The Risqué Contracts Series (6 page)

I didn’t wait for takeoff to ask the flight attendant for a glass of champagne. She wasn’t supposed to serve me yet, but being in first class had its perks. That, and the sympathetic look in her eye, which told me I looked like I’d been through the mill. And I had—an emotional one. Three hours and a bottle later, we were over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and all the other first class passengers were sound asleep.

“Can I get you anything?” the flight attendant asked. “Maybe some water or coffee?”

“How about a lobotomy? Or a time machine?” I quipped. “Or maybe you can talk the pilot into turning the plane around?”

She glanced around the cabin and then sat down in the seat next to me. “That bad, huh?”

“Epically awful,” I sighed.

She patted my hand gently. “The way you were gulping down champagne while crying, I figured it wasn’t good. Man trouble?”

“How’d you guess?” I asked, eyeing her blearily.

“What other kind of trouble is there? What did he do to make you go running from Paris?”

I chuckled darkly before a sob erupted from my chest. “He gave me the best sex of my entire life before taking me sightseeing to all the places I’ve ever wanted to see. And then he tried to give me a Cartier bracelet.”

“Yeah, I hate when that happens.” Sarcasm was thick in her tone.

“Did I forget to mention he’s a gorgeous billionaire who saved my family’s company? And that he flew me to Paris on his private jet?”

“You skipped a part, right? Is he horribly abusive? Stinks to high heaven? Wants you to suck his toes?” she asked. “Because the guy you just described sounds like every woman’s dream man. Hell, now I want to ask the pilot to turn the plane around so I can go find him and mend his broken heart.”

“Broken heart,” I repeated, mumbling under my breath. I placed my hand on my chest, feeling my heart race, and suddenly, I knew exactly why I’d run from Caleb. “I left him because I was afraid he was going to break my heart. Because, somehow, the unthinkable has happened and I’m in love with him. And I didn’t realize it until just now. God, for a Harvard grad, I’m so incredibly stupid.”

“The good news is you’ve figured it out. That’s the first step. And lucky for you, our airline allows cell phone usage in flight. It’s somewhat expensive, but you’ve got a billionaire boyfriend, so I think you can afford to dial his number.”

“You’re a genius,” I breathed, leaning down to grab my purse and search for my cell. When I powered it on, it took a moment for me to connect to the plane’s service. Then, the notifications started. Twenty missed calls—all from Caleb. Ten text messages ranging from
Where did you go? Are you okay?
to
You can’t run from me. There is nowhere you can hide that I won’t come for you, Madeleine.

For the next four hours, I dialed Caleb’s number every thirty minutes. He never answered, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave him a voicemail. I didn’t know what to say. By the time we landed, I was a bundle of nerves. I didn’t want to go home. The silence would drive me crazy. After I made it through customs and grabbed a cab, I headed straight to work.

It felt surreal walking into my office, knowing Caleb was in another country. Since he’d moved my company into his offices, not a single workday had gone by where I’d been here without him. Thinking back, there also hadn’t been a weekend where I hadn’t seen him. In a short time, Caleb had managed to force his way into all parts of my life. I didn’t know what I would do if he walked away, even though I’d given him every reason to do so by leaving him in Paris the way I had. And he wasn’t answering my phone calls or texts, which was only fair since I hadn’t answered any of his before I got on the plane last night.

I’d tossed my coat over a chair and dropped my purse onto the corner of my desk when I heard a soft tap at the door. “Come in,” I called without turning to see who it was. Something I quickly regretted when I heard Julie’s voice.

“I thought you were in Paris with Caleb.”

Sitting down in my chair, I swiveled around and looked up at her, catching the satisfied gleam in her eyes before she hid it. “I was. Now I’m back.”

“Only you? Caleb didn’t return as well?”

“Yes, Julie,” I sighed. “I traveled home without Caleb.”

“If Caleb asked you to leave Paris, then maybe you should listen to the message he was trying to send you.” Julie’s tone was snarky. “Some women are so ignorant when it comes to men. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to assure a scorned lover their relationship with Caleb was over.”

