Claim

by Janet Nissenson

  Tessa beamed as Madelyn Benoit drew her into an affectionate little hug. “Very much, yes. What about yourself?”

  Madelyn looked stunning - and far younger than the fifty-something she and her twin Natalie actually were - in a long-sleeved, off-the-shoulder slinky red dress and coordinating heels, her dark blonde hair cut in a new, feathery style that suited her classically lovely features. She was glowing, her face wreathed in what looked like a perpetual smile, and Tessa instantly attributed her happiness to the very elegant, handsome man who was keeping Maddy glued to his side.

  “We had a wonderful holiday,” gushed Maddy. “Absolutely wonderful. We were at my sister’s for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, of course, then flew out to spend a few days with James’s children and their families in Hawaii. We just arrived back in San Francisco a few hours ago. Julia would have never forgiven me if I missed this party!”

  James gave Tessa a brief peck on the cheek before clapping Ian on the back. “Good to see the two of you again. And no need to ask how life has been treating you since we last met, since it’s rather obvious how happy you are. Just like Maddy and I.”

  “We’re both very lucky blokes, aren’t we?” drawled Ian, his arm sliding around Tessa’s shoulders to hug her close. “Though I understand that you and Madelyn are going to beat us to the altar.”

  Maddy and James exchanged a fond look before she nodded. “We’ve decided to get married in February. On Valentine’s Day, to be exact. And in Paris, of course, because that’s where we first met. James tried to find ways to make things even more romantic, but I told him anything else would just be overkill.”

  “If you happen to be in Europe around that time you should pop over for the wedding,” offered James. “It’s just going to be a very small affair, my children and their families and Maddy’s sister and nieces, of course. But we’d love to include the two of you, especially since Ian helped to get us back together.”

  Ian shrugged, casually dismissing his small part in the matter. “As timing would have it, James, we will be in England in February but about a week later. Are you planning to stay in Paris after the wedding?”

  “No.” James shook his head. “I’m whisking Maddy off someplace warm and sunny for our honeymoon, either the Seychelles or perhaps the Caribbean. It sounds like we’ll just miss each other, unfortunately.”

  They chatted for awhile longer, Maddy gushing over the dress Tessa had chosen for the party. The dress was white with a black lace overlay, with a tulip-shaped skirt and a V-necked, bustier-style bodice. Her high heels were of black mesh with lace appliqués, and earlier Julia had oohed and ahhed over them almost covetously.

  Ian had chosen a similar color palette - a black suit and pristine white shirt, though he’d chosen to forego a tie this evening. He looked dangerous and almost devilish dressed that way, especially since he hadn’t shaved in two days. Tessa always found his stubble to be extra sexy, loved it when he looked a bit more casual and laidback.

  The intense sexual chemistry that always existed between the two of them continued to simmer at a slow burn that grew hotter and more intense with each passing hour. By the time midnight drew near, especially after several more glasses of champagne, she was - well, horny for lack of a better word, and becoming increasingly anxious for the party to wrap up so that they could return home and really usher in the New Year.

  She shivered as Ian wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him, and had to stifle a little groan when he nuzzled the side of her neck - one of the most sensitive spots on her body, a fact he was very well aware of.

  “I know that particular look you had in your eyes a few seconds ago, love,” he murmured seductively. “I know it very, very well. It’s the look you get when you need to be fucked for several hours straight. Am I right?”

  “Shh!” she whispered urgently. “But yes, you’re right. Isn’t it midnight yet?”

  Ian chuckled, his hand slipping teasingly down over her belly and lower still. “What’s wrong, darling? Are you that anxious? If it’s really that bad, Tessa, I’m sure Nathan and Julia wouldn’t mind if we slipped inside one of their guest rooms for a few minutes.”

  She clamped her fingers with surprising force around his wrist, halting his progress. “You can’t be serious!” she hissed beneath her breath. “I mean, you aren’t - are you?”

