After Hours

by Jodi Lynn Copeland

  2

  “T his is all your fault.” Glaring, Tawny sank down in one of the two chairs Jilly kept on the other side of her office desk for visitors.

  Her friend stopped typing and looked over from her computer screen. The hair she’d kept trapped in a bun for years in an effort to make others respect her as a cool operator now hung in loose blond waves. A green three-quarter-length sweater with a loud jungle pattern that would look tacky on anyone else brought out the soft green shade of her eyes. The same shade was interwoven with vivid blues and yellows throughout the office decor, giving off a cheery atmosphere.

  Jilly smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Morning to you, too, sunshine.”

  Several months had passed since Jilly had shed the witch’s wardrobe and breezy attitude she’d acquired upon nearly losing her job over a moment of drunken foolishness. Still, her laid-back appearance had Tawny conceding to a smile of her own. “Morning. You look great, by the way. Is that what having a sex life does for a person?”

  “Please. Brendan kept me up so late last night trying out a new tongue technique that if it weren’t for downing a half pot of coffee, I’d be a zombie.”

  Just one of the many things Tawny had missed during Jilly’s witchy years: the way she freely shared information on her sex life. “A new tongue technique?” She shook the question away. Living vicariously through her friend and the woman’s fiancé had its moments. Now wasn’t one of them—not when she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about tongue techniques since Andrew left last night.

  Her response to him had been about the length of time she’d gone without anything hot, hard and male between her legs. She knew that. But that hadn’t stopped her from wondering, from wanting, and her pussy from aching so badly following his departure that she’d finally given in and broken out her favorite vibrator. The orgasm had been good. Too good. And that was damned depressing, because at the moment of climax Andrew’s face had been filling her head.

  Tawny groaned. “Never mind, I don’t want to hear about it. I’m already depressed enough.”

  Concern replaced her friend’s smile. “Why? And how is it my fault?”

  With Jilly, Tawny didn’t bother with the perky or brazen act. She laid out the wretched truth. “The only kissing or groping I’ve done in months was last night with the IT geek himself, Andrew Korben. And it’s your fault because I spent the last few years leading everyone to believe I was some red-hot wild woman to offset your black-widow routine.”

  Jilly’s eyes widened. “Oh, god, you hooked up with Andrew?” Her stunned look faded. “Not that it’s a bad thing. I mean, he’s not exactly Mr. GQ, but I’m sure he’s a nice guy, though not what I’d call your type. What happened to dropping the wild-woman act? You said you changed to maintain balance in our friendship when I changed. I changed back, and thought you were going to do the same.”

  “I’d planned on it, but then Andrew asked for my help getting laid and I just couldn’t say no. It’s my mouth. Lately every time I open it something evil comes out.”

  Gasping, Jilly straightened in her chair. “You’re planning to sleep with him, and a little kissing and groping has you concerned?”

  “Hell, no!” Tawny winced at the shrillness of her response. The office door was closed and still the words were bound to carry to everyone on the sixth floor of the advertising firm. Another prime example of her mouth behaving badly. Her mouth wasn’t the only part being naughty, either. Just the mention of sex with Andrew and her nipples beaded with anticipation.

  “I’m not going to sleep with him,” she said, as much to her overzealous nipples as to Jilly. “I’m going to teach him what it takes to catch a woman who thrills in wild-monkey sex.” She snorted. “After all, I’m such the aficionado when it comes to the horizontal mambo.”

  Jilly relaxed in her chair. “You know danged well that’s your own fault. You put off waves that make it seem like you know what you want and routinely go after it. All you have to do is put those waves into action. You’ve done it before.”

  That had been years ago, and, more often than not, when liquid courage was involved. “I don’t know, girl. All those other times were in college. Any man I’ve dated or even slept with since has approached me.”

  “So, let him approach and take over the driving from there.”

  “Yeah, good thinking. I’ll give it a try at the next book club meeting,” Tawny said dryly.

