Chapter Five
Reverence
Amy
Amy couldn’t recall passion like it. The way Kyle’s large palms squeezed her ass and his mouth claimed hers as he kicked the door closed behind them was insatiable. Not even the desire they’d already shared came close to the need contracting inside her as she breathlessly ceded to the hunger. Backside grazing the edge of his desk, she glanced into his searing blue eyes and was entirely captivated.
“Get out of those clothes.”
He growled the order, tearing at the tie around his neck while she hurried to obey. Discarding the garments to the ground, she’d never been happier to be rid of clothes before. There was no shame in being naked around him anymore, only the irrefutable demand to have him against her, on her, inside her—everywhere.
“On the desk.”
He pointed to the structure as though she wouldn’t know where he meant, and by the time she glanced up from the puddle of her clothes, he was naked from the hips up, his eager cock already released and strutting from its confines.
She climbed onto the desk awkwardly, her heart racing as she turned to him. “Sir?”
“On your back,” he ordered, fisting his cock. “I want to see you while I fuck you.”
Shuffling a pile of paperwork to the far corner, she lowered against the cold wooden surface. There was such a paradox to the moment, the chill of the desk against her skin juxtaposed against the temperature rising in her core. The heat blooming there was stifling, burning her up from the inside and ensuring she’d do anything he wanted—not because she wanted his money or approval, although she knew she needed both, but because she craved him.
“Like this, sir?”
“You look magnificent.” His gaze speared her eagerly. “I can’t wait to have you again.”
“Yes, sir.”
She agreed completely, all thoughts about whether his desire was based on their ballooning lust for each other or the ever-increasing debt she owed him lost to the corners of her mind. She yearned for him, and by some fucking miracle, a man as gorgeous as Kyle desired her, too. There was a buoyancy in her thoughts as that realization settled.
He was fucking desperate for her; his enormous erection told her that much.
Whatever happened after that, whether she stayed there and dusted for him in a kinky outfit or they went their separate ways, she sensed she would never be the same. Kyle had given her back her self-esteem.
“Tell me you want it.” He yanked her along the desk and grasped each of her thighs.
She went with a yelp, her arms splaying naturally over her head as she surrendered. Gazing up at him, she knew that’s precisely what she was doing. She’d never known a man treat her so roughly before, but she’d also never experienced such desire. Her body was ignited by the pendulum of his hard, callous treatment and his near-tender caresses. Kyle kept her constantly guessing. One moment, he was commanding and almost cruel, while the next, the warmth of his touch fooled her into thinking he harbored feelings for her.
“I want you.” There wasn’t a flicker of doubt in her as she spoke her truth. For some reason, she fucking loved the capitulation. The way he turned her on was sensational.
“You want me to do what?” Stretching her right leg up and over his shoulder, he kissed the inside of her calf.
“Fuck me, please.”
Christ, why was he torturing her? He must know she was as frantic to fuck him as he was her. Why else would she have been splayed naked on his desk? Yet again, she pushed away the niggling little voice in her head that presented the alternative answer.
Because I owe him big time.
“Fuck you where?” He tugged her left thigh, trailing a hot line of caresses along her calf as he snarled. “Tell. Me.”
Fuck.
Graham had never made her beg for what she wanted. No man had, but stretched out on Kyle’s furniture, that’s what it felt like—he was demanding she plead for the thing they both wanted.
“ Please fuck my pussy, sir.”
Whatever shame she might still have had hidden about the admission was cast away as the words left her lips. Amy was not the same woman he’d met at the grocery store. Sure, she still had issues, and it would take time to overcome them, but Kyle had changed her.
They were both there, and their attraction was undeniable. There was a power in that knowledge that vetoed embarrassment.
“Fuck, sir.” Hooking her legs over his shoulders, she drew him nearer. That’s where she needed him—closer—as close as he could fucking get. He pressed his cock between her legs, the organ finding its way to her sex as though it already knew the way.
“Oh God.” Her eyes flickered closed as he filled her.
