Chapter 5 #3
His palm tensed around the back of my neck.
He was being awfully quiet. I shuffled in place, not letting go of my ire.
With his grip at my neck, he forced me to turn around, so I faced him.
I tried focusing on his lips. Pressure mounted in my chest, and it was making it difficult to breathe.
He leaned forward so his face hovered right above mine.
He tipped my chin up and I stared into his confused hazel gaze.
My belly felt uncomfortable and like it wanted to explode.
“What’s wrong, bunny?” His tone turned softer than it had been. The change in tone drained my anger, and I could no longer hold back the tears. I sniffled, while he blurred in my vision, my face crumpled.
“Where were you? Why didn’t you call me?” I said so fast the words bunched together.
His fingers tightened around my chin. A hiccupping sob escaped my mouth.
He exhaled sharply against my lips and cupped my face with both his hands.
“Baby,” he whispered. “I had a last-minute emergency in Thailand. I flew out the same night I last saw you. I’ve been working nonstop so I could get back sooner.
” I hiccupped. “I called you as soon as I landed.” His voice turned rough, and his thumbs smoothed my cheeks. “Baby, you’re breaking my heart.”
“A text wouldn’t have killed you,” I returned, sniffling. “Or you could have had Judy reach out to me, or, or—” I shut my mouth so fast my teeth clicked together.
He sighed and his forehead pressed into mine. “I ceaselessly worked so I could get back to you sooner.” He pressed his lips to mine and then a kiss on each of my eyes. I blinked the tears off my eyelashes. “This was my mistake. I should have called you.”
“This is a bad idea. Us,” I said, choking on the words with a helpless shrug. His hold on my face turned stiff.
“Don’t say that, Nina. It can’t be further from the truth. Look at me,” he said sternly. “I’m positive you’re my Scent Match.” I stopped breathing and everything froze. He was so serious. “You’re meant to be mine. Understood?”
I didn’t believe it, but I nodded.
“What else is bothering you?”
I sank my teeth into my lower lip.
“Say it now, because I don’t want misunderstandings to grow between us.”
“Who has the initials C.M?” His eyebrows furrowed. “You had me deliver flowers to the person. The bouquet was nice, red roses—very romantic.” I struggled to spit the words out.
“I had you deliver . . .?” His eyes slightly widened. “Judy passed the job onto you.”
Breathing became slightly difficult. “Who was it?” I could hear the anxiety in my words.
He pulled me to his chest, wrapping both arms tight around me and straightening a little. I had to balance on my toes as he curled his front against my front.
“Who is it?” I repeated, my voice verging on desperation. It felt off to me and I couldn’t shake it.
His arms tightened around me, holding me so tight my spine felt it might break. “No one to be concerned over. I have Judy send flowers to business partners.”
“Really?” I asked hopefully. He buried his nose in my hair.
“Yes. Really, baby.”
“You guys weren’t together?”
“No,” he said so easily and tension leaked away.
Why would he lie to me, there wouldn’t be a reason to lie. I immediately became a noodle in his arms.
“Thank goodness.” I lifted my hands to his arms and bunched his navy long sleeved shirt. “D-Don’t get me wrong. I know you must have a past, b-but I can’t handle seeing it.” Maybe he was right and we were Scent Matches . . .
Samuel shuddered in my arms and straightened all the way, so my feet dangled a few feet off the floor.
“Nina.” His voice sounded rough and even though he squeezed me so tight it hurt; I didn’t care.
“And don’t you ever keep yourself away from me,” he growled.
I sniffed, rubbing my damp cheek into his shoulder.
“You. Brat.” The staccato of his words accompanied a slap to my butt.
The sting radiated to my clit, wrenching a moan from me.
Immediate heat flushed over my flesh. I ached after these last few days without him.
He chuckled evilly and backed up so fast my feet swung in a pendulum motion.
I thumped my fist on his shoulder. My feet touched the floor, but I only had a chance to take in a single breath before he turned me around.
His arms corralled me as he shoved the name plate to the side and the documents sprawled on his desk toward the other end, one of them thwacked to the floor.
A palm at my lower spine forced my belly into the edge of the desk until I was bent over the end of his desk.
I grunted from the suddenness of my breath being pushed out from my belly.
With a quick jerk of my skirt, he had it pulled up and my butt exposed. He rubbed his fingers over the swell, caressing it lightly as he hooked his finger in the top of my underwear and slowly inched them down to expose me.
I wiggled at the cool air, my body hot and needy, but fighting off embarrassment.
“Alpha,” I mumbled. His palm came down on my cheek. I gasped, jerking forward, curling my hands into a fist on the surface. He smoothed his hand over the part he’d swatted.
“Don’t ever ignore your Alpha like that.
” He hit me again, with a little more force so that it stung.
My yelp turned into a moan as he suddenly stuffed two fingers inside me until I felt his knuckles.
My legs shook from the invasion. His fingers scissored inside me, and I scrunched my eyes shut with a moan.
His palm moved from my spine to cover my mouth so no one could hear me scream.
He did the motion again and I whimpered, wiggling against his teasing touch.
He withdrew his fingers, shallowly pumping.
I mumbled against his hand, but he only chuckled.
It was on purpose. I sank my teeth into his palm, and he grunted, his fingers shoving back in to fill me.
“Fuck, bunny.”
I let go of his flesh and frantically nodded against his palm. That was exactly what I wanted.
“I can’t deny you,” he sounded both exasperated and tender. Another finger joined the first two with some effort and I couldn’t breathe. “Such a tight pussy.” He pumped them inside my channel, a wet sucking from my sex sounding in my ears as he invaded, commanded, and owned me. “My pussy.”
