by Aria Ford
“Fuck. I don’t have a condom here,” he muttered as he moved back and dropped his slacks to the floor. “I want to fuck you so badly, baby.”
“Please. I need you so much,” I begged as he pressed forward, entering me with one long thrust. Fuck. He spread me open, filling my pussy as he claimed me. “So good.”
Stephen took me with long, deep thrusts that were already edging me toward another blessed release. I gripped the smooth edges of the desk, raising my hips as he gripped my body to hold me still for him. Stephen rocked against me, plunging inside of me as I breathed his name.
“Mandy…so tight. I am so close to filling you.” He eased back and then took me so hard that my body slid back on the desk as I let myself go. “Fuck yes. Come for me.”
Stephen followed with his own release, and I felt our heat mingling together as I closed my eyes. I’d never felt this before with anybody and might not again, so I memorized it. Stephen was the man that I was looking for, but there was still so much uncertainty between us.
This was raw and real.
He slowly kept moving until he dropped back into his seat, breathing deeply. “I am not letting you go again. I need you too badly. I want you too much.”
We rested for a while before he carried me over to the couch and dropped onto it, looking at me with dark eyes. He was hard again.
“Come here. I want more.” He reached for me.
I eased myself down over him, groaning at the sensitivity of his length. Stephen lifted my dress over my head and pushed my bra up so that he could suck a nipple into his mouth slowly, making me cry out. I kept moving over him, clawing at Stephen’s shoulders as I buried him inside of me.
We rolled onto the couch, me on my back as he kissed me. Our lips met slowly and hungrily as we made up for lost time. It was everything that I’d ever wanted and so much more. He slipped inside of me again, taking me slower this time. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. I think Brandon’s asleep. We can go to my place. We’ll make something to eat and christen my bed.” He was still inside of me, barely moving as I stared up at his face.
“Really?” I asked as he nodded.
We finally pulled apart, though neither of us wanted to. Making love felt far too much like being in love. It scared me a little, but I fought against it. I wasn’t walking away from one of the only good things in my life at that time.
We left a short while later once he checked with his nanny to make sure that Brandon was in bed. He apologized to her for how late it was before assuring her that he was headed home.
He cleaned up his office and dressed as I headed through the empty building to mine, collecting my things and shutting everything down. It was hard to believe that it was Monday as I returned to Stephen, surprised when he wrapped his arms around me for a long kiss.
We made our way to the empty parking lot, and I thought back to the night we went to the bar with everybody with a smile. “How’s your car these days?” Stephen asked me as I glanced at him.
“It’s running great,” I replied with a wicked smile on my face. “I just need your address.”
He sent it to me through a text so I could plug it into my GPS, making sure that I was leaving before his Jeep pulled out. I listened to the robotic voice of the woman as I made the proper turns, my heart fluttering in my chest. I knew that this wasn’t a chance to spend more time with Brandon, but I was going to Stephen’s house. I was starting something with him.
I pulled into the driveway of the cute bungalow style home and checked out where I should park. I found a spot that wouldn’t block the Chevy that was already there. Stephen pulled into the large garage and walked through a door that separated it from the house, keys in hand. He unlocked the door, and I noticed the curious look the pretty black-haired girl shot me as she looked over from the couch. “Danielle, this is Mandy. She works with me.” Stephen waved a hand between us as I moved to shake her hand with a smile. “You’ve been working hard this week. Thank you. I am going to try to get my hours back to normal now.”
“It’s no problem at all,” she assured him as she looked at me. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Sounds great, Danielle.”
I took this chance to look around the spacious living room, impressed with the home that Stephen had created for his son. There was so much warmth already, but it needed a woman’s touch for sure.
We went to the kitchen to get something to eat, and he stared into the fridge while I leaned against a counter behind him.
“How about breakfast?” He glanced over his shoulder.
“Mmmm…I could go for some pancakes.”
“Good. What the lady wants, the lady gets.” He turned and pulled out various items, handing them to me over his shoulder.
He excused himself to check on Brandon and to change into some sweats. One he got back, we had a good time making breakfast together. It was a bit like playing house, but I loved it. I needed it in my life.
“All done.” He lifted the plate to his nose and breathed in deeply as he watched me. “Smells like heaven.”
I smiled and took the plate before heading over to the small table in the kitchen. I sat down and glanced up at him. “Thank you for this.”
“No need to thank me. I’m loving having you here with me,” Stephen assured me as he sat down and stabbed a piece of the pancake on his fork. “You staying the night?”
“I wish. Let’s go fool around on the couch after this and then I need to get going.”
He gave me a frown. “Why?”
“I don’t want Brandon waking up and seeing me here.” I shoved a big bit of pancake in my mouth and smiled. “It ain’t right!”
“What?” He laughed and shook his head. “No. Don’t answer that. Chewed pancake is not at all attractive.” He winked. “But you sure as fuck are.”
I thought about saying thank you but decided to wait until I swallowed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Stephen
I woke up feeling great the next morning. I had to work, and it was Brandon’s last day of school before his summer started. I had been saving vacation time to plan some trips, and I found myself thinking ahead to trips with Mandy while the coffee brewed. As terrible as the week had been while we weren’t in contact, everything felt right all of a sudden.
