Spanking Sydney (8 page)

Burton looked more sour-faced than before. Oh yeah, he was definitely hiding something.

“I’ve talked to our lawyers and they’ve advised me to give you access to our books. Even though there are no irregularities with them,” He paused, raking both her and Max with his beady-eyed gaze. “And just so you know, I will be expecting a full apology from Design-Tech when this is all over with.”

Max inclined his head, but said nothing.

Alec glanced from him to Burton. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you down to Accounting.” He held the door open for her and Max. “I apologize for Mr. Burton,” he said as he led them down the hall. “He’s been under a lot of stress lately, and I’m afraid your visit has only added to it.”

Sydney exchanged a glance with Max, then gave Alec a smile. “We wouldn’t have asked to see the books unless it was absolutely necessary.”

Alec’s brow furrowed, but he made no comment as they walked into the room that housed the accounting department.

Burton might have agreed to let them see the books, but he didn’t make it easy on them. The records he’d had pulled for them filled two good-sized cardboard boxes, and part of a third. He was probably hoping if he drowned them in paperwork, she and Max would get so fed up, they’d say the hell with it.

“You’re welcome to use one of the conference rooms, if you’d like,” Alec offered.

Max shook his head “Thanks, but it’d be easier if we just take everything back to the hotel.”

Sydney looked at him sharply. It would?

“I didn’t want Friedman looking over our shoulders,” Max explained as they walked to the parking lot.

“You don’t trust him?” she asked.

“Right now, I don’t trust anyone.”

Back at the hotel, Max ordered room service while Sydney changed into the shorts and cami-top she’d brought. When she came out of the bathroom, Max was pulling on a T-shirt to go with the jeans he’d put on. From the way he hungrily eyed her nearly naked figure, she thought he might suggest a quickie before they got to work, but he was all business.

Determined to behave herself—at least for the moment—Sydney sat at the desk and began comparing the figures on the Sentinel accounts with the ones from Design-Tech. After two and a half hours straight, it felt like she was going cross-eyed.

Tossing her pen on the desk, she got up and stretched her arms over her head. Max glanced up from the spreadsheets he was comparing, his gaze skimming her scantily-clad form. He looked as exhausted as she was. Maybe he needed a break, too.

Giving him a sexy smile, she turned back to the desk. But instead of sitting down, she bent over and propped her head on her hand, wiggling her ass back and forth as she look at the topmost spreadsheet. She got halfway down the page before a strong hand cupped her bottom. Her grin broadened. That was easy.

“Are you deliberately trying to distract me?”

She shivered as his warm breath tickled her ear. “Is it working?”

“Oh, it’s working,” he said huskily. “It’s also going to get you a spanking.”

Her pulse skipped a beat. “Really?”

“Yes.” He pushed her hair aside and pressed his lips to her neck. “I’ll have you know that deliberately distracting me while I’m trying to work is an extremely spankable offense, Ms. Davis.”

She let out a throaty sigh as he trailed kisses down her neck and over her shoulder. “I’ll have to remember that, Mr. Daniels.”

Max chuckled and straightened to his full height behind her. Putting a hand on her back to hold her in place, he gave her ass a hard smack. Sydney jumped, but the soft yelp she made barely escaped her lips before he brought his hand down on her other cheek, harder this time. He smacked one cheek, then the other in slow, rhythmic succession, before stopping to hook his fingers into the waistband of her shorts and pull them down to mid-thigh. Underneath, she was wearing a tiny pair of bikini panties that barely covered her ass cheeks, and he lightly ran his hand over the silky material.

Sydney moaned, torn between wanting him to keep doing what he was doing and spanking her again. Max made the decision for her, lifting his hand and bringing it down sharply on her panty-covered bottom.

She gasped, biting her lip as that smack was followed by another, then another, each harder than the previous one. Max paused between spanks to rub the sting away, and the combination of sensations was practically mind-blowing. How could she enjoy getting her ass smacked like this? Then again, did it really matter? It turned her on, and that was the whole point of foreplay, wasn’t it? As if in answer, her pussy spasmed.

