Billionaire Boss Page 9

  This time, instead of a quick peck on the lip, his mouth opened, and his tongue slid out. I sighed as it traced between my lips, making a line of fire that stirred in me. I felt his hands pull me toward him and I leaned against him, my body relaxing as if I was melting as he held me to his chest.

  His hands stroked my back, reaching for the tender bareness of the back of my neck. His lips were pushing mine, his tongue plying my mouth. I melted against him, my body feeling like sugar in a hot pan. I wrapped my own arms round him, drawing him closer still.

  He deepened the kiss, his lips pushed to mine. Then, gasping, he leaned back.

  “Cassidy,” he purred. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “I’m sure,” I responded.

  Wordlessly, he nodded. He opened the door and I slid inside. He shut it and got into the driver’s seat. Without any discussion, we drove through the darkened streets, heading to his place.

  “Shall we go up?” he murmured as we parked in a cellar garage. He switched the light in the car on. His eyes shone, staring into mine, giving me the option to end it before it started.

  That act alone made me want him even more. “Let’s.”

  He squeezed my leg, his palm heavy and hot as it stroked my knee. Unlocking the door, he opened mine and helped me out.

  He pressed me against the wall, lips parting my own. We stayed and kissed for what felt like ages, then, as the longing inside me became unbearable, he leaned back.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  We walked up the stairway to the entrance of his apartment building.

  The ride up in the lift was hazy. All I noticed, really, was how stylish and well-built the whole place seemed to be. We kissed in the elevator, his strong, muscle-bound body pushing me back against the mirrored back. Then we collapsed through the door of his apartment.

  “Oh, Cassidy,” he murmured, hugging me to him, pressing me against the wall. “I want you.”

  “I want you too,” I managed.

  He laughed, a low sound, and kissed my neck.

  I could feel his hands stroking down my dress, pressing the zipper, and suddenly I could hold back no more. Blindly, searching for the buttons, I stroked my hands down his back and over his front, undressing him with as much wanting as he was undressing me.

  Laughing, breathless, we collapsed together into his bedroom.

  I barely noticed details – the lights were low and set back in the ceiling, the walls were white, the bed dark wood – and then he was pushing me down to the mattress and collapsing heavily beside me.

  “You are gorgeous,” he whispered.

  I went red. “So are you.”

  He was kneeling by me, his eyes devouring my body – wearing boxers still – as I looked up at him. His chest was built massively, those pecs gleaming in the dim lighting. His shoulders rippled, scars marking the left one where the failed surgery had ended his first career – his abs flat, waist trim.

  He grinned down at me. “You think so?”

  “I know so,” I said. I reached for him, stroking a hand down his chest. I was amazed, still, by how firm it was. I’d never seen anything like him before.

  He looked at me. His eyes shone. Blue like sapphires, they seemed lit from behind. I felt myself ache as his hand came down and gently squeezed my breast.

  Gasping, I twisted onto my side as he ran a hand behind me and, gently, fumbled with the clasp he found there. I leaned to one side and he undid it, his strong fingers firm and sure on the skin of my shoulder blades.

  He drew the bra down and I felt my body ignite as his eyes focused on my breasts. He smiled and bent to kiss my skin. I gasped as he drew one of my breasts gently into his mouth, his warm tongue probing the nipple.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on the bursts of feeling that shot like flame from one breast and then the other as he worked the one with his tongue and squeezed the other in his palm. I wasn’t sure which sensation was more wonderful.

  He seemed amused by my noises – the passion was too much to hold silent – and he sat up, smiling down at me. Then, with slow exactitude, he swapped sides, repeating everything with the other breast.

  I was floating on a haze of pleasure when I felt him shift. He stroked a firm hand down my belly, palm warm and firm. His fingers gripped the elastic of my panties and tugged them down. Then he stroked between my thighs.

  I almost screamed with pleasure as he parted my legs, then lowered his lips to touch me there. His hands parted my thighs, stroking my folds. Then, with probing firmness, his tongue tasted me there.

