Hearts Aflame Collection III: 4-Book Bundle (6 page)

“You can’t leave now!” Chester Colder shouted.  All the secretaries looked up from their desks at the sound and the security guard posted by the elevator changed his stance to one of alert.

Ethan signaled at the guard that everything was okay and gave a meaningful glare at the secretaries, causing them all to return to their work quickly.  Ethan closed the door to Chester’s office and sat down in the chair across from his desk.

“I’m only going to be gone for a week.  You’ll be just fine,” Ethan said calmly. 

Chester still stood on the opposite side of the desk with his fists clenched and his face red.  Forcing himself to regain his composure, Chester heaved a great sigh and sat down heavily in his padded chair. “How can you go on a vacation now, when we’ve just launched the new marketing strategy?” Chester asked with desperation.  “A strategy you designed, I might add.”

“That’s what makes this the perfect time,” Ethan said calmly.  “We’ve all been working really hard on the marketing campaign.  If it’s as big a success as I’m expecting, our business is going to double and we’ll all be working twice as hard.  If I’m going to take a vacation, I’d better do it now.”

“Ha!” Chester scoffed.  “You haven’t been working hard; you’ve been hardly working!  You’ve left the office early almost every night, and you never come in on weekends any more.  It’s like you’re an entirely different person!”

“I thank you for the compliment and urge you to follow my example.  I’m not leaving earlier than the rest of the staff; I’m just not staying late and grinding myself to the bone anymore.  You should follow my example and take more time for yourself too.  It will do you a world of good. I’ve never felt more productive or fulfilled.  I’m taking this vacation, Chester, and there’s nothing in this world that could keep me from it.”

Ethan left Chester’s office with a spring in his step and headed straight for the airport, where Jocelyn was waiting for him, with her suitcase in her hand. 

“So, where’s my airline ticket?” Jocelyn held out her hand expectantly, but Ethan just chuckled softly.

“You don’t need a ticket; we’re not flying on a commercial flight,” he explained.  “We’re taking my private jet.”’

“And where are we going?” Jocelyn asked, trying not to look impressed but failing.

“I own a stretch of beach on a little island near here.  There’s sandy beaches, tropical jungles, gorgeous waterfalls, and a little cabin built just for two.  You’ll love it!”

“You own your own tropical island?” Jocelyn couldn’t hold back her surprise and excitement any longer.

“Not the whole island, just a few hundred acres of one. I wanted it to be enough to keep all commercialism away so we felt like we were on our own private island together.”

“Well, it sounds like you succeeded!” Jocelyn said with a huge smile.

“Just wait till you actually see it!” Ethan guided her onto the private jet and the pilot took them across the ocean to the tiny island airport.  From there, they took a helicopter to Ethan’s personal landing pad behind the cabin.

“You call this a cabin built for two?” Jocelyn exclaimed.  The massive ranch house was two stories tall, spacious and elegant.  While porters carried their luggage inside and put it away for them, Ethan took Jocelyn on a tour of the estate, complete with a gourmet kitchen stocked just for her.

“It’s positively breathtaking!” Jocelyn gasped.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Ethan said, but he was looking deep into Jocelyn’s green eyes when he said it, and she knew he was talking about her and nothing else.  He kissed her gently on the lips. “When can we play?”

Jocelyn looked around for the servants and porters and Ethan explained that they had already been flown away by the helicopter pilot.  “We’re completely alone, stranded on this island until the helicopter comes back for us five days from now.”

“In that case, we can play right now.” Jocelyn grinned and Ethan felt his heart leap with joy and anticipation.  She said sternly, “This is my private island and you are my slave who will attend to my every need.  Strip for me!  I want my slave to be naked!”

“As you wish, Mistress,” Ethan said submissively, grinning widely.  This was just the vacation he was hoping for, one that took him out of the world of business and into the fantasy world they had created together.  Obediently, he removed his clothing, slowly and seductively. 

Jocelyn felt a thrill of sexual excitement as she watched him and began to come up with creative ways they could play together.  This was the vacation she always wanted too, not just because of the luxurious surroundings and kinky sex, but because of the man she was sharing it with.  She didn’t want to admit it yet, but she could very easily see herself living with Ethan, not just as his girlfriend but as his wife.

“Good boy,” she praised, when he was finished stripping.  “Now, remove my clothing, but do not touch my flesh with your hands.  You haven’t earned that privilege yet.” 

