Chapter 4
Brennan Diamond
The guilt in Audrey’s eyes as she rises and clasps her hands together in front of herself damns them both.
I push my glasses higher on the bridge of my nose and slip my hands into my pockets so I don’t bury my fist in Edgar Williams’s face, wrap my hands around my baby doll’s throat, and kiss her until she knows without a doubt I’m the only man for her.
“Apologies, Mr. Diamond. You’re earlier than—”
I check my watch and aim my glare at his face as I return my hand to my pocket.
He may not be aware, but I was on the same conference call as him an hour and forty minutes ago.
The Director of the Board gave him two hours to prepare for this meeting.
I would’ve given him thirty minutes and shown up within ten minutes of ending the call, but my influence isn’t the main force at play.
Yet.
He clears his throat and steps forward with his hand outstretched for a handshake.
I lift a brow and stride around him.
“I need a moment with Ms. Tripp,” I demand.
Mr. Williams sputters and reaches for my arm as though to stop me. I pause mid-stride and level a warning glare over my shoulder at him. He drops his hand and huffs before stomping from the room.
“What are you doing here?”
The accusation in her voice amuses me. I crowd her against the table, but unlike the weasel who just scurried out of the room, I wrap an arm around her lower back, offering her support. Her breasts barely brush against my chest, but blood rushes to my cock at the contact.
“I should be the one asking you that,” I snarl.
“Let go of me,” she breathes.
I study her vibrant green eyes and note how her freckles stand out on her pale flesh. She flinches when I lift my hand toward her face. I hesitate, but she’s too tempting. I caress her smooth cheek with my fingertips.
“Is my lil stepsis scared she might lose her job because she got caught being naughty in the office?”
She closes her eyes and clenches her teeth. I trace the muscles flexing in her jaw. Concern dampens the lust pulsing through me as I note the clamminess of her skin.
She opens eyes full of emerald fire and swats my hand away.
“Don’t touch me.”
I capture her chin and force her attention to my face.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little spice in the workplace… so long as it’s with the right man,” I murmur.
She scoffs, jerks her chin out of my grasp, and pushes at my chest. I pull her front flush against mine, trapping her hands between our bodies, and enjoy her struggles as her curves wiggle against my hard frame.
After a few seconds, she stills and glares at me.
“Let me guess, you think you’re that man?” she mocks.
I rumble a descending note and shake my head. My voice emerges guttural and rough from the force of my desire.
“No, baby doll.” I tuck a tendril of escaped hair back into place and lean in to whisper in her ear. “I know I’m that man.”
“You’re wrong, Brennan. I don’t want a man. Any man. At all.”
“Really? That’s not what it looked like when I walked into the room,” I growl.
“I didn’t want what was happening when you walked in any more than I want what you’re doing now. Let go of me. Now.”
“Don’t compare me with that piece of trash, Audrey. I already told you; I’ll never let you go again,” I vow.
She closes her eyes and swallows. Her shuddering breath travels down my spine. My worry triples as she trembles against me.
When she lifts her lashes and aims resolute yet miserable orbs at me, pain stabs deep in my heart.
I never thought she’d look at me with such contempt.
“I don’t know why you’re here, but this is my workplace. I need this job. I’ll never forgive you if you get me fired,” she says.
I smirk and tease a finger down her throat.
“Don’t worry, baby doll. No one will fire you.”
She stiffens impossibly further before piercing my soul with intense green orbs.
“You said that with way too much confidence. Tell me this is just another nightmare and not real life,” she says through gritted teeth.
I quirk a brow and press my fingers against the pulse pounding at the base of her throat.
“You dream about me?” I murmur.
Her pupils shrink and red colors her cheeks. I nearly cum in my trousers as her anger takes over. She’s mesmerizing. Her struggling digs my hard cock into her soft belly.
“Holy fucking shit, Brennan, you’re impossible. Get the hell off me,” she snarls.
I release her and step back before I disgrace myself.
She swings. Her palm cracks against my cheek so hard my head whips to the side. I blink in shock and remain statue-still as I process the unexpected violence.
No one has dared to hit me outside of sparring sessions at the gym since my father gave me his last beating fourteen years ago, and even then, he refused to hit my face. He always aimed for parts I could easily hide.
White-hot pain blooms in my cheek and spreads across my face. My lip throbs, but no blood drips down my chin. I fill my lungs and will my anger into a low simmer before slowly swinging my gaze toward hers.
