by Mary Suzanne
Sasha went to her bedroom and removed a dress from the hanger, forgetting her earlier unrest about Mitch. Her sole thoughts were not to keep her dad waiting. She showered and dressed in record time returning to the living room where her father waited.
"You’re beautiful, honey," he told her, reaching for her coat and draping it across her shoulders.
"You're looking very handsome yourself," she said, feeling his light grip on her arm as they walked to his car in the parking lot.
As he drove off the lot, Sasha realized she’d missed their daily chats. She intended making up for that tonight.
When they reached the restaurant and ordered, she spent the next hour telling her father all that had happened to her since starting at the newspaper. When she paused to catch her breath, she smiled. "I’ll bet you’re getting tired of listening to me rattle on all evening.”
"No, I’ve missed our little talks," he said, returning her smile.
"Did you happen to notice my article in the paper?"
"I'm sorry I missed it.”
"Well, you’re in luck. I saved a copy for you to take home with you."
* * * * *
Later that evening, Sasha walked out of her bedroom and handed Mike the folded newspaper. "Read it when you have the time."
"I will as soon as I get home. Good night, honey."
"Good night, dad.” She kissed his cheek and stood at the door watching him walk toward his car.
After his car pulled away, she made her way to her bedroom and undressed. She pulled a robe around her and had just tied the belt in place, when the doorbell rang again. Apparently, her dad had to come back for something.
Four
Mitch's dark unsettling look met hers when she opened the door. "I see you finally made it home," he rasped, pushing his way in without an invitation.
"What do you think you're doing?”
He didn't bother answering as he moved past her into the living room. "Now, I see how you can afford this place, not to mention the expensive car.” Mitch’s tone held a sarcastic ring, but he couldn’t help himself. "He must be very wealthy to give you everything you want."
"You only think you know about my private life.” Her eyes narrowed and her lashes snapped. How can he make these condemning statements without knowing the facts of the situation? "Please leave, Mitch," she turned and walked toward her bedroom.
She felt the heat of his body as he followed her into the room. When his hand touched her shoulder, she jumped. His hand moved slowly down her arm in a caressing gesture. Sasha pulled away and stumbled forward, landing on the bed. As she hit the mattress, her robe opened and she clutched the front closed with trembling fingers.
"If it's a raise you want, you'll get it," he said, standing over the bed and staring down at her. Mitch felt his insides shaking. He continued to devour the supple curves revealed to him. His heart beat out of control, pounding so loudly, he thought she might hear it.
Her eyes widened, and when she opened her mouth to speak her pink tongue flicked at her lips, "Would you please leave?"
He knelt down unexpectedly on the bed. Before she could slide away, his arms trapped her. His mouth came down on hers; a raging fire consuming him. He wanted her, needed her and found he couldn’t stop from possessing her lips hungrily. The intoxicating, sweet taste of her mouth ignited a blazing heat in him.
His hands roamed her smooth body until reaching her round, firm breasts. His searing lips trailed heat to the jutting curve of her chin and back to the hollow of her scented throat, lingering and causing a shudder to pass through her body.
She felt her heartbeat quicken from his gentle caresses and there was no way to slow it down. She heard his harsh, labored breathing.
"You're so beautiful,” he growled, between kisses. His voice was so rough with emotion that Sasha felt her heart skipping a beat. She loved the sound.
He pulled away the tiny strip of robe still covering her. His mouth lowered to her exposed breast, gently covering first one and then the other nipple between his lips. For the longest time he continued to suckle each breast bringing waves of desire through her body.
She was consumed with her need for him. The inferno of desire ignited her, coursing through her with only one objective in mind; Mitch needed to quench her fire and satisfy her every need. Only his lovemaking could fulfill her. His hands slowly made their way down her body, finding the moist, silky folds between her writhing thighs. Each caress had her wanting more.
When his mouth trailed down, she again felt on fire as his tongue licked across her stomach with moist swipes. She opened her legs, yielding to the sensations he created. His tongue began exploring her wet heat and it didn’t take long for Sasha to feel a climax erupting in her body from the feast he made of her warm pussy. His mouth moved again slowly across her stomach tracing his earlier path until reaching her neck and to her ear. He captured her earlobe between his teeth and gently nibbled. Sasha grabbed at him and started unbuttoning his shirt. Her hands moved to his slacks and released the zipper. She delighted in feeling his cock, and knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She placed her lips across his hard length and felt the spasms wrack his body.
Mitch groaned and tried lifting her into his arms, but she wasn’t finished pleasuring him. After a time, he reached for her and raised her as if she didn’t weigh anything. She felt his hair-roughened chest pressed tightly to her breasts and could feel his heartbeat racing madly. He continued to feather her throat and lips with kisses that made her writhe, wanting more from him.
