It would be worth it though, for my mother. She deserved the best care.
By the time bedtime rolled around, I was exhausted. For my own peace of mind, I typed up everything I remembered from the meeting then spent two hours with a bottle of wine and my laptop filling in countless loan applications.
This wouldn't be an issue if I were as rich as Sawyer or Kane. I know they did everything they could to help those less fortunate than themselves. Kane was even famous for being a man born into money who had given away more than he’d ever earned, but I couldn’t stomp down the rising jealousy.
If I had that kind of money, my mother would be in the best facility in the country.
Heading upstairs, I played out a scenario in my head where I asked Sawyer for a raise. I’d never done that before, but given my crumbling financial situation and the unstable access I had to loans, maybe it was a path I should consider.
Our conversation ran several different ways in my head until Sawyer got tired of turning me down and promised to teach me a lesson for asking too often. He struck me as the kind of man who didn’t like to be questioned or disobeyed. Tiredness fed into the fantasy when I stepped into the shower and my desire for a bigger salary melted into a desire for attention.
To be noticed by Sawyer the way Kane had noticed me. To feel those strong arms throwing me around with the same ease that he picked me up from the floor. I bet he could throw me onto the bed and ravish me without breaking a sweat.
I ached for him when I stepped into the shower. Each drop of water across my skin was a hint of what his touch could feel like against my bare skin. I wanted the pressure of his fingertips to leave bruises on my arms, wanted my throat to sing with the claim of his mouth. I wanted his hands in my hair and his lips against my ear telling me how proud of me he is. How he only promoted me so he could get close enough to fuck me.
Within minutes, I was pressed against the shower wall with my fingers deep inside my pussy. In my mind, those fingers were his as he pressed me against the filing cabinets and gasped desperately about how he couldn’t stay away from me. He was jealous that Kane had touched me, that he’d looked at me and I wanted to remind me who I belonged to.
Fuck, I wanted to be owned.
My whimpers melted into the water pouring around me as I thrust my fingers deep, fucking myself as aggressively as I was certain he would. He was a man of power, He committed, and I knew he would commit to me if he had the chance. I pressed the heel of my hand upward against his clit and pictured Sawyer kissing his way down my body. He’d part my thighs and look at me, put me on display and then eat me out like I was some kind of delicacy.
And through it all, his intense eyes would cut through the fog of lust and keep me grounded in the moment, focused on the pleasure.
Suddenly, as Sawyer’s phantom mouth licked over my pussy and kissed my clit, Kane appeared next to me and slid his hand gently around my throat. He smiled and just as he leaned in to kiss me with those full lips, I came.
My cry bounced off the walls, and I shuddered down the tiles, wrapped up in pleasure for a few long moments with both Kane and Sawyer in my mind, watching me fall apart with knowing smiles.
Shit.
Slumped beneath the spray, I panted as my body tingled and rippled around the pulsing waves of pleasure.
Kane and Sawyer.
Together.
Well, that fantasy was going to make facing them at work a little more difficult.
Worth it.
4
CALLIE
“—and did you see?”
Mavis stood next to me, steaming mug of coffee in one hand, and shook her head so quickly that her tightly permed brown curls almost shook loose.
“Kane left looking smug. Smug I tell you! Are you sure you haven’t heard anything? If this place is going to the dogs then they should have the decency to let us know.”
Oddly, Mavis’s rambling was a nice distraction from the spinning thoughts inside my head. I’d been denied two loans this week and with only a few days left to secure the next payment for my mother’s hospice, things weren’t looking good. Listening to idle gossip, though, was an oddly nice way to distract from it as I stirred my own tea.
“I haven’t heard anything, Mavis. I’m sorry.” Lifting my head, I flashed her a small smile. “But when I do, you will be the first to know.”
“Thanks, chicken. At my age, looking for a new job isn’t peachy you understand?” She slurped noisily then pressed one wrinkled hand on my shoulder. “Easy for you though I’m sure. You’ll start looking as soon as you know.”
“Mavis.” Setting my spoon in the sink, I turned to her and focused briefly on the pearly chain dangling from her glasses. “Did you ever consider that Kane was here because we’re the ones doing the merger? Maybe he needs help.”
“A man as rich as that?” Mavis’s laugh was a soft, tinkling sound. “Don’t be silly, dear?—”