by J. S. Scott
Ally didn’t get much sleep that night, wanting desperately to go to Travis, but knowing he needed time and that the hospital wasn’t the place for a confrontation. When she finally got word of Asha the next day, it was from Asha herself. She called Ally, complaining about Kade’s behavior, and about the fact that he wanted to move their bedroom downstairs so she didn’t have to climb the stairs again. Every time she walked up or down the stairs, Kade was right behind her or in front of her, ready to stop her from falling.
Ally smiled as Asha went on and on, obviously disgruntled. Other than a few body aches, Asha was fine. But Kade was on her ass every minute of the day.
“Kade loves you, and I think you scared him pretty badly. You’re pregnant, Asha. Give him time,” she told Asha patiently.
“I know.” Asha sighed over the phone line. “He’ll lighten up eventually when he sees me go up and down the stairs safely enough times.”
Ally laughed, knowing Asha adored Kade, and her complaining was more out of concern for Kade than her own inconvenience.
After she hung up with Asha, Ally finished reading one of her books on adult children of alcoholics, incredulous about how she had every one of the negative behaviors that seemed to develop in children growing up with alcoholic parents. She’d been reading everything she could to try to learn more about her behavior and how to break free from her negative self-image.
“And then I went out and picked the worst man I could possibly have chosen for a partner,” she mumbled to herself unhappily.
Strangely, she felt like she’d already started breaking some of her bad habits, refusing to believe the negative voices in her head as truth, and she’d work on the rest. Or maybe it wasn’t so odd, since she realized that Travis had started the process, had helped her to start deviating from her normal negative thoughts about herself.
Ally wished Travis had called himself, but maybe he was home getting some much-needed sleep, although she doubted it. Most likely he was hiding, running away. It was her last day of vacation. She’d see him at work tomorrow.
With that satisfying thought, she went to her computer to write.
Travis had obviously arrived on the upper floor, the usual quiet falling over the employees as he made his way to his office.
Ally did her usual countdown:
“Five…
“Four…
“Three…
“Two…
“One…”
Travis strode through the doors exactly on time, but he didn’t say a word. He shot a sideways glance at her, scowled and proceeded into his office without saying one damn thing to her.
Somehow, Ally had already expected that reaction. She got to her feet, smoothing down her cream-colored cashmere sweater dress, loving the feel of the material under her fingers. It was perfectly professional, with a decorative belt that clipped at the waist and hung comfortably at her hips. But it was a little bit shorter than her normal style, the hem hitting above the knees, and the material clung to every curve. The matching stilettos were plain but elegant, and she loved the whole outfit. She just tried not to cringe when she imagined what the ensemble had probably cost.
She shook her head as she went to the kitchen and poured a mug of coffee. Travis was never going to let her take back any of the clothes he’d bought, so she might as well wear them.
Not bothering to knock, Ally opened the door of Travis’s office, locked it quietly behind her, and placed the mug on his desk. “Your coffee, Mr. Harrison.”
His eyes never left the computer screen. “Fine,” he grumbled.
She was right. Travis was hiding, and doing a lousy job of it. Their awareness of each other was electric in the air. Time for more drastic measures.
“You left something at my house,” she told him in a low, sultry voice.
He looked up then, his eyes turning dark as he saw his black tie dangling from her fingers. Leaning forward, he reached for it with a frown, but Ally held it away. Moving around the desk, she positioned herself behind his chair.
“I don’t think so, Travis.” She yanked his shoulders against the back of the chair and slipped the tie around him, pinning him and making a tight knot that restricted his body at the elbows.
He could have easily fought her, but he just sat there dumbfounded as she moved around in front of him and purred, “I think since I gave you your appetizer, you can repay me by giving me breakfast.” She leaned down before he could say a word, speared her fingers through his hair and kissed him, an embrace that meant business. He responded immediately, his tongue dueling with hers as she kissed him deeply, languorously, removing her hands from his hair and started to unbutton his pristine shirt, jerking it out of his waistband and opening every button she could get to as she nipped at his lips and soothed them with her tongue. When she loosened the buttons on all but the top few that were restricted by his tie, she took her mouth from his and straightened. Placing one stiletto-clad foot on the leather chair right between his legs, she gave his chair a hard shove, and it rolled back just enough to allow her to sink to her knees.