Slowly, he spread her legs with his knee and gently thrust into her waiting sex. He felt the obstruction, but it didn’t register in her mind. He pushed forward, possessing her completely. Her whimper of pain was mistaken as encouragement. This was the first man she'd ever made love to, but the art of lovemaking came naturally to her. Her hands moved slowly across his back and her nails probed into his muscled shoulders, pulling him even closer to her. At first, she felt pain from Mitch’s rhythmic movements, but that soon diminished in her excited state. She began matching his strokes, experiencing an explosive sensation shooting through her body.
A climax winged through her so strong, she shuddered uncontrollably. Warm sweaty droplets trickled from his body to hers, and hers to his, and she felt his tongue licking away the moistness. As he possessed her again, there was no holding her back. She gave, until she felt drenched with saturation. Mitch held her in his arms and she felt the forceful release spewing from his body into hers.
She lay nuzzled in his arms, feeling the rapturous sensations still buzzing through her head. Sasha glanced at Mitch from lowered lashes and saw he was watching her. His eyes were clear now as he continued to study her face. She was curious whether he thought she’d been too easy in accepting his lovemaking without any protest.
When he spoke, she didn’t expect the question. "Who was the man you were with tonight? He’s too damned old for you."
All the passion she'd felt quickly died and irritation took its place. This wasn't what she'd expected him to say. She wanted him to say something romantic after the intimacy they’d just shared. "It's none of your business!”
The thought of Mitch finding out her father's name sent a chill racing through her. Her identity could be out in the open. She had just started her career and didn’t want it ruined by saying the wrong thing.
"From now on you belong to me.” Mitch cupped her chin in his hand and turned her face to his. “And as long as you work for the newspaper, I'm going to insist your personal life change."
She slid across the quilt with lightning speed and stood alongside the bed. Her hands trembled as she clutched her gaping robe together watching as he slowly stood. She felt at a disadvantage having to look up into his face.
"I belong to no man," she uttered, without thinking how her words sounded. "I'll live my life the way I please."
"We'll see about that, Rebel," he gave her another one of his narrow looks. For several s
econds he continued to study her. "Have you shrunk?" She didn’t miss how his brows rose as his gaze swept her from head to toe.
"I-I don't have any shoes on," she answered, losing some of her steam.
"Oh, so that's it," he murmured, his mood changing instantly. He forgot his ultimatum as amusement glowed in his eyes. The sound of his chuckle filled the room. "You don't have your rebel boots on tonight. I knew there was something different about you."
"Just go!”
"Calm down, I'm leaving." She saw him raise his hands in surrender to silence her. "Believe me, we'll discuss your social life later," he told her.
Sasha watched his long strides as he left her bedroom. Even though she felt angry with him, she still found watching his tall muscular body exhilarating. She followed him out into the hallway and before leaving, he brushed the tip of her nose with his lips. As soon as he stepped across the threshold, she locked the door behind him. She walked into the shower, turned on the tap and let cool water rain over her, bringing clearer thoughts to her head.
* * * * *
When she entered the office the following morning, she found a note propped against her computer. Mark's assignment was going to take several more days to finish. He cheered her up when he put a postscript on the bottom telling her that he knew she could do the job without him. Before she became involved in work that day, the telephone rang. Picking it up, she listened to the familiar voice of the caller giving her lengthy details on a story. She recognized the caller immediately as the person that always called Mark. She jotted down the information and thanked the woman. Excitement stirred in her with the challenge to write the story and submit it that evening.
Several hours later, she pulled the last sheet of the finished story from the printer. After proofreading it and making sure she'd covered all the details, Sasha delivered it to the print room downstairs. She walked back to her office with a spring to her step.
* * * * *
Three days later, Sasha sorted through her messages when the telephone rang. As she picked up the receiver, she was shocked at the cold sound of Mitch’s tone. "Get upstairs on the double," he snapped over the line before slamming the receiver down.
She stood clutching the phone in her hand. I don’t know what I could have done now.
When she reached his office, she stood outside his door until she got the courage to raise her hand and knock.
"Come in," he barked.
As she stepped into the room, she didn’t miss the anger covering his face. "You wanted to see me?"
“Yes, I need to know one thing,” his voice was a cold monotone. ”Who gave you permission to write that article the other day?”
"No one,” she admitted. “Mark was gone when I received the call, so I thought it was all right.” She shifted on her feet and held her breath.
"For your information, the story isn't true and the paper has been threatened with a libel suit.”
She folded her arms over her chest, clenched her teeth and tried to remember how his eyes had looked at her while they'd made love. His eyes were cold and hard now as he waited for her answer. So much for thinking he cared about me. "There must be a mistake. This person always calls Mark and the information has never been wrong in the past."
"Some sort of mistake, you say?” he leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving hers. “I want the name of this reliable source."
"I can't tell you,” she said, looking him square in the eye. “You've been in the business long enough to know that a reporter never reveals his or her source to anyone."
"You're going to tell me, though." He leaned his hands on the desktop and eyed her, waiting.
At that moment, Mitch felt like reaching across and taking her in his arms. The memory of making love to her was so vivid that he had to restrain himself from doing something impulsive. He had the business to think about, and had to keep his emotions under control.
