9. Addison
9
ADDISON
I t took a lot of effort to peel my eyes open.
The bed felt like a warm cloud and hugged my body in a way that made it almost impossible to get up.
But as soon as I opened my eyes, saw the black curtains of the four-poster bed above me, and behind it, an extravagant chandelier that sparkled with the little bit of light that was streaming through the edge of my closed curtains., something was clear.
This isn’t home.
I shot up, looking around the room, and hissed when my lower body ached.
Even without using his cock, Warren had somehow still managed to destroy my body. And mind.
I had folded so easily for him. Ready to beg, get on my knees, anything to get him to fuck me.
I didn’t even fully remember how I got to my room. I was weak, barely able to open my eyes, and the walk here was a dreamlike haze, but I distinctly remembered Warren’s hand on my lower back, guiding me.
The room itself was even more luxurious than the one I had when my father was still alive, but more fitting to Warren’s tastes.
Black walls with decorative crown molding. Floors in hard, dark gray tile that he no doubt had imported from somewhere like Italy. Blackout curtains that kept the room mostly dark save for that small corner letting sunshine through.
The only light thing in the room was the all-white bed with gray accents.
And it fucking smells like him.
I hadn’t even had time to look at the bathroom yet; I had been so exhausted that I’d jumped straight into bed, naked and all.
It wasn’t because he told me to sleep naked in case he wanted to visit me.
Nope. Not that at all.
I slipped out of bed, shivering as my feet hit the cold tile.
My first stop was the walk-in closet on the left. All the walls were filled to the brim with clothes and shoes. Some of them formal, some more casual, but all of them undoubtedly picked out specifically by Warren.
I went straight for the loungewear, but even that was from expensive brands like Dior and La Perla. I let my fingers trail along a few of the sleeves, savoring the feel of them.
Nowadays, my clothing was from cheap fast-fashion sites or thrift stores, but even those had become unaffordable in recent months as money got tighter and tighter. I hadn’t seen anything like what was in his closet in years.
It almost annoyed me that he would spend so much money on something as useless as loungewear.
But I grabbed a hoodie and sweat set and set off for the bathroom anyway.
Once I was thoroughly scrubbed, smelling nice, and ready to get destroyed once more by Warren, I set off to do some snooping.
Getting into his house was the first step.
The second?
Find any incriminating evidence that showed just how fucked up he was. Something that would put him and his livelihood at risk, just like he had done to Father.
My phone told me it was still early, and Warren was usually the first in the office, so it should be safe to snoop.
I walked through the hallway, looking inside each room.
A guest room, a game room, a gym, a sauna… but no office or bedroom.
It wasn’t until I reached the end and the last two doors that I tried my luck with the one on the right.
As soon as I opened it, my heart stopped in my chest.
It was a room not unlike the one I’d been given. Blacks, grays, and whites painted it, but the only thing that differentiated it from a guest room was the lone jacket that was draped over one of the chairs in the corner.
The jacket Warren placed on my shoulders at the auction.
I slipped inside, quickly shutting the door behind me. It took everything I had for me to keep the little noises of excitement to myself.
This is so easy!
The universe had to be on my side for once.
I all but skipped into his room, went straight to the first bedside drawer, and immediately frowned. There was nothing but glasses, a charger, and a ChapStick.
The next one was slightly more exciting, with a leather strap that I assumed was for tying women to his bed… but that was it.
What the hell? I had more than this in my bedside drawer at home.
I hurried over to the one on the other side, hoping to find something, but that one was completely empty.
I felt a sharp prick of annoyance. Where are all your secrets, Warren? I knew the fucker had a mountain of them just waiting for someone to stumble upon.
But I also knew that he was good at covering his tracks.
I went into his walk-in closet and paused. It was even cleaner and more put together than the one I had. He even had a revolving closet, for fuck’s sake.
I started to peek through the watch-filled drawers, but by the third one, it was obvious Warren used it for nothing more than to get dressed.
With a sigh, I left the closet and then his room.
I guess I have no choice but to look at the last door.
I prayed it was his office. At least then I might be able to get some type of valuable information about just how corrupt his business practices were.
Holding my breath, I pushed the door open and… immediately regretted it.
Warren was sitting at his desk, looking fucking decadent in that same silk button-up he had been wearing the night before. This time it was slightly more open, showing his bare chest. He had pushed up the sleeves, giving me a good look at his corded arms.
