Cards of Love: Ace of Swords

by Flite, Nora

There was a spark of excitement in her eyes. I know when a woman wants to be kissed. It was written all over her face, but I wasn’t ready, not yet. I wanted to draw out this moment, watch her lose herself in the sensation of my breath on her skin and my fingers memorizing every angle of her body. I could feel the goose bumps rising under my fingers where I touched her.

  Without thinking, my fingers traveled higher, slipping around to her inner thigh. Her breath was coming faster. I realized it was matching my own. Who was in control here? The answer was soon clear as Tatiana reached down to my hand and moved it up until it was resting against her panties. Heat emanated from her pussy; the lace was damp. I had to suppress the moan that had been building in my chest.

  When she removed her hand from mine, I didn’t retreat. I softly ran a finger over her cleft, imagining how the friction would send shock-waves through her. My vision was blurring in this suspended moment; staring in her eyes, her mouth so close to mine, my finger so close to really feeling her.

  “Touch me,” she begged. At those words, her tongue brushed across my lips. When I didn’t flinch, she went further. She placed her lips against mine, not kissing, just tracing my lips with her pink tongue.

  She reached her hand between us and rested it against my zipper. I was rock hard and the pressure had me instantly thrusting into her hand. Any self-control I had flew out the window. I dipped my finger under her panties and traced her wet seam, coating my finger in her juices. She let out a hiss when I made contact.

  My head was swimming with too many sensations, too many competing desires. I longed to have her hot hand on my cock, pumping it while I watched her face, a mask of desire. But my most urgent need was to watch her come. She was dripping wet and my finger slid easily over her swollen clit, finding a rhythm that had her panting in my arms.

  “Faster,” she said, as she moved her hips in time with my finger. I made small circles over clit, hardly applying any pressure at all, hoping to tease an orgasm out of her and watch it explode across her face. I kept dipping my finger back inside her, so turned on by how wet she was, by how wet I made her.

  Her mouth was against me, her fingers were digging into my scalp, holding on for dear life as she enjoyed the ride. I knew she was close, and I kept rubbing in a tight figure eight over her clit. I knew I was bringing her closer.

  She started jerking, her movements becoming unpredictable,; her orgasm was inevitable. Just then, we heard the door slam behind us. We pulled apart quickly and I found myself stalking across the room, not knowing where I was even heading. Tatiana was pulling her robe together, tightening the belt and running to the door to see who’d interrupted us.

  “What the fuck?” she said to me as she opened the door, but when she came back in she just shook her head. “I didn’t see anyone in the hallway. Maybe it was just the wind?”

  “Or maybe it was one of at least a dozen people who absolutely should not see me fingering my boss’s daughter,” I said through clenched teeth. I was fucking angry. Not at Tatiana, but at myself. What the hell was I doing letting my dick make decisions for me? Just days ago my life was under control, motoring along as planned and on schedule.

  I had a great job where I was climbing the corporate ladder. I didn’t have any problem avoiding unnecessary complications. I had two worlds: work and my personal life. So what if my personal life didn’t have much actual life in it? There was time for that. Later.

  I sat on Tatiana’s bed and held my head in my hands. “Christ,” I snarled.

  “Relax. It’s not like I’m a child,” Tatiana said, that teasing note in her voice again. She walked across the room and sat down next to me, leaning her mouth close to my ear. “And it’s not like I’m going to tell my father how talented you are with your hands and how wet you make me.” She started sliding her hand up my knee.

  I jumped off the bed. This evening was over. It had to be. “Tatiana, this can’t happen. You of all people should understand the power your father has over me. I can’t risk my job, everything I’ve worked for, even if I–“

  “Even if you what, Rolland? Want me? Because I know you want me. I know you do. And you wanted me, before you knew I was Sergio Montalla’s daughter, you saw me. This doesn’t need to be hard. Please, let me have this. Let me have this one thing.”

