Taken

by Mia Ford

  I had no interest in the man that treated me like a piece of meat, but this man was different and was giving me food for thought. I had no idea how I was going to handle seeing them together intimately and showing affection. It was looking like I was going to have to bite the bullet and find out.

  BOOK 3: STEAL ME (PART 2)

  Blueprints of Seduction

  Amanda Cochran had thought that August was just like all the rest. The sleazy come-ons and the way that he looked at her made it impossible for her to even think that they could have something together. She rebuffed his advances, claimed that she had just gotten out of a long-term engagement and that wasn’t even close to the truth. Amanda wanted to work with August and his reputation for making something lasting and memorable was a legacy that she wanted to be a part of. Without the constant threat of him trying to put his hands on her, she began to see that August wasn’t the man that she thought he was. There was a caring and compassionate side that was lost on her because of his lecherous ways. It was due to her rejecting him that he changed his ways. Amanda was now seeing August as more than just a partner in business. The obstacle of Julia Ames was threatening a happiness that she didn’t think was possible.

  I paced back and forth in my bedroom, trying to figure out what I was going to do. Could I live with knowing that I had thrown August into another woman’s arms? I’d made it pretty clear that his interest in me was not going to be returned. There was no way that I could deny that he had a body that just wouldn’t quit. The charming dimples and the way that he spoke with refinement had made me putty in his hands. I tried so hard to push him away that I didn’t realize that there was more to him than the crass comments and the way that he tried to touch me inappropriately.

  “What do you see in him? I only ask because you stated emphatically that he can’t keep it in his pants. He’s constantly coming onto you and making you feel like your skin is crawling. Don’t you see what’s going on here? Now that he’s with somebody else, you want what you can’t have. That’s not fair to either one of you.” Gemini was a friend that I had not seen in almost a decade. She just showed up out of the blue with her long hair colored in a blue and red dye. She certainly didn’t look like the same woman that I knew back when we met in school.

  “I basically told him that he should shape up, but I neglected to tell him that I needed a real man to sweep me off my feet. I’ve never been one to shy away from the unknown, but guys like him are a dime a dozen. You can find somebody like him in any bar wearing their intentions in the way that they have their shirt open and that god-awful gold chain swinging back and forth against their chest. August might not be that transparent, but I thought that I had his number. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to hear him say that he was with another woman.” I was only wearing a pair of men’s boxers. I found that they were very comfortable when I wanted to sleep but not necessarily in the buff. The one thing that Gemini and I had in common was the size of our bodies. She liked to say that we were identical twins, but I couldn’t exactly say that with the way that she was dressed and wearing her individuality on your sleeve.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really didn’t think that you had a chance with him anyway. Guys like him tend to gravitate towards those of the supermodel variety. You and I have a bit more going on for us than a stick thin figure. I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned to embrace my curves. It’s that confidence that has made it unnecessary for me to go to bed without the companion of a man. I see that same confidence in you, but it’s not as strong as I would like it to be.” Gemini was exactly like me and maybe that was the reason why she left town. I thought that it was something that I did, but I didn’t know at the time that she didn’t have any choice.

  Her father was an army brat and staying in one place for too long wasn’t an option. I had kept in touch with Gemini, but this was the first time that we had seen each other without the necessary technological advancements. It was one thing to see her transformation while talking to her on a chat site, but it was another altogether when she was standing right in front of me flaunting her body. She made me feel inferior like I was doing myself an injustice.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I want him to be happy, but I was never convinced that he would be able to find a woman. I thought that I had time. You have no idea how close I came to letting him do unspeakable things to me. I’ve thought about nothing else since the moment that he told me about Julia. I think that it’s a good idea for me to know my enemy before I go into battle. I’ve decided against my better judgment that I’m going to fight for him. I can’t do it up front and I’m going to need to rely on certain aspects of my personality that have remained dormant.” I was referring to my sexuality. I was never very comfortable with that kind of wanton desire, but I’d learned a long time ago that I didn’t have to be afraid of that part of me.

  “I know exactly what you’re going through. I felt the same way, but traveling due to my father’s job really did open up my eyes. There was no reason for me to be some kind of a wallflower. My weight was my issue. I didn’t allow it to weigh me down and no man stood a chance. I hope that you know what you’re doing. I’m not in any position to tell you what to do. The only thing that I can suggest is that you take things slowly. Give him the idea that there could be something more, but don’t make any grand gestures. Be discreet. The one thing that you can’t do is allow Julia to know what your intentions are.” She sat on my bed with her feet curled in underneath her and her back straight.

  I knew that this was some kind of yoga pose and that she was always into this new age health craze. I found it useful at times to delve into pharmaceutical aids that were more natural than big company medicine. I liked the idea that nature could cure anything. I took vitamin C every morning, including garlic pills to prevent me from having to get the flu shot. I lived my life the naturopathic way. I had no interest in taking any drugs for any reason whatsoever.

