33 ~ OLIVER

Even driving to work Darcy wrote notes on her yellow legal pad. Stopped at an intersection, I tugged the pen from her hand.

“Listen to me. Do I have your attention?”

She made a kissy face at me. “I’m all yours.”

“It’s going to be chaos this week, but no matter what I’m doing, what meeting I’m in, who I’m talking with, I’m available for you if you need me. I don’t want you stressing—”

Her laughter filled the interior of the Range Rover. “Stressing? I thrive on this stuff. You have no idea how excited I am. This is what I do, Oliver. You build big boats and own buildings everywhere that need taking care of. I turn shit into chocolate, and it’s never better than when the stink is really bad.”

“Nice analogy, girl.”

The person driving the car held up behind us tooted their horn.

She snatched her pen back. “Move it, Sackville. You’re creating havoc in the Waitapu rush hour.”

The blocked car drove around us, the driver giving a friendly wave.

Darcy shook her head. “That would have been a one-finger salute or a fight in the city.”

“And yet, you’re eager to go back there.”

“Not necessarily. Life’s turning out to be kind of exciting in this town of yours. Plus, the guys are hot.”

“All of them?”

“Well, there’s one in particular.”

“Good. Don’t forget that.”

I drove slowly but Darcy didn’t notice as she went back to her legal pad, frantically scribbling, crossing out words, underlining others. Her notes looked like a metaphor for our relationship. Emphases and deletions. We’d both brought more chaos into each other’s lives than most burgeoning relationships could endure. I was determined we’d make it through, and believed these issues would strengthen rather than break us.

When we reached Tradewind, I followed Darcy into her office, closed the door and pushed her up against the wall. I took her chin in both hands, noticed the glint of the chestnut flecks in her eyes, the way her pupils dilated, the shallowness of her breath. I vowed I’d never stop noticing those things.

“Hi, Boss,” she said, all cheeky.

I took my time, kissing the mischief out of her. “I want you to understand that this doesn’t define us.”

“Awesome kissing?”

I thought I’d kissed the mischief out of her.

“Awesome kissing does define us. What doesn’t is this shit that’s going on right now. Rob and Annabelle don’t define us. Nor drugs, blackmail, lying and cheating. We’ll get through this and concentrate on each other, and on us. We’ll move on, and be stronger for it. Some relationships don’t withstand ugliness like this. We will.”

She nodded, solemn now.

“Good,” I said. “I’m off to sweet-talk Reuben. Let’s win the day.”

It wasn’t until late afternoon that Reuben answered his phone, but it only took my brief explanation of events for him to agree to talk to Pearl on our behalf.

“You’re in luck. She’s stopping in for the night, then she’s heading up to Auckland tomorrow. Have your chopper ready at a moment’s notice, Oliver. If she agrees to meet you, you’ll have to get over to the island in a flash.”

“No problem,” I told him.

An hour later, Darcy arrived in my office.

“Lock the door,” I said, when she closed it.

She flicked the latch as she spoke. “Luther and I have finished the pitch and I’ve talked to Jason Cameron. Initial reaction is that he’s hot for the story, so I’ve sent him the full pitch. I told him it has to be this Sunday or we’ll go wide and give it to everyone.”

“You lied to Jason Cameron.”

She perched on the desk beside me. “Just a little. Not really. Maybe. Thing is, we’re running tight on time. It has to be this weekend. Once the story is out, there will be some blow-back and we’ll need time to work on that to keep you squeaky clean. I hope you don’t have any big meetings this week because you might have to go to Auckland. What I suggested, though, was that they film down here so that they can put the story in the context of the small-town drug problem. His producer will be back to me later today. How did you go?”

“I finally tracked down Reuben. He’s on our side. Pearl is due on the island tonight, and she leaves tomorrow. If our luck hangs in, I can go over and chat with her tomorrow.”

“It’s a good start. What about Annabelle?”

“I’m playing her. I’ve been back and forth, trying to make her see sense, then offering her low sums of money. I want her to believe she’s got me over a barrel. We’re still bargaining but she thinks she’s going to win.”

“That sounds good.”

Darcy’s voice was flat. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said, looking as though she’d put a lot of effort into her smile.

