The Hearts Series

  “Please,” I moaned with no inhibitions whatsoever.

  “That’s better,” he purred, and sucked my earlobe into his mouth. “You need me inside you, love?” He was whispering now.

  “Yes,” I whimpered, nuzzling my face into his neck, loving how he smelled.

  “What way do you want me?”

  I didn’t even need to think about it. I knew exactly how I wanted him because I’d fantasised about it many a time during quiet periods at the office. A wave of shyness came over me suddenly, and I hesitated to tell him.

  “No, no, no,” he chided me, still whispering. “There’s no room for embarrassment here. You’ve thought about this. I know you have. Describe to me how you imagined it.”

  Oh, God.

  Finally, I spoke. “We’re in your bathroom, at the office. You corner me on the couch and flip me over onto my stomach.”

  King’s eyes sparkled at my description and his hands went to my hips, one arm around my stomach. “Like this?” he asked, voice low, and then flipped me onto my belly.

  “Yeah, just like that,” I moaned as I felt him press his cock into my arse, his breath hot and heavy on the back of my neck.

  “What next?” he urged.

  “You’re hard. You undo your belt buckle and pull down your fly, then you push my skirt up my hips and shove my knickers to the side. You touch me, feel how wet I am.” He moved as I spoke, hands completing the description I was giving him until his fly was open and his fingers were running over my folds, caressing them.

  “You pull me up onto my knees.”

  He gripped my hips, lifting me to all fours.

  “Then you pull yourself from your pants, and you run your erection over my arse before sliding it lightly over my vagina. You tease me with it, find my entrance, and push in just a little, torturing me until I’m begging for it.”

  I had to give it to him, King took direction just perfectly. His cock was free now, sliding inside me the tiniest bit before pulling back out. Sensation filled my entire body at the barest connection. His hand went to my neck, gripping it as he growled in my ear.

  “I think this is your cue to beg, love.”

  “Please,” I moaned.

  “Not good enough.”

  “I need you, please, I’m begging.”

  “Almost there.”

  My voice grew strained and demanding. I didn’t want to play anymore; I just wanted him inside. “Oliver, fuck me, please. I want to feel all of you,” I cried out.

  “That’s better,” he purred, his voice laced with deep male satisfaction as I heard him pull something from his pants pocket. There was the brief sound of foil tearing before he positioned his cock, then drove it inside me, hard and so deliciously deep. I felt myself pulsate around him, like my body was thanking him for finally giving it what it needed. We went still, and I felt his mouth move over my shoulder blade before his face sank into my hair.

  “Jesus Christ,” he groaned.

  “Oliver, I need….”

  “Hush, I know, darling, I know.”

  He rose up again, hands finding my arse and squeezing. He growled and gave one cheek a light slap before grabbing my hips and gripping them tight. My fingers dug into the pillows as I held myself up even though my body just wanted to go limp. Everything just felt too good, and my muscles had turned to jelly. King pushed back into me, in and out deliciously slow. Then his movements sped up, and I swear I lost the ability to think. I’d never felt anything so heavenly in my entire life. My little breaths and moans filled the room; I was unable to hold anything back. King delighted in my sounds, murmuring worshipfully how much he loved them, how much he loved my body, my pussy, how perfectly we fit.

  I’d never forget his masculine grunts as he hammered into me, the thick, hard feel of him as he filled me up. I felt like I wanted to die when he suddenly pulled out, but before I knew it, he was flipping me over and pushing me onto my back.

  “I want your eyes,” he growled, lifting my thighs around his hips and driving back into me once more. He cupped my jaw in his hand, his thumb rubbing at my chin as he levelled me with his stare. He was beautiful in that moment, captivating. I wanted to look down, take in the sight of his gloriously chiselled body, but he wouldn’t allow it. He held me in place, never allowing my eyes to leave his, and something clutched at my chest and throat. It was an emotion I wasn’t quite sure I could identify: sharp and stingy but warm and lovely at the same time.