  Jilly shot her a sympathetic look. “I know the bar scene’s a drag, but if all you’re after is a one-night, get-you-off-and-go man to end your dry spell, give it a spin.”

  Tawny nodded, aware of what her friend’s response would be before she voiced her next words. Ever since Brendan had come into her life, Jilly’s nights were occupied. And that was great; if anyone deserved to be happy, it was Jilly. It just sucked ass for Tawny. “Fine. Saturday night. Pick you up at eight.”

  “Oh, I can’t. I have plans with Brendan.”

  “I know, and that’s half the problem. Back when I used to have men in my life—men I picked up, and not the other way around—we were both single and not pretending to be someone we aren’t. I need you for sex, Jilly!”

  “Now, there’s something every man wants to hear.” Brendan appeared next to Tawny’s chair, wearing navy slacks, a white polo shirt and a devilishly sexy grin that made it easy to see why Jilly had first been attracted to him. He raised a dark eyebrow and looked from Jilly to Tawny. “So, we making it a threesome, or am I watching from the sidelines and making sure the camera keeps rolling? Wouldn’t want to miss any critical footage.”

  “Sicko,” Tawny said. Then, because she knew his words were spoken in good humor, laughed. Before he could round Jilly’s desk and start in with the midmorning make-out session, Tawny stood. “Allow me to leave you to your tongue games.”

  To the sound of their laughter, Tawny moved out the door, closing it behind her. Brendan and Jilly weren’t really the type to drool over each other at the office—at least, not in public view—but right now even the thought of seeing them exchange a surface kiss tightened her stomach. No way would she go on with a bellyache over her friends’ happiness. She would end it exactly the way Jilly had recommended, by spending Saturday night at a local club, putting her wanton image to the test.

  She could do it. No, she would do it. She had to take care of this ache that had everything to do with lack of sex before she did or said something too inane to reverse, like take a certain IT geek for a test drive around her bedroom.

  Tawny returned to her corner cubicle and the ad design she’d left up on the computer screen. The new–e-mail icon flashed at the bottom corner of the monitor. Settling into her chair, she clicked on the icon to open her in-box. The screen turned white, camouflaging her layout. She frowned, clicked the icon again and waited. Ten seconds turned to twenty, and finally her e-mail opened to reveal a new message from Larry Neilson, the company CEO. She clicked on the e-mail maximize button and the white screen reappeared.

  “No! I don’t need this on top of everything else.”

  God, she hated computers. They were like vibrators—great until they stopped working, right at the moment of climax. She’d been minutes from completing that ad, damnit.

  Tawny clicked the e-mail icon again, but the white screen remained. And that meant she was screwed. The primary IT specialist was out on maternity leave, thereby bringing about the need to hire a fill-in. Also, thereby assuring that only one person could help her now—the temp in question.

  She really didn’t want to see Andrew. She’d made it a point to veer away from him when he’d approached the break room this morning, wearing his typically nerdy attire and carrying an enormous coffee mug that sported the slogan SAVE YOUR HARD DRIVE, GET A JUMP.

  For the sake of the ad, she would call Andrew for help. She would not, however, think of the man and the word jump in the same sentence. She didn’t want to jump him, or ride him around her bedroom. She didn’t want to do a thing w
ith him but carry through on her promise of helping him become a sex god.

  She picked up the phone and punched in his number. He answered on the first ring. “Hello, this is Andrew Korben. May I help you?”

  A shiver chased through her at the deep timbre of his voice. She shifted in her chair as that shiver came to a rest between her thighs and had her clit tingling.

  Oh, man, something major was wrong with her. He’d answered his phone as straight-laced as one could. That wasn’t a reason to get aroused.

  Perky, she reminded herself. Perky, bold Tawny was the expectation here. “I need you, Drew.” Okay, so that hadn’t sounded perky. More like she was lying naked on her bed, fingering herself while she breathlessly awaited his arrival. The tingling spread throughout her pussy and moistened her panties. She curbed the urge to shift again. She would get laid soon and take care of this strange reaction to Andrew; until then, she had to focus on work. “My computer’s spazzing.”

