by Ava Hayworth
“Condom,” I gasp. James stills. When he remains unmoving, my blood slowly stops racing and my mind clears. Then I realize why James has stopped. Earlier in the living room, we had not used a condom. I look up at James with wide eyes. Oops.
“Please tell me that you are on birth control.”
I make a quick calculation. “Umm.”
“Lainey, I’m dying here – umm yes or umm no?” James asks impatiently.
“Umm, I don’t know.” I know I sound pathetic.
“How can you not know? Either you are on birth control or you’re not.”
I laugh a little hysterically. The look of outrage on James’s face makes me lose it completely. I laugh harder and harder until I am gasping for breath. Once I have gotten myself back under control, I rush to reassure James, who is looking at me like I have lost my mind. Maybe I have a little. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. I know it’s not funny. It is absolutely not funny.” A lingering giggle escapes me, and I ruthlessly swallow it back. “Let me explain. I am on birth control… I think.” I trail off. I hurry to explain, “I have an implant. It is supposed to last three years. As I recall, I had it done here, after I started law school, so it should still be good.” I try to calculate when I had last been to the doctor, and when I was due back. If it had been in the fall, then I still had some time. It was still summer, so we were all good, right?
James flops down to lie on the bed beside me and puts his arm over his eyes. “We are so fucked.”
“James, don’t say that. It’s fine… really it is. I just had to do some calculations, and we’re good. Really we are. It’s just the look on your face…” I giggle.
“So you think that’s funny do you?” Rolling on top of me, James pins me down and starts to tickle me mercilessly. Then he is kissing me, and I feel his hard cock pressing against me. Suddenly he rolls over and I ease down over him, his cock filling the empty space inside of me. “I want to look at you while you fuck me.”
I move up and down tentatively, and it feels so right. Soon, I am rocking back and forth and am mesmerized by the burning look in his narrowed gaze. I want to drive him over the edge. I want it to be me that this beautiful man is lost in. He grips my hips harder, kneading my backside and pushing me to move faster. I close my eyes and arch my back as I feel the tension coil inside of me and then a warm rush of pleasure.
Dazed, I open my eyes and realize that James’s cock is still moving inside me. He hasn’t come yet. He pulls out and turns me over. “Now I want you to watch me. See those mirrors?” He indicates the mirrored wall running alongside his bed. I nod. “Watch.” He positions my hands on the headboard so I only have to turn my head slightly. I can see his hard cock prodding me from behind. Then I watch as his cock sinks into me, and soon I am lost to the feeling of him pounding into me. We both watch him thrusting into me in the mirror. “You are so fucking hot.” He massages my clit, and I cannot hold back my moans and whimpers of pleasure. “That’s right, baby. Let me hear you.” I rocket over the edge, and this time I am sure that he comes with me.
After some post-coital snuggling, James leaves the bed to take a shower. Lying there I realize that I am starving. Hoping that his kitchen has more to offer than mine, I sit up and look around for my clothes, which I now remember are somewhere out in the living room. Looking around James’s immaculate bedroom, I don’t see anything that I can put on. I decide to make do with the bed sheet. The sheet is long and awkward, so I make the split decision to walk nude into the living room to retrieve my clothes.
That turns out to have been the wrong decision. I am looking between my sweaty running clothes and James’s t-shirt and thinking that the t-shirt would be a better choice of attire when I hear the elevator doors slide open. I do what anyone would do when faced with this type of situation. I drop to the floor. Maybe the couch will provide me with some protection, and maybe if I am low enough, I will be out of view. Crossing one hand across my chest, I fling my other arm out to blindly search for something to cover my naked body. Relief like I have never known surges through me as my fingers land on fine cotton. I still do not know who the visitor is as I pull the cotton, James’s t-shirt, up to cover my naked form. Holding James’s t-shirt firmly over my chest, I sit up and look over the edge of the couch. A man with his mouth hanging open is standing there looking at me. I decide there is nothing to do but to brazen it out. “Hi.”
