Mister Know It All: A Hero Club Novel

by Amélie S. Duncan

  “Morning, Mr. Lingren,” Jasmine called from behind me.

  I kept my focus steady on the row of suit jackets in front of me in the closet, though I’d already chosen a black blazer to go over my white V-neck shirt for the plane ride. If I timed it right, I had just enough to go deal with that piece of shit Randall. He won’t mess with Jasmine again after I’m done with him.

  “You come to see me off?” I asked. The words came out more clipped than I meant.

  “Don’t grump, Ford. We both work, and just like you, I don’t shirk my responsibilities.”

  Jasmine hadn’t agreed to come with me, and I couldn’t stop my frustration. Although the reasons she stayed home were some of the same reasons I admired her. But, in truth, she came to me vulnerable, and now I was.

  Jasmine knew how to take my orders in bed like no other woman I’d met before. She’d been willing to indulge me and try new things. Her beauty and sensitivity were a heady mix that had me captivated, and I didn’t know what to do about it.

  “You didn’t wake me up,” Jasmine said, cutting into my thoughts.

  I cleared my throat. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  I hadn’t wanted to get out of my bed with Jasmine there. Her warmth. Her soft skin. Her breathing. Everything about her by my side had brought . . . peace. Wanted. I’d felt lonely after Cecile left—after all, we’d been together for two years—but I’d convinced myself it was temporary. Jasmine came over twice and filled up my home with her radiance. She didn’t change the place, but it felt more like a home with her in it.

  “Well, turn around and look at me, sex god. I’m getting cold,” she said in a mischievous tone.

  I sighed and turned my head. Fuck.

  Jasmine stood in the door arch with my blue tie draped around her neck and nothing else. She’s a sexy little minx.

  My gaze rolled down her curvy, gorgeous body, lingering over her lush tits, watching her nipples turn hard under my stare. They looked so sexy clamped, even more as they hardened in my mouth as I sucked on them. Her responses—moaning, writhing, begging me—made me want to fuck her all over again.

  I adjusted my erection, unable to stop myself. Jasmine tempted me like no other.

  She grinned at me, then stretched, raising arms over her head. And she’s intoxicated on her power.

  “Come here,” I growled, my command sharp and impatient. I couldn’t wait another minute to feel Jasmine’s soft skin and taste her sweet lips again.

  My blood heated as Jasmine strut over, swaying her sexy hips and hypnotizing me.

  She stopped in front of me and shyly glanced up. Her pupils were dilated with desire as her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip, waiting. Jasmine was so eager to please me, and it made my cock hard.

  Reaching down, I picked up the tie’s ends and wrapped them around my hands. When I tugged on the tie, Jasmine stepped closer for me to kiss her, and I did. Her touch was searing hot, and she melted against the front of my body, kissing me back. Her lips were like velvet. Her arms went around my waist, hugging me, pulling me even closer.

  I dragged my lips down her neck and up to her ear, and whispered, “I want to bind your hands and put you on your knees so I can fuck your sweet mouth and cunt. And you will let me, won’t you, Jasmine?”

  My hand went down to her ass and squeezed. She had a firm, apple-shaped ass I’d like to see covered with my seed.

  Jasmine squirmed against me, rubbing her hard nipples against my chest.

  “Yes,” she said, breathless.

  I kissed her forehead, then removed the tie from her neck and looped it around her wrists, fastening them together tight enough to make her feel it. Then I tested. “How does that feel?”

  She wiggled her hands. “Not too bad.”

  “Good.”

  I meant to put her back on her knees, but I couldn’t keep my hands off her. I squeezed her breasts and slid my hand down her stomach to her pussy. She lifted her hips and squeezed around my fingers to keep them inside her.

  “Not yet, petal,” I said and removed my hand.

  “Ford,” she drawled in protest, and I kissed her neck. Soon.

  Pressing on her shoulders, she kneeled on the carpet in front of me. I stepped back and admired her dark hair tousled around her shoulders. The stiff peaks of her full breasts jutted out and swollen, just begging me to fuck them. Her legs parted enough for me to enjoy her bare, sweet cunt.

