Pulling out her new burner phone after bundling Nicholas into an Uber, she called Yagura, biting her thumb in thought. When he picked up, Maura rolled her eyes to hear the slapping of skin and groaning in the background. "This better be fucking important or I'm coming over there and putting my foot up your ass." She made a gagging noise into the phone as the other agent told the complaining female voice, "Hold up. Get a drink or have a smoke, I'll be back in you again in no time." She could hear his door shut and the muted noises of the outside night. "You little bitch. You know how long I've been trying to bang Anna in Offshore Banking?"
"Don't want to know, Yagura." she groaned. "God, now I'll never be able to look at that poor woman without wanting to hurl all over her desk. Look, I've got news and it's scary. Did you know the Big Three are sitting on a gigantic pile of weaponry?" She heard him light a cigarette and take a drag.
"What are we talking here? We know they keep a stash. How much?"
Maura sighed, "The exact phrase I overheard was enough to take over a small country. The other comment was they could blow up half of Manhattan."
"Who told you?" Yagura's voice sharpened as if he knew she was holding back. But Maura couldn't tell him. She couldn't, thinking of Nicholas’s guileless face and how much Yagura would enjoy tearing him apart.
"I told you, I overheard bits when we got called into the Blood Room today."
"All right," he answered, still smoking thoughtfully. "Is there anything else?"
Maura instantly pictured the luscious image of James yanking her up and impaling her on his lap the night before.
"No."
"Are you sure you didn't hear anything else that would help us?" Yagura prodded.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Maura lied for the first time to another agent. "No, nothing."
"Well, then fuck off. I'm about to go balls deep into Miss Offshore Accounts." Yagura hung up without saying goodbye.
I should have told him,Maura thought despairingly.What am I doing?
Hard at work the next day, Maura forced all of her doubts and anxieties out of her mind. Getting distracted at the Corporation was a very bad idea. She and Nicholas were trying out a new stealth tracker for bank accounts when James’s voice came over her speaker. "MacLaren, to my office, please."
Nicholas looked at her and shrugged, "At least it's not the Blood Room." Rolling her eyes, Maura left their office. Her steps became slower and slower as she walked down the executive hallway.
Pine's personal assistant was seated as always, just outside his office as if to physically throw herself across the threshold to bar him from people like the computer geek standing on the expensive carpet. Her kohl-lined eyes ran up and down Maura's gray sweater and loose flowered skirt. She gave a contemptuous sniff and reluctantly said, "Mr. Pine is expecting you. You may go in."
Maura rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to tell the nasty girl in the too-tight suit that between the two of them, she was the only one who'd seen their boss naked. James had a strict rule about not indulging in his personal assistants, though the last two were "reassigned" after rough sexual encounters with Simon Fassell.
Feeling like she was walking into the execution chamber, Maura wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and opened his door.
"Close the door, MacLaren."
His sonorous voice was calm and impassive, but the cobalt eyes James lifted to her were not. "Come here," he ordered, leaning back in his chair. She attempted to sit in a chair in front of his desk, but he shook his head, a smile curving one corner of his mouth. "Over here, pet," he urged, patting one lean thigh. Biting into her lower lip, she reluctantly made her way around the desk, he took her hand and pulled her the rest of the way, impatiently seating her on his lap. Absently fingering one silky curl, he gave her a close look. "You had a guest last night," he didn't sound pleased. "I wanted to see you."
Maura shrugged, "Holbrook came over for a beer." She tried to ignore one heated palm sliding up her calf and over her thigh, drawing the cotton skirt up with it. Squirming nervously, she urged, "Sir, wait. Not here, please."
He continued, eyes watching as each inch of skin was revealed under his hand. "Yes, last night would have been better."
She stiffened, and James felt it, his head tilting up again to study her. "So, I should lounge around the houseboat every night, just on the chance you might want to stop by and use me?" His hand tightened on her thigh. "Just sitting and waiting, like a… like a pet?"
James abruptly lifted her off his lap and onto his desk, brows drawn together. "Is there a reason you're trying to make me displeased with you?" Maura looked down stubbornly, refusing to meet his gaze. "If perhaps, you're saucy enough, I might be too angry with you to fuck you here in my office?"
"This is a bad idea!" Maura hissed. "And you know it." She gasped as his fist went under her skirt, grabbing her panties. With a twist, he ripped them off her.
Suddenly, she was flat on her back as she glared up at James. After taking off her glasses, he slid his hand up her cotton sweater, pushing his broad palm against her chest, holding her in place. "You are not allowed to tell me to stop!" he snarled. "You are my pet and I am your Sir!" Pine angrily pushed two fingers into her mouth. "It is in your best interests to make sure these are wet as possible," his voice was as cold as the blue of his eyes. Opening her lips, Maura drew his digits into her mouth, swirling her tongue over them, tickling the sensitive tips.
Maura tried not to moan as he shoved the fingers into her, using his thumb to rub her clit. His face was unsympathetic as he gazed down on her. "When," he growled, "has behaving badly with me ever worked in your favor?" Her face turned away from him, eyes closed in the humiliation of how fast he could reduce her to a wet and needy pile of mush. His other hand yanked her chin back, forcing her to face him as his fingers worked against her. "How long are you going to require me to show you who you belong to?"
"As long," she hissed, "as it takes you to see this is a terrible, insane idea! You think expecting me to fuck you on command makes any of this real?" She gasped as he put the strength of his shoulder into the fingers driving inside her. Maura couldn't contain the moan that burst from her throat as James dipped his head to her center, angrily taking her soft lips into his mouth and biting down lightly.
“W- Hey- wait! Are you biting me?” It was as if she was having an out-of-body experience as she heard herself moan, "Please don't stop..." Her fingers slipped through his dark curls.
Finally pulling away just before Maura came, she heard his silken chuckle as he stood, wiping her essence from his face. "You are here, pet, as my distraction, nothing more. Your sole requirement is to beg me to let you come." Opening his trousers and pulling out his generous cock, James impatiently shoved her thighs apart and began pushing inside her. Her back arched almost painfully off the desk, as she heard his satisfied groan.
