Lisa was in a very bad mood. She had not expected Axel to suddenly appear in New York, and she certainly had never expected him to whisk her away, today of all days. For a fee that was so inconsequential to her, Lisa got more information from Claire's sister, Rose, than she did when she gave up her life to Leo.Thinking about Leo soured her mood even further. The sly fox had duped her, but she would make him pay. Meanwhile, she was upset because she had imagined all the ways she could torture Claire with the new information she had just received. She knew she must have looked evil, sitting there grinning like a maniac at someone else's misfortune, but she was glad Rose didn't particularly like her sister either.The drive to the office was the sweetest she had ever had. She devised so many ways to hurt Claire, she actually salivated at the thought of doing all those things. She wanted to hold off for as long as she could before breaking the news to Axel and exposing the fraud his newfo
Claire still felt like a truck had run over her. As soon as they reached the penthouse, she fell into the plush sofa, closed her eyes and sighed."Is everything alright, Claire?" Axel asked.She peeked at him from beneath one eyelid. "I just need five minutes."Axel nodded. "I will be in the office with Donald. Give us a shout if you need anything."She closed her eye and nodded, then bolted upright. "But…what work am I going to do?"Donald pointed at a system at the corner. "Since you're so good at reports, why don't you do those? Something about them seems off to me."Claire nodded quietly. Axel walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "If the flight wore you out, get some rest."She shook her head and said she was okay. They left her sitting there, staring at their retreating figures. She lay back down after they had disappeared into the office. Claire spent the next five minutes thinking about any and everything that had been going on in her life. She wondered whethe
Axel asked to drive them. The look Donald gave him could have cut him in two, but Axel ignored it and grabbed the keys."What if they shoot at the passenger seat?" Donald whined. "They'll be expecting you there, not me."Axel gave him an icy look and cast a quick glance at Claire. She didn't look worried. If anything, she looked mildly curious. "The workers shoot at you?" Her gaze was fully on Axel."No." He responded with a hard voice."Not yet," Donald corrected in a whisper.Axel glared at him. "Are you trying to scare her off?"Claire smiled. "I'm not goung to stat back just because I hear they might start shooting anytime. After all," she winked at him and opened the door to the front passenger seat, "the bullets are for someone else."In one insane moment of thought, when Claire had winked at him, Axel wanted to grab her roughly and trap her between the car and his body. She had no idea the effect she had on him. She was going to drive him crazy, at this rate. He felt sweaty, a
The drive to the construction site was made in companionable silence. Axel kept sneaking glances at Claire, but she was too lost in her world to notice. Claire was thinking about her past. After her father had committed the worst crime to her body, she had lost all interest in men.Claire never dated in college. She would flirt, yes, at very attractive guys on campus, but she turned down every single one. There were quite a sizeable number of rejections by her sophomore year, but they all learned to just leave the "NO" girl alone. She hadn't cared, anyway. She didn't want to fall in love again, and she certainly didn't want to give anyone an opportunity to hurt her again.Now, this. A blush crept up her cheeks when she remembered how wantonly she had responded under his touch. All he had to do was place just a finger on her, and she forgot all her resolutions. Was it because he was super hot? Was it the arrogance she had once detested making him look sexy? What was it about Axel that m
He peppered her with kisses until she turned to mush in his arms. She immediately melted and let him be the aggressor. He slipped a hand under her skirt and tugged at her panties. He got it out of the way pretty quickly, and dipped a finger into her core. Shock waves of pain and pleasure rocked her frame. She went completely still in his arms."What's wrong Claire?" Axel asked, then gently pulled his hand out and returned her clothes."It hurts."Axel raised his brows. "Oh. Are you…okay?"He was not sure just how to ask her about her past without letting her know he had read her file. She nodded and tried slipping off his lap, but he held her fast. He returned the seats to their normal angles of inclination, and was content with just sitting with her on his laps.Claire worried the top button of his shirt with her fingers."I'm sorry."He closed his eyes. "For?""Not giving you what you want. I'm sorry for leading you on like that."Axel kept his eyes closed, but raised a brow. "Do yo
Lisa just could not sit still. Okay, maybe she had gone a little too far this time, but it was all Claire's fault. The bitch kept pushing her hand. She couldn't just sit still with the thought that Claire was alone with Axel in a foreign country. It had been too easy getting the strike force. She had found out that the workers down there had more than a few grievances against Lyn Corporation, and they were out for blood.All she needed to do was call a friend she had there, an underworld crime boss, and he had promised to take care of it. She had left Claire's description and photos with him, with clear instructions to only take her out. She knew there would be hell to pay if anything happened to Axel, or even Donald.The only problem she discovered too late, was that because Axel liked Claire, he would do anything to protect her, including using his body as a human shield. What was she going to do if he died for Claire? Her friend had assured her his men were very good, but she was st
Lisa knew the moment it was over for her, and that was when she got the call telling her they had changed cars and left everything behind."Listen to me, Mona Lisa.""No, you listen, señor! I put my life on the line to do this. I paid you more money than you have ever been paid. Only for your men to ruin this all for me! You just had to make me call her, so now, everyone knows it was I who sent you!"Lisa yelled for a long time. She needed to get the steam out, so her head would be clear enough for her to think. The crime boss knew it was better to just listen and not say a word. Choosing to help Lisa had automatically made Axel his enemy. He was not about to add her to the list of enemies, because he had experienced her evil firsthand.When she was done talking, he sighed. "Are you done?"She didn't say a word, and he didn't care."I knew we wouldn't get them on the road. Your friend and his assistant are good at getting away. But we can take the lady out of her bed this night."Lisa
Axel woke up a couple of hours later. Claire was sprawled on the bed, fully dressed. He vaguely remembered her pulling on his shirt before she fell asleep. In everything they had done, Claire had not let him enter her. What they had done was an experiment, Claire's way of discovering real pleasure for the first time. She would not let him show her there was more. She seemed too terrified to.Claire's father had hurt her deeply, he realized. It would take years for her to heal from the physical and emotional damages, and even more time for her to let him in. Sure, she pleasured him, but he wanted more. He wanted her heart, and everything that came with it. He pushed her arm slowly off his feet and rose. The house was silent, too silent.He padded down the stairs in only his shorts, silently creeping through until he reached the surveillance room. He glanced in and found Donald and Jubril hunched over the security feed, watching the situation outside with keen interest. Their men were s