Chapter 8

Chapter 8

‘Mum, can I go to the beach with Jake? Can I? Can I?’

Cece gave her son a long look. She narrowed her eyes as she glanced between Mason.

The boy was dancing on his feet, as was his companion, both grinning so sweetly at her.

‘I suppose I can allow it. Only because you did all your chores today and took out the trash without me asking.’

The boys gave a collective cheer and cartwheeled in tandem on the green lawns of Falcon House.

She gave them a fake side eye, half smiling at their antics.

‘Only on one condition. You stay within the flags and in the shallows. You start surf training next week, Mace, so no tricks until you’ve got the basics.’

‘I’ll take care of him,’ Jake called out mid-tumble.

The two boys had been playing together most days after school. Also, on the weekends, when Jake came into Falcon House with his dad.

So far, it had been incident-free.

Warmed by Jake’s easy nature, Cece welcomed the natural friendship growing between both boys.

What was not developing was any sign of thawing between Jake’s father and herself, to her daily consternation.

Because she still had no clue why Ash couldn’t stand the sight of her.

She snapped back to the present. ‘Mace, if you need me, call me.’

He nodded, clutching at the smartwatch on his wrist. Enabled to make calls, it was water and kid-resistant.

At least that’s what she hoped, having shelled out more than she’d expected for it.

Still, it was a lifesaver when it came to reaching Mason these days on his wanderlust jaunts with Jake.

The boys dashed through the gum trees to the golden sands beyond Falcon House.

Waving goodbye to them, she walked through the corridors at Falcon House, heading for the office.

Although it was her day off, she intended to review the edits to the booking platform Falcon House intended to use for weddings.

The web designers’ plans needed vetting and approval first thing on Monday.

She settled behind her desk and soon lost herself in copy layouts and wireframes.

Outside, the sun shone with the white-hot brilliance of a summer’s afternoon, sharp and crisp. The day brought a hint of strawberries, vanilla ice cream, fruit and fresh-cut grass to mind.

She gazed out of the office windows with a sigh. Wishing she was lying on the shore watching Mace and Jake play in the warm blue sea.

But wishes were for fishes.She’d be a fool if she didn’t finish her work.

A while later, she looked up, rubbed her eyes and shut off her laptop.

Rising to her feet, she tossed with the idea of a coffee from the Eatery’s baristas. Or whether to keep to her water bottle and its dwindling rations.

She was so lost in her musing that as she stepped out into the corridor, she slammed, hard, into another body.

It was forceful and solid, and because they had been moving at a clip, the wind got knocked out of her.

Gasping for air, she flinched as two hands banded around her—muscled, thick arms.

Her head snapped back, and their eyes met in a clash of fever and ire.

She smelt him: a musk so individual she’d pick him out sight unseen. It was a heady scent of mint, forest and potent spice.

It hit her so hard that her knees weakened, and she sagged against him.

‘What in the hell?’

His face was tight with low-key suppressed emotion, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth a slash of disapproval.

She reacted with a snarl as her mind wheeled. ‘You slammed into me.’

‘You weren’t looking, woman.’

Pushing off against his chest, she stepped back, her anger rising. He let her go, crossed his arms and served her that cold gaze he’d mastered so well.

Her temper took over, and she could hear her inner voice telling her to stop. It was no use. Her train of fury had long left the station.

Turning on him, she poked a finger in his muscled torso.

Her nail snagged on a bare white cotton tee, but she carried on, not caring. ‘You know what, Ash Falconer. I’m sick of you treating me like shit. Of acting like I’m a stain on your clean, white, pristine, controlled world. You’d best tell me what the fuck I’ve ever done to deserve your shitty attitude or -.’

She paused, heaving, having not thought further than that.

‘Or what?’ He drawled the words, taking his time to enunciate each syllable. Playing, toying with her. His jade eyes glittered with an emotion she couldn’t quite fathom.

She leaned in. ‘Men like you fucking annoy me.’

He cocked a brow. ‘Is that right? What have men like me done to women like you? What did we wreck in you?’

