Owning Violet Read online

  “Amazing.” I kiss her. A long, tongue-tangled kiss that has her sagging into me, all that pretty bared skin molded against my body. I wrap my arms around her tiny waist and hold her close, my hands caressing the smooth, plump skin of her ass as I kiss her thoroughly. I can taste myself on her lips, taste her there too, and my cock springs to life, ready for more action. “I think we might have a few minutes to spare.”

  She laughs, a soft huff of sound that breathes over my lips. “I’d better go clean up first. I’m sure I look a mess.”

  “You’re beautiful.” I kiss her again. “And naked.”

  Unbelievably, she blushes. “I should get dressed.”

  Violet reluctantly withdraws from my arms and goes to the spot where her underwear and dress lie on the floor. With hurried, efficient movements she puts on her bra, then grabs her dress, pulling it on over her shoulders and wrapping the tie at her waist. She’s about to reach for her underwear when my cell starts ringing from where it sits on top of my desk.

  She freezes, her gaze going wide. “Who could that be?”

  Anyone. But I don’t answer her. Instead, I dash over to my desk to see who’s calling me. And I don’t like the answer.

  Fucking Pilar.

  “No one,” I tell Violet, hitting the ignore button and slipping the phone into my pants pocket. I turn to her, smiling. “Now, where were we?”

  “We were getting me dressed so I can go back to work.” She runs her hands down the front of her dress, then over her hair. She isn’t as sleek and perfect as usual and I like it. Makes her appear more human, with the messed-up hair and the dreamy expression on her face. Her lips are swollen and the surge of pleasure that runs through me is potent. Undeniable. She looks that way because of me. And I feel like some sort of caveman who wants to tell the world I’m the asshole who put that just-fucked look on her face.

  “I’m going to go … wash up,” she murmurs when I don’t say anything.

  The phone starts to ring again but I ignore it. I refuse to take a call from Pilar. Not here, not now. “I should probably do the same.” I hate to take away the evidence of what happened between us, but I have a meeting later this afternoon. And it wouldn’t do for me to walk in with Violet Fowler’s come all over my lips and chin.

  Though I love the image. It would be my little secret. No one would know …

  There’s a knock on the door, startling us both. Violet stares at me, her expression panicked when we hear whoever’s on the other side rattling the door handle, trying to get in.

  Shit.

  “Who could that be?” she whispers.

  “I don’t know.” But I do. I think I do. It has to be Pilar.

  “Just a minute,” I call out as I reach for Violet so I can fix her hair, but she bats my hand away. Instead I run my finger along her lower lip. That is one hell of a sexy lip. “You ready?”

  She nods but remains quiet.

  “Whoever it is, act casual. Pretend we were just having a business lunch,” I tell her. “Nothing else.”

  “Right. Of course.” She nods, sounding like a robot. A bland smile appears on her face. “Let’s do this.”

  I bend over and grab Violet’s discarded panties from where she left them on the floor, shoving them in my pocket. I go to the door, running my hands through my hair in a wasted attempt to tame it. I can smell Violet on my fingers and I sniff the air, hoping the room doesn’t smell like sex.

  Christ. This can’t be good.

  Slowly I undo the lock and open the door, not surprised at all to find Pilar standing in front of me. “What the hell are you doing?” she asks before I can even greet her.

  “Hello to you, too,” I say, holding the door firm when she tries to barge in. “Can I help you?”

  “Let me in. We need to talk.”

  I step into the hallway and close the door behind me. “You can’t just force your way inside my office, Pilar. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Who’s in there with you? Tell me! Is it Violet?” Her eyes are wide and wild-looking and her cheeks are red.

  “Christ, keep your voice down.” I lower mine and keep it level, hoping to force her into calm. “We’re having a meeting while it’s quiet. Talking about our ideas for packaging.”

  “You’re a goddamn liar,” Pilar accuses, stabbing a pointed fingernail into my chest. “Did you fuck her in there, Ryder? Make her scream your name?”

