Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)

by K. F. Breene

  “Well, let me tell you, Blake has a bad rap. He slept with two admins this weekend. He has no fans among the gals. I’ve been spreading word that he has a small penis. Again, you’re welcome.”

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “It’s nice to have a man on the inside.”

  “I do my best. Plus,” Marcus continued, leaning toward her conspiratorially, “I hear Sean scared the bejesus out of him.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Sean can get a little intense.” She’d seen Sean fight—she bet Blake wet himself when Sean took off the suave exterior and showed the crazy lurking. “You’re looking good, by the way.”

  Marcus looked down at himself and turned around to flaunt his tux. “Borrowed it from a friend, and then had a tailored.”

  Krista raised her eyebrows.

  “He’s too fat—he’ll never fit into it again anyway,” Marcus said as he waved away her concern.

  “What are they saying about Sean?” Krista asked, suddenly fearful that his chance at success was going to be cut short by his support of her.

  “Well, I imagine you know what the gals are saying. What they always say—hot young stud, well groomed, gentleman, a great catch, yada yada.” Marcus rolled his eyes.

  “And the managers?”

  “Are worried. He’s had such little experience in the Big Cat game, no one thought he would get the VP position. He beat out a great many guys, apparently. They thought it was a fluke and he would go down in flames. Then he goes and promotes a chick. Nail in the coffin, right?” Marcus smiled and leaned back. “Wrong. He starts making changes right away. His chick starts turning Phil’s old job upside down. The pair of you save money left and right. Sean shows up here, and his chick and him take the best awards. Oh yeah, they’re all talking. Sean’s making waves, as always. He’ll be the best in no time. Mark my words.”

  “He’s different and he gets acknowledgement. I’m different and I get outcast.” Krista muttered.

  “Get over your pity party. He’s a young, ambitious white guy with bucks. All these guys started there once. No one started as a young, ambitious white gal with nothing but college debt. Or a black, gay guy not taken seriously, for that matter. You aren’t the only one put upon.”

  “Yikes. Can’t I have a moment to feel sorry for myself in peace?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Ten nanoseconds. Anyway, tell Uncle Marcus, what’s going on with you and the young stud?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Uh huh. I hear he k-i-s-s’ed you in the tree. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes little Krissy’s in the baby carriage.”

  “Funny. And yeah, he did.”

  “And you told him to f-off.”

  “Yeah, I did. Thought I was going to fall off the side or something.”

  “So, not because you didn’t like it...”

  “Marcus, you said yourself, he’s a hot young stud. Who wouldn’t like it?”

  “Krista, listen.” Marcus turned his whole body toward her. “From what I’ve heard, he hasn’t been with many people since you left. No one consistent, and no one even pretending to be permanent. When are you going to realize he’s in it for the long haul?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t want to talk about it.”

  Marcus’ brow furrowed. “What does he…” Marcus stopped talking and looked over Krista’s shoulder.

  Krista followed his gaze and saw Emily leaning on the bar next to her. When she turned back, Marcus said, “Alright Geegee, I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Marcus wandered away in an easy lope.

  Krista turned back to Emily. “What, do you have a Marcus-be-gone spray or something?”

  “You’d be surprised,” She laughed. “People usually suffer me, not have a desire to talk to me. Hey Krista, two things.” She looked around her, saw no one listening, then continued, “First, I don’t know if anyone told you, but Tory has a special reason for hoping you succeed. As do I.”

  “Um…Okay?”

  “Our youngest is in her first year at Harvard Business School. Tory wants to place her when she has graduated. Now, I’m sure I don’t have to impress upon you that this is between you and I…”

  Krista nodded her assent.

  “Well,” Emily continued, looking around her again. “There is a different world out there. More women hold higher positions in companies. And Tory has to retire someday—he hopes Emma will step up. Anyway, long story short, your success makes it easier for her to emerge as a star here. To be taken seriously. So you have a very special place in his heart. He is ecstatic you are turning heads.”

