Penalty Clause (Risque Contracts Book 1)(11)
Once we’d both managed to catch our breath, Caleb settled on the pillows, cradling me in his arms. The sound of his heartbeat was steady in my ear. I savored the feeling of our closeness for a brief moment and then forced myself to pull away from his warmth.
“Where do you think you’re going?” His hand whipped out to grasp my arm.
“To shower and change. Maybe check my email. I don’t want to fall behind while we’re here.”
He yanked me against him again, shifting to kneel between my legs. “I can think of more interesting things to do than catching up on your correspondence.”
“But we’re here to work,” I protested weakly.
His response was muffled as he kissed his way up my thigh, but it sounded like he’d said something along the lines of ‘that’s what you think’. Whatever he meant was the last thing on my mind when his tongue circled my clit before he climbed up my body to whisper a few of the interesting things he thought were better than email into my ear. By the time he was done demonstrating a couple of them, I was in complete agreement.
Chapter 7
Caleb
The buzzing of my phone vibrating on the nightstand woke me up. I reluctantly released Madeleine and snatched it up, clicking the button to silence it before it could disturb her. When I saw the number flashing across the screen, I cursed and eased out of bed, quietly making my way to the living room while softly shutting the door behind me.
“What the hell do want, Julie? It’s five o’clock in the morning,” I snapped. “And why are you at the office so late?”
“I’m sorry, Caleb,” she said, though her tone implied otherwise, “I assumed you would be awake due to jetlag. I stayed late to get you the files you asked for.”
I sighed. “I need the files ready when I return, Julie, not immediately. And, it’s Mr. Sterling.”
“Excuse me?” Hurt infused her voice, but I didn’t give a shit. I’d fucked Madeleine until I’d worn her out so we would be able to get some sleep and quickly acclimate to the time difference. We’d both passed out around four and I was none too happy about being woken up only an hour later. And I was even more irritated this pointless phone call forced me to leave the warmth of Madeleine’s naked body.
“You’re my employee, Julie. You call me Mr. Sterling.”
“But Madeleine—”
“Ms. Connelly can call me whatever she wants. You have not been given permission to address me so informally,” I said, cutting her off. I was about to hang up when I figured it wouldn’t hurt to make it appear as though I was going to get some work done. “Actually, before you leave, fax me the plans for the expansion of Madeleine’s branch of the company.”
“I can send Ms. Connelly copies as well.”
“No need. Madeleine is here with me.”
There was a long pause and my impatience elevated to an all-time high. “Is there anything else?”
“Would you like me to have the hotel make a copy and deliver them to her room as well?”
“As I said, there is no need. Madeleine is with me. Do we understand each other?” Unless it was confidential business information, telling Julie anything was like sending a companywide text. By morning, everyone who hadn’t figured it out would know Madeleine was mine. I was confident she wouldn’t be happy about it, but that was too damn bad. This was the next best thing to having my ring on her finger.
“Yes, sir.” Julie’s voice carried an undertone of bitterness that grated on my nerves. It was time to start thinking about replacing her. However, all my focus was on Madeleine at the moment, and I was done with this conversation.
“Get it done,” I barked before hanging up.
“Caleb? What’s going on?” The sound of Madeleine’s husky voice drew my attention and I turned to see her standing at the bedroom door. She was wearing my shirt from earlier, looking sleepy and adorably mussed. Instantly hard, I tossed my phone on the couch before striding over to her and gathering her into my arms.
“Nothing, baby. Just work shit,” I said, softly placing my lips on the top of her head. She leaned back, eying me speculatively, but I distracted her with a consuming kiss. My cock was wide awake, so I hauled her back to bed to tire him out again.
The next time I was dragged from sleep, it was due to a blaring alarm. Madeleine stirred and reached out to slam her hand down on the clock beside the bed, shutting off the jarring noise. Reluctant to release her, I followed the movement of her body and saw it was seven thirty. I groaned and pulled her back in tight as I rolled onto my back.