Mailroom Delight

by Khardine Gray

  “Yeah, sure, but that doesn’t have a process. People who truly match don’t care about process.”

  “Well there must be a process with all of this.” She insisted.

  “No. They simply go online and start talking, if they are interested to meet they meet here and take it from there.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that, and with added peace of mind.”

  She looked like she wanted to challenge me again, so I thought of what I could do to challenge her instead.

  “It’s that simple?” she asked.

  “Yes Paige, when people click there is no process. Like how we’re clicking right now.” I knew I’d grab her attention by saying that.

  “We’re not clicking. This is a work thing and you’re my boss.”

  “News flash, Sweet Thing, we aren’t at work, and yes we are clicking. There was no process to that. Just raw emotion.”

  “I don’t have any emotion towards you, other than annoyance.” She blinked a few times, lashes long and thick over her eyes.

  “I beg to differ.”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course, I’m annoyed at you.”

  “But you also like me.”

  “No, not really.” She shook her head.

  “Okay, well if that’s true kiss me.” I laughed again at the look on her face.

  I was done talking about work now. I said what I wanted to say and made my point, which simply was she was a source people turned to, and she needed to consider more than what she did when she gave advice.

  I thought I’d gotten the point across, if only in small amounts. It was enough to at least make her think.

  Now on to better things, which the shocked look on her face told me was going to take some maneuvering.

  I looked over her lips and felt the desire for the kiss take me.

  “I’m not kissing you.” She flinched. “You must be insane.”

  “Are you scared you may feel something?” Here was my play. If she took this one level ahead of me her instinct would be to prove me wrong. She could only do that by kissing me.

  “No. I know I don’t feel anything.”

  “Right, I see. You’re scared you may like me more than you already do,” I chuckled.

  “I don’t and I’m not.”

  “Okay, so kiss me. Prove me wrong. Show me that we don’t click, and I won’t hit on you again.” Excitement swelled within me as I noted the change in her demeanor. She looked like she was considering it.

  “So, the kiss will give me freedom from you?”

  “Yes, Sweet Thing? I know you aren’t seeing anyone, so you have no excuses.” I was trying hard now not to just take hold of her tiny waist and pull her onto my lap. “Come here.” I crooked my finger at her, beckoning her closer.

  She looked uncertain at first, so I made the first move and tried to act like I couldn’t feel the excitement that rippled through me. It was the anticipation of claiming a difficult woman.

  God, she actually looked nervous.

  The guard she’d placed up with being so tough and not interested in me was fading.

  She was still as I lowered to her lips. I paused for a second, so I could see what it was like to be so close to her. I savored the look she gave me and proceeded to her lips.

  The minute I pressed my lips to hers I felt a blast of energy wash over me. My lips actually burnt from the intensity and the heat.

  She jumped back, pulling away before we really got going and looked panicked.

  I knew she felt that surge too. I could see it written all over her face.

  “I can’t.” She said through a labored breath.

  “Why?” I needed her again. The kiss was far too brief.

  “I…” she looked worried.

  “It’s just kissing, Paige.” I assured her, because I saw she wanted me too. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s just kissing.”

  “Just kissing.” She breathed.

  I smiled as she inched back to me. I lowered to her lips again and relished the moment she truly dropped her guard and kissed me back too.

  Chapter 8

  Paige

  My body tingled everywhere.

  There wasn’t an ounce of me left I could control, and I felt my consciousness leave me the longer he kissed me.

  The mere touch of his hand sent a jolt of electricity through me and I couldn’t control the intense need I had for more.

  Kissing him shattered my control and the guard I’d placed up to shield my heart from everything.

  All I knew in this moment, here and now, was that I wanted him and nothing else mattered.

  His tongue explored the recesses of my mouth, and I explored him too, loving the taste of him.

  He tasted like something forbidden, like the pure, raw temptation I needed so badly. His kiss sent spirals of ecstasy through me quenching my thirst, filling the hunger I didn’t even know I felt.

  I was only mildly aware of his hand creeping up the side of my waist. When his fingers brushed the underside of my breast I wanted him to touch me more, to take me right here.

  And, it was that sudden, intense want that knocked my senses back into me.

  This wasn’t just kissing. There was too much passion, too much desire.

  Just too much… everything.

  I wasn’t ready for what he had to offer. I wasn’t ready for this kiss, and if I didn’t stop now I would allow him to take me if he wanted to.

  I moved back again. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  Confusion filled his handsome face and he caught my arm before I could move.

  “Paige, stay. It’s just kissing.”

  “It’s not.” I shook my head at him. No way in hell was that just kissing.

  “Okay, it wasn’t. It can be more.” He stared at me, and I swore he could see how lonely I must be. “It can be more if you want it to be.”

  I hated myself for admitting I did want more. I wanted it to be more. But I was not ready and I didn’t know him well enough to explain that.

  He was the first man I’d kissed in three years. I didn’t know why I felt like I wouldn’t feel anything when I kissed him.

