by J. S. Badham
“Yes.” Her mother briefly smiled. “This whole venue is hired out. Don’t forget about that wild dance you promised with me later on, Claire,” she sang before she began to shuffle off, wiggling her hips as she took her husband to the dance floor. She was drunk.
They pushed on, Zack soon taking control as he headed for the staircase. They tackled the first few in a composed manner before leaving the rest in a mad, frenzied manner, laughing as they reached the next floor. With impatience, Zack pushed Claire against the wall, his lips crashing against hers as his hands ran through her hair. His hands then slowly dragged down to her hips before lifting her left leg up against his body as he grinded his pulsating member into that tantalising spot.
Claire tried to suppress a gasp, acknowledging that they were in earshot of the downstairs reception area. With control, Claire pushed him gently off and tugged on his tie as she pulled him into a room. There she didn’t care what he did. Like a hungry tiger, he threw off his suit jacket and pulled off his tie as he prowled after Claire, who took a step back.
His lips met hers in a fiery combat lasting just for a second until Zack pushed Claire onto the bed, flipped her body over, and allowed his hands to take their time flattering every inch of her ass, kneading it like dough.
“You’re so fucking…gorgeous.” His hoarse, gravelly whisper sent shockwaves all through her body, intensified by the way he dragged her body down the bed, propped her arse in the air, and teased the air in between as he pressed his hardened friend at the rear. It didn’t matter that they were fully clothed because dear god, she felt her insides tightening and the urge of exploding was already on the brink of the horizon.
Slowly, she felt him peel back her dress, leaving her naked back exposed and tickled by the air. His lips then made contact starting from her nape all the way down her spine, making it difficult for Claire to remain still. Have no mercy, she thought when he slipped the dress further down her frame, giving centre stage to her Brazilian thong. Each cheek was kissed before he pulled on the elastic string and released it.
“Fuck’s sake, Claire. You know how to make a guy feel so hard,” he growled in her ear, another wild sensation prickling down below that sent her hormones rocketing with lust. She just couldn’t take the anticipation, so she took the control, turning over and sitting up, pressing her lips against his, thirsty to feel his tongue quenching her own. All that while, her dress draped down past her shoulders, leaving her breasts in full view and easy for Zack to squeeze in the palms of his hands. Nor did he leave some out for his mouth, sucking each hardened nipple and eliciting gasps of delight.
His shirt soon came off, then his trousers and boxers. Claire remained in nothing but her thong as she straddled herself in his lap. Her hands moved across the contour of his abs, then around to his back, feeling the movement of his muscles shift as he engulfed her frame into his own.
Growing urgency led to impatience, his hands breaking the flimsy material and immediately entering her hard and fast, hitting her where he knew she would break instantly. Each penetration was sheer bliss, the movement of hands dragging down one another’s backs and their hips as they met halfway. Their breathing was erratic. Sweat was inevitable. Positions changed, and sure enough, he had Claire lying on her side as he fucked her sideways, hitting hard and fast. The sweet pain had her succumbing to complete surrender.
Then the ass.
Each thrust. Each fucking thrust. Her hands holding onto for dear life to the bed, each fingertip pressing against the sheets as she felt all of him cater to her satisfaction.
Then major fireworks.
“Oh, god,” Claire panted as he slid out of her and rolled onto his back. “God, you’re…amazing.”
Zack was heavily breathing, too. “You can…speak.”
“Dear me.” She puffed, laughing a little, but with struggle as she squeezed her eyes closed briefly. “My knickers. You snapped them. How am I supposed to—”
“It’ll be our naughty little secret,” Zack blurted aloud, heaving as he rolled onto his side to face Claire. His breathing was still a little hectic, but he just couldn’t help the next thing that came out from his mouth. “Claire, I need…to tell…you something.”