“I thought I told you to call me Mr. Sterling,” Caleb growled from the doorway. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, but the death glare he was sending Julie’s way indicated it had been long enough for him to hear most of what she’d said.

Julie took a step toward him, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. “I’m so sorry—”

“You know what?” he interrupted her. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’re fired. I wanted to wait until I found a replacement, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to allow you to disrespect Madeleine like this. Not after I’ve already warned you about it. And especially not when she could be carrying my child.”

“Child?” Julie gasped, which was more than I could say. My shock at his statement kept me silent.

“Pack your stuff and get the hell out of here. I’ll call human resources to let them know you’ve been let go for insubordination, without a letter of recommendation.”

“But,” she whispered.

Caleb wasn’t having any of it. He strode forward, wrapped his hand around her upper arm, and moved her out of the office before slamming the door shut. When he turned to face me, the force of his glare knocked me out of my stupor. After what had happened over the last couple days, there were a million questions I wanted to ask, so much we needed to discuss, but there was only one I could think of at the moment.

“Why in the world would you tell her I could be pregnant?” I asked while standing up to face him on a more even level.

Caleb practically growled his response. “Because I’ve fucked you bare about a dozen times in the last two days, filling you with as much of my come as I possibly could in hopes that you would be.”

My knees weakened and I fell back into my chair. We’d never even had a discussion about being clean, and I’d been in such a sensual fog, I hadn’t thought about insisting he wore a condom. But never in a million years would I have considered he was doing it on purpose in the hopes of knocking me up, something that wasn’t even possible. As stupid as I’d been behaving around him, I wasn’t that much of an idiot. “Caleb, there’s no way I’m pregnant. I’m on birth control.”

O
n some level, I knew I should have felt guilty, but I didn’t. I couldn’t find it in myself to regret doing everything in my power to keep Madeleine, to start our family, to begin living our forever. As if that wasn’t enough, there wasn’t room for guilt because anger consumed me. We would get around to discussing what happened in Paris, but first, I was going to lay my cards on the table and be honest about trying to get her pregnant. There wasn’t anything she could do to get me off that path.

I rounded Madeleine’s desk and leaned down to place my palms on the armrests, caging her in. My face was inches from hers, forcing her to tilt her head back, unable to avoid meeting my hard gaze.

“No, Madeleine, you’re not,” I gritted out. “You missed your doctor’s appointment. Your body is ripe and ready for me to plant our kid inside you. Make no mistake, baby, if I haven’t already, I will have you pregnant as soon as humanly possible. And,” my voice hardened, along with my cock as I imagine her naked body with a rounded belly, “you can expect to stay that way for a while.”

Madeleine’s eyes widened in shock as I spoke, but at that last statement, they narrowed and lit with fire. She braced her hands on my chest and shoved with all of her strength, but I didn’t budge. Not even an inch.

“I can’t believe you!” she yelled. “Get the hell away from me, Caleb.”

“That’s never going to happen, Madeleine.” I removed my hands from the sides of the chair and slowly slid them up her arms to cradle her face. I craved her with everything I was, and my body was aching with need, my cock desperate to be inside her. “When are you going to stop fighting? You know you belong to me.”

I stared into her deep green eyes and watched the play of emotions, ranging from longing and sadness to fear and anger. Then, she shuttered them, her face becoming a blank mask. “Let me up, Caleb,” she demanded, poking me in the shoulder.

I sighed and stood, backing away slightly and giving her room to follow. Once on her feet, she took a deep breath, drawing my eyes to her tits as they rose and fell. Fuck, I was hanging on by a thread, an inch away from bending her over the desk and making her scream my name.

“Caleb,” her voice drew my eyes back up to her face, “I want out.”

“Excuse me?” My tone was deadly, a warning.

“The—the clause,” she stuttered. “I want to use the penalty clause. Spend a night with you.”

Her words brought a rush of desire so intense, I nearly lost my balance as images of her under my complete control danced in my vision. She wanted to use the penalty clause? Perfect.

She obviously wasn’t ready for me to convince her with words of love. She wasn’t ready to admit she was wearing deliberate blinders when it came to examining her feelings for me. She had no idea what she agreed to—no idea she was about to be laid bare before me, literally and figuratively. What I had planned required the ultimate trust, and for Madeleine, that kind of faith was built on love. A small part of me—okay, not that small—was going to make her pay for running from me.

