“I know why you did that now,” Elisa admitted, as she smiled ruefully. “It drew attention away from the weekend, even though I was jealous and must have looked at those pictures a hundred time the following morning. I analyzed them, but when I see you look at me, I know that you don’t have feelings for her. There was no sincerity in your eyes. I also found it funny when she had pictures the same night at a club, drunk with another guy, while the headlines speculated that you’d had a horrible fight. You need to choose a better prop, Damon. She’s amateur.”
“I don’t want a prop. I want a girlfriend,” I told her. “I want a woman to spoil and make love to all over my house. I want a woman to cook for and pamper. I want a woman to support as she moves up the ladder in my industry.”
“Taking any applications?” Elisa teased, as she pressed closer to me, kissing me hungrily.
“There’s only one woman for me,” I assured her, kissing her eagerly as we made our way to the couch. I had her shirt off, and I was sucking on her sweet nipple when the oven beeped and we both groaned. “Damn it.”
We both stumbled in, and I pulled out the fish just in time, while she turned on the stove to give the veggies a quick reheat. Elisa had already cooked them, but had left them covered to soak in their flavors and stay warm. I plated the fish, and she heaped her side dish on the plates before we both finished with some fresh salad. We took them back to the table, eating as she asked me what to expect across the street.
“What about the apartment?” I asked, as we washed the dishes together.
“Well, it’s for employees of Elkus Manfredi, so I want to save it for them. I have been doing some looking of my own and found a cute place near here that my mom and I could share. I’ll be able to afford it with the new salary, even losing the financial aid. I just hope that I don’t get fired.”
“You won’t. You’ll be a graduate before you know it and have the world at your fingertips,” I teased her, as Elisa laughed and kissed me again. Her eyes grew dark as she gazed at me and I felt the heat in the room. Elisa took my hand and led me across the room to the door that hadn’t been opened since last time she was over. I grabbed a key from my pocket, unlocking it, and pushing it open as she walked boldly inside.
“I loved the dinner. I loved the roses. I loved everything about tonight, but right now…I want you to fuck me.” I hardened at her request, so direct and bold, as I closed the door and dropped the key on a counter. “I want what we couldn’t do in the office, Damon.” I told her to take my pants down before she dropped to her knees, searching my face. I nodded, and she leaned in to take my cock in her mouth. I held onto her hair, loose and wild around her shoulders, as I rocked my hips with her movements. Her hand gripped my ass, digging into my skin, and pulling me forward as I buried myself down her throat. Her moans joined my cries as we moved harder and rougher, her name passing through my lips as I filled her. She felt so good and drank me down as I stared down at her. “Elisa,” I said, with wonder in my eyes as I pulled back and offered her my hand.
I handcuffed her to the headboard with metal covered by soft cloth, after I stripped her. I left the black lace thong on for the time being, obsessed with the scrap of material that separated me from what I wanted more than anything right now. I left her legs free as I moved down her body, biting and nipping my way over her neck and nipples as she arched her back for me.
I knew she wanted it rough as she begged me for more as I moved down her stomach. I found a small but powerful dildo and slipped it inside of her, securing it with the lace as I kept her legs open for access to her clit. I ravaged her as the device vibrated, giving me more and more sweet honey as she came closer to a release.
“Damon!” Elisa cried out, her face flushed with desire as she clenched her fists. “Oh, fuck. I’m coming.” I dragged her clit between my lips as she screamed through her peak before I pulled the panties off and slid the dildo out of her body.
“So intense.” I moved her to her stomach, careful with the restraints as she moaned. I knew that she was already tired, but I was nowhere near finished. I spread her legs and smacked her ass, watching her jerk in front of me as she begged for more.
Elisa screamed for me to fuck her after a few smacks, and I slid inside, once again bare. I gripped her ass and squeezed as I took her repeatedly, knowing that her moans were of pleasure, not pain. I pulled back and drove myself inside one more time before I filled her, feeling her tight, wet pussy wrap around me. I cried out her name as I held her hips tightly and memorized the feeling of her body.
