L.A. Fire (12 page)

  “Sure, I’ll walk you out,” I
said, and led him back through the office. He said goodbye to Annabel, and then
followed me through the glass doors to the elevators.

  I pressed the down button, but he
immediately covered my hand. I looked up at him in surprise. His deep brown
eyes were peering down at me with a dark and alluring look. “Listen,” he said
huskily, taking a step closer to me. “I was wondering if we could grab a drink
sometime.”

  Oh no. So this is where this was
going. I gave him a quick, tight smile and said, “Jason, you seem like great
guy. But we’re working together here. We have to keep our relationship strictly
professional.”

  I removed my hand from the
button, but he held on to it firmly, and his gaze became more determined. “Paul
is my agent,” he said. “So technically we’re not in a direct working
relationship.”

  I bit my lip, and felt like
pulling my hand away, but I didn’t want to be too abrupt.

  “Listen,” he said, his voice
getting soft. I looked up at him again, and his eyes were almost pleading. “I
think you’re a great girl. Super smart. Warm. Funny. I think we could really
hit it off, you know?”

  I let out a deep sigh, but then
he held up his hand. “Hey,” he said, “Just think about it, okay? I have your
number. I’ll give you a call sometime soon.”

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t
want to cause any awkwardness by blowing him off, so I just decided to stay
silent and figure out how to deal with this later. There is no doubt that Jason
was an attractive guy. His broad shoulders, smoldering dark eyes, slow, bad boy
swagger, and boyish grin together hit more than a couple of my buttons. But he
didn’t push me over the edge the way Julian did. Not even close. If anything at
all, he invoked a nostalgia in me for Rob, my original heartbreaking bad boy.
And I was so done with that type.

  The elevator arrived at our
floor, and just as Jason turned to enter it, his eye was caught by something
behind me, and he almost recoiled in shock. “What’s with that guy?” he said,
holding open the elevator door. “He seems like such a prick. I’m glad I’m
working with Paul, not him,” he said, then shook his head and disappeared into
the elevator.

  As soon as Jason was gone, I
immediately whipped around and found Julian standing in reception, his eyes
icy, his body stiff, his expression hard. I hesitated for a moment before going
back through the glass doors. I’d never seen him look so livid. It was almost
frightening. I entered the office cautiously, determined to just ignore him and
go back to my cubicle.

  “Sarah,” he said, a bitter chill
in his voice. I flicked my eyes over to him. His eyes pierced right through me,
sending a shiver up my spine. “In my office. Now.” He walked swiftly to the
entrance to the general office, holding the door open for me, but not turning
around. Annabel’s brow scrunched up, and she winced. She shot me a pained,
sympathetic look, and I just shrugged my shoulders helplessly and followed
Julian to his office.

  As soon as I entered, my eyes
dazzled. His office was massive, like Paul’s, with two of his walls made up of
floor to ceiling windows. The sky beyond was a cool, vivid blue, and the sun
was blazing gold off the steel and chrome high rises in the immediate distance.
Through the buildings, I could make out a strip of the foaming, green ocean in
the distance, and off to the right, the rugged smoky mountains, their outlines
slightly smudged looking because of the distant smog. 

  On the wall facing his desk, he
had up a lithograph that made my breath catch. It was a Charline von Heyl
abstract collage, one of my favorites. It reminded me of a scene at a carnival
or a costume ball, with dotted black stick figures looking vaguely like people
in a crowd, dancing, rushing, and gesturing around a woman in a strange mask,
her features blacked out except for her ripe, sensual mouth, curved in an
enigmatic smile. “Lacuna Lotto,” I said, absently.

  Julian turned around, gave me a
swift, deadly look and pushed a button on his desk. I immediately heard a click
behind me. I instinctively tried to turn the handle on the door and realized
he’d locked me in.   

  I glared at him, and he responded
with a cold smile. “Quite right, Ms. Stevens. I see you know your art.”

  He gestured to the chair on the
other side of his walnut desk. “Sit, Ms. Stevens.”

  I folded my arms across my chest,
and narrowed my eyes at him. I refused to budge. “What’s this about?” I asked.

  “Sit, Sarah,” he ordered, his
eyes still frosty, his voice raspy. I sighed, and walked over to the chair.

  “Fine,” I said, sitting down and
crossing my legs. My skirt hiked up a bit when I did, exposing some of my
thigh. His eyes again seared into my bare flesh, and I heard him inhale
sharply. Then he eyed my wrinkled shirt quizzically.

  “Your blouse is wrinkled,” he
said.

  I smirked at him. “Thanks for
noticing. I didn’t have time to find anything else this morning.”

  He leaned over his desk, and eyed
me carefully. “Are you blaming me for bringing you home too late last night?”

  I felt a twinge of anger twist in
me. “No, I’m not
blaming
you, Julian. I’m a grown woman. It’s my
responsibility to get myself up on time in the morning.”

  “But you didn’t,” he said. “You
were late. And Paul wasn’t happy.”

  “I thought you weren’t going to
interfere in my relationship with Paul.”

  “And I thought you weren’t going
to do anything to make yourself look bad.”

  I felt my cheeks color. “Oh, so
as long as my shirt’s not wrinkled and I show up on time, it’s okay to fuck my
boss’s partner?”

  His expression darkened, and when
he spoke again, he hissed out the words. “It’s definitely not okay to fuck your
boss’s new client.”

  Oh. So that’s what this was
about. I let out a sharp laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, getting
up and walking back toward the door.

  “Sit down, Sarah,” he ordered.

