EPILOGUE #4
“Good,” I continue. “And before he leaves here tonight, I will be certain to make clear to your father that this contract explicitly prohibits bribery, including sexual favors from Avery associates—blood-related or otherwise.”
Astrid’s eyes widen, her panic returning as she shifts uncomfortably.
“You’re dismissed,” I say with nonchalance as I reach for the glass water pitcher next to the candelabra on the table.
Astrid doesn’t waste any time spinning on her silver stilettos and disappearing into the crowd.
“Well, that was entertaining,” Lutz grins, finally breaking the silence.
“Wow.” Dallas arches her brow. “I knew she was a little big for her britches, but I didn’t think she’d be dumb enough to pull something like that.”
“Anyone for the chocolate fountain?” Barrera asks. “Unlike some people, I’m actually fucking the boss lady, so I can vouch for its quality.”
“Oh my goddd!” Dallas squeals, smacking his bicep.
“Fucking rude!” Brett sneers in Astrid’s direction, then turns to Barrett. “B, are you alright? That was ridiculous.”
“Um, yeah.” Barrett shakes her head like she’s trying to focus. “I’m just…I’m fine.” Slowly, she rises from the table. “I’ll be right back.”
But she’s not fine. Something is wrong. I wait, giving her a few minutes before leaving the table and weaving through the room to the back hallway draped with black sheers.
Making my way down the dim corridor, the dull roar of the party fades away until I catch a faint sliver of light coming from beneath the door of the corner office. My office.
Gently, I turn the handle and slowly step through the doorway.
Barrett is sitting on the edge of my desk, one leg crossed over the other, letting her red dress trail to the floor while she gazes out the window into the night.
She’s illuminated by the single lamp on the opposite side of the desk, just dim enough so that she can still watch the snow fall outside.
The click of the door draws her attention.
“May I join you?” I ask, waiting for her response before shutting the door.
“Yes,” Barrett exhales with a soft smile.
She looks even more stunning in the glow of the lamp, the shadows making her eyes pop against the rich hue of her hair overlaying the ruby lace.
“Are you upset?” I ask, strolling across the polished concrete. I come to a halt at her knees, searching her face. “I addressed the problem, no?”
Suddenly, it’s as if Barrett wakes up. “I’m not jealous,” she declares adamantly.
“I know you aren’t.”
“It’s just…workplaces are more intimate than most people realize, Sergei. Astrid is here all day, every day, while I’m not. She knows your habits, every detail of your schedule, and the inner workings of your livelihood.”
“Do you think there’s a chance I would betray you like that?” I ask, reaching for my equipment belt that I inadvertently left on the desk in my haste to leave today.
Barrett looks down at her lap and shakes her head. “No, I don’t. It’s just…” She lets out a breath before looking up. “Bad memories of past relationships that have nothing to do with you.”
“I recall.” I begin checking the belt, confirming I removed and stored my weapon. “And I’ll make sure they remain memories that continue to fade with time.”
“God,” she mutters, “I’ve had hours-long conversations with Brett about PTSD.
Am I seriously having my own episode right now after just being caught off-guard by an overzealous teenager in a mini-dress?
I know you’d never do anything inappropriate with another woman.
You shouldn’t have to pay for my issues involving other people’s bad behavior. ”
I finish taking stock of my belt and double it over before setting it on top of the cabinet.
“Other people will meet their god like the last one if they ever try to hurt you, physically or otherwise.” I reach for Barrett, grasping her waist and bowing my head to hers. “But I do need to apologize to you, because I wasn’t completely truthful out there.”
Barrett pulls away and looks up at me, furrowing her brow with worry. “About what?”
“Astrid’s apology was self-serving on my part, because I have no intention of keeping her. She will be gone by Monday.”
As much as Barrett tries to hide it, I feel her relax as she sinks back into my chest. There was never any alternative because a misstep like that cannot be tolerated.
“I suppose we should go back out there,” she sighs, “before people think we eloped instead.”
Weaving my fingers through hers, I help her off the edge of the desk and we start toward the door.
“If you’re worried that I won’t be spending as much time at home if the company continues to grow, you could spend more time here,” I point out.
“Where?” Barrett grins over her shoulder. “Curled up on your IKEA sofa over there with a book and a coffee from the break room, waiting for you to return from one of your covert missions?”
