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  He rolled his eyes and pressed the button for the elevator. "Funny. Very funny Cole."

  "You're smiling. I'd say that's a win." I got into the elevator and several women gasped.

  "Cole Alexander? Holy shit!"

  I glanced over at Sam to see him roll his eyes. I laughed and turned around to talk to the girls for a few minutes as we made our way down to the bottom floor. Fans were everywhere, but friends were few, and the guy beside me was one of the only ones in my life. Why he stuck by me, I'd never know, but I was grateful as hell for him.

  "This way, rock star." He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the conference room as the sound of chanting filled my ears.

  "Keep an eye out for Alexis. That's your only job today. Find her and let’s get her number. Got it?" I turned to him and pinned him with a hard stare.

  "Right. Who the fuck is Alexis?"

  "The dark-haired vixen with the big tits from last night." I patted his arm. "I pay you a lot. Don't let me down."

  "Fuck you too, Cole."

  I laughed and jogged up on the stage as someone handed me a mic. The crowd went nuts, which was great, but not at all why I did what I did. My life had once been shit and after working through how to get it back on track, I honestly just wanted to offer my method to others. Their false adoration was just part of the package.

  "Good morning! Who's ready to move a few mountains today?" I smiled and glanced down in the front row as my heart skipped a beat.

  There you are, pretty girl. Mine.

  Chapter 3

  Alexis

  "No fucking way," Heather whispered beside me as Cole Alexander bounded up on stage and the crowd behind us went wild.

  My idea to sit in the front row suddenly seemed to be, by far, the worst idea I'd had in years. I was hoping to avoid seeing him or anyone else as I sunk down in my chair a few minutes before. Shame sat heavy on me at the ignorant decision to let “drunk Heather” talk me into one last night of insanity.

  How I didn't realize that the man from the night before was one of the speakers was beyond me. I'd been looking forward to the motivation event that was dubbing as a charity event for weeks. I'd just been too damn busy to stop and see which speakers were coming to pump us up and then pimp themselves out. I knew names... but not faces.

  "I'm going to die," I mumbled and glanced over at Heather. "I hate you. It's official."

  "I sucked his cock last night, Alexis. Don't hate me. I'm in a private hell of my own."

  "No, you tried to suck his cock. You ended up barfing in the bathroom instead." I turned back toward the stage and forced my facade into place. I'd play the part and run like hell the minute he wasn't looking.

  "It was huge. Did you see it?" she leaned over and whispered roughly into my ear as Cole lifted his hand and let out a warm laugh.

  "Get to your feet. Stand up." He glanced down at me. "Let's get your blood pumping, shall we?"

  The crowd went wild as my nipples budded and every cell in my body sparked to life. He was going to fuck with me for not staying last night. I deserved it. I deserved every minute of torture the next hour was going to prove to be.

  "Lift your hands to the ceiling and close your eyes. I want you to stretch as high as you can." His voice was smooth, deep, sexy.

  I opened my eyes and glanced up to find him watching me intently. I closed my eyes and lifted my chin as if to prove a point. I wanted to tuck tail and crawl under the fucking chair behind me, but he wasn't getting the better of me. Heather might cower in the corner over fucking up, but I would own it. Sort of. I was planning on running to my room and owning it from under the covers of my bed, but still. I was owning it, dammit.

  "Wrap your arms around yourself, like a hug. Tight. Really tight."

  I couldn't help but glanced up at him.

  "Think about the one thing you want most." He tilted his head as his eyes moved down the length of my body. "The thing that keeps you up at night, that makes your heart swell, your body ache, your mind race through the possibilities. If only I could have this one thing. If I could reach out and take it, pull it close to me and consume it or break it down or dominate it. What would that one thing be?"

  A shiver ran down my spine as he continued to hold the stare I wanted so badly to break.

  He winked at me and glanced up. "Open your eyes, sit down in your chair and hold tight to that one thing. We're going to move some mountains in your life so that if nothing else, by the end of this session, you'll be ready to take the necessary steps to get what you want."

