by Lacey Legend
Feeling she now had his permission to let her eyes linger, Tabitha drank in the glory of his stripped upper body. Without any hair covering his body, she was able to see the defined pectorals of his chest and tight six-pack of his stomach. His arms were surprisingly muscular. His blue eyes sought hers and the second she was able to lift her gaze to his, Freddie’s mouth crushed hers.
He pushed her toward to the bedroom. Her hands were all over his body.
“This really isn’t fair,” said Freddie, stopping suddenly.
Tabitha dropped her hands immediately.
Taking a deep breath, Freddie let his fingers go to Tabitha’s shirt. Slowly and deliberately he undid each individual button. His eyes appeared misty as he admired the cream bra accentuating Tabitha’s chocolate skin.
“You’re very beautiful, Tabitha.”
Tabitha knew he wasn’t referring solely to the way she looked. She thought the same, but it seemed weird calling a man beautiful so she said nothing and let her touch speak on her behalf.
Slipping the shirt over her shoulders, it almost floated to the floor. Tabitha let her hands snake around Freddie’s neck, hoping for more of his delicious kisses. Happy to oblige her, as their mouths welded together his hands reached expertly round her back to undo the clasp of her bra. When Tabitha pressed her tongue into his mouth, he felt himself harden as she explored, and sucked to taste him.
Freddie’s hands felt cool on her warm body. As gooseflesh rose on her skin, Freddie realized the strong pull of attraction wasn’t one sided. He reached up to break the loop of Tabitha’s arms round his neck. Resting her hands on his shoulders, she traced them to his chest and further southward over his flat stomach until she hooked her fingers in the waistband of his jeans.
Freddie looked downward to watch her undo the buckle of his belt. His erection felt uncomfortable against the hard denim. He was relieved as Tabitha popped open the button fly to relieve the mounting pressure. A smile played on her lips as she noticed the outline of his sizeable hard-on in his boxers.
Because the laces were only half done up, Freddie was able to step out of his shoes. Kicking off the jeans which had fallen to his ankles, he swiftly removed his socks.
Aware of her voluptuous figure, Tabitha felt slightly self-conscious about Freddie seeing her naked. Freddie nibbled her neck delicately and began tracing a trail of kisses from the base of her neck, between her cleavage and toward her toned tummy as he dropped to his knees.
His fingers buttoned and unzipped the fly of Tabitha’s jeans. His eyes widened at the sight of the cream colored French panties that matched the bra which was now on the floor. Peeling the jeans down her legs, Freddie admired her womanly figure. Stick thin women who were all up and down held little interest for Freddie. Girls were never the objects of his desire. Women, however, held a great deal of appeal for him and Tabitha was allwoman
Kneeling in front of her, he assisted her out of her jeans and boots. Staring up at her he was reminded of a divine goddess. Determined to enjoy Tabitha completely, he bowed low to kiss the tops of her feet. He let his mouth tease her shapely calves and thighs with kisses and licks. Although ticklish, the mood was dense with unbridled sexuality and Tabitha found Freddie’s deliberately unhurried pace tantalizing. She flinched as his mouth moved to the inside of her upper thigh.
His index fingers slid into the elastic of her French panties and he smoothly edged them to her ankles. Inhaling deeply to enjoy her scent, he kissed her trimmed pubic mound. He was pleased by the trembling of her legs. His large hands caressed her thighs as his tongue located her clit. She gasped as he pressed firmly on her bud, sending electric tingles through her body. Unthinkingly, she parted her legs to allow him better access.
Freddie lapped enthusiastically at the dampness between her legs. Satisfied she was somewhere near her pinnacle, he let his teeth graze her nub before clamping on it and sucking. Tabitha moaned and felt her heart pounding in her chest.
“Not yet,” she said breathlessly.
Freddie stood and pushed Tabitha onto the bed. She landed heavily. Much to Tabitha’s delight Freddie yanked off his boxers to reveal a sizeable shaft. She liked his sinewy body because she could observe the flex of every muscle as he climbed on top of her. He kissed her passionately and in the process his body made direct contact with Tabitha’s. The steam off both their bodies had their skin sticking together.
