by L. D. Davis
“Why?”
“So I could find it. I thought you were smart.”
I smacked his elbow just as he was lifting the beer to his lips. Beer spilled down his bare chest. He looked down his chest and when he looked up again he was grinning.
“Two of your favorite things. Me and beer. Wanna lick it off?”
“Why did you want to find the bar?” I demanded.
“Because I wanted to see it.”
“Stop being evasive!” I smacked him again.
“Emmy, you were going to be working directly under me, handling my professional and personal business. You have access to everything I have access to. I needed to know who you really were.”
“Wait,” I held up a hand. “You were ‘interested’ in me before I started working for you?”
“Professionally, yeah. Everything else soon followed.”
“So, why did you suddenly appear at the bar that night if you had known about it for so long?”
“I was very mean to you that day, and I wanted to come apologize.”
“You were very mean every day,” I pointed out. “All of the time. To everyone.”
“Yeah, but I was meanest to you.”
That was true. As mean as Kyle could be to his staff, I always took the brunt of it. Some days I felt like he was purposely trying my patience. Now I believe that was exactly what he was doing.
“Why?” I asked.
“Stupid guy thing,” he said, shaking his head at himself. “I can’t even explain it.”
“Seems juvenile,” I said. “Like the little boys who torture the girls they have a thing for.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s a lot like that,” he said thoughtfully. “I’m sorry.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there with my arms crossed, glaring at him. I thought boys grew out of that stuff by the ninth grade. Apparently not all do.
“I was going to order some lunch and watch some movies. Do you want to hang out?”
My eyebrows went up and he smiled.
“I promise I won’t try to force you to say what I know you feel,” he grinned. “And I promise I won’t try to take you out of your clothes. We’ll just chill and watch the movies and eat some food.”
“What movies?” I asked suspiciously.
“Lord of the Rings. I’ve never seen them.”
“Seriously, do you live under a rock?”
I followed him to the living room where he produced three different menus. Why I didn’t just leave after I got my explanation, I don’t know. I asked that question aloud while we sat on the couch debating what to order.
“Because you love me,” Kyle said with a wink.
I didn’t object or give him a reproachful look. Instead, I chose Buffalo wings and onion rings off of a menu and made myself comfortable on the couch.
Three long ass movies, several wings and countless beers later, I was stretched out on Kyle’s couch with my feet resting in his lap. The credits were rolling, but I wasn’t moving. He was rubbing my feet and it was making me deliriously relaxed, and turning me on.
He held true to his word and didn’t try to disrobe me all day, and he didn’t try to force his tongue down my throat. He kissed my cheek and the top of my head, rubbed my elbow when I hit it on the bathroom door. He cracked jokes about hobbits, made fun of my obsession with Orlando Bloom, and listened intently when I compared the books to the movies. Then he was rubbing my feet and I wanted him to rub me in a few other places.
I pulled my feet off of his lap and sat up.
“I love a good LOTR marathon,” I yawned as I slipped on my shoes.
“You don’t have to leave,” Kyle said, looking as lustful as I felt.
“You know I do.”
“I can take the couch, you can have my bed.”
I stood up and stretched.
“We both know that won’t work.”
He followed me to the door.
“Why not?”
“You know why.” I slipped into my jacket and opened the door.
“Tell me why,” he said softly. He was grinning, so I knew that he knew why.
I bit my lip as I contemplated what I was about to do and say. I was going to say what he wanted to hear, but then I’d never get out of there. I wanted to kiss him, but it would have same end result. And wasn’t I trying to shut it down?
I smiled and waved goodnight before walking away.
Good girl.
Chapter Twelve
It was a busy workday the next day, leaving little time for casual conversation between me and Kyle. At least he wasn’t being a dick. He was actually scaring the staff by smiling and being polite. They didn’t know what to make of it.
Later in the day my phone rang and I answered it without looking to see who it was.
“Sterling Corp, this is Emmy.”
“Hello, Emmy,” Kyle said in a professional tone. “Mr. Kyle Sterling would like to know if you are available for dinner this evening.”
“Dinner?”
“Yes, it’s the meal after lunch but before dessert.”
“Oh, that meal.”
“Yes, that meal. Perhaps even a movie.”
“Why? Is there another epic movie you have yet to see?” I asked flatly. Next thing I knew, he was going to say he had never seen Star Wars. Then I started to panic. What if he never did see Star Wars?
“I was thinking we can see something you would be more interested in, like a chick flick. I can do a chick flick if necessary,” Kyle said, interrupting my disquieting thoughts.
“Totally not necessary. I don’t do chick flicks.”
“Maybe I like chic flicks. Maybe I am in the mood for some Pretty Woman or Sense and Sensibility.”
“So you like getting in touch with your feminine side?”
“Do you think I have a feminine side?” he asked in a tone that made me squirm in my seat.
“No,” I said. “So what movie did you have in mind?”
“How about a classic? Like Weird Science.”
“That hardly classifies as a classic. Why don’t we decide later? I have Netflix, we can watch something off of there.”
