by Alice Ward
That pert little nose of hers wrinkled. “I didn’t realize it was fake.”
I smiled. God, she was so very precious.
“No. It’s not. But we’ve been sneaking around, like two school kids afraid to have anyone find out about us. I don’t want to do that. I want to… make this official. I want us to date. I want us to be a couple. For real.”
Surprise dawned on her face, and she raised an eyebrow. “Oh.”
I couldn’t tell if that little sound was one of surprise, disappointment, anger, or what. She just threw it out there, leaving me to stew and dangle in the wind, my heart thundering.
Finally, I couldn’t stand the suspense. “Oh, what?”
“It’s just… don’t you have something against dating your employees?”
I shook my head. “Maybe before. Not now. It feels too right. Besides, we were together before you were an employee, so…” I shrugged. I’d deal with any fallout.
“But I’m a nutritionist.”
“I’ll deal. As long as you can deal with the fact that I love to stuff Heigh-di-Hos in my face now and again, or lick Coco Crazies off your tits.”
She smiled, then her eyes turned glassy as tears filled them. She held out a hand. “I guess you have yourself a deal, Mr. Vaughn.”
Relief washed over me as I shook her hand. “Zach. I don’t let my employees call me Mr. Vaughn.”
She took a step closer. “Oh? What else don’t you let your employees do?”
She yanked me toward her. I stumbled forward, caging her against the wall.
“This?” She ran her hands under my jacket, up my ribcage.
“I’ll make an exception for you.”
She placed a hand on my chest and looked up at me, heavy-lidded, dark eyes pleading. I knew what she was asking of me.
My hand on the small of her back, I led her out of the room, thinking we’d go back to my place. But by the time we reached the bank of elevators, she was pressed against me. I pushed the DOWN button and turned to her, covering her mouth in a hot kiss as we groped each other hungrily.
No, this wouldn’t do. I was completely under her spell, and needed her now, with a fierceness I’d never felt before. I felt drunk, my mind only focused on one thing. Being with her, inside her, now.
“Come here,” I said, guiding her back to the bank of offices. I led her back to the enormous office. Her office.
I couldn’t think of a better way to christen it.
When I first met her, she was shy, timid, a little unadventurous. But since then, she’d transformed, and I’d like to think that I played a part in making her into a wild, uninhibited lover, easily the best and most exciting one I’d ever had. I couldn’t wait to get close to her again.
I pulled her flush against me and lowered my mouth down upon her waiting lips.
I was on the edge of losing it, just kissing her. I wanted her so bad. I delved my hands up her dress, running them up the well-shaped backs of her thighs, grabbing hold of her full ass. I ran my hands all over it, and even spanked it for good measure, as she let out a gasp of surprise.
“Well, this is the Health and Prosperity Division,” she groaned into my skin, laughing a little. “And there is nothing healthier than making love.”
Yes. Making love. That was exactly what we were doing.
I kissed her in the dim fluorescent light from the hallway, imagining her completely naked, all of that white skin bared to me as my hands roamed over her ass, feeling the dip of her lower back. All I could think about was sinking into her, feeling her tight, warm insides grip my cock.
I kissed her until she pressed her body up against the wall of her office and wrapped one strong thigh around my hip. Her sex rubbed up against my aching erection, and I groaned. She broke the kiss to say, “Let’s get these clothes off.”
With her help, I ripped open my pants in record speed, revealing my painfully hard cock. Her gasp only fueled my desire to be inside her, as fast as possible. My balls were tight and ready to burst if I didn’t get this release.
I licked into her mouth, fucking it hot and fast with my tongue, much like I’d soon be fucking her with my cock. She twined her arms around my neck, sifting her fingers through my hair. Lifting her leg higher around my hip, I drew her to me. In response, she arched her pelvis toward me and pressed her pussy against me so that I could feel the roughness of lace panties. I pushed them aside and felt the heat between us, so much heat.
