Feathers and Thorne Series Books 1 - 3: The Complete Collection

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Isabella

It’s hard not to feel out of place at this restaurant. The table where we’ve been seated is near the back of the building and mercifully away from the majority of customers who have already sat down.

The vibrator in my core is calm, unmoving, and I stay in constant fear and concern about when he will turn it on. I’ve come to notice that Carter Blackthorne is notoriously ruthless in sex after he has gone through something pertaining to work.

Then again, he’s always working, which has been made clear this week.

I ignore the issues that may arise and try to relax, sliding into the leather booth and sinking into Carter’s side when he pulls his arm over my shoulders. He’s so warm, his scent like a smooth scotch, even though we left the penthouse after he showered. His natural aroma is bold and masculine.

I feel like I stand in stark contrast to him, wearing my little dress and strappy heels.

“Relax, dove, you’re so tense.”

He is taunting me; that much is clear, but I will stay ahead tonight. I have to in order to keep my sanity after today’s many events. From Tristan’s wounds to the visit I paid to my father. He has such hope for his daughter, who is spiraling into a very dark world.

Moving to cross my legs, I realize how tight that makes me for the device in my sex. I relax, cross my ankles under the table and lean further into my domineering, bold boss.

He chuckles at my unsure movements. “If you think about it all night, then it won’t be any fun when I turn it on,” he breathes into my hair. “So you better act normal throughout it all, or our dinner guest will think you’re a naughty assistant.”

Inhaling sharply, I meekly reply, “Who are we meeting tonight, anyway?”

And should I be here for it? I don’t ask that, though. Given the state of the election, the shooting outside the mayor’s office, and how Tristan wound up shot in the back… I’m not sure I should even be working here anymore.

Unfortunately, I do know that if I quit, then I’ll be in more danger than ever before.

So, for now, I rest against the chest of my boss and let my fingertips run over the smooth pants of his suit.

“Looks like he’s here,” he purrs into my shoulder, kissing the juncture of it that strokes up to my neck. “Play nice, dove. This business deal is going to be important.”

“Then take out the vibrator.”

His teeth find my shoulder, and I wince. He only chuckles and carries on, watching the waiter lead a broad man over to our table.

“Not going to happen. It stays in until I take it out and replace it with my cock,” he whispers.

I shudder, blushing brightly as warmth fills my face instantly. My eyes find those of the man who sits at the table, and I come to recognize him seconds after he greets Carter with a simple, gentlemanly nod.

“He was going to kill me,” I mumble, staring at Donovan Phillips with a furrowed brow. “Carter, why are… why is he—”

“He’s harmless, Bella,” Carter assures me. “His family may have a deal with Lacey, but I’m looking to undermine such a deal with my own.”

“He pointed a gun at me,” I grate, pushing away from Carter’s side at once. “I’m not going to sit here and be pleasant with a man who threatened me in a hospital simply because I work for you.”

“Easy now,” Carter says through a locked jaw.

He yanks my hips back up against his side, pinning me closer to him than before. His hands are interlocked in front of my stomach to secure me in place. I try to pry my way out of his hold, but he only growls, bringing his lips to the back of my ear.

“If you don’t settle, I will make you calm down by turning on that toy.”

“Screw your threats,” I hiss. “He said I deserve to die just because I slept with you.”

“He will pay for all of that, too, but you still work for me, so I’ll need you to play nice, or I’ll take you to the bathroom, and we can settle our differences there, dove.”

I inhale sharply, my breath hitching, but I eventually do exhale and force myself to relax. Carter feels it, pulling back from me finally and only leaving a limp, easy arm over my shoulders.

I could run off now if I wanted, but I have no way of getting to my apartment or back to his penthouse, where I shouldn’t even be staying tonight anyway.

Neither option seems feasible.

“I do apologize for our earlier interaction Ms. Julis,” Donovan gleams, as though threatening my life and then coming to have dinner with me afterward is normal.

Then again, none of this is normal anymore.

“She is a little perturbed over today’s events, Donovan,” Carter speaks for me. “She isn’t used to my mode of work, and I think it’s made her a little bitter to forgive me.”

I roll my eyes, a movement that prompts Carter to reach into his pocket.

In an effort to prevent that button from being pushed, I throw myself into his lap, his hand casually coming out of his pocket so he can stroke the curve of my ass while it rests on his thigh. He grins, still slightly taller than me, even in this position.

I settle into his lap, hoping this distraction is enough for him to overlook my brazen outburst.

“She’s a cute little assistant,” Donovan points out. “Wish I had one that was so willing to sit in my lap at the dinner table,” he adds with a sultry snicker.

Carter brushes my spine, settling his palm into the gentle curve of my ass. “She’s good at her job. But besides that, I believe we have a deal to discuss.”

Donovan nods but calls the waiter over first. “We couldn’t possibly start without at least a cocktail. It wouldn’t be proper business etiquette.”

