Salvation (The Protectors, Book 2) (17 page)

Ronan

I couldn’t focus on the email on the screen in front of me as I listened to yet another person chew Seth out over the phone. I couldn’t make out the actual words from where I was sitting at the table in the corner of Seth’s office, but the raised voice was obvious even coming through the handset that Seth was holding to his ear. It had been two days since the employees had found out about Seth’s meeting in New York the following week and the anger and resentment hadn’t let up in the least. I suspected if I hadn’t been sitting in Seth’s office, many of the employees who’d barged in would have been even more disrespectful than they already were. But as rude as some of the clearly anxious workers had been, Seth had handled himself well and he’d never lost his patience or raised his voice in anger despite some of the barbs comparing him to his father and finding him lacking.

I’d struggled with the turn of events that had happened the night Seth and I had played video games. I’d ended up revealing much more than I had intended and in fact, it was more than I’d ever told Trace about my tumultuous relationship with my father. Maybe it was because of everything Seth had so openly shared with me, I wasn’t sure. Maybe, like Seth, I needed to lance the wounds that had been festering inside of me for so long. And while I hadn’t expected to miraculously feel better, I also hadn’t felt the need to escape Seth’s presence either. But I hadn’t been able to accept his touch. I had no doubt that my actions had hurt him but he’d let me off the hook without question. There’d been a few brief awkward moments as we both tried to get our bearings but they’d passed quickly and we’d ended up playing video games for another three hours before Seth had actually dosed off and fallen asleep on my shoulder. If he hadn’t had to work the next day, I would have been content to enjoy the feel of his body pressed against mine all night.

Because he wasn’t dangerous to me when he was asleep.

While Seth worked, I focused on the updates I’d gotten from Mav and Daisy. I was pleased to discover that Mav had made a lot of progress in destroying Barry Fields’s life. Not only had the multiple restraining orders issued against the piece of shit therapist been leaked online via the man’s own social media accounts and website, Mav had emptied his bank accounts, fucked up his credit and made every accrediting and licensing agency in the country aware of a criminal history that didn’t actually exist.

Since Seth had no longer felt the need to make the daily run to the Mercer Island house, he’d ordered us a couple of sandwiches at lunchtime. Afterwards, I’d started looking through the bids a few security firms had submitted for taking over security of both the garage and the office building.

Seth hadn’t balked at the surveillance system I’d suggested despite the high price tag and when Stan had called the measures extreme, Seth had simply reminded him that as majority partner, it was his call to make. It turned out that despite Stan’s position as Chief Executive Officer, he had very little legal control over the company. His share of Nichols Shipping came out to less than fifteen percent, a high enough number to make him a wealthy man but nowhere near what Seth was making from the company. I had my reservations about the older man because he had a tendency to talk down to Seth, but Seth was clearly grateful for the insight Stan provided so I held my tongue.

I heard Seth hang up the phone and I glanced over my shoulder to see him hanging his head and running his fingers through his hair. I was about to ask him how he was doing when the office door flew open so hard that it slammed into the wall. A red faced, portly guy surged through it, a folder in his hand.

“I’ve left you three messages, Nichols!” the man bellowed. He threw the folder at Seth. “If you even think of trying to pull a fast one on us, we’ll hit you with everything we’ve got. Our lawyers will have your ass wrapped up so tight, you won’t be able to shit for weeks!”

“Mr. Abernathy-”

The man, who I now realized was the union president for some of the men and women who worked for Seth, slapped his hands on the desk and got in Seth’s face as he grabbed him by the shirt. “Listen here, you little shit-”

I didn’t even listen to the rest of what the fucker had to say as I got up and strode across the office. I grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him upright. “I think you’re the one who needs to listen, you fat little fuck,” I bit out as I used my free hand to propel the guy backwards until he hit the wall next to the office door. I ignored the startled look Seth’s assistant gave me from her desk just outside the office.

“Ronan-” I heard Seth call, but I ignored him.