He emphasised certain words, drawing them out, vexing her even more.

As he spoke, he lowered his head. Until he was so close, she could feel his breath on her lips.

She snapped. ‘You’re fucking arrogant, twisted and full of your hot air. You act like your God’s Gift. Hell-bent on making women who work for you always feel on edge. Because we can never be sure whether you’re about to break out in a rage or undermine us with your cold toxicity.’

Ash’s brows flew up his temple. ‘It’s not me you’re angry about then, sweetheart. Sounds like some other bloke used or abused you. Just because I don’t fold at your cute, sweet self doesn’t mean I don’t respect you. It’s just that I’m not your everyday bubbly personality. That’s your domain.’

She sucked in air, wanting to choke him with her bare hands. ‘Fuck you.’

He smirked. ‘Maybe I should fuck you, as you’ve suggested. So hard you’ll forget the fools in your past who’ve fallen for your fun and bubbly wiles.’

Her body jolted, giving him a mortified glare. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’

His face and voice dipped even lower, his eyes glinting with a wildness that told he, too, was losing control. ‘Try me. I’d be delighted to finish what we started the other night.’

He was so close and driving her insane that her vision clouded.

At that moment, unthinking, she nabbed his face in her hands and kissed him.

She yanked him down and slammed her body against his. Their lips met in a flash of fire. His mouth a sudden inferno on hers, their teeth clashing, their tongues hot and fierce.

With a growl, he pulled her closer, his mouth hot, wet and hard. He bit her lip, and she gasped. Tingling burst through her, the heat radiating out to her limbs, her body responding to him, her nipples tightening, her pussy throbbing.

His hands were on her ass, pulling her closer, and she could feel the scald of his cock against her. Her body shuddered with need, and she slid her tongue into his mouth, winding her arms around him and pulling him closer.

He let out a low groan and tensed, his hands gripping her ass tighter as his shaft swelled against her tummy. She moaned into his mouth as he nipped and sucked at her.

He pulled her a few steps down the corridor and into his office, their lips still locked together. He kicked the door shut behind them and pulled Cece through the space.

She noted little of where they were and more of his handsome, chiselled jaw and jade intensity.

As her hands stroked the length of his throbbing cock under his shorts, he took her face and looked into her eyes.

‘Are you sure about this? I don’t want to hear about non-consent later.’

She thought for a second and firmed up the crazy decision in her head. It was too late anyway. Her body was so far gone for him.

All she wanted at that moment were his hands on her. His lips on hers. His tongue stroking her own. Him inside her.

She pulled him to another searing kiss, but he paused, his breath heating her face. ‘You’re sure you want this, woman?’ he growled, seeking confirmation.

She nodded.

‘Fine. Not a word. We do this my way.’

‘Yes.’

And that was it. With a groan, he yanked her to him.

His mouth was hungry and demanding, his hands and lips on her everywhere. She tore off his t-shirt, and he did the same to her running pants, and they fell to the floor.

She dragged off his shorts, and now naked and without breaking their kiss, he picked her up.

His arms bulged as he set her on the couch in his office.

She fell into the deep-backed sofa covered in lush velvet. The coolness of the material under her was a harsh contrast to his incandescence.

He stood before her, his massive shoulders heaving, the light from the desk lamp shining on his hard, muscled body.

She took in his magnificence. Staring at the elaborate tattoo of a snake in black and grey ink. It wove across his shoulder blades, chest, and lower to his slim hips, those muscled thighs sprinkled with dark hair and the hint of his sculpted sun-kissed ass.

Then her eyes fell on his jutting, throbbing length.

He smirked as he saw the adoration in her eyes, then moved to her.

First, he pressed his lips to her temple, then her nape and shoulder. ‘Your freckles drive me insane,’ he whispered.

She shivered with feeling as he almost ripped off her shirt and bra and sucked one pink-tipped breast into his mouth.

Arching up, she pushed her tits deeper into his mouth. His hand worked its way down to her waist. Her body shuddered as his fingers yanked aside lace, and one finger slid into her.

