Chapter Four

River Thomas

I know great sex can have you feeling relaxed. What I didn’t know was that a self-inflicted, semi-assisted orgasm would do the job just as well. I wake up refreshed after sleeping like the dead. Each night I talk to Boss9090 on the phone. We talk about regular mundane things like our favorite meals or movies. But before we end the call, he always tells me dirty fantasies he wants to play out with me, and I can’t wait for tomorrow and our official date.

Lying in bed as the morning sun peeks through the light blue curtains, I think of everything that was said and done last night. A smile spreads across my face with the memories and I know I won’t be disappointed in getting physical with him. How could I?

With a smile on my face, I start to get ready for the day ahead. The only thing dampening my mood is my new boss and the foul mood I am sure to find him in once I reach the office. Though, his sullenness can only affect me if I allow it, so he can go suck a lemon.

I have been working as his assistant for four days and except for the list he handed me on my second day, he seems to have locked himself in his office.

The tasks he wanted me to accomplish were menial at best, and it seemed he was testing me to make sure I could do my damn job. Well, he can kiss my ass. I finished his list the first day I had it.

I haven’t even seen him the entire week, except yesterday. The moment I arrived at the office he was waiting beside my desk to chew me out for finally decorating our floor for Christmas. He wanted maintenance to take the decorations down but once he was informed I paid for them out of my own pocket, all I received was a grunt and a glare. I took that to mean I could leave them up.

Today, nothin g— and I mean nothin g— is going to ruin my good mood.

I take my time in the shower, shaving my legs and pampering myself a little. After all, I deserve to feel good about myself. I take my time choosing my underwear, a bright, fuchsia-colored set with lots of lace. Any woman can look good but it’s not as easy to feel good. I learned a long time ago that I can wear anything I want as long as I choose the right underwear. Starting with a good base is a great way to feel confident and sexy all day long. It’s like putting on armor.

I grab my handbag and keys but run into a solid wall of muscle as I leave the apartment. Before I can stumble, I am caught by large hands. Looking up, I find the one person that might have the power to fuck up this beautiful morning.

“Not today,” I say as I attempt to extract myself from Kevin’s grasp.

“River, babe, don’t be this way,” he says.

“Kevin…” I breathe deeply through my nose before speaking. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you. Much less today. And I need to get to work.”

He shoves me back into the apartment and this time I do end up on my ass. It’s been less than a week since I last saw him, but he looks disheveled and tired.

“We are going to work this out,” he grumbles as he closes and locks the door. “I don’t give a shit about your job or anything else. Neither of us is leaving until this is fixed.”

Slowly I rise from the spot where I fell and straighten my clothes. “This is my home, and you aren’t welcome in it anymore.”

Kevin turns to me, and I know I said the wrong thing. His eyes are black with the finest ring of gold as his animal tries to force his way out. This man is holding on by a very thin thread and I would be wise not to push him.

“I don’t want to fight,” I say instead as I gingerly try to move away from him. Perhaps I can get behind the sofa? Just put something between us.

“I’m not here to fight. I’m here to fix this mess,” Kevin says as he prowls closer to me.

Right now, I need to make a choice. I can either play the simpering idiot and take him back out of fear, or I can stand my ground and hope he doesn’t kill me. But it isn’t really a decision, right? My pride won’t let me take the safe route, so I put my foot down.

“There is nothing to fix, Kevin. We both know you don’t love me, I’m just a means to an end for you.”

“That’s not true!” he roars. “I love you.”

“You don’t. You love the idea of me and what I can offer you.” I sigh. “Hell, just the other night you made it clear that you couldn’t even stand the sight of me.”

He balks at my words. “I was drunk. You know I didn’t mean a damn word I said.”

“That’s the problem, though. You did mean it, and we both know it.”

“Babe,” he starts but I cut him off.

“It’s over,” I say slowly and clearly. “There is nothing you can say or do that will change that.”

My phone chooses that moment to chirp from inside my discarded bag and Kevin leans down to grab it. I don’t know what it is he sees but his features change from curiosity to dismay to all-out rage.

