by Ava Frost
“If you don’t want this, you need to let me know—”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence because Isabelle’s hand was already sliding inside his sweatpants to grip him, standing on tiptoe to interrupt his words with a nip on his lower lip.
It was all the signal he needed.
Hands flew. Mouths tasted. Her delicate hand continued stroking, clumsy as she stroked him to a steady rhythm that had him almost spilling right then and there. God, the pleasure was unbelievable. With an oath, James slid the boxers she was wearing down her body, taking a moment to glance at her bare core before he was pushing her hand away and sliding the sweatpants down, and positioning his erection at her entrance.
Not yet.
Even while his body pushed hers to the counter, he continued kissing her all over, continued touching her everywhere until she was even wetter and begging for him.
Not yet.
“I don’t have protection—”
“I’m protected,” she rasped, eyes heavy at his continued licking. “Please.”
She pressed against his body, and he slid in with ease.
Intense desire seized him like a hook, unbelievable pleasure at her tightness. Dimly, he was aware that her tightness meant only one thing, and he tried to be as gentle as possible. But Isabelle was having none of it, wriggling against him until he was all the way in, moaning for him to make her feel good.
And so he began to move, taking control of the situation as he thrust in and out of her in slow, long strokes. Every thrust in made her whimper against his skin, her nails digging into his shoulders as she frantically rushed to meet his every move and ride each drive. James let his tongue slide down her lower lip as their movements picked up rhythm, and he had to carry her and push her against the nearest wall – in this case, the refrigerator.
Her legs wrapped around him, and whatever thin grasp he had of his control was suddenly gone.
James pounded inside her like a man controlled by nothing but animal instincts, unable to stop himself as her breathless hums vibrated around the room, as her sobs made him blind and deaf to everything but her. She was almost there, tightening around him and clenching, sucking him in until fire tingled from his fingertips to his toes.
A flick of a finger on her clit, and suddenly Isabelle sobbed out his name in the neediest voice he’d ever heard.
Then she was shuddering around him, making him curse and crush her mouth with his as he pounded faster until the same tight explosion took him over the edge.
Until he was all but consumed in it.
*******
Later, when they were finally in bed and she was tucked naked against him, James caressed her breast lazily and asked the one question he had on his mind.
“Since you were fifteen, Isabelle?”
She turned red in the cheeks, but stayed at his side and kissed his chest. “Crush. Obviously it has…evolved.”
“And you were a virgin.” It wasn’t a question.
Isabelle nodded her head, giving him a puzzled look. Her blue-gray eyes were looking tired but satisfied, and he thought she’d never looked so beautiful.
“Yes, but not because of you. I just wanted my first time to be…special.”
James frowned at that, because her first time was in the kitchen with no finesse or patience on his part. He had taken someone younger and more innocent than he could ever be, and here he was still fumbling.
He needed to make amends. Now.
His frown became a smile as anticipation built up at what he was about to do, his cock promptly standing up at the thought. Without a word, James turned them around until she was under him, earning a squeak from her as she asked what he was up to.
“You just wait and see,” he murmured, kissing her mouth before slowly licking a path down.
Then he began to show her exactly what he meant.
And she certainly didn’t complain.
Chapter 9
Isabelle’s internship kept her busy and made spending time away from James easier.
They resumed their daily sessions, but kept work contact at a minimum out of respect for her father, who came back after a few weeks to take over running of the place. James went back to his marketing role, and Isabelle kept herself busy with a few more articles to fill out her portfolio. Apparently, so many readers liked her section and loved the humor she injected in every piece that it got more people intrigued with the clothing line – and in turn, added marketing buzz to it all. This elated her father, who kept up with his not-so-subtle suggestions that she could work there for as long as she liked. Amused, Isabelle kept gently declining, a twinkle in her eye while she teased him for being too attached to her.
“I just want your future secure,” he grumbled during one of her rejections.
To appease him, she winked and lightened the mood. “I like risks. They keep me on my toes.”
And the biggest risk was the man in the building who made her feel excitement like no other.
With her father moving back to his office, James went back to his much smaller one, and that became Isabelle's favorite place as they kept up their discussion of their interests and argued for fun. Then his employees would come and get his attention, and she respected it enough to leave and go about with her own tasks. As a leader, he was important.
As a man, his passion knew no bounds.
James was a stickler for rules, often polite in the office as he continued guiding her through the business – but this time, there were the hidden looks and the banked fires in his gazes, heating every inch of her skin up and making her ache in all the inappropriate places.
But he was having none of it, choosing to take her to his place to make love to her in every position possible. And he was a wonderful lover – patient, loving and experienced enough to make her throb for him every time he touched her. He gave as much as he took, and she became addicted to his taste as much as his touch.
But she wanted more.
