Billionaire Boss Read online

  “No, let me,” I said. I reached over and laid a hand on her own. That soft skin was warm under my touch and I let my hand tighten fractionally, loving the feeling of that warmth.

  She gazed into my eyes. “Thanks,” she said.

  “My pleasure. Have a nice night, Cassidy.”

  “Thanks. See you soon.”

  “See you Monday,” I called after her. I didn’t think she’d heard, because she was already walking up the steps, her walk swaying slightly, making those delicious hips roll.

  I looked at the cabdriver who was staring at me in the rear-view mirror.

  “Where to, sir?” he asked.

  I sighed. “Take me to the Bradley Building,” I said. “I need to get home.”

  He nodded and turned back to the wheel. We pulled off and sped back into the brightness of the city lights. As we drove, I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the images of Cassidy that were flowing, fast and hot, through my brain.

  How could I have been such an asshole to her when we were kids? What an idiot I was. Sighing, I turned away and focused on the traffic, whizzing past car after car.

  I was sure Cassidy Williams was not even vaguely interested in me.

  6

  Cassidy

  “Shit,” I said to myself as I slammed the door to my apartment and collapsed into my bedroom. “Shit, shit, shit.”

  My whole body was an incandescent fire of need. I was drowning in longing, my whole body aching and tensing and throbbing. I sat up, put my handbag on the chair by my bed and then started to undress. When I was down to my undies, I realized I was shivering, but I wasn’t cold.

  “Damn it, I need to get laid,” I said aloud.

  I had never felt like this before. Sitting opposite Adam had set off fires of longing that I had never experienced before. Now that I was safely in my apartment without him, the frustration was making me ache even more.

  Slipping my bra and panties off, I slid into bed. I could feel wetness between my thighs and could see it had seeped onto the lace of my panties. Reaching between my thighs, I felt a sticky damp.

  I closed my eyes and leaned back on the cushions; my legs parted. My hand moved between them, spreading my damp folds, finding my clit. It was swollen and aching to be touched. I rubbed it, feeling myself tense with the desperate need. I pressed harder, and felt the insistent build of a throbbing, aching orgasm start to rise.

  Adam, I thought to myself. I imagined him as I touched myself, my finger flicking over and over as I envisioned him there beside me, his muscles hard and firm, his rippling chest, his large hands.

  His body was muscled and strong, and I filled in the details, imagining a rock-hard chest, big arms crushing me to him, thick thighs parting my legs as he pushed me down onto the bed.

  I made the imaginary Adam lean over and kiss me, sliding his hand between my thighs. I imagined him there with me, pressing my clit, working it with those thick fingers that had held mine. I imagined him whispering dirty talk into my ear as he squeezed and pressed and played me.

  Gasping, I gritted my teeth as my orgasm started to build. I was wriggling and moaning, unable to rest as my own hand pressed and pushed and pulled, working my clit with delicate strokes until I was sobbing and gasping and aching.

  “Adam,” I called out as I felt myself nearing the brink.

  Gasping, gritting my teeth, I felt my body jack-knife and then lie still, wetness leaking from me.

  I lay there, my head floating in the haze as I thought of Adam and my body started to come back from the wonderful place it had been.

  I sat up feeling weary and drained, but also wonderful. I slid out of bed to go shower, realizing with some surprise that it had been almost four months since I last had any kind of sex.

  I bit my lip, grinning. I would never have imagined, in my wildest stretches of imagination, that I would ever masturbate while thinking of Stern.

  It had been good, though, and my body felt as relaxed as if I’d been soaking in a hot shower for ages. I washed myself and smiled, feeling the afterglow of my release.

  When I was dry, I pulled on a satin nightdress – a relic from when I was earning really well and had decided to spoil myself with lingerie shopping – and slid into bed.

  With my eyes closed, my mind filled up slowly with images of Adam. I let myself think back over the evening, recalling the way his blue eyes had held mine, the feeling of his muscled leg pressing against my own in the car, the way his eyes shone as he lost his cool about the guy who’d threatened me.

