The Fabulist

by Chiletz, Dawn L.

  “So then I called in a favor with a buddy of mine from the office staff and he pulled your file. I knocked on your door and Carmen almost tackled me to the ground.” His lip curls slightly when he says Carmen’s name. That alone puts a crack in my armor.

  “She all but walked me here herself.” The scowl returns. “And then, when I finally find you and want nothing more than to take you in my arms, you bite my head off over another fucking misunderstanding where you didn’t listen to what I was trying to say.”

  I purposefully ignore the part about taking me in his arms. I’m mad. I want to be mad. “I listened and I heard every word. You told me that being with me had always been a mistake. I think you made your feelings crystal clear.”

  “Dammit, Sam! Do you not remember a word I said to you? I told you time and time again I couldn’t be with you during the show. I told you after the show was over, I was going to throw myself at your feet and beg you to have me. How is it that you can remember every negative thing I ever said but not one fucking positive moment?”

  “What?”

  He lets out a frustrated breath. “I said, how is it that you—”

  “I heard you, but I don’t remember you ever saying you’d throw yourself at my feet. I’m pretty sure I’d remember something that ridiculous,” I add angrily with complete sarcasm, not giving an inch.

  “Really? Out of everything I just said, that’s what you’re questioning?”

  “No, I’m questioning every single word you say.”

  “Are you calling me a liar?” His face turns cold. Just as I’m about to spout something else at him, he clutches his face as if I’ve hit him. He closes his eyes and turns away. He glances back briefly in distress, then walks past me to the door.

  I panic. A part of me says let him go, but an even bigger part of me can’t bear the thought of never seeing him again.

  “Hogan!” I cry out hysterically as he reaches for the door.

  The emotion I expel in his name is enough to communicate everything I feel. He stops dead in his tracks, his shoulders slumping. Turning around, he rushes toward me. I can’t get to him fast enough.

  Our lips are the first thing to touch. They smash into each other in complete fury. His hands are in my hair and my hands fly around his neck. He kisses me like his life depends on it. Being near him again sets my soul on fire. Hogan Harper is my one and only weakness. There is nothing I wouldn’t give him. Nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

  “Do you know what you do to me?” he whispers through his kiss.

  “If it’s what you do to me, then we’re both in trouble.” I smile.

  Holding my face in his hands he leans his forehead against mine. “Don’t ever leave without saying goodbye to me again. Do you understand?”

  I nod.

  “I mean it, Sam. No matter what you think I said or what you think I meant. Don’t ever leave without giving me a chance to explain.”

  I nod once more. My forehead still pressed to his, I’m completely breathless and intoxicated by his touch.

  “Look at me. Promise me.”

  “I promise,” I whisper.

  He licks his lips and softly presses them to mine. It reminds me of our first kiss in the elevator and everything I’ve ever felt for him since the moment we met. His tongue softly flicks mine as our passion grows. His hand lowers from my waist to my ass. He grabs hold of me and lifts me off the ground. I wrap my legs around his waist as he walks me backward, sliding me onto the table so the box of books falls over and crashes to the floor. The pain from the keys in my back pocket reminds me I’m supposed to be working.

  “Hogan.”

  He moans into my mouth, pressing himself against me. The feeling of him between my legs almost makes me forget what I was about to say.

  “Hogan.” I laugh. “I’m supposed to be working. The store’s still open.”

  He glances around the empty store. I can’t stop staring at him. My hand is still around his neck. I don’t ever want to let him go.

  “I don’t see anyone. Close it.”

  “What time is it?” I ask, unwilling to look away from him.

  He moves closer to me and pulls my body up against him. “It’s time I showed you just how much I want you.”

  “Oh shit,” I whisper breathlessly, causing a wide grin to spread across his face. He glances around once more.

  “I suppose I could help you lock up first.” He kisses me softly and holds out his hand. “Where are the keys?”

  I bite my lip as I slide off the table. “In my back pocket,” I say, jutting my right hip at him.

  “You need me to get them for you?”

  I wrap my hands around his neck once more and sift through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Yeah, my hands are busy.”

  He laughs deeply as his eyes lower to my leg. Licking his lips needily, his hand begins the search on my mid-thigh, feeling and squeezing his way up the leg of my jeans and around to my ass. He pats it gently, stopping when he feels the keys. He makes sure to touch as much of my ass as possible when he pulls them out.

  “Do you want me to lock the door?”

  I break my gaze from his and sigh. “No, I can do my own job. Don’t leave,” I command.

  “Lock me in,” he replies with a nod of his head.

  As I make my way to the front door, he bends and lifts the books off the floor.

  I check the time: 9:55. Close enough. I turn the key in the lock and cross to the register. I empty out the cash and place it in the money bag, turn off the store lights, and go to the safe. Hogan leans on the table, crossing his arms and watching me.

  “Any security cameras recording right now?” he asks, gazing upward and around.

  I shake my head. “No cameras at all, cameraman. Do you want to help me put the money away?”

  “Is there anything interesting in the back room?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

  “Books and a table,” I say as I walk backward toward the room, curling my finger toward him.

