by Camryn Eyde
My rage at Miss Morris paid off in heat, and the cold soon became a distant memory. I was melting a track across Manhattan with justifiable rage. Busting past a stunned doorman, I entered a lobby that gave me pause. Never having entered this building, I was struck with awe at the opulence of it all.
“Excuse me, Miss, can I assist you?”
I faced the concierge as he looked at me suspiciously.
“Yes. I’m here to see Elizabeth Morris.”
His eyebrows raised. “Is Miss Morris expecting you?”
I considered that briefly. Surely she must have known that I’d eventually find out about her machinations that made me unemployable. “Yes.”
The concierge looked dubious. “Let me call through. Your name please?”
“Peta Scott.”
He nodded and made the call. Surprise lit up his face when he ended the call and gestured to the elevator. “Twentieth floor.”
I stormed over without a word of thanks. The elevator serviceman gave me a timid smile and took me to my destination. Bracing myself with a deep breath, I stepped onto the twentieth floor lobby and stared at Liz’s white door.
“Here goes nothing,” I whispered, rapping my knuckles beside the brass number.
“Peta,” she said, a soft smile on her face. How dare she look happy, and beautiful, and just…well…damn perfect?
I did the only thing I thought was appropriate. I slapped her.
She fell back shocked and clasped her cheek.
I refused to feel guilty and invaded her space. “How dare you sabotage my career? I did nothing to you. I was your devoted freaking slave that did nothing wrong but fall in love with you. And how do you repay me? By calling me nothing but your sex slave and forcing me into destitution!”
She gaped at me after gasping. “You love me?”
“I…what? No.”
She frowned. A glorious sight of cute confusion. “You just said you fell in love with me.”
Oops. I ignored the subject entirely and went with: “Why did you blacklist my name?”
She stared at me for a moment, obviously warring with which conversation to persist with. With a sigh, she beckoned me to follow her. I took the opportunity to look around the apartment and my jaw dropped. This woman was loaded.
She took me into an office and gestured to a sofa. I stood petulantly.
“Please, sit.”
Sighing, I did, but I retained my mature pout.
“I’m sorry that I made you unemployable, but I assure you I did that with the best intentions.”
“How is forcing someone onto the streets a good intention?”
Her eyes widened and she gasped again. “You’re homeless? I’m sorry, I was assured you were still financial.” She growled and snatched at her phone. “Someone is about to pay for that.” She angrily pressed numbers into her phone.
“Wait, I still have a roof over my head,” I assured her. “Though…probably not for long.” It was embarrassing to confess that, especially surrounded by exquisite things screaming wealthy and carefree.
“Oh,” she said, cancelling the call.
I shook my head, confused. “What is going on? How do you know whether I’m financial or not. Better yet, why do you care?”
She hummed a reply, which gave me as much insight as what handing over a pineapple would have. Apparently Liz Morris didn’t get any less complicated.
“I’m afraid I’ve been selfish.”
I tried but failed to hide my scoff. She glared and I attempted to contain myself.
“Like I said, I’ve been selfish. Just because my company was ripped out from beneath me, doesn’t mean I don’t have plans in place. You are, quite frankly, the most efficient assistant I’ve ever had, and presumed that our two-year working relationship could benefit from continuation.”
Fairly, in my opinion, I said, “Huh?”
“You were supposed to stay with my former company, but as usual, your pig-headedness got in your way.” She leaned back against the sofa, crossed her distracting legs and ran an arm along the back rest in my direction. She looked like a queen. “I was poised to take a great deal of satisfaction from stealing you away from the new CEO. They would have floundered quite spectacularly, but alas, you threw a hissy fit and stormed off before I had a chance to do so.”
My teeth ached as I clenched my jaw. Did she not remember that I stormed off because she effectively named me as her call girl? Someone to provide a nice distraction at the end of the day to help ease her worries. I stood with a huff and she followed me with an agility I didn’t expect.