  “Jason, I can’t.” That took strength. “I just…”

  Frustration filled me, and I was annoyed at myself now.

  When he released me, I moved and didn’t look back.

  I just went straight to my car and drove home.

  As I stepped through the door the first thing I saw was the large wedding picture of Paul and me.

  It was the larger version to the picture I had in the bedroom. I looked at his smiling face as he looked at me in my truly beautiful dress and I felt so bad tears filled my eyes.

  I knew I agreed I would try to let him go. I agreed to it earlier when I spoke to Bernice, but then my readers and work was on my mind. I decided meeting Jason tonight was about that.

  But that wasn’t the complete truth…

  I had to be honest with myself about this. There must have been some part of me that wanted to see Jason outside of those reasons. A part of me that wanted to give in to the attraction that had sparked between us.

  And maybe that was the part of me that wanted some ounce of a normal life. It was the part of me that wanted to feel. It needed to feel wanted, desired, emotions.

  Jason had awakened that part of me tonight. It was pure and simply the person I used to be.

  That part of me had a name.

  It was the old Paige.

  The problem was I wasn’t sure awakening her was a good thing, because then I’d really be letting Paul go.

  I didn’t bother to hide the fact something was wrong when I saw Bernice the next day.

  As I walked into the mailroom she took one look at me and knew.

  I told her everything that happened, and it felt good to get it off my chest.

  “Ay dios mios.” She gasped when I finished. She took a sip of her mocha and rested it back on the table.

  “Is
that all you can say?” I widened my eyes at her.

  “Yes. Come on you know that was an oh my God moment. The Spanish was for greater effect. I could also add Santa Maria too.”

  “This isn’t funny Bernice. He’s my boss.”

  Bernice laughed. “You know there’s no restriction on office romance here. And hey, you know that wouldn’t stop most people if such a rule existed. I must also make you aware at least ninety percent of the women here are planning on how they can get their hands on him. Me included, except now that he’s yours, he’s off limits to me.”

  “No, he’s not mine. I barely know him.” I thought saying all the things I knew I should be thinking about would help. Like that advice about reading aloud. It did something to your brain to make the information stick better.

  “Sweetie, you know you’re talking to me, right? I think I’m the one person you can be real with. You can tell me how you feel, not how you think you should feel.” Bernice stared at me long and perceptive.

  “I feel bad.”

  “Why?” she glared at me. “The man is super-hot, Paige.”

  “I know, but he’s…the last man I was with was Paul. I haven’t been on a date in three years.”

  Bernice’s mouth dropped. I knew that would come as a complete shock to her. That was my fault for making her think otherwise. I’d always talked about the guys that asked me out, and I guessed she’d assumed I’d gone out with them.

  I didn’t. Again, I wasn’t ready.

  “What are you saying to me?”

  “I know.”

  “I thought you’d dated. I’m sorry I didn’t –”

  “No. It was a sensitive subject. You don’t have to apologize.” That really was my fault. It was part of the same problem of my friends and family not knowing when they could talk to me about Paul.

  I gave them permission by talking about the subject first, and I figured they’d gaged the conversation based on what I said. Going further and asking for details would maybe seem insensitive on their part.

  I thought I’d feel like that if our situations were reversed.

  “Paige,” Bernice lowered her voice. “Are you saying you haven’t had sex in three years? Maybe more given the length of time Paul was sick.”

  I actually laughed, but then I nodded and brought my hands up to my cheeks.

  “Dios mios. Lord girl. We have to fix that.”

  “No, I…” I looked away and fixed my gaze on the stacks of shelves with the different compartments for the mail.

  Bernice reached across the table and took hold of my hands. “Paige, don’t. Don’t do this to yourself. It’s not good. Why don’t you try living a little? It could be fun. I know you haven’t had fun in a while. That much I know because you’re always here.”

  I was listening. This was what I needed to hear.

  “I need time.”

  “Okay, so you’re going to allow the gorgeous man to get away from you?” She laughed.

  “He’s really arrogant and cocky, and definitely not my type.”

  Bernice only laughed. “Okay. Let’s see how this one plays out.”

  “Can I work down here today?”

  “Sure. But, I think he knows the way to the mailroom.”

  “He won’t look down here for me.” I didn’t think he would even look for me. Men like him just moved on to the next catch.

  Just in case though I thought it was best to be somewhere I could work in peace without having him loom into my office or go there to find him waiting for me.

  I was wrong.

  He found me.

  I was busy looking through my emails when I saw him descend from the top of the stairs and lock eyes on me.

  Bernice had gone out to get some snacks we could munch on for the day. Frank and the other two assistants had gone to do their rounds upstairs for the internal mail. That left me by myself.

  Jason smiled when he saw me. “The mailroom is the next best place to find you.” He said when he got to the bottom of the stairs.

  “Can I help you with something?” I was trying to regain some of my former guts.

  “Yes, you most definitely can.” He walked up to me and stopped a few inches away. The smile that captivated me filled his face and made his eyes sparkle.

