Beck & Call (11 page)

His contribution emboldened Mia. “You hear that?” she said. “Damien wants to watch your ass get paddled too.”

That was a possible interpretation, one Jake maybe should have thought of first. He hadn’t, though, and that unsettled him. Did he
want
their audience to take a more active role?

Mia distracted him by dragging her hands forward around his hipbones. “I hope you don’t mind. I really want to touch this part of you again.”

Sweat broke out anew on his skin. He wasn’t sure he was ready, but he didn’t get a say. This time Mia worked both hands into his cotton briefs, forming a tunnel for his cock with interlaced fingers and aligned thumbs. She rode her hold up him once and paused.

Jake didn’t realize his eyes had squeezed shut until he had to open them to see why she’d stopped.

Mia’s expression was hesitant. “I don’t want to give you a burn. I bet Damien has lube stashed around here somewhere.”

Jake bet he did as well, but: “I prefer just your hands,” he said hoarsely. “I like a good firm tug better than a gliding stroke.”

Mia cracked a grin. “Good to know.”

He didn’t bother trying to recite baseball stats. He would have missed her pleasure in what she did. Hell, he would have missed his own.

That grew stronger with every stroke she took.

“Christ,” he said, his grip on the desk beginning to slide with sweat.

She switched to fisting him with one hand and his head fell back on his neck. Her movement was freer, her grip chafing and tugging simultaneously. She concentrated on his shaft, leaving the crown alone, though naturally all that vigorous motion stimulated it as well. Jake tried to control his breathing, but it had grown ragged.

“Too hard?” she asked breathlessly.

He shook his head and spread his legs wider. “God, I want to hold you,” he burst out.

He wanted to fuck her, to push her back on the desk and have his very thorough way with her. Mia must have sensed his frustration. She wrapped her free arm around his back, pulling her side snug against his front. Her weight leaned against his thigh. Because he couldn’t not, he turned that leg closer.

Mia,
he thought as his feelings rose. He wasn’t going to say her name aloud. He knew the sound would give his affection for her away. This had to stay a game.

“Rub his crown,” Damien ordered quietly.

Mia didn’t hesitate. Her fist shifted higher, her thumb crooking over the nerve-laden skin that stretched drum tight around his tip. He was wet from pre-come, which caused her thumb’s pad to slide. She tightened her fingers to compensate, suddenly jerking his cock hard and fast out from his abdomen. Her speed almost hurt, but the hurt was good.

She was doing what he would have if he’d wanted to come quickly.

He wasn’t going to come slow. The ache of near orgasm deepened and then reached flashpoint. Fire streaked up his penis—hot, sweet, and momentarily mind blanking. His lungs squeezed flat as he ejaculated, air rushing noisily from his chest. He sucked more oxygen to fill it and shocked himself by groaning.

Three hard shots later, it was over but for the sigh.

His eyes opened reluctantly. Mia bit her lip and grinned.

It was impossible not to share her humor, not with the warm relaxation that had loosened his tensed muscles.

“Okay,” he conceded. “You got me good.”

“Kablooey!” she teased, letting out a snicker. She turned her head to Damien. “Have you got a hanky I could borrow?”

Damien wasn’t expecting to be addressed. In the nanosecond before he pulled himself together, Jake glimpsed something that might have been envy.

“Of course,” he said, pulling a pristine square of silk from his pants pocket.

“I’ve got this,” Jake said, taking the cloth from her.

He wiped her hand first, enjoying having each of her little fingers in his control—especially when it gave him the chance to feel how fast her pulse was pattering in her wrist. He cleaned himself with less fuss. Mia watched him, seeming interested in the process of him tucking his cock away and zipping.

When she saw he’d caught her gawking, her cheeks went pink.

“You flatter me,” he said softly. “And now I owe you one.”

That made her redden more. He smiled and their gazes hooked together. Jake knew Mia was imagining an act or two he might perform to discharge his debt. Though she wore a shirt and a sweater, her nipples poked out like pencil erasers.

“Well,” Damien said, which weirdly didn’t feel like an interruption. “I suppose this settles my question about your chemistry.”

MIA’S
skin tingled all over but especially where Jake had come on her hand. If she’d been fifteen, she’d have vowed never to wash it again.