I still love the scenarios she makes up about this place and what I do. Not that it’s totally inaccurate.
“You would be a perfect replacement for all those smoke breaks I don’t take anymore.” Then I pause, motioning with my eyes. “I was thinking here would be better.”
Barrett glances over her shoulder, but whips back around when she hears the zip of the black metal cuff around her wrist. Her eyes dart up in confusion, only to be met by mine as I take her other hand and start backtracking.
Her heels make it impossible to react quickly and she catches herself as her back hits the metal support post just feet away.
“I told you I wasn’t jealous,” she teases, lifting her wrist with the cuff. “I trust you. You don’t need to chain yourself to me for the rest of the night.”
“You’re staying here.” Lowering her arms, I swing the other end of the cuffs around the back of the pole and in an instant, she’s rendered immobile. “I don’t need anyone else trying to run you off for the rest of the night.”
Barrett’s face falls and she tugs at her arms cuffed behind her back. But just as quickly, she looks up at me mischievously. “Isn’t it going to look kind of odd if you go back out there without me?”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not going back out there without you.”
I find the thigh-high slit in her dress and slip my hand beneath the silky fabric, savoring her supple skin that leads to the perfect curve of her ass. And that’s all I feel. She’s completely bare underneath the flowy red layers of her dress.
“Did you come prepared, Printsessa?” I ask, running my fingers between the slick apex of her legs.
She squirms beneath my touch, lifting her leg and curling it behind my knee. “It was supposed to be a surprise,” she breathes, “for suffering through another party with me.”
“I never suffer when I’m with you.” I hook my fingers in her neckline and slide it to the side, freeing one breast. “God fucking damn…”
I’ve seen Barrett’s tits countless times.
She comes home, promptly sheds her pants, and walks around in her underwear most nights, sometimes topless.
I don’t know what she was like before she lived with me, but I suspect she does it because she knows it’s my weakness.
And it always works—whatever my printsessa wants, she will get.
“See something you like, Zaichonok?” she asks playfully.
I drop to one knee and tug her sleeves down until they catch at her elbows.
Brushing her long thick hair aside, I take in her flawless curves before latching onto a rosy nipple and sucking ravenously.
The longer I kiss and tongue her, the harder they get, much like my cock pressing painfully against my pants with each whimper that escapes her throat.
Until, finally, I can’t take it anymore.
Rising from the floor, I tear at my buttons and rip my shirt open like a crazed insect bursting out of its cocoon. Barrett’s grin only widens as I drop the shirt at my feet.
“I know you hate dressing up, so I appreciate your sacrifice. You can wear your SWAT team ensemble to the wedding if it would make you more comfortable,” she giggles. “I’d still marry you in your combat boots.”
That adorable smile of hers knocks me on my ass every time, but I also know how to bring her to her knees. I grab the elastic band at the back of my head and give it a jerk, shaking my hair out as it falls over my shoulders. She bites her lip, her chest heaving with impatience.
I smile back at her with amusement. “See something you like, Printsessa?” I tease back.
“Why did you have to do that?” She looks absolutely defeated. “This was a bad idea.”
We have to be careful now. The side effects of her birth control implant recently left her no choice but to have it removed.
“Hearing you scream while you come on my cock is never a bad idea. Don’t forget that you’re the one who showed up to this party without underwear.”
Her eyes dart back and forth between me and the office door. “We can’t be loud here,” she murmurs as I unbuckle my belt.
But her eyes are instantly drawn to my waist as I reach down and free my cock from my pants. I raise my arm and rest it on the pole above her head, leering over her like a predator cornering its prey. She watches hungrily as my fist starts slowly moving up and down my length.
“If you’re worried about the sound, you’re welcome to watch.” I brush my fist against her with each stroke. “You know how much I love to fuck your tits. I’ll even let you have a taste.”
Barrett shakes her head, licking her lips. “No,” she murmurs, giving the cuffs another involuntary tug.
I grin with satisfaction at the metallic clank, making me even harder. “You want to be a good little whore for me right now, don’t you?”
She nods, her tits rising and falling with each deep breath.
At that, I push away from the pole and dip down, grabbing her under her thighs.
The cuffs scrape against the metal as I lift her to my waist, pressing her back against the cold metal.
I shift beneath her, squaring my hips to hold her steady.