Chapter 19
Channing
I sauntered across Win’s office like I owned the place. It was another one of his personal spaces that was predominantly gray with lots of glass and black accents. His big desk was a warm mahogany that managed to give a little life to the surroundings, but everything else was industrial and boring. It was the perfect backdrop for all the glossy magazine covers that his handsome face graced, and not much else.
I dropped a bag of pastries from a popular bakery in front of him and propped a hip on the corner of the massive piece of furniture. I tapped the surface with my knuckles and gave him a playful smile. “This is a nice piece. I was so angry the last time I was here, I didn’t notice. It doesn’t seem to fit with your usual aesthetic.” I bet it still cost a fortune and came with a royal lineage rather than a familiar designer name.
Win reached for the bag of pastries and the harsh lines around his mouth softened when he saw the sweet confections inside. It baffled me that none of his ardent suitors had figured out the way to his icy heart was directly through his sweet tooth.
“The desk was my father’s. Supposedly, it belonged to Napoleon.” He made it sound like there was no difference between owning a piece of history and buying something from IKEA. “I didn’t inherit it. He left it to the next CEO. It belongs to Halliday Inc.” Win’s voice was devoid of emotion. His features were tight. I could tell he’d been running his hands through his messy hair. The knot of his tie was loose, and his suit jacket was tossed carelessly on top of a bar cart in one corner of his office. There was no missing that the man was having a rough day.
I reached out and ran my hand over his hair to help smooth some strands back in place. “What’s the matter, Chester? Did you only make a couple million dollars today instead of a couple billion?”
I was surprised when he caught my hand and pulled me in front of him. I was pressed against the edge of the desk. He was sprawled in the matching chair in front of me, looking like a defeated king who was ready to abdicate the throne. I jolted when he moved forward, pressed his forehead against my stomach, and wrapped his arms loosely around my waist.
“I’ve always known that I was lying about who I am. It didn’t occur to me until recently that everybody else in my life is lying, as well. What’s the point of anything I’ve done if none of it is real? Why did I have to give up everything for a fabrication? How long am I required to keep the farce going? What if there is no end? Am I going to end up like my mother?” He heaved a breath that made my stomach clench. “I’m not as worried about Winnie’s future, because she has you.”
I stayed as still as possible while he cuddled into me. I stroked his head and ran my nails across his neck. I could feel how tense he was.
Unsure of what had him in such a morose mood, I quipped, “You have me, too. At least until our contract is up.”
Win’s hold on me tightened, and he lifted his head. His gray eyes were as fierce as a thunderstorm. “What if I want to keep you longer, Channing?”
The intensity of his stare was unnerving. I put my hands on either side of his face and rubbed my thumb across his lips.
“There’s always room for negotiation. Isn’t that what you told me? You’ve got time to convince me that it’s worth it to return to the bargaining table when our time is up.” His mood was strange. I could see his turbulent emotions in his cloudy gaze. “Do you want to tell me what’s gotten into you today? You’re acting like that lion with a thorn in his paw.”
Win captured my hand and placed a tender kiss in the middle of my palm. “Does that make you the mouse who’s going to pull it out? Then I’ll be in your debt forever.” He sighed against my hand before placing it on his shoulder. Win got to his feet and stepped closer to me so that he was standing between my legs. Our eyes locked and his voice was barely above a whisper when he warned, “I’m trying to figure some things out, Harvey. Once I do, there’s a real chance it’ll be the end of the road for us. If that happens, and we go our separate ways, don’t forget that I owe you for getting out that fucking thorn. You can always come to me — for anything.”
That was a pretty hefty trump card to have in my pocket. There wasn’t much Win couldn’t handle. It felt like I’d just been handed a cheat code in the game of life.
Win lowered his head to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him guide me until I was sitting on the edge of his desk. I was wearing a flowy, ruffled skirt that lifted easily under Win’s hands. I set my hands to work on Win’s suit, while he kissed me breathless. We were both in a state of disarray when he used his leverage to lean me all the way back in front of him. His hands ruffled my short hair as his knee moved purposely between my legs. I tossed my head and stretched out my hands, knocking that stupid brass nameplate to the ground. Win pulled his tie the rest of the way off and let his perfectly pressed shirt fall open on either side of his chiseled chest.
“Lift your ass, Harvey.” I chuckled at the crude words coming from his refined mouth. I followed orders and arched just enough for him to slide the poofy skirt and lacy underwear over my hips and down my legs.
