Mr. Stone (More than Money) Read online

  “Mmm.” She rolled onto her back, her eyes fluttering open. A little line formed between them until she remembered where she was. “What’s wrong?” Her voice was slightly hoarse and sexy as hell.

  “Do you know who I am?”

  “Um, yeah. You’re my psycho boss who thinks he’s God.”

  His lips quirked. “Funny.”

  She smirked. “I thought so. Did you wake me up because you forgot who you were?”

  “I woke you up to make sure you’d wake up. Head injuries are no joke.”

  “I’m fine. My headache is gone, and the area is only a little sore.”

  “I’m still going to wake you every hour. It will give me peace of mind.”

  “You need sleep, too.”

  “I’m good. I only need a few hours.”

  That little line appeared between her brows again. “You work too much. You’re always here when I arrive and still here when I leave. Do you ever go home?”

  “I always thought I had to work hard to get what I wanted out of life. And that is true. I do need to work hard, only not at my business. Because I’m discovering what I really want in life, all the money in the world can’t buy.”

  “And what’s that?”

  Leaning over her, he caught himself with his elbows and cupped her face in his hands, running his thumb over the velvet-soft skin of her cheek. “You.”

  Her lips parted, and they were too tempting not to taste again. He captured the bottom one, sucking it into his mouth, swallowing her moan as he deepened the kiss.

  Her hands landed on his waist, moved around to his back, pulling him closer until her tits pressed into his chest.

  He slid his fingers into her hair.

  She jerked.

  “Fuck. Sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  “It’s okay.”

  He carefully extracted his fingers, kissed the tip of her nose, and rolled back onto his side. “Go back to sleep.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “You expect me to sleep after that?”

  He smiled, “Why, Miss Jones, are you saying you like my kisses?”

  She shrugged. “They don’t suck.”

  He chuckled. “A ringing endorsement. But I’ll take it. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

  “Somehow I don’t see you as the begging type.”

  He skimmed his lips along her jaw until he reached her ear. “When it comes to you, you’d be surprised how much I’m willing to beg.”

  She shivered as he traced the edge of her ear with his tongue. Reaching down, he placed a hand right above her knee and slowly slid it up her thigh under her skirt, giving her plenty of time to protest.

  She didn’t.

  Thank fuck.

  He palmed her ass, pressing his dick into her hip. “You make me so fucking hard.”

  But it wasn’t about him. Not until she was his. Not until she gave him her answer. But that didn’t stop him from dipping his finger under the elastic of her panties. He encountered warm heat, slick with her arousal.

  He kissed her then, parting her lips with his tongue and filling her mouth at the same time he filled her with his finger. He added another, and her hips bucked as he moved them in and out, gaining a rhythm she seemed to enjoy if her sexy-as-fuck moans were any indication.

  “Fuck you feel good.” He pressed his face into her neck, and her panting breaths hit his ear.

  He’d never been so fucking turned on.

  She was getting close. Her hips gyrated faster, and she dropped a foot to the floor, spreading herself and giving him more room to work. He took advantage, thumbing her clit while circling what he hoped to God was her G-spot with a finger.

  Something worked because she clawed into his thigh, right before her breaths stilled. Her body tensed, shuddered, and then went limp.

  He raised his head from her neck and removed his fingers, bringing them to his mouth to suck them clean while she watched. “Delicious. But it will taste even better when I take it straight from the source.”

  Her eyes grew round as the meaning behind his words sank home.

  He smiled, lightly kissing her lips. “Do you think you can sleep now?”

  She shook her head. “Not even close.”

  He laughed. “That was supposed to relax you and put you in an orgasm coma.”

  “Nope. I’m wide awake.” She pressed herself to his dick. “Do you want me to do something about that?”

  As much as he’d love it, the answer was, “No. The first time I come, I want to be inside you, and we’re not there yet.”

  “You’re right, we’re not.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose again.

  “So, what should we do instead? You know, to take your mind off things.”

  He chuckled. “Nothing will take my mind off that.”

  She sighed. “If we had a deck of cards we could play gin or Go Fish.”

  “Or strip poker.” He smirked. Her stomach growled. “You’re hungry.”

  She looked sheepish. “Granola bars will only go so far.”

  He sat up taking her with him. “Let’s see if there’s anything good in the fridge.”

  “I suppose we should before it all goes bad.” She stood and adjusted her skirt. Pity. He liked how it was hiked to show off her legs.

  She opened the fridge and started digging around. “Here’s a yogurt, but I can’t read the date.” She handed it to him. “Take it over by the light.”

  “July third. Still good.”

  She pulled out a container, lifted the lid, and sniffed. “Swedish meatballs. I’m not sure how long they’ve been in there, but they smell okay. Do we take a chance?”

  “No.” The last thing he wanted was for them to get food poisoning.

  “Yeah, better to be safe than sorry.” She put the container back on the shelf. “Well, other than a jar of mayo and two packets of soy sauce, we’re shit out of luck.”

  He held up the yogurt. “You still have this.”

  She went to the utensil drawer and pulled out two plastic spoons. “We’ll share it.”