  "What do you want, Cole?" Some guy yelled from the back, and the room exploded in soft laughter.

  "A good woman, but not just any woman." He pressed his fingers to his lips, and I could have sworn he breathed in.

  No the fuck he just didn't. Tease.

  Some of the women around the room jumped up and waved their hands wildly as the room continued to chuckle.

  He smiled and I could have sworn the light brightened around me. Cole Alexander was a force to be reckoned with and he had the body of a god and the smile of an angel. Why in my lusty-drunken haze I hadn't realized it was him the night before was a mystery. A travesty.

  "She's gotta be strong-willed and hard-headed." He smiled and scanned the crowd. "The kind of woman that knows what she wants, but is slightly timid about going after it, or she's making us think that she's timid."

  The crowd laughed again.

  "Keep in mind what your greatest desire in this moment is. Right now. Right here. Not something you wanted before coming here or something you'll want after leaving. What do you want right here in this moment?" He smiled and turned his attention back to me. "Let's have a few people share what that thing is. How about you, Miss? Tell us your name, what company you're with and what you want most in the world right now."

  I glanced over at Heather as she stiffened beside me. "Is he talking to me?"

  "I don't fucking know," she whispered as terror rolled across her features.

  "You, with the dark hair and the pretty blue blouse up front." He knelt on the stage and gave me the most genuine smile I'd ever seen. I could have thrown up.

  "Sure." I stood up and turned my back to him, waving at the crowd. No fucking way he was getting the better of me. "I'm Alexis Foster. I work for Vandrake as a junior advertising agent and what I want most in the world right now is control. Control to be who I want to be in the future," I turned to face him, "and not who I was in the past."

  He nodded and stood back up. "Excellent. Give Alexis a round of applause for sharing. How about you right there, Sir? What do you want most in the world right now?"

  I dropped down into my seat and pressed my fingers to my eyes, wishing I could fucking disappear. How dare he?

  "Unbelievable," Heather whispered beside me.

  "Agreed." I turned and tried to look interested in the other participants as I might have been had I not half fucked the main speaker of the event the night before. The next forty-eight minutes were excruciating and Cole worked the crowd through how to get that one thing we all wanted more than anything else.

  My answer had only been half true. I'd wanted control for a long time, but for that one moment in the conference hall, the real answer I'd have given if I were being completely honest wasn't that I wanted to escape from my past. It would have been that I wanted him. On his knees with his face buried between my legs.

  That would have gone over well.

  *

  "Let's start the bidding for Cole Alexander first today, shall we? We’ll have the speakers clear the room and began." The announcer moved up beside Cole as everyone shot to their feet. I stood and walked out of the room with Heather hot on my heels.

  The ten companies in attendance to the event would bid on the consultants and motivational speakers and the highest bidder won a two-day visit from the all-star. The money would go to the speaker’s charity of choice, so everyone won in the end. It was a great concept and would prove to be beneficial to all of us,
but I couldn't stick around to see where Cole ended up.

  All I could do was pray it wouldn't be Vandrake. The chances were slim that we would get him though. He was one of the bigger names on the platform and my boss was cheap as hell, even when a charity was involved.

  "He totally called you out." Heather stopped in front of me and put her hands on her hips.

  "Yeah. You think?" I growled softly and turned as someone touched my arm. A handsome guy with a clipboard smiled and extended his hand.

  "I'm Sam, one of the organizers of the event. Are you ladies having a good time?" His warm brown eyes softened me a little.

  "Yeah. It's great. I'm Alexis and this is Heather. Nice to meet you, Sam." I shook his hand and returned the smile.

  "That's great to hear. I'm collecting business cards for a giveaway later. Would you ladies mind handing over one of yours?"

  "Sure." I pulled my bag off my shoulder and got out a card as Heather did the same. "Thanks for asking."

