Determined (Determined Trilogy Book 1) (17 page)

“Oh, God, you fuck me so good.” I hissed. That was all it took. He pulled on my hips and ground into me, sending me into the throes of orgasm. He erupted inside me, and I could feel hot cum filling me inside. I kept coming, surfing my orgasm as I used my hips to greedily extract every bit of his semen. We both groaned with pleasure and collapsed in on each other.

After a minute, he leaned back and slowly peeled himself off of me. I sat up and pushed my skirt back down while he zipped his pants.

“Restroom?”

He pointed toward the back of the office, too tired to speak.

I flicked the light in the small room and washed my hands. I examined myself in the mirror and made sure no errant cum had deposited itself on my outfit. I attempted to smooth my just-fucked hair and walked back into the office.

“Hungry?” I asked, nonchalantly picking up the lunch bag. He turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

“For
lunch
,” I clarified. “I brought sandwiches.” I arranged the spread at the other end of the conference table.

“You are the best,” he murmured, staring at me, his mind still clearly on the previous meal. I really needed to talk to him about Miami. I couldn’t put it off anymore

“So, I wanted to run something by you.”

“Sure baby, what is it?” he asked, unwrapping his sandwich.

I loved it when he called me baby.

“Well,” I took a deep breath as he took a bite of his sandwich. “I have an opportunity to go to the Art Basel show for work.”

He chewed and raised an eyebrow. I had to wait a moment until he swallowed.

“Switzerland?”

I shook my head. “Miami.” I paused. “This weekend.”

“That’s soon.”

I couldn’t read his expression. “I know. It just came up.” A white lie.

“Who are you going with? Curtis?”

The question I was dreading.

“Uh, no. Evan. Evan Carmichael.” He looked at me skeptically. I tried to explain. “He thinks I have a good eye. He’s paying for everything.”

David’s nostrils flared almost imperceptibly. “There is no need for that,” he said sharply, a hint of southern twang surfacing. “Here, use this.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a black credit card. I took it and look at the name. Keith Ventures. “I’d prefer to be the man who takes care of your needs.” I didn’t usually get to see this side of David. He usually played everything so cool. But this was Mr. Possessive and Jealous, and it was kind of hot. I liked it.

“Won’t they get mad at you, for you know, using company funds on me?”

“It’s my company, Samantha. What I say goes.”

I took the card and slipped it into my bra. “You got it, boss.” I batted my eyelashes at him.

He relaxed and sat back. “So when will you be gone?”

“I’m flying out on Thursday and coming back on Sunday.”

I could see the gears cranking in his head. He was about to impose himself. I knew it.

“What if I met you out there on Friday night? We could do some ... sightseeing.”

We both knew the only sight we’d be seeing was the hotel ceiling.

He continued. “I actually have to fly out tomorrow night.”

It was my turn to look surprised.

“There’s been a bit of a situation developing at our Tokyo office, and it’s best that I’m physically there.” I can fly out on Thursday and be in Miami by Friday night.” He went over to his desk and jotted something down on a piece of paper. “Make a reservation here, and use my name. They will take care of you.”

I looked down at the note. It was a hotel, but not a Hilton or anything I recognized. I realized this meant I had his blessing. I was going to Miami.

“Oh, thank you David. I’m so excited!”

“You don’t like this Carmichael guy, do you?”

David Keith, insecure? A rare moment, to be sure.

“Of course not. You are the only one I’m interested in.” I reached out and caressed his face.

He narrowed his eyes “And Thomas is going with you.”

“David. I am a grown woman.” I sat up straight in my seat, as if to demonstrate this with my posture. “I do not need an escort.”

“Nonsense. You are my girlfriend. You need a security detail.”

“If I don’t need one in California, why would I need one in Florida?”

His hard stare eased, and he looked at the space above my head. I was starting to learn to be suspicious of that look.

I gasped. “Do I have a security detail?”

David avoided my eye contact.

“David. I asked you a question. Is there someone following me? Watching me?”

“It’s for your protection. They don’t interfere in your life. They just watch you from a distance, when Thomas isn’t around.”