Sydney was so caught up in how good the spanking felt, she barely even realized when Max stopped to slowly slide her panties down. He gave her stinging ass a firm squeeze.

She moaned.

“Does that feel good?” he asked softly.

“Mm-hmm.”

He trailed his hand teasingly up the inside of her leg to the curls at the juncture of her thighs. Sydney parted her legs as much as her shorts and panties would allow, silently begging him to touch her where she wanted most. He obliged, dipping his finger in and out of her wetness, before finding her throbbing clit and driving her wild by making slow, lazy circles on it. She moaned, rotating her hips and grinding against his hand in time with the motion.

Abruptly, his other hand came down on her bare ass. Getting spanked was nirvana all by itself, but getting spanked while he played with her clit was pleasure on a whole nother level.

“Do you like that?” Max asked, his voice a husky whisper in her ear.

“Yes,” she breathed.

He pressed a kiss to her neck. “Do you want me to make come like this?”

She moaned.

“Say it.”

He gave her ass a sharp smack to emphasize his words.

“Make me come,” she begged.

Max slapped her ass again and again, matching the rhythm his finger made as it kept circling her clit. The first waves of pleasure rippled through her.

“Harder,” she demanded. “Spank me harder.”

Her boss did as she commanded, delivering sharp smack after sharp smack as he played with her clit. She wasn’t sure which part of her body was tingling more—her ass or her pussy. It didn’t really matter because at that moment, the two sensations merged to become one earthshattering climax.

When it was over, her knees were so wobbly she could only lean against the desk and try to catch her breath. Behind her, Max pressed his lips to the red-hot skin of her ass. He trailed kisses over her entire derriere, his mouth soothing the sting from one place, even as his hand squeezed another.

Sydney gasped. Could this get any better?

She discovered that it yes, it could when Max slipped his hand between her legs again to thrust his finger deep in her pussy.

“Mmm, you’re wet.”

She smiled. “I wonder why.”

Sydney glanced over her shoulder to see him unbuckling his belt. She caught her lower lip between her teeth to stifle a moan as he shoved his jeans and underwear down, freeing his cock. He really was perfect.

Max rolled on a condom—when had he slipped that in his pocket?—then gripped her hips and plunged his hard cock deep inside her in one swift motion. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of him filling her pussy. She’d never been with a man who fit her so perfectly.

He thrust slowly and deliberately, sliding all the way out before gliding back into her wetness again. He repeated the move over and over, gradually picking up speed until his hips were smacking against her ass so hard it felt like she was getting spanked again.

“Fuck me harder,” she demanded.

Max obeyed, tightening his hold on her hips and pumping into her so hard and fast the desk smacked against the wall. Sydney tossed back her head and cried out, heedless of who might hear. Max buried himself deep and held himself there, his groans combining with her screams to echo in the small room.

They stayed like that for a long time, both of them too spent to do anything but lean on the desk. When Max finally slid out, she almost groaned in protest. She heard the rustle of material behind her as he pulled up his jeans. Realizing her shorts and panties were still down around her ankles, she reluctantly pushed herself away from the desk to pull them up. There was definitely something to be said for an afternoon quickie. She felt as if she had enough energy to go through a dozen more boxes of accounting records.

She turned around to say as much to Max, but he tugged her against him for a kiss so intoxicating it had her seriously rethinking going back to those spreadsheets.

He lifted his head with a groan. “We should get back to work.”

She’d much rather go for round two, but he was right. If they were lucky, they’d find what they were looking for and be able to spend the rest of the day in bed.

Unfortunately, the spreadsheets showing the payments from Design-Tech were at the bottom of the box, and it took her three hours to get to them. Grabbing them from the desk, she hurried over to the bed and sat down beside Max.

“Check this out.” She spread them out on top of the files he’d been going through. “These figures match the ones we found back at Design-Tech. Someone at Sentinal was siphoning a portion of the money from each payment we sent them and hiding it in what sure looks to me like a phony account. That’s where all the extra money’s been going.”

Max frowned. “And from the looks of it, they’ve been doing it for years. How the hell did Design-Tech not catch this?”

