Gone - Part One (8 page)

"Christ, Lilly." His hands are tangled in my hair, pulling at it harshly. "It's the middle of the morning."

I don't care. When he'd held me in his arms moments ago I felt a desperate need to give him the same pleasure he gave to me the other night. I've craved the taste of his big, beautiful cock since I saw him walk into Star Bistro. Now, I'm on my knees, his pants hung open and the thick root pushing between my lips.

"I knew you'd suck my cock like this," he hisses the words into the still air. "Harder, Lilly, harder."

I pull as much of it as I can into my mouth, pivoting back on my heels to give me more leverage. I grip tightly to the base with my left hand as the right moves to cup his heavy, full balls.

The words he's trying to say morph into something primal and guttural. His hips bounce against the hard edge of his desk as he rocks himself into me. I murmur around the thickness, relishing in the feeling of the lush head as my tongue runs around it over and over again.

"Yes, fuck." His hand moves to my neck and I flinch for just a moment before I find my rhythm again. I pump him hard and fast, my mouth opening wider to take as much of him as I can.

I pull back, popping the head out with a loud sound before I race my tongue over the plush crest. "I want you to come all over my face."

His cock jerks in my hands the moment the words leave my mouth. "Fuck, yes."

I pull the tip back between my moist lips, teasing and tempting it. I feel his balls constrict in my hand and I know he's nearing his release. A small burst of his pleasure spears onto my tongue and I pull back in that instant.

"I'm coming." His hand grips tightly on my neck, leveling my face at his crotch. His large hand circles the root as he pumps one endless stream after another onto my face and between my lips.

***

"I don't know how I'm supposed to function after that." He wipes the edge of my mouth with the pad of his thumb before he darts it between my lips. "I've never come that hard before."

It was so much that I'd struggled after pulling it into my mouth. The taste of him is strong and intoxicating. I'm aroused but I know that his day is filled with meetings and planning and mine is filled with working on the improvements to the dating app.

"I need to go to Orlando for a few days." He kisses the top of my forehead. "I should have planned to bring you with me."

"That would raise suspicion." I step back as he refastens his pants and belt. "Everyone would be talking about that."

"You're one of the best developers we have." He runs his finger across my jaw. "You're actually the best. It would make sense for you to start sitting in on some meetings and traveling with me."

I can't shield the glint of excitement in my eye. "You would let me do that?"

"I want you to do that." His hand glides from my chin to my neck. "We'll discuss it further when I'm back."

I nod in agreement. I know that my ideas can help his business and I'm grateful that he's recognizing it. I can't tell if that's tied in to his desire to be near me but I know that he's ruthless when it comes to protecting his business interests. He trusts me. I hear it in his words, but more than that I see it in his face.

"Lilly?" He tilts his chin down to catch my gaze. "Were you in an accident?"

My eyes dart over his face trying to mask the panic I suddenly feel wash over me. "An accident?"

He runs his index finger over a jagged, circular scar on the back of my neck. "I just noticed this when you were on your knees. It's a scar, isn't it?"

I reach back to try and move his hand but it's immobile. I cover his with my own. "It's a scar, yes."

"How did you get that?"

"It happened at home a few years ago." I shake my head trying to find a reasonable explanation but in my anguished state I draw a blank. "I'm fine now."

"You're more than fine." He takes the bait, pulling his arms around me. "Judging by what happened here today, you're incredible."

"Lilly, we'd like you to come up with a list of suggestions regarding our security system." Clive's head-of-security, Jordan, doesn't look up from her tablet. "They don't have to be detailed, but if you'd take some time to go over what we have in place now, we'd appreciate it."

"Do you have time to come in tomorrow to assess things, Lilly?" Clive finally looks at me. "It won't take more than a few hours."

I shouldn't feel as despondent over this meeting as I do. When Clive's assistant, Bruce, had called me to ask me to come to his office I was giddy. His business trip finally ended last night and even though we'd shared dozens of text messages and several calls since he left four days ago, I'm craving the taste of his mouth and the feeling of his body. I wanted to meet him at the airport when his flight landed two hours ago but I knew that asking for that privilege would make me look desperate. Instead, I focused on my work until the call to come here. The moment I walked into the office and saw Jordan sitting next to Clive, my heart sank.

"Of course," I tap my heel against the floor. "Is there anything in particular you're concerned about regarding security?"

"A set of fresh eyes is always a good thing." Clive stands and shoves his hands into the pockets of his pants. "If you can give us a time now, Jordan will arrange to be here."

Her head shoots up and she throws him a glance that screams '
fuck you'
. "What time works for you?"

I know the question is directed at me, even though the sarcasm dripping from it is aimed at Clive. "I can be here by ten. Does that work for you?"

"I can do that." She's on her feet quickly, not acknowledging me at all. "Check in at the security desk in the lobby and then come up here."
              I nod, realizing that I can't say anything that will alter her mood. She's just as pissed as I am that this work week has just been extended, with little notice.

