Charmed (5 page)

“It’s a pleasure to meet you…
Miss Walker
.” The man paused as if uncomfortable. Then without missing a beat, he continued, “I’m Simon Smythe, Vice President of Warwick House, LTD.”

A shiver ran down Chloe’s spine when he brought her hand to his lips, not because Simon Smythe was a fine specimen of a man, but because he’d addressed her with a crisp British accent and because he shared the same surname as her estranged husband.

Alarm bells went off in her head. Yet Chloe had no time to entertain her suspicions for the sound of a masculine growl like that of a wolf drew everyone’s attention in the room to the man standing by the conference room windows.

“Ah, excuse his rudeness, ladies. Sometimes he can be a real beast. Please allow me to introduce my
older
brother and CEO of Warwick House, LTD. Tristan Smythe.”

Chloe looked at the man who’d come to stand in front of her and she realized that Simon Smythe, although drop-dead gorgeous, really didn’t hold a candle to his older brother.

Chapter Four

Tristan’s tall frame was molded into a blue pinstripe suit accented with a gray shirt that was obviously tailored for it fit him like a second skin. And although he was just as handsome as the day she’d left him, he now bordered on being beautiful for his hair had grown, softening his features.

What game is he playing?
Chloe thought as she waited for his first move. Well, whatever game he was playing she was ready. She was the queen of hustle. She hadn’t built a multimillion-dollar-producing real estate firm without it.

Plastering on a superficial smile, she held out her hand to him. But despite her brave front, she was unprepared for the lightning bolt that shot up her arm when he took her hand in his.

“Miss…Walker…isn’t it? It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Tristan held her hand for only a brief second before dropping it to take Dina’s.

Although she tried to fight it, Chloe couldn’t suppress the jealousy that ran up from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair as Tristan proceeded to engage Dina in small talk. He even went so far as to compliment the younger woman on her choice of dress and how the color brought out the green in her eyes.

In order to prevent herself from doing anything drastic, like snatching Dina bald-headed, Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. Finally growing fed up with their small talk and needing to stem the urge to vomit, she cleared her throat to gain everyone’s attention. “If you all would have a seat, we can get started,” she announced cheerily. Almost too cheerily even to her own ears.

Chloe waited for them to take a seat at the conference table. Her eyes almost crossed in anger as she watched Tristan pull out a chair for Dina, before taking his own.

“So, gentlemen, you are looking to buy in the metro Atlanta area, specifically in downtown?” However, she didn’t receive an immediate reply from Tristan because he was continuing his conversation with Dina.

Turning away from their antics, Chloe looked to Simon for an answer. And just in time to catch the angry look that he shot at his brother, before he turned a pleasant smile in her direction.

“Well,
I’ve
wanted us to invest in the Atlanta area for quite some time. I tried on several occasions in the past to convince Tristan about the economic benefits of your fair city. But the only areas he had an interest in here in the southeast were in Florida, specifically the Miami area. That’s why I was so surprised that he wanted to meet with you about our purchasing several parcels in downtown Atlanta.”

“So it was your
brother’s
idea to finally invest in Atlanta?” Chloe asked, her brown eyes lighting up triumphantly as she looked over at Tristan, whose full attention was on her now. She silently gloated as his eyes roamed slowly over her face and settled briefly on her lips.

When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, for a brief second she thought she saw something akin to regret on his face. However, whatever it was, it was quickly masked by a look of bland detachment.

“Miss Walker, what my brother says is true. In a momentary lapse of judgment, I disregarded his attempts at persuading me into investing in Atlanta. But now that I have discovered that there are, shall we say…” Tristan paused to look at Dina, “very desirable aspects about your lovely city. Therefore I am very interested in purchasing several parcels and developing them. You don’t have to waste your time or ours by going through the rigmarole of a presentation. I want you to handle the transaction for us. I don’t need further convincing that you are the perfect candidate for the job.”

“Are you sure?” Simon asked, a look of utter confusion marring his handsome looks.

