Control (2 page)

Chapter 2

Cole

She never came back.

I was rather surprised that she didn't return to me. The hunger in her eyes as I toyed with her against the wall was enough to make me think she'd do just about anything I wanted her to.

A growl left me as I pressed a few buttons on the treadmill and upped my jog to a sprint. I needed to bleed out the aggression that bubbled up inside of me. I should have gone with her to take care of Heather. That would have gained me the upper hand to stay the night in her bed if nothing else.

I brushed my fingers over my lips and breathed in deeply as my cock hardened in my running shorts. Good thing my underwear was painfully tight, or I'd have more to deal with than just a day of yet another conference. The smell of her come stained my fingers, and fuck if I didn't want to lick them. I forced myself to think through the day instead of how many ways I could make her moan.

I'd see her again. I had no doubt about it. She'd be mine later that day or perhaps that night, but either way, I was going to have my way with her. She was far too much 'my type' not to. I'd seen her across the room the night before and made a quick plan to get her friend’s attention in hopes that it would lead to her tagging along.

Her long dark hair and piercing eyes had every man in the room looking her way. Her dress had been professional, but sexy, hitting her mid-thigh and leaving everyone’s mind to wonder what color her panties might be. I still didn't know. Whatever they were, they were tiny as fuck. A groan lodged in my chest as I pressed the button again and forced myself to stay present during my run or chance eating the ground below me and skinning my face.

"Cole Alexander? I'm a huge fan of yours." A pretty woman with a big smile and bright green eyes stopped beside the machine and extended her hand.

Some part of me wanted to give her a look for trying to shake my hand while I was running as hard as I possibly could on the machine below me, but I wasn't that guy. I had been in college, but that was a good five years behind me. I had an image to keep up, and it wasn't a lie, but the older I got, the harder it was to be the nice guy all the time.

I tugged at the red chord on the machine and grabbed my towel, wiping at my head as I stepped off and extended my hand.

"Always nice to meet a fan. What's your name?" I gave her a smile as her eyes moved across my face and dipped lower.

"Lizzy Barton. I'm with Kandrill. We'll be bidding later today. I sure hope it goes well for us." She let out a nervous laugh.

"It's all for a good cause, so I'm sure it will." I pulled my hand back and continued to wipe the sweat from my head and chest. "Are you doing the bidding?"

"No, my boss is." She glanced around before letting out a squeak-like sound. "I totally read your last book!"

"Move Your Own Mountains?" I smiled and moved just behind her to get a cup of water.

She jerked around and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Yes! I'm totally working on moving my mountain."

"What is your mountain, Lizzy?" I stood up and took a long drink of the cool liquid as Sam, my secretary, walked up behind the excited woman.

"I'm not sure, but the minute I figure it out, I'll let you know. I'm just so excited to move it!"

"Cole. You have thirty minutes. Get outta here, get your shower and let's move it." Sam leaned around the woman and lifted his eyebrow at me. "Now, man."

"Right." I reached out and squeezed the side of Lizzy's shoulder. "Good to meet you. Keep after that search and you'll feel more free than you ever have."

"Okay. I'll be around tonight if you want to have a drink, maybe?" she called after me as we walked to the exit.

"I'll see if I can find you." I smiled over my shoulder and patted my head again as Sam chuckled beside me.

"I'm thinking she wants you to be the mountain she moves." He chuckled as I popped him in the chest. The guy was like a little brother to me, and had been beside me for the last five years as I worked my legal career into something far more entertaining and rewarding. Helping people get over their fears and conquer their doubts about anything and everything was my life mission, and I was damn good at it.

"Every woman thinks they want a man like me, until they get me." I rolled my shoulder and pressed the button for the elevator as Sam pushed his bottom lip out and wiped at his eye.

"So fucking sad, dude. Here is the one tear I cried for you." He pretended to fling a tear at me as a smirk lifted his lips.

"Thanks man, I knew you'd understand." I smiled back and pretended to catch the tear.

"How a guy like you could be wanting for anything is beyond me." He shrugged and tapped the clipboard he held in his hand. "You’ve seriously got twenty minutes to get yourself looking like a class-A shit kicker, Cole."

"Class-A shit kicker." I glanced over at him. "What are you, fifteen?"

"I wish. I was getting more pussy then than I am now. Being next to you isn't helping my chances either." He moved forward and held the door open for me. "Did you get both those girls in bed last night?"

"You jealous?" I walked by and pulled my room key from my pocket.

"Always." Sam smiled over at me. His tidy appearance and thin frame had most girls trying to guess if he were interested in women or men. He was almost too well put together, but I wasn't handing out free advice. That was usually worth what you paid for it - nothing.

