by A. L Long
“Rade, don’t be like that. You need to quit denying that we are meant to be together,” Chloe cajoled as she placed her free hand on his chest.
“You. Will. Never. Have. Me.” Rade began leaning closer to her ear. “Stay the fuck away from me,” Rade said with gritted teeth.
Rade firmly pushed Chloe out the door. He didn’t even care that she lost her balance and ended up on her ass in his foyer. His only concern was losing sight of her. There was no guilt when he slammed the door on her. He didn’t have time for her games. He turned to walk away from the door, but then he lost it. His fist met with the door. “Fuck, I am so tired of this shit,” he yelled as he hit the door one more time. He didn’t feel any pain. He only felt his heart pounding faster as the adrenaline from his anger took over.
Grabbing his cell, he called Richard. At least he was able to think straight enough to make sure that Dylan was being protected. He hated that she left. Somehow he needed to convince her to come back to the penthouse. He needed to convince her that staying with him was more secure than her apartment.
“Richard, don’t let Dylan leave the building alone. I want you to stay with her 24/7 even if you have to camp outside her door,” Rade ordered.
“Yes, sir. If you don’t mind, can I ask why?” Richard inquired.
“Chloe showed up. Somehow she found out about Evan Taylor. Needless to say, Dylan didn’t give me a chance to explain,” Rade explained. “Don’t leave her alone for one minute. Sooner or later she is going to have enough and call me,” Rade said confidently.
Hanging up with Richard, Rade took a chance and called Dylan. He knew she wouldn’t answer, but he had to give it a try. After several attempts calling her and texting her, he threw his phone on the counter. He had so much built-up aggression in him, and he knew he couldn’t keep taking his aggression out on the penthouse, so he decided to work it off in his gym.
Two hours later, his temper was under control, only to be replaced by exhaustion. His life was tumbling in a downward spiral. He needed to take control. How can a man running a billion dollar company struggle at taking care of his personal life? He knew why. It was because every move he made, he was blindsided by another turn of events. Somehow he needed to figure out how to stay one step ahead of the game, even if that meant having eyes on every threat.
Rade contacted Peter and requested additional watchdogs be placed on his father, Chloe, Alex, and Evan Taylor. It was the only way he could minimize surprises. If he was made aware of their every move, he would be assured of not being blindsided.
Rade tossed and turned all night. When he woke the next morning he was still exhausted. The only thing he saw when he closed his eyes was the expression on Dylan’s face when Chloe opened her big mouth. He would never forget the pain he saw. His only hope was that with Richard was shadowing her, eventually she would get tired of him invading her space and reach out to him. Any contact was better than none. Rade took a quick shower, got dressed, and headed out of the penthouse garage, forgoing his normal cup of coffee.
Arriving at his office, he could hear Gwen and Peter talking as he stepped off the elevator. He wasn’t surprised to see Peter, since Richard was probably camped out in the hallway outside Dylan’s apartment.
“Good morning Rade,” Gwen said smiling.
“Good morning, Gwen. Do you have my schedule for today?” Rade asked, taking the time to nod at Peter, acknowledging his presence.
“Yes, sir. You only have a few meetings on the agenda. Your first one is at one o’clock. I also left some proposals for you to look over on your desk,” Gwen answered.
“Good,” Rade said. “Peter, did you have something to see me about?”
“Yes, Mr. Matheson. If you have a few moments,” Peter replied.
The two men walked to Rade’s office with Peter one step behind Rade. Rade hoped that whatever Peter had to say was good. He didn’t think he could handle any more bad news.
Rounding his desk and taking a seat, Rade commanded, “Have a seat, Peter. Tell me what this is about.”
“I placed surveillance on the people you requested. I thought you might find it interesting to know that Ms. Dupree and Mr. Moreno met at a small café off of 5th Avenue earlier this morning. They weren’t there very long. I also thought you might want to know that Mr. Moreno was pretty banged up,” Peter stated. “It looked like he may have had a run-in with somebody’s fist. More than once, I might add.”
