Twenty-Eight: Harlow

TWENTY-EIGHT

HARLOW

“ S o, you’d rather take out a loan at a crazy high interest rate than go back to a freakin’ billionaire and get the money he owes you?” Sasha glared at me via video chat.

“I’m not taking anything from that asshole ever again. He’s given me enough shit.”

“You know, you’ve done some incredibly stupid things since I’ve known you, but this takes the number one spot.”

“He fired me for taking her to a play, Sasha!” I still couldn’t believe it. “A play! You should’ve seen the way he peeled off the money. He made me feel like I was disposable.”

Her expression softened, and she sighed.

“Okay, I get it. Do you want me to pick it up for you, then?” she asked. “You can’t afford to miss a savings deposit for your bakery. That’s what really matters, remember?”

“I know.” I nodded. “Would you really do that for me?”

“Of course.” She smiled. “I’ll get it first thing tomorrow, and I’ll see you at a much-deserved happy hour.”

“I’ll be there early.” I ended the call.

Even though I didn’t owe him anything, it didn’t feel right to take my anger out on Olivia. I pulled out a gift I’d bought her and searched for an envelope.

As I was sealing it, my doorbell sounded.

“Coming!”

I opened the door and found myself face to face with Mr. Dawson.

My brain short-circuited at the sight of him in a black V-neck T-shirt and grey sweatpants.

“Good evening, Miss Hawthorne,” he said, his voice deep.

I didn’t answer.

“You left something behind at my house.”

He held out an envelope, but I didn’t move to take it.

“Do you have a minute?” he asked.

“I’m in the middle of job searching, so not really.” I paused. “Then again, is there a code word that billionaire overlords use in the descriptions, so I can make sure my next boss isn’t an asshole?”

He had the audacity to smile.

My heart instantly switched sides with my mind, beating hard and fast like this bastard hadn’t just fired all of us.

“I want to talk to you about what happened earlier,” he said, “so I need to come inside.”

“There’s nowhere for you to sit.”

“I’m asking you nicely.”

“No, you’re demanding nicely.” I crossed my arms. “I’m no longer your employee, which means you’re officially a stranger, so ask me and I’ll consider it.”

He stood on my steps without saying a word, waiting for me to fold.

“Okay, suit yourself.” I started to shut the door, but he wedged his foot between the frame and grabbed my hand, pulling me inside my own place.

“Like I was saying—” He shut the door. “We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“A lot of things.”

My tea kettle suddenly whistled from the stove.

“Hold that thought.” I rushed to the kitchen and turned off the flame.

When I returned to the living room, he was staring at the human-sized dog bed in the middle of my floor.

“I wasn’t kidding about not having a place for you to sit,” I said. “I’m hoping to buy furniture in a few weeks. Well, if my new job pays enough, anyway.”

“Understandable.” He set the envelope on top of a book stack. “I just wanted to make sure you received payment for the hours you’ve worked. I’d also like for you to come back to me.”

“To your kids , you mean.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Then pretend like it is.”

“I’ll pass.” I swallowed. “I don’t see why I should do that. If you don’t find a way to fire me again, you’ll continue treating me like shit.”

“I do not treat you like shit, Harlow.”

“You barely acknowledge me, only give orders, and whenever we’re in the same room, you go out of your way to avoid me.”

“You’re reading this situation completely wrong.”

“It’s not right.” I said, hating that my heart was still beating so hard in my chest. “I refuse to go back if certain things don’t change.”

“Okay.” He stepped closer. “Things like what?”

“Well, for one, I would like to take the kids outside of Manhattan at least three times a week.”

“I’ll need advance notice on the places you go, but I’ll tell security to plan for that.”

“I would also like to have free rein on the weekly food menus,” I said. “They all have different preferences, and I don’t like wasting food.”

“Okay.” He closed the gap between us. “What else?”

“ Respec t,” I said. “There’s a reason why you hired someone to care for your kids and I don’t deserve to be treated like a doormat just because I’m not handling million-dollar deals all day like you.” I looked him right in his eyes. “I’d like to believe that what I’m doing is just as valuable.”

“It is.”

“You need to know that people are not disposable, Mr. Dawson.”

“I’m well aware of that.” He nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’ve never seen you as a doormat, but I also didn’t expect you to last this long.”

“That’s…not an excuse. What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

He looked as if he wanted to explain, but he held back.

“Can you come back to work tonight, please?” he asked.

“As long as you tell me what the other lingering issue you have with me is.” I looked at him. “What’s the problem?”

“I believe that’s quite obvious.”

“If it was, I wouldn’t be asking.”

“Do I need to show you ?”

“I’m waiting.”

He pressed his lips against mine and pushed me against the wall.

Caging me between his arms, he assaulted my lips with a kiss so deep and primal my toes curled.

“Ahhhh…” I moaned as he pinned me against the wall with his hips.

“ This is the fucking problem,” he whispered against my lips. “It’s been a problem since day one.”

His mouth controlled mine, and he kissed me until I lost my breath.

All the pent-up tension and unresolved emotions dissolved as his tongue tamed mine.

He stared into my eyes, silently commanding me to let him lead.

Wanting to control something , I tore open my top and let it fall to the floor.

Pierce admired the view and groaned.

