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  His hand reached between my legs, fingers running along my slit. His other hand ran along the back of my leg to my knee before pulling upward. He hooked my thigh around his middle as he leaned in, his tip sliding along my wetness.

  He lightly sucked my bottom lip as his erection probed me, sliding to my opening. With one shove, his girth filled me, a momentary burst of pain making me wince as he rubbed my soreness.

  “Are you okay?” he asked against my lips.

  I didn’t bother answering. I threw my arms around his shoulders and swung my other leg upward. Clutching his middle with my thighs, I rocked into him. Soreness turned to exquisite pain, spreading in my body languidly. Gyrating my hips, I started a fast pace, which he met without hesitation.

  His hard body pushed me into the harder wall. His length seared into me. His hips slammed against me as pain fell away, to reveal only unyielding pleasure.

  I clutched his muscular shoulders as my body turned into liquid magma. I was close and we had only just started.

  Luckily, so was he. “I need to come,” he said in a moan as his body worked in deep, hard thrusts.

  “Yes…” I matched his movement with rocking hips. Everything tightened. I held my breath in the moment before I exploded in a cry of delight. “Holy hell!” The thunk of my head hitting the wall competed with our mingled panting.

  I let my limbs go limp.

  Hunter grunted, having to shift so as not to drop me. I chuckled but didn’t help.

  He helped me straighten up and looked down into my eyes. “I want to take you home and make out.”

  I probably shouldn’t have laughed, because he was absolutely serious, but…I couldn’t help it. “Like high school.”

  “I didn’t go to high school. I missed out on some things.”

  “Then making out sounds great.” I ran my hands up his chest. “We could start now, even.”

  His smile stole my breath as he turned away. “Later. Business first. Play later.”

  By the time he’d crossed the room, the smile had already been wiped away. He picked up his computer and headed for the door. “Pack up. I’ll meet you back here.”

  “Okay. I’ll probably go work on Bruce’s notes at the lagoon area, so if you get done early, that’s where I’ll be.”

  He gave a brief nod before leaving the room.

  “Okay…goodbye.” I rolled my eyes. He might be a big-time CEO with oodles of money, but he was still a work in progress. I would definitely teach that kid manners.

  Smiling like an idiot, I headed back to my room to get ready. What I was doing with Hunter might be incredibly stupid, but I didn’t care. It felt good. I felt good. Repercussions be damned.

  At about ten thirty I wandered into the lagoon area. I lowered myself onto a table and hauled out my computer. After signing in, I clicked out of instant message and didn’t bother opening email. Hunter had given me a pass, and I planned to use it. I’d been thinking about Bruce’s notes, and his goals, and had come up with a list of things that might be cool. I bent to my work and shut out the world.

  It was because of the extreme focus, however, that I missed the person entering my oasis of solitude. I didn’t notice the presence until the table shifted and creaked as someone sat opposite me. Forced out of my concentration, I glanced up in irritation. And then froze.

  Rodge sat with his hands clasped in front of him, staring at me with hard, cunning eyes. “You’ve become quite a nuisance to me.”

  Feigning indifference, I glanced back at my computer screen. “I’m just doing my job.”

  “So it would seem.” The top of my laptop slammed down. Rodge’s fingers splayed across the top, white from the pressure. I looked up, startled. “My son gives a command, and you tear off your panties to please him. I should’ve expected a lowborn peasant to adopt tunnel vision for her rich boss. I underestimated your drive to please your betters.”

  “Peasant? Betters? Did you just fall out of 1890 and crack your head? Get off my laptop.”

  Rodge stood slowly, his hand still on my computer. He walked around the table with predatory steps before sitting right next to me. I scooted away to allow more room, but he just leaned in. His breath, smelling of stale coffee, blasted my face as he said, “I wonder. If I fucked you just right, would you do my bidding as well as you do his? What do you think, Olivia?”

  Chest tight, breath coming in horrified puffs, I stood in a rush. “I need my computer, please.” I snatched my computer bag off the table and held it in front of me. It was a terrible shield for a man of Rodge’s size, but it was something.

