it, too,” I say. I look up at him. “But it was a mistake.”

  Wes frowns, the intensity in his eyes sliding away.

  “Wasn’t it?” I ask. “I mean, we can get in trouble. I know what the rules are.” Plus I can’t afford to let him distract me like this.

  Wes looks around, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking now. His face is carefully blank.

  “I’m CEO of the company,” he says.

  I nod. “I know. But even you’re not untouchable. There are rules and if we caught I lose my job.”

  I stop talking because I can’t tell if he’s getting upset or not. He’s so empty and distant now, it’s the exact opposite of what he was when he walked in. Something’s changed, but I can’t figure out what.

  “Well, I didn’t think I was going to see you here,” someone says behind me. When I turn and look up, Leon is standing there with his hands in his pockets. He doesn’t look much different than he does when he’s at the office. He might have gotten rid of his blazer and tie, but that’s it.

  “Leon,” Wes says. His voice is hard.

  “And you,” Leon says, turning to me. “I didn’t think you would be invited out with the team.”

  “She’s part of the team,” Wes says.

  “Barely. But alright, let’s get technical.” He’s being sarcastic. I don’t know why he’s here, but I know that I don’t want to be his target all night.

  “I think I better go,” Wes says, reading my mind.

  I nod. I was thinking the same thing, but I spot the team in the corner, laughing and talking, and I decide I won’t ditch them. Wes and I get up and join them. I sit down next to Tanya.

  “I’m off, ladies and gentlemen,” Wes says. They protest, but he graciously shrugs it off and leaves. He gives me one last intense glance, then turns to leave. I watch him walk away. His ass is perfect underneath those jeans, and his shirt is tight in all the right places.

  God, I want him.

  “What was that all about?” Tanya asks me when Wes is gone.

  I shrug. “He paid for my drink, a welcome drink, he called it.”

  Tanya nods. “He’s a great boss,” she says and lets it go to my relief.

  “And Leon is here,” I say.

  Tanya rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, we won’t let him get us down.”

  I smile, and we both turn our attention to the conversation. I join in because these people are my colleagues and they’re nice. For the first time since high school, I feel like I fit in.

  Wes

  On Monday morning, I’m back in the office, and I couldn’t be happier. I spent the whole weekend golfing with clients and shareholders. It’s part of my job as the CEO, and it’s boring as fuck. I’m glad to be back in the office where I’m at home, and I’m king of my castle.

  I can’t get Kylie out of my mind, either. When I was on the golf course, I had some time to think, and I’m not quite sure where we stand. When she came to my office she was more than down to fuck – the mood had been perfect, and she was just as caught up in it as I was.

  But when I saw her at Alchemist, she was different. I wouldn’t say standoffish as much as careful, but it wasn’t what it had been in the office. Even with the vibrator incident, which was hot as fuck, something was different. When she started talking about her mom… Well, things shifted. I’m not even sure what I think or where I stand now. I know what she’s up to—at least I think I do—but my motivation to get her out before she does any real damage is coming into question. She’s not at all like I thought she’d be. What if I have this whole thing wrong?

  I keep going back to how things were different at Alchemist. I mean, I guess that’s to be expected. Everyone from the office – including Leon – was there, and I know she’s nervous about losing her job over this, even though more is at stake for her than just her job.

  She has a point – it’s not a good idea for either of us. But I can’t stay away from her. I want to do it again.

  Before lunchtime, I find myself on the third floor, headed toward her desk. There she is staring at her laptop screen, and I watch her from a distance for a short while. As much as I don’t want to admit it, she’s getting to me. Getting under my skin, invading my thoughts. Consuming them, really.

  She’s wearing green – a spring green – and her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She’s wearing computer glasses, and the whole look gives off a sexy-librarian feel. Her top isn’t so low that it would be a problem in the workplace but I know what she looks like without a shirt. I can just picture her tits through her top.

  When she looks up at me, I walk closer, as if I’ve been doing that all along.

  “How are you doing?” I ask her, walking around her desk to look at her laptop screen. She’s not even on a social network or anything – so many employees are. She’s going through the
suggested specs list that we got from the designers.

  “Well, thank you,” she says.

  “You can tell me if you need anything,” I say.

  She nods. “I know. So far I’m alright.”