  I grunted as his tongue found my clit. He licked it, his tongue grazing it a little, it was so firm, then lapped it gently, warm, and slightly faster.

  I was crying out incoherently, not knowing if I could bear it, as his fingers stroked me and that firm, insistent tongue slid over my clit again and again, faster and faster. I moaned loudly. My whole body felt like it was dissolving, breaking apart in a sweet flame as my climax lifted me up, then slammed through me like fire. I had never come so fast, so hard, before.

  I was groaning, my eyes shut, my body still spasming, as he moved up and lay beside me. I could feel his warmth pressed to my side, his one hand on my head.

  “I love watching you come,” he said, looking into my eyes. “My turn now.”

  I nodded, too incoherent to speak. All I knew was that I wanted him, so badly, and I never wanted this to find a finish.

  He knelt up and his cock, I noticed dimly, was huge. He took it and pushed it slowly between my legs, holding with one hand so that he played it over me, dabbing at my clit.

  I grunted with the searing shock. Parting my thighs, I reached up and dragged him down toward me.

  “I want you,” I growled into his ear.

  He laughed. “Good, because I’m yours,” he murmured.

  His hand was at my waist, on my breast, at my hip. I felt his cock on my belly, and then moving lower.

  As I cried out with longing, he filled me completely. My mind numbed out as he drew out and pushed back again. I had never felt anything like it before. I was gasping, twitching, groaning.

  He was grunting with effort, pushing in and pulling out, pushing into me with ever-faster motion. I could feel my body starting to heat up again, that insistent feeling that wanted him to move faster and longer growing inside me. I was going to climax again, I realized with some surprise.

  He was gasping now, and I could feel him start to move faster and faster, grunting with effort. I knew he was close, and I was too.

  We came together, crying out in tandem, we both melted into each other as he groaned and held me to him. His chest was wet with sweat.

  He withdrew and gathered me against him, draping a strong arm over me as our breathing returned to normal. My eyes grew heavy as my body felt utterly spent and satisfied and I must have drifted off to sleep. I woke some time later still wrapped in his arms, a blanket loosely covering us both.

  I rolled over, smiled and studied him through half-open eyes. His vast shoulders were pale in the dim light. His profile was silhouetted.

  I wanted to stroke his soft hair but restrained myself from the tender gesture. I didn’t want to wake him.

  My body felt bruised and nourished and exhausted. I must have lain like that and fallen asleep again, because I woke again, later, warm and relaxed.

  Something had woken me. When I had my bearings, my eyes opened, I realized what it was – my phone, vibrating in my bag.

  I pulled it out, frowning. Who on earth would call me at that time?

  My heart stopped. It was Brady.

  I quickly but gently disentangled myself from Adam and grabbed it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Cassidy?” he said. He sounded tenser than I had ever heard before. “Please. Come quick. It’s an emergency.”

  Grabbing a shirt discarded nearby, I shrugged into it and tiptoed to the sitting room.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Please,” he repeated. “C
ome now?”

  I grabbed my clothes and my handbag and tugged them on, running for the door, and paused only to scribble a note in the kitchen before I ran down to the road to call a cab.

  12

  Adam

  I woke with a delicious relaxed feeling through every muscle of my body. I smiled and stretched, remembering the night before. It had easily been the most amazing night I could remember. Memories of it ran through my mind. That stunning, curvaceous body. That gentle smile. The sound of Cassidy crying out incoherently as I licked her.

  The thought made me want her again and I bit my lip, not sure whether I should wake her or whether I should try and ignore my body’s growing arousal. In the end, arousal won.

  I reached out to feel for her but the bedsheets I encountered felt cold.

  I sat up, frowning.

  “Cassidy?”

  I glanced around the empty room.

  “Cassidy?” I called again. Where was she?

