Tempted by Fate (The Fate Trilogy Book Two) (8 page)

“They could’ve hired me because of you.” I stared
into the drink in my hand, afraid that the look on Victor’s face might reaffirm
my suspicions. He was a powerful and well-connected man, there wasn’t a person
in the city who would say no to him.

“Dove, I didn’t have anything to do with this
job offer.” He reached across the table and set his large, calloused hands over
mine, calming the anxiety that had risen in me.

“We should go home after these drinks,” I
said, smiling up at him. “I want to be fresh for my first day.”

***

I woke up in my own bed at six thirty a.m.,
having avoided Victor’s room last evening for fear of being up all night. I had
just enough time to take a shower and get dressed. Oscar said that he would
drive me to the city and pick me up at the end of the day, warning me that public
transportation would take forever.

I quickly showered and changed into dress
pants and a plain white blouse, a nice change from my former maid attire. I
brushed my damp hair and braided it before pinning it around my head into a
bun, letting a few locks fall around my face for a soft touch. I twirled around
in front of the mirror a few times, making sure that everything was in place
and admiring my new professional look. I glanced over at Victor’s closed door,
trying not to think of him naked in bed. I guess sleeping in separate rooms
didn’t exactly sharpen my focus, the thought of him seemed to always distract
me.

But I knew I had to force those thoughts out
of my head as I descended the staircase. Oscar was waiting for me by the front
door. “Ready, Miss Dove?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

It was about a half hour drive from the
mansion to the Lotus Gallery in San Francisco. Oscar gave me a “thumbs up”
sign, a funny gesture coming from someone who looked like an early 1900s
butler, but it seemed to calm me down. I gave him a reassuring smile and
entered the building.

Marissa’s secretary led me to a large office,
mostly empty except for a desktop computer on a spacious desk, and a bookshelf
on one wall. I walked over to the window and was greeted by the San Francisco
skyline as well as the bay beyond it. I was awestruck by the buildings, rising
and falling like mountains against the cloudless sky. I was reveling in the
beauty of the view when Marissa came in.

“I take it you’re going to like where you
work?” she asked.

I quickly turned around and saw that she was
smiling amiably at me. Unable to contain my excitement and put at ease by her
casual attire, a far cry from the gown she was wearing when I met her, I gave
her a smile in return. “Just a few months ago I’d never thought I’d be standing
here. Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

“Victor has told me great things about you.”
She walked over to my desk and placed a stack of papers and a binder on top of
it. “Your first job should be pretty simple. I just want you to look through
these portfolios and pick out some of your favorites. We’re deciding which ones
to showcase in the gallery in the upcoming weeks. There are also some artists I
want you to pick out for a few national magazine covers.”

National magazines? No wonder the paparazzi
were all over me when Victor mentioned that I worked for the gallery.

“Let me know if you need any help.”

“Thanks, Marissa.” Victor had said good
things about me? What kind of things? But I quickly forgot about Marissa’s
comment as I began shuffling through the paperwork, looking at portfolio after
portfolio of outstanding artists. They were all amazing, how was I ever going
to decide?

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing over my
desk; papers sprawled across the surface as I continued to consider the
different artists. The door opened suddenly. Thinking it was Marissa, I started
talking about a particular artist who held my interest, but I stopped as I
heard the snapping sound of the door locking. I glanced up and saw Victor
standing there. He was wearing his usual work attire: a fitted suit with a
black tie. His hair was half-heartedly styled back away from his face, and the
cool expression on his face caused me to suck in a breath of air. How the heck
did he do it?

“Victor, why—I mean what are you doing here?”
I stuttered. My legs seemed to lose their function at the sight of him, and I
had to sit down in my chair. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m a huge sponsor of this place, I thought
I’d come see how things were running,” he said suggestively as he loosened his
tie. I dropped my papers on my desk as he came towards me.

“
Now
?” I whispered, a smile forming on
my lips before I could even think twice about showing my excitement. Damn it. I
could ignore the thought of him all I wanted but once he was in the same room
with me, my body seemed to enjoy betraying my mind.

“Yes, now. You didn’t sleep in my room last
night. I’m going to lose my mind if we wait til the end of the day,” he said as
he started unbuttoning my blouse. He slipped the fabric off my shoulders and
tossed it to the ground. He continued with my bra, unhooking it in a matter of
seconds.

He massaged my breasts with both hands, and I
gasped at his touch. My nipples immediately hardened into small, perky beads as
he caressed my desperate, aching skin.

I brushed my hand against his pants, where
his erection pressed firmly against the fabric, waiting for me, wanting me. I
helped him out by unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. I pushed
everything down to the floor in hurried anticipation. His hard cock was
standing straight up for me, shrouded partly by the hem of his white shirt and
suit jacket.

“I should really be working right now,” I
murmured as my body grew into full heat. He stepped out of his pants, and I
couldn’t tear my eyes from him as he moved closer to me.

“You think I care, Dove?” His voice was raspy
as I reached out and touched his stiff cock. I caressed it needily with my
hands.

“Take off your shoes,” he commanded.

I flicked my heels to the corner of the room
and shimmied out of my work pants. Victor got on his knees and pulled down my
panties with his teeth before burying his face into my pussy. I had to hold
onto his shoulders to keep my legs from buckling underneath me as his tongue
flicked in and out of me teasingly.

