Riding the Heir, Page 2

  She smiled at me and squeezed my arm. "Plus, I like you, and I'm his mother."

  "I would be lying if I didn't admit to being a bit afraid," I said. "But I think I'm willing to try. I still need to talk to Shane about all this. He has some explaining to do, for one thing."

  "You would be a fool if you weren't afraid," Virginia said. "And yes, he does have explaining to do. Don't let him get away without giving you straight answers."

  Virginia led me through hallways and upstairs to a huge bedroom. "This will be your room, for now. Gerald has brought your things already. You will want a shower, I'd imagine. We're going to the hospital to visit Henry in one hour. You will be joining us, yes?"

  "I suppose so, yes. Is Mr. Sorrenson okay?"

  "He will be in the hospital for a few days longer, but he will be okay. He needs to take time away from business. He's been driving himself too hard for too long. It's long past time he stepped down."

  Virginia gave me a light hug, and despite having just met her, I felt a kinship to her that boded well for the future. She left, and I was alone in a bedroom larger than any I'd ever been in. It had a four-poster bed, a fireplace, an armoire, a flat-screen TV, and an en suite bathroom. Everything, from the sheets to the soap in the bathroom was the highest quality, as far as I could judge such things.

  I stripped my clothes off, which I'd been wearing for nearly forty-eight hours, and got in the shower. The water came from a huge disc directly above my head, as well as from jets in the wall. It was a long, luxurious, incredible shower.

  I felt him, rather than heard him. It was a prickling at my back, a sense of not being alone anymore. I turned and saw him standing in the doorway of the bathroom, watching me, hands in his pockets.

  I smiled at him over my shoulder. "Coming in?"

  "Is that an invitation?" He approached the shower door, a hopeful grin spreading on his features.

  "Sure is," I said.

  Shane stripped, locked the door, and slid the shower door aside. He stepped toward me with a hungry curl to his lips and a deadly grace to his movements. I turned and pressed my back to the wall, arms in front of my breasts and one leg crossed in front of the other in a pose of mock fear.

  It had been several days since the picnic, and a lot had happened since then. I hadn't had time to feel much but the pressure of decisions and the constant change. Now that he was in the shower with me, his beautiful, naked body swaggering towards me, I felt desire flooding through me. I hadn't realized how tense I was until it all sloughed off my shoulders and out of my muscles, leaving only a heat in my belly and a need to feel Shane's arms around me, his body against mine.

  By the time his hands were wrapping around my waist, he was hard, his cock standing against his belly, beckoning to me. I grabbed him in both hands as our lips met, stroked him to the rhythm of our tongues' exploration.

  "I know it's only been a couple days," Shane said, "but I feel like it's been weeks."

  He pulled our hips flush, his rigid manhood a solid rod between our bodies. His hands caressed my back, his fingers tracing each knob of my spine on the way down to my ass, where he lingered, kneading the muscle in his huge, powerful hands. I kissed his chest, my hands flat on his shoulders, content to simply bask for a moment in his presence, his strength and masculine bulk.

  His fingers moved around my hips to trace the outer edge of my labia, just a teasing touch at first, and then, when I let a whimpering whisper escape my mouth, he slipped a finger in and swiped slowly into my heat-slick cleft. I moved my hands on his cock, fingers held loose and stroking delicately along his iron-and-silk shaft. He added a second finger, curled in to find my G-spot, and then added his other hand to circle my aching clit with a gentle, insistent finger. I felt the fires of orgasm rising in me, heat in my belly and a trembling in my muscles.

  "I want you," I said. "I need you inside me."

  Shane's gray-green eyes met mine, fiery with lust and need, but also glinting with amusement.

  "Come for me first," he said, his fingers moving relentlessly within me, driving me to orgasm.

  "No," I said. "I want to come around you."

  Shane quirked an eyebrow at me, as if I'd challenged him.

  "Oh, you'll come," he breathed into my ear, "you'll come hard...right now."

  He was so right. I fought it, clenched every muscle in my body down on the waves of pleasure rushing through me, tried to think of something else, anything else, but all that came to mind was Shane, his body, his hands, his cock in my pussy, or my mouth, or my hands, and his muscles clenching as he came, and I couldn't fight it.

