Covet, p.4
Covet, page 4
“Francesca.”
His deep baritone, devoid of all warmth as he spoke my name, sent a shiver down my spine. Not the same type of shiver I used to enjoy. It was just one word, but I knew this call wouldn’t be easy.
“Nick, I think you already know why I’m calling.”
“Do I? Why don’t you enlighten me?”
Bastard.
“Look, I’m not going to waste your time….” I swallowed the lump in my throat and clinched my fist at my side. God this hurt. “That offer you made. I-I’d like to take advantage of it.”
“Of course you would because taking advantage is your specialty, but the offer is off the table.”
The room started to spin, and my stomach dropped to my feet. I needed this money. It literally represented life or death to me. “So I suppose I’ll just have to contest the will after all….” I don’t know what made me say that considering his already credible threat of tying it up in courts for years to come, but desperation did strange things to people.
“And I already told you exactly what would happen if you tried. When I made that offer, I was in a generous mood. Now, I don’t particularly feel up to being magnanimous anymore.”
“You said it yourself that Kenny would have wanted me to be have something. I’m not asking for the bulk of his estate, just what you said you’d give me if I didn’t contest the will and went away. I’m sure we can work something out. Even if you just loan it to me.” God, I hated myself at that moment for groveling, but I was left with no choice.
My plea was met with silence.
“Nick…please.”
“How badly do you want it?”
I squeezed my eyes shut to fight back the tears I knew were only seconds away from spilling.
“Look, if you want me to beg, then fine. I’m begging you. I need the money. It’s the least you could do after getting me fired from my job.”
“I di—I didn’t realize your past would catch up to you so quickly. But here’s the thing Francesca. I don’t care how much you need the money. I don’t care if you’re out of a job or whatever other sob story you want to feed me. As I already stated, the offer is off the table.” And with that, he hung up on me.
In most circumstances I would have given up and said fuck it. Short of selling my body on the streets, I was low on options for getting my hands on the amount of cash I needed to save my brother. The house was not in my name, so I couldn’t take out a second mortgage. My credit cards were nearly maxed out, and my savings were nonexistent. Honestly if I didn’t find another job soon, Adam wouldn’t be the only one in a life dire situation.
It was how I ended up at Nick’s accounting firm. Maybe I was crazy for showing up. I didn’t know what else to do. I’d held my breath when I gave the receptionist my name to see Mr. Evans, which I understood might not pan out since I didn’t have an appointment.
To my surprise I was told to take the elevator to the top floor which is where I was directed by his Nick’s assistant to sit.
I waited two hours before I was called into his office. He was really milking this shit, and my patience was razor thin, but I kept the simmering rage bottled up within in.
Nick didn’t bother looking up from his computer when I stepped into his office. He was wearing his reading glasses which actually enhanced his already handsome features, giving him a scholarly appeal.
I stood awkwardly in front of his desk waiting for him to acknowledge my presence but as the silence continued to stretch, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Uh, should I take a seat?”
He finally looked up as he took his glasses off. I bit my bottom lip to hold back the gasp that threatened to escape. He was still one of the most incredibly handsome men I’d ever seen with his wavy dark brown hair, chiseled jaw line and full lips. Besides being bless with all those incredible attributes, he had the nerve to have a body built for sinning. I’d forgotten how green his eyes were. Despite all he done to me, the attraction I felt toward him was stronger than it should have been. It made me wonder how I could feel this way about someone I despised.
“That won’t be necessary. I know what you’re here for, which means you’re desperate right?” He raised a dark brow as if challenging me to say otherwise.
I could only nod as I chanted to myself to think about Adam.
“Good, then this should be quick.” With the agility of a trained assassin he was out of his seat and standing in front of me within seconds. His movements were so smooth for someone his size. I wasn’t a small woman standing a quarter inch over 5’8, but he towered over me forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his icy, green gaze.
“Does this mean you’ve changed your mind?” I winced at how my voice wobbled. Nick had the upper hand and he knew it.
“Depends.…”
I took a step backward. “O-on what?”
He closed the gap between us. “Depends on how desperate you are. You see Francesca, there’s nothing more I want than for you to disappear out of my life and be done with you, but you’ve become quite the inconvenience. You see, I’ve realized that I still want you, and maybe I’ll be damned to hell for feeling this way about my brother’s widow,, but there it is. Even though I know you’re a greedy, selfish cunt, I can’t stop thinking about throwing you on my desk and fucking that little pussy raw.”
I took three steps back, but Nick was quicker, reaching out for me so quickly our bodies collided.
“Let go of me!” I attempted to pull myself out of his hold, but he was stronger than me. I knew what those corded muscles beneath his suit looked like. If he chose to overpower me, there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“Don’t panic. I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to. But you’re going to have to earn every bit of that money.”
The blood was pounding in my ears, and my heart was beating so fast it felt as if it would explode from my chest. “So, you’re saying I have to sleep with you?”
