Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
S he swiped at her eyes as Johan opened her door, taking his hand to step out of the car and flinching when the frigid air assaulted her bare legs. Instinctively, she leaned into him for protection and warmth before remembering where she was. She was in the freaking Financial District, which her family had dominated for three generations, and she’d just remarried the latest billionaire to take up residence. That was all she needed—to start rumors she was having an affair with her bodyguard. Roth would love that one.
She straightened and turned to look across the street at her father’s building. She shaded her eyes to look at the midsection where Hennessy headquarters was. She was sure Ariana was hard at work.
It had been four days since their disastrous Thanksgiving dinner. Rami, Lyle, and Colette had reached out to tell her they didn’t share Ariana’s sentiments, but the silence from her sister’s corner was deafening. Even though she told herself it didn’t matter, it still niggled at the back of her mind. Instead of rehearsing what she wanted to say to her sister, she lost herself in the fantastical waters of fiction. If the book wasn’t captivating enough to edge out her inner turmoil, she moved on.
“Don’t forget the cookies!” Sarai called as she rounded the car.
“Oh.” Jasmine hastily reopened the door to nab the package from the back seat, along with her phone, which she’d also forgotten. By the time she’d slipped her purse on her shoulder, Mo and Johan were on the sidewalk, while a member from her second team slipped into the driver’s seat of the Bentley. She opened her mouth to ask about the switch before realizing the second team would draw too much attention in their casual streetwear. Mo and Johan never missed a beat.
At this hour, the sidewalk was jam-packed with men in suits. For some reason, their little group was drawing quite a bit of attention. She wasn’t sure if it was the Bentley, the fact Mo and Johan were clearly her security, or if they recognized her. Sarai was impervious to the scrutiny and took a call as she led the way into the building.
“Yes, we’ll have to move that to the sixteenth. Can you fit us in for 3:15 p.m.? That would be ideal. Hmm. He has a two o’clock that should finish at 2:45 p.m. We may be cutting it too close. You can move Mr. Thompson’s appointment to accommodate us? I appreciate that. 3:15 p.m. on the sixteenth is the earliest Mr. Roth can meet with him, or else we’ll have to schedule after the New Year. Yes, I understand. I’m putting that in his calendar as we speak. Thanks, Lora. I’ll be in touch.” Sarai pressed the button for the elevator and took another call before the doors opened.
When they boarded the elevator, Mo and Johan gestured Jasmine into the corner. She obliged as almost a dozen men tried to take the same ride. As they neared the forty-fifth floor, Sarai finished her call. One of the men leaned over to murmur something to her. Sarai nodded and as the door opened, she said, “Email me. We’ll work it out.”
Mo ushered the men aside so she could pass.
“Isn’t she a Hennessy?” someone muttered.
“The youngest,” another answered.
“She’s with him again?”
“Announcement was in the papers a couple of weeks ago.”
“Funny, how he shows up after the old man dies...”
The doors closed, stopping Jasmine from hearing the rest of the conversation. She felt Mo and Johan’s sidelong glances but kept her expression bland as she strode into a familiar reception area. Sarai spoke to two women behind a white desk. The wall behind the receptionists was staged with beautiful flower arrangements like a hotel lobby.
“This is Jasmine, Mr. Roth’s wife,” Sarai announced.
The receptionists gave her polite smiles, but as their eyes drifted over her, she was very aware of the fact she didn’t have on a lick of makeup. Her eyes were also puffy from reading Ballad of Deception and her recent freakout in the car.
“She came by to pay him a visit,” Sarai continued. “Is his eleven o’clock still running over?”
“Yes. We took in refreshments a half hour ago.”
Sarai nodded and turned to Jasmine, who was staring through the glass walls of a nearby conference room, where a meeting was taking place. “Have you been here before?”
“Yes, but it was late at night, and I went straight to his office.”
“You proved your worth in Colorado. Our time at the cabin reminded me what it’s like to have a whore who likes what you’re giving her.” She willed away the bad memory and reminded herself it was in the past, but couldn’t resist taking in the waiting area, where a very pregnant Colette had waited all day for Roth to give her five minutes of his time.
