Her cheeks warming, Valerie thought he wasn’t that far off, and while that sounded beautiful and romantic, she doubted seriously that it was true. Still, she nodded. “Let’s get going then.”
* * *
Everything about Valerie was sensual, and her sexual appetite was as insatiable as Tyler’s. They explored each other’s bodies for hours, finally falling asleep sometime around 2:30. While Tyler was used to keeping such hours, Valerie was exhausted when the alarm went off, and the one thing she was grateful for was that Tyler had traded the motorcycle for his Mercedes last night, meaning she didn’t have to worry about wearing a helmet or holding tightly. She was weak and sore from seriously hot bouts of sex, and she didn’t trust her muscles right now.
As he walked into the office, Tyler whistled, feeling invigorated and ready to face the reality that he had to make a move on his bar exam. His time was short, and he liked his lifestyle, so he wasn’t prepared to lose the trust fund.
But before he could settle into his office and pull out study materials, his father’s secretary knocked on his door. “Excuse me, Mr. Princeton, your father would like to see you in his office.”
Clenching his jaw, Tyler nodded and headed for the elevator. Gordontairs, he didn’t knock before striding impatiently into his father’s office. “What is it, Dad?”
The livid expression on his father’s face didn’t bode well, but when had they ever had a decent conversation? “You didn’t come home last night.”
Tyler winced. “I’m a grown man, Dad. I can come and go as I please.”
“Not when you’re out on my yacht, entertaining some trash from across the tracks. Not to mention screwing the help.”
Feeling the twitch start in his jaw muscle, Tyler lowered his voice to a dangerous level. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The older man slammed his hands on his desk and stood, leaning forward menacingly. “I know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re purposely disrespecting me, and I won’t have it. You will not make a mockery of me. You will act like you have the breeding with which you were raised, and you will not gallivant off with some piece of ass just to spite me.”
“Really, Dad? Because I remember eating Ramen and beans growing up, helping Mom clip coupons so we could afford to eat, until you built this dynasty of yours. We don’t come from better ‘breeding’ than anyone else. Besides, you should be thrilled. Your stipulations state that I have to be married within a year. When was the last time you saw me date anyone? At least I’m making the effort now.”
“My son will not marry some little, money grubbing hussy and let the whore drain his bank account!” the elder man roared.
“I’m not listening to this shit!” Tyler roared back. Fuming, he growled, “Your superiority complex is getting old, Dad. Get off my back.” He turned and started to leave.
“I didn’t dismiss you. Where do you think you’re going?”
“To study for the damn bar exam,” he called over his shoulder, slamming the door behind him. Rather than heading back upstairs, he went outside and lit a cigarette. He needed to calm down. His father had the worst way of getting under his skin.
There had been a time when he’d been proud of Tyler for his talent at hockey. Then, something had changed, and he’d started dumping all over both Tyler and Tyler’s mother. Lisa Princeton had escaped, filing for divorce and moved across the country. When his father had forced Tyler to quit the hockey team, then assured that he would go to law school, Tyler fought long and hard to live with his mother, but his father hadn’t let him and had forced the contract on his trust fund.
He was about to go back inside and lick his wounds in his office when Valerie stepped out. He turned away from her, not wanting her to see the emotions on his face. He quickly put on a mask of stoicism and offered her a smile that he knew didn’t reach his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Valerie saw the look of pain on Tyler’s face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, and she frowned at him, her brow creasing with concern. “What happened, Tyler? Is everything okay?”
He laughed mirthlessly. “Just the usual bullshit with my father.”
Valerie gulped, remembering the horrible things she’d heard the elder Princeton say about his son. “I’m sorry, Tyler. But whatever he said, it’s your life and you need to live it your way. You know, some people just don’t think about the impact that their words have…maybe because they are far too busy worrying about their own feelings to even think about someone else’s. I know what it’s like to hear something negative over and over again until you start to believe it. But Tyler, that doesn’t make it true.”
Tyler sighed and nodded. How could she possibly understand so well? And how did she know he was upset? Most people couldn’t read him. But then, few people cared enough to really try to get close to him. His father made sure of that.
“As a senior, a recruiter found me and gave me the opportunity to play professional hockey. Without warning, my father took me off the hockey team and said no son of his was going to make a fool of himself on national television instead of preparing himself for a lifelong, lucrative career.”
Valerie cringed. She couldn’t imagine her family, however poor, snatching her dreams away like that. She supposed it didn’t matter how much money you had; there were always problems, and sometimes, the money itself was the problem. She didn’t know what to say to him, so she just put a hand on his shoulder, hoping it was comforting in some way.