I remembered Cooper’s comments in Tahoe, about knowing me from afar. It was all starting to come together. I wanted to be mad, but there was part of me that understood why. This man had lost two of the most important women in the world to him. Having me detailed was his strange, twisted way of taking care of me, and to my surprise, I was actually touched.

“They have to keep their distance,” I acquiesced. David’s eyes soften, and he smiled. “I don’t want everyone thinking I’m some woman on a leash.”

“Acknowledged.”

13

Tuesday morning, Thomas drove me to the children’s center. I felt like such a heel for pulling up in a chauffeured car, but David had insisted. I was surprised though, when Thomas got out of the car and started to go inside with me.

“Do you need to use the restroom?” I asked, as I looked around nervously. I would never hear the end of it if some of the kids saw me with a driver.

“No, Miss. Mr. Keith asked that we do a security sweep of the location.”

I looked down at the pavement for a moment and then back up at him. In a careful, measured voice I responded, “Absolutely not.”

“Mr. Keith insisted.”

“Thomas, I have been volunteering here for over three years. All you are going to find in that building are a bunch of kids who are really excited because they have unlimited access to apple juice and basketballs. It is safe, trust me.”

He looked at me, his expression not revealing his thoughts.

“Besides, we don’t allow outsiders. Kids and staff, only. You can wait outside, if you must.”

This seemed to do the trick.

“Very well, Miss. I will be here if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Thomas.” He turned and walked back to the SUV.

I smiled as I walked to the entrance of the center. I was keenly aware that David hadn’t meant any harm by the request. It was just his warped way of showing that he cared. He hadn’t been able to control his entire lot in life, so he grasped tightly onto what he could now. It wouldn’t be a problem, as long as he listened to my limits. I put the issue out of my mind, and turned my focus to the afternoon ahead.

Pushing through the front door of the center, I was greeted by silence. It was still early, and the kids hadn’t come in from school yet. I walked through the center, passing empty activity rooms until I got to the back office. Wing and Linda, the couple who ran the center were there, sitting on the floor, affixing labels to a stack of letters, deeply engaged in conversation.

“Hey guys,” I said brightly, interrupting them. They both looked up.

“Sammie!” Linda exclaimed, putting down the letters, and pulling herself to her feet. She came over and gave me a hug.

“How are you honey? We missed you last week. How was your time with your family?”

“It was good, thanks. Did you guys have a good Thanksgiving?”

They looked at each other and chuckled.

“Wing and I were just talking about that. My sister and her kids drove up from Monterey, and we tried to do one of those deep-fried turkeys.”

“Uh-oh.” Linda had a reputation for mis-fires in the kitchen. I wasn’t quite sure why she had attempted something so ambitious.

“Uh-oh exactly. The good news is I didn’t set fire to the house.” She glanced over at Wing.

He looked up. “The bad news is; she forgot to defrost the turkey.”

“No one
told
me I had to defrost it first.”

“Oh, Linda.”

Wing continued from the floor, “She cooked it for seven hours, and it still wasn’t done.”

I turned to Linda. “Seriously?”

“So, we had a turkey-less turkey day. It was fine though. One of my sisters’ kids is a vegetarian now, anyway.”

“Well, to be honest, we had a turkey-less Thanksgiving, too. The oven broke while we were up at the cabin, and we ended up getting Chinese food.”

“Must have been a full moon that night,” Wing offered.

I looked at the floor between them. “What are you guys up to?”

“Just sending out end-of-year donation reminders,” Wing said as he peeled off a label and affixed it to an envelope.

“Oh, guys, you should let me do that kind of stuff. You have more important things to do.”

“Nonsense, we are almost done, anyway. I was actually hoping you could set up the art room today. Kathy is home sick with the flu,” Linda said.

“Oh, for sure. Which activity was planned for today?”

“Clay,” she said with a hopeful smile.

I was glad I had chosen to wear my old jeans. The clay class was notoriously messy.

“Awesome. I will go get set up.”

I wandered down the hall, past the gym and snack room to the art room. It was decorated on every wall with artwork by the kids who frequented the center. I glanced around and noticed some new watercolors. Most of them depicted happy scenes: sunny days, princesses, butterflies. I was amazed that these kids were able to have such happy thoughts, knowing full well the circumstances most of them came from.

