41. Adam

41

ADAM

N atalie saunters back from the bathroom, naked and still sleepy and impossibly beautiful. She also looks far too mischievous as she climbs up onto the bed and crawls towards me.

‘Get over here.’ I hook an arm around her and tug her close against my body before pulling my heavyweight duvet over us.

‘You know what would be awful?’ she muses. ‘If your staff forgot to fold the end of your loo roll into that little triangle one day. Can you imagine if you had to hunt for the end of the paper all by yourself? God knows what those lost two or three seconds of your time would cost the British economy.’

I stifle a chuckle. She wants a spanking? She’s coming dangerously close to having her wish granted. ‘Three orgasms last night and you’re still giving me a hard time? I was sure I’d fucked the back chat out of you.’

‘Nope.’ She nestles against me, tucking her head under my chin. ‘And don’t change the subject. Please tell me you don’t actually make your staff do that. ’

‘Of course I do. Discipline is in the details. If I let them slack on the small things, it’ll be a downward spiral.’

She pulls away, outraged, and spots the grin on my face.

‘You’re a dick.’

‘I’ve never claimed to be anything else.’

She raises her eyebrows, and I sigh.

‘Of course I don’t tell them to make stupid fucking pointy bits. They just do it—all of them. I have no idea why.’

‘Glad to hear it.’

‘Look, I’ve been in prison, for fuck’s sake. I wasn’t above resorting to wiping my arse with torn-up squares of the Mirror when I’d run out in my cell and the screws wouldn’t replace it. Do you honestly think I’d insist on pointed ends for my bog roll?’

She sucks in an audible breath, her face anguished. ‘Oh my God. I hate that for you.’

‘Hey.’ I trail my fingers down the delicate structure of her spine. ‘We’ve talked about this. I deserved it, remember? And I’ve faced a lot worse than newspaper chafing. It’s all good.’

‘I know, but—it’s just so grim. I can’t bear knowing that you went through all that.’

We gaze at each other for a moment, our faces inches apart on my pillow, before I speak.

‘I want you to know, in case I haven’t made it clear enough already, just how sorry I am for what I did to your brother and what I put your family through. I’ll never, ever stop regretting it. I’m unspeakably ashamed of what I did. After leaving Ellen that night, it’s the biggest regret of my life.’

‘I know,’ she whispers. I can see from the soft, open expression on her beautiful face that it’s the truth. She puts a small hand over my poor, wounded heart, and I let my eyes drift briefly closed at the simple pleasure of her touch.

I hesitate. ‘Can I ask how he is?’

‘Sure.’ We lie, limbs entangled, as she tells me about his job, about which I know broad brushstrokes, and his potential prosthetic. While I’m aware, of course, of his candidacy, I’m genuinely delighted to hear how thrilled he is, how fascinated by the technological opportunities it presents for him, how excited he is about the potential quality of life improvements it offers. I’m even happier to hear of the love he has for his wife, Anna, and their baby girl, Chloe.

While I can never, ever take back the horrific injuries I inflicted on him, I can rejoice in the rush of ease that comes from knowing he didn’t let them define him. He has a full and happy life, no thanks to me.

All I can do is continue to surrender all of that pain and guilt, to atone for my past sins, and to make reparations to the Bennett family wherever possible. This beautiful, compassionate, forgiving woman next to me has no idea of the extent of those reparations, and I hope she never will.

But since that tenure I eased the way for her father to procure at the London School of Economics over a decade ago now, the ability to in some small way play fairy godfather to the Bennett family has allowed me to live with myself just that little bit more easily. It’s selfish, in a way.

‘It sounds like he’s a trooper,’ I tell her now, covering the hand on my heart with my own.

‘He is.’ She smiles fondly. ‘He’s the best.’

‘Still an emo D&D weirdo?’

‘I cannot believe you went there. No, he’s not, thank you. He’s a total tech nerd.’

‘Glad to hear it.’