A smirk curved one side of his sensual lips. “Oh, you’re going to have to do more than that. But first I want to see how desperate you really are.” And with that, he let me go and lean against his desk.
“What does that even mean?”
“You want something from me, and I’m willing to give it to you if you earn it. But first I want to see how badly you want this money.”
“What…what do I have to do?” As I uttered the words, a little part of me died on the inside.
“On your knees. Now.”
Chapter Four
Frankie
I was sure I’d heard him wrong. Nick had expressed his contempt for me in many ways, but this…this was a low I didn’t think even he would stoop to. “I beg your pardon?”
The sinister chuckle he suddenly released reminded me of a horror movie villain and every bit as frightening. “Oh, you’ll beg alright. Now get on your goddamn knees and beg me like the greedy little whore you are.”
I flared my nostrils and balled my fists, and before I realized my feet were moving, I was so close to him there wasn’t even an inch between us. I reared my arm back and aimed my fist straight for his jaw. I’m generally not a violent person but the rage boiling inside of me would not be denied. The sweet satisfaction I expected to feel by doing him bodily harm was not to be because he caught my fist in muscular hand, and he then twisted my arm behind my back. He lowered his head until our noses nearly touched.
He applied just enough pressure to not hurt but the right amount to let me know that if he applied more he could break my arm. “If you’ve finished having your tantrum, just remember you’re the one who came to me. I’m not obligated to give you shit. In fact, I’m pretty sure I told you the offer was off the table before you showed up. Clearly you don’t need the money as badly as you claim, and frankly, you’re wasting my time. In fact, the 90 days I gave you to vacate the house were way more generous than you deserve. All I’m required by law is to give you 30 days, so I want you out by the end of the month. I don’t give a fuck where you go. I just want you to be gone. And don’t test me. I will throw you out on the street myself if you’re not gone.”
He pushed me away then, so abruptly that I stumbled backward and nearly landed on my ass. I wanted to charge and get at least one good hit, but the man apparently had the reflexes of a jungle cat. I quickly weighed my options. Even if I wiped out my bank accounts and took out cash advances on the remaining balances on my credit cards, it wouldn’t be enough to pay the debt Adam owed. Anything of value I had at one point was long gone. I could have just said fuck it and let Adam work out his own problems, but that also meant his certain death. A death I couldn’t bear. No matter how many times he’d let me down, he was still my brother. I thought about that huge scar on his body and how close he’d already come do dying already. Then I remembered the promise I’d made so long ago, and slowly, all the fight drained from me.
If I did what Nick asked, it would be over. I’d have the money, and then we could part ways for good.
This humiliation was something I was willing to endure if it meant I could save my brother. Before I could change my mind, I walked back to Nick and dropped to my knees. I quickly unbuckled his pants and pulled them down along with his boxes, setting his dick free with a bounce. It was only semi-erect when I set it loose, but the second I circled my fingers around him, it grew in my palms, hard, long, thick, and veiny. It was huge, much longer than I anticipated.
When Nick and I had dated, we had intended to take things slow but our chemistry had been undeniable. He was the best lover I’d ever had. I only had a few partners before him so not too many comparisons but I there would never be another like him.
Despite us being previous lovers his erection still took me by surprise. It was quite intimidating and larger than I remembered, but it was pointless to get caught up on size, especially since it was in my face.
Nick remained oddly silent, not moving a muscle which made it slightly easier for me, but not much. As soon as I put my mouth on it, however, his stomach contracted with his sharp intake of breath. I slowly moved my lips along his length taking as much of him in my mouth as possible with my fist wrapped around the base of his cock.
I bobbed my head back and forth, my movements hesitant at first until I finally found my rhythm. I tried to focus on what this was really for and that was what kept me going, but something happened that I didn’t quite expect. Servicing him like this, the big tip of his dick hitting the back of my throat, a pool of warmth gathered in my panties, and an incredible heat spread through my entire body in a rush of unexpected pleasure. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I didn’t like this feeling at all, and I didn’t want to get caught up with this man. Not again. As I tried to pull away, he gripped the sides of my head with each of his hands and thrust his dick so deep in my mouth I gagged.
I placed my hand on his belly to push him away, but his grip on my head tightened making it difficult for me to escape.
“Take it. Take every inch of me,” he growled thrusting his hips forward again.
As his grip tightened on my head, it became apparent that I was no longer sucking his dick so much as he was fucking my mouth. With each shove, his dick slid farther past my gag reflex.
I was no longer fighting him off. I was just trying to breathe. My eyes watered, and saliva dribbled down my chin as he continued to violate my throat. The really fucked up thing about this situation was not the slight fear coursing through me because I didn’t know what he’d do next, or even the degradation. It was the fact that I liked it.
That tingling in my pussy had only intensified, and I hated myself for responding to him to him this way. So I shut my mind down, letting it happen, over and over again.
“That’s it. Take it like the good little cum slut I know you are. You like this, don’t you?”