  “So my getting MVP was a political thing?” Krista asked, losing heart in her trophy.

  “Oh god no! Don’t get me wrong, Tory loves this company as much as he loves me. He wouldn’t rig anything like that. No, you earned that. That is why you’ve cemented that place in his heart. You and Sean.”

  “Every time someone gives me success, Sean is mentioned.”

  “Krista,” Emily gave her a stern look. It was daunting, “Sean made it where he is because of you. He’s worked his butt off for you. To win you, I think. And don’t think for a second you would be where you are without him pushing and believing in you. You guys work as a team. Tory knows that you excel exponentially with him, and he with you. He’s the idea man, and you’re the girl that gets it done. Maybe you don’t want to hear that, but…”

  Wouldn’t everyone just drop it? All Krista wanted right now was sex. Everything else was brain fodder for a different day.

  Emily smiled as if she read her thoughts. “That brings me to my second thing.” She produced a room key. “This is also between you and me. Tory and I are leaving within the hour. My oldest has a sick daughter and a useless husband. I hate leaving her alone. So our gorgeous suite will be vacant tonight. Starting in an hour. Just thought I’d mention it. Between you and me!”

  Emily leaned in and gave Krista another stern eye, then a wink. “Have fun. Talk to you later.” And she was gone.

  Krista watched her leave for a moment before she looked at her hand. Emily basically just said, ‘Go have sex with Sean in my room. Thank me at the wedding’.

  Emily liked to play match maker, but this was getting to be a bit much.

  The next two hours were a daze of conversation, together with Krista’s growing certainty that Emily wanted her to use the room that night. So, Krista decided that if were was the case, the least she could do would be to do it right.

  Krista talked to Marcus, asked a huge favor, and got him to take Sean’s stuff to the suite. When he got back, Krista learned that his socks stunk and he was a clothes horse. She next asked Marcus to go persuade Janice to keep a lid on Krista being away that night. When Janice found out, she insisted on moving Krista’s stuff, as well. Apparently she was worried people would notice if she was gone.

  When she was done, she informed Krista that her dirty clothes should have been put in a plastic bag. She also said that Krista couldn’t leave the bar area for at least another hour. Everything that was done was under the desire to dispel gossip. Little did she know that Krista was already the cause of loose lips and didn’t much care anymore.

  Krista talked to her region, she talked to Perry, and she even talked to Ron. She made her rounds and smiled, seeing Sean doing the same thing. They caught eyes often, and he seemed like he wanted to come talk to her, but he was networking, and she let him. Finally, though, when she couldn’t stand it anymore, and also when Janice gave her a disapproving nod, she made her way to Sean.

  Krista felt eyes on her as she crossed the bar area. She got more than one scowl, mostly from the admins, but no one stopped her progress. Sean was talking to someone from Utah, and turned to her when the guy he was talking with noticed her. His eyes lit up before he opened his body to include her.

  “Krista, I was just telling Jared how we plan to switch things up,” Sean said.

  Krista had no idea how the
y were trying to switch things up. She also had no idea how she was going to get him away from Jared.

  “Well, Sean, I need to head out. Call me on Monday,” Jared said, making her job easy.

  Sean looked surprised. “Great. See ya, Jared,” he said in confusion.

  Sean watched Jared walk away before he turned to Krista. “That was weird.”

  “Weird. Hey, I want to show you something. Would you mind taking a walk, or are there other people you need to talk to?”

  “Always time for you, beautiful,” Sean said smiling.

  Krista got a shiver from the ground up. “Uh huh. C’mon.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sean smiled at various people as they headed away from the bar. Krista seemed nervous as she led the way into one of the non-glass elevators.

  “So, where are we headed?” Sean asked, slightly apprehensive himself, wondering if they were finally going to cross the line. Wondering if she was finally allowing him back in.

  But when she pushed the button for the pent house, and not their floor, a cold fear gripped Sean.

