Mr. Corporate (Mister #3) Page 14

  I just keep going. Why not? I’m on a roll now. “The next year I got that job with another boat company. My father had a fishing boat, right? But he never worked regularly. He was too drunk to get out of bed four days of the week. And I started making money to pay our bills. So you see, Tori, you pegged me all wrong. I’m not the guy you think I am.”

  “And then you found that treasure? When was that?”

  “I was fourteen. I was a straight-A student in school because I saw the rich kids on the island. They were only summer people, but I saw them. Met some of them. Learned about them, and their lives, and what kind of futures their parents planned for them. And I wanted to be just like them. So I made it happen. I was fourteen when my dad and I found that treasure. It’s funny how money changes your life. It certainly changed mine. I took that money and got into a private school on the mainland. And the rest just sort of worked itself out.”

  She looks out the window as she thinks about my story.

  I wait. I wait for her to come to a conclusion, or ask another question, or tell me she’s so sorry.

  But she does more than that.

  She starts with the words I so desperately need to hear.

  “Lucio Gori Junior was the first boy I ever had sex with.”

  I think I stop breathing.

  “And it wasn’t consensual. Not in my eyes. I was only eleven.” Tori looks up at me. “He was seventeen.” She looks out the window.

  “Jesus fucking Christ.”

  “He called me his girlfriend. He took me on ‘dates.’ And I use the term ‘dates’ in quotation marks because they were trips to the woods, or to the back of his father’s garage, or wherever he could find that got us alone together. He’d say—but I have to stop myself from using the name he used to call me. I will never say that name again. Not even now, while I’m confessing my past to Weston Conrad. “He’d say, ‘Come on, Vicki.’ God, I hate the name he used to call me. ‘Come on, Vicki. We have a date today.’ And I’d go. Because my mom worked for his dad.” She looks up at me again. “His dad is a dangerous man. You don’t fuck with Lucio Gori Senior.”

  She doesn’t need to spell it out for me. I can read between the lines.

  “But… when I was fourteen Lucio Junior found out I liked another boy. My mom had already told Senior I’d marry his son. I was promised to him. That’s why we lived in one of their houses for free. You wouldn’t think this kind of arranged marriage thing happens in America anymore, but it does. It does when you’re a girl with a mother like I had. So Junior beat the shit out of me. I was so badly hurt they had to take me to a doctor. Not a hospital, but their doctor, you know?”

  I nod, even though she’s not looking at me. I know.

  “And they had to leave me there overnight. And I knew that if I didn’t take a stand, right now, in this moment, while everyone was sleeping in the little makeshift hospital, while the Gori family was back at their house, and while my mother was off doing drugs or selling her body, or whatever the fuck it was she did… that I’d be stuck. So I ran away. I ran to the police station and found the man who would eventually adopt me. He was the detective in charge of organized crime in another part of New York. He took me there, out of Brooklyn. And that’s where I stayed. Safe. Brand-new life. A brand-new girl. A smart girl who tried hard and did all the right things.

  “And then I got into Brown. On scholarship, thanks to my dad. And I forgot who I was and where I came from. Until one night Lucio Gori Junior showed up on my doorstep and I took another stand and told him we were done forever. That if he didn’t leave, I’d call the police. My roommates were home, so I guess he felt he had no choice. He left.”

  “That’s what happened to you the night you met me?”

  She nods. “Yes. And the next night, when I was attacked and raped after I spent the day with you, that was Lucio again. It happened in an alley, in broad daylight. It was always in broad daylight when he took me. Like he had nothing to hide. Like he was untouchable. He said, ‘You’re mine and I’ll take you whenever I want.’ But by some stroke of luck, he never came back. I thought maybe it was because I was dating you? And you were so high-profile at the time? I don’t know. But he never came back after that last attack.”

  Fuck. This shit breaks my heart. I don’t know what to say except sorry. “I guess we both had it pretty tough growing up. I’m so fucking sorry, Tori. I wish you’d have told me sooner.”

