Chapter Ten
CHAPTER TEN
Zane
Z arah’s on me the minute I step into the penthouse.
She’s lit up brighter than a Christmas tree, and it’s bittersweet to see her like this. I don’t want her to be sad forever that Mom and Dad are gone, but I don’t want her to let them go so quickly, either. Spending time with Ash is helping, and maybe Stella will help me look forward to the future, too.
I kiss her forehead. “How was your day?” I ask, kicking my shoes off and loosening my tie.
The short amount of time my father and I worked together wasn’t enough, but the information Cramer and Denton went over with me today didn’t sound like Greek. My briefcase is loaded with paperwork. Too much. I’ll never be able to look at it all and still get some sleep for tomorrow.
“Good,” Zarah says, pulling her robe tighter around her. She looks like Mom, and grief closes my throat, but I manage to swallow it back and listen to what she has to say.
Working alongside Ash gives her purpose, and she relays all her projects and tasks. He had her sit in on meetings and take notes, and he asked her opinion on business matters. It sounds as if he’s doing more than training her to be an assistant.
Ash revealed business details Zarah doesn’t need to know unless he’s planning more than that. He’s talked about settling down, and now I know who he’s thinking about when he mentions it. He has a marriage proposal in the works, and he’s training Zarah to not only to be his partner in business but to be a credit to him as his wife.
I wish she would go to school and experience life outside of King’s Crossing, but she’s old enough to make her own choices and she looks happy.
“We need to throw you a party,” she announces.
I knew this was coming when Ash all but forced me to go out to Temptations.
“I suppose we can’t put it off,” I say, shuffling into the kitchen. During our late meeting, we ordered in, but even that seemed like a long time ago.
“Lucille made spaghetti,” Zarah says, following me.
It sounds heavenly after such a tiresome day, and I wait impatiently as a large portion of the leftovers heat in the microwave.
Zarah sits at the island, where she and Stella sat the day they met. That too, seems so long ago, yet only the weekend has passed. It’s not the first time my life has felt out of control. Time is slipping away, six months since Mom and Dad left us forever, and I can still hear Mom laughing, see Dad chasing her around the penthouse. They loved each other right up until the end.
I want a love like that.
“We shouldn’t put it off for too much longer,” Zarah says, bringing me back to the present.
She’s right, and I know it. It would have happened a lot sooner if Dad had taken the company public. If I wouldn’t have taken over immediately after my father’s death, our shares would have tanked. Maddox Industries would be worthless. As it is, I need to prove Maddox Industries is a company still worth doing business with, and I can only do that if I crawl out of my cave.
Making my first public appearance at Temptations wasn’t the smartest choice, but everyone wants to know who Stella is, and that lifts some of the pressure off me.
“Okay, then do what you need to do.” Zarah can handle a party. She’s been planning them with Mom since she could read.
“I asked Stella to help,” Zarah says as I slurp noodles covered in marinara sauce.
I reach behind me and grab a beer out of the fridge. “Good. She needs to make connections if she’s going to be my assistant. Did you call her?”
My sister tells me she’s spent more time with Stella today than I did, and my heart thuds despondently in my chest. I miss her. I didn’t tell her goodbye, and my stomach pitched when I came out of my meeting and saw her empty desk. Of course, I would have gotten angry if she would have stayed that late. As she learns her duties, we’ll have late nights.
I look forward to those.
Zarah chats about their dinner, and I wait for her to ask about the meeting I had with the FBI, but she doesn’t. Stella didn’t say anything, and I’m surprised but grateful. There’s nothing to report, and I’m getting pissed.
It’s time to bring in a private investigator who can travel and grease some wheels. I’m not in a position to fly around the country or overseas to France asking questions and flashing hundred dollar bills persuading people to spill their guts.
I have no idea how to go about hiring someone I can trust, but Ash or Ash’s father, Clayton, will have recommendations. I’ll ask them at the party. Zarah won’t waste time, and I won’t have to wait long. I should have done this a while ago. The trail grows colder every day, giving people opportunity to cover their tracks and destroy evidence.
Someone wanted that plane to go down, and I won’t stop until I find out who and why.
“Back to Black tomorrow?” I ask, cleaning up after myself.
