Page 16 of Tangled Control

I blink in the dark room, the contours of my dream slipping like sand through fingers. But the sensations remain.

I reach past the small patch of hair and down between my swollen lips. My gasp whispers in the room as I find my sore clit – sore from making me come not once, but twice before going to sleep. But my pussy is greedy for more. I rub my bum against the sheet, chasing the burn that still lingers, and arch my back as I pinch my clit and clamp my internal walls around two fingers.

* * *

“Rough night?”

I almost choke as I try to stifle my yawn and glance up over the divider.

“Um, something like that,” I reply and give Trevor only half a smile, hoping he’ll take the hint and move on. He does as I gulp down some coffee from myRun Forrest Runmug.

I sigh, disappointed at my own rude behaviour, but I’m really not on form for any small talk this morning. Unease and nerves are churning in my stomach.

“Right, let’s do this,” I mumble and grab the O’Toole file, desperate to keep my mind occupied with anything but Rian and the dark desires that transpired in my bedroom. Dates of when the contract was first established, the history of the company, internet searches for any recent developments, street layouts, new builds… How can I ever face him again? He has all the power now; he humiliated and literally spanked me. I’ll never be able to hold my head high.He’s won.I check the time. I have at least another hour until his lazy arse will make an appearance in the office. I could grab my bag and leave the company and so avoid the embarrassment of seeing him again. I huff and internally slap myself for my cowardice thoughts. I want to build a career in KSS, and I’ll be damned if Rian-fecking-Kearney ruins it!

What if he fires me? He won’t, will he? No, he’s too reliant on me. We just have to get over this episode and pretend it never happened. Pretend he never had my trousers around my ankles, never slipped his fingers under my panties, or called me “good girl”. A pulsation between my legs has me squeezing them together. Oh, God…

Ding.

My attention snaps across the room to the lifts, but it’s Linda stepping out. I wonder if Rian took her to the National Gallery after I left. What if he also took Linda home with him? Bile rises up my throat, and I hunch down in my seat.

When Rian finally arrives, late in the morning as usual, I pretend not to notice. Keeping my focus on my computer screen, I hold my breath until I hear his office door close.

I know I have to face him at some point,but I don’t want to. My internal me whines like a spoiled four-year-old.

Pulling my imaginary big girl’s panties up, I seize my chance when Marcus and Anika from the Strategic Planning Division go into Rian’s office for a meeting at eleven. He’ll surely not say anything with them present. Before I can change my mind, I get off my chair and knock on his door. My legs are unsteady when I hear him say, “Come in.”

Twelve

Rian

Catriona enters my office and I tense.

Anika makes a dismissive sound on the other side of the conference table, annoyed by the interruption. Anika is professional, but a bit of a hard-nosed bitch in a beautiful package. Marcus furrows his brows. Not that he’s annoyed, but he follows Anika’s example in everything he does, like a drooling lapdog. I might be the most eligible bachelor in the office, but Anika is the female counterpart.

And the complete opposite of Catriona. Dark against fair, exotic against ice cold. Stylish and put together against… Yeah, let’s not go there again.

Let’s definitely not go where those unfitting suit trousers were pooled on the floor. My jaw is clenched tight in trepidation as I scan Catriona’s face. Will there be anger, disgust, or even worse, lovesick puppy eyes?

Her gaze flicks and her throat moves as she swallows.

“The O’Toole analysis, sir.” There’s a weakness to her tone that I instantly hate.

I force my voice to be cold, but there’s an undertone of rawness I can’t hide. “Leave it on my desk.”

She nods. Then her eyes drop to my hands gripping the armrests. My knuckles are white. I force them to relax and bring them up to rest on the table. Catriona’s eyebrows rise. The vulnerability I had seen on her face hardens and something short of a sneer curls her lips.

I grit my teeth. Ice Queen Taylor is back, and she basks in knowing how tense I am about this whole thing. If she only knew the power she wields. Maybe she thinks my dad will brush this under the carpet if it comes out, but truth is, if she reported me, my head would roll quicker than the incoming tide on Sandymount beach.

But she’ll not report me.She’s not a snitch or a gold digger looking for a payout. Her integrity is cemented to the core of her being. She’s disgusting that way.

Catriona’s back is pencil straight and her head held high as she places the file on my desk and leaves without another word or even a glance in my direction. Catriona Taylor is indeed a force to be reckoned with. My palm itches to put her over my lap and not hold back this time. Make her cry out with every hard slap as her cheeks turns bright pink, and tears well in her blue eyes. Will her pussy be wet when I slip my fingers through her lips? I shift in my seat. I bet she will be, the littleslut.

Thirteen

Catriona

Rian is not going to break me!