I looked up from my desk, surprised to see Julie there. “Yes?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Richard.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake! Now he’s sending you? Tell him to go fuck himself.”
She blinked. “He didn’t send me.”
“Then why would you want to talk to me about him?”
Toying with her ID badge, she hesitated a moment. “I think he really cares about you. He’s never sent anyone flowers before, and I don’t think he’s been home in the last two days. He looks miserable.”
“Good. He should be miserable.”
“Can you at least talk to him? He’s not getting anything done and he’s cancelled all his appointments.”
“I’m not interested in any more lies, Julie. I learn from my mistakes.”
With a nod, she turned and walked away. Part of me was glad that he was feeling like shit, but another part desperately wanted to go to him and give him another chance. I couldn’t do that.
At four o’clock that afternoon, Tim called me into his office. “Stephanie, my wife just called and our daughter’s been in an accident.”
“Oh my God! Is she alright?”
“She’ll be fine, but she’s at the hospital. I need to go.”
“Of course.”
“But I’ve been asked to make changes to the Anderson presentation and it’s not ready yet.”
“Leave it for me. I’ll make sure it’s done.”
“Thank you so much.” He showed me the material he needed and I sighed. It would take hours to finish it all.
“Just so you know, I’m ordering dinner on the company card.”
“Done,” he said. “Thank you.”
After he took off, I got started. The office grew quieter as the evening stretched on, but by eight o’clock I had almost finished except for making copies. Grabbing the files, I headed to the copy room. I programmed the copier and then went to the break room to grab some water.
“Stephanie?”
I screamed and whirled around. Richard stood in the doorway.
“God Richard, you scared the shit out of me.”
“Why are you still here?” As he entered the room, I noticed the circles under his eyes, and his disheveled appearance. Julie’s words came back to me, but I couldn’t believe that I was the cause of this.
“Tim got called to the hospital because his daughter was in an accident, so he needed me to get some things ready for the Anderson presentation tomorrow.”
“Is she okay?” My stomach fluttered as he got closer to me. In spite of the fact that he didn’t look as put together as usual, he was still handsome, and the air around us seemed to crackle with energy.
“He called to say that everything was fine.”
Richard stopped right in front of me. The fridge stood on my right and there was a table to the left, and a wall at my back. I couldn’t leave without pushing past him. His cologne brought back memories of our trip and warmth spread up from my abdomen.
“You won’t talk to me.”
I looked up at him, mouth dry. He was too damn close and I couldn’t think straight.
“It was a mistake to trick you the way I did and I’m sorry.”
“It’s…it’s okay.”
“But what happened between us wasn’t a mistake,” he said softly. “I’ve never felt more right than I did when I was with you.” He moved closer and I shut my eyes, taking deep breaths as arousal rushed through me. “Tell me you have no feelings for me and I’ll leave it alone.”
“I…” I swallowed, unable to speak.
He was so close now that his erection pressed into my stomach. Tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, he traced his fingers along my jaw, and down the side of my neck. “Tell me you don’t want me as much as I want you and I’ll walk out of here right now.”
I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to shove him out of the way and run. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. He cupped my cheek and tilted my head up, bending his head until his lips were almost touching mine.
“Stephanie.”
Just a name whispered so softly I could barely hear, but it broke me. I lifted my lips to meet his, and when he wrapped his arms around me and thrust his tongue into my mouth, I melted against him. Desire exploded between us and our hands worked frantically to remove our clothing. I got his pants undone and pushed down his hips, releasing his beautiful cock. My blouse hung open and he had my skirt and panties pushed to the floor when he lifted me up and pressed my back to the wall. Gripping his waist with my legs, I reached between us and guided him into me.
Yes. Oh, God, yes. This was what I needed: his cock, filling me, stroking me, pushing me toward orgasm faster than I thought possible. Gripping my ass, he pounded me against the wall, murmuring my name over and over. My pussy clenched on his cock and I cried out as I came. Clutching me, he moved and set my ass down on the edge of the table, then began thrusting into me harder than before.
Grasping his hair in my hands, I guided him until our lips met again, and he groaned. His body shuddered and I felt the hot rush of his cum inside me. Saying a silent prayer that I was on the pill, I stroked his back as he held me, still joined together.
He kissed my neck and nipped my ear lobe, before just hugging me to him. “I love you.”
It had been so soft, that I thought I misunderstood, but then he lifted his head to look down at me, shock on his face. “I love you,” he said again, sounding surprised. And then he grinned and squeezed me tight. “I love you!”
My heart ached. He could say the words, but how long before someone else came into the office who avoided him, challenging him to pursue? I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t trust him. I pushed away, climbed off the table and started to struggle back into my clothes.
“Stephanie? What are you doing?”
“I have to go, Richard.”
“But—”
“This was a mistake.” Tears had started streaming down my face. “I need to get out of here.”
“But I love you! Please, don’t walk out on me now.”
“I’m not going to let myself get caught up in this again, only for you to decide when someone new and shiny comes along that you don’t want me. I can’t do it.”
