34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-Four
Vaughn
T he day after dawns heavy with tension, and I can feel it in the air as I pace about my mansion. I can’t get the confrontation with Rachel from yesterday out of my head. Her words slice deep. I don’t even want to admit it, but that’s what they do, and I’m left battling the chaos of my thoughts. I’ve never been overly self-assured, but lately, it feels like I’m trying to control everything, and everything is slipping away from me.
I hear a knock on the door just as I’m about to pour myself a cup of coffee. My heart sinks. I know exactly who it is before I even opened it. I swing the door open, and there she is—Rachel—with a set expression on her face.
“Rachel,” I say, an edge of annoyance creeping into my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Surprised to see me?” she snaps, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. “I wanted to talk.”
I lean against the doorframe and fold my arms. “You only want to talk when it is convenient for you. What do you want, Rachel? Haven’t we already said enough?”
I can see the fire in her eyes, and her expression hardens. “Do you think you can just brush me off like that after everything I’ve done for you?”
I step closer, softly, firmly. “What exactly have you done for me? I see that you’ve been too busy socializing with my teammates to even pay attention to your job.”
Her eyes widened, and for a split second, I see the anger on her face. “Excuse me? I have no right to talk to you like that? I’m not the one out there flirting and pretending to care about my career.”
The accusation stings, and my temper flares. “Rachel, you need to watch your tongue. This isn’t about me. This is about you doing your job.”
“Oh, please,” she retorts, stepping closer until she’s inches from my face, her gaze unyielding. “You think I will let you intimidate me? You’re nothing, but a disappointment as of late. You act like I’m the enemy,” I say. “I’m trying to support you.”
I feel the tension between us building, thick and electric. “Yeah, well, I’m not the one who’s been out flirting instead of working,” I say lowly, dangerously.
She snapped, her voice rising. “You’re a hypocrite. You’re doing the same thing with Jenna! What in the hell are you accusing me of when you’re the one who’s so busy letting her hang all over you?”
For a moment, I saw her eyes start to burn with anger. The tension in the room is palpable. “I never asked for Jenna to be around,” I say, my voice strained. “You’re making it harder for me to deal with this mess.”
“Harder?” She laughs, but the sound is bitter. “If it weren’t for me, you’d be nothing. You’ve made me loyal, Vaughn, and now you want to pretend like it’s all my fault.”
The words smack me in the face, and I blink. “Because you think I’ve taken you for granted?” I say, incredulous. “I’ve done a lot to keep this team together, and I’m under more pressure than you know. All I’m asking is, please stay focused.”
“Focused?” she repeats, her voice rising. “Because you’ve been so focused on problems that you created, you forgot about the people who actually give a shit about you. I’m more than just your secretary, Vaughn. I’m your partner. But you refuse to see it.”
I can feel the tension in the air crackling as we both glower at each other, and I wonder for a second if this is how it all ends—an abrupt explosion in which it all becomes clear. But I can’t back down. “Listen, I can’t afford distractions right now.”
“Distractions?” She scoffs, her anger palpable. “You mean like Jenna? You’re the one that’s allowing yourself to fall into this mess. Don’t you see how you were sabotaging everything?”
“No, I’m not sabotaging anything,” I say, the frustration boiling over. “I don’t need you to dictate how I deal with my life or my career or anything else.”
The fire in her eyes doesn’t waver. She shakes her head. “You don’t get to decide how I feel about this. I’m sick of feeling like I’m not important. You’re just gonna stand there while I make a fool of myself?”
“Maybe you should think about how your actions reflect on me,” I say, my voice low and dangerous. “I don’t want you out there with my teammates, and then you come back to me as if nothing happened.”
Rachel looks pained and angry; she steps back. “I’m not a scapegoat, Vaughn. I’m trying to support you, but you’re making it impossible.”
Her words weigh down on me, and for a moment, I can’t think. “Then what do you want from me?” I ask, my voice softer now.
“I want you to stop pushing me away,” she replies, her voice trembling. “It’s hard, and I want you to know I’m in this with you, no matter how hard it gets. But you must let me in instead of shutting me out.”
The air between us crackles, and I can see the pain in her eyes. I feel angry, I feel frustrated, and I feel I want to connect with her so badly. I can’t help the feeling that I’m standing on unsafe ground, not knowing in which direction to go.
“Rachel, I . . .” I start, but she cuts me off.
“Just think about it, Vaughn. I can’t keep being treated like I’m disposable. I won’t stand for it.”
With that, she turns and storms out, leaving me standing there, more alone than I’ve ever been. Everything has been exposed, but nothing is resolved. I know my feelings. I feel them, and I have done what I’ve done.
The room falls into a heavy silence as Rachel storms out. Each beat of my heart feels like a loud thud, the weight of our confrontation reverberating in every pulse. Somewhere deep down, I know I can’t keep pushing her away, but I never wanted it to come to this.
I just need to process everything, but I can’t get her anger out of my mind. Then, out of nowhere, I have a thought and call after her.
