Chapter Sixteen

Blake loosened his tie. He knew he should turn off the monitors and stop watching. He knew exactly what Jewell was doing. She was trying to gain back some of the control that she felt he was taking away. Okay, the control that he was definitely taking away.

Instead of being frustrated with her, instead of wanting to punish her, to send her away, he was more excited than he’d been when he first met her. If she were refusing his orders outright, he wouldn’t be able to tolerate it, but she wasn’t pushing it that far.

No. She was pushing him just enough to turn him on, to make him want to leave work and rush home so he could show her who was in charge. He would take great pleasure in doing just that.

He had to force himself to stay seated. He refused to rush home, because that was giving her too much power and he wasn’t willing to do that. No, this exciting battle of wills would continue, and he was going to sit right where he was.

And as much as he told himself he ought to focus on anything other than Jewell and the clear water in the tub, he still found himself fixated on her…and the show she was putting on was making his office feel a whole hell of a lot hotter.

When Jewell slipped down into the water, the sway of her breasts mesmerized him. She grabbed a bottle from the side of the tub and squirted a good amount of soap into her hands, then rubbed them together before starting at her neck and then brushing her hands down the sweet curve of her breasts.

When she began massaging her nipples with her thumb and forefinger, letting her head lean back against the rim of the tub, he felt his arousal pulse. This video feed lacked sound, and he was almost grateful for that fact, because when he saw her mouth open, he had no doubt a soft moan was escaping her sweet red lips, and the actual sound would probably hit him with cardiac arrest.

He could focus only on her as her hands next traveled down the luscious line of her stomach before her legs spread out in the large tub, and then she was rubbing along her hot, sleek folds and her mouth opened in a big O.

That was it.

So what if she had more power? He would certainly take it back. He darted up from his chair, flicked off the monitor, and walked from his office. No one on that floor said a word as he marched off to his private elevator.

Blake jumped into his car and peeled out of the parking garage with squealing tires before entering the busy roads and rushing to the freeway. He wanted to get home, and he wanted to get there fast. When he made it to his apartment complex, he was amazed he managed to park the car straight.

Jumping out, he dashed to his elevator and, once he got inside, tapped his foot impatiently while the stupid box took an obscene amount of time to reach his penthouse apartment.

He only slowed down when he was finally inside the apartment. That’s where he took a deep breath and told himself that he was in control, that he could turn around and walk back out if he chose to. Yeah, right. If that were the case, why did his feet keep moving forward, and why was he now bounding up the stairs?

His bathroom door was cracked open, and he heard a sigh that made his already hard body throb painfully. After stripping naked, he took another breath, then flung the damned door open.

It banged against the wall, and his reward was seeing Jewell’s eyes widen.

She sat up in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“You were putting on such a great show, I wanted to see it in person,” he said as he strode forward, his arousal jutting out proudly.

“I…uh…”

“Don’t know what to say now that I’m standing here, Jewell? Did you really think you could play games with me and not see them through?”

He stepped down into the tub before she could answer, and he pulled her onto his lap, his body thanking him when her skin came into contact with his.

“I just hate the cameras,” she said before gasping as his mouth took a nipple and sucked it hard.

“Well, I happen to love them,” he told her before switching sides, and making a low moan tumble from her throat. “And I’m taking you now.”

He drew her up onto his erection, and then pulled her down, giving a rumble of pleasure as he filled her tight heat.

“Damn, you feel good,” he groaned as he began lifting her up and down on him.

He didn’t let her speak as he kept up the primitive rhythm. He just grabbed the back of her neck and his lips claimed hers. The sweet taste of her mouth and the feel of her inner walls gripping him tightly were quickly making him lose any vestige of control.

Finally, with a growl, he forced his hips up almost violently while pulling her down upon him, and then he exploded inside her. Her cries echoed off the bathroom walls as she found her own pleasure simultaneously.

It was several moments later when he realized he hadn’t even thought about protection. Overcome with panic, he quickly pulled her off him and moved away.

“What’s wrong?” She scooted back farther, lifting her arms up in a protective gesture.

“I didn’t use a condom,” he said, his voice hoarse. The last thing he needed or wanted was a child.

“I’m…uh…I’m on birth control. It was the first thing they did at the…um…employment agency,” she stuttered, and relief washed through him.

In his panic he’d forgotten what McKenzie had told him — the girls were protected both from pregnancy and tested for disease each time they returned from a client. Still, he didn’t trust birth control. He always made sure he was protected — without fail.

“It won’t happen again.” He stood up and stepped from the tub, his desire sated, and the scare of an unplanned pregnancy eliminating, for now at least, the need to take her back to his bed for another bout. “I’m going back to work.”

He walked from the bathroom; his emotions were turbulent as he got dressed and left his bedroom. He was grateful she waited to emerge until he was finished. This woman had made him leave work in the middle of the day, had made him forget condoms, had made him want and do things he never had before.

Maybe he should send her back after all — job paid in full. That would be much safer for his sanity. But even as he rode back down to the parking garage, he knew that wasn’t going to happen.

He wasn’t nearly finished with Jewell Weston. Just a few more days with her would do the trick. Ignoring the pang that idea caused, he focused now on anything but her. Instead of driving back to his offices, he decided to head to the work site of a large mall his company was building.

What he needed right now was a hammer and nails so he could pound out his frustration on inanimate objects. He sure as hell hoped he didn’t run into either of his brothers, because there was no way he could explain his black mood or the chaos now ruling his thoughts.