Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  After school let out at South Point High, my phone buzzed with an incoming text as I was walking to my car.

  Daniel: Can you meet me this afternoon?

  Groaning, I texted him back.

  Me: Can’t … I’m busy.

  Daniel: I’m stopping by your house tonight then. We need to talk.

  We need to talk? Yeah … right.

  I groaned and griped to myself the whole twenty minutes it took to get to Brett’s office. I was a stubborn woman, but no one could beat the stubbornness level that Daniel had. I just wouldn’t answer the door if he came over. I’m sure he’ll love that.

  When I pulled into the parking deck, the man I assumed was Jake came up to my window, so I rolled it down. He was probably mid-fifties with his salt and pepper cropped hair, and stout with muscle in his security uniform. He looked like he might’ve been ex-military at one point or another.

  Leaning into the window, he smiled and greeted me, “I’m assuming you’re Ms. Ashford?”

  I nodded. “Yes, sir.

  He opened the gate and motioned me past with a wave of his hand. “Then you may proceed young lady.”

  I saw Brett’s Jeep up ahead by the elevators, so I parked right next to him and got out of the car. My phone said I had only forty minutes to spend with him, so I rushed up to the elevator and pressed the button for the fifty-ninth floor. I was able to ride the elevator all the way to the top without having to stop. Once the doors opened, I had no clue which way to go so I approached the massive receptionist desk in the center of the giant lounge. The lady behind the desk was probably in her sixties with the sweetest smile of anyone I’d ever seen.

  “Why hello there,” she greeted me, standing up. “I remember you from the party a few weeks ago. You’re Melissa, right? I’m Rebecca, Mr. Matthews assistant.” She extended her hand and I shook it firmly. “Mr. Walker told me you were coming.”

  Blushing, I grinned and pulled back my hand. “Yes, ma’am. I wanted to see him before he left to go to Seattle, but I have no clue which way his office is,” I explained sheepishly.

  “Oh, no problem, sweetheart.” She pointed to the hallway to the left and said, “His office is down that way, last door on the left.”

  “Thank you, Rebecca.”

  Grinning, she winked at me and sat back down at her desk. “You’re welcome, darling.”

  Not wasting any more time, I walked briskly down the hall until I saw the last door on the left. His name was on the outside of the door, but I didn’t know if I should knock or just walk in. I’d never visited him before at work so I had no clue; I decided to knock.

  “Come in,” he called out.

  Opening the door, I smiled when I stuck my head through the side. “Hey, babe, I made it.” The second I stepped into his office my eyes went wide in wonder as my gaze searched his monstrosity of an office.

  “Wow, the view is amazing,” I breathed in awe. I marched over to the window and peered out at what was one of the largest cities in North Carolina with its tall buildings and bustling streets. Holy crap, his office was amazing. He even had his own bathroom.

  Brett beamed at me and immediately got up from his desk to capture me in his arms. He looked wonderful in his suit with his tie unkempt around his neck; I could tell he’d had a busy morning. Laying my head down on his chest, I breathed in his familiar and warm scent. I sighed when he held me tighter.

  “I’m not going to know what to do without you these next couple of days. Why don’t you come with me? Surely, you can find a substitute, right?”

  Exasperated, I pulled back and laughed at his teasing smile. “I wish I could go with you, Brett. I’ve gotten so used to you making my coffee in the mornings. I’m not going to know what to do without you.”

  “Is that all you love me for? To make your coffee?” he quipped.

  I rolled my eyes and bit my lip. “No, not exactly, but I’m sure you can think of other things I love about you.”

  Smiling, he dipped his head lower. “I have some ideas about that, but why don’t you let me show you some of the things I love about you.”

  Smirking, I glanced around his office and then back to him, knowing exactly what he wanted to do. The problem was that there weren’t many places that would be comfortable, unless we did it on the …

  “If you don’t mind my asking, where do you plan on showing me how much you love me?” I questioned, raising my brow.