"I'll see you out." Clive reaches to grab Jordan's elbow.

I take that as a cue for me to leave too, so I pull myself up from the chair. "I'll do my best to offer some useful suggestions, Mr. Parker."

"You'll wait here for me, Lilly." He motions towards the couch. "I'll be back."

I try to contain the grin that is forcing itself onto my lips. "I'll be right here."

***

"If my day wasn't so busy I'd fuck you right here, right now." His lips push into mine again; gliding over them with the same heated rush I feel building within me.

"You can fuck me tonight," I offer out of the unreserved need that is a constant presence inside of me. I've been craving his body since he left for his trip days ago. We've only been intimate a few times, but they've burned a place in my mind that can't be filled with anything else. I find myself jumping back to the erotic touch of his tongue on my core when I'm trying to work and it's impossible for me to fall asleep without coming while thinking about his cock inside of me.

"I need to go to Boston tonight to see my nephew." He rests his forehead against mine. "He's under the weather. I got him some books and toys in Orlando to cheer him up."

He's never mentioned anyone in his family but Parker but I know about Cory. I know that he's the biological son of Clive's sister, Christina. "Is it serious?"

"No." He pulls me closer by wrapping both of his hands around my shoulders. "It's something he picked up at school. He'll be fine in a few days. He just needs rest."

I nuzzle my cheek into his chest, soaking in the natural fragrance of him combined with the delicious cologne he uses. "Will you call me when you're back?"

"The minute I'm back in New York, I'll call."

"Clive is going to appreciate every one of these suggestions, Lilly." Jordan gestures towards a row of chilled water bottles sitting on a counter near her desk. "Do you want more water?"

I shake my head with a small giggle. "I've had three. I think I've had my limit for the day."

She laughs heartily as she places the almost empty bottle that it's in her hand down before picking up another. "I can do with one more. After that, cut me off."

I smile back at her, glad that we've hit it off as well as we have. After I arrived and we dove into the framework of the security system currently in place at Corteck, she'd taken a call from her four-year-old son. She put him on speaker phone so he could say hello to me and my heart had flipped at the sound of such a precious, young voice. It brought to the surface a rush of emotions I wouldn't be able to explain away so I'd excused myself to use the restroom while she finished talking to him.

"You should come over for dinner one night." She runs her hand over my forearm as she settles back into the chair next to me at her desk. "Do you have a boyfriend? You can bring him too."

"I don't have a boyfriend." I try not to laugh too heartily. I don't want to give anything away. Technically, Clive isn't my boyfriend so I'm not lying. "I just got to New York. I've been too busy with work to go out."

"My husband has a lot of single friends." She twists the plastic cap back onto the bottle of water she's still holding in her hands. "We can invite someone over for dinner when you come."

I scratch my neck while I stare at her face. The wide grin that covers her mouth is addictive. I can't help but smile back at her. "I'm not sure I'm ready to date yet. I'm still trying to find my feet."

"It's not a date." She turns back towards one of the two computer monitors we've been staring at for the past three hours. "You'll come for dinner. A handsome, available friend of my husband's will come for dinner and we'll eat. It's simple."

Life is never that simple. My life stopped being simple when Clive Parker slid his fingers into my panties.

"I do want to make new friends in the city." I cock a brow. "I don't see how it can hurt."

"Perfect." She slides her chair closer to me. "We'll do it on Tuesday."

"Tuesday it is."

***

It's Tuesday. For most people that means they're inching closer to the weekend. For me, it means another day that has passed since Clive spoke to me. I've been telling myself that I haven't heard anything from him because the man runs a corporation that employs more than a thousand people worldwide. I've also been convincing myself that what is happening between us is simple and uncomplicated and I need to keep it that way.               He said he'd call and I have to trust in that even though I called Bruce yesterday and found out Clive was in his office all day with the door shut. I sent him a few text messages asking how his nephew was doing. I finally called him last night and left a voicemail but the only response has been empty silence.

I need to focus on my work and on picking up a bouquet of flowers to take over to Jordan's house for dinner tonight. Judging by the fact that Clive is intentionally avoiding me, meeting a new man might be the best thing for my bruised ego. I've been dumped enough times to know when it's within distance, staring at me like a neon light on the horizon.

"Lilly?" Dan's voice shakes me from my thoughts as he rounds the corner and suddenly appears in front of my desk. "I'm here to give you a heads-up."

"A heads-up?" I parrot back. "About what?"

"Mr. Parker." He doesn't continue beyond that even though I'm staring at him with my mouth hanging open.

"What about him?" I push back.

"Lilly." I hear Clive's voice before I see his tall frame. He walks with the confidence of a man on a mission. Apparently, right now, that mission involves me. "We need to talk."

"I'm listening." I don't look up from my computer's screen to acknowledge his presence. "What is it, Mr. Parker?"

