by Lynn, K. I.
His fingertips danced across my skin, leaving the burn of a dying fire in their wake. “Maybe one day you can show me.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest. He may not have been good with expressing deeper emotions, but happiness was one that exuded from him. It was uninhibited and flowed from him with ease and without pretense. They weren’t empty words and false promises, but honest wishes, and I wished with him.
I turned into him and pushed him onto his back, my head above his heart.
“I hate that you have to go back,” I said as my fingers traced lazy circles on his chest.
“Me too.” He blew out a breath and bent his neck to place a kiss to the crown of my head. “I needed this. God, did I need this.”
I propped my head up on his arm. “I hope this means I have more time to get done what Mr. Bennett wanted.”
He chuckled. “On paper, no, but I think I can extend the deadline by a few days.” Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to mine. “I’m sorry everything was thrown on you all at once. It was unfair for you to be thrown into the lion’s den like that.”
I continued my caressing, and lightly tipped my nails into his skin. “That lion has sharp teeth.”
He hummed. “Just keep petting him and you’ll tame him.”
I bit down on my bottom lip trying to contain my foolish grin while I continued to run my fingers across his skin.
“Have you been to the doctor yet?” he asked a few hours later as we sat on the floor eating lunch at my coffee table. “I mean, I know you’ve only known for a few days.”
The pregnancy was a topic we’d mostly avoided, and with good reason. We’d missed out on the rest of that night, and we spent two days making up for that lost time. But out of sight, out of mind didn’t deter the fact that there was a baby with us. One that couldn’t be seen or felt, but was there nonetheless.
“No. I have an appointment on Thursday afternoon.”
His shoulders slumped. “I can’t make it.”
Reaching across the coffee table, I took his hand in mine, linking our fingers together.
“It’s okay.”
His lips formed a thin line. “Not really.”
“Yes, really,” I assured him before taking a sip of tea. “I want you there, but the reality is we live over three hours apart. Doctor’s appointments are going to be during the week. That’s the nature of them.”
His eyes met mine. “I want to be there.”
The conviction in his eyes made my chest clench. “I’ll try to make late afternoon appointments. Maybe on Fridays?”
He nodded in agreement. “That might work.” He blew out a breath. “This is all so weird.”
“You’re telling me,” I scoffed. “The last thing I expected from that night was this.”
Under the table he hooked my calf and stroked the inside of my knee with his thumb. “I know we’re not exactly strangers like we were Friday night, but I need you to know I’m hooked on you. I want a relationship with you. I have since the moment I met you.”
I pulled his hand forward and nipped at his knuckle. “Maybe I’ll make you less married to your job.”
His lip twitched up. “Maybe. I know we have a lot to discuss about our baby, but I’m not sure we’re at a place to do that right now.”
I nodded in agreement, staring down at my mug, at the little flecks of escaped tea leaf bits at the bottom. “Honestly, I’m still in panic mode. I haven’t even begun to think of what changes this means.”
“We are agreed, then, that it can wait a little while, until we’ve been together longer, to figure it out?”
I reached up and threaded my fingers with his. “Definitely. More time to process. Figuring out how I’m going to explain this situation to my parents.”
He straightened a bit at that. “I’ve been so caught in our little bubble I didn’t even think about other people knowing.”
I let out a sigh. “I know this is completely unexpected, but we can take our time. September is still seven months away.”
“When did you plan to tell your parents?” he asked.
“My brothers both live here, so I guess it depends on Wyatt’s schedule.”
He scrunched his brow. “Wyatt?”
“My little brother. He’s the baseball player.”
He nodded. “How many brothers again?”
While I’d mentioned the two heathens, I hadn’t gone much into depth besides telling him one was a baseball player. “One more—Carson. He’s two years older than me.”
He contemplated my brother situation. “So one experienced bat handler and an older brother to contend with.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, trying not to laugh at his description.
He shrugged. “I’m just wondering if I should wear some sort of body armor.”
I rolled my eyes and giggled. “They’ll give you shit, but you’ll be fine. Now, if you fuck with me, I don’t know how they’ll respond to that.”
“Don’t fuck with you. Check. Can I still fuck with you when we’re alone?” he asked as he nipped at my knuckle.
“You aren’t spent yet?”
His lip pulled up into a sexy little smirk. “Six weeks of buildup does not go away that fast.”
I glanced at the clock. It was already late in the afternoon. “Hmm, one more time before you go?”
He scooted around to my side of the table. “Wasn’t there an ultimatum?” His lips ghosted mine. I drew in a breath, my body lighting up at his closeness. “To leave you sorely aching?”
I grabbed onto his arm as he manhandled me onto his lap. “There was.”
“Are you there yet?”
“Not yet.”
He pushed the table away and turned me onto my back, pinning me to the ground, caging me in his arms. I drew in a sharp breath.
“Then my work here isn’t finished.”
Just then, my neighbors, who had been unusually quiet, started slamming against the wall. Richard’s eyes widened at the moans and screams coming from the other side of the drywall. Another hard slam, and the pictures hanging on our shared wall jostled.
