Silver Lining, page 16
Of course, he wasn’t happy. Adam has had something against me from day one. “Kelsey brought Lena to me.”
“Tell me where you are, where you took her,” Colton said.
I hesitated.
“What the fuck? You won’t tell me?”
“Someone is fucking with her, Colton. There’s someone close to her that can’t be trusted. The less you know, the safer you are.”
“Then tell me, why would you write that tweet? If this goes public…”
“What tweet? The deal is done. You have your money. I have mine.” I stood to my feet; the phone plastered to my ear. “Shit, this isn’t about the money. I don’t give a damn if somehow the deal is retracted. I only care that Lena is safe.”
“That isn’t your job…”
His voice trailed away as I met the gaze of the woman standing silently near the counter. There was something in the way she stood there in the darkness.
“Colt, I need to go. Tell anyone you want that I called. Ms. Montgomery is safe. That’s all anyone needs to know.”
I hit the disconnect button before he could respond.
Turning off my phone, I tossed it on the counter and went to Lena. “What happened?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lena
“Did you mean what you just said?” I asked.
In the dark kitchen, CJ was pressed against me, his arms on either side, pinning me next to the counter. It was impossible not to react to the heat from his touch or the hardness of his body as his hips pressed against mine. I wanted to reach up, frame his scruffy cheeks, and pull his lips to mine. The only thing stopping me was the voice in my head.
“What did I say?” His questioning response was deep and measured, his words vibrating through his body to mine.
“About the money. That you don’t care.”
“Lena, I don’t give a fuck about money. This is the first time I’ve ever had it, but it doesn’t change who I am. My brother is afraid…” He took a little step back, relieving the growing pressure building within me. “…He said Adam thinks I kidnapped you, took you against your will.”
“I just read the same thing.”
“From?”
“Adam. It’s ridiculous. Kelsey was there.”
“Did he tell you that?” I asked.
“I haven’t called; instead, I started reading his text messages. He’s saying they found out more information about you.” I took a deep breath and stared up at CJ. “Adam thinks you went to Cancún to meet me.”
“He’s a fucking liar. You know why I was there. I was upset about selling Architech.”
“And what better revenge than to seduce and expose the person responsible for the sale.”
CJ took a step back and ran his fingers through his hair. In the moonlight shining through the windows, I saw his clenched jaw and his bulged bicep as he turned a complete circle. When CJ stopped, his volume was raised. “I was responsible for the sale. Colton and me. We agreed to sell. I had seller’s remorse, but revenge…that’s not who I am. What the fuck was I supposed to expose?”
I reached for my phone from the counter and brought it to life. The screenshot I showed was from his twitter feed. CJ took the phone from my hands and stared at the screen.
When he looked up, his expression was one of shock. “Lena, that’s my Twitter account, but fuck, I rarely post. I didn’t post that. Hell, no one follows me.”
“They do now. If not you, who?”
The tweet tagged me, saying CJ knew the secret to my success, knew it firsthand, and he should have held out for more negotiation. The pic was of us together in the cabana in Cancún. It was too far away to see what was happening, but it didn’t take a wild imagination to figure it out.
“Fuck if I know,” he said in exasperation. “I’m in the cabana. I obviously didn’t take the picture.”
“Who did you pay?” I asked. “One of the waitresses or waiters? How much did you pay them?”
“Stop, Lena.” CJ gripped my shoulders. “I. Didn’t. Do. That.”
“I can’t stay here.”
“Did you tell Adam where we are?”
“No. I don’t know where we are. I texted saying I’d talk to you and get him the location. It was clear in his messages that he’s upset about the watch. He asked why I took it off and asked if it was your idea.”
“And you told him it was me.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t responded, but it made me think. It was you. It was your idea.”
CJ inhaled as he paced back and forth like a caged animal. “Someone close to you is involved. According to you, that watch was connected to an untold number of security employees. Yes, it was my idea.”
I looked down at my feet, unsure what or who to believe.
“Lena,” CJ said, “Adam’s jealous.”
I snapped my face up. “What?”
“He’s jealous of me. He has been since you invited me to your suite in Cancún.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re not the first man I’ve been with since Adam’s worked for me.”
“That’s none of my business,” CJ said. His face tilted. “Do you see the way he looks at you?”
“No. There’s nothing like that between us.”
“Between you. That doesn’t mean it isn’t one-sided.”
I walked over to the breakfast bar and sat, lowering my forehead to the counter. When I looked up, CJ was across from me. Even in the moonlight I felt his stare, his presence. Just like this afternoon near the podium, I knew he was there before he spoke. It was like hearing his voice on the phone earlier today; it steadied me.
Had I let my body overrule my better judgment?
“Talk to me, Lena. Don’t overthink. Go with your gut. It’s gotten you to where you are now.”
“Adam doesn’t think you’re the stalker. He thinks you took advantage of the knowledge I shared and tried to scare me.”
“How? I didn’t know you were in Austin until after the plane landed.”
“The fish were believed to have been put in the cargo hold while I was at Architech. You could have hired someone.”