“Now I understand,” he says with a calm, flat voice that has fear skittering through my senses. “This isn’t something I can fix because I’m not the problem.”

He tosses my phone on the couch as he continues to move closer to me. There isn’t anywhere I can flee to, nowhere I can hide. I see the madness in his eyes. And even though I never would have believed Kevin capable of hurting me before today, I know he is past the point of no return.

Before I can try to dodge him, he wraps a big meaty hand around my throat and shoves me against the wall so hard I hear frames falling to the floor. The sound of glass shattering is loud in the silence of my apartment.

I can feel my airway being constricted as the tips of his elongated nails break the skin. If I’m lucky he will simply rip my throat out and be done with it.

“You kicked me out so you could fuck some other asshole?” he asks lowly.

When I don’t respond, because I can’t, he lifts me clear off the floor before slamming me against the wall again. Stars dance across my vision. I try clawing at his hand and kicking at his legs, but nothing is helping. He knows I can’t shift when he has me gripped like this.

“When I’m done with you, no other man will ever want you.”

“I would put her down,” I hear a deep voice say from somewhere far away.

Kevin tightens his grip and the darkness seeps in around the edges. My blood is pounding in my skull, and my survival instincts are screaming at me to do something. Anything.

“Who the fuck are you?” Kevin asks, his voice coated in venom.

“That doesn’t concern you. What does concern you is the fact that I have this all recorded and the police are on the way.”

I know that voice. Where do I know that voice from? My muddled mind is trying to piece together things that don’t matter right now. Darkness is consuming me, and I hear Kevin scream something at the stranger I may or may not know but I can’t figure out the words.

It’s too late. The darkness has me.

****

Carter Lawson

I know I am a hypocrite. I’m at work and in my office every morning at seven. There are no exceptions. Yes, my staff work far fewer hours than I do, but this is my business and I know what I am capable of and how far to push myself.

But today is different. My drive is nonexistent. And even though I am in my office, seated behind my desk, I am sure as shit not working. No. Instead, I have the photos my seductive ligress sent the past four days pulled up on my phone. My cock is rock hard behind my slacks, and I want nothing more than to pull down my zipper and let it free.

But I am still somewhat of a professional and that will have to wait. Instead, I pull up the short video I made the first night and send it to her. Our date is tomorrow, and I want her to feel the same way I do. I need her to be as lost to this lust as I am.

In all my years I have never felt this way. The clawing need to get her here beside me, beneath me, is all I can think about. But I need to put her out of my mind until I can talk to her again tonight and focus on the task at han d— my new assistant.

I pull up the list of tasks I wanted her to perform this week and I know she has already completed it. She really is a very efficient employee and damn good at her job. If I didn’t want to lay her across my table and fuck her until she cried, I would be happy to keep her. As it stands, I have avoided her since Tuesday.

There was an incident yesterday that forced me into her presence, but I didn’t talk to her directly and I certainly didn’t touch her.

She decorated the entire floor with Christmas crap. I don’t celebrate the holiday. I don’t have family to spend it with and it has just become another reason for the corporate companies to make money off stupid people. I do decorate the rest of the building for my staff. But my floor has always remained untouched. Until River. She purchased the decorations with her own money, and I just couldn’t bring myself to have them taken down. So, I let her be.

Pulling up my calendar I make sure everything is covered so I don’t need to speak to her. I will find her another position in the company, somewhere away from me.

But when I scan over my appointments for the day, I realize the massive mistake I have made. With the switch between assistants, avoiding the voluptuous girl that sits outside my office, and my general irritation at the world around me these past few weeks, I have completely forgotten about the meeting I have with Dillon Trask this morning. I need to have River with me to take notes. The problem is, if I wait for her to arrive at nine, as I specified, we will definitely be late for the meeting. I can’t afford to lose this client because of something as ridiculous as a new assistant.

Grabbing my phone, I call Seline in Human Resources as I stride toward the elevator.