Chapter Eight
The unwavering bass of the music drumming from downstairs made it impossible for Claire to get a thought in silence. Her eyes lasted only a few seconds to observe Zack’s facial expression that flashed contrition before they returned to the side-track of their surroundings. Not that her mind registered or allowed her to completely see it as guilt. Instead, she blatantly ignored whatever words came from out his mouth.
“We better get changed.” She smiled weakly, fumbling for her dress off the floor. “Don’t want to be caught in the act, do we?” Her attempt at a laugh sounding like a dying cat.
“Claire.”
“And god, Zack!” She giggled as she slid the dress across her body. “How am I supposed to walk out without knowing every goddamn second that you tore my knickers? You better hope that there’s no one looking up those stairs as we go down them.”
“Claire.”
“I wonder if Mom has persuaded Dad to join her on the dance floor, and he’s miserably groaning like he normally does,” she scoffed, tugging her one heel back onto her foot. “That would be priceless. So, get ready. C’mon, mister.” She slapped her hand playfully several times down onto his chest. Zack remained sitting up, his back hunched forward, guilt sucking on the framework of his face.
“Claire.”
“I don’t think I’ll manage to walk down those stairs, Zack. You might seriously have to carry me because, dear god, does it feel like someone has put the air conditioning on down there,” Claire remarked as she slid one of the loose bobby pins back into her hair to secure the odd piece that had escaped cavity in her neat mess. “And—”
“Claire, would you please just listen to me?” Zack interrupted, grasping her thigh as he moved closer down the end of the bed. “This is serious.”
“I’m…listening. I am. You just keep repeating my name. So…just spit it out, Zack,” Claire muttered, awkwardly getting up and insisting to herself that the expression still attached to his face was nothing more than an attempt to persuade her to get back in bed. “I’m listening, Zack. What is it?”
“I lied.”
Claire snorted as she rubbed her right hand across her elbow, feeling the patches of dry skin. She made a mental note to cream her skin later on. Finally, after leaving him with nothing, she replied, “We all lie, Zack. One time or another. Only a few do not have the courage to lay down and cover up the truth. Your point is? What? Your hair is not a natural black? You lied about not washing up the dishes the other day? Hm?”
“No, no, Claire, that’s not—”
“Zack, just get changed first. And we talk more—tomorrow morning. Just not now,” Claire interjected.
“No, we need to talk about it now, Claire. It’s…too important to just allow it to slide,” Zack disagreed as he grabbed his boxers, slid them on, and then followed with his trousers. “It’s just too damn important.” He put on his buckle. “I lied, Claire. About me.”
Claire frowned a little, watching as her boyfriend’s face took on a guise of solemnness. “Lied how so? What, you lied about your allergies? Your fucking name? What, Zack? What do you mean you lied about you?” Her heart hammered against her ribcage as she felt the room around her suddenly become hotter and denser, that in any second it would engulf her. “God, Zack. What’s with all this crap now? Can’t we seriously have a therapy session some other time? It’s my brother’s day. I—we don’t need this. You’ve got to be pissed or something. How much did you drink?”
“Claire, I’m not pissed. And you need to listen to this now. It’s fucked up timing…and well, I should have done this sooner. You’re not leaving, nor are you going to give up on us for what I am about to say. Okay? I’m not letting you slip through my fingers because, baby, you know what you feel inside an
d what I feel inside is true,” Zack explained, throwing on his shirt.
“Just spit it out then!” Claire snapped as she flopped herself into the closest corner chair and crossed her arms.
Zack sighed, licking his bottom lip. “My name isn’t Zack Chase. I’m Zack Benson—”
“So, you lied about your last name. Big whoop. I don’t seriously care, Zack. I love you, and that’s all that matters. You can tell me all tomorrow why you chose to lie about that. But for now, let’s just go downstairs and—”
“You’re not listening, Claire—”
“Well, maybe it’s because I don’t want to fucking listen, Zack,” she cried aloud. “I don’t want to hear what you’ve got to say because I know from the look on your face that there is a slim chance I’ll be walking away hand in hand with you. So, yeah, I don’t.” Groaning a little, she tried to reduce the trembling of her bottom lip.
