by Ashlee Price
Nicola was not so happy to see me. She had that dark look in her eyes, and I could tell she was upset. “What are you doing here, Jerold?”
I kind of shrugged and grinned, handing her the flowers that her mother had suggested. While Nicola would act like she didn’t care, I knew that she did. Her eyes softened a little, and I smiled to myself. I guess Angela did have a few tricks up her sleeve, and I was more than happy to give them a try.
“I wanted to see you. I’ve been trying to call you.”
She looked over at her mother’s back and pulled me out of the kitchen. There were a few comments as she pulled me out onto the porch, and I tried to pretend like she wanted me, not wanted to yell at me. We got outside and she shut the door behind her. I didn’t want to hear her. I only wanted to kiss her, and I moved in to pull her to me before she could start in on me. Didn’t she know how much I wanted her? How could she not?
Her lips softened and her body sagged against me. She was pinned between my hard body and the door, and so help me, I wanted to take her right there. I knew that I couldn’t – her family was just inside – but I also knew that she would do what I wanted. She was mine after all, even if I did have to chase her down. She was worth it, and more than anything I wanted to prove that to both of us.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
I had pulled away and was looking into her dark eyes. I wanted answers, and I wanted her to know that she was not supposed to do that to me. She couldn’t do that to me again. I couldn’t live without her, and I certainly didn’t want to. I wanted her to know that she was mine forever and leaving me was not an option. We were going to get through things, not just give up on it all.
“What did you want me to say? Thanks for getting me fired? You could have done it in person without sending that evil little troll of yours. I really don’t like her. You know that, right?”
I had known that Connie had fired her, but the venom coming from Nicola told me that there was more to it than that. I started to wonder how long Connie had been undermining me with Nicola.
“I didn’t know that you had a problem with her. Connie was not supposed to fire you. She did that on her own because of something minor.”
“Minor? She basically called me a slut in front of the entire fifth floor and some of her cronies from the sixth floor. She had warned me to stay away from you, but I couldn’t listen to both of you. Then I’m fired without even a word from you. I didn’t want to answer the phone. I didn’t know what to say to you, and I still don’t.”
“I’m sorry she did that, Nicola. It was not my wish. I will get rid of her today if that is what you want. I have already sent her on vacation. It would take nothing to put together a severance package that would satisfy her.”
“She was right. I shouldn’t have been boffing the boss while I worked there.”
“You are mine, though, Nicola.”
She pulled away from me. “I was yours, and I did everything you wanted. I cannot be what you want me to be anymore. I need to figure out what I’m doing next.”
“So you are not going to come back to work for me?”
Nicola shook her head and looked up at me with those big eyes. “No, I will never work for you again.”
I didn’t know where that left us.
“What about us?”
“I don’t know yet. I need time, and I’m sure you are not willing to wait.”
“I will wait as long as I have to.”
Chapter 2 – Nicola
I did what I told Jerold I was going to do. I didn’t go back to work as his personal chef and pleasurer. I didn’t give him anything he wanted, even when he called nightly to ask me out. I would tell him no, but I knew that I would miss the day that he stopped asking. As annoyed as I was, it would be worse when he stopped caring enough to ask.
He called yet again one evening a couple of months after I was fired. I was missing him. Even though he came to the family dinner every Friday with some kind of gift for me, I had turned down all his invitations. But when he asked me again, I finally said yes. I knew that it was because I was thinking about what would happen when he stopped calling me altogether. I wanted to see him, and since it was Wednesday, it was still several days to the weekly dinner.
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to say yes this time, and I don’t have a plan.”
I kind of giggled and told him that he could let me pick the date.
He agreed, and I wondered how he was going to deal with not being in control. It was clear that it was an issue with him, and I wondered how far I could push him before he lost all of the control that he had. It had been too long since his hands were on me and I had already decided what I truly wanted. I was going to play some games with him, but there was no way that I was going to go another night without his hands on me.
Hanging up, I had about an hour to get ready. I spent more time than I should have in the shower. I started thinking about our time at the lake, and then it was hard not to touch myself. I had to, and before long I was pushing myself to orgasm. It was almost more than I could handle, and my knees were weak as I got out of the shower. Just thinking about him was enough to drive my mind crazy.
Wiping off the condensation on the mirror, I looked at the glowing eyes staring back at me. He was going to know I had come. I knew it. He knew far too much, and I realized that was what made him so good at being in control. He noticed everything, and when he saw me he was going to know what I had done. I don’t know why I felt so paranoid about it, but I did. Even though he hadn’t really touched me in a long time, I felt just as much his as I had been before. The only difference was that I had a little bit of the upper hand and I was going to use it to my advantage. I was just worried that he would quickly take over again and there would be nothing I could do about it.
