Page 54 of Ruin Me
“Remember, you asked Omar to help me on that end? He’s pretty dedicated to getting Elsie justice.”
I grunted, not entirely pacified but curious, nonetheless. “They’re getting serious? He works fast.”
Madison peered up at me from lowered lashes. “Right because me moving in with you a few weeks after working for you would be considered a slow burn romance?”
I smirked. “There goes that memory again. Must I remind you how many years it took me to see you?”
“Only if you want to sleep alone on the top floor tonight.” She dropped her hand and pulled away.
I grabbed her around the waist until she landed in my lap.
“Kent, you’re going to get blood all over my clothes.”
“Can’t have that, can we?” I dragged her blazer over her shoulders, smearing Hal’s blood on her blouse..
“This is the opposite of helping.” She writhed in my lap, awakening my cock every time her ass rubbed against me.
“The change of clothes in the bathroom would beg to disagree.”
She opened her mouth to protest, and I swallowed it and her moans as I worked her body to a fever pitch of need. I wanted no more talk about her spending time away from me or pretending we weren’t together while I planned a future with Madison.
We hadn’t discussed the future of her business in DC or how to tell Ife about us. So many unknowns still surrounded us, but one thing I wouldn’t relent on was having Madison facing our troubles proudly by my side.
CHAPTER 22
Madison
Words swam before my eyes, the sign I needed to take a break. Without Kent sitting across from me, work engrossed me to the point of ignoring basic bodily functions. Eating and going to the bathroom took a backseat if it meant I was closer to finding clues about Carol and her accomplice.
Maybe I focused on her because I didn’t want to express my genuine fear.
I almost died.
She almost cut my life short when I was finally about to join that elite club so many woman aspire to. The same one my mom’s been part of for most of her adult life. Where I found success in my profession and relationship without sacrificing one for the other. And fucking Carol and whoever she used to transport me into that other car were trying to put a damper on my wins.
I refused to let them.
I stretched my neck and decided to take a break. If Kent checked up on me, I didn’t want him distressing over my missedlunch, even if I enjoyed his punishments a little too much. The release I got put me in a blissful, aroused state without the tension and stiff muscles. But what I valued the most was the aftermath, when he would hold me in his arms. I’d never felt more cherished or safer than in those quiet moments.
After washing my face and eating, I returned to Benson and Stabler mewling at me. They had been good all morning as they slept at my feet while I worked. I walked them in the park, escorted by my guard. Since the hour was late for lunch, only a few employees took advantage of the outdoor space for a little fresh air. Their curious glances made me flush with embarrassment although I had nothing to be embarrassed about. I refused to give them more fodder for the BBD site after Kent’s fight last week with Hal.
Thankfully, I had little time to dwell on them as wrangling Benson and Stabler under control diverted my attention.
Reinvigorated by the workout with the puppies, I returned to the penthouse and my earlier task. A report from my second-in-command, Emily, snagged my interest, and I needed to dig deeper. She’d tapped her contact at the NSA for information about Carol.
Although the person had nothing new to pinpoint where Carol could be hiding, I was learning a lot about the woman who abducted me and who we suspected of killing Kent’s former dates. For example, Carol was an alias. Although shocking, learning the woman who abandoned me on an active train track went by a different name made sense. Born Jennifer Aselworth of the New England Aselworths, a prominent family with generations of wealth, Jennifer displayed unsettling signs of erotomania because of an underlying bi-polar diagnosis. There was mention of other families connected to the Aselworths. One name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. Instead, I focused on Carol/Jennifer’s diagnosis.
Erotomania? What the hell was that? I sidelined the report to research the diagnosis, growing more concerned with each new question I had. At the top of my list was, did her obsession with Kent begin when she began working for the company, or did something else trigger her?
Suddenly, my vision went dark. My heart rate spiked. Why hadn’t I heard anything? No one should have been able to enter the penthouse with the guards stationed outside. I raised my hands to feel silky material covering my eyes.
“I have a surprise for you,” Kent said, calming my rising panic.
“You scared me!”
“I called your name a couple times but you must not have heard me.” The hair from his beard tickled my neck, then his firm lips pressed against the underside of my chin. “Forgive me?”
“Maybe. Your surprise isn’t another set of puppies, is it?”