SOLO

by Bladon, Deborah

  I was tempted to drive to the jewelry store to beg her to give me a chance last night but I don't beg women for anything. If she wants to walk away, I'm not going to drop to my knees and promise her I'll be something I'm not. There's no fucking way that's happening. The chase is fun. I live for the chase, but there's always a point where it's easier to drop it and move on to someone else. Life has taught me that.

  "Mr. Hughes, there's someone here to see you." Lance pokes his head around the corner, peering into my office. I need to start shutting the door.

  "Who is it?" I bark back. I checked my calendar this morning. I've got nothing on tap today other than the early call I had with our office in Hong Kong. I've spent much of the day trying to wade through a stack of possible acquisitions. Nothing has caught my eye as of yet.

  "It's a girl."

  "You didn't get a name?" I study him and the grin on his face. What the fuck does Lance have going on in his life that keeps him this happy? I have to find out and whatever it is I need some of that too.

  "I can go get one." He shrugs his shoulders. "I mean if you need a name."

  "No, of course not," I try to say with as much sarcasm as I can possibly muster. I stand and pull my suit jacket back on. It's not unheard of for business associates to stop by unannounced. Women are an entirely different story. I rarely have a woman seek me out here. They know I draw a clear boundary around my work. Sex and business don't mesh in my world.

  "I'll tell her to come in." He whips his head back around the doorjamb before he disappears out of sight.

  I glance down at my phone when I see a text message coming in. It's Hunter, asking if I want to meet for a beer tonight. I tap out a short message telling him no. Tonight it's all about getting back in the saddle, which in my case is between the legs of a gorgeous woman.

  "Alec. I mean, Mr. Hughes." Her voice stalls. "No, it's Alec. I'm sorry to bother you here but I was hoping we could talk."

  That voice. It's breathy. It's soft. It's Libby. Libby Duncan is standing in the doorway of my office.

  ***

  "I came here from rehearsal." She points at her outfit. "I should have gone home to change but I wanted to get this over with."

  I want to get her over the arm of the leather couch we're now sitting on. She's wearing a white sweater, a small navy skirt and white kitten heels. I need to stop by rehearsal more often.

  "We kissed when I was drunk." Her beautiful mouth thins. "I'm sorry. I mean I kissed you."

  I lean back, resting my arm across the back of the couch. "I enjoyed it, Libby."

  "Me too," she mutters beneath her breath. "I'm usually not like that."

  Liar. I could tell from the way she was kissing me that Libby Duncan isn't a saint. "What are you usually like?"

  Her eyes flit across my face before they land on the bank of windows that overlooks Wall Street. "I don't know. Not like that."

  "I've heard it said that a person loses all their inhibitions when they're drinking." I tap my hand on my leg. "You wanted me that night."

  Her breath stalls. She has to admit it. She can't possibly tell me that she wasn't as wet as she was. I felt it. I almost ripped those fucking panties off her body before I left. I should have. I'd still be carrying them around with me.

  "I did want you." Her hand balls into a fist. "I don't want to though."

  Now we're making progress. "Why don't you want to?"

  "I moved here because I've always wanted to star on Broadway." She tilts her chin towards the windows. "It's really important to me. The musical, I mean. It's so important."

  "I know it is."

  "You own the play." Her gaze drops to her hands. "If we start this thing between us there's going to be a stigma attached to me."

  She's right. I can't argue the point. People are going to know that Libby is the girl I'm fucking for this season. There are already mouths flapping at rehearsals when I show up. "I know your career is important to you." I mean it. I do know it. If it wasn't, she would have fucked me by now.

  Her fingers rub the edge of her nose. "I've thought about things a lot."

  Shit. Fuck it. This is when she tells me that her body is off limits because of Selfish Fate.

  "If I wasn't in the musical, you wouldn't have wanted me." The words are direct and emotionless.

  My eyes dart to hers. She's not looking for a response but there's no way in hell I'm going to allow her to carry that around with her. "That's not true."

