by Amy Brent
“Good?” He asked, and all I could do was nod. I slumped back on the bar, a few of the drinks around me clattering, but I couldn’t care less. That had been incredible Beyond incredible. It had been enough to scrub the last memory of Matt from my mind, to remind me just how much the single life could offer to me if I wanted to take up on it. Nathan eyed me, disposed of the condom and readjusted his pants, and went to get himself a drink.
“You want one?” He asked, and I shook my head. It was tempting, but I had work early the next day and had a feeling that he would keep me up the whole rest of the night if he got a chance.
“I should be getting back to my place,” I remarked, looking for my panties and pulling them back on. I could still feel his eyes on me and I couldn’t help but grin to myself. I loved how brazen he was about desiring me. “But thanks, Nathan.”
“Nate,” he corrected me. “You really can’t stay?”
“I really can’t stay,” I assured him, even though I was wavering on that right now. Part of me did want to say and hang out for a little longer, to take in this amazing apartment in all it’s glory, but I knew I had to get back to my place. I had to go home. The last thing I needed was to start getting feelings for this dude, and I knew that it was going to happen if I let it.
“This is just between us, right?” He remarked again, taking a sip of his drink and watching me as I gathered myself. I nodded.
“Just a one-time, just-between-us thing,” I promised him. And it was really as much a promise to myself – that this wasn’t going to any further than it had, that I wasn’t going to let myself get drawn in to him the way I wanted to. He was my boss and besides, I’d be out of that office and done with college for good in a few weeks time. I might not even be in this city much longer. This was just a little fun, something to prove to myself that I wasn’t as uptight as I always acted. He was still watching me, and there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes, as though he didn’t want me to go.
“I’ll see you,” he nodded, getting the door, pulling up the elevator for me so I could head back down to the lobby and leave. I looked up at him, at this ridiculously gorgeous man, the one who had just made me come so hard I was pretty sure that I would never fully return to this planet. And I felt this tug, this tug deep in my stomach that told me to stay and give things a chance and see where it went. But I knew I needed to get out of here. The elevator pinged, and I stepped in, smiling to myself as soon as the doors had slid shut behind me. I had done it. First box in the single life ticked off – a crazy-hot hook-up to remind myself that I still had my moxy.
Chapter Three
As I sat in the office the day after my hook-up with Nate, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. And that was a problem.
Because this was meant to be nothing more than a bit of fun. Just something to get my mind off all the bullshit that had gone down with Matt the last month or so. But every time I wasn’t specifically doing something there he was at the front of my mind, that cocky grin on his face, the way his breath came out sharply as he moved inside of me. I knew too much about him now to just let go like that. And he knew too much about me – namely, precisely how to make me come so hard that I felt as though I was going to split apart at the seams.
I didn’t have much longer to get through at Helios before I would be back to my real life once more. But for now, I just had to keep focused on my work and do my best not to get caught up in the memories I had of the man just a few floors above me.
I sighed and leaned back, running my fingers through my hair. I was irritated with myself. I just wanted this to be done with already. I mean, as long as he was here, in this building, so close to me, I knew I was going to have a hard time getting past the fact that he…well, all of it, really. Was this just a rebound? It was meant to be nothing more than a reminder that Matt wasn’t the only man who wanted me, and it had certainly cemented itself as a permanent reminder of that much, at least. But was there something more? The way he had looked at me right before I left, there had been something there. Not a lot, but maybe enough?
Enough for what? That was the question. Because the answer didn’t matter – nothing was going to happen between. How many women had he been through the same way he had gone through me? His confidence, his coolness, his class – you didn’t pull that off on the first try. He must have done that a dozen times before, a hundred, and to think that I was something special, something different for him, that was just arrogance.
“Nia?”
I lifted my head, blinking to dismiss the thoughts that have been running through my head. Freda was standing above me, hands on hips, looking down at me with the same concern she had had in her eyes yesterday.
“Yeah?” I asked, plastering a big smile on my face.
“Nathan needs to see you upstairs,” she jerked her head upwards. “You alright? You look exhausted.”
“Yeah, I just had a busy night last night,” I replied, getting to my feet. I was running on autopilot because all I could think of was that Nate wanted to see me. What did he want? What did he need?
“I need you back down here as soon as you can make it,” She nodded. I returned it.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I promised, and headed for the elevator. My mind was racing. Hat the hell was going on?
I arrived back upstairs, in front of his office door, and remembered that last time I had all but crashed straight into him. If I did that now, I couldn’t imagine holding myself back. I might just have to close the door behind me and see if we could turn this one-time thing into a two-time thing.
