Merger

by Miles, Heather

  “Breast cancer, as well,” she said. “I know exactly what you mean about it taking something from you. It’s just my Dad and me now. I miss her so much. She was smart and funny, compassionate and kind. She was the best of everything all in one. My father was madly in love with her and there was a time I didn’t think he would ever get over it. He’s all I have and I’ve done everything I could to make him proud.”

  “He is proud, K.K.,” I said, trying to reassure her. “I know my Dad thinks very highly of you. I think very highly of you. You are all the things you said about your mother. You have every reason to be proud of yourself. You’ve accomplished a lot in a short time, and have a great future ahead of you.” I looked at her and tears began to well in her eyes.

  “I didn’t’ mean to make you sad, baby. I just wanted you to know that, despite your mom not being here, she’d be proud of you.”

  “I’m sure your mother would be proud of you too, Josh. You’re obviously a great son and wonderful brother. I look forward to being your partner in business. We’re a good fit.”

  “Yes we are,” I replied. I wanted to turn around and tell her that I wanted more than a business partner, but I didn’t know exactly what words to say to convey that point, so I just smiled and winked at her. “So let’s head to the office. I have some calls to make and we can look over that proposal.”

  Her phone beeped and she got up to retrieve it.

  “Who’s that?” I asked.

  “My Dad. Apparently, they are leaving L.A. at one and he wants to have dinner tonight. Something’s been up with him lately. I know he’s had a lot on his plate with this merger, but I’ve been worried about him. He seems tired. He works too much.” She looked concerned.

  “I’m sure he’s fine,” I tried to reassure her.

  “You’re probably right.”

  It was 8:30 when we arrived at Blakely, Inc. I borrowed an empty office down the hall from K.K. I had left a few things that I needed to attend to at my office. My assistant Megan had taken care to reschedule a few of my appointments, but continued to forward me messages and emails that she thought were more urgent than others. The morning went on, us both taking care of things, when K.K peeked her head inside the door.

  “Do you have a minute to take a look at the Texas deal?” she asked.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  She walked around the desk and placed the proposal in front of me. I could smell her perfume as she got closer, moving around me and laying the paperwork out.

  “You don’t have to sell me K.K., I like it. I think they didn’t have enough investors when we looked at it months ago, but if we step in with the initial capital, it could be very successful.”

  “I know, right?” Her eyes lit up with my approval. She was serious and determined when it came to business. I admired her tenacity and drive. She was confident that it was a moneymaker and a wise investment so, we agreed to propose it to the board at the next meeting.

  “Who’s putting up the money? You or me?” I asked, smiling.

  “There is no more you or me, it’s just us,” she replied, beaming her perfect smile and I pulled her into a kiss.

  Her phone rang and she pulled back from me to get it. The sound that blared out of her purse was Super Freak by Rick James. I stood back and stared at her amazed and curious at who on earth could warrant that ringtone. Then the answer became clear when she spoke. She quickly hit the answer button stifling the music and me grateful not to hear it. I sat at the desk and continued looking at the proposal and scrolling through my emails as she talked to her friend Beth. They spoke for several minutes before she drew her attention back to me and hung up.

  “She wanted to know how I felt about cow hide rugs,” she said.

  “Really? And…?” I replied.

  “Oh, I said sure. She really is an incredible decorator. She recently got published in a spread of Architectural Digest. It’s made an incredible impact on her business. I’m so proud of her.”

  “Great,” I said and looked at her inquisitively. “What’s up with the ringtone?”

  “Ah, nothing. I really need to change it. It was kind of a joke. She’s always getting in these awkward sexual situations and she’s pretty vanilla, so to speak.”

  “And what are you?” I questioned, genuinely interested to hear her answer.

  “Well, I’m more cosmopolitan. I like every flavor and I’m always open to try new things.”

  “What about anal sex?” I asked. Her mouth went slack before closing then clearing her throat.