“Let me show you around.” Sarai linked arms with Jasmine and ignored her stiff body language. “There are forty-two employees here.”
Jasmine blinked. “He’s hired that many people since he arrived in New York?”
“No. Most were already in his employ but scattered in different regions. Now that New York is his headquarters, everyone’s been relocating. It’s been wonderful to walk down the hall to their office instead of worrying about time differences or organizing travel. Thank you for that.”
She had nothing to do with Roth settling in New York—he’d relocated before they came face-to-face in Colorado—but trying to convince Sarai of that was a waste of time. Roth’s PA would believe what she wanted to.
The interior designer who’d put her mark on Roth’s penthouses had taken a different approach with his headquarters. The office was airy, bright, and elegant, with a modern sophistication Jasmine knew Ariana would appreciate. The designer had mixed glass with gleaming wood and used dramatic lighting to great effect. The office was twice as large as she expected, and it had so much greenery she wondered if Roth had hired a full-time gardener to tend to all the plants. It was clear the office wasn’t tailored to Roth’s tastes but his employees’.
A break room had been made into an upscale café, with soft jazz music playing, a coffee bar with a fancy espresso machine, and chocolate-brown couches. A handful of people occupied tables, with their laptops in front of them, clearly there to work, not eat. Providing access to unlimited caffeine and a coffee-shop vibe without leaving the office would certainly keep Roth’s employees motivated and productive.
They continued the tour with Sarai pointing out all the customizations. It was clear Roth intended this move to be permanent. She’d assumed he still had another office in London, but according to Sarai, everything would be done here. She thought they wouldn’t run into each other much post-divorce, but the location of his office paired with minimal travel, the likelihood their paths would cross was extremely high. She couldn’t imagine how they’d interact in the future and didn’t have time to ponder it as Sarai introduced her to his staff.
Thankfully, the interactions were brief. The most that was required of her was a handshake or a polite smile. Sarai was stopped frequently and seemed to know exactly what each person wanted before they could ask.
“Yes, I saw your email. I’ll circle back to you once I’m through with the tour. I’m showing Mr. Roth’s wife, Jasmine, around the office.”
The office was relatively quiet, with phone calls answered immediately, voices kept to a low murmur, and the rhythmic tap of computer keys. Unusual for an office with so much activity. Then again, it was well-known that Roth hated unnecessary noise, and his employees didn’t have time to chit-chat—they were working their assess off to keep up with their workaholic boss, who Jasmine knew for a fact slept very little. There seemed to be an equal number of men and women, and they seemed to be from all over the globe. As she and Sarai passed spacious offices with frosted glass sliding walls instead of doors, she heard more than one employee speaking something other than English.
“You don’t like it,” Sarai said bluntly as she concluded the tour.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t say anything.”
“I’m just taking it in. The designer’s taste is impeccable.”
“But not your style?”
She gestured to herself before flapping her hand at Sarai’s coordinated outfit. “You have more style than I ever will.”
Sarai cocked her head to the side. “I’ll ask around for eccentric designers who can come up with some off-the-wall concepts for your home office.”
Jasmine made a face, not sure how to take that. “Don’t bother.”
Sarai ignored her and pointed down the hall to the executive suite. “You know where to find him.”
“I don’t want to interrupt his meeting.”
The hustle and bustle of Roth’s employees was far too reminiscent of her family’s offices, and it reminded Jasmine she didn’t belong in this sector of his life. It wasn’t that long ago when she tried to dissuade Penelope from interrupting a business luncheon, and now she was doing the same without giving him warning. There was no guarantee the man she was beginning to trust in private would translate to his place of business. This was his domain. He wouldn’t take kindly to any distractions, especially when he was already leaving work early so they could have dinner together.
She extracted the bag of cookies from her purse and held them out to Sarai. “You can give these to him. I’ll see him later.”
