by K D Grace
‘Fuck,’ Paulo whispered, running a hand through his hair. ‘She didn’t tell me. Why didn’t she tell me?’
‘Sniffing you out is hardly a typical pick-up, and if you introduced yourself as Paulo she might not have made the connection that you’re A.P Delacour,’ Coraline shrugged. ‘I suppose it could be a ploy, but I can’t think why. Maybe I should just call downstairs and have Fidelia send her up, and we can question her ourselves,’ she said as matter of factly as if she’d just asked the two if they were ready for more coffee.
‘She’s here?’ Paulo gasped.
Coraline nodded contentedly.
‘She’s here and you sent her to Fidelia?’ he came out of his seat. ‘Why the hell did you send her to Fidelia, as if things aren’t messed up enough.’
Coraline offered him a cool smile. ‘She was sniffing around in your office, I put two and two together after Alessandro told me what was going on and thought we’d have Fidelia check her out.’
‘I’m going to get her,’ Paulo said without asking leave.
‘Do that, Paulo,’ Coraline offered a happy smile. ‘And bring her here to my office. I’ll have Alessandro bring more coffee and some nice biscuits. I’m dying to meet her in person.’
As he raced to the door of Fidelia’s office Paulo could hear the sharp crack of leather followed by moans that could be either pleasure or pain. He didn’t bother to knock, but shoved his way in on a scene that had him breathless, and his cock was instantly stiff. Liza Calendar was turned over Fidelia’s lap. Her brightly coloured sundress was shoved up to expose a gorgeous expanse of rounded bottom now bearing a lattice work of red stripes that Fidelia had clearly laid with the crop, which came down across Liza’s bottom just as the door burst open. She cried out, then moaned and squirmed against Fidelia’s thighs. There was no mistaking the smell of arousal, and no mistaking the part of that arousal that belonged to Liza Calendar. For a second he had to lean against the door to regain control over his cock, then he spoke in a quiet, clear voice, ‘That’s enough, Fidelia.’
Liza yelped and bolted to her feet, nearly falling before Fidelia could steady her. The blush that crawled up her cheeks matched the colour of her bottom as she struggled with her dress. ‘Leave it,’ he commanded, wondering what the hell he’d said that for. She wasn’t a part of the inner circle. She had no idea what was going on. He half expected her to launch herself at him in anger.
Instead she stood unmoving with her skirt gathered in her hands, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. And at the sight of her, face flushed, bottom exposed, breasts barely covered, Paulo felt the part of him he’d always kept in tight control asserting itself. ‘It hurts, doesn’t it?’
She nodded, avoiding his gaze.
‘Look at me, Liza. You deserved Fidelia’s punishment, you know?’
As her eyes met his, she nodded again.
‘Fidelia, take care of Ms Calendar’s sore bottom,’ he commanded.
The security guard, breasts still exposed above the top of her blouse, a fine sheen of sweat dampening her brow, pulled a bottle of lotion from the desk drawer.
‘Is anyone watching?’ He nodded to the cameras.
‘Angelo is,’ Fidelia said.
Paulo cursed under his breath. Well he’d give the bastard something to watch then, wouldn’t he?
He took Fidelia’s place in the chair and offered Liza his hand. ‘You were sniffing around my office.’
She nodded again as he pulled her to him.
‘That was naughty,’ he said. ‘When I found out you were sent to Fidelia, you gave me an erection in the middle of a business meeting. That’s inconvenient, don’t you think?’
‘Yes,’ she managed with a gasp as he pulled her across his knee. He held out his hand and Fidelia squirted lotion onto his palm, which he applied in circular stroking and kneading motions over and around each wounded buttock and across and between the tops of her thighs, making no attempt to hide his erection, nor to apologize when his fingers slipped down between her thighs to brush against her labia.
‘You may masturbate, Fidelia. I can tell you need to,’ he said, ‘but stand over here so Ms Calendar can watch what you do with your fingers. She’d like that, wouldn’t you, Liza?’
‘Yes.’ The word came out a breathy hiss.
‘This is better than sniffing around my office when I’m not there, isn’t it? Now you can smell just how hot you make me, can’t you?’