Playfully, Ethan removed her clothing, allowing himself to delight her bare skin with everything except his hands.  He rubbed his cheek against her stomach, kissed her nipples with his lips, and lapped at the folds of her sex with his long tongue.  Not once, however, did he disobey by touching her with his hands.

“Well done, slave,” she complimented, when at last, she was naked.  “Now, I need a bath after that long plane ride here.  Bathe me.”

Ethan knew the perfect place to bathe his Mistress.  There was a natural hot spring pool near the cabin, where hot water bubbled from the earth.  Nearby was a waterfall of cool river water, giving bathers their choice of hot or cold water to soak in. 

He carried Jocelyn to the pools and lovingly massaged her back with a soft cloth as she soaked in the soothing water.  After a while she gave him a massage of his own, rubbing his private organ until it was rigid and ready to explode.  Then she commanded him to make love to her in the rippling waters until they both orgasmed together. 

Later that day, they made love again in the cabin, right in the middle of the living room floor and then again that night, in the luxurious bedroom, where she shackled Ethan to the headboard and he eagerly licked her folds until she orgasmed.  Then she allowed him to enter her and they thrust passionately together until she climaxed yet again and clung to him while his body shuddered with the ecstasy of his own orgasm. 

“This is the perfect vacation,” he said softly, as he stroked her long, dark hair and she cuddled him in the darkness.  Jocelyn agreed whole-heartedly and they drifted off to sleep together.

***

There was one person, however, who was not having a perfect time during their vacation; Chester Colder.

“What do you mean he can’t be contacted?” Chester shouted out hysterically into the phone.  He took a deep breath to calm himself. “I know Mr. Richmond is on vacation at his island retreat, but surely there must be a way to contact him in an emergency!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Richmond cannot be reached until he returns in four more days.  Please contact the Vice President of Richmond Enterprises with any issues until then,” his private answering service responded coldly.

“Fine!” Chester shouted, as he prepared to slam down the phone.  “In four more days Lewis Inc. will have shut us down and there won’t be a Richmond Enterprises for him to come back to!” 

“That was the perfect vacation,” Jocelyn sighed with a smile.  The helicopter had picked them up again after five wonderful days and nights of perfect bliss.  Now they were seated on Ethan’s private jet and flying above the clouds, back to their normal lives. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to move in with me?  Life could be like that for you every day,” Ethan teased, but there was an element of truth in his words too.  He really did want Jocelyn to move into his mansion with him so he could be with her every day.

“We already discussed this.  Don’t ruin things by pushing me,” Jocelyn said hotly. She could feel her temper beginning to rise and was eager to end the conversation before she said something they’d both regret.  She picked up the newspaper that had been placed on the console between their seats and opened with a flare to show that the subject was closed.  She didn’t really intend to read the paper but the top story in the business section caught her attention.

“Ethan, look at this!” she said with alarm.

Ethan took the paper from her and read the headline. 
Richmond Enterprises CEO Ethan Richmond Suspected of Industrial Espionage and Theft.

“What does it mean?  What are they talking about?” Jocelyn asked with true concern as they read the article together.

Ethan crumpled the paper and threw it onto the floor.  He turned to Jocelyn. “It means they think I stole my marketing strategy from my competitors.  Lewis Inc. has files documenting the details of my strategy going back months.   I didn’t develop my strategy until six weeks ago, so it’s only logical to say I stole my ideas from them.”

“Why wouldn’t everyone assume that you both just happened to develop the same idea?  I know you’re not a thief, so it must be a coincidence,” Jocelyn said, stroking his arm in futile attempt to comfort him.

“If it was the same general strategy, sure; but there’s more to it than that.  We both had the exact same campaign, in every single detail.  The same marketing slogan, the same materials, even the same artwork.  This is no coincidence, this is industrial espionage!”

“Who could have done such a thing?” Jocelyn asked, but a memory flashed in her mind of sending copies of all Ethan’s work to someone, and it was someone she had always had a bad feeling about.  Something told her to listen to her intuition; it had never let her down before and she’d come to trust it.

“I don’t know who could have done this, but if we don’t find out, I’m ruined,” Ethan said, looking heartbroken.  “I may have to shut down my grandfather’s company!  Unethical business practices like this can destroy a company’s reputation so no one will want to work with us or buy from us.  I can’t believe this has happened!”

“What if you get a full confession from the person who did it, proving that they were intentionally trying to ruin you and that you had nothing to do with it?”