  I tried to get away, to win the challenge even if it meant cheating, but he had me pinned, trapped, his fingers on my sex and in me, holding me in place and driving me to limp-limbed ecstasy so that all I could do was hold tight to him and ride it out.

  "Goddamn you, Shane," I gasped, and bit his shoulder hard enough to make him hiss in shock.

  "I win," he whispered, and withdrew his fingers, moving away so I had to either hold on to him for balance or stand on my own.

  I held on. He turned off the shower, toweled me dry, paying attention to my sensitive areas, keeping the thrills of pleasure shooting through me until he was dry as well. He lifted me in his arms and set me on the bed.

  "Now you can have me. Any way you want it. How do you want it?"

  I was sitting on the bed, with Shane standing in front of me. I looked up at him, and saw a strange light in his eyes, a hardness at odds with his tender attention to me. I remembered then why we'd come back, and where we were going in a short time. I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him we didn't need to do this now, but he cut me off.

  "I need you, Leo. I want you, right now."

  He wanted distraction, one last moment to be just Shane before he assumed the mantle of responsibility. That, at least, I could give him.

  I scooted backward on the bed and moved to my hands and knees, presenting my ass to him. "Like this. Take me from behind."

  "Oh god, I'll last about thirty seconds," Shane said, climbing onto the bed and positioning himself behind me.

  "Good thing I've already come once," I said, spreading my knees apart and curving my spine inward to lift my hips up. "Come on, Shane, take me hard. I want you deep inside me."

  "You want me deep?" Shane said, his hands on my hips. He dipped two fingers into my pussy, then replaced them with his cock, driving in slowly. "Like this?"

  "Oh god, yes," I said, shifting my weight backwards to impale him deeper. "Yes, like that. Deeper, harder."

  He was moving now, long, slow thrusts into me and back out. For all that he'd said he'd only last thirty seconds, he was still moving as if he wanted to last forever, and could. I wanted him to forget, to lose control, to be distracted. I rocked my ass back into him, driving him hard into me, and then again.

  "Oh, you want it like that, huh?" He adjusted his weight so he was closer behind me, and then reached forward to pinch one of my nipples in his fingers.

  "Yes, Shane. Just like that."

  He let go of my nipple, then, and grabbed my hips in both hands to pull me onto him, and I gasped as he drove to the hilt, pulled back and plunged again. He grunted and thrust, fingers digging into my hips and pulling me, setting a furious rhythm now, hard and fast. He groaned and growled at every thrust, and I let my whimpers turn to an ongoing moan as he neared his climax.

  "Oh, god, yes, Shane, harder," I said.

  I felt another orgasm rising within me, even though I didn't think I would be able to in this position. But here it came anyway, my flesh prickling and my muscles quivering, my ass shaking as he slapped into me, plunging and retreating with primal ferocity. I buried my face in the blanket and clutched it with shaking fists, rocked forward onto my forearms with every powerful thrust of his throbbing cock. I abandoned all efforts to move with him and simply held on as he drove into me, working my building climax into a frenzy. He thrust deep, once, tensed, and came. When he released, he pu
lsed into me, a single savage thrust that toppled me over the edge into orgasm, coming with a blanket-muffled shriek, redoubled when he plunged again, still coming, still flooding me with heat.

  He collapsed forward after one final thrust, his weight on my ass and lower back, his cock still pulsing inside me. He ran his hands along my sides to cup my breasts, then down along my back. I fell forward onto the bed, breathing hard and sweating. Shane lay next to me on his back, one hand flung out to rest on my ass.

  "God...damn, Leo," he breathed. "That was intense."

  "So intense," I said. "Now I need another shower."

  "Yeah, we both do, now. We'd better get moving, though."

  "Yeah, we should."

  Shane laughed. "We're not moving."

  "Yes we are. We're in the shower, right now. I'm washing my legs," I said, my voice distorted by the blanket in my face.

  Shane forced himself to a sitting position and patted my backside. "Come on, Leo. We gotta go."

  This time, the shower was all business, and we were at the front door waiting for Gerald to bring the limo around in less than twenty minutes.

  *

  Virginia entered the hospital room first, followed by Luke, Jon, and then Rob. Shane and I were last, and Shane pulled me to the side before we went in.

