Cunning Page 5

  I was already getting too technical for Oren, and I knew it. There was part of me that wanted to go on, to talk particulars, but by the way his eyes wandered about, I knew it wouldn’t serve any purpose other than to stroke my ego. Furthermore, it would delay my meeting with Ellis, my dinner with Oren, and most importantly, the meeting I was anticipating with Charli.

  “Then stop it.”

  I nodded. “I’ve made calls. The hearings will start soon. We have experts lined up to speak and answer questions. Carroll isn’t alone. The Finance Committee is pretty evenly divided.”

  Oren slapped the arm of the chair. “This shit didn’t get out of hand when I was running the U.S. side of Demetri. I had a handle…”

  I clenched my jaw. This was bullshit. He never had a handle on any of this. If he had he wouldn’t have almost lost everything in 2009. He was just lucky to have started Demetri at a time when the government was doling out tax breaks like candy on Halloween. If I had to spend another minute with him now and then dinner, my blood pressure would be through the roof. That would undoubtedly not bode well for Charli.

  When he paused, I stood. “Dinner? Let’s make it early. I have plans.”

  “You? You haven’t had plans…”

  …since Jocelyn.

  Well, even he had the decency not to complete his comment, not after what he’d said earlier. “I have plans. I can meet you at six o’clock.”

  “Four Seasons. I’ll be waiting.”

  That meant he’d have an hour drinking lead on me. Great. I nodded, grabbed the folder on my desk, and made sure the screens on my computer were locked. “Show yourself out.”

  “Son, that wasn’t the only meeting in Del Mar I wanted to hear about.”

  My feet stilled. “What are you talking about?”

  “I know you met with Peterson.” He lowered his voice and nodded. “Working both sides of that sin tax—you’re starting to get this.”

  I shook my head. He had no idea of my intentions. “We can discuss it tonight.”

  Just before I reached the conference room, my phone buzzed. Normally I wouldn’t check, but it could be Isaac. I slowed my steps and checked the screen. It was a text from Deloris.

  Deloris: “THREE UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO LOG ON TO YOUR OFFICE DESKTOP.”

  My father’s a fucking idiot. If he thought I would give him carte blanche in my office, he was dumber than his Neanderthal attitude.

  Me: “OREN’S IN THE BUILDING.”

  Deloris: “WILL KEEP WATCHING AND STOP FROM MY END.”

  Me: “HE’LL NEVER CRACK YOUR SECURITY. BUT KEEP WATCHING.”

  Deloris: “I ALWAYS DO.”

  Pressing my lips together, I held back the smile. She was better than the lackluster security he had in London. As a matter of fact, unbeknownst to him, a few months back she upped their security and replaced a few questionable employees, saving his ass again.

  Then I saw a message I’d missed.

  Isaac: “MISS COLLINS CANCELED THE SPA APPOINTMENT. SHE JUST LEFT THE HOTEL ON FOOT. WILL FOLLOW.”

  I took a deep breath. Maybe our afternoon discussion of rules wasn’t enough. Though my hand would miss the delightful sensation, my belt would be more effective.

  AT 7:45 I STEPPED from the suite with my head held high. Nox left me five one-hundred-dollar bills, and while my plan was to save every penny, that wasn’t starting yet. Instead of going to the spa appointment, I used my time wisely, walking to a few different stores, purposely avoiding the higher-end clothing. Nox may have said I wasn’t a cheap whore, but he purposely made me feel that way. I intended to deliver.

  The off-the-shoulder skater dress was perfect—red and barely reaching the middle of my thighs. It was too short to follow Nox’s directions. I wasn’t obeying anyway. One more violation wouldn’t matter. Near the back of the store, I found a cheap gold armband that added to the illusion. Determined to avoid everything lying upon the king-sized bed, I found some strappy patent leather, high-heeled sandals and a matching purse, complete with a gaudy gold chain strap that matched my new armband.

  My makeup was a work of art. Golden shimmery eye shadow and heavy black eyeliner made the woman in the picture in Nox’s letter look like she’d been without makeup. Of course I found a lipstick to match the bright red of my dress. I curled and teased my hair, keeping one of my favorite childhood movies in the back of my mind. By the time I was done, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere would have been proud and offered me a role in Pretty Woman.

