I had to laugh. “Um, thanks?”
She ducked her head, her cheeks turning red. “That didn’t come out right, did it?”
“Not really.” I leaned over to pull her face back up, taking her by the chin. “But you don’t have to be embarrassed. You aren’t quite what I had you pegged for either.”
“I bet you thought I’d be an immature little brat—a typical millennial.” She smiled at me, showing off those perfect pearly whites, and rolled her eyes a little.
With a shrug, I admitted, “You are much more mature and levelheaded than most people are at your age.”
“Thank you. I strive to be.” The way her eyes held mine captivated me. She wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met. So young, yet so in control and sure of herself.
I hadn’t let go of her chin, and the way my hand tingled made my heart beat harder. “If we didn’t have to deal with this no-dating policy, would you accept a date with me if I asked you out?”
She didn’t say a word or blink an eye, but she did nod.
My cock twitched, my heart hammered, and my mouth opened, “Technically, we haven’t started working yet. Would it be okay if I kissed you, Lila?”
Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath, and then nodded once more.
My eyes couldn’t believe what I saw. So I had to ask, “Can you say the word, Lila?”
“Yes,” she said, then licked her lips. “I want you to kiss me, Duke.”
Easing my fingers along her jaw, I ran my hand around to cup the back of her head, pulling her to me as I moved toward her. Our lips were barely touching, her breath sweet and warm on my mouth.
Her hands traveled up my arms, leaving trails of molten heat along them. I pressed my lips harder to hers. Hers parted, and her tongue darted out, barely touching my lower lip.
My mouth opened, inviting her in. I’d never felt anything like that in my life. My body was fully charged as I pushed her back against the seat, moving my body over hers, grinding against her.
One of her feet ran up the back of my leg as I dry humped her as best I could in the tiny confines of cab. The way she moaned made our mouths vibrate, making me want so much more.
I grasped one of her tits, squeezing it through the sheer fabric of her shirt. I couldn’t believe this was happening. It had to be a dream. I finally had her right where I wanted her, pinned beneath me.
She arched her back, pressing her body up against mine, needing more too. She and I were so much alike. There was no longer any reason to try to deny what we felt.
When her hand moved between us to grip my erection through my pants, I had to fight myself not to pull it out for her. I took her lower lip between my teeth, tugging it, loving how she whimpered my name at the little prick of pain.
I kissed my way up her neck, biting and sucking as I made my way to her ear. “Lila, you taste better than anything my mouth has ever been on.”
I needed to taste even more of her. I ran my hand down, pulling her skirt up to press my palm against her hot cunt. Only her silky panties were in my way. I pushed them to one side and ran my fingertip through her wet folds. She moaned and moved just slightly, making my finger go inside of her, “Yes!”
Pumping it into her, I yearned to feel my cock inside her instead. Not that I’d actually fuck her in the back of a cab. No, I wanted to take her sweet ass home with me.
Fuck the meeting with Artimus. I just wanted to get her into my bed.
But just as that thought entered my head, the cab pulled to the side and stopped. “Here we are.” His voice pulled us out of the world we’d fallen into.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
“I agree,” Lila said. Her lips pressed against my cheek. “We’ve got to go inside.”
Moving off her, I pulled her up. Her bun had become a bit disheveled, so I pulled it all the way out, running my hands through her silky hair to smooth it out. “Okay, that’s better. I’ll let you head in first. Stop off at the bathroom and freshen yourself up before you head up to his office.”
She looked at me with wide eyes. “Can I be honest with you, Duke?”
“I hope you feel that you can be honest with me. What is it?” I ran my hand over her cheek, holding her beautiful face in my palm.
“That was the best kiss I’ve ever had.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
“Thank you too.” I got out of the cab, helping her out.
I waited outside, watching her walk into the building that would soon be our workplace—our very strict workplace—knowing I’d just opened up one big-ass can of worms.
Chapter Thirteen
Lila
Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror, I found a glow on my face. My cheeks were rosy red, my lips kiss-swollen, and my eyes shimmery with desire.
I hadn’t had a ton of sexual experience, and had only ever had one real boyfriend. The sex with him wasn’t great either, and no one’s kiss had ever done to me what Duke’s had.
From the moment our lips had touched, I’d felt higher than a kite. As if his mouth was pure morphine, he’d taken me on a ride I’d never known existed. My heart was still pounding, and it had already been several minutes since we’d parted.
I had to clean myself up too, as he’d made me so damn wet that my panties were damp. If his finger could do that much for me, what would his cock do?
Even though I knew we shouldn’t have kissed, I wanted more of that man. I wanted to feel him all over me, fucking me with that hard body of his. I wanted to feel his sweat as he glided over me, ramming his huge, hard cock into me with a mercilessness that only he would have.
I wanted to drink his cum, lick his balls, bite him on the ass. I wanted to do all that and even more. I wanted to give myself to him in every way possible. And I wanted to do that right now.
But we had business to attend to, and we also had that pesky little rule to contend with.
Rules!
Weren’t they just made to be broken?