Gripping my suit collar, she shook her head. “No more running away.”
“I didn’t run away, I was insulted and informed I was replaceable. Tell me, did you ever find yourself another pet to tame?”
Her eyes narrowed. It almost looked like a wince.
“A suitable replacement, it seems, will be impossible to find.”
“Well don’t let me stop you from continuing your search.” I tried to pry her hands from my clothes, but her grip was firm and unrelenting.
“I have no intention of looking any further. Why should I, when the one I require is right here?”
I stilled my efforts at freeing her from my jacket and blinked at her. “Excuse me?”
“You’ll be sufficient for my needs.”
I laughed. A hollow, disbelieving sound. I wasn’t getting pulled back into her game again. “I don’t think so. Now, if you’ll kindly let me go.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can do that.”
“So, what, you’re going to hang on to me forever?” I chuckled wryly at the thought.
“Exactly.”
The laughter fell from my face and a nervous fluttering cascaded through my body. I let myself get lost in eyes that looked more serious, yet more vulnerable, than I’ve ever seen. Frowning slightly and cocking my head a little, I said, “Liz?” Profound, I know, but it was the trigger that cannonballed the remainder of my days.
Her grip loosened on my clothing, but I didn’t shift away. Her hands by her sides, and an unsure expression on her face, I’m certain I’d never seen her so fragile, so lost, and so devastatingly beautiful.
“Liz?” I asked again. “What do you mean?”
She bowed her head, averting my eyes. “I didn’t expect this.”
Well, that answered nothing. “Expect what?”
She inhaled deeply and shifted her gaze back to mine. I nearly drowned in her eyes. They were pools of apology, remorse and something I couldn’t quite place. “This,” she said, as if that answered everything. She was the queen of vague, but as she cradled my cheeks in her palms and kissed me, I didn’t care if she spent the rest of her life grunting at me. That kiss was magnificent and everything we’d never shared.
That kiss felt like love.
As her tongue begged for entry, I granted her touch and wrapped her tight against me.
The need for air parted us, and when she stepped away, I felt my heart sink. She held out her hand and said quietly. “Please?”
I nodded and took her hand. Where she was guiding me, I didn’t care, but my knees nearly buckled at the sight of the king-sized bed she led me to.
“Liz?” I asked again, checking this is what she wanted. A bed was so much more intimate and exposing than the harsh surfaces of her former office. Nothing here represented the detachment she prided herself on.
“I’m sure,” she said with a slight nod. Unease still filled her words, so I took the initiative and turned her slowly so her back now faced the bed.
“Do you trust me?” I asked, foolishly in my opinion. This was a woman that had been at the top of the corporate food chain. She trusted nobody.
Her eyes searched mine for a while before that imperceptible nod that made things sing inside me. It was all starting to make sense now, but now wasn’t the time for rumination. Now was the time for me to show this woman that while her words failed, I understood loud and clear what
she was trying to say.
Chapter Five
I skimmed the back of my fingers down her cheek, fanning them out to caress her neck as my touch descended. Reaching her collarbone, my fingers met a chain not visible earlier thanks to the high neckline of her top. Fingering the jewelry, I pulled it from the confines of the silk shirt and froze.
I stared at the pendant for a long moment. I blinked, thinking that refreshing my eyes with the action, that my initial recognition would be proved wrong. It wasn’t.
“You…” was all I managed to utter.
She sighed and took my hand in hers as I caressed the silver dove on a chain I knew couldn’t match the collection in her jewelry box. Her thumbs caressed my skin as I continued to stare at the gift I had given her on the first Christmas after I met her. Rash and naïve at the time, I thought that I could woo the woman of my dreams with this trinket. It was not long after our interludes had begun, and with her polite smile and rapid dismissal of the gift made me think she had long thrown it away; along with my hope at a future with her.
“You kept this?” I managed to croak out.
She nodded.