I slid my chair back and pulled her between my thighs, her cute ass resting against my desk. I placed my hands just above her knees and held her. The tension leaving her body was clear to see. “Tell me what’s up?”

She winced. “I hate that you’re having to deal with Ellie, Annabelle, whoever she is. I’m a little jealous of her. She’s beautiful.”

“She’s ugly, and you’re mine, and I don’t want anyone else.”

“I know, I’m being silly.”

I slid my hands further up her thighs. “Let me prove how much you’re mine.”

“We’re in your office, and there are still staff around.”

“You locked the door.”

“Because you asked me …” she stopped and grinned. “You’re bad, Sackville.”

“Let me show you how good I can be, then.” I pushed her skirt up. “I love this skirt. It makes your pussy so accessible. This underwear is hot.”

“My boyfriend buys it for me,” she said, shifting a little as I stroked her over the silk.

“He has good taste.”

“Thank you, I’ll tell him.” She leaned in and licked my ear. “You have good taste,” she whispered.

I ran my hands down her legs to her ankles, slipping off her shoes. I loved stockings, but I loved summer and bare skin even more. “Feet go up here,” I said, taking hold of her ankles and resting them either side of me on the arms of my chair.

Darcy glanced over my shoulder. The windows looked out to the marina. “Are you sure they can’t see from down there?”

“When I had this building designed one of the stipulations was that nobody could see into my office.”

“So you planned the office around your sexcapades?”

“How come you’re still talking when your pussy is this wet? By now, you should be beyond thinking.”

“Oliver?”

“I build yachts for very wealthy people and when they pay a visit to the yard, I assure them of privacy. Now, back to business. I love this underwear, but it’s in the way.” I pushed her knees together and tugged the underwear down, then lifted each leg and slid them off.

“You know Luther will probably barge in.” She’d shut her knees tight of her own accord this time.

“Much and all as Luther appears to walk in and out of my life at will, he doesn’t. Can we not raise his name while I’m thinking about tasting your pussy? Open up here,” I said, tapping her knees.

Her knees parted to give me a view of her pussy. I spread her lips with one hand, stroking her lightly with my finger. I pressed on top of her clit, on a spot that always made her groan.

She gasped. “Oh, hell, too fast.”

“Too fast?” I went back to light stroking.

“Yeah, make it last.”

I slipped a finger inside her, curving and finding her g-spot as I continued to circle her clit. “How about this?”

“No, not that.” She panted.

“How about you come for me now, quickly, then I’ll fuck you nice and slow.”

Her head tipped back and she closed her eyes. “That will work,” she said softly.

I kept rubbing inside her, working another finger in as I closed my mouth over her clit. In seconds, her thighs gripped me. I sucked her clit into my mouth, wondering how it was even possible for a pussy to taste this sweet. When I closed my teeth over her, she cursed and kept her hips still. My tongue flicked, her clit growing harder.

“Oliver…please…”

I knew what she wanted. I took my thumb to her entrance and got it a little way inside her. The pressure always sent her over, and this time was no different. She ground against my hand, saying my name, telling me what I already knew.

She was going to come.

Over her moans I heard the rattle of the door handle. Right at the moment her orgasm ripped through her, came the words I didn’t want to hear.

“Your door’s locked, Oliver. I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Darcy struggled to sit up, but I pressed her back with a hand on her shoulder and kept playing with her until the contractions in her pussy became little more than a flutter.

I slid her panties over her feet and she took them from my grip, jerking them up her legs.

“He’s impossible. Can you not get him a girlfriend, or a puppy? He needs something to fill in his spare time.”

“You shouldn’t have said his name. It’s like summoning the devil.”

Darcy looked flushed, and gorgeously annoyed. “Is there another door to get out of here?”

“Stay.”

“Are you kidding me? He’ll know what we’ve been doing.”

“And he won’t say a word. Trust me. Sex doesn’t embarrass him. I’m unlocking the door. There’s a bathroom through there if you need to use it.” I kissed her soft mouth.

“You taste of me,” she said quietly.

“And you taste beautiful.”

Darcy had just gone into the bathroom when Luther wandered in.