  He stood, too. His body cut off my view of my computer. “What’s the matter? Afraid you’ll like it too much?”

  Rodge stepped toward me and grabbed a fistful of my hair. Before I could struggle, he yanked me closer. His lips smashed into mine.

  My brain fumbled, deciding between stomping on his foot and kneeing him in the nuts. Without warning, his body was ripped away from mine. My head jerked before he let go. I staggered and fell, only then seeing another pair of feet.

  I looked up. A sob of relief took me as Hunter stepped between his dad and me. His fist whipped out, clipping his dad on the chin and sending him to the ground.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Hunter demanded, his body flexed and fists balled.

  Rodge turned onto his side and grabbed his jaw. He shook his head. “You always did like the ordinary ones, didn’t you? Always trying to shrug off your wealth and status to go chasing the gutter rats. And now I know why. They work like slaves. Kudos, son. Looks like I’ll have to get a gutter rat of my own.”

  “Always trying to be someone different than you,” Hunter spat. He turned toward me and looked down for a moment before his mask of rage melted into guilt. He bent to me and picked me up out of the dirt. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” I wiped off my jeans as tears rolled down my face. I clutched Hunter, my hands shaking. “He scared me, is all. I just didn’t react in time.”

  Hunter threw his dad a look of pure loathing before leading me to the table to help me collect my computer. With his hand around my shoulder, he turned us toward the path to the golf cart.

  “Dating below your class is suicide,” Rodge warned in a loud voice. “She’ll drag you down and make a fool of you. I should know—I was with your mother for sixteen years. You’ll see it my way before this is through. Trust me.”

  Hunter didn’t say anything as he helped me into the vehicle and we drove back to our building in silence. It wasn’t until we were headed to our rooms that he said, “I thought it was consensual at first.” His voice was low, dripping with emotion. He leaned against the doorframe with a lowered head. “I walked into the area and all I saw was you kissing him. I…” His jaw clenched and he straightened up. He shook his head and looked away. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Obviously I wouldn’t,” I said in a small voice.

  Hunter turned toward his room. “Not with him, maybe, but you’re free outside of your time with me.” He shook his head again and let himself into his room without another word. I stood, lost for words, as the door shut behind him. The hard clank echoed down the hallway.

  In a daze, unsure of what had just happened, I entered my room. The clock read nearly twelve. My suitcases were all packed and ready to go, and I stepped forward to go into Hunter’s room and check in with the next steps. Before I got there, though, the door to Hunter’s room swung closed. He’d locked himself away from me.

  Not really believing it, I stared for a minute at that white surface. His words rang through my memory again. You are free outside of your time with me.

  I sat on my bed, processing.

  Apparently he thought I was the kind of girl he usually employed. I’d do him in the afternoon, and head home to someone else. Why stop at one guy—I could have a couple. Hell, I could have a whole swarm of guys ready to drop trow when I got horny. Three, four—why not a whole football team?

  I stood in a rush
of anger. A moment later, hardly in control, I banged on the connecting door with a closed fist. The whole floor probably heard it, but I didn’t care. This was bullshit. I was tired of being dicked around by this guy.

  The latch sounded before revealing his face, perfectly composed. His business mask was on; he was trying to close himself off from emotion.

  I had enough emotion for the both of us.

  “I’m sick of this, Hunter. I get that you have issues. I do. But guess what? We all have issues. We all have crap that went wrong. You can’t use that as a reason to sling shit at everyone else. You’re worried because you gave me permission to screw others. Well, guess what—screw you! I’m not that kind of girl. You know I’m not. So what you are doing here, this scared little boy routine, is bullshit. It’s bullshit. And you’re an asshole!”

  I was blubbering by the end. His expression hadn’t changed. He wore that same distant mask that he always did, trying to push me away. Again. Even after last night. After what he’d demanded I feel last night.

  My heart felt like it was ripping in half. Angry tears rolled down my face.