  It’s eerie how close she is to the truth. Makes me wonder if she has spies. Cameras. Is she constantly watching me? “Like I said, we’re in a meeting, Pilar. I suggest you keep your accusations to yourself.”

  As if on cue my office door opens and Violet appears, looking calm and serene as usual. Her dress is straight, there’s fresh lipstick coating that glorious mouth, and not a hair is out of place. The girl is good, I’ll give her that. “Oh, Pilar.” She smiles that bland, phony smile. “I didn’t know it was you knocking and rattling the doorknob. I was on the phone.” Violet turns to me, her expression neutral as she says, “Thank you again for meeting with me, Ryder. Looking forward to what your team puts together next.”

  “I agree,” I say with a solemn nod. I can feel a smile tease the corners of my mouth but I don’t let it spring free. I’m afraid Pilar will catch on to our ruse. “Let’s meet again soon, all right?”

  Her smile grows faintly, a spark of happiness lighting up her eyes. “Sounds good.”

  Violet walks away without another word, her hips swaying as she hurries down the hall toward the bank of elevators. I admire her form, reliving that moment when I had my mouth on her clit and my fingers buried inside her body, the way her breath caught just before she came all over my lips. Pilar banishes the pleasant memory with a low curse and a hard fist to my upper arm.

  “Meeting, my ass. You’re training her to be as shady as you, asshole,” Pilar mutters.

  “Not true.” I rub my arm, impressed with the strength behind her punch. “It’s just difficult for you to wrap your head around the idea of a man and a woman who work together meeting solely for business purposes.”

  Her eyes narrow into slits and she screws her mouth up into an angry scowl. “Prick.”

  “Bitch,” I say pleasantly in return.

  “God.” She tosses her head back and stalks away from me, heading down the hall in the opposite direction of Violet. Why, I’m not sure, considering Pilar’s office isn’t even on this floor, but I don’t care. I’m thankful the craziness left so I can make my escape into my office. I stride inside and shut and lock the door, leaning against it with a relieved exhale.

  I can smell her. Violet. The scent of her perfume and skin lingers in the air, also with the faint musky scent of sex. Closing my eyes, I let the back of my head thunk against the wood as everything that just happened sinks in.

  Fucking crazy. More like fucking crazy amazing. The taste of her, her lips, watching her drag her tongue along my cock …

  Jesus, that had been hot.

  My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, reluctant to see who the text is from. Knowing Pilar she’s around the corner from my office, furiously typing away every bad name she can think to call me.

  But it’s from Violet.

  Sorry I had to leave in such a rush.

  I smile. Always polite.

  Is Pilar still there with you?

  No. I’m alone, thank God.

  She seemed angry.

  She’ll get over it.

  No reply for a while, so I push away from the door and settle in behind my desk, determined to get my mind off Violet and focus on the work that still needs to be done. I have a meeting to prepare for. Emails to answer. A few phone calls to make.

  But then my phone buzzes again and I practically leap for it to see Violet’s response.

  I still can’t believe what we did.

  Frowning, I start to type.

  In a good way or a bad way?

  Good.

  I smile. Then immediately frown. I need to stop acting
like a lovesick fool. I’m above this. I’m just using her. This is all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

  And that someone will be Violet.

  My cell rings and I pick it up, answering before the second ring can sound. The sound of Violet’s voice twists up my insides.

  “Tomorrow is the opening of the collaborative,” she murmurs.

  “I know.” The executives at Fleur put together a small collaboration between the company and a handful of up-and-coming bridal designers. The project has been in the works for almost two years and is only now being revealed.

  “Are you going?”

  “I am.” I pause, savoring the sound of her breathing. Pathetic. “Are you?”

  “Of course. My sister is going, too.”

  “Rose?”

  “Lily.”

  Ah. The hot-mess Fowler sister. “That ought to be interesting.”

  She ignores my jab. “I’d like to … get together with you tomorrow evening. Sometime during the party. What do you think?”