“I never thought I would willingly walk into this office.” I giggled as his hands skimmed my ribcage, moving to take my t-shirt and bra with them. I stopped by because I wanted to see his face. He’d been so busy lately, and every time I spoke to him on the phone, he sounded like another piece of his soul was chipped away. I used the excuse of asking about the manor to see him. This visit could have been a text message. I was worried about him. Which made me worry about myself. Win wasn’t someone who should elicit sympathy from anyone. “If you told me I would end up naked on your desk, I would’ve laughed you straight out of the city.”
Win grunted and suddenly moved so that he was on his knees in front of me with a perfect view of my exposed pussy.
“You look good on my desk. You look good wherever you are.” I sensed the sincerity in his words. It wasn’t an empty compliment.
“That’s because you surround yourself with stuff that’s expensive, but ugly. There is only so much gray one person can take.” My words skipped when I felt him kiss the inside of my thigh. His hands grabbed my butt and pulled me closer to his face. Every breath he took hit my bare center. I grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged him closer to the place I’d imagined having him when we were separated by an ocean. “The manor is beautiful on the outside. It’s what goes on inside that makes it so hideous. You can change your view, Win. The only one keeping you trapped in that flavorless life is you.”
“I have no complaints about my current view.” I felt his words whisper against my damp folds.
Neither did I. Looking at the stark metal ceiling of his office, the hazy mirrored image of Win between my legs was reflected back at me. The image looked like an erotic painting. I watched him move closer and gasped when his tongue traveled from the top of the quickly warming slit to the lowest point. My ass clenched in surprise. I sucked in a breath because I was stunned Win would get so sexually adventurous in the middle of his workday. I had no clue what was going on with him today, but I was happy to be the beneficiary of his unusual mood.
Win pressed forward and inhaled me. His tongue was everywhere and felt deeper than it should be able to reach. His hands locked me in place as he devoured me. I gasped his name and arched my back. Pens and paperwork scattered beneath my writhing body. Pleasure pulsed in time with his movements. The surreal version of myself on the ceiling showed my wanton and unfiltered reactions. Win was correct. I looked good spread out across his desk like this. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw my reflection look so truthfully enamored and consumed by a man. I always gave my all in every relationship, bending over backwards to be loved and appreciated, time and time again. I became a lesser version of myself to avoid being abandoned.
None of that applied to Win.
Since our relationship was fake from the get-go, I never had to pretend with him. I didn’t try to trick Win into liking me or worry about being too much for him to handle. Because I agreed to the ridiculous marriage pact, I never hesitated to ask Win for whatever I needed. I gave him enough. It didn’t bother me to take what he offered. Despite the glaringly apparent class difference between us, being with Win was the easiest relationship I’d ever had. Minus his evil mother and the ghost who kept stealing my stuff. We weren’t compatible on paper, but my blissed-out, thoroughly turned-on reflection said otherwise.
I scratched my fingernails against Win’s scalp and heard him grunt in response. A phone rang somewhere, and a computer beeped repeatedly. The common office noises made me laugh, which should’ve ruined the mood. They didn’t. Win never broke focus and turned his attention to my throbbing clit. I squirmed when he licked it like a piece of candy, and I nearly came undone when his tongue stiffened and circled the tiny hot spot more forcefully. His fingers caressed my thighs until they quivered under his touch. I was at the point where my head was rolling uncontrollably, so I used my hold on his hair to pull him to his feet.
I helped him push his shirt off his shoulders and watched with hungry eyes as he shoved his pinstriped pants and designer boxers down below his remarkably firm ass. The more of him I saw, the more I understood why he was among the world’s most sought-after bachelors.
I was on birth control, and considering Win’s sex life was as boring as every other part of his life, being cautious wasn’t much of an issue between us. In fact, I could’ve sworn there was a flash of regret in Win’s eyes when I told him we were good after the first-time things got heated and moved faster than either of us expected. It was almost like having an accidental baby wouldn’t turn his perfectly planned life upside down. I was certain any offspring of the sole Halliday heir would come from a lab after Colette genetically engineered her ideal grandchild.
I snorted a laugh at the thought and was forced to focus on Win when he grabbed my chin and held my face still. He didn’t bother to ask me what I was thinking. He told me not to bring up his mother while we were having sex. I just couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to the awful woman whenever I was desecrating her perfect son. It was the only thing I could hold over Colette until the day I died.