“You don’t do this with all your employees, do you?” she asked coyly.
I let out a tight laugh. “Only the really cute ones.”
She bit down on her bottom lip, looking sexy as hell, and put her hand on my cock, the other one cupping my balls, making me feel fireworks of intense pleasure deep in my gut. “That’s good to know.”
And just like that, I was close. So close. Did she know what she was doing to me?
At the moment, I could only focus on her soft hand around my cock, stroking, pulling, squeezing, driving me mad. My balls drew up, and I knew I was close. It took every ounce of restraint I could muster to move her hand away.
I kissed her chin, then looked around. The windows didn’t have covers, but we were hidden enough. If anyone came onto the floor, the elevator’s ding would let us know in plenty of time. We were alone. Safe. And I’d never wanted anyone more.
So I tugged her down to the new plush carpet and laid her down in front of me. “I need to be inside you now,” I told her, hovering above her.
Her answer was to spread her legs and hitch her hips upward, brushing her wet sex against my cock.
That was all the answer I needed. Leaning down to kiss her, I brushed aside the barely-there fabric of her underwear and fit my cock to her entrance. As I slowly entered her, we both groaned. She was fucking sublime. How was it possible that every time with Juliana only felt better and better?
I knew I wouldn’t last long; maybe only a few thrusts. It was too good.
Her breasts rose and fell against my chest with her quick breaths. I squeezed them through the thin fabric of her dress as I started thrusting, filling her over and over again. She moaned, and the pleasure shot straight to my cock, making me even harder than before. She was so hot and wet and tight that my brain had shut off completely to everything but the sensation of where our bodies joined. I could only concentrate on how good she felt as she cooed my name in that breathy voice.
I started pounding into her, digging my knees into the new carpeting underneath me, my thrusts deep and sure. A low sound began in her throat, and she tilted her head back to the ceiling. Sitting up, I grabbed her hips and tilted them toward me as leverage to fuck her harder. Our skin slapped together, loud, animalistic, primal, and I was surprised the whole building hadn’t come running to see what was going on up here. I watched as my cock filled her, and it only served to drive me crazier, seeing her pussy gripping me, over and over again.
Her hips canted upward to match my thrusts, and I felt her tightening around me. She sank her teeth into the skin of my neck, closing her eyes as her body started to tremble toward orgasm.
“Oh, god, Zach, I’m coming!” she breathed into my ear, her body tensing and releasing, her pussy clenching even tighter. “Oh, god, it’s so good. You’re always so good.”
Close, my rhythm flagged, becoming jagged, desperate. I growled her name, gripping her hips, and then I came, deep within her as she screamed my name.
I collapsed by her side, breathing heavily. I pulled her to me, needing her close as we caught our breath.
She grinned as we both laid in the thick carpeting of what was soon to be her new office. I really didn’t give a shit what she did to the décor here. I didn’t care if they added a bunch of meditation pods or whatever it was they needed to perform the job. All I needed to make sure of was to have shades on all the windows, and a door with a lock, because I knew this wouldn’t be the last time we’d be together, like this, in here.
I already knew this wasn’t like any
relationship I’d ever been in. It was far too intense, an explosion that had completely rocked my world.
I’d been intrigued by Juliana since I met her, then infatuated. Then obsessed. But now, it was more. Much more.
I was utterly, totally, and completely in love with her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Juliana
“Okay, so this is what I’m thinking,” I said as we laid on the carpet of my office, tangled in each other’s arms.
My office. I liked the sound of that. No, I wouldn’t let it go to my head, but the thought of working on school lunches part-time, while also maintaining my practice at Healthy Steps… it was everything I’d ever dreamed of.
Wait. No. If you added Zach into the mix, that was everything I’d ever dreamed of. Now, I knew this was more than just him trying to get into my pants.
This was love.
I felt it in every muscle of his body, every look he gave me, every touch. And I could barely go a minute without thinking of him.
