Soon, though, the decision was not hers to make. With a growl, Hal seized her waist and tipped her over so that she was lying down on the couch. He then seized her wrists and pinned them up above her head with one hand. Jesse felt a surge of warm wetness between her thighs at his touch and at the sound of his ragged breathing. She looked up at him with wide eyes and panted heavily as his eyes blazed into her. She saw his expression calm and his breathing regulate until he looked once more that he was in control of himself.
With his free hand, Hal cupped her cheek. He slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers in a slow, deep kiss that sent wave after wave of desire rolling through her body. Hal pulled back from her, and his eyes searched her face. Slowly, he leaned back, and he gently guided Jesse back into a seated position. She saw him examine her wrists to make sure she had not bruised.
“Someone who can make me lose myself …” he whispered.
Jesse felt her heart pounding, and she clamped her legs together tightly as her sex throbbed in absolute need. She had never felt so much intense arousal at once, and one part of her feared that he would continue and the other part feared that he would stop, and she had no idea how to make those parts neutralize one another. She felt her heart slow as he pulled back, and she was finally able to catch her own breath.
“I want you, Jess,” Hal whispered urgently, his eyes bright with the strength of his words. “And not just your body. Even eating Chinese with you is enough to send me into a whole other universe. I’ve never felt anything like this before in my life …”
As he spoke, Jesse couldn’t help remembering when he had told her about his first love, and she wondered vaguely if he had said all these things to her as well. In spite of herself, she felt the prick of jealousy.
“Never?” Jesse asked with a small smile.
Hal’s expression faded, and a frown took the place of his bright smile. It seemed that he realized where he had gone wrong, and his mouth worked as he tried to come up with words to say. Jesse felt somewhat guilty for bringing up what was a painful subject, but she didn’t want him to be saying things he didn’t mean. Still, she hated that he was hurting because of her.
“I’m sorry …” Jesse shook her head. “That was underhanded; I shouldn’t have used that against you.”
“No,” Hal said firmly. “Don’t apologize … you’re right. I … I loved someone else before I knew you.”
Jesse suddenly felt very insignificant, and she wrapped her arms around herself. She felt Hal cup her chin in his hand and raise her face up so that she was looking directly at him. Just one look from him was enough to make her feel valuable and safe, and an involuntary shudder passed through her whole body.
“But that’s over now,” he said softly and urgently. “That whole part of my life is all just a sad memory to me. You … you’re my here and now … and I hope you’ll be in my future as well …”
Jesse looked back into his eyes, wishing that she had the words to say to him. She wished she could just let him care for her the way he professed. She wished she could just succumb to what both of their bodies so obviously wanted. But there was still something that was holding her back, and no matter how hard she fought it, she couldn’t manage to destroy that which she couldn’t identify.
“I hope I’ll be in your future too,” Jesse said softly. “And I … I do want this. I do. It’s just I can’t process all this so suddenly, so fast …”
Hal released her jaw, and Jesse’s face immediately dropped, and she looked down at her hands that she was wringing in her lap. She was ashamed that she couldn’t commit to him the way that he seemed to be ready to commit to her.
“Jess, look at me,” Hal said softly, and Jesse sheepishly lifted her head to meet his eyes.
“We can take this as slow as you want,” Hal said with a soft smile. “I want whatever bits of you that you are willing to give me, and nothing more. And if I ever overstep any boundaries, please, please just tell me. I don’t want to take from you. I only want to give you what you need.”
Jesse felt her heart melt at his words. She leaned forward slowly and allowed her lips to barely brush his in a chaste, sweet kiss.
“Thank you,” Jesse said. “That … makes me feel a lot better.”
“Good,” Hal smiled down at her and ran his hand along her arm in a soothing stroke.
A silence passed between them, and the atmosphere was still exceedingly heavy. Jesse could still feel her sex aching; a part of her longed for him to rip off her clothes and take her right there and another part of her craved that time that he had offered her. In the end, the latter won out, and she simply sat in her agony and tried to enjoy his company.