  "Listen, the very fact that you're here will tell Dad everything he needs to know, at this point," Shane said. "I know there's a lot I haven't been exactly forthright about, and I'm sorry--"

  I put a finger to his lips. "Not now, Shane. We're here to see your dad. Do you want me here?"

  "Yes, of course, but--"

  "Then that's all that matters. We can figure out the rest later, okay?" I pushed him through the door.

  I took his hand as we crossed the private recovery room to stand next to Henry James Sorrenson. I'd seen his pictures in the news and in magazines, of course, but it didn't prepare me for the man himself.

  His sons were all absurdly attractive men, rugged and masculine and dominant. They all had the same eyes, gray-green and intense, and as Mr. Sorrenson's eyes fixed on me, I saw where they got them. His eyes were like lasers, piercing and hypnotic, so bright and hard that it felt like he was looking through you and able to see your most private thoughts. Even lying down in a hospital bed after a heart attack, he was vibrant and dominated the room.

  "And who is this lovely creature?" Mr. Sorrenson said, his voice low and rough.

  Shane pulled me forward and presented me to his father. "Dad, this is Leona Larkin. Leo, this is my father, Henry James Sorrenson."

  I shook his hand, squeezing firmly. "It's wonderful to meet you, sir."

  "The pleasure is mine, Miss Larkin. I wish the circumstances were more pleasant. I fear you aren't seeing me at my best." He scooted up on the bed, restless. "These doctors should let me go. I hate lying around when there's work to be done."

  I could see the strain in his face, in the lines around his eyes and the dark circles underneath. He was still a weak man, sick and in need of rest. But then, I was nurse, and trained to look for such things. I couldn't stop my instinct from taking over, checking his vitals in the monitor. I had to forcibly prevent myself from fussing with his lead contacts, which were coming loose.

  "Nonsense. You need your rest," the word came out automatically, the habit of a nurse accustomed to arguing with recalcitrant patients. "A heart attack is no small thing. You'll be up and around faster if you listen to the doctors."

  Mr. Sorrenson lifted his eyebrow at Shane.

  "She's an ER nurse," Shane said, with an embarrassed shrug. I got the feeling no one talked to his father like I just had, not even the nurses.

  "Sorry, sir," I said. "Habit."

  "Call me Henry. And you're right, but it's hard. I haven't spent so long lying down since Vietnam." He looked from me to Shane and back. "So, you two are..."

  "Still figuring things out," Shane answered, a bit roughly.

  "But you brought her here, and you're here."

  "Dad, not now."

  "Then when? The press is clamoring for news. My heart attack was public, son. They're expecting a statement from me about who is replacing me, if I'm stepping down as acting CEO. We can't put this off any longer, son."

  He shifted in the bed, scooting up higher. "Listen, son. I know this is hard for you. I've put it off as long as I could, but...I simply can't any longer. I'll work with you as much as I can and help you transition, and get the board used to your presence. I'm not going to dump everything on you and go golfing."

  "It's not that I'm worried about, so much," Shane said. "It's everything else. I'm not afraid of the work, you know that. It's being a public figure, everybody watching me, watching everything I do."

  "It's not as bad as you think. Just be responsible in what you do in public, and be careful of who's watching, even when you think you're alone."

  "That's exactly what I don't want to have to do," Shane said. "But I guess it is what it is."

  The nurse came in then and shooed us out. The limo ride back to the estate was long and silent.

  *

  When we got back to the estate, Shane and I ended up in his suite of rooms rather than mine. A cut crystal decanter filled with amber liquid, a pair of glasses arranged upside down around it, sat on a table between two leather chairs. Shane filled one with an inch of the liquid, drained it, and filled it again. I flipped a glass upright and held it out to him to fill.

  Sitting in the chairs, we toasted in silence, and drank. I waited for Shane to speak.

  Eventually he did. "Are you sure you want to be here, Leo?" He watched me over the top of the glass. "We're getting to the point of no return."

  "Yes," I said. "No. I don't know. I mean, am I one hundred percent sure this is the right decision? No. It's crazy and impulsive. But I like spending time with you. It's more than the sex, which is mind-blowing. It's you. You have this way of making me feel both safe and excited at the same time. I like that. I like not knowing what's coming, what's going to happen next. That's why I went to Sudan with you. I want to do this with you."

