Just a Number

by A. D. Ryan

  “He’s bringing his new boyfriend,” Liz tells me. “Has he told you anything about him?”

  I shake my head. “Nope. The last email I got from him was around Christmas…when my life went ape-shit.” The tension in my body builds again and my hands tremble with nervousness. “I’m so scared about tonight, Liz.”

  “No kidding,” she says, her eyebrows pulling together with worry. “You’re wound tighter than a spring. Do you plan to spend some time with Owen before your dad shows up?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. Not much, I guess. I was going to show up and help with dinner, and Dad is supposed to show up around seven.”

  Liz looks at her watch. “So it’s three now, and when is Owen home?”

  “He’s done at the office at five.”

  A sly smile slowly spreads across Liz’s face. It always means trouble when she looks at me like that. The last time she got that wicked gleam in her eye, I was picking her up from jail for having sex in a public place with her last boyfriend.

  “Perfect.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “For…?”

  Without saying a word, Liz stands up and grabs my hand. “Come on. We’re going to stop by the mall and then you’re going to go surprise your boyfriend at work.”

  Yup. I was right a moment ago; it always means trouble when she looks at me like that.

  “Liz, I’m not sure about this,” I say, standing out on the sidewalk in front of Owen’s office building in a stylish knee-length jacket I’d just picked up at the mall…along with a few other things. The body of it is made of light gray wool while the sleeves are black leather. It buttons up the front and has a leather belt that ties around the waist and leather accents on the pockets. It’s a beautiful coat, and I justified the cost because I plan to wear it often.

  The wind picks up, toying with the hem of the jacket and worrying me. When the threat of it exposing what little Liz suggested I wear underneath wanes, I shiver as the chill travels up my thigh.

  “Trust me. He’ll love it. Now, get your sexy ass in there and get some!” Liz turns me around and smacks my ass, drawing the attention of several strangers.

  Even though I’ve always considered myself pretty outgoing sexually, this is new territory for me. And if it’s new territory for me, I can almost guarantee it will be new territory for Owen. This both excites and terrifies me.

  “I’d say thanks, but I’m not sure you deserve it yet,” I quip, opening the door.

  “Oh, you’ll thank me, all right.” She sounds confident, and I just shake my head and laugh.

  My heart pounds rapidly and my palms sweat as I stand in the elevator. Part of me wishes it would hurry up and get to Owen’s floor, but the other part of me is thankful for every stop it makes along the way. When I finally arrive at my destination, I take a deep, albeit shaky, breath and step off the elevator. It looks busy, and I suddenly second guess this plan.

  Before I can turn around, however, Elliot spots me.

  “Hey!” he says, rushing over to me with a goofy grin on his face.

  Even though my jacket is secured pretty snug around me, I adjust the collar so as not to give anyone an uninvited peek of the little number I just picked up from Victoria’s Secret. “Elliot, hey. It, uh… It looks busy around here. Is this a bad time for a visit?”

  He only grins. Something tells me he knows exactly why I’m here, but then I decide I’m just being paranoid. “He’s in his office going over paperwork. I’m sure he’d welcome the distraction.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  I walk past him, wave to Owen’s assistant before holding a finger to my lips to tell her I’m here to surprise him, and then push open his door. His blinds are already drawn for privacy, which bodes well for not drawing any attention to what I’m hoping will happen here.

  He’s on the phone and his back is to me, so I slip in and close the door behind me quietly. “I don’t care if he thinks it’s unfair. It was stated in the contract, and if he doesn’t like it, then he has to pay the damn fee like everyone else.” There’s a pause as he turns around. He looks angry, but when he sees me, his expression softens and his mouth spreads into a smile. “Relay my message and tell him I’ll be in contact with him.”

  After hanging up the phone, he steps out from behind his desk and approaches me. “I thought we were meeting at my place tonight?” he asks.

  His hands ensnare my waist and he leans down to kiss me softly. “Yeah, but then I decided to come and surprise you.”