I got dressed in a way that I knew would drive him crazy. The dress was low-cut, thin, and only came to about mid-thigh. I would have to worry about a stiff wind, but I hoped that the clear night stayed the way it was. I wanted Jerold to swallow his tongue and never be able to tell me no again. I wanted him to pay a little. He had to pay for what he’d made me go through and what I was still going through missing him.
My emotions were all over the place. In some ways I wanted him to kiss me, and in another way I didn’t want him to dare. I knew that it made no sense, but it was the way I felt. I wanted him, but didn’t, because he was dangerous.
Nothing prepared me to see him, though, and to see the reaction on his face to what I was wearing. He liked it, a lot, and I was barely able to meet his gaze. I had fantasized about getting him all hot and bothered like he had done me, leaving him to feel like he was coming out of his skin at the very moment.
“You look… Nicola.” He said my name like a promise, a question. I felt myself getting a little hot in the face and I looked away before he had me again.
“Thanks, Jerold. You look good yourself, as always.”
I smiled at him, glad that at least my voice was working. I hadn’t been sure it was going to work at all, or merely come out as a croak. I liked that he was more bothered than I was, and I was equally happy that I had picked that dress. The soft orange color made everything pop. His eyes were steady on me. I knew that he was going to want to be more than just friends, and since I was ready to give it all to him, I was glad to see that he was prepared to take it. It was his, and I hoped that he knew that by the end the evening.
He was still trying to get himself together, and I was unable to stop enjoying it. Jerold’s eyes had gone almost black. I slightly missed the soft grey they’d been the first time I’d met him. Now they were so filled with lust and need that it was hard to ignore the way he looked at me. I knew what he wanted, and after the moments at the lake, I knew what he was capable of doing. It scared me. He scared me, merely for the power that I knew he possessed. The fact that he knew it as well was still hard to deal with. But at the moment, I knew he wasn’t the one in charge. At the moment, I
was the one who was holding the power.
“So are we going to go in, or…?”
Jerold smiled and I almost melted. It was hard not to feel something when he looked at me that way. He had a little dimple that came out when he was being extra naughty, and I wished that I knew what was going on in his head. It was no doubt something good, and undoubtedly something that I wouldn’t mind happening. God, I had missed him.
“Yes, let’s go. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you like this.”
“Well, I can’t very well dress like this at my parents’ house. I would never hear the end of it. My mother would most likely call the priest over to do an exorcism.”
“I like to see you like this, even if there is a little demon in you.”
His words made me shiver a little, and I knew that the rest of my body was responding in the same way. There was a reason that I had picked one of the most private restaurants in the city. It had nothing to do with the cost, but everything to do with my plans to mess with him. I just hoped that the plan didn’t backfire in my face.
Chapter 3 – Jerold
“So when are you going to forgive me, Nicola? It’s been such a long time since we’ve been together like this, and I can’t think when you are looking this way. You are beautiful.”
She smiled at me. She seemed to be acting a little coy. I had a feeling that she knew exactly what she was doing to me, and she didn’t seem to be too bothered. I was rock hard, as hard as her nipples, but there wasn’t the same need in her. I wanted her to be wet. I wished I could ask her – no, tell her – that I wanted them. I didn’t have that kind of control right now, but she did.
“I already forgave you, Jerold. I just learned that I had to be more careful. You hurt me, and I don’t want to be hurt again.”
I didn’t know what to say. I had never wanted to hurt her. That had been the very last thing on my mind. She was a woman whom I wanted to protect and make sure that nothing ever happened to again. It was still a new feeling to have, but I had learned to embrace it as best as I could.
“I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t know what happened till I got back. Connie sent me to New York to take care of a couple of things, and I thought of you the whole time. When I got back, you were gone and you wouldn’t even talk to me. What was I supposed to do? I had to talk to you mom to get an invitation. And even then you still only talked to me cordially. I want my Nicola back, the one that I made love to at the pier not far from your parents’ house. It seems like so long ago, but it is still the very thing I remember when I close my eyes at night.”
I stopped and told myself that I had to get it together. She didn’t want to hear that. I wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear, but Nicola didn’t want to hear how I was falling for her from only a few weeks together. I had to shut my mouth.
“I know you didn’t mean to, but it still hurt. I didn’t want to talk to you because Connie went all out and I didn’t want to show my face. I wasn’t on my best behavior with her, and I know that I shouldn’t have acted the way I did, but she is truly hateful.”
She wasn’t getting off of Connie, and it made me wonder what all had happened. I had been getting bits and pieces of it, but the subject matter kept most people from commenting. I didn’t know what was going on with them, but I was going to get to the bottom of it.
“I will get rid of her. I can’t have her in the office. She has been my assistant for a long time, but I know I can’t keep someone like that around. I still want you to come back to work. I hate having to order out, and I’m no good in the kitchen.”
Nicola finally smiled, and I knew that she was thinking about coming back. When she told me that she wouldn’t, I could feel the smile sliding off of my face. I didn’t want to think about her being gone forever.
