“No,” he said, his voice strained. “I want to come inside you,” he said, pulling her up as he stood.
Stacey felt his hands roughly pull her skirt up and push her stockings even further down her smooth thighs. She heard a thud behind her as Andre pushed a stack of papers and folders from his desk and picked Stacey up, placing her on the desk.
Stepping between her legs, Andre nudged her knees apart even more and gripped her by the hips. He took his time sliding into her wetness while staring her directly in the eye. Stacey felt transfixed by the need she saw in his eyes that had darkened to a teal blue with lust. Stacey parted her lips just as Andre’s mouth made contact with hers, and he seated himself fully inside her. He gripped her waist tightly, pumping his hips and sawing in and out of her. Stacey grabbed the back of his neck with one hand and placed the other on his desk to hold herself up under his vigorous stroking.
“Oh God, Andre! Don’t stop, please, baby. Just like that,” she begged as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in closer.
“You like that, baby?” he panted, his head buried in her neck as he licked and sucked. “Tell me how much you love this cock!” he demanded, rotating his hips to hit every inch of her channel.
“Oh, shit! I love it soooo much,” she moaned, “Oohh, I’m gonna come,” she panted knowing she couldn’t hold on much longer.
“Come with me, baby!” Andre ordered, again sealing her lips with his. They both moaned into each other’s’ mouths as they came, pumping their hips against one another.
“Damn. I don’t think I can get enough of you,” Andre panted in between breaths as they came down from their orgasms.
“Tell me about it,” Stacey laughed as her head lolled against his shoulder, “Mmm,” she moaned as he pulled himself from her.
Andre grabbed a few tissues from his desk, quickly cleaning himself and Stacey up before placing her feet on the floor and fixing her clothes. She helped him put all the papers back on his desk as they had been before their sexual encounter.
“I think I’ll leave early today,” Andre said picking up his suit jacket and shutting down his computer.
Stacey looked at him confused. “I thought you had more work to do today.”
“I do have more work to do. In that pussy,” he teased, grabbing her to him and placing kisses down her jaw to her neck.
“You’re so nasty,” she laughed.
“You like it,” he teased, smacking her on the ass. “Let’s go. I’ll follow you to my condo. I’m going to be gone for about a week so we gotta make up for lost time before I go,” he told her.
Stacey just smiled and shook her head. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend the rest of the day than being wrapped in this man’s arms, and his cock stroking her insides while he moved over top of her. She was already missing him and he hadn’t even left yet. She knew whatever was growing between them had the potential to be serious. To say that unnerved her would be an understatement.
****
“All right y’all, that’s it for tonight,” Stacey told her pole dancing students as they completed their end of class stretches. As her class of about fifteen women began gathering their belongings, Stacey unfurled her yoga mat. Over the last few weeks, she’d grown accustomed to seeing Andre waiting for her on the other side of the door as she exited with her last student. Tonight, however, she knew he wouldn’t be waiting since he was still in Boston. Instead, she opted to do some yoga to unwind from the last few days. The last of her students filed out of the studio, leaving Stacey alone. After locking the door, she turned on some relaxing meditation music, lowered the volume, and began with her opening sun salutations.
After about a half an hour, Stacy sat cross-legged in the center of her yoga mat. Closing her eyes to end her yoga session, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. An eerie feeling began to creep into her belly. She pried one eye open and then the other, looking around. She was alone in the studio and with it being dark, she couldn’t see outside, but she got the distinct feeling she was being watched.
Deciding to end her night, she grabbed her Nike sports bag, rifled around for her cell phone and keys, which held a small jar of mace, placed the bag over her shoulder and headed out the door. Making sure to keep her eyes open and alert, she quickly strode to her car. She reached her car door and just as she placed her key in the lock, she saw the image of a man in the window’s reflection.
Moving quickly, Stacey yanked her key out of the lock, spun around, and shot off a spray of mace before swinging with her right arm.
“Uff!” she heard the man grunt when he first made contact with his ribs. “Shit,” he said, coughing and backing up. The man, who appeared to be about six-feet tall with tanned skin and dark hair, coughed and sputtered, holding up his hand. “Wait, wait,” he said trying to stop Stacey as she held up her mace again, aiming at his face, which she’d missed last time.
“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded angrily. She was now more pissed than afraid.
“Ma’am, my name is Lorenzo. I work for Raul Santiago. I was hired by Mr. Collins to escort you home,” he said still holding his hands up.
Stacey’s eyes narrowed on him. She looked hard into his dark eyes as he stood under the streetlight. His stance showed that he was giving her space and time to appraise him, attempting to come across as non-threatening.
“Prove it,” she said still holding up the can of mace and remaining in a defensive stance.
Lorenzo nodded. “Okay, I’m going to reach for my phone and call Mr. Collins.”
He reached into his jacket pocket to go for his cell phone.
“Other hand stays up,” she ordered when his second hand began to drop.
Lorenzo put his other hand back up and nodded. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, holding it up for her to see. He pressed in his code, dialed the number, and placed the phone to his ear.