“Interesting,” Rade began, “I have a funny feeling that Chloe may have been behind what happened to Dylan at The Castle, and if Mr. Moreno was her sidekick, then he was the one who assaulted Dylan. He deserves a lot worse than what he got. Keep an eye on them. I want to know every move they make. What about Mr. Stewart, were you able to get a handle on his whereabouts?”
“About that… he hasn’t returned to the hotel. I have three guys watching it. After he got away from us, I had more men put on him to make sure it does happen again. I’ll let you know when he returns.” Peter looked away from Rade, unable to face the fact that he and his men made a mistake that could have cost Dylan injury or even her life.
“Hopefully we will have the results of the DNA test for Mr. Moreno. We should confirm without any doubt if he was the one who assaulted Ms. Adams.” Rade didn’t want to remind Peter of his mistake, so he changed the subject. He could tell that Peter was remorseful for his negligence and knew exactly how Rade felt about carelessness.
Finishing his meeting with Peter, Rade set his focus on the proposals Gwen left on his desk. Given everything else he was faced with the last couple of days, it didn’t surprise him that the Spectrum proposal was on top. Scanning the documents, he could see that Keeve Black and Mason Stone signed all of the required forms. Not one document had been signed by Dylan. He wasn’t sure if it was an oversight or her stubbornness that prevented her from signing. “Damn, that woman is going to be the death of me.”
Rade couldn’t wait any longer. He went against his initial plan and decided it was time to give Dylan a surprise visit. Taking his phone from his pocket, he located Richard’s number in his contacts and pressed send.
“Richard, I’m on my way to see Dylan. Where are you?” Rade asked.
“At her office sharing a cup of coffee with her,” Richard said. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together over the last twelve hours.”
“Don’t be cocky, Richard. I’m not in the mood. Make sure she doesn’t leave.” Rade didn’t wait for his response as he hit the end button.
The BlackStone building was on the other side of Manhattan, but Rade managed to make it there in record time. When he reached her floor, the same two girls were settled behind the reception desk. The minute Rade walked up to the counter, they stopped what they were doing and greeted him with lustful expressions. They looked like they had died and gone to heaven.
“I need to see Dylan Adams. No need to call her. I know the way.” Before they could stop him, Rade was on his way down the hall. As he entered her office, he could see that she was not surprised by his visit. Rade’s only conclusion was that Richard filled her in.
“What do you want, Rade? I have nothing to say to you. Shouldn’t you be focusing your attention on Chloe? After all, you seem to trust her with your little secrets more than me,” Dylan said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Stop, Dylan. Do you even hear yourself? I wouldn’t share the time of day with that woman, let alone any secrets,” Rade argued.
“Huh…” Dylan chuckled. “So you’re admitting you do have secrets.”
“That’s not what I meant. It was just a metaphor. I didn’t tell her anything. I just found out myself,” Rade confessed, moving closer to her desk. “Dylan, why didn’t you sign the proposal?”
Standing, Dylan walked to her office door and pulled it open. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
“I’m not leaving without an explanation,” Rade confirmed.
“You want an explanation? Fine. I didn’t sign the proposal
because… because… you wouldn’t understand,” she said, knowing what she really wanted to say was, “Because I still love you, and in order for me to get over you, I can’t have anything tying us together, even if it means losing the Spectrum deal.
“That’s not a reason, Dylan. That’s only an excuse not to tell me the real reason,” Rade said, walking to her office door where she still stood. “Let me do this for you. Please just sign the damn agreement.”
“I can’t. I just can’t,” Dylan replied, pushing her way past Rade. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have worked to do.”
“I’ll find out the reason, Dylan, one way or the other. Since I’m here already, I’ll just wait for you to finish work and take you home.” Rade knew the minute he told her he was staying it would get a rise in her.
“You don’t need to stay. Nothing is going to happen to me while I’m at work. You’re being ridiculous, Rade,” Dylan barked.
