Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Nina stood in the middle of the private dressing room that had to be meant for large bridal parties since it was the size of a small house and had two chaise lounges available for customers. She’d already been offered champagne—which she’d forced herself to turn down.
This was JT’s world. Not hers. It couldn’t be hers.
How had that man stayed so sweetly down to earth when he obviously lived in heaven?
She forced herself back to the problems at hand.
Someone was following them, and that meant she couldn’t have the conversation they needed to have. Not that he would let them have it since he seemed to deliberately misunderstand everything she said.
“I brought five cocktail dresses for you to try on.” The salesperson strode into the room. She was perfectly dressed, a testament to her dedication to her job, which was to make sure everyone who walked in the door looked good. And expensive.
The salesperson hung the dresses on the rack of the private dressing room they’d been shown to after they’d torn through the shoe section. Charlotte had been right. Helena knew her shoes. She now had the most spectacular pair of sexed-up Louboutins she’d ever seen. JT hadn’t let her stop there. She had ten new pairs. Apparently her sad pair of flip-flops wouldn’t do for pool time. She’d required Valentino studded sandals in three different colors.
She didn’t even want to think about the fact that he wanted to take her to Tiffany after this and buy her a ring that would likely require its own security detail.
Not her. Fake fiancée her.
She would pay him back for the clothes, but they would be returning that ring.
“Let me know if you need anything.” The salesperson stopped at the door, her voice going low. “Just so you know, your man is the sweetest thing. He told us to bring you anything you wish and to treat you like you’re the most important person in the world. Because that’s what you are to him. So sweet.”
Yep, he was a charmer. He was sweet and gorgeous and rich as sin. He seemed to genuinely care about the people around him, and he was thick in both head and cock.
“He’s the best.” She shut the door and took a deep breath.
He was definitely the best at making her crazy. He’d been beyond attentive. He’d held her hand at lunch, his thumb stroking the pulse point on her wrist, making her go all soft and gooey. He’d claimed they should do it because their stalker might be watching.
He made her wish this was something more than cover for an op.
Why can’t it be? It’s obvious he’s into you. You’re crazy about him. Why not let yourself try again? Yes, you made a mistake with Roger, but that doesn’t mean you punish yourself forever. JT isn’t Roger. He wouldn’t lie to you.
She barely knew the man, but she was already certain he would never lie to her. Maybe she was the na?ve one.
Her mobile buzzed and she looked down at a text from Big Tag.
Your stalker is a pro. PI named Howard Benson. Someone’s looking into you. We’ve had hits all over on your cover. Expect that he’s got eyes on you. Fun fact—he’s worked for Malone Oil before, so ask your new boy toy if he’s told the parents the happy news. Congrats on your fake engagement. Try not to get fake pregnant.
Damn it. She would bet on the admin. It hadn’t taken her long to start looking into the new girl. The question became was Deanna protecting her boss or her own turf? It would make a big difference in how she handled the woman.
She needed to pick a couple of dresses and get back to the office. The office would be an excellent place to hide from JT. She might even be able to hole up in one of the offices and get some advice from the ladies on how to lose a guy she really, really didn’t want to lose.
Of course, if she went back to the office, the PI would know something was up. It made perfect sense to go there once. Her fake fiancée’s brother worked there. They could play it off that way. But spending hours up there on her own would be suspicious.
Things had gotten much more complex. No one would have thought about David Malone’s assistant. She would have been one more worker. As JT’s fiancée, she would be center stage.
Should she pull out?
“You doing okay in there?” JT’s deep voice came through the door of the dressing room.
“It depends,” she whispered. “Do you know a man named Howard Benson?”
“The private investigator?”
She opened the door because this was a conversation they needed to have very quietly. “Yes. Why do you need an outside private investigator? You have a whole firm of them.”
He walked in and closed the door behind him. “I didn’t hire him. Deanna did during her divorce. She didn’t want to use McKay-Taggart because they’re damn expensive. I offered to help pay for it, but she can be stubborn. She thought her husband was cheating. He was. On her and his girlfriend.”
Well, at least she knew who’d hired the PI and why Deanna was so touchy. “He’s the man following us. Are you sure your relationship with this woman is strictly professional?”