He got up from his knees and pushed me
backward so that I was sitting on the windowsill, the backdrop of San Francisco
right behind me. My bare back was there for the city to see, although I was
almost certain the windows were tinted enough so that no one could actually see
in.

Victor spread my legs apart with his hands
and blew softly into me. I stifled my moan so that my co-workers in neighboring
offices wouldn’t hear. He pulled off his shoes and socks so that I was left
admiring his sculpted thighs and calves, cut as smooth and strong as stone. His
cock was ready for me and already glistening at the tip even before he entered
my body. My back was pressed firmly against the window, and I felt a moment of
panic, thinking that the window would burst and I would fall down below to my
death. That fear only lingered for a split second, disappearing as soon as I
felt him fill my pussy, his thick cock pushing against my walls. He thrust into
my body with all his strength, and this time I let out a loud cry as I wrapped
my legs around him and pushed my hips out so that he could drive deeper.

“If I remember correctly,” he grunted as he
glided into me, “this is part of your job.”

“How could I forget?” I gripped the ledge until
my knuckles had turned white, feeling my orgasm building in every part of me.

As he moved his pelvis against my clit, the
sexual tension I felt that morning boiled inside me, and I leaned forward to
tear off his shirt and jacket. I clawed at Victor’s back as I let him fuck me
hard, feeling myself tremble as my pussy tightened before exploding into a
series of blissful convulsions. Tears streamed down my face as my orgasm
released the pent up need inside of me, and I writhed against him in ecstasy.

Afterwards, we were lying on the floor, still
naked and wrapped in one another’s embrace. My head rested on his hard chest as
I trailed my fingertips up and down his bare hips and thighs. “I would’ve
expected Marissa to come check on me,” I said. “I’m surprised she hasn’t come
knocking.”

“I told her to not come by your office for a
while,” he said, a glint of humor in his eyes. “She knows me well enough to not
ask questions.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know if she knew
what was going on in here. As much as I enjoyed Victor’s visit, I hoped it
hadn’t compromised my job. I pressed my face against his chest, feeling the
steady rise and fall of his breathing.

“I received word from your doctor about the
MRI.”

I lifted my head to look at him. “Really?
What did he say?”

“It looks like you suffered from extensive
head trauma at some point long ago and your brain didn’t heal properly. He said
that you can come in for further evaluations, but it could be possible that
you’re the only one capable of regaining your memories.”

I thought about my options for a moment. Did
I even want to know about my past at this point, now that I was establishing a
new life? If I had been offered that chance while I was still suffering in the
streets then perhaps I would have accepted it. But things had taken a turn for
the better and I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to get in the way of that.

“No, I don’t think I want to go back to him.
I don’t think my past is important to me anymore. My future is what matters
now, here working in this office, and being with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” I said and reached for my top.
“That is, if I’m still working in this office tomorrow. I need to get back to
work!”

Victor stood up, his chiseled body calling to
me even after such a satisfying release but I turned from him, quickly pulling
on my clothes.

“Well,” he said once he had his clothes back
on. “I see things are running just fine here.” He gave me a devious smile and
left the office, giving me a moment to compose myself before returning to the
pictures on my desk.

Marissa knocked on the door a few minutes
later and slowly opened it. I brushed my hands casually over my hair to smooth
down any wild ends as she stepped in. “I’m just checking in on you, in case you
need anything. How’s your work going?” If she had any idea what went on behind
closed doors, she did well to mask it. I silently thanked her for that.

“I’ve picked out a few of my favorites.” I
pulled a thick portfolio from the haphazard collection of pictures on my desk.
“Their styles are distinct in nature, but I also think that the similar color
schemes could look good if we were to set up their exhibits next to each
other.”

Marissa looked down at the portfolio I handed
to her. “Oh wow, very good. I was actually thinking the same thing when I
looked through these earlier.” She looked up and gave me a smile. “I think
you’re going to fit right in, Dove.”

“How are you feeling about tonight?” Victor
asked as I arranged and rearranged prints of the pieces for that night’s
exhibit on the dining room table. It had been two weeks since I began my job at
Lotus and Marissa had already asked me to help curate a new show in the city.
I’d changed the layout for the exhibit twice since she’d brought me onto the
project and there I was, on the day of the show, reconsidering it for the third
time.

“Does this look right to you?” I asked,
ignoring his question in fear that I might unravel if I acknowledged the
pressure I was feeling. Although Marissa had been nothing but supportive of my
ideas for the exhibit, I was still determined to impress her. I hadn’t had
anything that was truly my own since I met Victor; I appreciated everything
he’d done for me but it felt good to be doing something for myself.

“I thought it looked right the first time.
And then the second time,” he joked.

“I don’t know, I think these—”

“Dove.”

I felt him plant himself behind me and settle
his hands on my hips, spinning me around so that we were facing one another. “I
think you need to relax.” I couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm resonate
through me as he leaned in and took my chin in his hand. Despite all the work I
had left to do, I couldn’t pull myself away from his touch. He drew his face
near mine, our lips brushing briefly before he pulled away, distracting me with
the tease. I bit my lip in restrained agitation and stood on my tiptoes in an
attempt to lure him back to me.