“Go home. Get some rest and meet me at my house tomorrow night. Eight p.m.,” I said tersely as I walked out of her office. Just across the threshold, I turned back, grunting, “Don’t be late.”

Her arms were wrapped around her body and her eyes tightly closed as silent tears streaked down her face. I wanted to cross back and take her in my arms, to comfort her and care for her, but I needed to stay my course. If this didn’t work, I was going to kidnap her ass, take her to a deserted island, and keep her all to myself. The thought was intriguing...
let’s call that plan B.

***

A
t seven fifty-eight, the doorman rang to tell me Madeleine had arrived. I’d collected all of the items for tonight, put them in a duffle bag so they wouldn’t overwhelm her all at once, and tossed it into my bedroom on my way to the front door.

Madeleine stood on the other side, her head held high, back straight, but her eyes were filled with trepidation. I loved her strength; it was one of the sexiest things about her. However, it was the thought of her submission that had my body practically vibrating with desire. I’d changed into a pair of low-hanging, silk lounge pants, foregoing a shirt and shoes. Biting back a smile, I didn’t miss her head to toe perusal of my body, or the hitch in her breath when she got to the V of my abs and the visible erection beneath.

I swept my hand in, encouraging her to enter. She marched past me and my eyes glued themselves to her sinful ass. I shut and locked the door, then followed to find her standing in the open living room of my penthouse apartment. She stood rigid, her arms straight and hands fisted at her side.

Walking up behind her, I gently grasped her shoulders and pulled her back against my chest. “Baby, relax,” I whispered, burying my face in her thick curls. “You have to trust me. You should know I will never hurt you.” Her muscles released a small amount of tension and I placed a soft kiss just below her ear, encouraged by her shivering response. “Beyond your limits,” I clarified softly.

Letting go of her shoulders, I didn’t wait for a response. Instead, I led her to an area in front of a large fireplace where flames burned brightly. I’d left a glass of wine on the low, glossy wood table. I reached for it and handed it to her. “Drink,” I instructed.

She gave me a stubborn look and I raised an eyebrow, silently reminding her who was in charge. She huffed, but brought the wine to her lips. The long line of her throat as she swallowed and the press of her lips on the crystal captivated me.

I stifled a groan, anxious to have those plump lips wrapped around my cock, swallowing—no, there would be no swallowing until she was pregnant. I wasn’t about to waste a single drop.

When the glass was empty, she looked around, presumably for where she should put it.

“Leave it,” I said. She set the glass down and when I held my hand out, she took it without a word. I loved the sound of her voice, but her silence meant she would listen, which was vital. She needed to follow my directions very closely tonight.

The bedroom beckoned and I guided her to it. The room was dominated by a king-sized bed, specifically bared, with the exception of soft, Egyptian cotton sheets. We stopped beside it and I turned her to face me, lifting her chin with a finger. “I’m in charge tonight.” I phrased it as a statement, but waited for her to nod her agreement.

“It’s crucial that you do as I say. I said I’d never hurt you beyond your limits, but I’m going to push those limits.” Fear began to cloud her eyes, so I quickly added, “I will always stop if you ask me to.”

Again, she nodded. “You will not speak unless I give you permission, with one exception. I need you to choose a word, if you say that word, I will stop.”

Madeleine’s jade pools bored into me with a captivating intensity. “Paris,” she mumbled. Her choice curved my lips up in a soft smile and I pulled her into my arms, laying my forehead against hers.

“Paris?” I confirmed.

She leaned her head back and lifted a challenging eyebrow.

I sighed. “Don’t play games, Madeleine. I asked a question, answer it,” I said, following my mandate with a swat on her ass.

“Yes,” she snapped, “Paris.”

“Good girl.” Dropping my arms, I backed away from her and crossed them over my chest. “Undress.”

She did as she was told and with every bared inch of creamy, peach skin, my excitement grew. This night was inevitable. Whether she’d used the clause or not, we would have ended up here eventually, but watching her strip and knowing what was coming, I found myself glad I didn’t have to wait.