Chapter 7
I couldn’t have been more shocked. He let me totally take over, and I knew it was because he was shocked by my brazen behavior. He told me he wanted the whole shebang, so I gave it to him. He wanted the doting girlfriend. Well that’s exactly what I would do to Ryan everyday if he wanted it. Hell we were taking it slow. I hadn’t slept with my boyfriend yet. I tried not to wonder if there was an issue with that. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to admit how much I enjoyed Aiden. God he was gorgeous, and when he didn’t speak I actually sort of liked him.
He wasn’t afraid to show his pleasure and the red dips in my hips stung reminding me of how hard he held me. He finished fast, and that surprised me. I was sort of expected a monster to come out. I was expecting him to slam me down and take over. He didn’t seem like a man to submit to a woman, but his eyes stayed wide, and he moaned and thrust up into me. Otherwise he let me lead.
When I went back to my desk after changing panties, because even though I tried to hold back I climaxed too, I just had practice at holding back my pleasure. It was the only shred of control I had over them. A way to stick it with the men I fucked. My body still shook from the force of how great it felt to be with him. It ticked me off. I didn’t want to like it. It just made things a lot messier than they had to be.
“Leila.”
I jumped and turned around to see Aiden glaring at me. Though his eyes still shined from his release, he was pissed. He seemed to have figured it out. He stood behind me, not quite touching but I felt his breath on the back of my neck and shivered. “That wasn’t part of the deal, but— it was a nice start. You’re incredibly beautiful when you come,” he whispered.
How the hell did he know? “I didn’t.”
He chuckled silently. “I didn’t think so at first either, but you—” he ran his finger down my shoulder. “Left some evidence behind that I couldn’t ignore.”
I tensed. “Oh well good for you. Your dick got me off.” I was vulgar on purpose hoping it would turn him off.
“You’ll be getting off a lot more later today, sweet heart. Don’t think that was it for the day. I still get to love you the way I intended. The way you deserve.”
Too shock to speak because his words hit a nerve inside of me, both good and bad. I nodded and walked stiffly back to my desk. I didn’t meet his eyes when he walked by to his office. I didn’t turn around to see if he watched me, and I certainly didn’t watch him with sappy puppy dog eyes. His words repeated in my mind. “I still get to love you the way I intended, the way you deserve.” What the hell did that mean? He treated me like a two bit whore, but now he was treating me like the loving doting woman he said I had to pretend to be.
I shook my head and sighed pushing the intercom. “It’s lunch time for me now. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Don’t be late, Miss Turner.”
“Of course not, Mr. Carter.” I rolled my eyes. I showed him I was going to follow through with his blackmail even though I shouldn’t. Then I had a thought, one I should have realized before I cheated on my boyfriend. I stood tall and stalked out of my office. I wouldn’t have to finish the day. I needed to have faith that Ryan loved me. I needed to tell him the whole truth, and then I’d be home free. Ha. Then my boss wouldn’t get what he wanted. My body shook with nervous energy. Could I really finally tell Ryan why I hid from my past. Why I had no one in my life. Why I was so uptight, and why I worked so hard to keep up a persona of someone who was from his world. He wasn’t stupid he knew I wasn’t rich, and he knew I didn’t come from rich.
I drove nervously to Ryan’s office. I had never visited him at work, but this would probably be the only time. I’d rather lose him then sink back into who I used to be. It had been years since I craved a high, and Aiden did that to me. I felt sick and nothing was worth the pain of falling backwards. I let the tears go and hoped Aiden was wrong about Ryan, but something told me he knew better than me.
When I pulled into the parking lot I took a deep cleansing breath and smiled. “You can do this Le,” I said trying to convince myself. I slid out of my car and made my way to the door to his office. My hand froze on the door for a second while I gathered myself. I needed to buck up. There was no going back now as I made my way inside.
At the desk I asked the woman where Ryan’s office was and she looked at me strangely before pointing down a wide hallway. His office reeked of money and I sighed. I didn’t belong with someone like him.
I knocked and waited to hear him tell me to come in. He did and I opened the door to see another woman in the room. Her hair was a mess and Ryan jumped up. His shirt was partially untucked and I sighed. Go figure. The one man I didn’t think I was good enough for was sleeping around, and the worst part was, I knew her. She wasn’t your typical girl. She was someone I knew very well indeed. Apparently he would have been okay with my past.
“Wow, Julian you move fast,” I said through clenched teeth. She hated me.
She batted her lashes like she didn’t have any idea. “Whatever do you mean Leila?”
“Cut the shit.” Then I looked at Ryan. “Guess now I understand why you wanted to take it slow. Thing is, you could have had a whore if you wanted one. Just ask Julian, she’ll tell you all about our sordid history.” I would not cry—not in front of him. I couldn’t believe it. She was everything I wasn’t. She was thin, dark skinned, and absolutely stunning. She took care of herself. Apparently she was still a street girl but taking house calls.
I spun and left the way I came shaking my head. Well shit. I didn’t have to worry about Aiden telling Ryan anything now. I was now a free woman. Meaning my secret didn’t matter anymore. Why did my heart clench when I realized I wouldn’t have to finish out my day with Aiden? I didn’t actually want him did I? My heart thumped. Shit. No way. He was a complete jerk and treated me terrible.
When I slid into my car and noticed Ryan didn’t follow me, go figure, I sped back to work. Crying the whole way. I should have known I couldn’t get a man like Ryan. But he wasn’t any better than any of the other men that had come and gone in my life. He just hid behind his wealth.