It seemed to her that Hal was having an equally difficult time, and Jesse nearly whimpered aloud as she caught a glimpse of a swelling in his pants. She felt another rush of wetness between her thighs and didn’t know if she was going to be able to hold out for much longer. She looked up to see that Hal had followed her line of sight and was now looking at her ravenously.
“I think I’d better go home,” Hal said roughly and moved to stand.
Jesse could only nod, and she rose as well to walk him to the door.
“Thanks again for dinner,” Jesse said meekly, feeling awkward as she stood in her doorframe.
“And thank you for your hospitality.” Hal smiled.
“You’re welcome any time,” Jesse said, mostly for the courtesy of it.
“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Hal nearly growled, and Jesse felt a bolt of hot desire pierce her abdomen.
“Have a good evening,” Jesse said in a rush, eager to get this torturous farewell over with.
“Goodnight, Jess,” Hal said, his voice husky and low. “Sweet dreams.”
Hal turned and strode down the hallway to the elevator, and Jesse hastened to shut and lock the door.
Jesse wasted no time in heading to her bedroom to take care of the pressing need between her legs.
Chapter 34
Hal
Hal’s erection throbbed between his legs as he made his way out of the apartment and back to his car where Adam was waiting to drive him back to his own house. Hal made straight for the door, and Adam got into the driver’s seat and promptly headed that way.
Hal fairly growled as he ran his hands through his hair and tried in vain to shift so that his member would not be so uncomfortable. There was almost no chance of it diminishing on its own. Even when he wasn’t with her, he couldn’t get the image of her pressed beneath his body on that couch out of his mind. If he had just gone a little further, he could have slipped his hand underneath her shirt and run his hand up her stomach to cup her soft breast …
Hal’s cock throbbed at the mere thought, and he took a deep breath to try and settle himself. He tightly gripped the handrail on the inside of the car. He closed his eyes as he felt himself finally beginning to relax, though his erection still raged in the confines of his pants.
“You alright?” Adam asked, and Hal could hear real concern in his friend’s voice.
“She’s driving me crazy.” Hal sighed, letting his hand fall to rest on his thigh.
“Is she alright?” Adam asked.
“Yeah, a little worried about her job,” Hal answered.
“And physically?” Adam pressed.
“Beautiful …” Hal breathed, and his head was filled with images of her and her beautiful blushing cheeks. He caught himself wondering how other parts of her body would blush if he touched her just right.
“I mean she’s not physically hurt,” Adam rephrased, and Hal pulled himself out of his vivid fantasies.
“She’s not hurt,” Hal said. “It’s just dealing with that bitch Elaine Beck.”
Adam gave a short grunt and shook his head. Hal seethed as he thought of the woman having the upper hand on Jesse. His anger did have a welcome side effect, though, as the mere thought of Elaine had his erection flagging.
“I want her out of business,”
Hal growled. “She’s a nuisance to the entire world, and now she’s starting to attack the people I actually like. And after I threw her a bone!”
“That’s a tall order, boss,” Adam noted. “But you’re right, she shouldn’t have done anything sneaky after you granted her the interview. Still, a very tall order …”
“True,” Hal conceded with a sigh, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “But not impossible …”
Hal saw Adam glance at him from the corner of his eye.
“What are you thinking?” Adam said hesitantly, and Hal smiled deviously.
“I’m not thinking of anything yet,” Hal said. “After all, Jesse is still an employee at The Edge, for now, at least. I’ll wait until Jesse finally drops that shit magazine, and then I’ll take Elaine down. She thought she was the top dog, but she has no idea what that even means …”
“Just don’t do anything illegal or anything that will endanger your physical well-being, because then I have to get involved,” Adam groused as they pulled up to Hal’s building.
“Don’t worry,” Hal said as he got out of the car. “I won’t have to move a muscle.”