“Look at me.” He lowered over her body as he slowly withdrew. “I said I want to see you.”
Complying, Amy was overawed by both the intensity of sensation and intention. Looking into his eyes only amplified the ferocity of her feelings, as though there could be no secrets between them. Kyle had an unnerving ability to sense what she needed, as if he could see into her soul. The power of his gaze had caught her off guard right from the get-go, and as he dove into her again, she suddenly struggled to catch her breath.
“Little girl.” His mouth lowered to her neck, planting hot kisses there as she welcomed the depth of his possession.
She’d expected the sex to be fast and frenzied. The building tension in the corridor had signaled so, as had the way he carried her unceremoniously into his study, but now that he had her, he seemed to have little desire for furious lovemaking. On the contrary, the way his hands rose to capture hers and his fingers enmeshed with her digits conveyed a far greater depth of emotion than their relationship should have allowed.
Pinned beneath him, Amy was hypnotized. He’d told her to watch him, but as he moved, she couldn’t even contemplate dragging her gaze away. Impaled by his impressive dick, which was intent on stretching her sex at the new, more intense angle, she was enthralled.
This man—this strong and powerful individual—who should want nothing to do with her was worshipping her body, and as he slammed into her over and over, she was certain… there had never been anything like it before in her life. Graham hadn’t even come close.
“I can’t believe how good you feel.” He brushed his mouth over hers before his hand lowered to grab at her ass cheek. Sliding deeply into her, he paused, eliciting a moan from her lips.
“Fuck, sir.” She clenched around his shaft. “Please.”
“You want more?” His dark eyebrow arched as she lifted her hips to try to receive more of him.
“Please!” What more could she do to persuade him? “I need you!”
She regretted her choice of vocabulary at once, the self-satisfied smile that painted his lips twisting at her core, but she’d already tumbled far too far down the rabbit hole to truly care. Let him know how she was feeling and what she wanted. Let there be no pretense. She’d laid everything else on the line for him already—her financial woes, her family’s losses, and her pride—he might as well have the truth.
“Fuck, Amy.”
Her lips parted as he used her name. There seemed to be something poignant about the choice.
“What the fuck are you doing to me?” His brows knitted as, presumably, he fought back against the rising tide of pleasure.
“I…” She’d intended to reply, but as her hips rose to receive him, she was aware only of the tug tightening at her sex. Much more of that perfect friction would see her topple, too. “Please don’t stop.”
“I’m not stopping.”
The hand on her behind gripped her tighter as his jaw stiffened, but true to his words, his hips never slowed their pace.
She squeezed her eyes closed, despite his command, clinging to the incoming high. Her clit throbbed at the welcome provocation. She was so close to coming apart.
So fucking close.
“Look. At. Me.”
His whispered words were scarcely even a growl, the resonance alone enough to insist on her obedience. As her eyes flew open, his face was right there, his flesh burning on her lips.
Fuck.
She wanted to scream the word, but the weight of his stare was immobilizing. He was gorgeous, aged by his experience, yes, but still flawless as far as she was concerned.
How could she ever have been so lucky to have met a man who could love her this way, as well as one who could pull her from the deep financial pit they’d fallen into? Maybe it was genuinely luck—though she wasn’t sure she believed in the notion—or maybe there was such a thing as fate? Whatever the answer, the suffocating need at her clit demanded she abandon the question.
“I’m going to come!”
She didn’t know if the cry was a plea for his permission or only a release of the building energy inside her body, but staring into the endless pools of his eyes, she realized she did seek his go-ahead. There was something fundamentally alluring about offering him that one final fragment of control over the woman she was. It was something she’d never wanted to give to anyone else.
“Please, sir.” She laid it on the line for him. “Can I come?”
She had no idea what she would do if he denied her. God knew she was teetering so close to the precipice that holding back seemed impossible. She nearly cheered then when he murmured the words she longed to hear.
“Come then.” His cock picked up the pace, indicating how near his own orgasm was. “Let me feel it, little girl.”