I tapped on Brandon’s door before starting on French toast for breakfast. I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get into the office, feeling that the hard part of the project was over.
When there was a knock at the door, I glanced at the clock. It was a bit early for Danielle but okay. I plated the bread and turned the stove off before making my way to the door. I wasn’t dressed for work yet, so the workout shorts would have to do. There was another knock, and I cursed under my breath as I threw the door open.
What. The. Fuck?
The face I thought I’d never see again looked back at me, purple hair framing her heart-shaped face. Lacy’s blue eyes were wide as she looked at me. “Stephen,” she said softly as I shook my head.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her in a slow, controlled voice as she looked past me into the house. “How did you know where we were?”
Pink tinged her cheeks, and I felt rage rushing through my veins. “Terry told me. He’s my son too, Stephen.”
I looked back to make sure that we were alone and then stared her down. “Your son? You handed Brandon off to me six fucking years ago, Lacy. I’ve done all of this on my own. Why would you think that he needed you now?”
“I cleaned myself up. I fixed my life. That and I miss him…I miss you.”
Hell fucking no. There was no me to her, no us.
“I want you to get the fuck out of here. We’re doing fine on our own. I can’t do this to him after so long,” I told her as pain throbbed behind my temples. “You left us.”
“Dad? Is breakfast ready?” Brandon asked as I prepared to slam the door in her face. It was more than he could handle and I needed to handle this a certain way
.
Things moved quickly as he walked over to stand behind me and Lacy’s mouth dropped open. “Brandon? Look at you. You’re so big now.”
“No, not yet,” I pleaded with her, needing time.
“I’m your mom. My name is Lacy,” Lacy blurted out as I felt everything crumble around me. “I’m here to get to know you again, you and your dad. I’ve missed you.” I reached around to hug my son, looking down at him to see that the damage was done. He was staring at Lacy with big eyes as I felt my heart breaking.
I ended up letting her in and trying to get Brandon fed as he asked her a bunch of questions. It was the worst hell on Earth as she tried to explain to a goddamn seven-year-old what happened and I held my hand up as they both looked at me. I could tell that Brandon was surprised at my reaction to Lacy and I sucked in a breath. “Can we talk?” she asked me, a pleading look in her eyes as she stared at me. There was so much emotion in those big eyes, and I wished like hell I could ignore it.
“Do you have the same number?” She blushed and shook her head, asking for some paper. Lacy jotted something down and handed it to me, making me hate her even more for a moment. What kind of woman changed her number when she abandoned her son? “I need some time, Lacy. We…need some time. I’ll call you when I’ve had some time to think.”
She nodded slowly and told Brandon that she’d see him soon before making her way to the door. Everything she’d told him was a blur. I locked the door behind her as I turned to look at my son. He was the rock in my world, and I detested the hope that was in his eyes.
“Is that really my mom?” he asked with deep emotion in his voice.
I nodded. “Yes, she is, but I need to figure some things out before we see her again. It’s been a while.” I stroked his hair and led him to his plate. “Get some of this in your belly. I am going to get dressed for work.” I felt bad leaving him alone in the kitchen, but I needed a minute to myself. Hell, I needed a week to myself after that shit. All the pain came back as I walked toward my room, the pain that she caused when she left us alone. Brandon had no memory of it but I sure as fuck did. It turned my world upside down, and a simple apology couldn’t fix that. It couldn’t fix things.
I pulled on some black slacks and a random shirt from the closet, dressing automatically as I thought about my sudden shift in life. I hated Lacy, but she was Brandon’s mother. He deserved to have both of us, didn’t he? He deserved something like a family once I sorted through my thoughts and had a very in-depth conversation with her. If she was right again, I couldn’t keep her son away from her.
How I wanted to, though.
I finished dressing and fixed my hair, having dried from the earlier shower. I gave it an extra messy look, laughing bitterly as I thought how much it suited the day. By the time I was back in the main room, Brandon seemed to have eaten something and Danielle was arriving. He was telling her all about Lacy, and my nanny shot me a look of horror. I assured her that I’d call her later and explain this before I hugged Brandon goodbye, telling him to have a great day at school.
The bright sun seemed dull as I walked to the garage to get to my Jeep. The day seemed horrible as I started the engine and drove to the office, so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even remember the short drive. I made some coffee and saw Paul on the way to my office, who immediately recognized the strain on my face. We went into my office, and I looked around, seeing it clean even as last night played back through my mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“What’s wrong, man?” Paul asked me as he closed the door behind us, taking a seat on the couch as I joined him. I had a feeling that I was going to be worthless today.
“Lacy showed up at my door this morning,” I told him as he stared at me. “Six fucking years and she just drops by? I couldn’t shut her up before she told Brandon who she was. Fuck!”
“Look, I know you hate her. What she did was wrong, but she is his mom. Maybe you should talk to her, maybe give them a chance. Hell, maybe you should give her a chance.” I stared at him, my eyes cold with rejection at his idea. The thought of it made me numb. I was with Mandy now though, and I had no idea how all of this was going to work. “You were good together once, weren’t you?”