  His smile grew wider as he walked back toward the door and locked it. “I’m sure we can come up with something,” he teased. Stalking over to me, I squealed when he picked me up and carried me over to his desk. Setting me down, I was amazed to see that it was uncluttered and completely devoid of any paper whatsoever.

  Giggling, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You were planning this weren’t you? No one’s desk is ever this empty, especially someone who works as much as you.”

  He chuckled. “It was either clear off my desk or we scatter everything on the floor. I thought I would make it less messy.”

  “Good call,” I agreed with a wink of my eye. “But we don’t have much time.”

  “No worries, firecracker. That’s why I’m going to fuck you hard and fast,” he promised in his deep, sultry voice.

  My breath hitched and my clit tightened as the words left his mouth; it wasn’t going to take me long to get off once he started. Unbuttoning my skirt, he slowly lowered it over my hips and lifted me up so he could slide it the rest of the way down. While he unbuttoned his shirt and pants, I worked on the rest of my clothes, slowly sliding off my silky top and unhooking my bra. After everything was said and done, all I had left on was a pair of thongs, but Brett ripped them off the second he saw them.

  “Those were from Victoria’s Secret,” I scolded him playfully. “You’re going to need to start buying me underwear from all the pairs you keep ripping off my body.”

  Taking my bottom lip in his mouth, he sucked it hard. “I like you better without them.”

  Gripping my thighs with his large hands, he roughly pulled me across the desk so that my legs were spread apart and open for him. His cock was hard and glistening at the tip. I licked my lips, wanting nothing more than to suck that salty drop from the top. Instead, he plunged inside me and took my nipple in his mouth all at one time while grasping my hips in his firm grip. It was a rush of sensations that almost had me screaming his name. Luckily he masked my cries with his mouth, closing it over mine.

  Brett pulled back and chuckled. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

  “I couldn’t help it,” I breathed. “You’re killing me.”

  Grabbing the hair at the nape of my neck, he tangled his fingers in my tresses and pulled, nipping my neck with his teeth. “Same here, firecracker. You’re so wet and closing in around me so tight I don’t think I can hold off.”

  Folding my arms around his shoulders, I locked on tighter to his body and thrust my hips along with his. Brett grunted and growled in my ear, “Fuck … Melissa, I’m gonna come if you keep doing that.”

  Grinding my hips harder, I tangled my tongue with his while I milked him for all he had, feeling the pulsing in his cock that always signaled the coming of his release. My orgasm came hot and swift at the same time. He dug his fingers into my hips and pumped his own pleasure inside my body until we both collapsed onto the desk.

  Leaning his forehead to mine, his breath was ragged against my lips. “Damn, that felt good. How I will ever get enough of you is beyond me.” He pulled out gently and helped me off the desk by taking my hand.

  “Let’s just hope it stays that way,” I whispered. Especially, after I tell you my secret, I thought.

  Pulling on his pants and glaring at me, he asked, “Why wouldn’t it stay that way? I’m going to warn you now, you’re not getting rid of me so easily.”

  Half-heartedly, I smiled and nodded. Before I could respond a loud knock came at the door. “Shit,” I hissed, scrambling around to gather my clothes.

  Bret
t clambered around and hastily put his clothes on while I gathered up all of mine and locked myself in the bathroom. “Do you have everything you need in there?” he whispered by the bathroom door.

  “Yeah, I got everything,” I said, breathlessly. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  He laughed low. “Okay, baby. That was close, wasn’t it?”

  I shook my head and grinned at myself in the mirror. “Yes it was, now answer the door! I’ll be out in just one second.”

  Chuckling, I could hear Brett putting papers back on his desk and then the sound of the door opening. A man’s voice spoke out, but both his and Brett’s voice were muffled by the door; it was probably Galen, his boss. Once I washed up and put on my clothes, I straightened my hair by running my fingers through it and opened the door. One thing was for certain … I wasn’t prepared for who I saw.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The second I walked out of the bathroom, my heart stopped and my eyes went wide. Daniel’s narrowed gaze scrutinized my ruffled appearance and his cheeks flushed in anger. Shit!