“Wait!”
I see her shoulders tense as Rachel pauses at the door, her back to me. “What?” she snaps, her voice sharp.
“Are you jealous?” The question slips out before I can stop myself. I can’t believe I just said that, but the air is charged with unsaid things, and I need to challenge her.
Her eyes are wide with disbelief. She spins around. “Jealous? Of what? You and Jenna?”
“Yeah, of what you saw on Collins’s Instagram,” I clarify, coming closer. “Is that what this is about?”
She looks at me for a second, a flicker of uncertainty on her face, but it’s gone in a second and is replaced with anger. “I’m not jealous, Vaughn. I just don’t want to be treated like I’m disposable.”
I can’t let her go like this. “So you are jealous!” I press, speaking a little louder. “How come you care about who I’m with?”
“Let me leave,” she says, her tone firm, but I’m not ready to back down.
I block her path to the door as I step forward. “No, we won’t talk about this until we do.”
“Vaughn,” she warns, her voice strained, “I don’t want to argue.”
“Then what do you want?” I ask, my frustration spilling over. “Because I can’t keep pretending that this doesn’t bother you.”
Her gaze rips into me. Her eyes start to burn bright, and I can feel the tension between us start to crackle. She mutters, “You’re impossible,” and tries to leave, but I reach out to grab her wrist gently.
I say in a low voice, “Don’t walk away from me, Rachel. Not now. We’re finally getting somewhere.”
Her breath catches as she looks at me. She hesitates, and something shifts. I can feel the anger that’s been building between us about to explode. I draw her closer, and before I realize it, I am lowering my lips to hers.
The kiss is electric; it fires through any smoldering left below the surface. It’s a feeling of heat and desire—it’s everything else. Her body responds to me, and the tension that was between us before transforms into a raw, passionate kind.
We pull apart, breathless and wide-eyed, and I look for anything indicating maybe she’s hesitating, but all I see is the want in her eyes. This moment can’t slip away from me.
I lift her without thinking and put her on my desk, the cool surface pressing against her back. The surprise fades from her face, and she gasps again, but only slightly, before I lean in again and capture her lips with mine. She kisses me deeper, and I can feel her fingers knotted in my hair, pulling me nearer.
“This is insane,” she breathes against my mouth, but the words are laced with urgency rather than reluctance.
“Insane or not, I need you,” I reply, my hands roaming her waist, feeling the warmth of her body beneath my fingertips. We forget about the weight of the world outside and lose ourselves in each other.
I step away, enough to look deep into her eyes and see if there’s any hint of doubt. “Are you sure about this?” I ask, but the seriousness of the moment is starting to creep in.
“Just shut up and kiss me,” she whispers, and that’s all the encouragement I need.
I dive back into the kiss; our bodies fuse, the heat between us shifting to something more. I can feel my urgency rising, and both of us are desperate to feel this connection to release us from our lives and chaos.
I deepen the kiss, and my hands roam and memorize every inch of her curves over the solidness of the desk beneath us. Her body arches against mine eagerly. I can feel the heat pass between us.
I reach up, tug the band out of her hair, and toss it aside, allowing her silky hair to tumble down her shoulders. Cradling her face, I slip an arm around her waist to bring her more firmly against my body.
Her mouth is so full, so ripe, and much more intoxicating than I expected. Her body trembles once against mine in arousal, a primal response to my kiss.
I’m warm and hard, and for one mad moment, she draws me in, inhaling my male scent and flavor, the strength and the passion, and letting it flow through her in a kind of joyful spree.
I stared at her, trying to guess her mood.
“If that wasn’t a yes,” I tell her, “you’d better run for the door. Fast.”
“You’re not pushing me away, Vaughn,” she replies. “Not after all that’s happened today. I want you.”
“Rachel, you don’t know how badly I want to make love to you.”
“It—”
The rest of the words spill down her throat when I swung her off her feet. “Too late. It’s time to be ravished.”
She tries her best to frown, pissed at being cut off, but it’s not easy with the thrill pumping through her.
“I can’t wrap my head around how good you are at sex,” she mutters to no one in particular.
“Stop interrupting me. I’m working here.” I run my lips over her cheeks. “Your cheeks are so rosy and soft. Unexpected, exotic, and strangely sexy. I’ve always loved how they looked on you.”
I take her mouth once more, engulfing her in a kiss so long, slow, and deep that the pleasure spreads from that point of contact through her body and straight down to her toes.
“Remember the first time we had sex?”
She arches and shifts a little as I kiss her neck. “It’s hard to forget, especially since you ruined me for any other man.”
“All that pent-up passion and energy. It’s a wonder we survived it.”
I ease back and smile at her. She wants what I want, and I can only hope that it will be enough for her.
“It happens I have some time on my hands just now,” she says.
“Let’s start then, right now.”
My lips take hers with a fierce hunger that sends shock waves of hot, raging desire through her body. Even as her heart races, I change the pace, becoming more tender until that raging heat goes slow and thick.