The waiter comes to the table like a well-trained pet and waits for his next instruction. Donovan chooses this moment to look over the drink menu, while Carter only uses his hand on my knee to slide further toward the raised hem of my skirt.

“Bring a bottle of the most expensive red wine you have for my date,” Carter orders. “I’ll take a classic bourbon, neat, and please tell Chef Albero that I’m here tonight.”

“The chef is aware, Mr. Blackthorne, and he has customized a special dinner for you and your guests tonight, but I will certainly grab those drinks for you,” the waiter replies.

Donovan orders a whiskey-based drink that I’ve never heard of, but I don’t even bother paying Donovan any more attention after his threats at the hospital. I’m surprised that Carter was so strict with Jacob when it came to my well-being, but he is willing to wine and dine beside this monster.

Carter brushes my hair from my face and coos over me in his lap. He is obviously loving this position, given the hardened pressure of his budding erection rising behind his slacks.

No matter his constant arousal with me, today has been too draining to worry about having sex with Carter anytime soon. In fact, I almost forget that the device is in my sex, cocked and ready to fire off whenever he wishes.

“I’d like to draw back to our conversation now,” Carter demands, the drinks being set down at the table before us. “The deal with Jacob Lacey is clearly him trying to run sanction for me taking away his receptionist.”

Donovan flickers a look at me, but I ignore his glare completely. “Yeah, I heard all about that pissing contest. It seems like this woman is causing a bit of a stir between families.”

“She’s got no stake in this business,” Cater replies, holding firm as he toys with the hem of my dress falling over my thighs that he can’t seem to stop stroking. “Jacob was interested in seducing Isabella, and I stepped in after a simple misunderstanding between them took place.”

I shudder at the mention of my theft of petty cash. I shouldn’t have done that, but I felt trapped.

“This isn’t solely about her, though,” Donovan offers at last. “We did speak briefly about that little deal you have with Jacob Lacey concerning the election. I understand you write him a check meant for Frances Johnson, and he takes a cut. That’s the simple version, right?”

“Yes,” Carter mumbles, staring at his drink. “Dove, do you mind?”

He keeps his hands on my backside and my inner thigh, coercing me into taking his scotch glass with my gauze-wrapped hand and taking his warm drink in hand. I bring the rim of the glass to his lips, and he takes a small, demure sip before leaning back, signaling he’s done for now.

I act so innocently at the movements that it doesn’t seem to be an odd thing to give him a drink like I had until I meet Donovan’s drooling glare. He chews on his lower lip, his eyes nudging my thighs that Carter strokes into plain view.

I cower slightly more into his chest, embarrassed by this new edge of attention.

“Are you offering a business front instead of Jacob’s?” Carter asks, cutting the tensile and strained silence that drifts between us all. “If so, I might be willing to increase the cut of money on your end.”

After straightening his focus back to business, Donovan nods. “Yes, we have a parts store for automotive and public transportation vehicles in Manhattan. It’s a modest business, one that could clearly cover its tracks with the influx of cash you want to funnel to Frances.”

“What does your father think?”

Donovan recoils with Carter’s question. “My father has no qualms with what I decide to do. This petty squabble over your date certainly isn’t of his concern, but the lengths Jacob is willing to go because of the effect that initial disagreement is going to be damaging.”

“Jacob isn’t going to touch her,” Carter purrs, speaking more to me than he is to Donovan. “Jacob Lacey is a spineless loser. He can’t help but suffer at the sight of her pressed against me. But it has no bearings on our monetary deal with the mayoral campaign.”

“Of course,” Donovan concedes. “I suppose without that factor, everything here seems clean. We can sign off on a deal, and we can exile Jacob Lacey right out of business.”

Carter sits back, his warm palm pushing the hem of my dress so far up that I’m sure I can feel the air bite at my sex, plunged with his toy ready to be turned on.

“So you were going to kill me to sweeten the deal for Lacey,” Carter hums. “What do I get?”

Donovan looks frustrated by this question, but he eventually caves. “I was hoping you would let that slide, but I suppose the edict is to offer you the same deal. I can have my cousin Rodney have Jacob marked and taken out.”

My heart skips with such an offer. I look aside, bothered by the idea of killing someone on purpose. Even if that means killing a beast who deserves it.

“I don’t want to be here for this conversation, Carter,” I whisper. I aim to move, his arm yanking me back into his lap a little more aggressively than I would prefer. I wince at his arm hooks harder around my sides. “Carter, please, you’re—”

“Shh,” my domineering boss mutters, reaching into his pocket with the hand not piercing my side. “You stay right here, dove. You know better than to interrupt like this.”

My eyes fly open wider, feeling the vibration strike my damp, tight sex before it throttles in my chest.

My anger dissipates and is replaced by an abundance of pleasure.