Freddie groaned aloud as his chest pressed against Tabitha’s pert, large breasts. He slithered down her body, forcing her to spread her legs for him. His mouth imbibed her breasts and his tongue teased her mercilessly. With a final playful bite of a nipple, Freddie knelt between her legs to prepare for penetration. Gripping the base of his shaft, he rubbed his cock between her plump lips. The head rolled over the nub, causing Tabitha to raise her hips as she felt her peak building.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Freddie glided inside her entrance. Mutually they gasped at the physical connection. Freddie lifted himself on his elbows in order to retain eye contact with Tabitha during the lovemaking. The heat from their bodies and the intensity of Freddie’s stare had Tabitha mesmerized by the sensitive, but self-assured young man.
His rhythm was smooth and seamless. She loved the feel of him stretching her and the two of them becoming one. Desperate to be even closer, she wrapped her legs round his waist and dug her nails into his bottom to drag him in deeper. Her need for him to be inside her resulted in Freddie gradually increasing his pace. The thrusts became more frequent as he drove into her. Inseparable, Freddie’s pubic region rubbed against Tabitha’s, stimulating her clit. Enamored and on the brink, she dragged her nails down Freddie’s back. The scratches stung, but served only to excite Freddie. He drilled her repeatedly until the point of orgasm.
In perfect timing the couple climaxed simultaneously. Rather than rolling off her or letting his weight settle on Tabitha, Freddie took a few moments to study her feline shaped eyes and kiss her firmly a final time.
Sighing, he pushed himself aside and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I hope he speaks first,” thought Tabitha, “because I’ve got a feeling we’ve just made this whole situation very difficult.”
Her head resting on his chest, Tabitha could hear his pulse gradually return to normal. When she dared to peek up at his gorgeous face she noted his eyes were shut.
“I’m not dozing,” informed Freddie. “I’m merely trying to process what just happened. It’s one thing when sex is purely physical, but when it’s something more – like it was – then it takes a bit of time to recover fully.”
Tabitha snuggled into him; secure by the authenticity of his statement.
“Unless you want me to scoot because I’ve misread the entire state of affairs,” quipped Freddie.
Tabitha could tell that although he was trying to make it sound like a joke, he was deadly serious. Clearly, he was feeling insecure in respect of how quickly things were moving from Friday night.
“I’ve no desire to boot you out of the flat,” assured Tabitha.
Freddie smiled.
“All the same, I’ll have to make a move at some point. I can’t go into work wearing the same clothes from Saturday evening. Besides, if I stayed the night, I guarantee you wouldn’t catch a wink of sleep.”
The final sentence took the sting out of the reality of their circumstances.
“How do we stop this being awkward at work?” pressed Tabitha, hating the neediness in her voice.
“We accept what we did and see it as a united natural step forward and we make sure we don’t behave awkwardly around each other at the office. Let’s just respect what’s happening between us and it won’t be a problem.”
He made it sound so simple, it didn’t cross Tabitha’s mind that there could be ramifications from their shared wonderful weekend.
Chapter Six
Freddie was wrong. It was totally awkward at work.
He’d texted Tabitha to let her know he’d go
t back home safely, but when he woke in the morning he had no idea what he should be doing or how he should be acting. In true Freddie style, when something emotionally difficult cropped up in his life he froze and made the decision to do nothing.
He dabbled with the idea of ringing Tabitha, but thought it might be perceived as pushy. He considered emailing her, but didn’t want anything to do with his private life recorded on a hard drive that could be hacked into or viewed by the wrong person at work. He had the option of texting her, but that gave the impression of being deliberately cold and standoffish and Freddie had no wish to hurt or offend Tabitha. Of course by not initiating any form of contact with Tabitha, he’d hurt and offended her anyway.
Tabitha was homesick. She’d not only befriended Freddie on the weekend, but she’d made a play for him to be her boyfriend. By blurring the lines between friend, boyfriend and work colleague, she realized she had absolutely no one nearby to discuss her conundrum with.
