Hearts on Hold

by Charish Reid

  “Mr. Donovan,” she breathed. “Thank you for coming.”

  He pushed away from the door and approached her desk. “Don’t thank me yet.” He slung his coat over the spare chair and took a seat on the edge of her desk, on her right.

  Victoria swallowed. “Right.”

  She watched as he rolled up his sleeves to the elbow, revealing muscular forearms; one was covered in sandy brown hair, the other covered in tattoos that she still wanted to examine. Both arms were meant for lifting books and women. His physique, while long and lean, appeared powerful enough for bareknuckle boxing. He lounged gracefully against her desk as if he had all day to stare into her eyes. But he didn’t have all day. They were scheduled to part ways in an hour. Since she didn’t know what he would do, or how many times he’d do it, Victoria thought it safe to schedule an hour. “I didn’t get a reply from you,” he said in a silky voice. A wicked smile touched his lips as a satisfied glimmer lit his forest-green eyes.

  Panic rioted throughout her entire body while she clenched her thighs. Sexual magnetism radiated from his body, threatening to render her powerless. “I couldn’t think of anything smart to say,” she admitted. When in doubt, just be honest.

  John slowly stood from the desk and took one step towards her. She sat completely still as he reached out and stroked her cheek. His gaze was as soft as his caress. “I find it hard to believe that this mouth didn’t have anything smart to say.” A huskiness lingered in his voice causing Victoria to tremble under his touch. John’s thumb rested against her bottom lip, stroking the curve with an aching slowness that relaxed the muscles in her shoulders. “Claire the governess always has a clever retort in her arsenal.”

  “You’re reading the book?” she asked as his fingers trailed down her jaw towards her neck. “Why?”

  “I’m a man who does his research. And this research was especially worthwhile.” He leaned over her, close enough for her to sneak a peek of chest hair through the small V of his shirt collar, and adjusted the lever of her office chair. Victoria shot up a few inches, closer to his face. She fought to keep her eyes open and remain upright in her chair, but the scent of forest knocked her senseless. His hand, at her neck, gently pushed her against the soft leather back. With his hands planted on her armrests, he leaned forward and brushed against her lips while he spoke. “The duke proved he was a skilled lover, but I noticed there were certain things missing from his repertoire.”

  “Like what?” She was desperate to know what the duke was lacking. Even more desperate to know what John would bring to the table.

  “I could tell you,” he breathed. “But could I just show you?”

  Victoria’s breasts tingled against the silky fabric of her blouse. A hot ache vibrated between her thighs, making them clench involuntarily. Her cheeks flushed when she felt the warm slickness wetting her panties. She gave a jerky nod. “Yes,” she whispered.

  John’s tongue traced the soft fullness of her bottom lip, taking it gently between his own lips and tugging. His kiss was a slow and drugging one that sent new spirals of ecstasy through her body. Victoria was tentative in her response, testing the waters with a lick and nip, while her hands raised to meet his jaw and neck. While John’s tongue made a long and languid exploration of her mouth, she tried to savor every second. Under her hands, she felt the slow rhythmic movement of his jaw as he plied her lips with each deep thrust of his tongue.

  Victoria would have happily drowned in his sinful kiss, had he not left her lips and slowly trailed down her jaw. John angled around to her ear, taking her lobe between his teeth. She let out a muted gasp at the surprise sharpness that mingled with pleasure. When he released her earlobe, he gave it a gentle lick before moving down her neck. While his mouth was busy, John’s hand moved to the buttons of her shirt, undoing a few before running his fingers down the curve of her breast. “Can you stay quiet, Victoria?” he asked, his mouth at the hollow of her collarbone.

  Him calling her Victoria made her face flush with excitement. Her heart hammered in her ears with every swipe of his tongue along her burning skin. His question made no sense. If he continued like this, she could make no guarantees. “Maybe?” she said in a shaky voice.

  John pulled away long enough to flash her a devilish smile. “Maybe?” he asked before returning to her racing pulse. He sucked long and hard at her skin, releasing with a satisfying pop. When he pulled away again, he crouched before her on the balls of his feet. She gazed down at him, still trying to catch her breath. “I ask, because I’m about to do something that might make you scream in pleasure. And I’d like to remind you that other professors are just right next door. So, can you stay quiet, Victoria?”

  She smiled in spite of herself. “What are you going to do... Johnny?”

  John narrowed his eyes and smirked. “I’m going to do what I promised on the phone.” He moved his hands from the chair’s armrests to her thighs. She was thankful she wore another skirt today; a skirt would offer easy access. He slid his hands down to her bare knees and settled on his own before her, like a man praying at an altar. “Let me know when you want me to stop.”

  Victoria nodded. She didn’t want him to stop.

  He pushed her knees apart as far as her skirt would allow and sat back on his heels. “I never told you about the depraved things I thought about while you shelved my books,” he said while studying her thighs.

  “No,” she whispered, trying to quell her fluttering heart.

