Darker the Release (9 page)

Everything was feeling wrong—not the kind of twisting poignancy she’d felt with him before but a kind of crushing knowledge that everything about this situation was just not what it should be.

If only she could take the last step and bring the wrongness to a close.

She had to think of something. And she couldn’t wait another week.

“What are you thinking about?” Caleb asked out of the blue. He’d been staring out at the darkness through the car window, and he hadn’t turned to look at her, so she didn’t know what prompted the question.

“Nothing, really.”

“It feels like something is wrong.”

He knew her so well, if he could pick up her mood through the silence. It frightened her and touched her at the same time.

“What was Wes referring to earlier, about the hospitals?” she asked, remembering that strange look she’d caught between them and wondering about it again.

Caleb turned his head to face her, and his eyes were defenseless, so tired. “He was referring to my sister.”

She frowned. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“She died. I was a kid.”

“What happened?”

“She had cancer. It took her over a year to die.”

She caught her breath, realizing he was telling her something he never told anyone, something that was closer to his heart than anything else. She remembered half-finished conversations they’d had, as he’d talked around this one thing. “How old was she?”

“She was thirteen. I was ten. I spent so much time that year in the hospital…” He trailed off, closing his eyes.

“Your parents let you?”

“They were…always busy. Someone had to stay with her. I couldn’t leave her there alone.”

“Oh, God, Caleb. You were just ten. It shouldn’t have been your responsibility.”

“Who else’s?”

Her throat was so tight she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t breathe. She took off her seatbelt so she could move over to him and wrap her arms around him. “No wonder you hate hospitals now.”

“I can’t stand them. They make me physically ill.” He took a strange, shaky breath. “I don’t talk about this with anyone.”

“I’m glad you told me.” She leaned up to kiss his jaw. “What was her name?”

“Mallory.”

“Is that why you went into pharmaceuticals?”

“I guess so. Not consciously, but…if there is some way to keep that from happening, then I want to make sure we find the way.”

He felt tense and shaky and so real in her arms. She held him tighter. “I was ten when my dad died.”

“I know you were.” He leaned against her. “We’re alike in so many ways.”

And that might have been the deepest truth of all.

The following day was Sunday, and Kelly had figured out what to do to get into the storage room.

She’d had to lay the groundwork that morning by prompting a little argument over breakfast—about nothing more serious than his being grumpy with her—and the fallout was that he’d gone into his office in the city to work for the afternoon.

He used to do that every Sunday afternoon, so it hadn’t been too hard to get him to fall back into the habit.

She didn’t really want him to go into work. It felt like it was creating distance between them when they’d been so close just last night.

They hadn’t made love when they got back home, but she’d fallen asleep in his arms, and she’d never felt so close to anyone in her life—like they’d both opened their souls, leaving nothing unexposed.

He’d been a little more guarded this morning, since opening up like that had been hard for him, and she’d taken advantage of it, intensified it.

Because she had to. She had to bring this to a close at last.

At three in the afternoon she showed up at his office. She never would have done this on a workday, since his time was usually scheduled out to the minute Monday through Friday. But it was Sunday, and he was just working on his own in his office. Some of his staff might be there, but there wouldn’t be tons of people around.

This was the best opportunity that she would ever have to get into the storage room.

She was going to use it.

A couple of people were working in offices she passed as she got off the elevator on his floor, but his assistant wasn’t at the desk in the executive suite.

That was good. That would make things a lot easier.

Caleb’s office door was cracked open slightly, so she knocked on it.

“Come.” He sounded professional, curt, busy. The consummate businessman.

That was him—as much as anything else. She needed to remember it. There weren’t many limits to what he was willing to do to get ahead in business. Ignoring that reality about him would be a huge mistake.

She pushed open the door.

He turned his head from his computer at her entrance, and she saw his body twitch in surprise when he processed her appearance.

“Kelly,” he said, standing up and taking a few steps toward her. “Is everything all right?”

She gave him a little smile, not having to fake the nerves she was feeling.

