Beguile her: Laws of Seduction Book 2 (9 page)

We lie back on the bed, and his hand drifts over my sensitized body. “I didn’t mean for that to happen, but I can’t say that I am sorry.”

My body thrums in anticipation waiting to see what he will do next. His hand moves to my quivering sex, and he gently presses making me arch up. Easing a finger inside of me, he groans, “You are so wet.” I whimper as he deftly moves his hand back and forth inside me. Bending over me, he takes my nipple into his mouth and bites and sucks until I am sure I am going to come, but then he stops. 

“Don’t stop,” I gasp. James moves his hand again and lavishes attention on my other breast with his mouth. Just when I am about to explode, he stops again. Breathing hard, I look at him and notice a calculating look in his eyes. “You’re doing this on purpose. Why won’t you let me come?”

He moves over me and pushes my legs wider apart with his knee before sliding his hard cock inside me. I can’t withhold my sigh of pleasure. Looking up at him, I see a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. “Now, we are as close as two human beings can get.” I forget his abrupt starts and stops as uncontrollable need takes over. He drives into me over and over, once again taking me right to the edge before stopping. A sheen of sweat covers our skin and we are both breathing hard.

I don’t have to press him for why he has stopped. “I know something upset you today. Tell me what happened.” I stare up at him in shock, and he starts moving again. This is the ultimate manipulation. He starts moving faster, and I am longing to reach that pinnacle of pleasure, but it remains just out of my reach.

“Please,” I beg.

“I can keep this up all night, especially since you so kindly took the edge off earlier.” 

“James, please…just let me come. No strings attached.” I don’t know how I feel about this method of extracting information from me. There is something about it that I don’t like. “I promise, I’ll tell you, but not because you let me come.”

James gazes down at me for a long moment, “You’ll tell me? No holding back?”

“Yes, I swear it. Now just please, please fuck me.”

“Alright, baby.” He thrusts into me once, twice, and then he is pulling himself out of me. Before I can protest, he has turned me over and is plowing into me from behind using his fingers to manipulate my clit. I shriek as my orgasm hits me, and I convulse around him.

We are both panting from the exertion, but as the sweat evaporates from my body, I start to feel a chill. Locating a short, silk robe, I put it on before going into the bathroom. I cringe inwardly with embarrassment as I remember that we were not exactly quiet. After using the bathroom, I return to bed and lie down on top of James resting my head on his chest. He wraps his strong arms around me. I am wondering if he has fallen to sleep when I hear his voice rumble. “Tell me.”

I roll off of him on to my back, and resignedly pull myself up into a sitting position. James scoots back and leans against the headboard. “It’s not that big a deal… really it’s not. I didn’t want to tell you because… well, because it's embarrassing.” I distractedly play with the ends of the sheet in front of me.

“Lainey…” James says ominously.

“Alright, alright, hold on to your britches.” I tell him irritably dropping the sheet. “Mills brought me into his office to warn me off of you. Basically, he said that I would fall in love with you because all women do. That you wouldn’t be interested in me at all so I might as well forget about it… It’s silly… right?” 

At James’s continued silence, I look up and am surprised to see him tight lipped with anger. I jump a little at the sight, and I stare round eyed as he slams his hand down on the bed and explodes. “What a moron. He should mind his own Goddamn business.”

He must have seen my alarmed expression because he leans over me and continues in a softer voice. “Baby, please don’t listen to him. He doesn’t have a clue about what is going on in my head.”

“Okay, I know I shouldn’t let it get to me. I guess it is just difficult sometimes... especially when I hear everyone talking about you like you are some kind of unattainable god.”

“Unattainable god, huh?”

I roll my eyes and throw my pillow at him. “I should have known that would go straight to your head. As if your ego needs any more boosting…”

“You can boost my… ego anytime.” James says waggling his eyebrows at me.

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

James levels a serious look at me. “Lainey, I think we should acknowledge our relationship.”

“You mean like come out as a couple at the office?”

“Yes.”

I must have wrinkled my brow in consternation because James reaches out his hand and smooths my forehead. “I don’t know… I’ll have to think about it… It’s late. I have that presentation tomorrow…” I trail off.

“Okay, but think about it. Let’s get some sleep.” James moves down so that he is spooning me from behind. I drift off before I can give his suggestion any serious thought.

CHAPTER 9

I awake to James nuzzling me just under my ear. “Hmm, what time is it?” I ask, reaching my hand up and running it through his soft hair.

“Early, you can go back to sleep. I am going to the gym before work. I’ll see you at the office,” he says before kissing my cheek and leaving. I snuggle back down under the covers for some much needed sleep.

When my alarm goes off a little while later, I get up feeling refreshed. With the presentation in mind, I choose my outfit with extra care. After trying a few things, I settle on a tan pencil skirt with a black fitted top. The three quarter length sleeves of the top are a sheer black material with darker black polka dots. I consider wearing some peep toe red stilettos, but decide to go a more conservative route. Instead, I step into tan stilettos the same color as my skirt. I fix my hair with loose curls hanging down my back and apply a little makeup. Feeling confident that I look as good as possible, I head out to the kitchen. Sam is already there in shorts pajamas eating a yogurt. I feel her eyes track me around the kitchen, and I try to act as nonchalantly as possible.

“So,” she begins drawing out the word. “You look particularly good this morning… All that mind blowing sex must agree with you.”

I have to admit she has me there. I decide there is no point in being coy. “What can I say?” I give a slight shrug. “He brings out my inner tramp.” When my eyes meet Sam’s, we both burst out laughing. 

“It’s about time.”

“What? I’ve had sex before.” I say defensively.

“Oh, yea?“ Sam raises her eyebrow at me, giving me a knowing grin.

“Okay, maybe not wild, uninhibited monkey sex.”