“Holy shit, you’re right. Your neighbors do scream a lot.”
“I told you.”
His eyes met mine and that sexy grin turned wicked. “You know what this makes me want to do, right?”
I gave him my best side eye, because that smirk he was flashing was going to set me on fire.
“What?”
“Just a little competition between neighbors. See who can scream the loudest.”
“You’re all about the competition, aren’t you?”
He shrugged and wet his lips with his tongue, which only hastened my descent into his erotic madness.
“Plus it’s an opportunity to really show you how you affect me by fucking you straight through the wall.”
Days later I was beyond exhausted.
Richard made good on his promise, and when he left hours later, I could barely move from my bed. Jenna came over and promptly turned around, telling me I had to clean my “sex den” before she’d come in. At least she left the food.
Since then I’d worked twelve-hour days trying to meet VP Bennett’s expectations. While he’d given me leeway with time, I wanted to hit his original date. That way when things came out, it wouldn’t seem like he was giving me special treatment.
Though the rumor mill was already running thanks to Jenna’s little outburst, so far most of it was nothing more than the fact that I got pregnant on New Year’s. Richard’s name was left out, but I had a feeling that little fact was running through the half dozen others from management that were in the meeting.
After a long day I was finally walking into my apartment, ready to fall asleep, when my phone went off.
Thank you for not making me be an asshole to you again—Richard
You don’t HAVE to be an asshole about it—Natasha
A moment later my phone went off, Richard’s name flashing across the screen.
&n
bsp; “Hi.”
“Hi. Sadly that is the only way I’ve found for shit to get done. And as much as I want to, I can’t give you special treatment,” he said.
“That’s also something I don’t want,” I agreed. I definitely didn’t want anyone thinking I was fucking my way up. “I worked hard to get this position, and I don’t want people thinking it’s because I’m sleeping with the boss.”
A groan vibrated in my ear, and I was stunned how my pussy twitched at the sound even over the phone. I switched him over to speaker so I could change my clothes, dying to get out of my office attire and into my yoga pants.
“If you were here right now I would be acting out so many fantasies,” he said, his voice low with a hint of gravel that only turned me on more.
Then my brow scrunched as I thought about what he said. I stripped off my shirt and stared down at my phone. “Please tell me you aren’t still at the office.”
There was silence followed by a clearing of his throat. “How do you think I knew the GLs were cleaned up?”
My mouth dropped open. “Richard! It’s almost nine. Go home.” I pulled my pants off and threw them in the laundry, my bra following. My mouth popped open at the pain from the tenderness in my breasts.
“I’m working on it.”
“Why are you still there?” I asked as I pulled my nightshirt on followed by my fuzzy socks. In the background I could hear the tick of his fingers tapping on his keyboard.
“I’m analyzing the profits for a meeting,” he said, his voice monotone, indicating his level of concentration.
“Do it tomorrow,” I said. He deserved a break just like every other employee, but I had a feeling he wasn’t one for taking them. Which then sent me down the rabbit hole of wondering how many vacation days he’d built up. I wasn’t even going to ask, because I was certain it was a level that would probably make me fall over in shock.
“The meeting is in the morning, and I have to have January included.”
Oh.
It wasn’t some arbitrary, throwing-his-weight-around request he’d made. He was unable to do his job completely until we had closed the month out.
“What if it had taken me longer?” I asked.
“Then I would get shit for having estimates this late in the month, and would have to send out revised documents as soon as the information was available,” he said as he continued to plug away. “Can you do me a favor?”
I headed into the bathroom and removed my eye makeup—the extent of my daily cosmetics wear. “What’s that?”
He sighed, the keys stopping. “Work only eight hours tomorrow.” The softness in his tone had returned, and it melted me. “I’m not there to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, and I know you worked long hours the last few days.”
“I should have been a forensic accountant with how deep I was into all that.” With a splash of water, I dabbed my face before throwing my hair into a loose bun.
“Don’t redirect.”
“I wasn’t!” I cried out.
“Yes, you were.” He chuckled. “I know you a little more each day, and that includes how you avoid topics.”
“Fine,” I said as I pursed my lips. “Eight hours tomorrow.”
“And Friday.”
“Richard,” I groaned.
“You’re pregnant. You need to take it a little easier.”
“I will,” I promised. I really wished he was there with me so I could curl up in his warmth. I missed him.
“Forty-hour work weeks,” he stressed.
I moved to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge in search of something to snack on. “You do understand how hard that is, don’t you?”
“Considering a light week for me is fifty, yes.”
Fifty? I really hoped I had the ability to divorce him from that many hours. All jokes of him being married to his job aside, he was going to have to figure out a balance. There was still time, but the sooner he started carving out time, the better.
“How are you feeling?”
A sigh left me, and I pulled out a container of Panera mac and cheese. “Well, whoever has been heating up their breakfast every morning for the past week stopped today, so no vomiting up my breakfast.”