With that, the conversation was over. Hal left Adam to take care of the car while he made straight for his bedroom. He allowed thoughts of Jesse and the sounds of her soft, fast breathing to fill his ears. He allowed himself to remember the taste of her lips and the way she had arched into his touch. His cock was throbbing hard and fast now, to the point that it was almost too distracting and painful to keep walking.
Hal almost kicked open the door to his bedroom when he came to it. He tore off his shirt and unbuckled his belt, sliding his hand into the waistband of his boxer briefs to take hold of his hardness and free it from its cloth prison.
Hal moaned when he was finally able to wrap his fingers around his achingly hard cock and pump, reveling in the intense pleasure that the mere thought of Jesse brought to him.
Chapter 35
Jesse
When Jesse fell asleep that night, her dreams were filled with images of Hal. She slept peacefully to the thought of him wrapped around her offering his warmth. She dreamt of his smile and his eyes when they were sparkling with mirth, and when they were burning with lust.
By the time she woke up, she was in dire need of her morning run.
As she ran, she went over all the things he had said to her the previous day. She lingered particularly on Hal’s opinions of Elaine. Did Elaine really just want to put her down so that she couldn’t rise to the top and overtake her one day? The idea began to gnaw at her mind, and by the time she was finished with her run, it was all she could think about.
As Jesse took her morning shower, she dwelled on the thought even more, and she decided that she really couldn’t keep working with Elaine if it was going to be a constant effort on her part to keep her from succeeding.
Jesse also recognized the fact that while it was all well and good to say these things, it was another thing entirely to actually confront someone and give voice to these thoughts. Jesse remembered that yesterday she had been physically ill at the thought of Elaine criticizing her work.
Now, though, Jesse felt invigorated by Hal’s encouragement and his perspective. Why should she allow herself to be treated so poorly, at the cost of her career, while Elaine went untouched? It hardly seemed fair, and as Jesse dressed herself for the day, she resolved to confront Elaine.
When she was finally ready, Jesse stepped outside to find Mark already waiting for her.
“Good morning,” he said tentatively.
“Good morning, Mark,” Jesse smiled at him, and he blinked in surprise.
“I see someone’s feeling better,” her friend remarked, his mouth turning up in a small smile.
“Much better,” Jesse confirmed. “I’m going to talk to Elaine again today.”
Mark was silent for a moment.
“Are you sure?” Mark asked her, his tone reluctant. “I mean, you did that yesterday, and it didn’t turn out so well for you.”
Jesse had to admit that resolve faltered a bit at the reminder. But then she remembered all that Hal had told her, and she felt herself grow confident again.
“I know,” Jesse said. “But I really need to talk to her about my future at The Edge.”
“Your future?” Mark asked, his tone suddenly anxious. “Did she threaten to fire you?”
“No, not at all,” Jesse shook her head. “But if she’s going to try to make sure I stay trapped in obscurity at her magazine, then I will threaten to leave.”
Mark blinked at her again.
“That’s a really bold strategy,” Mark said skeptically.
“Yeah, I know.” Jesse sighed, and she felt some of her own anxieties build up. “But if my career has to die, I don’t want it to be at her hands.”
“Yeah, I can definitely understand that,” Mark snorted.
“I know that you got me the job there,” Jesse said more softly. “And you’ll never understand how grateful I am to you.”
“Jesse, this isn’t about me.” Mark laughed. “If you feel like you need to play your hand, then by all means play it! You don’t need to stay anywhere where you feel manipulated and undervalued. And frankly, that’s how we all feel working for Elaine.”
“So it isn’t just me?” Jesse laughed lightly.
“Not at all,” Mark shook his head with a snort. “She thinks everyone would be absolutely delighted to lick the dirt off her shoes.”
Jesse logged that information away in her mind, just in case it would prove to be useful for her argument with Elaine. Hopefully, they could both be reasonable adults, and it wouldn’t come to low blows. But Jesse knew that Elaine had all sorts of weapons in her arsenal, and Jesse wanted to be equally as prepared.
