The Virgin Intern (A Romance Novella) (7 page)

I
’m disoriented
when the door opens to my room. It’s dark, and late, and why is there someone here? My brain is panicking and I’m about to scream when I hear Andrew’s voice. “Naomi?”

My own voice comes out as a sleepy slur. “Oh, it’s you.” The door closes softly, and I hear the footsteps across the floor and feel the mattress dip beside me. Suddenly I can feel the heat from his chest—he’s shirtless and I’m now very, very awake. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he says. “I didn’t get back until a little while ago. I wasn’t going to wake you up, but I’ve been thinking about you too much to sleep.”

“What a nice surprise.” I hope that he can hear my smile in the dark.

“I kept my promise,” he whispers. “I’ve been thinking all day of ways to make you come.”

I laugh and let him pull me against his body. “Oh really. I’m pretty tired, but I think I can manage if you make it worth my while.”

“I started making a list,” he says, putting his mouth against mine and tracing my lips with his tongue.

“Really?”

“It was more fun than working on my cases. I plan to thoroughly ruin you, Ms. Grayson.”

I can hear the lust that laces his words, and I shudder as he moves from my mouth to my jaw, then up to my ear. He bites it gently, sucking down the side to the lobe, grazes it again with his teeth. I used to make fun of moments like this—I never thought that someone sucking on my ear could be hot.

I was wrong.

My body is already singing and he’s barely touched me. He whispers, “For hours I’ve been imagining the sounds you’ll make when you come tonight.”

“What are you planning?”

He chuckles darkly. “And ruin the surprise? No.” He bites my neck, smoothing away the pain with his tongue. “But I am very certain it is something that you have never done before. All you need to do is feel. And come.”

My heart skips and speeds up. “Okay.”

I close my eyes, and do as he says. I concentrate on the sensation as he pulls the blankets back, the feeling of slipping fabric as he undresses me piece by piece, the whispers of fingers and lips in unexpected places. His hands part my thighs, curving around and lifting my legs toward my chest. I feel the air on my pussy and the vulnerability of this position as I’m spread open in front of him.

He gives me a long, slow lick and I groan, biting my lip to keep my volume in check. Tongue is swirled across my clit and back, and I close my eyes again, just feeling. He dips a finger inside of me, and then two, curling them against the walls of my pussy in a way that makes me jump. Then there are three fingers in me, each running along that sensitive place, and I feel my orgasm building more quickly than I’ve ever felt. My breath is gone and I’m gasping, small moans escaping with each exhale. Andrew knows I’m on the edge and he slows his pace, holding me there.

Then I feel his tongue against my ass and the touch is so sudden and unexpected, I come. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming as my pussy convulses around his hand, pleasure shattering outward in a starburst. Andrew doesn’t stop fucking me with his hand, forcing wave after wave of lightning to wash over me. He wrings every ounce of the orgasm from me, leaving me spent, my limbs feeling like jelly.

He pulls his fingers out of me, and I moan at the loss. I feel his teeth nip at the inside of my thigh and I jump. Andrew’s hands are sliding on my skin and gripping my hips and then—

Oh. My. God.

Andrew’s mouth is locked against my ass, his tongue pressing at the opening. He sucks and swirls, the sensation so strange and new, the idea so shocking that I’m dripping again.

The tip of his tongue draws a line from my ass up to my clit, dipping deep into my pussy on the way. He sucks his way back down, and I’m panting. My fingers find his hair and I pull him against me, needing more of this, more of what he’s doing to me, more of his mouth, more of everything. He’s sucking at my ass and I think I might be delirious. I’m saying things and Andrew’s name and I’m pleading with him to make me come again and I’ve never felt like this.

One of his hands finds my clit and I’m so slick that his fingers slide against me. Andrew presses his tongue against the bud of my ass and presses, and again, and again, thrusting his jaw against me. He’s circling my clit with his thumb and fucking my ass with his tongue and I can’t hold on any longer.

“Andrew,” I moan, so close to the edge I can barely form words.

His mouth finds my pussy as I break open, swallowing the flood of my juices spilling out. My fingers dig into his scalp and my hips are working against his face as what feels like bliss spills over my skin and through my nerves. There is nothing behind my eyes but light, nothing in my brain but ecstasy. I ride the orgasm for what feels like forever and it’s still not long enough.

My heart is pounding in my ears as I come back to myself. Andrew’s lips are still against my pussy. He kisses me there softly, almost tenderly, and it still makes my body jump. He climbs up to hover above me, kissing me on the mouth. I can taste myself on his lips and the realization makes my body heat up all over again.

“Was that worth your while?” he asks, his voice raspy.

“I think that’s an understatement.”

“I’m glad.” He wraps his arms around me and fits my back against his chest. My entire body is languid and relaxed, muscles warm and pliant after his attention.

“I’ve never done anything like that before.”

Andrew laughs softly in my ear. “I know.”

I love that he’s not afraid of my innocence. I love that he spent the day planning how to give me pleasure. I also really love the way we fit together, skin to skin and legs a little tangled. My mind starts to think things that are dangerous about how much I’m enjoying this, and I force those thoughts back.