Zarah grins, but she looks tired. “Yes. Ash wants me there bright and early to sit in on a meeting. I’ll text Stella and set up a time to get together.”
“Thanks. I guess a press conference, too, huh?”
I don’t like that, but me stepping up isn’t a secret. I just hate the thought of my parents’ deaths being dragged through the media over and over again. It’s a constant reminder they’re never coming back.
“The whole works,” Zarah agrees.
I kiss her cheek. “Are you okay?”
She slides off the stool and leans into me. “I miss them, Zane.”
Hugging her close, I murmur, “I know you do. Me, too.”
We stand in the middle of the kitchen, just the two of us against the world, but we’re not alone, and I need to remember that.
“Goodnight, Z. Thanks for keeping me company while I ate.”
I’m too tired to look at the paperwork I brought home, and all I can think about is Stella.
I grab my cell and crawl into bed.
Hey , I message her. I don’t know if she found the cell phone in her desk, or if she knows how to use it if she did. I threw her to the wolves today, but she seemed to be able to handle herself with Harper’s help.
There isn’t much I know about her besides the generic information HR is required to find out about a new hire during a routine background check. I think briefly of asking the PI to do a little digging on her, too. It couldn’t hurt. I should know what I’m getting into before I fall any further. I can’t live through another loss.
Hey , she responds, and I smile.
I’m sorry I didn’t see u after work, I type.
That’s okay, I know you’re busy.
She types out all her words.
Can I see u tmw? I’ll see her at work but walking past her desk isn’t enough.
Yes. Goodnight, Zane. She cuts me off.
It is late, and she’s probably tired.
Sleep well .
She doesn’t respond, though the message shows delivered and read.
In the end, I can’t sleep, and I go over paperwork until the sun glimmers in the sky.
Zarah’s already gone when I stumble downstairs. I fell asleep for a couple of hours, and that hit me harder than if I would have pulled an all-nighter.
Lucille made coffee and she’s frying bacon. When we heard the news about Mom and Dad, she’d been afraid we would let her go. Though she doesn’t have as much to do now, she’s still a part of our family, and seeing her face comforts me. I can tell she wants to hug me, but she only hands me a mug of coffee and shoos me upstairs to shower and dress.
I do and munch on bacon in the elevator. I’m stepping onto the executive floor by nine.
Stella and Harper are hunched over her computer, and I don’t bother to interrupt them to ask Stella what my schedule is for the day. Until I learn more of what’s been happening in my absence, meetings will fill every second of my every day. I’ll need time, but Denton and Cramer will bring me up to speed, and they snag me ten minutes after I sit down. We’re stuck on a conference call until lunch.
Denton asks if I want to work through, but I’d rather see Stella and I say no. We plan to reconvene after the lunch hour, and I head to Stella’s desk.
She’s typing, and she’s so elegant doing it. She sits, her back ramrod straight, and she’s adjusted the monitor so she can stare directly at the center of the screen.
I don’t know what she’s working on.
“Stella? Do you have time to eat lunch?”
She smiles at me, and it steals my breath. I forget how pretty she is, how sincere. She would never lie to me.
“Yes. Let me save my progress.”
I step behind her chair, my hands resting on her shoulders, and glance at her screen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking software classes. I don’t know how to use most of what’s on this Mac,” she says, logging off. “Harper showed me the MI 101 classes. It’s a wonderful opportunity, and you should make them available to all your employees.”
I’ve never heard of MI 101, and I hate feeling stupid. They’re obviously training classes of some sort, but I had no idea we offered them or how much they cost. “They aren’t?”
“No. I couldn’t sign up for them in payroll.”
“I’ll fix that.”
It seems simple enough, but she beams at me.
My fingertips linger near her lower back as she and I walk into my office. I ordered our lunch from the restaurant on the first floor and asked for it to be sent up. Two covered plates wait for us at a table near the windows that overlook King’s Crossing, but the minute I close the door behind us, she’s in my arms and my mouth is covering hers.
Something loosens inside me, and I can breathe.
I slip my tongue between her lips and rake my fingers through her hair. She mews into my mouth, and I’m instantly hard. She’s wearing a black sweater dress that hugs her every curve, and I pull those curves to me, pressing her breasts against my chest.