The man, who I also note is quite good looking, closes his mouth. “Hello.”
I am about to ask the man to turn his back so that I can slip on James’s t-shirt and any other articles of clothing I can lay my hands on, when James walks in with a towel hanging low on his hips. I watch as his eyes take in the situation. I’m fairly certain that he is able to sum it all up fairly quickly, between the wide-eyed horror that I am sure is written all over my face and the look of surprised shock on his visitor’s. The stranger and I watch as James returns to his bedroom, coming back a few seconds later with a robe. He walks over to me and drapes the robe over my shoulders. I gratefully clasp it together in front of me. Looking at me and gesturing to the stranger, James says, “This is Rex.”
Futilely fighting a blush, I acknowledge Rex with a nod and attempt a weak smile. Clearing his throat and looking over to Rex, James says, “This is Lainey.” I narrow my eyes at James. Is he… laughing?
I barely hear Rex’s “Nice to meet you, Lainey.”
My stare remains fixed on James. “Are you laughing?” I ask outraged. He can no longer hold back his guffaws. One of the most mortifying experiences of my life, and he is laughing? “This is not funny.” Apparently his laughter is contagious, because soon I hear Rex laughing along with him. Gathering what is left of my dignity, I stand up. Making sure the robe is covering every part of me, I flounce off to the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
Deciding I need some time to get over my mortification, I take a shower. Feeling refreshed, I pull James’s robe back on and contemplate my wardrobe choices. After James’s display of misplaced humor, I feel absolutely no compunctions against invading his closet. I find some sweats and a t-shirt, but when my mind turns to underwear, mortification once again washes over me, as I remember that my boy shorts are lying somewhere on the living room floor. I close my eyes: why or why did I not stop on my way out and pick up my clothes? Returning to the bedroom, I see some things lying on the bed and realize that they are my running clothes. Oh, thank God. James must have picked them up and brought them in here while I was in the shower. I have never been so happy to see underwear in my life. After brief deliberation, I decide I would rather wear my own slightly soiled clothes than James’s overlarge garments.
Uncertain of what to expect, I leave the safe haven of the bedroom. I locate James and Rex in the kitchen. James is leaning against the counter, and Rex is sitting on one of the high kitchen chairs. They are drinking beers, and they both turn to look at me as I walk into the kitchen. “Beer?” James asks, and I can tell he is trying to gauge my mood. I actually can’t blame him after the huff I was in earlier.
“No, thanks. I’ll take water.”
He hands me a cold water from the refrigerator. “Listen, Lainey, I’m sorry for laughing earlier. It was…”
Holding my hand palm up in the universal sign for stop, I interrupt him. “Let’s just forget about it. Could we please just put it behind us and start over again?”
“Of course we can.” James reassures me. “Lainey, I would like you to meet Rex.”
I turn to Rex and meet his warm brown eyes. He brushes back a lock of his chocolate brown hair and grins at me in easy acceptance of the situation. Okay, maybe I overreacted a little.
CHAPTER 6
Coming into the office on Monday morning, I am surprised to see Patti sitting at my desk. “Hi Lainey, guess you didn’t see the e-mail.”
“The e-mail that says, ‘Dear Elaine, please expect Patti to be sitting at your desk on Monday morning.’ That one?” I tease.
Patti
laughs. “Something like that. I have been assigned to you… for Rothschild.”
I feel like doing a happy dance. Patti is not only a master at organization, but also a hard worker, and I could use the help.
“I would say the first thing would be to get all these files digitalized. I can’t believe they sent them to you on paper. No wonder Rothschild fired his last firm. They apparently still use methods from the Middle Ages.”
“Whatever you think, Patti. I will leave it in your capable hands.” When she hears that she has free rein to organize, Patti rubs her hands together with enthusiasm. I am happy to leave her to it. I spend the morning on a conference call with Lydia Banks, who is bringing me up to speed on a pending Rothschild lawsuit. After the call, I realize that I am going to need some help with the case and make an appointment to meet with Andrew Mills.
