Below the Surface

Chapter Ten

Tessa glanced around her office, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d been back to work for two days now, two long, tension-ridden days so full of paperwork she shouldn’t have had time to worry about her foretold ‘fall from grace’.

Yet her brother Tom had never been wrong in his predictions, and though everyone at Tomanna acted normally, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched by a malevolent force, whether that of an otherworldly presence or an all-too-human backstabber, she couldn’t tell.

“You going to sign that, or should I come back next week?” a wry voice asked from her doorway.

She flushed as her boss caught her daydreaming. “Sorry, Jonas.”

He stepped in and shut the door behind him. Immediately her heart began pounding. Was this it? Would security take her away in cuffs?

“Tessa?” His thoughtful brown eyes looked concerned. “You look pale. Are you sure you’re fully recovered from that virus?”

A stomach virus had been a simple and easy way to account for her absence Monday. And just thinking about having to go to jail made her more than a little queasy. “I’m fine. I skipped lunch, so I’m hungry more than anything else.”

He nodded and relaxed. “Good. We’ve got so many projects underway, I’m going to need you now more than ever.” Jonas outlined the two new clients Tomanna had recently acquired. “Kudos to our sales team is all I can say. I don’t know how we did it, but we got both Portlin Paper and Ryders to agree to a helluva contract.”

“Made a deal with the devil, no doubt,” Tessa muttered as she signed the document Jonas needed.

Marcus had taken pains last night at dinner to inform her he would personally oversee both new accounts. Apparently, the astute sales team at Tomanna had brought Marcus into the equation to cinch the deal. His reputation preceded him, a fact that hadn’t surprised Marcus, or Tessa, truth be told. Of course, she thought nastily, it didn’t hurt that both company reps had been women.

Why new business soured her she couldn’t—didn’t—want to say. More business meant more work, and more work meant a greater budget, making her life easier. She normally thrived on the high stress of her job, but knowing her career sat on the brink of destruction and that evil, real evil, could descend upon her at any time was taking its toll.

Not to mention the acid in her gut every time the flinty Judy Hardenmeier tittered about Marcus’ latest conquests and his ‘gorgeous blue eyes’. Hell. Judy was old enough to be Marcus’ mother, not to mention she’d helped Tessa nudge Marcus out of three staffers just a few days ago. Funny how the woman seemed to have forgotten that fact. Now Marcus could do no wrong—as if he needed the encouragement.

To make matters worse, he’d been surprisingly distant since she’d returned to work. No more steamy nights filled with erotic play between the sheets. Cool Blue had returned with a vengeance. Oh, he was cordial and not unpleasant at home, but he avoided her outside of family dinners with his brothers. It made her wonder if their brief time together meant anything to him.

Affai. Ha. Obviously he’d said it in the heat of the moment, the scare of ‘Sin Garu magnifying their attraction.

She felt a fool to be hurt by his aloofness. The old Tessa would have raged at him, actively confronted him and settled things. But Tessa had too many distractions of her own to deal with, and quite frankly, she didn’t have the energy to deal with the questionable issue of ‘them’ right now.

As long as they didn’t talk about their ‘relationship’, for lack of a better word, she didn’t have to face the sorry fact they had no future.

“So are you going to mangle them first, or can I have my papers back whole?” Jonas drawled. While she’d been stressing over Marcus, her boss had been patiently waiting, studying her too-expressive face.

She blushed and handed him the documents, hoping her distress hadn’t shown.

“Thanks.” Jonas stood, his handsome face as enigmatic as ever. “I know I don’t need to remind you we have a budget meeting at eight tomorrow morning concerning Davis’ yields for Surell.”

Damn it all to hell. I’ll be here all night.

“You do know he’s been angling for your job since you took the position.” Jonas grinned. “Of course, that’s not all he’s been angling for. But you’ve shown yourself a woman of good taste, so enough said.”

Tessa rolled her eyes, a small chuckle escaping at Jonas’ familiar, if bad, sense of humour. Shaking her head, she gifted him with a grin and was surprised to see a flash of emotion light his eyes. Then he blinked, making her question what she thought she’d seen.

“Get cracking, Amazon,” he teased. “And I’ll make sure to keep Storm busy and out of your way.”

She stared at Jonas carefully and sighed. He was perfectly normal. No, I’m the one with issues, and an incredibly massive ego. Now everyone I see either has it in for me or has the hots for me.

“Thanks.” She put effort into appearing pleasant, driven—the ideal employee.

He left, shutting the door behind him, leaving Tessa alone with a mountain of work and relentless thoughts about Marcus Storm, the idiot she was falling head over heels for.

Scowling at the computer, and at rumours she’d heard this morning about Marcus in a meeting with Sheila Covington, the woman so infatuated with him she’d lied about sleeping with him, Tessa forced herself to focus on work. If she didn’t get started, she’d never leave.