I knocked on the door, and he called from me inside to enter: the sound of his voice sent a long shiver up my spine, the kind that felt deep and dark and significant. I took a deep breath and opened the door; I could do this. I could be professional. Every jot of chemistry we’d had was left behind in that apartment building and that was all that mattered. At least, that’s what I told myself before I laid eyes on him once more.
He glanced up and I noticed at once that he hadn’t shaved that morning – his stubble was dark against his sharp jaw, and I wondered if he’d slept in that morning, if he’d woken up too tired to bother with maintenance.
“Close the door,” he nodded behind me, and I did as I was told, heart beating fasting. Could he read me that clearly? Could he tell how badly I wanted this? I turned back to him.
“You said you wanted to see me?” I remarked, slowly lifting my gaze to meet his. “Mr Richards?”
He seemed to bristle when I called him that and I enjoyed his reaction more than I would have cared to admit.
“Yeah, I need to go over these numbers with you,” he nodded, his gaze lingering on me for a second longer than it necessarily needed to before he pulled out the papers that I had dropped off yesterday from his desk. He laid them down on the desk in front of him and I raised my eyebrows.
“What’s the issue?” I asked. I knew I had gotten those numbers spot-on. The only reason he would be getting me up here to discuss them would be if…if he just wanted to see me again. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.
“It’s this, right here,” he pointed at the papers and I leaned over to get a look; I was so close to him that I could have tilted my head just so and our lips would have touched, and that would have been it. He seemed as aware of it as I was, swallowing heavily like he was trying to hide from himself, hide the fact that he wanted this. Or maybe I was just reading to far into this. Maybe there really was a problem.
“Where you’ve split the donations between our charities,” he remarked, his voice a little husky. “We don’t usually…”
He trailed off and I slowly lifted my head to look at him, to see what the problem was. His eyes met mine and I knew at once where this was going; I recognized that look from the night before, from when he’d been looking up at me from between my legs. I shuddered at the memory. Okay, I really hoped he’d called me up here with something else entirely in mind. His gaze flicked to
my lips, like it had the first time I was here, and before I could stop myself I leaned forward and planted my mouth on his.
Before I could take in what was going on, he had grasped my face and was kissing me back, tongue in my mouth, drawing me to my feet as he did the same.
“Fuck,” he breathed as he pulled back, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that we weren’t going to be disturbed. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since last night.”
“Me neither,” I confessed, and he moved around me swiftly, locking the door and then turning back to me.
“How long do you have before you have to be back downstairs?” He demanded.
“Long enough,” I shot back, and he grinned and kissed me again, harder this time, backing me up against the door and running his hands all over my body. I was wearing that skirt-suit again, and he hurriedly ran his hand up the inside of my thigh and spread my legs so he could grind against me. He was already hard. Was this why he’d gotten me up here? I didn’t exactly mind if it was. So, maybe it was a two-time thing. No harm in that.
He grabbed me and moved me around, so that I was facing the desk once more, and I at once caught on to what he was going for. I leaned over and reached back, pulling my skirt up and wondering once more if this side of me had always been there or if it had sprung into being the first time I laid eyes on him. He grabbed my panties and ripped them down, pushing my legs apart. I heard a zip from behind me and closed my eyes, biting my lip to keep from moaning too loud.
“Fuck, you’re so hot,” he growled, running a hand over my ass and up my back. He balled his hand in my hair and tugged me back a little, and I shivered as the rush of pain seemed to wake up every nerve ending in my body.
“Condoms, in the drawer,” he pointed for me, and I reached in and fumbled around for them, trying not to think about the fact that this meant he’d likely done this before. He grabbed one from me, and I heard the rip of foil from behind me as he slid his hand back down to hold my hip good and steady. I spread my legs a little further. I was so ready for this. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea but hell, I’d be out of this place soon enough and God knows if I’d ever find an excuse to see him again – why not take him up on his offers when they were still on the table? Or while I was bent over it?
Suddenly, I felt him nudge up against my entrance and closed my eyes and forgot everything that had been swirling around my head since the say before. Nothing mattered but how good he felt. I bit my lip as he slid into me, keeping myself as quiet as I could, and his fingers sank into my hips as he pushed all the way inside me. I was ready for him this time, used to him, but even still, the pleasure that echoed out from having him inside of me was almost too much to take. I grabbed the table, focusing all that tension into my hands and clenching my jaw to keep from crying out and letting anyone outside that office know what was going on.
“Mmm,” he groaned softly, starting to move. “You’re so fucking tight, Nia.”