  I nod, too. I want her to come to me, to lean on me, to ask me for advice and help. I want to spend more time with her alone. I don’t want to discuss work with her, I want to get her alone and get her naked, but I mean it when I tell her she can turn to me if she needs something.

  “You haven’t had a look at my ideas for the project, yet,” she says.

  I nod. “You’re right. I got a little distracted.”

  She blushes.

  “How about you give them to me, and I’ll go over them? Then we can talk about what you have.”

  She thinks about it for a moment.

  “Alright,” she says and reaches into her bag. She produces the file she had in my office last week, and I take it from her.

  “I’ll let you know,” I say with a smile. Kylie nods, smiling, too.

  I can’t figure out if she still wants me. I know that she liked the other day. Does she want to do it again? I hope she does – God knows I want to do it again. I want to fuck her brains out. But I’m not going to push for something she doesn’t want, and I don’t know where she stands after she told me on Friday that it was a mistake. Although, she didn’t say she didn’t want to do it again.

  Women are complicated. They don’t say things straight up, and then men get blamed for misunderstanding. And things are even more complicated in this situation because there’s more at play here than just our obvious attraction. She has an end game. So do I. But mine is changing. I’m not sure I really want to fuck her over like I did before. I want to find out more. Get in her head and understand why she’s really out to get RidgeCo.

  But even more than I want to get in her head, I want to get in her panties.

  I can’t very well ask her if she’s willing to do it again out here in the open, where everyone else can hear us. The only way to find out is to get her alone, again. Soon.

  I look down at the file again, thinking.

  “You know what?” I say. “Let me go over this now. Can you free up some time to see me in my office, later this afternoon? Let’s say, three?”

  Kylie swallows. She hesitates before she nods. I can’t tell what she’s thinking; I don’t know her well enough. I can decipher her O face, her eyes when there’s lust in them, but I don’t know Kylie as a person. And I’m surprised by how much I want to. She’s supposed to be the enemy, but I’m finding out quickly it’s not that simple.

  “Three it is, then.”

  As soon as I get her alone, I want to talk to her. I want to ask her how she feels. I want to know what she thinks of us doing it before, of us doing it again.

  “You don’t have to go over it all today,” she says. “We can discuss it another time.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t have client meetings, for a change. Focusing on the project will be nice. I get so little time to do it.”

  She nods. “Okay, I guess that’s alright, then.”

  Tanya walks to Kylie’s desk and gives her a stack of papers.

  “This is the report you asked for,” she says. She glances at me and smiles. Kylie takes the papers from Tanya, and I watch them interact. Kylie is respectful and helpful, but she doesn’t grovel or make it look like Tanya is in charge. She knows what she’s doing, and her grasp of authority is attractive.

  Whenever I see her, I’m reminded of how good she can be at what she does. She has so much potential; she can go far in this company. I don’t know why she was a receptionist for so long – she told me a bit about her struggles – and I’m glad I’ve pushed her into a position where she can earn more and get noticed. The money would be well-deserved, I think. If she didn’t have ulterior motives. I wonder for the millionth time why she’s really out to get the company because I think she could really be great here.

  “Do you have the printout I asked you for?” Leon asks Kylie, walking to her desk. He glances at me but ignores me, otherwise.

  Kylie nods, not responding to his brash approach. She hands him a piece of paper. Leon looks at it with a frown.

  “Is this all of it?” he asks.

  “It’s everything I could find on it,” she says. “Will you let me know if there’s anything else you need?”

  Leon grunts. “You know I will.”

  He sounds grumpy. I’m getting irritated with the way he’s talking to her, and I’m not even involved in the discussion. If it gets to her, she’s not showing it. She respects Leon as her superior, and she treats him with a respect I don’t even think he deserves. Maybe it’s because she’s still new, and she doesn’t have the liberty to be sarcastic or have an attitude toward Leon. I hope that will change because he can’t keep being such a dick about everything.

  “Can I talk to you for a moment, Leon?” I ask.

  He nods, and I step to the side, so we’re out of earshot from the others. Leon follows me. He folds his arms over his chest and places his feet wide apart. The stance is both defensive and arrogant.

  “Why don’t you lay off Kylie, Leon?” I ask. “She’s working hard.”