  "My pleasure." He took the cards and walked off into the crowd, stopping by another group of people as we moved over to the bar.

  "He knew what he was doing," I mumbled under my breath and filled a glass with ice.

  "Who? Cole? Fuck yes he did. How did we not know that was him last night?" Heather growled softly and handed me a Coke.

  "Because we don't follow that motivational speech shit. That's why." I took the Coke and popped the top as Cole walked out of the conference room with a group of women around him. We locked eyes, and I turned back to Heather. "I'm going to the bathroom. Divert him if he comes near me."

  "Of course. Throw me to the dogs."

  "He's not a dog. A fucking alpha wolf maybe, but no dogs here."

  Chapter 4

  Cole

  It'd been a dick move, and I knew it.

  "Cole!" A tall lanky gentleman in a pressed pinstripe suit stepped in front of me as I made my way toward her. "Jackson Markham. CEO of Vandrake Incorporated. Nice to meet you."

  "Pleasure is all mine, Sir. I've studied your company over the last few year. Incredible start-up story. Love the power behind the push." I smiled and shook his hand.

  "We'll be bidding on you today. I'd love to have you come join us for a few days and help me truly assess where the staff are motivationally. It's been a big growth year for us, and you know with growth comes pain."

  "Absolutely. Any time we stretch ourselves to accommodate a new level of girth, it hurts. Just part of the game, right?" I took the card he handed me. I could only hope that he’d have the funds to bring me on board. More time with Alexis would do both of us good.

  "Exactly! All right, well, count on coming out to Seattle soon. We're going to work hard to get you." He patted my arm and moved around me to go back into the conference room.

  "Here you go, boss." Sam moved up beside me as I wandered through the meet-and-greet area and tried hard to avoid the hopeful stares of the crowd. I wasn't looking to have a casual conversation with anyone. I was looking for the woman I'd be spending the night with.

  "What's this?" I snatched the card from his fingers and wandered down a corridor toward the restrooms. Alexis had disappeared somewhere down that way, and I could only hope that she was in the restroom and not gone from the event for the day.

  "The business card you asked me to get. Her number is listed on the bottom." He moved in front of me. "She's in the restroom, but surely you're not-"

  "Move. Watch how it's done." I tugged at my tie and moved toward the bathroom, pushing the door and glancing in. Empty.

  "No fucking way, Cole," Sam whispered angrily. "You're seriously out of your goddamn mind. What if-"

  "Shh... shit." I pushed at his chest. "Get out of here. Go talk to the girl she was with and find out more about her."

  "Cole."

  "Go." I gave him a stern look and slipped into the bathroom. After squatting and noting only one pair of shapely legs in the restroom stalls, I grabbed the “out of order” sign from the closet and slipped it out onto the door handle. Just in case.

  A quick flick of the wrist and the door was locked.

  I leaned back against the door and couldn't help but smile as she walked out of the stall with her eyes adverted to the ground.

  "Sorry about that," I spoke softly.

  She yelped and jumped, turning around and narrowing her eyes on me. "This is the women's restroom. Are you nuts?"

  "Yep. Most billionaires are." I pushed away from the door as she turned toward the sink and started to wash her hands.

  "I hope someone catches your wild ass in here and finds out what kind of man you really are." Her voice was shaking a little. Was she scared of me or what we could become given the chance?

  "And what kind of man is that, Alexis?" I moved up behind her and looked up to watch her in the mirror, but didn't touch her. The scent of her perfume rolled over me, hardening my body with little to no effort at all.

  What was it about her that drove me to want to break far too many rules? Was she worth it? No one before her had been. No one since Mina.

  She moved away from me and dried her hands. "The kind of man who thinks he can take whatever he wants and get away with it. It doesn't work like that. There's a cost for everything you get in this world. Mountains don't move, Cole. That's why they’re fucking mountains."

  I gripped her arm and pulled her to me as she gasped softly.