Sarai gave her an odd look. “How do you think he’ll react if he finds out you were here and didn’t stop by to see him?”
Happy she hadn’t interrupted? Wondering why she’d bothered to stop by in the first place? She stepped back and bumped into Mo.
Sarai glanced at her watch. “He’s been in back-to-back meetings since five. You’re precisely what he needs right now. I have a conference call I can’t miss. I’ll catch up with you later.”
And with that, Sarai left her standing there.
If it were up to Jasmine, she would have turned tail and run. Old habits die hard. But the choice was taken from her when Johan strode down the hallway. Mo grabbed her arm as if he sensed she was on the verge of bolting. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile at those who looked up from their computers or stopped their conversations as she passed.
Okay, this was seriously fucking awkward. What if Roth lost his shit and lectured her in front of his colleagues? Or worse, coldly dismissed her and said he didn’t have time for her. That would be nothing new, but it would erode the progress they’d made. Roth, like most men, liked to keep his business and personal life separate. That was understandable. If he was upset, she’d quickly excuse herself.
The paper bag of cookies crinkled as she clutched it for dear life. Fifteen minutes ago, the cookies had seemed like a good idea. Now, she felt like a fool. She grabbed the back of Johan’s coat, pulling him back a step when he raised his hand to knock.
“I think we should leave.”
Blond brows would have hit his hairline if he had one. Mo let out an impatient sound and reached over her head to give a firm double knock. She elbowed him in the stomach hard enough to make him grunt as the door opened.
A man she didn’t recognize filled the doorway. He gave them an expectant look that forced Jasmine to step up to Johan’s side and say, “Is Roth here?”
The man examined her for a moment before opening the door fully.
The palatial office was just as Jasmine remembered, with gleaming white floors, the massive espresso desk, and the multimillion-dollar view, which was just a tad less impressive today due to the low-hanging clouds.
There was a tray of refreshments off to the side. Roth was on his feet, one hand planted on the desk as he leaned over a blueprint. A man stood beside him, pointing out something with a pen. Another man had his phone in hand and seemed to be taking notes.
She hesitated before calling, “Roth?”
He raised his head.
She plastered a smile on her face as her stomach clenched. “I was in the area. I thought I’d drop by and say hi.”
His forbidding expression didn’t alter as he straightened.
She held up the bag of cookies. “I brought you something.”
All of them stared at her as if she were from another planet. Her palms began to sweat. She offered the bag of cookies to the man who’d opened the door.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted. I just...” When he didn’t attempt to take the bag from her, she stepped back into Mo, who was a brick wall behind her. “We’ll let you get back to it. I’ll see you later.”
She broke off as Roth rounded the desk and strode toward her, his long legs eating up the distance rapidly. She tried to hide her anxiety as the man at the door retreated. She sensed Mo and Johan doing the same, leaving her stranded as her husband stalked toward her looking like hell warmed over. She looked up as he came within touching distance.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...”
She didn’t have a chance to finish before his mouth landed on hers. She grunted in surprise and then gasped when his tongue invaded. Giddy with relief, she clutched his sides and gave him what he wanted.
From a great distance, she heard Johan say, “They’re newlyweds.”
When Roth broke the kiss, she slow-blinked and breathed a dazed, “Hi.”
Roth cupped the back of her head and pressed her face against his chest. “We’ll pick this up later.”
It was a clear dismissal. There was a startled silence and then several chuckles.
“We’ll request a larger time block next time. We had no idea there were so many flaws in the design,” a voice said.
Roth picked Jasmine up and stepped aside so the men could file out. “Email me when you figure it out.”
“Will do. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Roth.”
“You too.” Her voice was muffled against a broad chest. She tried to turn her head and make eye contact with the men so she wouldn’t seem rude, but Roth’s arms were like steel around her. “I apologize for the interruption. I didn’t mean to?—”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.” The masculine voice was wry and amused. “There are more important things than business—right, Roth?”