  “That was nice,” I murmured to myself.

  I hadn’t felt so cherished, so cared-for, in a long time. I felt disloyal to my brother, thinking that. I knew Brady cared, but there were some things I couldn’t discuss with a brother. There were things I knew he wouldn’t understand no matter how hard he might want to. Talking to Adam had been a relief – I hadn’t realized that I had been wanting to tell another man and have him respond in support of me. And his response had moved me deeply.

  Maybe there were some decent men, besides my brother.

  I felt my lips lift in a grin. Adam Stern was decent? Really?

  You must have had one Mojito more than you needed, Williams, I told myself.

  I was still smiling, though, when I drifted off to sleep.

  When I woke up the next morning, my head was a bit achy, my mouth parched. I slid out of bed and into the shower once more, feeling relieved as the water sluiced down over me.

  “Saturday morning,” I told myself as I shrugged on jeans and a t-shirt and headed into the kitchen. “Time to clean the house.”

  I put the kettle on for coffee, drank some orange juice and took out a bowl for cereal. Out of my window I could see the skyline, the sun glinting on the windows like tinsel. The trees outside the window shivered, the sunlight touching their leaves with white, the wind swift and playful. There were barely any clouds in a cerulean sky.

  A good day.

  I ate my breakfast slowly, still reliving memories of the previous evening. Thinking of seeing Adam again made me thrill with excitement.

  “Come off it, Williams,” I told myself firmly, lifting my cup and taking a big swig of hot coffee. “I don’t think he’s that into you.”

  As I put my coffee-cup down, my phone rang.

  “Ainsley?” I frowned, answering it. “What’s up?”

  “Cassidy!” my friend greeted. “How’re you? Want to meet up for a coffee or something, later?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, awesome,” I agreed. “Should we say ten-thirty?”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “See you soon, then.”

  I hung up, pleased with my arrangements for the day. One of the great things about being back in Boston was that Ainsley was so close by now. We had talked almost daily while I’d been in Chicago but having my best friend nearby to be able to go out and grab lunch anytime I wanted was a real luxury. I might tell her about Adam. I barely understood my own reaction to him. I hadn’t exactly been fond of him when we were kids. Seeing him again with no warning had been a shock to me.

  “Trust my brother,” I sighed, grinning wryly. He might have warned me it was Adam we were going to the bar to see!

  A thought occurred to me – a flash of memory of Brady’s face as we sat in the bar together. He had been deeply disturbed by whatever that phone call had been. I felt a twitch of alarm. Whatever was going on, it was more than just Brady getting into some heated exchange with a girl.

  I decided to call and check up on him.

  I felt worried as the phone rang and rang. Then, just as I was considering hanging up, he answered.

  “Cassidy!” he sounded wired. “Hi! How’re things? How was last night?”

  “You mean, with Adam?” I asked wryly. “It went fine.”

  “Really?” he asked. “You mean, you’re going to be able to help him?”

  “I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “I reckon so. I’m scheduled to see him on Monday.”

  “On Monday? Awes
ome,” my brother replied. “Well, then. That’s settled.”

  “Um, Brady?” I asked carefully.

  “Yeah?”

  “Last night,” I started carefully. “When you had to leave. What happened?”

  “Last night? Nothing, sis,” he said quickly. “Really. Just some stuff from work. Nothing serious. It’s fine.”

  “Okay,” I said uncertainly. I wasn’t entirely convinced. It sounded to me as if he was trying to cover something up. “Well, if you say it’s okay…”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “Honest. Are you going to be in for dinner tonight?”

  “Probably,” I shrugged. “You too?”

  “Yeah. Maybe we can have dinner together. Go out, maybe? I know a nice restaurant near Willmore Street.”

  “Sure,” I said, feeling pleased.

  “Great,” he said. He sounded oddly brittle again. “See you later.”

  “Great. Bye.”

  When we’d hung up, I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Something was up with Brady. I just had no idea what it was. I was sure to find out later, though, I assured myself.

  Standing, I went to get ready to go out with Ainsley.