  King’s expression grew serious. “Do you feel that?” he asked on a laboured breath.

  All I could do was nod, and in the next second we both seemed to understand that we were completely and totally screwed. No way was this going to be a one-time thing. Already I wanted to crawl beneath his skin and never leave.

  “You’re so beautiful, Alexis. You feel fucking beautiful on the inside, too.”

  “Oliver….”

  “Yes, darling?”

  “Will you come for me?” I asked, my words a desperate plea.

  “Anything for you,” he whispered, his movements slowing down but growing in intensity. He seemed to get even harder as his climax built, and just as I saw he was about to come apart, I pulled his lips to mine and kissed him desperately, swallowing all of his noises, letting them become a part of me. I felt him spill into me, groaning low and gravelly as he came hard, his body shaking a little with the effort. A soft layer of perspiration coated his skin as his delicious weight fell on top of me. His arms went around my body, pulling me to him tight and squeezing as he rested his face in the crook of my neck.

  I stroked his hair, and he moved us into a more comfortable position so that his entire body surrounded mine. Feeling him plant light kisses to my neck, I let out a little purr of approval as his hand went between my legs.

  “You think you could come again?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

  “You’re exhausted, Oliver. Go to sleep.”

  “But my hand is jealous of my mouth,” he whined playfully. “It wants to feel you come, too.”

  My tender laugh soon transformed into a low moan as he started to stroke me. His fingers circled my clit, then dipped inside. I shifted and felt his cock begin to harden again next to my arse cheek, and already I could have gone another round. My body was sleepy, though, so I was content to simply lay there and let him work me up.

  “I knew it would be like this for us,” he purred. “Effortless.” His other hand came around and palmed my breast, moulding it and then pinching the nipple. He began rubbing his thumb back and forth over the tight peak, the motion matching his fingers as they stroked my clit. In the next moment, I was coming with a stark cry. King murmured soothing words in my ear and I turned into his body, cuddling him tight and pressing kisses to his pectorals.

  Soon after, we both closed our eyes, and then it wasn’t long before sleep pulled us under.

  Twelve

  I woke to a warm mouth on my thigh.

  Oliver King’s head was between my legs as he kissed and licked. I stared down at him, and he gave me the most handsome of smiles.

  “Morning, love,” he said, voice scratchy from sleep.

  “Morning,” I murmured. “What ya doin’ down there?”

  He let out a low groan. “Teasing you, I’m afraid. I wish I could stay here all day, but unfortunately I have a breakfast meeting with Hirota in forty minutes. I need to shower.”

  “We could share one,” I suggested, and he groaned again.

  “Sharing one will last a whole lot longer than I have time to spare. I may lure you into taking a bath with me later, though.”

  “In that case, I looked forward to being lured,” I replied, and King pressed one final kiss to my thigh before leaning up on his hands and bringing his mouth to mine. Our kiss grew hungrier than expected until we broke apart, breathless. King hummed and rubbed his thumb over my lower lip, eyes fixed on my mouth as he spoke.

  “I’ll need you later, but take the morning. There’s a beach just a short walk from
here,” he suggested as he rose from the bed and began picking up his discarded clothes from last night.

  My interest piqued. “There is? I haven’t been to the beach in years.”

  King walked back and placed a final kiss to my temple. “Then go. Enjoy yourself. I’ll see you later.”

  He disappeared through the adjoining doorway to his room, leaving me slightly flabbergasted. I’d half expected him to be distant this morning, withdrawn after he’d finally gotten what he wanted. Put it down to my experience with a whole bunch of real charmers in the past. But no, King had been warm and affectionate with me; it was almost like he’d completely forgotten the whole one-time agreement we’d made.

  I glanced out the window to find it was an unseasonably sunny day, perfect for a trip to the beach. Hopping up from the bed, I went and took a quick shower, then packed my bag. I put my swimsuit on, red with a ’50s vintage cut, and wore a light flower-print dress over the top with some sandals.