“Well, that would save me and the company, but that would be a miracle.  The odds of that happening are nearly impossible.”

“You said that about finding happiness too.” Jocelyn winked at him.  “When we land, I need a car to take me straight to the mansion so I can get cooking.  I have a special meal to prepare for a very special person.”

“You know who did this?” Ethan asked in surprise. 

“I believe I do, but I need to find out for sure.  If he can’t handle the heat, he’ll be sure to want to get out of the kitchen.  Go to the authorities and tell them to be ready to receive the confession.  I’ll do all the rest.”

***

Chester Colder was in the middle of a board meeting when his secretary announced that their lunch delivery had arrived. 

“Send them in,” he said absently. A gorgeous young woman entered the meeting, wearing a simple white uniform, with her black hair pulled back into a bun and covered with a hairnet.  She smiled as she passed the food containers and beverages around to all the members of the board, ending with Chester.  Then she stood by his side with a patient expression, as if waiting for something.

“My secretary will pay you,” Chester said after it became apparent that she wasn’t going to leave.

“She’s out of petty cash and told me to get it from you,” Jocelyn said pleasantly and handed him a bill.

Chester flushed angrily.  He was anxious to get back to the board meeting, where they were moments away from declaring Ethan Richmond unfit to act as CEO and Chester planned to make his bid to take over the role.  It was going to be his shining moment.

“Fine, let me see what kind of cash I have on me!” he blustered.  He reached into pocket and pulled out his wallet.  As he counted out a wad of money, Jocelyn reached forward and pulled out a tiny piece of paper that was poking out of the edge.

“What’s this?” she asked innocently.  She opened the paper and read it aloud.  It was a phone number followed by a series of alphabet letters.   “What does all that mean?”

“Give me that!” Chester snatched the paper away from her hands and shoved it back into his wallet, but it was too late.  The damage had been done.  One of the board members recognized the information on the paper.

“That’s the private phone number for Edward Lewis, the grandson of the CEO of Lewis Inc.  I know because he used to call me all the time, trying to get information he could use to blackmail Mr. Richmond!  I had the number blocked from my phone, but I’ll never forget it.  That snake would do anything to shut down this company!” one of the executives said.

Another spoke up from the other end of the table.  “The letters after the phone number weren’t the initials E.L., though.  What were they?”

Jocelyn was happy to volunteer.  “They were C. L. E. A. R.”

Chester was furious with rage and waving frantically for the office security guards to come and haul away the fake delivery girl.  She was ruining everything!

“I know that code!” the security guard said as he arrived and heard the discussion. “It’s a code we use to override the lock for Mr. Richmond’s office in an emergency!” The guard turned on Chester. “You’re the only other person to have that code.  You gave access to someone at Lewis Inc and they used the marketing materials in his office to set him up!”

“No, it wasn’t me!” Chester cried out.  His throat became dry as he squeaked, “I’m being set up! Probably by Mr. Richmond!  He wants me to take the fall for his crime!”

Chester grabbed the drink Jocelyn had placed in front of him and gulped noisily.  He was so nervous he could hardly swallow.  No, it wasn’t nerves making him unable to swallow, his throat was on fire!  What had been in that drink?   What had she done to him?

Chester clutched at his throat and his eyes grew wide with fear.  He turned to Jocelyn and saw the look of merriment on her face and knew she had poisoned him.  He turned to the board members for help, but they only glared at him unsympathetically.  They knew he was the guilty one and that he had tried to set up Ethan Richmond.

“Okay, I confess!” Chester wheezed, barely able to get the words out.  “It was me.  I’ll sign a full confession and resign my position!  Now give me the antidote!  Don’t let me die!”

“You’re not dying; it’s just Habanero pepper.  I’m glad to hear you’re willing to clear Ethan’s name though.  It was his marketing strategy all along. I was with him when he came up with it,” Jocelyn said, beaming with pride for her man.

Just then Ethan stepped into the room, with a squad of security guards who hauled Chester away. Jocelyn went with them to file a report about all the times Chester had called the house and asked her to send him secret documents.  Ethan took over the board meeting and they came up with a solid plan for handling the scandal that was sure to follow about the Richmond executive who tried to frame the CEO of the company and sold marketing plans to Lewis Inc. 

“Over time this scandal will pass, but my grandfather’s company will continue to thrive,” Ethan said to applause by the board members.