  What do I think? I’d give up a hell yeah, but I need to show some sort of restraint. “Is Violet interested in being a bad girl, sneaking off with me at the party?”

  “I just … I know I’m going to need something to take the edge off.” Her voice falters over the last few words and I savor that sound. Savor the idea of her seeking me out in the middle of a party, needing me to get her off.

  One encounter and she already needs me. I love this.

  I lean back in my seat and turn toward the window, staring at the city spread out before me. I’m feeling good. On top of the damn world. I have Violet Fowler in the palm of my hands. And I’m not about to let her go. “So an orgasm would help with that?”

  She releases a shuddering breath. “Maybe.”

  Ah, now she’s playing coy. “That could be arranged.”

  “Good.” Her voice firms. “See you tomorrow night, then?”

  “Yes. And Violet.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Don’t wear any panties. Tomorrow.” I let the words linger in the air for a moment. “I prefer easy access.”

  She hangs up on me without another word, making me smile.

  Making me anticipate tomorrow. Far more than I want to admit.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Violet

  A few days ago, being in a room filled with beautiful models wearing gorgeous wedding gowns would have made me incredibly depressed. Sad. Frustrated that Zachary still hadn’t asked me to marry him. Irritated that everyone around me would be thinking the same thing.

  But now, I couldn’t care less. Yes, I’m admiring the gowns. It’s a varied collection of frothy and fairy-tale-like to sleek and sophisticated. Every single model’s face is stunning, and that’s because they’re all wearing Fleur cosmetics. I’m proud of our latest collaboration, something Fleur is known for in the beauty industry. The party so far is a huge success, professionally because the buzz is so positive and personally because I’ve managed to avoid Zachary the entire evening.

  He has Pilar to distract him so for once, I’m actually thankful for her presence. Doesn’t mean I like her, though. Oh, no. I can’t stand the woman. How proprietarily she’d treated Ryder yesterday when she pounded on his door. Disrupting what had been the most scandalous yet sexiest lunch of my entire life.

  My skin flushes hot just thinking about it. About him.

  I haven’t seen much of Ryder since our lunch and that’s probably best. I need the distance. It’s a reminder that what we’re engaging in isn’t a relationship. Not even what I would define as dating. We’re fooling around secretively. I’m letting him tie me up and go down on me in his office. Talk about sordid. I should be ashamed of myself.

  But I’m not. In fact, I can’t wait to do it again.

  “God, this is boring.”

  I turn to see that Lily is standing beside me, clutching an ever-present cocktail in her hand, with a detached expression on her otherwise gorgeous face. I’m envious of both of my sisters’ good looks. I always feel like I got the short end of the stick with my boring brown hair and eyes. Whereas Lily has all of this wavy, golden-brown hair that she on occasion colors bright blond, though currently it’s the most natural I’ve seen it in a long time. And then there’s angel-faced Rose, who everyone thinks looks like she walked straight out of a Botticelli painting.

  I’ve always felt like I couldn’t measure up.

  “It’s not that bad,” I chastise. I’m always chastising her. But she’s always complaining, so I have to say something to make her stop. Sometimes I feel like her mother. I’m sure she just adores that.

  It’s nice having her here tonight. She’s been talking to Father lately, trying to get back into his good graces. Rose is out of town so he decided Lily could come in her place, all contingent on her behaving properly—his words.

  Meaning he needs me to babysit my big sister and make sure she doesn’t do anything outrageous. Not that he asked me to, but I know what’s expected.

  “It’s dreadful.” She sips from her glass, her hazel eyes scanning the room. “All of these pretty girls in wedding dresses. Makes me want to break into hives.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m allergic to weddings. Marriage.” She mock shivers. “It’s the devil’s work.”

  She thinks everything that’s traditional and normal is the devil’s work. She’d rather have four men on a string and endless parties to go to every night than one steady guy to spend quiet evenings with at home. She used to have a drug problem. I sometimes wonder if she still does.

