Bad Behavior (4 page)

As long as she was willing, Justin realized that he was pretty much up for whatever demands she deemed it necessary to give. He grinned and before she could protest he leaned forward and kissed the stern look right off of her face.

“Sounds good to me.”

♀♂

Rei understood convenience.

Most of her life had been built around what was convenient. What was easy. She hadn’t been big on risks. If something wasn’t a sure-fire thing then she saw no reason to expend energy on it. It made her successful in every other aspect
of her life…but romance. Men found her boring. Lacking somehow as if she were being compared to some other woman she’d never even heard of.

Just once, she wanted to experience that wild sort of passion that could take your breath away. Sweep you off your feet and make you forget everyone and everything else that came before it. She felt that way with Justin. The fact that he was engaged actually appealed to her. It was a not so subtle reminder not to get too attached.

Rei would take what he offered so generously. She’d enjoy him, learn from him, and when he finally made his way down the aisle she would have had her fill of him. Then she could go through life knowing what it felt like to be wanted, to be touched with the type of reverence that he seemed to hold for her. As if every part of her was something to revel and drown in.

She liked his reactions to her, the way he treated her. After this little affair was through she’d finally have a bar with which to judge other men by. Usually she just took them as they came, and allowed them to treat her however they decided she deserved. But things were different now and she was tired of settling for less.

As Justin pulled back from the kiss he’d just leveled on her, she couldn’t help but stare up at him for a moment. To examine his features and imprint them in her mind. She knew it was probably against the rules of fling having, but she’d actually miss him once all was said and done.

Taking a step back, she made a show of straightening her clothes once more.

“I have to go. Stan will be wondering where I am.”

Disappointment danced across his face, but he nodded. “Of course.”

They didn’t bother making plans for later. Somehow, Rei knew that they’d end up in one another’s company again one way or another. In the interim she had work to do. Not to mention a fair amount of snooping into the identity of Justin Reese’s new fiancé.

♀♂

Bethany Marcus stepped into the elevator and frowned as Stanly Williams followed her inside. She hadn’t been honest when she’d said that Stan hadn’t been at his desk, but she’d wanted a chance to check and see for herself if what he’d told her was true.

“Well?” Stan asked, staring straight ahead.

Bethany’s lips twisted, “You were right. He’s fucking her.”

His brows rose and he looked at her from the corner of his eye. “You caught them?”

“Not exactly.” She hedged.

“Then what convinced you I was telling the truth?”

“Women’s intuition.” And a whole lot of manly groaning. Either Justin had been beating the meat while they discussed their future marriage plans, or this Rei Donovan had been under the desk performing above and beyond the call of duty. Justin wasn’t fond enough of Bethany for the answer to be the former.

“I’m assuming you have a plan? I’d rather not be humiliated before my wedding day.”

“She’s just a phase. A passing amusement.”

“Really?” Bethany said doubtfully, “Because I know Justin and he’s never been the type to indulge in ‘passing amusements’.”

“He’ll grow tired of her.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll just have to take care of her a little sooner than I originally planned.”

Satisfied, Bethany nodded.

Then, a slow smile began to spread across her face.

“You know, I’d like to meet the woman sleeping with my fiancé.”

“I don’t think-”

“Set it up for me Stan. Or I’ll tell Justin the name of the little birdie who sang all about his financial woes.”

“How does Friday sound?”

She beamed.

“Friday would be excellent.”

It was driving her insane. The fact that she couldn’t get any of the files to match up. None of it made any sense. She’d visited other departments, looked at their records, and rechecked Justin’s own. What it told her was that what Justin had received was completely different from what other departments had sent him. When she showed Thomas Moore, the accounting department head a copy of the paperwork he had allegedly sent his boss, the numbers had been unrecognizable to him.

In the back of her mind she knew what it all meant.

There was only one explanation that made sense.

The problem was that she wasn’t ready to admit it to herself, so there was no way she could tell Justin. Not yet anyway. When Stan had come into the office that morning it had been all that Rei could do to look him in the eye. For some crazed reason she’d believed that he’d be able to read the revelation on her face. See the suspicion. People often told her that her expressions broadcast every thought in her head, so it wasn’t such a stretch of the imagination to assume that a man who had known her for most of her life could tell when she no longer trusted him.

It had been a relief when he’d left that afternoon. Like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. But even with him gone, she couldn’t stop investigating. Couldn’t stop searching for more evidence of his treachery.  It kept her there, at his desk long past the time she’d been scheduled to work.

When she looked up to find Justin standing before her, she was both irritated by the interruption as well as relieved by it.

“Working on anything interesting?” he asked, eyes scanning the papers she had strewn around her. In a panic, she gathered them up and held them against her chest.