She wanted to make him lose all of his control, and not just in the comfort of his home.
There was only one person who understood this, and that was Samantha. Samantha had held on to her secret and not told a soul – a fact Isabelle was grateful for. But during one of their lunch outings, she finally said her piece.
“Look, I know you're frustrated, so I only have one bit of advice for you.”
Isabelle stabbed at her salad, half-expecting the other woman to tell her to suck it up. “Hmm?”
“You need to stop overthinking everything and just have him in there. Lock the door and go. Make him want you so bad that he won't be able to say no.”
The bold suggestion, said in a matter-of-fact tone, made Isabelle pause.
“I beg your pardon?”
Samantha smirked. “Oh, come off it. I know you want to do it. You're doing him at his place, so you should be happy. But all I see is some kind of restless energy coming off you. Pretty soon, everyone else is going to start to notice. What's stopping you?”
“My father, for one. We might get caught.”
“Not if you do it in secret. You know what I think?”
Isabelle sighed. “You're going to tell me, anyway, aren't you?”
“Exactly,” Samantha said triumphantly. “I think you're a coward.”
“What?”
“You heard me. You're having an affair but you're holding back. You’re letting him hold back. You're still afraid of rejection, so you let him be polite here and treat you like a stranger even if it frustrates you.”
Isabelle stabbed at her salad again before shoving a bite in her mouth. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”
A glint entered Samantha's eyes. “Glad you asked.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Samantha laughed, then turned serious. “Seduce him again – sober this time. Make him take you here. Take that risk, Iz. You know you want to.”
Samantha went back to eating her food and changed the topic, happy to have made her point.
Isabelle thought it over and knew her friend was right. She wasn't giving it her all, either.
And maybe that needed to change.
*******
On a Friday, when her father was away on a business trip and James took over for him again, Isabelle slipped inside the dressing room area of the design floor and waited for him. James had a scheduled meeting in an hour with the creative team, a tidbit she got from one of her colleagues there. He was always an early bird, and she banked on that to get her plan going as she stood there filled with nerves and a tingling anticipation.
Footsteps shuffled, then she heard his voice tell one of the designers to come back in a bit and get everyone ready for the presentation in the adjacent room. Then the door was closed. When she was absolutely sure he was all alone and it was really him, she took a deep breath and snagged a hand to his collar, dragging him in.
The shocked look on his face was enough to keep her going, and so she locked the door and trapped them both inside the area covered with mirrors.
Then she kneeled and began removing his pants.
When the shock wore off, his hands made movements, as if to resist. But it was too late because she was too fast, and when his pants were pulled down along with his boxers, Isabelle didn’t waste any time in wrapping his already-stiffening cock with her mouth.
A strangled breath left his mouth, and she kept up with what she was doing, concentrating on his length and taste like she’d never done before. This close, his manhood looked angry and eager at the same time, and while it intimidated her, it got her turned on as well to see him so close. He was hot and musky, and so very hard.
And she couldn’t seem to get enough.
Isabelle discovered he liked it when her tongue wrapped around him like warm velvet before giving him a long lick from top to bottom, and the groan that fell from his mouth made her greedy with pleasure. That she could do this to him, make him groan and his hands fist helplessly made her drunk with the power of it.
She was only stopped from her pleasuring when he abruptly pulled her up, whispering raggedly in her ear.
“I’m close.”
Then he was jerking her skirt up, tearing her panties off and plunging inside her to the hilt, and she could do nothing but moan out his name.
It was a blur of movements from then on, and at one point James had to cover her mouth to hush her up. Then he replaced his hand with his mouth, kissing her with a feverish desire that left her breathless as he pistoned inside her at a fast, hard pace, and all she could do was take all the pleasure in and hang on for dear life.
She exploded in a multitude of gathering emotions, and after a few more thrusts, he did the same inside her.
They did it one more time, this time with him taking her from behind before they realized that their time was almost up and they needed – she – needed to leave fast.
“We’ll talk about this later,” were his only words before he ushered her out, and minutes later the meeting took place.
At the end of that day, Isabelle sat in his car in the parking lot, waiting for him to tell her something she didn’t want to hear.
Instead, James pulled her closer and kissed her with the same fervor as in the dressing room, and she found herself drowning in it.
“So you liked it?” she teased against his mouth.
“We’d better be careful,” he growled, nipping her bottom lip, “But yes.”
He took her again in that darkened space, and she knew she was going to have to thank Samantha tomorrow for giving her the courage to take a chance.
Chapter 10
The launch of the new collection, and the secret collection, were both a success in their own ways, and Isaac declared that a celebration was in order for everyone’s hard work. The party was a small gathering in the office, announced on Friday morning and in full-swing by Friday night, with everyone pitching in to make it possible. The main meeting hall, located on the second floor, was quickly turned into a party hall, with streamers and Christmas-like lights dangling from the ceiling and food and drinks on the long meeting table.
