Twisted in Chains Read online

  Her mouth was dry, and she hated how he kept on looking at her. He saw right through her, and it scared her. Tears filled her eyes as memories once again crashed around her, only they weren’t just of Noah, but of Martin.

  She looked away. There was no way she was going to cry in front of Noah. “This was supposed to be a friendly dinner,” she said. “I don’t want to talk about my marriage or anything else. Can we please just do that without anything else?”

  “If that’s what you want?” he asked, leaning forward.

  “Yeah, it really is, or I wouldn’t have asked for it.” She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, sitting up a little straighter as the waiter brought them their food. She liked the service here, and the meal looked amazing. She didn’t know the name of it, but it looked like a beautiful pasta dish.

  She inhaled the fragrance of tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Her mouth watered. “This looks good.”

  “It’ll taste good too. You know it’s not our fault, the way we are. We’re both victims of what they did to us,” Noah said.

  “I know. We’re not supposed to feel guilty about our part, and yet, that’s exactly what we are. Can we just finish dinner, Noah, please?”

  “Yes.”

  Another quick glance at Noah and she couldn’t quite get to grips with how controlled he was. He was a force to be reckoned with. A far cry from the young guy she’d been locked away with. Why was it then that she wasn’t afraid of him? He didn’t scare her, even when he was prying into the reasons why her marriage was a total failure. None of it made sense. Nor did these feelings he inspired inside her.

  Either way, after tonight, she wouldn’t worry about it again.

  Noah was not her concern, and she certainly wasn’t his.

  Chapter Seventeen

  For the next couple of weeks, Noah’s time was divided between his company and Arthur’s. This was the first time in all of his business takeovers that he’d spent so much time on one project. He’d been through the financials, the projects, everything, and he couldn’t find a single reason for the company to be struggling the way that they were.

  Rubbing at his eyes, he knew the reason wasn’t just to help Arthur. He had a more meaningful reason for being at the company, and that was in the form of a curvy brunette who had gotten sexy as fuck.

  When had she gotten such a tempting ass?

  He was staring down at the paperwork in his hands, for another contract unrelated to the Arthur deal, but he couldn’t think about the work.

  No, his thoughts were on Skye.

  Remembering how good she felt beneath him, over him, taking all of him. Of course, with his memories came the pain that he’d inflicted on her that first time, the force with which he had to take her to save her.

  Part of him was ashamed with how aroused he was recalling their time together locked away in a cell and liking it. Only, he couldn’t hate it. There had been many times over the past few years, even during his marriage, when he’d thought about her.

  Skye was part of his past. She’d helped to mold him into the man he was today. Through hell and back, she’d been by his side, and for that, he couldn’t ever forget her.

  Their dinner date hadn’t gone according to plan. By the end of it, he’d known she wanted to be left alone. He’d fucked up by invading her privacy when it came to her failed marriage. He had a hunch why it ended though, a big fucking hunch seeing as he suffered one himself.

  Dropping the paperwork onto his desk, he got to his feet and looked out his office window. He was on the top floor of a fifty-story building. It was pretty high, especially as he didn’t like heights, but he didn’t mind this. He stared out across the city. It was lunchtime, and like always cars were honking at each other, impatience spreading through every person as they went about their day. He hated traveling during the day, especially during those times when everyone wanted to head home.

  He wondered what Skye was doing right now.

  Arthur couldn’t afford her.

  She’d taken a huge pay cut in an attempt to make ends meet, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt she was damn good at her job.

  He wanted her close by.

  Pressing the intercom to get his PA on the line, he told her to arrange a meeting between him and Skye Banks. He didn’t like how saying “Banks” irritated him. It was another element to remind him she’d been with someone else.

  What did you expect?

  You weren’t there.

  You left, and she didn’t fight for you to stay.

  Stop being a bastard about it and deal with it.

  Sitting back at his desk, he ignored the time, and tried to suck himself back into his paperwork. The more he did during the week, the easier his weekend could be.

  He tapped his pencil on the desk, aware of each minute that passed. Even though he didn’t look at the time, he couldn’t help but hear the ticking of his clock. It seemed to echo so loudly in his still office.

  By the time his PA notified him of Skye’s arrival, he was more than fucking ready for it.

  He got to his feet and opened his door. He offered Skye a smile and advised his PA to halt all of his calls and to go home early.

  Skye stepped into his office and he closed the door, offering them privacy.

  “Your PA didn’t tell me what to bring. She said it was urgent,” she said.

  He watched her tuck some hair behind her ear. His cock was so hard as he watched her. She licked her lips, and he knew what else she could do with that tongue of hers.

  “You want a drink?”

  “Noah, I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Yeah, about that, how would you like to work for me?” he asked, moving toward his coffee machine. He didn’t like to ask his PA to make coffee. He’d be worried that if he pissed her off too much, she’d spit in it. He could easily make his own coffee, and he liked it black and sweet.

  “There’s a job opening?” she asked.

  “No. I could make one though.”

  “I like my job working for Arthur.”

  “You’re in a dead-end job, and I hate to say it, it’s not looking promising for him.”

