When Valerie sat up with his shaft still sheathed inside her and laid a penetrating kiss on him, his eyes grew wide as he felt himself growing hard again. She moaned into his mouth, wiggling her h*ps to entice him, and he was ready for another round.
He began rocking his hips, a slow, steady motion, massaging her inner walls as his penis grew harder and harder, and she sighed his name, making him growl. He wanted more, felt a need to own her completely.
Pulling out of her and groaning as she whimpered her displeasure at his removal, he turned her over, pressing her face down on the desk, and he squeezed her ass as he entered her from behind.
Valerie felt an intense pressure as he slid into her the first time and the sensation quickly exploded into pure pleasure, with fireworks lighting her eyes, and she screamed with pleasure. With a few quick thrusts and an animalistic cry, Tyler filled her again, and she clenched around him, gaining her own peak with his. He finally collapsed on her back, laying several light kisses on her neck, and she delighted in the feel of his weight on her.
After several long moments, he muttered, “That was incredible.”
Unable to stifle a laugh, she nuzzled into him. “Yes, it was.”
Tyler reluctantly pulled out of her, exhausted from the intensity of their sex, and headed for the bathroom, bringing back a towel to wipe the sweat from his body. When Valerie reached for it, he handed it to her, and he groaned as he watched her clean herself before pulling her panties back up and straightening her skirt.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “So, are we still studying?”
He smiled. “Yes, but first, I’m starving. So, I say we head out and grab a bite to eat. Then, we can either go to the library or back to your place to study. I’d have you at my place, but I don’t want to subject you to the joys of my father outside of business hours.”
“I’m perfectly okay with you coming to my place.” But a coy, seductive smile crossed her lips. “I’m just concerned we’d get distracted.” She dropped her eyes meaningfully and blushed.
Tyler chuckled. “This is true. But I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.”
“Then let’s do it.”
* * *
The following morning, Valerie sat, somewhat uncomfortably, at her desk, waiting anxiously to see Tyler’s face. He’d spent the night again, and while they’d fallen asleep earlier, they’d still filled their evening with incredible sex. She was sore and tired, but she was quite satisfied. At the same time, she unfortunately felt herself getting emotionally attached; something she knew would never get her anywhere.
When the elevator dinged, she looked up hopefully, her eyes lighting up when Tyler stepped out, only to darken when his cousins followed behind him. Tyler gave her a knowing smile, and she returned it, watching him pass by, Aaron and Sean right on his heels. As they crossed in front of her, Aaron eyed her from head to toe, a mocking smile etched tightly on his face. Falling back, just out of earshot, he lifted his chin to her, the words tumbling out like razors.
“When you’re done pleasuring my cousin, perhaps I can have a turn.”
Rage swirled and tore at Valerie’s chest, and she shot fire from her eyes as she met his gaze. “You’re digusting,” she replied.
Forcing the anger down, she turned away from him and went back to what she was doing, completely ignoring him. She could see the displeasure at her rebuff out of the corner of her eye, and it greatly satisfied her.
Of course, she wouldn’t mention it to Tyler, for fear he’d kill the man. Whether or not he had feelings for her, Tyler was a protective man, and she had no doubts that he would go after Aaron without a second thought. Sighing, she combed her fingers through her thick hair, a little unnerved despite her show of confidence, and tried to concentrate on her work.
She thought about seeing if Tyler wanted to go for coffee, but he was on the phone in his office – she could hear his side of the conversation and it sounded intense – so she could wait.
When Tyler finally hung up the phone, unsatisfied at how that call had gone, he peered out his office, the sight of Valerie alone making him feel better, more relaxed. But something was wrong, in her posture, and in the strained look he saw from her profile on her face. He moved quickly to her and leaned down to speak low in her ear. “Is something wrong?”
She looked up at him and gave him a small, forced smile. “No, not really. I’m just having a hard time concentrating.”
Relieved, he nodded. “Good, let’s get out of here for a bit.”
Almost worried about the two of them being seen together, she started to refuse, then decided she didn’t care and followed him out.
* * *
The rest of the day passed by slowing and Valerie found herself counting the minutes until she would be free from the tension in the office. Restless, and needing to stretch her legs, she turned the screensaver on and made her way down to the coffee machine. Passing by the elder Princeton’s office, she couldn’t help but overhear him ranting loudly to someone. Not meaning to eavesdrop, but unable to contain her curiosity, she stopped to listen for a moment.