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she hugs me tighter to her, too, and I’m glad this isn’t one-sided.
“I want you, Stella. I can’t wait.”
“Please, Zane, this is all I can think about.”
I don’t want to rush, but I can’t help myself. I tug at the hem of her dress and reveal black garters. I groan, and she laughs.
“Like?” she asks.
“Definitely.” Impatiently, I lead her to my desk. I want to undress her, and I waste precious seconds to use a remote that locks the door and lowers the blinds attached to the windows that look into my office. I reach for her, but she bats my hands away. Carefully, she unknots my tie, slowly unbuttons my shirt, and flutters kisses over my chest, her tongue flicking my nipples.
“That’s enough,” I growl and take her mouth with mine, ramming my tongue between her teeth. She gasps and starts to unbuckle my belt. I let her, and seconds later, she wraps her hands around my cock. I’m already spurting. The pad of her thumb circles the wet tip. “You drive me crazy,” I say, pulling away. Another minute of that, and I’ll explode. I want to come inside her, not in my briefs.
I yank her dress over her head and stare, the material dropping to the floor unnoticed. Framed by the windows that look over the city, she’s gorgeous. The sunlight sparkles in her hair, and her skin glows gold. I can’t take my eyes off her. Suddenly, she looks self-conscious, brushing a hand between her breasts and down her belly. “You are a goddess,” I say to help her relax and because it’s nothing less than the truth.
She blushes. “Thank you.”
“Trust me, it’s my pleasure.” I undo her stockings, unsnapping the clasps. Stella doesn’t seem the type to mess with such fussy lingerie, and I wonder if she bought them for me. If she did, I’ll thank her later...there’s nothing I like more than a finely-shaped woman wearing black lace. My fingers play with her matching panties, and she widens her legs, granting me access. I slip my finger inside her. She’s hot, wet, and tight. God, she’s so tight. I force myself to stop and remember how young she is.
“Are you a virgin, Stella?” I want to be the first, but I don’t. There’s such a responsibility in claiming a girl’s V-card, and I don’t feel worthy of Stella’s, but I hate the thought of another man touching her.
She blows out a breath and says quietly, “I dated someone in community college. We were intimate a couple of times, but that’s all. After graduation, I never saw him again.”
I nod, relieved. The best of both. I won’t be taking her virginity, but she hasn’t been all over King’s Crossing. I can’t say the same, and I’m grateful she doesn’t ask about my sexual history—it would ruin the mood. Besides, she already knows.
Kissing the inside of her thigh, I slide her panties down her legs and toss them aside. She’s a real blonde, and I rub my nose through her curls. I push a finger inside her. Her legs tremble.
I find her clit with my tongue and lick the sensitive nub.
She’s already engorged, and she whimpers my name. “Zane.”
“I know, baby. I’ve been thinking about this since I met you in my kitchen. This need to touch you, to be inside you.” I lap at her again, loving how she tastes.
She’s so ready, but still, I push two fingers inside her, stretching her, twisting them as she moans my name.
I wipe my fingers on my pants and tug off her bra. Licking her lips, Stella watches me undress.
Cuddling her to me, I kiss her, and she devours her own essence. I love her flavor in my mouth, and I love she loves it, too.
Her fingers whisper over my cock, and I’m more than ready. It takes longer than I’d like to grab my wallet out of my pants crumpled on the floor and pull out a condom, but smiling wickedly, she rips the packet open and sheathes my erection herself, her touch lighting my skin on fire.
I don’t want her missionary. I probably should, for our first time, to make her comfortable, but instead I lean her over my desk, expose her ass and pussy just right. I push my fingers into her again, opening her, and rub the tip of my cock over her slit.
Her cheek is pressed against my blotter, and she whimpers, but not in fear. She raises onto her tiptoes offering herself to me.
I take.
I shove into her, grasping her hips. She cries out, and I thicken with anticipation. I withdraw inch by inch, then plunge in again. Slow, agonizing strokes make her clench around me and I lose myself, almost coming, but I took her in this position for a reason.
I wet my finger and carefully caress her ass. The puckered blossom beckons to me, and I rub my fingertip around the delicate area. I gauge her reaction, and she grips the edge of my desk but doesn’t protest. Her shallow breathing echoes through my office.
