Sweet Jealousy (4 page)

She felt delicious tingle between her thighs. Why did she keep getting turned on whenever she thought of him telling her what to do? In a flash, she realized why she hadn’t done what he’d requested today. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to. It was the opposite. She’d wanted to so much that she was scared of what it would mean, where it would lead, how it would turn out. Something told her that if she’d sat in that chair and exposed herself to him, she’d be taking the first step down a dark and dangerous road.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” But she was already putting her phone back into her purse.

“What isn’t? To go back to my apartment? Or to talk about what happened in my office today?”

“Both.” He didn’t say anything, just kept looking at her with that penetrating stare. “Besides, I need to get home.”

“You didn’t seem like you were in a rush to get home when you were hanging with that frat boy asshole.”

“He wasn’t an asshole.”

“Trust me, Addison, he was an asshole.”

She tapped her shoe on the floor of the limo. It pulled to a stop. “Where are we?”

she asked.

“At my apartment.” He watched her, not saying anything. God, he was gorgeous.

His hair was cut short, with just the right amount of gel to make it look polished but not pretentious. His shoulders were broad and his chest looked hard and muscular under his crisp white shirt. He didn’t make a move to get out of the car. “Would you like to come in?” he asked finally.

She wanted to say no. But she couldn’t. For some inexplicable reason, she wanted to be around him. Even if she was scared of what might happen. “Yes.”

He opened the door and led her out of the limo.

***

His apartment was nothing short of spectacular. Everything was open and modern, with high ceilings, white couches, and bright, contemporary paintings. A large fireplace sat against one wall, and floor to ceiling windows were everywhere. The kitchen was filled with stainless steel appliances and dark granite countertops that sparkled under the recessed lighting.

Addison caught her breath. She’d known Nathan was rich – he was a Sweet after all – but she hadn’t realized how rich. She remembered watching a show on HGTV

called Selling New York, and marveling at how expensive the apartments had been.

Four, five, six million dollars. And none of them had been anywhere near as amazing as this one.

“Can I get you a drink?” Nathan asked. He was taking his suit coat off and laying it over a white leather chair.

“Sure.”

“What would you like?”

“What do you have?”

“Whatever you like.”

“I’ll just have a Diet Coke.” The last thing she wanted was more alcohol. Not here. Not with him. She was dimly aware of the fact that no one knew where she was.

Although, that wasn’t exactly true. Tia had seen Nathan leading her away to his limo.

Oh, God. Tia. How the hell was Addison going to explain this to her?

Nathan poured her a drink from the bar in one corner and led her to the leather couch in the living room.

“Thank you,” she said as she took the drink from him. The glass was cold, and she resisted the urge to rest it against her face for a moment. Her whole body felt hot, like she was about to overheat. She took a sip of the icy, sweet liquid, but it did nothing to cool her off, or to quiet the butterflies in her stomach.

“You’re welcome.”

He sat down in the chair across from the couch. He’d poured himself a tumbler of something auburn-colored. It was probably some kind of alcohol that was ridiculously expensive, the sort of thing you had to have imported from some far-away country.

“Would you like to talk about what happened in my office today?” Nathan asked.

“What’s there to talk about?” She took another sip of her drink, and hoped he wouldn’t notice that her hands were shaking.

“You seemed upset when you left.”

“I wasn’t upset.”

“You ran out.”

“I didn’t… I mean, I left, yes, but I wasn’t running.”

“Fair enough. You
rushed
out.”

“Yes.”

He swirled his glass around in his hand. “Were you upset by what I asked you to do?”

Her breath caught, remembering. She felt the heat rise to her face, and again, that same warmth between her legs. Why the hell was she so turned on by him telling her what to do?

“No, I wasn’t upset.” She shifted slightly on the couch, wishing she had something to do to keep her hands busy. It felt unnatural, the two of them just sitting here with nothing else going on.

“Then why did you leave?”

She shook her head. “We’re going in circles.”

