Page 53 of A Mutually Beneficial Proposal

“Only you,” she says before rocking against me, then softly adds, “for this week.”

Those last three words make me want to withdraw from her, but I don’t. I move us from the door to the small table next to the kitchenette area. I lay her over the wooden surface and lift her legs up so that both of her ankles are next to my head.

My cock is still throbbing inside her, but I’ve stopped moving.

She looks up at me with hooded eyes. “Are you going to make me beg, Owen?”

I grip her hips tightly. “Tell me what you want, Ella.”

“I want you to fuck me on this table until I scream your name,” she says without hesitation.

I pull back enough to slam forward again, disappointed she didn’t say she just wanted me.

Her ankles tighten around my ears, and she moans. “Just like that, Owen. Hard, fast, and dirty. Don’t be gentle. Not tonight.”

As much as I want her to tell me why she ran off and what has her so needy, I refrain, only doing as she asks. I fuck Ella on the table until she does just as she knows I like. She screams my name and begs me for more.

I can’t find it within me to deny her, and my cock isn’t done giving her a good dicking. I move us to the bedroom, intent to remind Ella just why she agreed to stay with me in the first place.

* * *

The next morning,I have a message on my phone from a number I don’t recognize. One that asks me to meet them in the gym on the fourth floor.

Ella is still sleeping, and I take a moment to appreciate her natural beauty. I wish I knew what makes her so scared of what she’s feeling, and worse, of what I feel. I might have agreed to her asinine plan of keeping our fucking only in Saint Lucia, but I already know I’m going to break that promise.

Another text comes through from the same number: Five minutes.

I can’t help my curiosity, so I decide to respond, hoping it’s Bill and not Jack from a different phone.

Me: Be there soon.

Once I’m dressed, I kneel next to the bed and rub the back of my hand over Ella’s arm. She grunts and the sound makes me smile.

“Good morning, gorgeous. I need to run downstairs for a bit, but I want to talk about last night when I’m back. Don’t go anywhere.”

She grumbles something I don’t understand, so I leave her a note just to be safe. She’s probably not feeling all that well after whatever she drank in the bar.

As soon as I scribble the note and leave it next to her pillow, I race for the door, getting to the gym as quickly as I can. I walk in wearing loose shorts, my t-shirt from last night, and tennis shoes. I see four other men and a woman using various machines.

One of them turns toward where I stand in the door, and I notice it’s Bill. He nods at the treadmill next to him and I take the cue. Even if by some crazy chance he’s not the one who sent the messages, I don’t want to offend him.

“Good morning, Owen,” he says when I step on the machine.

“Morning, Bill.”

I set my pace slow and begin a light jog.

“How has this week been going for you?” he asks.

“Honestly, the best parts have had nothing to do with the retreat,” I answer.

He chuckles. “I saw the woman you were with last night. I’m surprised you left to follow her, even though Jack clearly ordered you not to.”

I’m equally surprised that Bill was lurking in the club and none of us noticed him, but I don’t say that. “If Jack wants to fire me, it won’t make me sad in the slightest.”

“Well, it would me. I need your help, Owen,” Bill says quietly, confirming he’s the one who texted.

“I assume this has to do with what Natalie found?” I ask.

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