His eyes had gone innocently wide. “I’ve never touched her. Not once. I don’t think I’ve ever even helped her out of a car.”
She stared at him.
“I’m serious. Never touched her. Never been anything but professional with her. She’s abrupt but effective,” he explained.
“She’s rude.”
“She’s direct. I wanted to fire her in the beginning and my dad took me aside and asked me why. I told him she was abrasive. He asked me if I would say the same thing about a man in her position. I gave her more time and looked at her differently. She’s good at her job. I don’t care that she’s not what a female assistant is supposed to be. If I asked her to get my coffee there would likely be poison in it, but if I direct her to push through a multimillion-dollar deal with a jackhole who’s trying to tie me up in red tape, she gets it done. I can get my own coffee.” He seemed to deflate. “All that said, she did seem jealous today.”
She’d seemed more than jealous. “I think we can assume she set the PI on us. Have you talked to your parents? Would she call and ask about me?”
“Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Because you still need to buy swimsuits,” he said. “Let me help you try these on.”
She sent him a pointed look.
“I’ve already seen everything, and we should talk about this in private in case the PI is lurking.”
He was right. And he had seen everything. She turned and let him deal with the zipper she always struggled with. “Fine. Talk.”
She could see him through the mirrors. All three of them. She watched as he smoothed his hands across her shoulders before he slowly eased the zipper down.
“I called my mom earlier today,” he said. “She’s been sent a bunch of information about you and how we met. She and my father will support the cover. If they get reporters calling, they’ll hold the family line of ‘we do not discuss our personal lives in the press.’ They’ll move on very quickly because there are far more interesting people out there with even more money. We’re boring.”
His fingers skimmed along her skin, making her shiver. “Good. I think it’s safe to say Michael is on board as well. Are the two of you okay?”
“Can I kiss you? I have the wildest urge to put my lips on the back of your neck.”
She wanted that more than anything. “It would be a mistake.”
He touched a place between her shoulders that made her want to melt. “What you’re telling me is I can do this job, or I can have you? Is that what this is about?”
She was going to have to live up to her name and be blunt with him. “I don’t fuck where I work. I learned that the hard way. And you’re avoiding the question. I asked about your brother.”
“You’re avoiding my question.” He parted the dress, exposing her back. “Were you going to dump me this morning?”
It took everything she had to not lean back into him, offering her skin up for his touch. “Dumping you implies we had a relationship to begin with.”
“I thought we made a connection. Was I wrong? If you can tell me you didn’t feel anything last night, I’ll figure out a way to make this thing work. I’ll sleep on the floor if I need to.”
She wanted to tell him that no, she hadn’t felt anything, but it would be a lie. “Fine. I was going to ask you if we could see each other when I got back.”
“Then let me kiss you.”
“I told you I don’t sleep with coworkers.”
“Nina, baby, we’re not coworkers. I’m the guy you’re going to try to keep in line while you work. I’m your cover, not your partner. Once this job is over, we won’t ever have to work together again. Not in this way because I fully intend to stay away from all the spy stuff.” He went to the rack and pulled the emerald green cocktail dress off. “I think this one first.”
Yes, he would pick that one. It had the lowest neckline. She took the dress from him and slipped it on. “I had a relationship with a coworker that went bad. I can’t have another job go wrong because I was too busy thinking about a guy.”
“You won’t have to think about anything but getting the job done. I’ll handle everything else,” he promised. “That looks beautiful on you. Can I ask you a question?”
She looked in the mirror and had to admit the dress looked good on her. “You don’t seem to have a problem with those.”
“Do you want to see me again? Or has the day we’ve had shown you a different side of me? A side you don’t like.”
She turned, the dress forgotten. “No. I do want to see you, but I can’t afford for this job to go sideways because we have feelings for each other. So I think we should wait to move anything forward. Maybe once we get on the other side of this job, we can reevaluate.”
He got into her space, forcing her to look up at him. “It’s too late. At least it is for me. I’ve already got feelings for you, and that’s not going to change even if you tell me I can’t kiss you again.”
He was so close. So gorgeous. He was her every fantasy and he was standing right in front of her. Was she really going to let him go because of something Roger had done? “I should think about this. Introducing sex will merely complicate things.”