  She shrugs. “I think it worked itself out, you know? Why bring it all back up?”

  I lean down and kiss her lips. Softly. Like I love her. And I do. I love her. “I would never do that to you,” I whisper. “I’d kill anyone who hurt you, Tori. I’d never rest until I got them back.”

  “I know that, West. But I can’t help the way I feel. When people start talking commitment I get this panicked feeling in my chest and my heart starts racing. I was a piece of property to him, West. I cannot let myself be someone’s property again.”

  I kiss her again and say, “I would never treat you that way, Tori. I don’t want to mow you down or keep you in line. I just want to grab your hand and bring you along for the ride.”

  A tear leaks out of her eye and runs down her cheek. “I’ve never told anyone that story.”

  “I’m so glad you told me.”

  “I’m glad you told me your story too.”

  My hand slips underneath her shirt and I caress her breast. She closes her eyes and I get this feeling of… power. Not power over her, power to make her feel better. I hate that she still has panic attacks, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make me feel good when I’m the one who calms her down.

  I just want her to need me.

  “We could try again,” I say.

  She takes a deep breath, never opening her eyes.

  “We could drop off all this baggage and try again, Tori.”

  “I love you,” she says. “I’ve always loved you. I want that so bad, even though I hate to admit it.”

  “Why do you hate to admit it?” I ask, as I start unbuttoning the two buttons she has left on her silk blouse. “Why is it so terrible to have a partner in life? We could be good together, Tori. We could make so many good things together.”

  Her eyes open and she places her hand on my stubbled cheek. Just the heat of her palm makes me want her so bad. “I want to believe that, but—”

  I place a finger over her lips. “Just let me show you how much I understand what you need. OK? Just let me show you how well I know what you need.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven - Victoria

  I don’t even have to answer because we both know we belong together. It was so obvious ten years ago when we first met back in college. That night under the trees. The day after, when he showed up outside my class. It was all so perfect before Lucio came back and did his damage. But what would it cost me to give in again? Really? What would it cost me to let him back in? To let us be together? To trust him?

  If it doesn’t work out, maybe a broken heart. But they say it’s better to love and lose than never to love at all. And even though I never believed that, I want to believe that.

  “I think,” I say softly. He smiles down at me like I am the only person in the world. Like we are the only two people in the whole world. “I think I know what you need too.”

  I might lose this bet. It might be great for a year, or two, or ten. And then it might all go to shit. But I’d have that year, or two, or ten to hold in my heart. Years we’d probably be very happy.

  “All I need is you, Miss Arias. I fell in love with you so long ago. And the only thing I want back is your trust. Just give in a little. Just let me guide you through life, Victoria. When you let me take control you get to think less, worry less, panic less.”

  “I don’t know if I want that, Weston. I really don’t. I feel like I do a good job most of the time. I don’t want to be an extension of you. I want to be your partner.”

  My blouse falls open and his lips find my nipple. His fingers
find the other one and he sucks and squeezes, sending my mind into that floaty existence that comes with lust. His mouth is on my mouth, kissing gently at first, then he takes my lip between his teeth and bites with just the slightest bit of pressure.

  “You have it all backwards. Giving in to me has nothing to do with losing yourself. Giving in to me just makes us flow. Like a river, Victoria. With no rocks in the way. No bends to wind around. No cliffs to fall over. I’m pretty good at success, you know. I’ve done pretty good so far. Just trust me. And just start doing that right now. Let me take control here. Let me show how I know what you want… what you need.”

  God, my whole body is tingling from these words. I’ve never heard him talk this way. Maybe he’s not the guy I thought he was? I have been wrong about so many things.

  “Say it, Tori. Say you’ll give in.”

  He positions his body on top of me, his hard cock pressing against my bare stomach. One hand hikes my skirt up, grabs my leg under my knee, and he pulls it out from under him, exposing my pussy to his pressure. I close my eyes and moan as his hips begin to grind against me.