“If you ever speak to him that way again or lay even one fucking finger on him, I will kick your fat ass until you’re the one who can’t take a shit without crying. Get the fuck out!” I snarled before shoving the guy so hard that he stumbled to his knees outside the office door. I grabbed the door and slammed it shut, then flipped the lock. I turned to find Seth just feet behind me, his face drawn up tight with anger.

“Damn it, Ronan, I was handling it.”

“That fucker-”

“Is an important part of this company,” Seth interrupted. “Like it or not, I need to be able to work with him! You can’t just-”

“I can and I will,” I nearly yelled. My anger was still simmering as I closed the distance between us. “No one touches you like that. No one!”

The rage at seeing the man put his hands on Seth was still pouring through me and I knew I needed to get control of myself, but my whole body was aching to go back and find the guy and beat on him just because I could. I was seriously thinking of doing just that when Seth suddenly reached up and grabbed me by the back of the neck. His hold was firm and strong. I expected him to argue with me some more but instead, he yanked me forward and then his mouth was closing over mine.

He used my shock against me and stole into my mouth in one swift move. But my recovery was quick and I dragged him forward as my hands searched out his ass and my tongue dove into his mouth. I showed him no mercy as I consumed his mouth, but I couldn’t stop him from jerking backwards when someone knocked loudly on the office door.

“Seth!” I heard Stan call. “Are you all right in there?”

Seth was breathing hard and we were staring hungrily at each other. “I’m fine, Stan,” Seth called but he didn’t move otherwise. I could see the indecision in his gaze as he looked me up and down and then his eyes settled on my dick and I nearly groaned out loud.

“Seth, open this door, please! Mr. Abernathy said he was assaulted.”

I didn’t give a shit about that but Seth straightened and then moved past me. He ran his fingers through his hair and then straightened his tie before unlocking and opening the door.

“Tell Mr. Abernathy that I will call him later once he calms down,” Seth said firmly. “Also tell him that if he ever lays a hand on me again, his pride won’t be the only thing that’ll be hurting.”

I saw Stan’s stunned expression at Seth’s words but the man kept sucking in air without actually saying anything.

“Nancy, I don’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the afternoon,” Seth ordered and then he was slamming the door and locking it. My cock twitched hungrily as he turned to face me. I had no idea where the hell we stood, but I was painfully aroused and I wanted nothing more than to finish what we started, friendship be damned.

Seth reached his fingers up to loosen his tie. But he did more than just loosen it. He took it off all together and then he was striding towards me with singular determination. I held my breath as he stopped in front of me and handed me the tie. Then he was grabbing my hand and leading me to the bathroom at the far end of the office. As soon as he closed the door behind us, he was on me, his mouth searching mine out. My lust exploded as my brain finally caught up and I wrapped my hands around Seth’s neck to hold him in place as I kissed him. If I expected any shyness on Seth’s part, I was completely mistaken because as I was desperately sucking on his tongue, his hand was snaking into my pants and closing around my dick. I groaned against his lips as he stroked up and down my length. His hold wasn’t tight enough so I quickly reached down to undo my pants. I closed my hand around his and showed him how much pressure to exert. The friction of his palm against my flesh was exquisite, but my need was so intense that I couldn’t just stand there and enjoy it, so I ripped my shirt off before working on the buttons of his.

Once the shirt was gone, I got his pants open and began playing with the crown of his dick which was peeking out from just under the waistband of his underwear. Seth moaned and I nearly came when he squeezed my cock hard. I saw Seth’s eyes fix on my aching dick and I realized why when I looked down at myself. A bead of pre-come had formed at my slit. It began to drip down over the head when Seth suddenly slid his hand up and collected it with his finger. I held my breath as I watched him carry his finger to his lips and then he was sucking it inside.