  I braced my hands on my hips. “That’s it, then? You’re freezing up on me?”

  A knock sounded at his door. He glanced that way before looking back at me. I saw a glimmer of emotion in his eyes before his usual chill returned. “I’m sorry.”

  Pain and anger mixed together into one explosive cocktail. “I cannot believe this. One thing goes wrong, you get scared, and that’s it? You are such a coward, Hunter. Plain and simple. Not noble, not smart, you’re a coward that hides behind his big office and wads of cash. You might be fooling yourself, but you’re not fooling me!” I turned away.

  I ignored the agony eating away at my heart as I opened the door and carried my suitcase into the hall. I knew he felt something for me. After last night, there was no doubt. But if he wasn’t willing to accept it, then I couldn’t wait around like a fool. I had to learn my lesson sometime.

  It was a quiet trip back to San Francisco. Silent tears leaked down my face, but I didn’t apologize. I worked on Bruce’s project and tried to shut off, like Hunter was doing.

  It wasn’t until the limo pulled up to my apartment building that Hunter spoke. “I don’t blame you for my father,” he said softly. He looked out of his window. “But I can’t do this, Olivia. There’s a reason I’m shut off. I don’t do love. I can’t do romance. Or forever. I just…can’t. I’m sorry.”

  “We aren’t doing romance. We are fucking, right? And I’m not asking for forever, Hunter.”

  “We aren’t fucking, Olivia. Not anymore. Not after last night, and truthfully, not since the first time. It never would’ve been fucking with you.” Hunter clasped his hands in his lap and looked down at the floor between his feet. “I can’t repeat what we did last night. I can’t give that much. I don’t want to trust in that way.”

  “Can’t. Won’t. Don’t want to.” Another hot tear rolled down my face. “So many walls.” I wiped my cheek. “Fine. No more sex.”

  “No.” Hunter studied his hands. “No more, period. I crossed the line when I kissed you. I made you something else. And I can’t be in that position. I can’t stand the thought of someone else touching you. If you chose another…I wouldn’t be rational. The situation is completely black and white for me. I cannot be with you and maintain my composure. In any capacity.”

  The pain in my heart bowed my whole body forward. Breathing became intense as I struggled not to sob with the tone in his voice. Because I knew that tone. I’d heard it before, most recently with Jonathan. It was the “I’m sorry” tone. The “let’s be friends” tone. Except Hunter didn’t want to be friends. He wanted to push me so far away he’d never think of me again.

  Another hot tear made a trail down my cheek. “So…what happens now?”

  “I’ll place you in another position next week. I’ll make up any difference in pay until you are elevated within your professional career to your current salary. I’ll arrange for a safe to be put in your apartment for your jewelry. I think that’s the only way.”

  Stunned, I stared at him. I didn’t know what to say. I probably should’ve expected this, but since day one he always said he should give me up but wouldn’t. I guess I’d believed him. And now I was floored.

  “I’m sorry, Livy,” he went on. “I can’t have the distraction. This is how it has to be.”

  “Will you get another admin?” It was the first thing that came to my mind.

  “Yes,” he said in a flat voice.

  “One like you usually get? With a contract…”

  “Yes.”

  The pain twisted my gut. Sobs came up, choking me. “Is it because I’m lower on the social ladder than you?” My voice was small and wispy, but I had to know.

  “Nothing my father said applies here, Olivia. He resented my mother because it was her money that dug him out of a failed business venture, but she was from the same social standing as he. Her father had humble beginnings, but by the time she was born, he was well into his millions. As for you, none of that matters. If that was the issue, I wouldn’t need to make these changes. I have enough money for three lifetimes of indulgent living. The problem is that I can’t have the attachment with you while still focusing on what’s most important. We’ve crossed a threshold, which was my fault, and now there is no way back.”

  The tone and look of finality finally did me in. I’d hardly known Hunter Carlisle. It had been just a month. But I’d opened up in a way with him that I hadn’t with anyone else. I’d let him in, feeling safe, and last night, feeling loved.

