Luck was on her side; the bus was just pulling up as she got there. Boarding it quickly, she thought of the irony of her running from a man because he was attracted to her. It was usually because they were bullying her. Sitting down in the back corner of the bus, she turned to look back the way she’d come and saw Landon as he was searching frantically for her.
A pang of sadness hit her chest. Maybe he really was interested in her. But how could she have anything to do with him when he was the older brother of her worst tormentor since sixth grade? Surely he wouldn’t want anything to do with her when his sister told him all about her. Her running was for the best. She didn’t need the heartache he would eventually cause.
“I can’t fucking believe she ran,” Landon grumbled to himself, pissed off for more reasons than he cared to examine right then. He had a meeting to get to before he was much later. He’d find his goddess when he was done.
Climbing in the front seat of his Audi RS 7, she purred to life as he keyed the ignition. Speeding out of the parking lot, he put Cecilia to the back of his mind as he thought over the notes he was going to have to present to his board of trustees for the new rec center he wanted to open downtown.
Building codes, electrical and plumbing upkeep. He had a building in mind. It was an old warehouse that needed a lot of work, but the space was huge and would be perfect to fit a gym, game rooms, locker rooms, and rec room for the kids. He had high hopes of making it a success.
Traffic to his office in the Powers Enterprise Complex, in the downtown core, was light so luckily, he was just on time to his meeting. Walking in the building he’d built from the ground up was satisfying. He’d gone to Berkley’s business school graduating with top honors and a business degree that left him wide open to possibilities. He’d worked his way through college doing construction, so he started by building Powers Construction, which quickly turned into Powers Accounting, and a year ago, his Mom had opened Powers Interior Design.
Their main offices were all located in a large six-floor building. The first floor had reception and security, small locally owned coffee shops and cafés, and a few meeting rooms. The second floor was for the interior design offices and clients. The third floor was the accounting firm with as many as a dozen offices. The fourth was their construction office— everything was wide open spaces in there with only two closed-in offices.
The fifth floor was a gym and a few small apartments for employees or clients that needed somewhere to sleep for a night or two. The sixth floor was his personal penthouse with a gym and indoor swimming pool.
When he bought the building six years ago, it had been a shell of what was now. Looking around, he felt immense pride at how much he’d accomplished in just a few short years. The only thing to make it better would be the perfect woman.
Cecilia.
She was on his mind, in his blood, nestling her way into his heart. He should be resisting her. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him. Her body sure does, he thought smirking. She’d blossomed under his lips. No resistance. Which was probably why he had been ready to lay claim to her then and there, no matter who was around. He was going to own Cecilia. Possess her in ways she’d never thought of before. She just didn’t know it yet.
Rushing to one of the conference rooms, he was ready to get the meeting over as soon as possible. He quickly handed out the files he’d put together for his team, telling them what he had planned, the budget, and a few other pertinent details so they could get started on the permits and securing sponsors. He rushed out before anyone had the chance to ask him more than he deemed important. He was in a rush to find everything he could about his goddess.
Starting with his sister.
Lan: Who is she?
Ash: Who is she, who?
Lan: Don’t be stupid. Cecilia.
Ash: Oh, you mean; Mark me crazy? Lol
Lan: Don’t be a bitch.
Ash: Whatev. You don’t want her crazy ass.
Lan: LAST NAME!
Ash: …. Marks. You’ll regret this.
His sister had never frustrated him so badly before. Her selfish and egotistical attitude was going to get her in a world of trouble that he refused to help her out of.
Putting her out of his mind for now, he went on his search for Cecilia Marks.
A relentless pounding on her door drew Cecilia from the long hot shower she was, for once, able to have because her roommate had spent the previous night with her boyfriend. Grumbling, she was drying off as the pounding started again. “I’m coming!” she screamed wanting to get dressed before answering the door, but they wouldn’t stop.
She ran to the door in nothing but her small, thin towel shouting, “What the fudge is wro –,” Landon fricking Powers.
Speechless, she stood there just staring at him. Jaw open, hair dripping, and water clinging to her skin. His eyes, his very deep, green, passionate eyes roamed over her mostly nude body in the sweetest caress she’d never felt.
A low moan broke her out of her stunned silence. Was that him or me? Swizzle-sticks. “Why are you here?” she demanded.
“Can I come in?” Shaking her head no, she waited for the reason he was there. “Look, gorgeous, I don’t want to have to kill some pimply-faced fucker for seeing you wet so let a guy in, will ya? Save me the jail time,” he pleaded. The seriousness in his eyes convinced her he might actually do it.
Just as a neighbor’s door opened, he began to spin around; a growl leaving him as he saw a man leaving the apartment. Grabbing his arm, she quickly pulled him inside slamming her door closed behind him.
“What are you doing here?” She breathed out, turning to face him. The lust in his eyes and the breeze on her bum had her cheeks flaming red in embarrassment as he came closer to her trapping her against the wall beside the front door as he leaned into her.