I wanted to ask why. I wanted to hear her answers and not vague words meant to allude to something she refused to speak. Most of all, I wanted to kiss her. Going with the latter, we moaned in unison as our lips met and our tongues tangled possessively together.
Dropping the pendant so it rest once again against her chest, I gathered her in my arms and let my kiss speak of the gratitude that she both kept and wore my gift. She had to know what that meant to me.
Pulling away reluctantly, I let my hands trail down her back to the hem of her shirt. I traced a path to each side and let my knuckles brush against the warm skin beneath. With a slowly pull, I lift the garment from her. As her hands came back down to her sides, I took in the sight of the deep-red lace shaping breasts I knew were supple and smooth. I splayed a hand on her abdomen and let it drift north, passing through the valley of breasts heaving under my touch. My other hand skimmed up her side, with both moving to the straps of her shoulders, and gently pulling them down her arms.
I moved closer, nudging her head to the side with my own and nuzzling against her throat with my lips. Soft, tender kisses I placed over the rapid pulse beneath the skin, as my hands worked the clasp of her bra. The underwear loose and ready to be removed, I took my time lavishing the slender lines of her throat with my tongue. My teeth grazing gently against the flesh before soothing it with a warm, wet kiss.
I pulled back with a sigh and let the bra fall soundlessly to the floor. My eyes feasted on breasts I’d seen a hundred times before, but never like this. Never so proud, so exposed and so ready for my touch. It occurred to me as tried to decide which nipple to suckle first, that I’d never seen her torso completely naked before. Always she had retained her bra in some fashion, or shirt and never had I had free reign over that creamy landscape.
Unwilling to waste a single moment, I pushed against her and gently lowered her to the sheets below. We shifted up as though dancing so we occupied the center of the bed. Now I was ready to memorize her skin. Rolling the tip of my tongue in circles around the nearest breast, I teased the other nipple with faint touches of my fingertips. She gasped and arched into each touch, silently begging for more. Palming one breast before rolling the nipple between finger and thumb, I grazed my teeth on the other and pulled the pert bud deep into my mouth with a sharp suck.
Instantly, she curved against me and tangled her fingers in my hair, pinning me to her chest.
Switching sides, I shifted to spread her thighs with my own, and continued my assaults. I sucked, kissed and licked at one breast while teasing the other with flicks of my fingers, rolls of my thumb, and gentle squeezes of my hand. She rewarded my touch with a roll of her hips, and with my center placed against hers, a shock of desire raced beneath my skin each time her pelvis canted. I could drown in this pleasure for the rest of my life.
Unfortunately, she had other ideas. Liz needed more, and after a couple of whimpers, I caved.
Sitting up and leaving her chest wet and glistening, I undid the side of her skirt and pulled it down her legs. About to rip the rest of the lace from her body, her words stilled me from my quest.
“Your clothes,” she panted, staring at me.
Nodding, I tore off my top and slacks leaving on my underwear, and fixated on the goddess below me. I needed her naked like I needed air to breath, so hooking her panties in my fingers, I dragged them away.
Then I stared. I’d never seen her fully naked before, and quite frankly, I’m glad I hadn’t. Not in a location like the office anyway. She was glorious. Absolutely, and completely worth idolizing. I shook my head and looked up to her eyes. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
The doubt that was lingering there when I looked up dissipated with a shy smile. Her eyes then roamed over my body and she nodded with approval. That was enough for me.
On all fours, I crawled back up the bed so I was hovering above her.
“Hi,” I whispered suavely.
A genuinely amused smile graced her features. “Hi,” she whispered back.
“I’m going to make love to you now.”
She sucked in a breath before saying on the exhale, “I rather hoped you would.”
I took the kiss she was offering and devoured her. Heady and breath-taking, her kisses always transported me. But I had a quest, so pulling away with a deserved groan of annoyance from her, I began to work my way down her body.