  “Office visits two days in a row,” he muses, bending down and nuzzling my neck. “People are going to start talking.”

  My fingers thread into his hair as his lips make contact over and over again with my neck. Every kiss sends a ripple of desire through my body, my skin tingling and my legs shaking.

  “You feel tense,” I whisper, pulling my head back and forcing his eyes to mine.

  “Today has been one shitstorm after another. I was hoping for an easy day in lieu of Alan’s visit tonight,” he confesses. Then he smiles. “But this…this is a very welcome surprise.”

  I bite the outer edge of my bottom lip and smile. “Is it?”

  His eyes stray from mine briefly, moving down to my chest, eyebrows furrowing. He lifts a hand, using his index finger to tug the lapel away from my skin a little. “New jacket?” he asks. I nod. His finger slides down the cut of the lapel, the tip brushing the skin of my breast and inviting a fresh wave of lust to envelop me. He pops the first button, giving himself a glimpse of the black and red, lacy bra I’m wearing. “Amelia?”

  I push on his chest, forcing him to take a step back and keeping him an arm’s length away before I walk forward, forcing him back toward his chair. He falls into it, looking up at me as I slowly open my jacket. “Want to see what I bought with the rest of that gift card you gave me for Christmas?”

  He nods, swallowing thickly.

  Reveling in the effect I have on him, I open my jacket and toss it on one of the chairs. His eyes move down my body, drinking in the sight before him. Along with the black and red bra I bought, I got a matching set of panties and a garter belt that currently holds up the sheer black thigh-highs I’m wearing. His eyes move down to my feet to find the red heels he bought me for the masquerade ball, and he exhales a shaky breath.

  “Jesus, Amelia.” He reaches down and adjusts himself beneath his pants. He’s hard already, and I hold back a moan when a dull throb settles between my legs.

  “You like?”

  Speechless, he reaches out for me, but I push his hand away. “Just wait,” I instruct, falling to my knees in front of him, behind the desk and hidden from view. I start to pull his belt free, and he lets me, his eyes wild and excited. I’m just about to undo his pants when Owen stops me.

  “What’s wrong? Do you not want…?”

  Owen smiles. “Oh, I want,” he assures me, reaching for his phone and pushing a button. “Laura, I’m in a very important meeting and am not to be disturbed for anything. Hold all my calls.”

  “Will do, Mr. Cavanaugh,” Laura replies sweetly over the intercom.

  He disconnects the call—even double-checking to make sure—and then nods for me to continue. “Proceed, sweetheart.”

  “Before I do,” I say seductively as I slowly lower his zipper and tug the front of his pants open. “I’m curious as to whether or not you’ve ever done this before? In your office with all those people out there.”

  Owen shakes his head slowly, watching my hand as it pulls the waist of his underwear down. He shifts slightly so I can pull them out of the way further, and within seconds, my hand is wrapped around him and pumping him slowly. “You?”

  He groans as I take a languid stroke up his length, and I look up at him through my lashes. “Nope. This would be a first for me, as well,” I whisper before lowering my face and taking him in my mouth.

  “Oh, shit,” Owen moans, his hips moving up off his chair slightly as I take in his entire length. I move up and down in his la
p, alternating speed and pressure used. His fingers wind into the length of my hair, gathering it away from my face and setting my pace. I let him, because I kind of love it when he controls me this way. He’s taking his own pleasure in his hands, and it drives me wild.

  “That’s it, baby,” he groans, and I look up at him through my lashes again to see his eyes locked on me.

  Like every other time the two of us have given in to our desires, nothing else seems to matter. I can hear voices in the hall outside his office, but I ignore it, choosing to focus solely on Owen and the way he’s looking at me. The throb between my legs builds as Owen continues to guide me faster, then slower, and I press them together in an effort to quell it.

  Closing my eyes, I release a moan. Owen’s close; I can feel it in the way he tightens his grip in my hair, the pulling sensation making my body tingle. I’m so wet and ready for him to bend me over his desk and fu—

  “He said he wasn’t to be disturbed,” I hear Laura say.

