"We've only been dating a few weeks." She felt the urge to lie about Nathan's existence to her dad and now she fabricated more lies about it to Ava. It hurt to tell people that she couldn’t move on when her real love crossed into her life more than any ex-lover should. A part of her feared Ava did sense too much between her and Porter. Ava would waste little time blabbing about it to everyone in the office. Rochelle felt she needed to squash any suspicions or maybe she just wanted Porter to be jealous.
Ava turned back to face her fully, and Porter's straightened behind her so Rochelle could see his displeasure at the confirmation of a guy named Nathan.
"Oh, wonderful. Where did you two meet?"
Rochelle flashed a convincing smile. "You know I went to that business lecture last month? He was there." Liar.
Rochelle acted coy when Ava beamed and Porter's sharp gaze narrowed on her and he ran his tongue over his teeth in thought. Ava couldn't see the anger rising in the man behind her. Good, it would show he cared a little too much. Porter bought her lie as well. A part of her felt that stretching this out might not be so bad. However, a part of her hoped he'd demand she be only his. Just so she could get some type of commitment from him.
Ava became entranced with the prospect of Rochelle getting serious with someone. "Oh that’s great!"
Porter’s eyes sparked with jealousy. "Yeah, just great."
"Oh, that’s so sweet, young romance." Ava gave a dramatic sigh. "You should’ve brought him."
Rochelle shook her head and shrugged at the same time. "He’s too new, I didn’t want to move too fast and scare him away with all this family business stuff. You guys can be pretty intimidating."
"Indeed, what's Nathan's last name and the company he works for?" Porter asked in a tone that caused Ava to look at him over her shoulder.
"Port, stop overshadowing her like a protective father." Porter blanched and turned away to gaze into the fading sunlight. Rochelle could ignore Ava's jab at Porter being older than her but she couldn't ignore the woman's smirk when she'd struck a nerve. Ava grasped Rochelle's hand. "I’m happy for you, I hope things turn out well with your new beau."
"Ava?" Ava's date stood in the open doorway to collect her. His face looked like a man who’d deliberately had surgery to make him resemble a Ken doll. He looked almost too fake to be real and Rochelle wondered if Ava might've hired him to be her date. She wouldn't doubt it; Ava pulled out all the stops to appear happy. She tried to make Porter jealous all the time. However, Porter deemed Ava old news and wasn't interested in rekindling anything with her.
"Good bye, Rochelle. Come around my office more often. I feel as if I barely see you." Yeah, not going to happen. Ava turned her gaze towards Porter and clutched her date's arm a bit tighter, showing off that she had a better life with the new honey bunny.
"Port," she said by way of goodbye and entered the clubhouse without a backward glance.
Rochelle could relax with Ava gone. She leaned against the rail on her elbows and cast a glance at the setting sun. The deck light had come on and the cooler night wind had blown in. She didn't even count to ten in her head when Porter said, "So with this Nathan? I’m assuming it's an open relationship." He had been making a reference to their spur of the moment sex-capade in the bathroom. "Or is it because you can’t resist me?"
"You would like to think that, wouldn't you?"
He took her champagne and sipped out the glass. "Based off past history, yes, or am I being too presumptuous?" No, he wasn't and if his low chuckle was anything to go by, Porter thrived on being irresistible to her. "I think we waited as long as we both could before it became too hard to deny. Besides, I knew on that night that I wanted you."
Porter made reference to that night more than once. The night at the café had been monumental for her as well. He'd coincidentally stopped inside on a night she'd been studying there. When he noticed her, he sat and chatted for hours. That night in the coffee shop was special. He wasn’t one half of Mercury Logistics or her father's best friend. He no longer became the man that angered her out of jealousy. He was Porter Brice, the man that changed the way she saw life. Since she'd lived closer to him instead of her father, her father always needed some files from Porter's house. Porter liked to work from home mostly. Instead of unnecessary trips made by Porter or her father, she would offer to swing by and grab whatever it the item was before heading to see her dad. Porter was right; their relationship was inevitable. Each time she stopped at Porter's house, he drove her insane with his unbuttoned oxford shirts and rolled up sleeves. The way he carried himself like a proud lion with the biggest mane, and his strut was a damn aphrodisiac as well as his slightly flirty demeanor. Rochelle carried the torch for him bad and it didn’t take long to notice the feelings were mutual. Before she could prepare for the squall of lust that hit them, he had her atop the kitchen counter, driving his thick cock in and out of her aching folds.
He'd blown her mind that day. Even now, her body warmed just recalling their first time and what it started between them. Since then, their on-and-off again fling became too habitual and it consumed her. Her heart always fell in his hands and there was a big chance it would be broken before the end. At one point, Porter seemed to have an issue with lying to her father just as much as she did. So she backed off when things seemed to feel too serious. Their relationship could never progress further than late night rendezvous and private take-out dinners. As tempting as it had been, slipping back into old habits would surely get them caught this time around.
"Look Porter, we can’t go back to the way things used to be. This will kill my dad if he finds out. Maybe he’ll get over it but I doubt it. He won't be able to forgive the fact that we’ve lied all this time and that we've slept together more than once."
