by Kira Blakely
“Stay away from me, Nash!” she screamed as I drew closer, slowing my pace.
“What are you doing?” I asked, stretching out my arms at her. As upset as I was, I was also struck by her raw sensual beauty. In the harsh sunlight, her golden hair shone, her blue eyes looked nearly translucent, barely even blue. She was standing with her legs spread apart, her arms clinging to the wall. She was shaking her head vigorously.
“I’m not going to let this happen. You promised this wouldn’t happen. You’re a liar!” she yelled.
“This isn’t going to happen. I promise it isn’t. Guys!” I whipped around to the men in the machines. “I’m Nash Preston, CEO of Preston and Son, and I’m ordering you to stop,” I said with my teeth gritted. The heat was getting to me, seeing Bonnie like that was getting to me. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, something like this had to happen and ruin it all.
“But we got the authorization from your office,” one of the men leaned out of his seat to say.
“Stop, now. I was paying you to do this, and I’m not paying you anymore,” I replied, my shoulders heaving, I was breathing fast. I turned to look at Bonnie, who was still splayed on the wall. With a few quick steps, I was in front of her, and she looked up to meet my eye. Nobody had ever looked more beautiful.
“Bonnie, you can relax now,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. Her nostrils were still flared, her cheeks were a deep crimson and her eyes were bloodshot. Call me crazy, but she looked sexy as hell.
“I’m not going to relax until you tell me what you did. Why you did this,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.
“I didn’t do anything—” I began to say, but she interrupted me.
“You think you can get me to stand down so you can demolish it a few hours later? I’ll camp out here if I need to. All night,” she continued, and I smiled at her, shaking my head.
Chapter 24
Bonnie
I couldn’t believe the audacity of this man to smile at me! Did he think he could manipulate me again?
But of course, Nash Preston’s proximity had its immediate effect on my body. He was in a suit again, indicating that he was clearly at a meeting earlier. His gray eyes looked soft in the sunshine now, and his sharp jaws were peppered with that two-day stubble that I still couldn’t explain. His hair was shaggy and dark, and he hadn’t styled it too neatly today so that a few unruly chunks of jet-black hair fell over his forehead and his right eye. He had no tie on, just a plain white shirt and a deep navy suit. He looked good enough to eat. But my mind was wavering again.
“I’m serious. I’ll be here all night if I need to be. You might own this building now, but I can still protest the demolition,” I said, jutting out my chin at him. I could feel his large hands on my shoulders still. They had a tingling effect on my skin. He was standing too close to me, looming over me, looking down at my face. I could smell him, his peppermint breath, that musky masculinity oozing from his body.
“You don’t need to do any of that, I’ve stopped it now, Bonnie. It’s over,” he said with that same self-assured smile on his face. The one that made me want to melt into his arms, the one that was so confident that it instantly assured me that everything was all right. But I wasn’t falling for it this time. I knew I’d said that to myself like a hundred times already, but I was determined now.
“Why didn’t you stop it when you said you would, Nash? Why did you let it come to this?” I spat the words out at him. I could feel my nape reddening. He still had his hands on me, which was making it difficult for me to concentrate.
The smile dropped from his face, and he licked his lips. His hands were slowly withdrawing. He looked guilty, almost apologetic again.
“I’m sorry, Bonnie. I didn’t officially stop it, but I did text Sera about it. I was taking my time because I thought the scheduled date for the demolition was at least ten days away. I thought I had plenty of time,” he said and stepped away from me, giving me my space.
I finally extracted my arms away from the wall, breathing in deeply. Could I believe what he was saying? Was he fooling me again?
“I spoke to Sera; she said she didn’t get any orders from you,” I said, crossing my arms over my breasts now. Was he throwing his secretary under the bus to get another night with me?
Nash’s brows furrowed; he seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
“That’s strange, because she always reads my texts. She’s always on top of everything. And now that you mention it, she never replied to that one,” Nash said, pursing his lips.
I gulped, I didn’t want to overreach, like Sera had warned me. Maybe she was right to point out that I didn’t know her place in Nash’s life.
“I think she did this on purpose, Nash,” I said, with a quivering voice. The last thing I wanted was to turn into one of Nash’s jealous crazy women. That just wasn’t me. So out of character to fight over a man. But was I really fighting? Or was I fighting back? And I wasn’t even sure how Nash would react to those words.
“You’re probably right. She might be trying to jeopardize my relationship with you,” he said and relief flooded my limbs. Those were the last words I expected to hear from him.
“Is she jealous? Has she done this before?” I asked, stepping closer to him. Who was I kidding? There was no way I could resist those wide shoulders and that rock-solid chest.
“No, but that’s probably because I’ve never spent this much time with a girl before,” Nash said, wrapping one hand around my waist. He pulled me close to him. We were smiling again.
“You got here just in time,” I said, flinging my arms over his shoulders, and Nash leaned his face toward me, knocking our foreheads together gently.
“I wanted to see you again. I missed you already,” he said and I bit down on my lip.
“So, does this mean I can still work here?” I asked.