“I’m very sure,” Tristan drawled, not bothering to look in his brother’s direction. “I’m confident that Miss Walker can certainly handle everything thrown her way.” His mind obviously made up, he turned his attention back to Dina.

Chloe pursed her lips in consternation as she flipped open the leather portfolio containing the buyer’s agreement.

“Well, I guess it’s a done deal,” she announced tightly. As she shuffled through the paperwork, she couldn’t resist listening to tidbits of Tristan and Dina’s conversation. He was telling the younger woman about a get-together hosted tomorrow evening by some friends to celebrate his and Simon’s arrival into town.

The papers slipped from her hands when she heard him ask Dina to accompany him.

Enough is enough!
Chloe thought.

He could flirt in front of her all he wanted but he sure as hell wasn’t going to ask out another woman. Estranged husband or not. Before Dina could accept his invitation, Chloe interrupted her.

“I’m sorry but I think that’s going to be impossible,” she announced, drawing everyone’s attention. However, she didn’t waver as she locked eyes with Tristan.

“I thought you just said a minute ago it was a done deal?” he asked.

“It is, however, I was referring to your invitation to the party tomorrow evening.”

Chloe heard Dina clear her throat. Although she tried to hide the smile behind her hand, Chloe still saw it and wanted to jump up and smack it off the younger woman’s face.

“Chloe…I mean, Miss Walker. I think Mr. Smythe was only inviting
me
.”

Chloe sat up straighter in her chair, her gaze swinging to her assistant, who now shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Dina, I know perfectly well who Mr. Smythe invited but I think it is rather inappropriate for my
employee
to be dating my
husband
.”

“What!” Dina exclaimed. “When and where did you get married?”

“We were married a few months ago during my vacation in Las Vegas.”

Dina looked between Chloe and Tristan who appeared to be having a stare-down. Then she finally spoke. “Miss Walker, will you need me any more this evening?”

Chloe broke her gaze from Tristan’s long enough to answer. “No, that will be all tonight, Dina. I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

Dina rose from her chair, stalked around the table and slammed the conference door behind her.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue as well,” Simon announced, rising from his seat. “It was a pleasure to meet you, sister-in-law. Welcome to the family, you poor dear.”

Chloe waited for Simon to leave the conference room before she finally lit into Tristan. “Why haven’t you signed the divorce papers?”

“I haven’t signed them because I wanted to come here and patch things over with you.”

“Well, you sure don’t act like you want to ‘patch things up’,” Chloe hissed. “Just a minute ago you were trying to ask one of my employees out on a date!”

“Chloe, I only did that because you were pretending to act like you didn’t know who the hell I was. I did it out of anger. By the way…are you okay?”

Chloe was so flustered by his gentle tone and abrupt change in subject that she sputtered for several moments. How dare he catch her off-guard with his fake attempt at concern? He wasn’t going to sweet-talk her out of what was long overdue.

“I’m not faking my concern for you, Chloe, and if you think this is sweet-talk and it’s working, I will deem to use it all the time when I am around you.”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open, making her look like a fish out of the water. “Y-y-you know how to read minds,” she stated more than questioned.

“Of course I know how to read your thoughts, love. I’m a vampire. I have powers you couldn’t begin to fathom.”

“What kind of powers?” Chloe asked. She couldn’t help but be curious about other powers she wasn’t yet aware of.

“Well, I know that you don’t hate me as much as you’re pretending,” Tristan drawled. He rose out of his seat and slowly walked the length of the conference room until he towered over her.

Chloe had to crane her neck back to meet his gaze. “H-h-how do you know that?”

“I can smell the desire you have for me. It’s leaking out of every pore of your body, filling this room with your very essence.” Tristan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as if smelling a bouquet of fragrant flowers.

Although he hadn’t touched her, Chloe could feel the heat gathering in the pit of her stomach and her panties becoming damp. Hating her response to him, she snatched up the papers scattered in front of her. If she didn’t get out of this room quick, she would be flat on her back on top of her conference table.

“Would you like to learn more about your powers, Chloe, and how to control them?”

