Untamed (New York Unraveled #1) Read online

  "Or what? You're gonna fire me? Go ahead." I put my pen down obstinately and stared at him with my arms crossed.

  "What's wrong with you?" he exclaimed.

  "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" I shouted back. "You've been treating me like I'm not even human. Did I complain? No. You've been prancing around with a big temper on your nose that you always feel comfortable to unload on me. Did I say anything? No. But this is going way too far, okay? You don't have the right to call me a slut. Especially when you know you've tapped this booty."

  "I don't even have the right to be mad at you? After you insulted me that badly?" he retaliated. "Okay, granted I shouldn't have said all that I did. But I have all the rights in the world to ignore you, Karen. You know why? Because that's exactly what you did to me. And that hurt."

  "You do not have any fucking right. If your big ego can't handle the fact that not all girls are going to loll their tongues around you and wag their tails, then that's your problem, not mine. And if you find it impossible to get over, then you can fire me anytime. Trust me, it wouldn't even matter to me then," I said bitterly.

  He stared back at me for a few seconds. "You know I won't," he sighed, suddenly looking very exhausted. He came over to kneel in front of me on one knee and said, "I really am sorry. My tongue tends to slip when my mind is heated up. I didn't mean it."

  I was shocked to see him act civil with me, that too after the screaming match we'd had. It was as unexpected as it was new. I nodded at him again and said, "Okay."

  He spread his hands in bewilderment. "A guy is on his knees. What more does it take to get you to forgive?"

  "Well, that's actually just one knee," I pointed out.

  He put the other knee down as well with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry. Do you also want me to hold my ears?"

  For the first time, this man brought a slight smile to my face. "No, it's okay."

  "Can I get up now?" he asked.

  This time, a silly laugh escaped my lips. "Yes."

  He rose to his full height again but before going out, he wiped off the little tear that had escaped my eye and fallen down my cheek. "Doesn't look good on you."

  I touched my cheek where he'd wiped off the tear from in shock. Even though shivers still ran through me at his touch, I wasn't going to admit that. Not again. Not after one drunken mistake led to this whole drama.

  I didn't see more of him until the end of the day when I was tying up the loose ends and he was waiting for me to finish up so we could leave together because everyone else had left by that time. The whole complex was empty and Nathan was weirdly protective of me, despite the ignorance and snark.

  "Can you hurry up?" he said impatiently.

  "Can you stop glaring at me?" I said, peeking out from behind his desk. God knows he made enough of a mess to give an OCD patient a field trip.

  "Why do you shout at me so much? I'm the boss," he said, as if stating it would surely establish the fact.

  "Why do you hate me so much? I fucking work under you," I said in the same tone.

  "I don't hate you. I just- I just-" He settled for screaming through his teeth.

  "Want to kill me?" I said dryly, dusting my hands in satisfaction as I finally finished.

  He raised his hands towards my neck, his fingers dangerously curled as if he was choking me in his mind already.

  "I don't feel like worshipping you either. So at least we're good on that, Richie Rich." I smiled sarcastically.

  We had inched very close to each other, breathing hard on each other's faces, masking our lust as anger. But neither of us even realized that.

  "Shut up," he said in a voice worthy of being cast for Scar in The Lion King.

  "Make me." I'd said that just like that, not exactly meaning it. Or at least not in the sexual sense. I can't tell you what happened next for sure. Maybe both of us reached for the other at the same time. Within ten seconds, we both were gnawing at each other like hungry animals, which wasn't far from the truth.

  He, like the last time, was mercilessly rough with me and I loved every second of it. He grabbed my hair and pulled them back to expose my face even more to his carnal tendencies. As his tongue pushed inside my mouth, exploring its deepest depths, his other hand was already inching my dress up. He backed me up against the desk as he smoothly removed my dress, letting it fall to the floor in a heap.

