“Mmmmh?” I looked over and found Lena had fallen asleep on the couch. She wriggled like a kitten at the sound of my words before curling back up and falling asleep again.
“Lena.” I tried to stand, and the world spun. I may have had one glass too many of that sake. I reached out to steady myself and grabbed the first solid object I could, the arm of the couch.
“No, Daddy, don’t!” Lena’s sudden shout unbalanced me, and I lurched, falling in a heap on the couch next to her as she thrashed about.
“Lena! Lena, sweetheart, it’s okay!” I patted her arm drunkenly. I had to be drunk, I realized—I felt very mellow.
“No, STOP!” Lena’s screams became shrill, her thrashing more violent.
“Lena, sweetie!” I started to shake her, concern finally poking through my fuzzy brain. “Lena, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!”
At the sound of my voice she stilled. Her trembling body and blinking eyes stopping their gyrations until her lids fluttered open and she stared, unseeing.
My muddled brain was confused. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Why was she yelling at her father? What the hell went on in her home? I gathered her up and held her close, and hot tears began to fall from her eyes.
I looked down at the woman in my arms. Bits of her hair had come loose from the neat bun she always wore, and tendrils fell in waves around her face, softening her expression. Her cheeks were flushed from sleep and sake, and she trembled against me, her delicate frame light as a feather. Who would want to hurt her?
I brushed her hair back from her face, my palm cupping one cheek, and I leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. With every fiber of my being, I felt it. All I wanted to do was protect her. I had no idea why, but Lena pulled natural, protective instincts from me. I had no idea what she was scared of, but I wanted to come to her rescue, save her from the unnamed danger.
“Mmmmh.” She moaned again, tilting her face up to look at me, her wide, unfocused eyes opening again, not registering my face hovering above her. “Ohhhhh.” She breathed out, her eyes suddenly seeing me before she leaned forward, closing the gap, mere inches between us, to gently join our lips.
I froze, a shock wave rolling through me. The touch of her lips on mine ignited the slow burning fire deep in my belly. Every inch of my skin came alive. Her touch scorched me. The hairs on my arm stood tall.
She leaned back into my arms, snuggling close, just staring at me and gauging my reaction. Between the sake and the fire now taking over my body, all rational thought was lost. I no longer had that moral compass that told me following my heart and sleeping with my secretary was wrong. I just knew this felt right.
I rolled, laying her back on the couch and settling myself beside her, my legs entwined with hers as I lowered my head, searching for her with my lips, asking her silently if this is what she really wanted. She answered back with a passion that overwhelmed me, her fingers frantically working the buttons on my shirt as she kissed me back, matching my fervor.
I don’t know who undressed whom, but soon we lay there on my couch, skin to skin. I kissed her, worshiping the gorgeous body she kept hidden under that proper blouse and skirt. Pulling the rest of her hair from her fallen bun, I watched it cascade around her shoulders until it surrounded her face in a soft brown cloud.
She threw her head back, my name flowing from her lips. “Noah. Ohhhh, Noah.” She reached for me, pulling me toward her.
Milk white, her skin shone in the moonlight as I traced my way down her neck to her perfect breasts, each mound gently rising and falling with her every breath. The tips begged for attention, and I showered them with it, first plucking them into points, then leaning to take one, and then the other into my mouth. I sucked gently until she moaned and arched her back, pressing her breasts into me, crying out for more.
“Oh, Lena,” I breathed. I explored further, across her taut, flat belly, to the apex of her thighs and the short curly brown hair that hid her innermost self. “Do you want this?”
“Yes. Oh, yes!” She begged as I combed my fingers through her hair, gently probing until I found that little nub and she arched her back at my touch.
“Noah!” Her eyes opened even wider to look down at me when she felt me take her clit into my mouth, softly pulling and sucking on it. Her body answered with a rush of moisture that eased the entrance of one and then two fingers into her.
