Fortress (Forde Family Series Book 2)

by nikki blaire

  “No.” She forced herself to say.

  They weren’t, but they needed to be. She was barely holding herself together. Marcus came closer then wrapped his arms around her, sinking her deeper into lust.

  He held her for what felt like forever then slowly released her. His hands slid across her back and hips, which went straight to her core. Despite her best efforts, a small moan fell from her lips.

  “Don’t do that, Charlisse.” Marcus’ breath brushed against her ears.

  His voice was ragged and dripping with need.

  “I can’t help it.” She told him the truth.

  Marcus pulled away to look at her then leaned in for a kiss.

  “Me neither.”

  Their lips softly pressed against each other, but quickly evolved into a deep devouring. Charlisse felt Marcus’ hands began to grip her hips and waist before lifting her up. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he carried her to the table that sat in the foyer.

  Frantically, they pulled at each other as they continued to kiss. Charlisse didn’t need anything to slow down. She would second-guess herself if they did.

  The sounds of their intense groping echoed off of the walls, while Marcus hiked her dress up to her stomach. His kisses moved from her lips to her neck, which sent her over the edge along with the last of her apprehension.

  Marcus placed the tip of his manhood against her, rubbing it against her until she was silky and wet. She didn’t need much. The thought of having Marcus again was more than enough. In the next moment, he was pushing his way into her, which made her lift off of the table.

  He whispered something in her ear, but it slipped away just as quickly as she heard it. They rocked together, lifting the table from the ground, until an orgasm crashed over Charlisse like pounding waves. She tried to regain her senses, but Marcus kept driving himself deeper. The feeling was sending her into a tailspin. She felt as if she were traveling at a top speed, as Marcus guided her to yet another climax.

  “Charlisse.” She was finally able to make out Marcus’ words, as he said her name in her neck.

  He held her closely as his body shuddered then released shortly after pulling away from her.

  “Fuck.” He looked at her then at the mess he had made, as if he was finally out of a trance.

  “It’s okay.” Her chest rose and fell rapidly. “It’s fine."

  She pushed herself off of the table, but landed on wobbly legs. Marcus caught her and let her lean against him to steady herself.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll get it.” He breathed, but Charlisse didn’t give a damn about the mess.

  “Do that later.” She looked up at him.

  She needed to get as much of him as possible before they both completely came to their senses again. “Do this now.”

  The next morning, Charlisse awoke to the chiming of her alarm. With her eyes still closed, she reached for her phone to check the time. Forde Financials was releasing its statement today, which meant that she needed to get up and going, but she was dragging.

  Marc.

  She remembered why she felt this way. Instinctively, she opened her phone to check her text messages. Her heart leapt in relief when she didn’t see one from Marcus, but she frowned upon scrolling and finding one from Brandon.

  I miss you.

  She read the text out loud then groaned loudly.

  “I’m a hoe and a half.” She shook her head.

  She didn’t want to respond to Brandon, but knew that leaving him on “read” would just make him call.

  Enjoy your honeymoon.

  She typed back. Charlisse planned to put more boundaries between them once he returned because marriage clearly had not. She tossed her phone aside, but scooped it back up once it began to vibrate.

  “Dammit.” She whimpered once she saw that he was calling, but chose to answer anyways.

  “Good morning, Councilmember Bridges.” She sarcastically cooed into the phone.

  “There you go again with that Councilmember shit, Lise.”

  “You know I hate that nickname.” She rolled her eyes and forced herself out of bed.

  “And I hate when you call me Councilmember.” He shot right back.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon, Brandon? Why are you calling me?”

  “See, I love it when you say my name, Charlisse.” She could hear his smirk. “And I’m calling because I miss you. I text you, but you didn’t answer.”

  “It was the middle of the night.”

  “That’s never been an issue before. You’re always up.”

  “Well, I’m finally starting to get some real sleep these days.” She went straight to her coffee maker.

  “Wow, what’s brought on this change?”

  It was his turn to be sarcastic, but his question hit a nerve. Charlisse knew exactly what had put her into an intense slumber, but she knew better than to answer truthfully.

  “I’m taking better care of myself. But again, Brandon, you’re on your honeymoon. Why are you texting me in the middle of the night?”

  “I was thinking about you.” He responded, which made Charlisse let out a dry laugh. “Alright, fine. I was catching up on D.C. news and I saw something that I thought you’d know about.”

  “And what was that?” She reveled in the smell of fresh coffee wafting through the air, while she busied herself with making oatmeal for breakfast.

  She needed to eat something after spending all night burning calories.

  “The Fordes. It’s all that Vanessa can talk about and it’s driving me crazy.”

  Charlisse had just settled into pouring herself a cup when she froze at hearing Brandon’s words.

  “Weren’t they at your wedding? I should be asking you and not the other way around."

  “There were more people who I didn't know at that wedding than people who I did know.” Brandon laughed. “And Vanessa mentioned that you seemed to know Marc well, so I thought I’d ask."

  “She did, did she?” Charlisse fought back a quip.