Her body erupted at the prompt, her muscles tensing and forcing her lips into a silent ‘O’ before the enormous sense of release swept over her. His deep grunt reverberated in her ear as she flew in euphoria, conveying his own climax. A breathy silence cascaded over them as entwined, they grasped at the moment of perfection.
***
“We just keep getting better, little girl.”
An unquantifiable amount of time later, Kyle’s voice pervaded her hazy and satiated daydreams, forcing her back to the warm reality of their embrace. Still sprawled on the desk, she was tangled in his embrace, her ass snuggled into his groin.
“Yes, sir.” There was no denying that truth. Kyle had a magnetism she hadn’t been ready for, but now that she’d tasted it, she didn’t know how there could ever be enough of him. A world without his suave, calm, and commanding aura seemed unthinkable. “But…”
She regretted the word at once.
“But?” His voice was a sigh as though he, too, wasn’t ready to hear whatever came next.
“I’m sorry.” She was loathed to be the one who burst the bubble of contentment they’d achieved, but that same troublesome narrative that had nagged at her was seeping back into her consciousness, tugging on the loose ends of her joy.
“Go on.” He kissed her nape, holding her close as though bracing himself. “I’m here for you, little girl. I hope you know that. As your employer, but as your lover, too.”
“I think that’s the crux of my concern, sir.” Anxiety amplified in her stomach as he so ably identified her concerns.
“Oh.” The canopy of his arms tightened around her.
“I mean…” Fear goaded that her honesty might have offended him. “I adore and am so fucking grateful for both, sir… it’s just…” How could she better explain? “I’m unclear where the line blurs between my contractual obligations and the feelings I have.” She frowned, her ballooning trepidation unsure that explanation was any better.
“Yes.” His voice was calm. “That line is increasingly blurring, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She twisted to see him, wanting the reassurance of that enticing gaze again. “I just don’t want to feel as though you’re paying me for this incredible sex.” She clenched, suddenly conscious of how naked she was while he remained half-dressed. “That’s not why I’m here, sir.”
“I know.” His hand rose to cradle her nearest breast as he met her eyes. “I understand, Amy, believe me.”
She wanted to believe him, longed for nothing more than to learn that the two facets of their relationship could exist in isolation of the other, but deep down, she wasn’t certain it was possible. Was she his subordinate, paid to do her job, or his submissive, praised for her sexual compliance?
She didn’t know how to be both.
“I need to work for you, sir.” She sighed. “Your help has been invaluable, and your input can make such a huge difference to my life.”
He sniggered, apparently tickled by her unintentional quip. “Interesting choice of words.”
“I didn’t mean it like that!” she slapped his hand playfully. “I mean, I appreciate your money, but it makes this,”—she rested her hand over his—“chemistry between us feel strange.”
“I’ve been fogging that line between what you need and what I feel right from the beginning.” His breath was warm on her shoulder. “I’m sorry if it’s troubling you, little girl.”
He’s sorry?
As far as she could recall, that was the first and only time Kyle had ever apologized for anything.
“I’d like to understand.” She rolled toward him. “How do you feel, sir?” It was dangerous to ask, yet the apprehension in her belly had morphed into something mirroring simmering excitement. She was exhilarated to know his heart. “I’d love to know.”
His lips curled. “Would you?”
“I just…” She reeled at his wry tone. “It might negate some of my nerves.”
“Well, I don’t want you filled with nervous energy.” He pulled her closer against him. “Not unless it’s because of an erotic punishment you’re due, so I’d better find the words.”
She waited, pressing her fingers between the dark hairs on his chest as he contemplated what to say. The intimacy between them was intensifying, but it needed to be defined and reconciled, especially now Jonah was there.
“I admit I wanted you right from the start, Amy.” His tone was thoughtful.
“In the grocery store?” She found it hard to believe anything about that version of herself could have been attractive to anyone, let alone a man like Kyle.
“Yes.” He laughed at the expression she pulled. “I could tell you needed help, and I wanted to assist you, but once I was with you, there was something special about you, little girl. Some unspoken part of you that called to something in me.”