  The closer I came to Mobar, the faster my pulse surged. Twice he’d written not to disobey him. I’d disobeyed him on every count, and I had two more directions to defy before I was done. I just hoped Nox wasn’t there yet, because when he arrived, I planned not to be sitting alone. I also wasn’t planning on spending my time running my finger over the rim of a glass… and it wouldn’t be full either.

  I stopped at the entrance of the bar and scanned the room. There were tables with couples and more with groupings of people. I smiled at the clientele: mostly men and women wearing suits, probably visiting New York on business. I took a deep breath. It was showtime and my main audience had yet to arrive. That was good. I needed another drink before that reunion.

  THE MUSCLES IN my neck twitched as I made my way toward Mobar. My note had been very specific as to attire and directions. Charli was mine for the next year. I planned to make her think she was completely at my disposal.

  Isaac told me that she’d already defied my orders by canceling the spa appointment. I also knew she’d walked to some nearby stores. After her spanking this afternoon, the idea that she was purposely defying me had me both pissed and aroused.

  I knew her dress size from Del Mar, but Deloris was the one who learned her shoe size. I didn’t read it, but apparently, Infidelity’s profile was extremely thorough.

  The black dress I had sent over from Saks was beaded, short, and dipped in the front and back. She couldn’t wear a bra, and I left explicit instructions for her not to wear anything else. The shoes were black with high heels and reminded me of the ones she’d displayed on the dashboard of the Boxster. I was fucking getting hard thinking about it. In the matching handbag was five hundred dollars in cash. It wasn’t as if she’d need to pay for anything. It was simply a reminder that I paid for her—she was mine.

  I would most definitely be fucking her tight pussy, but first I would fuck her mind.

  The upscale bar with the red walls and golden booths created the perfect ambiance. It was like walking into a 1950’s film, and Charli was the starlet. Every man’s fantasy was my reality. I was ready to see if she followed directions as well in New York as she had in Del Mar. My jaw clenched as I approached the bar. Charli didn’t see me. She couldn’t with the men on either side of her.

  What the hell?

  She wasn’t wearing the black dress. I could only see a portion of the red material that hung from her slender shoulder as I moved closer. My entire body trembled. The walls and her dress weren’t the only red I saw… rushing blood tinted my vision as my teeth clenched. My day had gone from bad to worse, and soon hers would too.

  I laid my hand on one man’s shoulder and motioned with my head for him to get lost. For only a second he looked as though he might argue. Charli flinched, but didn’t turn toward me. One down, I then placed my hand on the other man’s shoulder, the one seated beside her. My words came out more as a growl. “You have my seat.”

  He looked from me to Charli. She smiled at him, and the heat boiling from my collar told me that my face joined the party of red. If this asshole didn’t move in the next three seconds, I wasn’t responsible.

  “Goodbye, Chad,” Charli said. “Thank you for the drink.”

  “Is this the guy you’re waiting for…?”

  “Your three seconds are up, Chad.” My nostrils flared with exaggerated breaths. However, instead of decking him—as I wanted to do—I reached for Charli’s forearm. “We’re leaving. Now.”

  “Do you know thi
s jerk?” Chad asked, standing and meeting me chest to chest.

  If he only fucking knew how pissed I was, he’d be running with his tail between his legs. I stood taller, dwarfing him by at least six inches. When I turned toward Charli, I couldn’t believe my eyes. She wasn’t wearing anything that I’d bought. Under my grip was some cheap gold jewelry that looked like a snake twisted around her forearm. Her eyelids sparkled. She was made up like some kind of eighties’ throwback punk-rocker.

  “We’re leaving,” I again growled.

  Chad’s hand came to my chest. The man had balls—I’d give him that. “I asked the lady if she knew you.”

  Charli’s bright red lips pursed in defiance, but under my grip her pulse thumped erratically. It would be easy to allow mine to do the same, to be what she remembered—what I remembered. Touching her ignited something inside of me that I was trying to pretend didn’t exist. Now, as my fingers surrounded her forearm, the connection was undeniable. Her agreement was for one year. I couldn’t let her go after a week. After a year would be impossible.