Her husband didn’t respond with words but expressed his agreement by caging Jasmine against the wall and devouring her. Even as her body went up in flames, she was very aware of the men in the room. When she tried to break the kiss, Roth growled and bit her lip to show his displeasure. She twisted her hand in his jacket. What the hell was he doing ? This was so out of the realm of possibilities she anticipated that her head was spinning. Her eyes flicked to the left as the last man walked out. Mo, face averted, reached for the handle and pulled the door shut.
Roth gripped her jaw, forcing her to meet his heated gaze. “You care if they see me kiss you?”
“You don’t?” Propriety clashed with giddy delight at his outrageous PDA.
“No. I do what I want,” he said and grabbed the front halves of her coat.
Before she could guess what he was about to do, he yanked them apart. Her mouth dropped as buttons went flying. Black eyes raked over her sweater dress.
“You fucked up, princess.”
She didn’t move a muscle as his hand slid beneath her skirt and brushed over the gusset of her underwear. Slowly, he shook his head as if he were disappointed in her.
“You were supposed to be naked under this coat.”
“I was?” she said stupidly.
“Yes, but I can fix that.”
That was her only warning before he ripped away her lace underwear, which he could have easily slipped down her legs.
“Hey!”
She pushed at him, but he was on a mission. He shoved her coat and her purse off her shoulders before whipping the dress over her head. He stripped her naked, aside from her knee-high boots and her bra, in less than fifteen seconds. Jasmine went numb with shock as he undid the front clasp of her bra and tugged it down her lax arm. She watched it sail across the room and land on the arm of one of the chairs in front of the desk.
“On your knees.”
His devil’s gaze compelled her to obey. She wanted to. Having him choose her over work made her want to give him anything he wanted, but... were Mo and Johan standing on the other side of the door? She wanted to reach over and turn the lock even though she knew no one would enter his domain without knocking. Was the glass wall beyond his desk tinted, or...?
“I need you on your knees, princess,” he said in a rough tone that brought her skittish attention back to him.
She took a deep breath. In the privacy of their home, she submitted to him without thought. Where they were shouldn’t make a difference. Bottom line, she trusted him to take care of her. When she was kneeling on the cold marble he leaned down and gave her a deep, drugging kiss that told her how pleased he was.
“Five years I’ve waited for a chance to redeem myself for walking away when you came to London,” he rasped. “I thought it would take months to get you to come to me. Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you standing there. You keep making my dreams come true, princess, and now you’re going to fulfill another.”
His low growl was making her hot. She clamped her thighs together as her body responded. His eyes glittered with salacious hunger as he unzipped his pants and pulled out his dick. He stroked himself, which made her mouth water.
He raised a questioning brow. “Are you going to claim what you own?”
Her mouth curved as she wrapped her hand around his shaft, which jumped in welcome. She kissed the side of it and murmured, “You’re admitting it, Jamie? I own you?”
“You tell me.”
Challenge accepted. She focused completely on him, determined to top his fantasy. She adjusted his pants so she could pull out his balls, fondling him as she worked his dick, which lengthened into the monster she knew would be inside her very soon.
“Fuck, Jasmine.”
She gave him a wicked smile as she lapped and teased and stroked so he bucked in her hand. Too bad his employees wouldn’t hear him shouting her name. With his home office being soundproof, she was certain this one was as well. On the other hand, that meant they could be as loud and lurid as they wanted and his staff would be none the wiser, aside from the fact her bodyguards were waiting on her.
A gust of air to her left was her only warning before she registered the sound of voices where there’d been only the sounds of her sucking and his low grunts of masculine satisfaction. When she reared back into the wall, Roth followed and lodged himself deeper than she was prepared for. She tried to control her gag reflex as her nails dug into his rock-hard thighs.
“Keep sucking me,” he ordered.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door was cracked. The only explanation was he’d opened it, but why ? She made an urgent sound. He responded to by stroking her hair.
“Are you ashamed for them to see you like this? On your knees, choking on my cock? Getting off on it? Look at me.”
Streaming eyes flicked up and collided with his feral gaze.
