The New Boss

by Wylder, Penny

  “Brooke.”

  She stands and rolls her eyes. “I hoped that you wouldn’t come looking here.”

  I shake my head. “I wasn’t looking. This was the only place I could come that I could bear to be. I couldn’t stay at home without you there.

  “I swear, Brooke, I turned around as soon as I left. I…I’m an idiot. And there’s something you don’t know. It wasn’t fair of me to take it out on you. When I saw you kiss him—” I cut myself off and clear my throat. “I had a flashback.”

  “So I’m just supposed to listen to whatever you have to say, and just get over what you said.”

  I take a step towards her and stop. “No. I can’t ask you to do that. But I hope I can tell you what happened, and you’ll just hear it. Then you can decide whatever you want. I deserve that.”

  Slowly, Brooke nods and walks into my office. “Only if you give me a drink.”

  “That, I can do.”

  I pour her one, and one for myself as well. As much as I want to go to her, I stay near the window and give her space. The ache to touch her is so strong, it’s worse than any pain I still feel over Ella. “Three years ago, I thought I was in love. I guess I was in love. Her name was Ella.”

  In the reflection of the glass I see Brooke take a long swig of her drink.

  “I’ll spare you the details of how happy we were. Or how happy I thought that we were. Until I walked into her office and saw her kissing someone else. If I’d been five minutes later, it would have been more than kissing.”

  “Oh.” The word is a soft breath.

  “So…at the theater, when I saw him kiss you…I had a flashback. And it wasn’t fair of me to take it out on you. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I know that’s not an excuse.”

  I look at her, and she’s looking into the distance. “I never told you why I want to be an actor, did I?”

  Not exactly the response that I was expecting. “No.”

  She smiles, though still not looking at me. Like she’s imagining or remembering. “My mother was an actor. And she was…amazing. If she’d wanted to, she could have taken Hollywood by storm. But she preferred the stage. She…” Brooke pauses and sips the last of her drink. “She got sick and passed away when I was ten. And ever since then I’ve wanted to be just like her. Acting makes me feel close to her.”

  “I’m so sorry, Brooke.”

  Looking at me now, her eyes are watery. “So when you said those things, all I could think about was her and how, if I couldn’t do this, then would I be losing her?” Brooke shakes her head. “You’re not the only one who put their trauma on someone else.”

  I put my drink on the desk and go to her now. “You can’t quit the play. Hate me or not, be with me or not, you can’t quit. You’re too good. You’re fucking brilliant, and I won’t be the reason that your dream ends. I can’t live with that.”

  Brooke stands, and I don’t move. I don’t dare. Because if I move, I’m going to wrap her up and never let her go, and she needs to be able to walk away if she wants to. But she walks toward me, and suddenly I’m unable to breathe.

  “We’re still new at this,” she says, putting her hands on my chest. I’m still not breathing. “And I don’t want it to end yet.”

  “Thank fuck.” I reach for her then, and we come together like an explosion. My mouth covers hers and my hands are in her hair. I’m crushing myself against her so that I can feel every inch of her body. The need for Brooke is stronger than my need to breathe.

  “Malcolm, I need to tell you something.”

  “Anything.” But I don’t let her speak. I’m too busy kissing her senseless.

  When we break apart, we’re somehow pressed against the wall of my office, and I don’t remember how we got there. “You were saying?”

  She’s breathless and looking at me in that way that I crave. The way that makes me want to strip off her clothes and make it clear exactly how I feel about her.

  “I love you,” she says. “I don’t care that it’s fast, and I don’t care that everyone will say that we’re crazy. I love you.”

  Shock rolls through me, and I freeze in place for a moment. “When I was looking for you, I went everywhere. Your place and mine. Hell, I even went to Le Outre out of desperation. But it was when I walked into this building that I realized that I’m completely fucking in love with you and that I should have seen it sooner.”