“No.” she said, growing defensive. Sometimes she wished she was better at keeping secrets. Or at the very least that she didn’t have to seem so suspicious. She and Justin stared one another down for an indeterminate amount of time.  His curiosity must have been eating at him but he dropped the subject in favor of more pleasurable pursuits.

“Come have dinner with me.”

“I’m not hungry.” She hedged. He shrugged.

“Then you can watch me eat.”

Scowling she shuffled the papers until they were in some sort of order and sat them primly in front of her.

“I don’t want to.”

His smile was slow and deceptively sweet.  “Good thing I don’t really care what you want either way.” Stepping around her desk, he preceded into his office. “Be ready in five minutes. And bring your IPad. We may as well get some work done while we’re out.”

She wanted to scowl at him, but knew he probably wouldn’t appreciate the expression even if he’d been able to see it.

♀♂

Exactly six minutes later, Rei found herself settling in the seat opposite Justin in his stretch limo. Why they had to take a limo to what amounted to a business dinner was beyond her. She was tempted to tell him that he didn’t have enough money to own a limo anymore but figured that the dig would be hurtful. It would also lead to questions she wasn’t ready to answer just yet.

As per his instructions she’d brought along her IPad. It had been updated with Justin’s schedule, numbers, and etc. Basically anything and everything she needed to keep his life running smoothly. She examined him closely as the driver pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic.

“You’re sitting really far away.” He noted, tone neutral.

Rei narrowed her eyes. “I assumed we were still on the clock.”

Eyes sparkling, he crossed his ankle over his knee. “Is that what you were worried about the other day when you had my cock in your mouth? Whether or not you were still on company time?”

“No.” She snapped, face flushing dark with embarrassment. “I was too concerned about what your fiancé would say if she found out to consider whether or not I was going to be earning any overtime.”

He winced. “Touché.”

Justin managed to keep his mouth shut for two whole minutes before he spoke again.

“Come here.” He said, and Rei looked away.

“I’m comfortable where I am.”

“But I’m not.” He patted the empty seat next to him, long fingers stroking the leather as if he were imagining it as something more intimate. “Come sit with me.”

She liked to think that she gave in only to shut him up about it. But deep down Rei knew differently. Swallowing hard, she set her purse aside and crossed the small space to his side. She felt stiff at first, sitting next to him. Which was ridiculous considering what they’d already done together.

“Scared?” he mocked softly. Jaw tightening, she moved a bit closer and forced herself to relax. That was when he grabbed her. She struggled, but he was strong, stronger than the pressed suits he always wore could hint at. Flipping her over his knees, he placed a hand in the center of her back to hold her still. It was done in a heartbeat, and she found herself gasping even while he was sliding her sensible skirt up past her thighs and to her waist. All too soon she found herself laying there, her ass very much on display. At least the interior of the limo was warm.

He looked her over and a low growl of pleasure filled Rei’s ears.

“No underwear? You’re a complex woman Ms. Donovan.”

She was too hot to feel embarrassed. Too restless.  His thigh was pressing into her cunt through their clothes and she found her hips grinding into him, desperate to increase the pressure. He
tsked and his hand came down, a punishing smack against the cheek of her ass that had her crying out even as her upper body lifted.

“
Shh, love. It’s alright. Just a little reminder. We’re on company time right now. Isn’t that what you told me?” his hand, large and callused stroked the warm flesh of her seat as if to draw the sting away. She shuddered. “That means that for now at least, you’re still working for me. Whatever I say, whatever I want, you do it. It’s what I pay you for.” His hand slipped between the cheeks of her ass, traveling lower and lower until he could feel the already wet folds of her sex with just the tips of his fingers.

“You come when I decide you will. Not a second sooner.” There was a hardness to his voice. A guttural command that was as compelling as it was erotic. His fingers teased her, slipped inside of her aching flesh only to pull away at the last minute. She wanted to shove back onto his fingers, wanted him, any part of him, inside of her as deeply as she could get him. Her hips twitched with the desire, and the hand he’d placed in the center of her back was the only thing that kept her anchored when he finally gave her what she craved.

“Pleasure is a gift, Rei.” He purred, driving his fingers in to the knuckle and chuckling when she groaned and lifted for him, legs shaking even as the heels of her feet slipped free of her oxford pumps. “You can’t demand it.” He said, working her hard and harder still. “You can’t plan it. You can’t force it.” Fingers driving faster and faster. “You have to let it wash over you. You have to glory in it. Swallow it down and let it fill the empty spaces.” He used his other hand to work her hips, to push her in rhythm with his dancing fingers so that she could press her hungry pussy against his leg in time with his thrusts.