He rests his hand on the edge of my monitor and I'm fearful for just a moment that the weight of his body will cause it to snap in half. "I'd like you to come with me to my office."

"Right now?" I adjust my hands slightly, pulling them into my lap.

"Right now, Lilly." He turns quickly on his heel as he heads back down the corridor towards the bank of elevators.

"What the hell is going on?" Dan can't hide his curiosity. It's literally seeping out from each of the words. "Do you have any idea what that's about?"

"I don't," I lie. "I have no idea at all."

"I expected you to be right behind me, Lilly." He reaches past me to push his office door closed with a loud thud. "I held the elevator for more than four minutes waiting for you."

I've held my breath for the past four days waiting for him so I'd say we're even.

"I had to save what I've been working on." That's the second lie I've told in the last ten minutes although this time there's a ribbon of truth in it. I'd been working on something all morning and the idea of walking away from my desk without backing it up was terrifying to me.

He studies my face briefly as if he's weighing the merit of my words. "You're a conscientious worker. I'll give you that."

It's exactly the words any woman wants to hear when she's blindly attracted to a man. How utterly unromantic of you, Mr. Parker.

"I think I know why you've called me here," I say it calmly. We moved beyond the expected protocol of me playing the naïve, new employee when I came in a heated rush while pressed up against the window. It's the same window that I can't bring myself to look at right now.

"Really?" He slides his suit jacket off before he removes one silver cuff link, followed by the other.
              If we're getting comfortable, I might as well join in. I pull off the black blazer I've been wearing all day over my yellow sundress. "Yes."

I watch in silence as he pushes the sleeves of his dress shirt over his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms. "I doubt that you know why I called you into my office, Lilly."

A fleeting image of him pulling me over his knee and giving my ass a quick spank floats through my mind. I shake my head to chase it away. "You're having second thoughts about us, aren’t you?"

"Us?" he asks with enough sincerity in his tone that I can sense it's genuine.

"Yes." I cross my arms over my chest. "You called me in here to talk about that."

He cocks a brow before he walks over to a cabinet near his desk. I don’t move as I watch him pour himself a half glass of bourbon. He downs it quickly and effortlessly in one gulp. Considering it's barely past noon, I'd venture a safe guess that talking about what happened between us is more difficult for him than I imagined it would be.
              "We can chalk it up to a stupid decision." I don't want my voice to crack as much as it does when I say the words. "We don't have to talk about it again. I just don't want to lose my job."

He pivots quickly on his heel until he's facing me directly. "Your job?"

"I need this job." I drop my hands to my side. "I don't want to lose it."

He steps towards me. "You should have thought about that before you did it."

I recoil physically from the words, stumbling backwards. "I'm going to lose my job because of what we did?"

He stops mid-step to stare at me his hand flying wildly in the air. "You think you're going to lose your job because we fucked?"

I rest my forehead against my fingers trying to find a way to salvage the only job that's ever held any meaning for me. "I can't change what happened, Mr. Parker… Clive," I pause. "I know you think I'm the kind of woman who just jumps into bed with anyone. I don't blame you for thinking that after you saw that picture and read that letter, but…I'm not like that."

"Stop." His hand darts into the air between us. "Just stop."

I clamp my left hand over my mouth for good measure. My natural inclination is to fight tooth and nail to hold onto this. It's how I've lived my life up to this point. Standing idly by while something this important is taken away from me is taking every ounce of strength I have.

"You crossed a line." He takes a heavy, determined step towards me.

"What line?" I say into a small breath. "I have no idea what line."

"I know about your latest personal project, Lilly." He reaches to grab my arm. "I know that you're developing an organ donation app. You think you can use what happened to my sister to further your career."

"What?" I bark the word out as I try to take a step back. "How do you know about that?"

His eyes scan my face, stopping to drink in the confusion that has to be clouding my expression. "Who do you think you are? You can't just waltz into my life and use the death of someone I love to make a few dollars."

The words bite through me so ferociously that I feel a physical ache within my chest. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about." His hand finally drops from me. "You got the idea for the app when Parker told you about Coral, didn't you?"

"Parker never told me about Coral." The words are sincere. Parker's sole focus during our exchanges had been finding a way into my bed.

"I'll ask him right now." He takes a few long strides towards his desk. "I can call him this minute."

"Go ahead." I move back until I feel the welcome oasis of the couch pressed against the back of my knees. I lower myself onto it.

I watch as he dials a number. He waits patiently before slamming the phone back into its receiver. "He didn't answer."

I don't respond because I have absolutely nothing to say to him. I'm stunned that he's accusing me of trying to garner some sort of financial gain by using the fact that his sister's organs were harvested after her death in a car accident. My relentless need to create the app has nothing to do with him at all. I should tell him that but my curiosity about how he knows about its existence is too overwhelming to ignore.

"How do you know about the app?" I look directly at him. "Tell me how you know."