  Leon raises his eyebrows. “I’m doing my job. Are you suggesting I don’t?”

  I shake my head. “I think you can be nicer about it.”

  Leon smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Like you are.”

  He can’t know anything, but my stomach turns, anyway.

  “If you mean checking up on her to see if she needs help and mentoring her when she does, then yes, like I am.”

  Leon shakes his head. “The two of you are alone an awful lot, don’t you think?”

  “Did I mention I’m mentoring her? I remember saying it.”

  Leon makes a face at me. I know he’s getting pissed, but so am I.

  “I wish I had that much mentoring when I was new here,” Leon says.

  I sigh. “That was before my time, Leon. I can’t do anything about what happened here before I was appointed CEO. I know what I can do now, and I’m doing it to the best of my ability. Please, don’t forget that I’m your superior. Your attitude needs revision.”

  Leon laughs, and it’s one of those laughs that’s supposed to be a threat.

  “I’ll back off from Jordan when I know that she’s capable of doing her job, but I don’t think a receptionist deserves a position as project manager on this, and I’m sticking to it. I believe you hired her because she has a pretty face and a good body.”

  I am angry now.

  “That’s degrading and insulting in every way,” I say. “I would be very careful about what I say next if I were you.”

  My blood boils. I’m more than angry that Leon has reduced Kylie to someone intellectually incapable of doing her job, that he thinks I have it in me to look only at her body.

  Leon makes a face at me, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he turns and walks away. But I swear I hear him mumble something under his breath that sounds like, “I know more than you think I do.”

  He can’t mean he knows about Kylie. Can he?

  When I look at Kylie again, she’s buried in her work. I don’t want to bother her. Especially as irritated as I am now. It’s better for me to retreat to my office and work through it. I need to calm down.

  I walk to my office and sit down behind my desk. Leon rubs me up the wrong way, sometimes. I don’t know how to deal with him now – I don’t want to fire the guy with his wife being so sick, but he can’t keep doing this at the office. He undermines my authority, and he pisses me off.

  Kylie actually deserves her position more than anyone else in the company, in spite of my inside knowledge about her plans to try to take down the company. Her résumé stood out from all the others long before I was aware of what she was up to.

  And yes, I fucked her, and I think she’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, but I sure as shit didn’t hire her because I t
hought it would be easier to get into her panties.

  Leon is way too upset over Kylie’s promotion. There’s something I can’t put my finger on, Something that’s not quite right.

  I’m going to have to do something about him if he doesn’t reign in his bad attitude.

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to calm down. I can’t let Leon work me up like this. I’m his boss, and he shouldn’t piss me off the way he does. I open the file I got from Kylie and start reading through her projections and ideas.

  And again, I’m impressed by the way she thinks, by the way she approaches her work. She is technical about it, approaching the business side of it logically, but she has a creative flair that makes her work unique and I like it.

  I am engrossed in her work, and as I page through it, my bad mood dissipates. I see a side of her here that I don’t know yet, and I like it.

  When I’m done, I’m glad I asked her to come to me so soon. It’s not just because I want to see her as soon as possible, but because I want to talk to her about her work. Maybe, this time, I’ll get around to it.

  I lean back in my chair and look around my office. I’ve had her everywhere in here I can except for the floor. I glance at the couch. I can almost still feel her lips around my cock. Just the thought of it makes me want it again. I harden, and I want her. I don’t think I’m ever going to not want her. She’s sexy and beautiful and intelligent. The whole package.

  In spite of all the reasons I shouldn’t, I want her. I want her all to myself. In just a short while I’ll find out if she wants me, too.

  Kylie

  I didn’t go to Wes’s office. In fact, I didn’t even stay at work. I became so nervous about our meeting, about what he might expect from me, I started feeling sick. After lunch, my stomach was a knot of nerves, and I couldn’t concentrate.

  Tanya asked me if I was feeling alright because I looked pale. When I told her I felt sick, she suggested I go home.

  I didn’t wait for her to tell me twice.

  I fear seeing Wes, alone. I don’t know what he wants from me. Okay, that’s a lie. I know what he wants from me. I even know what I want from him. But I don’t know if it’s a good idea. I need to stay far, far away from this guy. He’s bad news. The bad ones are always the most attractive and this one is my absolute weakness.