Five hours later, after straightening her old accounts, she found the time to lightly peruse the two new ones. She had a feeling Ryders would turn a bigger profit than Portlin Papers, but under Marcus’ touch anything was possible.

The door suddenly opened without warning. “You done for the evening?” asked the man on her mind. He stared down at her with an upturned brow, the one that said bow before royalty. Recalling how she’d bowed before him three nights ago and made him beg for it, she stared back.

“By the Light,” he muttered and entered her office. He sat and casually crossed an ankle over his knee, his Armani suit as pressed as if he’d just taken if off the hanger. “It’s seven o’clock, and we’re expected at home.”

Judy stuck her head in the doorway. “Tessa—oh, Marcus, you’re still here,” she said on a breath, her stern expression easing into one of girlish pleasure.

Apparently, Judy heard the disgust in Tessa’s subtle huff for she frowned. “Is something wrong? You did send Marcus the staff he requested, didn’t you, Tessa?”

Tessa could only stare in astonishment as the once firm, professional advertising executive cooed and fluttered over Marcus like a mother hen. Where was the woman who’d agreed that business concerns mattered more than charm?

“No worries, Judy,” Marcus answered easily, amusement swimming in his eyes. “Tessa’s been helping as much as she’s able, but she doesn’t hold a candle to you.” He winked in her direction, and Tessa felt a slow burn begin to heat.

Judy all but melted. “Okay, well…” She cleared her throat. “Oh, and I talked to Mr. Conklin about raising your expense account. You’ll be seeing an increase tomorrow.”

Tessa stared at Judy in amazement. “Judy? Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Her head titled at a stiff angle, her posture defensive even as she leant towards Marcus.

“It’s just that,” Tessa couldn’t finish. Just that you used to dislike Marcus as much as I did. Now you’re drooling over Cool Blue like he’s one tall drink of water.

Judy arched a brow in question.

“Nothing.” She found Marcus staring at her curiously. “It’s been a long day. I have more work ahead of me,” she said in apology. “I’ll have a copy of the Surell proposal on your desk later this evening.” She nodded at Judy and deliberately ignored Marcus, peeved at his ability to turn even the hard-nosed Judy into a simpering half-wit.

He frowned but stood. “Judy, I’ll walk you out.”

The woman positively beamed and Tessa wanted to throw them both from the room. The minute she thought it, Marcus stumbled over the threshold, Judy in tow.

“Sorry, Judy,” he said tightly, a glare thrown over his shoulder. “The doorway’s a tad uneven.”

“No problem, Marcus,” she murmured and stroked his arm affectionately.

The moment they stepped away, Tessa slammed her door shut with a thought, childishly pleased to see the last of Marcus for a while.

Watching Judy fawn over him made her think of all the others in Marcus’ sordid little past, a past that now included Tessa. Damn, how many women had he been with? At least half the single women in the company. And not one woman had come away dissatisfied, according to the rumours she tried like hell not to listen to.

A glass vase shattered across from her desk and she forcibly put a leash on her emotions. “Time to work, not to wonder.”

An hour later she had more or less wrapped things up when Jonas poked his head in to check on her. “You know, if you need help, all you have to do is ask.” His lips quirked. “Davis is still here.”

She studied him, aware something about him seemed off. Damn, first Judy, now Jonas?

Jonas’ smile faded, and he entered the office. “Tessa? I was only joking. Seriously. It’s late, and we have a lot to do tomorrow. What can I do to help you get out of here?”

He circled the room to stand behind her, surprising her at the large shadow he cast over her desk. She glanced over her shoulder and noted with some surprise how very large Jonas was. How had she never noticed that before?

“Tessa?” he asked, his voice husky.

“Ms. Sheridan?” Marcus said coolly from the doorway. “May I have moment of your time?” He stared pointedly at Jonas, who ignored him.

“I’ll be here another hour or so if you need me.” Jonas put a comforting hand on her shoulder that only aroused disquiet. He stared at Marcus almost challengingly before he squeezed her shoulder and moved away.

“Don’t overwork my best logistician,” Jonas warned lightly, a hard look in his normally good-tempered gaze.

“I never do,” Marcus said suggestively, but he waited until Jonas left his view before turning to her.

“What the hell was that about?” he growled and slammed the door shut behind him as he stalked to her desk. “He had his hands all over you.”

Tessa blinked, shocked at his fury. “He had a hand on my shoulder. He’s my boss, Marcus. What’s wrong with you? It’s just Jonas.” Yet his behaviour had unnerved Tessa as well. Between Judy’s turn-around and Jonas’ odd actions, she figured someone must have spiked the watercooler.

