Under His Care (5 page)

Her pussy was dripping wet, and if that wasn’t proof enough, she was fighting the urge to masturbate to the scenes playing out behind her closed eyes.

But the urge grew stronger and stronger as the bath water rose higher and Kennedy’s tension reached a fever pitch.

Finally, she gave in and began stroking her pussy aggressively as she reimagined the time that Easton had paddled her in the hotel room. This time, he hit her buttocks even harder, and each time he hit her, Kennedy dug her fingers further and further into her folds until her leg muscles knotted up and she cried out, a strong and almost painful orgasm ripping through her.

She imagined Easton sliding his cock into her from behind, as the paddle dropped to the floor, forgotten.

He was fucking her again and she was stroking herself, and tears were pouring down her face.

Tears of relief.

Tears of shame.

Tears of loss.

When it was over, she lay in the bathtub, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what she was going to do about this sorry state of affairs.

Her intellect told her that she needed to forget about Easton and move on. But her body told her that she would never be able to recover from this loss, and that she should crawl back to him on her hands and knees if that’s what it took.

***

When her intercom buzzed the next morning, it startled Kennedy.

She’d been sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and surfing the web, trying to avoid looking at pictures and articles about Easton.

So far, she’d been successful, but her will was weakening by the second.

The intercom startled her, and she stared for a long moment, wondering if it had been an accident.

But then her intercom buzzed again, and it sounded somehow more insistent this time, like an angry mosquito flying closer to her head.

She got up and walked to the intercom. “Hello?” she said, her brow furrowing.

“Kennedy, let me in,” the voice commanded, and she stepped back as if someone had slapped her across the face.

It was him.

It was Easton. What was he doing there? Why hadn’t he called first?

Her stomach did a somersault and Kennedy realized that she was both ecstatic and petrified that he’d come to see her. But what part was going to win out? Could she stay strong?

“Kennedy,” Easton repeated.

Kennedy’s finger hovered over the button indecisively, but finally she pressed the button and allowed him to enter the building.

Quickly, she ran to the bathroom and looked at her face in the mirror. She looked okay, although her eyes had dark circles beneath them. Kennedy gargled some mouthwash and then ran to her bedroom and threw on a sweater over her t-shirt. Her jeans were fine, and then she sprayed a little perfume on herself just to be on the safe side.

When she ran back to answer the door, Easton was already standing there, waiting impatiently. He was wearing a gray and blue pinstriped suit with a dark blue tie that made his cool eyes pop as he stared at her, one hand stuffed in his pants pocket as he leaned against the doorframe.

“Today is a workday, is it not?” Easton asked her, as she stood there, not knowing how to respond.

“I was fired.” She swallowed. “And so were you.”

Easton’s cool eyes never wavered. “Red got in touch with me and said that it was a misunderstanding, and he was willing to keep going if I was.”

“Oh,” Kennedy said softly. “I never got that call.”

“He also told me it’s a package deal,” Easton replied. “That means you’re still in, too, if you want to be.”

She wanted him to kiss her so badly, it was all she could think of. He had light beard stubble covering his chin and she loved how sexy it looked, could imagine exactly how it would feel against her cheek, her face, even other parts of her body as he kissed down and down…

“So what do you say?” Easton asked. “Can we just let bygones be bygones?”

She had to look away from those eyes. It was like he was hypnotizing her. “I don’t know what that means.”

“It means, I want you to come back to work with me, Kennedy.”

He wants. It’s all about what he wants. What about what I want? Does he even care about that at all? Does he even think about how much he hurt me the other night, throwing me out on the street like that?

She felt her jaw set as she forced herself to meet Easton’s gaze again. “No,” she said.

His forehead wrinkled in surprise. It was as if he literally couldn’t fathom her denying his request. “No?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?” he demanded, straightening up, rising to his full height, folding his arms.

“I don’t think I owe you any explanation, Easton. I don’t work for you anymore, and you don’t control what I do or say.”

He smirked a little. “I think you’re being a bit dramatic, Kennedy. We had an argument, we had some issues. But let’s not take it too far.”

She felt the prickling of tears behind her eyes, but held firm. “I’m not being dramatic.” She took a deep breath and then let it out. Part of her wanted him so badly she could hardly talk. But another part of her saw clearly that Easton hadn’t come here trying to understand her feelings, or to apologize for his horrible behavior and the way he’d taken her for granted.

She couldn’t just run back to him when he didn’t appreciate how deeply she’d given herself to him in the first place.

“What do you want, Kennedy?” he said, his voice rising slightly. “Do you want a raise? I can give you more money.”

She felt color blooming in her cheeks. “You know this has nothing to do with money. It’s got nothing to do with work.”

He ran a hand through his hair, finally showing real frustration for the first time. “So tell me what you want from me, then.”

“You should know, and if you don’t know, I’m not going to explain it to you.”

His eyes hardened. “You want me to beg? You want me to apologize and whimper?” His nostrils flared. “That’s not going to happen.”

Kennedy’s chin tilted. “You must think I’m pretty stupid.”

“That’s not true.”

“No, you must. Because you never called, you just show up here thinking all you have to do is snap your fingers and I’ll come running.” She shook her head at the absurdity of it.

“I asked you to return to work because it’s important to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t come here in person if I wasn’t serious.”

“Maybe you think you’re being serious, but I don’t,” she told him.

“No?” he said, stepping forward.