“Claire,” Zack muttered, trying his best to evoke some comfort towards her as he kneeled before her and clasped her hands. “Just…please listen, and I promise you that we will be leaving that door hand in hand.” He ran his thumb across her cheek before eventually she nodded. “Does Benson not ring a bell to you?” he asked, his eyes flicking back and forth between her own.
“No…why should it?”
“What about where you work?”
Claire’s eyes lit up with acknowledgment then. “Okay, I didn’t think of that, but what has that got to do with you? Lots of people have the same last names. Doesn’t mean you’re fucking related.”
“Everything, Claire. So much fucking everything.” Zack exhaled, allowing one hand to drop away from hers as he used it to anchor his chin. “I’m the CEO, Claire.” He dared not for a second to let fall his eyes away from hers. He wanted to see her expression, see her disgust and that anger he knew he deserved, but instead her reaction was far from it.
Claire laughed, shaking her head, “Who put you up to this? Huh? Is this some practical joke? Are you okay? Did you hit your head on something along the way?”
“Claire, I’m serious,” Zack stressed as he stood up and ran his left hand through his hair. “I’m not lying. This isn’t a joke.”
“Zack, I’ll give it to you, this is funny. Nice joke. Had me all fired up for no reason. Was that your plan? Wanted some hot, angry, make-up sex? ’Cause if that was all, you should have just asked, although that doesn’t mean I’m still not up for it.” Claire chuckled, winking at the end as she began to rise.
“Claire, I’m not lying.”
“Well, unless you’ve got concrete evidence, I don’t believe a word that comes from out that pretty mouth of yours. Sorry, babe,” Claire said, shrugging her shoulders and growing a smirk.
“Here then.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket and drummed his fingers across the screen until finally shoving it in front of her. “Do you know who this man is?” He drew her attention towards the man who could be no other human than his father, Elijah Benson. Claire nodded, her humour dying a little as she held his phone.
“Yeah, that’s the CEO. I think he retired, though. I know who that is. He was there when I first joined the company. Tough cookie as well.”
“Okay then, so what about this?” Snatching the phone out of her hands, he swiped his finger across the screen to the following picture. Claire couldn’t even snap back at him for his little cruel seize as he passed her back the phone, projecting yet another picture. Her mouth closed and opened as she registered the old CEO, standing tall and proud alongside his wife and two other men on either side, one who she could see was Zack. Her boyfriend.
“This…this doesn’t make sense,” Claire said, shaking her head as her eyes flicked back and forth to the real-life Zack standing before her and the man in the picture. “It—It could just be some lucky photoshop or a mystery doppelganger you never knew about. Ain’t no fucking way that is you, Zack. You wouldn’t lie about that to me, nor would it make sense.”
“It’s the truth. That’s my family. My dad. I took over the business. I have been for the last couple of years, but I’m invisible in my father’s shadow, so very few recognize me. I lied about who I am, Claire, but I’m not lying about how much I feel for you,” he said, stepping forward to caress her face.
“Don’t touch me!” Claire roared, her fingers still gripping the edges of the phone as she marched back. “Just don’t!” She shook her head as she bit her inner cheek. “But why? Oh my god.” She shook her head, feeling nauseous. “And Graves? You just let him fire me? You. I can’t. Why didn’t you fucking punish Graves for what he’s done? You know all the shit that man has put the department under! And me? Why haven’t you done anything? What even is the plan, Zack? Sleep around with me then go back to your big, wide world?”
“No, no, Claire. I have plans for massive changes for this company starting next month. And it killed me not to step up, but I just wanted time to sort it all. I was having trouble in my company. I’ll clear your name, get your job back for you. And Claire, no. Don’t think like that. I love you, and that was never—”
Claire didn’t know what to think, feel, or react. Those three words, “I love you,” were starting to feel difficult to register knowing the lies that had surrounded Zack.