“Hello, Mr. Collins. I’m here with Ms. Coleman who almost maced and assaulted me,” he said in a deadpan tone. “Apparently, you forgot to tell her you hired me to escort her home,” Lorenzo frowned.
Stacey almost laughed. Almost. She still wasn’t sure this guy was for real and after feeling as if she were being watched in the studio not too long ago, she wasn’t taking any chances.
“He wants to speak with you,” Lorenzo said taking a step forward and holding the phone out in front of him.
“Put it on speaker,” she told him, holding up the mace again and bracing herself.
To her surprise, Lorenzo’s face softened into an almost impressed expression as he nodded. Remaining where he was, he pressed the button to put the phone on speaker and within seconds, a feeling of relief washed over Stacey as she heard Andre’s voice.
“Stacey, did you really hit and mace him?” he asked, his voice laced with laughter.
Stacey, whose eyes never left Lorenzo’s, didn’t look as pleased to hear the laughter in Andre’s voice. “Maybe,” she said, finally relaxing and placing her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me you hired someone to follow me? I nearly took this guy’s head off.”
The vibrant sound of Andre’s laughter came through the speaker loud and clear in the quietness of the still night. “I’m sorry, baby. I just forgot. As I recall, we got sidetracked doing other...things before I left,” he laughed.
“Andre!” she yelled, peeking at Lorenzo’s face to see if he picked up on the innuendo. His impassive face belied the glint in his eyes that told her he had picked up on it.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry you got scared. I just wanted to make sure you got home safe since I wasn’t there,” he told her.
Stacey opened her mouth to remind him that she had worked at that studio, and had worked those hours for more than a year before she met him, but he cut her off.
“And don’t tell me how long you worked there before we met. I’m not letting my—” he paused and cleared his throat, “—you leave late at night from anywhere without someone watch
ing your back. Now, get in your car and drive safe back home. Lorenzo will follow and make sure you get in safely. Call me when you make it home,” he told her. “Lorenzo make sure she gets in safely.”
“Will do,” Lorenzo stated before giving Stacey a reassuring smile.
Stacey felt the tenseness in her muscles begin to fade. She knew Raul owned and operated a security firm, and now that she looked at Lorenzo, he did look familiar. She probably had seen him at Mercedes and Raul’s wedding, but at night while she was already on edge, those few details were hard to remember. She heard Lorenzo saying some last minute words to Andre before hanging up. She felt a little guilty for almost macing and hitting him.
“I’m sorry about—”
Lorenzo waved her off, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been maced before. Luckily, I’ve got quick instincts. I wish my sisters had your chutzpah.” He smirked. “Go ahead get in your car. I’ll follow you home,” he said ushering her to her car door.
Before turning, Stacey had one question to ask. “Um, did you, by chance get here a little early and sit out here for a little while?” she asked, hoping that it was Lorenzo who’d given her that feeling of being watched earlier.
Stacey’s hope deflated when Lorenzo shook his head. “No, actually I got caught up with another client and got here later than I was supposed to. I arrived only a few minutes before you exited the studio. I intentionally planned to come in the studio and introduce myself to avoid scaring you. Obviously that didn’t turn out so well.” He sighed.
“Oh, okay,” she said trying to hide her frown as she got in the car. All the way home, Stacey couldn’t get past the feeling of being watched from earlier. She was actually grateful that Andre had hired Lorenzo to see her home safely, although she wouldn’t admit that to anyone.
Chapter 10
Evenings like this, Andre was grateful he had a chauffeured vehicle to drive him from his Boston office to his hotel. He was so tired, it was a struggle to keep his eyes open as he rode past the buildings in the downtown Boston area. It’d been a long five days in Boston. In addition to dealing with the executive who’d threatened to abandon ship, he’d had to sort out financial and recording issues with the accounting team and work with a few of the top level executives to weed out clients who were not serving the business’ bottom line. Then it was another matter altogether to inform those clients that they would not be renewing their contracts. Even though he was dog tired, Andre felt good about what he’d gotten done in a short period of time. Now, as he returned to his hotel room, the only voice he wanted to hear was that of the woman with a dancer’s lithe body and amber colored eyes, who was, unfortunately in Atlanta while he was in Boston. He began pulling out his phone just as the car stopped in front of his hotel.
Seconds later, Andre’s door was opened by the hotel’s doorman. As he greeted and tipped the serviceman, Andre began scrolling through his text messages, stopping at one in particular. The message read:
Hope you had a good day. Call me no matter what time you get in, if you’re not too tired.
Andre’s mood instantly perked up as he read the message. That one message was like a jolt of caffeine to his tired body, and suddenly he couldn’t wait to get up to his room and call Stacey. The smirk that appeared on Andre’s face wasn’t missed by any of the female guests in the lobby as they eyed him openly, and some more subtly. Nearing the elevator, Andre finally looked up from his phone to see the last person he wanted to see. His smile faltered.
“Maria,” he stated plainly, stopping short. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he wondered how she even knew he was going to be there. “What are you doing here?” he asked, barely attempting to conceal his impatience.