Mills squeezes me in after lunch. After explaining the lawsuit to him in bullet points, he suggests that Elizabeth work with me on the case. “She has a lot of experience in that area, so it won’t be a stretch for her to help you.”
Remembering my last encounter with Elizabeth, I wonder if her desire to punish me for moving up the promotion ladder too fast will win out over her desire to do well and keep Rothschild as a client for the firm. I don’t know her well enough to make a prediction, and wonder if there is any way that I can talk Mills into assigning another lawyer to the case. Hell, maybe I would be better off just trying it on my own. Although since I have never argued a single case inside an actual courtroom, my insides seize up with nerves at the thought. “Elizabeth has a lot on her plate at the moment. Maybe she won’t have time for this case.” I hope I do not sound too hopeful.
Mills bristles. “She damned well better make time. Rothschild is an important client, and we need to keep him happy. I’ll talk to her later today, and then I will give you the go-ahead to send her the files.”
I know that I have been dismissed. Standing up to leave, I fight an overwhelming urge to salute.
Dejectedly, I return to my office to find Alex talking to Patti, who is camped out in my office for the day. “Were you looking for me?” I ask Alex.
Patti jumps in before Alex has a chance to respond. “Alex just told me. Maria quit.”
I turn to look at Alex. “Maria... the junior associate who works on the floor below us?”
“Yea, I heard it from Dennis. Apparently, she just quit out of the blue. Dennis said that she was crying hysterically, but nobody knows why.”
“Surely someone must know what happened.”
“We might find out more in the next couple of days.” Alex gives me a speaking look. “That’s two juniors who have left under unusual circumstances.”
I know he is thinking of our bet, but surely he is wrong. There couldn’t be another junior behind Sonia and Maria leaving. That would be crazy I think dismissively. Alex is just being dramatic and trying to see if he can get me to make a fool of myself singing in Times Square. I wouldn’t put it past him to post a video of me singing on YouTube. If Patti weren’t in the room with us, I would call him on it. “Is there a reason for your illustrious visit besides your role as town crier, of course?”
“Can’t I just visit a friend?” he asks, smiling sweetly. “Actually, I stopped by to see if you were going to the Clayton meeting.”
Since I had done most of the research for the case, I am still included in the meetings. “I thought it was a conference call.”
“They changed it since Clayton decided to come in. We are meeting in Washington. Are you coming?”
I nod as I grab my laptop and cell phone and head out the door with Alex.
Walking into the Washington conference room, the first thing I notice is James. He is sitting at the conference table talking to Elizabeth. Two impulses war within me, and I struggle to squelch them both. The first impulse is to push Elizabeth away from James: far, far away. As usual she is leaning in much too close to him. The second impulse is to throw myself at James and devour him. He looks divine with his unruly, black hair and slight five o’clock shadow. Sitting down next to Alex, my mind drifts back to Saturday, when James made love to me with such fierce possessiveness on his living room floor. I look at his hands, which are resting quietly on the table in front of him, and remember how they had touched me. Closing my eyes briefly, I let the memory of his touch overwhelm me. When I open my eyes, I no longer see the conference room filled with men and women in suits, only James biting, touching, and kissing me.
My phone vibrates, and I look down to see that I have a text message from James.
Stop looking at me like that, or I will not be responsible for the consequences.
Blushing deeply, I look around but see that no one is looking at me. Not even James. I force my attention back to the meeting, which has somehow started without me. The points on the agenda are all dealt with quickly, and we are all out of there within forty-five minutes. Alex walks me back to my office. “I thought we would be in there a lot longer, but McAllister really kept things moving.”
“You noticed that too? He’s probably got back-to-back meetings and needs to stay on schedule.”
Alex laughs. “Got to keep up those billable hours, right?”