Her moaning escaped like sobs, and her legs churned uselessly against the floor of the limo. “The pleasure I give you is a gift Rei.” He spoke against the back of her neck and he worked two of his fingers deep inside of her so that they could massage that special spot hidden within her body. Her lips parted, wet and wanting as her orgasm began to crest like a tide in her womb. “Don’t fight it.” He continued. “After all, you never know when it’ll be taken away.”

As quickly as he’d pulled her to him, he brought her upright and sat her gently back into the seat beside him. She was shaking, confused, and aching so much it hurt. Even sitting there, thighs pressed together, was almost enough to send her crashing into the climax he’d teased from her.

Almost, but not quite.

“Why-?” she began voice weak.

He adjusted his trousers, and brushed a trembling hand through his hair.

“We’re here.” He said shortly. His eyes cut to her and there was something dark and hungry in their depths that told her that he was just as frustrated as she. “Fix your skirt.”

She complied, though her movements were clumsy and slow.

A second later the driver opened their door, revealing the walkway leading up to the restaurant. Reaching across to grab her purse from the opposite seat, Justin handed her the strap and picked up her hand.

She must have still looked dazed, because he brushed a stray curl from her face, his expression growing tender. Almost affectionate.

“Let’s go, Ms. Donovan. I’m starving.”

She ducked her head. “Me too.” She admitted hoarsely. Only, she wasn’t thinking about food as she spoke and pleased, Justin laughed.

♀♂

The restaurant was split into two levels. The hostess led them to a small booth on the bottom level with a lovely view of the freshly risen nightlife. She would have ordered something
for herself, but since Justin was familiar with the restaurant she let him have free reign. She wasn’t really hungry for food, but figured that eating something would act as a good distraction.

So while Justin ordered for them both, she watched a horse drawn carriage clop past their window, the occupants too involved with one another to pay their surroundings any mind. She wanted that. To love someone so much that everything else seemed inconsequential. Granted, the lovebirds were probably still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Where everything was cast in a rosy light until they saw their partner’s true colors. The eventual disappointment seemed inevitable, but that didn’t make the romance that came before it any less enticing.

“So, I’ve been thinking.” She turned at the sound of Justin’s voice.

“About?”

“The fact that I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to planning a wedding.”

Her chest suddenly felt achy and strange, but she ignored the sensation.

“It’s really not that hard.” She assured him.

“If this was a traditional wedding, I would agree with you.” He sighed. “The problem is that the media will play as big a role in all of this as Bethany and I. I’m more concerned with which news channel I’m going to call to broadcast the big reveal than I am what color flowers to use as a centerpiece.”

“Shouldn’t you be talking about this with…” her name tasted like ashes in Rei’s mouth. “Bethany?”

“I would,” Justin began, looking chagrined. “But I don’t really like talking to her.”

“In a few months you’re going to have to do a hell of a lot more than just talk to her.” Rei reminded him, unable to keep the censor out of her voice.

“I know.” He said, head bowing, “but I’d like to put off the inevitable for as long as I can.”

“Is this why I’m here? To help you plan your wedding.” she asked, growing increasingly angry, but not sure why. She had no right to be angry with him. As his personal assistant it was her job to help him with things like this. And the more intimate aspect of their relationship shouldn’t even be a consideration. They had an understanding after all.

But still…

“Not exactly.” He finally answered, concern creasing his forehead. “I actually need your help setting up dates and appointments. Tuxedo fittings, press conferences, pre-wedding dinner. Things like that. Any events that we can invite the press to while still controlling the amount of information they’re exposed to.”

“I see. So basically you want to feed the papers what to write so that they won’t start doing any digging.”

“Exactly. I’m afraid I was pretty…verbal about my refusal to take Bethany back when I called off our engagement the last time.”

“The last time? You were engaged to this woman before?”

“Unfortunately.” He grimaced. “It was a media circus, and I didn’t exactly hold my tongue when the shit first hit the fan. Once we admit that we’re giving things a second chance, there’s bound to be some speculation about my change of heart. I don’t want the press digging into
why
we’re getting married. We give them enough to keep them satisfied, but not enough to guess the real story.”

“What is the real story Justin?” she’d promised herself she wouldn’t pry, but it was like those damn files. Nothing was adding up, and she needed to make sense of something.

Anything.

Even if she wasn’t sure why knowing had suddenly become so important.

“If you hate this woman so much, why are you going to marry her?”

  He seemed torn, but in the end he simply sighed and folded his hands on the table before him.

“I thought I was in love with her. When you don’t know what sort of person she is, it’s an easy mistake to make. She’s charming, vivacious, and clever. She can walk into a room and make the lights seem brighter, the music sweeter.”

Rei shifted in her seat. She didn’t like where the conversation was heading and regretted bringing it up.