  "You saw me in the elevator that day and you knew I was in the play."

  I did. I knew it before I got in the elevator. I saw her on the street and that's when I wanted her.

  Her chest moves as she draws in a heavy breath. "Our attraction…" she stops with a small shake of her head. "Your attraction to me is based on the fact that I'm in the musical. I mean that's a big part of it, right?"

  "No," I say firmly. "Libby, that's not it at all."

  "You picked me because you knew you could offer me something." She pulls on the hem of her skirt. "I mean you thought you could offer me something in exchange for having sex with you."

  "No." My voice is firm and controlled. "It's not about that, Libby. I am very attracted to you. Look at you. How could I not be? My desire to fuck you is about that. It's not about being able to offer you something in return."

  "The other night when you took me for dinner, we almost fucked."

  Christ, hearing that word come out of her mouth is making me hard. Timing is everything and right now mine sucks. I have to adjust myself on the couch just to hide the erection that is straining against my pants.

  "I wanted to fuck you." Her tongue darts out of her mouth before she pulls it over her bottom lip. "I really did."

  I shuffle in my seat. This can't be real. She's sitting inches away from me talking about wanting to feel my cock inside of her and I know she's about to get up and walk out of the door for good. I have to let her go. My mind is telling me it's the right thing to do, but my body is aching to get under that skirt. I had a taste of that on my fingers the other night, I need more.

  "You don't want me now?" I ask knowing that the answer is either going to send my cock into overdrive or my erection will die a very quick and painful death.

  She closes her eyes briefly before she opens them under heavy lids. "I didn't say that."

  "Tell me what you want, Libby." I inch myself closer to her. "Tell me exactly what you want."

  She arches her back as if she's looking for a place to retreat. She has nowhere to go but back into my lap. Her hands press down into the cushion on the couch. "I want this to be less complicated."

  "Tell me how I can make that happen."

  She wrings her hands together. I can feel the nervous energy bouncing off of her body. Her chest is heaving which is doing little to quell my raging hard-on. I want her naked, now. "I just want you to fuck me. That's all I want."

  Chapter 19

  Libby

  I rehearsed what I wanted to say over and over again in my mind before I took the subway to Alec's office. I know he said that he could get me a solo in Selfish Fate but that would put a bull's eye on my back that says I'm being used. I don't want that. I just want the sex. He can keep the favors. I can make it on my own. I got the part in the musical from hard work and dedication. I'll climb up the rungs of the theatre world just like everyone else does.

  "Did you just say you want me to fuck you, Libby?" His voice is a growl. It's different than it was ten minutes ago when I first stepped into his office and he slammed the door shut behind me.

  My heart is racing. I didn’t expect to be sitting so close to him when we had this conversation. I didn't expect to just blurt those words out either, but I have to own it now. "I said that, yes."

  He lunges forward, pulling my body into his. His lips find mine in a hungry kiss and the only thing I can do is give in to the desperate want that I've been feeling for weeks. I moan into him as I cup the back of his head with my hand. His hair is soft and
luxurious, his lips supple. He's such a good kisser. It's even better than I remember from when we kissed in his car the other night.

  "Libby, you do things to me." The words press into my lips from his before his tongue pulls my mouth open.

  I whimper when I feel his hand on my thigh. My body can't control its desperate need for him, so my legs fall open without thought. I'm so wet already. I was wet the moment I saw him through his office door.

  His hand grazes my panties stopping over my clit. He presses his finger into it, through the fabric, causing a delicious bite of pressure with friction. I rock my hips with the motion. I'm hungry for this. I'm starving for his touch. I want to feel his hands on every part of me.

  "I want you so much," he says hoarsely. "I can't stop thinking about you."

  I close my eyes and give in to the kiss. I glide my lips over his, soaking in the taste of his breath. I need this too. I need to feel pleasure under this man's hands. I can pretend that I don't, but I want it. I can take it. I can have it and my part in the musical. I need to.

