I chuckle. Connor’s sigh of “finally” had been his only reply. “Well enough, he’s been my VP in everything but name alone for almost two years now. Since he no longer wants to travel, it is long past time to set him up in his own office.
“The new assistant is working out well enough. However, with me cutting back on my own hours and Christina resentful of me working at home, I need a third assistant still. With how long it took to find this last one, I am in no hurry to do it again. Christina has still been able to identify opportunities, two excellent ones in the last month alone.”
I consider the issue plaguing me for the last month. “I don’t think I care if she ever finds another one.”
“It took me over a year to admit it to myself. Elise was pregnant and due any day. There was a deal in Germany that could have netted me what my last three had, if I went after it. It took all of three seconds to decide. Enough, I finally had enough money—I wasn’t hungry anymore. It had nothing to do with money. It was Elise and the baby, and it was more important that she was safe and happy than to make another million. Congratulations.”
21
Christina
“Abuelo, I’m not complaining about you taking a car service. I’m concerned about how often you are. All of these are going to the doctor. There are more than ten last month. What the hell aren’t you telling me?” It isn’t easy to keep ahold of my temper. Thank fuck, Tim is at lunch and Barbara, the new assistant, is out for the day.
“If I wanted to talk about it with you, I would have. It’s only follow-up. I’m fine. None of your damn business.” The asshole hangs up on me and I slam the phone back into the cradle. Then I flinch—I shouldn’t break office equipment, it isn’t worth it.
Frustration fills me. I want to go over there and demand he talk to me. But it won’t do me any good. I had already called and talked to Lynne at the
nursing staffing agency, and she politely but firmly refused to answer any questions. It didn’t matter I was paying the bills, Abuelo was the patient and it was against the rules to discuss his medical information with me if he hadn’t given them permission, and he wasn’t giving permission.
Taking a deep breath, I open the letter from the bank that prompted me to check my statements in the first place. It’s a little embarrassing to admit I haven’t checked them in months. Ever since we got back from England almost four months ago, my salary went up by the promised amount and I knew there was no way I was spending even what I had been making, with Ivan covering all my expenses.
The automatic payments keep returning into my account, could I please stop it. What? It’s for the mortgage—why was the payment coming back? In the two seconds it takes me to finish the thought, I know why.
Slamming the notice on my desk, I get up, ready to do battle. “I swear to god, sometimes it’s like you’re trying to piss me off.”
The bastard smiles as he leans back in his chair. Dang it, how can he do that? Be so beautiful and gorgeous and kick over that hive of bees in my tummy with a simple smile when I am genuinely pissed off at him? It’s going to go away eventually, right? The way my body reacts to him, how he turns my blood to hot, sticky honey, sends shivers up my spine.
It’s been five months since that first time we made love. I thought the whole honeymoon period would be over, but instead it’s only become more intense. Ivan is in my blood, in my bones, all the way into my marrow.
“I wondered when you were going to become all fire-breathing again. It’s been a while. I’m surprised it took so long, I paid it off before we left for Manchester.” An unrepentant shrug. “You said you wouldn’t take the money. I had to assuage my guilt somehow.”
“So I’m guilt to you?” I don’t like that idea.
An eyebrow comes up. “No fucking way and you know that. We had an agreement. I keep my promises. Yes, this became something more than a simple agreement, but that does not negate me paying my dues.”
“It feels wrong.” I shake my head, unable to find the words to explain how I feel. It shouldn’t, everything has changed from how we started. Ivan has completely changed in more ways than I can count. If he puts in more than fifty hours a week, I don’t see it. We go on vacation, there was a week in Nice, another week in Paris, a long weekend we stayed behind in Berlin after wrapping up business, and we’re going to Italy for two whole weeks next month.
Ivan has finally figured out he makes me much happier when he spends time with me rather than spending money on me. So he made sure we did things like go to the theater, the symphony, spent weekends roaming the Art Institute together. Even just hours on the couch watching him play with Coco, the most spoiled cat in all of Chicago, were times he was present and accounted for with me. There were times I looked at him and couldn’t believe how happy I was. Then this happens, and I wonder when it will all be over.
“Get over it.” Gravel, hard and smoky, and unrepentant. “Do not look at me like that, Christina. I am not going to apologize, nor am I going to remove the payment. Now come here and pay me back like the whore you think I’m treating you like.” The sound of his zipper coming down is loud in the room.
“Sometimes you can be such a fucker.” I shake my head. I know he’s treating me like a whore, but...I open my eyes, his large hand is stroking his thickening cock and I’m on my knees in front of him in an instant.
I’m lost in what he’s doing to me, controlling me, owning me, groaning my name.
“Ivan? I—oh god, I’m sorry.” The words are followed by the door to Ivan’s office slamming.
Surprise has my teeth grazing him. Ivan swears, his hand tightening in my hair. That’s it, I am so totally quitting.
Ivan pulls me back to him. My eyes are wide as I look up at him. “Are you crazy? Tim—I—”
“Tim closed the door and he sure as fuck won’t be interrupting us. Finish what you started. I warned you. I own all of you, your sweet pussy and your gifted mouth, and you’ll take my cock anytime I need it. You aren’t leaving me cock hard and needy for you.” He tightens his grip until it verges on pain, and holy shit I’m so wet.
My panties are soaking as I take him back into my mouth, maintaining the eye contact he loves.
“That’s it. Such a good girl you are. Cotton candy would not melt in your mouth, to everyone else, with everyone else but me.”
He’s close, I can feel him. Ivan yanks me up by my hair, turns me around, bends me over his desk and slams into me. Oh fuck oh fuck, I’m so wet he slides in all the way home.