Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) (22 page)

As they reached the elevators, Shawn kept his distance once Diana’s other side was flanked by the administrative assistant from his office. The woman chatted with Diana, and he took the time to breathe deeply and center himself.

They were here as business associates. After this morning she’d be his business partner, if she agreed. Only his business partner, as far as anyone was concerned. Until she consented to further disclose their involvement, he chafed at the thought of keeping their personal relationship a secret.

The elevator doors opened and he held back, allowing Diana and his other office staff to walk together down the hall a few steps in front of him. Surprising him, she stopped and waited, eliciting a smile from him. The first time he’d actually felt like grinning since they left the house.

“Don’t want to walk with me?” she teased him.

“Right.” He held the door for her. Up ahead, Tristen stood staring with a concerned expression. Shawn would have snarled, but he staunchly reminded himself that Tristen would never be interested in Diana except as a shifter he was helping.

“Tristen, what’s up?”

“Just checking in before I make my other stops this morning,” he said, all the while appearing to casually study Diana.

“Hello, Tristen. How are you?” Diana asked, busy with messages handed to her by the receptionist.

“Good. Everything going well, I take it.” Tristen moved to stand directly in front of her. So close he’d clearly invaded her space, causing her to stop opening a FedEx she’d just received.

“Marvelous. If you’ll excuse me … I’ve a meeting to prepare for this morning.” Diana patted his arm, then glanced back at Shawn before sailing down the hall.

“Tristen, we’re all busy after being away for a week.” Shawn tore his gaze from her swaying hips, forcing himself to pay attention to Tristen.

“This isn’t a social visit. I’ve some results I think we need to discuss.”

“Then walk with me.”

Tristen walked alongside him, lowering his voice as he asked, “How is Diana? Any headaches or flashes of light?”

“Why are you asking? You know something,” Shawn said, as chilling apprehension crept up his spine. He waited for Tristen to enter his office before locking the door. “What the hell is going on?”

Tristen shrugged, shaking his head. “I don’t know exactly. There’s a break in Diana’s neural responses. A consistent break that occurs when she’s stressed. At first, I thought it was fall-out from the training and revamping her neural pathways. But each time she’s undergone any type of training involving her limbic system reflexes, she snaps. It’s some sort of short that occurs within her sympathetic nervous system.”

“Speak English.”

“Fight or flight. When she’s stressed by an aggressor, she falters in her control. I thought maybe it might be some sort of hormonal imbalance, like too much epinephrine. But all the samples we took, blood and urine, indicate her neurotransmitters are within normal limits, except when she’s threatened. Then her whole system goes haywire. She spikes — or her hormone levels do — and wham, she’s ready to go off.”

“I don’t think anyone here is going to kick her in the shin. She’ll be with me. Everyone here loves her. You know how sweet she is; if what you’re saying is true, it would take a situation akin to a street fight to tax her system here.”

“Right, or an aggressor. At least that’s what I believe. I’m concerned. We need to keep a watch on her, is all I’m suggesting. We’ve forced her to live without the defenses, walls she built up that kept her from reaching her potential. There was a reason she had walls to her personality. Now, we’ve freed her.”

“I understand. I get that we’ve allowed her to access her alpha nature. The good and powerful parts. I won’t let her out of my sight. Consider it done. How soon can you repair this crack?”

The wolf shifter stilled. Tristen’s eyes flashed red. Not a good sign. “I don’t know that this type of neural gap
can
be repaired. She’ll have to learn how to cope. Not impossible — that’s what she did previously. Difficult to do in a healthy way, but she must at some point.”

“Exactly what type of response would she have, to get you this worked up?”

“Not good. She’s lethal. Imagine a leopardess protecting cubs. It won’t matter whether she’s in shifter form. She’ll respond when threatened.”

Every hair on Shawn’s body stood up at Tristen’s expression and this information. He remembered his own instinctive reaction when Diana had been threatened. It was nothing compared to a leopardess reacting in fear. That type of gut reaction would be savage in disposing of any threat.

“When we return from Nevada, let’s get her set up and take care of this, Tristen. Whatever it takes.”