  The moment he breaks the kiss, I feel bereft. I pop open my eyes. He's moving. He's lowering himself between my legs. I feel my panties being pulled down. My hand involuntarily falls into his hair.

  "You have a beautiful body, Libby." He pulls his index finger through my moist slit. "I knew it would be perfect."

  I arch my back to gain more of his touch. I want to feel his hands all over my body. "I want you to…"

  He pushes my skirt up around my waist as he lowers his head to my core. He licks the entire length of my sex in one painfully slow movement. "I knew your cunt would be sweet."

  His words pull everything that is within me to the surface. I cry out from the intensity of the pleasure. I moan every time his skilled tongue circles my clit and I reach for his hair with both hands when I feel his finger slide into me to touch my most sensitive spot.

  "You're going to come for me, Libby." His words feather over my folds. "I want to watch your beautiful face as you come."

  The words send me into an intense, delicious climax. I shudder from the depth of it. My lips part and a slow, involuntary moan trickles out. I hold fast to his hair, clinging to any part of him I can find. It's so much. It feels as though I'm going to burst apart from within.

  I'm still floating in pleasure when he cups my ass in his palms, pulling my body into his mouth again. He's less tender this time, his tongue greedy and aggressive. He licks me hard, rakes his teeth over my clit and sucks it between his lips.

  "Alec, please." I can barely form the words. "I feel so much."

  "Take it, Libby," he growls into me. "Take it."

  "God, yes." I moan into the silence.

  I cry out from the intensity. I gaze down to see him still fully dressed in his suit, kneeling on the floor of his office with his head buried between my thighs. I grab the leather of the couch, close my eyes and let the second orgasm wash over me.

  ***

  "Did I do something wrong?" I don't honestly know why I'm asking the question. All I did was come all over his face. I'm staring at him. The moist mist of my orgasm still lingers on his lips.

  "Libby," he says my name quietly while he stares at me. "Libby, that was really nice."

  You're telling me that was really nice? Excuse me, I'm the one who just had the two most intense orgasms I've ever had in my life.

  "I liked it a lot," I offer because I'm a lame loser after I've come. My mind is a jumbled mess. I imagined he'd strip and fuck me hard right after he helped me climax, but that wasn't what happened at all. He'd leaned forward, kissed me tenderly and then he helped me put my panties back on.

  "You should probably go." He stands now.

  I don't cry after sex. Wait. I did cry once when the guy I was dating couldn't get me off. I cried because I was so frustrated. Right now, I feel something stirring within me. I can't say for certain that it's tears. All I know is that Alec Hughes ate me out and now he's throwing me out. I guess his mission was accomplished.

  "You want me to go?" I ask for solid clarification. I'm still up for just about anything that includes his cock and mouth.

  He scrubs his hand over the back of his neck. "I have work to do, Libby. You need to go."

  Thank you for proving everyone in New York right, asshole. You are a pathetic man who only wants to fuck women. In my case, I don't even rate for a fuck. I just got a pussy eating. What does that earn me? A new watch? Maybe a fast food meal? Fuck, I am an idiot.

  "I can have Gabriel drive you home." He moves towards the phone on his desk.

  I jump to my feet, smoothing my skirt and adjusting my sweater. "No. I'll take the subway."

  "It's just as fast for Gabriel to take you."

  I guess I have my answer. My payment for our brief, but admittedly satisfying romp, on the couch is a ride in his fancy car. "I'm going to take the subway."

  "Libby," he says my name as he starts back towards me. "I'm glad you came to my office today."

  Are you now? I should say something. I should tell him what a jerk he is. I should let him know exactly what I'm feeling but it's just a waste of time. I heard the stories. I knew about him. It's my own fault that I didn't listen to the whispered warnings about him.

  "I better go." I turn and without looking back I walk out of his office.