He smiled. “Are we?”

“Mr. Sweet – ”

There was a knock on the door. A loud, very hard knock.

“Nathan!” a voice called. “Nathan, open up. It’s your father.” But before Nathan could react, the front door opened and a man came bustling into the living room.

“Nathan!” he said. “What am I always telling you about keeping the door locked? You need to keep the door locked! There have been a lot of – ” He stopped short when he saw Addison. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had company.”

“That’s because you just barged in.” Nathan’s jaw set in a straight line, and he put his glass down on the table. “Addison,” he said, “Will you excuse me for a moment?”

“Yes, of course,” she said.

“Don’t be like that, Nathan,” the man said. He crossed the room in two strides and held his hand out to Addison. “Hello,” he said. “I’m Arthur Sweet, Nathan’s father.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said. His hand enveloped hers. His skin was cold, his grip strong.

“What, all she gets is a drink?” Arthur asked. He had the same startling blue eyes as Nathan. In fact, he looked like an older version of his son. The suit Arthur was wearing was navy blue, and his hair was salt and pepper, but the planes of his face matched those of Nathan’s, and they were approximately the same height. “Sweetheart, next time you go out with this guy, you gotta make sure he buys you some dinner.”

He gave Nathan a grin, but Nathan just looked annoyed.

“Yes, well, I’m sure you have some kind of pressing issue you came here to talk to me about,” Nathan said.

The tension in the room was palpable. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that there was something going on between these two men. Addison wondered what it was.

Her relationship with her own parents was pretty normal. They’d been devastated when she’d left Georgia to move to New York City, but they were also very proud of her.

Something told her the same dynamic didn’t exist here.

The two men disappeared down the hall to talk about whatever it was Nathan’s dad had come here to talk about.

Once they were gone, Addison wasn’t sure exactly what to do. She took another sip of her drink. From down the hall, she could hear the sound of muted voices.

“It’s under control,” Nathan said. His voice sounded measured, like he was trying hard not to lose his temper.

“Really, Nathan? Because it sure as hell doesn’t seem like it.”

“It is,” Nathan said. “Now is there anything else? Because I have a life, you know.”

“Oh, yes, I’m fully aware of that. Sometimes I think you have too much of a life.”

Someone shut the door, obviously because they didn’t want Addison to hear what they were saying. She wondered if it was Nathan or Arthur who’d decided they needed privacy.

Her phone buzzed in her purse, and she pulled it out and checked the screen.

Three new text messages, all from Tia.

The first one said, “What the hell was that about?” followed by one that said

“HELLO?” and then finally, “Call me!!”

Addison started to run excuses through her mind. She wondered if Tia would believe that she’d gone to Nathan’s to work on a project. Probably not, since it didn’t explain why Nathan had grabbed Tyler’s shoulders and told him to stay the fuck away.

The sound of angry footsteps came echoing down the hallway, and Addison quickly shoved her phone back into her purse.

She watched as Nathan led his father to the front door, not bothering to bring him into the living room to say goodbye. When the door shut behind Arthur, Nathan just stood there, resting his forehead against the wall.

Addison’s heart clenched. He looked so small standing there like that, so vulnerable. For the first time, she saw him not as her rich, powerful boss, but as a man who’d just had a fight with his father.

He turned around, walked back into the living room, and sat back down on the chair across from her. He undid the buttons on his sleeves, rolled them up, and then loosened his tie. His forearms were tan and strong, with just the right amount of hair.

Suddenly, all she wanted was to make him happy, to take away the worry that was etched on his face.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because – ”

“I said I’m fine.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have brought you here. I’m sorry, Addison. This… this was a mistake.”

Disappointment flowed through her body. He’d changed his mind. She hadn’t done what he’d asked her to do in his office and now…now she’d lost her chance with him.

“No, it wasn’t,” she heard herself saying.

“Yes, it was.” He shook his head. “I’m not what you think I am.”