She fell back, her eyes rolling back in her head, her breath coming in short gasps. “Oh, oh, oh, ohhhhhhhh!” I felt her jerk violently, her body clenching around my fingers and hips coming up off the couch as she came.
As she stilled, I crawled up her body until we lay belly to belly and I could look deep into her eyes as I settled between her legs. She shifted to welcome me into her hot core, adjusting her hips when she felt me brush my tip against her entrance, reaching up and pulling me to her as I sank home.
Chapter Thirteen
Lena
I woke from a horrible nightmare, my brain fuzzy from the late night and too much sake, just in time to feel Noah press a warm kiss to my forehead. It felt perfect.
No man had ever shown me tenderness. Not one. Life with my father was hard fists and harsh words. Men outside the family either ignored me or showed unwanted attention with catcalls and roaming hands.
As I lay there, safe in his arms, I felt myself looking down on us together on the couch. I saw the way he tenderly held me. Before I could stop myself, I leaned up and pressed my lips to his, just once wanting to feel what that was like.
It was magical. I saw stars. My entire body came alive like I had been asleep my whole life.
I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to know what he felt like. I wanted to know what it felt like to have his skin pressed against mine. I didn’t care that he was my boss, or older than me, or from a different world.
I reached up and feverishly attacked his buttons. There was too much fabric between us. My skin craved his touch.
Something in Noah awoke, and moments later, we were both naked, skin to skin as we lay back on the couch in his office. It had to be after midnight. The rest of the office was silent and empty. There were only the two of us, alone in our little cocoon, his legs entwined with mine, his warm weight pressing me down into the cushions.
“Oh!” His lips closed over my nipple, sending electricity zinging to my core, building a pressure that made me yearn for an unknown release.
My eyes rolled back, and I pressed my breasts into him, wanting to capture that feeling and hold on to the sensations.
He released me with a pop! And I felt bereft, wiggling beneath his weight, calling him back to me, when— “OH!” He turned his attention between my legs, his fingers finding my opening, and his mouth settling over my nub. “Oh, Oh, OH!” The feelings overwhelmed me. His fingers slid in and out, stretching me, curling up to find that perfect spot. He both licked and sucked, setting my nerve endings on fire, and building that spark deep inside me into a bonfire waiting to erupt. I couldn't take it. The pressure was too much. I squirmed as his insisted mouth continued to suckle me, and those busy fingers worked me into a frenzy. Then I broke, the pressure releasing in a rush. A tidal wave flowed out from my center to my fingers and toes, my tunnel spasming around him, milking every last ounce of pleasure until I lay there spent, reveling in the new experience.
When he lifted himself, moving up my length, I welcomed the pressure of his body over mine. “Yes,” I whispered in his ear as I spread my legs to welcome him to me. I felt something long and thick brush against my opening and I instinctively shifted, allowing his hard length entrance to my core.
He pressed in, his cock stretching me inch by inch, filling me. My moisture lubricated him, easing his way until he sank all the way home. It pinched at first, the momentary discomfort disappearing as he started to move, rocking in and out, setting up a rhythm that built the exquisite pressure all over again. My legs locked around him, and I matched him stroke for stroke, moving in perfect synchronization e
ach time he slid in, pressing against the spot that sent a beautiful sensation spiraling through me.
Before I realized it was coming, the exquisite wave crashed through me again, the pleasure rolling outward over and over from where we remained joined.
“Oh, God. Lena, unghhhh.” Noah suddenly froze, the veins in his neck standing out as an expression almost like pain crossed his face. I felt him expanding inside and then his spasm before he collapsed on top of me, spent.
We lay there, both falling asleep, the winking of the city lights illuminating our forms in the quiet darkness.
Noah
“Noah.” A whisper roused me from the best sleep I’d had in weeks. “Noah, wake up.” I woke slowly realizing I was sleeping curled around a warm, rounded, delightful female form.