“Sex has already been introduced. And now that I know you’re a sub, I won’t be able to think about anything else.”
“I didn’t tell you I was a sub.” She’d tried to avoid that whole line of conversation because he’d been right. He had basically topped her the night before, and it had been fabulous. What would it be like if they could be a formal D/s couple?
“You didn’t have to tell me.” Every word came out of his mouth on a silky glide of his tongue. “I knew you were sexually submissive because of the way you melted for me. I didn’t know you were an experienced sub, but I knew damn straight I could give you what you need.”
“What do I need?” It wasn’t his money. It wasn’t his family.
“You need a man who lets you be the badass you are in your everyday life, and who helps you let it all go at night. You need a man who supports you in everything you want, including being his dirty little sex toy every night you’re in the mood. Let me kiss you.”
She’d promised herself this wouldn’t happen again. Not until they weren’t working together. “It’s going to make things harder.”
“I can’t get harder, baby.” His hands molded to her hips, his lips hovering over hers. “And I know you weren’t talking about my cock. You think it will be harder to manage the mission, but we’re going to be side by side every single day and every night. Do you really think we can stay away from each other?”
“We have to. Once we get there, I have to concentrate on the job.”
“Not every minute of the day. That’s why you have backup. No one can keep that kind of concentration up. You will need to relax.” He loomed over her. “That’s where I come in.”
His words were hypnotic, almost as mesmerizing as his presence. “You’ll help me relax?”
He was staring at her like she was something precious, like he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I’ll play things any way you want when you’re working, but you get a couple of hours a day when I’m in charge. Of course, you know you’re still in charge deep down, but during that time, my goal will be to get you out of your head, to force you to let go of all the stress that comes with being the person you are. Strong. Brave. In control.”
It was everything she’d ever wanted. “And what do you get out of it?”
“I get to concentrate on you,” he said. “I get to let go of everything that makes me tense and crazy and focus on something that makes me happy. You.”
He was too much. How was she supposed to believe him? Or should she go with the fantasy of him since in two weeks she would be back in London? What could it truly hurt to sleep with him for a couple of nights? Staying close to him was good for their cover, and if she was in the same room with him, why shouldn’t they touch each other?
“I’m not getting serious about you,” she explained. “My life is in London.” What there was of it. “I’m going to be here for a few weeks and then I’ll be back home.”
Back to real life, which didn’t include a hot cowboy god of a Dom. She would be back to watching all her friends have kids and settle down, to worrying about her friends who were in trouble and didn’t want to be found.
A slow smile spread across his face, like he knew he’d won the battle. “I might make you want to stay.”
She shook her head. Like she’d thought before, he was too much. She would fall so hard for him, and it would disintegrate at some point in time. She couldn’t handle it again. “I won’t. I’ll get on a plane to London and I’ll go back to my world. But maybe a few weeks in yours wouldn’t be terrible.”
“It wouldn’t be terrible at all,” he said, his fingers tangling in her hair. His eyes suddenly went hard, but in an incredibly sexy “I’m taking charge” way. “I think you should relax right now.”
There were reasons for her to not do that at the moment. “We’ve got a PI looking for us.”
“And if he shows up, what will he find, Nina? Will he find us plotting how to bring down a spy, or will he find us doing what engaged couples most like to engage in?”
The man knew how to make sense, but he was forgetting a few things. “And the saleslady?”
“Will be happy to let me stay in here for the rest of the day because she’s smart and she knows I’m going to tell her we’ll take it all at the end of this.” Those fingers tightened, pulling at her scalp in a perfectly delicious way. “Do you agree that I’m in charge when it’s time to relax?”
She could fight him, but she didn’t want to. Not in any way. She knew she was bargaining but she couldn’t help herself. Perhaps if she went into the relationship knowing it wouldn’t last, she wouldn’t get hurt in the end. “You’re in charge.”
“Damn straight I am. Now turn around.”
“Am I going to try anything else on?”
“I told you we’ll take them all. As for trying something on, yeah, you’re going to try me on. I think I’ll fit just fine.”