  He lowered and crouched next to me then took hold of my hand and kissed it.

  “We clicked last night.” As always, he was getting straight to the point.

  “Maybe.”

  “I like you.” His eyes held mine as he said that.

  “I can’t do anything with you, and not here.” His presence, and closeness was making me lose my sense of control. And, him holding my hand didn’t help.

  “Doesn’t have to be here baby.” Seduction called to me and flickered in the depths of his eyes.

  When he tugged on my hand and pulled me up I went willingly.

  My emotions awakened again, and even when my brain screamed to think about what I was doing I wouldn’t listen. Didn’t want to.

  Like a puppet I followed him to the storage room.

  Jason closed the door and in that moment the part of me that craved what he gave me last night overshadowed my fears.

  I moved to him when he covered my lips hungrily. Kissing him last night had unlocked something inside me that needed to feel like this.

  This intense desire. The type of desire that could melt me. It called to me to give into the temptation of passion’s call.

  I wanted this. I wanted him and didn’t want anything to stop me.

  Not sense or reason, not logic or reality.

  I ran my hands up the solid wall of muscle beneath his suit jacket and got lost in the firm muscles I felt there.

  Wow, he actually did feel like a wall.

  It wasn’t long before I was completely absorbed in the kiss and I wanted more.

  So much more.

  The more he offered last night.

  He lifted me up and placed me on a nearby table. The boxes stacked up behind me pressed into my back, but that was all I was aware of. His kisses consumed me and as he moved away from my lips and down my neck my whole body blazed hot with the fire.

  I managed to smooth my hands over his shoulders again and through the thickness of his hair as he went across my chest and down to my breasts. His hands moved up my other side and I moaned loudly when he squeezed my left breast.

  God, I couldn’t believe what we were doing, and here at work in the mailroom.

  Fuck.

  “You like that?” He paused from kissing me and looked at my face.

  My skin turned completely red and, in that moment, reality resurfaced and screamed, “we can’t do this.”

  However, before I could get my body to move the simple touch he gave paralyzed me.

  Instead of jumping off the table and running like hell – like I should have, because clearly I’d gone mad – I watched him pull down my camisole top so that it floated down to my waist, revealing the soft blue hue of my bra.

  “Lace. Nice. Let’s see what else you like.” He focused his gaze on my breasts as he spoke and with one quick snap undid my bra causing the heft of my breasts to spill out. “Fuck.” He sighed.

  It didn’t even register I was a few clothes away from being completely naked in front of a man I only met a few days ago, and he was my boss.

  He lowered straight to my right breast and drew my nipple into his mouth.

  Pure pleasure surged through me. That was the best way I could describe it.

  Pure. Undiluted. Unadulterated. Raw.

  I couldn’t restrain the moans that escaped my lips. No, there was no point even trying to do it.

  I actually didn’t want to. The moans were like a release of what I’d built up with in me. What I’d repressed and sealed off.

  I thought I’d die when he moved to the other breast and started sucking too. I rested my arms behind me so that I could arch my back into each suck.

  Then I heard something.

  My n
ame was being called from far, far away.

  “Paige, where are you?” The voice said.

  Jason stopped and looked up, toward the door.

  “Shit.” He cursed.

  “Paige, are you in here? You have to try these Belgian buns.” Bernice called out.

  God. I could hear her now. She wasn’t far away at all.

  The panic of the state Jason and I were in knocked into me full force and I quickly started fixing my top. But, my hands were shaking so much I couldn’t quite grasp the clasp of my bra. Jason saw and stopped me covering my hands with his.

  “I have to go.” I protested unable to hide the strain in my voice.

  “Wait. Just calm for two seconds.” He breathed.

  I was surprised to see him reach for my bra and bring the two sides of my clasp together, snapping it back for me.

  There was something admirable to note in his effort, just like a few other things I’d noticed he’d done and said over the last few days.

  Jason presented this arrogant alpha male character who was so blasé, but I’d noticed there was another side to him that was the opposite of that. You’d only see it if you got to know him.

  “She could come in, I should go.”

  “I locked the door.” A smile inched across his handsome face.

  His gaze held mine and I felt lost in the depth of the blue hues that filled his eyes.

  “Come with me.” His voice broke through the tension that coursed through me.

  “Where?”

  “Home. My place.” The look in his eyes was almost desperate.

  It was how I felt too. Desperate.

  “I can’t. I have emails to write.” That was such a lame excuse. Just as bad as saying something like I was washing my hair.

  He laughed, and I found myself smiling inside.

  “What if I give you permission to be off?”

  “I…can’t.”

  “Can I use that I’m your boss line I tried the other day? Or does that land me in wait for a sexual harassment suit? I will gladly be sued and serve time in prison if you come home with me. Seriously, that is a possibility, I’ll even sign a contract.”

  I didn’t know where the laugh came from, but I found myself laughing and it felt like he’d yet again freed something that was stored away inside me.