TEN
Clayton
“We’ll have to hit the links later to celebrate.”
Ryan nudges me under the table and I stop daydreaming about Stella long enough to get my head back in the game. To say my concentration today has been absolute shit would be a giant understatement.
“Yes, absolutely.” I push my chair out and button my blazer, walking around the conference table to shake hands with Frank Tyson, CEO of Tyson Industries.
“Have your people send over the contract and we’ll—”
“Sir, I think you should see this,” a lackey whispers to him before handing over an iPad.
Frank pulls his reading glasses out of his breast pocket and deftly puts them on, frowning at whatever’s on the screen. He glances up at me and hands the iPad back to his assistant.
He clears his throat as he takes off his glasses. “You know what, I think we’re going to hold off on signing anything right now.”
What the hell was on that screen?
I glance at Ryan, my CFO, who looks just as confused. “I don’t understand, Frank. We agreed to the terms—”
“Look, Clay,” he drawls in his Texan accent as he sticks his glasses back in his pocket. “You know we took a hit a few months ago with that oil spill, and then all those environmental activists were up our asses and yada, yada, yada.” He waves it off like it’s no big deal. “We need to keep our nose clean right now. I’m sorry, but we just can’t afford to be associated with another scandal.”
Frowning, he shakes his head and walks out of the boardroom.
“Will someone please tell me what the fuck he’s talking about,” I hiss to my team over my shoulder.
Someone hands me a phone with a TMZ page pulled up on the screen. The headline reads Clayton Castle Caught with His Pants Down – Could Latest Paramour be Underage? and below it is a blurry picture from the security camera that must’ve been in the hotel’s elevator.
You can’t see what Stella’s doing since her back is to the camera, but it’s pretty obvious considering she’s kneeling before me and my hands are twisted in her hair.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I mutter as I scan the article, which sites a suspiciously anonymous “hotel guest” who claims to have seen me “groping some girl in the lobby who looked young enough to be his daughter.”
This is bullshit.
What would make them think she’s underage? And how did they even get that footage from the elevator? No one knew we were—
Claire.
I slam the phone on the conference table and storm out, pulling my own phone from my pocket as I dial that bitch’s number.
So help me if she was behind this, I’m suing her ass for libel from here to kingdom come. I will ruin her.
I press the call button for the elevator as the line rings. She answers right when the elevator dings and the door slides open.
“Clayton,” she purrs. “What a surprise.”
“You’ve got some fucking nerve.” I stab the button for the first floor, glad the elevator’s empty. The last thing I need right now is an audience.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” she says, sounding bored.
“You tipped off the press, Claire. And telling them Stella’s underage? That’s low, even for you.”
“For all I know, she is,” she retorts. “She certainly doesn’t look old enough to suck your dick in the elevator at the Four Seasons.”
“You are such a vindictive cunt, you know that? All because, what, some girl called you old?”
“Oh, so she’s ‘some girl’ now?” Claire scoffs. “I really shouldn’t be surprised. You were never one for commitment.”
Bitter laughter bubbles out of me. “You’re still upset that I didn’t propose.”
I must’ve struck a nerve, because the resounding screech that follows makes me wince and pull the phone away from my ear.
“I was with you for six years, Clayton! I put in the time and the effort. I earned a proposal, and all you did was string me along. Do you know how embarrassing it was to waste six years of my life on someone and not have anything to show for it? How humiliating it was to stand by and watch all my friends get married to men they’d been dating for half the time we did? You made me look like an idiot!” she screams.
Wow. I knew I’d dodged a bullet by leaving Claire, but I had no idea just how big that bullet was until now.
And it doesn’t escape my attention that she never once mentioned the word love.
Claire probably doesn’t even have it in her vocabulary.
My teeth grit together as the door slides open. “The only thing you earned was getting kicked to the curb for being a whore.”
“And you really think your precious little Stella’s any better? Please. That girl sees you as a meal ticket with a big dick. She’s using you, Clayton.”
“Just because you used me doesn’t mean that she is. You don’t know the first thing about her or our relationship.”
“Your relationship?” She laughs. “Please tell me you’re joking. She’s a child.”
“The only child here is you, Claire.”
I hang up as I reach the valet and hand him my ticket. As I wait for him to bring my car around, I call Stella.
She answers on the first ring, her voice bright and cheery. “Hey, I was just thinking about you.”
Those seven little words ease the knot in my chest, making it easier to breathe.
“Clay?” she asks when I don’t say anything.
I squeeze my eyes shut, hating that she got dragged into all this. “I need you to start packing, Stella. We’re flying home tonight.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I’ll explain when I get there. Just … turn off your phone and stay in the room. Do not open the door for anyone but me, all right?”
“Yeah. Got it.”
The valet pulls up in my car and I slip him a tip, then climb in and shut the door. “I’m on my way.”
***
There’s already a small crowd of paparazzi gathered outside the Four Seasons when I arrive twenty minutes later. Scowling I push past them, ignoring the flash of their cameras in my face and their prying questions about this “mystery Lolita” I was caught with.