Hearing my name on his lips sent another surge of pleasure through me and I arched my back and pushed myself back against him, grinding down so I could take as much of him as I could possibly fit at once. He felt incredible, beyond incredible, the physical sensations matched with the inherent filthiness of this situation enough to almost tip me over the edge right then and there. I could already feel the orgasm brewing and wondered how long I’d been holding out for this without even realizing it – since I left his apartment the day before? Probably.
He didn’t waste time, knowing that at any second someone could bang on that door and force us to stop at once. He went hard and fast, any of the sensuality that last night had held forgotten as he screwed me deep over that desk. The ankle meant he could thrust into me even deeper than he had the night before and all I could do was grip the desk in front of me and try my hardest not to scream out in pleasure. Foreplay and teasing were one thing but this – this was something else entirely. Maybe even something better.
“Ah…” I groaned softly, sliding a hand between my legs almost on instinct and beginning to play with myself. He sank a hand into my ass, leaning back, presumably so he could get a better look at my busy fingers between my legs.
“You close?” He demanded after a minute or two, and I nodded – the ability to speak had long-since left me and I knew there was no point in trying to reclaim it.
“Come with me,” he ordered, and it wasn’t so much a suggestion at it was a demand. Something about the harsh edge to his voice, the fact that he didn’t seem to be giving me much of a choice, that was all I needed to push me over the edge. I clutched at the table, grinding hungrily against my hand as I massaged my clit in time with his thrusts, and soon enough I was there – so close I could almost taste it, my pussy tight and tense and-
“Oh, fuck,” he groaned as he bottomed out inside of me, thrusting in one more time and burying himself deep, so deep it stretched me out around him, so deep it pushed me over the edge in the same instant. I pressed my lips together and stilled my hand and came hard, bent over his desk like that, my boss’s dick so far in to me it was like he was trying to imprint himself on me once and for all.
He slowly pulled out, quickly disposing of the condom; I rearranged myself as best I could, pulling up my panties and straightening out my hair and rolling down my skirt. I knew the flesh in my cheeks would give me away, but there wasn’t much I could do about that for the time being.
“So, a one-time thing, huh?” He remarked, and I shrugged and stole a look up at him.
“Maybe two times,” I conceded. “Maybe more?”
“More?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“If you want to,” I hurried in quickly. He probably had a dozen women on speed-dial right now. He likely wouldn’t be able to fit someone else in.
“I want to,” he replied, as though it was obvious. “How long are you here for?”
“A week or so,” I shrugged.
“You want a bit of fun till you finish up?” He suggested, a devilish grin on his face. I cocked an eyebrow at him. Was this a good idea? I mean, almost certainly not, but that hadn’t stopped me the last two times and I wasn’t about to let it get in the way now. My body was still flooded with adrenalin and excitement and all I could think about was how badly I wanted him again, how keen I was for this to continue any way it could.
“Just till I leave?” I confirmed, and he nodded.
“If that’s what you want,” he agreed He extended his hand slowly, the same hand that had been on me just a few moments before, and I felt a long shiver run up and down the length of my spine. Yeah, okay, I wanted this. I didn’t think I had it in me to say no even if I’d wanted to, even if I saw this for the terrible idea it was. I stuck my hand out and our skin connected again and I felt this long flutter in my chest, like something big had just happened.
“Deal,” I grinned back at him, and he raked his other hand through his hair. There was a triumphant flicker in his eyes, like he’d just landed the biggest contract of his career to date. Maybe he had. I knew it was certainly true for me.
“Down-low though, right?” I nodded at him. “I don’t want people to think that I’m hooking up with the boss for favours or anything like that.”
“As quiet as you can keep it,” he agreed at once, and then that devilish smile returned once more. “Though I would consider myself a failure if you were able to keep completely quiet.”
I rolled my eyes. I walked into that one.
“I should get going,” I brushed myself down, checking myself in my reflection in the mirror. “I don’t want anyone to notice how long I’ve been away.”
“Good idea,” he agreed, and waved his hand at me. “Catch you later.”
“Your place?”
“My place,” he nodded. “See you soon.”
I lingered for a moment, a moment longer than I should have. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for but something in me was expecting him to come out with something more. I knew it was a fool’s errand, that I
was being silly to think there was anything else to say, but still. I wasn’t sued to this casual thing, and even despite what had happened the night before, it still find kind of weird to just walk out of this place when he’d been inside me only a few moments before.
I ducked, tearing my gaze from his, and went to the door, heading over to the elevator and stepping in – there were a few other people in there and one of them, a woman I’d waited behind in the coffee queue a couple of times, gave me this long, hard look like she knew precisely what I’d been up to. I quieted a smile that threatened to give me away and looked at my feet to keep my expression to myself. Okay, so keeping this quiet might be harder than I thought.
Chapter Four