Elisa surprised me by asking about what other toys I had. I showed them to her, describing what they would do to her as her eyes heated up. There were several dildos, some plugs, and a variety of things to use for spanking.
Elisa asked if I could use them in my bedroom, and I picked up her favorites and brought them with us. “I love that room, and the possibilities that come with it, but I want to make this our place as well. I want to experiment in here and then fall asleep in your arms,” she confessed as she blushed. I lit a few candles in there, and we dropped on the mattress, still bare.
“You are the first woman that I’ve been with here, in this room.” I waved my hand around as I spoke, and she looked at me with bright eyes. “This is the last place I see at night and the first thing in the morning. I don’t want to invite anything in to the one place I find peace. I want you here, though.”
“I want to be here. I want to try, but it’s going to have its hard moments. There will be tough times.” She looked at me. “I know about your past, and I’ve read the rumors. It’s difficult to think about, but I do see the way that you look at me, so I’m willing to give it a chance.”
“Good,” I said, as I kissed her and watched her move onto the mattress, lying on her back. “So, what do you want to try first?”
Elisa
I had always thought that sex was boring. I thought that it was never like it was in movies or books, but with Damon it was better than any of that. I read a lot of romance books, thanks to having a million roommates, and they got pretty hot. It was unbelievable. This somehow seemed like it could be real and work out, though I didn’t have a lot to base that on. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Damon, but what little time we had spent together had been memorable. I fell asleep that night knowing a lot more about sex toys than I’d ever imagined, but happy in Damon’s arms as I held onto the hope that I had for us.
The following day at work, Brent made the announcement that I was moving across the street for a full-time position. The team was happy for me, though I sensed a bit of confused jealousy. Still, they took me to lunch to celebrate, and we clinked our soda glasses together as Autumn asked how it came to be.
“Burt called asking about the interns, and Brent recommended me. He sent over my resume and it impressed Burt, so he asked me if I’d like to work for him. I guess it’s not totally out of the ordinary for someone graduating in a year, right?” I asked, as I dipped a fry into some of the ranch dressing on my plate.
“That’s when I got hired,” Vince admitted with a grin.
“Me, too,” Autumn said, as she smiled. “They’re willing to give us a chance when they see that we’ve worked hard. A lot of the time, they don’t want to pull long-time staff, since we work in teams. It’s nice.” She sipped her soda. “Is the big boss upset that he’s losing your help?”
“No, I was told he gave me a good referral. He told me good luck,” I responded, with a bright smile on my face. I could never reveal the truth, and what might end up out there would be decided after I left the building. It would be something that developed later, and I hoped that’s how it would be perceived.
“He seems busy with that floozy these days. I don’t know what Damon sees in Brooke, apart from their family ties. I mean, I know they hooked up a few times, but to keep going back? She was caught with another guy at the club the same night the pictures were taken.” Autumn shook her head and I frowned. He had said they weren
’t involved like that. “Whatever. He’s gorgeous, but seems a bit dumb to me.”
“I don’t know him well,” I lied, as the conversation moved to something else. Gossip about Damon seemed like it got boring fast, and I wondered about the truth about us. Would I be the floozy then? We finished our lunch, and I thanked everyone before we headed back to the office.
Damon was walking with Brent to the elevators ahead of us. He looked good in fitted black slacks and a blue shirt, hidden under his black winter coat. I stared at him as everyone chatted around me, losing myself in the memories of last night.
Someone called his name across the lobby and Damon turned around, his brows furrowed together. He said something to Brent and waited as a woman with familiar hair walked up to him.
Brooke.
Damon looked annoyed as he talked to her, but I managed to sneak by unseen. She was pretty in person, and she was busy grabbing his arms and shoulders as they talked. I wasn’t lying when I told him that this was going to be difficult. He had a lot of past, whereas I had next to nothing. I made my way back to our room, looking around wistfully for a moment. “What’s up?” Vince asked, as he set his cup down on the floor.