  “Because you’re not looking hard enough. It’s not a dead-end job. He’s amazing. Please, give him a chance.”

  He’d wanted her to jump up and down for the opportunity to work for him. After all, he developed an internship that rivaled most businesses for college graduates. He was well respected and on his way to becoming a billionaire. Not bad for a kid that needed to be tutored through high school, by this very woman. He leaned against his desk, watching her.

  She didn’t fidget or beg.

  “He means a lot to you.”

  “Arthur was there for me when no one else was.”

  Noah stared at her, hating that spiral pit of jealousy that curled in his stomach. He’d never been jealous of anyone. Arthur was proving to be quite a pain in his ass, and the old guy wasn’t even sleeping with her.

  “What if I said it’s non-negotiable and if you don’t come and work for me there would be severe consequences for Arthur’s company?”

  “You’re seriously going to try and blackmail me?” She stood up. “What the hell has gotten into you? Is this how you’ve built your company? Threats? Blackmail?”

  “I’m a respectable businessman.” Only when it came to Skye, he seemed to be anything but. He took a step toward her. She seemed to know to back away as she stepped around her chair. Her gaze was still on him.

  “Then show it. What the hell are you doing?” she asked.

  “Whatever the fuck I want.” He advanced toward her. Fire was in his blood, his cock thick and ready for action. He wanted inside her so badly, to feel her warm, wet heat surround his length as he pounded her. Not for the first time he wondered if she was as tight as he remembered.

  The wall of his office stopped her from taking any more steps. He slammed his hands beside her head, trapping her in place.

  “Why are you doing this?
” she asked.

  He stared into her eyes, waiting to see fear flash in them, but it didn’t. She wasn’t afraid of him, and he saw the unmistakable need and desire with her pretty brown gaze. Even as she denied him, or at least tried to, Skye Banks was turned on by him.

  Again, the spike of jealousy washed over him as he thought of another man touching her.

  “Because I can.”

  “Noah, I’m not going to work for you.”

  “Skye, you work for Arthur, so you already work for me.”

  “So why is it so important to you that I’m with you in this office?” she asked.

  “I want you close to me. Take this job and I’ll make sure to keep Arthur’s company running.”

  “Noah, don’t do this.”

  “You don’t, and I’ll pull out of the agreement. He’s losing money faster than a bucket of water with a damn hole in it. It’s no problem of mine.”

  “What will the press say? This takeover deal was newsworthy. It won’t exactly put you in a good light.”

  He smiled. He loved it when he knew he’d won in all negotiations. “Skye, you’ve got a lot to learn about business. There are many companies out there who would have simply shut Arthur down. I wasn’t one of them. I gave him a chance when no one else would. I already look like a saint.”

  “What happened to you?” she asked.

  “I always get what I want, and right now, I want you.”

  She shook her head. “This is not the way to go about it.” She put her hands on his chest and tried to push him away.

  He didn’t budge. She tried to do it again, and he didn’t move.

  Noah was far stronger, faster, and more prepared. While she tried to push him away, he sank his fingers into her long hair, and grasped the strands, tilting her head back. She let out a little gasp. It was so slight that he almost didn’t hear it, but it was there, on her lips. Since breaking free from their captors, he’d made sure his strength could rival anyone. He took time in the gym, had a personal trainer, and even dealt with fight clubs in order to remain strong, to learn to always be able to defend himself. Never would he allow himself to become weak again, to fall to the mercy of bastard men.

  He and Skye, they shared a bond that no one could understand.

  Their story hadn’t been over in that hospital fifteen years ago. Their story had only just begun, and it was only now that he was realizing it.

  Her lips looked too tempting to deny. She licked across the fullness of them, and his cock was already hard and he wanted inside her. Slamming his mouth on hers, he tasted her.

  Within a matter of seconds, she stopped trying to push him away and in fact, held him close, trying to keep him in place, and he fucking relished it. She ran her hands up from his chest, fisting them at his shoulders, and he wanted her so badly.

  He kept hold of her hair, and with his free hand, he slid it down her back, going to the fullness of her ass, so tempting to him, so ripe and so full. He loved her curves. When he’d been younger, he’d not been so appreciative of her body, whereas now, he wanted her more than he wanted to take his next breath. She drove him crazy with need. He wondered if she felt like this with other men. If they made her hot and wet for them.

  Was she wet for him now?

  When he slid his tongue across her mouth, she opened up, and he plunged inside, taking the kiss he wanted.

  She pulled her lips away and let out a moan. This time he didn’t capture the noise and instead, kissed down her neck, sucking on her pulse. He began to gather her skirt in his fist, lifting it up, revealing more of her flesh to his gaze.

  He wanted her so much that it was a never-ending ache within him.

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said.

  He could think of a million things he could be doing to her. Instead, he was kissing her when in fact, he wanted to be balls deep inside her. He wanted her to be so wet and slick for his cock, that he slid in deep and easily.

  His balls ached. What was it about this woman that drove him crazy with need? It was nonstop.

  Did they have unfinished business? Their history?

  It didn’t matter, not really.