“So…beautiful,” I said between kisses that I pressed against her body. Her throat, her shoulder, her chest, sternum, and stomach. “So, so, very beautiful,” I murmured against her skin as I peppered her hip with loving kisses. My hands trailed behind me, caressing the body I had attended to with my lips, and reaching her apex, I inhaled deeply and stilled my hands.
Her legs straight and slightly ajar, my hands gently pulled her knees up slightly then pressed them apart. My, God. She was dripping wet for me. Her inner thighs were coated with her arousal and already the wetness seeped to the sheets below. I was transfixed.
Reaching out with my fingers, I touched her inner thighs, happy with the slickness I found there. I smiled up at her and whispered. “You’re gorgeous.”
She smiled back, and then I wiped that look off her face as I kissed her pubic bone. Eyelids falling shut and her mouth parting with a silent gasp, I lowered my mouth one kiss at a time before pressing it gently against her rock hard clit.
“Oh, Peta…”
Spelling out my affirmation of love with my tongue, I rolled that nub around and made her writhe against me.
“Yes…” she hissed on a sharp inhale as I wrapped my lips around the bead and sucked it gently. Her insistent hands seemed to want to keep me there, but I had other plans.
Releasing her clit, I softened my mouth and let my tongue glide through the juices so freely pouring from her. God. She was already so sweet. I moaned at the taste and desperate for more, I plunged deep inside her to coat my tongue with her flavor.
She hissed and bucked at the tempo my tongue set as I lapped against her.
Still, I had other plans.
Reluctantly, and with one last swipes of her creases, I worked my way back up her body with my lips, eventually finding her mouth and sharing with her the flavor of her desire.
That kiss was new for us, and I looked forward to having the favor repeated, however, now I had more important things to do. I needed to make love to this resplendent woman coming apart below me.
Rocking my hips slowly, I let my thigh press against her juncture as our kiss continued. I caress her breast and pressed my own center against her hip bone. So intent on that, I didn’t notice that she’d unhooked my bra until she pulled away and demanded I remove it. Doing so, she looked poignantly to my panties, and in a flash, they were falling to the floor.
Climbing over her again, we both sighed as we enjoyed the sensation of being fully naked and pres
sed against one another.
Today, it seemed, was a day of firsts.
Capturing her lips before I started confessing the poems singing in my heart, I started a gentle sway of my body and groaned at the way our nipples rubbed together. The way our skin slid and generated a kinetic warmth. The way she panted into my mouth.
Liz had never been this submissive before, and I decided to try my luck. Kissing her was a treat, and pushing my thigh firmly against her slick heat, I stilled my movements and concentrated on making love to her mouth. She moaned and ran her hands over my naked back, pressing tight against the muscles there in her enjoyment. The kiss was glorious, but never infinite. The sharp nip at my bottom lip and the nails digging into my backside reminded me she had needs that needed meeting.
There’s my lioness.
I began a rocking motion again and received a sigh in reward. Leaning heavily on one elbow, I slid my other hand down her torso, mapping out the curves as I went. Pinching at her nipple on a bypass, I tickled the skin where leg meets stomach and soon cupped her wetness. I could feel the moisture on my thigh against the back of my hand. Cooled slightly from the air, it contrasted the severe heat of the fresh flowing nectar and incited my senses. She was so wet for me. So hot. So ready.
Hovering above her, I watched her features closely as I parted her.
Her eyes locked onto mine and she wet her lips in anticipation.
I toyed with her entrance with a finger.
She wet her lips again and rocked her hips forward.
I pushed a finger inside her, and she tipped her head back, closed her eyes, and let out a soft puff of air carrying a moan.
In and out, I glided that finger until I could see in the way she bit at her bottom lip that she needed more. I didn’t disappoint.
Two fingers explored her heat and the satisfaction that crossed her face was exactly what I was after. She accepted my fingers greedily and moaned with their intrusion.