He tried to sit up, but I rolled on top of him, straddling him, pressing our sexes together. “I think this room should be peach.”
He wrapped his hands around the small of my back. I could feel his cock starting to harden again underneath me. “Peach? You mean like, orange?”
I nodded. “Or more like terra cotta. Like an Arizona sunset.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about. Every shade of orange looks exactly the same.”
I rolled my eyes. He was such a man.
“Peach is nice. All the offices at Healthy Steps are that color. It’s calming. Healthy.”
“If you think so. Whatever you say, Jule.”
I wiggled my ass until I could feel him growing even harder. “The furniture should be light. Not anything too severe. We should have ergonomic, sit-stand desks, as well as a healthy meditation pod for decompression.”
It was his turn to roll his eyes.
“It’s killer,” I told him. “All the modern offices are getting them. It’s like this soundproof ball that you can go into when you’re feeling stressed, to get back your Zen.”
He gave me a skeptical look. “Do we have to hold hands and sing Kumbaya? Play new age music and greet each other with ‘Namaste?’”
“I’d settle for some good old Marvin Gaye.” I ran my hands up his shirt, coming to rest on his nipples, which were hardening like his cock. “All this stuff is research-proven to provide a healthier workspace. And you obviously want our Health and Prosperity Division to lead the charge on that front, right?”
He nodded. “You’re right.”
He deserved a reward for that. I lifted up on my knees, stood his cock straight, and sank down onto it. He lurched forward, steadying me.
“Oh, god, Jule,” he murmured as he rose to sitting. “You feel so good. But I don’t know if I can… so soon…”
“Well, we can have fun trying,” I said, wiggling on top of him, using him to find the right spot. “Right?”
Yep, he was right. It felt beyond good. Using him, rubbing his body against my clit, I felt another orgasm coming on. Not only did he make me feel good; he made me feel right, comfortable. Never in my life would I have ever been the sex goddess he’d made me. Being on top? Taking the initiative to start sex? Who was this girl I’d become?
All I knew was that I liked her.
I wished I could write a letter to my fifteen-year-old self and tell her that it would be all right. That I was worthy of love. Maybe then, I wouldn’t have spent so many years thinking there was something wrong with me. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to spend so much of my life being on guard, thinking that the Coltons of the world mattered.
When I looked into Zachary’s eyes, I didn’t care what any of those people who’d been against me had said. None of that meant anything now. All that I needed was him.
And that was love, wasn’t it?
I loved him. I needed him, and I loved him. Deliriously. In a way I’d never loved anything in my life.
I came hard a second later, the explosion taking me by surprise. Even more surprisingly, he came too, gasping under me. He pulled me tight against him, crushing his face between my breasts.
We stayed there, fused together, for what seemed like forever, feeling content and satisfied. After a few minutes, I had to laugh. We hadn’t even moved a desk into this office, and we’d already made love in it twice. Hopefully, with a floor separating us, we’d be able to keep our hands off each other and get some actual work done.
Because I’d already started making plans, and not just about the color of the walls. I was determined to rock this job. To kick butt, and take names, and make this city a little bit healthier.
I found some more tissues in my purse and slowly pulled him out of me, getting myself cleaned up. He shimmied his pants over his hips and tucked in his dress shirt, zipped his pants, and fastened his belt. Grabbing his phone, he said, “Dinner?”
I checked the time on my phone. Geez, it was after nine. Any time I spent with Zach just seemed to fly. I’d have to get back to Hobbes soon, but I had no desire to leave Zach, even for a moment.
I realized as we were going out that he’d never been to my place. It was kind of out of the way, off Manhattan proper. Now was the time to get him back there so he could poke fun at the fact that I’d sentimentally strewn knickknacks all over my apartment.
I was ready for it.
“Want to come back to my place? We can get pizza on the way.” I smiled at him. “It will require you to leave the island of Manhattan.”