My humiliation was complete. Or so I thought. Just when I figured this ordeal couldn’t get any worse, he suddenly pulled out, cupped the back of my head and shot his cum all over my face.
Stunned.
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even believe this had happened. I briefly registered a faint click, but I couldn’t quite process it because I was still trying to figure why I let this happen, and if I could get away with murdering him.
“You can go clean yourself up in my bathroom through that door.” He pointed to the other side of his office. “When you’re finished, we can talk terms.”
Talk terms? He was insane if he thought I had anything else to say to him. I’m not sure how long I stayed on my knees, but it felt like a very long time until I was able to bring myself to move. I slowly wobbled to my feet and managed to make it to his private restroom on shaky legs.
The sight that greeted me in the mirror was horrifying. The stranger staring back at me with the mussed hair, smeared make up, and splotches of his cum around my mouth looked like a used porn star. My stomach was queasy, and I wanted to throw up in disgust for myself because I didn’t completely hate what I’d done—what he’d done to me to as much as I should have.
I grabbed some paper towels and took my time cleaning my face to delay having to face Nick again. I was certain that he would be gloating, and I didn’t want to endure the expression on his face.
My time in the bathroom didn’t last as long as I would have liked because an aggressive knock on the door brought me out of my pity party of one.
“You’ve been hiding in there long enough.”
He was so lucky I didn’t have any weapons packed in my purse because I would have surely killed him right then. In a small act of defiance, I lingered just a little longer. I refreshed my makeup and smoothed the wrinkles out of my clothes before squaring my shoulders and heading out to his office.
Nick stood in the center of the room with his arms folded behind his back, his expression unreadable, but I could tell the cogs in his brain were spinning. They usually were.
He didn’t speak right away, deepening the already tense atmosphere. I had no other reason to be here except for one thing, and it appeared he was going to make me bring it up.
I wish I could have said fuck it and walked away, and I would have if I had needed the money for myself. “So will I get a check, or should I leave my bank account and routing numbers?” I surprised myself with how steady I was able to make my voice sound even when my nerves were on edge.
He gave me a hard stare, his green eyes narrowed, leaving no doubt in my mind the contempt he had for me. “That’s all you care about isn’t it? The money?”
I shrugged seeing no other course than to brazen this out. My pride had already been shredded to bits. “We both know it’s what I came for. Why you made me—”
“I didn’t make you do shit. In fact, my exact words were that I wanted to see how desperate you were. I hope you didn’t think your blowjob was worth six figures. Oh no, you’re going to have to earn every single dollar I give to you.”
My mouth fell and my heart sped up. “What more do you want from me? Was humiliating me not enough? Do you want my blood next? I have nothing left.”
He stalked toward me his penetrating gaze remaining steady on my face. “Oh, I beg to differ. I think you have plenty to offer. And as much as it pains me to admit, I still want you. And I despise myself for it, especially when I know what kind of person you are.”
“And what kind of person is that exactly?” I already had a pretty good idea about what he’d say, but I needed to hear the words to remind myself not to let him get under my skin. A reminder to not let my guard around him again, and to not fall for him again. There was a time this cold angry man standing before me was someone I thought I see myself having a future with, but now, having it devolve into something so ugly and twisted, it was absolutely heartbreaking.
He raised a dark brow. “Oh, you want me to spell it out? Okay, just so you don’t get any ideas about the proposal I’m going to lay on the table, I think you’re a manipulative, greedy bitch. You used me so that you could have access to my wealth, and when you saw that I wouldn’t easily bend to your will, you moved on to my brother and turned him against his family. And if that wasn’t enough, you killed him.”
“I didn’t—”
He held up his hand, cutting me off. “He may have already been sick, but you sped things along, didn’t you? With your medical knowledge, you knew exactly what you were doing, and for that, I will never forgive you. But damn if I don’t still want to fuck you out of my system so that I will never have to think about you again. And that’s worth the amount I’m willing to pay you for exactly that: 250 thousand for two months of your time. I want you at my beck and call. I want you to come running when I call. If I ask you to jump, you’ll say how high. And if I want my dick sucked again, you drop to your knees with a goddamn smile on your face.”
“You son of a bitch….”
He gave me that infuriating smirk along with a nonchalant shrug. “Considering you’re currently unemployed, you should have no problem with that.”
I was desperate, but was I that desperate? I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but I remembered Adam and couldn’t bring myself to turn away from that kind of money.
I took a deep breath and briefly closed my eyes shut. “Okay, I’ll do it. But on one condition.”
“Mighty audacious of you considering you’re in no position to make demands.”
“You want something from me, don’t you? I could walk out this door, and you won’t get what you want. I’ve apparently been living in your head rent-free, and the only way you’re going to evict me is to, as you said, fuck me out of your system. That’s not going to happen unless you at least concede to my one condition.”
His half grin faltered, and he flared his nostrils showing his annoyance. “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want?”
“I need 50 thousand of that right away.”