My nails dug into the surface of the desk, and I shook my head, my moaning muffled by his palm. I ground my hips back, trying to glide his fingers in and out. I couldn’t stop my movements, but he followed my gyrations with his fingers.
I tensed up, my body freezing, the sudden swell of my orgasm exploding, and my channel constricted around his fingers, but he didn’t stop moving them, milking the last of my release until I twitched with every sensitive motion.
His hand withdrew from me and my cheek dropped to the desk. I couldn’t stop panting.
Samuel caressed my butt. “So responsive.” His praise caused my sex to tighten, and I bit my lip.
A ringtone broke the silence, making me jump into a standing position.
The motion showed me just how wet I was.
I peeked at him to see him press the phone to his ear.
Moisture slicked down my thighs and his hand glinted as he brought it up to his mouth, licking my need off his fingers.
“Hmm,” he said in answer to whoever was on the other side.
They wouldn’t know that he didn’t speak because he’d popped another finger in his mouth and dragged it out.
He clicked the phone off and shoved it in his pocket.
My eyes dropped to his member straining the front of his black slacks, and I reached for the large bulge.
He caught my wrist.
“You’re still being punished.”
I scowled up at him and yanked away. He reached into his pants to mess with his cock, and when he withdrew his hand, he didn’t poke out so obviously anymore.
“Follow me.”
I hurried to grab his briefcase and catch up to him by the time he was at the door. He paused and slipped it out of my hand. “I don’t want you carrying my things.”
“I’m an intern—”
“My intern, which means, do as I say and follow me.”
I pouted but did as he said. Judy was not behind her desk, so I didn’t worry about how it looked.
“Where are we going?”
His wide shoulders moved with his quick, commanding stride and I had to work double time to keep up since I was half his height. We rounded the entrance leading to our desks and down the hall. We were about to enter where the cubicles were, so I slowed and lowered my head.
Samuel slowed and looked back at me questioningly.
I stopped a foot behind him. When he continued to stare questioningly, I clicked my tongue and looked around us.
His eyebrows raised and he slightly shook his head.
He stopped at the private elevator across from the ones us normal people took and input his code; the shiny doors swung open.
It looked similar to the one I usually rode, except everything looked brand spanking new and it smelled like expensive cologne in here.
I shuffled my weight from one foot to the other.
A desire to get closer to him ate at my gut.
I found myself leaning closer and quickly straightened.
He felt like the sun and I was a planet revolving around him.
The dip in his cheek kept dragging my attention to it as though he seemed amused by me.
He clicked on the button for the next floor and dragged me close to press his lips to my temple.
He blew a raspberry against my ear, and I giggled.
The elevator smoothly glided to a stop—another difference.
Samuel released me and stepped out of the elevator, striding off and to the left down a long hall, the opposite direction from the office noise with ringing phones.
The opening was similar to my Alpha’s with two receptionists, but they sat further from the doors in desks pushed together closer to the entrance of the small lobby.
They simultaneously stood. “Mr. Astor.”
I bit back my scowl. He nodded without looking at them and climbed up the steps to the chestnut doors.
He barged in with me right behind him. I took the time to shut the doors gently behind us.
When I turned around Samuel had settled on a leather chair, an ankle crossed over his other knee.
On the other side of the desk was a leaner male looking over his glasses at him with an eyebrow raised.
His eyes were a deep green that complemented his fair complexion.
While Samuel Astor’s hair was more golden, this Astor had a lighter blonde that verged on white.
I hovered near the door, trying to blend in to the wall.
“You didn’t sign the budget?” The Astor, whose name eluded me, drawled out, returning his attention to the computer screen. Unlike the charm Samuel showed, this one only exuded a rigid composure.
“Easy fix, Caine.”
“It’s unlike you, is all I’m saying. No need for the tetchiness.”
Samuel grunted. Caine Astor rifled through his drawer and pulled out a thick black folder and tossed it on the desk in front of Samuel.
He plucked up the pen resting in front of his brother and opened the file. While he was busy doing that, Caine caught one of my furtive glances at them and lifted a pale eyebrow.
“New assistant?”
“Intern.” The pen scratched across paper.
Caine hummed, still not removing his eyes from me.
“Stop eyeing my intern.” Samuel smacked the pen on the sheet, shoved it across the desk, where the thick folder hit Caine’s keyboard, and then stood and moved toward me, eyebrows drawn down. I hurried to open the door for him.
“Don’t forget to come to the Club.”
Samuel grunted. What club? When? Was it a strip club? I tried not to let my face show my internal turmoil. My heart pounded in my chest. Samuel moved past me, and I shut the door but not before noting Caine’s smirk.
I hurried after Samuel, my mind going a mile a minute. If he frequented a club, I couldn’t handle that. I would fall apart, die, suffocate, all at once. If he was with someone else—
“Nina,” Samuel said, sparking me back to life. We were back in the elevator, and he pressed the button for the first level. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said, focusing on my flats.
“Nina,” he warned, but his phone rang again, saving me.
He sighed and answered. I withdrew into my head as he talked to someone about budget codes and investments.
Honestly, all of that nuanced business talk was beyond me.
He stepped into the main lobby, still talking on the phone, and I slowed.
I was just following him, but did he want me to? What if I had to go back upstairs?
These doubts were going to eat me up.
His steps slowed and he looked back at me, waiting.
I jolted back to life, and hurried to catch up with him. He guided me with a palm on my spine to his vehicle waiting for us outside.