Now, Please (8 page)

H
unter
and I found ourselves at a Thai restaurant at the far corner of the hotel complex. The food was much better than the steakhouse, but had very few diners. It seemed all the businessmen wanted steak, regardless of quality, and that was that.

We’d talked about nothing much since he picked me up from my room. I’d had the connecting door closed again, needing some time to reflect. As much as I hated to admit it, Rodge had affected me. I needed to reaffirm what I was doing with Hunter, and that required talking to myself. I really didn’t need Hunter overhearing my rambling. Especially when it was about him.

Hunter laid down his chopsticks after he’d cleared his plate and looked at me with heavy, delving eyes. “Bruce mentioned you’d been speaking to my father.”

Suspicion rang in his voice. It seemed I wasn’t the only one affected by Rodge.

“Yes. All the golf carts were gone. I had to walk to meet Bruce, and Rodge was right there to take advantage of it.”

“What did you talk about?”

My stomach turned, both because of my doubt, and because of the way Hunter was interrogating me.

There goes my appetite.
I put my chopsticks down and pushed my plate away. “He knows you use your admins for sex, and came to the conclusion that I’m happy being used.” Heat prickled my eyes, threatening tears. I bit my lip and looked away, trying to hold back the emotion that had been threatening me all day. “Who knows. Maybe I am. It’s better than the alternative.”

Hunter’s voice softened. “Which is?”

“That I let you use me for money.” Tears flooded my eyes. “He offered to buy me. Since you had. I felt about
this
small.” I offered up my thumb and index finger to demonstrate before looking away.

Hunter stood and came around the table. He pulled me up and quickly walked us from the restaurant. On the way out, he told the hostess his name and room and said to bill the dinner. We turned to the right and pushed out through an exit. The chill of the night brushed my face, helping to dry the streaks of tears. Hunter shrugged out of his jacket and draped it across my shoulders as he led us to a bench secluded in darkness.

“You were willing to try the job for a month without the stipulation of sex,” Hunter said in a soft and smooth voice. He put his arm over my shoulder and drew me into his side. “I wasn’t supposed to touch you, remember? And I tried not to. I really did. Every day I had to hold myself back. But then you wore that sexy outfit, and you were so close—I touched you before I knew what I was doing. It wasn’t because you offered yourself; it was because I pushed myself on you.

“You have to remember—my father manipulates. That’s what he does. He must know you can’t be bought, or he’d be working that angle with all his charm. Instead, he’s making you feel like…this. Like someone of little worth and moral value. He knows exactly what he’s doing here, Olivia. You aren’t the girl he’s trying to say you are.”

“I signed the contract.”

“It wasn’t because of the sex. We both know that. I know the sort of person you are, Livy, which is why I give you the warnings I do when the guilt starts to eat away at me. I’m the monster here, not you. I’m the one preying on you, not the other way around.”

“You’re not preying on me,” I murmured, burrowing into him.

His arms tightened around me until he moved me onto his lap and hugged me into his chest. He put my arms around his shoulders and rested my face against his neck. He said, “Some women take my father up on his offers. His second wife, for a start. And his third. His fourth will, too, whoever she turns out to be. She’ll be half his age and less than that in IQ, and she’ll give up happiness for his bank account. I knew you wouldn’t—in my heart, I knew. I
know,
I should say. But old wounds make it hard not to question. I shouldn’t have accused you like I did. I’m sorry.”

I breathed in his smell, letting him hold me. His strong arms felt so secure. His apology so heartfelt.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, giving me a lingering kiss on my cheek.

“As good as can be expected from being pitted between you and your dad.”

Hunter kissed me again, letting his lips remain on my skin for a while before squeezing me again. “You put up with a lot from me.”

I was pretty sure I brought most of it on myself, but I didn’t want to argue. Instead, I said, “Let’s get a drink.”

“Of course. Should we go back for your jacket?”

“Why, are you getting cold?”

“I don’t get cold—I’m a man.” He stood with me in his arms before he bent to place me delicately on the ground.

“You’d probably repeat that over and over until you froze to death.”

“Probably.”

I leaned against his side, feeling the pressure of his hand on the small of my back. “I am sorry about my father,” he said as we reached the door.

“He tried to say you were using me to get at Bruce. If you hadn’t been honest about that, I would’ve been thrown for a loop.”

“Any other admin and I wouldn’t have mentioned it. I trust you. I trust that you see what I’m trying to do, and are as invested in the cause as I am. I don’t know why my father just won’t let things lie. He constantly turns up in my life to cause havoc.”

We stopped along the way to get my jacket before moving on to a different restaurant. This one was Japanese and advertised karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. Thankfully, it was Thursday, which meant the dance floor was clear of bad singers. The mellow sounds of a string quartet played over the sound system.