Oh shit! The luscious creature in my arms was Lena. And she was pissed. Wide awake, her eyes were focused with laser like intensity on me.
“Noah!” she hissed like an angry cat.
“Hello there, gorgeous.” I reached for her, running my hands up and palming her breasts. I felt myself quicken, morning wood forming even though we had come together three times already in the last few hours.
“Stop it!” She pushed my hands away. “It’s almost morning. I have to get home. Move!” She pushed ineffectively against my hip and leg that were pinning her to the couch.
Acting the fool, I went limp and let her push me off, rolling to the floor with a thump.
“Noah!” No longer angry, she peered over the edge of the couch to where I lay naked on the office floor laughing like a boy in love. Only a slight buzz remained from the sake, but I felt energized.
“Noah, seriously!” Over her amusement at my antics, her irritation was growing. She sat up, pulled my discarded dress shirt around her, and covered all that delectable skin. “I have to get home now.” She rushed around, gathered up her clothes, and turned her back on me as she started to dress. “I don’t even know if the buses run this late. I can’t believe we fell asleep! God, I’m gonna be in so much trouble!”
“Don’t worry about it.” There was no way in hell I was letting her ride a bus home this late. “I’ll run you home and explain to your family what happened.”
“NO!” She whirled on me, eyes frantic. “You can't explain anything. The buses didn’t run. I got stuck and had to walk home. End of story.”
“Don't be silly.” I brushed off her concerns, pulling on my socks and standing to buckle my pants. “Can I have my shirt back?”
Wordlessly, she let it drop from her shoulders, revealing her tight, sexy form as she slipped it off and handed it back to me. She modestly tried to cover herself, turning her away from me to put the rest of her clothes on. The vision of every naked inch of her was permanently imprinted on my retinas. I would never forget what happened that night.
She fumbled in her purse for a comb and elastic, and then tied that gorgeous brown hair back into her regulation bun. All traces of the wild, wonderful, sensual Lena disappeared, and my neat, efficient secretary reemerged.
I sighed, my rose colored glasses fading as rational thought slowly returned. “Lena, we need to talk about what happened.”
“No, we don’t. Nothing happened. Nothing can happen.” She wouldn’t look at me. She tucked her blouse in, stuffed her stockings in her purse, and slipped her worn pumps on her feet.
“But…” I didn’t know what to say. For some reason, her reaction made me feel like I had lost something precious, like she was putting space between us. I couldn’t go back to the way we were. My empty, meaningless life, devoted to keeping my parents happy while still pursuing my own desires wasn’t enough.
“No buts, Noah. I need this job.” She closed her eyes and turned toward me before opening them again and looking me straight in the eye. “Just take me home, please.”
Wordlessly, I followed her out of the office, locked the door behind us, and silently took the elevator down to the empty lobby.
Chapter Fourteen
Lena
We rode quietly through the early morning. The sun’s rays were just starting to peek over the horizon. Bits of pink and orange colored the sky, and fat purple clouds floated lazily by.
The streets were empty. Only two or three other lonely souls were out driving to work that early. The morning rush was still several hours away.
“Where am I taking you?” Noah drove, the precision engineering of the Porsche responding instantly to every touch of his hands on the wheel. I remembered those hands guiding me the night before and hid the frisson of excitement that ran through me.
“Turn at the next corner.”
Noah followed my instructions, steering the fancy two-seater down my sad little street. Stray dogs nosed the garbage, the empty coffee cups, and fast food wrappers tossed in the gutter, hoping to find bits of leftover food. The houses saddened me with their roofs sagging, paint peeling, and the apartments, like mine, appeared abandoned.
“You live here?” Shock showed on his face. He gripped the wheel like he feared someone would take it. I don’t think he had even seen that part of town before.
“Yes. Let me out please.” I hated that Noah saw me there, like that. I hated that he now associated me with poverty.
“I’ll walk you to your door.” He spoke like he had made a decision, like something in his head told him that was the right thing to do.
