Falling in Love Again: A Valentine's Day Proposal

by Mia Ford

  She pushes up her sleeves and grabs some equipment to get to work on the production line. She isn’t afraid of hard work, she is totally fine with getting stuck into the work, and I have to admit I respect that.

  “What are you doing, Raelyn?” I sneer, instead of showing my respect. “Don’t be so stupid.”

  She glares at me, her piercing eyes sending a shiver racing up and down my spine. “Just watch.”

  She does her thing, but instead of watching her, I can’t help but admire the determination on her undeniably beautiful face, the curves of her body, the color of her skin… everything about her intrigues me and reminds me of the sex dream I had about her. She was hot as hell and truly phenomenal. I know that wasn’t real life, but the effect that the dream had on my body sure was. And I can feel that again now.

  My mouth runs dry, my heart beats faster, my stomach churns. There’s a deep desire to just grab her and kiss her right now. I want to wrap my arms tightly around her waist and make that fantasy become reality.

  But I can’t. Of course I can’t, that would be crazy for so many reasons. One, she hates my guts and would probably punch me in the face. Two, everyone is around somewhere, even if they’re hiding, and three, I don’t want to go anywhere near another woman for as long as I live. I already decided that after Anna.

  She cannot be trusted; I remind my slightly panicked brain. Don’t forget that.

  But then she works with ease, talking the whole time, and she explains her reasoning. She’s right, I know she is. I think I knew that the moment I started this argument but I didn’t want to back down. And now I can’t keep battling, because she’s proven me wrong with evidence. This is going to have to be the moment that I give up the fight and I just accept it. She knows what she is talking about.

  “Fine,” I say with my hands in the air. “I agree with you. You can stop now.”

  “What?” She looks at me, clearly in shock. “What did you just say?”

  I take in a deep sigh. “I said that I think you’re right. We will do it your way.”

  She stops what she’s doing and almost falls backwards. “Are you serious? I have never heard you say that.”

  “Say what?” I laugh, trying to sound amused, but somehow, the sound is stilted instead.

  “That someone else is right. Especially me. I didn’t think you knew how. I thought… well, you’re so…”

  “I do give credit where credit is due. And right now, credit is due.” I shrug as if it’s nothing.

  She smiles. That’s it. That’s how she celebrates her victory. It sends me back in time to Anna again. The way that she would always rub things in my face if she was ever right. I thought it was funny, I tried my best not to take it to heart, and I assumed that was how everyone dealt with things. What an idiot I was.

  Raelyn’s smile shoots right through to my core. It brings me back to my dream, yet again. Why can I not just forget that damn dream? Her smile is adorable; I want to kiss her so bad.

  “Okay, so yeah,” I say in a stilted tone, trying to cover up my awkwardness. “We will change things up and do it your way. Do you need me to speak to Gary and Leon or do you have it?”

  “I have it.” She nods and rests her hands back on her hips. But now she looks really relaxed instead of tense. “I can talk to them about it. They do listen to me, unlike you. They will like the changes.”

  “I listened to you right now, haven’t I? How much do you want from me?” I laugh. “Alright, alright. I hold my hands up. Now, do you think we can get this sorted?”

  “Sure.” She nods vigorously. “We sure can. I will get on it right away.”

  She walks off, glancing back at me only once, but as our eyes connect, I get a deep stirring, one that can only spell trouble. I gulp down, trying my hardest to swallow that feeling, but it doesn’t stop rolling intensely.

  Get out of here, you idiot! I warn myself. Stop staring at her.

  As I stalk off to my office, I can’t help but think of Gary’s words when Raelyn moved her company here. He sensed that something was going to happen, and I’m starting to think that he might have been right.

  “Everything alright?” Gary asks cautiously as he sees me storming along to my office. “The fighting stopped.”

  “Yes, it’s stopped. The fighting has ended. Don’t worry about it. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Gary looks at me disbelievingly. “I have agreed to do things a bit more like Raelyn does. I’m becoming flexible, okay? I know I never thought that I would, but it’s happening, okay?”