“Monkey sex, huh? You’re making my imagination run wild. Care to share a few details?”

I look pointedly at my watch. “It’s getting late. Don’t you need to get ready?”

Looking down at the phone in her hand, Sam jumps up. “Oh shit, I’ve got to hurry.”

Embarrassing discussion diverted, I make a beeline for the door.

I eat a bagel at my desk for breakfast as I tweak the presentation until I am satisfied that I have done my best. I spend the rest of the morning reviewing what I am going to say. The time rolls by very fast, and before I know it the meeting time has arrived. I give myself a little pep talk before heading off to Washington, where the meeting will take place.

I am the first one there. I spend the time before the others arrive hooking up my laptop and making sure that I am on the correct PowerPoint slide. The other meeting participants arrive, and James chooses the chair closest to mine at the head of the table. I try not to look at him. Inwardly rolling my eyes, I note that Elizabeth has sat down next to him. Alex is also a part of the team. I smile at him when he comes in, and he gives me a wink before sitting down next to Elizabeth. Next, Raj Sharma and Dennis Belinsky, two senior associates, file in and sit next to Alex. Andrew Mills arrives last. Elizabeth and I are the only women. Thinking back to our conversation the day before, I wonder if Mills has done this intentionally. 

After saying a few words of introduction, Mills turns the meeting over to me. I stand up and nervously look around the table until my eyes land on James. He is looking me up and down, and it is as if I can read his mind. He is sitting there thinking about how he would like to get me out of my skirt and fuck me against the table. It almost makes me laugh, and for some reason it also settles my nerves. The next forty-five minutes pass in a blur, and I finish knowing that I have done well. As I sit back down in my seat, I feel James’s warm hand land on my thigh, and he gives a gentle squeeze. I look over at him, and he gifts me with a smile filled with promise. His whispered, “Later,” is barely audible. I smirk at him before looking around at the others who seem to have missed this brief exchange. I don’t know what exactly he means by “Later.” Does he mean we will talk later or that he will fuck me against the table later? I am hoping for the latter. The meeting ends with the client lunch next on the agenda, which is scheduled for Friday.

As a result of the meeting, I will be working with Elizabeth again. I almost feel like I have come full circle. We will be working on a counterclaim against one of the Rothschild executives. I expect the case to take up most of my time. Alex walks me back to my office, and I realize how glad I am that we will be working together more. I feel my phone vibrate with an incoming text just as Alex leaves me. The text is from James.

Congrats on a job well done. I’m proud of you baby.

His text makes me smile, and I type back a quick reply.

Thanks. Want to celebrate later?

Your place or mine?

Yours. No roommate to disturb.

Good point. Finished by 6. You?

Same

I had a late night. I’m going to get some coffee.

Funny thing, I also had a late night. I need coffee too.

See you in 5.

I hurry to the kitchenette to find James already there. We stand in front of the coffee machine with our empty cups, and I tease him about not having enough work to do. He retaliates by bending down and whispering in my ear the things he wants to do to me later, making me blush and giggle. I know I should make him stop, but sexy, playful James is hard to resist. My attention is so fixed on James that I almost don’t hear Becca enter the kitchenette. I barely stop myself from guiltily jumping away from James. Instead, I calmly wait for my cup to fill with coffee as James stands silently beside me. I know that if I look at him I will be tempted to laugh due to nerves so I resolutely keep my attention on my cup. As subtly as possible, I shift away from James so that our shoulders are no longer touching. When my coffee is finished, I am reluctant to leave James behind alone with Becca. I turn to Becca who is regarding me with a speculative look in her eye. Great, now she probably thinks I was coming on to James. I strive to make mundane chitchat with Becca. When I see that James has finished making his coffee, I make my excuses and return to my office. My phone vibrates with one last text from James.  

Don’t forget what you promised to think about…

My heart sinks as I remember my promise to give some thought to making our relationship known at the office. I can’t help feeling a strong sense of reluctance, but I don’t have time to dwell on the reasons now. The work in front of me is not going to do itself. I will just have to think about it later.

True to his promise, James takes me out to dinner. He has made reservations at the Gotham Bar and Grill. Although it is a popular restaurant in New York City, I have never been. The waiter takes us to our seats immediately. I watch as James orders a bottle from the wine list, and he seems to know what he is doing. “I didn’t realize that you are a wine connoisseur.”

James folds the menu and hands it back to the waiter. “I know a thing or two about it, but I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur. I’m not obsessed with it like some people.”

“You seem pretty knowledgeable.”

James shrugs as if it is nothing. “A little knowledge goes a long way.”

“That could be true of most things.”

“Touché.” A broad grin spreads across James’s face, and I am left momentarily speechless. He is so handsome it sometimes takes my breath away. It also makes me wonder what he could possibly see in me. I struggle against my insecurities. Where is your self-confidence Lainey Hart? You are a smart, capable person and beauty is only skin deep.

The restaurant’s reputation is well earned. Each course is more delicious than the last. James is making me laugh at some of the past antics at Houghton Mills when I notice a woman approaching our table. She is a tall blond and looks like she could be a runway model. I feel gauche and unsophisticated in comparison.

She greets James with a cool smile and ignores me completely. “Hello James. I haven’t seen you for a while.”

I inspect James carefully for a reaction, but he remains at ease. “Jenna, how are you?”

“Oh, you know…”

I don’t know what to make of this strange response. Silence descends over the table. Jenna breaks the awkward moment. “If you’re interested in a rematch, I’ll be in the Hamptons this weekend.” Her eyes land on me momentarily before returning to James. “When you get tired of playing around, call me.”

With that she turns and walks away without sparing me another glance. I look at James for an explanation. When he continues calmly with his meal, I realize that he has no intention of giving me one. “Who was that?”