Chapter 17

Three weeks later

Grant

It had been three weeks since I had seen or spoken a single word to Kendra. Three long weeks. Every time I thought about calling her or even going to the store, I stopped myself. Every time I thought about how much I wanted her, I had to remind myself of what that meant.

What it meant was pain and misery.

That night, when she laid me on my back and subjected me to one of the most intense sexual experiences of my life, was nothing short of magical. It should have been the beginning of something beautiful and romantic. It should have been the first in what was sure to be many amazing experiences. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought of her heaving breasts in my mouth or her wet pussy wrapped around my cock. And every time I did, I had to ask myself if I had made the right decision.

But I was sure that I had. I just couldn’t trust her. It was as simple as that. I knew that she was lying about Brody. I just knew it. And the worst part was that she wouldn’t admit it. Why didn’t she just say that the two of them had drinks? Instead, she chose to lie, and I was forced to ask myself why she lied. There must have been something going on.

It was too painful to think about. It was high school all over again. She used me, got what she wanted, and then left me for another man. Well, I wasn’t going to let that happen again.

But after three weeks, the time had come for me to see her again. I couldn’t avoid her forever. I had made a habit of only going to or calling the store on days I knew that she wasn’t working. And that was fine. But this time I needed to see her specifically. This time I had a job that only she could do.

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The store was busy when I entered it. In fact, it had been non-stop since it opened. Every week it seemed to get busier. On top of that, customer reviews were stellar, and Jack had even begun making plans for his own club as a tie-in to Luscious. Not that I needed the money, but the income from this store alone was enough to keep me in the green.

The first thing I saw when I entered was Brody. God damn, that kid made my blood boil. Even if it wasn’t for Kendra, there was just something about him that made me mad. Nobody else seemed to notice it, and that bothered me, too. As I watched him, he laughed and joked with a customer. His personal reviews and numbers were excellent. I harbored a deep-seated desire to fire him, but I couldn’t until he made a mistake. It was just a matter of time.

“What are you doing here?” It was Kendra. I hadn’t even seen her coming.

She looked good. Like, more than good. Sure, she wore the same outfit that she always did, but it had been so long since I had seen it that I was caught off guard. Which I didn’t like.

“It’s my store. I didn’t know I needed permission to be here.” I lashed out in an attempt to regain my footing. It clearly worked. She put her hands on her hips and let out a deep sigh.

“Look, if you’re just here to annoy me or abuse me, can you be quick about it? The place is slammed, and I really can’t be held up talking to the likes of you.”

Her defensive stance and prickly demeanor indicated that something was wrong. She looked frazzled and worn out, and her skin tone looked a little washed out. Maybe not talking to each other had bothered her as much as it bothered me. For some sick reason, that made me happy. Not that she was in pain, but that I wasn’t the only one suffering.

“Watch it,” I warned. As much as I enjoyed it when she tried to act tough, there was a time and a place.

“Or what? I’ve got a store to run, so if you don’t mind.” In a huff, she turned around and stormed off the floor and into the store room. I hadn’t noticed at first, but a few of the customers nearest us had been watching. Clearly, we were a little louder than I had realized.

I followed her, biting my tongue and trying to keep my cool. I ignored the way the customers, and even Brody and Selena, stared.

Kendra was in the very back of the storeroom, pretending to pack boxes. Spotting her, I charged right up to her, grabbed the box she packed, and pulled it away. “If you want to be mad at me, fine. But keep it off the floor and out of my business. Understand?”

“Me? You’re the one that came here looking for a fight.” She yelled back. “And if you want to fire me, go ahead. Just don’t think you can dangle this job over my head like some sort of carrot. I’d rather be on the street than your pet bunny.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I warned. Normally, I never would consider firing her, but with the rage filling me, I might have done it out of spite.

“Well,” she began, biting her tongue as she looked around the storeroom. Anywhere but at me really. I got the sense that she had gone a little too far with her threat and had no desire to be fired. “Well, if you didn’t come here to fire me, then what did you come here for?”

I found her sudden backpedaling alluring. It was sick, and I knew it, but that was how I felt. What I hated the most about that night we had sex and she lied to me was how weak it made me feel. When it was all said and done, that was the main problem. I felt like I had zero power in the relationship, and she had all of it. Seeing her now, near begging me to not fire her, was a turn on.

“I came here with a work proposition for you. But, seeing as you had your heart set on being fired, I guess I could offer it to Selena instead?” I turned to go, delighting in the way that she suddenly caught my arm to stop me.

“No, wait! What is it you were going to ask? I am the manager after all. It should be me who hears it first.”

I smiled, making sure that she took note of it. “It’s a business trip. This Friday, I have to go to a product launch. It’s out of town, and I need someone to come along with me to help sell the items. I figured that someone with your specific skill set would be perfect.” I let my eyes work their way up and down her body, ensuring that she knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Out of town?”

“You would be paid for it, of course. Consider it a business trip.”

“And you’re asking me because—”

“I’m asking you for the same reason I hired you for this job. You are the most qualified person I have on staff and are, without a doubt, the most suited to the job.” For once, I wasn’t lying or trying to get a reaction. As much as it pained me to admit it, she was great at what she did. I would have loved to have taken someone else, but this was business, and I needed the best.

Kendra didn’t answer right away, and I could see her working things over in her mind. No doubt, she was deciding if she could trust herself being alone with me for the weekend. No doubt, she knew that she couldn’t. And no doubt, she didn’t care.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she finally agreed. “But it’s only business? Right?”

“Right. Only business. I’ll email you the details.” And with that, I turned and left the building as quickly as I could.

My exit was made to look like I didn’t care about her. As if I’d been there purely on business, and once I was done, I left. But the truth was, I got the fuck out of there because every moment alone with her was a struggle.

Being alone with her in that storage room, surrounded by strap-ons, cock rings, and a host of other edible sex toys, only reminded me of the amazing time we had spent together. It made me want to take her, right then and there. Her juicy tits bounced up and down as she argued with me and we fought back and forth. They begged me to touch them.

It would have been so easy, too. All I had to do was grab her, bend her over, and have my way. And she would have let me. There was no doubt that she would have. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t allow myself to do that. This trip that I had invited her on was purely professional. No funny business, no flirting, and no sex. I promised myself that much.

But as I climbed into the car and shot one final look back at the store, I wondered if my promise would hold up. I wondered if I had the personal resolve to resist Kendra.