The wolf in Tristen flashed near the surface. That only occurred when he was in protector mode. This was serious.

“I expect you and Fin to accompany us to Vegas.”

“I’ve already booked our flights,” Tristen said.

Shawn removed his hand from his pocket and flipped a circular disk up into the air above Tristen’s head. The man caught the piece and opened his palm.

“One thousand dollars?” Tristen asked.

“Ten more chips for you and Fin when we return. Do whatever is necessary to keep her safe. I want Santo on this one. Get him prepped. Where the hell is he these days?”

• • •

Diana walked into Shawn’s office to find Tristen with him. “Oh, I’m sorry. We had a meeting scheduled. Shall I come back?”

“No, I was just leaving. Congratulations on the nomination. We’re all … proud of you, Diana.” Tristen held out his hand. Diana hesitated; shyly, she reached out and placed her hand in his. Tristen shook her hand briefly before releasing her hand. He turned and left, shutting the door on his way out.

“Is now a good time?” she asked.

“Yes. Anytime is a good time for you to come to my office.” He reached for her, pulling her into his arms, his mouth hungry to taste her. All he could think about was bending her over his desk. “God, what I’d like to do you.”

“I’m not wearing panties,” she murmured against his mouth, and lightly bit down on his lip.

“Jesus, why did you tell me that?” His hand rubbed over the upper curve of her ass. He pushed himself against her crotch, knowing this would incite his craving to plunge into her. There was a discussion planned and he couldn’t very well do what he’d like, considering what he needed to talk about with her. He tugged her hand, taking her over to his sofa and pulling her down onto his lap. “I need your decision. Yes or no?”

“What’s the question first?” she asked, her arms lightly pressing down on his shoulders.

“Partnership. I already asked, several times over the last week. And this has nothing to do with our change in status. I made the decision when I first scheduled our morning meeting more than a few weeks ago. I put off pressuring you since there were other
points
we had to cover last week.” He fingered the button on her shirt that kept her luscious breasts hidden from his view.

The button released, giving him a tease of flesh. Inhaling at the sight of the tops of her breasts, he let his finger skim between her cleavage inside her shirt. “I want you in a more permanent capacity. You’ve worked hard. You’re up for the Design Academy award. You deserve it. And, besides, I’m selfish.”

“And it’s all just coincidence?”

“I’m not joking. Look at the date on the first page. These documents have been on my desk for a week.” He reached over to the side table next to the sofa, and handed her a three-page partnership proposal. Her eyes widened after reading the first page containing salary, bonuses, and benefits package.

She lifted her eyes to him. “Doesn’t seem like a selfish move? I don’t know. What about Gordon or Elyza? They’ve been here longer.”

“Yes. They have. But you’re the one with the accounts. They have other interests and don’t work power-weeks of fifty or sixty hours. They might want to be a partner for status; they’d hate the requirements.”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

“If you worked as I’d expect a partner to put in time, it would be a step down from what you’ve done over the past year. Which is why I think a partnership is a good move for you. It would afford you the freedom to pick and choose the clients you want to work with versus those on your roster.”

She looked at him over the pages in her hand. “You make it hard for a girl to say no.”

“That’s because I want you to say yes. Say it.” He ran his hands down to her hips and squeezed, pushing his erection up against her.

“You’re playing dirty.” She opened her legs, permitting him to grind up against the V-shape where he longed to embed himself. Moaning and fingering the collar of his shirt, she closed her eyes. “Yes. I can’t fight you. Not when you’re doing that to me.”

“Good girl. We’ve a celebration planned for lunch. If you’d said no, it would have been a much less happy event.”

“Did you think I’d say no? Really?”

“I never know for sure what you’re up to. That’s why you’ve got me locked up. You’re unpredictable. Very beautiful, sexy, but damn, I never know what you’re thinking.”

She bit her lip, unleashing a devilish light that permeated her gaze. She captured his hand, guiding him to the hem of her skirt. She wiggled, opening her legs, and fed his arm beneath the material. “Can you guess now?”

His finger brushed across her moist slit, then he scissored two fingers, rubbing them over her folds. Pushing her hips forward, she opened completely for him.