She stood up and moved toward him, put a hand on his arm. She stood there like that, not saying anything for a moment. He didn’t move. “I’d like to stay,” she said finally.

He went to open his mouth, but she cut him off. “Please.” She heard the note of desperation in her voice. “I’ll do anything. Anything you tell me to.”

It was light a light switch. The look in his eyes instantly changed from one of sadness and darkness to one of desire. His eyes burned bright blue, and she could see how much he wanted her.

“Go back to the couch,” he commanded.

She did as she was told and sat back down on the couch.

“No.” He shook his head. “I want you to bend over the arm.”

Her pulse quickened, but she did as he said, bending over until her ass was in the air. The fabric of her skirt rode up until it was just below her panties. She watched as he got up and crossed the room to where she was standing.

His hand reached out and slid up her leg, his touch sending shivers down her spine. “You denied me today, Addison,” he said gruffly. “Do you know how that makes me feel?”

“No.”

“It makes me very upset. It makes me want to punish you, do you understand that?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper. She was afraid. She didn’t know what this man was capable of. The thought of what he might do to her was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

“Do you know what a safe word is, Addison?” Nathan asked.

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

“It’s a word that will allow you to stop this and put a halt to anything that’s going on, no questions asked. Tonight our safe word will be ‘black.’ Does that sound okay to you?”

“Yes.” Her stomach did a flip. A safe word? Why did they need a safe word?

What the hell was Nathan planning on doing to her? Her pulse accelerated, and her breathing came in gasps. His hands moved her skirt all the way up so that her thong was exposed to him.

His touch was like an electric shock sliding through her body. Every one of her nerve endings was on high alert, and the anticipation was driving her insane.

“You disobeyed me today, Addison,” Nathan said. He leaned over her back, so that his body was pressed against hers. He moved her hair away from her face, and gathered it in his hands, then turned her face until his lips were just a fraction of an inch from hers. “And that means you have to be punished. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she breathed. She didn’t know what he had in mind, but she knew whatever it was would be delicious. He kissed her then, suddenly and without warning.

He tasted like alcohol and mint. His lips were surprisingly soft, the kiss surprisingly gentle. But she could sense something else hiding just beneath the surface – something intense and full of darkness.

He pulled back from the kiss, his hands sliding down her body and over her hips.

And then he pulled his hand back and gave her a stinging slap on the ass.

Addison cried out.

“Did that hurt?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.” His hand came down on her ass again, harder this time.

She bit her lip to keep as tears welled in her eyes. It hurt, yes – but the truth was, she had never been so turned on in her life.

His hand slid down slowly, darting in between her legs and over the crotch of her panties. He would be able to tell how wet she was. The thought made her hang her head in shame. He rubbed her through the silky fabric, then pulled his hand back again and gave her another spank.

She couldn’t help from crying out, this time even louder. The slaps were getting harder. She was going to have marks tomorrow.

“Please,” she gasped. “Please, Nathan, that hurts.”

“Good.” He slapped her again. He leaned back over, gathering her hair back in his hands, and pulling hard. Her head snapped back.

“When I ask you to do something,” he whispered in her ear, “you do it. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she moaned.

“Good.”

He slid her panties down until they were at her knees. Immediately the scent of sex filled the room. He slid a finger inside of her, not asking permission, just taking it.

His other hand still held her hair, gripping her hard and pulling her head back.

“Do you want me to fuck you?”

She moaned, but didn’t answer. Saying those words out loud was too much for her. She’d never said something like that in her life.

“Do you?” he pressed. The grip on her hair tightened.

“Yes,” she whispered. She tried to push back into him, but he put his hand on her hips, stopping her.

“Then say it.”

“I want you to fuck me,” she whispered, shocked at her own words.

“Louder.”

“I want you to fuck me.”

“Look at me when you say it.”

She turned her head. Her gaze met his. His blue eyes were blazing brighter than she’d ever seen them. “Tell me,” he prompted.