“He’s rebelling, and I can guarantee he’s just trying to piss me off by screwing that chubby piece of trash in this office. I have half a mind to fire her, just to get her away from him, but she’s brilliant and costs me practically nothing.” There was a pause. “No, he hasn’t. But if he uses this plump little tart and marries her, just to get the damn trust fund, I’m writing him out of my will, and I’ll make sure he can’t get a partnership at any firm in the state, no matter how well he scores on his bar.”
Valerie had heard enough, and the sick feeling in her stomach nearly caused her to vomit as she hurried away from the office door, wanting to be as far away from there as possible. She rushed outside and down the street, telling herself not to get too worked up, not to cry. She had no reason to believe Tyler had any real feelings for her anyway. Why should she be upset about what his father, some old rich creep, thought of her?
Of course, she knew the answer. She’d gotten her hopes up that there was more between them than just great sex. Now, reality set in. She’d had a good time, and so had he. But it hadn’t meant anything. Either she was part of some rebellion against his father, or she was an easy mark to make sure he qualified for the money in his trust fund. No matter what it was, she was nothing more than a passing fling and as the truth hit her like a ton of bricks to the chest, she struggled to breathe.
It all made sense now. In fact, it was the common sense she’d refused to acknowledge when they first met. Her gut instinct had told her that something wasn’t right, that Tyler was too good to be true. If she’d just listened to her mind instead of her heart, she wouldn’t be hurting right now. And she wouldn’t be making a fool of herself.
Finding strength in her anger, she lifted her head and turned to go back to the office, intent on giving her notice. She was qualified enough and she certainly deserved to be part of a team that respected her and treated her better than the hateful way Tyler’s family did. And Tyler – he would never persuade her to give into his pretend desires ever again, that she was sure of. With resolve, she spun on her heels and headed for the office complex. She was done playing games.
* * *
“Where’s Valerie?” Tyler demanded as he stormed into his father’s office. He’d been waiting to see her for over an hour, but it looked like she might not have come back from lunch. He could only assume that his father had something to do with her absence.
The older man frowned. “What are you talking about, Tyler? You come storming into my office, and it almost sounds like you’re accusing me of something.” He sounded so blasé that Tyler definitely didn’t buy it.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you have no right to get rid of a hard working employee just so I don’t break your stodgy old rules. So, I suggest you get her back, or you’ll lose me, too. I’ll walk out that door right now and never come back.”
His father chuckled. “And what about the trust fund?” He stood and came out from behind the desk, crossing his arms menacingly. “When you don’t have a job, or the means to support your prissy little lifestyle? What are you going to do with yourself? You don’t know how to survive without my silver spoon in your mouth, son.”
Tyler clenched his fists at his side. He wanted nothing more than to deck his own father right now, to break that nose he knew had cost the old man a fortune.
“Tell me what you did, Dad.” His voice was a low, threatening growl.
With a disgusted expression, he waved Tyler off and sat back down. “I didn’t do anything except tell her I was sorry to see her leave and send her with a small severance check when she came in here and gave her notice. So, son, perhaps the question to ask is, what did you do?”
Though he didn’t want to believe it, his father wouldn’t lie at this point. He wanted to hurt Tyler, so he would’ve happily admitted if he’d fired Valerie, or if he’d said something to her that made her quit. Confused, Tyler could only imagine what may have happened to make her want to leave so quickly without saying goodbye.
He stormed back up the stairs, ignoring the elevator and taking the steps two at a time, and grabbed his things. How likely was it that one of his cousins had finally crossed the line so far that they’d run her off? He hurried back to the parking garage, sliding into his car. Within seconds he was peeling out of the parking lot, heading straight for Valerie’s house. He tried calling her, but he only got her voicemail. Frustrated, he left a message.
“Valerie, it’s me. Listen, I don’t know what happened, but I want to talk to you. And if it’s something my cousins said or did, or something my father said, I’ll take care of it. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. I’m on my way to your place, hopefully you’re there.”
He hung up and cursed, weaving through the streets with careless abandoned. His only thought was getting to Valerie as quickly as he could.
* * *
Hanging up the phone, Valerie breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been afraid she’d made a mistake walking out on her job, even if she needed to get away. She didn’t know how long it would take to find another one, and while the senior Princeton had cut her a decent check that would get her through a couple of weeks, she knew she needed to find something quickly before she fell further behind.
She’d gone back through her email as soon as she’d gotten home and found a request she’d received around the time she’d started working for Princeton from a criminal law firm that was almost as big and well known as they were. At the time, they hadn’t been offering a paying internship, and she’d turned it down.
But she’d called one of the girls in her class who had taken up an internship with them to ask about the firm, and they were hiring for a decent salary. So, she’d contacted them directly and they’d been thrilled and relieved to discover that the position was still available. She’d be starting on Monday.