  Shane sighed and set his glass down. "Leo, listen. This is serious. If you're with me when we announce my assumption of Dad's role as CEO of Sorrenson Enterprises, then it's as good as declaring us as married. Appearing with me in public is a big deal. You'll be the subject of a lot of attention, a lot of scrutiny. They'll look into your background, and they'll want interviews. Dad's company is involved in the media, backing film and TV studios and such, and as the CEO, especially a young one like myself, we'll be invited to grand openings of shows, opening nights of blockbuster films, red carpet events...the whole high society nine yards. If you decide you want out, at some point, you'll still be watched, and tagged forever as Shane Sorrenson's ex.

  "On top of all that, there's familial expectations. I can date whomever I want, as far as the public's concerned. I could be a playboy, a womanizer, or whatever. The business will go on. The expectations of my family are different. My dad has never stepped out on my mom, in over thirty years. My uncles and aunts, the same. My brothers and sister are all single, never married, like me. And when they do, it's expected that they'll be faithful. Our family goes back a long, long way, and we have a reputation to uphold. In my family, you don't just get married to whoever you want. It doesn't work that way."

  "So it's like aristocracy, basically?"

  "Yeah, pretty much."

  "So do I fit the expectations?" I asked. "I mean, I can't imagine I do. I'm not from your socioeconomic class, Shane. I'm middle class, blue collar. You all are...high society. I'm not."

  "You have my mother's approval. That'll be good enough for everyone else. They won't be able to help liking you, once they meet you." He smiled ruefully. "Besides. I'm not exactly high society either, am I? I mean, look at me. I've got tattoos and piercings and I ride a Harley. I'm more comfortable with a gun or a wrench or a scalpel than I am with a pen or a computer. I'm a Marine and a medic, not a CEO."

&
nbsp; I moved to sit on his lap. "The real question is, Shane Sorrenson, do you want me here with you?"

  "Of course I do. I wouldn't have brought you if I didn't. You fit in with us, Leo. You may not come from money or whatever, but we're not the kind of people that care about that stuff. My brothers like you, my mom likes you, and I'm pretty sure you impressed the hell out of my dad, which isn't easy to do." He reached up and smoothed a lock of hair behind my ear.

  I bent down and nibbled his ear, then planted a kiss on his jaw. "So...what's next, then?"

  He leaned back in the chair and rubbed my thighs with his palms. "Well, the press conference will be on Monday, most likely. We'll announce that Dad is stepping down and I'm taking over. You'll be sitting next to me, with Mom on the other side of Dad. The press will want to know who you are, and we'll give them a statement. Something innocuous that doesn't really say much other than we're together."

  "And then?" I kissed his throat, then down between the collar of his button-down shirt, popping buttons as I went.

  "And then...I guess we figure things out, one step at a time. I'll probably sell my condo in Royal Oak and get one in New York, near the headquarters. You can stay here, in the meantime."

  "When you say you'll get a condo..."

  "I mean we, if that's what you want. Isn't this all a little fast, though?"

  I had his shirt open, now, and slipped off his lap to the floor, unbuttoning his pants to free his burgeoning erection. I pulled his pants and boxers off and tossed them aside. His cock filled my hands, huge and hard and leaking from the tip as I caressed his length.

  "I suppose it is. I'm trying not to think about that. It's really fast, but it doesn't scare me. Maybe it should, but it doesn't."

  I wrapped my lips around him and drew his cock to the back of my throat, moving my fist near his root. Before I could repeat the action, he lifted me up and carried me to the bed. Shane peeled my shirt over my head, tugged off my pants, and then pressed his lips to my belly as he unhooked my bra. My hands threaded into his hair as he suckled one of my nipples, his fingers nimbly stripping me of my panties. I arched my back as he slipped two fingers inside me, moaned when he moved down between my legs to lap at my heat-soaked folds. He had me writhing on the bed with a few strokes of his tongue, pushed me to the edge of climax with a few more, and then I was tugging him up to me as I came, gripping his cock in my hands to guide him in, pulling on his buttocks to get him deeper, wrapping my legs around his waist to keep him deep.