Then, a second finger.

She curled her fingers around each of his arms, and he inserted a third and pumped it into her.

She wanted to scream. At the insane sensation, the sheer intensity of the pleasure.

He lifted away from her tits. His fingers pumped. She bit her lip and dug her nails into the sofa’s fabric.

He kissed her again, and she opened her mouth to him. His tongue tangled with hers while he ripped down her underwear and parted her knees.

He looked at her as he moved up her body. He stopped at her ink just under her tits. He traced the edges of the rising phoenix, and with so much tenderness, Cece’s eyes teared up.

‘You’re a dream, babe.’

Those words said with such rasped feeling, were her undoing, and all inhibitions disappeared.

He switched it up, tracing his fingers lower across her soft tummy. Over her c-section scar, and lower still, towards the sensitive flesh on her thighs, his finger swirling around her ass.

She convulsed as red-hot passion shot through her. She barely registered as he opened a drawer in his desk. Pulling out a condom, which he rolled over himself.

God, she was dripping wet just seeing him sheathe himself.

His thick thighs rippled as he balanced himself above her.

He leaned closer, the tip of his shaft pressing against her cleft. Cece growled as he eased the head of his cock into her, taking his time.

She welcomed the stretch and slight discomfort, but she was so ready he slid right inside.

She swung her legs back and groaned, loving how he filled her, how his length and breadth sent hot jolts through her.

He held still, his hips pressed to hers, his eyes locked on hers. The look in them, the intensity, sent a shudder racing through her.

He withdrew out of her, and she moaned in protest. He took her wrists in his hands. He pinned her to the couch with one quick move, her arms above her head.

He rammed inside her again, and she gasped, her body tingling.

When he pumped into her, she gripped his arms, feeling his heavy, muscled strength. He moved her legs up so her ankles rested on his shoulders. She clamped her legs around him, her pussy shuddering at the feeling of his thrusts.

He shoved back into her, his lips lashing and sucking her nipple as he thrust into her, deep and hard.

Unable to handle the pleasure, she dragged his head away from her breast and kissed him. He obliged for a moment before moving back to her tits, licking and sucking and biting each nipple.

With no warning, he pulled out of her, pushing her knees further apart, and dropped his mouth to her clit. Her head fell back as his tongue flicked into her, and she lost it, so amped up by his raw sensuality.

His fingers stroked her cunt, and she grabbed his head. Panting and bucking as he licked and lashed over her sensitive folds.

With a snarl, he rose to his knees and was back inside her. Plunging into her, rocking her hips against him.

Sucking her breast, nibbling her neck, kissing her with such intensity she almost passed out.

Moving in and out of her. Rocking her into oblivion.

The pressure building inside her was a tight knot that begged for release. Her back arched, her hands in his hair, biting her lip so hard to prevent her from screaming the office down.

He drove into her, his hips hard against hers, and sensation exploded inside her as he plunged into her again.

The relief was so intense that she sobbed, every muscle in her body aching, her sex throbbing as he thrust into her over and over, incessant with need.

His mouth on her breast and his fingers digging into her skin, he grunted and rushed into her, his cock so hard inside her.

The scorch of his cum spilling into his protective hood made her clench, and she called out, moaning his name as she trembled through her orgasm.

Hands down, the best she’d ever had.

He continued slicking in and out of her before he dropped to his elbows on either side of her on the sofa. His forehead rested on hers, his breathing wild.

The heady mix of sweat and the scent of sex mingled on his skin filled her senses. He brushed a strand of hair off her face, the gentle touch unexpected.

‘You okay?’

She nodded, barely able to whisper. ‘Yeah.’

‘Also, with what just happened?’

‘I can confirm two consenting adults are present, Judge Falconer.’

His lips twitched. ‘Good. I’d hate to be accused of taking advantage of you.’

His tone was playful, and yet she stiffened at his words.

‘Funny. Are you OK with fraternising with the staff?’

His chest rumbled. ‘There’s a policy about that. Not sure I’ve read the latest version, but I think I’m in violation.’

