Always Mine (69th Street Bad Boys) Read online

  I moaned and groaned, bucking into my hand as my clit grew underneath my touch. Flashes of his lips between my legs and my legs hooked around his waist peppered my memory as the sound of my name flying from his lips sent shockwaves down my spine. I dug my heels into the mattress as my body roared to life, and the moment I fell over the edge I felt tears crest my eyes.

  “Lincoln. Oh, Lincoln. Yes. Just like that. Don’t stop.”

  His name fell effortlessly from my lips as I remembered what it felt like to have his throbbing cock within me. He was the only man I’d ever let cum inside me, even though I was on the pill. For whatever reason, I trusted the man I’d never met until that night. I trusted the smile he gave me and the way his fingertips caressed my cheek. I trusted the way his body molded to me and the way his strong arms lifted me off my feet. I trusted the way his tongue traced every single crevice of my body with unmatched expertise.

  And my body shook with the memory of that trust as my orgasm dripped pussy juices down my ass crack.

  I fell to the mattress, heaving for air as my eyes fluttered open. My mind went blank and all sounds ceased to exist. My smells permeated the room while the traffic honked and disturbed the outside world, but where I was laying there was nothing.

  No sound. No taste. No existence.

  No Lincoln.

  That is, until I closed my eyes.

  Then, he was right there.

  And I had a feeling he had never really left.

  Chapter 9

  Lincoln

  It had been two weeks since the lunch with Amelia and I simply couldn’t get it out of my mind. The mere fact that Drew had hired a woman I’d slept with was just, not right. It didn’t sit well anytime we had to sit down and discuss things, and I found myself getting distracted by the movement of her lips whenever she talked. Every single time Drew agreed with a good idea of hers, I had to ask her to repeat it because I couldn’t focus, and the distraction was starting to seep into my investment banking business as well.

  “Morning, Mr. Collins,” George said.

  “Morning, George. How are you doing?”

  “Doin’ alright. How goes the new hotel project?” he asked.

  “Honestly? Not as quickly as I’d like,” I said.

  “A problem with the blueprints or something?” he asked.

  “More like a problem with the person who’s running the project,” I said.

  “Well, fire them. I’m sure anyone would want to work on this project,” he said.

  “That’s the issue. She’s fully qualified. More than qualified, really. She’s perfect for the project.”

  “Can I assume the issue is the fact that she is a she, then? he asked.

  “Not that she’s a woman, but that she’s a distractingly beautiful woman. A woman I slept with one night a few years back.”

  “Well, yes. That would tend to complicate things,” he said, nodding.

  “Thanks for the confirmation, George,” I said, smirking. “She’s just been very cold towards me. She’s warmed up to Drew just fine, but she’s got this hard outer shell when it comes to addressing me. It’s like she doesn’t respect who I am.”

  “Did you call her afterwards?” he asked.

  “After what?” I asked

  “The night the two of you shared. Did you call her? I assume you got her number.”

  “No, I didn’t call her, but yes, I had her number,” I said.

  “That’s why she doesn’t respect you. The first impression you made on her was not as a successful businessman. It was as a man who slept with her, promised to call, then left,” he said.

  “But, that’s what a one-night stand is for,” I said.

  “Did she know it was a one-night stand?” he asked.

  The elevator doors opened to the main floor, but I wasn’t ready to get out. I guess George sensed that I wasn’t ready to leave the conversation, so he pressed ‘59’ on the level buttons and looked in my general direction.

  “I think you left something in your complex,” he said.

  “I believe I did,” I said, as the door closed on us once again.

  “Some women understand how a one-night stand works. You pick them up, you take them somewhere, you get their number for courtesy’s sake to make them feel a little more comfortable, but both parties understand what it is and where it’s going,” he said.

  “Exactly,” I said. “Just because it’s a one-night stand doesn’t mean you have to treat the other person with disrespect.”

  “But, for other women, the act of asking for her number means you intend to call her. What was her reaction when you asked her to go back to your room?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Her reaction. Women who understand one-night stands usually aren’t into small talk after the fact. You might chat to get to know one another, maybe offer to pay for her drinks or food, but once you ask her to come back with you the conversation usually grows silent. What was her reaction when you asked her to come back to your room with you?”

  “She asked me what I was in town for,” I said.

  “Did she continue asking you questions as the two of you made your way to the room?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, sighing. “Shit.”

  “Shit, indeed,” he said, chuckling. “She wasn’t under the impression that she was engaging in a one-night stand. That’s why she’s being cold. In her mind, you abandoned her.”

  “You can’t abandon someone without having some sort of emotional relationship with them. That’s not how abandonment works,” I said, as the elevator doors opened to my home.

