Another climax is hurtling towards me, but this time I won’t be alone in my release. He’s swelling inside of me, his movements becoming jerky and erratic.
Suddenly his hand wraps around the front of my neck, tugging gently but commandingly, to lift me up.
“Say it, Ella. Say you’re mine. Call my name while I make you cum, darling.”
His fingers press the front of my throat. Not exactly threatening, but explicit and demanding all the same.
“I’m yours,” I gasp. “All yours, Keir. Only yours.”
I can barely think, let alone mumble out the words he’s expecting.
He slams into me once, twice, then with a final roar I feel him pull out. I cry out, my body needing to feel just a little more. In the next second, he jets hot streams of cum onto my inner thighs. He presses his hand against my clit and my body responds instantly. My pussy spasms as the waves of my own climax hit me.
I feel Keir sag against my back, only for a moment, as if showing even that small amount of weakness is too much for him. He brushes his lips against my shoulder, then I feel the nip of his teeth.
We crumple as one, falling into a daze, pressed together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KEIRAN
The day is almost over when the head of security for NewsCorp calls up to my office with a message I don’t want to hear.
“Kinsley is here?”
I can’t say her name out loud without frowning. There’s a short but growing list of people who aren’t allowed to enter the NewsCorp building. Kinsley’s name is at the very top of that list.
I blow out a short, frustrated breath. “I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t want to even see her outside on the street when I come down there. Get rid of her.”
That should be the end of it. I give the orders, he follows the orders. But because my soon-to-be ex-wife is one of the worst humans on the planet, she’s somehow found a way to use my own employees to inconvenience me.
“Lord Grayrose, I’m sorry. But she’s refusing to leave without talking to you. She says it’s something you’ll definitely want to hear.”
He doesn’t sound convinced. I’m not, either.
I’m tempted to have her arrested. Hell, I’m tempted to have her shot. If I could get away with either of those things without the press finding out, I’d seriously consider it.
When I don’t respond right away, he asks, “Do you want me to call the police? We could have her hauled into the station for trespassing. They won’t keep her very long, but she’ll be gone by the time you come down, sir.”
Again, it’s very tempting. Almost too tempting, just knowing how badly it’ll piss her off.
But no.
No matter how satisfying it might be to temporarily get rid of her, I know she’ll just keep coming back until I give her the attention she craves.
“Send her up,” I sigh. “Wait, no. Escort her up here and stay outside my office door in case I need to have her thrown right back out.”
I hang up the phone and pound my fist against my desk, hating that it’s so easy for her to get under my skin. She knows exactly which buttons to push in order to ruin my entire day.
Lately she’s been pushing those buttons non-fucking-stop.
When she walks into my office a few minutes later, my first impulse is to start yelling. I have to fight that impulse, though. At least until she signs the divorce paperwork.
“What do you need, Kinsley?” I want to keep this meeting as short and concise as possible. I’m not going to bother with any formalities or niceties. I’m not going to ask how she’s doing because I simply don’t care. “Whatever it is, I hope it’s worth the time you’ve already wasted.”
She flashes a smug smile and sits down in the chair across from my desk even though I haven’t offered her a seat. “I just came by to notify you that I’ll be seeking full custody of our daughter.”
I start to laugh but there’s something about her demeanor that makes me stop and narrow my eyes instead. She’s too confident. Too cocky. “What’s going on? I know you don’t seriously want full custody of Isla, so why don’t you tell me what it is you’re really after?”
“Fifty million pounds.”
“Excuse me?” I lean in over my desk and stare at her for several long seconds as I try to figure out whether she’s joking or if she really thinks she’s going to extort me for a hundred million pounds. “That isn’t going to happen. Not fifty million. Not even close. I’ll give you one million right now to sign the divorce paperwork, leave, and never come back.”
Even that is more than I should give her, but I’m feeling generous. I’m also ready to have her out of my life forever.
“A measly one million?” The laugh that comes out of her mouth is harsh and biting. “How stupid do you think I am? Let me be as clear as I possibly can, Keiran. I’ve kept my mouth shut for years, but I will ruin you in the press. I’ll drag you and your family’s name through the mud until the court has no choice but to award me full custody. If you really want me to sign that paperwork and go away forever?” She shrugs. “You know my price. Otherwise, you can expect to see your name popping up in the papers quite a bit more frequently.”
She’s delusional. Absolutely crazy. But she knows she has me stuck between a rock and a hard place. I don’t want to give her any money—especially not as much as she’s demanding—but I refuse to give up custody of Isla.
I should be yelling at her. I should be telling her exactly what I think about the life she leads and the endless string of shitty choices she makes, but I’m too shocked, too numb to muster that kind of anger. I’m sure it’ll come later, though.
“Do you really think you can just sit here and blackmail me in my own office?” I ask instead. “That I’ll simply pull out my checkbook and send you on your way with some extortionate amount of money?”
She stands up and gives me another one of those infuriating shrugs. “I don’t expect you to do that today, but I think you’ll realize it’s a pretty fair offer in the end. I have faith that you’ll come around eventually. Isla will have to see everything that’s printed about you at some point. Do you really want her reading about all of your affairs? All your dirty business deals? Don’t forget that I have the receipts.”
“Get out.” I can’t take this anymore. I can’t stand to look at her face for another second. “Get out and don’t try to come back. You won’t be allowed on the premises.”
“Careful, Keir,” she calls out as she walks to the door. “You don’t want me to start fighting dirty.”
“I don’t think you know how to fight any other way.”
She’s gone before I can finish that sentence—probably for the best since I can finally start to feel that pent-up rage coursing through my veins. I’m so angry that my hands are starting to shake.
Who does she think she is?
Who does she think she’s dealing with?
She’s going to blackmail me? I’ll take her down with me.
Even if I do, that still doesn’t solve the bigger problem. What will happen to Isla?