Chapter 11

“I can’t get up,” I moan, rolling over to my side of the bed. My legs tangle in the sheets as I watch Mason step out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. He has a towel wrapped around his waist and a smile on his face. It’s been there all day. It makes him look younger. His hard body is still speckled with water. Every time I see him, I’m reminded of how big he is. He looks even bigger out of his suit. Or maybe it’s because now I can see all the hard lines and ridges of his body.

His coldness has faded away, leaving only the Mason who can’t keep his hands off me. Or maybe it’s me who can’t keep my hands off him. I’ve clung to him all day, scared some of his coldness might return. He can flip it on and off so easily. At some point last night, he must have peeled us apart from each other.

He’d taken me back here after what happened in the office, and we spent the rest of the day in bed. I want to spend more than a day like this. I want to lie here forever in the pleasure only he can give my body. All the worries in my life lift when I’m in his arms, and I don’t want them pressing back in. I want to dig myself into him and never leave.

“I thought you might be worn out, so I let you sleep,” he says as the towel drops and he pulls on a pair of boxer briefs. Then he moves towards the bed, towards me. Lying next to me, he pushes some of my hair out of my face. He’s looking at me with that same hungry gleam he always gets when we touch. There’s softness behind his eyes, and it pulls my heart closer to his.

“I could lie here forever,” I tell him. He leans in, placing a kiss on my bare shoulder, his slight beard tickling me.

“I have an event tonight that I can’t miss. If you want to stay here, that’s fine. Or you can come with me.” He trails his fingers down my arm, making goose bumps break out on my skin. A single touch from him and my body instantly ignites.

“Hmm.” I moan as he starts to trail kisses down my arm where his finger left off.

My eyes fall closed, and my body has a delicious ache to it. My thighs have been spread wide all day for him, and I can feel the unused muscles reminding me of his treatment. He was either taking me repeatedly or placing his mouth between my thighs. But either way, they were open.

I hear him mumble something about me being edible, but I can’t even open my eyes as I feel him move from the bed. I must drift off for a moment, because when I wake up, I find a plate of food sitting on the night stand.

Missing him, I pull myself from the bed, taking the sheet with me. I want his warmth back, and I go in search of it. I really don’t want to go to an event tonight. I know I’ll have to dress up. But it’s worth it to be at his side. It’s something I’ll need to get used to. This is his life, after all, and after today I want to be a part of it. Not just because I am paid to do so, but because I want to be. He makes me feel different. Makes me feel things I never felt before. Not only that but he stirred something deep inside me when he bossed me around. When he got a little pushy, I felt like I could let go for once. It had been so long since I didn’t have control, so the loss of it was so erotic. I let him take over and didn”t have to think about anything else. Only him. All I had to concentrate on was what he was doing to my body and all the pleasure he was giving me.

I’m only his assistant, I remind myself. But it didn’t feel like that was all this was. Not with the way he treated me today. Not with the things he’d said to me as we made love, telling me I belonged to him and that I was his; that he’d always take care of me.

He’d even told me between rounds of sex that he’d taken care of my grandpa. I lay there as he fed me snacks, and he told me he took care of everything. That his having a place to stay would never be a worry of mine again, whether I was working for him or not. I started to cry and he kissed away my tears and made love to me all over again. No, this is more than a boss and a secretary. It has to be. I can feel it.

Heading down the hallway, I wrap the sheet a little tighter around my body and stop at the end of the hallway, looking for Mason. When I don’t see him, I walk towards his office, which is on the other side of the house. I push open the door and freeze when I see him and Finn Crate, his business partner, in tuxes and drinking from tumblers. I haven’t had any meaningful interaction with Finn, but I’ve seen him around the office once or twice.

“Back to the bedroom,” Mason snaps, stepping in front of Finn and blocking him from my view. The coldness on Mason’s face returns, making a knot form in my throat. I turn, leaving the room and letting the door fall closed behind me.

“Maybe you go through assistants like you do because you’re an asshole,” I hear Finn say, making me pause.

“Speaking of which, I need another,” Mason says.

I know I shouldn’t be listening, that I should walk away and go back to my room, but I’m rooted to the spot. I close my eyes, my heart wracked with pain. Yes, go back to my room like a good little plaything, because that’s what I am. The worst part is, he’s replacing me.

“Another? So you’ll have two?” Finn asks the same thing I was wondering.

“She can’t handle all the things I need, so yes. I think I’ll reach out to Jessie.”

“Jessie is a little wet behind the ears, don’t you think?” Finn says, then laughs. “But then again, Kennedy looks like she’s still in high school. I didn’t think you’d really fuck this one.”

I can’t take anymore. At Finn’s crude words, I run back towards the bedroom, drop the sheet, and go to the closet. It’s then I see everything is put away. All the boxes and clothes that were all over the place are all put away neatly next to Mason’s clothes.

The sight of all our things together only makes my heart break a little more. God, I’m stupid. A tear slips free as I grab a dress and slide it over my head. I pull on a pair of flats before grabbing my backpack.

I don’t know what I’m doing or even where I’m going. I just know I have to get out of here for a minute. Get myself together. I can’t look at him right now, because if I do, I’ll break. Who am I kidding? I’m already breaking. The day that had been pure perfection is now crumbling all around me. I let myself believe in something that wasn’t even real.

I can’t even be mad at Mason. I can only be mad at myself. I knew what this was. What it was from the first day he hired me. I was his whore. Nothing more. Just because he treated me sweetly it didn’t change what it was. I only have myself to blame for falling for him.

I know I can’t stay. It will destroy me to see him with another woman. Would she live here, too? The thought makes me want to vomit. I can’t do this. I feel myself start to shake. The thought of losing something else in my life almost brings me to my knees. The weight of everything falls on my shoulders once again. All my responsibilities land heavily, and I let out a sob.

I’ve lost everything. I feel more tears start to pour down my face as I make my way down the hallway, wanting to get out of here before Mason sees me. I stop in the living room when I see some of my belongings scattered around the room, and put into places. It reminds me that everything I own is here. Not only that, but it’s put away like it belongs here. As if this is my home, too. This isn’t your home, I remind myself. This is your place of work.

I pull the phone out of my backpack, along with the keys that Mason had given me, dropping them on the table next to the front door. When I open the door, I see the man from this morning standing there again, only this time he’s in a tuxedo as well.

I freeze, not sure what to do. I look over at the elevators and back to him.

“You can’t stop me,” I tell him.

He pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to me. I take it from him, mumbling a thank you as I move towards the elevators.

“No, Kennedy, I can’t. I’m under strict order to not touch you,” he tells me, coming to stand next to me as I wait for the elevator. I will it to come faster as I watch him pull out his phone. I know what he’s doing, and I have to stop him.

Without thinking, I smack it out of his hand and it hits the floor. I turn, running for the stairs but only run straight into the man I was trying to get away from.

Mason looks livid.