Chapter 53
We’re Worried About Henry Darlington!
Is Kate Dragging Him into the Drug Scene?
OK! Magazine headline
Henry
The reports about Kate kept coming. Although the interview with Randell had been offline for a while, dozens of new articles about her appeared every day, most of them spreading false information.
And it wasn’t just the media—my parents’ snobby friends also had plenty to say.
I had received at least two dozen calls asking indignantly whether the rumours were true.
All they were concerned about was how it made them look, as if Kate’s past would somehow turn the hotel into the nexus of a drug ring.
It was far from ideal, so close to the Pearl Gala.
The charity event was taking place in three weeks, and the details hadn’t been completely hammered out yet.
Usually, I could take a back seat at this stage of the planning and let Rakesh handle the final arrangements.
But this year, everything was different.
There were dozens of unanswered questions, and ever since Randell’s interview, the cancellations kept rolling in.
Initially, I had been worried, but now it just made me angry.
Some people were willing to turn a blind eye to my dad’s wrongdoings, but not to Kate’s minor transgressions.
My dad had committed crimes just because he had wanted to, whereas Kate had stolen to survive.
Besides, she hadn’t destroyed anyone’s life—she’d just stolen a few pounds.
A knock pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced up. According to my laptop, it was already after 11 p.m. Shit. I had lost all sense of time again.
There was another knock.
“Come in!”
Kate slipped into the office wearing an old Black Sabbath T-shirt I’d given her a while ago, paired with the black trousers that were part of her Darlington uniform. She wore boots, though the laces were undone, as if she had dressed in a rush.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Just checking in on my favourite person,” Kate replied, pulling the door shut behind her. Her short, dark hair was slightly damp, curling at the ends. “I messaged you earlier, but you didn’t reply.”
“Sorry, I must have missed it.” I glanced at my phone. Sure enough, I had several unread messages from her.
With her eyes on mine, Kate came around the desk to me. It had grown warm, so I’d taken off my jacket, loosened my tie, and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt. My hair was a mess from nervously running my fingers through it for hours.
“How was your day?”
Kate settled onto my lap and wrapped an arm around my neck. I instinctively placed a hand on her waist to steady her and slid my fingers under her T-shirt. I wanted to feel her skin against mine. She was soft and warm—she was everything I had missed today.
“Not bad. I had coffee with Olivia.”
“Did you have fun?” I asked. I hadn’t seen Olivia since Halloween. I was usually only free in the evenings after work, while her schedule was crammed with evening events—galas, receptions, and art gallery openings.
“I did. I can see why you like her. She told some pretty wild stories about you,” Kate answered with a grin that spelt trouble. “Is it true that you dyed your hair pink when you were sixteen, and your dad forced you to shave it off?”
“I think I have to end my friendship with Olivia.”
Kate laughed. “Please don’t. I like her.”
“I’m glad.” I really was. I didn’t really care about most people, but I cared about Olivia. She was my best and oldest friend, and it boded well that she and Kate got along. “Is she still dating Marko?”
“She mentioned him a few times, so probably.”
I groaned. Olivia deserved so much more than that arrogant loser. Why couldn’t she see that? She must have heard the rumours about him—why didn’t they put her off?
“How was your day?” Kate asked. She ran her fingers through my hair in an unsuccessful attempt to tame it. The feeling of her nails on my scalp sent a shiver down my spine.
“Terrible, but it got better about five minutes ago.”
A bashful smile crossed her face, as if she still couldn’t quite believe how much better she made my life. “Oh, really?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, burying my face into the crook of her neck and taking a deep breath. She smelled fresh, of lavender. I gave a satisfied moan and pressed my lips to the skin of her throat, savouring her.
With a sigh, Kate tilted her head back. I took up her silent invitation, trailing a path of kisses from her neck up to her chin and, finally, to her lips.
Our mouths met, and my tension immediately melted away.
When I was with Kate, my world shrank until it revolved solely around her—her sweet scent and warm body, the delicious taste of her.
Everything else faded into the background.
She was like an oasis in the desert, and I was parched.
My burning desire to be close to her was more consuming than anything I’d ever experienced.