I managed to get my skirt zipped up, and had closed most of the buttons on my blouse. Pushing past him, I headed for the copy room to get my work and leave. He followed after me. “Stephanie, please. I know you love me, too. I can feel it.”
I whirled around. “Yes, dammit. I love you, and that’s why it hurts so much!” Copies in hand, I ran back to my desk, quickly dumping them there before I grabbed my purse and headed for the elevator. I didn’t hear him anymore, but it might have been because my sobs were too loud.
Chapter Six
After a sleepless night, I dragged my ass into work the next morning, praying I wouldn’t run into Richard. I hated that in a moment of weakness he’d gotten to me. I shouldn’t have allowed it, because now I just felt worse. When I got to my desk, I organized the materials for Tim’s presentation and tried to keep myself busy. An email pinged in my inbox and I glanced over. Seeing it was from Richard, I started to delete it, until I realized it had been sent to everyone. Clicking on it, I frowned. He’d called a staff meeting for later that morning. That was out of the ordinary.
When the time for the meeting came, I followed everyone else to the conference room. It was packed. It didn’t often happen that the whole office got called in. I tried to squeeze in at the back, ignoring everyone’s whispered speculation. Richard stood at the front of the room, looking stunning, much different from the way I’d seen him last night. He had a confident smile on his face as he talked to Tim and one of the other VPs.
I wondered if anyone would notice me leaving, but then Richard waved for everyone’s attention and the room quieted down. “I brought you here today to let you know that, effective immediately, I have resigned as president of this company.”
Murmurs floated
around the room. The news seemed to have caught everyone by surprise, and I wondered what prompted this. Richard waved everyone to silence and then continued.
“A man in my position has certain duties and responsibilities to the people he leads, and I forgot that. I have behaved in an appalling manner to the women of this company and I owe you all an apology. I’m lucky that no one has called me on it until recently.” His eyes flicked in my direction and to my horror, several others looked my way as well.
“The truth of the matter is that my behavior has been unethical and potentially embarrassing to the company, and that’s why I’ve chosen to resign. Tim Usborne will be acting president until the board of directors appoints someone else.” As the muttering gained in volume, I tried to process what he was saying.
“While I have you all here, there’s something else that I need to do. Stephanie, would you come up here please?”
As one, every person in the room turned toward me. I gaped at him and shrank back against the wall, not moving.
“Okay, I’ll come to you.”
I watched in horror as people moved aside to let him pass until he stopped directly in front of me. The look he gave me as he took my hands made my heart ache. I could see the love in his eyes. My face burned and tears pricked at the back of my eyes.
“Stephanie, I’ve screwed up. I have no excuse for what I did and I’m so sorry. You deserved better than that, and you shouldn’t have to pay the price for my stupidity. I hope that now that I’m leaving, you’ll consider staying.”
He resigned so that I wouldn’t quit my job? “Why are you doing this?”
“I lied to you before and I broke your trust. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I wanted to come clean in front of everyone to try and show you that I’m being sincere. I love you.”
There were several gasps but Richard pressed on. “Realizing that I love you showed me what my lies had cost, and I’m sorry it took me so long to see that. Knowing I hurt you is ripping me apart.” His voice broke and I was shocked to see tears in his eyes, too.
“Nothing means anything to me anymore if you’re not in my life. I love you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you if you’ll let me.”
My heart stopped when he dropped to one knee in front of me and a hush settled on the room.
“Stephanie, I love you. There won’t ever be anyone else for me. Marry me?”
My gaze darted around at the others as whispers filled the room. I couldn’t believe he was doing this. Marry him? After what he did? I looked into his eyes and I saw uncertainty there. He knew that there was a good chance I’d tell him off, humiliating him in front of everyone. But there he was, taking this risk for me.
I took a deep breath. “I want a pre-nup.” A few titters ran through the crowd.
“Done,” he said, eyes glinting with hope. “Anything you want.”
“You’ll need to get a job because I won’t marry a bum.”
“I will.”
Looking down at him, I knew that there wouldn’t ever be anyone else for me either. I loved him. We had some things to work out for sure, but he was willing to try. Unable to keep the tears from falling, I smiled. “Then yes, Richard. I’ll marry you.”
A cheer went up as he stood and pulled me into a kiss. It felt so right, and I deepened the kiss while someone called for us to get a room. He lifted his head and smiled, looking more beautiful than he ever had before.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I’m not kidding about the pre-nup.”
He laughed and kissed my forehead. “I know you’re not. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The End
www.michellegrahameroticromance.blogspot.com
TRADE AND AFFAIRS
Chacelyn Pierce
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
It would’ve been very easy to blame the champagne. However, when Porter Brice grabbed the back of Rochelle's thighs and slid her entire body up the wall, lying to herself wasn’t going to cut it. She wanted this just as bad as he did. When they were alone, he attacked like a hungry beast. His kisses were rough, his teeth nipped her full lips bringing her closer to the edge, and dear God she'd let him. She locked her ankles behind his back and became lost in his wild touch as he pressed himself between her thighs. His thick hands caressed over her dark brown skin, moving the back of her party dress up inches at a time. He ground his erection against her aching core and Rochelle missed how good he felt against her. At this moment, she couldn't even recall why she ended their relationship a year ago. He jumbled her common sense that much. Every minute that went by, she ached to feel his cock inside her.