She shared his amusement as they lay there for a long minute, his arms walling her in, staring into each other’s eyes.

Cece couldn’t believe what she’d just done. And with whom she’d done it. She wondered if this would change anything between them.

But she was a big girl.

She hadn’t had sex with him so that he could change his attitude toward her. She’d been one hundred per cent sure of what she was doing, which was scratching an itch.

Her dilemma was that Ash Falconer was a master at scratching it well.

She wasn’t a just-for-kicks kind of woman; all power to those who were. She was traditional in many ways and had always wished for a committed relationship.

Which was why how she was with Ash was unnerving her.

Regardless, she’d behaved like a wanton with her boss, which had some ramifications. Just what exactly she had no idea yet and, at that moment, decided to let go and let flow.

Mind made up, she reached behind his head and tangled her fingers in his hair.

He raised a brow.

She leaned up and gave him the gentlest kiss.

He hissed against her lips and gave back some of that sweet.

Cece’s heart thumped as they shared the most intimate of embraces. It was scary, it was poignant, and it was beauty.

With no warning, he reared up, shot her a frown and moved suddenly, out and away from her. She groaned as his body left hers, stifling the sound with one hand.

She stood and pulled on her scattered clothes, only meeting his eyes once she finished dressing. He’d since moved to his chair, where he was pulling on his tee and shorts.

She took a deep breath and turned to face him, eyes meeting his. They stared at each other for a long moment.

‘Why d’you hate me so much?’

Hands crossed over his wide chest, he mulled her words for a beat. One that stretched so that she thought he hadn’t heard her.

She was about to ask again when he murmured. ‘Hate’s a strong term.’

‘Dislike then.’

His eyes scoured her. His lean fingers traced his lips as if he remembered how deep they’d been inside her. ‘You’re complex.’

She let out a breath. ‘Like that’s a surprise to you. I am complicated. I’m a single mum without a trust fund and a family with issues. I’ve had to survive some of the nastiest experiences. Baffling is my default setting. However, I’m a big girl. I can deal. Can you?’

He bit his lip. ‘I don’t like complex. With everything I have on my plate, I don’t need it.’

She thought about it and shrugged. ‘I don’t believe you for a minute,’ she exclaimed, ‘because you’re ace at keeping complex secrets.’

Those jade eyes narrowed, and his entire body froze. For a moment, she glimpsed a lethal energy burst from him that knocked the air out of her. He wasn’t a man to be toyed with.

‘What the fuck? What secrets?’

She raised her hands to indicate her innocence. ‘Before you blow your top, I say it as I see it. Which is that I know you’re keeping something from me.’

His expression shuttered into a mask. ‘OK, Einstein. What secret would that be?’

‘No clue. All I know is that you’re a tight-lipped man who keeps his cards close. I don’t trust you.’

He huffed. ‘Do we need trust between us?’

‘Doesn’t count. I can’t demand trust from you. I’m not your woman.’

He sat back up, his eyes raking over the body he’d just ravished. ‘No. You certainly are not.’

This got Cece’s hackles up again. ‘You enjoyed saying that.’

He leaned back in his chair, feigning thoughtfulness. ‘Yes. I did.’

She glared at him, and he smiled, the warmth not quite reaching those cold jade eyes.

‘You’re a dick.’ She turned on her heel and went to storm out of the room.

In seconds, he was in front of her.

His arms walled her in as she stood at the half-open door, and he glanced down at her. His body heat and pheromones enveloped her, and she fought the urge to fold back into his arms again.

He spoke, his crackled baritone sending sparks through her. ‘I need to figure out complex. Until then, you’re in the uncertain bin. That said, I will endeavour to treat you better, Miss Mirren.’

He scanned her with a dark and watchful gaze, his eyes hooded, his lips parted.

He was still coming down from their lovemaking, and his chest rose and fell, the motion hypnotic.

‘Don’t bother. I prefer the Arctic bear form of you. It’s less confusing than all of this.’

Cece waved a hand around him to make her point.