“So the fuck could he.”
I sat taller. “Adam wouldn’t do that.”
“The list of possibilities is limitless.” CJ reached across the counter and covered my hand with his. “I wouldn’t do that, with the fish. You know in your heart. You wouldn’t have texted me to help you if you didn’t trust me. Lena, I would rather die than scare you.”
With his hand holding mine, CJ came around the counter and tugged me from the chair. In one fell swoop, he lifted me from the ground, cradling me against his chest. “You’re as light as a feather.”
“Hardly.” I squirmed. “Put me down.”
“No.”
I blinked my eyes at his refusal. “Excuse me.”
“I didn’t take you against your will. You know that.”
“The watch…”
“It was for your safety.”
“Did you tell Colton that we’re at his new house?”
CJ shook his head. “No. You and I, we’re taking the rest of the night off from real life. You texted Adam, and you spoke to Kelsey earlier.”
I nodded.
“I didn’t tweet, Lena. I’ll delete it right now.”
Leaning my head against his chest, I sighed. “I hate publicity. Even good publicity turns bad. This started bad, meaning it will only get worse. You can delete it, but screenshots last forever.”
CJ sat me on the counter and reached for his phone. I watched as the phone came to life, and he swiped the screens. Finally, he handed me the phone. “I don’t even have Twitter on my phone. Look.”
I took the phone from his hand and read through each app and edge widget. No Twitter. No Facebook. “But it is your account?”
“Yes. I made it years ago. When was the tweet posted?”
Tilting my head toward the other side of the kitchen, I answered, “I don’t know. Let me look at the screenshot again.”
CJ brought my phone to me. I pulled up the text message. “It says five hours ago.”
“I was with you five hours ago with no other access to the internet than my phone.”
I tried to reason. “It was five hours ago when Adam got the screenshot. I don’t know when that was. It could have been yesterday or weeks ago while we were in Cancún.”
“And no one thought to notify you sooner?”
A new thought came to me. “What if the stalker was there? What if he saw us?”
CJ took the phone from my grasp, hit the button on the side. “We’ll turn both phones off and save battery. Lena, you need a break from all of this. Hell, after only part of a day, I need a break.” He grinned, offering me his hand. “Come with me. Trust me. And let me take your mind off real life.”
“You should run.”
His eyes opened wide. “From you?”
I nodded. “Like I said, I’m trouble.”
“What is the saying…something about women making history?”
“Well-behaved women seldom make history. It’s a quote from Professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, written in an article about Puritan funeral services. It’s been misinterpreted. She meant that well-behaved women should make history, not to encourage women to be rebels or less well-behaved.”
CJ grinned. “I like the misinterpretation.”
“I’m rarely well-behaved.”
“Good.” Again, he extended his hand. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“You’ve seen it.” I placed my hand in his and jumped down from the counter.
He tugged my hand toward the bedroom. “Show me again.”
Chapter Thirty
CJ
I woke wrapped around Lena’s sensual body. Using my body as a shield or a cover wasn’t completely my doing. The positioning happened as we surrendered to sleep, a surrender neither of us was willing to do until we were both too exhausted to continue. The tycoon businesswoman whose name sent shock waves through the financial community, burrowed next to me until her petite form was cocooned by mine.
Lifting my head on my elbow, I stared down at Lena, marveling at the soundness of her slumber. I didn’t know Lena well enough to know if this was her normal. I knew this was how she slept in Cancún. Granted, our sleepy nights were most always preluded by a vigorous workout—workouts.
Last night, as I tugged Lena’s hand toward the bedroom, I had one objective—to keep her mind on the present. Judging by her current state of unconsciousness, I succeeded at least in some form. As we both peeled the clothes off the other, I relinquished the reins.
Our disrobing came in bursts of energy punctuated by kisses and caresses. One minute we were soaring at two hundred miles an hour around a fast oval track. The next, we were strolling hand in hand along the shore in Cancún.
Lena’s pale flesh glowed in the moonlight as she stood completely naked before me. There was an obvious push and pull happening within her. The woman who stayed in control needed that power, desired evidence that she was still the woman others saw her to be. At the same time, the more transparent woman, the one who allowed me to see behind the walls of her own doing, desired to be released.
It was a tightrope of sorts.
When I reached for her shoulders, Lena stiffened, her body a rod. As I let go, she came to life, shining a teasing smile as she gently pushed me back on the bed and made her way onto my lap.
I’d never been with a woman like Lena, a woman who craved control while at the same time yearned for submission.
It wasn’t hot.
It was a fucking forest fire, an inferno.
Give and take.
With her chocolate eyes swirling with emotion, she kept her stare locked on mine as she sheathed me with her core, little by little. Our breathing labored as she worked to accommodate me in her tight pussy. With each inch her breasts pushed forward and pulled back. She snagged her bottom lip between her teeth as whimpers and moans filled the room. All the while Lena was the choreographer, the lead in the dance.
The vision was spectacular beyond my imagination.
I had a front-row seat to a master.