  “Krista, what are we doing?” Sean asked, trying to stay calm. He wanted warning before they faced Tory. He didn’t want to hear that Krista was quitting tonight. He needed more time to figure out a way to keep her—for Tory to look at the finances and figure out how much they could offer her.

  “I want to show you a cool view,” Krista answered, not looking at him.

  The needle on Sean’s mental record slipped. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

  Krista opened the door to Tory’s room with a key. She walked in like she was staying there. Sean stayed in the doorway, double-checked the number—it was definitely Tory’s—and hesitated.

  Krista noticed and stopped in the middle of the large, beautiful room. A look of worry and indecision crossed her face. She suddenly looked like she had gone out on a limb, and Sean had just sawed the branch off.

  He stepped in and let the door close. Tory’s desk was empty. So was the bedroom. But it didn’t explain why they were in his room. Sean walked in slowly, looking around.

  ~*~*~*~

  “Do you want a drink?” Krista asked, going to the mini bar to gather some courage. He’d said he loved her. He’d acted like he wanted her. Hopefully that was still the case.

  “Sure,” Sean answered, walking toward the sliding glass door.

  He liked scotch on the rocks, so Krista made him that and made herself a vodka and cranberry. She went to join him at the sliding glass door. He hadn’t crossed the threshold onto the balcony.

  “Isn’t this Tory’s room?” Sean asked as he received his drink. He was looking out at the blackness. There was not much of a moon and no city lights, so it was a dark sky and darker horizon.

  Krista looked up at the stars. “Technically, yes. But they had to leave for a family thing. View is probably better when there’s light.” Krista tried to keep it light and casual. It wasn’t working. She could hear the small nervous quiver in her voice.

  Sean turned to look at her. He was waiting for what came next. He apparently wasn’t going to make this easy.

  Krista put her drink down on a table on the balcony and stepped closer. Sean leaned toward her slightly before he overcame the impulse and straightened up. Krista breathed in his intoxicating smell and drank in the sight of him. His eyes were slowly smoldering, waiting for a gust of wind to burn them brighter.

  “I thought maybe we could…um, give things a try again?” Why was she so nervous?

  Sean must have seen it because his face was a war of wariness, hope, and plain sexual desire. The guy had ironclad control, though. He backed up a little against the door jam.

  “I thought you weren’t ready, Krista?” Sean asked, wariness winning the expression war.

  “I’ve heard a lot of things from a lot of people. I think I’m just scared. So…”

  “I don’t want to do this until you’re ready. This is too important to me. I’ll wait for you, as long as it takes. I’ll wait.”

  If Krista wasn’t decided up until that point, she was now. She stepped closer. Their bodies were mere inches apart. Sean’s breath was coming in fast puffs. His hands were balled at his sides. Krista rubbed her palm up his chest.

  “Krista—“ It was a whisper. It was a plea. He was close to losing control.

  Good idea? Bad idea? She didn’t know. She didn’t care. If she couldn’t reconcile herself by now, she wasn’t going to. It was time to roll the dice and see if she got sevens.

  “Sean.” It was lazy breath, as hot and sweet as a midsummer evening. It was the final push to unlock the dam.

  Sean’s arms convulsed around her, drawing her to him in a flex. His mouth crashed into hers, their tongues doing the dance of love as their bodies closed the gap. Krista threw her arms around his neck and dared him to drag her under the throws of passion.

  She was swung around so her back was to the door jam, Sean’s large, hard body pushing against her, trapping her with desire; his and hers both. His knees parted her legs and his hand pulled her dress up as his other hand was still wrapped around her, keeping her immobile.

  Krista could feel the raw, animal desire coursing through him in waves, consuming him, taking over her. His hand found the inside of her thigh and quickly worked up to the apex . She leaned her head back and moaned as his fingers dipped into her folds and rubbed her pleasure places.

  The contact sent Sean higher, into a frenzy. His control was well and truly ebbed, revealing his primal urge. In one quick yank he ripped off her panties and spread her legs roughly. She was being pushed hard against the door jam, his muscular torso pinning her. Krista waited for the fear, then the panic, of his dominating presence. She could sense the power from him, the strength. She felt his hands undoing his pants as his body leaned in against her roughly.