  I whipped around and shot venom through
my eyes. “Go to hell, Julian.” I felt my hands clench into fists. “
You
don’t tell me what to do, do you understand?”

  His voice got very low. “You need
a man who takes control, Sarah. I saw how your body was just dying to yield to
my commands last night.”

  I felt my eyes turn to slits, and
my lips form a thin, angry line. My hands were still clenched, but I was
shaking. “Maybe in bed,” I said quietly, “But sure as hell not anywhere else.”
I spun around, and tried to open the door again. I was beginning to feel
desperate. I needed to get out of his space immediately. I was feeling angry,
and cornered, and humiliated.

  “Are you going to date Mr.
Burns?” he asked. I was still facing the door, trying helplessly to open it,
but I could tell he had come out from behind his desk and was heading toward
me. He grabbed me by the waist and spun me around, pulling me against his hard,
rippled chest. I could feel his heart pounding hard and fast through his blue
dress shirt. “Answer me, Sarah,” he said, his tone gruff, with the slightest
hint of desperation. He tilted up my chin to meet his face.

  I looked him squarely in the eye
and said, “No. I have no interest in Jason Burns.”

  His eyes were still frosty, and
filled with skepticism. “Then what was that inappropriate display out in the
hall all about?”

  I sighed, and pushed away from
his chest. His arms were still wrapped tightly around my waist, and he kept me
firmly in place. “He asked me out. I said no. That’s it.”

  He let out a long, ragged breath,
and his eyes immediately heated up. “Good. Now that that’s settled, it’s time
to punish you severely for putting me through such torture.”

  He swept me up off my feet,
pulling my legs onto either side of him, and pushed me up against the wall. I
could feel his hard dick pressing against me through his suit trousers, and my
sex started to ache with unbearable tension. “I’m still angry with you,
Julian,” I whispered, my words sounding hoarse and labored.

  “I’ll make it up to you,” he
said, diving for my neck.  The moment his lips touched my throat, I moaned
softly and threw my head back in surrender. I felt a bolt of arousal so strong,
I started squirming in his arms, pressing my sex harder against his straining
cock. “Quit it, Sarah,” he said, “Or I swear I’ll take you right here, right
now.”

  His mouth moved up, met mine, and
his tongue slid roughly inside, probing me aggressively, then softly, then
aggressively again, turning me on like crazy. I playful grabbed his tongue
between my teeth, and he chuckled slightly. Then his kiss became more
insistent, more demanding, and he unbuttoned my blouse, sliding his free hand
beneath my bra, undoing the clasp. With my breasts free, he let me slide to the
floor, and then kneeled down, taking my hard nipple into his mouth, tugging it,
teasing it, sending spasms of pleasure bursting through me. My back arched,
pushing my nipple deeper into his mouth. I was wet, wild, and ready to beg.
“Please,” I moaned. “Please.” I crouched down, and went straight for the button
of his trousers. He stilled my hand, and flashed me a devious smile. “Not yet,”
he said. “You’re not ready yet.”

I looked at him in desperation. “How
much more ready can I be?” I asked.

  He pulled me up, did up the clasp
of my bra, and started buttoning up my shirt. “You’ve shown me you’re willing
to surrender your body to me, but I want all of you. I’m going to tear down
those emotional defenses of yours, Sarah. Piece by piece, if I have to. And
then I’ll have all of you. That’s what I want.”

  His eyes were intense, and
glittering with determination. “Tonight,” he began. “I want to take you out to
dinner.”

  I shot him a questioning look.
“You mean like a real date?”

  “Yes, exactly,” he said. “I’ll
pick you up at eight.”

  I hesitated. “You said you wanted
all of me. So what does that mean? You’re going to ask more embarrassing
questions about my past?”

  “Not exactly,” he said, smiling
slightly. “Just be ready at eight.” I fixed myself up quickly, and walked over
the door.

  “Are you going to let me out now
so I can get back to work?” I asked accusingly.

  He gave me a swift slap across
the ass, then squeezed it. “Ouch, what was that for?” I asked, peering up at
him.

  “For driving me so fucking crazy
I can’t even concentrate at work.”

  Then he walked over to his desk
and clicked a button. “There,” he said, winking at me. “You’re free to go. I’ll
see you tonight at 8pm sharp. Don’t be late again Sarah, or there will be
consequences.”

  My mouth dropped open, and then
his eyes crinkled a bit and he winked at me. I shook my head, chuckled to
myself, and headed quickly back to my desk.

  That night I raced home as soon
as I was finished with work. Paul kept me super busy until 6:30, and by the
time I got home, it was 7:30, leaving half an hour to get ready for my date
with Julian. The moment I got in the door, I raced to my room and started
rummaging in my closet, looking for something to wear.

  Nothing I found was the least bit
acceptable. Angela was right. My wardrobe needed a serious update. Then I
remembered Ange had this seriously gorgeous black lace Ferragamo dress. It was
off the shoulder, showed a hint of flesh through the lace, and had a high slit.
I smiled, remembering how aroused Julian got every time he saw a flash of my
thigh, and decided I’d get him back for this afternoon’s tease in his office by
wearing a dress with a slit that showed some leg.

  I bounded out into the living
room, and was about to knock on Angela’s door when I noticed a ripped condom
pack on the floor. Gross. Then I looked over and noticed a pizza box on the
kitchen counter, and a huge stack of dirty dishes piled up in the sink. I
groaned out loud. Ziggy was over. Ange and Ziggy had likely gotten high last night,
and when they woke up, ordered take out and had sex all over the apartment.