“And what about dinner?”
“What do you want to eat?”
“You.”
I squirmed again.
“Behave or you’ll be all alone tonight,” I reprimanded.
“I’ll bring something.”
“Okay. Now hang up. I have a lot of work to do and I don’t feel like hearing any shit from my boss.”
“That guy’s a douche.”
“Douche excrement.”
Chuckling, he said, “Right. Later.”
I hung up the phone and looked around to make sure no one had witnessed our conversation. Everyone seemed hard at work, but you never know…
Kyle walked out of his office a minute later. Our eyes locked and he found a smile reserved just for me that almost made me fall out of my chair.
We ended up watching a chick flick after Kyle found Love Actually hidden in my movie collection.
“I think you secretly love girly movies,” I said to Kyle afterward.
We were sitting side by side and his arm was behind me across the back of the couch.
“I will never admit to any such thing.”
“You probably have every Jane Austen movie hidden under your bed. I’m going to check next time I’m over.”
“Do you plan on being near my bed?” he asked huskily.
Flustered, I looked away.
“No,” I said. My eyes focused on a small opening in the curtains and the white spots on the other side of the glass. I jumped up and swept the curtains wide open and stared.
Kyle was standing very close to me, also watching. It was snowing pretty hard, although the roads looked drivable.
“Check your phone,” I said. “See how much we’re getting.”
“My phone is in my car,” he said and slowly eased his hand into the front pocket of my tight jeans. I
held my breath until he pulled out my phone.
“Wow. We’re getting eight to eleven inches,” he said after a minute.
“How do we keep missing the news on these things?” I shook my head.
“I heard it was going to snow, but I didn’t know we were getting so much.”
He slid the phone back into my pocket, but when he took his hand out, he moved it to my lower belly and closed the inches between us.
“I guess we’re not going to work tomorrow,” I said and then sighed when I felt his lips on my neck. “I’m glad I went food shopping,” I added in a shaky voice.
He gently moved my hair and his kisses landed on the base of my neck, making my knees weak. I gripped onto the curtains for some balance. His hand that had rested on my belly slid down between my legs. I gasped and tensed up. How he was able to hit that spot through my jeans on one try, I didn’t know.
“At least you…unhh…can beat the storm home…mmm…this time.”
“I’m not going home unless you’re coming with me,” Kyle said huskily.
“Mmm…why is th-th-th-aahh?”
“Because you’re riding my hand,” he whispered in my ear before flicking at the lobe with his tongue.
I couldn’t deny it. I was grinding against his hand as if it were going to save my life. His other hand reached around and found a nipple through my tee shirt. My vision blurred and then I stopped seeing altogether when my head tilted back and my eyes rolled to the back of my skull. I climaxed so hard I almost tore the curtains down.
“I love hearing you come,” Kyle whispered in my ear as his fingers expertly unbuttoned my jeans. Before I could even recover from my orgasm, his fingers were sliding into me. He forced my head back and kissed me while he fingered me to another orgasm.
He carried me away from the window, not bothering to close the curtains. In seconds, he had my jeans and panties off and was pulling my shirt and bra up over my head. He planted his mouth over a nipple and nibbled, licked, and sucked me into a frenzy while he thumbed my engorged clit. I screamed out his name, begged him to make love to me.
Kyle undressed himself quickly, poised himself over me while I kept begging him.
“No,” he said, and slipped in only a little bit before pulling out.
“Please,” I whispered.
“I can’t make love to someone who doesn’t love me. I can fuck you,” he slammed into me, making me cry out, but then he pulled out again. “So, which one do you want, baby? Hmm? You want me to love you, or do you want me to fuck you?”
I stared into his eyes. I knew what I was feeling was more than lust. I was risking everything with Luke for Kyle. I could have made him leave before any of it got started, but I really didn’t want him to leave at all.
“I love you,” I whispered. “You know I do.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I know you do.” He kissed me, and while I was wrapped up in his kiss, he slid inside of me and I melted into the couch.
Chapter Thirteen
The following Saturday afternoon, I asked Kyle to meet me at a diner that was at the halfway point between our homes. I knew his schedule, and knew he wouldn’t have been able to stay very long. That was just the way I wanted it.
I watched as he walked through the door and looked around for me. He smiled when he saw me and weaved a path through the tables in the middle of the room to where I sat in a booth next to a window.
“I was going to give you a hello kiss, but you never know who’s watching,” he said unhappily when he sat down.
He was right, of course. I had already spotted a couple of girls that worked in Sterling Corp. I didn’t personally know them, but I knew their faces just as well as they knew mine and Kyle’s. Thankfully, since I was his assistant, our meeting wouldn’t be suspect.
We only ordered coffee. Kyle had to be at the Venner estate for dinner in a little more than an hour and I was going to dinner and a movie with Donya. I waited until the waitress brought our coffees before I dove into the necessary conversation.
“Kyle,” I started, meeting his eyes as I stirred cream into my coffee. “Where is this going?”
“Where is what going?” he asked innocently.