She shrugged. “Maybe they did. Maybe that same someone at Sentinal who embezzled the money paid them off to cover it up.”

He clenched his jaw. “And that someone at Sentinal is probably Burton.”

“Probably,” she agreed.

He leaned over and kissed her.  “I knew you were good at this stuff.”

She laughed. “All I did was put two and two together, but thank you for the compliment.”

He grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table. “I’m going to call the Dallas office and tell them what we found.”

When he was done, Max suggested they grab some dinner. Sydney would rather have tested out the mattress some more, but her stomach growled in protest. She sighed. She supposed a girl couldn’t live on love alone. Or lust.

She was just changing into jeans and a T-shirt when Max’s cell phone rang.

Max held it to his ear. “Daniels.” He glanced at Sydney. “Mr. Friedman. What can I do for you?” His brow furrowed as he listened. “Now?”

Sydney hurriedly shoved her feet into a pair of sandals. “What does he want?”

She expected Max to shush her, but instead he put the phone on speaker so she could hear, too.

“I know it’s late, but yes,” Friedman said. “I have something I need to show you regarding the government contract.”

Max’s gaze went to Sydney again. “Like what?”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “I can’t talk on the phone.” Friedman sighed. “Look, this whole thing goes a lot deeper than you think. Beyond Sentinal. Beyond Design-Tech, too. After you left, I did some digging of my own and found some stuff I think you’ll want to see.” A pause. “It’s imperative I speak to both of you. Tonight. And bring all the records with you.”

Max hesitated. “We’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

Sydney gave him a questioning look as he hung up. “What was all that about?”

“I don’t know.” He shoved his phone in the pocket of his jeans. “But whatever it is, Friedman sounds spooked as hell.”

*              *              *

The Sentinal office building was dark except for the soft glow of light coming from the front lobby. Not unusual, considering they’d closed hours ago. Sydney expected to find Alec Friedman waiting for them outside, but he was nowhere in sight. There was a car in the parking lot, though.

Max held the front door open for her, then followed her inside. She looked around for Friedman, but didn’t see him.

“He must be upstairs in his office,” Max said.

There was a light coming from an office at the far end of the hallway. Sydney frowned as she realized it was Burton’ office. Why wasn’t Friedman in his own office? Unless what he wanted to show them was in the CEO’s.

She gave Max a sidelong glance, and could tell from his furrowed brow that he was wondering the same thing.

They silently made their way down the darkened hallway. The outer room was empty, so they walked into Burton’ office.

Friedman was sitting behind the desk. At least Sydney thought it was Friedman. He had his back to her so she couldn’t be sure.

“Friedman?” Max asked.

No answer.

“Friedman,” he said again, louder this time.

The man still didn’t move.

Sydney frowned. She leaned close to whisper in Max’s ear “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

“I know.”

She chewed on her lower lip as Max set down the boxes on the floor. Part of her wanted to stay where she was, but she found herself following Max around the desk. She peeked around the chair, half afraid of what she’d find, and gasped.

Thomas Burton sat slumped in the chair, blood staining the front of his shirt, his head lolling to one side.

Sydney covered her mouth with her hands and took a step back. She wanted to ask Max if Burton was dead, but nothing would come out. Besides, she already knew the answer.

A noise from behind her made Sydney jump, and she spun around. Alec Friedman stood in the doorway, a gun in his hand.

“Thank you for bringing the files back.”

Sydney stared at him incredulously. “It was you.”

Friedman’s mouth curved. “The gun does sort of give it away, I guess. I wish I could take all the credit though, but I can’t. I had help.”

“Who?” Max asked.

“Me,” a second voice said from the doorway.

Sydney stared in disbelief as her old boss, Ted Willis, stepped into the room, a smug look on his face.

Chapter Five

It didn’t make sense. Ted couldn’t be involved in this. He was kindest, sweetest man she knew. And yet here he was, standing side by side with the gun-toting Friedman as if they were best friends. To think she’d actually felt sorry for him when Design-Tech forced him to retire.