  “Good. That’s great news. I think we should do things more like that anyway.”

  “Trust me, I know your opinion. I heard it over and over again. I’m starting to listen.”

  I leave Gary then to get some time alone. I lock myself in my office so I won’t be disturbed and I slump into my seat. My eyes fall closed and my head slumps onto my desk. I’m in hell, this really is a nightmare.

  Raelyn’s soft lips, her sexy hips, her gorgeous body… oh God, everyone was right. I do like her. She’s the first person to really get to me since Anna. That scares me, it’s so freaking dangerous, yet it feels right too. In a weird way. I’m so conflicted, so confused, and I can’t even talk to anyone about it because there isn’t a damn person in my life who will be unbiased. They all want me to move on and that’s it. They will tell me to follow my feelings and to just go for it, whether it affects things at the office or not. That isn’t what I need to hear.

  I need to get out of here, I tell myself. Just go for a walk. Calm down.

  I rise quickly and grab my jacket, refusing to look at anyone as I go. I do make sure that I tell someone I’m popping out for something just in case anyone is looking for me, and I go. I resist the urge to head into the bar for a drink because I don’t think that will help at all, and I walk and walk…

  I must have spent too much time outside thinking alone than I initially intended as the office is oddly quiet when I get back. I stare at the clock to see if that makes sense. Everyone else has finished off and gone home. Probably time for me to do the same thing once I have checked and replied to a few of my important emails.

  Once done with my email stuff, I wander from room to room, flicking off the lights as I go, my brain drifting off as I go.

  “Oh… hi…” There’s still one person here. The last person I need to see right now. “Raelyn.”

  She rises her eyes from the paper in front of her and smiles at me. “Oh, hey. Sorry. I know that I’m late, I just wanted to get all of this plan written down before the morning. I didn’t realize you were still here.”

  “Oh, well I wasn’t, but I am now. Well, I mean I’m just going in a second but…”

  “Okay, I will finish up. Then you can lock up properly.”

  “It’s okay. I can wait a moment. Let you finish what you’re doing.”

  I step back and watch her for a second while she scribbles furiously. Her furrowed eyebrows show how hard she’s focusing and it makes her look even more beautiful. God, this is hard. I can’t get all my feelings out of the way, however hard I try. The more I see her, the harder it becomes.

  I continue doing my rounds through the building, setting up the security, checking all the windows are closed, and turning the lights off. Soon, there is only the glow from the room Raelyn is in.

  “I’m done now,” she calls out, her voice echoing through the very empty building. “I’m ready to leave.”

  I move closer to her, closer than I intend actually, completely by mistake, and smile. “Yeah, okay, let’s go.”

  But for some reason, neither of us move. We continue staring at one another, our eyes flickering all over each other’s faces as if we’re searching for something but we don’t know what. A heat surrounds us, wrapping us in a tight bubble. I don’t think I could move even if I wanted to, which right now I really don’t. I can almost feel her. If I reached out right now, I would be able to touch her, and that is intoxicating. There’
s a pulse of excitement, pounding with every heartbeat, throbbing desperately, needily, excitedly. I can almost feel the same happening inside of her too, as if she wants me just as badly as I want her.

  There’s a beat, a tiny pause, and then everything shifts. We’re kissing furiously and I don’t even know how that happened. However, her hands are hooked around the back of my neck, mine are on her waist, and the rest of the world, simply melts away into nothingness. It’s just the both of us and the fireworks exploding in my stomach.

  I don’t let women in. That’s my unwritten rule. Now that I’ve broken it, I don’t know what’s going to happen…

  10

  Raelyn

  What am I doing? I think as my hands knot up in his hair. What is going on here?

  Of course, I rationally know what I’m doing. I’m doing everything that Abbi said that I would and I insisted I wouldn’t. I’m caving to the carnal instinct inside and kissing the man I hate. I hate him, but this feels amazing. It’s an experience I haven’t ever had before but now I think I would want it all the damn time.