“Is that any way to greet me after I’ve been waiting for nearly an hour and a half for you?” she asked, batting her long, dark eyelashes at him and attempting to give a coy smile. She was dressed in a red trench coat that stopped a few inches above her knee. Her long legs were adorned in black stockings, and Andre bet she didn’t have on much under the coat. Heck, he knew, looking around, most of the men in the lobby could tell she wasn’t wearing much under the coat. But unlike the other men, Andre wasn’t turned on. He was irritated.
“How did you know I was here?” he asked, making no attempt to hide his irritation.
Maria’s smile faltered a little and she tried a more flirty approach, stepping closer and running a Rouge Vernis tipped fingernail up his arm while looking up at him through her lashes.
“I asked around,” she answered cryptically. “You haven’t been answering my calls.”
Andre grabbed her hand to halt her caress. He would admit that she was a beautiful woman, but he was not feeling her tonight.
“I know, I haven’t answered your calls. That should have been your first clue,” he said rather dryly. It was late, he was tired, and the only woman he wanted to talk to was in Atlanta, so a phone call would have to do. Unfortunately, Maria was getting in the way of said phone call, causing his patience to wear thin.
The seductive smile Maria wore dropped immediately and she yanked her hand from his, her own irritation shining through. “So, you’re seeing someone,” she accused.
Andre’s eyebrow shot up. Where the hell did she get off questioning him? They weren’t and never had been exclusive. Hell, they weren’t even really dating. They’d just been someone to warm each other’s beds or wear on an arm at an event when the need arose. They often went for long periods of time without speaking when the other was seeing someone. So, why was she trying to get all territorial now?
Not wanting to drag this out any longer, Andre simply nodded. “Yes, I am. Not that it’s really any business of yours.” He shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets.
Maria looked affronted as if he’d just told her he’d run off, gotten married, and was starting a family. “Who is she?” she demanded.
Apparently, Maria forgot who she was talking to and dealing with. No one questioned him about what he did with his own life. Especially, not someone he wasn’t related to or had any serious commitment with.
“First, who she is, is none of your damn business.” Andre watched as Maria’s eyes grew wide with shock at the way he was speaking to her. “Second, don’t ever, show up here like this out of the blue when you weren’t invited. Third, it’s late. I’m tired and going up to my room. Alone. Goodnight.”
He walked off without giving her a backwards glance. Andre strode to the elevators and got on as soon as the first arrived to deliver him to his private suite.
****
Maria stomped out of the hotel and back to her off-white BMW, slamming the door when she got in. Pulling out her phone, she punched in the first number in her most recent contacts list.
“Jennings!” she shouted when he answered the phone. “You didn’t tell me he was seeing someone else!”
“Oh, Maria, how wonderful it is to hear from you again. I take it the evening didn’t go as expected.” Jennings’ cocky tone relayed the smile he likely wore on his face.
In that moment, Maria knew he probably had known Andre was seeing someone and would have likely rejected her advances. “You knew didn’t you, you son of a bitch!” she snarled.
“Now, now, Maria, we don’t want such ugly language coming from such a beautiful woman, do we? I merely thought you’d want to know your lover was in town. How was I to know he’d drop you like last week’s trash?” he taunted.
“Fuck you!”
The two had run in the same social circles in Boston for years and had always had a hate-hate relationship, even though they had many friends in common. When Jennings had called her out of the blue earlier in the day and “accidentally” let it be known that Andre was in town due to his recent acquisition of Jennings’ company, Maria hadn’t thought twice about showing up at his hotel. Now, she knew Jennings had something else up his sleeve.
“Tell me who she is,” she demanded.
“Now why would I do that?”
he questioned.
“Because you still owe me for getting you out of trouble with the police last year.” Maria knew all about Jennings’ nasty drug habit, and had even covered for him one night while they happened to be out at the same club.
“Oh fine, since you want to bring up the past,” he relented.
Somehow, Maria knew that despite his seeming reluctance, Jennings was more than happy to give her this bit of information. But, she wouldn’t question his motive. Maria just wanted to know how much of a threat this woman was to her plan to have Andre all to herself. She’d be damned if she let another woman come in this late in the game and swoop in on her territory. Sitting back in her car, she intently listened as Jennings told her what he knew about one Stacey Coleman.
****
Meanwhile, Andre sighed in relief as he entered his hotel suite. He tossed his briefcase onto the couch in the living room before heading to the large bedroom. It took everything in him not to collapse into bed, but he wanted a shower before he called Stacey.
Showering quickly and throwing on a pair of boxers, Andre crawled into the king-sized bed and stretched out as he reached for his phone. Checking the time, he saw it was close to midnight. It was Thursday night and he knew Stacey had to get up early to be at her internship the next day. He hesitated for a second before pressing the button to call her. He was feeling particularly selfish and just wanted to hear her voice before conking out for the night. Even if it was just a few minutes.
“Hello,” Stacey’s groggy voice came through the line as she answered.
“Hey, babe,” Andre smiled, more happy than he cared to admit that she’d answered.
“Hi,” Stacey said around a yawn. “How was your day?”
Andre could hear some ruffling in the background as if she were sitting up in bed. He felt a slight twinge of guilt at waking her. “Hey, I’m sorry for calling so late. I should let you get back to sleep,” he told her.
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