Hunter led me into the bar, a sectioned-off area with full access to the dance floor. We sat at one of the tables amid half a dozen businessmen and waited for the waitress to work around to us.

“So you talked to Bruce…” I started as Hunter leaned back in his seat and stretched out his legs.

“Yes. He approached me, actually. First, he raved about you. Warned me that if he wasn’t selling his company, he’d steal you away to work for him.”

“I’m sure he’s got a bunch of programmers way better than me.”

Hunter’s lips quirked, almost a grin. “Probably, but they are probably all geeky men who spent their youths in their mothers’ basements playing video games. They aren’t Bruce’s speed. Or so he said, when I told him exactly what you did.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” I huffed, quieting when the waitress came for our orders. “I may be from the working class, but I haven’t actually
worked,”
I continued after we’d given them.

“You have a good work ethic. That goes a long way. And you’re fun. If it wasn’t for you, he would never have sought me out. If not for you, I would be lost.”

The music was turned up and lights dimmed. The disco ball in the center of the floor started spinning, catching and throwing the lights in a way that offset the subtle sounds of the string quartet.

I pushed the hair away from my eyes with the back of my hand. It was a little
Gone with the Wind,
but my heart was fluttering with what he’d said, and, more importantly, the tone he said it in. “If I wasn’t here, would you have hounded him a bit more?” I said.

Hunter sipped his drink. “I wouldn’t have had a chance. My father had all but sold him. But with you—you stand out. When we were all together, the four of us, I saw it immediately. I figured stepping back and letting your unassuming charm come through was the best way to play it.”

I was two seconds from fanning my face and fainting. I needed to get a grip! “And your father…”

“Doesn’t think anyone can do his job better than him. It’s why his company is bottlenecked right now. It’s as big as it’ll ever get with him in charge—any larger and he’d have to give up some precious control.”

“I always thought you were controlling.”

“I can be in certain situations…” His eyes glimmered with heat. My heartbeat increased. He leaned forward and extended a hand. “May I have this dance?”

“Wha—” I glanced around the bar, suddenly embarrassed. That was
not
where I thought he was going with the heat infusing his eyes. “Uh… I can certainly shake a leg, but ballroom dancing isn’t in my repertoire.”

“C’mon, Livy.” He stood, reaching down to take my hand.

“No one is out there! We’ll stand out. But not in a good way!”

“Just follow my lead.” He led me to the dance floor and turned me toward him, waiting for me to rest my hand on his shoulder. He brought my other hand in close, resting our hands against his chest.

I sighed as he stepped forward, making me step backward with him. I felt the soft music drifting down around us as the light from the disco ball showered us. His grip tightened further and his steps became shorter, allowing for more contact between us. His cheek came in close to my face. His heat enveloped me along with his delicious smell.

“See?” he whispered in my ear. “Nothing to it.”

I closed my eyes and exhaled as I felt his body moving. His strong and sure lead left no doubt about his intentions within the dance, and as long as I matched those movements, and let my body melt into his, I had no problem keeping up. His heart beat steadily against our held hands. His lips softly glanced against my face, leading to the corner of my mouth. He stopped there and backed away, looking down on me.

Hunger infused his gaze, but there was also a softness I hadn’t been expecting. “I didn’t really need you to come on this trip.”

I stared at his lips, desperate to be kissed. Wanting to feel the electricity from the contact. “I thought you wanted me to make contact with Bruce.”

“I did, but that wasn’t the real reason I brought you.”

“And what was?” I asked in a breathy whisper. His mouth dipped toward mine. Longing infused his eyes.

He winced, glancing down at his side. He reached down to his pocket before taking out his phone. “Bruce wants to speak with me. Privately.”

There were many things I probably should’ve said, like “Exciting!” Or “That’s promising.” Instead, I uttered a disappointed “Oh.”

It wasn’t the most professional of responses.

He looked at me for a long moment. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“Yeah! Of course you do.” I followed him back to the table. “I’ll just head back. I’m tired, anyway.”

“I think he wants to talk business.” I could see the regret in his eyes. “It might be a while. I most likely won’t see you tonight…”

“Hunter, you’re not a sex dispenser. Relax. But I’m taking my beer with me.”

He gave a small smile. The action had me stopping as I reached for my glass and staring.

His face transformed from extremely handsome to something indescribable. His eyes shone from within, infusing me until I felt a smile build in response. He was hotter than any model, and more charismatic than any celebrity. And that was just with the smallest of grins. I couldn’t imagine what a whole smile would do. Probably melt my panties.

“Sounds fair.” His thumbs flew across his phone before he slipped it back into his pocket. He peeled off a bill from a thick money roll and handed it to the waitress when she came around.

“I’ll just get your change,” she said, diving into her pockets.