One thing that had always bothered her was the fact that Travis never let her touch him this way, too worried about losing control before he satisfied her. Didn’t he know that she needed to touch him just as much as he wanted to touch her?
“Ally, what the fuck are you doing?” Travis’s voice was hoarse and deeply aroused.
“I’m…exploring,” she told him, giving his own words back to him. “I want to know what you like. Tell me what you like.” She parted the material of his shirt and traced her tongue over the majestic phoenix on his chest. He’d told her why and how he’d gotten it, that it symbolized his dedication to weather the storm of the controversy after the death of his parents. “You’re so strong, Travis.”
She bit one of his nipples and then soothed it with her tongue. His body tensed, but he didn’t move, didn’t fight. She repeated the action on the other one, and then trailed her tongue down his ripped abdomen, moaning at the feel of his skin as her fingers trailed down the same path. Her nimble fingers undid his belt, flipped open the button of his pants and lowered the zipper. She yanked on his black boxer briefs, liberating his cock, which almost looked like it was twitching anxiously and fully erect. She wrapped her fingers around the engorged member and sighed as she looked at him, his head tipped back, the corded muscles in his neck straining. “God, you’re the hottest man I’ve ever seen. And you’re mine, Travis.” She squeezed his cock lightly. “This is mine.” She’d already figured out that he liked her claiming him.
“Jesus, Ally. If you don’t stop touching me, I’ll explode,” Travis rasped, his head snapping up to look down at her.
Their eyes met in clash of wills, but Ally was determined to win this time. “That’s the whole idea, big guy.” She licked her lips hungrily. “I want my breakfast. And I want to taste you until you lose your mind.”
“Already there,” he answered darkly.
“Not yet. But you will be. I’ve wanted this since the first time you kissed me. It’s one of my fantasies. And I’m in charge right now.” She knew she really wasn’t, that he was letting her do this, but it didn’t matter.
“My fantasy, too,” Travis growled.
Ally wanted to ask him why he’d never let her do it, but she already knew the answer. Travis was totally unselfish when it came to giving her pleasure. What he didn’t realize was that it pleased her to give him that same ecstasy.
Lowering her mouth to him, Ally twirled her tongue over the sensitive head of his cock, lapping up a drop of salty moisture dotting the tip, sucking it off leisurely.
“You’re going to kill me,” Travis groaned, threading his hands through her hair, causing her hair clip to drop to the floor.
She let the tip of his cock pop out of her mouth. “Do you like that?” she asked innocently, mimicking what he’d done to her just a few nights ago.
“Fuck, yeah. I just don’t understand any of this,” he panted.
“You don’t need to. Just…feel.” Ally wrapped her lips around his cock and took him deeply into her mouth, letting her throat relax. Travis was built big, but she took him as far as she possibly could, tightening her lips around the shaft as she let him slide in and out.
“Christ. I’m dying,” Travis grunted as he fisted her hair, his hips pumping.
Ally savored every groan that came out of Travis’s mouth as she gently fingered his balls, trying to take his cock even deeper into her mouth. She slowly increased her speed, Travis becoming more demanding as his hips jerked up to meet her mouth.
Ally didn’t stop as she tilted her eyes up, watching Travis as he watched her, as though riveted to the sight of her sucking him off.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I’m gonna come, Ally,” Travis told her in a guttural tone.
And he did, his cock spilling his warm release into the back of her throat as his body bucked and he groaned her name over and over. Ally kept her mouth on him, savoring every drop of his pleasure, her tongue toying with the head of his cock until he slumped in the chair, obviously sated.
