Betting on Fate (9 page)

Chapter Eleven

She wanted more
.

The sheer elation making Will’s heart pick up was irrational and a little terrifying, but he would worry about the implications later. Just then he had his submissive in his arms, kissing him for all she was worth. His submissive, who’d just trusted him enough to put herself completely out on the line. He kissed her harder, using his grip on the back of her neck to tilt her head so he had better access to her mouth. She was so soft in his arms, so goddamn courageous.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had someone actually fight for him. One could argue that asking for more time wasn’t truly fighting, but combined with how fierce she’d become last night at the thought of him being hurt, and the comfort she’d so readily shared… Penelope was a gift. A gift he had no intention of squandering. He lifted his head enough to say, “I’ve left you wanting.”

“What—
ah
.” She opened her legs for him as he snaked a hand down and did exactly what he’d imagined while they were video chatting. He slipped beneath the fabric of her dress, finding her as hot and wet as he’d known she would be.

“Do you need something to hold you over until tonight, pet?” He worked her while he waited for her answer, enjoying the way she clenched around his fingers as he adjusted his angle.

Her breath came in harsh pants, her nipples pebbling beneath the thin fabric of her dress. Christ, she wasn’t wearing a bra again. This little submissive seemed custom created to drive him wild, and he had every intention of returning the favor. “You know what I want.” There was something so incredibly intoxicating about hearing her whisper filthy things she wanted from him and then providing them for her. For this woman, he wanted to go above and beyond and enact every single fantasy she’d ever had.

Which was why he had something special planned for tomorrow night.

“I want…” She spread her legs wider, wantonly rolling her hips to meet his fingers. “I want you to keep touching me.”

“You like this.” He circled her clit with his thumb, pushing a third finger into her. “You love knowing we’re in your office and anyone could hear us.” He nipped her earlobe. “Do you want me to fuck you in one of the themed rooms at Serve? Open the glass and take what’s mine where everyone can see?”

Mine
.

Yes, that term fit so well it almost hurt. She was his. He’d said it before, but it felt different now. Meaningful. As if he’d admitted something he’d kept secret for longer than he could remember.

“Yes, Sir.”

He do it for her. That and so much more. “What else?” He gentled his touches, teasing her while he waited for her response.

“Fuck me, Sir. Bend me over my desk and fuck me.”

Christ. He closed his eyes, fighting for… Will wasn’t sure what. Something. This woman kept him on his toes at every turn, and the sheer delight he got from her was something he never expected. “Up.”

She scrambled to obey, taking the same position she had the other day, her forearms planted on the desk, her legs slightly spread. He sat back in the chair, enjoying the view and enjoying the way she twitched even more. “Close your eyes.” He didn’t need to see her face to know she’d obeyed—her body quivered the moment she did.

He pulled her dress up, careful not to actually touch her skin with his fingers, to bunch around her waist. Her dark skin gleamed in the bright office light, and he couldn’t resist nipping the curve of her ass. She jumped, her muscles flexing beneath his mouth. There was nothing he wanted more than to keep teasing her, but she’d made a request and he was more than inclined to grant it.

So he stood and undid his pants, shoving them down just far enough to free his cock. Thank Christ he’d thought to pocket a condom on his way out the door or he’d have had to get creative. He ripped it open, loving the way she shuddered at the sound. Will took his time rolling it on, making her wait, effectively reminding her who was in control—despite the fact that he’d never felt more out of control in his life. He barely tested to make sure she was ready before he shoved home. Her gasp was music to his ears, but any thought he’d had to taking this in controlled, measured strokes disappeared at the feel of her clenching around him.

He pulled almost all the way out and thrust into her again, using his hands on her hips to bring her back to meet him. The sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the office, punctuated by their sharp breathing. He was already close, too close. Will gripped the back of her neck and used his hold to bring her upright. She twisted around enough to kiss him, and the intimacy of their position floored him. He kept a hold of her neck and used his free hand to reach around and stroke her clit. She went wild around him, her orgasm making her entire body shake. No matter how hard he tried to hold on to his control, his body wasn’t listening. Pressure built in the small of his back, and he was helpless to do anything but thrust into her until he emptied himself.

He sank back into the chair, pulling her with him. Then he just held her, his mind perfectly blank, his body sated in a way it hadn’t been during even the best scenes before Penelope. It wasn’t enough. He already wanted her again, and their bodies hadn’t even cooled from the last time. The woman was a drug in his blood, drawing him closer even as part of him warned that he was far too close to the ledge already.

…

After Will left, Penelope’s day went to hell faster than she could say hullabaloo. She was late for her meeting, and then botched her presentation. From the looks the owners exchanged during the whole thing, they were surprised she could string two words together coherently. She
knew
their reputation going into this—they almost never hired women for consulting jobs—which was why she’d needed to be at one hundred percent.

Something that was impossible with her body still aching from what Will had done to her in her office.

She left the meeting with her tail tucked between her legs, knowing damn well that she wouldn’t be hearing from them again, then gotten back at the office only to have Curtis give her a grin that made her hair stand up. His gaze raked her in a way that had her wishing for a shower. “So does working here get me even better perks than the competition gets?”

There was no mistaking his meaning. Her stomach lurched, but she straightened her spine and looked down her nose at him. She’d never been anything but professional and courteous with this ass and
this
was how he repaid her?

Weren’t you worried about how this thing with Will would affect you professionally? Now you know, sugar.

She tried and failed to smother the voice. Right now there were bigger, scummier fish to fry. “Curtis Young, I sincerely hope you aren’t insinuating what I think you’re insinuating.” She marched to the hallway leading back to her office and turned. “You have ten minutes to get your things and get out of my sight. Do
not
expect a positive reference.”