  His large pale hands were a contrast against her brown legs. They gripped her, pinning her down in a soft possessive way that made her feel safe and restless at the same time. “You were bent over trying to find the right place to put a Tim O’Brien book. I tried not to stare, but you looked so delicious.”

  Victoria had never heard herself described as delicious.

  “Your ass and these thighs were straining against the fabric of your skirt.” He pushed her skirt the rest of the way until it stopped just short of her pelvis. “You had no idea what you were doing, but my God, you were turning me on.”

  “I’ve never had to shelve books before.”

  “That much was evident,” he said with a chuckle. He ran the back of his fingers along the inside of one of her thighs, leaving goosebumps in his wake. She shivered at the sensation that ran up her body and to the back of her head. She let her heavy eyelids close momentarily as she soaked in the pleasurable caress of his hands. “But I’m not interested in your ability to shelve books.”

  “Of course not.”

  He kissed the inside of one thigh. “How did you feel while we were so close to one another? Me, right behind you, watching you?”

  With her eyes still closed, she recounted the shudder she’d felt when he handed her a book. His hand wrapped around her waist to place FDR in his appropriate spot. She stood there, wrapped in the warmth emanating from his body. She was intoxicated by the same woodsy cologne that night, feeling the walls close around her. She wanted to succumb to his quiet lure. “I wanted you,” she replied.

  “Do you want me now, Victoria?”

  She opened her eyes and gazed upon the man who kneeled between her thighs. The look in his startling green eyes probed her to her very soul. They seemed to ask permission for the next step. She gave him a tremulous smile. “Yes.”

  John gently kissed her thigh, tonguing the soft flesh as he went. She watched in fascination as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, moving higher and higher. His tongue made whorls around her skin, etching his mark on her, making her knees shake. He reached his fingers under her skirt and grasped the edges of her panties. He gave her one last look of confirmation before he tugged them downward, down her knees and past her ankles. He took the lacy black undergarments and stuffed them in the back pocket of his trousers and continued with his mission. “Shall I part my hair behind?” he said, softly reciting Eliot, his hot breath brushing her most intimate
parts. Another kiss, much further along her thigh. “Do I dare to eat a peach, Victoria?”

  It wasn’t a question, so much as it was a declarative, and she bit her lip to prevent the low moan mounting in the back of her throat. She breathed deeply and opened her legs revealing the entrance to her feminine center. Victoria closed her eyes and tilted her head back to receive him. His tongue said everything that his words could not. Her deep breathing soon became quick pants as the tip of his tongue parted her folds and flicked against her sensitive clit. Upon the first intimate contact with his mouth, she squeezed her eyes shut and arched away from her chair, meeting him halfway.

  He gripped her closer to his face, pulling her hips forward and working his tongue past her inner lips, laving the hot flesh at her center. The careful ministrations he gave drove her so delirious she rocked her hips to match the rhythm of his mouth. She wanted to moan so badly, wanted to express the full pleasure she was receiving at John’s hands—no, mouth. Victoria was on the verge of tears. Her hands found the top of his head, shoving her fingers though his ponytail, pulling him closer. His tongue swiped up and down, over her opening and over her clit, at a feverish speed. His beard offered a different, even more beautiful pleasure as it scratched against her thighs. Victoria panted through each wave of sensation and resisted the urge to cry out and close her thighs around his head.

  But when he took one hand away from her hips and slipped a finger inside her, she lurched forward and bit her lips. A long finger curved along her walls, stroking at the same pace as his tongue, pushing her towards the edge. “Johnny,” her hoarse whisper broke the silence. “Oh god...”

  John didn’t stop at her interjection. In fact, he took that as instruction to move faster and added another finger to the equation. His tongue worked a figure-8 and wouldn’t finish until he got the signal. His two fingers filled and stretched her, making her beg for more. Her wordless imploring for a release took the form of soft moans and gasps that shook her body. When she opened her eyes and looked down at John, she gasped at the sight.

  A dressed-up man licked and sucked her like she was the last woman on earth, like her body offered the last drink of water. It was enough to knock her off the edge. One hand clutched an armrest while the other grasped the back of his head, as she lost her mind in her office chair. Around his fingers, her walls spasmed and jerked. Victoria’s thighs squeezed together as she hunched over and hissed her orgasm as quietly as she could. Tears sprang to her eyes as her body quaked to the last licks John gave her.

  When it was over, she collapsed backward in her chair, releasing him and relaxing her legs. Her breath came in halted gasps that shook her entire body. She stared at the white expanse of the office ceiling before she could bring herself to look him in the eye. The reality of being on her college campus, in her office, and with people walking the hallways, was exhilarating. Only when John’s lips left her and he cleared his throat, did she feel it polite to look down. When she did, her breath hitched in her throat. John removed his fingers and sat back on his heels. With his eyes locked on hers, he grinned and licked his fingers. He finally stood, pulled her underwear from his back pocket and wiped his face before making his way back to the guest chair that sat before her desk.