Unclasping the front of my bra, he palmed my breasts before sucking my right nipple into his mouth.

I shut my eyes as he sucked it until it was stiff. Then he moved his mouth to the other, and I grabbed a fistful of his hair.

“Don’t close your eyes…” He sucked me a bit harder. “Open them for me.”

I obeyed, and he worshipped my nipples with long, deep kisses until they were nearly swollen.

“Feels so good…” The words slipped from my mouth.

Pulling back, he gripped the sides of my pants and demanded that I push them down.

“ Yes …” I answered, but I was still in a trance from his kisses.

As if he could tell I wouldn’t snap out of it anytime soon, he pushed them down for me.

The only help I could offer was stepping out of them.

“Is your pussy wet for me?” He slid his finger inside the band of my panties and tore them off, sending them to the floor in shreds.

There was no point in answering his question.

It was obvious.

“I need you to put your hands up for me, Harlow,” he said. “Brace the wall.”

I held up my hands like I was surrendering to an arrest, and he let out a low laugh.

“No, not like that…” He pushed my arms against the wall and gently flipped them so my palms were pressed against it. “Like this.”

He placed a kiss against each wrist, and my breathing slowed.

“I need you to hold on to the wall, no matter what I do,” he whispered against my lips. “Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.”

Without any further instruction, he bent low and grabbed my thighs. Lifting me like I weighed nothing, he held me higher until my knees kissed his chest.

Then he briefly let go of me and grabbed my ankles, draping them on his shoulders.

Oh my god.

Keeping his hands pressed on my thighs, he buried his head against my pussy.

His tongue attacked my clit with a fast and reckless rhythm, sending my body into a zone of pleasure I’d never felt before.

“ Ohhhh godddd …” The sensation of being off the ground and having no control over my balance worked in torturous tandem with his tongue.

“I’m about to…” I moaned, and my hands slipped from the wall. “I’m going to come…”

“ Good .” He didn’t stop his assertive rhythm, he tongued my pussy faster, and I shut my eyes as the most powerful orgasm I’d ever felt wracked through my body.

Breathing hard and heavy, I finally let go of the wall, and he helped me down to the floor.

I shut my eyes, needing some time to recover.

I heard water running in my bathroom, and when I opened my eyes, he was unzipping his pants and standing over me.

“You’re so fucking beautiful…” he said, slowly looking over my body.

Taking out a condom, he stepped out of his pants and kneeled over me. As he slid two fingers deep inside me, my body trembled in anticipation of more.

I reached up and ran my hand along his huge cock, trailing my fingers against his length and thickness.

Wanting to please him, I leaned forward and took him into my mouth.

“Fuck…” He groaned and tensed as I sucked him in and out of my mouth. He threaded his fingers through my hair as my head bobbed back and forth, but then he gently pushed me back.

“We have all weekend for that,” he said, rolling on the condom.

Positioning his chest against mine, he stared into my eyes and slid into me, thick inch by thick inch.

When he was buried deep, he pressed a chaste kiss against my lips.

“I promised to show you I could fuck you better than I danced,” he whispered, and then he pulled out and thrust back into me with so much force I screamed.

I grabbed his back as he fucked me harder and harder with every stroke, giving me what I never knew I needed.

“Fuckkk…” I stared into his eyes, and he smiled wickedly at me—knowing that I was enjoying every single second of this.

There was no point in pretending otherwise.

I grabbed his shoulders and dug my nails into his skin.

My wood floor scraped my back with Pierce’s every stroke, serving me a hint of pain with Pierce’s unbearable pleasure.

“You feel so fucking good, Harlow,” he whispered against my mouth. “I’ve wanted to feel you since I first fucking saw you…”

“Me too…” I managed. “Me too…”

My pussy throbbed in pleasurable agony as he pressed a kiss against my chest, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist the building pressure between my legs for too much longer.

The trembling started in my legs and slowly spread all over, rendering me completely useless.

“Ah, ahhhh, Pierceeee!” I screamed his name as I reached my second orgasm of the night.

He stiffened right after me, gripping my hips.

“ Harlow …” He breathed, staring into my eyes.

We remained entwined on my floor for several moments, neither of us saying a word.

“You’re perfect, Harlow.” Pierce kissed my cheek before slowly pulling out of me. He took off the condom and began redressing.

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “So are you.”

He helped me to my feet and smoothed my hair into place.

“We have the condo to ourselves for a few days, so we’re about to make use of every room.” He picked up my pants from my sleeping mat and held them out for me.

“I’m shocked you actually own a pair of these,” he said.

I blushed and picked up my tattered panties, but he grabbed them and tucked them into his pocket.

“You won’t need those,” he said. “The pants are only temporary, so don’t bother zipping them.”

I put them on one leg at a time, and he picked up my purse while I buttoned my top.

“Do you need to bring anything else from here with you?” he asked.

“No.”

“Good.” He grabbed my hand and led me outside.

One of his newer drivers was holding the back door of a town car open for us.

“Thank you, Charlie,” he said, letting me inside the car first.

The driver pulled onto the street; Pierce pulled me into his lap and kissed the back of my neck.

“Charlie?” Pierce pushed down the top of my jeans.

“Yes, sir?”

"Roll up the partition, please."