She gently tucked him back into his briefs and put his clothing back together. His eyes were still closed when she moved to the back of the chair and released the knot on the tie.
“Why?” Travis asked in a confused voice.
“Because I wanted to,” she replied sweetly. She bent and picked up her hair clip from the floor.
“Jesus. What are you wearing?” Travis exploded.
Ally smiled at him. “One of the dresses you bought me. I didn’t have any matching lingerie, so I bought my own.” She knew he’d seen the sexy panties and the top of her garters. She’d done it on purpose. Lifting the hem of the dress, she gave him a peek at the white ensemble underneath. “Isn’t it sweet?” It was fairly modest, white with little pink bows.
Travis gaped at her as she let the hem float back down and arranged her hair again in a small decorative mirror on the wall.
Sashaying to the door, she tossed the tie across the room and Travis’s quick reflexes caught it in mid-air.
“For the next time I’m naughty.” She unlocked and opened the door, looking back at him as she swung it open. “Enjoy your coffee, Mr. Harrison. But just for the record, I’m still not getting your coffee every day. Today was special.”
She walked out of the office, closing the door quietly behind her. Her heart was still hammering, her knees weak, knowing what she’d just done had been a risk. But she’d already decided that a life without some risk wasn’t worth living. With risk came hope. And she’d keep her hopes alive for Travis until all her belief in him was gone, until there was no chance for them. He was worth it. He’d lived in darkness for way too long, and he needed to conquer his demons or let them destroy his life. He’d been there when she needed someone to believe in her, and she wanted to do the same for him. Because, truth was, she trusted him more than any other person on earth. Now he just needed to trust himself.
Ally went to the restroom and cleaned herself up before returning to her desk.
She stared at Travis’s office door for a long time before going back to work.
Travis sat totally immobile for a long time, stunned as he looked at the door where Ally had exited.
His coffee was tepid, but he gulped it down anyway, trying to figure out if what had happened was really truth or if it was just a very vivid fantasy he’d conjured up because of his need for Ally.
Why isn’t she running?
His first shock had come when he discovered that Ally was actually at her desk today. He hadn’t expected her to be. Not after what he’d said the night he’d left her to go to the hospital. Had she been so tired she hadn’t really gotten what he’d told her?
He could have easily stopped what had happened this morning, but he hadn’t wanted to, hadn’t even been able to wrap his mind around the fact that he hadn’t been experiencing some sort of surreal fantasy. He fingered the tie on his desk, proof that she’d really been here. Part of him wanted to just go on and see what happened now, not confront any reality. Hell…reality sucked. He’d much rather preserve the dream. But his relationship with Ally was never going to progress until he faced her down, figured out what was going on in that complicated brain of hers.
He pushed the intercom button. “Alison, I need you.” As he let off the button, he admitted to himself that truer words had never been spoken.
He waited as she let herself into the office, his cock hardening as he viewed the innocent-looking dress that was, in reality, a cock torture device. It hugged her body in all the right places, and dammit…it was way too short. Had that really been one of the outfits he’d purchased for her? He hated it. No…he actually loved it, but he didn’t want another man seeing her shapely body in the garment. And he sure as hell didn’t want anybody else to see what she was wearing underneath. It was white, for Christ’s sake. But Travis had just decided that white underwear with cute pink bows was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. Maybe it was speaking to his caveman: the virginal, sweet color making him want to drag Ally off and corrupt her as soon as possible.
Ally seated herself in front of his desk, a cup of coffee in her hand. She’d fixed her hair, and she looked every inch a prim, composed assistant. Hell…even that made him crazy.
“You wanted me, Mr. Harrison?” she asked politely.
Yeah. He wanted her all right. But nobody would ever know that the woman sitting in front of him had a few minutes ago been a sexual goddess on her knees, sucking his cock until his head had nearly blown off. He cleared his throat and asked, “What just happened here this morning, Alison?”