She strode to her office, but not fast enough to avoid hearing his muttered, “Slut.”

Penelope locked her door behind her and leaned against it. He hadn’t been the best receptionist, but replacing him right now would take time and effort she didn’t have. She caught herself reaching for her phone to tell Will about the new development, and made herself drop it into the top drawer. As unfair as it was, his insistence at showing up in her office was part of the problem.

After promising herself that she wouldn’t let her personal life negatively affect Carson & Associates, she’d gone and done exactly that. What a mess.

With the loss of the Falcon account, she needed to buckle down more than ever. She had
needed
to secure the account she’d botched today.

Maybe asking Will to extend things past seven days had been a horrible mistake.

Before that thought could take root and truly terrify her, she powered down her computer and grabbed her phone out of the drawer. Addison answered right away. “Please tell me you’re not calling to cancel.”

“I’m not.” Though there was part of her that wanted to do just that and go home and hide under her covers. It was insane how one person could feel so wonderful and so terrible, all at the same time. But cancelling on Addison wouldn’t do anything except give her entirely too much time to think and freak herself out. She needed this break more than she ever could have guessed when she’d made these plans to begin with.

“Good! I feel horrible enough that I’ve barely seen you the last few months. I don’t think I could handle another set of cancelled plans.” Addison laughed.

This was exactly what Penelope needed—a little slice of normalcy in the middle of the whirlwind that her life had become. “I was actually going to see if you were free a little earlier. I was thinking we could get a few drinks before dinner.”

“That sounds like perfection. I’ve had one hell of a day.”

“You and me, both.” They made arrangements to meet at a bar down the street from where their dinner reservations were, and hung up. Penelope wasted no time in grabbing her purse and heading for the door. The front desk was empty, and Curtis had cleared off with a decent amount of Post-Its and pens if she had any guess.
Ass
. But at least she hadn’t had to face him again. It was cowardly to admit she didn’t have it in her for another confrontation, but that was the God’s honest truth.

Penelope locked up and went back to her apartment long enough to change into something more suitable, but she paused before getting dressed. She’d specifically been going without underwear because she knew it tested Will’s ironclad control. Tonight? Tonight she was going to go all out. He’d said to show up in nothing but her coat, but she’d seen how his eyes had lingered on her garters that first time. She dug through the drawer until she found what she was looking for.

If he was so busy focusing on what she had under her coat, maybe he wouldn’t notice how off she was when she got to his place. She could use some mind-blowing sex that came without the deep, soul-baring questions.

She cabbed it over to The Blue Moon, and found Addison waiting for her. The little redhead looked much the same as she had the first time they’d met—young and innocent, as long as you didn’t see the wicked gleam in her green eyes. She jumped to her feet. “I swear to God, Pen, at some point I really am going to follow through on my threat to steal your clothes.”

She laughed. “I missed you, too.”

“It’s been too long, and it’s all my fault.” Addison looped her arm through Penelope’s and tugged her through the door. The Blue Moon was small and intimate and trendy. Usually when she was actually able to stop by, it was standing room only, but they were still early enough tonight that they had no problem finding a table in the far corner. They ordered drinks and then sat back. Addison wasted no time getting down to business. “Clothing aside, you look different.”

“Thanks?” Different? She certainly felt different. It was more than the feeling of Will imprinted over her entire body. She simultaneously felt light as a feather and as heavy as an anvil. Every time she was with Will, nothing else seemed to matter—which was exactly the problem. Other things
did
matter. Her job mattered. Her professional persona mattered. Orgasms were great and all, but they wouldn’t keep the lights on if Carson & Associates became the laughing stock of business consultants.

Her father would never forgive her for running the business into the ground.
She
would never forgive herself.

“Seriously. You’re, like, glowing, but you look like you might throw up.” Addison frowned. “Actually, it’s kind of worrisome. You aren’t pregnant, are you?”

Penelope choked on her drink. “No.” Even the thought sent a cold chill through her that she couldn’t shake. “Definitely not.”

“I was joking.” Addison scooted closer, her green eyes worried. “I didn’t realize you were seeing someone.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it, but if she didn’t talk about this with someone, she was going to explode. She would just keep their origin story, such as it was, to herself. “It’s recent.” When Addison wiggled in her seat like a puppy, Penelope hurried to add. “And not serious.” Even though it
felt
serious.

But she couldn’t give Addison any ideas. As New York’s premier matchmaker, she could be worse than a terrier when she had the scent of romance. She’d been trying to match Penelope up with her clients ever since they met.

“Deny all you want, I
knew
something was up. I just thought you were still riding high from getting that account last week.”

Another downer. “I didn’t actually get it.” And she’d botched her chance to slip in a replacement account without missing a beat. The company wasn’t exactly hurting in the financial department, but losing the Falcon had been a blow, a big one. Screwing up the meeting today and potentially burning a bridge to any more accounts with that company? That was even worse.

“What? I thought it was a sure thing.”

“I did, too.” But instead of the anger she
should’ve
felt at the admission, all she wanted was to curl up in a corner and rock until this all went away. It was weak and unforgivable and she stuffed the feeling down as deep as she could. She hadn’t gotten where she was in life by hiding when it came time to make hard decisions.

She just didn’t know
what
decision she’d make if push came to shove—and that scared the crap out of her. “I don’t know what happened. This guy… He’s taking away my edge. I
need
my edge.”

“Then let’s start with him. You can’t drop a bombshell like that and then just change the subject and pretend it never happened. We’re friends and you’ve been dodging my matchmaking efforts for years, which means I need all the dirty details.” She grinned. “Did you meet him at Serve?”