I blinked. All I could think about was the damage that was done when she left, losing all memories of before. “I don’t even fucking know anymore.”
“I’m just saying that maybe you should have an open mind here.” Paul paused. “I don’t think that Mandy is the girl you want to think she is. I don’t know where you’re at with her, but she’s a player. She’s a tramp, and she’s flirting with half the building, including me.” I looked at him in disbelief. “She came to one of the happy hours without you and acted the same way as she did before. She was all over a few guys.”
My stomach twisted as I thought about taking her bare. Was she lying to me about being clean? The idea of that just settled on top of everything else that was going on, and I sipped my coffee as if it was going to save me from all of this. “Are you serious?” I asked, seeing him nod out of the corner of my eyes. Mandy seemed so sincere to me.
“Sorry, Stephen. I know that you were into a girl for the first time in a while, but you need to know. Maybe this happened at the right time.” Paul gave me a shrug when I looked at him. “Maybe you should spend some time with Lacy and really talk to her. She might be sincere in wanting to be in your lives again.”
“Maybe,” I murmured as I leaned back. Everything felt so damn complicated and harsh.
Fuck dating. It obviously wasn’t for me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mandy
I got up and jumped right into the shower, feeling alive again. Stephen did that to me, and I embraced the reality of it. I pulled my robe on and went to make some coffee before going back to do my makeup for the day. I did dark eyes and a pale, romantic pink gloss before putting on a gray skirt and a soft pink silk T-shirt. I went to pour a travel cup of coffee to take to work and sang along to a new song on the radio as I drove into work.
I couldn’t wait to see Stephen. I had to get into my office and work, but I did look down the hall to see Paul sauntering toward me with a smirk on his face. Normally he was handsome and funny, but there was something evil about him this morning.
I headed into my office and breathed a sigh of relief as he passed by my door. Maybe I’d ask Stephen to have lunch with me today so we could talk.
I smiled and sent him a flirtatious text to see if he wanted to join me for Italian. The silence was agonizing as I logged in to my computer to work on a spreadsheet that I finally understood. The last month had been kind to be, and I was back on my game for the most part, but the lack of any response after yesterday made me worry. Maybe he wasn’t here. Brandon could be sick again, and that made me worry more as I looked toward my door.
I was considering going down to see if he was okay when there was a tap at my door. I called out for them to come in and frowned when Paul walked in, leaving the door open. “It’s break time, Mandy. Want to go get some coffee with me?”
“Coffee?” I asked blankly as he nodded. “I can get that here. Why would I go with you?” Paul leaned over my small desk.
I stared at him, wondering what he was trying to do. I was with Stephen, wasn’t I? He hadn’t gotten back to me, but I was still with him. Nothing happened to tell me otherwise.
I heard footsteps and leaned around Paul’s body to see that Stephen was staring at us. He looked like shit; tired and stressed out as I opened my mouth. “Are you okay?”
He turned to leave, going back toward his office as I dropped back into my seat. Paul snickered, and I glared at him.
“What did you just do? I’m with Stephen, not you. That looked like we were, it looked so bad from that angle.” I ran my hands through my loose curls as he stepped back and looked me over.
His laugh caught me off guard. “Did you think that he really wanted you?” My face fell as all my insecurities set in. “Stephen has a son, and
Brandon’s mom is hot as hell, but I suppose you don’t know too much about him at all. I guess you haven’t heard that she’s back in town now?” I knew that my face betrayed me as I tried to act casual. He seemed to feed off my pain. “He’s always loved her, Mandy. He couldn’t care about you like that. You were the new piece of ass in the office, and that’s all. Office’s always have a little scandal and some flings going on.” He shrugged. “Yours has ended. His son’s mom is back to replace you and whatever it is that you think you had. Go to the next guy. It wouldn’t be hard for you.”
I shook my head, remembering how Stephen hated his ex. It was obvious when he spoke of Brandon’s mother. His eyes had darkened to a shade of cold steel and he tensed up without even knowing it when he spoke about her.
“No. We’re good together. You’re trying to sabotage this. You’re lying.” I squared my shoulders and tried to stand my ground.
“I’m not. He told me himself, but I’m guessing that you didn’t know?” I raised my hand to my mouth and gasped. “You were just a place to warm his dick, honey. It’s obvious that you fucked him, Mandy. Job well done.”
“Asshole!” I cried out before slapping him—hard. “Get out!”
He laughed as he turned to leave, stroking his cheek gently. “You’re feisty. I like that, and I’m sure Stephen did too. Lacy probably will get a lot of benefit from that.” He closed my door, and I sank into my chair as hopelessness hit me.
My mother’s words for years played back through my mind. The insecurities that she pounded into my head took over any sense of hope that I might have had.
Brandon’s mother was back, and Stephen hadn’t told me. No, instead he’d fucked me in his office last night and then cooked me a late breakfast. There was no sign of her anywhere, but I realized that he hid me from Brandon. I didn’t spend the night and left soon after eating. That didn’t seem weird to me after the hours we’d spent together here in this building together.