  He laughed huskily, hugging her a bit tighter. “No,” he assured her. “You know very well that having an audience is not something I’d ever permit. So you’ll need to wait - ah, let’s see now.” He checked his watch. “Less than five minutes until midnight, love. We can make our excuses after that. Jet lag, you know.”

  To distract herself from the almost unbearable sexual need strumming through her body, she tried to find a more neutral topic to discuss.

  “It’s barely a week now until our, um, anniversary,” she pointed out. “The anniversary of our first date, that is.”

  “I know what you meant, love,” Ian assured her gently. “Though the argument could be made that it was really the day before our first official date that we ought to be commemorating.”

  Her cheeks grew hot as she recalled that fateful evening in Ian’s office nearly a year ago - the evening that had changed their previous employer/employee relationship into that of passionate lovers.

  “I, um, don’t disagree,” she murmured. “How do you propose we celebrate?”

  His smile deepened suggestively. “I was thinking a very romantic dinner at Le Mistral for starters. Though we don’t necessarily need a private room this time.”

  “Mmm, that sounds wonderful,” she agreed. “For starters, at least. Though I might have had a slightly different idea for how we might celebrate. One that included a visit to your office, preferably at the end of the workday when you were all alone, and we could, um, possibly re-enact the -”

  Ian placed a finger over her lips, shaking his head while trying unsuccessfully to control his mirth. “A very interesting scenario for sure, love. But I think I prefer my idea - dinner at our favorite restaurant, followed by a very long evening in our bedroom. And the next day we could -”

  He was interrupted by Nathan’s announcement that there was now less than a minute until midnight. Ian and Tessa gathered around in a semi-circle with all of the other couples here tonight - the Atwood’s family, co-workers, friends - and then laughingly counted down from ten as a group.

  “Five, four, three, two, one!”

  There were cheers and whoops all around the living room where everyone had assembled, quickly followed by embraces and kisses to ring in the New Year.

  Tessa and Ian were no exception, though the kiss they shared was far more passionate, and lasted considerably longer than any of the other couples’ did. He had her pinned against a wall, her arms looped around his neck, and was within seconds of grinding himself against her when Lauren’s very loud, very sarcastic comment made him freeze in place.

  “Jesus, you two. My parents are right over there, and I guarantee they aren’t into exhibitionism. Take it down a notch, okay? I swear, the two of you shouldn’t be allowed out in public,” grumbled Lauren.

  Ian lifted his head, meeting Tessa’s gaze and expecting her to look thoroughly embarrassed. Instead, her blue eyes were twinkling with mirth and she wasn’t able to contain her laughter.

  “I agree with Lauren,” she murmured in amusement. “We should get ourselves somewhere very, very private as soon as possible.”

  He returned her grin. “I concur. Let’s make our excuses, shall we? Though I’m guessing after that kiss everyone just witnessed they won’t believe you’ve got a sudden headache coming on, will they?”

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Gregson. But I suppose it’s really more like evening by now, isn’t it? Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all? My, ah, services are entirely at your disposal.”

  Ian glanced up in surprise from the report he’d been reviewing, and then grinned broadly at the sight of his gorgeo
us fiancée posing rather provocatively in the doorway. “And a very good evening to you, Miss Lockwood. To what do I owe this very unexpected pleasure?”

  Tessa walked - more like slinked - inside the office, closing the door behind her, and then very determinedly engaged the lock. “If I have my dates right, Mr. Gregson, then I believe it was exactly one year ago, nearly to the minute, when we, ah, shared our first kiss.”

  He grinned, leaning back in his chair and watched with great interest as she perched her shapely ass on the edge of his desk. She crossed her long legs at the knee, deliberately letting her dark blue pencil skirt hike high enough up her thighs to expose the lacy tops of her stockings. It didn’t escape Ian’s notice that the skirt and blouse she wore were very similar to the outfit she’d had on a year ago.

  He ran a hand up over her knee until he reached bare skin. “We shared a great deal more than just a kiss, darling,” he reminded her suggestively. “And if my cell phone hadn’t rung when it did, we would have continued, er, sharing things with each other.”