“Does it matter what they think? Any man who got a glimpse of you like this would do anything to be in my place.” He rubbed her cheek, which bulged from his cock. “Or would you rather they discovered us with me at your feet eating your cunt, face smeared with you?”
The image made her core pulse.
“Is that what you want, princess? An audience?”
Her heart tripped. Was he threatening her, or...? Her concentration fractured as she registered the sound of men talking. It wasn’t Mo or Johan, who both possessed distinct accents. It must be his staff, or the men from the meeting hanging around, waiting to see how long it would take for Roth to emerge. They sounded so close .
Roth began to fuck her mouth. She slumped against the wall, gripping his legs as a confusing mix of lust, excitement, and terror washed over her. Her deprived inner exhibitionist was in a fucking tizzy as the sounds of his busy office pinged on her senses.
The gap wouldn’t be obvious unless someone was in front of the door. But for all she knew, he had another appointment that could be arriving at any moment. Where the hell were Mo and Johan? She couldn’t hear them, but they had to be nearby. They weren’t sitting in some chairs off to the side where they were getting an eyeful, were they? Waves of searing panic and elation crashed over her. She took her anxiety out on Roth, who hissed and bunched his fingers in her hair.
“Fuck, princess. It’s like that night in the alley—only this time, we won’t be discovered by strangers. Is that what you want?” He braced his arm on the wall and stared down at her with starving, incandescent eyes. “I want them to see your complete submission.” His expression hardened. “The only thing is, the thought of any man seeing the look on your face when you come makes me want to shoot someone.”
He shut the door with a snap.
“One day, I’ll give that to you, but today is mine,” he ground out as he stepped back.
She hauled in a breath and swiped at her mouth. Her lips ached from being stretched so wide. “Give me what?”
“I said I’d fulfill your desires, even the ones you won’t ask for,” he said as he picked her up. “You get off on being discovered and having someone watch. Probably stems from Maximus making sex such a taboo subject.”
She thumped his shoulder as he carried her across the room. “I never asked you to indulge my fantasies or analyze their origins!”
“You make my dreams come true, I do the same for you, even though the thought of it makes me want to slit someone’s throat.”
“Then how...?” She trailed off when he set her on the blueprint all of them had been poring over. “I don’t want to ruin?—”
“I’ll make sure you do.”
He slipped off his jacket and reached to the back of his waist to pull out his gun. He tossed it into a drawer before he sat and rolled his chair forward, so he was between her legs. “Lie back and spread.”
Her legs quivered in anticipation. “I want you inside me.”
“You’ll get me, but first, I’m going to do what I should have done the first time you walked into this office. Now, baby, do what I said.”
Her thighs clamped together as she felt herself oozing. “Your papers...”
“Don’t mean shit to me.” His fingers probed and easily slipped inside of her. His eyes lit with greed, making her seep even more. “You know you want it.”
Her toes curled as his fingers mimicked what he should be doing with his dick. She fought her response as her eyes went to the view beyond him. Having his employees get a glimpse of them was one thing, but there was a potential audience of thousands of the most influential people in the city in the buildings around them.
“Your windows.”
“What about them?”
“If someone sees...”
“That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
She placed her foot on his shoulder and glared at him. “When have I ever said ?—”
“You don’t need to. I can read between the lines in your work and what happened just now. You’re freaked but also turned on.”
“You...” She didn’t get to finish her sentence, because he curled two fingers, making her forget what she was going to say.
He took advantage of her distraction and hooked his hands under her knees, forcing her flat on her back. Without further ado, he spread her thighs and put his mouth on her.
He was going so deep she knew his beard would be soaked. That shouldn’t concern her. It usually didn’t, but they were in his office, and he probably had more meetings, and that freaking door was still unlocked. Roth buried her worries beneath an avalanche of sensation. He fed from her as if her taste were addictive; as if he gained sustenance from what he extracted from her.
His bearded chin scraped overstimulated flesh. She let out a pitiful moan as she tried to get away from that relentless tongue that threatened to make her eyes roll.