“Mr. Smythe, I don’t want to learn anything from you,” Chloe snapped. She stood up from her seat and began gathering her things. “I’ve been carrying on with my life perfectly well without you, considering you’ve made me into a monster.”

Tristan grabbed hold of both of her arms and pulled her to him.

“You are not a monster!” he snarled, his teeth clenched in anger. “I know vampires have been painted as these horrific creatures that go around killing young maidens but you’re not a monster, love, and neither am I.”

Chloe snorted. “The last time I checked an encyclopedia, vampires were described as bloodsucking creatures that leave their victims to die.”

Tristan let her go so suddenly she fell back against the conference table. “Enough! Those are nothing but silly myths and legends told to pollute the human mind. Despite what you might think, I have never killed anyone in my entire life, not even when I feed. We are not monsters, Chloe.”

“Why should I believe you?” Chloe asked. “You duped me into marrying you. You tried to physically prevent me from leaving you. And now you’ve wasted my time with this phony business venture of yours.”

She stepped around him. As she headed for the door, a triumphant smile came to her lips. She hadn’t felt this good in months. She’d finally been able to get some of the anger she felt toward him off her chest. She reached for the handle and turned it, yet it didn’t budge.

“At least let me prove to you that I’m…that
we’re
not monsters,” he stated close to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin.

“How do you plan on doing that?” Chloe asked, her breathing becoming erratic.

“Could a monster make you feel how I make you feel? I assure you,
Mrs. Smythe
, what I want to do to you is anything but nightmarish.”

Chloe gasped when he pressed his body up against her back, trapping her against the door. Closing her eyes, she prayed for strength. Although she was still able to stand on her own two feet, she knew that if he laid those devilish hands on her, her legs would turn to water.

“P-p-please stop,” Chloe whispered as his hands slid around her body. Holding her breath in suspense, she waited. And to her utter dismay his hands settled on her breasts.

“If I can remember correctly, your breasts are your weak spot,” he stated matter-of-factly, his hands kneading and squeezing her twin globes. Like clockwork, her traitorous nipples came to attention. Chloe gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Ah, I guess they still are,” he chuckled close to her ear. His thumbs were running along the telltale peaks. “I must be losing my touch because by now you should be mewling like a hungry kitten, begging me for my cock. Would you like that, love? My cock deep inside you.”

“If…if I said no, would you force yourself on me?” Chloe hoped her jab would make him angry and give her the needed respite to tamp down her raging desire. However, her bravado plummeted when he chuckled softly.

“Of course not, I’m not a monster, Chloe. But I’m pretty sure that I can be very convincing.” Tristan suddenly dropped to his knees behind her. Before she knew what he was up to, he reached down and grabbed the hem of her skirt. He hitched it up and over her hips so that it rested around her waist. He then dipped his nose inside the juncture between her thighs.

“Mm, you smell so sweet. Do you mind if I have a taste?” However, she was unable to give him an answer because he yanked aside her panties and stuck his tongue between the lips of her pussy. In one swift movement, his tongue licked the entire surface of her hot core. “Delicious…absolutely delicious,” he breathed, his voice sounding husky and deep. “I think I could spend the rest of eternity eating your delectable pussy.”

Chloe grabbed at the door handle for support as he dove back in.

Nothing went untouched as his tongue attacked her secret place and laid it open for his pleasure. One minute he was sucking on her clit and flicking it playfully then the next minute he was running his tongue up and down her pussy lips until they became swollen. And then her final undoing, he darted his tongue inside her hot channel and speared her with his impossibly long tongue.

Feeling more alive at this moment than she had in months, Chloe wanted the release that only he could give her. So she opened her legs wider and tilted her butt up and out, giving him better access.

Her hips rocked against his mouth as his tongue fucked her. In and out his tongue plunged, until she found it nearly impossible to hold herself up. Thankfully Tristan was gripping the fronts of her thighs or she would have plummeted to the ground.

“Do you still think I’m a monster?” he asked, his warm breath tickling the backs of her thighs.

Chloe pressed her forehead against the door. How could she think clearly at a time like this?