I grabbed an apron off a hook and went over to the supply room. I opened the cabinet marked ‘Clay Supplies’ and removed a big slab of grayish-brown clay wrapped in plastic and took it over to the table. I went about slicing off fifteen smaller hunks, and set them on the table along with sponges and various types of sculpting tools.

I was just finishing setting up when I heard a rumble, like thunder. The kids were here. I counted silently as I heard the rumble getting closer and closer. Finally, a few small faces appeared in the window of the door, pressed up against the glass. I went over to let them in.

“Miss Sammie!” Two little girls screamed as I opened the door. They tore into the room and gave me a big hug.

“Hi Ariana, Hi Kayla,” I said, patting their heads.

“Sammie, what are you doing here today?” Kayla put her hands on her hips, scolding me. “Miss Kathy was supposed to be here.”

“Miss Kathy is sick today, so I’m helping out.”

“Okay!” she said brightly, immediately accepting the change. “What are we doing today?”

“Clay!”

“All right! It’s clay day!” she screamed, clasping her hands together. “It’s clay day everyone!” She exclaimed to the other kids as they sauntered into the room. Kayla was a firecracker. I had no doubt she’d go on to be a leader in whatever field she chose.

I ushered the kids into their aprons and got them settled in their seats before handing out the trays of water that promised to make the tabletop a soppy mess in about forty-five minute’s time. The kids were nuts about the activity. They always were. There was just something about the tactile nature of clay—it was accessible for most kids. When you did watercolors or pastels, there was always a kid who was tentative, hesitant, to make the first marks on a page. But with clay, you could just dive in. If something didn’t work, you just smashed it and started fresh. It was fun to watch.

I was handing a garlic press to one of the kids so they could make clay ‘spaghetti,’ when Linda popped her head in the classroom.

“Sam, can I ask you a question?”

I walked over to her.

“Do you know a man who drives a black SUV?”

I groaned inside. Oh, no what had Thomas done? Had he tried to come into the center again?

“Um, yeah, why what’s up?” I said. I pushed a tendril of hair out of my face with my arm, as my hands were completely covered in clay.

“Oh, okay. Good. Wing just noticed him sitting out there, and it was a little odd, so he went to talk to him. He said he knew you.”

I paused and tried to clean off my hands with my apron. How much of this story was I going to tell? I decided to go with the truth. A limited version of the truth. “Yeah, I know him. He’s fine. He’s actually my boyfriend’s driver. He dropped me off and is going to take me home after my shift.”

Linda raised her eyebrow at me. “Boyfriend?” she asked.

“Um. Yeah. His name is David.”

“And why is this the first time I’ve heard about him?” she said, excitement peppering her voice.

“Oh, well, we haven’t been dating that long,” I said, hoping to make it sound like more than the week and a half it actually was.

“Hmm. Well, tell me more. Who is he? What does he do? When do we get to meet him?”

I shook my head and laughed. I had known Linda and Wing so long they were like family. Of course they felt they were entitled to meet the new man in my life.

“His name is David, and he works in finance.” Well, he did technically. They didn’t need to know he was a worldwide mogul. “And you can meet him soon. I promise. He’s just super busy. He’s actually flying out to Tokyo tonight,” I added, hoping that she’d understand if I didn’t bring him around for a while.

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in mock frustration.

A scream erupted from behind us. I whipped around to find the face of one of the younger boys covered in clay. He started to cry. Ariana was standing next to him with a blank look on her face.

“I didn’t do it,” she said emphatically.

I looked at Linda. “Clean him up. I’ll watch the group,” she said.

“Ariana.”

“What?” she asked, innocently.

“Ariana, what happened?” I asked, as I led the boy to the sink.

“Victor, he smashed my clay. I told him not to touch, and then he smashed it.”

“And then what happened?”

Ariana looked down at her shoe. She didn’t say anything.

“Ariana, you are much older than Victor.”

“So?”

“So, sometimes little kids don’t know what they are doing.”