  He shook his head. “You eat it. I’ll have another granola bar.” He dug into the box. There were two left. “Do you want to crush one up in your yogurt?”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea.”

  He tossed her a bar and sat down on the couch.

  He watched her open everything, crush the bar into her yogurt, and mix it around. She sat on the couch and dug in.

  After two bites she looked over at him. “You’re not eating.”

  “I will when I get hungry.” He wanted to save the last bar for her. He had no idea how long they would be trapped and wasn’t about to eat the last of the food.

  After she polished off the last bite, she threw the cup away and yawned. So, orgasms made her hyper and food made her sleepy. Noted.

  “Come lie back down. Let’s try to get some sleep.”

  She snuggled against him, getting comfortable. “Will you sleep this time?”

  “Yeah. I’ll set the alarm on my phone.”

  “I’m fine,” she insisted.

  “I’m not taking any chances.”

  She burrowed closer to him. “Who knew under that stony exterior you’re really a big softy.”

  He wouldn’t go that far. But he wasn’t about to argue with her when she sounded like she was about to nod off. He squeezed around her middle instead. “Go to sleep.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He didn’t comment on that either, but he did doze off with a smile on his face.

  Chapter Nine

  Emma

  A loud grating noise boomed through the wall, waking Emma with a start.

  “What the hell?” Damon’s voice had a just-woken gruffness that did crazy things to her stomach.

  Another grinding screech caused the wall to rattle.

  They both sat up, and she said, “It’s not an earthquake.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “What is it then?”

  “I don’t kno
w.”

  Damon made his way to the door, and Emma, after quickly stopping to slip on her shoes, followed on his heels down the hall toward the sound. Daylight was approaching, the dawn light casting shadows about the room.

  They discovered a firefighter strapped in a harness, working on prying open the elevator doors.

  “Oh, thank God,” Emma said from behind Damon once they stopped.

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close, and squeezed.

  They watched the firefighter work, and when the doors were wide enough, he climbed through them. “You folks okay?”

  “She hit her head. Blacked out for a bit. I’d like her looked at.”

  “I’m fine.” Emma was quick to counter. Jeez Louise, the man had a one-track mind.

  He looked down at her with a furrowed brow. “I’m not taking any chances. Head injuries are tricky.”

  “He’s right, ma’am.” Then the fireman directed at Damon, “There’s an ambulance downstairs. We’ll have her checked out.”

  “I’m so happy you’re here.” Emma thought for sure they’d be trapped until the electricity came back on.

  “We got here as soon as we could. It’s rough out there.”

  “Appreciate it. I didn’t expect anyone to come at all. I thought we’d have to wait for the power to come back on.” Damon verbalized her thoughts.

  “You’d be waiting a while. Power’s not expected back on for at least a few days. Maybe longer.” He started unhooking bits and bobs and then stepped out of his harness. He handed it over to Emma.

  She eyed it skeptically. “What’s that for?”

  “To lower you down the elevator shaft.”

  “I’m not doing that.” She took a sidestep behind Damon, using him as a shield.

  “It’s completely safe, ma’am, and your only option out of here.”

  “What about the stairs? Can’t you unlock the door?”

  “Not until the power comes back on or cutting through it. This way is easier.”

  Damon turned to her. “It will be okay. They know what they’re doing.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I can. It’s a really long drop.”

  “You’ll be strapped in and perfectly safe.”

  Starting to panic, she clutched his arm. “What if one of the straps break?” She wasn’t normally afraid of heights, but the thought of plummeting to her death scared the bejesus out of her.

  The firefighter was still holding out the harness, and Damon took it when she refused to. He squatted, holding it out wide for her to step into it, and looked up at her. “Trust me.”

  Holding on to his shoulder for balance, she stepped a foot in, saying, “If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

  “Promises. Promises.” He pulled the harness up her legs, and she tucked her skirt as best she could so the firefighters down below wouldn’t get a peep show.

  The fireman came over and fastened the bits and bobs. “Ready?” he asked when she was all strapped in.

  “No.”

  Damon chuckled and kissed her lightly on the lips. “You’ll be fine.”

  He tried to give her a light nudge, but she gripped his hand. “Wait.”

  “Emma, I promise, you’re going to be okay.”

  “No, it’s not that.” She eyed the fireman. He was staring. She gave him her back and lowered her voice. “I know once we get out of here our Vegas trip will be over so before that happens, I just want to say, I don’t hate your kisses.”

  His hand cupped her jaw, his thumb caressing her cheek as he stared into her eyes and smiled. “Careful, that was almost a compliment. I might think you like me.” He winked, and her stomach did a weird flutter-swoop. But he didn’t make a move.

  “That’s it? You’re not going to give me one before I plummet to my death?”

  He shook his head and smiled. “I’ll give you one when we’re on the ground.”

  “But our trip will be over. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “If it were up to me, we’d move to Vegas permanently.”

  Smiling, she turned back to the firefighter. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  She sooooo wasn’t ready. Staring into the abyss of the elevator shaft, she panicked again. She looked over her shoulder at Damon. “I can’t do this.”