“Not vomiting is always a good thing. What was it, so I avoid accidentally ordering or eating it when we’re together?”
“Oddly it’s turkey sausage, not pork. And I love turkey sausage, so that sucks.” My favorite breakfast was one of those frozen breakfast sandwiches with turkey sausage. I had a full box in my fridge that I was going to have to throw out or give to Jenna.
“No turkey sausage. Check. Now, get to bed, little girl.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m talking to my little girl,” he said, his tone playful. “You go take her to bed.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed as I popped the container into the microwave and set the timer. “You’re too much, Mr. Bennett.”
“Miss Cates…I miss you.”
I smiled down at the phone, at his name. “I miss you, too. Now go finish and get to bed yourself. Baby bean and I are going to eat some mac and cheese, then go finish off a pint of ice cream.”
“Not exactly healthy eating.”
“No, it’s tired eating,” I said with a chuckle. “Goodnight, Richard.”
“Goodnight, Natasha,” he replied softly.
The click indicated the call ended, then his name disappeared from the screen. I let out a sigh, my fingers running across the glass.
Two more days. That was all I had to wait until I saw him again.
I was a good girl and did as he requested on Thursday, and I was halfway through Friday when a deep voice pulled me from my bubble of concentration.
“Miss Cates, can I see you in the conference room?”
I jerked at the voice drawing me from my screen and the financial statement I’d been going over.
There was no stopping, no giving me an opportunity to even register the request, but it was Richard’s form walking away toward the conference room. My brow scrunched as I rose from my seat and followed. I was both excited and confused by his sudden arrival. When we talked on the phone the night before, he said he would try to leave before Friday-night traffic, but it wasn’t even rush hour in Indianapolis yet.
When I passed across the threshold, the door closed behind me.
Once again, there was not even a fraction of a second for me to process what was going on when strong hands pulled at me until my feet no longer touched the ground.
My legs wrapped around his waist just before my back pressed against the wall. His lips crashed to mine, frantic and demanding, and I melted into it. There was desperation in his touch and need in his rocking hips, but desire fueled his tongue against mine.
It was intoxicating as every nerve reacted—his greed was infectious, and I met him in kind.
Our teeth knocked as he changed the angle, his lips demanding, but it wasn’t enough. I drew in a shuddering breath when he yanked at the buttons of my shirt and pulled my breast from the cup of my bra. My nipple tensed between his fingers, and my hips rocked against the hardness pressed against my clit.
His teeth sent tingles through me as he worked his way down my jaw to my neck where he licked at the skin.
“I need you,” he whispered with a groan.
My fingers flexed against him and my back arched as he drew my breast into his mouth. Every cell begged that I throw caution to the wind and let him fuck me against the wall like we both desperately wanted. They argued that he was the VP and it didn’t matter, but I knew it did.
I knew the speed with which gossip moved through the office.
“We can’t,” I said as I tore myself away from him. There were too many people outside the door and walls that had marginal sound insulation. Plus there were just too many clothes to remove. If I’d had any inclination he was going to come in the middle of the day, I might have worn a skirt.
He continued to paw at me, his hand be
tween my legs rubbing against my clit. My vision blurred from the pleasure, my body begging to give him what he wanted because I wanted it too, but we couldn’t where we were.
I yanked his hand from me, his clouded eyes scrunched before he reached for me again. I pulled free from his grip and dropped to my knees before he could catch me and worked open his belt and slacks. His cock was hard, begging for release. The head was almost purple and when I wrapped my lips around the tip, I was rewarded with a low groan.
His fingers lightly cupped my jaw, eyes heavy and dark as he watched me work my way down each inch.
“Fuck, my cock looks so good between your lips,” he said in a low groan.
I couldn’t get all of him in before my gag reflex kicked in.
“Fuck,” he hissed as I gagged around him. His hips flexed, chasing his desperate need to come.
With one hand I jerked the base in time with the bobbing of my head. His groans grew louder as his hips sped up.
I glanced up and was lost in the trance-like stare of his eyes. His movement paused, pushing his hips forward, as deep into my mouth as he could go.
His cock jerked, warm cum splashing against the back of my throat. I swallowed around him, loving the sounds rumbling from his chest. His breath was heavy when with one last jerk of his cock, he pulled from between my lips.
“Well…that’s quite a start to our second date,” I said as I wiped at my mouth with the back of my hand.
When the fog of lust cleared, I realized what I shouldn’t have done—mauled Natasha in the conference room. It had made perfect sense at the time, but that was the kind of shit thinking a hard dick could manage.
Still…The image of her looking up at me, mouth stuffed with my cock, was number one in my spank bank.
“Sorry,” I said as I helped her from the floor.
“Feel better?” she asked. Her hair was a mess, lips puffy and pink.
“Yes.”
“Good, because you owe me.”
I quirked my brow at her. Tit for tat with her. “Before or after dinner?”
She bit down on her lower lip, and that was when I caught the heaviness in her eyes and the flush of her cheeks. The sight was seductive, and made me want her more.