Forget the front row, I was there as her fingernails grasped my shoulders and her core gripped my cock. I was close enough to feel her warm breath as she writhed against my shoulders, her arms around my neck, her intimate noises a melody for my ears only.
After what I believed was her second or third orgasm, Lena’s soft body collapsed in my arms with our connection unsevered.
“Tell me what you want,” I said, my warm breath on her neck, hoping that she wasn’t ready for sleep.
Taking what remained of her strength, Lena lifted her face and met my gaze. Her smile shone. “I want you to take the reins.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
From the ringmaster to the lioness, Lena morphed.
Yes, she still had her power, but in the hands of the ringmaster, she was able to acquiesce. Now, with the knowledge of who Lena was, her momentary submission was all the more erotic, a gift I would never abuse.
Ask any trainer who has worked with lions and lionesses. The first rule was to not show fear. If the predator sensed indecision, the exercise was over, and the ringmaster became food. No part of me feared the sensational woman in my hands.
Adore.
Protect.
Pleasure.
The list went on and on until our satiated bodies were spent, our minds a mush of endorphins, and our limbs a tangled mess. It was then that my lioness burrowed next to me beneath the blankets we’d compiled and settled in for the night.
Currently, the sky beyond the large windows was lightening with pink clouds along the horizon. Teasing Lena’s deep-red hair away from her face, I stared at the whole of her as if she were a masterpiece I wanted to memorize. Every valley and peak were a vision to behold.
The thought wasn’t conscious, the way my circulation rerouted. It was primitive, the attraction between a man and woman—a transformation that has occurred since the dawn of time. Simply having her near caused my cock to swell.
Lena’s eyelids fluttered as my touch roamed over her arms, waist, and hips. Not fully awake, she rolled, giving me access to her core. Kissing my way down her toned stomach, I settled between her legs. Her body convulsed at my first lick. It wasn’t an orgasm, more a response to my welcomed invasion.
My name echoed off the windows and wood paneling as I held tight to the reins from the night before. Pleas as well as curses rang forth as I held her bucking hips in place, and her grip of the blankets intensified. It was as she stiffened that I climbed up, finding my place, and sliding into her wet core.
Buried to the root, I peppered her lips and nose with kisses. “Good morning.”
Lena’s light-brown gaze glistened. Her cheeks rose and her lips curled as she focused on me. “Good morning.” She looked around the room as best as she could while pinned down. “What time is it?”
I laid a finger to her lips. “Shh. It’s not time to leave our bubble.”
“CJ.” Real life was infiltrating her thoughts; I saw it in the turbulence of her stare.
“I’m not letting you up until you come two more times.”
“Two?”
I scoffed as I had her full attention. “Me, Lena. That’s all you should be thinking about.”
“I’ve already…I can’t promise two.”
Lowering my lips to her neck, I continued my rain of kisses on her sensitive skin as my hips rhythmically eased my cock in and out. Leaning down further, I sucked one nipple and the next. Lena’s protests, or more accurately, insecurities, melted away as we both found our mountain.
When I lifted my torso and our gazes met, Lena’s smile was ear to ear.
“Sorry, CJ. I don’t think you have it in you for one more.”
Holding tight to her hips, I spun until I was the one pinned to the mattress, and Lena was over me. “You do.”
Her hands were on my shoulders, her round breasts in my face as she laughed. “I’m supposed to work for my own orgasm?”
“I’m giving you back the reins. Unless you don’t think you can do it.”
The soft brown gaze over me sparkled as Lena eased herself up and back down until she found the rhythm, the one that arched her back and tightened her grip. This was another astounding display of sensuality. It took all my self-control not to submit to the pleasure before she did.
As we both shuddered, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her down until our bodies molded together, transfixed by the heat of the encounter.
Holding her against me, I marveled, “You’re so fucking gorgeous when you come.”
“I wasn’t sure, but then…”
Her words continued, but it wasn’t what she said. It was that reality that Lena was sharing, even something as personal as her insecurity about her ability to orgasm. In a way I couldn’t describe, her confession felt monumental while rather trivial at the same time.
I smoothed her hair away from her face. “You did it, Lena. There is nothing you can’t do.”
The shimmer in her expression waned.
“I wish I could keep you away from real life all the time.”
Lena nodded, still in my arms. “I wish that too.” Her palm ran over my scratchy jaw. “I made the right decision messaging you.”
“I’ll always be there for you.”
“I wish that could work.”
Twisting until Lena was lying against the pillow with a deep-red halo of hair, I kissed her nose. “It can. I figured it out.”
“What have you figured out?”
Chapter Thirty-One
Lena
“I have an idea,” CJ said. “It’s based on something you said.”
Deciding to bask in the postcoital glow for another minute as warmth filled my cheeks, I asked, “Was it before or after you handed back the reins?”
CJ’s grin grew. “You know, the lines are blurry.”
Lifting my face, I brushed his lips with mine. “They can’t be. Not having a sexual encounter or relationship with an employee is my line. It’s been a hard line for as long as I can remember. If I don’t obey my own rules, no one else will.”
