Chapter 6. #3
Brian, spent but satisfied, eased out of her gently, a soft smile playing on his lips as he watched her peaceful form.
He laid her down with care, brushing a strand of hair from her face before pressing a tender kiss to her sleeping lips.
He thought, his own heart stirring with something more than lust. In just a few days, Constance had become more than a conquest, more than an assistant; she was a woman who matched his fire, who made him feel invincible.
He snuggled in behind her, his body molding to hers, one arm draped possessively over her waist, his hand cupping her breast as if to shield her from the world.
Sleep came quickly, wrapped in the afterglow of satisfaction.
In his mind, he wasn't just lucky… he'd won the lottery, received an empire.
And now four, maybe five women ready to share his bed whenever he desired, each one a thrill.
But Dominique lingered in his thoughts, the married one, his chef.
Fucking her would feel wrong, a line he hesitated to cross, yet the temptation gnawed at him.
If she were divorced, though... he'd pursue her without guilt, hold onto her like he wanted to with Constance now.
Drifting off, Brian dreamed of possibilities, his world expanded by the woman in his arms.
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Anita stood outside the small, sun-drenched boutique, the vibrant colors of the newest summer dresses a splash of joy against the cobblestone street.
She was smiling, but her mind was a world away, a continent away, in a bedroom in Los Angeles.
She was thinking of Brian. Of how he had fucked her harder and better than Ty ever did.
The memory was a warm, electric current that ran through her body, a ghost of pleasure that lingered long after the fact.
She knew Ty had been a man of immense appetite, a man who had sampled the forbidden fruits of his life.
The Chef. Dominique. The thought of it was both arousing and a little bit frustrating.
How had he gotten a married woman to be so devoted to his care?
It was a mystery, a secret that she herself held from her time with Ty, who had a secret sexual relationship with his chef.
And now, in her heart, she felt a twinge of a new emotion, a possessiveness that was both strange and bewildering.
Brian was a different kind of man, a man who seemed to have what he wanted simply by asking.
It was a known fact that he had his two assistants, but the knowledge that he had already begun to claim his own new women was a tantalizing thought that filled her with a new, burning desire.
She still missed and loved Ty, the man who had been her life, her world, her gentle, kind lover.
In his eyes, she had seen the regret that he could not provide her with a child, a legacy for their love.
The memory was a soft, sad ache in her heart.
But now, there was Brian, a man who was as different from Ty as night from day.
She smiled as she imagined him fucking his assistants, Constance and Holly.
She had chosen them specifically for their beauty, for their willingness to be a part of his new, uninhibited world.
She had told them straight up that they were to provide everything for Brian.
Of course, when she hired them, she was not sure who the new owner of Dranning Corp.
would be. But Brian was perfect, a nobody becoming everything, a man who was a blank slate, ready to be written on, ready to be molded into the man she knew he could be.
She put her hand on her stomach, a secret, hopeful gesture.
"Ty, I am sorry," she whispered, the words a silent confession.
"But if I carry his child, I might marry him.
" It was a betrayal of her love for Ty, a silent, intimate lie, but it was a truth she could no longer deny.
She was making up her mind, a final, definitive decision that would change not only her life but the lives of everyone around her.
She pulled out her phone, a device that held the secrets of her past and the key to her future.
She smiled as she texted one of the few people outside Dranning Corporation she trusted.
"Maria," she wrote. "I have a task for you.
" She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Maria, a professional who had handled the delicate, often dangerous, business of Ty’s life, would respond night or day.
And she did. A single word flashed across the screen. "Anita?"
Quickly, another text came. "Something to do with your new boss?" she texted back. "Something like what you had me do with Ty?"
Anita smiled, a slow, sensual curve of her lips.
"Yeah," she replied. "Something like that.
" Then, she followed up with another, a final, definitive command.
"But Brian will not carry a scar. He is to be untouched, no matter the result.
" It was a testament to her love for Brian, a silent promise that she would not allow him to be harmed, no matter the cost. She received back a text with a heart and a thumbs up, a silent, knowing agreement that the job would be done, and that no one, especially Brian, would ever know.