And he had a small dick, which is why he needs to talk so much.
“Keep your eyes on me.” Anthony’s possessive snap rang in my ears, and my head whipped to the side to find his gaze fiery. All thoughts of the reason I’d even come here tonight flew from my mind, and he borderline glared at me for a hot, long second before nodding firmly.
“Good girl.”
The deep, satisfied purr that flowed off Anthony’s tongue sent shivers raking violently down my spine, and I gasped loudly at the friction that set my body ablaze. His total and complete ability to dominate sparked a fire in my abdomen that I had never felt before, and I shuttered my eyelids tightly together.
“I can’t—I can’t do it.” A burst of adrenaline gave me the power to break free, but even as I took my first steps, I realized that Anthony hadn’t made any move to protest. His eyes bored into my back as I ran in heels towards the nearest corner, and goosebumps rose on my skin as every hair on my body stood straight up.
Leaning heavily on a cool, concrete wall, I gasped for breath as what just happened hit me square in the chest. My fingers trembled as I dropped my head in my hands, and thick sweat trickled down my neck and acted like glue between me and the thing keeping me upright.
The sexual tension of Anthony’s shocking appearance seeped away to leave horror in its wake, and my mind raced in a vicious circle that pounded against my forehead.
Anthony freakin’ Richards—I’d wised up after dropping him off at his hotel and searched his name on the internet. He came from oil money—old oil money—and was an only child. His mother committed suicide when he was 20, after 25 years of marriage that was constantly in the tabloids.
He himself started in hedge funding and real estate, but a massive majority of his current wealth came from his father’s companies that had been handed down to him after his old man had a mild heart attack.
But it slowly began to dawn on me with a sharp, physical pain that what had just happene
d was unimaginably awkward. Anthony was my client, a complete stranger, and definitely not my type. There was no way I’d be able to avoid him for the next three days; I was at his beck and call.
Granted—it was nice that he took the opportunity to apologize about giving me the cold shoulder at the airport.
“Shit.” Sucking in a sharp breath, I held the heavy air deep in my lungs and squeezed my eyelids shut tightly. My core wept and quivered, desperate for even just a glance that would set me off, and I clenched my jaw hard.
Anthony’s intense, azure eyes flashed in the darkness, like bio-luminescence, and I exhaled loudly into the burning landscape that was my inner thighs. “I’ll just ignore him… as much as anyone can ignore someone while confined in a car—and this never happened.”
Because I’ll be fucking damned if I let some hot, rich guy get in the way of my promotion. It’s my final obstacle.
“Hailey, you okay, baby?” Sam’s concern crashed down on me like icy water, and I peeked out from between my fingers as he crouched down. “Did something happen?”
“Yes, but not like that…” His expression tightened even as I shook my head furiously, and his dark eyes narrowed into fine points while I licked my lips. “I’m okay—I just saw my client from work, but I literally met him, like, two and a half hours ago. It was crazy. I just need a minute or two.”
“Wow, talk about awkward. What happened?” The weight of expectation was absent in his question, and Sam rocked back on his heels to sit down fully. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he cocked a brow in question as I battled the wave of desire that crashed into me riding my memories.
“I don’t know if it was because he recognized me, or he genuinely finds me attractive… but… I’m gonna feel it for a while, if nothing else.” My confession brought a hollowness to my chest, and I blew out a hot breath as Sam hummed softly. “I noticed it when we first met… his eyes, they’re… immeasurably intense—intimidating.”
“Are you gonna let him tie you up and string you from the ceiling and throat fuck you or something?” Heat crept up my neck, and Sam reached to caress my cheek with long, spindly fingers. “Was it confusing? Do you need help to get home?”
Nodding jerkily, I rested my head in Sam’s outstretched palm, and the raging maelstrom of thoughts in my brain slowed dangerously. He inched closer, until his sneakers bumped into the open toe of my heels, before I somehow found my ability to speak.
“It is… it wasn’t before… I mean—look at me.” My voice crackled harshly, and Sam carefully scanned what of me he could see. His gaze lingered beyond the gap between my calves, and my throat tightened in shame and embarrassment. “What’s wrong with me…?”
“Maybe that’s the wrong question, baby. Maybe you should ask what’s right with this guy? Are your only reservations because he’s your client and you don’t want to fuck up your employment when you’re so close to your corporate promotion?”
“It’s unethical, Sam.” Casting me a blank look, Sam furrowed his brows as he swiped my dry eyelashes with his thumb.
“Hailey, for fuck’s sake, you worry about the stupidest shit, you know that? This could be your chance to get some grade A dick—not these wimp pieces of shit—and you don’t want to go there because it’s unethical? You said it yourself not three weeks ago—this place was getting boring, along with all the people in it.”
Pursing his lips together, Sam dragged his hand down my arm to take hold of my bicep, and he helped me stand on unsteady legs. “You know, I won’t press it. You should go home and calm down. Let me walk you back.”
“I was just so shocked, he came out of nowhere… like a fucking superhero or something. Just swooped in and saved me from Denny blabbering about his car he’s restoring.” Leaning heavily on Sam’s wiry frame, I glanced across the floor only for Anthony’s magnetic pull to instantly draw my attention.
His bright blue eyes were beacons in a sea of blacks and dark colors, and they locked on me even as he lifted his beer to his lips. The bottle hid his mouth only for a moment, and my breath caught in my throat when he tilted the green, glass container my way.
Smirking menacingly, like a predator planning to play with his prey, Anthony’s silent declaration rang in my ears even after the fraction of a second had broken.
I’ve got you cornered now.