I’d never considered myself a rebel in any way, but now I was ready to revolt.
To hell with your rules, Artimus Wolfe. I want Duke Cofield, and I want him now!
Could I go up to my new boss and make such a demand?
I knew the answer to that question.
Hell, no, I couldn’t do that!
But Duke might do something like that. He’d said he’d contemplated dropping out of the competition. Would he throw in the towel just so he could have sex with me?
Surely not.
But then again, he’d already mentioned his nest egg, how he’d be fine if he had to drop out. But I couldn’t let him do that.
Hurrying to get up to Artimus’s office, I wanted to make sure Duke didn’t cut his own throat just for a piece of ass. Not that I actually thought of myself as just a piece of ass, but I had to be realistic about things.
Why should Duke give up a promising career just because we wanted to have sex with each other?
When I stepped off the elevator in the reception area of the penthouse offices, I found there was no one in the room. But I could hear voices coming from Artimus’s office.
I headed toward the sounds but stopped when I heard Duke say, “I’ve got the upper hand, Artimus. New York knows me. I know I’ll bring in the viewers. I’ve already been talking to lots of people about the new network and how things are going to be very different from what they’re used to seeing. And I’ve gotten great feedback from everyone. On top of that, I’ve gotten a lot of people saying they’d love to see me each morning.”
My heart stopped as I froze in place. I knew we were still competing, but this felt like a stab in the back. Hadn’t Duke just said he’d thought about dropping out of this?
Was that a lie?
It sure sounded like he was in it to win it. Which I could respect. But something just felt strange about the whole thing. There he was, chatting it up with the boss and racking up brownie points.
Artimus spoke, telling Duke some news that neither of us had he
ard yet. “We’ve put out some surveys, Duke. Five hundred of them, to be exact. A little more than half have been returned, and out of that number, more than half want you as the morning anchor. Obviously, we’re waiting on the rest, and anything could happen, I should caution you.”
“Wow!” Duke responded.
And my body sagged with the knowledge. It was crazy how quickly my sails deflated. One minute I was on cloud nine, the next minute I was a puddle on the floor.
I hadn’t actually reduced myself to falling on the floor and throwing a fit like a toddler, but I was damn close to that.
I strained my ears, hoping Duke might say at least one thing about me to Artimus. One nice thing was all I’d need to hear from him to make me think he wasn’t a giant asshole.
Artimus must’ve been clapping Duke on the back, as I heard some smacking sounds. “And how about that interview you turned in? It was great!”
Please, say something nice about me, Duke!
“Glad you liked it. How was the one Lila did with Ted Turner?” he asked.
Okay, not a compliment, but at least he was thinking about me.
Artimus didn’t say anything right away, which made me a little nervous. “Well, let’s wait for Lila to join us before we discuss that.”
What the hell does that mean?
“Oh,” was all Duke said to that.
“And how are the two of you getting along?” Artimus asked. “I don’t want this job to cause a rift between the two of you. It’s not my intention to have you two hate each other.”
“Hate?” Duke asked. “No, we don’t hate each other. I think she’s mature enough to accept whatever happens.”
Okay, that’s nice.
“I’m sure she is,” Artimus added.
“But I have to ask you this, Artimus. Is she mature enough to capture and retain a New York audience?”
Okay, that stung.
He really was out to get the job. And that made me feel like kissing him had been a terrible mistake.
I turned to leave, getting back on the elevator and leaving the building without even seeing Artimus. I just couldn’t face him. I felt betrayed for some reason, even though my rational mind told me that Duke hadn’t actually betrayed me. He wanted the job too, and he’d had every right to say the things he’d said. But it didn’t stop me from feeling hurt.
All the way back to my new home, I tried to make myself understand why I felt so bad about things. I just couldn’t put my finger on it exactly.
I bought a bottle of wine from the shop on the corner near the bed and breakfast. Taking it up to my room, I poured myself a glass before lying on my bed.
Would I really be able to stay friendly with Duke if he got the job, which I was getting more and more sure he would?
And what about that kiss? Had it been a huge mistake? Had he just been trying to throw me off my game? Knowing how competitive he was, and having heard what he’d said to Artimus, I had to wonder if that might’ve just been part of his strategy.
And what if Artimus ever found out about that kiss somehow? Would he fire us both?
Was I already making immature mistakes?
Leaving the station without talking to Artimus had been a mistake. I knew that now. I made a call to his office to try to explain why I hadn’t shown up.
He answered my call after only one ring. “Lila, where the hell are you?”
He was mad. His voice was sharper than I’d ever heard it before. “I’m sorry, sir. I was in the building, about to head up to your office, when my stomach started hurting. I had to leave and come home. I wasn’t in any kind of shape to make the meeting.”
What I’d told him wasn’t exactly a lie. My stomach had hurt once I’d overheard them talking. And I hadn’t been in the right frame of mind to talk to him—or Duke, for that matter.
“Duke told me you two shared a cab on the ride over. He didn’t mention a thing about you feeling sick,” Artimus told me. “We were worried about you. You should’ve called me much sooner, Lila.”