She floats back on the memories of our varied lovemaking over the past few months—the passion and intensity of it. Then, her thoughts shift to the present moment—a new level of passion and tenderness.
Helpless to resist either and craving the now-familiar sensations, she wraps herself around my muscled frame.
Rachel slowly runs her hands all over my body, tracing every length of my long, broad shoulders, caressing my hips. I can’t admit this out loud, but I’ve missed this intimate understanding of another and the rush of love that comes from the pleasure of being loved by another.
She slides into the old rhythm of our lovemaking. I ease my back and just look at her, wanting nothing but to be pleasured by her.
“What? What is it?”
“I just want to look at you.” I unbutton her shirt, taking my time about it, running the tip of my fingers over her exposed skin, all the while never taking my eyes off hers. “I want you to look at me. Stare into my eyes as I pleasure you.”
Still watching her face, I trail my fingers over the white lace of her bra.
She shivers as my lazy fingers brush her nipples. I drew her up and slip her shirt off. “Such a lovely body. Just one more thing about you that drives me crazy.”
As my hands stroke her back, she links her arms around my neck. “You’re awfully patient tonight, Vaughn.”
I open the clasp of her bra and then move my fingers over her shoulders to nudge the bra straps down.
My lips touch hers as her arms lock around me. With an exasperated breath, she locks lips with me, and her tongue wrestles for supremacy with mine.
That’s what I’m looking for—that quick flash of need. I don’t want her to think but only to feel what we can bring to each other—here and now and for the rest of our lives.
My fingers tangle in her hair. Then my hands rest there, pulling her head back so that I can plunder her mouth and her throat.
I could have devoured her in one reckless bite, but that would be too fast, too easy, and this feels too special to be rushed. Instead, I let the flames rage on, building up till it threatens to consume us both.
I feast on her soft body, sampling and drinking my fill of her. My hands rush over her, then slow and linger at her erogenous zones.
Her body has always been a source of pleasure to me. Not just the shape but its lushness and eagerness to enjoy, her openness to sexual adventures. The racing of her heart under my lips arouses me as much as her ripe breasts.
All that lovely silk skin shivering under the feel of my wet tongue is only more of a thrill when she urges me to take her.
Her hands rush over me, pulling at my shirt. And her slutty purr of approval as her nails scrape my skin sends my blood boiling, so I have to fight back my primal desire to hurry.
I’ve got no idea where my newfound patience comes from, but one thing’s certain: I would drive her crazy with it. My muscles quiver under her hands, and she knows me well enough to exploit my wants and weaknesses. Even as I meet her demands as I push her to the trembling edge, I hold back and leave her shaking with pleasure.
I feast on her, then sample her supple flesh with my lips. From the nape of her neck to her soft and inviting breasts, my lips suck and feast with reckless abandon, and she keeps moaning out in pleasure as I explore her erogenous zones.
The soft, smooth skin that trembles under the caress of my tongue and the gentle scrape of my teeth only intensifies the thrill as she urges me to take more.
“For God’s sake, Vaughn, just fuck me already.”
“You’re not aroused enough yet,” I respond, chuckling as I pin her arms down and continue to fan the flames with my mouth. “Neither am I.”
There is so much of her, and like Oliver Twist, I crave more—I need it all. Her sumptuous body, the questing mind—I need more than her desire and heat.
I release her hands to embrace her, to hold her tight as we roll over the bed.
Her skin feels slick with sweat, and she’s hot and wet and ready. I have only to cup her pussy to send her over the edge. She cries out my name as her body erupts in orgasmic bliss. And I know when she goes limp beneath my body that she’s just given me something I hadn’t known I craved.
Her total surrender.
“Rachel,” I moan her name over and over as my lips rush over her face. When her eyes, so dark and heavy, open and look into mine, I fist my cock and slide inside her waiting pussy.
It feels so warm and inviting that I lay there for a minute or two, allowing her to adjust to the length of my erect cock in her. I link my fingers with hers, grip tight, and start thrusting in and out, slowly again and again.
Accepting my thrusts, she arches her back, lifts her lips to find mine, and joins them. The sweetness of it brings an ache to her throat as pleasure builds on top of pleasure. We match, beat for beat, thrust for thrust, as sweetness becomes desperation.
We’re still joined—lips, hands, loins—when we fall.
I pulled away for a moment, looking into her eyes, and I see the fire of our connection burning within her still. “I don’t want to lose you,” I tell her, my voice thicker than rosewater.
Her breaths shallow gasps, she says, “But you need to stop shutting me out.”
The weight of her words sinks in, and I nodded. I just know I need to find a way to make this work, to rebuild the trust that’s been broken.
“I promise I’ll try,” I say firmly.
She pulls me back in to kiss me again before I can say anything else, and I lose myself in her warmth, the world outside vanishing entirely. It doesn’t matter what else is happening right now. We are two entwined souls, ready to go into the rest of this life together.