  “Um, I’ve never tried it. I don’t think I’ve ever been with anyone I trusted enough to consider it. You?” She asked.

  I hesitated and then replied, “Yes. It’s fucking incredible.”

  “You are the scariest most aggressive man I’ve ever known, Josh. I’m spellbound by you and yet you make me nervous as hell. I just never know what the hell you’re thinking or what you’re going to say next to shock the hell out of me. I feel like I’m constantly blushing. You make me hot to the core.”

  “I’d never hurt you K.K. and I’d never do anything that you didn’t want to do. I wasn’t trying to scare you, baby. I was just interested in finding out more about your sexual endeavors.” I liked watching her blush at my words.

  “You’re apparently more experienced than me,” she said. “Hell, maybe I’m more vanilla than I thought.” She laughed.

  “Come here.” I said holding out my hand. She came over and straddled me. She slid her knees over my thighs onto the leather executive chair I was sitting in and put her hands around my neck, licking the crease of my lips.

  “I think I’d try just about anything with you,” she said. “I trust you.”

  “I trust you too.” I kissed her deeply and wrapped my arms behind her back, sliding them up her shirt and unclasping her bra. She locked her eyes on mine.

  “Wait a minute.” She lifted herself from my legs and went over to the door, shutting it and locking it. She looked back at me and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. My cock got harder and tighter beneath my jeans as she walked back to me, straddling me once more. She pulled her tee shirt off and shimmied out of her lacy white push up bra, letting her supple mounds free. I kept my hands on her thighs watching her every move and savoring the sight before me. My dick was now impossibly rigid beneath my jeans. She moved onto her knees and brought her breast closer to my face. I couldn’t resist her breasts before me and I lightly licked the right nipple before pulling it fully into my warm mouth and gently cupping her other breast with my hand. I feel her tighten against my tongue. She moved back down to my lap and grinded her hips against mine, dry humping me over my jeans. She arched her back then dipped her delicate hand into her pants reaching to touch herself while still grinding against me. I imagined the warmth and slickness of her fingers and I was going crazy with ecstasy, my pulse climbing from underneath my skin. Her head came forward and her eyes meet mine. Her hand was still buried in her pants when she moaned my name, “Josh.”

  I couldn’t take another second. Watching her pleasure herself made me insane with jealousy. I put my hands around her ass, standing to my feet, her body still tethered to mine. I laid her back down on the desk. Her legs parted, and our jeans the only thing separating us.

  “I’m going to fuck you hard, baby. Can you handle that?” I said. “I won’t hurt you, but I want to slam my cock so far into you that the only thing you remember is how you felt when I came into that hot wet pussy of yours.”

  “Yes,” she said. Her blue eyes were soft and hooded as she moved her hips against mine.

  “You have got to be the hottest thing on earth,” I said as I pulled her jeans down her legs and over each ankle. “No panties. You’re learning.”

  She moved her fingers back to the sweet folds of her sex, feeling herself and licking her lips, knowing it was maddening for me to watch. She knew I was crazy with lust as I spread her open and slammed my rock hard dick into her. She arched her back an
d gasped with the force. I came down over her body kissing her neck and giving her body time to adjust to being filled with my length. She rose up to kiss me and I met her mouth, thrusting my tongue in like my thick cock, which was now buried inside her.

  “You feel so good inside me. Please don’t stop,” she begged.

  I pulled my cock almost out of her, just leaving the head dangling at the tip of her swollen arousal. I pushed into her with abandon, driving myself as far into her as I could, but trying not to hurt her. I felt powerless to stop. I wanted to take every inch of her body. I wanted to claim her as mine inch by delicious inch. She gasped beneath me and I was helpless to her moans. We were both out of breath and out of control with lust. I slammed into her and I was sure I was going to drive her right off the desk. The only thing connecting us was my rigid length.

  “Oh, yes,” I said into her mouth.