  “I’m going to have to be subtle without throwing myself at him. It’s been a few weeks since he told me about Julia. He talks about her all the time. I have to bite my lip to keep myself from screaming. I want him. I just have to find a way to make him see me. You have this knack of finding clothing that makes our figure that much more appealing. That’s the reason why I asked you to go shopping with me.” We’d spent all afternoon and come back with some interesting things that made me scratch my head.

  “I hope that you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of letting you have the benefit of my experience. You look at these clothing and you make this face like there’s no way that you could possibly wear something like that. When you can get that out of your head, then you’ll be the woman that you’ve always wanted to be. Trust me; these are not issues that I haven’t lived with myself.” Gemini was staying with me for however long it took her to move on with another chapter of her life.

  I looked at the dresses that we had gotten at that shop and I shivered with the way that it was going to put my otherwise endowed assets on display.

  “I’m not sure that I’m comfortable showing that much skin. I do wear tight clothing, but nothing that comes even close to this.” I referred to one dress that was pure white and lifting it into the light made it see through. “This is not me, but I suppose it’s going to have to be. I need him to take a second look. I thought that he was unredeemable, but I’ve noticed in the last little while that he has changed those leopard spots. I do wonder how long that’s going to last before he once again has that wandering eye.” What I failed to mention was that I wanted his wandering eye to see me in a compromising position.

  “You can’t fool me and you have never been able to. Amanda, if you want this man so badly that you can taste him, then you need to show him. I’m not suggesting that you attack him in his office, but I’m sure that he wouldn’t be opposed to that. Guys are pretty much oblivious when it comes to a woman’s intentions. There are times that it’s necessary to slap them across the face
metaphorically speaking. It wouldn’t hurt you to wear a little bit of makeup. I know that you go in for that natural look, but accenting your cheekbones is a good way to get him to see you. I can help you with that.” I wasn’t sure that I wanted to put myself in her hands, but if anybody was aware of what I was going through, then it would have to be her.

  “Right before your eyes, I will transform into a desirable creature of the night. I want August to know that he’s powerless to resist me. I haven’t met Julia yet. I have been anxious to see what my competition looks like. From everything that he has said about her, she won’t be easy to get rid of. They apparently knew each other for quite some time and had talked on occasion. I’m going to wear this red dress. It’s a little bit more risqué than I’m used to, but I think that I need to put it out there.” We spent the rest of the night reminiscing and watching old movies on television until she passed out on the couch.

  I went back to my room and did myself the courtesy of looking at myself in the mirror at the red dress that was molded to my frame. It stretched and the fabric was made to accommodate any size woman within reason.

  I had been worried from the moment that I heard about Julia. She was guarded and August told me that she was weary of getting involved with him. She thought like most women would that he was only after one thing, but then she began to see that he had become a one-woman kind of man.

  I woke up early and I found Gemini still sleeping one off. I put a blanket over top of her. She was a bit of a bohemian and lived day to day with no real direction in her life. She found that it was freeing to be independent and able to pick up and leave at a moment’s notice. I could see how she would have that nomadic spirit. I don’t think that I could’ve stepped into her shoes.

  I arrived at the office, breathing deeply and looking at my reflection to see that my breasts were not exactly shy. I wasn’t wearing a bra and those naughty pointed buds could be easily seen with the naked eye. I could always claim that it was the air conditioning, but I knew better. This was my excitement getting out of hand. I actually felt like I was going to pass out, but I managed to stay standing and looking at his door.

  It was still early and then I heard something that made me stop with my hand on the doorknob to his office. I thought that it was a man moaning and I got a vision of him putting into practice an old remedy for his arousal. I wanted to see it, but I didn’t want to interrupt his fascination with his own body.

  I was about to go in, but then I stopped short with a female voice joining his. “Oh, god…you have to stop this. It doesn’t seem to matter where we are and I need to put my foot down. Some things are better left unsaid. Jesus…don’t do that and you know that I get weak at the knees when you do that.” The woman had to be Julia. I could hope that it wasn’t. That she was coming here as we speak to catch him in the act of being with somebody else. It was only wishful thinking.

  “I don’t know what your problem is and it’s not like anybody’s going to be here for at least another hour. I say that we take full advantage of the time that we have together and not waste it. I’m trying to make up for lost time. I’ve always had this crush on you, Julia. You probably thought that I was clumsy when I dropped my fork every time that you were near, but that was by design. I wanted to see you bend over and that short skirt that you wear at the diner leaves little to the imagination. I may not be that same man anymore, but that doesn’t stop me from panting after you.” August was pressuring her into doing something in a semi-public forum.

  “I don’t know why I even bother to wear panties. You get one look at them and you take them off. You say that I look a whole lot better without them. I do find that a compliment, but it also makes it so that I’m very self-conscious about my body when I’m at the diner. Every time that I bend over, my skirt rides up, but I have learned to bend at the knees.” The guys that were her clients must’ve got a cheap thrill out of seeing her like that.