  Sounding off on Brandon’s wife would only blow her cover.

  “Well, sorry to burst her bubble, but I don’t have anything to say about that. You may want to check with some of your insider sources on that one.”

  She hated to lie to him, but she had to protect her client’s confidentiality.

  “No one’s more of an insider than you.” He retorted. “Ah, well, I don’t even really care. Just trying to make her happy. She’s insufferable when she gets to whining.”

  “Well, I’m sure your wife would have less to whine about if her new husband was more focused on her in the middle of the night instead of bothering me.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll be back next week. Make time for me.”

  “Is that a question or a statement?” She rolled her eyes at him even though he couldn’t see her.

  “It’s me making a wish.”

  “Bye, Brandon.” She smacked her teeth then hung up.

  She had enough of his antics and needed to get ready for the day. She checked her email and saw that several large news outlets had picked up the statement that Forde Financials had issued this morning.

  She needed to get to their offices soon to make sure that Marcus Forde, Sr. was prepared for any additional questions from news outlets. She had set aside time on his calendar this morning for him to do so, but needed to get there early to prep him. After seeing his outburst last night, Charlisse felt that he was a wild card. She needed to make sure that he stuck to the script.

  She had wanted to ask Marcus what he and his father talked about while they were alone, but didn’t push when he didn’t offer to tell her. She just hoped that it wasn’t anything that would hinder her work.

  She had made her expectations of honesty clear, but that never seemed to stop clients from thinking that they were above those expectations. She couldn’t count the number of times that she had to dig a client out of a mess that could have easily been avoided if
they had just been honest with her.

  “And Marc is no different.” She had to remind herself.

  Ultimately, he was most concerned with protecting all that he had worked for. She could not expect him to be different, no matter how much she wanted him to be..

  Despite the fact that we...

  She stopped herself before she let her mind go there again. Last night with Marcus had been an act of impulse and indiscretion. It would not happen again.

  It cannot happen.

  She scolded herself for letting her judgment slip. She knew better even if Marcus did not. Her career and reputation was on the line, not his. So, she had to stop. This had to be the last time. She pulled a dress from its hanger then pressed to the bathroom to shower and start her morning routine.

  After getting dressed, she made her way to Forde Financials’ downtown office. She went over her notes and kept track of the press inquiries during the ride, while also practicing the simple speech that she was going to give Marcus when she saw him.

  No more. It’s done. Last night was the last time.

  She repeated the words to herself. She needed her statement to sound smooth, unrehearsed, yet have conviction.

  Charlisse hopped out of the car once it pulled to the front then made her way up to the executive floor. She was scheduled to meet with Marcus, Sr., but planned to pull Marcus aside as soon as she saw him. She refused to let this linger in her mind all day.

  “I’m just going to tell him exactly what it is.” She said to herself, as the elevator doors opened.

  She looked at her watch then stepped out onto the stone floors.

  “Good morning, Charlisse.”

  Marcus’ smooth voice hit her from behind like a warm wave. She froze in place then spun around to follow the sound.

  “Good morning, Marc.” She hadn’t expected to see him so early.

  “You look nice.” He smiled at her, as he came closer.

  God help me.

  She tried to stand her ground, but felt defenseless.

  Who was this weak version of Charlisse that had overtaken her body?

  “Thank you. You do too. Nice suit.” She maintained eye contact in an attempt to prevent him from seeing the effect that he was having on her.

  “I’m headed to a meeting with your father.” She took a step back to keep her distance.

  “I know.” He was so cool and nonchalant, like he hadn’t been ravaging her body the night before.

  “I also want to talk to you.”

  “Sure. Stop by my office anytime.” He nodded towards an employee as they walked by.

  “I surely will.” She snapped back, not sure why she suddenly felt so on edge.

  “Okay then.” He gave her a smirk then moved past her, leaving Charlisse in her own disappointment.

  She had not said a single thing that she had practiced. But given her disheveled demeanor in his presence just now, she obviously needed more time to practice.

  “I’m going straight to his office after this.” She promised herself before turning towards Marcus, Sr.’s office.

  She greeted his receptionist then walked into his office, where he and his attorney were just sitting down.

  “Good morning, Mr. Forde.” She helped herself to a seat as well then pulled out her notes.

  “Morning.” He nodded. “I see the vultures have already started circling.”

  “Well, I would say that it’s good that the media is interested, especially since Nexlon has not officially responded to the accusations.”

  “Have you heard anything about what’s causing their delay? The news has been running this story for a few days now. Their silence is concerning.” His attorney chimed in.

  “I share your concern,” Charlisse agreed. “But I will say that silence can also mean that they are scrambling for an angle to work or cleaning up their own mess before inviting the media in. So, we’ve got an advantage there. Unfortunately, the news seems to have taken Nexlon’s side, which could be due to fed information from Nexlon sources that the media is keeping confidential.”

  “Why aren’t we doing that?” Marcus, Sr. gruffly cut in.