  Tessa ran her tongue over her nude-glossed lips, the look in her blue eyes almost feral. “Exactly what I was thinking, Mr. Gregson,” she purred, giving his tie a playful tug. “And since it was such a shame that we were so rudely interrupted that way, I think it’s only right that we finish what we started. Don’t you agree?”

  He almost laughed at the way she deliberately batted her long, curly eyelashes at him. But he was so immensely turned on by her provocative actions that he didn’t dare to so much as smirk, afraid that she would stop what she was doing. Instead, he grasped her by the hips and half-lifted, half-scooted her onto his lap, her thighs straddling his. Tessa made a little sound of surprise, but quickly recovered and wound her arms around his neck.

  “I do agree,” he murmured, very aware of the sizeable erection tenting his trousers, and the way his lusty fiancée was slowly grinding her pelvis against it. He bit his lip, stifling the low groan he would have emitted otherwise as Tessa continued to give him an impromptu lap dance.

  “However,” he added in a sterner voice, his hands clamping down on her hips to hold her still, “I suggest that we finish this in the privacy of our bedroom, you little witch. In case you’ve forgotten, we aren’t alone here.”

  Tessa bent forward until her breasts brushed his chest, running her tongue along the side of his neck. “No need for that,” she breathed softly. “I sent Marisol home half an hour ago so that she could spend some time with her children. You didn’t even notice that I’ve been the one answering your phones for the last thirty minutes.”

  Andrew was on vacation this week, visiting his family in Seattle, and Marisol had been filling in for him. Ian had been so absorbed in his work that he definitely hadn’t noticed her absence, or that his very devious fiancée had engineered switching places with her.

  This time he did smirk. “And was there a specific intention behind this substitution? Or were you just helping Marisol out by letting her leave work early?”

  Tessa shook her head, her long blonde hair curling wildly over her shoulders. “I confess to having an ulterior motive,” she admitted with a very sultry smile. “Maybe several of them. After all, we’re completely alone over here, the rest of the office is pretty much empty, and your door is locked. And everyone knows not to disturb the boss man when his office door is closed. That means we can feel free to pick up where we left off last year when we were very, very rudely interrupted.”

  “Tessa.” He gave her an indulgent smile, capturing her hand as it came perilously close to squeezing his fully erect cock. “You’re beyond tempting, darling, and while your, er, suggestion is rather intriguing, I’m not going to -”

  “What would you have done if your cell phone hadn’t rung at that moment?” she whispered to him, grinding her pelvis in slow, deliberate circles against his almost painful erection. “Would you have stopped with just a few kisses? Didn’t you want to finish what we started?”

  He groaned, finding it increasingly more difficult to resist her deliberate seduction. “Yes, you little temptress. You know damned well I did.”

  “Mmm.” She began to loosen his tie, nuzzling a spot behind his ear at the same time. “Tell me what you would have done next if we hadn’t been interrupted.”

  “Everything,” he growled, his control perilously near the breaking point, and his concern about engaging in amorous activities in his office quickly becoming insignificant. “I would have done every dirty, depraved thing I’d fantasized about doing to you for over two years. First, I would have stripped you naked, spread you out here on my desk, and tasted this sweet, hot pussy until you came at least a dozen times.”

  Tessa’s blue eyes grew bigger and rounder with each word that fell from his lips, her breathing a little more uneven. “And - and then?”

  His hands slid up beneath her skirt to cup her buttocks, holding her still as he rocked her back and forth on his cock. “And then I would have flipped you over, keeping this gorgeous ass up in the air, and fucked you from behind.” His tongue traced an erotic little circle around her ear. “That would have been the first time I took you.”

  “Oh.” She was trembling now from arousal, and he could feel the wetness between her legs dampening his trousers. “You - you wouldn’t have, um, stopped after that first time?”