“Did I ever tell you that I hate the name Alison? My mother used to call me that, and I don’t like being called by that name, which is why I prefer people to call me Ally,” she answered in a calm, informative voice. “And as far as what happened? I believe that you stomped into the office without saying a word. I then brought you your coffee…which I almost never do. Then I tied my obstinate billionaire boss from Hell to his chair and proceeded to give him a blow job until he had an orgasm. I think I did something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, making my fantasies of touching you any way I wanted come true. Does that sound correct?” she asked him pertly. “Oh, then I gave him back the tie that he left at my house after using it to give me multiple orgasms,” she added casually and took a sip from her mug, raising a questioning brow at him.
Travis nearly choked on the last of his coffee. “What the hell has gotten into you?” Travis asked, squirming in his chair from hearing Ally bluntly recounting the morning.
“Nothing got into me. I gave you a blow job, but you never really got into me.”
Holy Christ! She was trying to make him crazy. He knew she was. “I’ll never call you by your full name again if you hate it. You should have told me.” He paused before asking, “Do you remember what I told you when I left to help Kade? Did you hear what I said?”
“I heard you,” she affirmed.
“Why are you still here?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I work here.” She sat her coffee on the desk and put her hands on the surface of the wood, giving him a stubborn glare. “I assume that what you meant that night is that you had a precognitive dream about your parents, and you ignored it, thinking it was just a nightmare. Therefore, you blame yourself because you didn’t stop what happened. You did not kill your parents, Travis. Your father killed your mother and then himself. He was mentally ill. It’s time for you to stop torturing yourself because you didn’t know the dream would really come true. It was not your fault.”
Travis gaped at Ally, her fierceness stunning him. Her gaze was wild and ferocious, and protective as hell. And all that strong protectiveness was centered on him. “It was the first time it happened,” he admitted. “I hate myself for not saving my mother. If I had just paid attention—”
“You. Didn’t. Know.” Ally emphasized every word. “What else happened after that?”
Travis looked at her, surprised. “It doesn’t happen very often. And sometimes I still don’t believe it, but I act on it if I dream of someone dying or getting hurt. Precognition isn’t accepted in mainstream science. It isn’t supposed to happen. There’s no proof that it even exists.”
“And there’s no proof that it doesn’t,” Ally shot back at him.
“You believe in it?”
Ally sat slowly back down in her chair. “You told me once that I was pragmatic on the surface and a dreamer inside. I write fantasy because I believe anything is possible, that there are still so many things in this world that we can’t explain. So I try very hard not to discount anything. I don’t not believe in a lot of things. Things like precognition can’t be proved or disproved.” She sighed and gave him an earnest look. “But I can tell you that I absolutely believe in you. Tell me about it, Travis. Please.”
Ally’s understanding, compassionate look broke Travis. He buried his face in his hands and spoke. “Like I said, it really doesn’t happen that often. You’re right about what happened with my parents. Looking back, it’s hard not to regret that I didn’t pay attention, but I thought it was just a nightmare. Then I started having recurring dreams about Mia. The first time, I dreamed that she was being abused. She was still in school, and I flew there just to reassure myself that she was okay. But the dreams were correct. She was with an abusive boyfriend, the same asshole who tried to hurt her once he got out of prison after I put him there for abusing her. She was married to Max when he got out of prison and came after her the second time, and I had a dream that she was running away, Max and Kade found her, and her ex killed all of them.”
“So that’s why you hid her, why you didn’t tell Kade and Max? And you saved her from the abusive boyfriend when she was in school. Your dreams actually saved her twice,” Ally said breathlessly. “That’s incredible.”
“I never knew Kade’s accident was going to happen. I wish to hell I had known. But the night I woke you up, I’d just had a dream that he was in a hospital waiting room, distraught. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what had happened. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a warning. The dreams just happen, and sometimes not nearly soon enough to prevent anything. And I had a vague dream about Asha that her ex-husband tried to kill her. That’s why I asked Tate to stay near her while his broken leg was healing. I had the same vague dream again the night before she was attacked by her ex-husband.”