  I’d meant to get out of the car before breaking down, but I didn’t make it that far. I put my face in my hands and sobbed. I don’t really remember getting into my apartment, just that Hunter picked me up and carried me into my room. He gave me one last kiss, deep and sensual, before turning around and walking out.

  Chapter Ten

  I showed up to work on Monday with puffy eyes and a slump in my shoulders. I’d basically cried all weekend. I hadn’t called anyone, I hadn’t gone out, I’d barely eaten, and I’d been utterly miserable. I could call it the worst breakup I’d ever been through, but it wasn’t even a breakup. I’d have to be with the guy for him to break up with me.

  I dropped my laptop on my desk and looked up for Hunter’s coffee as Brenda came down the hall with two cups in hand. She took one look at me and stopped dead. “What happened?”

  “Guy trouble.” I shrugged in that miserable way brokenhearted women did. I probably didn’t even need to say anything, just give that shrug. Oh yeah, and look like absolute crap. Nailed on both counts.

  “Ah. That’s the worst kind of hurt.” She put the coffee on the edge of my desk and surveyed me over her half-spectacles. “Breakup?”

  “Something like that.” I picked up Hunter’s coffee.

  “Did you kick the bastard in the balls? It doesn’t solve anything, but it sure helps the mood.”

  I chuckled as my heart wrenched. “It would make me feel worse. Isn’t that a bitch? He’s being a scared little punk, but I can’t hold him accountable, because he’s doing what he promised he would do.” I shook my head miserably. “I should kick myself.”

  “Why add injury to insult? Well, you just go in there and deliver that coffee. Interrupt his morning, if you want. He’ll bark obscenities at you and send you running. It’ll take your mind off things.”

  “Hunter swear at an employee?”

  “He’s in a foul mood today. Which doesn’t make sense, as you landed the guy for him. Right?”

  I moved toward the office, desperate to see Hunter’s face, but dreading it all the same. “Stole him right out from under Hunter’s slimy father.”

  “Good. That rat deserves it.” Brenda moved around her desk as I entered the office.

  The light shone in as it always did, cascading around Hunter’s large shoulders and glancing off the side of his handsome face. I slowed, savoring the view. Rememberi
ng his kiss.

  When I got to his desk, I put his coffee in the usual spot and noticed his shoulders tighten. He didn’t turn to look, though.

  With a stiff back and tears coming to my eyes, I turned quickly and walked out, then settled into my chair and stared at my desk for a moment. It was Brenda’s glance that had me pulling out my laptop and firing it up, pulling up emails that I would never work on.

  I pulled up instant message and fired off a question, not daring to go into Hunter’s office to ask it personally.

  Olivia Jonston: What should I work on?

  Hunter Carlisle: Pull up the various job openings and see if anything fits your desires.

  Nail. Hammer. Coffin. Today sucked.

  I wiped a stray tear from my face and clicked into the intranet. I kind of wanted to pull a Milton from Office Space and set fire to the place. At the very least break a fax machine. Office violence seemed mandatory in this situation.

  I saw Brenda look over again. I should probably stop sighing so loudly. Or did I sniffle?

  “I’m not going to turn into a puddle of misery. I’ve been here before,” I assured her. “This too shall pass, and all that.”

  “It’s just…have you decided to leave?”

  I couldn’t stop my shoulders from hunching. “Ah. That. Is Hunter looking for a new admin already?”

  “He’s having me set up interviews. The first he scheduled himself for later today. He’s in a hurry.”

  My gut twisted. It felt like a Buick was sitting on my chest. In as nonchalant a voice as I could manage, I said, “Yeah. Probably doesn’t want to lose momentum with Bruce. The buyout, I mean.”

  I could see Brenda’s stare for a moment longer out of the corner of my eye before she said, “That’s my girl. He didn’t give you what you wanted, and you stuck it to him, huh? Well, good. He’ll do this—he acts like a spoiled little baby when he doesn’t get his own way, but he’ll come around. Don’t you worry. It’ll eat away at him until he buckles. Just hold out.”