I pushed the key in the lock and glanced over at him. "If it makes you feel any better, the blond got sick and threw up in my bathroom for half an hour, and the one I was after wouldn't let go of her resolve to be a good girl. Barely got the tip in her before she ran for the door."

"Fuck. That's hot." He turned and pressed his back to the door. "She had to be the most beautiful woman in the whole damn room."

"Tell me about it." I opened the door and called over my shoulder. "Twenty minutes. I'll be out in ten."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

I showered like my ass was on fire and dressed in a pair of black slacks and a polo shirt. A quick fix on my hair, cologne and I was out the door.

Sam moved from the wall and tilted his head. "How the fuck do you do that all the time?"

"What? Hurry? I'm a guy. I know how to hurry. It's you I'm worried about." I patted his back. "You take for fucking ever and still look the same, no matter what you do."

He rolled his eyes and pressed the button for the elevator. "Funny. Very funny Cole."

"You're smiling. I'd say that's a win." I got into the elevator and several women gasped.

"Cole Alexander? Holy shit!"

I glanced over at Sam to see him roll his eyes. I laughed and turned around to talk to the girls for a few minutes as we made our way down to the bottom floor. Fans were everywhere, but friends were few, and the guy beside me was one of the only ones in my life. Why he stuck by me, I'd never know, but I was grateful as hell for him.

"This way, rock star." He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the conference room as the sound of chanting filled my ears.

"Keep an eye out for Alexis. That's your only job today. Find her and let’s get her number. Got it?" I turned to him and pinned him with a hard stare.

"Right. Who the fuck is Alexis?"

"The dark-haired vixen with the big tits from last night." I patted his arm. "I pay you a lot. Don't let me down."

"Fuck you too, Cole."

I laughed and jogged up on the stage as someone handed me a mic. The crowd went nuts, which was great, but not at all why I did what I did. My life had once been shit and after working through how to get it back on track, I honestly just wanted to offer my method to others. Their false adoration was just part of the package.

"Good morning! Who's ready to move a few mountains today?" I smiled and glanced down in the front row as my heart skipped a beat.

There you are, pretty girl. Mine.

Chapter 3

Alexis

"No fucking way," Heather whispered beside me as Cole Alexander bounded up on stage and the crowd behind us went wild.

My idea to sit in the front row suddenly seemed to be, by far, the worst idea I'd had in years. I was hoping to avoid seeing him or anyone else as I sunk down in my chair a few minutes before. Shame sat heavy on me at the ignorant decision to let “drunk Heather” talk me into one last night of insanity.

How I didn't realize that the man from the night before was one of the speakers was beyond me. I'd been looking forward to the motivation event that was dubbing as a charity event for weeks. I'd just been too damn busy to stop and see which speakers were coming to pump us up and then pimp themselves out. I knew names... but not faces.

"I'm going to die," I mumbled and glanced over at Heather. "I hate you. It's official."

"I sucked his cock last night, Alexis. Don't hate me. I'm in a private hell of my own."

"No, you tried to suck his cock. You ended up barfing in the bathroom instead." I turned back toward the stage and forced my facade into place. I'd play the part and run like hell the minute he wasn't looking.

"It was huge. Did you see it?" she leaned over and whispered roughly into my ear as Cole lifted his hand and let out a warm laugh.

"Get to your feet. Stand up." He glanced down at me. "Let's get your blood pumping, shall we?"

The crowd went wild as my nipples budded and every cell in my body sparked to life. He was going to fuck with me for not staying last night. I deserved it. I deserved every minute of torture the next hour was going to prove to be.

"Lift your hands to the ceiling and close your eyes. I want you to stretch as high as you can." His voice was smooth, deep, sexy.

I opened my eyes and glanced up to find him watching me intently. I closed my eyes and lifted my chin as if to prove a point. I wanted to tuck tail and crawl under the fucking chair behind me, but he wasn't getting the better of me. Heather might cower in the corner over fucking up, but I would own it. Sort of. I was planning on running to my room and owning it from under the covers of my bed, but still. I was owning it, dammit.

"Wrap your arms around yourself, like a hug. Tight. Really tight."

I couldn't help but glanced up at him.

"Think about the one thing you want most." He tilted his head as his eyes moved down the length of my body. "The thing that keeps you up at night, that makes your heart swell, your body ache, your mind race through the possibilities. If only I could have this one thing. If I could reach out and take it, pull it close to me and consume it or break it down or dominate it. What would that one thing be?"

A shiver ran down my spine as he continued to hold the stare I wanted so badly to break.