  She was pleading with me, and she was breaking my heart. She was desperate for something of her own, and at this juncture in her life, she thought I could be it, the key to her freedom. I’d desperately wanted to make her come before, see her break apart in a million pieces, but I wanted to give her an escape, too. And now here she was, begging me for it, and I wanted to say yes. I wanted to finish what we started and see where it could lead.

  She must have seen my resolve cracking because she walked across the room to me. Her cheeks were still flushed from before, and she started fingering the collar of my jacket. Her red silk robe was driving me wild. I couldn't stop imagining how it would fall into a puddle at her feet with just a pull on the belt and soft nudge at the shoulder.

  Most decisions for me were black and white. I could weigh the pros and cons, risks and rewards, and come to the right solution for any problem. But standing so close to Tatiana, remembering how slippery she felt under my finger and how responsive she was to my touch, I couldn’t think past my most basic and primal urges.

  “Just a kiss, Rolland,” she said. It was barely words, more like breathing. “Let’s just start with a kiss and see where it leads.”

  I was hypnotized. I wanted this to be easy like she said it could be, so when her chin tilted up to me, and her mouth was so close to mine, I claimed her. I laid my lips against hers, firmly this time. I let her tongue sink into my mouth, tasting champagne and strawberries and so many erotic promises.

  Her fingers twined through my hair; we were moving backwards, until her knees hit the bed and she sat down. She looked up at me with innocent eyes. I was so close. So close to taking that next step. To pushing her back on the bed and spreading her legs to taste her. Making her scream my name.

  When she reached for my belt, I grabbed her wrist. It was all suddenly clear. “Tatiana, stop. I’m not what you think I am. You look at me and you think you see freedom, but you’re wrong. I’m tied to your father just as much as you are. I’m completely dependent on him. I’ve been working for years to get where I am in his company, to have him depend on me like he does. I am not going to walk away from that. He won’t let me walk away, especially with his little girl. If you want freedom, if you want to break away from your father, you need to find some way to do that without me.”

  I didn’t wait for a response from her because I knew she’d convince me to stay.

  And I knew I couldn’t.

  I turned away from her quickly because I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on her face. This whole night had been a confusing mess, and if my professional life survived unscathed, it would be a small miracle.

  I walked out of her room and to my car as fast as I could.

  Chapter Six

  It had been a few days since the graduation party, and so far there didn’t seem to be any blow-back from my indiscretion. I’d talked to Sergio several times since, and he hadn’t even mentioned Tatiana’s name to me.

  I was on edge though, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I imagined my colleagues talking about me in the break room. So when Dianne asked me out to drinks at Little Pete’s one evening, I said yes. It caught her by surprise; me too. But I needed to test the waters and allay my concerns that Tatiana and I were the latest gossip.

  On Wednesday night, when I’d typically be working out, I was seated at a large table of colleagues and listening to their conversations. The air reeked of stale beer. The jukebox played one terrible song after another. It was definitely not how I wanted to be spending my evening.

  I’d almost convinced myself that this excursion was useless and I should head home, when RJ Dalton, a supreme douchebag from the marketing department, caught my attention
. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t hit that, dude,” he said loudly. “Jesus, that dress Tatiana wore at her party? It was fucking perfect.” My ears burned as I tuned in. I hated the idea of anyone looking at Tatiana like I did. “It’s just not worth the risk. Montalla would have my nuts in a vise if I even glanced in her direction.”

  “It wouldn’t be worth your time either,” a man who could be RJ's twin said. “That chick is so stuck up. Can you imagine how high maintenance she would be?”

  “I heard Mr. Montalla basically paid for her to get that degree,” a blonde woman—I recognized her from the front desk of the office—said. “You know rich girls like that. They never have to lift a finger or work a day in their lives.”

  I grit my molars. The Tatiana in their imaginations didn’t match the Tatiana I knew. I could feel myself growing defensive for her, wanting to explain to them all about her interest in water management and how hard she’d worked through college. But what did it matter to me what a bunch of office sad sacks thought about her? I didn’t care about them, and I certainly didn’t, shouldn’t, care about Tatiana.

