Thrill me, p.35
Thrill Me, page 35
part #3 of Billionaire's Secrets Series
I groaned as I ran my tongue along the soft flesh inside her mouth. I was already imagining how soft and juicy she would be between her legs. I wanted more. I wanted more now. Having Heidi naked in my arms was going to be the only way I could move on from her and on to my next problem.
Her fingers were in my hair now, weaving through the strands and she was pushing herself against me, making her mouth more easily available to my tongue. The only thing I could think about was where else I wanted my tongue to be.
Chapter Five
Heidi
This was insane. I had never done something like this before in my life. I was making out with a complete stranger, a man who I was trying to throw out of my premises not minutes ago. His tongue was inside my mouth, his hands had been all over my body and I wanted more.
Our lips were fused together while Rhett kissed me wildly and then, when I didn’t want him to stop, he pulled away from me gently.
“You are delicious,” he breathed the words gruffly, before gently tipping my head back so that he could lick the sensitive skin of my neck. I was holding him tightly by his biceps and I could feel the strength in his muscles.
Rhett’s body was ripped. He was strong and athletic and kissed me like I had never been kissed before. Never had I felt this turned on with just a kiss.
Rhett’s mouth moved down from my neck to the top of my breasts, the portion that was revealed by the neck of my dress.
My eyes flew open when I felt his hands on my breasts, searching out my stiffened nipples through the fabric of my dress. What was I doing?!
I wriggled in his arms, as painful as it was to draw away from him. Rhett released me and I stumbled back.
“You have to leave, now!” I said in a loud, shrill voice and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand as if that was going to fix anything.
Even in the dim light of the café, I could tell that Rhett’s eyes looked drowsy, almost drunk. His lips were glistening and his face was darkened with desire. He didn’t respond to me and I ran a hand through my messy curls. I couldn’t believe I had done what I had just done! This went against all my personal rules.
“Heidi,” he said and took a step towards me. I stepped away from him and nervously tucked in some stray curls behind my ears.
“Mr. Larkin, Rhett…this was a mistake. A big mistake,” I said and looked away from him. I couldn’t look at him anymore, without reliving those moments of absolute mind numbing pleasure.
“Alright,” he said flatly and I jerked my head to look at him.
“I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but you should know that I don’t do things like this usually,” I said, fumbling with my words a little as I spoke.
“You don’t kiss people?” he asked with a laugh in his voice. I turned my nose up at him. How could he laugh at a time like this when I was ready to shrivel up from embarrassment!
“Not people I don’t know!” I snapped and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Right. I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said and turned to walk back towards the door again. My heart was racing. I didn’t want him to take it as a compliment. I didn’t want him to assume that I was floored by him. Even though I was, I didn’t want him to know that.
“It’s never going to happen again!” I called after him, just as he was about to turn the knob on the door. Rhett turned to look at me, with a wide smile on his face and his blue eyes sparkling. All my strength and bravery was disappearing quickly again. I was melting.
“We’ll see about that, Heidi. Have a good evening,” he said, with complete calmness, then turned the doorknob and stepped back out in the darkness.
When the door swung shut again, I rushed to it to turn the key in the lock. I was breathing rapidly and I could feel beads of perspiration spring up on my forehead. I turned my back to the door and let out a huge sigh of relief now that he was gone. I was very well aware that the kiss could have very easily turned into more. I had completely forgotten myself and was ready to give myself completely to him.
What had gotten into me? Within a few minutes, Rhett Larkin had managed to completely turn me around.
That kiss was good…so good that my lips were still tingling from it. I shivered and rubbed my hands together and walked up to the table where his check was still lying.
I looked at it in silence, and my hands quivered when I reached for it. Rhett Larkin was bad news. He had played his charm on me and even though I thought I was immune to guys like him, I had completely and foolishly fallen for it.
I picked up the check and stared at it. It was made out to my company, in my name and for a sum of five hundred dollars! It fell from my hand and swooped to the floor while I stepped away from it like it had burnt my fingers. Five hundred dollars! The damage he had caused would probably cost me a hundred to two hundred at the most, including the vase. Five hundred was too much and surely he knew that as well.
What reason did he have to be this generous? Was he just grateful that I hadn’t called the cops on him? If what Sophie and Lucia said were true, a successful billionaire like Rhett Larkin wouldn’t want to have a black mark on his record, no matter how small the charge.
Or did he think that he could just throw money my way and I’d sleep with him? What kind of a woman did he think I was? Did he actually believe that I would fall for his money?
I clenched my jaw as I bent down to pick up the check and then stared at his signature at the bottom. His handwriting was clear and confident, just like he was in person and I took in a deep breath and pressed my eyes close. What had he done to me? I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Chapter Six
Rhett
I was sitting at the desk in my office and my mind had wandered. Massimo’s threats were still in my thoughts.
There was a time, which now seemed very long ago, when he was somewhat of a mentor to me. He was older, seemed to know what he was doing and had taken me under his wing. I was relying on him to teach me the tricks of the trade.