“What’s your favorite color?” Andrew says, and it startles a laugh out of me. “What? I figure now is as good a time as any to ask some questions. If I did my job well enough, I should be able to ask you anything.”

“Green,” I say. “And I think you’re right. You could ask me anything. What’s yours?”

“Silver,” he says.

“That’s not really a color.” I turn myself a little bit toward him. “Colors aren’t shiny. So basically your favorite color is gray.”

He chuckles. “I’m actually fine with that. Gray is a nice color.”

“Favorite food?” I ask.

“Tiramisu, without a doubt.”

I find his hands and trace his with mine. “Good choice. As weird as it sounds, mine is pepperoni. I can’t get enough of it.”

“So it’s safe to say you’re not a vegetarian.”

I shake my head and grin. “Not even close.”

We’re quiet for a moment, then: “Tell me a funny story about yourself.”

My life hasn’t really been funny for quite some time, so it takes me a minute to think. “I used to have a roommate when I lived in L.A., and we would prank each other by trying to take embarrassing photos of the other and then printing them out and leaving them all over the apartment for each other to find. She was always really good at it—that, and I always take really awkward pictures. It seemed like every day I would come home and find a different awkward picture in a different place. It was a little weird when we had people over, but it was fun. I would try to go and delete the pictures from her phone or computer, but she always kept back-ups—”

“I would really like to see those pictures sometime,” he says. But I can’t respond, because my brain has snagged. Something I read in the files downstairs, about the security company. Trident Security. “Naomi?”

“Hold on,” I say, struggling out of his embrace and off the bed. I find my pajamas in the sheets and pull them on. “I have to go downstairs.”

“What’s wrong?” He’s suddenly concerned. “Are you all right?”

“I just thought of something for the case.”

I hear him stand up too, and say, “It’s almost two a.m., can’t it wait till morning?”

“I don’t think so.” I’m already out of my room and halfway to the stairs.

I flip the light on in the dining room and attack the boxes, looking for the box from the other day, the one with Robert Greene. It takes me a minute to find it, and Andrew is standing in the doorway watching me, totally bewildered. My eyes snag on his body and I have to force myself back on task because he’s so distracting.

“What are you looking for?”

“It could be nothing, give me a second.”

Here’s the box. I paw through the papers to find the comprehensive and boring rundown of the company. I scan it, feeling drowsy already from the minutiae, but it’s there.
It’s there
. “When the police checked the security records for the entry and exit logs, they checked the servers in the mansion and the central Trident servers, right?”

“Right. There was nothing on them to indicate he left the house.”

I beam at him. “Well, thankfully, Trident Security is a totally normal security company. A.K.A. totally creepy. This changes everything.” I fling myself at Andrew, forcing him to catch me and I kiss him full on the mouth. “And now I’m not sure I’ve had enough of you tonight.”

He spins me against the wall, and then we’re kissing like our lives are at stake. I’m breathing him in, ready to let him take me, do whatever he wants to me. Nothing could be more perfect. And then:

“What the
fuck
is going on in here?”

I freeze, closing my eyes. No. This isn’t happening. It’s really not happening. Andrew steps slowly away from me, and I see my uncle standing in the doorway. His hair is frazzled, his pajamas rumpled, and his expression thunderous.

“I asked you a question.” He’s not looking at Andrew, he’s looking at me. But I don’t say anything. How can I? He knows what was going on. Saying it is just an insult to both of us.

Andrew clears his throat. “She had a thought about the case, Roger. She came down here to see if she was right.”

“And I suppose she found what she was looking for inside your mouth, Finch?” From the corner of my eye I see Andrew flinch like he’s been hit, but my uncle’s not finished with me yet. “I warned you more than once that he would try to use you against me. I told you to
stay away from him
. We both know you’re not good enough for this job, but I thought I could trust you to follow simple instructions. I guess that’s not true.”

“Roger,” Andrew interrupts, his voice firm, “This has nothing to do with the case. I know you think I’m trying to take the firm from you—I’m not. I like Naomi, and our spending time together has nothing to do with you. She’s done amazing work on this case, you can’t just—”

“It has everything to do with me!” My uncle turns away from Andrew and toward me and I feel like he’s as tall as a skyscraper. “Did you tell him how much money I had to spend to bail you out? Did you tell him our deal, and how you somehow suckered me into hiring you, somehow convinced me that this would be anything but a waste of my time? Well, I guess I was right. You’re just like your father, a manipulative failure. If you have anything to say for yourself, do it now.”

There should be words coming out of my mouth, I know, but I feel numb. I can’t breathe, I can’t speak.

“Fine,” he says. “We will discuss your future at the firm and in my house at a later time when there’s less company present.”

He stalks out of the room, and I feel like the atmosphere collapses. He’s right, I am all of those things. I couldn’t get anywhere on my own in L.A. and had to come back, I did everything he told me not to with Andrew, I’ve been barely helpful on the case. He’s right. I am a failure.

“Naomi.
Naomi
.” Andrew has me by the shoulders, gently shaking me. How did I end up on the floor? “Are you with me?”