Her whole body lit up at the dark tone his voice had taken. He’d used a form of this tone the night before, but this time he’d deepened his voice. Maybe it was unconscious, but it was obvious he’d gone into top space, and that made her skin sing in anticipation. She turned and he had the dress off her, allowing her to step out of it before he laid it on the bench. Then he had the clasp of her bra undone in a heartbeat. He tossed it aside, and that was when she noticed she could see herself in the mirror ahead. She wore nothing but the pair of white cotton undies she’d put on earlier in the day.
“You’re so fucking pretty,” he said, his hands winding around her torso to come up to cup her breasts.
She could see the way her whole body seemed to relax the minute his hands were on her. All she could see of him was his hands and the dark silk of his hair as he bent over to caress her neck with his lips. When he set his teeth on the nape of her neck, a shiver went through her. He grazed his way to the top of her shoulders. All the while his strong hands cupped her breasts, thumbs circling her nipples. He would brush over them and then roll them between his thumb and forefingers, and when she thought he would pinch them, when she was ready for the little flick of pain he would likely give her, he would go gentle again.
He was a sadist.
“You’re tense, baby.” He whispered the words in her ear, his tongue flicking her earlobe. “This is supposed to be relaxing. Am I not doing it right?”
“You know it feels amazing.” Some Doms liked to tease like this. It looked like JT liked to play games. The good news was so did she. “But I need more, Sir.”
Those fingers tightened lightly around her nipples. “More? More what? And I like the way you say Sir in that oh-so-posh British accent of yours.”
She’d worked hard for that accent. She’d perfected it since she was originally from the country and sounded like it. It wasn’t fair, but she’d known sounding cultured meant something in her world. It would mean something in JT’s, too. He had an accent, but there was no questioning the man’s intelligence. “You can get a bit rougher if you like, Sir.”
“Rougher?” His arms tightened, pulling her back against the hard muscle of his chest. “If I like? I want you to like. How about this?”
His fingers closed around her nipples and he gave her a quick twist, sending a flare through her that went straight to her pussy. She gasped and the world seemed a bit softer than before as arousal took over and she started to forget all the reasons this was a bad idea.
“Nina, I need your words.” He nipped at her earlobe. “Do you like that? Do you like me twisting your pretty little nipples? They’re pink right now, but I think they’ll be gorgeous when I’ve licked and sucked and bit them. They’ll be ruby red.”
“I like it very much, Sir.”
He twisted her nipples again. “Watch it in the mirror. Watch how you respond to me.”
She forced herself to obey, though she wanted more than anything to close her eyes and let the moment take over. But obedience was part of the agreement—even if they didn’t actually have a formal agreement. She did as he asked, and the sight of those gorgeously callused hands on her skin made her tighten in anticipation. The fact that he was completely dressed and she was barely clothed did something for her. It made her feel sexy, like he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, so he’d stripped her down and hadn’t bothered with his own clothes. It let her know that penetration wasn’t the only thing on his mind.
It let her know he wanted to play and there were rules to the game—but there was also so much to win, and if she played right, there were no losers.
“You like a nip of pain?” He was staring at her in the mirror, his head up and eyes locked on hers.
She nodded. “I do. I like the sensation. I like the crispness of it, and then the heat that takes over. If you’re serious about having sessions at night while we’re at the retreat, I like a flogger with a little sting to it.”
He grinned, a sexy expression. “I can handle that for you. Now tell me you won’t give me hell about wearing my ring.”
He was a manipulative bastard. “I’ll wear whatever you want me to wear and you’ll do what I tell you to do if the bullets start flying. That’s the deal, Malone.”
His right hand started to make its way down her body, the pads of his fingers skimming over her skin and making her tighten with anticipation. “I will honor that agreement. Now you hold still.”
She watched him through the mirror as his hand slipped under the waistband of her knickers and disappeared.
“Have I told you how pretty your pussy is?”
The words were as much of a caress as the pad of his finger sliding over her. She had to catch her breath and force herself to be still for him. She could feel the hard line of his erection against her ass, the buttery soft denim of his jeans sliding against her legs because he wasn’t under the same rules as she was. He wasn’t still. He moved his hand, starting to explore the planes and valleys of her sex. His free arm held her tight so his hips could start a slow rhythm.
He groaned, a rumble against her ear. “You’re already wet for me. You want to know how I knew you were a sweet sub? This. When I told you what I wanted from you, when I took control and you realized I was going to be good for you, this honey started to flow for me.”