His expression softened. “What are you doing here?”

“I was hoping you might have a minute.”

“Of course I have a minute. Is anything wrong?”

“No. I, uh…” She dropped her eyes and then raised them again. “I was hoping for an appointment with Mr. Marshall.”

She saw the series of expressions flicker across his face—confusion, recognition, understanding, heat.

“Does Mr. Marshall have a few minutes for me?”

He chuckled and leaned down to check the schedule on his computer. “It looks like he does. I’m assuming you wouldn’t interrupt me without an appointment if it wasn’t important.”

Pleased he was going for it and unable to keep from admiring his quick mind and sharp reflexes, Kelly stepped all the way into the office and closed the door with a click. Then she went to put her leather satchel on the floor next to the couch, sliding her keys down beside it, out of sight from the desk.

Caleb had moved to stand next to the window, and he was now facing a little away from her. She understood it as part of their little game.

He never bothered with a suit on Sundays, but he wore an Oxford shirt and a pair of tailored trousers, still managing to look well dressed and professional.

Kelly stood and studied his back. Noticed that the fabric of his shirt—just between his shoulder blades—was sticking to his skin, as if he’d gotten too hot earlier. For some reason, that small detail made Kelly’s heart do a little flip-flop.

No matter how brilliant and powerful he was, Caleb was still human. And sometimes his shirt stuck to his back when he got a little sweaty.

Finally he turned around, his eyebrows arching up as he gave her an automatic once-over. “Ms. Watson. You wanted to see me.”

Kelly had to fight a smile. Damn, the man was good at these little sexy routines, even when taken totally by surprise and without any preparation. “I did. Thank you, Mr. Marshall.”

“What can I do for you?” The corner of his mouth twitched up a little, as if he were privately amused. “I’m a busy man, you know.”

“I know you are, sir. Thank you for sparing a minute for me. I was hoping you could help me.”

“What do you need help with?” His lips softened even more, and his eyes trailed over her body in a very suggestive way. She had dressed strategically in a wrap dress and kitten heels. His eyes lingered on her breasts.

Kelly thought quickly, trying to focus on their little game and not on what she needed to accomplish afterward, since that would distract her. “I’m afraid I’ve gotten myself in a…a tangle. With my job.”

“You did? What did you do?” His voice was low and provocative as he took a step toward her. He was having fun—she could see it beneath the heat and charisma. He liked playing these little games with her. He liked that she’d initiated this.

He thought she’d just done it spontaneously—because she wanted to. He had no idea she had an underlying agenda.

She forced the guilt away and concentrated only on the sexual tension radiating between them. “I was bad. I missed a deadline on that project you gave me.” She tried to look nervous and ashamed of herself to better establish their scenario.

“You were bad?” He took another step closer, until they were within arm’s length. “You know how I feel about people missing deadlines.”

Her body was already reacting to the hot look in his eyes, and her breasts were tingling as if his gaze had been a caress. “I’m sorry, sir.”

He took a step even closer, until he was less than an inch from her—but not touching her yet. “Sorry isn’t enough for this kind of poor performance.”

“What kind of performance do you want, sir?”

“You know what I want.” His voice was thick and low. He leaned forward until his breath was blowing against her ear. “You know what I expect to make up for your mistakes.”

Kelly’s heart was pounding, and arousal sprang to life at her center so quickly it actually hurt. She arched her back slightly, her nipples jutting out through the thin fabric of her dress. “I’ll do better, sir. I promise.”

Caleb smiled slightly and reached over to the tie on her wrap dress. He pulled it. “You better.”

Her dress fell open all the way, revealing her black lace bra and panties.

The smolder in Caleb’s eyes flared up as his gaze devoured her exposed body, but he didn’t make any move to touch her.

Feeling gorgeous and aroused and still a little guilty, Kelly let the dress fall off her shoulders completely. She was almost naked, and the office door wasn’t locked.

But she didn’t care.