She no longer stands in front of me. The wise little doll slipped away and put the table between us. She cradles her wrist to her chest.
Despite the fear wafting from her, she stands with her shoulders back and her chin high.
My pants have never been so tight before.
“Oops. My hand slipped, but it’s okay because I can’t be fired. Right, Mr. Diamond?”
She delivers the challenge without an ounce of remorse. I applaud her bravery but question her sanity.
Actually, no, I don’t. I’ve always known we belonged together, even before I had words to express my feelings for her.
Her crazy has always matched mine.
I can’t wait to tame this fiery goddess and worship the sweet little baby doll hidden inside her.
I smirk as I fix my glasses then thumb my swollen lip before crossing my arms over my chest and quirking a brow.
“I’m not sure slapping the new owner and CEO of your company is the wisest way to stay employed,” I answer.
She presses her perfect lips into a thin line and closes her hands into fists at her sides.
“Tell me you didn’t,” she says through gritted teeth.
“I did.”
After a long, drawn-out inhale through her nose, she uncurls her fingers.
“Why?” she asks.
“I already told you,” I answer.
“No, you didn’t. No one buys a million-dollar company for one employee,” she says.
“I do, but not for just any employee. For you. Only for you, Audrey,” I say.
She shakes her head.
“Yes,” I insist. “Hell, I’d buy as many billion-dollar companies as it took to be with you, baby doll,” I vow.
“Why? So you can own me? Boss me around? Humiliate me?”
“No. So I can protect you.”
She jerks as though I slapped her.
“Fuck you, Brennan,” she hisses and starts toward the door.
I intercept her, placing my bulk between her and the hall, and for a moment, I realize how easily I could break her. She’s tiny. Delicate. Fragile. Her strength is no match for mine. I tower over her like a giant.
My heart aches at the terror in her eyes even as she swings like the true warrior she’s always been.
I catch her wrist and press it to the small of her back as I block her other blow with my forearm.
She may not stand a chance against me, but she’s no damsel in distress either. Her accuracy and the force behind her swings are impressive for a slender little doll like her.
I cup her nape and tug her closer but stop before her breasts press against me.
“Go ahead, baby doll. Fuck me. Anywhere. Anytime.” I lean down and whisper in her ear. “I’m yours. Always have been. Always will be,” I declare.
Her stuttered breath gusts against the bruised side of my face. I lean back and bite my swollen lip to stop my groan from escaping. She’s gorgeous with flushed cheeks and hungry eyes.
She blinks. Every ounce of arousal disappears from her expression. Her lower lip trembles.
Horror clenches my chest as tears shimmer in her green eyes.
I pushed her too far.
With a growl at my own foolishness, I release her, pull the flash drive out of my inner suit pocket, and press it onto her palm before turning toward the door.
“Put this on the main projector, please, Ms. Tripp,” I command.
I step into the hall and turn to close the door behind me, hoping my hasty retreat will earn me a few brownie points even if I’m the one who brought her to tears.
The stapler near where Edgar had her pinned sits askew. Her words ring in my ears.
I didn’t want what was happening when you walked in any more than I want what you’re doing now.
She didn’t want Edgar. I misread the situation. She wasn’t enjoying a tryst with her boss, but I was too intoxicated with the feel of her curves pressed against me to hear her panic.
Sourness coats my tongue, and futile rage pounds through my veins.
She thinks I’m no better than that slime, Edgar Williams.
Once upon a time, she came to me when she was upset. She trusted me wholeheartedly and wouldn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around me or crawl into my lap.
But I’ve never ignored her or been the reason she cried before.
I stop in my tracks in the middle of the hall as reality smacks me upside the head. My cheek throbs with the heat of a thousand suns.
She hit with the force of thirteen years’ worth of pent-up rage and pain.
Today wasn’t the first time I made her cry. It was just the first time I saw it.
Fucking hell, she was right to call me a monster.
I stomp down the hall and jab the button for the elevator, but I can’t stand the thought of putting that much distance between myself and my baby doll, so I abandon the elevator and stroll in the opposite direction of the conference room.
The layout of the executive floor is simple and effective. This building lacks the high-end furnishings and modern professionalism of my other businesses, but I’ll upgrade it as soon as I make the necessary personnel and policy changes.