“Not going to happen, Sweetness. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Before Rade could say another word, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Dylan said.
Alex opened the door. Dylan couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw him. “Oh my God. Alex, what happened to you? You look like you got hit by a truck,” Dylan gasped.
“Had a run in with a fist. Evidently the guy didn’t like the way I was looking at him,” Alex said. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that Keeve and Mason wanted to meet with you. They will be in the conference room in fifteen.”
When Rade saw Alex, he had a pretty good idea that his injuries were not caused by an unwanted look. There was something about Alex that didn’t sit well with him. He acted the part of a homosexual, but Rade was good at analyzing people, and Alex was as phony as a three dollar bill.
Dylan pushed away from her desk and headed out of her office to the conference room. It was no surprise that Rade was on her heels. If he wanted to play this game with her, let him. It was bad enough having Richard follow her around like a lost puppy, but to have Rade guarding her was unbearable. Being distracted was the last thing she needed. It was more than a distraction for her. He was beginning to have an effect on her womanhood.
Dylan should have known there was one purpose and one purpose only for the abrupt meeting. Nothing like being ambushed three to one. There could be only one reason for this meeting, and she knew Rade was behind it. By the time the meeting was over, Dylan was talked into to signing the proposal, but not under the original terms. She was thankful that she was able to convince them to drop her share of the company to ten percent, leaving Rade, Keeve and Mason with equal shares of the remaining ninety percent. Dylan also convinced them that they would all have equal say in the financial decision, but that Dylan would still be in charge of the finances. Even though Dylan was hesitant in signing the agreement, she knew she had to. By signing, it meant that she no longer had to work closely with Rade. It was what she wanted, after all, only now she wasn’t so sure.
After the meeting from hell, Dylan was glad to see it was five o’clock. Gathering her things, she turned off the lights in her office and headed down the hall. Rade was talking to Jessica and Lucy. She never saw anything more disgusting than the way those two were throwing themselves at him. Dylan felt a ping of jealousy when she saw Jessica rub her hand up and down his arm as they all laughed together. Ignoring her feelings, Dylan walked past them, trying to hide her reaction to their display. Rade turned his head towards her as he saw her face when the elevator door was about to close. With a quick, “Gotta go,” he sprinted to the elevator door and placed his hand between the doors, and then willed them stop from closing. Entering the car, he took his place beside Dylan and gently clasped her hand with his. He knew what she was thinking and he felt like an ass for what he just did. Lifting her hand, he brought it to his lips and softly kissed it. Dylan just looked at him without a word. He wasn’t going to have this effect on her. Caught off guard, she pulled her hand from his and crossed both arms across her chest, signaling her discomfort.
*****
The ride to her apartment was silent and awkward. Sitting beside Rade with no words between them was hard enough, but to have actual contact, innocent as it was, was pure torture. Dylan was relieved when her apartment building came into view. Richard pulled the Bentley to the curb. Dylan needed to escape fast. She didn’t wait for Richard to open her door. It was at that moment that she wished she lived in a secure building so she would be able to get away from Rade long enough to lock herself in her apartment. No sooner than she stepped out of the SUV, he was there right behind her.
As soon as they got off the elevator, Dylan made a beeline to her door. Her only hope was being able to get inside before Rade could follow her in. She thought she had cleared her entry until Rade’s expensive loafer stopped the door from closing. Since he was much stronger than her, Rade pushed his way into her apartment with little effort.
“Why can’t you just leave me alone, Rade? I don’t want you here,” Dylan cried.
“I’m not about to leave you alone, Sweetness,” Rade said firmly.
“Don’t call me that. Save your pet names for some other plaything,” Dylan shouted.
“Is that what you think, Sweetness, that you are my plaything?” Rade choked.
“I think you have made that perfectly clear. Now get out.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Get the fuck out.”
“Not happening.”