I’d never felt for anyone the way I did for Kate.
She drew in a sharp breath as I cautiously slid my hand upward beneath the fabric of her T-shirt.
Until now, Kate had kept a certain physical distance between us, but right now, I felt no resistance.
The closer my fingers inched to her breasts, the deeper her nails dug into my shoulders and the more her body arched towards me.
I ran my finger over her soft curves, where the skin seemed warmer than the rest of her body, and I felt a heat rising in me too.
Kate moaned into my mouth as I ran my thumb over a hard nipple.
I cupped her breast, kneading it gently, and a surge of blood flooded down my body.
There was no way to hide from Kate how aroused I was, as my erection pressed against her bum.
“Is this OK?” I asked between two kisses.
She nodded eagerly, and my hand wandered from her left breast to her right.
I took her nipple between two fingers and teased it gently.
Kate pressed herself further into my touch, shifting on my lap and grinding against my hard-on.
Fuck! I couldn’t think straight. I wasn’t even sure if she was doing it on purpose or if it was her subconscious making her body rub against me.
All I knew was that if she didn’t stop immediately, I would come much sooner than I wanted.
I pulled her closer to make her stop moving, and Kate made an impatient sound that felt like music to my ears.
She wanted more, and I was ready to give it to her, because I had been waiting for this.
Ever since the night Kate had asked me to kiss her everywhere, I couldn’t think of anything else but exploring her body with my mouth.
I was about to do just that. I trailed my fingers from her breasts down over her belly, stopping when I reached between her thighs.
Kate gasped as my fingers pressed against her.
“Henry!” She spoke my name like a plea, a request and a command all at the same time.
I started rubbing Kate through the fabric of her trousers, first with two fingers, then three, before touching her with the flat of my palm.
Her breathing grew faster, and a sweet flush that took my breath away spread across her cheeks.
Her eyelids fluttered as she fought to keep them open.
It wasn’t long before her body won. She closed her eyes and surrendered fully to the pleasure.
I kissed a trail from her lips down her neck, then lower, to her breasts. Through the fabric of her shirt, I took one of her hard nipples in my mouth and sucked it gently. Kate’s head fell back with a gasp as I teased her with my teeth. My erection throbbed, aching for her.
I didn’t know how this moment could feel so incredibly hot when we were both still dressed—but perhaps that made it even better.
If foreplay with Kate felt this good, I wasn’t sure I was ready to have sex with her.
I would lose my mind. It would break me, ruin me for all other women.
Not that I wanted anyone else. I only wanted Kate.
I rubbed harder, massaging her clit. Even through the rough fabric, I could feel her heat. She pushed herself against me, impatient, and I knew I could bring her to climax like this. But that wasn’t enough for me.
I pulled my hand away from between her thighs. Kate’s eyes flew open, and she stared at me, aghast. Pure desire was written all over her face.
“Get up,” I demanded, my voice rough.
She hesitated, and for a fraction of a second, I was certain she would ask me to stop. She looked uncertain—but then she rose from my lap.
She stood before me, her legs trembling.
I reached for the waistband of her trousers without breaking eye contact.
When I smiled at her, she smiled back—shy and self-conscious in a way I had never seen her before.
Yet she didn’t stop me as I undid her trouser button, then pulled down the zip to reveal plain white cotton underwear.
In theory, the sight shouldn’t have been at all sexy, yet it was the most seductive thing I had ever seen.
A jolt of longing tightened in my stomach, and I pushed my laptop aside to clear space on my desk.
When Kate had sent me that photo of herself in the bath all those weeks ago and I had sat here fantasising about what her body looked like beneath all that foam, I’d never dreamed of finding out for real one day.
“Sit,” I ordered, pressing a button under my desk to lock my office door.
With a little hop, she perched her pert bum on the edge of the desk.
I took her right foot in my hand first, slipping off the boot, then did the same with the left.
Kate watched me intently, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she bit her lower lip nervously.
A thought—more of a suspicion—crossed my mind.
“Kate?” My voice was hoarse.
“Yes?”
“Have you ever done this before?”