  I could feel the slickness of her glistening skin beneath me. I crashed my mouth down onto hers wanting to capture her. I moved my hands to her supple breasts and pinched her nipples tightly with my forefingers. She moaned in my mouth and I knew she was almost there, her release more apparent with the flush of her body. Her panting was now labored and heavy.

  “Joshua,” she yelled. I covered my mouth with hers, trying to muffle her yell, but loved the sound of my name rolling off her lips as I took her.

  “I want to feel that sweet pussy pulse against my cock,” I said looking into her eyes. And as the words fell from my mouth, her body began to tighten. “That’s it, baby,” I said, barely holding onto my sanity. She moved her legs up over my shoulders to allow me deeper access and I lost every bit of control. I could barely speak, the sweat beading on my forehead and my body on fire with lust.

  “Oh hell,” I yelled as her orgasm rolled over me and the thick vein beneath my cock started pulsing, rolling my warm cum into her. Her sweet pussy milked me of every last drop.

  I pressed my weight over her body. She stroked my hair while I panted to regain some resemblance of control over my body and what I now perceived was my heart. I wasn’t having a heart attack; I was having a love attack. I feared looking into her eyes because I thought my eyes would sell me out. My heart was full and was resting in the palm of her tiny hand. I was captured by her. I didn’t move for several minutes as we laid there on the desk staring at one another. It took a minute for me to gather myself and I realized I was probably crushing her. I pulled up from her body and as I did, she pulled me back down, fusing herself to me.

  “Don’t move,” she said. “Hold me. Please.”

  I kissed her softly and pulled her body around me. I stood with her legs around my waist, one hand on around her back and the other underneath her, securing her to me. “I don’t want to crush you, baby,” I said.

  “You’re weren’t crushing me. I promise. I just don’t want you to let me go.” She said nestling her head into my neck.

  I knew we had reached a moment of truth. This was more than sex, more than a weekend romance. This was something better, something real. I wanted to see her eyes. Even if that meant letting her see into the recesses of my thoughts. I didn’t know if I was ready to tell her I loved her, but I thought that I could.

  “Look at me, K.K.” She didn’t move but just held onto me, her body warm and moist from sex. “Please look at me,” I pleaded. She pulled back slightly and tilted her head to mine. She was peering at me from the corner of her eyes. She looked at my fully with her beautiful eyes and kissed my jaw.

  “Did I tell you how beautiful you are?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Did I tell you that you’re incredible in every way?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Did I tell you I think I’m falling in love with you?”

  “No,” she whispered into my ear.

  “I am,” I said. I didn’t know if telling her I was falling in love with her qualified as loving her, but it was a huge step for me.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Yes, what?” I asked.

  “I’m falling in love with you too. I knew it last night. I knew it this morning. I know it now.”

  We kissed deeply, longingly, our tongues gliding over each other’s and knowing everything had just changed.

  I set her down on her feet and grabbed her jeans. I dropped to my knees and kissed her stomach. I opened her jean legs and she shimmied into them, one leg after the other. I grabbed her bra and she slipped it on, clasping it in the back and adjusting the straps. She grabbed at her breast, adjusting them into the cups. I laughed and tossed over her tee shirt. I grabbed my jeans and slid them on, then dragged my hands through my sweaty hair. I grabbed her hand as we made our way from the office and out of the building. Everything behind us and before us, now changed.

  *******

  It was after three when we arrived back at Brian’s. K.K. found a comfortable spot on Brian’s oversized chair and I grabbed two waters from the fridge before joining her. I tossed her a bottle, which she caught mid-air. Quick and nimble as always.

  I felt my phone ring on my hip before I heard it and reached down to answer it.

  “Hello.”

  “Good afternoon Mr. Crawford, it’s Mary Sinclair. I hadn’t heard from you yet today and wondered if you’d come to any conclusions about the properties I showed you?”