  Rolling to my feet, I stumbled over my shoes, which lay in a heap by the bed. My pants were thrown carelessly on the carpet and I could see my tie by the door. I grinned, recalling the previous night. We were clearly pretty desperate to get to each other.

  The room – besides my discarded clothing – was neat and orderly, the white carpet unmarked, the table bare. Oddly, I couldn’t see any of her clothes.

  I caught sight of the clock on the desk – it said three-thirty a.m. I stretched and yawned. It was still really early. Maybe she woke up and needed some water.

  She wasn’t in the bathroom, I noticed – the door stood half-open, the light off. I shrugged and tiptoed through the sitting room to the kitchen.

  It, too, was empty.

  I felt a flash of worry. Why would she have left in the middle of the night? I switched on the light, thinking maybe I’d missed something, but she was definitely not there. I felt my heart sink sadly.

  Had she panicked and run?

  I felt a sudden stab of shame.

  “Cassidy?”

  No answer. It was pretty obvious she’d left. I was upset. Why had she just walked out like that, without saying goodbye? I leaned on the counter, heart full of a strange mix of offense and sadness.

  While I was leaning there, I noticed a slip of paper. I frowned and looked at it. It was a note.

  “Had to go. Called an Uber. Sorry. C.”

  I intoned the words, then raised a brow. That was a surprise.

  At least she left a note.

  “But why’d you have to go?”

  I felt my own hurt feelings replaced with concern. What had happened to make Cassidy suddenly leave in the middle of the night?

  I had her number, so I called and waited as it rang, and rang and then the automatic voice message came on.

  No answer.

  I fought the sudden fear that washed over me.

  Why had she left in such a rush? And why wasn’t she answering her phone?

  “Come on, Adam,” I told myself, sitting on my bed naked. “You know you’re fussing about nothing. She probably regrets screwing the boss, so deal with it. You can talk to her tomorrow.”

  I decided that was the best plan of action and slid back into bed.

  When my alarm rang the next morning, I still felt disturbed. I got up and had breakfast, checking my phone while I sat eating my morning toast. Nothing from Cassidy. She had been online at seven-thirty this morning, so she must have seen I’d called her.

  “You’d think she’d message me, at least.”

  It rankled inside me, my own sense of affront mixing with a concern that maybe I’d upset her. I finished my breakfast, trying to rationalize it as I did so. She had trouble with her ex-boss, and I was her new boss. Maybe she thought I was taking advantage? Maybe she regretted things?

  “Stop it. What if she just had to be somewhere early this morning, and so when she woke up she left? Be reasonable,” I told my reflection. I shrugged on a jacket.

  I tried to convince myself, but it wasn’t easy.

  Still feeling a profound sense of unease, I went down to my car.

  When I got in to work, I had to restrain myself from going straight to Cassidy’s desk.

  “Morning, Mr. Stern,” Mrs. Halston sang out.

  “Morning,” I said in reply. I rushed past quickly, so she wouldn’t notice I hadn’t slept. She often noticed details of all kinds, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she was already starting to guess about Cassidy.

  I don’t want to embarrass Cassidy in front of her colleagues, on top of this.

  The last thing she would want were any rumors. I sat down at my desk and went through my emails. My mind kept on drifting, thoughts of last night – in the restaurant, in the elevator, in bed – conflicting with my nagging sense of worry for Cassidy. After an hour of diligently doing my work, I couldn’t handle it anymore.

  I called her at her desk.

  The phone rang and rang until it went to voicemail. That seemed weird, so I went to her office.

  It was empty.

  My heart started to thud in alarm. What had happened, when she left? Had there been an accident? Had something happened to her between getting out of the car and getting into her home? I didn’t even know if her neighborhood was safe. Fighting down rising fear, I went to the office next door.

  “Emilia?” I asked the woman in the office next door to hers. “Is Cassidy Williams in?”

  “I didn’t see her arrive, Mr. Stern,” Emilia replied, frowning worriedly. “Is everything okay?”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  I was really alarmed now.