  I pull my mouth from Owen’s cock quickly and look up at him. It’s clear he’s lost to his pleasure for another second before glancing down at me and seeing the panic in my eyes. “Amel—”

  Before he can even say my name, the door to his office flies open, and I scoot under his desk. Owen swings his chair around so fast, his knee collides with my shoulder, and I have to bite my tongue to keep from crying out. He pulls himself right up to his desk to conceal his erection from our unwelcome company, and I hold my breath, waiting for the fallout, because there’s no way we weren’t just busted.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Owen demands.

  “I came here to tell you one last time that I won’t sign the papers, so you can tell Stephen to back the hell off.”

  Fucking Gretchen. My blood boils beneath my skin, and I’m tempted to shove my way out from under this desk and tell her exactly where to go and how to get there.

  Then I remember what I’m wearing and rethink that plan.

  Then I remember what I’m wearing and rethink that plan. It would serve her right to know what the two of us had been up to right before she just stormed in.

  “You will sign the papers,” Owen tells her. “You got caught cheating, rendering the pre-nup void. You have no one to blame but yourself. If you don’t sign the papers, I’ll take you to court.”

  “Take me to court then. I’m sure they’d love to hear about that little slut you’re banging.”

  Again, I consider stepping out, but this time, I’m prepared to punch her and ruin that nose job she just had a few months ago. Owen must sense this, because he rolls his chair a fraction of an inch, effectively pinning me in place like a caged animal.

  “I didn’t start seeing anyone until after I told you everything was over,” Owen confesses. “Sign the papers, Gretchen.”

  “Not until you renegotiate the terms.”

  “Sign. The. Papers.”

  The desk creaks above me as I suspect Gretchen is leaning on it. “No.”

  “Then I’ll see you in court.” There’s a pause. “Laura, please see my ex-wife out and continue to hold all my calls.”

  “Yes, of course, Mr. Cavanaugh.”

  “This isn’t over, Owen.”

  The door closes a second later and Owen slides his chair out of the way, extending a hand to help me out from under his desk.

  “Well that was clo—” His lips are on mine, and his hand tangles in my hair before I even know what’s happening. His cock is still free of his pants and hardening fast against my belly. The kiss is so fierce and passionate, it takes my breath away as I lean back against his desk, using it to balance me as I lift my right leg and hook it around his hip. Feeling his erection press against my lace panties, I shamelessly rub myself against him, whimpering into his mouth when one of his hands comes down and grips my ass hard.

  I wrap my hand around his tie, pulling him close as my tongue slides between his lips and caresses his. He kisses me hungrily, an edge of anger and tension behind it. I’ve been on the receiving end of a kiss like this before, and I had pushed him to use his emotions after an argument with Gretchen in bed. I loved it then, and I’m loving it now.

  “Owe—” He doesn’t even let me finish moaning his name as his hips continue to pulse between my thighs, pulling back and roughly turning me around until my back is to him. Papers fly off the desk, and the ones that don’t, get crumpled beneath my palms as I hold myself up. I hear him fumble with his pants before his hands are at my hips and roughly tugging my underwear down my thighs. They fall to my knees where they stop in a tangled mess, and Owen grips both of my hips and drives into me.

  Reaching forward and gripping the front edge of his desk, I cry out at the unexpected urgency behind his actions, and it encourages him to pull out and repeat it. “Yes,” I hiss when he repeats it a third time. My moans start to escalate as his thrusts speed up, and I feel my orgasm building like a storm deep in my belly. I must be getting louder with each pounding he gives me, because his hand is suddenly over my mouth, muffling my cries as I come. His hip movements are strong and fueled by purpose, and he leans over my body, pressing his forehead between my shoulder blades and biting the skin on my back as he releases inside me.

  Breathless and sweating, we stay in this position for a while, my arms having given out mere seconds after my orgasm. His heart beats heavily against my back, and he places a gentle kiss to the tender spot he’d just marked.