She tried to brush past him, and he caught her arm in a gentle hold, stopping her in her tracks. Her breath hitched as she turned to face him, their bodies inches apart, their eyes locked.

His eyes were dark and glistening like a storm brewing inside them. ‘Thing is, babe, I could come to like complex and confusing.’

Still, she spotted the wary shadows in his eyes and sighed. ‘Yet you have misgivings.’

‘I won’t lie. I do.’

‘So hang tight in your world of confusion. I’m done with this.’

Cece pulled her arm out of his hold, and he let her.

She stalked out of the room. Her bag clutched to her front like a shield against the emotions that he was throwing at her.

‘Cece.’

She turned around at the sound of him rasping her name in his distinct reverb. ‘We’re not done. Not by a long shot.’

She cursed and turned, fleeing away from him. Legs shaky from the heart-stopping, body-melting orgasm he’d given her.

Heart ripping. Mind blown.

She tamped down the emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

She did not ever want to feel how she’d felt in his arms again. Not because it was wrong, but how right it freakin’ was. Worse still, Ash Falconer was not her portion.

Racing towards the Eatery, she turned the corner that would take her out of Falcon House. As she looked back, she barrelled into another body.

Not again.

‘Cece?’

Rich.

It’d been some considerable time after their non-date. Since then, they’d hardly spoken, and any conversation had been relegated to awkward, stiff discourse.

Right now, flushed, overwhelmed and sex funky, she couldn’t deal with him.

So she raised a hand and walked past him, giving a polite smile in the face of his incredulity. ‘Good to see you, Rich. I’m so sorry to have crashed into you, but I’ve got to run. Mace is somewhere outside, and I must get to him.’

She felt the burly chef looking after her, his expression bereft and a tad surly.

Darting away, she moved towards the sands and safer, calmer waters.

Damn her to hell.

Damn her beauty, her smile, her sass.

Damn, how she’d moved under him and moaned his name without knowing she’d done so.

How she tasted, how her skin under his was like satin, how she felt like she belonged in his arms. How she’d broken his walls down with that last kiss.

He knew instinctively he shouldn’t have gone there with her.

He shouldn’t have made love to her nor creamed with such intensity as she imploded around him in the best release he’d ever had.

Ash spent the next few minutes kicking himself for his moment of weakness. He’d also violated one of his rules. Never to fraternise with his staff.

But she’d been so sassy, so in his face, that he’d wanted to own her.

Instead, she’d owned him and called him out for his secrets. Despite all that, he was overcome with a rush of need for more from her.

Why and how was she wrecking him? How dare she undo him before he had time to wreck everything she stood for?

A shout interrupted his brooding.

‘Dad?’

His son burst into the room, eyes shining.

‘Had a blast today. Mace and I played beach soccer with some of the other kids. We were on the same team together, and we won.’

Ash forced himself to listen and be present. ‘Sounds awesome, buddy. Where’s Mace now?’

Jake’s face fell for a second. ‘His mum took him home. He had to get his homework done.’

‘How was she?’ Ash asked, flinching with guilt at using his son as a source of information.

‘She’s great, Dad. Always happy and smiling. Mace says she’s a cool mum. We should hang out with them more often.’

There was a tinge of wistfulness in his son’s voice, which Ash caught. ‘Hey,’ he said, trying to deflect the sadness because, for years now, Jake yearned for a mother who was present and engaged.

He’d be damned if Cece Mirren was on his son’s desired lineup. ‘Why don’t we go into town? Grab some takeaway and see that movie you’ve been asking me to for ages.’

Jake groaned. ‘Which one, Dad? They’ve been many.’

‘Your pick.’

The boy fist-pumped the air. ‘Yes! Spiderman and the Multiverse.’

Ash smiled. ‘I’ll go with your choice, buddy.’

‘Woot! Let’s roll.’

Ash followed his son out into the evening, his mind still caught up by Cece.

His body still humming with the sensation of being thoroughly sated, and his heart roiling with an emotion he couldn’t quite explain.