Chapter 1

James

Piper’s banging his brains out.

Yeah, I heard her crying out his name while they were in his office.

I play those words in my head as she stands in front of me. My perpetual torment. Fuck, how I wish Piper was taking my dick, balls deep, into her sweet little pussy. But we’re not. The day this company is no longer mine, I’ll be celebrating with my face between her thighs. I’m only fucking her in my dreams. Soon that’ll be at an end, and I’ll be inside her daily.

She keeps her eyes down as if she knows she’s in trouble. It gives me a moment to take in her appearance without her noticing how much I want to taste every inch of her. She’s wearing a light grey pantsuit with a dark blue top. The top two buttons are open, displaying a heart necklace against her creamy skin and a hint of her cleavage. I wonder jealously who gave it to her. Her face radiates pure beauty with her light brown hair framing it so perfectly. Every fucking day, I ache to run my hands through it. Pulling it just to drag her mouth to mine.

“Ms. Davis, I called you in because there are some rumors going around that I don’t appreciate.” Actually, it’s not that I don’t appreciate them. I’m just pissed because they’re not true yet. I want to sell the company without creating any controversy. It may seem like a simple thing, but if she doesn’t share my feelings of forever, then she could sue the company. She’s been my temporary assistant for the past six months since I bought Grable Textiles out. I buy and sell companies after giving them the means to succeed. My turnaround with Grable has been almost immediate, but with her around it’s felt like an eternity. I thought of firing her but then buried that with my sanity. I need her around me. I keep her working late and walk her to her car every night.

“Oh, I’m sorry sir. I didn’t mean to start them.” I lean forward with my hands on my desk, staring at her in confusion. “I swear it was an accident.” I continue to stare in disbelief. I can’t imagine her telling the staff that she was pregnant with my baby.

“Did you tell them that I fucked you in here? And that’s why you were coming out of my office looking messy?” I stand up and walk around the desk, sitting on it as she nervously lowers herself to the chair in front of it. My dick is so damn hard that if I move my suit coat an inch, she’ll see what effect the rumors have on me. I lean down a little more with my hands on the arms of the chair, and say, “And that you love when I come inside you, so you can walk around the office knowing that you belong to me?” I say gruffer than I mean to, but that last question was only my fantasy. I’d love to have every fuck in the building know that her pussy is soaking wet with my seed, marking her as mine.

“What?! Oh God no. Hell no.” I raise my brow, trying not to take that as an insult.

“No, you sound disgusted,” I mutter inches from her, then quickly stand up and move to stare out the large office window. The tension is too much, and I need to remain calm.

“Oh Mr. Smith it’s not like that,” she argues, her voice shaking. “I didn’t say any of those things.”

“What did you say, Piper?” I press my hand against the window pane, feeling the cold mid-December morning. I need the chill to calm the raging lust ripping through me. In all my years, I’ve never felt anything like this.

“I…I…said that I had a boyfriend.”

“Do you?” A bite out, wondering if someone took my place while I wasn’t looking. For as long as I’ve been in her presence, I’ve made sure to monopolize her time. Every late hour she spends in the office leaves less time for her to find someone else.

“How could I? I’m always here,” she reminds me. I stare at her from the reflection in the window, and she’s playing with the cuffs of her suit jacket.

Relief comes over me, and now I’m interested in how people got that impression. Did she give them a sense that I was her boyfriend? Fuck, I feel like a dumb teen crushing hard. “So they said I was your boyfriend and you agreed?”

A loud sound rips through the office before she can respond. Damn it, it’s the scheduled fire alarm in the building. Fuck, this wasn’t the right time for this. Then again, I could use a few minutes in the cold.

“We’ll finish this later,” I tell her, reaching for my coat.

“Are you firing me?” she asks, standing up and moving to the door.

I shake my head because I couldn’t do that to her. She’s a great assistant. I’m glad I picked her to do the job even though she was the receptionist and had no administrative assistant experience. “No, Piper. But from now on, you leave at five like everyone else. I’ll find someone else to work with me at night.”

“I’m really sorry, sir.”

“Now’s not the time. Go get your coat,” I order, leading her out of the office and to her desk. The rest of the staff, scurry out with their coats on. Why did they do fire drills on cold days? We’re grown ass adults, not some kids who need help getting out of the building. I don’t own the building, or I would have done it on a much fucking warmer day. It’s twenty-one degrees out. Fuck, tomorrow is supposed to be thirty-three. I keep my eyes on Piper even though I intentionally stepped farther away from her than I would have liked. At least I could use the freezing temps to keep my cock down.

I watch Dave from marketing step up to her. I don’t like the smile on his face. He’s married with kids according to his file, but he’s always talking to the female employees too closely. I wonder what that’s about, but I don’t like the way he’s purposefully crowding my woman. I move between the staff and stand directly behind them without either of them seeing me.

“So from the looks of it, you and the boss are on the outs,” he says, clicking his tongue. “If you’re looking for a rebound fuck, I’m around.”

“I’m not screwing the boss. And I’m not interested in your old married ass. You’re disgusting, and if you want to keep your job, you’ll quit harassing me,” she warns him in a hushed threat. Fuck, she’s even sexier when she stands her ground.

“Mr. Dow, I’d like to see you in my office.”

“Mr. Smith, um. Okay.” He cowers, but the damage is already done.

***

I make quick work of Dow once we get back inside. He’s escorted out of the building before noon. I won’t tolerate sexual harassment especially against my future wife and mother of my children. We haven’t spoken since this morning, but she’s been on top of all her work. Instead of pleasantly interrupting me in my office, Piper emails me. It doesn’t feel right, but in truth, it’s the right thing to do.

She knocks on my office door at five on the dot. “I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving.”

“Goodnight, Piper.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Smith,” she whispers with her sad eyes dipping downward. I ache to drag her back and tell her I was wrong to let her leave, but that’s not in the cards. Luckily, I called in a favor from my brother-in-law Rob. His office is down the street, and he owes me a solid for knocking up my sister without talking to me about it first. He’s sending one of his security team members to follow Piper safely home. I’m not big on having someone else keep an eye on her, but since I can’t do it, I have no choice. I won’t be able to work without knowing she’s safe.