She grinned to herself. Though she ached for her own release—and for him to give it to her—she didn’t regret the act that had put her in this state. She’d made Jake come. She’d watched Jake come. The image of his face as it tensed and then relaxed was in her memory forever.

She couldn’t imagine ever regretting that.

“Shall I call the kitchen to bring up lunch?” Damien asked. “Or would you like more time to compose yourself?”

He seemed composed already. She supposed he was used to watching other people enjoy themselves while doing without himself.
What a strange way to live
, she thought, though he didn’t look unhappy.

Actually, he looked satisfied. She and Jake had proved they could deliver whatever X factor he sought from these encounters.

“Oh what the hell,” she said, impulse taking hold of her. Jake had left Damien’s contract on a side table by the couch they’d sat on earlier. She strode to it and then looked at Damien. “Have you got a pen? I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t need more time to think before I sign this thing.”

Seeming bemused, Damien found a writing instrument and handed it to her. Naturally, the barrel was platinum.

Mia leaned down to scribble her signature. “Okay. Who’s in this besides me?”

“Well, I am.” Damien added his John Hancock. He offered the pen to Jake. “Mr. Reed? Will you make it unanimous?”

“Sure,” Jake said. “Who am I to rain on this parade?”

The atmosphere felt celebratory once they’d signed the agreement. Lunch beside the sunny office window was better than the fanciest restaurant she’d ever eaten in. Between the view and the wine Damien had selected, she was the teensiest bit tipsy. The CEO was a gracious host. Though the conversation wasn’t personal, it was pleasant. For much of it, the men compared meals they’d eaten in other countries, both awful and delicious. Jake had traveled more broadly than Mia realized, not just to military hotspots but also places like France and Greece. Jake and Damien both agreed you hadn’t really had steak until you’d eaten it in South America.

“Osaka comes close,” Jake said, his posture in the chair relaxed. “But those Brazilians know their barbecue.”

Damien nodded and then smiled at her. “I’m afraid we’re talking too much. We must be boring you.”

“Not at all,” she said honestly. “I enjoy hearing your stories. I wish I’d seen as much of the world as you. We should probably go, though. You must need to get back to work.”

He didn’t deny it. “Stop by Ms. DeWinter’s desk with me. We’ll set up arrangements for tomorrow. For your regular jobs.”

Ms. DeWinter almost managed to look unruffled by her boss’s lengthy radio silence.

“Good,” Damien said. “You’re still here. I thought you might have gone to lunch. Please contact our company shopper, Stephanie Giles. Miss Beck needs a suitable corporate wardrobe. Top to bottom. No scrimping. Have Stephanie charge it to my account until we set her up with a clothing allowance. Let’s see. She’ll need measurements.”

Damien took up Ms. DeWinter’s notepad, jotting a list of figures Mia presumed were related to her size. He didn’t ask if his estimates were correct or even look at her to double-check.

“There,” he said, handing the list to his secretary. “That should be everything.”

“Sir?” was all Ms. DeWinter managed to get out.

“Sorry,” he said. “I forgot to say. I’ve hired Miss Beck as my personal assistant. And Mr. Reed here will be my new driver.”

Ms. DeWinter’s composure was considerably rattled now. Mia almost felt sorry for her as she swallowed audibly. “Your personal assistant?”

“I’ve been thinking it would be nice to have someone accompany me around. And you have plenty to keep you busy here. Tell Stephanie my apologies for the rush, but we’ll need the wardrobe by tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Ms. DeWinter agreed faintly.

“Excellent,” Damien said and turned away from her.

No way did a man as sharp as he was fail to notice he’d knocked his secretarial Cerberus off balance. The sternness of his expression as he gestured Mia and Jake forward suggested the blow was deliberate. Damien was using Mia to squash Ms. DeWinter’s ambitions of being everything to him herself.

Mia concluded their gracious host wasn’t gracious to everyone.

Jake didn’t comment until they’d pulled out of WorldWide’s garage and headed up Water Street. “That business with the secretary showed a certain ruthlessness.”

“Maybe Ms. DeWinter has been angling for a relationship beyond business.”