Another immature mistake on my part. They were really beginning to rack up. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, sir. Would you like to reschedule a meeting for tomorrow, maybe?”
“I’ll have to talk to Mrs. Baker about that. I don’t know what’s on the agenda tomorrow. It’s important that you try your best to make any meetings that are set up. Things will depend on your ability to make meetings, Lila. I thought you would understand that.”
I understood that just fine. But he didn’t understand why I’d had to take off. “I am very sorry, sir. I am. It won’t happen again. I can promise you that.”
And I could, too, because as I let it all sink in, I knew I’d let myself get into the wrong frame of mind. That damn kiss—or make-out session, to be more precise—had muddied up my brain. And I wasn’t going to let that happen again.
The one thing I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that Duke wouldn’t push me for anything more. He couldn’t. The rules demanded that much.
If I said I didn’t want any more of that kind of thing to happen between us, then it wouldn’t happen. And I knew wanting more would get in the way of my ultimate goal. My goal wasn’t to become Duke’s girl. It was to anchor the morning news.
I had to keep my head on straight, or I’d end up losing what I was shooting for. And I had to put more heart into this, too, get myself out there in the New York scene so people would get to know me and want to see me each morning.
Duke did have that over me. But what he wasn’t thinking about was that New York just didn’t know me yet. I’d win them all over. I just had to be given the chance.
Artimus wrapped up the call. “I tell you what. Come in at eight in the morning and I’ll talk to you then. I know I don’t have anything going on at that time.”
“I’ll be there, sir. Thank you for understanding. See you in the morning then.”
“Goodbye, Lila.” He ended the call.
Before he hung up, I heard Duke ask, “Is she okay?”
The answer to that was no. I wasn’t okay. But I would be. I just had to get Duke off my mind.
The little fantasy I’d had about him, coupled with hanging out with him all day, had gotten to me, was all. He was gorgeous, built like a Roman god, and charming. Who wouldn’t have taken him up on the offer of a kiss?
I was only human. But I didn’t have to be around him anymore now that the classes were all done. We wouldn’t have any reason to end up at the same place at the same time anymore.
And I knew it was best just to let what had happened fade out of my mind. My lips still tingled when I let the thought of what we’d done flitter through my head.
Okay, so what if the kiss was out of this world? The career I wanted would be out of this world too. Right?
Duke was great and all, but I wasn’t about to let my job go. Duke Cofield wasn’t worth losing everything for.
But even as I told myself that, my insides twisted, my body aching to feel his all over it. Well, my body didn’t always get what it wanted, but I’d make sure my head did.
Chapter Fourteen
Duke
I had no idea if Lila had actually gotten sick or not. So the next morning I made sure to show up at the station around the same time as her meeting with Artimus.
Our cab ride together was still on my mind. It was all I could think about. Well, that and where we’d be going from there. The way she’d reacted had told me she wanted it too. But then she’d gone and gotten sick, and I had to wonder at the timing of it all.
Was she sick that she’d done those things with me, or was she actually sick? Either way, I wanted her to know I cared whether she was sick or not. Lila needed to know that I did care about her. I wasn’t just out to score a piece of tail.
As I stepped off the elevator in the reception area outside of Artimus’s office, I could hear the two of them talking. At first, I tried not to listen and took a seat in the waiting area. But then I heard her say, �
�I’m sure that Duke’s told you he’s got viewers in the bag, sir.”
“And he does, Lila. Don’t underestimate him,” Artimus told her.
I had to get up and move to the chair closest to the open door. My curiosity had taken me over.
Lila went on. “That may be true, but I’ve got something he doesn’t.”
“And that is?” he asked.
“Youth.”
Does she think I’m old at thirty-two?
“He’s not old, Lila.” Artimus went to bat for me.
Yeah, Lila, I’m not old!
“He’s from a different generation, Artimus. This whole station is geared toward the younger generation—and that’s me, not him” She was certainly going for the throat.
“I think what you’re getting at is that Duke won’t have a long shelf-life and you will. Is that right?” Artimus asked her.
“I’d give him a couple years, tops, before he loses touch with the viewers,” she said with a matter of fact tone.
And my heart felt a stab of pain.
Does she really think that?
I had more than a couple fucking years left in me. What the hell was she talking about?
With the pain came anger. I got up, leaving the area where I’d only hear her say more things that would make me mad at her. I didn’t want to be angry with Lila. I wanted us to get right back to where we’d been yesterday, but she seemed to be fighting like a pit bull to get the job.
Going to the bathroom on the main floor, I splashed some water on my face to help me get my anger under control. Looking in the mirror, I saw the man I’d always seen looking back at me. No wrinkles, no age spots, nothing to make anyone think I was some old man. So what the hell was Lila doing?
Was it just some tactic to win the job?
That had to be it.
She couldn’t have been faking how she felt about me just the day before. This had to be a ploy.
I was going to head back up there and get her to talk to me, but when I walked out of the bathroom, I saw her leaving the building. So I hurried to catch her before she managed to leave.
Dirty News Page 8