  “Spazzing computer. Right. Doesn’t sound good. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  She hung up the phone and drew long, deep breaths meant to alleviate her stimulated body. Knowing Andrew’s penchant for punctuality, he’d be at her cube before the minute was up.

  Less than sixty seconds later, he knocked on the wall of her three-sided cube. Not about to turn around when, despite her attempt to dislodge them, thoughts of lying on her bed, fingering herself filled her mind, she put forth her best perky attitude and nodded at the screen. “So here’s the prob: It’s all white. I have a design under there somewhere and my e-mail’s open. Assuming a computer gremlin didn’t eat them, that is.”

  Andrew moved next to her chair. His elbow brushed against the outer swell of her breast as he reached for the keyboard. Tawny’s breath dragged in while heat zinged from her womb to her pinkie toes and her nipples hardened with throbbing awareness. She inhaled instinctively, the smell of mint filling her senses.

  He tasted like mint, she remembered. Mint and male. A heady combination she never would have guessed at. And he kissed…oh, how he kissed. Her sex pulsed with the memory of the primal way he’d pinned her against the door and taken over her body and soul. Last night she’d called what he’d done to her kissing, but it had been far more. Definite groping had been involved.

  His fingers moved over her keyboard, opening the control-panel folder in search of something. She had no idea what that something might be because she couldn’t take her eyes off his hands, the graceful glide of his long fingers. He was tall. She’d noticed that last night when he’d lifted her up the length of his body. And more than a little endowed. She’d nearly found out the exact size of his cock. She could have begged him to pull her back to him. Could have told him it was an important part of his education, learning about untamed sex from firsthand experience with his teacher. If she had, she wouldn’t be sitting here, imagining how much better it would feel to have his fingers moving inside her body than her own.

  “Have you defragged lately?”

  Tawny trembled as the warmth of Andrew’s breath caressed her ear. He was so close…. He could nibble on her neck, lick her overheated flesh, tongue the shell of her ear. Her head lolled to the side. “It’s been almost a year.” Ten months. Ten long, unbearable months since she’d felt this rush of desire, this need to give in to his every carnal demand. To feel his hard sex pushing inside her, pulsing.

  His fingers lifted from the keyboard. He drew back, his elbow brushing her breast once more. “In that case, I’m amazed you’re still running at all.”

  She closed her eyes, waiting for the return of his elbow—another quick, delicious brush. “Some days, so am I.”

  “If you let me get closer, I’ll see if I can fix things.”

  Oh, yeah. Closer. Right where she wanted him. “Mmm…closer.”

  “Tawny, you need to move back so I can look at your computer.”

  Her eyes snapped open with the firmness of his words. His serious expression brought warmth into her cheeks. No dimple-revealing smile. No hint of arousal behind those thick, black frames. What a dork! Not him, but her. Here he was being the congenial coworker, and here she was getting ready to lift her skirt, pull down her panties and skewer herself on him.

  “Um, yeah. Right.” So much for perky, bold Tawny. She sounded more like rambling, geeky Tawny. Maybe they were right for each other after all.

  No, they were not right for each other. She wasn’t a geek and she certainly didn’t go for geeks or nerds or even IT specialists who claimed they were sexually inept but kissed like Greek gods.

  She wheeled her chair back a couple feet. Andrew squatted in front of the computer. Ignoring the agile movement of his fingers as they stroked over her keyboard, she attempted to flush all thought from her mind. Thinking was not safe where Andrew was concerned.

  “Doesn’t seem to be anything wrong on this end,” he said after a minute. “Let me check the wall connections.”

  He moved onto his knees, unblocking her view of the computer screen to reveal her ad design back in place. Happiness over seeing that the computer gremlin hadn’t eaten her work was replaced with shock the moment her gaze drifted below the keyboard. The breath caught in her throat.

  “Ohmigod!” What an ass.

  His charcoal slacks might be old-fashioned, but the way they hugged his tight buttocks was 100 percent now. Her fingers itched to reach out and grab a handful of delectable cheek.