  She was waiting outside the mall like she usually did, her brown hair wrapped in a negligent bun, long oval face sun-bronzed and grinning.

  “Kay!” she said, wrapping her arms around me in a big hug. I never have figured out how she arrived at “Kay” from Cassidy, but it’s what she’d called me since college and it stuck.

  “Hey, A,” I said, squeezing her tight. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You look amazing, girlfriend,” she said, stepping back and looking at me. “Something happened?”

  “No,” I blushed. “Why would you think that?”

  “No reason,” she said hastily. “Let’s go in.”

  I followed her through the glass doors. As we passed a dress-shop, I caught sight of myself in a mirror. I was wearing a red sundress I hadn’t worn in ages, my hair done with a neat headband braid. I looked prettier than I could remember looking for months.

  Yeah, maybe I do look different. Maybe Ainsley’s right.

  I felt a blush creep into my cheeks, surprised that I hadn’t noticed how I had reacted.

  “So,” Ainsley said, drawing out a seat at our favorite café. “What should we have? I could murder for red velvet cake.”

  “Me too,” I nodded. “Shall we?”

  “Why not?” she shrugged, grinning. “What’s up with you?” she added, as the waitress appeared to take our order.

  “Um, tea, please,” I said to the waitress, avoiding Ainsley’s eye for the moment. “And a slice red velvet cake.”

  Ainsley ordered the same, and then, when the waitress had gone, she grinned at me, conspiratorially.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I wanted to ask you the same,” she teased.

  “Nothing, Ainsley,” I said, feeling uncomfortable. It wasn’t nice to think I could be so easily read. “How has your day been, so far?”

  “Okay,” she shrugged. “I had to work overtime yesterday. I think my boss overbooks me on purpose. Or, at least, if it’s by accident, I don’t know how he keeps managing it.”

  I laughed. “That’s what you get for being a popular therapist.”

  She pulled a face. “Maybe. Even so. I need a rest. And you?” She linked hands and stretched long arms up overhead. “How is your job search?”

  “It’s okay,” I said, nodding my thanks to the waitress as our orders appeared. The cake looked mouth-wateringly good.

  “Okay?” Ainsley stirred her tea.

  “Yeah,” I said, cutting into the delicious-looking cake with my fork. “I think I might have found something.”

  Ainsley’s shriek made people stare at us. I swallowed my cake, the sweet richness spiraling through my veins and down to my tummy. I grinned.

  “It’s too early to say, yet,” I demurred. All the same, her reaction had pleased me. I could always count on my best friend to be excited for me and share in my accomplishments.

  “Well, I know you’ll impress anybody,” Ainsley assured me, taking a big piece off her cake with the fork and chewing vigorously. “You’re amazing at your job.”

  “Thanks,” I said sincerely. “You think so?”

  “Sure,” Ainsley grinned. “And stunning, too, if that counts for anything?”

  I blushed. “Oh, shut up,” I giggled.

  But I couldn’t help but be pleased at the compliment. After Adam’s strange response last night, I hadn’t been entirely sure. On the one hand, his look when I’d mentioned helping each other had made it clear he had other things on his mind. But, on the other hand, if that was how he felt, why had he been so standoffish?

  “Ainsley?”

  “Mm?” My friend was chewing cake. She swallowed, then frowned. “What is it?”

  “If one of your clients met someone from their past – somebody they hadn’t really liked then but found themselves inexplicably drawn too now– what would you say?”

  She raised a brow. “That depends on so many things, Kay,” she said seriously. “What their history was with that person, what the circumstances of their current meeting are, how they related to each other in the past, just to name a few.”

  I sighed. “Well, let’s say that the history with that person wasn’t great. Nothing traumatic, just not great. And that their current encounter was confusing.”

  “Confusing,” she said slowly.

  “Yeah.”

  It was confusing. That wasn’t the best way to describe the flurry of excitement and tension I felt whenever I thought of him now, but it was the best I could allow. I wasn’t about to tell her that Adam, my childhood bully, was now six-foot-six, gorgeous, and hunky. I especially wasn’t about to tell her that I’d gotten myself off to thoughts of him the night before.