Nash kissed my forehead. “Of course. This is your office, your team. Those are your codes,” he replied and I felt giddy with happiness.
I had to give him another chance. Even if this was a game he was playing, Nash Preston was definitely the best player there was. Who was I to deny my body what it wanted? Wherever this was headed, I knew that nobody else could make me feel the way he did. And I deserved a shot at happiness the same way he deserved another chance. And really, what more did I have to lose now? He had my company, my building and my body. Now he was offering me my old job, my old team and a chance to be with him. I mean, how stupid would I have to be to say no to that?
I rose on my toes, reaching for a kiss, when I heard Peter clear his throat behind us. I was so lost in thought, that I had completely forgotten that we were still in that same spot, with all my employees, Peter, and the demolition men staring at the scene that had been unfolding.
“Does this mean that the building is not going to be demolished?” Peter asked, when Nash and I turned to look at him.
Chapter 25
Bonnie
I had my legs wrapped around Nash’s waist as he used his back to push open the door to my old office. The room was bare except for the furniture, I had already cleared it out. We were kissing furiously, my hands were on his face, and his tongue was deep inside my mouth. Our bodies were blazing.
“This is it? This is where you work?” he asked, panting.
I slid to my feet and started unbuckling my belt.
“This is it,” I said, panting as well. I was watching him as he took off his jacket and threw it to the floor. In seconds, his shirt had come off and he was sliding down his pants. I had still only managed to get my belt off.
“Come here,” he grunted and pulled me close to his naked body. He was hard for me, and I could feel his cock against me. He was quick to pull my blouse up, over my head and discard it to the floor with the rest of his clothes. He smiled when he saw my red lace bra.
His hands were on my jeans next, dragging it down my legs. He bent low as he pulled them and on his way back up he ki
ssed my knees, making me giggle.
I was about to have sex with Nash Preston in my office.
His chest was warm and rigid to touch, his abs flexing as he molded his body to mine. We were kissing again, but this was no ordinary kiss. His teeth tugged at my lower lip gently while his hands stroked the rest of my body, feeling my skin. He had wedged one leg between mine so that his cock was now pressed against me, right above my wetness. I was growing desperate for him, desperate for him to be inside me. He moved his hips as he kissed me, so that he was now stroking me there. I was going to explode.
I grabbed his cock in my hands. I wanted him now and he growled under his breath as my hands worked away.
“On the desk,” he said, pushing me away from him. My eyes widened, even though I knew exactly what he meant. I was just too excited to process those words. When I didn’t move, he caught me by my waist and lifted me up in the air. I gasped and giggled as he carried me in one arm, like I was as light as a feather.
He put me down on my old office table and stared me right in the eye.
“Move in with me, Bonnie. We’ve been apart for too long,” he said.
My mind was buzzing. Really? Right now? I smiled and my hands flew to my mouth with happiness. Of course I was going to move in with him. There was nothing more that I could have possibly wanted.
I rose to meet his face as he kissed me again.
My feet were dangling off the side of the table as he remained wedged between my legs. His hands were in my hair, bunching it up as he kissed me. I hadn’t even had a chance to respond to what he said. But it was evident what my answer to that would be.
His hand trailed down my breasts, down my belly to my palpitating wetness.
“You’re ready for me,” he said, drawing away.
I breathed in, not blinking once. I didn’t want to miss a moment of this.
Nash pushed me gently, with his hand between my breasts and I settled down with my back on the table. He stood at the edge, and then slowly grazed the tip of his cock on my clit, before pulling away from me. We held each other’s gazes as he extracted a condom from the pocket of his pants on the floor and tore it off. I moaned, arching up, writhing as I lay there on the table. I watched his every move, longingly, as he slipped the condom on.
Without warning, he moved up close to me and thrust himself inside me. I grabbed the edges of the table, with my hands splayed as he drove into me with strong quick thrusts. He was grunting, keeping his eyes focused on my bouncing big breasts. He wanted to watch me come. He was going to make me come on command.
I was moaning, but trying to keep it soft because I knew there were others in the office. They probably knew what we were doing anyway.
He was bringing me to the brink of orgasm. I could feel him hard and big inside me, filling me up, stroking me.
I lifted my head to look at him as I came. My body reeled and my toes curled as I held on to the table. Nash let himself go a few seconds later, and our gazes remained locked as we orgasmed together. I was out of my mind from the sensation. His hands found my breasts and he squeezed them hard, using them for support as he pumped into me.
It lasted forever, and even when it was over, Nash remained inside me. His body lay slumped over mine, his head on my heaving breasts. We were both panting, sweating and happy.
“This is not what we’re going to use my office for,” I said with a laugh, weaving my fingers through his hair.
“Only on lunch breaks,” he said, his voice vibrating against my ribcage. He was tracing the shape of my collarbones with his forefinger. He had that faraway look on his face that told me that he was satisfied, that he didn’t have a single care in the world.
“Your father won’t be pleased,” I said, raising an eyebrow. We hadn’t thought about anything else except each other since that night of the ball. I was beginning to wonder if Nash had thought this through yet. What being with me would mean for the other aspects of his life.