“Love when you make that sound,” he growled against her as she convulsed. “You’re the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever tasted. Tell me you crave this as much as I do.”
“Roth, please.” She squealed when he bit her inner thigh to punish her. She reached down to run her fingers through his sweaty hair in apology as she corrected herself, “Jamie, please.”
“Please, what?”
“I need you in me.”
“Soon.” He spread her labia and blew, making her shudder. “Is this what you came for? You couldn’t wait for me to come home to see to you?” His voice was low and rough.
“I... I came for...”
“What, princess?”
“To give you a treat,” she got out before his mouth clamped on her clit. “Oh my God! I can’t !” Her head jerked violently to the left as pleasurable zaps lanced through her body. Just when she thought she was going over the edge, he pulled back.
“A treat,” he purred as he strummed her clit with calloused fingers. “Yes, you brought me a tasty treat.”
“Not me. A sweet, uh...” Her mind short-circuited as he toyed with her. Why couldn’t she think of the name of that round pastry she’d bought from the coffee shop? That gooey thing with chocolate chips that had seemed so divine half an hour ago... Now, she couldn’t think of anything more appetizing than sticking her tongue in her husband’s mouth or sucking him off. “I can’t think straight when you’re teasing me.”
“Yes, you can,” he rumbled. “Mo texted me that you called on them. Where did you go?”
“I... I...”
“Yes?”
“I went with Sarai to... Fuck!”
He chuckled. “Focus, princess.”
“The only thing I’m focused on is you fucking my brains out. Jamie, please. I need you.”
He groaned against her pussy, making her walls convulse as it yearned to be plundered. He wiped his damp beard on her inner thigh before rising and gripping the front of her throat to pull her into a sitting position. Jasmine swayed, drunk on desire and giddy for what she knew was coming. Slowly, he slid inside her. She squirmed. No matter how many times he took her, there was that tiny bite of pain, because he was just a tad too big. If he was an inch shorter, it would be more comfortable. As if he could read her thoughts, he pumped his hips, making her bite back a hiss.
Roth’s gaze was trained on where they were joined. “There’s no better hell than this.”
She tugged at the hand collaring her. “Hell?”
His hold tightened enough to make her go rigid. “Thought I knew what hell was,” he said against her lips. “Thought I knew what heaven was too, but you proved me wrong again.”
Before she could respond, he swung her off the desk, scattering the blueprint and several other papers to the ground. He bounced her on his dick as he carried her to the glass wall and gave her a sweet kiss before setting her on her feet and faced her away from him. He tapped his dick on her ass and massaged one cheek as she took in the street below and the surrounding buildings, including her father’s.
“Are the windows tinted?” she asked nervously.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes! We’re not at your penthouse on the ninety-fifth floor. People will see?—”
“Who you belong to,” he finished as he slid inside her and crowded her against the cold glass. “I wish I had this office when Maximus was alive. I’d fuck you right here every day, so he’d see me reaming his princess and loving everything I do to her. We’ll have to settle for Ariana, his partners, or your childhood friends to bear witness.”
She reared back. “No!”
“Yes.” He bit her shoulder hard enough to make her claw the glass. “You’re going to show them who owns you—who makes you feel so fucking good, you’ll let me take you anytime, anywhere. You’ll let me do whatever I want to you, won’t you, princess?”
“I don’t?—”
He gripped her shoulders so he could plant himself as deep as possible, making her womb burn.
She reached back and sank her nails into him, but he didn’t relent. “Roth!”
“Answer the fucking question. If I tell you to suck me, if I tell you I want you in the car, on the jet, on my desk, what do you say?”
“Yes, yes!”
“That’s what I want to hear, princess,” he clipped. “Now, fucking brace.”
She did as she was told. There was the sharp nip of uncertainty as he plastered her against the glass and began to fuck her. He was rough, merciless, his sophistication disintegrating to be replaced by his beast. His grip was bruising, and his love bites on her neck and shoulder bordered on pain, but she didn’t tell him to stop because the fragmented threats and compliments were music to her ears. She fought a little, knowing it would spur him on. She wasn’t disappointed. He went absolutely gonzo, demanding her surrender by fucking her so violently that tears streamed down her cheeks. Pain melded with primitive rapture.