His scruff was heavier, indicating that he hadn’t shaved that morning and likely hadn’t slept at all. It should have been illegal for him to look that hot.
Stop drooling.
It turned out it was easier to listen to the voice of reason when we weren’t alone, since two men turned to look at me. I remembered seeing one of them at the auction.
He had dark brown hair that slightly curled under his ears. His tawny face was clean-shaven, and he was wearing a suit, looking every bit the businessman Warren was, just younger.
The second guy, on the other hand…
“Oh? Someone’s here to see you, boss.”
He was wearing a leather jacket with a thin, white shirt underneath, combined with black jeans and Dr. Martens. His dirty blond hair was pushed out of his face messily, and his skin was littered with tattoos.
He looked nothing like the type of people Warren worked with.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to?—”
I tried to close the door, but Warren’s protest stopped me.
“Come in, Addi.”
Fuck.
I hesitantly slipped into the room, leaving the door open behind me as an escape route.
The blond-haired one’s smile told me he saw it all.
“ Addison Mercer .”
“And you are?” I asked. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.”
Warren growled something under his breath. We all ignored it.
He walked a few steps toward me, but never close enough to enter my personal space. He might look cocky, but he was obviously respecting Warren's property .
Regardless of the reason why I sold myself to him, the word still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Remember why you’re doing this.
I forced myself to replay images of my mother in the hospital. Images of my father’s funeral and of the explosive headlines that followed.
It forced my mind to be even clearer. More focused on my mission.
I couldn’t get distracted. No matter how good the orgasms ? —
“No, you wouldn’t have,” he said, his smile widening. “I don’t run in your circles. Warren practically took me off the street. A poor, starving puppy dog left out by their cruel own?—”
The brown-haired one clapped him on the back hard enough to stop him mid-sentence. In return, he sent him a look, but it was light-hearted.
At least from the blond’s side. The other one looked like he was about to murder someone.
“No one needs your dramatics.” His voice was harsh, and even though there was a genuine-looking smile on his face, he made me shiver.
He seems even more menacing than Warren.
“I’m Maxwell,”he said, offering me his hand. “I help Warren with the auction sometimes. That’s Ares; he’s annoying and unimportant. You don’t have to worry too much about him anyway.”
The blond snorted, but I ignored him in favor of the man in front of me. When I took his hand, the devil himself spoke up.
“He’s being humble. He’s my cofounder.”
“Sterlings don’t have a humble bone in their bodies,” Ares piped up, shooting him a glare.
Sterling… Wait. Images of one of my father’s birthday parties ran through my mind. I was younger, maybe around seven or eight, and I distinctly remember a man a bit younger than my dad with the last name Sterling.
He was tall, his hair similar to Maxwell’s. I remembered a well-behaved child standing at his side, maybe just a few more years older than me.
That was the man in front of me?
He looked almost nothing like his younger self. The young boy who all bit glued himself to his father’s side at any and all social settings had grown into someone a lot more intimidating.
“We’ve met before! Your dad came to one of my father’s birthday parties!”
Maxwell’s lips turned up into a small smile, and I instantly wondered how I hadn’t remembered him sooner.
“Right,” he said. “You were what, six or seven? You were a scrawny thing.”
My cheeks flamed. I was a scrawny thing for most of my life and was constantly teased for it all the way up until high school.
So much so that my experience was extremely limited when it came to men.
I could count on one hand how many men made me come.
And Warren was on that list… twice.
“Around that,” I mumbled, heat traveling up the back of my neck.
“What was a Sterling doing at a Mercer’s house?” Ares asked. “Didn’t they hate each other?”
“Not at first,” Maxwell said, sparing him a glance. My heart leaped in my chest, and my nails dug into my palms at the prospect of getting new information. “It happened after the party. My father was trying to kiss ass, hoping your father would invest. Mercer smelled the bullshit and turned him away. Father was pissed, but it was better off that way. If our company had even a hint of involvement in the?—”
Warren cleared his throat. Maxwell’s lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes hardening.
Annoyance tickled my senses when he sent me an apologetic smile. I gritted my teeth.
“Enough reminiscing. We have things to do. Addison, stay.”
And just like that, Warren tore apart every shred of hope that managed to crawl itself out of the dark abyss of my heart.
Just like always.
There were so many things that could have been said. A whole side of my father’s life that I knew nothing about was dangling right in front of me like a carrot.