  She frowned, chewing a big piece of cake, as if running through lots of thoughts. After a moment, she nodded.

  “If I were you,” she said, “I’d take things as they are now. Not as they were.”

  “You mean, try to forget about the past? How do I know if it’s relevant?”

  “Relevant?”

  “I mean,” I faltered, “if he still thinks of me like he did then?”

  “Has he referred to it? Brought it up in conversation, since you’ve seen him again?” Ainsley pressed.

  “Um, no.” She grinned. “Well, then, I think you’re safe in assuming you can forget about it.”

  “I can try,” I said.

  “Great.”

  She had already finished her cake, I noticed, and was drinking her tea, leaving a big red lipstick stain on the rim of her cup. I bit back a smile. She’d always enjoyed her sweets. “It’s good to see you,” I said impulsively.

  “It’s good to see you, too.”

  I smiled. Maybe coming back to Boston wasn’t so bad, after all.

  We finished coffee and did some shopping. I surprised myself by trying on dresses – something I hadn’t enjoyed doing in a while. I realized I was planning what to wear on Monday.

  Stop it, Williams! I chided myself. You’re meeting Adam, not the casting director of a Hollywood production. All the same, though, I felt a deep need to look my best. I felt a surprising tingle in my belly as I imagined the meeting and I flushed. I couldn’t help it. I was looking forward to Monday.

  7

  Adam

  I looked up at her breasts as she slowly lowered herself onto my cock. Round, firm and pale, they begged to be touched. I reached up as she wriggled down, taking me in, and let my hands squeeze those warm twin mounds of gorgeousness even as her warmth drew me inside.

  “Fuck, that feels good,” she whispered.

  The feel of her soft, warm skin set my loins on fire even as her sexy voice stroked my ears.

  I gasped, then my breath stopped, even as she raised up and drove down on me again, harder.

  I grunted and grabbed her waist, pulling her down as
her tightness gripped me and sent waves of sensation down my cock.

  She giggled and lifted up, then, faster this time, lowered her weight down on me again. I looked into her eyes and reached for her head, wanting to pull her down into a kiss.

  She lifted up, teasing me, and almost lifted off me, then lowered herself again, with exquisite slowness. My loins ached for her.

  “Oh, baby,” I moaned, and held her waist firmly.

  She was riding me with firm abandon, and I felt my cock start to tingle and throb, swelling with my fast-approaching orgasm. She lifted and dropped with little panting cries, keeping time perfectly so that it felt as if waves of fire traveled down my nerves and set alight my senses.

  “Oh, yeah,” I growled. I was almost beyond the power of speech.

  Gritting my teeth, I dragged her onto my chest and rolled over, so she lay on her back and I was above her. She looked up at me and I pressed my lips to her damp red ones.

  “You’re going to drive me mad,” I whispered as I looked down at her, then pulled out of that warm damp tightness and back in.

  Then, as a feeling like the most driving pressure I ever felt started to build and grow in me, I pulled out and pushed into her, feeling her clinging wetness receive me as I pushed deeper and deeper into her.

  Groaning aloud, I came hard. My eyes flashed open. It was daylight, bright and intense. I was lying in my bed, and I was soaked with sweat.

  “Damn,” I whispered.

  I hadn’t dreamed like that since I was a teen. I sat up, still shaking. Then, shaking my head at myself, I swung my legs out of bed and went to clean myself up.

  The shower swirled piping-hot water down my chest, and I ran my soapy hands over it, feeling the hardened muscles of my pecs, my abs, my waist. I was pleased with my body – I still worked out two days a week, and it was just about the same as it had been when I trained for football.

  I let my mind drift back to my good dream. I recalled the beautiful Cassidy of my dreams and the way she had lowered her body onto mine, riding me with careless longing, as if we were two wild creatures, able to give ourselves up to our pleasures without restraint. I winced, biting my lip as I recalled the way I’d seen her body in the dream, all those delicious curves and pale skin, begging to be kissed and stroked and touched.