  “Tell that to the scorned woman you’re working alongside,” he said. “Ready to go back down?”

  “No, I’ll be back in a second. I need a drink,” I said.

  “One last piece of advice?” he asked.

  “I swear, George, you missed your calling,” I said.

  “I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” he said, grinning. “If you’re going to be running the company she’s working for and you’re going to keep her on because of her expertise, then it’s up to you to mend the relationship. You screwed it up, you’re the boss, so you fix it.”

  “But how do I fix something I didn’t even realize I fucked up years ago?” I asked.

  “That’s why you’re the billionaire, right?” he asked. “Because you’ve got all the answers?”

  “In investment banking, sure. Women, not so much,” I said.

  “Well, the first step is admitting you’re the issue. Have that drink, get your ass in to work, and have a talk with her about what happened.”

  And with that, the elevator doors closed on George and I was left with only my thoughts. I poured myself a quick glass of Scotch, and before long I found myself on the way to work, and diverted my attention back to the hotel company. If I was going to get things back on track with the entirety of my business, I needed to address the issues I had going on with the hotel chain.

  Specifically, the issues I had with Amelia.

  The moment I stepped onto the 29th floor, Drew bombarded me with a file in his hands. I flipped it open as he led me into the conference room down the hall, and we sat down as he continued to talk.

  “The numbers fit better than we ever imagined. The contractors are cutting us a massive deal because the upgrades to the other hotels aren’t going to require any rewiring of the electrical. So, we’re taking that extra money and upgrading the hot tubs and pools in all the established hotels, as well as putting jet tubs in all the business suites. And, even with that, we are still nine-hundred-thousand dollars under our budget.”

  “That’s actually not bad,” I said, as I looked over the numbers. “I take it you need my approval to move forward?”

  “Yes. Once you give your stamp of approval, I’ll call the contractors and they get started. Their timeline to have all the established hotels done is the beginning of next year.”

  “That’s five months shorter than the timefr
ame we’ve given them. Are you sure they won’t rush the job?” I asked.

  “The five-month leeway is to give us time to inspect their work. They’ll be on standby for us while we scope things out, and then we’ve got some time to get them any changes—if necessary—before our pre-established timeframe runs out,” he said.

  “Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out,” I said.

  “Not me. Amelia. She’s brilliant. And a hell of a negotiator,” he said.

  “Speaking of, I need to talk with her. Is she in her office?” I asked.

  “You’re not firing her,” he said.

  “No, I’m not. But, if this is going to work and we’re going to work together, then there needs to be a frank discussion about how she addresses me. The two of you work together just fine, but she doesn’t seem to enjoy my presence much. That has to be abated if this is going to work.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. Let me know how it goes,” he said.

  “And Drew?” I asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “I get it that Amelia’s good. You can take at least some of the credit. If I didn’t know any better, the way you sing her praises makes it seem as if you’re fucking her.”

  “Can’t help it if I hired the right person for the job,” he said, grinning.

  I walked down the hallway and turned the corner just as Amelia walked back into her office. The sway of her hips caught my stare until I realized her hair was down today, and I couldn’t take my eyes off how beautiful it was. My fingertips twitched with the want to run them through her locks, and I had to take a deep breath to steady the warmth cascading through my pelvis.

  “Keep it together,” I said to myself.

  I walked towards her office and caught her door just before it swung closed. She turned around with a smile on her face until she saw it was me, and then I slowly watched it melt away while she sat on the edge of her desk. The slight shimmer of sun I saw in her eyes before the icy wall came crashing down was enough to jolt me back to reality, and I cleared my throat before I began speaking.

  “Why are you here, Mr. Collins? I sent the file with Drew this morning,” he said.

  “I’m not here because of the numbers. They look great, however, and you have the go ahead,” I said.

  “Nice to know I’ve got some good ideas rattling around in my little head,” she said.

  “There’s actually some important things I feel need to be discussed between the two of us. I was wondering if you’d allow me to take you to dinner so we could talk about our professional relationship moving forward.”

  “Honestly? I don’t have the time. Since you’ve given your stamp of approval, I’m about to have some very late nights to make sure everything goes smoothly. But, if you’d like, you can come by after the work day is over. I’ll be here,” she said.

  “I believe you could take a break for a professional dinner with your boss,” I said.

  “And I believe he should trust me when I tell him it’s not currently in the best interest of his crashing hotel chain for me to take a business dinner to talk when we could do it right there on the perfectly comfortable couch in the corner,” she said.

  I clenched my jaw as I tried to calm my raging emotions. Who the hell did this woman think she was? I’m sorry you misinterpreted one fucking night six years ago, but that doesn’t you get to come into my company, lord it over my head, and get away with addressing me like that.

  The nerve this fucking woman had.