“No. And I think you should go,” she said, putting her hands on the door and getting ready to close it on him.

Easton stepped forward again, so now he was just inside the door and she wouldn’t be able to shut it on him. “What if I come inside anyway?” he asked, giving her the little smirk she recognized so well.

Her heart was beating and she could feel her face flushing. She let go of the door and backed away from him. “I’m asking you to leave, Easton.”

“Oh, I heard you loud and clear,” he said, approaching her now, slowly, deliberately. “But what if I just…don’t listen?”

“That would be wrong of you.”

He was only a couple of feet away from her now, and she could smell faintly the scent of his cologne, and she could see the wrinkles in his tie, the vein pulsing in his neck as he stared directly into her eyes. Her nipples stiffened and her pussy instantly became moist as she imagined him taking her into his arms, roughly grabbing her.

Her body reacted to him whether she wanted it to or not.

“What would be wrong of me?” Easton said, his voice low, his head cocked a little to the side as if he was genuinely curious. “Would it be wrong of me to throw you on the couch right now, rip your clothes off you and fuck you from behind until you come?”

“You have no right to do this,” she said, her voice quivering with emotion. “I’m not a toy, I’m a human being with feelings.”

This response took him by surprise, and she saw the look of shock on his features as he blinked. “I know that.”

“No. You don’t.” She stepped forward and pointed at him. “I want you out of my fucking life,” she hissed. “Get the fuck out of here!” Suddenly her voice boomed forth, and she’d never heard herself yell so loudly, never in her entire life. In fact, her own voice scared her with its intensity.

Easton blanched as her words struck him with what appeared to be a physical force. He nodded his head. “Okay, I get it,” he said softly, turning on his heel.

As he turned his back to her, Kennedy instantly regretted pushing him away. But it was too late now, as Easton walked quickly out the door without looking backwards, and then he turned the corner and was gone, his footsteps echoing and fading until there was no sound but the faint clink of the door to the building as he left.

She ran to the window and looked down, saw Easton getting in his car and driving away.

Kennedy stood there for a very long time, wondering what had gotten into her. She wanted him so badly, and yet she’d suddenly snapped, creating the reality that she feared.

Easton had come for her and she’d sent him away.

Why?

There was no obvious reason.

Of course she was devastated by the way he’d kicked her out of his home the other night, but it was more than that. She was tired of Easton treating her like a plaything, acting as though she was just some naïve girl who he needed to tame, educate—rather than love and cherish.

Kennedy was worth more than that and she knew it, even if her body didn’t care. All her body knew was that Easton could bring it pleasure, but Kennedy’s mind and intellect were too powerful to allow her physical needs to dictate her behavior.

Somehow, she’d managed to override all of her body chemistry, her very biology, and instead make the logical choice to send Easton packing.

It hurt so badly that for a brief second she contemplated jumping out the window. It was just a flash across her mind, but it scared her badly.

Kennedy picked up her phone and called Nicole. Her sister answered almost immediately.

“Can I come over?” Kennedy asked her.

“Of course,” Nicole soothed. “Come right away. Do you want me to send a car for you?”

“No, I’ll take mine,” Kennedy told her. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just get your butt in the car and drive here. Right now. You don’t sound so good.”

Kennedy thanked her, got off the phone and packed a small bag of clothes and toiletries just in case. Then she left the apartment, and rushed downstairs, needing desperately to get clear of the emptiness that was threatening to overwhelm her.

***

When Kennedy arrived at Red and Nicole’s mansion, she was welcomed by Nicole and Riley, who instantly held out her arms to be picked up and hugged.

“Where’s Red?” Kennedy asked, as she cuddled Riley and gave her a big, wet kiss on the cheek.

“He’s at a meeting but he’ll be back soon,” Nicole said, watching Kennedy closely. She led her inside and they went to the living room, where there was a large blanket and toys on the floor.

The three of them sat on the floor and played, mostly focusing on the baby and how cute she was, rather than bringing up any difficult subjects.

Kennedy was having a hard time keeping her mind off Easton and the scene that had played out in her apartment, but she did her best, and with Nicole’s help, actually succeeded in doing so intermittently.

Eventually, Riley grew tired and began rubbing her eyes and then crying.

“Oh, poor thing,” Kennedy said.

But Nicole just scooped her up and smiled. “I’ll put her down for a nap and then we can just chat, the two of us.” Nicole glided out of the room and Kennedy was once again struck by how graceful and perfect her sister was.

She lived in a gorgeous mansion with a wonderful, sexy, handsome husband who worshipped her. Why was it so difficult to find a man who would treat Kennedy the way Red treated Nicole?

Well, that one was easy.

Kennedy knew that she was no Nicole.

When her sister returned, she was carrying a tray with tea and little pastries, and she put the tray on a nearby table.

“A tea party,” Kennedy laughed. “I always wanted to have a tea party with my sister. This is just about fourteen years late is all.”

“Better late than never, right?”

“True,” Kennedy said, as she added milk and sugar to her tea and then sipped it. The tea was hot and soothing, and she picked up a small sugary pastry and nibbled it.

“So,” Nicole said. “What happened today?”

Kennedy licked the sugar from her lips and sighed. “I don’t know if I can keep myself together to tell you about it.”

“That bad?”

“Sort of.” She sat on the couch across from Nicole, who was sitting cross-legged on a high backed chair and watching her with concerned eyes.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”