She whimpered and nodded and ground her mons against his thigh. He returned the favour by shifting his cock against her. When he’d finished lotioning her bottom, he helped her to her feet just as Fidelia cried out her orgasm in the palm of her hand.
‘And now, Ms Calendar –’ he laid a hand in the small of her back and eased her, face down, onto the desk, kneeing her legs apart ‘– now I’m going to fuck you.’
He ran three fingers up between her distended lips, opening her, lingering to feel her slickness while he undid his fly and lifted his cock and his heavy sac free from their bind in his boxers. He cursed the seconds it took him to don the condom. He hoped the time would come when one wouldn’t be necessary. But he soon forgot the inconvenience as he grabbed on to her hips and shoved home into her tight, slippery depths, breathing in the delicious scent of honey and butter and sea air as she braced herself and pushed back against him with each thrust.
Fidelia moved around close to Liza’s head and tenderly stroked her hair. ‘Did she smell you, Fidelia?’ He asked. ‘She’s good with her nose. Really good.’ The security guard whimpered and stuck her fingers back into her panties as they all approached orgasm together.
Breathless and feeling like his whole body would shatter, Paulo leaned down over Liza and nibbled her earlobe while he fucked her. ‘I’ll let you come too, Liza, though you were very naughty.’ And it was almost as though she took a deep breath and convulsed out her orgasm at his permission. That thought sent him over the edge right behind her. And when he could breathe again, he whispered against her ear. ‘Get cleaned up. I’m taking you to meet Coraline Martelli.’
Paulo could smell her in the lift next to him as he leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, still not able to believe what had come over him in Fidelia’s office. And fuck if she didn’t smell every bit as good as he’d remembered. He figured the slightly picante edge to her scent was probably nerves. He hoped she wasn’t angry, but he figured she was probably too shell-shocked for her feelings to really sink in just yet. He knew he was. Except for his anger at Coraline, of course. He kept his eyes shut, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. He struggled not to slump against the wall, but he’d just had mind-blowing sex again with Liza Calendar after Coraline had handed her over to Fidelia. Now his brain was being forced into a reality check of just what that might mean. No way was he getting out of this one unscathed. He shifted stiffly to adjust as his cock reasserted itself with the scent of Liza Calendar so close to him. At that moment, she sniffed, then sniffed again, a deep inhale that was almost a sob, as though she could actually smell his cock’s happy response, which in turn made his fucking cock even happier. He hunched and kept his eyes closed, for all the good he figured it would do.
At last she spoke. ‘Am I in trouble?’
‘No.’
‘Who was watching? Who’s Angelo?’ she asked.
‘No one important,’ he replied. For a few seconds there was silence, and he hoped there’d be no more questions. Of course he was wrong.
‘Why did you do that to me? Send me down there to that woman?’
He opened his eyes and looked over at her. ‘I didn’t. Coraline did.’
‘Why? Was it some kind of a test?’
‘For her part, probably. For my part, I came to rescue you and, well, I couldn’t resist.’
Her jaw stiffened. ‘I’m glad you all find me entertaining.’ Before he could respond, the elevator door opened, and Alessandro was there practically buzzing like a very-well-dressed bee as he escorted them
to Coraline’s office.
Butter wouldn’t melt when Coraline came to her feet and walked around her desk to offer Liza Calendar an outstretched hand. As Paulo tried not to grind his teeth at his boss, he couldn’t help noticing the subtle way that Liza took in Coraline’s scent, and the scent of the room around her. No one else would have noticed. But Coraline knew enough already that he was certain she had seen the little olfactory exchange, and his shoulders knotted still further. The woman never missed anything. And she was unlikely to miss the fact that the two had fucked in Fidelia’s office. In fact, he figured that was a part of her plan as soon as she realized that the invader in his suite had to be Liza Calendar.