His finger trailed along her arm, causing her nipples to pebble against the soft fabric of her dress. "Come see me tonight."
It’s as if he didn’t hear a damn word she said. Rochelle shivered at his whispered invitation and the beseeching look in his eyes. Her weakness? How could she say no when it seemed as if he desired her more than anyone else in the world?
"You've been avoiding me for over a year." His tone was a clear indicator that he didn't appreciate being ignored.
"I know."
"I've missed you."
They stared into each other’s eyes, not daring to look away and break the spell that entrapped them hundreds of times before. It had been hard ignoring the sporadic calls and emails the first six months. Eventually the calls stopped and she thought maybe they were truly over. Though it hurt her, she'd been okay if Porter decided to move on. Even if it had been hard for her to do so. Now it seemed as though Porter had only cooled his heels and that he had no intention of burying their romance.
"Will you come?" So many innuendos in that term had her lips parting. She'd love to come to him and for him. He slipped his hand away when her father's rambunctious voice echoed through the open doorway. He moved closer to the veranda that they occupied but got held up by a talkative employee before he could interrupt them. "Think about it."
Rochelle swallowed down the swarm of sadness as she straightened her back. "There's really nothing to think about. We can't." She turned to leave and jumped when he touched her arm again. Slightly panicked that her father would see, she stepped out of his reach.
Porter moved closer and lowered his voice. "What about what happened earlier?"
"I had a little too much to drink."
Porter snorted. "I call bullshit on that one. You wanted me, you still want me."
Rochelle took another safe step back but she didn't miss the growing anger in Porter's eyes, the frustration that he didn't try to hide from her. "What I want doesn't matter anymore and what happened was a mistake, Porter. Just like everything we've done in the past."
Seemingly taken aback by her words, he stepped away like she'd physically pushed him. Porter tugged his tie and straightened his jacket. He gave her a cold stare that pierced
her heart like an arrow. "Sorry I wasted your time then."
He returned to the clubhouse, his fading cologne reminding her of what she lost. His abrupt departure left a hole in her chest that would be impossible to fill with the same lies she'd told herself before. Suffering a second bout of heartache for the same man should be illegal. It sure as hell didn't get any easier but they couldn't survive on lust alone. Though she loved Porter, he didn't seem to return the emotion. A relationship couldn't thrive on flimsy love and dirty little secrets. The best thing was to let him go, even though it didn't necessarily feel right. Why did a part of her scream to make a detour to his house before she called it a night?
Chapter Three
One week later…
The wall clock minute hand hovered just past seven pm, past the time to go home. Rochelle had been trying to get caught up on filing paperwork. Since Mercury picked up a new account the finances could easily fall into chaos if she didn't stay focused. For the past week, she'd kept herself tucked in her office, afraid a run in with Porter would cause her to make an apology for her cold behavior. Then after she apologized it could easily lead to make-up sex. The janitors or employees wouldn't care to walk in on them in the bathroom or utility closet. Though Lord knows they pushed those risks often in the past. Tired of skulking in the shadows, she deserved more than that and Porter might not be the right man for her if he couldn't understand that.
Only two doorways down from hers, Porter's office served as a grim reminder of the man she forbade herself from having. During work hours she kept her door shut and her blinds closed but it did nothing to staunch the smell of his cologne that seemed to cling in the air. Even now, it teased her. More than once she'd caught herself almost heading outside just to catch a breath of fresh air. It wasn't an overpowering scent, but it kick-started her libido and might cause her to make irrational decisions. She couldn't help but feel the sadness creeping in around her. How was she ever going to survive a platonic business relationship with the man she loved?
A solid knock on her door echoed before it opened. Rochelle turned to see her father step into her office. He threw professionalism out the door after five pm. His loose tie allowed the top button of his oxford shirt to remain open. Her father held a briefcase down at his side and clutched his suit jacket that draped across his other arm. He leaned against the door, allowing it to keep him upright. They were all drained this week. There had been many nights she'd fallen asleep on her couch, still in her work clothes.
"Hey, sugar plum."
She mustered up a small smile. "Hey daddy, I thought you were gone. I'm just finishing up, and then I'll be out of here too." He'd probably wait to walk her out, so she’d better call it quits now. She turned back to the filing cabinet and slipped the paper into the file she had marked with her thumb. She let the air rush out of her lungs. She’d had hoped that it had been Porter coming to see her. She slowly shut the filing cabinet and seemed to pause before turning away from it. Her father would see the misery on her face and want to know what was wrong. Then she'd be liable to cry from his sympathetic nurturing.
"Alright, that's it. I can't stand it anymore." The vehemence in her father's voice caused her to turn around in shock. "Neither one of you have smiled or laughed this week. In fact, it's getting worse. This isn't what I signed up for when hiring you and welcoming him back home." Tony Reynard never got flustered and yet this conversation seemed just as uncomfortable to him as it did her. His dark cocoa gaze locked on her. "You have my blessing."
Rochelle's heart pounded against her chest at the same time. "You know?"