“Hey, cousin.” They both looked up as Sean walked by. He smiled lasciviously. “Looks like you’ve found a source of entertainment,” he taunted. “Is that what your dad’s paying her for?” Valerie clenched Tyler’s arm, holding him back as his anger peaked again and he started to go after him.
“Don’t bother…please,” she begged him in a low voice she hoped was soothing. “I can take care of myself.” She nudged him in the opposite direction. “Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee today, and then we’ll go upstairs and start studying.”
Reluctantly and still seeing red, Tyler nodded and followed her lead. This was obviously not his day.
* * *
It was late, and the office was empty when Valerie knocked on Tyler’s door. He’d asked if she could stay and study with him some more this evening, after he’d had time to develop questions from the material he was going to look over while she did her paperwork. She opened the door and found him deeply absorbed in one of the study guides, scratching his head with a scowl on his face, a notepad covered in scrawl laying on the desk in front of him.
When he heard her come in, he looked up, and his face instantly brightened, giving Valerie a smile that made her heart skip a beat. She really shouldn’t be having these reactions to him, but how could she not? He was devastatingly handsome, and his bad-boy alpha-male persona mixed with the underlying flatterer and tender-handed lover were too much to ignore. “How’s it going?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’m completely lost. I can’t even begin to put this all into any kind of outline I can follow. I mean, individually each part of the whole makes a sense, but when I try to put all this legalese into perspective, it becomes one big jumble.”
“This is true. That’s okay, we’ll get it organized for you.” She made a move to grab the notepad, but Tyler grabbed her hand instead, staying it. She looked up at him, wide eyed, and he let go, putting the book down and coming around the desk. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against his chest, taking her mouth with the same passion that he’d taken her so many times in a more personal manner the night before. His tongue made love to hers and made her breath come in pants and gasps.
It was too much, and Valerie tangled her hands in his hair, rising up on her tiptoes, wanting to taste more of him. It was like honey and smoke, a sweet masculine taste that made her wet, made things low on her body clench and beg.
As if understanding her need, Tyler ran his hand over her ass, around her hips, and between them, stroking just above that wonderful, sweet spot. Her cl*t throbbed with sensation, and she rocked against him, begging his fingers to drop just an inch or two lower to satisfy her desire. Instead, his fingers reached beneath her shirt, toying with the skin on her stomach and then up under the wire of her bra, drawing circles around her breast and pinching her nipple, even as he continued diving into her mouth.
Her nails found the back of his neck, biting into his skin, and then trailing more lightly down his arms and then to his waist, where she untucked his shirt and moved to feel the hard muscle and smooth skin of his chest. She could feel the thrumming of his racing heart, and she wanted him more than ever. Without a second thought, she reached for his fly, only to find his erection thrusting against the material already.
She made fast work of his pants, dropping them around his ankles, and reached inside his boxers, grasping his shaft tightly so he hissed a breath through his clenched teeth. He thrust against her palm, and she moaned, feeling the moisture building between her legs.
With a rough movement, Tyler grabbed her h*ps and lifted her onto his desk, setting her on the edge and pushing up the skirt she wore, his fingers pushing aside her panties so he could feel her wet clit. She spread her legs wide for him, throwing her head back with a cry as he pushed two fingers inside her, curling them until he found the right spot to make her gasp. Over and over, he stroked it, fingers pushing in and out of her, torturously. He watched her features clench as she approached orgasm and felt the muscles inside her p**sy convulsing with her release as cum coated his hand. He could barely contain his own explosion at the sight of intense pleasure on her face.
“Please, Tyler, I want you inside me.” Her begging whisper was his undoing, and he pushed his boxers down, while she tore at her panties. Quickly and aggressively, he pushed his c*ck into her in one fast motion, and they both swore at the incredible satisfaction of the sensation. He almost ripped her blouse and shoved at her bra, cupping both her br**sts in his hands and leaning her back on her hands as he took up a murderously fast rhythm, pounding into her with incredible need. She felt better than anything he’d ever imagined, and it was all he could do not to cum immediately.
Valerie felt the waves building and crashing, over and over again, her pleasure finding its culmination every time before the last orgasm had faded. She thought she might lose consciousness for a moment, as Tyler kneaded her br**sts roughly with each stroke. It was sublime, and she bent her knees, propping her feet on the desk beside her to open herself wider to him, wanting him deeper and deeper until she could feel him all the way to the end of her.
Her solicitous movements heightened Tyler’s ferociousness, and he plowed into her, not holding back, and when he came, he roared, feeling her explosion one more time as he poured into her. She felt back on the desk, exhausted, and Tyler leaned his head back, his c*ck resting deep inside her as he sought breath and willed his heart not to beat its way out of his chest.