“That’s … so much money!” She squeals.
I don’t tell her that I’ll give her every single thing she wants without her even having to ask. Showing is always better than telling, I find.
We ride the elevator up, and I can’t keep my hands off her. God, this woman is like catnip to me. I can’t get enough.
When the doors open, I finally let her go, and she straightens her skirt. She’s wearing an outfit that looks almost workday, but the way it hugs her curves has me thinking about bending her over my desk.
“Mr. Harrigan.” Benedict greets me as I walk through to my corner office.
“Ben, this is Diamond…” I pause. “I don’t have your last name, do I?”
“Oh, it’s Cala—” She stops. Then coughs. “It’s Carter.”
“Carter?” I raise a brow. She’s utterly adorable, and a terrible liar.
“Mmhmm.” She doesn’t meet my gaze.
“Ben. Out.”
He scurries to his desk, closing my office door behind him. This is the front for my reputable business, but I rarely visit. I thought Diamond might like to get a look at the city from up high before we travel to the seedier side of town where the real money gets made.
“Come.” I sit at my desk and motion for Diamond to sit in my lap.
She does, her gaze traveling to the window behind me, the city laid out in the afternoon sun. “Wow. What a view.”
“It occurs to me I’ve been remiss on the ‘getting to know you’ part of our business arrangement. I never do business with people I don’t have intel on, but you’ve been an exception in every sense of the word.” I rest one hand on her thigh, the other on her ass. Fuck, I could balance a wine glass on her fine, fine ass. “I’m Devlin Harrigan. I’ve lived here all my life. I own several businesses. Some legitimate. Some not. My parents both passed several years ago. I’m patient, I don’t like cilantro, and I’m absolutely obsessed with you.”
She blushes, her skin going rosy. “Wow.”
“I like that word on your lips.” I slide my hand beneath her skirt. “Now tell me about you.”
She looks away. I slide my hand higher until I feel the edge of her panties. “Do I have to persuade you to talk, Ms. Carter?”
“No. I mean…” She wriggles in my lap, and I move my fingers beneath her panties.
“Wet for me. Perfect. I think a raise might be in order.” I slide my finger along her wet slit. “Now talk.”
“I’m Diamond.” Her breath hitches as I use my index finger to circle her clit. “I, um, I’m new to the city.”
“Is that why you were staying in the shelter?”
“Yes. Mostly.”
“Where did you run away from?”
She bites her lip.
I stroke her clit faster, and she moves her hips to my rhythm. Then I pull my hand away.
“Devlin?”
“Answer my question, and you get more.” I nibble her ear.
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “I came from Chicago.”
“Good girl.” I swirl around her clit some more, my cock pressing against her ass as I pleasure her. “Where are your parents?”
“My mom is dead. My dad is … alive.” She makes an mmm sound. “Can we not talk about him while we do this?”
“Fair enough.” I laugh low in my throat and keep teasing her pussy. “College?”
“No. I wasn’t allowed.” She shudders as I pinch her clit between my thumb and forefinger.
I don’t like the sound of her not being ‘allowed’ to do something. “Has anyone ever hurt you?” I ask because I have to know. Because if she says yes, I will hunt the person down and obliterate them from the earth.
“Hurt me?” She grips my arm, her head lolling back as I stroke her in steady movements.
“Yes. Has a man ever hurt you?”
“No. Not like that.” She moves her hips, grinding against my hand and chasing her pleasure.
“Like what then?” I stroke faster.
“Just … just …” Her breath catches, and I feel her letting go, her body shattering as I stroke an orgasm from her with nothing more than the tip of my finger. Fuck, I love how wet she gets for me, how responsive. It’s like she was made for me, her body a goddamn fantasy come to life.
When she sags against me, her panting breath warming my neck, I pull my fingers from her and lick them clean.
She sighs, and I hold her for long minutes as she comes back down. After a while, she whispers, “No one hurt me physically. Not at all. No one ever touched me. My father always said that no one wanted a pig like me. That I had no place in his world unless I lost weight and—”
“No.” I turn her to face me. “None of that is true.” I’m going to find out where she came from and who her father is. I’m going to solve the mystery of my Diamond, and once I do, I’ll set her world to rights. She has to see herself the way I see her, because she’s so, so beautiful in every facet. “You know none of that is true, right?”