I took a sip of my coffee, never taking my eyes off of him. He stared back at me, waiting.
“Whatever this thing is that we’re doing, it’s a dead end,” I said solemnly.
Kyle leaned back and tapped his fingers on the table as he stared at me. He didn’t speak for almost an entire minute.
“Do you know how long it has been since I have told Jessyca that I loved her?” he asked quietly.
Annoyed by the ache that caused me, I said, “That doesn’t have anything to do with—”
“Do you know how long,” he interrupted, his voice like steel.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. This morning? Yesterday? How would I even—”
“Do you know how long?” he demanded, his voice louder and harsher.
“Why don’t you tell me,” I gritted, folding my hands tightly on the table.
“Never,” he spat out. “I have never said it. She says it and I just say ‘me, too’ because I can’t bring myself to say the fucking words to her.”
Ruffled, I said, “But you do love her. You told me.”
“Yes, I love her,” he said disdainfully. “But it’s more out of habit than anything. It’s like an echo of feelings I once had for her.”
I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Okay, fine, but what does that have to do with me? Why should I care about any of that?”
“Because I said it to you,” he snapped. “And I’ve never said it to another woman who I wasn’t related to. Don’t fucking tell me that my feelings for you are a dead end. I see what you’re trying to do here, Emmy. You’re trying to cut me off so that you can play the perfect little girlfriend for Kessler.”
It was my turn to snap. Speaking in a low, but angry tone, I said, “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Damn it, Kyle, I am Luke Kessler’s girlfriend. I belong to one person, not two.”
“You were mine first!” he said so loudly, that the entire establishment seemed to come to a halt.
I stared at him, ignoring the stares of other patrons. He glared at me, his chest rising and falling rapidly from his growing anger.
Without another word, I grabbed my purse and left him sitting at the table. I was almost at a run by the time I got to the parking lot. I hurried toward my car, but just when I reached it, a strong hand closed over my arm. Kyle yanked me away from my own car and walked me across the lot to where his car was parked. He opened the passenger door and said, “Get in.”
I started to object, but he moved very close to me, gripping my arm painfully.
“Get in the fucking car so we can talk,” he growled.
I wasn’t afraid of him, but I knew he wasn’t going to just let me go. We had caused enough of a scene. We didn’t have to put on an extra show for the diners watching us through the windows.
With an aggravated sound, I got into the car. Kyle got in a moment later and turned the car on so that we would have some heat. We were both silent for a long time, but it was Kyle that spoke first.
“Why are you doing this?”
I answered his question with a question of my own.
“Are you going to break up with Jessyca?”
He sighed heavily and dragged a hand over his face. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m a pretty smart woman. Why don’t you explain it?”
“Are you going to break up with Luke?” he countered.
“It’s complicated,” I said mockingly.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked again. “You love me. You can’t say that to me and then fucking throw me away and tell me I’m a dead end.”
“I’m not throwing you away,” I said in exasperation. “I still want to be your friend, Kyle. I still care about you.”
“Care about me? Or love me?”
“Both,” I said and meant it. “But we can�
��t do this. I’m with Luke, you’re with Jessyca, and for heaven’s sake you’re my boss. We can’t work in that kind of environment while we’re sleeping together, not to mention that we’re breaking all kinds of company policies. It should have never gotten this far, Kyle. We shouldn’t have started, but it definitely shouldn’t have come this far.”
He looked away from me, his jaw tensed and his hands fisted on his lap.
“I still want to be friends,” I said softly. “I do love you, which is amazing because a few months ago I hated you. I’m not…I mean…I’m not saying that this is forever…”
He looked at me. He was still angry, and obviously hurt, but he also looked…hopeful.
“A hold,” I amended. “We need to put us on hold and see how the future unfolds. If you can’t agree to put us on hold and to be friends, then we can’t be anything,” I said with finality.
“You’re not giving me a choice,” he said darkly.
“I am giving you a choice. I just gave you a choice.”
Shaking his head, he whispered “That’s not a choice.”
He reached across me and opened my door. I looked at the open door and then back at him with astonishment. Was he kicking me out of his car?
“Get out,” he said.
He was kicking me out of his car!
Anger suddenly boiled inside of me. “Fuck you, Kyle.”
“On your mom’s couch or the kitchen counter? Pick a spot.”
Furious, I resisted the urge to deck him and got out of the car and slammed the door. I walked back to my car without turning back, even when I heard his wheels peel out of the parking lot.
***
Luke came back from his trip the next day. He didn’t even go home first, but came right to my house. It was so sweet that he was so eager to see me after a weeklong absence. I was genuinely happy to see him, but my guilt swam through my veins and mingled with my growing feelings for him.
“My god, I’ve missed you,” he said, lifting me off of the floor in an embrace. He spun me around on the foyer, making me squeal as I held onto him. When he finally set me down on my feet, he kissed me.
Instead of the hot and aggressive kisses I shared with Kyle, my kisses with Luke were sweet and enchanting. I always felt like a princess being kissed by the prince that would fight evil for her.