“Oh baby, I know what you want.”

Chapter 15

Earlier this morning he’d taken her, hard and rough. Waking to him between her legs, she’d enjoyed total sensation as he’d slammed into her. This act of possession was mutual. She wanted him as much as he seemed to want her. It would hurt if she crashed from the places he’d taken her in body and spirit. It couldn’t go on forever. That piercing truth kept her in check and she’d held back from giving in to him completely, as he would have liked.

Diana sniffed the partnership documents. The odor was unmistakable. Quinn’s scent marked the pages. After this last week, the mystery surrounding many of Shawn’s staff had come to light. They loyally protected him. Nearly everyone around Shawn gave into his imperious nature, without questioning, and she’d been a witness to the staff at his home or Matrix supporting his decisions.

During her time at Matrix she had met Quinn, the wolf shifter who had come to the offices, and he was the first person who didn’t follow Shawn’s orders. He was an equal with Shawn. And from what she’d learned, he was also a close friend and Shawn’s attorney. The man’s rakish good looks said it all, and she’d stayed clear of him whenever he was present at Matrix. His scent spoke about dark, illicit cravings and his wolf eyes flashed satisfaction, which was more than she needed to know before becoming involved with Shawn.

If she was only one more person who gave in to Shawn, what would keep him from tiring of her? He was a powerful man and an alpha leopard, and for a shifter such as Shawn, the hunt was salacious. Too soon she expected his fascination with her to ebb, which was why she had him promise not to hook her into mating so he could be off in search of greener pastures with the waning of his lust.

Except he kept giving her these looks that made her heart melt.

The tight edges she’d seen him wrapped in over the last year were gone.

“Let’s put this aside. For a few moments.” Shawn took the contract from her fingers and dropped it onto the low table in front of the sofa. Cupping her chin, he tilted her head up, angling her mouth just so, before he kissed her. He stared into her eyes, his expression serious as though he searched for something in the gaze she returned. He brought his mouth down to hers, this time his tongue gentle and coaxing. Shawn continued kissing her; his mouth was insistent, though not hurried or rough as over the last week when they’d been ravenous to connect.

He captured her mouth in a kiss edged by sweetness in the sigh he let escape as he released her. His finger pressed into her, slowly swirling, and then he curled the tip, pressing and rubbing against her G-spot. She arched back and he guided her down to the sofa cushions.

“Let me taste you,” he murmured. He knelt next to the sofa, pushing her skirt up over her thighs. He spread her folds, pressing his hot mouth against her clit, licking her and sending what felt like electrical charges through her belly.

“I’m going to come,” she moaned.

“Not yet, hold on for me. We both know what it took for you to learn to obey me. Need another lesson?” He laughed, low and rough, the sound vibrating over her clit and making her shudder.

“You won’t. Here?”

“I would. Where ever I please.” He flicked his tongue and then sucked her clit. Each time she slipped closer and closer to falling over the edge. He slipped one long finger inside her pussy, finger-fucking her until she writhed under his hand.

Shawn rubbed his thumb expertly against her clit and she bit the back of her hand to keep from screaming out. “Shawn,” she whispered.

“Remember, I claim you. If you come early, I’ll only be too pleased to remind you why you’d better mind me.” His seductive voice was steeped in the power of knowing she’d do what he told her to do. “Whose are you to possess? Whose mark do you carry?”

She began to shake, her muscles quivered uncontrollably. “Yours. Only yours.”

“Do you want me to let you come?”

“Yes, Shawn. Please.” No matter how hard she battled against her feelings, she was going down fast, falling like a brick with no possible way of stopping. He commanded her and she was almost powerless to hold back.

“You’ve been a good girl this week. Come so I can taste your sweet honey.”

He plunged two fingers into her and rapidly brought her to the edge of release. She kept her gaze on him, aware he expected her to maintain every possible connection. He was hard underneath his pants and she didn’t know why he held back from taking advantage of this opportunity. She came, her pussy clenching around his fingers, and her tissues were swollen and wet. He began to suck on her clit, making the wave of her orgasm build and grow even more powerful, and then she released again against his mouth.