  “You know that I love to live vicariously through those men that try to make you feel like a piece of meat. I won’t do that, but I would love to show up when they are getting a little frisky.” August might have changed, but there was still a part of him that was lingering underneath that drastic transformation.

  “I hope that you never lose the way that you look at me. I like the way that you make me feel like the only woman in the room. I’ve never felt so alive. I need you to be with me and to stay with me through thick and thin. I’m glad that you are willing to contemplate a commitment. I know that you had a crush on me, but what you didn’t know is that I had a crush on you. I don’t know how many times I wondered what it would be like to find you in the diner after hours and christen each and every booth.” Julia sounded like a woman with a sexual appetite that was unsurpassed.

  “The skirt that you’re wearing is making me too hot to handle. There’s no reason for you to fight me. It’s not like you don’t want this. I can see the way that your legs are shaking at the very idea of doing something in my office. It makes you desperate to throw caution to the wind” I was tempted to interrupt, but I was more curious to know how far they were going to go.

  “I don’t have time for this. I know that’s disappointing, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t do something. I could conceivably give you some pleasure. I know how you get when I’m performing a certain sexual act. The way that you squirm and look down at me is priceless. It’s something that I want to repeat over and over again.” Julia was suggesting giving him the benefit of her mouth. I didn’t know what compelled me, but I needed to see this for myself.

  Julia was on her knees. You wouldn’t know it from looking at her that she was a slut, but the whore underneath the fancy clothing was now emerging to consume him. I should’ve cleared my throat and brought this to an end, but I was essentially frozen to the spot like my feet couldn’t move.

  He was holding onto her hair and shifting gears by moving his hips to supply her with the heavyweight of his manhood on her tongue. I could see her head bobbing up and down with her hair flying everywhere. I wanted to say something.

  “I’m glad… I’m so fucking glad that you are a woman that likes to do this. You’re not just going through the motions and there is real joy in your technique. If you’re not careful, this is going to end prematurely. I don’t think either one of us wants that to happen.” I knew that from the sound of it that he was a hair trigger. They could’ve been teasing each other for hours until they had to finally do something about it.

  I wanted to see what god had blessed him with. I had this fascination and image in my head that I wanted to compare to the original. Unfortunately, the angle was making it difficult to see anything of substance.

  That jealousy that I had felt when he had first told me about her had come back in waves. It was making me nauseous and I wanted to be sick to my stomach.

  I could hear her submitting to his will. It was a sound better heard in the privacy of a bedroom than here at the office. I wasn’t sure if I could ever look at that desk again. He was leaning back against it, his pants down around his ankles and his hips moving with the insistence of her oral consumption.

  I finally had enough and I closed the door quietly. I didn’t need to see this come to its inevitable end. I had to do something. I went back to the elevator and I made enough noise that they would have to stop what they were doing. I felt bad that I was taking that away from him, but I also felt elated that I was stopping them from showing that kind of affection.

  “I know that you are going to be so happy with what I have come up with. I just couldn’t wait to come in to tell you all about it. I came up with a design for those three buildings that is going to knock your socks off. I know that we only have a couple weeks. This design will go on the front of each of those buildings.” I breathed deeply, hoping that they could hear my raised voice and get themselves presentable before I walked in on something that was going to make me go blind.

  I had seen more than enough, but not near as muc
h as I was hoping for. I just needed her to move out of the way for a second, but she was glued to the spot.

  I opened the door and Julia was sitting there with her long black hair fanning out down her back. I could see from the way the other hand was moving that she was reapplying her lipstick. I could almost guess where that lipstick went. She had marked her territory down the length of him.

  "I wasn’t expecting you so early. I don’t see that there’s any reason for us to put off the inevitable. I’ve been meaning to get the two of you together, but our schedules really didn’t match up.” As if to beat him to the punch, Julia stood and faced me in a designer blue and black outfit. I couldn’t understand why she was wearing something like this when she worked at a diner.

  “Amanda, I have heard nothing but good things about you from August. He seems to think that we will get along famously. I do admit that I have had some problems dealing with you both working long hours. He promised me that there was nothing untoward going on. I think that it is high time that we meet.” She had her hand outstretched and I wanted to slap it away and tell her that he was mine. I couldn’t do that without laying all of my cards on the table.

  One way or the other, I was going to have to put on a brave face and make nice for the sake of appearances. I could see the way that she was looking at me, drawing her eyes down over my body, until she smiled with that telling sneer that had me wondering if she knew what I was up to.

  “August has spoken about you often. I don’t know if he knows of any other subject than some quirky little thing that you do that makes him smile. He seems happy and you have to know that he’s not the same man that he used to be. He still looks. You must have noticed those errant glances toward other women.” She looked confused and this was my way to seed some doubt in her mind about their relationship. “I don’t know what it is about men. They can’t settle for what they have without thinking that they can do better.” I didn’t want to lay it on too thick, or I would alienate both of them and make it impossible for us to work together.