  “Fucking hell,” Carter moans as his mouth moves off from mine. “What are we doing?”

  But he doesn’t stop. In fact, his hands slide further down my body, sending a sprinkling of space dust all the way through me, and his lips slip across to my cheek and over my throat. My heart hammers so hard against my rib cage and I fear it might break free at any given moment. But the hot blood it pumps around my body feels too good to stop. I didn’t realize how damn long it had been since I felt this freaking good.

  His rough hands graze over the hips of my skin, lifting my shirt upwards. My head lolls to one side, my eyes fall closed, I become a complete slave to the sensations spreading through my body. This might be wrong, it might cause complications later on, but it’s too phenomenal to stop right now.

  I stagger backwards, dragging Carter along with me, and fall back against the desk. My butt hits it hard, there’s a shot of burning pain that hits me hard, but the only reaction I have is grabbing Carter harder. It’s almost as if I’m afraid to let him go because I might lose this wonderful bliss.

  A guttural groan flies out of Carter’s mouth as his hands graze my thighs. My pencil skirt hitches up, almost of its own accord as if it knows what I want without me having to command it, and he touches this delicate, hyper sensitive area of mine. He edges ever closer to where I’m pulsing for him and I nearly lose my mind.

  “Carter,” I whisper as my late night secret taboo fantasy starts to become real. “Oh, Carter.”

  His mouth moves down. Before I know it, the buttons of my shirt are popping open. This is all happening much too quickly, I wasn’t expecting things to speed along this fast, yet it isn’t happening quick enough too. I want him, all of him, before I give myself a second to change my mind. I’m scared that logic will stop me.

  To try and stop that from happening, I hop back on to the desk, my legs spreading to automatically roll my skirt up further. The next time Carter presses against me, his bulge is up against my soaking wet, desperate core, shutting any thoughts of this being the wrong thing to do out completely.

  “You are so beautiful,” he breathes against me, his breath skating over my skin. “So sexy.”

  His words ignite a fire. Flames lick up and down me, settling in the pit of my stomach. I moan and roll my hips towards him, trying to let him know just what I want without having to say it aloud.

  Carter fixes his eyes on me and he slowly moves down my body. He pauses to kiss my nipples through the lacy material of my bra although this garment is in the way, I can still feel everything intensely. His teeth, his tongue, his lips… Carter might not know how to speak to women, but he can do other things with his mouth really well! In fact, I’d rather him not say anything at all and just do this to me all the time!

  He falls to his knees. The thud sounds loud because it echoes through the very empty building which just reminds me that this is the place we work in. It’s weird, it’s definitely not right, but it’s happening.

  Carter presses his lips against my panties and he moans. The vibration is too much, it sets my clit on fire, I want him even more now. And if I don’t have him in a moment, I think I will die.

  “I need you,” I gasp out, desperation making me far more forward than I normally would be.

  “Need me to do what?” he asks, still humming against my slit.

  “I need you to… to…” I want to say ‘fuck me’ but I can’t quite manage to get that out yet. “Taste me.”

  He lifts my butt off the desk and whips my panties away in one fluid movement. I crash back down on the cold wood, gasping as it shocks me. But it doesn’t cool me down, the heat continues to flame.

  He kisses slowly up my legs and gets ever closer to where I desperately need him. I arch my back, trying to roll onto his tongue, but he firmly grips on to me, keeping me in place. He has total control over me and I kinda love it. It makes me feel sweet and feminine, like putty in his hands.

  “Oh wow.” I lean my head back and wait. His tongue darts out and flicks along my length. “Carter, that’s…”

  His tongue rolls over my clit then trails downwards. He plunges it into me, and massages my insides, then he takes it back to my clit again. It’s a circle of pleasure and I absolutely love it. I haven’t ever had anything like this before and it’s intense. It’s powerful and overwhelming. I’m being dragged under the waters of pleasure. I grab his hair, tugging harder and harder as it feels amazing. I’m absolutely buzzing all over.