  Fuck, she’s driving me crazy.

  I yanked open my trousers, freed my cock, and stroked from the base to the tip, then rubbed the weeping head along her soft lips. “Show me how good you can suck me.”

  I clasped her long, luscious hair between my fingers and caressed it for an instant before rolling my hand around the long strands, tugging hard enough to make her gasp and pull her closer. Rocking my hips, I began to slowly feed my cock in and out of her mouth.

  Jasmine’s skin flushed so gorgeously. She hollowed her cheeks as she pressed her full lips tightly around my girth, rolling her hot tongue all around it. Her pupils dilated, her chest rose and fell as she stared up at me as my erection throbbed inside her mouth.

  I stilled and petted her head until her breathing eased, and her head rested in my hands, relaxing under my control. She tugged at her restraint, her hands opened and closed behind her back.

  “You like me fucking your mouth.” I know I like it too damn much. Jasmine was so focused and keen on pleasing me.

  She moaned around my shaft, swallowing, sucking me harder, willing to take more as I thrust inside her mouth. I held her head, keeping my eyes on her as I pushed my cock in deeper, brushing the back of her throat.

  My blood caught fire, and my head fell back and shuddered as her lips brushed my base. Fuck. I could feel my cock pulse in her throat, my cock throbbed, and my body started to lock.

  “Damn, Jasmine. This is so fucking good,” I hissed, knowing that if I stayed inside her mouth, inside her tight throat for another instant, I’d completely lose control. I had to move.

  Her eyes were watery, her lips swollen and damp. She wiggled with her evident arousal. She was wet and eager, practically begging me to claim her all over again.

  Damn, I wish I had my camera.

  I clutched her bound hands and lifted her to her feet, making her gasp oh so sweetly. Squeezing her hips, I pressed my dick against her firm ass. Her scent was sweet and intoxicating, her skin as soft as silk. The sexy curves of her body made me feel light-headed.

  “You need me to fuck you, don’t you?”

  She moaned and arched her back, pushing herself against my hard cock.

  “I’m going to fuck you hard.” I quickly moved us to the end of the bed. “Get on.”

  “On all fours?” she teased at the bottom of my bed. Climbing on the mattress, she wiggled her ass to entice me even further. That wasn’t necessary, though. I was already burning up all over and needed her so badly it hurt.

  I bent her at the waist and tightened my grip on her hips. With a single thrust, I buried myself inside her tightness until every single inch of my shaft was squeezed by her perfect cunt. I felt myself balls deep. I saw her close her eyes and understood she was submitting to my will entirely.

  An intense pleasure flooded my body as I thrust in and out of Jasmine’s tight pussy. My mind was clouded by the kind of arousal that pushed away any coherent thought.

  I felt her grip hard around me, massaging me. I fucked her harder, slapping against her ass over and over again.

  “That’s right. Come with me. Don’t hold back, Jasmine.”

  Her body was already shaking, quivering all over. Her tits swayed back and forth with every thrust.

  Jasmine’s skin deliciously flushed, her toes bent, her back arched. She screamed, and then her cunt began to squeeze my cock, driving me to a blinding orgasm as she let herself go.

  “Ford!” Jasmine screamed again.

  How sweet my name sounded as it slipped from her lips. I shuddered as I came, keeping her clo
se to me, leaning forward so that my chest touched her back, our bodies moving as one.

  I eased us down onto the bed, tenderly removing the tie from around her wrists. I caressed her skin gently, relieved the fabric had left no imprint, although I was confident the memory of its touch would linger against her skin all day long, reminding her of our passion.

  “Hold me, please, Ford. I know you have to go, and I wish I could—”

  “You don’t need to explain.” I pulled Jasmine onto my chest, caressing her long hair. Oh, the things I want to do to you, give you. If only I could have you.

  Shit, there I go again. Already eager to change my life to fill it with Jasmine. While she mused on living alone, I never considered it. In fact, I hated it. Once I opened up myself, I didn’t want to hold back. I wanted to fall in love and get lost in the passion. But that was my problem, just as my friends warned me. I got so caught up so fast that I was hurt when it didn’t work out. I needed to slow down, but I knew now my heart was ready to move on.