  There are happy tears in her eyes. I brush the hair back from her face. “But before I take you home and make that incredibly clear, I want to apologize again, and ask for your forgiveness.”

  “You have it,” she breathes. “You absolutely have it.”

  I don’t bother to wait. I sweep her into my arms and head for the elevator. For what’s about to happen, we need privacy.

  9

  Brooke

  The lights fade on the stage and there’s a chorus of roaring applause. It’s opening night and I’m so emotional that I could cry. Everything went perfectly.

  It’s been so long since I truly performed like that—I feel electric and alive. With such a small cast, the curtain call is short, but I want it to go on forever. I could start the whole show over again right now. But it’s over.

  Amy hugs me, and I let my happy tears overflow now that I can. “You were so good.”

  “You too,” I tell her. “I just can’t believe that it’s real.”

  “I know right?” She laughs. “Are you going to come out? Or do you have other plans?”

  I smile. Amy is now used to the fact that I basically don’t live in our apartment anymore. If I come back at all, it’s to pick up something that I forgot or to grab more clothes. Because I’ve been staying with Malcolm. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  After that night in his office, it’s only gotten better. I know Malcolm so well now. He knows me too, and we fit together like a dream. I’ve been meaning to send flowers to the HR person who hired me, because without her, I never would have met him. And if I could find that guy who nearly ran into me with all the coffee, I would thank him, too.

  Malcolm hired the temp who was always filling in between secretaries, and she’s awesome. Angela is a little older, married with three kids, and has no problem kicking Malcolm’s ass out of the office if he stays too late. I miss working with him, but I’m a lot less exhausted without my day job, which is good, because even after these couple of months, we’re not tired of each other. And the sex is impossibly better than it was because now we know what makes the other person tick.

  “I’m not sure yet, but I’m guessing that I’ll have other plans.”

  She smirks at me. “When I need to get another roommate, tell me. Please.”

  “You mean you’re not happy having the place all to yourself?”

  “Are you kidding? It’s fabulous.” She laughs. “Not that I hated living with you. But sooner or later you’re going to get tired of paying for an apartment that you’re not actually living in.”

  “True.”

  We’re near the dressing rooms now, and Amy gives me another hug. “Tell him hello for me, and I’ll be sure to tell the entire cast that you’re getting laid.”

  “Oh my God.” I roll my eyes. “Please don’t. But also it’s not like they don’t already know.”

  Once I came back to the play, there was really no hiding my relationship with Malcolm. And to my relief, the producers and directors made it clear to the entire cast that his involvement was not the reason for my casting.

  “See you later,” Amy says, pushing into her dressing room.

  I close the door behind me in my own room and start changing out of my costume. Everything is set for the next day, and I’m not quite dressed in my own clothes when the door opens behind me. “You know, you’re supposed to knock first.”

  “I couldn’t wait.”

  Malcolm’s arms wrap around me from behind, and I briefly see him in the mirror before he’s kissing my neck. “You were amazing.”

  “You tho
ught so?”

  “Fucking incandescent, Brooke. Your mother would be proud.”

  Emotion floods my chest for a moment before I can fully breathe again. “Thank you.”

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  I can feel him hard through his pants. “If it’s your cock, it can wait till we get home.”

  Malcolm laughs. “It’s not that. Well, it’s not only that.” I smirk as he turns me and backs me against the wall. “But now that you mention it.”

  “You know that everyone in the cast makes fun of us? Amy basically said she was going to tell everyone at the cast party that I’m getting laid.”

  Since I’m still in my underwear, it’s easy for him to slip his hand down my stomach and into my panties. I gasp at his fingers and the way they swirl over my clit, teasing it in the way that he knows turns me on the most. “If they already know, then it won’t be a surprise if I make you scream.”

  “We shouldn’t.” But I already know that we’re going to. I’m full of energy and life and all I want is him inside me. It doesn’t matter how many times we fuck or make love; I don’t get tired of it. He takes me to another fucking planet.