“No need.” He put his hand on the small of my back and waited for me to step out in front of him.

“Are you sure?”

Hunter ignored her as he escorted me out. We were followed with a “Thank you!”

“You are so incredibly rude while being over-the-top generous. How do you pull that off?” I said as we made it outside and Hunter chose a golf cart.

“It’s a gift.”

“From a white elephant party, maybe.”

He handed me into the golf cart before walking to the other side and climbing in. “I overheard someone giving the staff an earful about having no carts at his disposal,” he said, as he started the engine. “He did not like having to walk.”

“Was he in our building?”

“Yes. And the staff said that they only re-park the carts, but that there are always carts available unless they’ve all been used.”

A sickening feeling came over me. “Would Rodge have moved the carts?”

“He doesn’t necessarily subscribe to ethics…”

“What a…” I stopped there. I had a few names I could use, and none of them were very ladylike.

We parked in front of our building, where the golf carts were once again in a line. Hunter escorted me to my room even though I protested I could get there just fine on my own. As I opened the door, I turned back to him.

“Knock ’em dead.” I smiled at him.

His eyes were serious as he beheld me. He stared for a long moment before turning around and walking the way we had come.

“Okay,
goodbye
…” I muttered as I closed the door. “Manners, anyone?”

I went to my suitcase and pulled out a few silky things, but then grabbed my oversized T-shirt. If he planned to be wheeling and dealing late into the night, he wouldn’t come in and wake me. I was hopefully safe in comfortable yet frumpy attire.

I
came awake slowly
. It took me a moment to realize what woke me up. I glanced at the clock. It was just after midnight.

Another soft rap came from the connecting door. Hunter wanted to see me.

With a thrill of excitement, I threw back the covers and lurched toward the door. Yawning, I undid the latch and then stretched my arms, trying to chase away the stiffness from deep sleep. I’d forgotten that the door was closed. I hadn’t figured he’d want to connect with me tonight, so didn’t worry about it.

I pulled open the door, shivering with the cold. Not seeing anyone, I peeked inside his room, catching him coming around the corner from the restroom, shirtless.

“Hunter?”

“Sorry—I didn’t mean to wake you. I—” He cut off as his gaze hit me. It traveled my face, to my hair, and then down to the YMCA T-shirt that hung loosely off my frame.

There was absolutely no way I could look less sexy than I did right then. I probably should’ve thought of that before I opened the door…

“Uh…” I crossed my arms. “I, ah…I didn’t dress up. I can go put something else on, if you want?”

He walked to me slowly, as if in a daze. His eyes came to rest on mine. “Bruce is going with me. He listened to my whole plan, cuts included, and where I think I can be in five years. I told him what would happen if we didn’t go with him, too, and what I thought about that. He gave me an unofficial nod. You did it.”

“
You
did it—I just got you a meeting and an open mind.”

Fire burned in his gaze. He stepped closer, inches from me now. His tone should’ve been excited, or happy, or filled with pride, but instead, it was dripping with desire.

I gulped loudly. My nipples constricted under the heat of that stare, poking the silly shirt I wore.

He noticed. His hand came around me and pulled me into his body. “You are so damn sexy, Olivia. So, so beautiful.”

Possibly he hadn’t noticed the shirt. Somehow. “I didn’t think I’d see you.”

“I should’ve let you sleep. But…” His expression grew troubled. “I missed you tonight. I wanted to share the good news.”

His hand came up to my chin and lifted my face. His eyes focused on my lips. “I need your presence, Olivia. It’s all I can think about when you’re not around. You’re all I can think about.” He shook his head as his frown deepened. “I don’t know myself anymore.”

His head bent. Uncertainty flashed across his expression. “But I can’t ignore this. Not anymore.” His lips glanced across mine once, before he steadied. His lips connected with mine. He opened my mouth with his while tilting his head, deepening the contact. His tongue flitted into my mouth. He was giving in!

A pure shot of electricity coursed through my body and singed my insides. Goosebumps spread across my skin as shivers racked me. My head went dizzy and my sex throbbed. I moaned into his mouth with fluttering eyes, running my hands up his chest and losing myself in his sweet yet wild taste.

“I want to make love to you, Livy,” he mumbled against my lips.

My breath caught. I almost didn’t believe the word he’d used instead of
fuck
. “Yes, Hunter.”

He didn’t push me into my room; he pulled me into his. The door shut with a soft click before he bent down and scooped me up into his arms. His lips connected with mine again. Bursts of pleasure exploded in my body with the feel of his lips. With the heat of his body. With the fact that he was ignoring his fears and giving in. To me.

He set me down long enough to strip off my T-shirt and his pants before laying me in the center of the bed. Without a word, he settled himself between my thighs, resting his body on top of mine. His kiss deepened. Became more passionate. He threaded his fingers through mine as his hips slowly pushed toward me, sending his manhood deep into my body.

