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Mark found that spot deep inside of me and I whimpered at the contact. He began to pump short furious strokes that battered my g-spot and sent me into oblivion.
Black spots clouded my vision. I couldn’t breathe, or reason. It was as if I had transformed into a rolling mass of pleasure. Every nerve ending shook my body, clenching and unraveled as my orgasm swept through me.
Mark grunted, and I felt the warmth of his seed filling the condom. We hadn’t been quiet. And in the aftermath when things went deathly still, I realized just how loud we were together.
“Tell me your office is soundproof,” I demanded as Mark slipped his dick from my body.
I didn’t even watch him take care of the condom. I yanked myself out of his reach and pulled my skirt back down. I wasn’t sure if there was a wet spot on the back of my skirt and I sure as hell wasn’t going to check with his intimidating gaze glaring down at me.
“No,” he said in reply to my question. “There is good insulation, but the offices are not soundproof.”
He almost seemed angry, which confused me even further. I hadn’t been the one to attack him. I wasn’t the one kicking people out of the building or chasing down women in cafes across town.
The more I thought about it the angrier I became. “What is the matter?” I demanded sharply.
“Did you invite him here?” Mark shot back in a livid tone that matched my own.
“Are you serious?” My face heated, but it wasn’t with embarrassment. I wanted to hurt this man. I had always thought I was something of a pacifist. That was, until I met Mark.
“Why else would he be here?” Mark raised a condescending brow.
“Fuck you, Mark! Fuck you and your stupid ass questions. Gabriel has always been a first-class prick to me. Why in the fuck do you think I would ever invite him here? Do you know me at all? Shit, don’t answer that. I need a moment to think.”
I turned on my heels and stalked over to the door. But before storming out, I turned to give him my final parting shot.
“Your precious Bethany?” I taunted.
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
“She was the one who let him in. But since you seem to like her so much, maybe we can let this security breach slide.”
I slammed the door hard enough to shake the pictures on the wall.
Bethany opened her mouth to speak but I held a hand up. “Not now.”
I went straight to my office and was relieved when I found it empty. With another slamming of the door, I rounded my desk and sank down into my office chair. The emotions from earlier were churning along with a few new ones.
Regret that Mark would never truly see me as I really am. Sadness that this all might have been a mistake. Relief that Mark got rid of Gabe for the present, and so much jealousy over Bethany the Bitch that I couldn’t see straight.
I had to pull my shit together. What was I thinking? The last thing that I wanted to do was throw all of these weeks of hard work away. I reached up and hurriedly flicked a stray tear from my face. Corporate giants didn’t cry, and neither would I. I would not let Mark or anyone else stand between me and who I was meant to be.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sutton
Some of my earliest memories were of Mad Max coming to our little trailer and playing with me when my mama was sick. I don’t remember what ailed her specifically. But I do remember her laying in her bed and staring at the wall—often for days at a time.
Max brought me some cheap toys from the local dollar store. I remember a plastic tea set specifically because he would sit on my worn carpet in his motorcycle club clothes. I remember adoring the brilliant colors of his tattoos and asking him if he could paint some on me too.
One day he came by and I was hiding from him. When he finally found me, I had taken my markers and drawn all over my skin. Instead of tanning my hide, like I had expected, Max laughed until tears ran down his cheeks.
He had taken me into where Mama was laying and told her something along the lines of, “If you can’t bother to live for yourself, you can at least make an effort for her.”
I didn’t understand what it meant. But it must have meant something to Mama because things got a little better for a while—until the drugs started up.
I was sitting in a meeting with Mandy Brand and Candice to go over the ideas for our childcare center, but I couldn’t concentrate on the conversation.
My mind kept reverting back to Max. His behavior was so out of place. I felt like the answers were right in front of me, but I couldn’t make them out.