The fact they were in his office with the door unlocked and hundreds of voyeurs witnessing him being a complete savage made her dizzy with delight. She orgasmed on a scream that was horror movie worthy, cheek and tits numb from being pressed against the freezing, unforgiving glass. Roth slammed his hand against the wall with such force that even in the midst of her orgasm there was a distant worry he might have done damage to it or himself.
“Jamie?”
“You make me fucking crazy,” he panted into her tangled hair as he spilled. “I don’t know whether I love or hate what you do to me.”
When he slumped against her, she braced both hands against the glass to keep them upright. He groaned, sinking himself as deep as possible, before he brushed gentle kisses over her tender, throbbing skin.
“Okay?” he said hoarsely.
She nodded, unable to string words together. He turned her around and picked her up. He acted like she was weightless. One asshole had the gall to tell her he wasn’t sure she should be on top because she weighed too much. She wasn’t a twig, but she wasn’t that big. Or she hadn’t thought so until he’d said so. Needless to say, she’d kicked his ass out but had never forgotten the incident. Thankfully, she’d married a man who didn’t complain about how much she weighed, and she didn’t have to worry about breaking him in half.
When her bare ass landed on something cold, she clutched at him before realizing they were in a private bathroom she’d never noticed before. Unlike the office, it was dimly lit. There were touches of wood mixed with dark stone, reminding her of a high-end spa. There was a glass shower, a wood stool, and a door that she assumed led to a closet.
He settled her on the vanity before washing his face, slicking back his mussed hair and wetting a towel to clean her. She stayed quiet and compliant throughout; breath unsteady and body tingling from being so thoroughly used. Roth rinsed the cloth and continued his task. She examined his face. His mind was already far away. It was jarring for him to be so hyperfixated during sex and have him disengage so quickly after. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and beg for a couple more minutes, but she knew he had to get back to work. She examined his pensive expression as her mind sifted through their interlude.
“Are you really going to let someone watch us?”
His busy hand paused before his gaze rose to hers. “Is that what you want?”
Her brow puckered as she sensed the underlying tension in his question. She tried to keep the mood light by giving him a shrug and gentle smile.
“I don’t need that. It’s just a fantasy. I wouldn’t ask that of you if you weren’t comfortable.”
He tossed the rag in the sink and planted his hands on either side of her.
“How many guys did you do that with?”
She jerked. “None!”
“Are you lying?”
“No!” The men in Boston weren’t as adventurous as she’d hoped. She ran her hand down his chest to soothe him. “You don’t have to make our sex life more adventurous than it already is, unless...” She searched his face. “Is that something you want to try as well?” She ignored the flip in her tummy as she asked, “What have you done?” When he didn’t answer, she prompted, “Threesomes? Bondage?”
Roth was a kinky bastard and had brought up multiple sexual fantasies since they reunited. His need for control and submission made him a natural dom. Was that why he preferred prostitutes or escorts?
Roth stepped back, leaving the hand that had been on his chest suspended in midair. She watched in stupefied silence as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving her sitting naked on the vanity. Her pleasant afterglow vanished. What the fuck was that? He could ask about her kinks and sexual history, but his were off-limits?
She hopped off the vanity and examined her reflection. She looked thoroughly fucked: eyes glassy, lips swollen, cheeks flushed, hair in absolute disarray. She had several wicked love bites that the neckline of her dress wouldn’t hide.
She splashed her face, hoping the cold water would cool her vivid blush and swollen lips. Apparently, she hit a nerve, and he retreated behind that stone wall of his. What had she expected? Roth wasn’t going to change in a week... maybe never. Their relationship would take ten steps forward, two back, three forward, eight back. She shouldn’t take it personally. That’s who he was. At least he hadn’t dismissed her when she interrupted his meeting. That was progress… She just wished it hadn't felt like he dismissed her once he got what he wanted from her.