  “I disagree.” Malcolm slips a finger inside me, curling it back to brush it over my G-spot. It’s something he only does when he’s planning on driving me absolutely insane. And it does. The immediate pleasure that blasts outward from the movement of his fingers is so good. Amplified by the fact that I’m packed with adrenaline and high on the feeling of performance.

  I shudder, my pussy squeezing down on his fingers.

  “Hands up.”

  I raise my arms and he pins my wrists to the wall. It’s not every night that Malcolm unleashes this side of himself, but I love it when he does. It reminds me of the night we first met when he pinned me against the window.

  Adding a second finger, I moan, and he moves harder. Faster. Malcolm’s thumb lands on my clit and the claiming kiss he slams down on my lips sends me over the edge. Pleasure that’s rich like honey rolls over me. The groan that escapes me is captured by his mouth, and he works me through the orgasm with his fingers. Drawing it out in the way only he knows how to.

  “Fuck,” I manage to say when he releases me from the kiss.

  “At least three orgasms before we leave this room,” Malcolm says. “And when we get home, we’re not going to stop. Tongue, hands, vibrator, or cock, it’s your night and I’m going to pleasure you until you say you’re done.”

  My voice is ragged. “I need to be able to walk for the performance tomorrow.”

  “Then every step is going to remind you how thoroughly mine you are.”

  His fingers are still inside me and I move my hips to try to get more. When he says things like that, all I want is for him to back it up. “You can’t say things like that.”

  “Why not?”

  I whimper and move my hips again. “Not unless you’re going to show me.”

  Malcolm pulls his fingers out of my pussy and licks them clean. He never breaks eye contact. I feel a whole new burst of wetness just watching him do that.

  My wrists are still pinned to the wall, and he undoes his belt with one hand. “Fuck.”

  “What?”

  Malcolm shakes his head. “Believe it or not, my plan wasn’t actually to fuck you in the dressing room. I don’t have a condom.”

  I freeze for a second. “Pull out.”

  His eyebrows rise. “Are you sure?”

  Everything in me feels too good and too bright and I don’t want to lose that feeling to a tiny piece of rubber. “Yes.”

  He curses under his breath and releases my hands to haul me into his arms. Fitting his cock against me, he slams deep, pressing me back against the wall again. “Holy shit.”

  This whole sensation is new. Heat and friction. He feels so much bigger and I feel fuller and I lose all conscious thought. Bliss spirals up and out and through, and I’m barely aware of the fact that Malcolm is fucking me hard enough to shake the walls.

  “That’s two,” he says, thrusting home again.

  “Two’s good.” My head sags down against his shoulder. I’m clinging to him like he’s an anchor and bathing in the pleasure of every single movement.

  He shifts me, angling my hips so I can take him deeper, and holy fuck, that’s it. My world explodes into fireworks. I’m not even coming yet—it just feels so fucking good that I can’t breathe.

  “I said three,” Malcolm growls in my ear. “And I meant three.”

  I’m no longer able to keep quiet, and he doesn’t care. His cock hammers into me without mercy. I don’t need mercy. I’m so close. Close.

  My voice echoes off the walls when the nova goes off. No chance that people don’t hear. I don’t care. Let them hear. Let them be jealous. I’m falling through clouds of silver and gold to land back in Malcolm’s arms. His eyes are a haze of lust—he’s close too.

  “Put me down,” I breathe.

  “No.”

  I take his face in my hands. “Put me down.”

  He groans as he pulls out and I land on my feet. But I don’t stay there. I sink to my knees in front of him, staring up into his eyes as he strokes his cock. Hard and fast. His own hand is a blur, twisting around the head, and his eyes close. Hips jerk.

  I open my mouth before he comes, saying my name loudly. He spills his heat over my tongue, and I catch it before it spills over. When he’s finished, he’s bracing himself against the wall above me. “Jesus.”