  In a matter of moments he would insert himself forcefully and have his way with her. He would be out of control and she would be powerless to stop him. The fear she always got at this second, the memories of Jim’s violence…didn’t come. Instead, she felt herself panting and clawing at Sean’s back, trying to get him closer. She struggled to get him closer, awaited the painful gratification of a good, hard screw. Sean’s raw power excited her. His lust consumed her, burning her alive.

  His erection was probing, finding her opening. Sean worked her legs wider, desperate for her. And then, in one quick movement, he pushed into her with a glorious sigh.

  Krista arched back and moaned, the sweet pain of it sending shock waves throughout her. She pulled his hair as she threw her legs around him, needing him to take her weight and make his dominance complete. She felt a quiet power from within, from the knowledge that she could drive him to madness. That she could control his surges of lust.

  Krista felt the force of her sexual desire unleash. She felt the passion awake from deep within—it was a passion born not from love, as Sean had seen a million times from her, but from her own animalistic urges. She’d locked down her wild-side when she realized what Jim was. She’d stored it away. Until now, she had thought she lost it forever. But she hadn’t, it was just dormant, waiting to trust again. Waiting for someone who would protect her and keep her safe while she explored her sexual side, which was 100% female.

  She begged for him, tore at him, pleaded for him to go harder, to work faster. She moved and writhed and angled, gyrating into his thrusts, meeting his body with hers, mewling with pleasure so profound, there were sparks of light behind her eyelids.

  Sean took her weight, knowing nothing but the sweet pleasure of her body. He let her lead, as he had often before, but this time, he was struggling to keep up. He wasn’t matching so much as following. And he wasn’t ashamed by it in the least; he was in rapture.

  He had her full weight, ravaging her; pummeling into her until she screamed in delight. She took in the sensations of the hard door behind her, scraping, his coarse pants rubbing the inside of her thighs, and his soft, velvety skin
repeatedly thrusting into her. She was panting in ecstasy. She wanted it to last forever. She wanted him to go on-and-on—and then, almost without warning, she was rocked by an orgasm so complete she knocked her head back against the door.

  Sean matched a second later, thrusting into her one last time, feeling her insides constrict. He let everything go. Just held on and had one blissful moment in a different place. A place with no worries, no fears, just love. Just this feeling. With her.

  The world paused as they shuttered into each other. Then it was quiet as Krista fell onto him, completely limp.

  Sean, still holding her weight, picked her up reverently and took her from the door to the floor. He laid her down gently.

  “Did I hurt you?” He asked with concern, disentangling himself from her body and straightening up.

  She smiled and stretched like a cat in the sun.

  “Yes, and it was wonderful,” she purred.

  A languid smile curled his lips. “Sorry I couldn’t go for longer—it’s been a while.”

  “That’s nice to hear.”

  “What, that I couldn’t go for long, or it’s been a while?”

  Krista just smiled. He returned her smile as his eyes drifted down her body. Krista’s legs were still open with her dress around her hips. His eyes stopped on her exposed woman parts and his hunger stirred to life again.

  “What happens now?” Sean asked, his eyes still on her open legs.

  “You take a mini break, and then put your cock back into me,” she answered boldly.

  His eyes got wide and he looked up. He was about to make a comment, probably about her language, when he met her eyes and his breath hitched. She was feeling reckless. So many years of being a scared little rabbit, being afraid of any sort of roughness, being afraid to really explore her sexuality for fear it would be used against her—she felt like breaking out. And with him, she could. She also knew he would go with the flow. She knew he would forgive her flaws as she strove for climax.

  Without changing position, Krista reached up and gave the top of her dress a small yank. Out toppled her breasts. She ran her hand along them as she surveyed her partner. His breath was coming fast again; his chest heaving as his eyes were drawn to her nudity. His slick manhood was growing before her eyes, popping up the shirt that lay on top of it.