by West, Jade
Mum and Dad were almost done too. I waited until they were finished up, then reached over for their plates to stack them.
“Thanks again so much for getting me the amazing job,” I said to Dad. “I’m so excited to have it.”
I loved the proud twinkle in his eyes when he answered. It made my heart soar.
“You’re very welcome, sweetheart,” he said. “I know you’ll do us very proud. Just make sure you do your best for Miles.”
I grinned my best grin before rising to my feet and taking the plates to the kitchen. I pulled my phone from my pocket as I set the dishwasher going, and sure enough there were a string of question mark messages waiting from Holly.
Meet you in twenty at the pavilion, I texted back and got a thumbs-up emoticon in response.
I rushed upstairs and shrugged out of my work clothes, throwing on some jeans and a floaty tunic top. I stuck my head into the living room before I left, waving at Mum and Dad.
“See you later.”
They nodded.
“Not too late,” Mum said. “You have work tomorrow these days.”
I couldn’t hold back the smirk.
Work tomorrow with Mr Lindon. My boss.
My actual boss these days.
“I won’t be too late,” I said, and meant it. I needed to be bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for my office duties.
The walk to the cricket pavilion was an easy one. One I’d walked a million times to meet up with Holly Parker. She was my bestie, and a great one, and the one person on this planet I was absolutely itching to gush over the daily details with.
She was already there when I arrived, her knees hugged to her chest as she puffed away on one of her Marlboro cigarettes.
“So?” she pushed as I joined her. “Tell me all about it. Was he every bit the boss you’ve been rubbing one off to for years?”
I couldn’t stop the giggle. “An even better boss than that,” I said, and leaned in close, my head on her shoulder. “He was a dream. An absolute dream.”
I knew she was rolling her eyes without even seeing them. Her tut said it all. But she was happy for me. Truly happy for me. I felt it as her head rested back against mine.
She squealed in all the right places as I told her about everything from his handshake across the desk first thing to how he’d rescued me from the filing room. She caught her breath as I told her about him claiming me as his own little office girl before we left for the day, Erica Tate be damned.
“You’re actually going to be working directly for him?” she pushed. “For real, you and him?”
I twisted to face her, my nod pretty frantic. “Looks that way, yeah. That’s what he said.”
“Shit,” she said, and lit up another cigarette. “What are you gonna do? Be the sexy little minx he’s always dreamed of and make your move?”
Even the thought of making a move on Mr Lindon was enough to make my belly flip. The nerves would be insane long before I got to that stage. Really insane.
Holly read my mind.
“Seriously, you really can make a move,” she said. “You saw him fucking an office girl in your garden, barely a month older than you are now. One that looked pretty much exactly like you do, and you know it. If that doesn’t give you a thumbs-up for trying it on with him, I don’t know what ever would.”
“But she was gone a month later,” I said. “She didn’t last with him.”
This time I saw Holly’s eye roll. “Jeez, Faith. You’re seriously still clinging onto this whole marriage and babies bullshit?” She paused but I had no response to that. “If you seriously do manage to get Mr Lindon to take your V card, that’s a huge winner. That’s what you should be going for. A summer of fucking the hot boss alongside your summer job.”
“Yeah, but it’s more than that…” I started but she shook her head.
“Then it’s university,” she said. “University and a whole world of other shit to explore. Not just your dad’s hot boss and a lifetime of doing auction shit in the same town you went to school in.”
Even the thought of going to university and giving up on a life with Mr Lindon hurt pretty bad. I looked away at the trees at the bottom of the cricket pitch.
“I promised Dad I’d go to university. It was his condition for getting me the job this summer.”
“Yeah, and it’s a good job you did promise,” she said. “Hell knows what kind of crazy shit you’d be trying for if you hadn’t.”
I knew exactly what crazy shit I’d be trying for if I hadn’t. But that wasn’t for now.
Now was about enjoying seeing Dad’s boss properly for the first time in years. Now was about enjoying my first day and him opening the door to that filing room and heading right on in.
How I wish he’d have kept on coming.
“Tomorrow is gonna be the day you get your first real taster,” Holly said. “You and him, hanging out around the posh antique furniture talking hammer strikes. That’s when you’ll really see that hot boss side of him.”
I felt the heat between my legs and the grin crept up on my face all over again.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter Four
Miles
I did a good job of keeping a handle on my baser instincts that first week. My delicate little Faith did indeed report directly to me, but I’d made sure to be the one to seek her out, and in more visible office locations. I’d been careful not to step in too close to those sweet little curves and the divine promise of such perfect innocence. I’d also been sure to keep my balls thoroughly emptied day and night with the help of a shit ton of tacky school uniform porn, and a host of grunts and fucking curses for my efforts.
It appeared that even Erica – who had barely a sliver of respect for my capabilities in any capacity outside of business or the bedroom – didn’t believe that I would be such a deviant as to debase Faith Martin. Not when it really came down to it.