He was right about that. She usually took far longer to warm up. The previous night she’d written it off as it had been a long time and she’d needed the sex.
She was lying to herself. It was all about this one man. They had that elusive thing she’d started to think only existed in books and movies. They had real chemistry, the kind that revved her up and made her body hum when he walked into a room. She was drawn to him, and it was about more than his incredible body and gorgeous face. There was a warmth to the man that called to her, a sweetness and willingness to put himself out there that made her want to protect him.
He was brave with his heart, and she wanted that in her life.
But right now all she wanted was more of what he was giving her.
“That’s it. You relax and let me take care of you. We don’t have to worry about anything in this place but pleasure and connection.” He nipped her earlobe, causing her to gasp and squirm. His free hand came up to twist her nipple, sending a thrill of erotic pain through her. “Be still. Take what I give you.”
He was giving her so much. He was going to give her an orgasm, and she wasn’t sure she could hold back.
Did it matter? In her world it probably did, but she was in his world and he didn’t care who heard her.
Why should it matter?
She let go of everything but how he could make her feel.
Sexy. Powerful.
Beloved.
She shook off that last word because it wasn’t somewhere she was willing to go yet. Maybe never. But the rest of it was beyond tempting. This was what had been missing in her other D/s relationships. She hadn’t been able to totally let go with another Dom. It had always been there in the back of her mind that she needed to protect herself.
She let herself go with JT. Something deep inside told her she was safe with this man. At least her body was.
Her body was all that mattered for the moment. She was caught between his talented fingers on her pussy and that hard dick pressed against her ass. She glanced up at the mirror and JT was watching her. His eyes caught hers and she realized how much he wanted this. He wanted her to come for him. He didn’t need to say the words. It was all there in his dark gaze. In the way he licked his lips like he would devour her the minute she was finished and it could be his turn.
But he wouldn’t take that turn until he was sure she was satisfied. He would control himself.
Could she shake that control at some point? Could she make him as wild as he was making her?
Every muscle in her body tightened and then the glorious release hit her hard—a long wave that swept her up and away.
“Oh, the things I am about to do to you,” he whispered, and she could see the predatory gleam in his eyes.
The picture they made in the mirror was stamped on her brain. He was the conqueror and she the well-satisfied prey. Yes, she would let him do anything he wanted to do to her, and she would do it with not an ounce of shame.
“Yes, Sir.”
There was a knock on the door. “Uhm, Mr. Malone. I’m so sorry. There’s a woman out here and I can’t make her go away. I’m so sorry to bother you.”
He went stiff behind her. “Nina, it might be about my father. I have to…”
She straightened up. His father’s illness was the whole reason they were in the predicament they were in. Of course he was worried. “I’ll get dressed and meet you out there.”
“I don’t think it’s your mother,” the saleslady said. “She said she’s your assistant.”
Or she could make things very easy and kill off one of the suspects.
JT ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. “She tracks my phone. In some places we go it’s a necessary thing. I’ll talk to her.” He took a deep breath and groaned. “Shit. I was supposed to stop by the office and sign some contracts. I ignored her calls earlier. I’m sorry, Nina.”
Somehow she thought Deanna showing up was about more than contracts.
JT leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, his mouth kicking in a wry grin before he stepped back. “But I’m pretty sure everyone knows what we’re doing, and that’s a good thing.”
Because of their cover. That was all. He closed the door and she was left alone and almost completely naked.
If only her heart didn’t feel just as bare.
JT strode out of the dressing room, ready to throttle someone. Not someone. Deanna. He was going to fire her. Everyone wanted him to fire her, well, today was the day they all got their wish. He could handle her sharp tongue, but cock blocking was definitely where he drew the line.
She stood out in the middle of the department, a stack of files in her arms. Deanna was in her early thirties, and he was sure there were men out there who thought she was smoking hot. She had honey blonde hair and she took care of herself, but somehow he’d never been able to look at her as more than a super-competent assistant who could keep the dragons of the industry on their toes.
Attraction had hit like lightning the minute he’d seen Nina. It had been utterly unlike anything he’d felt in his life, and he was well aware that he was in too deep, way too fast, but he couldn’t help himself.