  With her mind dazed and her body still radiating with pleasure, Victoria watched him as he wiped his hands on her lacy black panties and stuff them in the pocket of his coat. “Dr. Reese,” he said, giving her a perfunctory nod. His gesture was almost funny. If her legs weren’t still shaking and her breath still shallow, she would have laughed. Victoria took it as a signal to straighten up in her chair and pull her skirt down. Apparently, she was not going to get her underwear back.

  As she swiveled to face him, she willed her knees to stop jiggling. “Mr. Donovan.” She was again left speechless. There was nothing witty to retort after what he did for her.

  “I hope that was to your liking,” John said. His mouth curved at the corners as his gaze swept over her body.

  “Yes,” she said. Of course it was. She still felt the sensation of his scruffy cheeks against the insides of her thighs. Victoria was certain she’d feel his beard tickle her for the rest of the day. “Thank you for that.”

  “I’m sorry I got here so quickly,” he said, glancing at his wristwatch. “I was trying for punctuality this time.”

  “No apologies necessary.”

  His gaze locked on her. “I couldn’t help myself. Just knowing you were waiting on me was enough to put the pedal to the metal.”

  Victoria grinned at the phrase. “No need to speed on my behalf.”

  “If you could see yourself right now, you’d say otherwise,” he said as his eyes twinkled with mischief.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was shakier than she would have liked. Her eyes left his face and widened when they fell to his astride legs. The bulge straining against the flat front of his trousers stood proudly, distracting her from forming her next sentence. “Your um...”

  John followed her eyeline and glanced down at himself. “Completely natural,” he said with a chuckle. “He’ll go away...eventually.”

  Her sudden curiosity made her sit up straight in her chair. “He doesn’t have to,” she said, sneaking another glance at the bulge. “I don’t want him to feel left out.”

  John licked his lips as his fingers clenched around the armrest of his chair. She couldn’t help but notice the way his nostrils flared as he stared at her. “That’s very kind of you.”

  Kind, but also a little selfish. She wanted to see what was making such a big impression against his pants. Better yet, she wanted to handle it. “It’s nothing,” she breathed. “I just want to make sure you were...” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence without sounding like an idiot. Also satisfied?

  “Of course,” John said, standing from his chair. He took up his coat and returned to her desk. “I know what you’re trying to say and I certainly appreciate the offer, Dr. Reese. But we’re going to have to put it on hold for now.”

  Victoria’s eyes widened. “You’re leaving?” What she wanted to say was that they had at least forty-five minutes left, but she held her tongue. The agreement that she issued him already looked transactional, making him stay the entire hour would make him sound like a gigolo. Oh god, what if he thinks I think he’s a gigolo?

  As John planted his hands on her desk and leaned down, he flashed her a wolfish grin, as if he were reading her thoughts. “Lord knows I hate to eat and run...but I forgot I had a meeting with the library community outreach program.” Inches away from her face, he lowered his voice to a gentle purr. “Otherwise, I would stay here and bend you over this desk.”

  Victoria inhaled sharply, but found herself leaning forward to meet him. Her gaze was fixed on his mouth. “Are you sure you don’t have time to do that?”

  He angled his face to the side of her cheek. “I don’t have the kind of time you deserve,” he whispered. His hot breath brushed the shell of her ear, sending a shiver down to the base of her neck. She wanted to lean into his lips, but forced herself to keep herself upright. “Too bad you wanted to skip straight to the dessert.”

  Victoria’s eyes flew open from their drowsy state. “What?”

  John pecked her on the cheek before straightening away. “I’ll see you tonight for actual work?”

  She gasped as if someone tossed a bucket of cold water in her face. Of course, they had another job shadow meeting that evening. But she couldn’t imagine going to the library for...work. But he had a busy day and she had plenty more things to cross off her list before 6 p.m. Victoria was resigned to let him go. “Right.”

  “I can see you forgot about our project,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t let me be the only one following your schedule.”

  Victoria slumped in her seat as she watched him walk to the door. “I know the schedule,” she said. She forced herself not to check her calendar fo
r their next fun meeting. She’d do that once he left. “Thank you for coming to this meeting. I hope your next one is just as eventful.”

  John chuckled as he opened the door. “I can guarantee you, honey, it won’t.”

  When he quietly closed the door behind him, Victoria waited two minutes before she shot her fist in the air for a victory punch. First day of Sordid Affair was a resounding success. Short but thrilling. Victoria wanted to get out of her chair and follow up with an end-zone dance, but thought it more prudent to check herself over first. The mirror she kept in her office showed what she felt: a dewy glow in her cheeks, smudged lipstick, and a partially unbuttoned blouse. She couldn’t shake the goofy grin or the tremor in her thighs, as she refastened her top.

  A little midday dessert wasn’t half-bad.

  Chapter Fourteen

  John hadn’t realized how quickly Becca would work at creating her gang of twelve-year-old feminists. But Becca was her mother’s daughter, and the gang was formed in swift order. When John picked her up from school on Friday, she declared that their patron saint, Alanis Morissette, had decreed that women need a space to themselves to create art and take control of their destinies. Of course, that meant his home would have to be available for such a space. John was also required to find these creative women snacks and drinks. Because who can create on an empty stomach?