  The ass chuckled. He was no help. She looked up and saw the tether disappeared into a hole in the ceiling. “What’s it connected to?”

  “A support beam on the roof.”

  “Why can’t I just go up there?” The distance was only a few feet and much more doable.

  “We used a ladder to climb up. Not sure that’s how you want to get down.”

  “Call a helicopter.”

  “Ma’am.”

  She could tell he was getting impatient. Okay, she could do it. The first step was the hardest, after that she could just close her eyes. Resigned to her fate, she asked, “What do I do?”

  “Just step out. The harness will catch you.” He lifted his walkie-talkie and spoke into it. “The first one is ready to come down.”

  “Roger that.”

  She looked over her shoulder at Damon one last time. “See you at the bottom?”

  He nodded. “It’s a date.”

  Keeping one hand on the door of the elevator, she wrapped the other around the tether and held on for dear life. Butterflies in her stomach and heart in her throat, she stepped out, shrieking like a girl as she fell… about an inch before the harness jerked her to a stop.

  Oh, okay, that wasn’t so bad.

  And then she looked down. Oh, shit. Don’t do that. She slammed her eyes shut.

  She white-knuckled the tether with both hands as she was slowly lowered—her erratic breaths and pounding heart, all she could hear.

  The descent seemed to take forever, but then she felt a hand grab her ankle. She opened her eyes to see she was being lowered through an opening in the top of the elevator car. She’d never been so happy as when her feet touched solid ground.

  The elevator doors had been pried open and after she was unhooked from the harness, she stepped out into the lobby of the building.

  Surprisingly, it wasn’t in too bad of shape. With the condition of the top floor, she’d expected worse. She looked around, noting a bit of structural damage and a few broken windows, but other than that, it was pretty much intact. The artwork was even still hanging on the walls, and she wondered what had been used to hang them. Maybe some of that heavy-duty, earthquake putty that was always being touted on late-night infomercials.

  A paramedic came up to her. “Miss? I was told you needed to be looked at.”

  “Can it wait? I want to make sure Damon gets down safely.”

  He pulled out a penlight and flashed it in her eyes before nodding. “Just go to the ambulance when you’re ready.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, and Emma saw the vehicle parked behind two fire trucks.

  She peeked into the elevator, trying to stay out of the way, but still didn’t see a sign of Damon. She knew it would take a few minutes for him to get hooked up in the harness, but she also knew he wouldn’t hem and haw over stepping out as she had.

  Gazing up again, she realized just how high five stories actually were. Sure, it wasn’t thirty, but she still felt brave to have made the plunge which was a very good feeling. Such a good feeling, in fact, she’d finally decided how she wanted to answer Damon.

  Damon was lowered without mishap, and she waited—a little impatiently—while he was unhooked. He came straight for her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his shirt.

  “See, we’re both in one piece,” he said, putting his arms around her.

  She tipped her head back. “If you could read my mind, you would’ve seen all the horrible scenarios I’d come up with on the way down. Everything from broken legs to splatting into a puddle of goo.”

  He grinned, looking around the lobby. Then he must have spotted the ambulance because he said, “Have
you been looked at yet?”

  “A paramedic did his flashy thingy in my eyes. I must have passed inspection because I wasn’t rushed to the hospital.”

  “You joke, but I’m still worried. Come on.”

  He steered her outside. The sun was in full swing, and she could already feel waves of heat coming off the pavement.

  The same paramedic from earlier gave her a thorough exam and declared her fit.

  “Told you so,” she said as Damon directed them down the street and away from prying ears.

  “So you did, but I still stand by my decision to be worried.”

  They stopped under the shade of a tree, and Emma pressed herself into Damon’s front, smiling up at him. “And do you still stand by your promise to kiss me?”

  He wrapped his arms around her, tipping his head down, and she thought he was going to make good on his promise, but he stopped short. “That depends.”

  She furrowed her brow. “On what?”

  “On whether I can call you mine.”

  She gestured behind her. “I already made one leap. I’m willing to make another to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

  He grinned. “It goes all the way, and it goes fast.”

  She firmly gripped his belt loops. “Then I better hold on tight.”

  His head dipped until his lips just grazed hers. “And never let go.”

  She didn’t get a chance to respond. The graze of his lips became an all-out kiss.

  She hadn’t lied. She didn’t hate his kisses.

  After long minutes, he finally broke away. “Come on. Let’s get you home so you can check on Ben.”

  Looking around the deserted street and the iffy entrance to their building’s underground parking structure, she asked, “Exactly how are we going to do that?”

  The man formerly known as Mr. Stone slung an arm around her shoulders and laughed. “We’ll figure it out.”

  Chapter Ten

  Damon

  “You made it.” Emma beamed up at him as he went to take his seat.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” But it had been a close thing. He had gotten a call before he was leaving. One of his foremen for a strip mall they were building in Westwood had gotten hurt and needed to leave the site. Normally, Damon would have filled in, but he’d turned over a new leaf. Instead, he shut the project down for the day. The decision had cost him money, but as he’d learned that fateful night a month ago, money wouldn’t buy him happiness.