He lifted his head up to look at me with amusement in his eyes.
“Do I look like I give a fuck?” he said and we both burst out laughing.
Chapter 26
Eight months later
Nash
I swirled the finger of whiskey around in my crystal-cut glass, and it twinkled when it caught the light from the floor lamps in its ridges. Father was in his usual business suit, even though he probably hadn’t left the house all day. He was sitting across from me, in his spot on the couch, under the portrait of my great-great-grandfather, who had been an English Duke.
“So how do you spend your days now?” Father said, and I swirled the whiskey around some more, taking my time with that question. I was in no hurry to please him.
“On site, helping with the engineering work. On most days,” I replied, after several seconds. I hadn’t seen him in many months, probably four or five, and even in that short span of time he looked like he had grown older. A new woman, this time much closer to his age, who had greeted me at the door when I came to the house.
“So, you’re never actually in the office? Who is looking after the business?” he asked, in a sharp accusatory voice.
“I am. I give the business side of things my equal attention,” I said, taking a sip of the drink in my hand.
My father’s blue gaze skewered me; he was extremely displeased. “But you can’t give up the engineering, is that it? You have all this wealth, the success of the company depends on you, and yet you have to pretend like you’re some kind of blue-collar working-class man,” he said, sticking his nose up in the air and looking away from me.
I shook my head and smiled into my glass. I knew exactly what he was going to say next.
“It’s because of that Bonnie Calhoun. She’s the one who’s gotten you involved in all this,” he said.
I met his eyes, arching an eyebrow. “You’re right, Father. She’s the one who gave me the strength and inspiration to pursue my passion. I couldn’t have done it without her.” I knew that the smile on my face bothered him. He jerked his head away from me again, and this time I nearly laughed.
“So, you’re still cohabiting with her?” he asked, looking up at another one of our ancestor’s portrait. It was like he was praying to the regal old man with his eyes closed. I couldn’t believe I had been so afraid of this man in my childhood. That I had allowed him to affect my life this much.
“Yes, I live with Bonnie. She’s my girlfriend,” I said, placing the empty glass back down on the coffee table in front of me.
“You better watch out, son. Women like her, they’re only ever after our money. She lost her company and now thinks she can just milk the loss out of you,” he said.
My temples throbbed. This was why I’d stayed away from him for so long, because I couldn’t bear to hear him be nasty to Bonnie.
“She doesn’t need my money, Father, and she’s not after yours either. She’s managed just fine without it for twenty-eight years. And she isn’t like the women you cohabit with either. Luckily for me, I have better taste,” I said and stood up.
Father looked up at me, visibly offended by what I’d said. “I worked hard for this company, son. As did my father. We came to this country to establish an empire and we did. And now my own son is going to run it to the ground. I should never have asked you to take my place. I should never have signed it over to you,” he thundered, his voice choking in a fit of coughs. He was getting old and frail, and I felt a pang of guilt for not sympathizing with him.
I clenched my jaws and pushed my hands into my pockets, giving him a few moments to compose himself. If he hadn’t been such an asshole to me all my life, I might even have felt a little sorry for him. But I couldn’t, not after all the ways he had found to make me feel like I was never good enough. The truth was that he wasn’t good enough. At least not a good enough father.
“You didn’t ask me to take your place; you forced me to. You emotionally blackmailed me into giving my career up to run this business. And now you ca
n’t trust me to run it well. It’s mine now anyway, Father, and I can do with it as I please,” I said and, without waiting for a response, I walked away from him, toward the door of his living room.
“You were fine before you met her!” he cried from behind me, and I forced myself to not turn around.
No, I wasn’t fine before I met Bonnie. My father didn’t know how I had felt all my life. He didn’t know how everything had changed when I met her in college. How I strove to impress her, how I studied hard so she would have some reason to look at me, even if it was to pass me a look of contempt. My father had no clue how my life had changed after Bonnie moved in with me.
I didn’t need the approval of my family anymore. I didn’t need to sleep with faceless countless women to numb the feeling of insecurity I constantly felt.
Now that I had Bonnie in my life, I was a satisfied man. I was free to live the way I always wanted to, and I had her by my side.
Chapter 27
Bonnie
I heard Joe opening the front door and greeting Nash outside the living room, and I straightened on the couch. I’d nearly dozed off, reading and waiting for Nash to return. As his footsteps approached the living room, I could feel my heart racing. I couldn’t believe I was still so excited to see him after just a few hours apart. When was it going to sink in, that Nash was my boyfriend, that we were living together now?
He opened the door, and strode straight toward me. I had barely gotten a chance to sit up but Nash was at my side, pulling me into his arms. Our lips fused together in a kiss, like we were still long-lost lovers, meeting after decades of separation. His hands found my nape and he pinned me to him, propping me up like a doll against his body.
When I placed the palm of my hand on his chest, I could feel it throbbing.
“How was your day?” I asked, pulling away from him. When I looked into Nash’s eyes, they looked narrow and dark. He was anxious and nervous. I sighed, expecting a torrent of rage spurting out of him any moment now. The visit to his father couldn’t have gone well.