  His hands were like an unforgivable sin on my skin. Every breath of his that I inhaled clogged up a little hole in my heart I hadn't known had been bleeding. He turned me so that my back was pressed against his muscular body and removed the rest of the unnecessary articles of clothing adorning me. I could feel each and every one of his rock hard abs digging into my back through his clothes. He had a body that Greek Gods would be jealous of and I wanted to lick each and every delicious inch.

  But he wasn't giving me free reign this time. He bent me over the desk, his erection pressing against my ass. I heard him unzip his fly and pull down his trousers as he slowly kissed down from the nape of my neck to my waist.

  "Damn it, Black, I just cleaned the desk," I muttered through the haze of concupiscence that was blinding me. I loved the challenge he posed of who would get the upper hand. It thrilled my inner goddess to see him lose but it also felt heavenly when he took control. This man knew what he was doing. And he did it well.

  He spread my legs a little wider and slipped inside me, pounding me like a jackhammer right from the beginning. I could feel every inch of him inside me. It pained; I had never been treated this roughly before, but I couldn't have stopped it if I tried. I loved what he did to me. I loved how he could bring me to the edge and then get me back down, only to bring me there again, until I was ready to take the fall with him.

  He pulled my hair back, using it like the reigns that could control me, and my back arched. The velvety softness of his shirt rubbing against my skin made it even more erotic. He licked the sensitive area beneath my ear and bit my shoulder lightly, making me gasp. "You look good when your mouth is shut," he breathed in my ear.

  "You look good when I can't see you," I retorted and it made him smirk.

  My nails clawed at the wooden facade of the desk, desperately finding something to hold onto as I exploded. He put his arms around me, enclosing my hands in his as he burst into a million fireworks with me. It was only once we were panting like dogs in heat, trying to catch our breath after the most phenomenal experience of our life, that we realized what we had done, and also that we'd done it without protection.

  It took him two seconds to pull up his trousers and zip up again. But me? My clothes were strewn in different spots all over the floor. "What the heck, Nathan?" I said, picking up each clothing article one by one and wearing them while he comfortably sat on a chair, staring at me with a smug smile. "It's cold and naked because of you and you don't even have the courtesy of helping, you bastard?"

  "You know, it's the greatest fantasy of any man to watch a hot lady strut around in his office with nothing but panties on," he said and laughed with his head thrown back when I glared at him.

  I managed to wear all my clothes without freezing to death. Truth be told, it wasn't that cold but the way he was looking at me was making me shiver. He had a way of raking his eyes over my body that brought goosebumps on every part that his smoldered gaze landed on.

  He opened the door for me as I adjusted the strap of my heels. I don't even know how he managed to mess that up. "What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

  My head snapped in his direction. "Not much," I said, which wasn't true. I had to check my email, confirm calls for all his meetings tomorrow, check on my roommate to see she was still alive and not lying in some dumpster, order dinner because I didn't have the energy to cook and, of course, think about what just happened. This jerk was always piling work on me.

  "Can I take you out?" he asked.

  "You know, that part usually comes before what we just did," I said sarcastically, biding my time to think of wh
ether I should or not.

  "I'm aware. I'm also aware that things with you don't tend to go the conventional way," he said impatiently, "So will you go out with me or what?"

  I stood on my tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Sure. I'd love to.”NATHAN.

  Trouble in paradise started the next morning when she called me and told me that she didn't think she could make it to work that day. "That's okay," I told her, slightly worried at why she sounded so stressed but mostly wondering if it was her own form of quitting on me again.

  "Open my laptop to see your schedule for the day. It will also have notes on agendas of every meeting. If you have any confusion or some problem comes up, call me. I'll solve it from here," she explained.

  "Alright. Are you okay?" I asked her.

  She sighed so softly that I would have missed it if I wasn't paying such close attention. "Yes. Thank you."

  It was tough without her. I'd come to depend so much on her to organize my stuff that when I had to do it myself, I ended up wrecking it even more. The fact that I was having thoughts more insecure than a teenage girl didn't help either. My mood reflected in the way I dealt with things that day, which is to say I mostly didn't. I hardly listened to people in the meetings and conferences I had, grunted in the name of replies and became the exact sullen self that I used to be before she entered my life.