Her father gave her a look that told her not to play games. "I've known about you two for quite some time, Ro. I'm not blind, none of us in the office are. You two used to glow and it was always when you guys were in the same room together. So I watched and I saw the looks and the small flirts. I saw how happy you were and I just wondered why you never spoke up about it. At first, I thought it was because he went to Chicago for a year. Now I see, it's me that's keeping you two apart."
She turned, her heart thudding heavy against her chest as a pressure lifted off her shoulders. "I thought you'd be upset about it."
"Oh, I was at first. I waited for one of you to say something to me about it. Neither one of you did, so I thought maybe it wasn't as serious as I thought. I've seen the way you two mope around the office and it's depressing me in the process. So, to make it easier on everyone, you have my blessing." He waved a hand off as if their relationship wasn't a big deal. However, she saw the happy sparkle in her father's eye. He almost seemed proud that they were an item.
Rochelle licked her lips. "I don't think he wants the same thing I do."
Her father frowned and looked up at the ceiling in thought. He looked back down at her before speaking. "A man that doesn't want something permanent doesn't act like Porter has been acting since he's been back. I saw a glimpse of that happiness at the party but I can only assume you two haven't worked out your differences. Get to it or I fire you both." Letting his serious face turn into a wide grin, he winked before departing.
Rochelle watched her father stride out of her office. That was odd, not at all what she expected. She walked to the open doorway and watched her father stroll down the hall with a happy gait.
He stopped at Porter's door and peered inside and knocked on the doorframe. "Treat her right, Porter, and be sure she gets home safe." With that, her father made his exit as he turned down the hallway leading toward the elevators.
Rochelle stood there in the hall, dumbfounded and a bit relieved. What she and Porter had could finally breathe out in the open. It went a hell of a lot better than she thought. Her father's approval seemed to be the final push she needed to find a glimpse of happiness. The only problem was that Porter probably wouldn't want them to be anything more than what they’d been in the past. Sure, now they'd be able to be open about their sexual relationship, but she didn't care to be another Ava. She refused to be labeled office poontang. If they were going to be together, she needed it to be permanent and for the long haul.
Porter stepped out in the hall looking in the direction her father went. One hand was in his pocket, the other scratching behind his neck. He turned and caught sight of her standing there. He tilted his head, possibly trying to get a read on where her emotions were.
"Guess the cat's out of the bag." He took a step closer to her and when she failed to meet him halfway he paused on his third step. "Did you tell him?"
Rochelle shook her head. "No, he guessed."
Porter nodded before releasing a deep breath. "You have no idea how relieved I am that he knows about us." When she didn't trust herself to speak, Porter narrowed his eyes. "So what does this mean for us?"
Rochelle wrapped her arms around herself and focused on the employee of the month plaque on the wall. She needed to say it, to just get her feelings out in the open.
"I don't know, Porter. I won't hide my relationships anymore and I want things that you don't want."
"First, you're the one that wanted to keep this under wraps. There were so many times I almost told your father. Second, how do you know I don't want them? Maybe I said that in the beginning but now, things have changed." He took another step forward and the warning bells ringing in Rochelle's mind meant they were entering the danger zone. For once, she had nothing to be ashamed of. The space that she deemed her safe area became smaller with each step of his Italian loafers. The tips of her nipples hardened a she saw his face darken with desire. The change in his body language suggested that he desired her more than she thought. Sex might be on his mind but in the past, the mention of marriage caused him to clam up tight. This time, he continued to stalk closer to her, as if waiting to pounce when she least expected it.
"You told me you don’t want marriage, let alone kids. These are things that I want in my future." She allowed Porter to press her against the hallway wall without resisting. His muscular body perfectly aligned with hers as he rubbed
his hardening cock against her thigh. Her hands went to his broad shoulders and all the need boiling up inside of her overwhelmed her capacity to think straight. She gripped his shirt in her hands. She had the chance to have everything she ever wanted in this man and she didn't want to let it go.
Porter slid an arm round her lower back and hugged her tighter against his solid frame. She gazed up into his eyes, hypnotized by the blue that reminded her of Caribbean waves.
"Then you will have those things. I did some thinking while I was in Chicago, I never felt so alone and I realized that I didn't want to be anymore. The only time I felt whole was when I was beside you."
Rochelle let his words sink in. The joy they caused saturated her heart and burrowed deep. Never a man to say something he didn't mean, Porter's words were to be taken at face value. She slipped one hand from his shoulder to grip his loosened tie. He flashed a wicked grin as she pulled him forward to taste his lips.
As normal, their kiss felt explosive and earthshattering. Rochelle let his lips glide voraciously against hers. He crowded in on her, his body a delicious meal just waiting for her to devour. There were no second guesses anymore, nothing to hold her back from taking what she always felt should've been hers. Porter was hers and her body seemed to thrum with erotic energy. The two-day-old scruff scratched and sensitized her face. She welcomed the prickling pain by cupping the back of his head with the hand that had still been on his shoulder.
They broke apart, gazing lazily into each other's eyes. Moving this outside of the office would prove difficult as Porter's attention commanded immediacy. She couldn't put this off any longer either. She'd gone a full year without him giving her ecstasy. The reminder of how demanding he'd been at the party caused a shiver to tingle down her spine and a flame of desire to spread between her thighs.
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