Her brow rose. He might just have eloquently articulated the connection she’d sensed right from that first meeting.
“And at dinner?” She rested her palm against his warm skin. “When I was a sniveling mess?”
He chuckled at her description. “You were never a mess, little girl.”
“You’re kind, sir, but that’s not true.” She easily recalled what a state she’d been in when she’d first opened the floodgates. “You must have wondered what on Earth you were getting into.”
“No.” His tone was that same even, smooth tone.
“No?” She didn’t believe it.
“I was relieved.” He tugged her knuckles to his lips. “And thankful that you’d shared with me what was challenging you. I couldn’t have helped you if you hadn’t opened up to me.”
“True.” Being around him was such a mind fuck.
“And in helping you, I created the contradiction—our budding romance became a contractual agreement.” He squeezed her fingers. “I apologize for the incongruence.”
Two apologies? Amy’s jaw fell open, and for the longest time, she only stared at him.
“I see,” she forced herself to say in the end. He’d not only offered contrition but had just referred to their dynamic as a romance. Excited butterflies fluttered in her belly. “And here we are.” She wasn’t certain his piece explained all the complicated emotions tangled inside of her, but it did describe the origins of them.
“And here we are,” he agreed. “But I’m not convinced that will satisfy you.”
“You know me too well, sir.”
“Apparently.” He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “You’re worried about how we move forward. Especially now that your son is here.”
Fuck, was the man a mind reader?
“Yes.” She leaned against his arm. “You’re very good at this, sir.”
It made her wonder how many other women he’d entertained in similar ways, but of course, she had no rights over the man he’d been before they’d met at the grocery store. She scarcely had any now.
“Jonah can’t know about this.” She brushed her free hand along his midriff. “He thinks I’m working for you. He wouldn’t understand why we’re fucking.”
“You’re worried what he’d think.” He sounded mildly amused at the idea.
“Yes.” She tensed. “He’s my baby, and he’s been through a lot with his dad and his brother. I can’t be the next reason he slides into hell.”
“You’re working here, at least in part, to help him.” Kyle’s brow arched. “Why can’t you be honest with him?”
“It’s not that easy.” She was immediately rueful at her curt tone. “I’m sorry, sir, but family is complex.”
“I see.” He pressed his lips together. “So, what are you saying, little girl? Am I going to be your dirty little secret?”
She blushed at how that sounded. “I will tell him if things continue between us. I want to be honest. It’s just going to be difficult to explain right now.” He’ll think I’m paid for the sex.
She held back the final line.
“Whatever you think.” He traced the outline of her fingers as he went on. “He’s your son, but it’s going to present some significant challenges while he’s staying here.”
“Yes.”
“Like what duties you can perform for me,” he continued.
“I know.” The familiar anxiety furled inside her. “I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes. “And now I owe you even more because you bailed him out and…” She gasped, the enormity of everything that had happened washing over her once more.
“Shhh.” His arm tightened around her middle. “Is that what’s really on your mind?”
“It just makes things worse.” The sudden rush of emotion had taken her by surprise. “I can’t keep asking you for help, yet somehow there always seem to be new needs.” Jonah’s legal costs erupted into her mind. So far, he didn’t have a lawyer, but he’d need someone to represent him in court, and no one worked for free.
“What needs?” His hand left hers and slid along her body to hold her chin. “Tell me.”
He’d taken on that masterful persona again, his voice lowering an octave as his stern tone addressed her. That voice alone sent her heart rate racing.
“He’ll need a lawyer.” She flinched. “To help him in court.”
“Of course.” The fingers at her chin relaxed. “I have an excellent lawyer. I’ll call h—”
“No, no!” She lifted herself on one elbow, his eyes widening as she shifted. “I’ll look for someone in my own time, sir. I will not ask any more from you.”
“The best lawyer could get him off the charges altogether.” His gaze was steely, as if he knew he had her on the ropes. “That would be helpful for Jonah, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes,” she squeaked. “But I can’t afford someone like that.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He smiled as though her opinion was meaningless. “Because I can.”