Read Online HIS (A Billionaire Romance Novel) by Kat Jackson - Free Book Online
Authors: Kat Jackson
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what we did? Together? Yesterday?” I was stumbling over my words again, just like I always did when someone—especially a man—started getting close to me. I was fine when they were at arm’s length. I could flirt with damn near anyone. But once things became real, that confidence was much harder to hold onto.
Tyler nodded. “Yes. Yesterday was the first time in months I’ve felt in control of things—safe. My father dying, Jackie’s ultimatum—it’s all brought my anxiety back to the surface. It’s crippled me, Valerie. That’s why I couldn’t come back to the company. The board would have seen right through me. They would’ve been on me like rabid dogs.”
“But Mitchell,” I said, careful not to give my words too much weight. “He’s concerned about you. All the execs are. Everybody’s in a panic. They want you to return.”
“They want our stock prices to stabilize,” he argued. “And then, once they do, they’ll go for my throat. All they’ll have to do is put it to a vote, and when those hands go up, I’ll be out.”
I frowned. “They can do that?”
“Of course. It’s the board’s way of saving their asses. They want a figurehead, someone who can put on a smile and do no wrong. If they can’t have that, they’ll vote me out at the first sign of weakness. On a ship, we’d call that mutiny. But in a company, we call it good business sense,” he added drily.
“What will you do?” I asked him. This was a mess, the outcome of which hinged solely on what Tyler did next. “You can’t hide away forever. You’ve got to do something.”
His eyes glimmered. “And that, Valerie, is where you come in.”
Talk about déjà vu. Mitchell had practically said those same words to me when he’d commissioned me to bring Tyler Cross back into the fold. I squirmed in my seat. Nothing good could come of this. I was sure of it.
But I did want to help Tyler, and so I held out hope that whatever he asked, it was something I could deliver.
“Being with you yesterday stirred something in me,” he began, his eyes searching my face, seeking out a reaction. Maybe he was wondering if it had stirred something in me, too. “When I dominate you, I feel like myself again. All that pain, the worry, that constant, gnawing anxiety fades away, and I am in control again. Complete control.”
He stood up and walked around the side of the table toward me. I let my hands fall to my lap as I looked up into his eyes. My heart was beating a tune against my ribs, one so loud I was sure Tyler could hear it. He didn’t smile as he stared at me, and I remembered the last time he’d looked at me this way. The surge of adrenaline that accompanied that memory made my vision hazy.
“You said you would submit, Valerie. You said you would give yourself to me, body and mind, if it would make my troubles go away. Is that true, Valerie? Or did you lie?”
I couldn’t answer. My throat simply wouldn’t produce the sounds. When he was like this, my desires betrayed me, rendering me powerless to resist the tide of his demands. A chill rolled over every vertebrae in my back as I nodded, wordless in the face of his dark, violent lust.
But his face wasn’t what I was looking at now. Instead, I stared at his cock throbbing to the rhythm of his heart. It was protruding through the fabric of his slacks, lengthening and swelling right before my eyes. I was eye-level with it—no, that wasn’t right. I was mouth-level.
“Do you see what you do to me?” he asked, his voice silken and smooth. “Look at what you do to my cock.”
It twitched and I sighed. My breath was thick and moist with lust. Almost as moist as my naked pussy was getting beneath my robe. Almost.
I reached for him. It was all I could think of to do. But Tyler grabbed my chin, stopping me in my tracks.
“No,” he said firmly. “What are you supposed to do?”
I stared into
Tyler nodded. “Yes. Yesterday was the first time in months I’ve felt in control of things—safe. My father dying, Jackie’s ultimatum—it’s all brought my anxiety back to the surface. It’s crippled me, Valerie. That’s why I couldn’t come back to the company. The board would have seen right through me. They would’ve been on me like rabid dogs.”
“But Mitchell,” I said, careful not to give my words too much weight. “He’s concerned about you. All the execs are. Everybody’s in a panic. They want you to return.”
“They want our stock prices to stabilize,” he argued. “And then, once they do, they’ll go for my throat. All they’ll have to do is put it to a vote, and when those hands go up, I’ll be out.”
I frowned. “They can do that?”
“Of course. It’s the board’s way of saving their asses. They want a figurehead, someone who can put on a smile and do no wrong. If they can’t have that, they’ll vote me out at the first sign of weakness. On a ship, we’d call that mutiny. But in a company, we call it good business sense,” he added drily.
“What will you do?” I asked him. This was a mess, the outcome of which hinged solely on what Tyler did next. “You can’t hide away forever. You’ve got to do something.”
His eyes glimmered. “And that, Valerie, is where you come in.”
Talk about déjà vu. Mitchell had practically said those same words to me when he’d commissioned me to bring Tyler Cross back into the fold. I squirmed in my seat. Nothing good could come of this. I was sure of it.
But I did want to help Tyler, and so I held out hope that whatever he asked, it was something I could deliver.
“Being with you yesterday stirred something in me,” he began, his eyes searching my face, seeking out a reaction. Maybe he was wondering if it had stirred something in me, too. “When I dominate you, I feel like myself again. All that pain, the worry, that constant, gnawing anxiety fades away, and I am in control again. Complete control.”
He stood up and walked around the side of the table toward me. I let my hands fall to my lap as I looked up into his eyes. My heart was beating a tune against my ribs, one so loud I was sure Tyler could hear it. He didn’t smile as he stared at me, and I remembered the last time he’d looked at me this way. The surge of adrenaline that accompanied that memory made my vision hazy.
“You said you would submit, Valerie. You said you would give yourself to me, body and mind, if it would make my troubles go away. Is that true, Valerie? Or did you lie?”
I couldn’t answer. My throat simply wouldn’t produce the sounds. When he was like this, my desires betrayed me, rendering me powerless to resist the tide of his demands. A chill rolled over every vertebrae in my back as I nodded, wordless in the face of his dark, violent lust.
But his face wasn’t what I was looking at now. Instead, I stared at his cock throbbing to the rhythm of his heart. It was protruding through the fabric of his slacks, lengthening and swelling right before my eyes. I was eye-level with it—no, that wasn’t right. I was mouth-level.
“Do you see what you do to me?” he asked, his voice silken and smooth. “Look at what you do to my cock.”
It twitched and I sighed. My breath was thick and moist with lust. Almost as moist as my naked pussy was getting beneath my robe. Almost.
I reached for him. It was all I could think of to do. But Tyler grabbed my chin, stopping me in my tracks.
“No,” he said firmly. “What are you supposed to do?”
I stared into
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