I was fourteen years old, and had no skills of thieving when I got involved in Massimo’s gang. My father had left us several years ago, and my mother was struggling to make ends meet. We were going to lose the apartment; my younger brother and I were going to be out on the streets or in foster care if I didn’t do something about it.
I had no other choice but to drop out of school and try and make money on the streets. Initially, it seemed like a fair prospect. Massimo had promised me that he would train me into becoming a master thief.
I started small, with convenience stores and local gas stations by stealing chewing gum and juice cartons. By the end of the year, I was skilled enough to steal cigarette packs and bottles of beer.
The whole operation was a much larger one that I wasn’t aware of. Massimo promised to get me involved in the bigger things when I was of age. For the time being, I was going to have to prove myself first as a small-time, petty thief. I could still remember how proud I felt when I stole my first bottle of Jack Daniels. Massimo was proud of me too. He gave me two dollars and promised me that he was going to take me with him on a bigger gig. I wanted to do the bigger heists. Rob banks, jewelry stores and the like. All I had to do was be patient and keep doing a good job, Massimo said. In time I was going to get there. I thought I was doing it for my family.
I ran a hand through my hair and tried to calm my nerves. I couldn’t even imagine what my life would look like if we were still in Brooklyn. The moment I had set up C Scape with Hunter and Owen, I arranged for my mother and brother to move here. As the business grew more successful, I had enough money to buy them a house. Brooklyn was left far behind.
If I was still there…if I had never met Hunter or Owen, I would have been in prison by now. Of that I was sure. Massimo had already served his time. Twice. Now he was coming after me to make sure that he got a steady flow of income in the form of forcing me to pay him for his silence. And I had been doing that exactly for the past five years because a clean slate was important to me and the business that we were trying to make successful.
A past like that, being revealed to the media would mean a huge setback for our business. Massimo had proof. He had photographs of the whole gang together. Me as a fourteen year old, fifteen year old, sixteen year old…he had phone call records and proof of money paid to me for my tasks.
The worst was that my big dream had come true. He had once taken me along when he and his pals went to rob a jewelry store. A revelation like that about my past could even mean a police charge. I was a minor at the time, but that would definitely lead to a drop in our share prices. Investors would lose faith in me as a partner in the business. Not to mention that the people of Brunswick would look at me in a very different light.
I had to avoid that at all costs.
Now that Massimo had found me in Brunswick, he wanted more money. He was threatening to reveal everything to the media if I didn’t pay more and more often. How long was I going to keep doing this? How much longer was I going to allow a man from my past rule my present?
I stood up with a jerk from my desk and paced the floor of my office. I had to find a way to stop him. Massimo wasn’t afraid of violence. He was used to it. What he wanted was more money, but he wasn’t going to stop just with a one-time pay-off. He was going to milk me of my success for as long as he could based on the fact that I was guilty about who I used to be and about the things I had done.
He detested the fact that I had broken away from the gang as well as that I had come to my senses and decided to make an honest living for myself. A chance encounter with Hunter and Owen had led to a partnership. They had been the biggest influences in my life and had shown me what an honest friendship can do. Massimo was going to do everything he could to make sure that I didn’t enjoy this new life that I had built for myself and I was going to do everything I could to safeguard it.
The question was where were we going to meet in the middle and what was going to be the consequence of that?
Nobody knew about my past. Not even my mother or brother. Massimo was the only one remaining from the gang, out of prison, a free man…to mess up my life the way he wanted to and he was going to take full advantage of that.
The more successful I was in my own business, the more greedy Massimo got and I would just have to find a way to put a stop to that.
Chapter Seven
Heidi
I shouldn’t have been there at all. I had no reason to be there. If I wanted, I would never have to see Rhett Larkin again, ever. Instead, I had turned up there in the lobby of his office building, with my hands clasped together and eyeing the receptionist.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked politely and I walked closer to her while clearing my throat. What was I even doing there?
“Hi, yes, I was wondering if I could meet with Mr. Larkin. Rhett Larkin,” I told the woman nervously.
“Do you have an appointment…Ms….?” she asked, smiling widely at me.
“Heidi McNeil. No, I don’t have an appointment. You know what, I’ll make an appointment and come back,” I said and started backing away. I had changed my mind. There was no good reason for me to meet him, without making a complete fool of myself.
“Hold on, Ms. McNeil, I’ll just check with Mr. Larkin. I know he has the next hour free, so he might be able to accommodate you,” she said, standing up and picking up the receiver beside her.
“There’s really no need, thanks, I’ll come back,” I pleaded with her while she dialed a number and continued smiling at me.
“There’s a Ms. Heidi McNeil here to see you, sir,” the woman said into the phone. She was too friendly and polite for me to just turn around and walk out of the building. I heard her ping the receiver down and she looked at me.
“You can take the elevator up to the top floor ma’am. Mr. Larkin is waiting for you. His office is the second door on the left,” she said and sat back down on her chair.