‘Ms Calendar,’ Coraline said, ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you. Sorry about the security. My people tell me you were sniffing around, and though the investigative use of a good nose automatically raises my opinion of you and, while we think highly of people with a good sense of smell around here, one can’t be too careful.’ She offered a smile that had mischief written all over it. ‘As for Fidelia, well I do apologize, but she sometimes gets a little carried away with her job. You don’t look too much worse for the wear though, but then I wouldn’t expect otherwise with Paulo coming to your rescue.’ She shot him an amused glance. ‘How are you finding Rome? I hope you’re not too jet-lagged. If you need a tour guide, I’d be happy to arrange something.’ She shot Paulo another glance.
Liza blinked twice and couldn’t hold back another seemingly involuntary, if subtle, sniff about the time Paulo figured Coraline Martelli’s unmissable scent of power and competence washed over her. Then she took the woman’s hand and offered a warm smile. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms Martelli. I’m so sorry for the intrusion. I’m usually better behaved. I only wanted to get a feel for the place and then …’ She sniffed again. ‘Well I ended up in Mr Delacour’s office because it smelled familiar.’
And, like it or not, that was Paulo’s clue. ‘Yes.’ He cleared his throat and straightened his jacket and the little breath he took before he spoke brought the delicious scent of her, still on his body, to his nose. ‘As I’ve already said, Coraline, I’m very impressed with Ms Calendar’s nose.’ The woman standing next to him smelled like heaven and looked like trouble. Clearly she hadn’t expected to be allowed into the inner circle today.
For the first time he noticed what she was wearing rather than what her clothing had revealed to him in Fidelia’s office. She wore a brightly coloured sundress that, without being too slutty, showcased well-muscled arms and shoulders, a good bit of her luscious back, and plenty of exquisite leg. He had personally helped her back into the leopard print thong Fidelia had stripped her of before his arrival. Her feet were comfortably shoed in a pair of delicate but casual sandals that laced up her calves centurion-style. They caressed her feet in soft tan leather, revealing toenails painted cherry red. His mouth watered at the thought of sucking each one of those lovely toes as he worked his way up to the delicious main course she’d sent him a selfie of last night. He’d fucked her twice now, but he wanted to do so much more to her. Christ! He so did not need to be thinking of that right now in front of his boss. But the widening of Liza’s eyes and the flaring of her nostrils along with the parting of her lips in a near gasp told him she’d caught the peaking of his scent along with the direction his thoughts were leading. The twitch of Coraline’s lips into a leonine smile said she knew exactly what was going on, and she knew exactly what was on his mind. He cleared his throat again in a struggle to find his voice, then offered Liza his outstretched hand, trying not to think about what that delicious mouth had done to his cock last night.
‘Ms Calendar, I’m A. P. Delacour. The P is for Paulo, as you’ve probably guessed. And I’m sorry I wasn’t in my office to give you a more genial welcome. It’s a pleasure to make a proper acquaintance.’
‘Though I’m sure the improper one was much more fun,’ Coraline said with a bright grin. Before the look of shock could completely register on Liza’s face, the woman continued like a runaway train. ‘We’ve just been discussing the new line, Ms Calendar. Is it all right if I call you Liza, since we’ll be getting to know each other pretty well in the near future? Everyone calls me Ms Martelli, but only because they’re not brave enough to call me Coraline. Paulo calls me Coraline, but then Paulo’s been with Martelli since he was in diapers, and he knows my bark is bigger than my bite. Well, actually it’s not, but I haven’t sacrificed anyone to the goddess of perfume in a very long time now, and if you behave yourself and do as I say, you won’t be the next.’ She waved her hand extravagantly, ‘I don’t care what you call me. Just be comfortable. Though I imagine you’re not feeling very comfortable at the moment, and I don’t need your refined sense of smell to know that. Never mind. You’ll get over it. Uncomfortable things happen to make life interesting, don’t they?’ Liza blinked twice and opened her mouth, but Coraline continued. ‘You’re staying in the flat at Bernini Place, aren’t you? How are you finding it? I hope Alessandro had someone make sure the fridge was well stocked. Nothing more depressing that coming in from a long flight to find an empty larder. Try the primitivo, by the way, if you’re a red wine drinker. It’s one of my favourites.’