“I’ve wanted this since the beginning, Livy,” he murmured against my lips.

I fell into the sensations. Holding on to his words. My body wound tighter, and then tighter still, as he thrust into me, over and over. I whimpered as the pleasure shook me in waves. His tongue flicked in my mouth, needy and insistent, mimicking our lovemaking. My eyes fluttered with the feel of him. His hard length inside, his solid body on top.

“Mmm,” I moaned, tightening my legs around him. Electricity surged, his kiss applying the final ingredient to an already addictive recipe. “Yes, Hunter.”

I gyrated my hips, meeting his thrusts. He crashed into me. My moaning grew louder. His kisses became fervent, almost desperate. I matched his intensity, letting it all go. All control, all hope of keeping a part of myself from him—I opened up fully for him to take.

Without warning, pleasure like I’d never experienced flooded into my body. I convulsed, crying out. Ecstasy vibrated up my middle.

Hunter slowed for a moment, his kiss turning languid. My body matched.

And then he started again. Faster now. Whipping my body back into a frenzy.

“Oh, no, Hunter,” I said as the feeling once again redlined. Pleasure so sharp it cut. My muscles flexed, my body primed for another orgasm.

He pumped into me, hitting all the right places. His hard chest teased my sensitive nipples. His clever tongue flicked and tasted, taking me higher than he had before.

“Oh, Hunter. Oh…” I tried to take my hands out of his so I could scratch his back, but he wouldn’t set me free. He held on, increasing the friction. Moving faster.

Panting, I squeezed him tighter with my thighs. I tried to arch, getting away from that tantalizing kiss. There was just too much. Too much sensation. I was drowning in it.

“I won’t make this easy on you, Olivia,” he whispered. “Because it’s far from easy for me. I want all of you.”

“Already…gave…myself.”

“I don’t want just your body. I want your heart. I want you to give us much as I’m about to.”

My stomach flipped. My heart swelled as expectation filled me. Without warning, another climax tore through me. “Oh!”

He nibbled my lips as he let go of my hands. His arms worked around my body as he sat up, pulling me up with him. He wrapped my legs around his waist and felt down my back until his hands were on my hips. He kept me moving over him now, thrusting upward as he brought me down, getting deeper. Taking another little piece of me.

I let my head fall back, moaning. The winding in my core intensified, coiling into a tight ball of unbearable pleasure. “No, please,” I said, squeezing my eyes tight against the feelings.

Hunter’s fingers curled around the back of my neck and he brought my face into his. His lips claimed mine again. His taste, savory and wild, blossomed in my senses, adding to the feel of his body and the depth of his thrust. “Ohhh God,” I groaned as yet another orgasm broke me down.

Still he kept going, faster now, winding again. Pounding my body with exquisite pleasure. Making me writhe and twist over him, unsure if I wanted to run to or away from him. Unsure what this all meant, only that I was too far in now. Too far. I couldn’t give any more. He demanded too much.

As if hearing me, he said, “A little bit more, baby. Give me just a little bit more.”

He hugged me tighter, almost cutting off my breath. I held on for dear life, digging my nails into him for something to hold on to as everything around me flew apart.

I whimpered with another orgasm, immediately building. “Just a little bit more,” he promised, thrusting harder. Pumping into my body with wild abandon. Holding on to me to keep me rooted to him.

“Little…bit…more,” he whispered, giving me another deep, body-consuming kiss. Another climax, shuddering me over him, squeezing out a tear.

Raw. I felt completely raw, emotionally and physically. Pushed too far. Broken.

“Good girl.” Hunter pushed us forward until we tumbled onto the bed in a mess of limbs.

On overdrive, my hips swung up of their own accord, striving for the big completion all these orgasms had been driving toward. To the final act that would cement what making love was really about.

Hunter’s lips were never far from mine, not even to kiss another part of me. Always connected, body and soul. Demanding I stay connected too.

“Almost there,” he whispered.

I clung to him in desperation, tears in my eyes, scared and in awe at the same time with what I was giving to another human being. But he held me so tight, protecting me, possessing me. Honoring me.

“Come with me, baby,” Hunter commanded, emotion dripping from every word.

His lips met mine as the world bleached, and then blasted out color. I gritted my teeth with the ferocity of the climax. My body sizzled with my shudders, the culmination of hours of orgasms that overflowed into pure, untarnished pleasure. A tear dripped down my face as I melted, finally coming down off my high and relishing his weight pressing me down into the mattress.

He kissed me again, a sweet meeting of the lips that fluttered my heart. “Rest, baby. I’ll be here all night.” He moved until he was curled around me possessively, pulling me into his chest with his strong arms.