  Once my knees stop shaking, Owen withdraws from my body and tucks himself away while I adjust my panties and pull my jacket back on. He looks a little more relaxed now, which is half the reason I came here today, so I smile at him as I fasten my buttons.

  “I apologize for that,” he says sincerely.

  “Uh, you have nothing to apologize for,” I assure him, stepping forward and placing my hands on either side of his neck. “That was incredible. The way you just took me… God, it was downright wild and primal. I loved it. Every second of it.”

  My response seems to appease him. “Well, I still apologize for the interruption. She’s persistent.”

  I shrug. “Not usually an undesirable trait,” I tell him before adding, “unless that persistence is driven by desperation. But I’m not worried about her. In fact, I say we tell her. Maybe that’ll make her see she doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell at getting you back.”

  “You think you’re ready for that?” he asks.

  I nod. “Why not? We’ve told everyone else. It’s time she found out that you’ve moved on and with someone who’s tired of being that faceless girl from the ball.”

  Owen cradles my face in his hands and kisses me softly. “I love you, Amelia Michaels.”

  “And I love you,” I reply softly, my heart skipping a beat. “And once everyone knows that, then we’ll be able to move on with our relationship. Nothing will hold us back anymore.”

  And so the plan is set. Tonight, we will talk to my dad and see what he has to say. After that, we come out to Gretchen as a couple. I secretly hope that she says or does something that would warrant my punching her, but I won’t hold my breath. All that matters is that Owen and I are able to move on to the next phase in our relationship without fear of how our family and friends might perceive it. We’ve already established that age is just a number, so what else do we have to worry about?

  29. Confessions

  My head is still in the clouds as Amelia and I exit my office, the memory of our torrid tryst still fogging my brain. Heat flares up in my veins again as I remember how her lips felt around my length, or the way her piercing eyes held mine while her head moved rhythmically in my lap. Even though her mouth felt truly amazing, my thoughts had quickly shifted to fantasies of me bending her over my desk and fucking her so hard and fast that the rest of the office would know what we were up to.

  Initially, I welcomed the distraction that Amelia had offered upon arriving in my office. Not only did Alan’s impending visit that evening have me feeling quite stre
ssed, but several contracts at work were threatening to blow up in my face. It was as though I was pre-destined to have everything go wrong.

  But Amelia made me forget, as she so often does. She just has this way of making me relax enough to forget all the bad and focus on how great it can be.

  Neither of us expected Gretchen to show up when she did, and the longer she stayed in my office and fought with me, the more my blood boiled. There were several instances where I had half a mind to pull Amelia from beneath the desk and throw our relationship in Gretchen’s face, but I didn’t want it to compromise the divorce agreement, nor did I want to use Amelia like that. While I didn’t really think Gretchen knowing about my new relationship would hold any bearing on the divorce, it was a risk I probably shouldn’t take. This would be over soon; Stephen was positive that we could force her to sign if she continued to procrastinate.

  The second the door closed behind Gretchen, every emotion I had been feeling previously erupted like a volcano that had been dormant for years. My happiness, my arousal, my irritation, and my need for retribution all collided as I pulled Amelia from beneath my desk. It didn’t take long for me to harden again as Amelia moaned and whimpered. This wasn’t the first time I’d let my irritation for Gretchen stoke the fire of our passion, and Amelia seemed to revel in it again as I turned her around and bent her over my desk before thrusting into her.

  Our lovemaking was urgent, and I placed my hand over her mouth to cover her cries. While I’d originally imagined the entire office being aware of what might have been going on in my office, I wasn’t quite ready for it in reality. Not that I believed we were being entirely covert; chances were they knew anyway.

  Once we manage to catch our breath, Amelia stands up and circles my desk to retrieve her coat off of one of the chairs. Her skin is pink with a faint blush, and she appears to be glowing. She’s always a vision after I’ve made her come.