Business Pleasures (Pleasures of the Heart) (6 page)

She rolled her eyes and sighed. She seemed to appreciate that he cared enough to worry about her. However, based on her reactions, she wasn’t use to being cared for. “No. I don’t like taking them. Besides, I’m not as sore today.”

When he didn’t move, she shooed him with her hands. His lips twitched as he grabbed a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. “Let’s eat in the living room.”

“Perfect.”

Smiling, he entered the living room and uncorked the wine bottle and poured each of them a glass. The condo was quiet except the sound of Aimee moving about in the kitchen. In the last week, with Aimee here, he’d been more relaxed. Julie always had music going or the TV on or some kind of noise going in the background. Kenton found it distracting, but over the years he’d grown used to it. But Aimee liked the quiet.

A moment later, she entered the room carrying two plates. When she set them on the coffee table, he held out his hand. “Come here.”

A shy smile formed, but she drifted toward him and placed her hand in his. Gently, he tugged her into his lap. “Do you mind if I put some soft music on?”

“No, not at all.”

He leaned forward and grabbed the remote and switched on his classical playlist. Soft strains of Bach flowed from the speakers. Aimee let out a half-sigh, half-moan and snuggled into him. “That’s nice. I love Bach.”

His heart fluttered a little as he studied her profile. Grabbing a plate from the coffee table, he scooped up a forkful of lasagna and held it out to her. Hesitantly, she allowed him to feed her. “It’s all about trust. I want to continue seeing you, maybe one day, when you’re ready, move you in with me.”

Her eyes grew large and she stopped chewing for a moment. Slowly, she resumed chewing and he could almost see the wheels working in her mind. It was a bombshell he dropped on her, especially considering the terror of Roger’s escape from prison and with him still out there somewhere. Yet, he needed her to know where he stood.

Lifting his hand, he stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “I’m going to be here every step of the way. Roger will not take you from me.”

When she swallowed, she covered his hand with hers and pressed a kiss in his palm. “This whole thing should scare the shit out me, but it doesn’t. It feels too right, too natural. Let’s take care of flushing Roger out, then we’ll make plans for our future.”

A mixture of relief and worry churned inside him. Relief came from knowing that she wanted to be with him, but worry clouded any happiness he may have felt. They compromised the night before that Aimee would return to work in hopes that it would force Roger to come out of hiding. Even though there would be undercover officers inside as well as outside the law office, he still wanted to lock her up until they found Roger.

If he did that to her, he’d be no better than her shithead ex.

Aimee released his hand and cupped his face. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief before she pressed her lips to his. A groan escaped him as she positioned herself to straddle his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, gliding one hand up her back to fist her long brown hair.

Her hips rocked against his hard cock. Their tongues danced as their mouths moved together, intensifying the pleasure rushing through his veins straight to his dick.

Just when he thought he couldn’t take any more, she broke the kiss and slid off his lap to sit on her knees between his thighs. Curious to what she planned, he used the little patience he had left to force himself to wait. He fisted his hands to keep from grabbing her and burying his cock deep inside her. When she pulled down the front of his sweat pants and gripped his cock in her hand, he nearly came. Holding his gaze, she lowered her head and took him in her mouth.

Fuck
. His hips jerked at the feel of her warm, beautiful mouth on his cock. He watched her suck him while she rolled his balls in her hand. Gently thrusting his hips in tempo with her, he ran his fingers through her hair and gripped a handful. His balls tightened and he stilled, gripped her arms and pulled her up to claim her mouth.

Laughing against his lips, she wiggled out of her jeans and panties before straddling his lap again. “I want you inside me, now.”

Her command sent a jolt of need through him, making him more than happy to comply. “A little demanding today. You will have to be patient for one more minute. I have to go get a condom.”

Her eyes rounded, then her cheeks blushed. Standing, she said, “I’ll get one. Stay here.”

“I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere.”

