Page 78 of Boss

Chapter 17

When Tarek returned to the room Kassidy was sleep. He looked around the darkness. No room was as warm as this one. They would need to share it. At his real home, he had a golden rule. None of his women ever slept in his bed. Kassidy was one of the few he dropped his guard for since Clarissa's death. And that always troubled him. Now he had answers. Now he knew what it was he felt when he kissed her on that plane in Chicago. It made sense.

Tarek thought of sleeping on the floor. And then considered the chair was his best option but the man in him wanted the bed, her bed. After debating the impropriety of his actions, and her vulnerable state, he suppressed his darker nature and retrieved a blanket for her. He covered her. Kassidy mumbled something but she turned away from him.

The chair in the room was next to the window. He pulled it over to the front of the fireplace. He dropped down in it and stared into the flames, more troubled than he was before. Cash was one of the best men under his employ. He’d do the difficult things and never be seen. And he always delivered…always. But Tarek had to wonder about his late arrival. Was it the storm or something else? For the first time in a long time he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.

And then there was Kovalevsky. His brother wasn’t just setting him up to take the fall with the Feds. No. The Russians would not be double crossed again. He was the man in front of them. He spent two months working with Yegor on the arctic drilling deal. Forging that relationship and cutting deals to wash the blood from the Kovalevsky money through his own company. And now he was the fall guy? It was bullshit.

Kassidy moaned. Tarek glanced over to the bed. She rolled over to her back. He could only see her face, not much else thanks to the heavy blankets. He was joking when he gave her the nickname Braveheart. But he had to admire her courage. He wasn’t that easily charmed nowadays. Possibly he was too cynical. Kassidy was a woman that would go the distance for what she believed in. He respected that. In fact, he found it irresistibly sexy.

He settled into their sleeping arrangement and found himself weakened enough to drift to sleep.

37.

The ache was in the pit of her stomach hit her again. The pain was strong enough to startle her awake. Kassidy double blinked before her eyes opened. She drowned in darkness. She hurt everywhere. She tried to lift her head but her senses spun. And then she realized she wasn’t alone. Kassidy’s head turned once more. Tarek had joined her in bed. He opened his sleepy eyes and smiled. She slept on his chest. Embarrassed and confused by her compromised state she scooted away from him.

“You okay?” he yawned.

She lifted the covers. He was in his boxers. Her robe was closed. She looked at him questioningly.

“No. We didn’t. You were sick remember? And then you fell asleep,” he told her.

“Why are you in bed with me?” her voice croaked.

“It’s my bed. You’re in bed with me,” he corrected her.

She scooted from him a bit more discreetly. She left the bed and went into the bathroom. She used it. She then went to the sink and put water on her face. He had mouthwash. Her mouth felt yucky. She gargled twice and spit it out in the sink. She wished for a toothbrush but didn't have one. She used her finger and put toothpaste on it and scrubbed her teeth. And then she gargled again. It was then she felt a little normalcy. But her stomach still hurt. She left the bathroom and returned to bed with him. He pulled the covers over her.

“Need an aspirin?” he asked again.

“My stomach is a little achy.”

He turned over to his side. His hand eased under the covers to land on her stomach. It happened so quick she didn’t have time to object.

“Here?” he asked and untied her robe. His hand slid inside and it was large, his palm was warm. Slow and easy he caressed her stomach.

“How does it feel now?” he asked.

“Uhm, better,” she said. “That’ll be enough, thank you.”

If he kept touching her that way he’d soon discover her secret. Her panties accompanied her bra in the dryer below. Tarek inched over and drew closer. His lips brushed the side of her brow. It was magic. In an instant the pain in her stomach had went lower to throb between her shut thighs. Kassidy eyelashes fluttered, and the achy burn began to melt down to a numb coolness. His hand went north instead of south and slowly caressed her right breast. Kassidy’s lids flashed open wider. His eyes were sharp and assessing. She could hide nothing about how much his touch pleased her. He seemed to like her nipple. At first he pinched it, and then he pulled it gently before he used his thumb in circular motions to rub it erect. Her lips parted and air rushed out of her lungs. And then it happened. Another kiss. His mouth came so close she inhaled his breath. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke.

“So you like to kiss? Kiss me,” he said. And his moist, firm mouth demanded a physical response when it swept over hers. The moment she responded and invited him in he took her mouth with a savage intensity, forcing her to belong to him, with his tongue thrusting, sweeping at the roof of her mouth. His silky tongue rimmed the edges of her teeth, and his lips suctioned softly. He was a good kisser. He eased his body over hers and she parted her thighs to welcome him. When his erection brushed her bare sex he stiffened. Her lips burned in the aftermath of their fiery passion when he drew away.

“What’s this darling? No underwear? For me?” he asked as if impressed.

“I-I—”

His lips slowly descended to reunite with hers and silenced her. He swirled his hips a bit so his dick could slip between the folds of her vagina. She quivered. There was a sweet tenderness to his kiss now. She drank in the yumminess of his seduction, and locked her legs around his hips. If he were to slip inside her she wouldn’t complain. No. No. No. What was she doing?

His mouth grazed from her mouth, and over her cheek to her earlobe. He spoke in his deep Texas drawl, “You got a fatty,” he whispered. “Mmm, fat, wet, and juicy, mmmm,” he rubbed his erection hard against her sex. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

She pushed at his shoulders, and he grabbed her wrists to pin them above her head.

Tarek chuckled. “It’s a compliment. Don’t move. Let me see,” he said. “You did once before,” he said and his smile faded. He looked into her eyes with that hypnotic charm of his, and she was paralyzed into submission. “Okay?”

She slowly nodded. He kissed her neck and then her collarbone. That wonderful tongue of his that she wanted to suck traveled to her attention-starved nipple. He sucked it into his mouth with such tenderness and consideration of her bruises she nearly wept.

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