  “Because we don’t need to.” Charlisse shot right back. “Stories like this are often leaked due to two reasons, a whistleblower or to scoop a whistleblower. Trust me, Nexlon has to get a lot more together than you do. Have you had any contact with Mrs. Winters?”

  She had to be sure because someone on the call would ask.

  “No.” He responded flatly.

  “Great.” She smiled.

  If you’re being honest, she had to add internally.

  “Now, this is just a press call. It’s harmless. I’ve pre-screened every news outlet on this call. That doesn’t mean you won’t get tough questions, but that’s what we are here for.”

  She looked towards his attorney. “If you don’t feel comfortable answering a question, please hand it off to your attorney or say no comment. Also, regardless of the question, stick to the answers that I provided to you. Do not deviate, even in the slightest.”

  “Yea, sure.” He nodded then leaned forward across his desk.

  His tone was harsh and no-nonsense. “And one more thing. You’re not talking to my wife about divorce.”

  Charlisse nodded in agreement.“I will leave that to her attorney, Mr. Forde.”

  The further she stayed away from the personal side of the situation, the better. She already had to disentangle herself enough.

  They moved onto the call, which went extremely well, despite Charlisse’s earlier misgivings. Marcus, Sr. stuck to his talking points and they were able to get through the tough questions without incident.

  Of course, the toughest questions had come from Terry, who still had no idea that Charlisse was managing this crisis for the firm. He relentlessly pushed for information about the affair and embezzlement, but Charlisse had been ready for those curveballs.

  She made sure that the responses she crafted for Marcus, Sr. were vague enough to answer the question without him incriminating himself.

  “Alright, well, that’s it.” Charlisse began to pack up her things. “I’ll be in and out, as needed.”

  She turned to Marcus, Sr.’s attorney. “And the auditors will do a preliminary meeting with you later this afternoon to discuss when and how they will carry it all out.”

  “I’ve used this team for several clients, ones that had more going on than this. They are experienced and professional.”

  “Marc will be there? He needs to be in on that meeting?” Marcus, Sr. had already pulled out his phone to call him.

  “Yes, it’s also blocked off on his calendar.” She swallowed hard and hoped no one noticed.

  She was also supposed to be there, but she didn’t need to share any more space with him. She hated to back out, but seeing him after the conversation that she was about to have with him would be too awkward to bare.

  “I think you all are capable of handling this meeting without me. I’ve briefed the auditors and they will be able to answer any questions that you’ll have.”

  She stood up, shook everyone's hand, and then trotted down the hall to Marcus’ office. Charlisse hoped that he wasn't busy because she wanted to get this over with. She walked up to his door and lifted her hand to knock, but it swung open before she could.

  “Oh, Charlisse.” Marcus stood in the doorway, but moved aside to let someone walk out.

  Charlisse’s eyes zeroed in on the young woman who strutted past her while Marcus held the door open. She gave Marcus a sly grin then dismissed herself before Charlisse could even ask for an introduction.

  “You said to stop by any time, so...” Her eyes followed the woman down the hall then went back to Marcus who also wore a silly grin as he motioned for her to come into his office.

  “Why are you grinning?” She stepped into the room.

  “You’re jealous.” He said as he shut the door behind him.

  “No.” She responded flatly. “I’m just s
orry for interrupting.”

  “You know, I never pegged you as the jealous type. It’s flattering.” He sniggered to himself. “And you weren’t interrupting anything. That was one of our associates. As you can imagine, many of them have questions and are concerned about the firm.”

  He motioned for her to take a seat.

  “I’m sure.” Charlisse did so with crossed arms, but quickly uncrossed them.

  She didn’t want to give off defensive body language. That would give Marcus the upper hand and play right into the narrative he was already spinning in his head.

  “And again, Marc. I’m not jealous. It’d take more than two sex sessions for me to feel that way.”

  “We can work on a third right now...since you’re counting.” He leaned onto the edge of his desk.

  “I’m simply stating a fact. Get over yourself.”

  “Touché.” Marcus sucked on his bottom lip, but Charlisse was too irritated to care.

  The display of Marcus’ ego had plucked her last nerve.

  “Well, since we’re stating facts, this morning, I wished I had a beard, goatee, or something.” He ran his hand over his cleanly shaven face.

  “You needed another reason to be full of yourself?”

  She almost wished she hadn’t asked once he began to saunter over to her. He walked slowly like a predator eyeing his prey. He stopped right in front of her then leaned down to stare directly into her eyes.

  “No ma’am.” He casually licked his lips. “Having one would have helped me savor your flavor longer. You have the sweetest pussy I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Marc.” She rolled her eyes then stood up, almost bumping into him. “That was the last time.”

  “Excuse me for having a hard time believing you when you say that.” His expression balled up in feigned confusion.

  “That was the last time.” Charlisse repeated slowly, dragging out every word for emphasis.

  “And, you said that before, so what’s the difference between now and then?”

  “I guess you’ll just have to see.” It was her turn to smirk.

  “Wait a minute,” He put his hands up in frustration. “Are you really serious? No warning, no time to think about it? It’s just over?”