The hotel’s security helps me fend them off and get inside safely. Once we’re separated from the vultures outside, I turn to the security guard closest to me.
“Please tell me there’s a way to get out of here without going through that mob again.”
“Of course. Just call down to the front desk when you’re ready to leave and we’ll escort you out one of the side exits.”
I thank him and head for the elevator.
When I reach our room on the 17th floor, I pull out my room key and open the door. Stella leaps up from the couch as soon as she sees me.
“What’s going on?”
Sighing, I loosen my tie. “Apparently there was a security camera in the elevator last night and somehow TMZ obtained footage of you … blowing me,” I finish lamely, because there’s really no nice way to phrase that.
Stella’s hand flies to her mouth. “Oh my god. How did they…?”
“Claire tipped them off. I’m not sure if she bribed someone at the hotel for a copy, or if TMZ did, but it doesn’t really matter at this point. Either way, the hotel’s facing a massive fucking lawsuit for that leaked tape.”
She slowly sinks down onto the couch. “My parents…” She trails off, cringing. “Everyone I know is going to see me giving you a blowjob on a fucking elevator.”
Stella looks devastated.
I sit next to her and awkwardly rub her back. I don’t know much about comforting someone else, but the general gist seems to be a placating touch.
Right?
My voice is quiet as I tell her, “I already called my lawyer and told him to file an injunction. They’ll have to take the video down.” I hesitate before telling her the next part, wincing as I say, “Claire also might’ve insinuated to TMZ that you were underage.”
She turns to face me so slowly it’s kind of scary. “I’m gonna fucking kill her,” she states calmly.
“It’s only a matter of time before the press finds out it’s not true, but then your name and face are going to be everywhere.” I lean back, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes. This trip started off so good. I can’t believe it’s come to this. “I’m sorry. If you want out, I don’t blame you.”
“Out? Like, leave?”
I shrug, feeling defeated. “You didn’t sign up for this, and I know… I know it’s a lot to handle.” Living life in the public eye is not easy. I’m used to living under a microscope, but Stella’s not. If she doesn’t want to do it, then … I have to respect her wishes.
She angles her body toward me. “Clay, I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you want me to,” she says, suddenly sounding unsure.
I cup the side of her face, brushing her cheekbone with my thumb. “Never.”
She leans in and kisses me. “Then you’re okay with us going public?”
“I don’t really have a choice at this point,” I mutter.
When she levels a glare at me, I laugh. “Stella, I’m not ashamed of us. I don’t care if the whole world knows that we’re together.”
She bites her lip. “You know what people are going to say, right? They’ll say that I’m only with you for your money, and you’re only with me for the sex.”
I grin. “I’m not going to lie, the sex is a huge bonus.”
Stella rolls her eyes and tries to stand up.
I grab her wrist and pull her back down. “But that’s not why I’m with you. I’m with you because you make me feel … alive. I was stuck in a rut for so long and I didn’t even realize it until you came and breathed life into me.” I thread my fingers through hers, earnestly telling her, “You saved me, Stella.”
Her eyes grow shiny as she climbs atop me and hugs me tight. “I don’t care about your money. You know that, don’t you? If you never give me a dime, that’s fine with me.” She pulls back and wipes at her tear-stained cheeks. “I just want you.”
Looking up at her as she straddles me, I brush her hair behind her ear. “Why do you want me?” I ask quietly.
I didn’t exactly welcome her into my life with open arms. Granted, now that she’s in them, I’m never going to let her go, but still.
Why she ever stuck with my moody ass is beyond me.
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she leans in. “You make me feel like anything’s possible. Like every day’s an adventure. And as bossy as you can be, you’re not afraid to let me know how much power I have over you. I feel like more of an equal with you than I ever did dating someone my own age.” Her lips curve into a dangerous grin. “And yes, the sex is a huge bonus. Huge and hard.” She bites her lip and grinds against my crotch.
I groan and lean my head against the back of the couch, resting my hands on her hips as they undulate atop me. Pretty soon my cock is throbbing and damn near punching a hole through my pants, and Stella—bless her soul—takes pity on me and frees it from its confines.
Her dainty fingers feel like silk as they wrap around me, stroking me from base to tip before her thumb swipes at the milky bead of pre-cum glistening from my slit. She rubs it around my tip and then lifts her hips, moving her panties aside before running my cock along her slick folds.
My breath catches when she positions me at her entrance and starts to seat herself on my cock. I lift the hem of her dress, watching my dick disappear into her tight pink pussy lips and reveling in the feel of her wet warmth enveloping me.
It’s like the best, most satisfying hug.
She rolls her hips when I’m all the way in, making my eyes roll back into my head. “I swear I’m not trying to ruin the mood,” she breathes as she fucks me slowly. “But if we go public with this, my parents are going to insist on meeting you.”
As long as Stella keeps riding my dick like this, she could talk me into jumping off a plane without a parachute. This girl’s got me wrapped around her delicate little finger and I wouldn’t have it any other way.