  “Say it,” he croons in my ear as he props himself up on top of me.

  I open my other leg, spread myself for him, grant him full access.

  His mouth dips down to nibble on my neck and I can’t help it, I grab his muscled shoulders and dig my nails into his skin.

  “Wild girl,” he says in my ear. “I know you’re a wild girl. Let me show you how wild we can be together.”

  “Oh, God,” I moan.

  “Just say OK,” he whispers softly. So softly it makes my nipples peak and my pussy wet. “Tell me to take control and we’ll try things my way for once. You won’t know if you like it until you try.”

  I don’t think I could say no, even if I wanted to. And right now, I really don’t want to. “OK,” I say.

  “OK, what?” he asks, his voice less soft now. Rumbly. Fierce. “I what to hear you say it.”

  “OK, you’re in control.”

  He’s got his hands wrapped around my wrists and my arms above my head before I can even think.

  “West—”

  “Shhh,” he says. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m not trying to scare you. I just want you to you explore this new way with me.”

  New way? I think I know what that means, but I don’t really think I know what he means. Weston Conrad has always been gentle with me. Like I’m something he might break. We don’t do rough sex. Not really. That sex against the wall yesterday was about as rough as we do it. Bending me over the back of a couch. I like that. But we don’t do anything really rough. Is that what he wants?

  He’s straddling me now. His hands leave my wrists, but he says, “Leave them there,” just as I think of regaining some control by touching him back. “Don’t. Move.”

  It’s not mean. He’s not rough, either. I’m not scared.

  I try to breathe deeply as he stands up, his feet planted between my legs, and begins to unbutton his shirt. He smiles at me the whole time. And then his fingers nimbly undo his pants and he pulls them down. They get kicked off to the side and he kneels, his long cock all hard and thick, resting right at the entrance to my pussy.

  “God, I want you,” I say. “I want you inside me.”

  “I want you too,” he says, moving forward until his dick is positioned in front of my face. “But I want to be inside your mouth first. I want you to suck my cock like you missed it, Miss Arias.”

  “Can I use my hands?” I ask, so unsure of what he’s after.

  He closes his eyes and moans. “Fuck. Keep asking me for permission like that, Tori, and I’ll come on your face right now. My answer is no. Now open your mouth and suck my cock like you’ve been dreaming about it for three years.”

  I feel a gush of wetness between my legs as he tells me these things. Do I like it his way?

  “I don’t like to ask twice, Victoria.”

  He says my name like he’s talking business. Like the negotiations are over and it’s time to sign the contract.

  I open and he moves forward, his hands planted on the blanket on either side of my head. I feel the smooth tip first and swipe my tongue around it in a little circle.

  “Keep your eyes open,” he says, using that same even tone that makes it sound like a command. “I want you to look me in the eyes as you suck my cock.”

  I have to tip my head back some in order to meet his gaze because he’s leaning forward, and as I do that, his fingers find my throat.

  They don’t squeeze, but it startles me.

  “Trust me,” he says.

  I can’t talk back because he sinks his cock into my mouth a little deeper, pressing my tongue flat and opening up my throat.

  I’ve sucked his dick plenty of times. I can take him about halfway on a good day. But I know he’s already there and I know he’s not going to let that be where he stops.

  I seal my lips around his shaft, sucking on him like nothing in the world tastes better than his dick. His eyes begin to close, but he catches himself and smiles.

  My head begins to bob with his rocking hips and it turns me on to think of what he’s doing. Face-fucking me. God, I want more of this. I cannot believe I’m so turned on. Am I supposed to be turned on? Am I supposed to like this? Or am I supposed to hate it and just do it because he tells me to?

  “Tori,” he says. “Eyes on me.”

  I hadn’t realized I’d closed my eyes. And I find it very difficult to hold his gaze while I suck him off.