“The horror.” He grinned. “Deal.”
We went out to the busy city street and hailed a cab to Queens. As we did, I got more and more excited by the thought of finally sharing my apartment with him. I loved sharing things with him, little by little, of opening new parts of myself to him. We had books in common, music, but every day seemed to unveil something else that we shared. Maybe, after he saw my messy little home, he’d get to meet my scary mother, if I ever decided to talk to her again. We could have a Scary Mother Smackdown, over whose mom was the worst.
“I hope you like cats,” I told him as we got into the cab he’d hailed.
“I love them in theory,” he said, scratching at the side of his face. “But I’m allergic to them, actually.”
My jaw dropped. He was kidding, wasn’t he? “Really?”
I had to laugh. Just one more obstacle that we’d have to overcome. But now, I was ready. If we could be together, after all this, a little cat dander wasn’t going to stop anything now.
As if he could sense what I was thinking, his hand tightened on mine. “What’s the name of the pizza place?”
I told him that it was Il Giordino, and he placed a call. As the phone rang, I tried to get his attention to explain to him just what I liked on my pizzas, but he held up a finger and turned away from me. “Yes, one large pie. Wheat crust. Vegan cheese. Tomatoes. Green peppers. Spinach.” He looked over at me. “Mushrooms?”
I nodded, astonished. So those times we’d gone out to eat, he’d been taking notes.
“Mushrooms,” he finished, pausing to listen on the line. “Twenty minutes? Great. See you then.”
He hung up and smiled at me, clearly proud of himself.
“There’s hope for you yet,” I said. “But what’s for dessert? You probably won’t be very happy with my dessert drawer. It involves carob.”
He pulled me close to him and shook his head.
“You should know by now, Juliana,” he whispered. “You are all the dessert I’ll ever need… because I love you.”
And there it was. The three little words that were as big as all the moons and stars.
I touched his face, running my thumb over his lips. “I love you too.”
EPILOGUE
Juliana
The following September, I stood in the cafeteria of the Elias Howe school, listening as Principal Witt strode along the stage at the front of the cafeteria, extolling the virtues of
the new Vaughn Industries’ Healthy Directions School Lunch program.
Gone was the atrocious odor that used to hang in the air. Now, the only smells were mouthwatering ones; the kind of scents you’d smell while walking past a fine restaurant downtown. On today’s menu? Baked chicken, parmesan crusted asparagus that looked like French fries, a side of fruit salad, and a wheat-flour dinner roll with fresh cream butter. Everything had been crafted with healthy, locally sourced ingredients. After trimming the fat from the school lunch program budget, we found that all of the new menus could be delivered at the same price as the limp spinach and inedible pizza. I was confident about the nutrition of my meals, and that Vaughn could continue to provide them without sinking into bankruptcy.
The only thing I wasn’t so sure of? Whether the kids would like it. If they turned up their noses at these meals, then what would be the point?
It was a big day for me, and for all of Vaughn Industries. This had been the first project initiated by my division over a year ago, and I needed it to do well. I’d chosen the Elias Howe School as the test subject for the program, and after months of working through the details, testing day was finally here.
From here, we’d know whether Zach’s gamble in the new division was paying off.
I glanced over at him, my biggest supporter and cheerleader during all this, and my heart swelled. Not only that, I felt that familiar butterfly fluttering feeling I always got, low in my abdomen. He was absolutely scrumptious in his jeans, filling them out better than any non-exercising man should. Yes, I’d picked those and the Beasts t-shirt out for him, and he’d happily begun wearing them, agreeing that yes, sometimes, jeans were better. I also had gotten him to exercise a little over the months. Occasionally. Sparingly.
From below us on the cafeteria floor, he cocked a grin at me as he helped a kindergartener open his carton of skim milk. Watching him like that, being sweet to a child, my insides felt all warm and gooey. He’d make an excellent father someday.