  But first she had a lesson to learn.

  “I thought I did,” Charli replied.

  Chad couldn’t hear the hurt and disappointment in those words. They weren’t meant for him. Well, too bad. I was disappointed too.

  “You thought?” Chad asked. “So you don’t?”

  The fucker was persistent. “She knows me. And we’re leaving. Now.”

  “Thank you again for the drink,” Charli said, calling over her shoulder as I pulled her from the stool and walked her out of the bar. Her cheap heels skidded across the floor as she moved to keep up with my determined gait.

  I needed to get her up to the room. If we weren’t alone in seconds, I’d explode. Leaning down to her ear as we neared the elevator, the muscles in my neck strained as I snarled, “Do you think this is funny?”

  Charli made several attempts to free her arm, but my grip was iron. She would undoubtedly have a mark, probably the imprint of the ugly jewelry and maybe a bruise from my hold. But at that moment I didn’t give a fuck. She’d be lucky if it was the only mark I left on her skin by the time this night was done.

  “Let me go,” she whispered, still as determined as she’d been in the bar.

  “Never.”

  When the doors to the elevator opened, I walked us to the rear wall as other passengers entered. Each one stood near the doors with their backs toward us. I didn’t give a shit about the other people as I turned my back on them and stared down at Charli. With my body as a shield, she was caged.

  My mind was fighting an epic battle, and I didn’t know which side would win. On one hand, I wanted to rip off the ugly red dress and fuck her into submission. My hand was done with its morning workouts, and seeing her, touching her, being this damn close to her, my cock was ready to get the party started.

  On the other hand, I wanted to punish her for her blatant disobedience. I wanted to redden her perfect round ass again. This time I’d use my belt, and she’d remember exactly what happened when she didn’t listen to me.

  We stared in silence as the elevator made its painfully slow climb. Finally the last couple got off, and we were alone with over fifteen floors to go. I squeezed tighter on the jewelry, feeling the metal bend. “I asked you a question. Do you fucking think this was funny?”

  FUNNY? NO I didn’t think any of this was funny.

  Defiantly, I stared up into Nox’s eyes. The cold glacier blue of this afternoon was gone. Navy swirled in their depths. I was playing with fire, and I knew it. However, the longer we stood, our lips a whisper apart, his warm breath skirting my cheeks, and our hearts beating erratically against one another’s, I didn’t care if I got burned. No, I wanted to be burned.

  “Your caveman routine is getting old. Unhand me. Now.”

  His nostrils flared as the tendons in his neck flexed. Nox was a bull ready to charge and in the dress I purchased, I was the red cape. From the cyclone in his eyes to the force of his grip upon my arm, I watched the millions of thoughts swirling through his mind, thoughts that should scare me, but they didn’t. I was mad and hurt by his words. I wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily.

  “What the fuck were you doing down there? You’re mine.” The last part came as a low, menacing whisper that reverberated through the elevator.

  His declaration was both fire and ice, sending a chill down my spine while striking a match to the fire deep inside. Taking a step closer, his hard body pressed against mine to pin me to the wall, his chest flattening my breasts and his erection pushing against my tummy. Without warning his lips captured mine, their warmth setting my insides ablaze as our tongues battled. Tenderness was forgotten as he unapologetically took what he claimed to be his.

  The emotion he’d tried to contain earlier in the day exploded in the fury, washing over us as we melted together. It was as if he’d needed to taste me, to know I was real.

  When the elevator stopped, Nox stepped back, and I sucked my bruised lips between my teeth. His stare held me in place. In his eyes wasn’t the menacing gaze that melted my insides. This was different, new, unyielding. Without words, he dared me to speak, and I wanted to, but my mind and body weren’t sure what to say. At the moment they couldn’t reach a consensus. The doors opened. He seized my hand and wordlessly pulled me toward the suite.