  “Miss Wilson, it would really—”

  “You are welcome to come by after the workday, if you wish,” she said, as she turned her back to me. “I’ve got a phone meeting in five minutes and I really need to prepare.”

  I shoved my hands deep into my pockets as George’s words rung heavily in my ears. I had to fix this thing in order for us to have a productive business relationship going forward. If we couldn’t do that, then it didn’t matter how good she was. If I had to fire her because of her attitude towards me, I’d just have to come clean with Drew and tell him about the night we shared six years ago.

  Yeah, it’d piss him off, but then I wouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit any longer.

  “I will see you promptly at six,” I said.

  Her silence is what followed me out of the room as I headed back towards my own office.

  Chapter 10

  Amelia

  I looked up from my desk to take a look at the clock and saw Lincoln standing in my doorway. Was it really the end of the day already? I felt like I’d gotten absolutely nothing done.

  “Don’t worry, we all have days like that around here,” he said.

  “Days like what?” I asked.

  “Where we feel like we’ve gotten nothing done,” he said, smirking.

  “Then I suppose it happens to the worst of us,” I said, as I sat my pen down. “Would you like to take a seat?”

  What the fuck did this pig have to talk about? Drew made it seem like I would never encounter him on a regular basis, and yet I saw him almost every fucking day I was here.

  Was he looming? Did he not think I could do my job correctly? Did he think I’d fuck it up because he got between my legs or I had boobs or something?

  “Miss Wilson,” he began as he sat down, “how was your day?”

  “It was fine. Long. Not over. Is there something specific you wanted to talk about?” I asked.

  “Any plans for your weekend?” he asked.

  “Just work. What is it that’s on your mind, Mr. Collins?”

  “You know, there’s a new art exhibit that opened up on the other side of town. I think you might enjoy it,” he said.

  What the hell was he trying to pull? Did the think we were friends or something?

  “I’ll be sure to check it out. If this is all there was earlier today, then you can save it. I’ve got a great deal of work to get done and—”

  “We all have,” he said. “So, I’ll get to the point since you don’t seem to enjoy the small talk.”

  “It’s a waste of time,” I said flatly.

  “I’m attempting to have a professional relationship with you and there seems to be some sort of, hang-up on your end preventing it,” he said.

  “Is that what you call it nowadays? A hang-up?” I asked.

  “The sparring we’ve been doing is not only unprofessional and unbecoming, it is breeding tension in a company venture that I love. It is also seeping into my investment banking firm, and that is not acceptable.”

  “Sounds like a personal problem,” I said.

  “See. That right there. That icy sort of tone and smart ass retort with those overbearing eyes. You think I don’t understand how to conduct a professional relationship with you, but you are the one spewing the venom,” he said.

  I swallowed hard as I leaned back into my chair. He was backing me into a corner I wasn’t going to let him get me into, which meant I had to get the upper hand somehow. If there was ever a shark you didn’t want to swim around in a tank with, it was Lincoln Collins.

  And he was currently circling.

  “This is a place of business, Mr. Collins. Our past, interactions, have no bearing on what goes on in this office today. It is not a place to make friendships. It’s a place to make money,” I said.

  “Interactions?”

  I held his cheeky stare before I licked my lips. If I broke eye contact with him, he’ll think he won for sure. He’s going to think he officially had the upper hand and would attempt to bury me.

  Or worse, fire me.

  And I couldn’t lose this job.

  “I wholeheartedly agree with you on your premise of what a business actually entails. Except you seem to be very chummy with Drew. I would even venture to say the two of you are, friends even,” he said.

  “We work well together. When two co-workers work well together, they have a tendency to be more light-hearted with one another,” I said.

  “And that is what I wish for us,” he said, as he po
inted between the two of us. “To have a more light-hearted relationship, so we can work better together.”

  “I was hired under the idea that I wouldn’t be seeing you very often. Was I lied to?” I asked.

  “Yes. Is that a problem?” he asked.

  “Yes, because that means I was hired under false pretenses,” I said.

  “I’m not sure what pretense would make you assume the owner of the company wouldn’t be around,” he said.

  “Plenty of company owners are never around. That is precisely why I didn’t question it,” I said.

  “All I want is to have a kosher relationship with the brilliant CEO my right-hand man hired. The three of us could catapult this thing to greatness if we could simply have an adult discussion about what happened that night six years ago.”

  I got up from my seat and headed for my office door. If I didn’t, I really was concerned I would chuck my hot coffee at him. I was not about to sit down across from the owner of the company that hired me and tell him I was pissed that I woke up alone in that hotel. I was not about to tell him that I sat by my phone for days waiting for him to call. I was not about to admit to him that every other man I’d ever had in my bed paled in comparison to the things he did to my body.