A moment later Aimee returned, a small, square, gold-foiled package dangling between her index finger and thumb, and a sultry smile on her face. Dropping to her knees in front of him, she tore the wrapper off the condom and rolled the rubber over his cock. The act was the most erotic thing he’d seen.

He pulled her to him so her knees caged him. With one swift thrust, he entered her, making her cry out. She bit his lower lip and rode him. Damn, he’d definitely never let her go. He trailed a hand up her side and cupped her breast, pinching her nipple in his fingers. Her breath came in short bursts as she increased her rhythm. Her pussy milked him, putting him on the edge of an orgasm.

Her orgasm hit her hard, making her scream out and score his shoulders with her nails. He followed her with his own release.

He held her close, loving the feel of her panting against him. After kissing her temple, he asked, “Feel better?”

She let out a breathless laugh. “Yes, much.”

“Good. I like it when you’re happy.” He’d spend the rest of his days making sure she stayed that way.

Chapter Nine

Aimee’s stomach twisted in knots as she made her way through the small office to her desk. Thankfully, no one was around to notice her. Then again, she did get there thirty minutes early so she could reorganize her desk and catch up. Kenton had warned her that he moved some things around because he didn’t know where to find anything.

Sitting down in her chair, she let out a soft sigh. A sense of purpose renewed within her to be back at work. At least she had enough here to keep her busy and get her mind off the nightmare that lurked in the shadows, waiting to pounce the first chance he got.

She pushed the ugly thoughts out of her mind, fired up her computer and checked the stack of folders on her desk. It didn’t appear to be too mucked up.

“Hi, hun!”

With a wide smile, Aimee looked up to see Tessa standing in front of the desk dressed in a light blue pants suit. She’d tugged her red hair up in an elegant bun and her jade green eyes twinkled with joy.

“Hi, Tessa.”

Her lips drooped in a frown. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, really.” Aimee had lived through worse, but she wasn’t going tell Tessa that.

The other woman studied her for a few moments before changing the subject. “Just so you know, I asked Kenton to transfer you to me.”

Aimee’s pulse spiked. “What?”

Tessa laughed. “He outright told me to go scout for a new assistant somewhere else because you are his.”

Relaxing into the chair, Aimee pressed her lips together as her cheeks heated. “Oh. It wasn’t that I don’t want to work for you, it’s just I like where I’m at.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She winked at Aimee then turned more serious. “How are you, really?”

“I’m good. Glad to be back at work.”

Tessa pursed her lips briefly before saying, “I’m glad you’re back. Take care now.”

The other woman gave a small wave and walked off. Only then did Aimee let her muscles relax. She’d hoped to avoid questions about Roger. Kenton had told her he let the other two partners, Tessa and Cole, know about the attack, but didn’t go into details. In a way, she was grateful for that.

****

By four-thirty, Aimee’s stomach twisted in knots. Kenton was stuck in a meeting and, by the looks of it, wouldn’t be ending anytime soon. She didn’t know why the idea of leaving by herself made her so nervous. An officer patrolled the parking lot and another one waited by the front door.

Taking out her cell, she texted Kenton to let him know she was leaving. A moment later his office door opened and he stepped out. His brown eyes narrowed on her as he crossed the small space to her desk. “You good?”

She held in a smile as she stood to face him. “Yes. I’m going home. Any special request for dinner?”

The smile that formed across his handsome face flared desire to life throughout her body. She couldn’t wait to get him alone later. He stepped closer and heat spread from her chest downward. “You, naked, and in my bed.”

Damn. She had to force her legs to hold her up. “What time do you think you’ll be done?”

The sensual smile dipped into a frown. “I hope within the hour.”

She rose up on her toes and kissed him quickly on the lips. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Hmm, home. I like the sound of you calling my condo home.”

Every muscle in her body tightened. It felt so natural that she hadn’t thought about what she’d said. Besides, she’d spent the last week and a half with him in his home. And that’s what it was, a home. With Kenton, it was so much more.

Smiling wide, she stared into his brown eyes and said, “So do I.” Movement inside Kenton’s office drew her attention. “You better get back to your meeting. We’ll talk more over dinner.”