Jake’s strong hands skimmed the steering wheel. “That seems likely, though Call’s response suggests he might be cold enough to convince a rival’s daughter to commit corporate espionage.”

“Are you sorry I signed his contract without getting your okay first?”

Jake glanced at her. “No, I think that was smart. He’ll trust you more because you were in the moment and genuine.”

“I guess you’d know, considering the job you had before signing on with Curtis.”

They hadn’t talked about his former profession much. It didn’t take a genius to tell Jake was reluctant to. Now he made a noncommittal noise of response.

“Were those stories you told Damien true?” she asked. “About eating steak with arm’s dealers in Brazil?”

“They were true. The best cons stick as close to reality as possible. Like you and me actually enjoying what we did in front of him. Live your cover is what they teach at The Farm.”

Mia shifted uncomfortably on the bucket seat. Was he warning her not to build too much on the fun they’d had? “How do you suppose he stands it?” she blurted. “Just watching other people and not getting off himself.”

“We don’t know that he doesn’t. Maybe he jacked off in his private bathroom as soon as we were gone.”

“But what if he didn’t?” Mia was unable to let the topic drop. “Maybe that’s the secret to his charisma: that he keeps himself pent up.”

Jake seemed to find this funny.

“It could be the secret,” Mia huffed.

“Maybe,” Jake conceded. He thought for a moment. “On the other hand, he’s only—what—twenty-nine? That’s young, libido-wise. He could be jacking off and pent up at the same time.”

Mia needed to stop talking about Damien’s releases or lack thereof. The idea was making her too squirmy. She fell silent, and Jake did too. When they got to her apartment building, he surprised her by parking.

“I’ll walk you up,” he said when she looked at him questioningly.

“You’ll walk me up? It’s broad daylight. What do you expect to happen between here and my door? This fancy car is more at risk than me.”

Jake’s jaw tightened. “I’ll walk you up,” he insisted more firmly.

Had something changed because of their experience at lunch, something that prodded him to play gentleman protector? Mia didn’t dare let herself believe it. He solved the mystery by pulling a small black gadget from his coat pocket.

“Stay there,” he said, waving her toward the slipcovered couch in her living room.

It took ten minutes, but he swept every nook and cranny in her apartment for listening devices. To her relief, he didn’t comment on the romance novels in her bedroom.

“Nothing,” he said when he came back. He seemed disappointed as he scrubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

“Did you really think Damien would bug us? He specifically promised not to in his contract.”

“Inviting us to lunch could have created an opportunity for someone he hired to sneak in.”

“That would have been devious.”

“Call
is
devious. All those save-the-planet cars and jobs for Detroit are nice, but you don’t get where he has by being a boy scout.”

Mia supposed this was true—not that she had a right to judge. “Do you suppose he’s sweeping his office now? In case
we
planted bugs on
him
?”

“I think he has people do that for him.”

True to habit, Jake lowered himself to her single armchair’s arm rather than its cushion. Because he seemed to be lost in thought, Mia studied him. He had a narrow distinctive nose. She hadn’t noticed until that moment that it had a dint on the end, as if a child had pressed its finger into a bit of clay.

“There’s something else I need to do before I go,” he said.

He didn’t look happy about it. He was slumping as he sat.

“Are you going to tell me what it is?” she prompted.

He sighed and stood and then took her hands to pull her onto her feet. His deep blue eyes were resigned as he gazed down at her.

“What?” she asked, mystified.

He slid his arms around her, lifting her to her toes. Mia gasped at the unexpected contact with his body. A second later, she was glad for the extra air.

Jake’s mouth came down over hers. His sensitive lips were soft, his tongue bold, his long arms squeezing her tight to his hard muscles. Her feet left the floor entirely as he kissed the living daylights out of her.

Her mind seemed to melt, every thought but returning his kiss as enthusiastically as she could sliding out of her. Jake clamped one hand on her bottom as she swung her legs up around his waist. Thank God for jeans with stretch. She lap-danced her crotch over his six pack, moaning while she forked her fingers into his hair. The short strands were silky, the way his jaw worked as he kissed her incredibly arousing.

Suddenly her back thumped the nearest wall. Jake had turned and was thrusting her into it.