The small bathroom had been meant for a single person but the tight-fitting space was being used for a quickie.
Porter hiked up the last of the expensive dress and grabbed a handful of her ass. His pale blue gaze burned with desire and he stopped kissing to stare into her eyes. Rochelle felt him twirl her thin panties in his fingers and give a rough yank to rip the cloth. She hissed at the burn on her sensitive skin but he smothered the sound with another searing kiss. With her panties out of the way, it gave Porter easy access to the damp area she waited for him to penetrate. Balanced on his arm, his other hand reached lower to undo his slacks. His knuckles brushed her aching pussy lips and clit, causing a slight shudder to tremble through her. Pleased with himself for igniting such a reaction from her, he gifted her with one of his rare smiles.
In her tipsy state, Rochelle teetered off balance on his arm but quickly braced herself on the wall by throwing out a hand. Porter lifted a condom packet from his pocket and ripped it open with his teeth.
"You're prepared." She couldn't help but smile at his hasty movements.
He lowered his hand to slide the condom on his firm cock and smirked. "Of course, I knew you'd be here." Rochelle seemed so weak to Porter's charm. He'd known he'd have her on this evening. They were not in a place where an old flame should flare up but she hadn’t seen Porter in a year. It had been easy to break away with him establishing the company's second branch in Chicago. Now back in Arizona, Porter twisted her insides with too many feelings. Still, it was nice to know the fire still burned bright. The corporate get-together put them in the same vicinity and like always, sexual magic happened whenever they were too close.
He rolled his tongue over her lips as if tasting the champagne on her skin. His thumb stroked her clit and caused a sultry moan to rise from her throat.
"Now is your chance to back out on me, Ro." He teased the tip of his cock against her entrance. She wiggled down against him, eager to slide it in and feel his shaft fill her tight channel. "Mmm, I take that as a no."
"That's a hell no."
To take her mind off what boundary they were about to cross (again), he kissed her tenderly in the same spots he nipped earlier. God, the man could kiss and sex with Porter had been unforgettable and hard to cast off. The relapse about to occur was no surprise to her. The revisited fling would open up a lot of doors that took so long for her to shut. That has been only downfall. However, the only thing she seemed to wonder about had been how anyone could walk away from this man, including herself. She would be his sex junkie, if nothing else. He pleased her so much sexually that at one point she swore that she went through withdrawals in between. To be coupled with marriage would seem like a perfect dream, but since his divorce Porter wasn't about to marry again. He made that perfectly clear the first night he took her to bed. He wasn't looking for permanence. So, Rochelle took their meetings for what they were… complicated fun. Complex pleasure summed up the teasing he did to her swollen sex; she couldn't stand it any longer.
"Porter, please."
The head of his cock pushed past her entrance with little resistance until he slid all the way in. The pleasure of his thick shaft caressing her inner walls set a shock of pleasure to her toes. They moaned in unison, breathing hard
from the lust and basking in the glory of how it felt to be so close to one another once more. She could still hear the hum of the deejay’s music through the locked door. Rochelle leaned back to look into Porter’s eyes. He smelled good, like Christian Dior and something meant to provoke her sexual senses. She let her fingers caress his salt and pepper hair, her touch gliding against his scalp. She'd never really been attracted to men with more silver than color but Porter had been the exception.
"I finally have you right where I want you, Ro." His smug grin drove her to the point of slight irritation. She clenched her inner muscles and he moaned as her pussy constricted around him. Even though he had her pinned against a wall, she still tried to be in control of the situation.
"Oh, games, huh?" The challenging gleam in his eyes showed the best fuck of her life waited mere minutes away. Oh, yes, that’s what I'm talking about.
On the slow retreat out of her body, he paused just at the entrance of her quivering sex. God, it was going to happen, he'd probably slam home and bring them both in a few deep strokes. It wouldn't stop there, though. He'd be flirty with her the rest of the night. He'd make a game out of touching her whenever he could, just so she'd be tempted to drive to his house later and have an eventful all-nighter. Oh, how she missed having glorious sex with this man.
He rubbed the head of his cock in and out of her entrance some more, making her whimper. No matter how impatiently she wiggled against him, Porter would slip inside when he was good and ready.
A heavy knock on the door caused them both to jerk in shock. "Porter? Porter, are you in there? We’re about to make the announcement."
Porter froze, a heavy sigh escaped him as Rochelle's desire crashed and the harsh reality set in. The sound of her father's—and co-CEO of Mercury Logistics—voice felt like an arctic blast on her heated body. Porter winced at the disturbance from Tony Reynard and looked at Rochelle in a silent apology.
"Porter?" The muffled voice came from outside the door again.
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