  As my feet hurried to keep up, I reached for the arm cuff and tried to twist. The cheap metal wasn’t merely around my forearm: it was painfully digging into my skin. His grasp had bent the fake gold, turning my arm the same color as my dress.

  Once we were behind the closed door, Nox said, “Go wash that shit off of your face.”

  Is he serious?

  “What—?”

  The word was barely out before he again had my hand and pulled me toward the bathroom.

  “Nox, what the hell are you doing?” I asked as he turned on the shower.

  Water rained from multiple directions as he turned his attention back to me. Pinching my chin, he lifted my eyes to his. His tone was a low rumble, and his words came clipped. “Mr. Demetri. Say it.”

  I stiffened my neck as the grasp on my chin tightened. “Mr. Demetri,” I repeated.

  “Apparently, this afternoon wasn’t enough for you to learn your lesson. Do we need to repeat it?”

  “No,” I answered defiantly, though the thought of him spanking me again did something to me that I didn’t want to admit.

  “Miss Collins, this is my year. I paid for it. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Do not question, and do not make me repeat myself. Is that clear?”

  My lips were glued shut. I couldn’t answer if I’d wanted. His eyes never left mine as he removed his suit jacket and threw it on the floor. By the steam gathering upon the inside of the glass doors and mirrors, the water had warmed.

  Nox reached under the spray, adjusted the temperature and reached for my hand. “You are so fucking stubborn. I don’t do stubborn.”

  “Well, then you bought the wrong girl.” I didn’t know where the words came from, but they were out, and I couldn’t take them back.

  Tension crackled through the steam-filled air as his defined jaw clenched and unclenched. Before I realized what happened, Nox stepped into the shower and pulled me in with him. Fully clothed, complete with shoes we stood under the multiple sprays.

  Looking at our feet, I shook my head. I might be wearing cheap clothes, but he wasn’t. His leather loafers alone probably cost a thousand dollars. His sexy gray suit pants were getting wetter by the second as they clung to his body and revealed his growing desire beneath.

  “You’re crazy!”

  “You’re right,” he confirmed. “I’ve been fucking crazy ever since I met you.” He thrust a washcloth at me. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Charli. Wash that shit off your face. I’m barely holding on here.”

  Charli?

  My once teased hair was now soaked and lying flat against my head. I twisted the excess water from the cloth an
d did as he said. The more I scrubbed, the more the white cloth filled with black and sparkles. No doubt, with the excessive eyeliner I’d used, the shower had turned me into a raccoon.

  When I was done, I handed the cloth back to Nox. Without saying a word, he wrung it out, covered it in bodywash, and gently cleaned around my eyes. As he did, the atmospheric pressure shifted. The storm of raging tension that had surrounded us since our eyes met in the bar changed. The intensity was still off the charts, but this was something different. Whatever it was affected us both. Our breathing suddenly took effort as both of our chests rose and fell.

  “Take off that dress.”

  Nox’s command echoed throughout the glass stall. I considered arguing, but common sense stopped my rebuttal. I’d already pushed him far enough. Starting at the neckline, I slowly exposed myself, inch by inch. His gaze followed the soaked material. As I revealed my breasts, my nipples hardened, and he let out a low growl. Down the dress went, exposing my tummy and red lace panties.

  Shaking his head, Nox ran his finger along the edge of my panties. With his large hands now at my hips, he asked, “Did you do anything I told you to do in my note?”

  “No.” My honesty left a trail of vulnerability and shame.

  In one quick motion, Nox ripped the lace, and the shredded panties joined my dress on the shower floor. I blinked away the water as he tipped my face upward.

  “No more disobeying. Do you understand?”

  I nodded—not in acknowledgment of his words, but in response to the rush from once again being in his presence. Nox electrified me in a way I’d never known, and even in the absurdity of our current situation, he was doing it again. The way he scanned my nakedness as his Adam’s apple bobbed tingled my skin.

  He hadn’t released my chin. “Say ‘Yes, Mr. Demetri.’”

  My chest hurt. “N-Nox.”

  His grip tightened.

  “Yes, Mr. Demetri.”

  He released my chin with a shove. “Undress me. I’m going to fuck you.”