“I need the address for Miss River Thomas,” I command the moment she answers the phone.

“As your head of Human Resources,” Seline starts but I cut her off.

“I don’t want to bother the woman at home. But I did neglect to mention that we had an early meeting with Dillon Trask this morning on the other side of town.” I hate that I have to admit any kind of weakness. “I need to pick her up so we can be on time.”

“That makes sense,” she says calmly, and I hear the rattle of her keyboard as she types in the background. “Thirteen Vista Terrace, apartment nine. That is what she has on record with us. But she has only been employed here for a couple of weeks so it should be correct.”

“Thank you,” I reply tersely as I slide into the driver seat of my sleek, black Jaguar.

I know the area well and those apartments aren’t cheap. If she only started working at Titan Industries recently, she isn’t paying it with her salary. She must be living with a boyfriend or husband. Hopefully, it won’t be someone that will cause a problem when I show up there unannounced and unexpected.

Pulling up beside the building I rush inside. There isn’t much time to spare, and I hope I catch her before she leaves. I should have asked for her contact number. As I come up the stairs, I see an older woman wearing what I would categorically classify as the ugliest damn Christmas sweater I have ever seen. It’s bright red with a green tree in the middle. An elf is on the edge, and it’s covered in tinsel. Yes, the actual decoration is stuck onto it.

“Please help!” she implores, and I hasten to follow her. “My friend is in there and her ex-boyfriend is hurting her.”

“Are you sure?” I ask even though every instinct I have is screaming at me to do something. Now.

“Yes, yes,” the older woman frets. “She kicked him out, but he came back and there was screaming and glass falling.” A tear trickles over her cheek and my cold heart feels a sharp pain at the sight.

“Wait over there,” I nod to the open door of what I am assuming is her apartment.

She nods and scurries away as I turn the handle on the door. It’s locked but I don’t knock, I just ram it with my shoulder, and it flies open.

The sight that greets me has every predatory, possessive, and protective instinct I have rising to the forefront like a damn tsunami. A mountain of a man with long dark hair has River pressed against the wall. Shattered picture frames and glass litter the floor by their feet. River’s eyes are barely open, and her lips have a blue tinge to them due to the lack of oxygen.

“When I’m done with you, no other man will ever want you,” I hear the man say to her.

“I would put her down,” I say trying my damndest to keep my tiger at bay.

I don’t want to scare the old woman to death when she sees a four-hundred-odd-pound Bengal tiger in the hall.

“Who the fuck are you?” the man asks angrily.

“That doesn’t concern you. What does concern you is the fact that I have this all recorded, and the police are on the way.”

I can hear the sirens in the distance and assume that one of the neighbors must have called them. The cell phone in my hand hasn’t recorded a damn thing but there is no need for him to be aware of that. I watch as River’s entire body goes limp. The man is screaming at me, but it all sounds like I am underwater. Stepping into the apartment I charge at the man. He wasn’t expecting me to do anything and isn’t prepared for when I throw him clear across the room. My tiger has pushed forward enough that I am more beast than man now.

Both me and my tiger want to attack this man and tear him limb from limb, but we also know we need to protect River at all costs. A strange calmness sweeps over me as my tiger and I are in sync for the first time in a long time. He has never agreed with my choices when it came to women, but he is all in right now.

Dropping to a crouch in front of River, I glare at the man as he gets to his feet. The sirens are getting closer and indecision wars on his features. Stay and try to finish the job, or run and live to fight another day.

He bolts from the apartment and I turn to River to assess what damage has been done. Some of her color has returned and she is breathing, although it sounds labored. I feel relief like I never have before as I gingerly lift her into my arms and carry her over to the couch.

As I lay her down, I see a cell phone. I reach out to move it, but the screen catches my attention, and my blood runs cold. Playing on a repeat loop is the video I sent to my ligress less than an hour ago. I watch in horror as my hand strokes my cock until I come all over my stomach and the video starts again.

River is my Ligress.

Fuck.