  Chapter 20

  Alec

  We all have defining moments in our lives. For some people it's when they graduate from college. Other people claim it's the day they got married, while there's some who will tell you that it's the day their child was born. My defining moment was today. It was an hour ago when I let Libby Duncan walk out of my office. I didn't exactly let her walk out. If I'm being honest with myself I practically pushed her plump, perfect ass right out the door. Jesus, fucking Christ I am an idiot.

  "Mr. Hughes, do you need anything before I leave?" Lance is back. Goddamn Lance is back in the doorway of my office chirping about doing something for me. Maybe he can tell me why I acted like the biggest bastard on the planet after I ate Libby Duncan to orgasm. Maybe he can tell me why I didn't whip my cock out and fuck her senseless.

  "I need a redo of the last two hours of my life," I say through clenched teeth.

  "Did something happen with that girl?" he whispers before stepping through my office door and slamming it shut.

  I look past him to the door. "Did I ask you to come in here?"

  "She looked pretty upset when she stormed out of your office." He crosses his arms over his chest. "Is she your girlfriend? I mean I know what people say about you and women."

  "What the fuck do people say about me and women?" That was purely a reflexive response. I don't need Lance to spell it out for me. I've got a pretty good handle on my own reputation.

  He rubs his hand over his forehead. "Let's just say you do well with the ladies."

  Let's just say you're fired and call it a day. "Libby is different."

  "Was that Libby?" He circles around with his hand flying towards the door. "That's Libby Duncan?"

  "That's her." I raise both brows. "That's Jensen Duncan's daughter."

  "She looks nothing like I expected."

  "What the hell does that mean?" I push my chair away from my desk. I desperately need a drink. I've got to get to a bar now.

  "I pictured her differently in my mind. I thought she'd be taller and brunette. I also thought she'd..."

  "Who the fuck cares what you thought?" I'm paying his salary. He knows it. I know it. I'm allowed an occasional outburst.

  It doesn't faze him in the least. "What happened, sir? My friends come to me for relationship advice. I'm kind of a guru if I'm being honest. I can help."

  All of that bullshit didn't just come from his mouth, did it? Did I seriously just hear that? "What the fuck, Lance? I'm not talking to you about Libby."

  "It would help," he says the words with conviction.

  "You're not my therapist." I tuck my smartphone into the pocket of my pants. "You're not g
oing to be my assistant anymore either unless you get out of here now and get back to work."

  "It's after six."

  "So?" I toss the question out as I brush past him towards my office door.

  "I'm done for the day, sir."

  "I'm done for the day too. I can't wait for this fucking day to be over."

  ***

  "Wait a minute." She places her hand on my knee as she teeters on the very edge of the stool next to the bar. "You're telling me that there are two different kinds of sex?"

  No, this is not a repeat of the Lucy clusterfuck. I'm not about to run back into a hotel room with just any woman. I should. I should be watching a woman blow me right now, but I'm not.

  "There is a hell of a lot more kinds of sex than just two, sweetheart."

  "Oh, I know." The words flow from her with a purr. Judging by the way this redhead is grabbing my knee, no, wait, my thigh, she's not afraid to try anything.

  "I'm talking about sex with feelings and sex just for the sake of fucking."

  She takes another swallow of the apple martini I bought her when she first sat down. "So you ate her out and then what? You fell in love with her?"

  "I'm not in love with her." I tilt the glass of bourbon in my hand, watching the remainder of the amber liquid pool to one side. "That's not what I mean."

  "Explain it then." She leans forward on the bar. "I've never understood the guys I've fucked. I'd like to hear this."

  "She came twice." I hold up two fingers. "I was so ready to fuck her. I wanted to. Christ, I wanted to."

  "Why didn't you?"

  "I fuck a lot of women." I'm not proud of it. I've never been proud of it. It feels an empty void inside of me. I recognize that. I may not admit it to anyone, but I'm smart enough to see it. "I don't feel shit for any of them, but she's different."