He winked at me and glanced up. "Open your eyes, sit down in your chair and hold tight to that one thing. We're going to move some mountains in your life so that if nothing else, by the end of this session, you'll be ready to take the necessary steps to get what you want."

"What do you want, Cole?" Some guy yelled from the back, and the room exploded in soft laughter.

"A good woman, but not just any woman." He pressed his fingers to his lips, and I could have sworn he breathed in.

No the fuck he just didn't. Tease.

Some of the women around the room jumped up and waved their hands wildly as the room continued to chuckle.

He smiled and I could have sworn the light brightened around me. Cole Alexander was a force to be reckoned with and he had the body of a god and the smile of an angel. Why in my lusty-drunken haze I hadn't realized it was him the night before was a mystery. A travesty.

"She's gotta be strong-willed and hard-headed." He smiled and scanned the crowd. "The kind of woman that knows what she wants, but is slightly timid about going after it, or she's making us think that she's timid."

The crowd laughed again.

"Keep in mind what your greatest desire in this moment is. Right now. Right here. Not something you wanted before coming here or something you'll want after leaving. What do you want right here in this moment?" He smiled and turned his attention back to me. "Let's have a few people share what that thing is. How about you, Miss? Tell us your name, what company you're with and what you want most in the world right now."

I glanced over at Heather as she stiffened beside me. "Is he talking to me?"

"I don't fucking know," she whispered as terror rolled across her features.

"You, with the dark hair and the pretty blue blouse up front." He knelt on the stage and gave me the most genuine smile I'd ever seen. I could have thrown up.

"Sure." I stood up and turned my back to him, waving at the crowd. No fucking way he was getting the better of me. "I'm Alexis Foster. I work for Vandrake as a junior advertising agent and what I want most in the world right now is control. Control to be who I want to be in the future," I turned to face him, "and not who I was in the past."

He nodded and stood back up. "Excellent. Give Alexis a round of applause for sharing. How about you right there, Sir? What do you want most in the world right now?"

I dropped down into my seat and pressed my fingers to my eyes, wishing I could fucking disappear. How dare he?

"Unbelievable," Heather whispered beside me.

"Agreed." I turned and tried to look interested in the other participants as I might have been had I not half fucked the main speaker of the event the night before. The next forty-eight minutes were excruciating and Cole worked the crowd through how to get that one thing we all wanted more than anything else.

My answer had only been half true. I'd wanted control for a long time, but for that one moment in the conference hall, the real answer I'd have given if I were being completely honest wasn't that I wanted to escape from my past. It would have been that I wanted him. On his knees with his face buried between my legs.

That would have gone over well.

*

"Let's start the bidding for Cole Alexander first today, shall we? We’ll have the speakers clear the room and began." The announcer moved up beside Cole as everyone shot to their feet. I stood and walked out of the room with Heather hot on my heels.

The ten companies in attendance to the event would bid on the consultants and motivational speakers and the highest bidder won a two-day visit from the all-star. The money would go to the speaker’s charity of choice, so everyone won in the end. It was a great concept and would prove to be beneficial to all of us, but I couldn't stick around to see where Cole ended up.

All I could do was pray it wouldn't be Vandrake. The chances were slim that we would get him though. He was one of the bigger names on the platform and my boss was cheap as hell, even when a charity was involved.

"He totally called you out." Heather stopped in front of me and put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah. You think?" I growled softly and turned as someone touched my arm. A handsome guy with a clipboard smiled and extended his hand.

"I'm Sam, one of the organizers of the event. Are you ladies having a good time?" His warm brown eyes softened me a little.

"Yeah. It's great. I'm Alexis and this is Heather. Nice to meet you, Sam." I shook his hand and returned the smile.

"That's great to hear. I'm collecting business cards for a giveaway later. Would you ladies mind handing over one of yours?"

"Sure." I pulled my bag off my shoulder and got out a card as Heather did the same. "Thanks for asking."

"My pleasure." He took the cards and walked off into the crowd, stopping by another group of people as we moved over to the bar.

"He knew what he was doing," I mumbled under my breath and filled a glass with ice.

"Who? Cole? Fuck yes he did. How did we not know that was him last night?" Heather growled softly and handed me a Coke.

"Because we don't follow that motivational speech shit. That's why." I took the Coke and popped the top as Cole walked out of the conference room with a group of women around him. We locked eyes, and I turned back to Heather. "I'm going to the bathroom. Divert him if he comes near me."

"Of course. Throw me to the dogs."

"He's not a dog. A fucking alpha wolf maybe, but no dogs here."