  He follows me. “What kind of table?”

  “A big, sturdy one.” I giggle as I turn the corner. I open the safe and lock the money inside.

  He’s standing in the door, eyes burning with desire.

  I flip the light switch and the glow from hall lights illuminates the room enough to see without being too bright. Books are piled all around us on the floor; having the two things that excite me the most in one place is mind-blowing. I tilt my head to the side and slide on to the table. He shakes his head.

  “If this is an invitation, I want you to know I’m going to accept it.”

  “There’s no elevator that will suddenly move,” I say, motioning around the room.

  He takes a step closer. “No game to worry about.”

  “No one who needs you other than me,” I whisper as he moves to stand in front of me.

  “Do you need me?”

  I shrug. “Maybe.”

  He smirks. “Do you want me?” he asks, his voice growing deeper.

  I lift my eyes to his. He’s confident and sincere, a smoldering combination. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone more.”

  “On this table?” he asks, leaning forward and placing his hands near my legs.

  “Anywhere I can have you.”

  He huffs out a loud breath and caresses the back of my head. He kisses me slowly and tenderly. My hands leave his face and run over his shoulders, slipping his jacket off. It drops to the floor. His fingertips skim along the curve of my face as he slowly touches his tongue to mine.

  His kiss is everything. Every nerve in my body stands at full attention. With one kiss he makes me feel more than I’ve ever felt before.

  I touch his chest, running my fingers over every defined curve. When I reach the hem of his T-shirt, I pull it from his jeans and gaze up at him, waiting.

  He smirks. “I swear I’m not going to stop you.”

  I bite my lip and pull the T-shirt as high as I can. He reaches behind his hea
d and removes it completely. I try not to gasp, but I can’t help it. His body is firm in all the right places. The sleeve of tattoos on his right arm continues across his chest and there’s another tattoo along his left rib. Leaning forward, I place my lips on his pecs, running them over his skin and taking in the amazing smell of his body.

  His hands are in my hair as I lick and flick my tongue over his muscles, stopping only to plant devouring kisses on his skin. He lifts my head back to his mouth and lowers his hands to my shirt, unbuttoning it with precision and skill. He slides it off my shoulders and I push up off the table to stand. I frantically reach for his belt as his hands move to my jeans. Within moments, I’m standing in front of him in my thong and bra, and I’m greedily caressing the bulge in his boxers. He moans into my mouth and unclasps my bra.

  I push my hand inside his underwear and grasp hold of him and he lowers his mouth to my breast, feeding off of me with a hunger that causes me to go mad.

  Every kiss from him is better than the last. I want nothing more than to take him in my mouth, but it’s obvious he wants to be inside me more. Hurriedly pulling my thong off, he drops his boxers, and I gape. I didn’t think I could want him more, but I do.

  He reaches to the floor into his pants pocket and removes a condom. I bite my lip as his fingers dust over my breasts. He stands in front of me and gazes at me.

  “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.” His eyes never leave mine as he rolls the condom over his length, and pulls my hips toward him. “This time, I want to see you come,” he says seductively.

  “Right back at you,” I reply.

  He leans forward and presses his tip to my entrance, holding there for a moment as he kisses me, our eyes open. I shift my hips and he plunges inside me.

  Bending me back on the table, he lifts my ass for better access, pulsing his fingers into my flesh as his tongue dances with mine.

  He groans as he slides deeply into me and stops to gaze into my eyes. I search his face and see my feelings for him reflected back to me. This isn’t just sex, it never was. It’s as if everything I’d ever done was meant to bring me to him.

  He lowers my back to the table as he flexes his hips and grinds into me. I moan loudly in pleasure as he eases in and out of me. His groans and sighs echo mine. His tongue licks mine as he twists my nipple in his fingers. He thrusts upward deeply and I swear he knows exactly what it takes to drive me wild.

  The build is intense. The table wobbles beneath us so he places one hand behind my back and the other under my ass and lifts me onto his waist. I straddle his hips staying perfectly connected to him as he moves us to the couch in the breakroom. “Better?” he whispers.

  “Everything is better with you.”

  He slides into me deeply and the softness of the couch allows us to mold together even more. I cry out as I dig my fingers into the muscles of his back. I’m building quickly and it’s the most amazing feeling I’ve ever known. He lifts his chest from mine and watches as his thrusts cause me to spiral over the edge. I cry out as I quiver beneath him and his eyes tell me he’s close. I continue to climax, and within seconds he moans as he pours himself into me.

  His forehead falls to my shoulder, and he sighs. “Yes,” I tell him softly.

  “Yes, what?” he asks, running his fingers over my head.

  “Yes, it was all worth it.”

  He smiles. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  WITH A SNAP in time my life goes from complete disaster to absolute perfection. Hogan is staying in town for the rest of the week until he has to return to work, and we spend every possible second together. He texts to tell me he’s on his way to take me to dinner.

  Setting my phone down on the sink, I notice Carmen standing in the doorway, watching me curl my hair into tight ringlets.