  “Why hello again, Melissa. It is Melissa, right?” Daniel asked, trying hard to mask his irritation.

  It took all I had not to roll my eyes and cuss at him, but I tilted my lips in a forced smile and answered him, “Yes, it’s Melissa.” It was short and clipped, but I didn’t feel like saying anything else. Thankfully, Brett took over.

  “Is there something I can do for you, Mr. O’Briene?” Brett asked politely. His gaze lingered over to me, but I could already feel the tension in the room building and I didn’t want him to see me hesitate. I wanted out of there … fast.

  Daniel sidled further in the room and took a seat in one of the chairs. “Actually, there is,” he began. “I thought maybe we could go out for drinks tonight with some of my friends. I figured we could talk about our next step.” He turned to me and said, “You can come too if you want.”

  “I’m sorry but I can’t,” I muttered blandly.

  “Unfortunately, neither can I,” Brett said to him as well. “I have to leave in ten minutes to catch a flight to Seattle.”

  Daniel smiled and stood, tilting his head to the side. “Ah, another client?” When Brett nodded he continued, “That’s great news by the way. Maybe when you come back we can go for drinks. I know we aren’t supposed to start until December, but I’m looking forward to seeing what you have in mind and maybe getting a head start.”

  Brett held out his hand. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll call you when I get back into town.”

  Daniel took Brett’s hand and shook it, but not before turning a wolfish glare my way. “So how long will you be gone on this business trip?”

  My instincts went on full alert … he was up to something. Brett furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. “I’m not too sure how long I’ll be gone. It’s looking like it’ll be three days at most.”

  Daniel nodded and turned on his heel toward the door. “Well, all right, Mr. Walker. I’ll leave you to it. Have a safe trip, and I’ll speak to you when you get back.” He snuck a quick glance at me before walking out the door with a smirk on his face.

  Brett grabbed his computer bag and came to my side, gazing warily down at me. “I swear the way he looks at you and says your name puts me on edge. It’s strange the way he is around you. In a way I want to tell him to back the fuck off, but I can’t considering he’s my client. Are you sure he didn’t come onto you or do something at the restaurant?”

  Sighing, I shook my head and swallowed my guilt. “No, he didn’t,” I lied. It was worse … a lot worse. “So what will you be doing in Seattle?” I asked, changing the subject. “Do you think you’ll get to do some sightseeing while you’re there?” He stared at me for a minute, eyebrow raised, but I held my ground and didn’t falter under his scrutiny.

  Taking my hand, Brett led me out of his office and down the hall toward the elevators. “Well, once I hear what the people want we’ll go from there. I’ll most likely be back in two days. I don’t see how it could take any longer than that.”

  “That’s good,” I breathed. “The sooner the better.”

  Brett held me in his arms as the elevator doors closed and we descended the fifty-nine floors to the bottom. Once inside the parking garage, Brett laid his computer bag in his Jeep and then grabbed me around the waist, taking me in his arms one last time.

  Breathing me in, his hand caressed my back as he leaned in to brush a soft kiss to my neck on up to my lips. “I’ll call you as soon as I land, okay?” he murmured.

  I nodded. “Just be safe.”

  “Always, baby.”

  His grip loosened and he kissed me one last time before getting into his Jeep and backing out of his spot. When I got in my car, I blew him a kiss and waved at him before starting up the engine and putting it into gear. My phone buzzing with a text made me stop and put the brakes back on.

  Daniel – How did your afternoon fuck go?

  Me – Like that’s any of your business, asshole.

  Daniel – He has nothing on me. Why don’t you end all of this and let me have you? I don’t like seeing you with him.

  Me – You don’t have a choice.

  Daniel – You’ll come around.

  Instead of replying, I ignored the rest of his texts and headed home. If he showed up at my house I wouldn’t answer the door, but I feared that since Brett was out of town I’d be getting a whole lot more attention from him.