  “You’re so pretty,” he says, fingers sweeping under my hair. “Your lips look so pretty wrapped around my cock.”

  I moan and close my eyes again. But he fists my hair, pulling it just enough to get my attention back where it belongs. On him.

  “I want to come down your throat, Miss Arias. I want you to open wide and let me stick my cock deep inside your throat so I can make you swallow me. Make you choke on my come.”

  Again, I’m surprised at how calm he is. How soothing his words are. Even though his words are filthy, he’s says them like they’re sweet.

  I’m even more surprised at how calm I am.

  He’s deep, deep inside me. His hips are still rocking. Not hard and fast, but slowly. Way too slowly.

  “Take one hand down,” he says. “And put it between your legs.”

  I do it. Immediately. But my arms aren’t long enough to reach around his body and find my clit. I moan in frustration as I wriggle to change position.

  Weston Conrad smiles at my struggle. And then he thrusts forward one more time, grabs my hair, pulling hard, and comes inside my mouth.

  “Swallow,” he growls, fighting to keep eye contact with me. “Swallow or I’ll never let you come tonight.”

  I’m practically choking on his semen, and lots of it drips out of my mouth and down my chin.

  But I do as I’m told. I swallow as much of him as I can.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight - Weston

  I flip her over before she’s even done, press her face into the blanket, lift her hips up until she’s on her knees, spread her legs wide, and dive into her pussy. She is so sweet. Everything about her body makes me think of dessert. I have her wriggling and moaning seconds into giving her my full attention.

  “Tori,” I say, coming up for air. I grab her hips and hold on tight. “Do you want me inside you?”

  “Yes,” she says, her eyes closed tight, her head turned sideways with her mouth open. God, I want to fuck her every which way right now. I can’t get enough. “Please,” she begs.

  I want to go slow, I really do. I want to make this last forever. So I lean back and push my fingers inside her slick pussy. Her back arches and her legs begin to tremble and shake.

  “You want it, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” she says. “I want you now.”

  “Not yet, wild girl. Not until we lay some ground rules.”

  “What?” she asks, opening her eyes and lifting her head up. “Rule
s? Don’t fuck with me, Corporate!”

  I laugh. “That’s Mr. Corporate to you, baby.”

  “Weston,” she says. But I wiggle my fingers inside her and one finds her G-spot, so she takes a time out to moan and enjoy that.

  “Yes?” I ask, totally amused.

  “Just fuck me, you asshole. You already got off and left me hanging. This better not turn into a pattern.”

  “What if it does? Will you say no next time?”

  “I mi—” But she can’t even finish because I’m teasing her clit now.

  “What was that? I didn’t catch the end.”

  “Stop it, you jerk. You’re not allowed to negotiate during sex.”

  “Well, if you were the one making the rules, I’d agree with that. It’s unreasonable and unfair to negotiate in the throes of passion. But I’m gonna do it anyway.”

  “So shut up and get to it!”

  “First,” I say, easing my fingers out and leaning forward, so my chest is pressed against her back. “I want some concessions.”

  “No,” she blurts. “No. We fuck, then we talk. That’s my new rule. No more talk-fucking.”

  “I make the rules, my violet wild child. But I don’t want much, so just be quiet and listen. I just want you to make me a promise.”

  “No,” she whines. “That’s not fair. You already got off!”

  “Listen, Victoria. Just give me ten seconds and listen. All I want is your promise that you’ll see me again when this is over.”

  She shoots me a wary look over her shoulder. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it, babe. That’s all I want. We’re gonna have a real date when this is over and we’re gonna have a real discussion. We’re gonna come to an agreement about making this work. So promise me.”

  “Fine,” she says. “Fine. Just step down off your high horse and put your dick in my stable!”

  I laugh so loud, it echoes off the ceiling. But then I spank her ass and say, “Listen, missy, the only wild talk happening when you have sex with me comes from my mouth. Your mouth does what I tell it to do. Understand?”