It was also Isabelle’s last day in the office, with her interview for the newspaper company scheduled for the next week. She was pretty much bombarded from every angle by well-wishers, and Isaac couldn’t be more proud.
“Two months and my girl’s already proved she can kick major ass,” Isaac declared fondly, glass of wine in hand and standing beside James in the corner of the hall. “If that newspaper doesn’t hire her, they are idiotic morons.”
James silently agreed, toasting to that as his eyes searched for her in the hall.
Since the collection launch, things had been busier and he hadn’t seen much of her, except when she snuck over to his apartment when she had time – and even then, their hours were limited, because they had to be up early for work the next day.
But he savored those times as much as he could.
They had sex pretty much everywhere they wanted, as much as they wanted. As much as he was doing it to get her out of his system, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her – her passion, her eagerness, her quick learning skills in bed and out. She was a very willing student, and very responsive to everything he tried to do with her. To her.
And he found himself counting the days.
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew she was young and would grow tired of him eventually. So he taught her all he could, took her all he could, stubbornly and purposely giving her all the pleasure she needed because deep in his selfish mind, he wanted her to remember him even when he was long gone.
He was going to be the best damn lover she was ever going to have, one she wouldn’t soon forget.
If James was honest with himself, it wasn’t just the sex with her that he found addicting. As much as that took the highlight of their time together, he also enjoyed just hanging out with her. Isabelle was bright and cheerful, challenging him with her mind and making him see things from a different perspective. She was also sweet and naughty at the same time – giving her support and encouragement when needed and teasing him until he smiled.
Sometimes, he would wake up at night and she’d be cuddled against him, warm and soft and familiar.
Other times, he would wake up at night and his bed would be empty, but her scent would be there to remind him of the risk they’d taken.
Their sexual exploits in the office – small, sneaky moments – were racy experiences he couldn’t get quite enough of, but for him, the best part was when they explored each other in bed. It was at times fast, but most often slow and twice as long, as they extended the pleasure to the limit before they gave in to the climax. And then they would fall upon each other, spending time together and talking about everything and nothing until sleep overtook them.
Sometimes he wondered how Isaac would take it if he found out.
Sometimes, he had to block it from his mind because he didn’t want to lose his friend.
And so he tried to convince himself that losing her was inevitable. He just had to deal with it.
Isaac was saying something to one of their resident managers, an affable man named Alfred who was obviously trying to impress him. James partially listened in, his eyes never stopping their movement as they shifted through the crowded area, looking for her–
He found her just as her mouth opened to let out a laugh. Even while he wasn't within hearing range, he could already imagine how that laugh would sound – bright, sparkling, and all-out, no holds barred. She had the kind of laugh that mesmerized, at the same time infected you to laugh with her.
Isabelle was wearing a simple white dress and tiny pearls on her neck, and its simplicity lended to its elegance. Another laugh, and suddenly James found he couldn't quite look away.
Isaac was asking his opinion about something, and with a slight shake of his head, James reluctantly turned his attention back to him.
“What was that?”
“Isabelle's date,” Isaac repeated, eyes keen
on his daughter. “That's Danny Heckles. Thought you might recognize him. He's one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the fashion business.”
The words sunk in slowly, then settled.
With a sharp turn of his head, James glanced back in her direction.
He hadn't noticed earlier because he was too busy looking at her – and the crowd partially blocked the view – but there was a man standing beside her, which he could see now. The man had the looks of a blond movie star, and was gazing at Isabelle with more than friendly interest in his eyes. James' own eyes narrowed.
“What do you know about him?”
Isaac shrugged. “He's nice and he's got ambition. Isabelle might like him. And I think if I give it a nudge–”
“No.”
The strong tone made Isaac blink, but James couldn't help himself as anger rushed in his head.
“What?”
“I said no.”
“What are you talking about, James?”
“She's not some card you can deal for your business. Let her choose who she wants.”
A confused look was now crossing Isaac's face. “I merely said–”
“No.”
Silence reigned after that, with Isaac trying to figure out what went wrong and battle his annoyance at the same time, and James trying to battle...something else.
Something.
He glanced at Isabelle again – and almost as if she sensed his gaze, she looked up and met his eyes, blue-gray sparkling with happiness.
And something else.
Dear God.
Was he so stupid that he never even noticed?
Her eyes softened, and she gave him a smiled riddled with a flash of sadness before she covered that up. Then she turned back to the man – Danny – and James realized he never wanted her to look at him with that sadness again. Ever.
Clarity came, a sheer force that had him reeling and gripping his wine glass tight. Without warning, he placed it in Isaac's hand, who gave a startled sound.
“James, are you alright?”
“I’ve never felt better, Isaac.”