GONE - Part Two (The GONE Series Book 2) (6 page)

"I want you so much." His lips push into mine, the sweet taste of wine lacing his tongue. "I'm so hard, Lilly. You can feel it, can't you?"

"Yes," I say into his mouth. I've felt his erection pressing against me since we arrived at his condo ten minutes ago. I agreed to come up under the guise of a quick brandy but I wanted more. I know that he can tell based on the way his hands have been cupping my ass. He has to know how wet I am already.

"All I think about is the way you taste. I crave the smell of your skin." He runs his lips over my neck, pushing my hair to the side. "I've never wanted a woman this much."

I weave my fingers into his hair, tilting his head so I can claim his mouth again. I deepen the kiss and I'm rewarded with a moan that escapes him and flows right into me. "I want this to be real."

He pulls back abruptly, his hands leaping to my shoulders, pushing me back into the wall. "This is real."

I study his expression trying to pull anything I can from it. "I can't tell if it is."

He takes a heavy step back. "You can't tell that I want you?"

My eyes drop to his crotch, the unmistakable outline of his thick cock pressing against the fabric of his pants. "I can tell that you want to fuck me."

He rakes his hand through his hair, a muttered litany of curse words falling from his lips in a heated rush. "It's more than that, Lilly. Christ. You can't feel it?"

I need to be honest. "I don't know what I feel. I'm confused."

He scoops my hand in his, bringing it to his moist lips in one fluid movement. "Come sit down. Let me tell you something."

I don't resist because I welcome the reprieve from the intensity I've felt since I got into the car with him earlier. We'd flirted shamelessly throughout dinner. I'd watched him staring at me while we traveled back to his place. I knew that he would kiss me the moment we stepped into the elevator as we made our ascent to your condo.

He motions towards a leather armchair. I rest my purse down next to it before I take a seat, carefully crossing my legs as I wait for him to speak.

"I hate that you work for Alec."

The words feel foreign in the context of what's transpired between us this evening. We hadn't spoken about my work since we arrived at the restaurant. "Why?"

"You're too good for them." He shifts back and forth, his shoes tapping out a rhythmic beat on the hardwood floors. "You should be working for Corteck."

It was inevitable that we'd be pulled back into this discussion at some point. I hadn't anticipated that it would be right now though. Not when we'd just shared a very passionate kiss. "I can't work at Corteck."

He slides his suit jacket from his shoulders allowing it to drop onto the couch behind him. "I know that you can't. I respect that."
"Why did you bring it up then?" I ask with an edge of regret. I don't want this conversation to spiral into the many reasons why I can't work for the man.

"I want what is best for you, Lilly." He moves closer to where I'm seated. "I only want what is best for you."

"You think that working for you is what is best for me, don't you?"

"No," he says as he leans forwards, his strong hands resting on the arms of the chair I'm sitting in. "I don't think it's best for you to work with me."

"You don't?" I cock a brow.

"If you wanted it, you'd have asked for your job back." His eyes scan my body. "I see how happy you are now that you're working with Alec. Why would I want to take that away from you?"

"I want to believe you," I say aloud even though I don't mean to. "I hope that you're telling me the truth."

"I'm losing money by not having you at Corteck." He closes his eyes briefly as he shakes his head. "You could have changed the entire app division. I have no doubt about that in my mind."

"Why haven't you tried harder to get me back?" They're the words a petulant child would say to a best friend who dumped them. I don't want to sound juvenile but I know, right now, I do.

"There is a job at Corteck for you whenever you want it." He leans down to graze his lips over mine. "I'd love to work with you again."

I nod. It's a generous offer and one I won't discount completely at this point. Right now, I'm finding my stride at Hughes Enterprises and I'm not changing that for anyone, not even for Clive. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I need you to trust me," he whispers the words into the still air between us. "I want you more than I've wanted anything in my life."