  “What’s the matter?” He turned back, but his attention never reached her face. Instead it zeroed in on her slightly parted thighs. He was at the perfect height and angle to see her panties beneath her impossibly short, black leather skirt. The panties growing damper with every whisper of his hot breath on her thighs.

  Tawny fought the reaction to cross her legs. If she did that, it would be obvious she’d caught him in his stare. He would stop looking on his own soon. Hopefully before her panties resembled a swimming pool and the scent of her juices perfumed the air. “I, uh, just remembered something really important that I look for in a man.”

  He rocked forward, bringing his face less than a foot from her thighs. Her sex grew wetter. She bit her lip to quell the moan threatening to break free. Maybe his looking away wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe he could move a tiny bit closer.

  “Okay,” he said quietly, without looking up, “but we agreed not to talk about that at work.”

  At work. Where they were currently. She’d selected the corner cubicle because the open side faced a wall instead of another cube. The odds of someone spotting them or, for that matter, hearing them, were still high. No way could she keep quiet were she to give in to the sudden urge to grab hold of his ears and tug his mouth to her crotch. One lick of his talented tongue beneath her panties and she’d be crying out. One single thrust between her pussy lips and she’d be on the edge of orgasm.

  Tawny shook her head at the crazy thoughts. Sexual deprivation couldn’t be completely at fault. There had to be some other reason she was responding this way to Andrew. A reason she would consider later. “Uh, yeah, sorry. You’re right.” She didn’t want to call him on the ogling, potentially embarrassing him, but they couldn’t stay this way a moment longer. “Andrew? What are you doing?”

  “Thinking.”

  Laughter bubbled up in her throat. Of course he was thinking! He was a geek, not a bad boy out to take advantage of the situation. He probably hadn’t even noticed her parted thighs or her damp panties, he was so busy considering her computer problems.

  “I was thinking about underwear.”

  The unreleased laughter died with a harsh gulp. Okay, so maybe he had noticed her damp panties. Maybe he was contemplating how to get beneath them. Right now it wouldn’t take much more than a “please” to gain access. Or hell, he could forget the “please” and just dive in, tongue first.

  “Briefs or boxers?”

  Panties that were miniscule enough they might as well be a thong. Did he need a stronger prescription? How could he mi
ss the tiny triangle of damp yellow silk that covered her mound?

  Andrew looked up. His eyes were no longer void of emotion, but dark hazel and thick with the same lust cruising through her blood stream. “Which does a woman prefer, briefs or boxers?”

  Naked was good. Naked on her wraparound desk, where she could climb on his stiff cock and shout out her ecstasy as she rode him. And then scream out her mortification when the entire sixth floor came to investigate.

  Work. She was at work. With Andrew. The nerd. It was important she concentrate on the particulars. “I thought we said we weren’t going to talk about that here.”

  “Right. We aren’t. Sorry.” With a last glimpse at her panties, he turned around and bent back under her desk.

  Tawny’s belly flipped with the return of his ass. It was wrong for a geek to have such a fine behind. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

  Andrew backed up after a half minute. He pushed the glasses farther back on his nose as he stood. “It looks like it’s going to take more than wiggling a few cables. Whatever is going on, you should be okay so long as you stay working in the current program. I’ll come back after you leave for the day and look into the problem some more.”

  After work? But what about his lesson? She’d never gotten around to suggesting they continue his training this evening, but she still planned on spending the night with him. And not in bed, either, but sitting on her couch. Which was just as good a place to get horizontal and sweaty. On second thought, he should spend tonight working. “Um, okay,” she said hesitantly, her body not quite convinced by her mind. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be gone by five thirty.”

  “Great. I’ll do my best to see that it’s running good as new tomorrow.” He turned to leave.

  She opened her mouth to say thanks. Instead, out came, “If fixing my computer doesn’t take too long, we should continue your education tonight. Shopping.”

  “Shopping?” Andrew spun back to give her a look that suggested he was as excited by the idea as he might be to jab razor blades under his fingernails.