  Late in the evening, when I was more than ready to wrap up, march to her place and demand to see her, she came to me instead. There was a knock at the door while I was having my last meeting of the day and when I said, "Come in."

  Karen peeked her head in. Her curls were bouncing out of her messy ponytail. She looked exhausted and pale, and her eyes were puffy like she'd been crying lately. "Mr. Black, I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to you for a second. Can I know how long this is going to take?" she asked politely.

  "About fifteen minutes, give or take," I replied, peering at her in concern.

  "Okay. My apologies again," she said to the three people I'd been conversing with. They gave her a little smile as she closed the door. I noticed one of the douchebags give her too big of a smile and I had to restrain myself from strangling him.

  Eager to see her again, I dismissed the people very quickly with fake promises of thinking about their proposals and yadda yadda. A second after they exited, Karen stepped in hesitantly. Even in a hoodie and jeans and no makeup on, she still made my heart skip a beat.

  I clasped my hands on the desk in front of me and waited for her to speak. She slowly came closer till she was leaning on the back of one of the chairs. "Umm, I needed to ask you something."

  "What is it?"

  Her voice sounded so small, I was surprised she could be that subservient in any situation. She looked anywhere but straight at me, choosing to focus on my hands than meet my eyes. “Can I get my salary in advance?" she asked softly.

  "What's wrong?" I asked, now seriously worried.

  She shook her head. "Is it possible? Can it be arranged? I mean, I know I haven't worked here for long but... I wouldn't ask if I didn't need it."

  "Karen, look at me," I said gently. When her pained eyes met mine, I said, "Tell me."

  She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and started speaking in a slightly shaky voice, "My mother is hospitalized. Her cancer is coming back again. And I spent all my money in getting my roommate out of jail. My financial condition at the moment is not such that I can afford her treatment."

  "It's okay. I'll pay for it. You don't have to take it out of your earnings," I told her, marveling at how strong she was.

  "Thanks but that's not necessary. I'll manage," she said. I thought I'd like it when she was submissive and deferring to me for a change but I hated how fidgety and embarrassed she was feeling just because she was asking me for her own money.

  "I insist. There's no need for you to handle all of this alone," I said.

  She shook her head, her flicks falling in front of her face. "I don't like favors, Mr. Black. I don't want to owe you anything I can't repay. Really, it's fine."

  "You won't owe me anything. I want to, so I will. I take care of my employees and you’re one of them. I don't want any arguments on this," I said firmly, opening my laptop.

  She huffed exasperatedly. "It's expensive, sir. I wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing that I'm using your money."

  As she was speaking, I transferred a hundred thousand dollars to her bank account and blocked any transfers from her. Now she could do with them whatever she liked. “Sweetheart," I said, slightly offended, "You keep forgetting that I'm one of the richest people in the country. It won't even cause a slight dent in my pocket. Think of it as wasted money that you're using because no one else would."

  Her phone beeped with a message to inform her of the addition to her bank account. She checked it with an impassive expression, already knowing what I was up to. "I don't want any fucking charity," she said slowly so that I understood.

  "This is not charity. What is your aversion to taking help from others? You take care of everything- your roommate, your mother, my work, and God knows what more. Why can't you let somebody take care of you for a change?" I realized I didn't even know how to say something sweet without sounding like an asshole. It looked way better in my head but came out all wrong, especially when my voice was raising of its own accord.

  Her lower lip trembled and her eyes welled up, though she tried to take deep breaths to hold it back in. "Please, Nathan. I'm very tired. I don't have the energy to argue," she whispered.

  I went over to her and took her in my arms. I could feel her trying to maintain her composure as I stroked her hair and comforted her for a while before she broke down. Sobs wracked her fragile body as she wound her arms around my neck and clutched me tightly. I pulled her down with me on a chair so that she was sitting in my lap, kissing her hair and letting her unwind.