Yvonne was sweet and intuitively suspected her boss was upset. Tabitha knew she couldn’t confide in the junior PA, but felt comforted by the girl providing her with a latte and Krispy Kreme donut.
The second Tabitha stepped into the offices on Monday morning, she felt consumed by the formal, reserved atmosphere of the workplace. Normally she had little reluctance in pursuing her man. However, with the pressure of proving herself to the company, she didn’t want an intense complex relationship jeopardizing her opportunity with the London branch of Hastings-Bass.
At 11 am, Tabitha was due in a meeting of directors. Last week she’d been introduced to the board, but not really actively included in the discussions that took place. While Freddie had been absent in the previous meeting, this week everyone was present. Tabitha clocked Samantha Dawson, the Public Relations Director and only other female on the board. She grinned at her, hoping to convey camaraderie, but Samantha failed to return the smile. She looked coldly at Tabitha as though she was competition.
Tabitha stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She hated competitive women in the workplace. In a situation that was practically stone-age, the fresh faces on the board of directors should be uniting to drag Hastings-Bass into the 21st Century. Instead, it appeared that Samantha Dawson was threatened by the presence of an additional successful female director recruited from across the Atlantic. Worried her tiara was about to be stolen, Samantha appeared to be acting petty and jealous in response to Tabitha’s attempt to extend the hand of friendship.
It was one thing dealing with an envious colleague, but the meeting was made wholly unbearable by Freddie’s refusal to even acknowledge her.
“So much for not acting awkward around one another,” thought Tabitha. “Freddie couldn’t look more uncomfortable if he tried.”
Annoyance flickered through Tabitha, but then she recalled how sincere Freddie had been yesterday in her private company. Perhaps his posh upbringing and reserved personality stifled his behavior in the workplace.
Contemplating their steamy session from the night before, Tabitha decided Freddie was worth the extra effort. Girding her loins, she shook her head and became an active participant in the meeting regarding the pending winter season collection due out in the very near future.
Once out of the meeting, Tabitha was able to assess her workload. She was being thrown in at the deep end in so much that how she chose to market the latest collection would be directly reflected in the overall sales. It was challenging and required her undivided attention. Unfortunately, until she resolved what was going on between her and Freddie, she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the job in hand.
Pushing the mouse across the mat, she stood up from her computer and wandered out of her glass-enclosed office. She made her way to Yvonne’s desk, which was conveniently placed beside her office door.
“What’s the name of the financial director?” she asked Yvonne, hoping to sound relaxed.
“Freddie Ravensdale,” answered Yvonne quickly.
“Freddie or Frederick?”
“He introduces himself as Freddie,” said Yvonne, “but I’ve never spoken to him one on one. You’re lucky you’re in a position to.”
Tabitha was mortified by Yvonne’s knowing wink.
“I’m not sure I’d say that. I’ve no idea where his office is, so I’m not in a position to speak to him at all at the moment. I do need a word with him, though. Do you know where his office is?”
“Absolutely. It’s on the second floor. Do you want me to ring his PA to see if he’s free or have you book a meeting with him?”
“Wow, he really is in demand if he doesn’t entertain walk-in meetings,” thought Tabitha.
“I’ll walk on up and check if he’s available. In won’t hurt me to familiarize myself with the layout of the office even if he’s absent from his desk.”
“Sure thing,” smiled Yvonne. “Second floor, turn right out of the elevator, go through the main doors and toward the end of the corridor, you’ll find his office. His PA will be out front like me.”
“Thanks. You’re a doll.”
Tabitha strode out and headed to the elevator. Yvonne’s detailed directions made it easy to locate the office. She smiled at Freddie’s middle-aged PA, who narrowed her eyes at Tabitha’s appearance.
“Freddie in?” inquired Tabitha, flashing her widest smile.
“Mr. Ravensdale is in his office,” confirmed the formidable PA. “I don’t have a meeting with you recorded in his diary.”