She opened the cabinet and found an assortment of toiletries, including an extra bottle of Roth’s cologne, extra toothbrushes, and a comb. She stared at the unwrapped toothbrushes for a long moment before shaking her head and grabbing one. She glared defiantly at her reflection. She wasn’t going to go there.
Her heart skipped when she heard the rumble of his voice. He wouldn’t let anyone in while she was in this state, which meant he was on the phone. Adjusting the time for his next meeting? Her time was definitely up. She snatched his comb to style her hair in a way that would cover the bright red marks that were glaringly obvious on her pale skin.
Roth was leaning against the glass, phone to his ear, when she emerged in just her boots. She hurried across the room to snatch her bra from the chair and retrieve her dress from the floor in front of his bookshelf. She absently scanned the books as she changed. She was about to turn away when she spotted a familiar title on an upper shelf. She did a double take and went up on tiptoes to get a better look before whirling to face Roth.
He stood behind his desk, phone still to his ear, as he watched her. His face gave her no indication of his thoughts or feelings. He had her work as Minnie and Thalia shelved among investment books like The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham and Common Stock and Uncommon Profits by Philip Fisher. Seeing her book’s neon-pink spine beside a worn copy of Born Mindset by Les Nightingale, a revered speaker who had been friends with her father, seemed sacrilegious. She had no idea why the hell Roth would do such a thing, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
She was slipping on her coat when he said, “Yes, I’ll see you soon.”
As silence fell, she fixed her collar. “I’ll get out of your hair.” She crouched to pick up her underwear, purse, and the bag of cookies she’d dropped. She turned, intending to leave the treat on his desk, and paused when she saw him striding toward her.
“What’s this?” he asked, taking the crumpled bag and opening it.
As he surveyed what was now crumbled cookies, she said, “They may not look like anything, but they’re the best cookies ever.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he said as he grasped her hand and pulled her toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
He gave her a sidelong look. “Home with you.”
“It’s not even two o’clock,” she said, in case he didn’t know.
“I can tell the time.”
“But don’t you have other appointments?” And didn’t he need time by himself? After pulling away like that in the bathroom, she expected he would be eager to lose himself in work the way she did with a book.
“I’m the fucking boss,” he snapped, sounding every inch the temperamental tycoon. “I can do what I want.”
“I know, but...”
She shut her mouth as the door swung open to reveal about a third of his staff milling around. She focused on Mo, Johan, and Sarai, who were standing nearby. All three wore shit-eating grins.
“Cancel the rest of my calls for the day. I’ll handle everything tomorrow,” Roth said curtly.
“Yes, sir,” Sarai burbled, unable to hide her glee. “Hold on. Let me do this up for you...”
Sarai stepped forward to button Jasmine’s open coat. It took the PA less than a nanosecond to realize every button was missing. Her keen gaze then zeroed in on Jasmine’s neck. Apparently, her hair wasn’t doing the best job of hiding Roth’s bites.
“Looks like you had a little mishap. Nothing that can’t be fixed,” Sarai chirped, clasping her hands together. “Enjoy the rest of your day and those cookies!”
Not for the first time, Jasmine fantasized about murdering Roth’s PA. A group of people within hearing distance looked from her and Roth to that cursed brown package in his other hand.
“I will,” Roth said, unperturbed, as he pulled her through the crowd, which automatically parted for him.
He strode down the hallway. No one called out to him the way they did to Sarai. A hushed silence preceded them, as if everyone were being alerted of his approach. There was a suspiciously large number of people in the reception area. Roth nodded to them. Jasmine slapped a big, fake smile on her face and was relieved when the elevator arrived within seconds. Mo and Johan boarded with them.
The elevator stopped twice. On the first stop, three men waiting for a ride surveyed their group and said they’d catch the next one. On the second stop, the men suddenly remembered they were going up, not down, and waved them off. Roth didn’t seem to think either interaction was odd and pressed the button to close the doors so they could be on their way.