  “Actually, I haven’t really stopped long enough to make a firm decision. Is it possible I get back with you tomorrow? I don’t think I’m leaving till Tuesday morning,” I was talking into the receiver, but staring at K.K. and contemplating what I actually wanted to do about future trips to New York. Did I need to buy something? Or, would I already have a place to stay? I hoped the latter was true.

  “Sure, there’s no rush. I did want to let you know that the developer of the warehouse is very motivated and will make a $200,000 concession for early renovations if you sign a contract in the next week. Just something to consider,” she said.

  “That’s very generous considering he’s asking 2.5 million dollars. I’ll take it into consideration.” I continued, “I appreciate you following up with me. Let me look at all the spec sheets over again this afternoon and I’ll get back to you in the next day or so.”

  “Sure. That sounds great,” she replied. “Enjoy this lovely Sunday afternoon.”

  “You as well, Ms. Sinclair.”

  I turned back to see K.K. looking at me with solemn eyes. “What’s up, beautiful?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. It just seems weird for you to have a place in New York uptown, when I’m downtown,” she replied.

  “Well then I’ll get a place downtown. I just need a place. I don’t want to always impose on Brian.”

  “Maybe you could just impose on me?” She looked at me; her eyes were soft and genuine.

  I walked to the chair where she was sitting and kneeled down in front of her, placing my waist and body between her parted knees. I rested my body forward on her stomach and put my chin on her chest, looking into her eyes. Neither of us spoke, we just stayed there looking at each other and trying to read the words that remained unspoken between us.

  She reached her hand to my head and began to stroke her fingers through my hair. I felt like a cat as she stroked my head. I closed my eyes and virtually purred into her chest. I thought if I died right now lying on her, feeling her chest move up and down with every breath and hearing her heart beat, that I’d been a lucky man. We stayed like this for what seemed like hours, but probably was more like minutes before she spoke.

  “I’m in uncharted waters here, Josh. I don’t give into trivial things and I always have my head about me. I think through everything ten times before a decision is made. I don’t want you to go, but I know that you can’t stay. It’s starting to hurt and it hasn’t even happened yet. I’m just not good at this kind of thing. It already feels complicated.”

  I raised my head from her chest and looked up at her worried eyes. “Then don’t make it compli
cated. Yes, I have to go back, but it doesn’t mean the end for us. I’ll be back at the end of the week or you can come out to L.A. There is nothing written in stone that I have a permanent placement in L.A., nor you here. You have the idea of me in L.A. because that’s the way it was when Crawford was its own company, and now it’s not. My father and brother are there. I assure you, I could be in Paris and effectively run Crawford and Blakely, Inc.,” I replied.

  “Paris, huh?” she asked.

  “You know what I mean, K.K. I’m just saying don’t lock me to L.A. and don’t lock yourself to New York City. You couldn’t effectively run either of these corporations without traveling to the other.”

  “Okay, so now you’ve figured out how to run the businesses, how do you intend to handle my heart?” She looked at me solemnly.

  I pulled back, not knowing what I should say to quell her fears, but needing her to give into the idea of us. Of a real ‘us.’ Not a weekend ‘us,’ not a business ‘us,’ but a genuine ‘put it all out there us.’

  “Have you ever been in love, K.K.?” I asked.

  “No.” she replied. “Have you?”

  “No.” I replied. “What do you think love is?”

  “God.” She paused. “I think it’s about so many things.” She was now looking past me, like she was truly enamored with the dreams she had about being in love and what it looked like in her head. I could feel her pulse increase as she continued to talk longingly about her ideas. “I think it’s about trust and understanding. I think it’s about passion and intimacy. Knowing when to not be prideful and knowing when the last word isn’t the best word. It’s about unspoken words and depth.” She brought her eyes back to mine now knowing she’d gotten lost in the question, but wanting to focus that dream at me and wondering if I’d share it. “It’s about an unconditional basic desire to want more for someone else then you want for yourself, and doing everything in your power to make them feel loved even when life gets tough.”