I regretted going into the pantry immediately, though that was the first place I could think to go without being overheard that didn’t involve taking him upstairs where we lived. But we were so close in the pantry that I could feel the heat of his body, and it immediately reminded me of what it had felt like to be as close to him as possible, taking him inside me. I stared at him for a long moment, my imagination flashing through every image of our bodies moving together.
“Sloane,” he said softly and pulled my face to his for a kiss that opened me up right away, his tongue tasting my mouth as I lost my breath against his body. I kissed him back, unable to pull away even when he pulled me against him. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t appropriate, but it felt good to be close to him, especially when his hands dipped to my lower back and lifted my shirt up, stroking the sensitive skin there. I gave a soft sigh in his mouth, and we were soon sinking to the floor, tasting each other hungrily. He put his hands to the front of my jeans, and I didn’t stop him, nor did I stop him when he pulled them down along with my panties. I found that my hands were undressing him, too, and I was pulling his cock out so I could take it all over again.
“Sloane,” he said, his voice a soft growl. “I don’t—”
“Shut up.” I took his mouth in a kiss. “Just shut up, Reid.”
He sighed in my mouth and pulled my legs apart, wrapping them around his hips. At first, he teased me with his cock, though we didn’t have time to linger on foreplay. He merely rubbed it up and down my slit, circling the head of it around my clit, which made me whimper, lying there on the floor. I took his hand, using it to guide him inside me, then lifted my hips to take him deep as he started grinding inside of my pussy. I moved my body with his in a rhythm that made my legs shake, trying to stay quiet even as my pleasure built.
“Why am I doing this?” I asked, more to myself than to him. But he gave me the perfect answer, the one that rang truest.
“Because it feels so fucking good, baby.” His voice was low in my ear. “Because your pussy was made for me.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head, moaning even as his hips sped up. He put his hand over my mouth, and I stared into his eyes as he fucked me hard on the floor. I felt like I was losing myself in him, like I was drowning, but at the same time touching his skin felt like taking a deep breath of air. I was confused and yet I didn’t care—his body felt so good, his cock so big and fulfilling that I couldn’t think about anything else. Especially not when he reached down between my legs and started stroking my clit with his fingers, rubbing me lightly while he rode my body. I put my hand over his and tried to speed it up. We didn’t have much time, but he was drawing it out to tease me and make me want it more. I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t think I could get the sound out even if he took his hand from my mouth.
Finally, his finger started rubbing my clit in earnest, stroking just where I liked it. I was bucking my hips against his so that every time he thrust downward he hit the back of my pussy with a force that made it hard for me to breathe, though it was such a pleasurable sensation that I didn’t care. I cried out when I came suddenly, everything hitting me at once while my body shook and writhed beneath him. It was moments later that I felt him come inside of me. He lay on top of me for a moment while we caught our breath, then I shoved him off me and got up. I didn’t look at him as I put my pants back on.
He stood up and put his hand on my arm to stop me and persuade me to look at him.
“Stop it,” I said, shaking my head. My hands were trembling, and I couldn’t tell if it was because I was angry or because I wanted him so badly that it hurt. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“I needed to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I snapped at him. “I don’t have 1.5 million dollars, so we’re going to be evicted. I’m not going to be with someone who wants to make me homeless.”
“It’s not like that, Sloane,” he said, sighing in exasperation. “I don’t want to see you evicted at all.”
“So stop it,” I demanded. “Stop the whole thing. Or just leave me alone.”
“I would write the check for 1.5 million dollars personally if I could. But it’d be a huge conflict of interest, and my investors would end up suing me.” He went quiet, looking at me almost sadly.
“I can’t—”
“All you care about is money.” My throat was burning and dry, the words coming out of my mouth bitterly. “And the other day—when we—did you only sleep with me for that, too? To close the deal?”
He stared at me for a moment, and I could see anger flash in his face.
“If you remember, Sloane,” he said, “you were the one who wanted to be fucked. You asked for it.”
I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t. I felt myself blush scarlet and looked away from him, though his words had brought to my mind and body the exact feeling I’d had the moment I told him to take me on his desk.
He sighed. “Listen. This is just business. I never mix work and relationships for this reason. I really like you.”
I lifted my eyes but didn’t say anything, just stared him down as he spoke.
“I’ll pay for a new place for you,” Reid offered, and the words hit me hard in the chest, anger flaring up inside me once again.
“You can’t fucking buy me, Reid,” I hissed. I shook my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe I thought you were anything other than some rich asshole.”
“Sloane—” I put my hand up to cut him off.
“Go,” I told him. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked at me with sadness in his eyes. He left without another word, going out behind me and leaving me alone in the pantry. I took a few deep breaths, giving him enough time to leave the bakery before I went back up front. It still wasn’t busy, and my mom looked at me with concern when I walked up.
“Are you okay?” I shook my head, not looking at her.
“They’re going to take the bakery,” I said. My mother didn’t say anything.
“I need to go somewhere for a minute. I need some air.”
“Okay.” She placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. “We’ll be here.”
“Thanks.” I stopped to kiss Rosie before I left the bakery, walking down the street toward the cemetery. I didn’t know where else to go to clear my head, and I desperately needed to get away and get some air before my whole body erupted with the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm me. I walked to my father’s grave and knelt to touch the tombstone, running my fingers over the inscription that indicated his name and the dates that defined his life.
“Dad,” I said, speaking out loud, though I hadn’t expected to. I suddenly felt completely alone, like my own voice was the only sound in the world. I found myself desperately wishing that I could talk to my father again and hear his voice, listen to his advice one last time.
“I don’t know what to do.” I looked down at the tombstone as tears began to fall from my eyes, down and over my cheeks. I wiped them away, frustrated. “I feel totally lost without you—I can’t even keep the business running. We’re going to lose everything. Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
As I said the words, I started to cry harder, burying my face in my hands. I felt betrayed by Reid, tricked into falling for him when all he wanted to do was take everything that I had to give. It was the one time I’d opened myself up to love, to being in a relationship with anyone. It was the first time I had even considered that someone might become a father to Rosie, who deserved that more than anything.
“I miss you, Dad,” I said softly, taking a deep breath. I felt his loss more distinctly at that moment than I had since he’d died. He was the one person who had known me best in the world, and now he was gone. I thought about what he would tell me to do in this situation. He had loved the bakery like it was part of the family as I did, but I also knew that he wouldn’t want me to go completely under fighting the inevitable. I believed Reid when he’d told me his firm would do anything to get us out of the bakery. I knew people like Reid—they were ruthless and always got what they wanted in the end.
I sighed, standing up after a few minutes and wiping away my tears with my hands. I brushed the dirt off my legs from where I’d been sitting and started walking back toward the bakery. I knew what I had to do, though it was the last thing in the world that I wanted.