  “Not everyone is like you,” I tell her. “There’s nothing wrong with marriage. It’s just that so many people go into it not knowing what to expect. Or not knowing exactly who they’re married to, you know?”

  “Hmm, like you would’ve been if you’d married that asshole you were dating?”

  I gape at my older sister, wondering how she heard about it. We talked maybe a week ago, right before Zachary and I split.

  She shrugs when I don’t say anything. “Rose told me. So did Daddy.”

  God. She calls him Daddy too. Why am I the only one who has a problem with that? With him? I haven’t talked to him in a while. He never even called me to express his opinion over my breakup with Zachary. Which is so unlike him. He’s usually meddling in my business, especially when it comes to Zachary. “I don’t even know how he found out.”

  “Zachary came to him, of course.” Lily rolls her eyes, then drains the rest of her glass, jiggling the ice that’s left inside it. I continue to gape at her. I can’t believe Zachary went to my father. But then again, I can. “He wanted Daddy to talk to you and convince you that staying with him was the best thing.”

  I let out a little snort that makes Rose laugh. “He actually told you that?”

  “Rose filled me in on that part.” Lily patted my arm. “You did good, dumping that guy. He was never good enough for you.”

  I absorb her words, wondering how much I really believe in them. Zachary Lawrence looks fabulous on paper. Any woman would want him, including me at one point. I put up with a ton of his crap, including his chronic cheating. Oh, he hid it well at first and I was clueless. But with confidence comes arrogance and eventually the man became sloppy, leaving clues everywhere. I just turned a blind eye to it all.

  Eventually, this made me feel like a doormat and I had no one to blame but myself. I was a pathetic, useless doormat of a woman and I hated it. Still don’t quite understand how I dealt with him for so long.

  But there are some things we just can’t question, not while we’re still too close to them.

  “I need to focus on work,” I tell Lily firmly. “And me.” I think of Ryder. How he’d brought me to orgasm so easily yesterday afternoon. My skin heats at the memories and I scan the room yet again, searching for him. I know he said he’d be here and I believe him, but I haven’t spotted him yet.

  “Yes, you do. But you need to have a little fun, too.” Lily
flashes one of those knock-you-out-and-leave-you-flat smiles that she has patented. She really knows how to turn it on and look like the good-time party girl. I wonder if it’s exhausting keeping up that sort of pace. I know my diligent I want to inherit Fleur, so I must work twelve-hour days pace is starting to wear on me, so I can only imagine.

  “I know how to have fun,” I say, my mind still filled with images of Ryder. Talk about fun …

  “I mean real fun. Not sitting at home eating your favorite takeout after a hard day’s work and watching your saved-up Bravo shows on the DVR.” It’s as if she peeked inside my brain. “That’s not fun. That’s boring. And you, Vi, are anything but boring.”

  Lily is the only human on this planet allowed to call me Vi without my getting mad at her. God, I really hate that nickname. “I know how to indulge myself. If I like to eat my favorite takeout and watch Bravo shows, what’s wrong with that?”

  “Everything.” Lily glances around as if she’s looking for something. Or someone. Knowing her, it’s probably both. “I’m going to grab another drink from the bar. You want one?”

  “No, thank you. I’m fine,” I murmur, vowing to not make a fool of myself again by drinking too much. I need to keep a level head. I’m already edgy enough, knowing that Ryder is around here. Somewhere.

  I remember his demand that I not wear any panties and I did just that. It feels strange, wearing nothing underneath my dress when usually the barest I go is a skimpy thong. And I only do that so I won’t have visible panty lines, not because I want to please my man …

  The dress is a pale, pale pink and the skirt is short, hitting me above the knee, and flares out. I’m not wearing a bra either, since the dress has a deep V in both the front and the back. I wore my hair up as well, so I’m feeling exposed. Or more like extremely naked.

  And the tiniest bit hopeful. Will Ryder like my dress? My hair? The fact that I followed his orders? No man has given me orders before. It felt odd, doing something at his command. Like I’m his little pet and he owns me. Not that Ryder McKay wants to own me …