Montaine (13 page)

I growled with mock
disapproval as she stepped into a pair of cherry red patent leather heels.

My phone buzzed in my
purse. The message was from Trent.

What are you up to
right now?

I punched in my reply.

Working on a new story
idea
!

“Maybe you could call
Trent, and we’ll double!” Marcie dabbed her lips with gloss and brushed her
shining hair.

“I don’t think so. I have
research to do tonight. Listen, don’t say anything to Tony about me and Trent,
ok? He doesn’t know yet. I’d like to keep it a secret for the time being.”

Marcie threw back her
head and guffawed with a wide-open mouth.

“You think Tony doesn’t
know?”

“Did he tell you that he
knows?”

“No, but he’s not an
idiot. The sexual electricity between you and Trent nearly singed the hair off
my arms when I stood between you.”

“Still, just don’t
mention it. For me?”

Marcie tottered over in
her heels and planted a sticky kiss on my forehead. “You have my word, my love.
I will not tell anyone that Trent regularly fucks your brains to smithereens.”

“Thank you, dear,” I said
with a sideways smirk.

My phone buzzed in my
hand with another text from Trent.

Anything that would
interest me?

I hope so! But I’m not
telling you yet. It’s for the contest…

Good. I’m one of the
judges. Let’s keep this honest. And get that sexy ass back to work. ;)

“So? What do you think?”
Marcie gave a Hollywood starlet pose with tilted hips and one bent knee.

“You look fantastic. Be
nice to Tony. He’s a good boy.”

“Oh, Kat. I’m always nice
to good boys.”

She grabbed her silver
clutch from the desk and blew me a kiss.

“Have fun!” I shouted as
she waved over her shoulder, her heels clicking loudly across the tiled
hallway.

Over the next several
days, I conducted one interview after another during the hours before and after
work.

Tanya Temple turned out
to be a warm, funny, and intelligent young woman. I learned that her husband,
the improbably named Eugene, was a software engineer in his daytime hours. He
had taken up fighting after recovering from a nearly fatal car accident. He
soon found that he had a natural ability in the ring. I asked her about the
stress involved when such large sums of money were on the table.

“You win some, you lose
some.” She shrugged. “But life is short. You only get one chance. That’s what
the accident taught us. Eugene feels fully alive when he is in the ring. I
would never take that from him.”

As we spoke, an angelic
toddler with a head of riotous orange curls leapt into Tanya’s lap.

“She has her father’s
hair color,” I joked.

“And his toughness,” she
replied.

“Well, I’d say that
probably comes from both of you.”

She smiled and tried in
vain to smooth her daughter’s popping ringlets.

With each interview, I
carefully pieced together the different strands of narrative into a coherent
whole. I spoke to a night-shift nurse whose husband took up fighting after they
lost their home to foreclosure. I spoke to a father who entered the ring as a
way to finance mounting medical bills when his son was born with a congenital
heart defect. By telling their stories, I wanted to give the reader a complete
sense of the drama, the behind-the-scenes struggles and triumphs of fighters on
the margins.

“You look like you’re in
the zone,” Tony said from behind my head as I sat furiously typing on Thursday
morning.

“Tony! How did it go?” I
had been so preoccupied the past few days that I had completely forgotten to
ask him about his date with Marcie.

“How did what go?” he
asked with a hint of coyness.

“Oh, come on. You know
what I mean. Your date!”

The most I had been able to
drag out of Marcie was a tiny smile and a sheepish, “It was nice.” Since she
was usually so free with the sordid details of her dating life, I knew that her
shyness regarding Tony was either a very good sign or a very bad sign.

“It was nice,” Tony
replied with a pink blush overspreading his forehead and cheeks.

“Geez, you two.” I huffed
a lock of hair out of my eyes. “So secretive.”

“Secretive, huh?” He
leaned on my desk and crossed his arms. “And you wouldn’t know anything about
being secretive, would you?”

Discomfort must have
registered on my face because he immediately placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Relax, Marcie didn’t tell me anything. I figured it out on my own. And your
secrets are safe with me.”

“Thank you, Tony. You’re
the best of the best.”

“Tell me something I
don’t know. Speaking of the best of the best though,” he leaned over my
shoulder and peered at my computer screen. “What have you been working on so
intently? Is this for the contest?”

“It sure is. I think I’m
onto something good. I’ll be ready to submit it just in time for the deadline
on Tuesday.”