“I’m not coming back, Jerold. I don’t want you as my boss anymore.”
“I don’t understand. It was all wrong, a misunderstanding. Why would you not come back? I will give you more money.”
She shook her head and told me that it had nothing to do with the money. “I’m working on getting my own place. I know that it won’t be very elegant in the beginning, but I don’t want another boss. I want to be my own boss.”
I had not seen that coming. I was a little surprised that she was going to start a business. It was not that I didn’t believe in her, but I didn’t know how she was going to manage fresh out of college. Her parents weren’t going to be able to help her out. I was hesitant to ask about it, though.
“Running a business is a lot of work, but I’m sure you will do great. Have you decided on a location yet?”
Nicola bit her lip and kind of shrugged. Apparently it was not such easy sailing as she had thought it would be. I could have told her why. There was a reason that over half the businesses started failed in the first couple of years. Without capital, I doubt she was even going to be able to secure a lease for more than six months. There was a lot of upfront cost, if the small kitchen in the office was any indication.
“Not really, but I’m working with the bank right now.”
“Do you have any investors?”
She shook her head. “That would be too close to a boss.”
“Ouch.”
“Well, if we are going to play, than we are not going to be able to work together. I will figure something out on my end. I’m not that worried about it.”
She was putting down the rules. So help me, the tide had turned. I would not push it on that one thing. But I knew that I was going to want to take control of everything else. I wasn’t going to argue, but I would still get involved.
“Are we going to play?”
It was the first time that night that she got that submissive look on her face. I loved that look, and it made me want her right then. Could I push her, or was it too soon?
I almost didn’t care if she was ready for it or not. It had been far too long, and all I could think about was losing the one opportunity that I had to be with her again. I needed to get my hands on her, rein her back in.
“I was hoping that we would, Jerold. I have missed you.”
It was all I needed to hear. Standing up, I took her hand, almost pulling her out of the chair because she wasn’t moving fast enough.
“Where are we going? The meal hasn’t even come yet.”
“I’m not hungry for food.”
Chapter 4 – Nicola
He started to take me towards the bathrooms. I told him no. Jerold had a look on his face like he was going to do it anyways, but then he changed directions and we were heading out the front door. “Really, Jerold, what are you doing?”
Not answering me, he gave the ticket to the valet and told him to hurry up. I was kind of giggling at him, until I saw the look in his eyes and my throat constricted. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I was lost in the moment, and then he moved in for a kiss. It matched his mood, impatient and a little out of control. I had seen the bit of madness in his eyes, and while I had seen it before, tonight it was as if something wild had been unleashed inside of him.
His mouth was hard, his tongue persistent until I let him in. Letting him back in came with risks, but I knew that I had to give it a shot. I had missed him so much, and my body remembered him well. It wasn’t hard to forget that we were in the front of a restaurant. Only when the valet was somehow beside us did I realize that we were no longer alone.
It took Jerold longer to figure it out, and I had to push back on his chest. “The car.”
He grinned, a grin that was full of mischief and transformed his face. This was the man I remembered, and it made my heart clench a little. I had really been lost without him. I had quickly learned that he was the part of life that I had been missing. There were no more thoughts of Jamie or any of the other guys before him. Jerold was exciting, and I could hear my heart beating a mile a minute when I got in the car.
I thought I would be safe for a while, but before he had pulled away from the curb, his hand
had slid between my legs and he was checking for panties. When he found that I wasn’t wearing any, his finger pushed inside of me so quickly that I cried out from the sudden pleasure of it all. I couldn’t believe how ready I was. My eyes closed and I didn’t care that he was driving distracted. As long as he didn’t stop, I didn’t think I was going to care about any of it.
My hand covered his and I pressed down with his fingers. I just needed a little more. He slapped my hand and then my wetness, hard enough to make a sound that echoed in the car. It jolted me a little and made it hard to concentrate. I just need something more. I wanted another slap. His fingers were already wet and felt rather amazing.
“You have been bad, Nicola.”
Another slap and I opened my legs wider. I didn’t care where we were, what we were doing, all I cared about was his hand on me once more. The thought consumed me. I was going to lose it. My hips rose up from the seat, and when his hand came down again, I bit my lip in anticipation. Just a few more times and I was going to lose it. My own hand moved to my breast and I started to play with the nipple through my dress. It was getting hard and I could see its outline.
“Can you not control yourself?”
I shook my head that I couldn’t. If I’d thought he would let me, I would have touched myself right then. The slaps were too slow. It was like he knew that I was on the verge. Sweat had broken out on my brow and I was feeling desperate. Did he know that he was going to drive me insane?
“Please, Jerold. It’s been so long.”
His hand moved closer and he started to tap a little faster. “You did this to yourself, Nicola. You denied me many times. I’m going to make sure this time that you can’t get away from me.”