The soft brush of his beard against my thigh pulls a shudder from deep within me. He's so close. I can feel his breath on my slick cleft. He's been teasing me for the past ten minutes, inching his lips and tongue down my nude body. I cried out when he bit my right nipple tenderly before blowing a puff of air across it. I moaned loudly when he circled the other with his tongue before pulling it between his lips in a soft, gentle kiss. Now, he's breathing on my sex and all I want is to feel his tongue graze over me. I know that it won't take much for me to come. I've craved his touch since the last time I was in this bed. "Clive, please."
"You'll come quickly, Lilly." His breath whispers over my flesh. "If you come, I'll want to bury my cock inside of you."

"I want that," I whisper. I do want it. As much as I know that I should have asked him to take me home, I couldn’t resist when he'd fallen to his knees and kissed me in the other room. I was the one who pulled at his clothes to free his beautiful, strong body. I held his thick cock in my hands before he carried me to his bed and slowly stripped off my clothes.

"I want this to last all night." His tongue races over my inner thigh. "I want to lick this beautiful cunt for hours."
My hand drops to his hair. "I want to come."

He growls as I direct his mouth to the left. "You're so ready for me."

I cry out the moment his soft wet tongue touches my clit. I push my back into bed, arching my hips up towards him. He slides his hands under my ass, tilting my pussy so he can devour it easily and slowly.

"Yes," I hiss out between clenched teeth. I've been taken like this by men before but they've never been as skilled as Clive. "Right there."
He hones in on my clit, pulling it between his lips with the gentlest touch. He moans into me causing an extra wave of sensation to overtake me. I feel the rush of a climax barreling down on me.

"I'm going to come," I gasp into the air.

He pulls back slightly, his tongue expertly lapping at my folds. "You're so good. Christ, you taste so good."

I race to the edge, my hands pulling frantically on his hair trying to gain distance from him. I'm so sensitive and raw. I can't take the extra pressure of his tongue on me. "Please, oh, please."

"I'm not done," he purrs into my wetness. "I want to eat you for hours. I need this."

I push my head back into the pillow giving in to the overwhelming desire that he's pulling from me. I know I'll come hard again the second I feel his finger at my entrance. I scream his name as he slowly pushes two fingers into me. My breath stalls when I feel him touch a spot deep within me that pulls an uncontrollable need from within. I writhe beneath him, nothing existing in the moment but my desperate need to feel the pleasure he's giving to me.

I close my eyes as I finally feel my breathing level.

"Lilly." His moist lips are on my cheek now, his strong arms wrapped around me. "Sleep. Sleep here with me."

My voice is barely audible as I feel the softness of a blanket being draped over me. "I'll sleep," I whisper without opening my eyes. "I'll sleep."

***

"Can you have dinner with me again tonight?" His eyes race over my body as I step from the shower stall into the cool air.

I'd left him in the bed. I needed the comfort and time that a warm shower offered when I woke up in Clive's arms. I remember coming over and over again last night while he licked and tasted me. I fell asleep pressed against his chest and woke up in the exact same position. "You want to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Did you get water in your pretty little ears?" He reaches for another towel to dry my hair, pulling it softly across my ear. "I want you to have dinner with me tonight."

It's Friday and like every other night of the week my social calendar is empty. "I'm free tonight."

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

I look down to where he's now kneeling, drying my legs carefully. "You want to have dinner tomorrow instead of tonight?"

He flashes me a vibrant grin. "I want to have dinner with you every night for the next year. I'm going to ask you every day."

I smile down at him, soaking in the image of such a strong, brilliant man taking care of my most basic needs. "I'd like to have dinner today and tomorrow."

"What's your favorite kind of food?" He's on his feet now, adjusting the waistband of the pajama bottoms he must have put on before he came to find me in the shower.

"I like Thai food."

"I can't cook Thai food."

"I like Indian food too."

"I'll need a cook." He brushes his lips over my forehead. "Tell me what your favorite flower is."

"Why?" I look up into his eyes.