When Mark and Jesse arrived at the office, they parted ways as usual to go to their separate desks. Jesse felt her heart beating a little faster as she arranged her things on her desk. She knew what she had to do, but she was also not afraid to admit that she was intimidated by Elaine, and she wasn’t going to have an easy time of this. She would definitely have to do a lot of faking and just hope that she would make it.
Soon, they all headed to the morning meeting and got settled in their usual seats. Jesse listened respectfully to the morning briefing. She listed off everyone’s various assignments, and Jesse couldn’t help shrinking a little as Elaine’s eyes fell on her and her mouth twisted into a purely predatory smile.
“And Miss Jesse Clarke,” Elaine paused for a moment as if in thought. “You will head up the article on that riot at the American Idol audition. That’s all!”
At their dismissal, everyone began to rise to return to their desks. Jesse, however, made a straight line to Elaine. Jesse felt her heart pounding, but she was intent on using her nervous energy to power her argument rather than deter it.
“Ms. Beck,” Jesse called out, and Elaine turned around to face her.
“Miss Clarke,” Elaine said silkily. “My, my, we do seem to be spending a lot of time together these days.”
“I need to speak with you,” Jesse said firmly, but still respectfully.
“Is that so?” Elaine raised her eyebrow, and her tone seemed bored. “In the future, I really must insist that you make an appointment like everyone else.”
Jesse ignored the cheap jab and stayed her course.
“I will not waste much of your time, I assure you,” Jesse said, keeping her tone dignified.
“Well, come along then,” Elaine said and headed toward her office.
Jesse’s thoughts raced, and she struggled to wrestle them into order before they reached their destination.
They reached Elaine’s office and Elaine immediately went to her chair and sat down, turning it to face Jesse.
“Well, I’m listening,” Elaine said, crossing her legs and looking up at Jesse with pursed lips.
“Ms. Beck,” Jesse started, keeping her voice strong in spite of her nerves. “Once again, I apologize for the
lack of quality on the Hal Roberts article. However, I think that you said things to me that were disrespectful, and upon further consideration, I believe you owe me an apology for them. Furthermore, I don’t think that the Hal Roberts story was significant enough, not even by half, to warrant the importance that you placed upon it. I don’t think that I’ve missed my shot in this line of work. However, I do suspect that you intend to deliberately prevent me from proving my worth by giving me bottom rack stories to dig into. As you can understand, I cannot continue to work in that kind of toxic environment.”
Elaine listened to Jesse’s words with a raised brow, and when she was done, she was silent. Jesse waited, getting more and more nervous each second, but she knew better than to say any more. She had carefully chosen her words, and to add any more would weaken her claim on the argument.
“Well,” Elaine finally spoke and gave Jesse a mocking round of applause. “I’m sure that was very … brave of you to come to me with your feelings.”
Jesse blinked at the condescending tone, but other than that, she gave no evidence that Elaine’s words had harmed her.
“Now, let’s dissect all your little grievances point by point, shall we?” Elaine rose from her chair and began to slowly pace around the room.
“Your apology,” Elaine started, keeping track of the points on her fingers. “I do not accept on the grounds that it wasn’t a real apology based on the fact that you followed it by saying it wasn’t a significant project. Next point. The things I said to you were not rude, they were true, and I will repeat them to you anytime I find necessary. Next point. It doesn’t ever matter what you think because I am your boss, and you do what I say, under any circumstance. I could have you covering rat races if I wanted to. Am I deliberately hindering your career? No. I am merely giving you the level of material with which you can work. That Hal Roberts story was your chance, and you blew it. And honey, if you think you can’t work in this environment, then there’s no way you’d ever survive in an office full of men who won’t give you a damn thing unless their cocks have been in your mouth. So you’d better take your little power trip right back wherever you found it, go back to your desk, and write me an article about that riot. We’re through here. Get out.”
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