“I feel like a baby chimp,” she remarks, as I walk through the apartment with her.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m all for unleashing the animal in you, Stunner. But I’m not thinking primates…”
“Oh?”
“No,” I say, laying her down on the bed gently. “I think there’s a tigress in you, and I plan to find it…”
“Carry on talking like that, Mr. King, and I might just show you.”
I’m not sure if it’s the sultry tone in her voice, the fact that she called me Mr. King, or that she’s coming out of her shell and discovering the sexy as sin woman that’s inside, which makes my dick twitch every time. But, fuck, the thought that Amy is in myoffice, is interrupting my thoughts. And I refuse to think of her while I’m with my girl. I’ve gotta get it sorted, then I’m taking the rest of the day off.
“Hold that thought, Stunner. Wait here, sketch, eat, whatever you like. I have to get this sorted.”
She sighs. “Okay, go, deal with that woman. I’ll be right here when you’re done.” She stretches up, sliding her hands above her head, and into the mass of waves that fan around her. It pulls the shirt she’s wearing a little higher up her body, which exposes her creamy skin and scant white lace underwear that I just want to pull off with my teeth.
“Right there. Stay right there, like that.” I tear myself away with a groan because I know that if I don’t, this thing with Amy won’t get sorted today and my mind will be partly occupied knowing that I have to deal with it all another time. “You’re not making it easy for me,” I grumble, adjusting myself through my jeans.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll make it better when you come back.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yeah.” She laughs. “It’s a promise.”
***
I descend in the elevator, and walk with purpose across the foyer, but when I reach the hallway that leads to my office, my legs seem to slow as I get closer. I stop outside the heavy wood door and take a deep breath before pushing it open.
There are two members of my security team standing on either side of the door, and they nod their acknowledgment of my presence as I enter. Then my attention turns to Amy. The smug bitch is sitting in my chair, with her long legs propped up on my desk. I can taste my dislike for her, it sticks in the back of my throad, and momentarily I wonder when we crossed theline. Has it been a long time coming or am I only just starting to realize what I’ve been putting up with? The thought makes me equally sad and frustrated.
“Let’s get this over and done with, shall we?” I ask, crossing the room and pushing her legs so they drop from the desk. She doesn’t take any notice of me, she just sits up straighter and laughs.
“Denham King,” she drawls. “What is this display for? There are no other women to impress with your display of dominance. Just me, and I already know how dominant you like to be.”
She stands to her full height, right in front of me. Her body doesn’t touch mine, but she’s so damn close. There was a time, when her body, her smell, would turn me on. Now I’m repulsed. She found me at my weakest point and used it to her full advantage. She doesn’t actually know the real me.
“You know nothing about me, Amy. I’m not going to spend any more time with you than I have to. This isn’t about reminiscing. What’s it going to take to buy you out?”
“You can’t.”
“I can. And I will. It was a short term investment, and it’s no longer needed.”
“Well, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about that, King. You can’t buy me out.”
I rub my temples through sheer frustration. This is not a fun game she’s playing.
“Oh, King. You really have taken your eye off the ball, haven’t you?” She laughs and rakes one of her talons down my chest, stopping when she gets to my abs. It’s a move that would have once had me bending her over my desk and taking her hard and fast. But now, it disgusts me. She disgusts me. What kind of a state must I have been in over the last three years, to have thought she was any good for me?
Grief. That’s what’s had me deluded. I’ve done anything and everything to avoid thinking about my father. I’ve pushed forward so hard, so blinded to stop the grief from swallowing me whole. I’ve tried every distraction to avoid acknowledging the pain that comes with losing someone so close to you. That someone was my hero, my best friend, my dad. But I needed to be the strong one. I had to step up and look after my family, because who else was going to do it? Who else would have kept this place running? So now I’ve done that, and will continue to do that. But Arianna has shown me that I need to let someone take care of me too. That it’s okay to feel, because if you don’t, it’s an empty existence.
When Amy’s hand wanders from my stomach down to my crotch, I’m snapped out of my thoughts, and my patience with her finally gives way. I grab her wrist hard and turn her around fast before she has time to put up a fight. I shove her forward so she’s bent at the waist, and face down on my desk with her arm restrained behind her back.
“You know I love it when you’re rough,” she manages to say through strained breaths.
“Don’t fucking touch what’s not yours. Got it?” I growl in warning. “How much to get you out of my life, and off my books?” I push her hand up her back just a little so she feels the strain and it’s taking everything for her not to cry out. I’m not taking any pleasure in this whatsoever, and I’m holding so damn tight on the reins of my temper.