“Even you wouldn’t stoop that fucking low,” she’d hissed into my ear that first morning I’d steered her away from the girl. “But if I get even a whiff that you’re thinking about it, I swear to God, I’ll tear you down so fucking hard.”
I’d turned to face her. My scowl just inches from hers. “I won’t be fucking thinking about it.”
That was a lie. I was thinking about it constantly, but I had every intention of staying true to the good man Miles, even if I barely knew the guy anymore.
Faith deserved the very best from me. Not just as the man who’d been in her life since she was a sweet little burst of sunshine in her dad’s arms, but as her first boss. Her first boss and the man to offer her first taste of the auctioneering industry.
She was ever so grateful for it.
The girl certainly hadn’t been downplaying her enthusiasm for antiques. She was a sponge, soaking up everything around her, scouting through the sale listings with eagle eyes and a buzz of passion I hadn’t seen around me in this place for years. She was smart, and sharp, and every bit an effervescent little pixie with hunger for the details.
Within those first few days she was already taking client phone calls and responding to company emails without supervision. She had a good grasp of antique terminology and a solid knowledge of commercial value. She was a young little bunny rabbit who wasn’t even slightly caught in the headlights, constantly seeking out more and more.
I made sure she had it, just not in nearly enough of the ways I would like to.
She was a hit with the women in the office, who were all wide smiles and laughter around her – Erica excluded. She was a hit with the clients, all of them speaking very positively about the new little office superstar.
Word about her success made it down to the property office and up to her dad at the top of the management tree. He sent me over an email on Thursday afternoon offering a whole fresh load of thanks for taking her on that summer.
She’s loving it, he said. She doesn’t shut up about it over dinner. Not about the antiques, and not about you, e
ither. You’re making quite an impression.
How I wished he hadn’t said the last part.
Anyway, it was a thumbs-up from all angles. A big fat win for the summer ideals tick box, but life rarely stays smooth in my experience. This was going to be no exception and I should have known it.
Maybe it was running before I could walk that led me to suggesting Faith join me on an outing that following Monday. She was visibly shocked when I suggested it, sucking in her breath and staring up at me with wide eyes from the sales admin desk.
“I’d love to, Mr Lindon, sir,” she said, and there it was all over again. That flutter of excitement in her voice and the subsequent tingles in my balls.
I’d already jerked one off in the office bathroom that morning, but my cock was pounding to a fresh new tune as she flashed me her sweetest smile.
It appeared she knew my diary commitments as well as I did, her smile still bright as she confirmed our destination for next week.
“Is that the trip to Brayburn’s?” she asked. “To talk about furnishing the new hotel down on Quayside?”
My eyes ate hers up. I felt the pulse in my temples. “Yes.”
“That would be really great,” she said, and she meant it. Her enthusiasm was undeniable.
In that one sweet gush of excitement from her mouth I was consumed by that girl and my urge to wrench her over that desk top. My hands clenched at my sides, my mouth watering with the need to stretch her tight little cunt.
It took my all to keep my stare on hers and not stoop lower. It was the swell of those ripe little tits under that tight white blouse. The promise of those pretty pink buds begging my fucking teeth to make them hurt.
Fuck, how I’d make them hurt.
Fuck, how I’d make her beg me to.
It was really fucking lucky that the Friday afternoon auction was about to start filling up ready for kick off. The first of the regular bidders stepped on through and jolted me from my filth. His hand slammed into mine for a handshake and I gestured him on through to the saleroom.
Faith’s breathy squeal was the icing on the fucking temptation cake. She leapt to her feet, dancing a cute little gawky dance as she stepped on out from behind the desk.
“I get to see it!” she squeaked. “Today is the first day I really get to see it!”
Another load of clients stepped on through and she was all grins and giggles.
You’d think she was about to step onto some red carpet award ceremony, not through to the back of some regular weekly auction, but I couldn’t hold back the hum of my own excitement in response. It was low in my belly. A strange little uptick in my heartrate.
Not at the auction or the driving on of the bids. I’d done enough of that to sleep through the rest for a lifetime.
No. It wasn’t leading the auction that had my heart thumping in my ribcage.
It was the thought of those hungry little eyes watching me. Her, soaking up my control at the podium. The awe in her stare. The way she was so eager for so much.
I’d happily give her so fucking much. More than she ever believed she’d be able to take from me.
I’d make her take it all like a good little girl.
“I can watch, can’t I?” she asked, eyebrows high.
I held back my nod until she had her hands clasped together. “Yes, Faith. You can watch.”
Her cute air punch was enough to make my dick twitch.
“I’ve wanted this for so long!” she said. “It’s going to be so much more amazing than seeing the TV ones.”
For one ropey little moment, I only hoped I could deliver her expectations. As I caught sight of my expression in one of the vintage mirrors on the way through, I knew damn well I would do.
It was stern. Severe. Every bit the master. Every bit the man fighting his baser nature and looking fired up to hell for it.