“I can’t hide why it was initially all done. I need you to know everything,” Zack added, running his hands along either side of his arms. “This wasn’t done for business. It wasn’t planned by the members of the board. There was no official documentation of my absence from the office to intrude into my employees’ space. It was between a friend and me. A bet. One that was stupid, but I don’t regret it.”
“A bet,” Claire reiterated, defeat exploring every crevice of her face as she looked down towards the floor.
“It was just to see if I could cope with being normal. Whatever that means. I’ll admit you were only involved when we found you had a room to let. You weren’t part of it, but you were part of my selfish, egotistical map of thought. You were going to be my fun. But then…I found out you were a challenge, not so easy, and the more I wanted to sleep with you, the more I fell for you. I’m a dick, I know, I should have told you sooner, but I became afraid. As soon as I started falling for you, I believed in this misconception that somehow it would all work out in the end. I forgot for a second that I was a man on top of the world business trade, and I wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences to come after,” Zack explained, noticing that as he spoke, Claire flinched and pressed her lips together with dismay as she listened to every word. “Claire?”
She looked away, swallowing an uncomfortable taste of bitterness in her mouth. Again, Zack repeated her name aloud. “What do you want me to say, Zack?” she meekly replied, exhaling as she held out his phone. He took it gently, watching as she looked at the photo still intact upon the screen.
“You still love me?” Zack said, uncomfortably shifting his collar.
“Of course I do, Zack, but I just don’t know…if I can anymore,” she muttered, unable to shift her attention towards his wandering eyes that she could feel were sweeping over her. “I—I just don’t if I can handle or even…comprehend what this means anymore. I’m struggling. You lied, Zack.” She waved her hands about to emphasise her point. “Although…still…how is that even gonna work between us? I can’t see it looking good to my colleagues…nor would I want either of us to feel like I would just have to rely on you—”
“But you wouldn’t, Claire. I wouldn’t stop you from working. We would be a team—even if your contribution was small—because heck, I don’t want you feeling like—”
“But it would. I’d always feel so indebted to you,” she blurted, her shoulders slumping forward.
“Claire.”
“But why couldn’t you just tell me the truth? I’ve read enough romance books in my life to know that it never usually works out. And now look.” Claire frowned, slightly jabbing her hands out to the side of her. “I’m in one myself. You’ve got to understand that I can�
�t help that nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me that you could be lying. That our entire love affair could be a lie.” She held her hand up to stop Zack from butting in. “And then there’s that other weak voice, the one I want to trust, telling me I should just follow my heart because it has been through so much with you. Fuck, Zack, you’ve been there with me when Jonas died. I just—just, honestly don’t know what to believe or what to do. I know for sure, though, that I love you. But…I’m gonna need space. Lots of space,” she explained, feeling more than ever that her world was slowly falling apart and not a single mechanism could stop the reaction.
“Claire, I love you. Please, just don’t. I fucked up. Just give me another chance,” he pleaded, grasping her hand that she willingly allowed him to hold. “Baby, please just let me prove it to you. Anything. I’ll show you my real world. We’ll take it slow if that’s what you want. Just don’t walk away when you know what we have can never be replaced.”
“I…” Claire exhaled. “I need time, Zack.”
“Please.”
“I just need time to think, Zack. I’m hurt. Really hurt, but…I just…need time to heal. Because, Zack, you fucked up, and now I can’t stand to look you in the face without seeing the bold word: liar.” She let go of his hand.
“I’m not giving up on you,” Zack declared, bringing her forehead against his before pressing a hard, lingering kiss at the centre. “Just don’t shut me out. If we could just work this out together…”
“No,” Claire said, stepping away. “I need time, and if you love me, you’ll allow me this. Just please go. I know you have a home to go back to, so I’ll just say something urgent came up. But just please go, Zack.”
“Claire.”
“Go!” she snapped, jabbing her index finger towards the door. “I don’t want to fucking see you, Zack. I don’t want to hear from you right now. I need space.”