"I want to send you flowers one day and I'd prefer if they're the flowers you like most." He runs his hand over my hair. "I can brush your hair for you if you want me to."

I take a step back, my trembling hands reaching for the counter. "I can brush my hair."

"Lilly?" His hands leap to my cheeks. "What is it?"

He can't know. No one knows. "It's nothing."

He swallows hard. "It's your mother, isn't it? She brushed your hair for you?"

I nod, knowing that if I try to verbalize any response that it will come out wrapped in a sob.

"Come here." He wraps his strong arms around me, pulling me into his body. "You don't have to be so strong. I can be strong for you."

I rest my head against his chest as I listen to his words and the strength of his heart beating within his chest.

"You didn't tell me when I hired you that you tamed Clive Parker." Alec is leaning against the door to my office. "He's got great taste in flowers. I'll give him that."

I smile as my eyes flit over the beautiful bouquet of white lilies Clive had sent for me. The card delivered with them had brought an even broader grin to my face.

THEY'RE NOT AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU. CLIVE  XX

"Is it a problem that I'm dating him?" I ask just as the question floats into my mind. I hadn't thought about it because Alec and his assistant had both made it clear to me that they didn't care what I did on my off time. I'm sure neither of them would have imagined that I'd be dating one of their competitors.

"I can think of a dozen other guys who are better for you." He tips his chin towards me with a sly smile. "You're a sweet girl, Lilly. Just be careful."

I take the warning with a grain of salt. I know that almost everyone who has crossed paths with Clive views him as cold and heartless. I was part of that camp too before I realized that much of the aggression he presents to the world is a façade to cover the pain he's experienced over the death of his sister and the fall-out from that. The man who slept with me tucked in his bed last night has lived with loss for too long. I know that I can help him move forward just as he can help me.

"I'm working on that new shopping app we discussed last week. Do you want an update on that?"

"Don't tell anyone I'm about to say this…" His voice trails off as he takes a large step into my office, closing the door behind him. "You've come up with more ideas in the few weeks that you've been here than I've come up with in the past five years."

I laugh aloud at the confession. "I won't tell anyone."

"The week after next we're doing a media blitz day." He gestures toward the calendar hanging on the wall behind me. "We present a lot of new stuff that we'll be rolling out in time for the holidays."

I'm well aware of what he's talking about. Even though I've been happily serving coffee for the past few years, I've read every tech journal that is available. I've watched countless videos online whenever one of the major tech companies had an announcement. I know all about the importance of presenting what you have to offer to potential consumers before the competition does.  "Are you thinking of launching one of the apps then?"

"I was thinking of launching the shopping one," he begins before taking a seat at one of the chairs near my desk. "I was wondering if you wanted the platform to present one of your personal apps."

I lean my elbows on my desk for support. "Are you asking me if I want to launch one of my own apps at your press event?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking you."

"Why would you do that?" I ask before I realize how ungrateful the question sounds. "I mean, it's such a generous offer."

"You are the future of programming, Lilly." He tilts his head to the side. "Everyone here agrees with me. If I can help you bring more attention to what you're developing personally, it brings more attention to the company as a whole. It's a win-win."

I scratch my neck, trying to decide my next move. "I do have an app that is very near completion. It's not something I'm going to market for profit. It's more a personal passion of mine."

"If you want, you can present it at our event."

"I always imagined I'd launch it quietly," I say aloud. "I just never imagined having a platform like that at my disposal."

"Get the shopping app ready to go and then use whatever resources you need here to get your own app set for launch." He nods towards my computer. "Take a day or two to give it serious thought. If you're comfortable with doing it, you can personally present both during our media day."

"I'll think about it."

"Good." He stands and walks back towards my office door. "Corteck always waits to plan their day until we've scheduled ours. They'll present on Thursday and we'll do Friday."

I just smile knowing that his intention is to look out for me. "Thank you for the opportunity, Alec."

"Thank you for falling from the heavens into our tech division, Lil." He opens the door to step through. "You're our saving grace."