“No. Please, just go.” I couldn’t drag this out any longer. It was humiliating. I opened the car door and swung my legs out. Just as my tattered flats landed on the broken asphalt, our apartment door flew open, slamming back against the wall with a bang, and my father stumbled out screaming.
“YOU LITTLE WHORE! HOW DARE YOU COME BACK HERE AFTER WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!” His eyes were wild. His stringy hair flew in all directions. The scent of cheap whiskey and despair wafted off of him. “How dare you bring yourself home like this, shaming your mother and me? You aren’t fit to be around your sisters. You’re nothing but a filthy slut!”
“Daddy,” I spoke calmly, praying Noah kept silent, knowing as he came up protectively behind me that that was a pipe dream. He wasn't going to be able to stay quiet as my father raged on. I placed a hand on Noah’s chest, wordlessly urging him not to get involved.
“Don’t Daddy me! You’re nothing but a drain on this family. Take your whore self away and don't come back! I won’t let you shame this family!”
“Daddy, please.” I stepped forward, hands spread in supplication, begging him to listen. “Nothing happened. I promise. I told you I had to work late.”
“Pah!” He spit on the sidewalk, and I jumped back, barely avoiding the spittle that landed just inches in front of me. “You don’t come stumbling in here in the wee hours of the morning, clothes wrinkled, stinking of sex, and tell me nothing happened. You made your bed; now you can lie in it. Be gone. I never want to see your whore face again!” He turned his back and stumbled into the apartment. My mother, who had watched from the doorway, had to jump back out of his way as the door slammed with a thud!
“Lena,” I could hear the pain and embarrassment in Noah’s voice. I am sure in his thirty years, he had never experienced anything quite like my family’s drama.
“No, Noah. You’ll just make it worse.” I didn’t have time to worry about Noah right then. I needed to focus on taking care of myself. “Please, just go. When he sobers up, he’ll forget this ever happened.”
“Lena, I can’t leave you here like this. Come on.” He put his arm around me and tried to usher me back to the car. The sleek black Porsche sitting silently at the curb looked totally out of place amidst the abject poverty. He looked stunned. I don’t think his highness Noah Hendrix, III had ever really seen how the other half lived.
I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t know what else to do. I silently waved at the row of noses pressed against the window as my siblings peered through the curtains and watched me go. Only Toby bothered to raise a hand to wave as Noah helped me into the car and quiet
ly shut the door between me and my life.
“I’m taking you home, Lena. If you really want me to, I can bring you back after work.”
What have I done? Oh my God, what have I done?
I sat shivering in Noah’s Porsche, practically catatonic, as my emotional center shut down. Too many big things had happened in too short a time. I tried to pretend the sex hadn’t happened, but it had. It had, and it was wonderful. But he wasn’t mine, and I couldn’t keep him. If I tried, things would only be awkward between us, and I could lose my job. That job was the best thing that had happened to me in my short life.
Where am I going to live? Will Daddy forget? I could only hope he was drunk enough not to remember. If I went home at the normal time that afternoon and pretended it didn’t happen, would he pretend too? Who would take care of the kids while Mama worked? Who would cook and clean and get them to bed while she pandered to her drunken husband? Who would protect them from his fists when he got so soused he wanted to fight everyone?
Maybe putting on a show of his power for Noah was enough to make him happy. Who am I kidding? He hasn’t been happy since the accident in the mines.
I stared out the window as Noah drove away from the curb. The Porsche engine purred. The leather seats felt supple under my fingers. The heater chased the chill from my bones. It wasn’t cold outside, but I shivered as I sat watching the scenery outside the sports car change from dingy to neat, and then to opulent. Noah pulled into an underground garage, parking the precision machine in a spot marked “HENDRIX.”
“Come on, Lena. Let’s clean you up.”
“No.” I looked up him, startled out of my pity party. “I need to go to work. It’s time for work. Take me back to work please.”
Noah Page 5