He didn’t miss the defiant look on her face. It didn't appear as if he was going to make any head way with her. No, he’d tried to go that route before without accomplishing anything. This was the most stubborn female he’d ever encountered in his life, and there was no point in continuing the argument. "If you don’t tell me-you’re fired. Which is it to be? Are you still refusing to tell me?"
"Yes, may I leave now?”
Mitch noted how she tilted her head at a rebellious angle. ”No, I’ll tell you when you can leave.” He walked to the window and stood staring at the traffic below. Suddenly, he turned from the window and walked to her. Reaching out, he grabbed her shoulders.
She pulled away, her eyes wide with rage, “What do you think you’re doing?”
"I'm trying to make you come to your senses! I’m not going to ask you again; tell me the truth."
"And as I said before, I'm not telling you. If you've already fired me, you can’t tell me when I can leave or if I have to stay.”
Mitch dropped his hands, "You're free to go.” He turned toward the window again.
For some reason, he couldn’t watch her walk from the room. The emotions racing through his body were almost his undoing. The thought that she would soon be gone didn’t set well with him. He didn’t know if he could face the idea of her disappearing from his life. The thought that this may be the last time he ever saw her burned through him. He felt physically ill with the thought. Hearing the door closing across the room brought his head up, but he was too late to see her disappearing into the hallway.
Sasha didn’t waste any time in walking to the elevator. In her office she made her way across the room to get a box out of the cabinet. She began packing the personal items that she wanted to take with her.
While she worked, a tear slipped down her cheek, but she reached up and angrily wiped the moistness away with the back of her hand. There was no figuring Mitch out and she wasn’t in the mood to try today. He had made his position clear and probably wouldn’t change his mind. If he could fire her without giving it a thought, then their night of lovemaking had meant nothing to him. I’ve been a fool in letting my emotions run wild when it came to him.
Before packing everything away, the telephone rang. She felt like letting it ring, because she no longer worked for the newspaper. Her thoughts drifted to Mark, remembering how helpful he’d been to her, so she lifted the receiver.
Five
"Sasha, I've reconsidered my decision about firing you. You have every right to protect your source,” there was silence on the line. “I shouldn’t have been so stubborn."
She couldn't believe she actually heard him right. "What happens if a lawsuit is filed against the paper?" She had to ask, but she wasn't certain she wanted to hear the answer.
"We'll wait and see if they do. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, you can get back to work.”
"I've already started.” The next sound she heard was the line going dead on his end.
Sasha picked up the notes of the story in question and glanced through them. Everything she'd written looked correct to her. She knew she could rely on the woman that called the story in. There was nothing else for her to do, but wait. She opened her desk drawer and placed the notes in a safe spot.
* * * * *
Later that evening, she called her father and hurried through her explanation about the possible lawsuit.
"I'm certain Mitch can handle the situation. From reviewing his record, he's been through this before. If you feel your story's correct, stand by your decision to protect your source."
"Thanks, Dad, I appreciate your understanding.”
"How about coming home this weekend? It gets mighty lonesome in this big house without you around."
"I'd love to.” She smiled at the thought of spending time with her father.
* * * * *
The events of the day made for a restless night’s sleep. Mitch's dark, smoldering visage haunted her dreams, but on the point of discovering what he was about to say to her, she woke up drenched in perspiration. The next
morning, she felt tired and listless.
Her mood lifted when she saw Mark at his desk typing away. "It's good to see you back.”
"I'm glad to be back. I always hate those long assignments, but someone has to do them. How has everything been going for you since I've been gone?"
She hesitated as she stirred her coffee, "Have you heard about the story I wrote?"
"Yes, but don't look so worried. Everything has a way of working out.”
* * * * *
The weekend with her dad slipped by much too swiftly, and on Sunday evening, she sat across from him on the ride into the city. With the traffic light that night, it didn’t take long to reach her apartment. Her father carried her suitcase, and followed her into the apartment.
"I'll be back to see you in a few weeks, honey." He drew her into his arms.
“I’m happy that you’ve finally hired a housekeeper,” she said glancing up at him. “Brenda Jones is her name, right?”
“Yes, it’s Brenda, and she does keep me company.”
“Good, and now I won’t worry so much about you.” Sasha reached up and kissed his cheek. She stood in the doorway, watching him as he walked to his car and drove away.
She started to close the door when she caught sight of Mitch outlined in the moonlit night. How long had he been standing watching the scene between her and her dad? Sasha didn't have any idea because this was the first glimpse she’d caught of him. He walked up the gravel path and came to an abrupt stop in front of her.
"Hello, Mitch.” She bit her lip as he silently nodded and walked off toward his apartment.
Inside her living room, Sasha shook her head as she walked to the couch and sat in the darkness for several minutes. The sound of glass breaking filled the quiet. Without hesitation Sasha rushed to Mitch’s apartment.