“Stella?” I ask.
“I’ve never—”
“Just my finger, honey. I need to touch you there.” I want to play. I want my finger inside her ass, feel my cock moving in and out of her.
Relaxing, she gives me permission. “Okay.”
I nudge her, gently, slowly, and with my other hand, my fingertips brush her clit. She moans.
My cock twitches—I won’t be able to last much longer.
Tenderly, I push my finger into her ass as far as it will go, and I massage her clit. Twisting my finger as I play, I know the second she’s about to orgasm, and I furiously rub until her muscles clench around me, hugging my dick. My cock fills every millimeter of available space inside her, and her cum oozes down the inside of her thigh.
I’m harder than I’ve ever been in my life. Gently, I pull my finger out of her ass, grip her hips, and slam into her, using the dregs of her orgasm to come, my heavy balls slapping against her skin. I burst inside her and wish there wasn’t a condom between us. I screw into her until I can’t stand, and I loosen my hold on her hips. Anchoring my arms on my desk, my body frames hers, and I pause, my heart needing a few moments to steady. Still inside her, my cock has barely softened. I kiss her shoulder blade, my lips brushing over a small tattoo she has there.
She lets out a sigh.
Slowly, I pull out, and kneeling, I kiss her beautiful ass. I spread her delicate folds and lick, smoothing over any hurt I might have caused. Reluctantly, I stop. We won’t have time to eat if I don’t let us dress. Using the tissues on my desk, I wipe away her cum.
She does the same for me, rolling the condom off my limp cock and wrapping it into a tissue. “Have you always liked . . .?” She blushes and doesn’t continue.
I know what she’s asking. “Not always. There’s something about you, Stella, and I need to touch every part of you, but if you didn’t like it, I won’t do it again.” I gather her close, and she shivers. My hands explore her body, weighing her breasts in my palms. I fall to my knees and suck a delicate nipple into my mouth. I nibble, and she drags in a ragged breath, her fingers lacing through my hair. I’m getting hard all over again, but we don’t have time for round two.
Nudging my shoulder, she leans against my desk, and says, “I liked it. But I don’t think I would want . . .”
My innocent little ingenue. I stand and sweep her into my arms. “I’ll never do anything you don’t like. If you don’t want my cock there, then I won’t do that to you.”
“Thank you.” She licks at my neck, and it sends shivers over my naked body.
“You don’t have to thank me. That’s respect. Sex is for pleasure—for both people.”
“Did you like it?” she asks, scratching at the scruff along my jaw.
“Stella, I have never had better, and that’s the truth.” It’s what I feel for her that turned what we just shared into something of great significance, something no other woman in my past can compete with. A cascade of emotion crashes over me, and I bank it. It’s too soon to tell her everything that’s in my heart. I have to puzzle it out for myself first.
She smiles in relief. “Good.”
We dress and use my bathroom to wash our hands, and then we dig into our meals. I ordered lasagna, and she doesn’t wait to help herself. I love watching her eat, and I nibble at the garlic bread she offers me. We’re running a little past the lunch hour, but the release chased away my tension, and even if Denton and Cramer are annoyed, it was worth it.
“I need to work late again,” I say, wishing I could see her. I caress her cheek as we stand by my door, preparing to venture out into the real world. We’re different people now. We’ve been intimate. I’ve been a part of her, and she’s been a part of me.
People will know when they see us. I’ve branded her as mine.
I kiss her, unable to keep my hands to myself. I need her, my blue-eyed girl, and I lick the inside of her mouth. There’s no way I’ll ever get my fill.
Lightly, she brushes her fingers over my erection and playfully nibbles at my neck. “That’s okay. Is there anything I can do?”
She’s already doing more than she thinks, but that’s not what she means. “No, not tonight.”
“Okay. Zane...” She smooths my tie and centers the knot between the collar points of my shirt.
I kiss her palm, garlic and butter scenting her soft skin. “We have plenty of time.”
She nods, and I let her slip out the door.
If I had known what was coming, I wonder if I would have encouraged her to say it so I could hear it, or if I would’ve let her walk away in silence.
Either way, my heart still would have been torn to shreds with no hope of repair.