Even so, I couldn’t deny how good it felt when he touched me. I remembered how his lips sucked on my nipples, sending such powerful sensations through my body. I remembered the intensity of his dark eyes as he took my virginity. And then it all went to hell. I didn’t understand why he was so mad about my inexperience. I couldn’t have been his first and probably wouldn’t be his last virgin.
I’d been humiliated that he’d been able to tell that I was a virgin. And then I was angry that he’d call me out on it while also suggesting I was using my sexuality to get something from him. I growled in frustration. Men were so aggravating. They were the ones always trying to give me something in return for a bit of me, not the other way around.
With that said, the actual sex part was the most powerful and exciting experience of my life. Once the pain of his entry subsided, the feel of him sliding in and out of me was incredible. And for a moment, I saw him lost in his own sexual haze as he sought pleasure. The normally broody and controlled Chase had been a slave to his own need.
Too bad it ended so badly. Today I was left with a headache and upset stomach, and my hips were sore, as was my girlie bit. Was the humiliation worth it? How about my internship? I had to consider he was going to let me go and then what would I do? My only options were to go home and beg my family to take me back or return to Glen. Both those thoughts made me feel worse than the hangover.
Maybe instead of letting me go, Chase would simply move me to a different department and assign a new supervisor. Although I hated the idea of bribing him as it would turn me into exactly what he accused me of being, perhaps I could use our encounter to ensure he didn’t let me go.
My life had been on the upswing. How had it gotten so off kilter?
All weekend, I hid in my tiny studio apartment. Even when Alex called to invite me to Central Park, I declined even though I really wanted to go. I could use a friend, but I was afraid she’d be able to tell what happened. While she didn’t seem particularly impressed with Chase, he did have power over her too, and she’d end up having to be loyal to him.
By the time Monday morning came, I was certain he was going to send me away, and I looked forward to it because I wasn’t sure I could face him. It took all the strength I had to walk into his office. Fortunately, he wasn’t there.
I sat at my desk to complete the last few data reports he’d wanted. I printed them out, then turned off the laptop and cleaned off my desk. I picked up the reports at the printer near Alex’s desk and then put them on Chase’s desk. There. I was done. Then I waited.
Chase entered a half hour later. “Sorry I’m late. I had a meeting with my lawyer this morning.” His voice was formal, and he didn’t look at me as he strode to his desk. He looked at the reports I set there, then put them aside. Finally, he looked up at me. “Is there a problem?”
I studied him, wondering if he’d forgotten Friday night. Maybe I dreamt it. “I’m hoping you’ll reassigned me, but suspect you’re going to terminate my internship.”
He frowned. “Is that what you want?”
I shook my head. All I wanted was to be able to make my way in the world without so much difficulty and drama.
He watched me for a moment and then said. “I do have a… proposition for you.”
My stomach rolled and my heart dropped. He really was the same as all the others. I didn’t come to New York to be a kept woman.
He came around his desk and leaned against it. “First, are you alright?”
I frowned. “Sir?”
“I was a little rough the other night. Did I hurt you?”
I was surprised he cared, considering how mad he’d been. “I’m fine.”
“Good.” He took a breath. “My father recently changed the game for my brothers and me. He seems to think it would be good for us to settle down.”
I hadn’t met Chase’s father, but Alex had mentioned something about the brothers being unhappy with something he’d done recently.
“Normally, I’d ignore him. I’m perfectly content in my life. But he’s attached our inheritance and the control of the company to our starting a family.”
I nearly laughed. Rich people’s families were as dysfunctional as poor people’s. But I still didn’t see what this had to do with me.
“I’ve made this company my life, so I need to play his game, which means I need a wife.”