  Grinning, I stand. “Tonight can be about both of us.”

  “Fuck, I love you.”

  Wrapping my arms around his neck, I press my body up against him. “So what’s the other part of the surprise?”

  He laughs softly. “Marco kept the place open for us to celebrate. He’s probably wondering where the hell we are.”

  I break apart and start throwing on my clothes. “Let’s go. I’m not missing out on that.”

  Malcolm tucks me under his arm and sweeps me away to my celebration. And the food is just as delicious as every other time that we’ve been here in the last couple of months. “This was a really good idea,” I tell him.

  “I know.”

  It’s hard to talk when the food is this good.

  “But,” Malcolm says, “I do want to taste the barbecue where you’re from. I want to do a whole tour of it.”

  I nod. “That would be so fun. When we can both make time for it.”

  He wipes his hands on a napkin. “I had an idea about that.”

  “Oh?”

  Malcolm smiles. “You’ve still got friends in Georgia. And some family.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well,” he clears his throat. “What if we go and do it for your bridal shower?”

  I nearly choke, and look directly at him. “What?”

  Malcolm stands and then drops to one knee in front of me. “Brooke. My life has been literally turned upside down since you’ve been in it, and even though it hasn’t been long, I want you in my life. I can’t imagine anything without you, from our apartment to our bed, to everything else. Will you marry me?”

  Tears flood my eyes. The happiness that blows through my chest is so wild and strong that I can’t speak. He pulls a ring out of the pocket of his suit. Twisting silver and diamonds. It’s beautiful.

  “I hope those are happy tears.”

  “Yes,” I say. “Yes, of course they are. Of course I’ll marry you!” I leap out of my seat and wrap myself around him. I don’t even give him a chance to put the ring on my finger. “I love you. I love you and I want to marry you.”

  “I love you, too, Brooke.”

  Malcolm sinks a hand into my hair, and as he tilts my face up to his, there’s no other place that I’d rather be.

  Epilogue

  Brooke

  One Year Later

  I cross the sand with my drink, back to the massively oversized umbrella that covers our chairs. “The people here are so nice. They keep giving me free drinks even t
hough we can afford them.”

  Malcolm chuckles where he’s reading a book. “That’s because you keep telling everyone that we’re on our honeymoon.”

  “We are on our honeymoon.”

  Not exactly a traditional one. Most people don’t wait six months after getting married to go on a honeymoon. But between Malcolm’s schedule and mine, this is the first time that we’ve been able to get away.

  The resort that we’re at is full service and doesn’t have many people. So we’re currently the only people in sight on the beach that we’re relaxing on.

  Setting down my drink on the small table, I kneel in the sand by his chair. He’s missing a shirt, and I slide my hand up Malcolm’s chest. I don’t think I’ll ever get over how fucking hot my husband is. “What do I have to do to remind you that this is our honeymoon, Sir.”

  He lowers the book and raises an eyebrow. “Sir?”

  I haven’t called him sir in a long time. After all, I don’t work for him anymore. I only bring out that weapon when I need his full and undivided attention.

  “I brought those high heels that you love. And a tie. And some red lipstick. We could recreate the night we met. Or any of those days in your office.”

  Malcolm’s eyes drop down my body, taking in the thin bikini that I’m wearing and the way I’m intentionally posing so that he can see almost all of me—but not quite.

  “If my wife is this insatiable, then clearly I didn’t do a good enough job this morning.”

  “I’m on my honeymoon,” I say, lowering my voice to a soft, seductive level. “I’m supposed to be insatiable.”

  He catches my wrist and pulls, forcing me off balance so I fall onto his chest. “I like it when you’re insatiable. It gives me an excuse to participate in my favorite hobby.”

  A furious blush stains my cheeks. It’s the one thing he can say that will always embarrass me a little. His favorite hobby—or so he says—is licking my pussy until I scream. And he’s not shy about telling people that.