“I think I’m going to miss this place. I was barely here, but you are such a good team to work with,” I replied, as he smiled.
“You’re going to be the assistant to the big boss. That’s something to look forward to.” Vince assured me.
“It’s scary,” I whispered, as we gathered around the table. “I’ll be full time and going to school. The hours will be crazy, and I might drop dead from exhaustion.”
“I hope your guy won’t mind that,” Vince said.
“I am building an empire. He needs to understand that.” I smiled, and he nodded as Autumn smirked at me. I knew from talking to her that Autumn grounded herself with the company before she had said yes to her fiancé’s proposal, and they were now planning the wedding. She was a go-getter like I was, coming from a poor family that had struggled as well.
I was going to be with the team for another two weeks before I started across the street. I jotted down advice that everyone gave me, since the job would be a little different. I knew that Burt wanted me to learn various duties, and I hoped that some of it was hands-on design. That’s what I loved, after all.
I saw Damon every night that I could, but didn’t have the guts to ask him what Brooke wanted that day. I felt uncertain all over again, and, when we were in one of the beds in his house, he noticed it. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just nervous,” I replied, with a smile on my face. I hadn’t gotten high fives from everyone in the building, and found that Devin was a little jealous of my job offer. That made me worry that Damon had influenced the process more than he was telling me, making me wonder how much of this life was earned. I wanted it all to be mine.
“You have this in the bag, Elisa. Just go shine.” He dropped the toy he’d been using on the night stand and looked me over, seeing that I was flushed and tired from the torment that he’d just put me through. “Is someone bugging you at the office?”
“No. They’re just not all thrilled for me,” I admitted, as he gave me a dark look. “I’m sure it’s normal, and I just have a few days left, right?” I wouldn’t see Damon daily, then, and would have so much more to wonder about.
“Sure. You’ll settle in before you know it and be telling me all kinds of stories.” Damon teased, his eyes warm on me as my heart jumped into my throat. “We’ll be rivals.”
“Hardly,” I choked, as I dropped onto the pillow and took a deep breath. “I have years to go for that.”
“You doubt yourself too much,” Damon reminded me, as he moved beside me and traced my stomach with his finger. “You’ll get this job, and we’ll only get better and better.”
“I hope so.” I closed my eyes and let my body relax as sleep took me over. As uncertain as I might be about Damon at times, my body craved him, and I knew that I’d never get enough. This made me tired. “We’re exclusive, right?” The idea that we were having unprotected sex a lot lingered in my mind every time we were finished. Not that I had any worry about pregnancy, because the shot was virtually a sure thing, but I worried that he was sleeping with other women.
“Did you ever think that we weren’t?” He asked, as I felt him kiss my hair.
“Just curious.” He turned the light off and pulled me against him as he kissed my cheek.
“You know you’re it for me.”
The holidays were coming, and my new office was decorated in style as I walked through the doors to meet with Burt and fill out paperwork. The staff had thrown me a party on Friday, and I had lingered with the friends I’d made, while Damon stood on the other side of the room with his managers. We shared a few glances, but kept it to a minimum with so many people around. The food was excellent and the cake beautiful, with a champagne toast in my honor. A few of the people were going to a bar afterward, and they invited me. I glanced over at Damon. “Come on. There’s cause to celebrate.”
“Okay. Sounds great,” I agreed as she smiled and pulled out her phone to send a text. Within an hour, things were wrapping up, and I thanked everyone for making it great there as I held my glass up high again. I left with my former team and a few others, walking to a group of bars on the corner. They were getting busy with the after-work crowd, and we blended into the crowd at the bar at the first one.