Dylan saw the smirk on Rade’s face. It was like he was teasing her. She couldn’t handle it. Her anger took over, with her fist landing square against his cheek. She knew she nailed it because not only could she feel the pain in her hand, there was a small trickle of blood coming from his lip. She wasn’t as lucky with the next punch, because as soon as she let it fly, Rade’s hand was there to stop it. She wasn’t going to let him win. She still had another arm, she could swing and two legs. With everything she had, she kicked and punched him. Her assault was stopped short as Rade lifted her body effortlessly.
“Put me down. I hate you,” Dylan screamed.
Rade knew she didn’t hate him, because only days before she told him she was falling in love with him. Maybe he should let her hate him, then he wouldn’t have to break her heart. The problem with that theory was that he couldn’t. He would never be able to let her go.
Pushing the bedroom door open with his foot, Rade struggled to hold on to Dylan. Once he reached the bed, he placed her down as gently as he could, considering she was wiggling and thrashing to get free. Rade looked at her tear-soaked face. Just as she was ready to attack, he grabbed her arms and pulled her body to his. As mad as she was at him, he could still see the desire she had for him. Taking her by the back of her neck, he pulled her in for a kiss. There was resistance at first, but as soon as their lips met, she was all his. Her desire for him increased as her hands wrapped around his neck. Nothing and no one would ever stop the passion they shared together. Entangled as one, like the heat of an ember, waiting to be ignited. Rade placed his hands on her ass, lifting her from the bed. He couldn’t get enough of her. The ripping sounds of material filled the room as their clothing began to fly. Each kiss, every touch consumed them. Rade turned his body enough to allow him to sit on the bed with Dylan still in his arms. Her body was straddled across his lap. He could feel the heat radiating through the scrap of lace material that was covering her. Rade tenderly placed his hands on her breasts and caressed them between his fingers. Dylan’s back arched slightly and her head fell back when he began lightly pinching her nipples into taut peaks. Lowering his mouth, he took one of her breasts in his mouth, while caressing the other. Her skin was sweet with a hint of salt from her recent struggle. Gliding his hands down her silky body, he cupped her ass with one hand while grasping hold of the thin strap of her thong with the other. Giving in to the hunger for her, he wrapped the small strap around two fingers and pulled until the strap gave way and he was able to finish tearing her panties
from her body.
There was nothing between them, only heated desire. Slipping his hand between her thighs, the energy that he felt earlier turned into an inferno as the wetness between her folds coated his fingers. Moving his mouth to her neck, trailing warm kisses along the way, Rade whispered, “Tell me how much you want me, Sweetness.” Dylan replaced his word with a kiss as she lowered her mouth to his. No words could describe how much she wanted him. Even as angry as she was, she could never be without him. Lifting her hips, Rade gently lowered her onto his cock, and with one thrust penetrated her channel. There was no gentleness this time with his movement, only the undying need to be inside her. “Oh God, Rade, I need you.” Dylan’s words broke with a sudden sensation. She was on the edge of her own release. Biting her lip, she tightened her walls around Rade’s shaft, hoping to take control of her release. Rade increased his movements as he pushed deeper and deeper inside her. With each thrust, her ability to hold her climax weakened until she could no longer refuse her body's desire to break. Screaming his name, “Rade, Rade, Rade,” over and over, her desire won. Rade’s submission to his own ecstasy wasn’t far behind as he pushed deeper inside her, hitting the point between pain and pleasure. Taking her in his arms, he captured her lips with such reverence that his control succumbed to his own need, taking him to euphoria.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Can’t you do anything right? I ask you to do one simple thing,” Chloe hissed. “I can’t believe I trusted you to take care of her. Instead, you come back looking the way she should have.”
“We have a problem, Mistress. There was someone else in her apartment and it wasn’t Rade. I don’t know who he was, but he took me out like nothing,” Alex confessed.
“I don’t need your excuses. That bitch is still with Rade. I need her taken out of the picture. No more games. Do you understand? One more chance, pet. I don’t care how you do it,” Chloe scolded. “Now go to the play room and wait for your punishment.”
