Page 103 of Scandalous Secrets

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, her eyes narrowed, leaning in to where I could see the white lace of her bra just under the buttons of her shirt.

“Keep looking at me like that and I might give you a preview right now.”

The door was open to my office. Talking like this was dangerous ground, but I couldn’t help it. I was hungry for her. Practically insatiable. I didn’t know how I was going to make it five days without her.

“Down, boy,” she said, standing from her chair. “I’ll be there.”

She walked out of my office, taking her time as her hips slowly swished in that skirt that hugged her ass. She knew exactly what she was doing. I sat back in my seat and enjoyed the view.

After work, I headed home to pack for the retreat. Monica planned to come over for dinner later, one that I was not cooking. As I entered my building, I made sure to confirm with security that Veronica was banned from the premises. They assured me she was, and I felt better as I rode up the elevator to my place. I didn’t want any more unexpected surprises tonight, or ever. I knew I still had to talk to my mother about my boundaries, and how I didn’t want Veronica in our lives anymore.

I also knew I had to talk to my father eventually. The more time I spent running the hedge fund, even with Monica by my side, I realized how little interest I had in my job. I had little interest in anything my father ran, and I was tired of being micro-managed, knowing I would never live up to his expectations no matter the effort I put in. Which was probably why I hadn’t put much effort in during recent months.

I wanted to find something that I was interested in, passionate about. Monica helped me see that. Even though she had lost her way in writing, I knew she loved it. Missed it. I knew she would find her way back to it, especially now with Erica getting her a gig at the newspaper. I wanted to feel that same passion for my work. Myownwork. I didn’t want to be in my father’s shadow anymore.

It was going to piss him off. I knew that. More than it had when my sister chose to go her own way. My father always figured I, being his only son, would take over the company. It was never in the cards for my sister, so her choosing to be a journalist and not a corporate employee only ticked him off slightly. Butme.It would be his demise. Probably mine, too.

It didn’t take long to pack. All I needed were a few suits and a few pairs of Oxfords. I wished I were packing for the Bahamas again. I fully intended on taking Monica back there. Without my sister of course. I wanted to take her a lot of places. It felt like we had all the time in the world. Or we would soon.

It came down to who was leaving first. Me or her. I knew she had sent her résumé to a few other executives in Manhattan. Some had even already called me to follow up. I hated the idea of her leaving, especially working for another man who would probably ogle over her. But I knew we couldn’t carry on the way we had been. I didn’t want to. I was tired of hiding, and it was getting more difficult to turn off my feelings in front of the others in the office, especially Kathy.

After I packed, I took a quick shower and changed into some black sweats and a crewneck. I liked being like this with Monica. Comfortable and simply me. Not the man in designer, custom-made suits. When she showed up an hour later in her own pair of sweats, I smiled and pulled her in to give her a kiss. She looked beautiful with her bare face and hair pulled into a messy bun high on her head.

“Looks like we were on the same wavelength,” she said as she looked me up and down.

“I like it.” I grabbed her hand and twirled her around so I could take her in.

Perfect. Just perfect. In suits. In sweats. In nothing.

She looked up at me for a moment, her brown eyes dark with something I couldn’t quite read. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close to her. The warmth of her body eased all of my thoughts and to-dos with my family. It was just me and her. This could very well be all I needed.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispered. It had been longing in her eyes.

“I’m going to miss you, too.” I kissed the top of her head.

We stayed like that for a moment before I bent down and scooped her up by the back of her knees. She let out a little scream as I tossed her over my shoulder.

“Troy! What are you doing?” She laughed as she gently swatted at my back.

“Making up for lost time now.”

I carried her down the hallway to my bedroom. We made up for all five days for the next several hours. It was so late by the time we finished that we were ravenous and our only option for food was pizza from the same spot as last night. I wasn’t complaining. The pizza tasted even better in bed.

Chapter 45

Monica

“Do you have to go?” I asked.

Troy slid on a pair of dark jeans, balancing on one foot in the doorway of his closet that was bigger than my entire apartment. I was still in his cloud of a bed, watching him as he tugged an olive-green sweater over his head. He shook his hair and gave me that close-lipped smile that only tugged at one side of his perfect mouth. The smile that meant he was up to no good.

He walked over to the bed where I lay naked and rolled me onto my back. He hovered over me, his eyes straying slowly up my body that was hidden underneath his silky sheets. They were somehow a deeper green than last night. That sweater did wonders for them.

“You could try to tempt me to stay…” he suggested, his voice hoarse. The vibrations of it ran up my spine, causing me to instinctively arch my back.

We had spent all night winding each other up until we both succumbed to intense pleasure that left us both breathless, our throats dry, our bodies left with impressions from fingertips and teeth. When I woke up this morning, I could hardly move, but now…Now I was ready for more. Needlingly so.

The sheets slipped down ever so slightly, revealing the soft pink color of my nipples where Troy’s eyes snapped to. He leaned down and used his teeth to pull the sheet down further. His breath against my chest made my eyes flutter closed. I felt the warmth of his tongue surround one nipple and then the other. I let out a little moan, my throat tight.

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