  “No.” He slid his hand further up her thigh, his middle finger slipping beneath the lacy band of her panties to where she was hot and creamy. He penetrated her with first one, and then two fingers, keeping up a slow, steady rhythm, his fingers thrusting in and out of her tight slit. “That would have been just the beginning, darling, only the first of many fantasies I would have fulfilled that evening.”

  “Ohhh.” She groaned, her head falling back limply, and she had to clutch the arms of his desk chair to hold herself up. A loud gasp escaped her lips as his thumb manipulated her clit. “What - what other sort of - oh, God! - fantasies did you have about me?”

  Ian began to unbutton her gray silk blouse, one button at a time. “Having you sit on my lap, just like you are now, while I sucked your nipples.” He pushed the blouse off her shoulders before deftly dispensing of her lacy silver gray bra. “Like this.”

  He cupped one big, round breast in his palm, pushing it up high enough to meet the slow, wet lick of his tongue. The sounds she made deep in her throat as he sucked the pale apricot nipple into his mouth made him even harder, impossible as that seemed. He repeated his actions on the other breast, then replaced his lips and tongue with his fingers, tugging both fully erect nipples at the same time.

  Tessa’s breathing was ragged by now, and she was so wet that the crotch of his trousers was becoming soaked where she was straddling his lap. The realization that he could arouse her to these heights, could make her so wild with need, only increased his own overwhelming need for release.

  “And of course,” he whispered in a very deliberate, very seductive voice, “my most frequent fantasy about you - at least, while you were here in the office - involved you kneeling under my desk and sucking me off. In fact, practically every time I saw you walk by, all I could think about was this sexy mouth of yours wrapped around my cock.”

  He ran a finger over her lush, pillowy lips, emitting a low growl of approval when she sucked it into her mouth. Without a word, Tessa slid off his lap until she was kneeling between his widespread thighs, and a shudder went through his entire body as her fingers went to his zipper. He was so hard by now that he had to grit his teeth as she carefully drew his penis out, and he very nearly leapt out of his chair at the first touch of her soft, delicate hands on his flesh.

  “Christ!”

  This time his hips did lift off the chair briefly, as Tessa daintily licked the thick beads of pre-cum off the tip of his cock. Her tongue circled the broad, pulsing head over and over, before plunging inside the slit and sucking hard. And then she was taking the entire, throbbing length of him inside her wet, eager mouth, her lips moving up and down, back
and forth, alternating between taking him as deep as she could manage, and then sucking just the super sensitive tip between her lips. Her hand was equally busy, reaching beneath him to squeeze his testicles, with one finger inching a bit higher to press along the base of his prostate gland.

  It was difficult to believe that until a year ago she’d never done this, had never given a man a blow job. He had taught her the skill, showed her how he liked to be touched and kissed, but much of the pleasure she was giving him now was the result of her own natural instincts. And the pleasure she was giving him was far beyond anything he had ever felt before, far beyond anything he might have ever dreamed of. She was a siren, a sex goddess, he thought dazedly, feeling his climax approaching, and knowing it was going to be an earthshattering one. The fact that she was going down on him here in his office, a place where he had always obeyed all the rules, had always behaved in a professional, disciplined manner, made it all that much naughtier, made it even more forbidden. And also increased his pleasure ten times over.

  He grasped handfuls of her hair when he came, his head falling back so far that his chair very nearly tipped over. And even though he’d come so hard he had nearly blacked out for a few seconds, all it took was one look at her for him to become aroused again instantly.

  Tessa was still kneeling in front of him, half of her body beneath his desk, her tousled blonde head resting on his thigh as if in surrender or adoration. He stroked her hair lovingly, knowing without having to be told that she would do anything he asked of her, that she trusted him with her very life as well as her body and her heart. It was a powerful feeling to know that a woman like her was so willing and eager to please him, and he vowed silently to never, ever take advantage of that willingness, and to never take that eagerness and devotion for granted.

  She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes dreamy and almost dazed. The bare skin over her breasts and torso was flushed pink, her nipples hard, and he knew she was highly aroused, that giving him pleasure always excited her, too.