  I started to sweat and my hands were twitching with the urge to knock out RJ. It was time to go. There hadn’t been the smallest hint that anyone at this table suspected anything happened between Tatiana and me. If someone did see us, it wasn’t any of these yahoos.

  The paranoid voice in my head had quieted down, but it was replaced with another that whispered tender thoughts of Tatiana. And tender thoughts about Tatiana always led to very impure thoughts about Tatiana. I checked my watch, deciding I could make it the gym and work off some of this tension before it got too late.

  The cool air outside the bar was a welcome sensation on my skin. Without the jukebox’s assault on my ears, I could really think. It had been days since I kissed Tatiana, since someone may have seen us together. There was no indication anyone I know saw us. If someone had seen us, what would the motivation be to spill? And if they were motivated to tell our secret, wouldn’t they have done it already?

  Carefully considering each of those facts, I put the matter to rest. What happened the other night, it happened. I couldn’t turn back time. Our paths had no reason to cross again anytime soon. It was time for me to move on with my life. My predictable, well planned life.

  Had it always felt so hollow?

  ****

  Driving over to Lakeside Plaza the next morning, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing. Sergio’s phone call had woke me before my alarm even went off. I was annoyed my schedule for the day had been disrupted. There was no arguing with the boss, though, especially since he seemed on the brink of offering me full access to the books at work. I knew I could work more efficiently without Marcus as a go-between.

  Sergio said he had a special assignment for me. The details were vague but since I was going over to a shopping mall, I assumed I’d be looking at some commercial property he was considering buying. With that in mind, I was mentally going over the checklist of questions I’d have for the realtor before reporting back to Sergio.

  I arrived at Lakeside Plaza exactly on time. I grabbed a black coffee while I waited at the main entrance, exactly as Sergio had directed me. It was ten minutes past my appointment time. With whom I was meeting, I still didn’t know. I was getting antsy from the uncertainty and feeling like I was wasting my time.

  Just as I pulled out my phone to text Sergio, a sleek, black Maybach pulled up to the valet. The driver, decked out in black brimmed hat and white driving gloves, opened the back passenger’s door. A gorgeous bare leg extending out of the car caught my eye; I swallowed in anticipation to see the beautiful woman attached to it.

  My eyes traveled up that body, taking in the tight denim skirt, the loose fitting flannel shirt knotted just above her navel, unbuttoned at the top revealing just a peak of cleavage, all the way up to... Tatiana Montalla’s infuriating smirk.

  This was not what I had anticipated. Was Sergio setting me up somehow? Was it a trap? Why would Sergio arrange for me to meet Tatiana, of all people?

  “Tatiana,” I said as I walked toward her, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Trust me. I didn’t have a choice in this. It seems you and I are both my dad’s subordinates and subject to his whims.”

  Her skirt swished toward the bakery where I’d bought my coffee. It clung to the perfect swell of her ass, a temptation I wasn't handling as well as I hoped I would. I had to keep my dick in my pants and my eyes above her shoulders.

  Following her, I waited as she ordered a cappuccino. She was relaxed and didn’t have the air of confusion that I most certainly did. But she wasn’t looking at me. We were standing inches apart and she wouldn’t even acknowledge me. I stood silently by while she added two sugars and a sprinkle of cinnamon to her cappuccino. Then she strode out of the bakery, leaving me behind.

  Did I chase after her because of that tight denim skirt and the scent of lavender that wafted behind her? No. I chased after her because I needed my job and to keep her father happy. The sooner I understood my task, the sooner I could complete it and get back to my desk, to the comforting and predictable spreadsheets I didn't want to spread wide and fuck.

  Still not glancing at me, she ascended an escalator deeper into the mall. Where was she going, what was all of this? “Tatiana. Tatiana!” I called as I took the escalator steps two by two, trying to reach her. When we got to the top she continued walking, as if she didn’t hear me. “Hey, hold on now!” I raised my voice as I grabbed her shoulder. Rule number one already broken.

