Chapter One
Bentley
I WAS BORN into a driven household. Failure was never an option. I was taught to work hard for what I needed and work harder for what I wanted. And what I wanted was hiding under my desk as if I were some predator. I hadn't known until now that she was what I wanted-craved.
I stop moving as my eyes roam the floor and spot the white sheet crinkled against the carpet.
Is she hiding from me or is she hiding from being caught?
"Ceci," I growl.
No answer.
I know girls respond to sex differently. Some make it an emotional experience while others are all about the physical. Ceci's a mixture of both-the worst combination.
After no response or movement, I decide to walk out as if I didn't know she was sitting under there. I walk to the other end of the hallway to where my sitting room is. I walk to the bar and grab a glass.
I try to think how I want to handle this, but only rage consumes me. My mind is filling with questions and until I know the answers to them, my body isn't going to settle down.
I hear the creak of my office door opening and slow, faint steps against the carpet in the hallway. I hear another door open and I know she's only walked far enough to reach the bathroom.
So this is how she wants to play it.
I pour a finger of vodka and suck it down before I slam the glass down against the bar. She's going to know I was looking for her. She can't deny that she didn't hear me-I checked the goddamn bathroom, for Christ's sake!
I pour more vodka … and another … and soon I know I need to stop or I'll be passing out before I even get to confront her.
I stumble my way down the hall and see the bathroom light is off. She must've wandered back into my bed. I slowly walk in and see she's curled up back on her side as if she never even left. I huff at myself, almost laughing at the stupidity of it all. Perhaps she was just emotional and needed a moment, but why do that in my office?
Fear, doubt, and rage continue to churn inside of me as I think about Ceci being a traitor or worse-an outside job. My mind is thinking of worst case scenarios and quickly, I convince myself she's working for someone else to get inside information. I couldn't let her make a fool out of me, or Leighton Enterprises.
Not again.
It wouldn't be the first time a girl used me for inside information. The thought brings me back to two years ago when she almost destroyed me. Leighton Enterprises holds exclusive and confidential information that other reporters wouldn't think twice about stealing.
I walk to her side of the bed and tower over her. I watch her sleep-breathing in, breathing out, breathing in, breathing out. She looks like she is asleep, but it's hard to know for sure.
Her eyes jolt open and her body jumps from the sight of me. I look down on her wondering who the girl I just fucked really is.
"What are you doing?" she asks hurriedly, grabbing the sheet for comfort.
I look at her through glazed eyes, and I can see the fear on her face. What's she thinking right now? What is it she's really after?
"Get up," I demand. The room is pitch black, but the outside streetlights are beaming through the windows. I can see her hesitation and fear immediately, but I'm only a shadow to her.
"What?" she croaks out.
I lean over the bed and hover over her body. "You heard me. Get up."
She looks at me as if I've betrayed her, or as if I've done something to invade her privacy.
She sits up, taking the white sheet with her and covering up her chest. I laugh to myself. I had my tongue all over that chest. What exactly is she hiding?
I grab her forcefully by the upper arms and pull her body up to mine. She looks me in the eyes, and I can see she's trying to not show the timid girl she really is. She's putting on a show.
"Drop the sheet," I order, keeping my eyes locked with hers. Her eyes stay locked on mine as if she dares me to order her again. "I'm not going to ask again, Ceci."
She releases her clenched fist that's holding the sheet in place. I watch as it drops to a pool at her feet. The light behind me shines through just over her body, giving me a perfect view of her silky, soft skin.
"Now what?" she challenges.
"On your knees," I snap. "Hands behind your back."
Her breath hitches at first, but she willingly obliges. She slowly looks up at me through her dark lashes as she waits for my next command.
"Open your mouth."
I pull my briefs down and stroke my already hard cock. I groan as I take it in my hand and plunge it into her mouth. She willing accepts my full length, not giving up until the tip has reached the back of her throat.
"Oh, fuck," I moan as soon as her lips wrap around me. She licks the length from the base all the way to the tip before taking me completely. "Jesus, Ceci," I growl. She moves her head up and down my length several times without stopping. She's a fucking pro.
I dig my hands into her hair, guiding her slowly just where I want her.
"Mm," I hear her throaty moans. It's enough to get me pissed off that she's enjoying this. She's not acting intimidated or fearful. She begins to speed up the pace and soon, my entire body tenses as it waits for its release.
"Stop."
I grab her hair and pull her head back. She continues anyway, licking and sucking where she can.
"I said stop," I order firmly.
"Mm … so good," she purrs, obviously not listening to my demands. I pull her hair tighter, but it does nothing to stop her.
"You like it when I'm rough, don't you, Ceci? Is this the kinky shit you're into?" I nearly yell as my body betrays me and it fully releases into her mouth. She accepts it willing, sucking me harder as it makes its way down her throat.
I'm beyond pissed. One-she didn't fucking listen to me. Two-I didn't want to come in her pretty little mouth. And now, three-she thinks she holds all control over me when her lips are wrapped aggressively around me.
"Do you have a hearing problem?"
Her face tilts up to look at me as she licks her lips clean. "No."
My blood is boiling at the way she's challenging me, pushing me to my end.
"Then you have a listening problem?"
"We're not in the office, Mr. Leighton. I don't have to listen to you," she counters.
"If I hadn't already filled that goddamn smart mouth of yours … "
"You'd what?" She glares at me. "Why are you acting like a controlling asshole?"
"Controlling asshole?" I muse, laughing. "Seems to me you like it, don't you, Ceci? I see the way your nipples perk up. I feel your hot breath all around me. You're aroused. And even more, you're aroused that this arouses you."
"So what if it does?" she challenges.
I grab her and force her up so we're eye level. "What else do you like?" I whisper. "What else are you willing to give me?"
"Anything you want, Bentley. I'm yours."
My mouth instantly crushes to hers. My hands aggressively cup her face. Her arms wrap around my body, her nails clawing at my skin as her hands make their way down to my ass.
"You are the most intriguing and confusing person I've ever met," I breathe out as I continue to hold her.
"Likewise, Mr. Leighton."
"You want to tell me who you really are, Ceci? I know you're hiding something from me," I growl deeply, letting her know how serious I am.
"I'm exactly who I told you I was. I have nothing to hide," she answers confidently.
Too confidently.
I quickly grab under her ass and hoist her up against me. Her legs wrap around my waist and her arms lock around my neck in a death grip.
"How far are you willing to go to prove that?" I whisper in her hair. I nip the skin just below her ear, showing her how deadly serious I am.
"I already told you, Bentley. I won't break."
The way her voice lingers sends a chill down my body. She's not kidding. She's willing to do anything I ask. The way her body melts to mine as if she's daring me to do with it as I please, which instantly grabs my cock's attention.
I'm filled with a mixture of rage and passion, and all I want to do is fuck her senseless until she tells me the truth.
Our naked bodies are molded together, and I know I have the upper hand here, yet it feels like she's controlling everything when it comes to my emotions.
Fuck. Emotions?
This was exactly why I didn't allow myself to get too close-like last time.
Emotions. And then attachments. But now it's me fighting those feelings off. However, I'm not sure I can.
I kiss her once more, nipping at her lips with an uncontrollable desire. I can feel her body heating against mine-she wants it as badly as I do.
"Bend over the bed," I say breaking the kiss. I drop my arms and allow her feet to land on the floor. "Keep your hands planted on the sheets."
She spins around and willingly bends her body over the bed with both hands above her head. I lean over her and squeeze her breasts in my hands. My cock springs torturously against her ass, signaling her to spread her legs farther. She releases a moan, parting her legs for me.