  "I'm sorry," she sniffed, "I never do this. I don't know what's happening to me."

  I rubbed her back in slow, circular motions. "It's okay. I'm right here."

  She tried to wrench herself away from me but I was holding her in a way that she couldn't escape. Plus, I was stronger. I shushed her gently and laid her cheek on my chest. "Stop arguing for once in your life. Otherwise I know other methods of shutting you up," I said suggestively.

  She chuckled weakly and my heart soared at knowing I made that happen. "Why are you so intent on being the knight in the shining armor?" she asked. Her big bright eyes stared up at me with tears brimming at the edge.

  "I have my own tricks for making pretty girls fall in love with me," I winked playfully.

  "Right," she nodded sarcastically, "They wouldn't include appeasement by sex, would they?"

  "Appeasement is not a nice word. I prefer...charming," I replied.

  "Charming, my ass," she muttered.

  I stood up, picking her bridal style in my arms and strode to the door. "C'mon, I'll show your ass a charming time. God knows you need it."

  She squealed and held on to me tightly. "People will see us like this."

  "So?" I shut the door behind me with a kick. We got some raised eyebrows from the receptionist on that floor and the people milling past, so I smashed my lips on hers until we came to the lift. She laughed even as I kissed her and the sound reverberated to every vein in my body. "So," she said when I let her up for air, "we're gonna be the new gossip in the office now." Her lips were stretched into a big grin showing all her teeth.

  "Who cares? I'll fuck who I want to," I said, catching my breath.

  She skimmed her hand along my neck, dragging it up my face and traced the dimples on my cheek with her index finger as she ran her tongue along her lips. "Fuck, huh? Charming indeed," she said in a husky voice.

  The doors of the lift opened into the cold basement. Taking advantage of the dark, I slipped my hand under her hoodie and the thin top underneath it, and snaked it along her soft skin that immediately heated up at my touch.

  I had thought
of taking her home but I didn't think I could take it that long. I got into the backseat, with her on my lap again, and possessed her lips once more as I struggled with removing her clothes. I unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor of the car. She slipped the coat off my shoulders and unbuttoned my shirt quickly, all the while never halting the sophisticated dance our tongues were involved in.

  The beige leather of my car provided a sophisticated juxtaposition to her hazel eyes. Her touch was hot against my own cold skin. Her lips scathed me as they trailed wet kisses along my jaw. I laid her down on the seat and slowly ran the tip of my tongue down her body, from her neck, tracing a path between the valley of her breasts, and down to her tiny waist. She wriggled her hips to help me take off her jeans and panties.

  "Nathan..." she moaned my name but a hint of fear reflected in it.

  "Shh, baby doll," I whispered bewitchingly, "Let me take care of you."

  I placed a few teasing kisses on her inner thighs before flicking my tongue on her sensitive lips. Her heavy breaths filled the car and spurred me on to dip inside her and taste every inch of her sweetness. She tasted like what I supposed Olympus's nectar must taste like. I twisted my tongue from side to side in small quick movements, desperate to get her on the brink.

  "Nathan, I'm very close," she said, her eyes squeezed shut as tight as her jaw, as her fingers dug into the seats.

  "Come for me, baby doll," I said.

  She came undone at my words. Her body jerked under me, her back arched as she put a hand on her mouth to not scream. She shuddered in ecstasy and her eyes rolled back in her head. I heard a soft gasp when I tasted her, delving deep into her folds again to savor every drop of her in my mouth.

  I crawled back up to her and held her close, rolling back into a sitting position so she could sit up on my hips. She was so ready for me; it took me a second to slip inside her. She rested her forehead against mine, her eyelashes tickling my skin, as she slowly moved her hips. She took me in gradually, maintaining a steady pace. But the animal inside me wanted immediate gratification. I caressed her cheeks and bit my tongue before I could do something as stupid as beg her. "God damn it, woman. You're torture," I growled.