  She looked at my hand for an instant and then slouched away from me, causing it to fall, but she didn’t run, she stayed and looked me in the eye. “What do you want?” she asked.

  “What do I want? Your dad’s left me in the dark. I have no idea what we’re doing.”

  “My dad is taking your advice,” she said, pursing her lips. “He says his days of hemorrhaging money are over. You’re here to babysit me, to make sure I don’t spend too much money. Isn’t that perfect?” she asked sarcastically.

  I was at a loss for words. Sergio had taken my advice? I should have been ecstatic. This was like some monkey paw curse, though. “He expects me to curtail your shopping?”

  “He sure does.” She rolled her eyes, then pointed over at a department store. “Either follow me, or don't, but I've got clothes to buy, budget limit or not.”

  Still reeling from the situation, I walked with her.

  ****

  “So what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?” Tatiana’s voice carried over the dressing room door in Barneys. It was the first time she’d spoken to me in the past hour that I’d been sitting here in the VIP dressing suite. Apparently when your last name is Montalla, you get special treatment at Barneys and a special attendant named Amy.

  I was perched on a stool in the suite outside her dressing room, an untouched glass of champagne by my side, scrolling through market reports on my phone and wondering how much work was piling up on my desk while I was away. Amy came in from time to time to bring new clothes and take the rejects away. So far, Tatiana had chosen about a dozen things to buy, and I had carefully noted each price tag, keeping a running tally to keep her under Sergio’s budget.

  “Just the usual. Work. Gym. The unexpected trip to Barneys,” I laughed.

  “You don’t have much of a personal life, do you?” she asked.

  I didn’t like where this conversation was heading and I was going to cut it off before it even got off the ground. “Let’s not blur the boundaries here, Tatiana.” I walked closer to the stall door so I could speak more quietly. “I really enjoyed the other night. But this...this thing between us, it can’t happen. You know it. So please, let’s just buy a few things and get on with our day.”

  She opened the door wearing a tight red gingham dress that stopped just below her knees. “Rolland, get over yourself. I may be a young but I’m not a child. For your information, I’ve moved on. In fact, I’m shopping for a w
eekend away at the beach with my cousin. I expect I’ll meet lots of guys who are closer to my own age and a lot less...stuffy than you,” she said. Then she turned around, the dress was unzipped to her white lace panties, her dark hair falling down her bare back. “Now zip me up,” she said haughtily.

  Zip the dress and then we can leave, I told myself. But my fingers were shaking as I took the tab in my hand. I had to move her hair to the side, and I tried so hard not to notice how silky it was. Tatiana trembled as I zipped the dress, my finger inadvertently skirting over her soft skin.

  “What do you think?” she asked, stepping back into the dressing room and turning to the three-way mirror. She smoothed her hands over her body, scrunching up her nose as she studied herself. She reached over to a bench and picked up a straw hat. I couldn’t help but observe how perfectly the dress hugged her ass, and I balled my hands so I wouldn’t reach out and touch her.

  “It’s fine,” I said curtly.

  “It’s fine,” she mimicked back. “Thanks a lot, Coco Chanel.”

  “Fashion advice is above my pay grade, Tatiana,” I said, stepping into the dressing room. She was determined not to make this easy. “I’m here to keep you within budget. If you tell me how much it is, I’ll tell you what I think. I’ve kept a running account on my phone and–“

  “Get out. I have one more thing to try on.” She took both hands and placed them on my shoulders, turning me around and shoving me out of the dressing room.

  I hated this feeling. This situation had too many variables. Tatiana was exasperating. She was sexy. I wanted to bend her over my knee and spank her. I wanted to kiss her.

  Downing my ignored glass of champagne seemed like the safest bet at the moment. After I drained that glass, I poured myself another. The workday was a total wash, there was no use pretending otherwise. Even though this was a bullshit assignment, at least I’d earn Sergio’s gratitude by keeping Tatiana under budget. And if I could get through an afternoon with just a door separating me from naked Tatiana without losing my mind, well, that was a major accomplishment.