  Whatever scandalous dealings Daniel was into, I was definitely going to find out before he screwed me over. I have to find out what’s going on before it’s too late.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Brett had been gone a total of two days and I was hoping he’d be home by the evening. He didn’t call during my lunch break like he always did, so I was clueless as to what was going on with him or if he was already on his way back. On my way home from work was when my phone finally rang with a call from him.

  “Hey,” I answered excitedly. “Where are you?”

  “I’m trying to get home to you,” he replied, and I could tell a smile was on his face by the tone in his voice; it made me smile in return. “Actually, I’m in Texas right now. I couldn’t get a direct flight back so I had to come here. I should be boarding soon … hopefully.”

  “So you’ll be home tonight?”

  He chuckled. “That’s the plan. You better be ready for me.”

  “You know it. So how did everything go with your meetings?”

  It was kind of hard to hear him with all the people around him talking, but I could definitely tell he was excited. “Oh, Melissa, it went great. They loved my ideas and they said they’ll be in touch as soon as they talk things over. I think it’s in the bag.”

  I squealed. “That’s awesome, babe! When will you find out?”

  “They said I should have an answer by next Monday morning,” he informed me happily. “So what are you up to this afternoon? We probably need to close up your pool soon, don’t we?”

  Sighing, I agreed, “Yeah, I guess so. We can do that this weekend if you want. I might go out there this afternoon and enjoy it one last time before we close it. I can’t believe it’s the end of October and it’s still in the eighties. With you around it’s hard to find time to read, so I’ll probably sit by the pool and finish the novel I started a few weeks ago.”

  “Sounds good, firecracker. I can’t wait to see you.”

  I smiled. “I can’t wait to see you, too. I love you. Be safe coming home.”

  “I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”

  By the time we hung up I was already pulling into my driveway. After I parked in the garage and checked the mail, I made my way inside so I could change clothes and grab my book. Since it was the last day I was going to lay by the pool, I put on my bikini and threw my hair up into a ponytail before washing off my make-up. As soon as I sat down and read all of two pages in my novel, my phone rang.

  It was my cousin, Mason. Finally. It’d taken him forever to get back
to me.

  “Hey, Mase. Please tell me you have something for me?” I asked expectantly.

  “Yes I do, and sorry about the wait, Mel. I got called away on a case and time just slipped by. However, it did take me a while to track down Claire. Do you have something to write this number down on?”

  “Actually I don’t, I’m outside. Just text it to me and I’ll call her.”

  “Okay, and now that I’m free I’m going to look into this whole thing with Daniel. I’d like nothing more than to bust his ass doing something illegal.”

  “You and me both,” I said. “And by the way, thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. Let me know what Claire says when you call her.”

  “Will do,” I insisted. As soon as we hung up the phone I got a text from him giving me Claire’s number. Immediately, I dialed it and let the phone ring. It rang and rang until eventually her voicemail chimed in. Just my luck. I decided to leave a message and hoped she’d call me back. If not, I was going to call her over and over until I got in touch with her.

  Once the beep sounded, I spoke into the phone, “Hey Claire, it’s Melissa here. I haven’t talked to you in a while so I thought I’d give you a call and see how you were doing. Please give me a call back. I have something I really need to talk to you about. Hopefully, I’ll hear from you soon.”

  Shit, that sucks. I was really hoping to talk to her. “Please let her call me back soon,” I said to myself, closing my phone.

  Annoyed, I set down my phone and grabbed my book. Over the past couple of nights I hadn’t slept well at all, so sitting there trying to read was probably going to put me to sleep. Needless to say, I read for about an hour before my eyelids started to droop and I slowly drifted off into the dream world where nothing and no one existed but me and Brett.

  ***

  I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or if I was awake, but the tender touches flowing down my arm and leg sent chills all over my body. When I tried to open my eyes, I couldn’t … I was blindfolded. Sitting up quickly, I tried to lift the blindfold off, but a pair of strong hands held me firm and a husky voice in my ear murmured, “Shh … relax.”