I had a feeling to look at the door, and I saw Damon walking in with the other guys. I frowned for a moment as I turned back and accepted the round of drinks that Vince bought everybody and thanked him as we clinked our glasses together. I knew that I would keep in touch with Vince and Autumn, and I stood closest to them as she waved across the bar.
“This is Tim, my fiancé!” I looked at the tall, dark-haired man and shook his hand as she introduced all of us. They looked good together, matching one another’s style, and he introduced a couple of friends who had come along with him.
Dave was one and Glen the other, and they had the same alternative look that Tim did. Glen congratulated me on the promotion once he heard about it, and drew me aside to start talking about my new job. I felt eyes on me and glanced over to see Damon staring at me angrily before someone walked up to him. Brooke again. Ploy, my ass. I smiled at Glen and focused on his words, pretending that I wasn’t crazy about the man across the bar with another woman.
The drinks were flowing, and I kept downing them as they were offered, laughing a little too hard at Glenn’s jokes. I even danced with him, crazy and free as reality left my mind, and I lived in a different world. It wasn’t until I had to pee that it hit me like a sound punch in the stomach. I did my business and walked out to feel someone grab my arm and pull me down to the end of the dark hallway.
“What the hell?” I asked, as I looked up to see Damon dragging me. “What are you doing? Isn’t your date missing you?”
“Date?” He asked, as he reached the end and stared down at me.
“Brooke. I’ve seen you with her a few times, and I give up,” I yelled, as he grasped my shoulders to stop me from flailing my arms.
“A few times?” He asked, and I nodded as I took a deep breath.
“At work, here…and there’s all those pictures of you with her. I know that you hooked up in the past, too.” His face fell as he stared at me, and all my happy buzz turned into hard, painful emotions. “I’ve been with you all this time, wondering who else you’re with, as I’m taking chance after chance. I must be stupid.”
“Who the fuck told you that?” Damon asked, as I stared sadly at him.
“Is it true?” His silence told me everything. “I wish it was you. Now it looks like you were hiding something from me, and I keep seeing her. I don’t even know what I want anymore.”
“I was a mess that day. Everything happened with the pictures from the weekend, and I knew I had to hide who you were. She was the first thought, and I didn’t want you to be worried about things, because n
othing has happened between Brooke and I for years.” Damon insisted. “She is here by chance tonight, and she wanted to tell me something about my parents in the building that day. That’s it, Elisa.” His eyes darkened. “How do you explain the new guy? You look like you’re having a great time with him. Who is he?”
“I don’t know!” I told him, as I tugged my arm away from him. I hurried through the bar and out into the streets, crying as I searched my purse for my phone to get a ride home. I had the job that I always dreamed of, but at a cost I never expected. I was in love with Damon, but too insecure and jealous to trust in him. I saw a cab and held my hand up as I ran towards it. The last thing I saw before we drove away was Damon staring at me, and I turned forward and told the driver where I lived.
I was alone that night, and I huddled under my covers, crying. I had given him back all the devices, and my phone was shut off. I wouldn’t be hearing from him, and I hoped that he didn’t come over. I needed some space.
Damon
I watched Elisa drive away in the cab in shock. She was drunk, but hadn’t made any sense in there. I took a breath of the fresh, cold air before I turned and walked back into the bar. Brooke had been here by chance, and she was with her friends now. For that matter, she was dating a new guy, and didn’t even seem concerned with what I was doing. The other time had been a business call, though I’d had no idea that Elisa saw us. I wish that she would’ve brought it up, so we could talk about it before it blew up like this.
I cast a dark look at the man that she had been dancing with, before I sat down at the table with my friends, sipping my fresh beer. He seemed to be looking around for her, and I couldn’t blame him.
I knew that she was gone if she didn’t try to reach out to me. I knew where her apartment was, but I was going to try to resist being a caveman and dragging her out of it and back to my place where she belonged. Fuck, I wanted to ask her to move in with me, and we’d set her mom up somewhere close by, tonight of all times. I didn’t see any reason to hide our relationship, now that she had her new job.
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