The girl walked just in front of me, shooting sweet little glances over her shoulder as we made our way through into the saleroom. It was already buzzing with people taking their seats, and I gestured to a prime viewing spot at the side for her to enjoy the show.
“I can’t wait to see the court cupboard go,” she whispered before stepping away from me. “I just know it’s going to do well. Much higher than the estimate. The crest carved into the back is just too beautiful not to.”
Instinct. That’s what that was. I’d already made that observation for myself when scanning the listings.
I watched her snake her way to her position, weaving so gently through the gathered bidders. Her blonde hair was a cascade over her shoulders, her hips a wiggle in that tight little pencil skirt. I certainly wasn’t the only filthy guy in the room admiring the view, there were plenty of others scoping out the treasure. Plenty of nudges and nods and I woulds.
They made me both protective and possessive. A strange combination.
I cleared my throat as I took my place at the podium, shuffling through the papers before scanning the crowd. It was a decent turnout, beginning of the month usually one of our finest. I avoided Faith, keeping my attention firmly on the looming bidding wars. People calmed down quickly, the rustle of item listings a wave in the room as people turned to page one.
And then it began.
Chapter Five
Faith
For so long I’d been dreaming of this very moment, watching Mr Lindon take his place at the podium and getting ready to lead this auction.
This wasn’t like watching the TV versions. I mean I loved those, I always got a thrill from watching the bids rise and the hammer crash down, but this was a whole other league.
I guess it was the firmness of his expression. The way he naturally controlled the room, the bidders, the everything. Because he did. Mr Lindon was such a natural leader he controlled everything that he wanted to.
I only wished that included me.
I grabbed one of the listing guides and flicked through, even though I already knew it by heart from the days before I’d spent studying it every spare minute. I knew about the oil paintings, and the vintage tea sets, and the bureaus and the mirrored cabinet with wall mounts. I knew about it all, and loved it all, and only wished that one day it would be me up there leading an auction like this one.
Right now there was a whole load more to it than that, though. Right now it was also about Mr Lindon and the spotted navy blue of his tie, and his suit jacket so sculpted. It was about how much he made my breath quicken just to watch him in place. It was about the flutter between my legs, and the burn of my cheeks, and the way I felt like the whole room could see how much I wanted him.
Even so, I couldn’t pull my eyes away. I was transfixed, pulled to him like some crazy hypnosis.
I took a breath as he did, both of us in the strangest sync as his stare swept across the room again. He stopped before his eyes met mine, and I felt a pang. A pang of need.
Please look at me. Please, Mr Lindon, please look at me.
He didn’t. He didn’t look at me.
He addressed the crowd with his short, clipped tone, sounding every bit the well-spoken master. He spun the hammer in his hand, strong fingers truly owning the handle.
I knew where else they’d truly own.
The flutter between my legs met the one in my belly as the bids started coming. My heart was zipping and my head was spinning and I couldn’t hold back the smile.
Hands raised all over the room as the bidding ramped up in earnest, and he read them like a book, tipping his head this way and that to the audience without ever losing the moment. He paused just long enough to let the tension rise, and smirked just enough to encourage those bids even more, and it was perfect. He was perfect.
I squeezed my hands together when the hammer came down for the first time, and I was grinning like an absolute crazy, loving it all.
That grin was still there when the next round began. This one was a tea set, from the sixties. He led it like a dream, smashing the estimate into the ground and almost doubling it before the ha
mmer came down. That’s when it hit me all over again, just how much I wanted this. How much I wanted to be the one up at that podium, driving up the interest to whole new levels. How much I wanted to read the crowd and know exactly when to push and when to close.
How much I wanted him to watch me do it, like I was watching him right now.
How much I wanted to be his good little girl and make him so proud of me.
He didn’t look over in my direction once through the whole first batch of listed items. I felt a twinge of rejection, as though I was nothing to him in that room, but there was a dance of something else along with it. A knowing that he was avoiding me for a reason. He just had to be.
I’d felt it all week, him finding me in the main office before I had the chance to seek him out in his. The way he’d keep his distance and not stepped anything like up close to me.
Yeah, he was avoiding me for a reason. I just daren’t hope it could be… want… wanting me...
The hammer came down again and I couldn’t take the flush down deep. I couldn’t take the sight of him up there anymore without clenching my legs real tight, worse and worse until the grin faded and my lips opened just enough to breathe. My knickers were damp and my thighs were clammy, and I needed my fingers down there so damn bad it almost ached. He was my beacon. The man I adored. The one I needed to claim me for his own and make me his on my eighteenth. It would be the greatest birthday present of my life to have him take me.
I had need zipping through me and excitement already driving me wild by the time the court cupboard came up for bidding – the one I’d fallen in love with in the item listings and known straight away that the estimate was never going to come close.
I took a step forward to get an even better view of the bidding, and he cleared his throat for this one, casting his eyes right over the crowd.
“This one is quite a beautiful specimen,” he said, and there was a twinkle in his stare. An appreciation of the piece in the same way I’d felt it myself, I just knew it.