King's Rule. Jackie AshendenЧитать онлайн книгу.
towards her. But she never softened. Nothing I did was right and nothing I said changed things. She either ignored me completely or picked at me constantly, pushing and pushing to get a rise out of me.
She didn’t treat either Ajax or Leon like that, only me.
So I stopped trying to be nice and simply ignored her. Which would have worked fine if I hadn’t accidentally caught her skinny-dipping in the pool early one morning. She’d been eighteen, rising from the water like a sea goddess, her hair dripping and glossy down her back. Her skin had glistened a deep bronze, her lovely face devoid of its usual angry scowl, and she’d stood there by the edge, her arms raised, squeezing the water from her hair, looking out towards the ocean since our house was built on a cliff. And she’d smiled.
It slew me, that smile.
That was when my dick had decided it wanted her. And the damn thing hadn’t let up since.
Now, I tried to hold onto the last fraying shreds of my control, but then she took that step, getting close, inches away from me, pushing me the way she always did. And I could smell her, that sweet jasmine scent, feel the heat of her lovely body. And all I could think about was turning her around and pressing her hard against the door, dragging her jeans down and getting inside her.
Shutting that smart, beautiful mouth with my palm. Getting her smoky voice screaming into it with pleasure. Or maybe putting her on her knees and making her beg. Or even turning her over my knee and spanking that perfect ass red.
You’re supposed to take care of her.
Yes, I’d made that promise. And I wouldn’t break it, no matter how hard she pushed me. My control might be in shreds, but I would never lose it completely. I kept my promises. I always told the truth.
Except when you lied about not wanting her anywhere near your dick.
I ignored that thought.
‘So basically I have to do whatever you say.’ She came to a stop and folded her arms, giving me a belligerent look. ‘Sounds to me like you have all the power.’
‘No one is forcing you to take the job.’
‘But I have to if I want to get the internship.’
‘Of course not.’ Did she really need this explained to her? ‘You could call the firm yourself and ask for one. You don’t have to have a reference from me.’
‘Yeah, but it’s not like they’re going to pay any attention to some nobody from Australia asking for an internship.’
‘No, they won’t.’ The truth had to be said, even if it made her uncomfortable. ‘Internships there are incredibly sought after.’
‘How convenient.’ She glared at me.
‘Don’t take the job then.’ I was getting more and more irritated. By her proximity. By that maddeningly soft-looking cloud of black hair. By her delicious scent. By the pulse at the base of her throat that I was somehow becoming acutely aware of with every passing second.
Jesus, I had to get her out of here. Ajax was going to arrive at any moment and the last thing I wanted was to have a meeting with my brother with an inconvenient hard-on.
She scowled. ‘You could just give me the reference.’
‘You could just take the job.’
‘You promised your dad you’d look after my mother and me,’ she shot back. ‘Wasn’t that what you told me?’
She wasn’t wrong. I had told her that.
Over the past five years, after Dad had gone to prison, I hadn’t seen much of her, though not for want of trying. I’d wanted to keep that promise I’d made him, but almost the very second the prison doors had closed, both Lily and Poppy had disappeared. I’d tracked them down eventually to a very upmarket apartment in Bondi, which was a surprise given that the few assets in Lily’s name had been frozen along with Dad’s. Poppy had some kind of waitressing job which only paid meagrely, so it wasn’t as if she was supporting her mother.
I had my suspicions about how they managed to afford such an expensive place, but it wasn’t my job to interfere in my father’s ill-conceived marriage, so I decided not to ask her any questions. Instead, I told them about my promise to Dad, offering them some monetary help. Naturally Lily instantly accepted, which didn’t surprise me. My stepmother never let an opportunity go to waste.
However, that promise had been between Dad and me, a private agreement, and it was what set me apart from him. He had no honour, but I did. I kept my promises.
It meant something to me, that promise, and it wasn’t Poppy’s to use now. Especially not if she was using it to manipulate me.
The days of people using me were over.
Simmering anger in my veins burned hot, my patience slipping from my control no matter how hard I tried to keep hold of it.
‘That promise was one I made to my father,’ I said icily. ‘Are you seriously thinking you can use that to get me to do what you want?’
The smooth golden skin of her cheeks reddened. ‘That’s...not what I meant.’
I took a step towards her, unable to stop myself. ‘Or perhaps you expect me to give you something for nothing. Is that how you think life works?’
She blinked and stepped back. ‘No, I don’t think—’
‘Perhaps you expect me to hand it to you on a plate?’ I took yet another step, forcing her back again. ‘That after years of treating me like your worst enemy, suddenly I have something you want and you think I’m just going to give it to you?’ My voice had got colder, deadlier as I kept walking forward, something inside me taking immense pleasure in her hurried retreat. ‘No, Poppy. That’s not how this is going to work.’
I didn’t stop, answering only to the fury that burned hot inside me, continuing to pace forward, forcing her backward until her spine hit the door, leaving her with nowhere to go.
She made a soft sound, her eyes wide as they looked up into mine, her full red lips parting. Something was glowing in her gaze, a golden spark, and the pulse at the base of her throat was beating fast and getting faster.
Was she scared? Had I frightened her? Or was it something else?
Mesmerised despite myself, I stepped even closer, looking down into her beautiful eyes.
Jesus. Was that—?
I never got a chance to complete the thought because Poppy raised her hands, her palms connecting with my chest, and I found myself being shoved back hard.
A tense silence fell.
She’d never touched me before and I’d certainly never touched her. And that had clearly been a good thing, because the heat of her palms and the pressure of them on my chest was echoing throughout my entire body, stealing my breath. Stealing my control. Making my cock get even harder.
Her expression was tight with anger, her shoulders rigid, eyes glittering, delicate fingers curled into fists.
I’d crossed the line by getting close to her and I knew it, and suddenly I was even more furious than I’d been a second ago.
This was her fault. How dare she touch me? How dare she get me hard? In my own goddamned boardroom. How dare she drive me to the edge of my control so that I made stupid decisions? Such as forcing her up against that fucking door.
‘What?’ I snapped before I could stop myself. ‘You don’t like being cornered? Well, neither do I. You want that reference then working for me is the only way you’ll get it, understood?’
The fury in her expression burned hotter.
‘You bastard.’ Her cheeks were a deep red, her eyes molten. ‘Next time you pull a move like that one, I won’t just shove you, I’ll call the damn police