  Back in my office, I tried to make a plan. Cassidy had just disappeared. What could I do?

  “What are the chances she feels so bad about what happened that she’s just run?” I asked myself.

  That would be terrible. That would mean I’d scared her away from a new job that meant a lot to her. But it wasn’t just for her I was worried, but for me, too. I couldn’t afford to do without her help.

  You’re an idiot, Adam.

  Some time I should really learn to stop thinking with my balls and use my brain.

  Sighing to myself, I considered my options. First things first, I could find out if she’d called in to explain why she’d missed work. I put my head around the door.

  “Mrs. Halston?”

  “Yes?” my secretary swiveled round in her seat, one thin gray brow arched over round glasses.

  “Our new consultant, Ms. Williams,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t betray my feelings. “Is there some reason why she’s not here today?”

  “I don’t know,” Mrs. Halston said carefully. “I haven’t gotten a request for sick leave. It’s strange.”

  “I see,” I said.

  My heart fluttered. That was strange, and it seemed very unlike Cassidy. If she needed to be somewhere, she would have told someone. I had only worked with her for a few days, but I already had the impression she was a highly responsible employee.

  “Can I do anything…?” Mrs. Halston asked inquiringly. “If you like, I can call?”

  “No, it’s okay,” I said. “Thanks, Mrs. Halston.”

  I went to my office and sat down heavily at my desk. What could I do?

  I had to call Brady.

  That idea seemed the most logical, even though it was easily the most difficult. I had no concept how Brady envisaged my interaction with Cassidy. I was sure, though, that sleeping with her hadn’t been in his vision. What would he think of me? She was his little sister. He’d probably kick my ass.

  I couldn’t tell him. He’d be mad.

  “You don’t need to tell him,” I told myself firmly. “You have every reason to ask if he knows where she is.”

  Nodding to myself, I pulled out my phone.

  I waited as the phone rang and rang. Now I was really worried. Where the fuck were they? I was about to hang up when his voice came on the line.

  “Adam! Hi!”

  “Brady?”

  I in
stantly knew that something was up. His voice was tense, sounding nothing like the carefree Brady I knew. My heart thudded in my chest.

  “Adam. Look, I can’t talk long. What’s happening?” He sounded strained.

  “Nothing, Brady,” I said gently. “You sound wrecked, man. Just, quickly – you wouldn’t happen to know where Cassidy is, would you? She didn’t come into work…”

  “She’s here with me,” Brady interrupted.

  “With you?” I asked. “Why?”

  “It’s an emergency, Adam. A family emergency. I’m sorry. I should have told you. Would you like her to call you back?”

  “Yes,” I said slowly. Inside, I was afraid. What the hell was going on? Brady sounded weird.

  “Okay,” Brady said swiftly. “I’ll ask her to. Got to go now. Bye.”

  I heard the call hang up and my heart nearly stopped.

  What is this all about?

  My first inclination was to ask Mrs. Halston to field my calls, jump in my car, and go over to Brady’s place. What the heck was the emergency? And why didn’t Brady want to tell?

  He’d said it was a family emergency. I’d known his family more than half of my life so I couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t want to tell me what was going on. Nothing about Cassidy’s absence or Brady’s strange behavior sat well with me. “Mr. Stern?”

  I looked up as Mrs. Halston put her head around the door.

  “Yes?” I asked quickly, hoping she was going to tell me Cassidy phoned. “What is it?”

  “It’s Mr. Newgate. He wanted to arrange a meeting?”

  “Not today, please,” I said swiftly. There was no way I could concentrate on something that important until I knew what the hell was going on with Brady and Cassidy.

  She raised a brow but nodded. “I can slide him in on Friday, then.”

  “Great,” I said swiftly. “That’ll be fine. And, Mrs. Halston?”

  “Mm?”

  “If Cassidy Williams calls in, let me know?”

  I knew she’d guess something was up the moment I requested that, but I had to. I couldn’t stand the suspense anymore.