I have barely gotten back to work when my office phone rings with the name McAllister flashing across the display. When I pick up, James speaks in a cold, emotionless tone. “Ms. Hart, please come to my office in five minutes.” He hangs up without even waiting for my response. Anxiety creeps up my spine. Could I have done something wrong?
Once again I gather my things and walk down the corridor to James’s office. The whole five minutes has not gone by, but I give a brief knock before walking in. James appears to be waiting for me. Walking over to the door, he glances out before pulling it closed behind us. Taking my laptop and phone from me, he carries them over to his desk and sets them down. He turns around and leans his hips against the front of his desk. His heavy-lidded stare causes my whole body to tingle in anticipation. James crooks his index finger several times, indicating that I should come closer. I approach slowly, and when there is a bare six inches between us, I stop. “What are you wearing under that dress?” I feel my eyes widen at his question. “Lainey,” he repeats, enunciating each word distinctly. “What are you wearing under that dress.”
The low, gravelly tone of his voice makes my knees go week with desire. I swallow past the dryness in my throat before answering. “A pink lace demi bra and matching panties.”
“Dark pink or light pink?”
“Light pink.”
“Show me.”
I jerk my eyes to his. “Here? Now? Somebody could come in.”
“I locked the door. We are perfectly private. Now show me.” He orders.
Not allowing myself to think about it, I move my hands to the buttons on my blouse. After I have finished unbuttoning them, I move my fingers to the clasp on my skirt. Keeping my eyes locked on James, I undo the clasp and let it fall to the floor. “The blouse too.”
I shrug my shoulders out of my blouse, and I feel it slither down my body to join my skirt on the floor. I take a step forward away from the heap of clothes and am left standing in my pink lingerie and black stilettos. I expect James to reach out and take me into his arms, but he isn’t finished giving me commands. “Go lie down on the couch.”
There is a small seating area in one corner of the office with a brown leather couch and two matching chairs clustered around a coffee table. As I turn to walk towards the couch, I imagine James’s hot gaze taking in my swaying hips. By the time I lie down on the couch, I am burning for his touch. I watch as he follows me across the office to stand in front of the couch. “Pull your bra down and touch your breast.” Uncertain, I blink up at him. “Do it.” Hesitantly, I reach up and push down the cup of my bra. I brush my fingers across my breasts. The combination of the light touch and the heat that I read in James’s eyes causes my nipples to tighten into hardened points, and I bite back a moan.
&nbs
p; James’s voice is lower and huskier. “Pinch your nipples.” I do as he asks and struggle not to squirm. “Harder,” he demands.
I am practically panting with want. “Touch me,” I beg him.
“Not yet. I need you tell me how wet you are.”
“I’m very wet,” I tell him.
“No, I need you to show me. Move your hand down. That’s right. Now slide it into your panties. Now stroke yourself just on the outside of your pussy. Don’t put your fingers in yet.” I can’t repress my moan of desire. Closing my eyes, I absorb the sensations.
“Now, open your eyes and look at me. I want to see your eyes when you slide your fingers inside that hot little pussy.” I open my eyes and look at him as I slide in two fingers.
“James,” I gasp.
“That’s right baby, you’re doing fine. Now touch your clit. Good, nice and slow. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking of your hard cock. Please James, I need you.”
He groans, “Not this time, baby. I want to watch you come. Do you know what it was like during the meeting today? You were a very, very bad girl. I knew by looking at you what you were thinking, and it took every ounce of self-control not to throw you across that conference table and sink myself into that luscious pussy.” I let James’s words flow over me as I stroke myself harder and harder. Staring into James’s eyes, I dissolve. “That was beautiful.”
After my breathing returns to normal, I ask, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
He is being purposely obtuse. “Can I do something for you?” I let my eyes fall down to the straining bulge in his dress pants.
“What are you offering?”
I cock my head at him considering. “My mouth?”