Excitement and desire were coursing through her body, and she was already so wet she wanted to rub her thighs together. Instead, she took a step forward. Rubbed her body against Caleb’s fully clothed form—loving how hard and hot he felt.

She took his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged it gently. Then ran a hand down his shirt until she reached the bulge in his pants.

“I promise I’ll be good, sir.”

“You’d better be good.” With a low sound in his throat, he grabbed her by the hips and hauled her up so that she was propped on the edge of the desk.

She squeezed him between her thighs and tried to grind her arousal against his, but she wasn’t in quite the right position and ended up whimpering in frustration as she didn’t get the friction she needed.

Caleb gave her a feral smile and lowered his mouth to her throat. He nipped at her pulse a few times, until her mouth fell open and her head tilted back. Then his mouth lowered to her collarbone. Then lower, to the edge of her bra. He eased her back as he mouthed and nibbled down her chest, until she was lying on the surface of the desk.

Her hips were squirming, she was so aroused. She couldn’t believe she was so into this, since it was mostly a ploy to get into his office building. She was used to Caleb turning her on, but she’d hardly had any foreplay at the moment. Yet she still wanted him so much she could barely hold still.

He reached behind her to unhook her bra, and then he tossed the bra onto the floor and flicked his tongue against her tight nipple. She felt naughty and debauched, sprawled almost naked on his desk while he still had his shirt and trousers on. And she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out as he sucked one of her breasts into his mouth.

“Just tell me what you want me to do, sir,” she gasped, trying to wrap her legs around his hips. “I’ll be good.”

He nipped her nipple, causing her to cry out harshly and arch up off the desk. “You’ll be patient for now. I’ll tell you when it’s time.” He smiled against her flushed skin.

One of his hands flattened on her belly, and then started moving lower.

Kelly held her breath, her arousal throbbing as his hand grew closer and closer to where she wanted it. When his fingers dipped under the waistband of her panties, she whimpered a little.

“I told you to be patient. You’re not going to be bad again, are you?” Caleb demanded, his ravenous gaze following his hand.

“No, sir.” She wanted it so much her hands were trembling and her breath was coming out in eager pants, but she made herself stay perfectly still and wait.

When his fingers reached the hot, wet flesh between her thighs, Kelly arched up again and gasped.

He slid one finger against her, caressing past her clit and then sinking deep inside her.

“God, you’re wet.” The possessive expression on his face was almost primitive. “That’s a very good girl. Now lie still and let me show you how good your body can feel when you’re patient.”

Kelly’s hands were fumbling on the surface of the desk, searching for something to hold on to. But she managed to say, “Yes.”

He joined the first finger with another. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.”

He pumped them a few times, spreading the pooled moisture and stroking her inner walls with skillful assurance.

She wasn’t far from coming already, and his touch provided delicious stimulation. She fought to keep her hips still, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out.

Caleb straightened up and adjusted his arm, and Kelly was suddenly afraid he was about to stop his ministrations. She gave a little whimper.

He grew still. “I told you to be patient.”

“I am. I am. I’m sorry, sir.” She clung to the edge of the desk with one hand, spread-eagled on the desk, waiting desperately for his touch.

He stared down at her for a minute, so long she had to fight against a groan. Then he finally started to move his fingers again and then lowered his mouth to her breast, the dual stimulation causing her to claw at the desk with her free hand and cry out, “Oh, God, oh, God!”

“You’re close,” Caleb murmured, the vibration of his voice against her breast intensifying her sensations. “Aren’t you? I can feel how close you are. But you’re going to be good and wait until I tell you to come.”

She was fighting the instinct to pump her hips as her orgasm built. “Yes. Oh, God, Caleb, make me come.”

Caleb pulled his head up so he could watch her, his eyes devouring her body and twisted face. “Yeah, baby, you’re going to come really hard, and I’m going to watch you. Just wait until I say so.”

She was practically sobbing now with the rising pleasure and her effort to not grind herself against Caleb’s hand. Her head tossing back and forth against the hard wood, she gasped out, “Please, now. Oh, God, please now.”