“Christ,” I muttered as my blood began to simmer beneath my skin. I ignored the look of wonder on Seth’s face as he processed my taste and knelt so I could get Seth’s shoes off. I basically ripped his pants and underwear off of him and then I was searching out the discarded tie which had fallen to the floor during our tussle. Seth already had his hands together in front of him by the time I rose and I wanted to kiss him all over again for his unquestioning understanding of what I needed. I wrapped the tie around his wrists and knotted it and then turned Seth and pressed his back against the door. I lifted his tied hands above his head and pressed the coat hook on the back of the door between the folds of the knot. I was glad it was long enough that it would hold Seth in place if he started squirming. Because between the last few days of being around Seth and not being able to touch him and this moment, I was way too vulnerable and needy to handle it if he did unwittingly touch me. Worse, I was coming to fear that I actually wanted his touch…no matter the consequences.

Seth’s eyes were glazed over with lust as he watched me pull the lube from my wallet. I could already feel my orgasm threatening to overtake me so I quickly reached between Seth’s legs and slathered some lube over his quivering hole. I covered my dick with the rest, making sure to use an extra generous amount since I knew I couldn’t last long enough to prep Seth as thoroughly as I should. I used my arms to lift Seth’s legs and he quickly caught on and wrapped them around my waist. I spread my hand under his ass to support his weight and used my other hand to guide my cock to his opening. My whole body was shaking with excitement and I could feel that Seth wasn’t faring much better.

“God, I can’t fucking slow down,” I muttered as I began to press inside of him.

“Don’t,” Seth urged and I lifted my eyes to meet his. The emotion I saw staring back at me actually caused me to freeze in place and a combination of fear and joy went through me.

God, I couldn’t really be seeing what I thought I was seeing, could I?

I didn’t get to think on it too long because Seth closed his eyes and began to bear down on me. I bit back a curse and pushed against him until I felt his outer muscles give way. Seth was panting as he adjusted to my entry and I forced myself to stop long enough to give him the time he needed. When his legs tightened around me again and he closed one hand over the coat hook to support his weight as he lifted up just a little bit, I knew he was good and I surged up to meet him as he lowered himself onto me.

“Shit, fuck,” Seth growled as he did the move again, drawing more of me inside of him. By the time I bottomed out, he was calling my name desperately. I sealed my mouth over his as I began plunging into him. Seth tried to kiss me back but he couldn’t stop groaning every time I slammed into him, so I gave up and just let my lips rest against his neck as the lube began to make my gliding motion smoother. Seth was rocking himself back and forth over me as best he could, considering he had little leverage to work with and I could only hope his frantic movements didn’t put too much strain on the restraints or the coat hook that was helping support his weight.

My own control snapped when Seth clamped down on my dick with his inner muscles and I let out a muffled curse as I slammed him back against the door as I drove into him. The door rattled in the frame as I pounded into him over and over and I once again sought out his mouth as I felt my orgasm start to crest. It occurred to me that I needed to release my hold on Seth’s ass so I could get one hand between us, but he suddenly screamed my name against my mouth and then he bucked wildly against me. Hot liquid hit my chest and stomach as Seth’s cock jerked against my skin. Knowing I’d fucked him so well that he didn’t even need my touch to find his release had me coming an instant later and I felt Seth’s dick twitch against me some more as my come filled him. I knew my fingers were going to leave marks on Seth’s ass as I held him in place while I rammed into him over and over, riding out my orgasm, but I doubted Seth even noticed because he was still trying to jerk and twist his hips to take me in deeper as aftershocks quivered through him. When I finally had nothing left to give, I dropped my face against Seth’s shoulder and tried to catch my breath.

Seth chuckled against my ear and then his mouth was pressing kisses wherever he could reach. I found enough energy to lift my head and kiss him the way he deserved and then I used all my strength to lift him high enough so that he could get his hands free of the coat hook. With his wrists still bound, he dropped his arms around my neck as his tongue searched out mine. I was too sated to worry about the contact because my only concern was staying inside of him as I maneuvered us so I could sit on top of the closed toilet. I could feel my own semen dripping down my dick as I made love to Seth’s mouth but I made no effort to pull free of him.