“Open the door, Marcus. You don’t want one of them to see us together.”

Still scowling, he began pacing. “Them? Oh, you mean the Djinn. Hell, Tessa, they already know about us both. And ‘Sin Garu’s visit to the house clearly destroyed any notion we aren’t better acquainted.” His eyes fairly glowed as he stopped and stared at her breasts knowingly.

Immediately her nipples hardened and he smiled, his eyes hard while his mouth curled into a sensual grin. “Nice to know Jonas doesn’t get to you like this.”

“Get a grip, Marcus,” she muttered, at a loss to explain how incredibly hot his jealousy was making her.

The lock sounded overly loud as it suddenly clicked.

“Marcus?” she asked, puzzled when he came around the desk, a wolfish look on his face. He couldn’t possibly think to…no, not here. “Don’t you dare,” she said on a breath, but his eyes told her exactly what he planned. She grew wet thinking about it, and seated as she was, she stared eye-level at the massive bulge straining his trousers.

“I dare anything.” His voice was whisper-light and sharp as a knife. The blinds on her office door lowered as he swiftly pulled her out of her chair and turned her around, bending her over the desk. As he positioned himself behind her, he slid his hands under her knee-length skirt and pushed the material up her thighs.

“I’m going to fuck you, sertia,” he rasped and tugged her soaked panties down her legs with a focused thought. “Fast and hard.” The warning came as the hiss of a zipper sounded. Then she felt him pressing through the fabric of her thin skirt, between her buttocks, his erection hot and heavy as he nudged her thighs further apart.

She couldn’t believe he was touching her so intimately here at work. Though most everyone had already left, Jonas and Davis were still in the building, and who knew who else. “Marcus, no,” she moaned, wanting to protest but unable to suppress a shiver as he rolled his hips into her.

“Tessa, yes.” He lifted her skirt and surged inside her in one swift thrust.

She bit her lip and pressed backward, unconsciously offering resistance, increasing the force of his thrusts as he pounded into her.

There was no finesse here, no soft words or studied caresses, but raw, hard need. His shaft slid in and out, riding her hard and deep as he grasped her hips and drove repeatedly, reaching one hand around to toy with her clit.

His breathing increased along with hers, her orgasm approaching swiftly, catching her breath between one heartbeat and the next.

She contracted around him, felt him pulse and stiffen. “Tessa,” he whispered harshly and convulsed, his shudders increasing. He gripped her hips tightly as he pumped until dry. Once finished, he eased his hold on her and began stroking her sensitive stomach, making her want him again when she shouldn’t possibly.

Bent over in front of him, still joined in an erotic bond, she felt both submissive and incredibly powerful. “Well, that was one I haven’t tried before,” she said huskily, her body pleasantly sore from his hard use. She wiped a lock of hair from her eyes and tried to glance over her shoulder at him, but he forced her to remain in place, his mental will keeping her unmoving. The helplessness of her position only increased her arousal.

“You’ll try it again with me,” Marcus rasped and flexed inside her. He pumped his hips and to her amazement he began to harden. “Only with me,” he added possessively, stirring her desire.

Large hands cupped her silk-covered breasts, and his palms teased her nipples to stand through both her bra and blouse. It wasn’t enough. She wanted his hands on her naked flesh, and before long she had her wish.

Marcus couldn’t believe how primitive he felt, taking Tessa from behind as he fondled her. He felt dominant, like a territorial male staking a claim, warning Jonas and every other man away from his affai.

He scowled and increased his thrusts, wanting to punish Tessa as much as he wanted to cherish her. His possessive thoughts were out of his control, and determined to push Tessa beyond her limits, he rode her without mercy, pulling her close to orgasm time and time again, but leaving her at the brink without going over.

He took her with his body, with his mind, and with his spirit that had joined with her regardless of his desire not to take an affai.

“Please, Marcus,” she gasped as he changed the friction of his cock, his sack grazing her hard nub. Ah, but her clit was deliciously ripe.

“Who do you belong to, Tessa?” he asked and deliberately stroked her clit while he pinched one taut nipple. With his mind he increased the pressure between her thighs, making her arch, needing more.

“You, Marcus,” she groaned and bounced as he rammed her particularly hard. With a mental pull, she urged him to give her more.

His lusty water siphon could take as much as he could give, and the knowledge made him ache to send them both to climax.

“Tell me you want me,” he rasped.

“I do.”

“Tell me you need this.” He thrust harder, pinching her nipples and stimulating her sex to a tight, pink blossom.

“Please.”

“Tell me,” he growled, his cock unbearably hard, his balls aching with the need to release.

“Marcus, I need you. Your affai needs you,” she keened as he pushed her over the edge.