“I don’t know.” I think I’m the one who says that. I feel dazed and distant, like the world is suddenly filled up with fog.

“That’s better than ‘no,’” Andrew says. I feel him helping me up, but my legs don’t seem to be working right. Did my uncle’s words break my bones? Maybe…

He’s going to fire me. I’ll be homeless. I’ll never get to go back to L.A., never be able to try to make a second chance at music. It’s all over. Done. Finished.

I’m in bed—how did I get here? Did Andrew carry me? Andrew is with me, tucking me against his chest. He’s saying things like it will be okay, but he doesn’t know. It’s not okay. None of that was okay. This was my chance, my only chance, and now it’s gone. I feel like I should cry, but I can’t. If I cry it will all be real.

I don’t cry…but eventually I sleep.

I
open
my eyes a few hours later when the sun is barely rising. It’s one of those rare moments when I’m fully awake almost as if I never went to sleep. The barest hint of light is touching the walls, and everything is still a mess. The same thoughts enter my head, paralyzing and insidious. I sigh. I’m not sure what to do now. Andrew is asleep beside me, his arm slung across my waist. A feeling of warmth spreads through my chest at waking up next to him, but the next moment it’s gone. Because isn’t being with him what cost me everything? If my uncle hadn’t seen us together, everything would be fine. I’d still have my job, and a place to live.

A smaller voice tells me that it’s not true, that my uncle would never have been happy regardless of what happened with Andrew. I wish it was true, but I can’t bring myself to believe it.

I look at Andrew in the half-light. He’s beautiful. I like his openness and his willingness to try new things with me. I like the fact that he knows what he wants. I like that his favorite color is silver. I like that he is kinder than he appears. I smile, just for a moment able to forget what happened. I shift closer to him, and Andrew opens his eyes.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hey.” His voice is deeper than normal, edged with sleep. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.”

His hand slides up my side, curling around the back of my neck to pull me closer. “Not one of those things he said was true.” I feel a wan smile appear on my face; Andrew can talk all he likes, but it won’t change the fact that my uncle’s words are true. Andrew looks at me deeply, as if searching for something. “You believe him,” he says.

“Of course I do.”

His brow creases. “Why?”

“Because you haven’t been there for the rest of it, Andrew. You don’t know what I went through, you don’t know what happened to make him say those things. They are true.”

“No,” he says. “I refuse to believe that. You are smart, beautiful, and kind. You are not a failure.” He kisses me and adds, “Let me make you forget what he said, and show you that it doesn’t matter. Let me show you how much I want to be with you.”

He kisses me again, and rolls over me. I close my eyes and let him make me feel. His cock entering me feels familiar and comforting, a solitary and precious connection. This time he doesn’t fuck me. Everything is long and deep, a slow build to the end. His mouth never leaves mine, and I think I could live an eternity in his kisses. He stays deep inside of me, rolling his hips in time with our breathing, and I feel my orgasm coming from far away. It’s not bright and loud, but expansive. I come apart underneath him, my body shaking as pleasure rolls over me like a tide. He’s not far behind me, and without a condom he finishes in the sheets.

Andrew doesn’t move from above me, looking down and holding my gaze. “I want to be with you. Not in secret. I don’t care what anyone thinks about us. I promise everything will be okay. I am going to make sure that you’re okay. Do you believe me?”

I nod. I do. I do believe him, but it still hurts knowing that I’m about to lose everything.

“Come with me to court today,” he says. “It will show him that you’re stronger than what he has to say to you.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please,” he says, his lips against mine, “I want you there.”

I complete this kiss, loving the sensation of his lips. “Okay.” If he wants me there, I’ll go. I can only hope that it doesn’t make things worse.

The sun is fully risen now, and I get up to take a shower. “Can I join you?” Andrew asks.

I manage to smile at him. “If you do, we’ll never make it to court on time.”

“That’s a fair point.”

Once showered and dressed, I see Andrew again in the kitchen. He’s drinking coffee and eating a granola bar. “I have a question,” he says as I come downstairs. “What did you actually find last night?”

I glance toward the dining room. In the emotional mess I had completely forgotten my discovery. Internally cringing, I go into the dining room and grab the Trident Security file. I pass it to Andrew. “Here. It’s the breakdown brochure for people installing systems with Trident. It describes the services involved in every tier, and Mr. Sterling was in the highest. Look what it says.”

He scans it, and his eyes widen. “Multiple secure data back-ups.”

“I looked into it further, and what they mean is that all records are held on a server that only the highest members of the company can access. It’s not something that shows up in their regular database, and because it’s privileged they would never provide it voluntarily.”

“I’m sure Timothy told the police to check every back-up,” he says, and I can see him working through it.

“I’m sure he did too. But the police wouldn’t have known about the fact that there was a back-up like this. The information is private, and kept in the highest confidence—even from law enforcement. Do you see? If it’s not there, we lose nothing. If it is—”

Andrew is beaming now. “You’re right. This could change everything. If it shows that Timothy left the house, it could vindicate him entirely.”

“We’ll have to subpoena the records.”

“How fast can you get one ready?” he asks, downing the rest of his coffee.

“How much time do we have?”