  JASMINE

  Are you sick?

  Tiffany, Graham’s secretary, poured me a cup of water from the cooler outside of Graham’s office. Her eyes scanned over me. “I heard a group of guys attacked you at the Black Bull. Are you all right?”

  What happened to me at Black Bull had become hot gossip all week. My socio-theoretic brain couldn’t help marveling over how the retelling of stories reshaped over time. I also felt responsible for telling the truth.

  “One guy. I used self-defense, and fortunate for me, it worked. The bouncer threw him out.”

  “Good for you. You should teach a class or maybe come and speak at our company self-defense class in the gym?” A light bulb went off above her head as she calculated the brownie points a guest speaker idea might give her. Since Tiffany needed all the help she could get to keep Graham from firing her, I didn’t see the harm in helping her out.

  “Go for it. Tell Graham and whatever team he assigns the project to that I agreed. Then make sure you get in on an appointment to discuss it, so you get the credit.”

  “Yes, thank you,” she said, shaking my free hand with gusto before rushing off to find Graham. And my head swelled with the good deed I’d done as I strolled back to my cubicle.

  I’d only sat down when Quinton swung his door open and called out. “Jasmine, my lucky charm, I need you.” He was so excited. “Guess what just came in?” Quinton said after I closed the door behind me. He held up the prototype of Morgan Financial Holding’s summer swag: beach towels, sip cups, and a sand bucket for the kiddies. “What do you think? Be honest. It’s fabulous.”

  I grinned. “I love it. It reinforces the company’s family message. It also says we’re fun and makes employees think of work when trying to relax.”

  He laughed wickedly. “Yeah, it’s brilliant. Accounting already signed off on mass production. Oh, and your pajama party overtime slots this weekend are full.” He motioned me behind the desk, and we peered at the spreadsheet full of names.

  We high-fived.

  “You’re a natural at this stuff,” Quinton said. “You’re also as catty as I am. Can’t you work here instead of going back to Boston?”

  “I may take you up on that if I don’t get into a Ph.D. program.”

  My applications were out, but I’d received no messages from Tam, who collected my mail. Boston was home, so I’d sent applications to Emirs, Harvard, and Boston College. I hadn’t considered New York City. Why not? Or why did I want to come back was the real question. Sure, I loved Soraya, Graham, and Lorenzo. They’d been wonderful. But what really changed was that I enjoyed working at Morgan Financial. Living and working in New York City had given me so many ideas for research papers. Besides the top speakers coming regularly to lecture and the many courses available to help shape a dissertation, Ford also came to mind. He’d been gone five days, and I already missed him.

  My hands grasped my chest to still my pulse that raced from just thinking about him. I know I should dismiss those feelings, but I couldn’t stop myself. He’d opened up to me and touched me in ways I had never experienced before. He was an insatiable, giving, and creative lover. No man had ever desired me like that. He unearthed the zealous sex goddess in me. Every time he reached for me, I was hot and eager. Definitely the best sexual experience of my life, but there was more to it. He didn’t roll over and go to sleep afterward. He talked and held me all night.

  It took all my strength not to go away with him. It was the only way I could stop getting way ahead of myself, yet my heart still skipped a beat. I’d already fantasized about Ford sweeping me off my feet and tying me to his bed.

  Oh, help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ford’s gotten to me.

  “Are you sick?” Quinton asked, breaking my trance.

  “Bad coffee,” I lied and focused hard on the computer screen.

  “Where did you get the coffee? I had some too, and I can’t get a sour stomach before a lunch feast at Flora.”

  “Old coffee. I should have made a new pot,” I stammered.

  “Sure. It’s either coffee or a man. We all saw you leave with Ford last week.”

  I used my faulty poker face. “He gave me a ride home.”

  “No one is blaming you. Off the record and not as your boss, we’d all hit it.” His phone went off, and I used it as a quick exit. I wasn’t sure what to say to Ford about people knowing he was sort of seeing me. Had he told Cecile we’d had sex? He said he’d ended things. While I trusted him, I wanted to know what was going on between them. Questions filled my brain, giving me a splitting headache.