Standing with her hand still resting in his, Paulo could see Liza trying to catch up with Coraline’s rapid-fire welcome. She continued. ‘Yes, as I was saying about the new line, Paulo has some very intriguing ideas, which you seem to have inspired, though they’ve been rattling around in that head of his for a while now. You’ve helped him put them in a much more coherent order, and I’m hoping we can talk about them once you get settled. Oh, by the way, this is Jim Dryer. I understand the two of you have been corresponding.’
Jim stood and offered his hand. The look on his face said he was still trying to piece together what exactly was happening. Jim had no idea what went on with security down in Fidelia’s office. If he ever made up his mind to join The Mount then he’d get his personal introduction to what the woman could do. But in the meantime best keep it quiet. Paulo was still reeling that Coraline had been brazen enough to send Liza to her.
‘Liza, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person. I’m really excited to have you here.’ Jim was nothing if not intuitive, and though it was clear the only person in the room thoroughly enjoying herself was Coraline, he quickly sized up the situation and continued almost as though he’d taken rapid-fire convo lessons from the boss herself. ‘Of course we weren’t expecting you till tomorrow. If we’d known, we’d have made sure your greeting was a little warmer. Never mind that. It’s always nice to have someone eager to get on with their work. I have an itinerary set up for you based on our email conversations. I had our discussion of that scheduled for tomorrow morning, but I have a little time now, if you’d like.’
Her gaze moved from Jim to Coraline to Paulo, then it was as though a curtain came down. All surprise, all shock, and all things bordering on less pleasant possibilities vanished from her face. She shook Jim’s hand enthusiastically and offered a warm smile. ‘I’d like that very much, Jim. Thanks for being so flexible.’ As he motioned her from the room, she glanced over her shoulder at Paulo and then addressed Coraline. ‘I’ll be looking forward to talking to you later.’
As he and Coraline watched the two leave, she nodded back to the chair and he dropped into it, suddenly feeling way more jet lagged than he had five minutes ago. ‘I wish you hadn’t done that, exposed Liza to Fidelia like you did. Angelo was watching the whole thing. Did you know that?’
Coraline raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m not surprised. I assume you gave him something worth watching.’
He didn’t offer an answer and she didn’t expect one. She took her time making her way around the desk, stopping to water a muscle-bound, waxy leafed plant that looked as though it were about to crawl out of its under-sized pot. She settled back behind her desk, picked up her pen, and began to doodle without looking at him. ‘She smelled you. From downstairs in Reception, she smelled you.’
‘From all the way downstairs she smelled you and found her way to your office.’
He shifted in his chair. ‘So it would appear.’
‘And you smelled her?’
‘Not until I got to Fidelia’s office, but I’m more sensitive to her now. You know, it’s all just a matter of training our sense of smell to work like it does for all our mammal cousins.’
‘Don’t lecture me about human biology, Paulo. I was the one who lectured you.’ On her blotter, she drew a large cartoon-looking nose with a flower beneath it. ‘She’s not happy with you.’
‘Can you blame her?’
‘No, but I can and do blame you.’
‘I didn’t know who she was.’ He ran a hand through his hair and stood to pace in front of her desk. ‘Coraline, nothing like this has ever happened to me before. You know me well enough to know that. The experience was, well, it was eye-opening.’
‘You mean nose-opening.’
‘That too, but I never meant for anything to happen. It was just … well it was like neither of us could resist the other.’
‘She’s not happy with you.’ She repeated, drawing a stylized heart on her blotter with what looked like a vicious dagger running through it.
‘You already said that. I must look like a right bastard. I mean if I’d had any idea …’
‘If you’d had any idea, you’re not sure it would have made any difference, Paulo. I know how chemistry works.’ Coraline laid down her pen and leaned forward over the desk watching him pace. ‘I’m not concerned about what happened between the two of you. I have a sneaking suspicion that it was inevitable, but I’m also not blind to what the woman might be capable of with a sense of smell like that.’
Before he could say anything she raised a hand. ‘First, apologise to her and make it right. I don’t care what you have to do. Just make it right. Any nose that good, I want working for Martelli. I’m happy to let her make a story for her magazine out of her whole experience here at Martelli, but I want her nose. I want Liza Calendar to help us with the new line.’
