SEDUCING MY BESTFRIEND'S DADDY

Chapter 9

The air in the home gym was thick with the scent of ozone and the heavy, salt-tang of Alejandro’s exertion. The only sound was the frantic, rhythmic thud of Emily’s heart and the ragged, desperate breathing of the man who held her pinned against the padded wall. His hands, still encased in the rough white athletic tape, felt like sandpaper against her sensitive skin as they slid beneath the hem of her sheer gray shirt.

"Do you have any idea," Alejandro growled, his voice vibrating deep in his chest, "how hard I’ve tried to hate you today? I sat at that table and looked at you, and I tried to see a child. I tried to see Sofia’s friend."

His grip tightened on her waist, his fingers digging into the soft flesh above her hips. He pulled her higher, forcing her legs to lock around his waist, until she was staring directly into the dark, chaotic storm of his eyes.

"But all I could see was that penthouse," he whispered, his forehead dropping to rest against hers. "All I could feel was your mouth. You’ve poisoned me, Emily. You’ve crawled under my skin and turned my own house into a cage."

"Then stop fighting the bars," Emily breathed, her hands sliding over his damp, muscled shoulders. She felt the ripple of his tension, the way his body was coiled like a spring about to snap. "I don't want to be Sofia’s friend right now. I don't want to be your guest. I want to be the reason you can’t sleep."

Alejandro let out a jagged, guttural sound—a laugh that held no humor, only surrender. He crashed his lips against hers again, but this time it wasn't a question. It was a claim. The rough texture of the athletic wraps grazed her jawline as he held her face, his tongue demanding and possessive, tasting of the Scotch he’d used to try and numb his senses earlier.

He moved her across the room with a focused, predatory intensity, never breaking the kiss. He leaned her back against the cool leather of the weight bench. The contrast between his searing body heat and the cold leather made Emily gasp, her back arching instinctively.

Alejandro stood between her legs, his shadow engulfing her. He looked down at her, his chest heaving, the blue light of the monitors reflecting off the sweat on his skin. With a slow, deliberate movement, he began to unwrap the tape from his hands.

"You think you’re ready for this?" he asked, his voice a low, dangerous warning. "You think you can handle a man who has forgotten how to be gentle?"

"Try me," she challenged, her voice a rasp of defiance.

He dropped the used tape to the floor—a pile of white coils that looked like a shed skin—and reached for the waistband of his slacks. The sound of his zipper was deafening in the silence of the gym.

Emily watched, mesmerized, as he freed himself. He was already fully engorged, the sheer size of him a testament to the hours of frustration he’d been enduring. She reached out, her fingers ghosting over the head of his d**k, and felt him jerk under her touch.

"Emily..." he groaned, his eyes fluttering shut.

He didn't wait any longer. He grabbed her thighs, pulling her to the very edge of the bench. He didn't use a condom; at this point, the risk was just another part of the high they were chasing. He entered her in one sharp, powerful thrust that pulled a strangled cry from her throat.

He was too big, too much, stretching her until she felt like she might break, but the pain was immediately swallowed by a wave of white-hot pleasure. Alejandro didn't move for a moment, his forehead resting on her shoulder as he shook with the effort of not finishing instantly.

"You’re so f*****g tight," he hissed into her ear, his breath hot and ragged. "So young. I’m going to go to hell for this."

"Then we’ll go together," she whispered, her nails digging into the muscles of his back.

He began to move then—a heavy, rhythmic pounding that rattled the metal frame of the weight bench. Each thrust was a punishment and a prayer. He wasn't the refined billionaire anymore; he was a man reclaimed by his most primal instincts. Emily met every strike, her legs wrapped tight around his lower back, her world narrowing down to the friction between them and the sound of their shared, frantic gasps.

Above them, the clock on the gym wall ticked toward 3:00 AM.

As the pressure built to an unbearable peak, Alejandro’s movements became frenzied. He grabbed her wrists, pinning them to the leather over her head, his eyes locked onto hers with a terrifying intensity.

"Look at me," he commanded. "I want you to see who’s doing this to you."

Emily stared into his eyes, her vision blurring as the first waves of her climax began to crash over her. "Alejandro... please..."

He let out a loud, animalistic roar as he spilled into her, his body rigid as he filled her with his heat. He collapsed against her, his weight crushing her into the bench, both of them gasping for air as the adrenaline began to recede.

For a long minute, the only sound was the hum of the air conditioning.

Then, the heavy thud of a door closing somewhere in the main house echoed through the vents. Alejandro bolted upright, his eyes wide with sudden, sharp panic.

"s**t! The morning staff," he whispered, his voice frantic as he scrambled to pull himself together. "The housekeepers arrive at 4:00 to start the laundry."

He zipped his slacks with trembling hands, his face pale in the dim light. The "Director" was trying to claw his way back to the surface, but his hair was a mess and his skin was flushed with the evidence of his sin.

"Get to your room," he commanded, not looking at her as he grabbed his discarded shirt. "Go through the back service stairs. If anyone sees you in that shirt..."

Emily stood up, her legs feeling like jelly. She looked at him—the powerful man she had just brought to a shattering finish—and saw the fear in his eyes. It was the fear of a man who realized he was no longer in control of his own life.

"I’m going, Alejandro," she said, her voice soft but steady. She stopped at the door, looking back at the pile of white tape on the floor. "But don't think a curfew is going to stop what’s coming next."

She slipped out into the darkness, leaving him alone in the blue light of the gym, a man haunted by the ghost of the girl he couldn't stop wanting.