  My phone notification flashed before I sat down behind my desk.

  Tam: On the train approaching NYC. Can’t wait to see you!

  Jasmine: I can’t wait! Leaving now.

  I glanced at the clock. Jack, Graham’s driver, had also left a message for me to meet him downstairs. I packed up and turned off my computer screen.

  Buzz.

  Ford: I’m back tonight. Did you meet up with your friend?

  Jasmine: Tam’s on the way. Just leaving to pick her up.

  Ford: Double date tomorrow—dinner? My friend Martin will come. He may contact you about the gallery’s contract agreement that is separate to cover liability. It’s standard.

  Jasmine: Okay. I’ll send it along as soon as I receive it. I’ll have to talk Tam into the double date—so no promises. I miss you.

  My pulse sped up as I stared at the screen. Too much or too soon?

  Ford: I miss you too.

  My chest fluttered. Butterflies. I groaned. Stop! Things were already complicated enough. Yet that sweet joy at hearing from him didn’t go away. Or the nagging feeling that things between Ford and me were changing in a way that could hurt. But then I didn’t know how Ford felt about me. And I wanted to know.

  Yep. Definitely in lust teetering toward something desperate.

  I spotted Tam’s black pixie hairstyle and bright pink jacket easily. I ran over, and she dropped her bags to give me a hug.

  “I feel like I haven’t seen you in years,” I said.

  She laughed, and I picked up her bag, which Jack promptly took away along with hers.

  “Thank you,” we said in unison.

  Once back in the car, Tam turned her head to face me. “You’re looking good.”

  I did. I had my hair in curls and wore clothes Soraya no longer wanted. A designer silk shirt and pleated line gray pants and boots. “It’s work chic.”

  “I like. You look sated,” she teased, and I laughed.

  “Now, I was surprised when you told me Ford used clamps on the first night, but I respect he’s letting his kinks out at the start. How was it?”

  “Best sex I’ve ever had in my life,” I bragged. “But I’m always willing to try things once. No fake orgasms—”

  “You fake, Jaz? Oh, shame.” She clutched her chest dramatically.

  I laughed. “Yeah, just like on Seinfeld, I fake when I’m tired, and I want to sleep.”


  “Never fake. How else will he learn he sucks in bed?” Tam asked. “It sounds like ‘summer of me fling’ is back. Congrats.”

  I laughed, but I felt a bit weird about it. Ford was better than a fling. He was so many things, and I wanted to find out everything about him.

  “My co-workers invited us for after-work drinks before Hamilton tonight. Oh, and Ford said he’s setting you up with his friend Martin for a double date.”

  “What? Hell no,” Tam squeaked.

  “Oh, please. You owe me. I went out with your sweaty-hands cousin to your Aunt’s wedding last summer.”

  Tam smirked. “I knew that would come back to haunt me. But you owe me, and you can start by hitting the shops with me.”

  “Whatever you want to do. I missed you.”

  We hugged each other again, and Tam caught me up on what was going on back in Boston. Mostly, the times she had to fight to keep her times at the lab, the MCAT practice tests, and the movies she’d seen and books I had to read. I shared work and asked about my mail.

  “I brought the latest that wasn’t junk mail with me. A couple of thick envelopes.”

  I squeezed her hand. “I love you for not making me wait, but I’m going to leave them until before you leave. That way, we can just enjoy your visit.”

  A couple more days wouldn’t change things. This entire summer was a break to see what I wanted to do with my future, and if I had transferable skills into the actual world, should I not become a professor. In truth, my prospects were limited if I didn’t become a standout. Sure, I could work at a private school or as a teacher. But I didn’t want to burden Tam with my doubts.

  When we arrived back at the house, Soraya was on the floor helping Lorenzo play with an activity gym play mat.

  “God, he’s beautiful. He should get a portfolio and an agent,” Tam said.

  “That’s what everyone keeps telling us,” she said. “What’s going on today?”

  “Shopping,” we said at the same time, and we all laughed.