She pushes me so I roll over onto my back and hoists herself up onto one elbow. I look up at her. That usually-perfect hair is messier now. It looks like she’s had a damn fine fucking, actually. Her lips are still a little swollen. She is a sight for sore fucking eyes.

‘Anyway. Talking about my brother feels like a spectacular waste of time right now.’ She looks down as her fingers brush against the hair on my chest and sucks in a breath. ‘I hate to inflate your ego further, but you really are revoltingly gorgeous.’

I smirk. ‘Revoltingly, hmm?’

‘Yep.’ She pushes the covers down so my entire torso is exposed and traces a line between my pecs, over my navel, and down my happy trail. ‘God, you’re just… this is…’

Finally, she’s lost for words. My dick, which is already semi-hard, stirs. ‘I wouldn’t go any further unless you intend to finish what you started.’

Our eyes meet. Hers are alight with mischief. ‘Is that a threat or a promise?’

‘Definitely a threat.’ I hold her gaze as her mouth curves into a smile.

‘Sounds like a good way to start our morning. What do you usually do with your Saturdays, Mr Wright.’

‘I work. And you, Miss Bennett?’

‘I work.’ She grins, but I frown. I opt to spend my weekends working because I love it and because I don’t particularly love socialising—or relaxing. I suspect Natalie does it because she has to, because between trying to keep her company afloat and putting in the hours at Alchemy, she’s always at a time disadvantage.

I let it slide. I don’t want to make her feel self-conscious, nor do I want those work-related worries that had her in tears yesterday to stage a reappearance. I’m confident that the blissed-out, orgasm-drunk woman who fell asleep in my arms last night was entertaining precisely zero thoughts of cash flow or overdue invoices, and I’d very much like it to stay that way.

‘I should clarify,’ I say, ‘I never begin my weekends with a beautiful, naked woman in my bed, so this is uncharted territory for me. I could definitely be led astray today, if you’re game.’

She laughs. ‘Oh, come on. Adam Wright, billionaire playboy extraordinaire, sleeps alone? Yeah, right.’

With one move I have her flat on her back and my body pressing down on hers, my now fully hard dick twitching between us.

‘I’m serious. I don’t spend the night with women. I never, ever invite them back here, and I always leave theirs the same night.’

She stills beneath me. ‘If you tell me you let me stay so you could keep an eye on my blood glucose levels, I’ll strangle you with my bare hands.’ There’s determination on her little, heart-shaped face, but vulnerability, too, and my heart constricts.

‘That’s quite a violent streak you’ve got there, sweetheart,’ I say lightly. ‘And if you think I let you stay, you’re delusional. There was no way on earth you were getting out of here last night. I wasn’t letting you out of my sight.’

She doesn’t reply, but her expression softens. ‘Is that a fact?’

‘Yeah. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks pursuing you. Wooing you at the club with my dastardly oral skills and at your office with my world-class negotiation prowess… If you think last night was a one-time thing, you are sorely mistaken.’

She swallows. ‘Okay. Um. So, then, we should probably lead each other astray. What do you suggest? ’

I grin. I do have one idea. Any other woman would scoff, but I have a feeling Natalie will bite my hand off. ‘I do actually need to go into the office for an hour or so. But I wondered if you’d like to come with me and check out Omar Vega’s studio?’

If I wasn’t lying on top of her, I think she’d sit bolt upright. ‘Ohmygod. Are you serious? I would kill , like literally kill , to have a snoop around.’

I smirk at the strength of her reaction. ‘I thought so, you devious little angel.’

‘Wouldn’t it be a bit immoral, though?’

‘I don’t see why not. It’s not like I’m showing you his confidential information. It’s good for you to see how a larger brand lays out its workspace—it’ll give you something to visualise. Aim for.’

‘I’d love to. I’d love it so much. When can we go?’

I laugh and move over her so my dick leaves no room for misjudging its intentions. ‘Not so fast, my little corporate spy. First, you’re going to show me your levels. And then, if you don’t need feeding right this second, I have some plans for you.’