“Th…thank you,” I said to her and cursing myself under my breath, I walked towards the elevator. I was inspecting the premises to try and find a door that I might be able to escape out of. This was such a bad idea.
Inside the elevator, I gave myself the once over in the mirrored walls. I had consciously put an extra effort into my appearance. I’d picked out my prettiest yellow, summery dress, matching yellow sandals and had spent some time on my makeup. I tried to go for the effortlessly natural look, but that had taken me more time than expected. I’d left my hair hanging loose, but brushed it at least a hundred times before I left the house. Now I was due to be back at the café in a couple of hours for the afternoon shift.
When I stepped out of the elevator with my heart thudding against my chest, I found Rhett standing at the open door of his office. My cheeks flushed instantly, but I tried to hold his gaze confidently and to also hold my head up. Now that I was here, I had no other choice but to pretend like I knew exactly what I was doing.
He was standing with one hand in the pocket of his tailor made gray pants. He had an impeccably white cotton shirt tucked in, with no tie but smart metal cufflinks at his wrists. He looked different today, or at least he was in different clothes from the last time I saw him. Now he looked more like the billionaire he was famed to be, and I realized that I was slightly intimidated.
“Good morning, Heidi,” he said as I walked up to him.
“Hello Rhett,” I said and came to a stop right in front of him.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked and stepped aside to make way for me to enter his office.
I stepped in and was pleasantly taken aback by the decor. Rhett Larkin had old school tastes for a man of his age. His office was well designed, replete with ornate wooden furniture and thick Turkish rugs. His curtains were a luxurious red and there were gorgeous framed paintings on every wall. Oil paintings, of landscapes and portraits…that he no doubt had spent a considerable sum of money on. My first impression of Rhett Larkin had been of him being a frivolous, arrogant young man, who drove fast cars and did body shots off women in nightclubs. I had just never pictured him as a polished and sophisticated person who would choose an office like this.
I heard him clear his throat behind me and I whipped around, realizing that I had remained silent in his presence for far too long already.
“Oh, sorry, I was just admiring your office,” I said and Rhett grinned and nodded his head.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, Heidi?” he repeated himself and I gulped. Way to get straight to the point. Clearly, he wasn’t the kind of man who liked to make small talk.
“I just wanted to stop by and return the check to you. It is an unnecessarily large sum of money and I can’t accept this,” I said, hardening my voice. There was a change in our interaction, in that I wasn’t pretending to be as harsh to him as I had been before. But now that I had seen him in person again, I couldn’t get the thought of having his mouth on mine out of my head. The way he had made me feel the previous evening was explosive.
Rhett said nothing, but continued to stare at me. I felt nervous and bare under his gaze and I tucked in some curls behind my ears. I wanted to put my foot down.
“I’m going to have to give it back to you, because I have no idea what you think I’m going to use all of that money for. In fact, it’s quite rude!” I said and met his gaze.
Rhett let out a deep sigh and took a few steps towards me. It felt like my breathing had caught in my throat.
“Then you don’t need to cash it. You didn’t have to come all the way and personally return it to me. Now, tell me the real reason why you’re here, Heidi,” he said.
Chapter Eight
Rhett
She had absolutely no idea how badly I wanted her. Instead, Heidi McNeil just stood there in front of me, looking straight into my eyes with her eyebrows tangled and an embarrassed expression on her face. If I wanted her that day in the café, I wanted her even more now. Her dress was long, fell past her knees but the straps on her shoulders were spaghetti thin and revealed slender curved shoulders that I wanted to sink my teeth into.
“Yes, I suppose I should have just done that,” she said and pursed her lips together. She was being foolish by denying the attraction. We both knew exactly why she was here, it was the same reason I would have gone back to her café that evening if she hadn’t come to me now.
“So, tell me why you’re here, Heidi,” I repeated myself and took a few more steps towards her. I felt like a predator who had found its prey. I wanted to pounce on her and not leave an inch of her body untouched.
“I…I,” Heidi looked away from me and her eyes fell to the floor. I could see spots of bright red on the tops of her cheeks. She was too shy to meet my eyes again.
“I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be using that money,” she said, using all the courage she could find to meet my eyes. I cocked an eyebrow up and smiled at her. We were standing dangerously close to each other now. It would have been very easy for me to just reach out and touch her.
“Well, it’s yours if you need it,” I said and she crossed her eyebrows.
“What gave you the impression that I would want your money, Rhett?” she asked and her nostrils flared. She looked even more attractive when she was annoyed with me. It made me want to tame her. Heidi was absolutely irresistible to me and no woman before had this effect on my body.
“It’s not about my money. I was in your position not long ago. A young guy trying to make my business successful. Consider the five hundred dollars a small donation towards your business. I like to help out people in my community as much as I can,” I said and I watched her as Heidi’s expression changed. I knew I had stumped her. She had no comeback to that. She stood there and licked her lips while I breathed in her scent. I was dying to run my fingers through the tangle of her curls, to feel her breath on my skin.