  “Fucking hell, Carter, this is… holy shit!” I can barely get the words out through the gasping breaths. My lungs feel ragged and desperate, like they can’t get enough air in. My head is spinning with dizziness.

  He grips on to my butt as he senses me tensing, the pleasure getting too much for me. I want to move away to regain just a little bit of control over myself, but I can’t. Carter has me claimed.

  Just as I’m about to tip over the edge, Carter yanks his tongue away, leaving me cold and exposed. I whimper, needing him back, but he’s out of reach. I can’t get him however hard I try.

  “No, what are you doing to me?” I whimper. “Carter, you’re killing me.”

  He peels his shirt off his sticky body, smiling at me the entire time. I’m more used to him frowning, so this brand new expression is utterly intoxicating. I want to snap a picture of it, to keep it by my side forever, to recall what it’s like when he’s giving me the usual glare. But we all know what happens when I have a picture of him…

  He finally gets back within reach and my eager fingers grab the zipper on his trousers. It isn’t easy for me to pull him free because I’m absolutely shaking all over, but I just about manage it. His cock hits my palm and makes me gasp desperately. It’s massive. Absolutely huge, bigger than anyone I have had before. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to handle him but I’m very excited to find out.

  I stroke him gently, watching his face crumble as I do. It’s crazy for such a powerful man to fall apart so easily, but I absolutely love it. I want to see this side of him more often.

  Carter finally grabs my hands and he plants them on the desk beside me. My fingers curl around the edge of the desk and I squeeze so tightly my knuckles are probably going white.

  Then he grabs a condom out of his pocket, which does leave me wondering if he has one on him at all times, and he rolls it down over himself. I watch him, my eyes almost bugging out of my head as I see the size of him. I knew that he was big, I felt that, but seeing him is something else. It’s hot as hell.

  By the time he gets closer to me, my heart is in my mouth, I’m freaking panting for him. He angles himself, pressing against my core. I can feel him looking at me, asking for permission, and I am really happy to give it to him. I edge myself almost off the edge of the desk and wrap my legs around him.

  Before I drag him into me, and before he plunges deep, Carter rests his forehead against mine and he stares into my eyes.
I can see the deep desire, the passion there, but there is something else as well. Something I don’t quite understand yet, and I’m not sure that he does either.

  Then he connects our bodies. He slams into me, creating an echo through the room even louder than before. I cry out, tossing my head back, and I allow his mouth to connect with my throat. He kisses and sucks, licking and flickering his tongue everywhere. Each thrust is more intense than the last and my head is spinning. I cling to him tightly, holding him, loving the feel of his body against mine.

  It’s just because I’m lonely, I tell myself as the pressure builds. It isn’t because I like him fully.

  Before any other thoughts can enter my mind, I tense up and tip violently over the edge. The waves hit me hard, like a tsunami, and they shatter through my body, leaving me a crumbling mess. Carter clings to me, crying out just as loudly as I am, and we lose it together hard and fast. We’re bonding in a way that we haven’t before, and it feels wonderful. I don’t ever want to let him go…

  But as the waves of bliss subside and the heady lust fades away, leaving just Carter and me behind, the shells of what we were just a moment ago, the heat subsides and we’re stuck with a strange cold settling over us. Without the heat of the moment in the way, reality is creeping back in, and it isn’t the most pleasant feeling.

  “Er, so yeah…” Carter steps back and yanks his trousers up rapidly. “We should probably…”

  Shit, he’s awkward, he’s uncomfortable. This is bad. He doesn’t want to be around me anymore which probably means that he has an instant regret. My brain hasn’t fully switched on yet so I don’t know how I feel, but looking at his face, it isn’t good. I need to get out of here quickly.

  I leap off the desk and shove my skirt back down, buttoning my shirt up so rapidly that it isn’t right, but I don’t care as long as I’m covered up. I grab my panties, too embarrassed to put them back on, so I ball them up into my hands and stuff them in my bag. I can’t help it, tears are balling up in my eyes, and if I’m not careful then I will lose it. I cannot fall apart like that in front of Carter. He will know that I’m weak and never respect me again.