“No you wouldn’t,” said Tabitha thinking on her feet. “He mentioned at the directors’ meeting this morning that I should pop by to go over a few things. He didn’t specify a time.”
“I’ll ring through and see if it’s convenient,” stated the PA, unwilling to let Tabitha break protocol.
Tabitha thought it fortunate for Freddie that he didn’t have a glass office. If he rejected her approach or let her in with bad grace he’d have the luxury of being able to disguise it from her.
The announcement of Tabitha’s arrival was short, but there was a significant pause between the PA asking Freddie if he was free, and her hanging up.
“Please go through,” said the PA formally. “You should know Mr. Ravensdale has a lunch appointment scheduled at 1 pm.”
Tabitha wondered if this was true or if Freddie invented the luncheon to limit the duration of the spontaneous meeting. He was well-mannered to not be downright rude by refusing to see her. Tabitha suspected he was the kind of man who had no qualms disposing of people who were surplus to the requirements in his life, if he found them bothersome.
She knocked and then entered.
“Hey,” she greeted warmly.
“Hello. Shut the door behind you, please.”
Tabitha already had her hand on the door handle to swing it shut. Irritated by what sounded like an order, she gave the door an extra hard push to let the slam resonate through the office.
“Sorry. I gave that a little too much oomph,” she smiled demurely.
“And what can I do for you,, Tabitha?”
The formal tone made her think that Freddie had an evil twin who was taking his place at work.
“Nothing in particular. I just thought I’d come by, say hi and see how you were doing.”
“You could’ve emailed or texted if that was all you wanted.”
“I suppose I could have. Perhaps it was foolish of me thinking after yesterday that you might want to catch up face to face.”
Freddie shut his eyes briefly knowing however well-intentioned his actions were in attempting to protect Tabitha from becoming the subject of gossip in her workplace, he’d inadvertently hurt her.
“I’m guessing I’ve misread things between us. If saying hi was as easy as a text or email you’d have done it already. That you couldn’t be bothered, means touching base with me was pretty low on your list of priorities,” stated Tabitha, quietly but firmly; forcing Freddie to make eye contact with her.
Freddie muttered. Tabitha put a hand to her ear
to indicate she hadn’t understood what he said.
“That’s not the case,” repeated Freddie.
“Can I sit, or is your lunch date so pressing you can’t afford me the courtesy?”
“Of course you can sit down. But I do have a lunch date and I am obligated to attend.”
Tabitha sat and crossed her long legs. Unafraid of Freddie and unimpressed with his behavior, she scrutinized his body language closely. He looked distinctly uneasy and was tapping his fingers on the desk as if her impending departure was his sole goal.
Although she was pleased with her coolness and bravado, Freddie’s less than warm welcome pained Tabitha deeply. She’d shown that she had the guts to confront him, but his obvious indifference floored her. Tabitha didn’t have any idea what to say to Freddie. Everything that flowed so easily from the weekend seemed to have come to a standstill. The conversation had dried up. As they studied one another silently, Freddie’s PA broke the tension over Freddie’s desk phone-come-intercom.
“Mr. Ravensdale, Samantha’s here for lunch.”
Freddie pressed a button on the phone.
“Tell Ms. Dawson I’ll be right out.”
Freddie didn’t need to tell Tabitha it was time for her to depart. She took the announcement as her cue to leave. There was no way she was going to free the tear that desperately wanted to roll down her cheek. Her gut feeling was that something was going on between Freddie and Samantha, but Tabitha knew her jealous streak could cloud her judgment at times.
“Tabitha”-“started Freddie as she walked to the door.
Tabitha held her hand up as a stop sign to silence him from saying anything further. Composed and poised she opened the door and strode out.
“Thanks so much for your help on that, Freddie. I fully comprehend it. You’ve made everything clearer for me. I appreciate you making the time to explain it.”
The sentences sounded natural. Freddie wanted to call out after her, but making a scene wasn’t his style.
“Let’s get this over with, Samantha,” he said harshly.