“Well, I’ll let you get
back to it. Let me know if you need a coffee break.” He swished the liquid in
my half-filled styrofoam cup and hopped from my desk.

An envelope icon appeared
in the bottom right corner of my laptop screen. I opened my email inbox and
read the new message.

Miss Raney,

I need to see you in
my office immediately.

Your boss,

Mr. Montaine

“Shit,” I muttered and closed
my hand over my mouth.

I pushed away from my
desk and hurried toward the hallway of executive offices, my black kitten heels
ticking rapidly over the shiny floor.

When I eased myself
around the doorframe of Trent’s office, he was seated at his desk, his hands
joined behind his head, elbows outward. A severe scowl darkened his features.

“Close the door,” he said
with menacing depth.

I did as instructed, my
heart jumping into my throat.

“Lock it,” he said.

I flipped the lock with a
click.

“Now come over here.”

“Is everything alright?”
I pressed my back against the closed door, my hand over my stomach.

“Everything is about to
get a whole lot better.”

The wide grin that broke
across his face told me that I was the victim of a prank. Trent was playing
games. My irritation melted at the sight of his handsome face. My heart
switched from racing anxiety to surging desire.

I strolled slowly to his
desk. He hungrily watched the swish of my short pink skirt above my bare legs.
I slipped off my shoes and stood straddling his knees. He leaned back in his
chair and gazed up at me, his hand sliding easily up my thighs. He caressed the
small triangle of sheer fabric that served as my panties and plucked down the
stringy bands that clung tightly to my hips. I spread my legs wider apart as
his fingers slipped into me and rubbed me gently from the inside.

“Take off the shirt,” he
said breathily.

I gripped the hem of my
ivory knit top, pulled it over my head, and tossed it onto the floor.

“The bra too.”

I reached around my back
and unhooked my bra clasp. The pale pink straps slithered down my shoulders. The
thin lace dropped from my breasts into his lap.

He unzipped the waistband
of my skirt. I stepped back and let it slide down my legs, where it pooled at
my bare feet. He pinched the seams of my panties and pulled them smoothly over
my hips. They also slid to the floor. I was completely naked.

I unbuttoned his light
blue shirt to reveal the chiseled contours of his sturdy chest in its coating
of swirling cyclone tattoos. I unzipped his jeans and pulled his dick out of
his gray cotton briefs, moaning softly as he licked and sucked on my taut
nipples.

“You know what to do,
baby,” he growled.

He slid his hands the
length of my body from my neck to my waist, his touch like electricity coursing
over my naked flesh. I climbed on top of him, straddling his lap, and lowered
myself onto his huge erect shaft, groaning with mind-emptying pleasure at the
sensation of his hard length plunged deep inside of me. He spanked me with a
stinging slap and caressed my bare ass as I rocked my hips, grinding myself
into him with each vigorous thrust.

I went slowly at first,
my stomach muscles churning, teasing him with each long, wet slide and deep
penetration. He closed his hands around my thighs, his fingers digging into my
skin with a bruising force.

“Is this how you like
it?” I purred. “I want to make my boss happy.”

I gripped his chair and
arched my back while my hips rocked faster and my breasts bounced with every rise
and fall.

“Oh, Kat,” he moaned. “I
just can’t get enough of you. I want you on my dick all day long.”

“Lucky for you, I have to
do what you say.”

“Fuck me harder then.
Make it rough.” He placed a hand around my throat and squeezed with increasing
force as I continued to grind and bounce faster.

I gasped and moaned in
absolute ecstasy with each movement. I panted with exertion as each plunge
brought me closer to orgasm. Trent groaned and growled, squeezing my neck with
one strong hand and slapping my ass with the other. I writhed with abandon,
completely losing control in the soul-shuddering orgasmic frenzy that overtook
my entire body. I threw my head back, my mouth open, and cried out with a ferocious
animal lust as I clenched tight around him and a surge of unstoppable pleasure
rocketed through my core and flowed to every extremity.

“That’s my girl,” Trent
whispered. “Ready for me now? Show me what you’ve got.”

I rocked and bounced
harder and faster as he gripped and squeezed my breasts. He thrust his hips
beneath me as we joined in a steadily pulsing rhythm. He closed his eyes and
came with a forceful final lunge, a powerful throb of release, and a low and
rumbling moan.