“You want to explain why you’re interrupting me?” It was time to reclaim some of his private life. He hadn’t had much of one for years. Not since his father had backed off traveling, forcing JT to spend much of his life visiting rigs and going to conferences. He didn’t do much beyond work and sleep and take the occasional morning off to play golf, which was honestly usually more about work than play. “You’re going to stop tracking my phone and you’re going to stop it now.”
A huff came from her along with a slow frown. “How am I supposed to keep up with you? Your mother already hates me. If I lost you in a foreign country, she would really be pissed. I know everyone in the world thinks your mother is some darling, wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly-because-she’s-so-classy lady, but she can be very intimidating when she wants to be. I know a cast-iron bitch when I see one.”
He would have protested her calling his momma a bitch, but it was a term of respect coming from Deanna. “How about I’ll stop my mother from tracking my phone? You can both follow me on social media.”
“You don’t ever post anything,” she complained.
“Well, then you’ll both have some troubled nights, won’t you? Maybe she could hire a private detective to follow me around.”
Deanna’s expression went mulish. “Well if she did, she probably would do it because she’s worried about you getting your heart ripped out of your chest by some British skank out for your money. And I know your mother is British, but she had all that Weston money behind her, so we know she married your father because she lost her damn mind, not because she needed money.”
“Nina isn’t a gold digger.” He kept his voice down because they were out in public, and despite the fact that he was sure Deanna had sent the PI, he wasn’t giving anyone more ammunition if he could help it. “She’s my fiancée, and if you can’t treat her with respect then we’re going to have a problem.”
“We’ll have a problem anyway,” Deanna said under her breath.
“What?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You didn’t answer my texts. The stock you wanted to buy bottomed out an hour ago, but I can’t give them the go-ahead to buy without your signature, and the Nikkei opens in a few hours. If we don’t get it at open, we’ll pay a much higher price because the sharks will be circling.”
He took a deep breath. She had a good reason for hunting him down. He held out a hand. “Give it to me.”
She gave him the authorization papers. “Good, because I’m worried Jordy is going to try to undercut us.”
He started to look them over. “Jordy Burton? The asshole on my leadership team who was so worried about my daddy that he showed up in my hotel room this morning? That Jordy?” He knew it shouldn’t surprise him.
“Yep. I’m not entirely certain, but I heard him talking to someone about stock, and he mentioned the company you’ve been looking at. I don’t know how he knows. I wouldn’t tell that massive ass a thing.”
“Then why did you let him in my hotel suite?” He didn’t like the idea that Jordy had somehow figured out his plans to buy up stock on a failing Japanese tech firm. They had some software that JT believed they were underusing. He wasn’t certain so he wanted a deal, but if he was right, Malone Oil would have another technological edge.
So where had Jordy gotten the idea to go after the same firm?
She sighed. “I let them in because I was worried too. The Malone family closed ranks and I was on the outside. I know we’re not exactly friends, JT, but I’ve worked for you for a long time. I spend more time with you than anyone else in the world. Forgive me for being worried.”
“About me, or the company if my father dies?”
“I wouldn’t worry about the company. You’ve been running it for the last few years. If anything, I wish you would take it all over because your dad is stubborn as the day is long and won’t listen to any idea that doesn’t come from a dinosaur.” She gave him a pen. “Although now I’m worried because instead of dealing with this very important stock purchase you were doing something in the dressing room that made all the salesladies stand outside like they were listening to a sex show. Probably because they were.”
“I get to have a private life.” He finished looking through the documents and signed his name on the line.
“Not in the dressing room, you don’t.” She took the papers back and stepped away. “I hope you’re telling me the truth and you really know this woman because I would hate to see her ruin the good work you’ve been doing. I’ll get this filed and see you in the morning unless you’re planning on ducking work to play with your…fiancée.”
“I’ll be there in the morning.” Though he and Nina did have work to do. “Mid-morning.”
Deanna sighed. “Yes, that’s what I was worried about.”
She turned and walked away.
“Mr. Malone, should we try more dresses?” the saleswoman asked.
He still had a ring to buy. “No. We’ll take them all.”
He had very little time to win Nina over. He wasn’t going to waste it.