Her contractions stimulated his orgasm, leaving him stronger for having connected with her and weaker as his seed shot into her moist womb, the pleasure making him almost lightheaded.

Once their passion ebbed, he slowly withdrew and mentally righted their clothing.

“Not bad after ignoring me for two days,” Tessa said on a breath, her hair a mass of red waves cascading down her back as she turned to face him. “What the hell is going on with you?”

He eyed her warily. The hazy afterglow of bliss combined with anger made Tessa completely irresistible. Her bright eyes were direct, and her mouth curled into a snarl that made him want to kiss the mad out of her. She was a warrior he had every intention of claiming, provided he kept her alive long enough to keep her.

He’d replayed ‘Sin Garu’s visit in his mind a hundred times, and he could come to no other conclusion but that the sorcerer wanted Tessa, badly. Oh, he wanted Marcus dead, no doubt. But desire had been there in the evil sorcerer’s murky blue gaze, a disturbing hunger Marcus had no intention of feeding.

Tessa’s lips pursed, accentuating their ripe fullness as she awaited his reply. He sighed heavily, conceding how difficult the past few days had been without her.

“I missed you,” he said gruffly, not surprised when she put her hands on her hips and stared, her eyes narrowed and bright. Obviously the woman wanted blood—his.

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Damn it. He didn’t want her to see how vulnerable she made him. His life had always been in danger, since the minute he was born. But Tessa had grown up in this world, without the threat of wraiths and dark magic, without the threat of treason and Djinn interference.

“Look, I’ve been busy the past few days.”

“Oh?” Her brow cocked high, dangerously high.

“Between the new accounts and watching for danger, I’m tired when I get home.”

“Bullshit. You’re running scared.”

He froze and returned her inspection with a frosty one of his own. “I wasn’t aware you had a degree in clinical psychology.”

“See? You only act all high and mighty when something bothers you. Face it, Marcus, I know you well enough to know something’s not right.” Her voice softened. “Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

The urge to confess his worries was surprisingly strong, but he shrugged it away. Bad enough he knew the many problems he faced as a would-be king. His future bride didn’t need to know about his multitude of imperfections.

“I’m focused on keeping you safe, Tessa,” he said calmly, trying to convince her to leave it alone. “I can still see the wraiths attacking us in my office every time I close the door. I don’t need distractions, not when your safety’s on the line.”

She frowned. “No more than yours is. ‘Sin Garu seemed more thrilled at the idea of destroying you than bothering with me.”

“But taking you would destroy me,” he admitted on a harsh breath.

Her eyes warmed and she visibly relaxed, her smile wide and welcoming. Shit. Now he’d have a hell of a time keeping her away from him until the Djinn threat was exposed.

“Marcus, that was a wonderful thing to say.” She laughed. “Too bad you looked like you ate a lemon while saying it.”

His lips quirked. “Look, Tessa—”

She held up a hand. “No, no, before you go pissing me off again by saying something insulting, let me have this moment.”

He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help being amused by her theatrics. “Are you finished working yet?”

“Until my eight o’clock meeting tomorrow.” She groaned and arched her back, subtly reminding Marcus of how perfectly round her breasts were. Seeing his gaze she huffed. “Don’t think that hot, sweaty sex we shared is going to distract me, Marcus Storm.” She gathered her coat and purse and unlocked the door. “We have plenty of time to talk on the way home.”

With a silent groan, he followed her out of the office and closed the door behind them. He stiffened when he saw Jonas Chase across the room watching them with a strange look. A wave of danger settled over the space, and Marcus hastily drew a telepathic shield around his affai, leaving himself open to draw out his opponent.

“What—” Tessa began before following his gaze to her boss. “Not Jonas.”

The minute her eyes met those of her boss, the large man nodded and waved goodnight. He turned slowly, as if to prove he was no threat, and closed himself in his office.

Marcus took a step from Tessa, intent on having it out with Chase here and now, when Tessa grabbed him by the arm and clung like a burr.

“Oh no you don’t, Marcus. It’s not Jonas. I know it’s not.”

“Why’s that? Because you like it when he touches you?” he asked coolly, unaccountably angry she defended her boss when he could feel the truth pulsing within him. Jonas Chase was dangerous, period. Why he hadn’t seen that before he didn’t yet know.

“No, because you’re blinded by jealousy,” she said plainly, taking the bluster out of his rage. “Like I was when I heard you had a meeting with Sheila Covington this morning. Funny, you didn’t mention that part of your schedule last night at dinner.”

Suddenly the threat to his well-being came not from Jonas Chase, but from the deceptively calm redhead eyeing him like a male she’d like to neuter.

“Covington, right.” He took hold of her elbow and dragged her to the elevator. How the hell had he forgotten something so important as what had happened this morning? This was one conversation they definitely needed to have in private.