I collapsed onto his
chest, breathing heavily, and kissed his neck and his collarbone. I closed my
mouth over his warm lips as the final electric shudders of orgasm vibrated
through our joined bodies. His fingertips slid gently down my tailbone. He
pushed my hair to the side and kissed the narrow indent between my neck and
shoulder.

 “Well, this is the best
workday I’ve had in a while.” He laughed and hugged me tighter. I giggled and
nuzzled my face against his stubbled cheek.

“I’m glad I could be of
service, Mr. Montaine.”

We rested for several
minutes while our heart rates slowed to a normal beat. I lifted myself up and
perched on his knee, facing the desk. I saw that his laptop was open to a
search page with references to “Hades.”

“What’s this?” I asked.
“Were you doing some research on that fighter?”

“Yeah.” He sighed through
his nose, his fingers absent-mindedly circling my shoulder blades and moving
down my arms. “So far, I have been coming up empty. I assume that ‘Hades’ was a
name he just made up for the purposes of the fight. I can’t find any other
references to him. I got in touch with some of my contacts in the fighting
world, and no one else has ever heard of him either. He apparently ducked out
and disappeared right after the fight with Oscar. No one has seen him since.”

“He is fairly distinctive
looking.” I scrolled through the search results. “I feel like someone would
have noticed those bleeding skull tattoos.”

“It’s his face that seems
familiar to me. It’s like I’ve seen him in another life or something. Like a
case of déjà vu.”

“Do you think he was
after Oscar specifically?” I turned to peek at Trent. He ran a hand through his
thick black hair, pushing a section of it back from his forehead.

“I don’t know.” He shook
his head. “I mean, I doubt it. I can’t imagine Oscar having any enemies,
especially one like that.”

“Maybe I’ll start digging
around too. See if I can come up with anything.”

“Speaking of digging
around, what’s this new story that’s been keeping you busy? Can you give me a
hint? What is it about?”

I stood, plucked my bra
and panties from the floor, and began to get dressed.

“You’ll see,” I said with
a wink. I pulled my shirt over my head, smoothing a few errant hairs that flew
upwards with static.

“Ah, now who’s being
mysterious?” He buttoned his shirt and jeans.

“Have I disappointed you
yet?” I asked, echoing his words with a chiding smirk and dipping my feet into
my shoes.

“Not at all, my dear.
Not…at…all.”

“How do I look?” I stood
in the center of the office for his appraisal, my arms outstretched.

“Like you just had really
amazing sex with a total stud.” He leaned backwards on the edge of his desk,
tilting his head to the side and smiling with a deliciously rakish grin and a
small tantalizing dimple.

“No!” I reached out and
batted playfully at his muscular arm. “That’s the last thing I want anyone to
know!”

He laughed. “I’m just
kidding then. You look like a pure and virginal intern who has not had sex at
any point today, and certainly not in an office chair during her lunch break.”

“Lunch break? I didn’t
get any lunch out of this deal.”

“Are you hungry? I’ve got
a big sausage for you.”

“That’s the worst joke
anyone has ever made. I’m going to pretend that I never heard it, for both our
sakes.”

“That’s probably for the
best.” He chuckled and kissed me lightly on the lips. “You’re a funny girl, Kat.
That’s one of the main reasons that I…like you so much.” He paused noticeably
before the word
like
.

My heart beat faster. I
swallowed hard.

 “I like you too, Trent.”

“Good. That’s settled
then.” He spun me toward the door and spanked my behind. “Now get back to work,
babe.”

I tried to wipe away the
smile that broke across my face as I left his office.

“Hello, Kat. What are you
up to?” I heard Kill’s voice as I rounded a corner. He stood before me,
blocking my path. He looked back and forth between me and the open door to Trent’s
office. His thin lips were pressed together in a sardonic grin.

“Umm, just helping Trent
with something.” I knew this was the wrong answer under the circumstances, but
the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Really? What were you
helping him with?” Kill stepped closer, gazing down at me with his arms crossed
over his narrow chest.

“Just some research.” My
voice cracked slightly. I cleared my throat.

“Hmm. I see.” He bit his
lower lip in a rat-like leer. His beady, close-set eyes traveled the entire
length of my body. He bent forward as if about to whisper a secret. “Your skirt
is crooked.” I had the unpleasant sensation of his hot breath on my ear.