  He wanted her, and he didn’t need to make up excuses to be with her. Sliding his hand beneath the hem of her skirt, he stroked his fingers against the inside of her thigh.

  She stopped kissing him.

  Noah stared into her pretty brown gaze, watching her as he moved closer to her panties. She didn’t stop him, but he saw each emotion as it played out across her pretty face.

  She was so nervous.

  He didn’t want her to be nervous, not with him.

  She licked her dry lips, and when he pressed his palm against her pussy, she gritted her teeth but didn’t scream out or cry.

  She stayed perfectly still.

  “Did your husband know how to touch you, Skye?” he asked.

  Sliding one finger between the slit of her panties, he continued to stroke her. He wanted her plump, kiss-swollen lips wrapped around his cock, the sooner the better.

  Moving the fabric of her panties aside, he stroked through her slit, finding her wet, but not soaked, the way he would have liked.

  “Don’t ask me stuff like that,” she said.

  “Oh, I bet he tried to, didn’t he? I bet he asked you nice and polite to touch your pretty pussy before he fucked you.” He tightened his grip in her hair, and this time, she couldn’t contain her moan. “You didn’t want it sweet and gentle.”

  “You don’t know me, Noah.”

  “I do. I know a great deal, and seeing that fear in your eyes, you know I do, and it fucking scares you.”

  He wanted to kiss her, to fuck her, to make her take his cock and choke on the length of him. He wanted to drown in everything that was Skye, and forget everything about the world but the two of them. But he could do neither and have neither, not yet.

  Letting go of her hair, he slid down to his knees before her.

  “Noah, what are you doing?”

  He lifted up her skirt. “Hold it.” He growled the order, and with shaking hands, she took it.

  Opening her thighs, he kept his gaze on her, even as he tugged her panties from her. The cheap fabric tore beneath his grip, and he slid them into his pocket for safekeeping. She wasn’t getting them back. They would smell like her, and right now, he seemed to be addicted to everything that was Skye. He couldn’t get enough of her and wished to completely drown within her scent.

  She was intoxicating to him.

  Finally, when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he stared at her pretty cunt, and he was in heaven. A small smattering of curls covered her pussy, and he spread the lips to see her clit. She was so pretty. He’d never seen a more beautiful one in all of his life. Running his thumb across her nub, he heard her moan.

  “I can see that you’re aroused, but it’s not enough. It’s never going to be enough, not until your thighs are soaked with cum, your cum.” He moved his thumb down, sliding inside her. “And still so fucking tight. I’m not small. You should remember that. I’ll hurt you if you’re not wet.”

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said.

  “Why not? You want it. How long has it been since a man has touched you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Since your divorce?”

  She gave a jerk of her head, and he smiled. At least he didn’t have to worry about another boyfriend or lover coming out of the woodwork. He’d have preferred for her to have no one, not even the husband.

  He’d never been jealous of anyone in his life, so to have these feelings now, they startled him. He wasn’t about to stop and analyze why he was feeling this way.

  He and Skye, they shared memories no teenager should have to ever experience, and not only had they lived through it, they had both come out of the other side stronger.

  Pulling his thumb out of her, he stroked her clit and then pushed two fingers within her. With each stroke over her nub, her pussy tightened aro
und him, and still, she wasn’t as wet as he’d have liked.

  The door to his office was locked.

  Standing up, he made sure she held her skirt and walked her back over toward his desk.

  “What are you doing? Noah, I should really go.”

  “You leave my office or even drop that skirt, I will ruin Arthur.” He pushed her onto his desk. She sat down.

  The glare in her eyes turned him on.

  “You know, being an asshole is not attractive,” she said.

  He threw his head back and laughed. “For most women, but for you, it works.”

  She went to contradict him, but he shoved his thumb and fingers into her mouth, forcing her to suck on them, silencing her.

  “Taste yourself.” He pushed his fingers in and out, making her take him deep. She didn’t gag on them, and once they were thoroughly clean, he pulled them out, going to the buttons of her shirt.

  She was still holding her skirt. She followed directions well, and he loved to see that. He loved to be obeyed.

  Button by button, he opened her shirt, exposing more of her body. She was curvy, with a rounded stomach, and he found her sexy as fuck.

  Skye was all woman. She was real to him. Always had been. Too real.

  For too long he’d been hiding around a sea of fakeness, and it was time to ignore them and to embrace what he wanted.

  The bra she wore was once again cheap.

  He was rich, close to being a billionaire. He’d make sure she wore the finest of lingerie. The kind that teased and tempted her man but also felt so fucking good to the woman.

  Flicking the catch of her bra, he opened his drawer and pulled out a knife. For a second, she tensed up.

  No matter where he went, he always had weapons at his disposal. Never would he be a victim again. He knew how to use the knife, a gun, and to take whatever was close to him, as a weapon. Even a damn sweater could help him escape, using the arms to tie around his opponent’s neck to strangle the very life out of him.

  A quick flick against the offending straps, and he pulled the bra from her body without removing her shirt. Her heavy tits spilled forward, and he cupped their weight. He teased one finger across her nipple. The tightness of it called to him.