He held her gaze for several moments before speaking. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

Lifting his hand, he ran his fingers down her cheek, and then turned to go back into the office. A chill passed over her, making her shiver. It wasn’t from his touch, but an eerily, cool sensation that set her nerves on edge. She pushed the feeling away, took a breath, gathered her jacket and purse, and headed out of the building.

She gave the guard at the door a small smile as she exited the building. The warm, late afternoon sun kissed her cheeks as she scanned the parking lot. Panic gripped her when she didn’t see the outside guard. However, she didn’t see anyone else in the parking lot, either. The other two partners of the firm, Tessa and Cole, left thirty minutes before, so the only remaining vehicles were hers, Kenton’s, and the two guards.

Her hands shook and she focused on breathing in and out slowly on the short walk to her car. Taking her keys out of her purse, she dropped them twice before finally unlocking the door. Once behind the wheel, she locked the car and pressed her head to the steering wheel. Her heart pounded in her head.

You’re right back where you started five years ago. Always looking over your shoulder for the psycho.
She blew out a breath and turned the key, firing the engine to life.

When no one jumped out at her, she backed out of the parking space and out of the parking lot. Maybe Roger had given up. No, she’d couldn’t believe that. The man was full out crazy, possessive, and brain dead. He wouldn’t give up or wait for long. Aimee had to be on alert at all times.

About five miles down the road a car pulled out behind her and started riding her ass. She ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go around her. Through the rearview mirror, Aimee couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman due to the dark tint on the windows.

A couple of blocks down the road the car still followed way too close. Aimee considered pulling off or taking a side street to let the person pass her. She never understood why people followed so close behind others.

Suddenly, a loud crunch sounded as her car lurched forward, throwing her head with it. A glance in the rearview showed the asshole behind her had rammed into her car. She sped up only to have the other car do the same.

There were too many cars on the highway this time of day. The crazy behind her obviously didn’t give a shit. Within a quick jerk of the wheel, she pulled off on the exit in a last minute decision. The vehicle that rammed her followed without missing a beat.

She gripped the steering wheel hard enough her knuckles turned white. The road she exited onto was an industrial parkway and appeared deserted. The warehouse-style metal buildings hadn’t been cleaned in quiet awhile. Vines and green moss crawled up the walls. Weeds grew up through the broken concrete of the parking lots.

On a positive note, there weren’t any bystanders around to get hurt. The drawback? There was no one around to help her. She pressed harder on the accelerator, making her car lurch into motion. Her car, a late model Ford, didn’t have enough power. Her follower rammed into her again, hitting the passenger side rear quarter panel and forcing her car to swerve to the right. In a panic, she overcorrected and pressed on the gas instead of the break, sending her head-on into a tree.

Her forehead slammed into the wheel before whipping back against the headrest. Pain exploded in her head right before everything went black.

****

Kenton’s heart dropped to his feet as he pulled into his private garage and didn’t see Aimee’s car. It’d been an hour since she left the office and as far he knew, she didn’t plan on stopping off anywhere. She’d have mentioned it to him, wouldn’t she? Plus, with Roger on the loose, she was too anxious to do so. Throwing it park and not bothering with grabbing his briefcase, he rushed inside the condo, while pulling his cell out of his pocket and dialed Aimee’s number.

As he feared, she didn’t answer. The moment he ended the call, his cell rang. He swiped his finger over the screen and answered. “Hello.”

“Kenton, thank God. I tried to call your house and panicked more when I didn’t get an answer.” Grace rushed the words out, not making any sense to him.

“Grace, slow down. What happened?”

She took a shaky breath before speaking. “The police called me. We’re each other’s emergency contacts on our driver’s license. Anyway they found her car in an abandoned industrial park of some kind. They can’t find her.”

A sob cut through the phone that made his heart ache. When her words fully sank in, he fisted his hands. Dread, fear, and rage rose up and swirled inside him.
Roger.
It had to be.

“Grace, I going to find her and kill that bastard.”