He’s doing this on purpose.
It pissed me off.
He was the reason Father killed himself, and now what? He can’t even stand the mention of him?
Ares and Maxwell left, both sending me a small smile. Maxwell’s was a bit pitying, while Ares’s was downright amused.
I stilled when the door shut behind them and hesitated to look at Warren.
I had no plan.
First, I didn’t once think Warren would be here.
Second, his reaction to the mention of my father brought up the anger that seemed to be permanently simmering beneath my skin.
It was like a ticking time bomb between us, ticking closer and closer to the explosion the longer we stayed in each other’s presence.
“Come here,” he ordered.
I gritted my teeth.
“I’m not a fucking dog,” I hissed and regretted it immediately.
My gaze met Warren’s. His face was completely devoid of emotion at first, and then, the longer I held his stare, the more prominent the ghost of a smirk became.
He pushed his chair back and stood.
I took a step back but then stopped myself.
I’m not going to shrink in front of him.
He was a bastard. So what if he had money? Connections? He was rotten inside. And I couldn’t wait until everyone else saw it too.
I’d make sure they would.
His movements were languid. He was taking his time. Trying to scare me.
Just because of that, I squared my shoulders and met his gaze dead on.
“I’m too tired for a repeat of last night,” he said, his eyes running down the length of my body. He leaned back onto his desk with his arms crossed over his chest. I couldn’t stop my eyes from falling to his forearms, looking downright sinful with his sleeves rolled up. Strong. Veiny. “But I’d like to remind you of the no-bratting clause. Something you conveniently seem to be forgetting.”
I dragged my gaze back to his eyes.
“You don’t like talking about my father,” I said. “But I doubt it’s because you’re feeling guilty. Someone like you isn’t capable of that.”
“You trying to hurt my feelings, Addi ?”
His voice was low. My name rolled off his tongue like something decadent.
My stomach flipped, and the long-forgotten ache from the previous night's activities returned.
Fuck him. I hated the way he made my body feel. And judging by the way his eyes lit up, he fucking knew it too. It all went to that big fucking head of his.
“You don’t have any,” I hissed.
His hand shot forward then, his fingers grabbing my chin and forcing me to keep eye contact.
“My choice of punishment, remember?” he asked.
My jaw was hurting from how tight I was clenching my teeth.
“Not like I’d forget any time soon,” I grumbled.
His smirk had heat flowing through my belly just as his thumb ran over my lips. Teasing. His eyes followed the movement. I could tell how much he was yearning for one kiss.
It was the only power I had over him, and it gave me a burst of satisfaction when I realized there was something I could still deny him.
But the warm feeling didn’t last long. As soon as his gaze met mine again, I saw something devious in it.
“Kneel.”
My world froze. My mouth dried. But my cunt had a mind of its own. It fluttered at the fucking idea of me on my knees for him. His hands in my hair. His cock rammed so deep down my throat I couldn't breathe.
I wanted to look up at him when he lost it. See the all-powerful Warren King lose himself to his enemy’s daughter. A man once thought untouchable, decimated by little ole’ me.
My knees hit the carpet with a light thud, my gaze never leaving him as I lowered myself.
He didn’t move, just stared down at me as I submitted to him.
It sent a thrill up my spine.
How many times have I fantasized about this exact moment? Too many to count.
But unlike back then, the anger was flowing just as steadily as the desire.
“How does it feel to be at my whim, Addi?” he asked, his hand coming to run through my hair. I kept my eyes on his, forcing myself not to look at his cock, though I could see it straining against his pants in my peripheral vision.
I held my breath as tingles made their way down my spine.
Do not lean into it. Do not ? —
“How does it feel to finally have a woman on her knees for you? Given your performance last night, I can’t assume you’ve had many.”
His smirk dropped.
“You’re playing with fire, little girl.” His hand fisted my hair in warning.
Fuck.
Heat exploded in my belly.
“And what are you going to do about it?”
He was quiet for a moment before he stood straight.
“Nothing, but you’re going to stay there until I tell you you can move.”
Walking straight past me, he left me kneeling there on the floor, looking at nothing but his empty desk.
It took me a few seconds to understand what he’d just done. He was showing me he was in charge while denying me what he knew I wanted.
Again.
Fucking stop it.
I couldn’t keep going there. I couldn’t keep wanting him to?—
“Fucking asshole!” I yelled after him.
All I got in return was silence.