  “I knew it,” she hums.

  I grin at her reflection in the mirror.

  “I just want credit for knowing from the beginning,” she adds.

  I laugh. “The credit is all yours.”

  “Sammy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy. Do you know what this does to my heart? I feel like I’m watching this amazing love story unfold before my eyes.”

  “How do I look?”

  “Hogan is going to bust a nut when he sees you!”

  “That’s the plan,” I say with a wink, causing her to blush.

  There’s a knock on the door and Carmen squeals excitedly as she rushes to answer it. I check my reflection in the mirror once more, and slip on my black heels.

  I hear her say, “Well, hello there, handsome! Come on in. She looks gorgeous, wait until you see her.”

  “How are you, Carmen?”

  “I’m good, Hogan. Thanks for asking.”

  “Hi there, Boris.”

  I leave the bathroom and turn the corner. He’s bent down, scratching Boris’s head with his back to me. He’s wearing black dress pants and a white button-down shirt. The view of his ass causes me to bite my lip. He hears the click of my heels and turns his head. He smiles, and it melts my heart.

  “Wow.” He pulls his lip with his fingers as he gazes at me from head to toe. His hand rests over his heart. “My God, you’re beautiful.”

  Carmen sighs loudly. “Aww…”

  He ambles toward me and places his arm around my waist, pulling me firmly against him. “Carmen, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m not bringing her home tonight.”

  Carmen’s mouth drops open, and he laughs.

  “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

  Carmen nods but doesn’t speak. I kiss her cheek as he leads me out the door.

  Downstairs, he opens his car door for me and I slide inside. He closes his door and we’re off.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  “I found this place once, when I was here for work. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but they have private booths and music. I don’t want to share you.”

  I moan lightly as I stare down at his legs. There isn’t a single thing about him that isn’t perfection. “I don’t want to share you either.”

  He crosses the space between us and takes my hand in his, lifting it to his lips. Twenty minutes later, we arrive. He’s right. Wherever we are is more of an alley than a restaurant. He pulls his car up to a door, where a man rushes to greet him. He hands him some money and his keys before opening the door for me and leading me down a flight of stairs to a dimly lit entrance.

  “Do you trust me?” he asks.

  It’s an interesting question. A few months ago, I would have asked where in the fuck we were going and refused to be led anywhere, but I know he’d never let anything happen to me. I simply nod. I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that he’s changed me so much.

  We enter a dark room. The lighting casts shades of blue, red, and purple on the walls. There’s a bar at the front of the room and tall booths throughout. In the center is a dance floor and couples are intertwined and moving slowly to music in the dark. You’d think we were overdressed for the place, but surprisingly we’re not. It’s like a high-class dive bar. I’m intrigued.

  “What can I get for you?” the waitress asks.

  Knowing Hogan’s issues with alcohol, the question makes me nervous. “Club soda, please.”

  He huffs. “Sam. You can drink. It doesn’t bother me.”

  “Club soda, please,” I repeat.

  He shakes his head and holds up two fingers.

  “Isn’t it hard for you to be here?” I ask with concern, moving closer to him.

  He slides around to my side so we’re next to each other and I don’t have to yell over the music. He places his arm behind me. “It was a long time ago. It’s almost like it didn’t even happen.”

  He hands me a menu. I stare at it for a few minutes. His leg is up against mine and even though we’re barely touching, it’s all I can think about.

  I can feel my brows wrinkle as I skim through the options. It’s all very high-end and pricey. The thing is
I’m not the least bit hungry for food.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks.

  I speak directly into his ear. “I have a taste for something and it’s not on the menu.”

  “Tell me what it is. I’m sure they can make anything,” he assures me. I can tell by his expression, he’d move heaven and Earth to get me what I want and it’s sexier than anything I’ve ever seen.

  I smile up at him, because he’s not catching on.

  “What?”

  “The thing I want to eat more than anything is you.”

  The smile fades and his eyes burn with heat. One Republic’s “Say (All I Need)” begins to play. “Dance with me?” I ask as I slide out of the booth.

  I don’t wait for a response. I wander to the middle of the dance floor and stand alone, bodies swaying all around me. He tosses down his napkin and slowly makes his way toward me. He takes my breath away.

  He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him, swaying to the music. He leans his forehead against mine and closes his eyes. I’m not the least bit surprised he’s an amazing dancer. Why wouldn’t he be? It’s like I created him in my head. He controls every move I make in time with the music. My leg rests between his as he moves us seductively through the song.

  Dancing with him is like having sex. He holds me like I belong to him and I have no desire to be anywhere else in the world. Who is this man that he can walk into my life and make me question everything I thought I ever wanted or needed?

  We dance through two more songs, then Leela James’s “Fall for You” begins to play. It’s like she’s singing what’s in my heart.

  Placing my finger under his chin, I lift his eyes to mine. I need him to know I’m scared without saying it out loud. “This song… this is what I’m feeling.”

  He furrows his brows as he listens to the words. When she asks if he’d catch her if she fell, he tenderly presses his lips to my forehead.