Win slapped a hand down next to my head. Before he pushed himself inside of me, I turned over so that I was on my stomach. I pressed back against his rigid flesh and wiggled my butt in invitation. I couldn’t look at myself drowning under waves of satisfaction any longer. If I did, I would get ideas that were better left buried in the very back of my mind.
I didn’t have long hair for him to grab anymore. Win settled for placing one of his hands on the center of my back while he used the other to guide his cock into my now drenched opening. We both let out a strangled sound as he sank deeply into my aching body. I felt my pussy clench when he moved.
His hand ran up and down the length of my spine, like he was petting a large cat. I shivered at the caress and moaned softly when I felt the touch of his lips on the back of my neck. I wanted to tell him it was fine for him to rail me into oblivion so he could get back to buying and selling half the world, but I couldn’t find the words. I liked it too much when he treated me like a real lover and not a convenient hole..
I moaned as he pulled out and pushed in with more force. The motion moved my body across the desk, making a bigger mess as more stuff scattered. I was sure I’d never felt this full, or this thoroughly fucked in my life.
Win slid a hand between my waist and the ancient wood. I thought he was going to hold me away from the edge to soften the blow as he hammered into me. My whole body shuddered, and my toes curled. I felt electrified when his fingers slid down until they stroked against my clit. Sensations rampaged throughout my body as I panted against the polished surface. My body thrust backward to meet Win’s movements. I heard him swear and felt the edge of his teeth lock down on the curve where my neck and shoulder met. There were going to be bite marks to go with the finger-shaped bruises he left on my thighs.
Win moved faster and started hitting places that were deeper and more sensitive. It was so good, my eyes watered and I moved with him blindly. It was rough and nearly animalistic. My body throbbed around his, making everything wet and slippery. The sounds we were making were second in lewdness only to the sounds from our joined bodies. Win swore softly against my skin, then shifted so his lips landed lightly behind my ear. Easy access to one of my favorite places to be kissed was an unseen benefit of my new hair. When his index finger rubbed circles around the tender little bud he was stoking, my orgasm was inevitable. We’d barely kissed, and I was on the edge of starting to come. I wasn’t sure if that said more about his skills or my response to them.
I reached behind my head so I could grasp a handful of Win’s hair. He lowered his chest until I could feel his heartbeat on my back.
“I’m going to come.” I turned my head and moved with more enthusiasm, meeting him thrust for thrust.
Win licked a line around the shell of my ear and made an outlandish promise. “I’ll always make you come, Channing. I never do anything halfway.”
I laughed through tremors of desire and satisfaction. My pussy quivered excitedly around his heavy length and surrounded him in heat. I was breathless as I teased, “Do you think Napoleon ever said something like that when he had this desk?”
Win grunted before straightening up. He kept moving behind me and I found my completion. I laughed when one of his hands smacked my ass right before he released in a heated rush shortly after.
“Napoleon wasn’t tall enough to fuck anyone on this desk.” He sounded fully satiated when he grumbled the words into my ear. We made the same sucking sound when he pulled out. Thank God his office had an executive bathroom because we were both a mess.
Once we put ourselves back together and were snacking on the long-forgotten pastries, I finally got around to asking him if he’d learned anything new about the manor. The dark expression on his face gave me chills. There was clearly more to the story. He said curtly, “We have to check the floors. Rocco said there are probably safe rooms under the floors from back in the Revolutionary War era. You keep Winnie away from the estate for now. It’s not safe for either of you.”
I frowned and pointed my finger at the end of his nose until he bit it. “Your brother has Winnie under lock and key. He’s taking her safety very seriously.”
Win snorted and muttered, “Half-brother..”
I flicked his forehead and reminded him, “We both have ghosts inside that house that need to be exorcized. The more you want me to stay away, the greater my desire to pull that manor apart stone by stone becomes.”
He sighed heavily and tugged me closer to cuddle me. “I swore I would protect you from my mother. I didn’t know how difficult it was going to be to keep that promise.”
A million different thoughts ran through my head at his defeated words. Everyone underestimated the lengths Colette Halliday was willing to go to.
The bar was in hell when it came to that woman. It was impossible for it to get any lower.
The emotion that came out of left field was the sudden urge to keep Win safe from all the damage his mother could cause.
What rattled me the most, though, was that the man had everything.
The last thing he needed was my heart.