  "You know what I want more than anything right now? What I alluded to on stage, but couldn’t say due to the sensitive nature of my deepest desires." I brushed my lips by her ear.

  "No clue." She turned her face away from me, but didn't move. The violently pulsing vein in the side of her neck said that she was scared or excited. I hoped it was a little of both.

  "You. Up on that counter with your panties pulled to the side, moaning while I roll my tongue through your wet folds and drink every drop of come you'll give me." I nipped at her ear as she began to pant.

  "Stop." She turned to face me. "I'm not the girl you think I am."

  "No? Maybe you're exactly who I think you are. Why else would I waste my time chasing you down to a bathroom?"

  "I'm not fucking you. Find someone else."

  "That's your choice." I released her and shrugged before glancing down at my watch. "But the way I see it... you have about five minutes before someone realizes that the bathroom isn't broken, and we get busted. Both of us."

  "I'm leaving, so that isn't a problem." She shrugged and stayed in place.

  So cute. Her thinking she had the ability to walk away from me.

  "No, you're not." I licked at my lips and let my eyes move down the tight-fitting blue blouse she wore so well. "You're going to do what I want you to do."

  "No, I'm not." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Just because you rule the world out there, doesn't mean you rule it in here."

  I smiled at her silly comeback. "You wanna sit on the sink or bend over the bench over there? I kinda like the idea of you wanting me, but to have access to your ass too would make my day better than it already is."

  I unbuttoned my cuff-links and licked at my lips again. My mouth was already salivating at the thought of tasting her.

  "You're out of your mind." She turned and walked to the door.

  "Tell me you're not wet and I'll leave you be." I turned back to the sink and gripped the side as I squatted and stretched my back. "And don't lie to me."

  "It's none of your business."

  "No? It's not because of me?" I rolled my shoulders and turned to face her. "Because I think it is. You got a little taste of what I'm capable of last night, and you want more. I know you do, Alexis. There's no one in here judging you. It's just me and you, and I wanna taste you more than I want anything else right now. Don't deny me. It would be silly and wasteful."

  "You're a bastard." She walked toward the sink and turned to face me, pressing her ass against it and glaring at me angrily.

  "Yep. I am." I gripped her hips and helped her up on t
he side of the sink as I leaned in and kissed her roughly. "A bastard who knows what he wants."

  "I hate you already." She pressed her hands against my shoulders as I slipped her skirt up over her taut thighs and forced them open.

  "I know you do. Keep hating me. It will save us from wanting more than a quick fuck in the sheets." I squatted and leaned in, pressed my mouth to her wet pink panties and breathed deeply. "Fuck yeah."

  "Shit." She leaned back and lifted one of her legs, pressing her high heel to the edge of the sink and opening herself up for me.

  "Such a good girl." I smiled up at her and tugged her panties to the side before leaning in and lapping at the wetness she refused to give me credit for. A groan rose from the center of my chest, and I pressed in farther, wanting to hear her cry out in release at least twice before we had to get back to the crowd just beyond the door.

  "Fuck you," she whispered and slid her fingers into my hair, gripping tightly as she rolled her hips and ground her clit against my tongue. I pressed two fingers into her as she bucked, and worked her slow and deep until her breathing hitched.

  "Just think, baby, the cock in my slacks is four times bigger." I drove my fingers into her again and she cried out, white-knuckling the sink and wrapping her other leg over my shoulder as I rolled my tongue over her swollen wet flesh.

  "Don't tell me that." She arched and cried out again as I slipped another finger into her.

  "You should know what you're missing out on." I chuckled and blew cold air on her pussy before diving in again. I'd never tasted anything more intense in my life, and without a doubt knew I was in trouble.

  She was the type of woman I could come to crave. The last time that happened, the sweet girl beneath me became my wife.

  Chapter 5

  Alexis

  My heart was racing so hard in my chest that I thought it might burst from my skin. I cried out again as warmth spread out from the center of my stomach and raced through my veins.