  I definitely caught a few odd looks from the locals as I made the quick walk from the hotel to the coast, as they clearly didn’t consider it beach weather. Having lived my entire life in cold, rainy London, though, it was positively tropical to me. As expected, there weren’t many people around. I spread a towel out on the sand, slipped on my sunglasses, pulled my dress off over my head, and lay back to soak in the rays.

  An hour or two passed in blissful peace as I listened to the waves crash against the shore. I never got to hear these sorts of sounds back home, only traffic and honking horns.

  Sensing a presence, I opened my eyes and slid my sunglasses down my nose. King sat next to me on the sand, his chin resting in his palm and a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared out at the water. He looked a million miles away, and the fact was confirmed when I said his name but got no answer.

  “Oliver,” I repeated, and saw him blink.

  He turned his head. “I thought you might be sleeping, didn’t want to wake you.”

  “Wouldn’t it be kind of dangerous to fall asleep on a public beach?” I asked, but he only shrugged and turned his attention back to the sea. I sat up, reached forward, and placed a hand softly on his arm.

  “Hey, are you all right?”

  Either he didn’t hear my question, or he chose to ignore it. “I envy those with clear consciences,” he murmured, as if to himself.

  What he said made me frown. “Why wouldn’t your conscience be clear?”

  His eyes flicked to the side as he realised he’d voiced his sentiments out loud. A long breath escaped him. “Bad luck and circumstance.”

  “You’re one of the luckiest people I know,” I whispered. Yes, his mother was unwell, but aside from that he had a pretty spectacular life.

  Turning, he levelled his eyes on me, and they seemed so much more beautiful with the sun glittering through them. “My luck is only on one side of the mirror,” he murmured, and reached out to caress my cheek. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all morning.” His words and his touch made me shiver.

  “I’ve been thinking about you, too.” What I said made him smile, but there was a sadness behind it. I wanted to find its source, snuff it out. He was having these episodes more and more lately, melancholy mixed with random philosophising.

  “Mr Hirota is going to sign the contracts tonight. He’s invited us to his villa for dinner. Did you bring a dress?”

  “Of course. I always come prepared.” I smiled and crawled over to kneel in front of him, placing my hands on each of his shoulders. Staring at him head on, I said, “A problem shared is a problem halved. Whatever’s been troubling you, you can tell me about it. No judgement.”

  The moment dragged on forever as he breathed in and then out. I don’t think I’d ever experienced such a long and meaningful stretch of eye contact with another human being before. Voices sounded from nearby, a family taking pictures. King’s eyes went to them and then back to me.

  “Stay here,” he said, and stood up. I watched as he walked to the family and began speaking to the father, who had one of those vintage Polaroid cameras. Words were exchanged, and then the father handed the camera over to King. He walked back to me, and as I sat there on my towel, he lifted the camera to his face.

  “Smile, Alexis,” he said, and I had just enough time to plaster a grin on my face before he snapped the shot. The photo emerged from the front of the camera and King caught it, shaking it out.

  “Hey, a little warning next time!”

  “Come here,” he said, voice low.

  I went to him. He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, holding the camera up in front of us and taking another pic. This time I was the one to grab it from the slot. It had managed to capture us up close. I was staring into the lens, smiling, and King was in profile, staring back at me, a look of such affection in his gaze that it almost took my breath away.

  “I’m keeping this one,” I practically whispered as King watched me.

  “Only if I can keep this one.”

  I shrugged, trying not to sound emotional. “Sure.”

  He went and returned the camera to its owner, and an odd atmosphere fell between us. I packed up my things, and we made the short walk back to the hotel. I knew exactly what accounted for the tension but was too afraid to voice how I felt.

  I was falling in love with him, and if the way he looked at me in the picture was anything to go by, he was falling in love with me, too.

