Page 41 of The Handyman
Gingerly but without warning, Reece pulled the egg out of my ass and the sudden lack of sensation sent a fierce ache through me. Caressing his cock with my lips as he pulled back completely, I closed my eyes as all the energy seeped from my body. Exhaustion made my skin tingle, and I gulped down my mouthful.
Reece’s hot gaze raked me. Sinking into the bed, he struggled with the ropes binding my arms.
It was so much easier to untie than it was to tie, and I wheezed while Reece leaned over me to mess with the ropes holding my legs apart. I could feel it when he lost steam to untie my legs, but I could close them now, and I rolled over with the last of my strength.
Plopping on the bed to curl around me, Reece worked an arm under my face and flung the other around my waist. He held me tight, hoisting his leg over mine as I lounged in bliss. His breath was harsh and unstable against my ear, but I savored the sound and feel of him pushing my damp hair away from my face.
29
Riley
“So, what’d you think of your first week of work?”
Glancing up from my computer screen at the feminine voice, I smiled.
Vanessa leaned on the desk lightly as she flipped her long, blonde curls and crossed her slender arms over her chest. “I heard you made a great first impression.”
“I hope so.” I swiveled in my chair to face her fully. My new coworkers all left at 5pm, not a minute after. I nodded firmly. “I loved the past week, yeah. I thought it was gonna be harder to work in an office when I’m so used to working by myself in my apartment. It’s been really great.”
Vanessa smiled. “Good. Good. Have you given any thought to what you want to do about your mother?”
Inhaling deeply, I scrunched up my nose as I shook my head, and
Vanessa smiled wider to show off shallow dimples. “Reece has some good advice sometimes. Not often, but…”
“He’s right, though. I couldn’t let my mom ruin this job opportunity for me, and we haven’t even talked for weeks. It’s like… I can’t let her reach beyond the grave or some other bad euphemism and screw with me.” Arching a brow at her, I licked my lips heavily as quizzicality glistened in her eyes. “Did you expect to hire me when Reece asked about me getting a job here?”
“Reece never asks me for anything, so I was very open to giving you the chance to impress me, Riley, but no. Frankly, I was optimistic, yes, but would I hire youonlybecause he asked? No.”
I nodded as a warmth and fuzziness expanded my chest even as I exhaled a sigh and sat back in my chair.
“That’s not to be confused with the fact that I had to fire someone incompetent to hire you. I didn’t do that until after you were interviewed.”
“I would hope not.”
Vanessa’s smile turned into a grin.
I ran both my hands through my hair to flop my head back and stretch my legs. Staring at the ceiling, I wiggled my toes in my boots as the silence rang in my ears. “What would you do about my mom if she was your mom?”
“She was my mom at one point—”
My head snapped up.
Vanessa pulled out the wheeled office chair from the cubicle next to me to sit, smoothing her skirt with stiff fingers. He pretty, long face washed in seriousness, a powerful depth in her eyes that sucked me in and made my heart race. “My parents were extremely religious. As in, going to church 5 days a week, blaming puberty on the devil, and home schooling me because the world is a terrifying place full of sinners— that kind of religious. I was 17 and almost illiterate. The only thing I was allowed to read was the Bible. One night, I decided to run away, knowing that there was more out there than my parents were telling me. I stole a bunch of money and took the late train until I hit New York City. Then something happened…Men they raped me. The only difference between you and me, Riley, is that I didn’t have a panic button to save me.” Vanessa’s expression strained while memories flashed across her face.
My eyes widened, my throat closing while clenching my hands into tight fists in my lap as I ground my teeth hard.
She pursed her lips thinly before continuing, “Carlyle saved me…he likes to do that. It’s how he builds his relationships with his people. You haven’t met him, but he inspires people like no one else can. He bought the train car it happened in, found the guys, and let me have my time with them. I was 19, had no experience at all with men, and for a long time, I thought I was in love with him. Years and years, I groveled at his feet— did whatever he wanted, right when he asked, no matter what it was. Now that I’m almost 30, it’s embarrassing how naïve I was at the time.”
“He just led you on?”
She shrugged a little with one shoulder.
Being strung along by someone like that…I’d heard a lot about this Carlyle guy, and he didn’t seem all that great to be in a relationship with. For me, at least. “What happened?”
“I wouldn’t say he led me on, but he never discouraged me. One day, I just had this epiphany. I woke up and asked myself what the hell I was doing and why, and when did I become so pathetic? I was always a step behind him, and he never glanced at me twice. I was his personal secretary, but he never said a single word to me that didn’t pertain to business. Even the normal ‘how was your weekend?’ stuff— I got a generic answer. It was like a switch flipped. Carlyle saved my life. That was the only thing he’d ever gone out of his way to do for me. I owed him my life, but he’s the kind of person you’d happily give your life to.” A small, sad smile stretched her thick lips, her cheeks reddening with residual embarrassment. “It honestly, didn’t take long to get over him, especially after a few years when he met his wife, Valerie. Anyway— back to the story. After the train incident, I called my mom and told her what happened to me. She said it was my fault— that I’d been enticed by the Devil, and I deserved it for forsaking God, and all that religious nut shit. It was the worst phone call I’d ever had.”
Ducking my head, my eyes stung fiercely, and I cleared my throat roughly as my chest tightened at the memories. “My mom told me if I wasn’t into bondage—if I didn’t hang around ‘people like that—that I was basically asking for it. She’d call me specifically to tell me that kind of thing, and then she’d get mad when I got mad. I’d hang up, tell myself I wasn’t taking her calls anymore, but I always did again. The last straw for me was when she told me I couldn’t move the goalposts wherever I wanted and try to ruin someone’s life and…yeah. . .”