  Since King had a bigger room, we went there to work for the rest of the day. I sat on his bed, my computer on my lap, while he sat at the desk. There were lots of small details to tie up before Hirota signed the contracts that evening, so both of us were buried in work for a couple of hours. I Skyped with Gillian so she could take care of everything that needed doing back at the London office. I’d just finished my call with her when King’s phone began to ring. I saw him glance at the screen, and I swear his face instantly transformed. He was no longer relaxed and concentrated. He now seemed irritable and stressed.

  Standing, he didn’t glance at me once as he walked from the room and stepped out into the hallway. He only closed the door over halfway, so I could still eavesdrop on the conversation.

  “Yes?” he answered, voice flat.

  A pause.

  “Of course. It’s all moving forward as planned. The contracts will be signed tonight.”

  Another pause.

  “Very well. Just remember our agreement. This is the last time.”

  I heard him let out a long, frustrated breath, and I could just imagine his jaw clenching. He didn’t sound happy at all.

  “Bruce, I mean it. This is the last time. You’ll have your paperwork by the morning. Goodbye.” A second later he stormed back into the room, and I practically yelped in surprise when he came right at me. He shoved my laptop away, then began undoing the buttons on my dress, revealing my bra underneath.

  “All afternoon I’ve had to watch you sitting here, torturing me in this little dress cupping your perfect fucking tits,” he growled, and brought his mouth to my cleavage, dragging his lips over the swells of my breasts. A whimper escaped me as my hands went to his hair. He wasn’t the only one who’d been tortured. Having Oliver King close was always a test to my willpower.

  “Oliver,” I breathed as he pushed down the cup of my bra, then took my nipple into his mouth. His tongue circled, and I squirmed beneath him. “Oliver, who’s Bruce?”

  His entire form stilled, his mouth leaving me. “You shouldn’t have been listening to that conversation, Alexis.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that as soon as you got the call, you became really stressed out. It worried me.”

  “You don’t need to worry,” he said, and I could feel him withdrawing.

  “But I do.”

  He was off the bed now, picking up his coat. “I’m going to take a walk. Finish what you’re working on and be ready at seven. Hirota is sending a car for us.”

  And with that he was gone. I
lay on the bed, equal parts turned on and confused. I didn’t understand why he was being so closed off about this Bruce person. My gut sank, and I quickly fixed my dress back in place. Collecting my things, I returned to my own room, and this time I remembered to lock the adjoining doors.

  The dress I wore for dinner was a deep purple colour, lace on top, velvet material on the bottom. My phone pinged with a text just as I was putting the finishing touches to my makeup.

  Oliver King: I’m waiting in the lobby.

  I tapped out a quick response.

  Alexis: Be there in two minutes.

  I saw him standing by a tall column when I arrived downstairs. His back was turned to me, and he wore a black suit that made his golden hair stand out. His broad shoulders and confident, masculine posture gave me a fizzy sensation in my tummy, and I immediately wished we weren’t on awkward terms. Why did I have to be so nosy asking about this Bruce person? It wasn’t like I had a right to know.

  Anyhow, I’d put two and two together, and decided that Bruce either worked for King’s silent investor or he was the silent investor. I knew that for whatever reason, King wasn’t thrilled to be working on this deal. My guess was that he owed the investor a favour, and this was how he was repaying him.

  “Hi,” I said, and he turned at the sound of my voice.

  “Alexis,” said King, his eyes skimming my form before his hand went to my lower back to lead me from the lobby. He didn’t say a word about my appearance, didn’t give me any heated compliments, and my gut sank. We entered a sleek black limousine, where King immediately slid across the seat and went to open the mini bar. I sat and fiddled with my phone, while at the same time taking surreptitious glances at my boss. You could have cut the tension between us with a knife, and for once it wasn’t sexual. Well, okay, it was sexual. It always was with us, but on this occasion the tension tension outweighed the sexual tension.

  King studied the bottles, deciding on which drink he was going to have. His eyes flicked to mine as he held up a bottle of Scotch.

  “Would you like a glass?”

  I shook my head.