“You know I’m not, and why are you behind my desk and so close?” Her eyes skidded to the door and then back to Malcolm who, if she wasn’t mistaken, had moved even closer. “Kelly could walk in. You’re too close.”
“She won’t. She’s two parts intimidated by you and one part in awe. I imagine you get that a lot. Competent, no-nonsense sistas normally do. Now, how about lunch? I bet you didn’t have breakfast and worked through the entire morning without a break or snack.”
She’d done exactly that, which was Sky’s routine. Some days, she would manage buttered toast or fruit with her morning glass of orange juice. This morning she had a seven-thirty meeting, which didn’t leave her much time for breakfast. Unless, of course, she set her clock for an earlier wake-up time, which she didn’t do. After the meeting, she started in on her “To Do” list. Before she knew it, the morning hours had burned away.
With the mention of food and lunch, Sky’s stomach began to revolt against the ill-treatment.
“My next class isn’t until three, which leaves me nearly two hours to spend with you. You smell good, by the way. What are you wearing? Lavender oil in your hair and on your skin?”
Before she could process his questions, he’d maneuvered them so that her back was to her desk and Malcolm in front of her. He leaned in, nose nuzzling her neck and inhaling.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything other than lean against her desk, eyes closed, lips parted, and heart pounding so hard and fast Malcolm had to feel it against the chest pressed to hers.
“Definitely lavender oil. Let me kiss you again.”
“You didn’t ask the first time.”
The breath from his laugh singed her skin. “I know, but I’m asking now. I’m not trying to seduce you.”
“I think you are.”
He withdrew his lips from her neck to look at her but kept contact with Sky’s body. “Maybe a little. I think about you more than I should. I want to call and text you but know it’s never a good idea to overwhelm a woman with a man’s needs and wants.”
“You’ve cornered me in my office and against my desk, how is that not overwhelming me with your needs and wants?”
Another laugh, a masculine octave that rumbled through Malcolm’s body and into hers. “Sky, if you don’t want me to chase you, then you can’t look at me as if I’m a juicy cheeseburger you want to sink your teeth into and devour. If I’m wrong, I’ll step back and won’t cross the line again. Tell me what you want.”
Sky knew what she wanted. She’d grown up knowing what she wanted. But she’d learned as a girl that her wants amounted to precious little. She no longer asked for anything. Asking and wishing produced expectations which invariably led to pain and disappointment.
“I don’t have a wife or girlfriend if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t smoke or do drugs. I’m a social drinker, but nothing more. I’m clean. Have the tests to prove it. What else can I tell you about me that will set your mind at ease?”
“I’m not the woman for you. I’m an introvert and moody. I can spend hours by myself and not miss the presence of another person. I live in my head and work too much.”
“I’ve been called over-emotional, mushy, nosy, and smothering. Considering I invaded your work day without the courtesy of a phone call and have damn near pinned you to your desk, I’m sure you’ll agree that I may have an issue with smothering those I care about. So, all we’ve said is that we aren’t perfect and that we’ll get under each other’s skin sometimes. So what?”
So what? Malcolm had no idea how emotionally shut off Sky could be. A nice guy like him didn’t deserve an emotional cripple like her. Yet, when she began to frame the words that would send him out her office and personal life, they wouldn’t come.
She tried over and again to tell Malcolm to leave her alone, to not visit, call, or text her again. Sky tried, but only managed to frustrate herself into frightened silence. She didn’t want to want Malcolm.
But she did.
For all that Malcolm had said, his talkative nature in contrast to her quiet reserve, he remained silent as Sky processed the pros and cons of getting involved with a coworker. It hadn’t worked out for her mother, and she was too practical to think herself an exception to the Ellis rule. From her experience, office romances were doomed to fail.
Yet, for the first time in her organized and structured life, Sky wanted to cast off the shackles of caution and protocol. Taking a leap of fear and faith, she captured Malcolm’s lips in a kiss.
They were as full and wonderful as Sky remembered.
Hands came to her cheeks and cradled her face in large, gentle hands. Malcolm’s head tilted to the right, and he licked her lips. Back and forth swipes that pressed and coaxed without the hard demand for entry.
Sky opened her mouth, unable to deny herself a deeper, more thorough taste of him. Tongues met, licked, swirled. Over each other, teeth, and gums.
She moaned, and Malcolm drove his tongue deeper, stoking the flames and heating her core. They kissed until they needed to come up for air, only to begin again, repeating the cycle of hungry kisses and breathy moans.
Hands went to ass and lifted to her desk, and lips found neck and sucked.
“Not too hard,” she rasped on a shuddering breath.
“I won’t give you a hickey. At least nowhere others can see. But that’s for another time. When we’re really alone and both naked and sweaty.”
Damn, there went her imagination again.
Sitting on her desk, she allowed her legs to fall open to accommodate his lean hips and waist. He rocked against her, pressing his center into hers and kissing Sky.
She never acted this way. Technically, Sky and Malcolm hadn’t even had their first date. While she may have known the African American Studies professor since the beginning of spring semester, those months of acquaintance weren’t enough to justify making out with Malcolm in her office. No less encouraging the press of his semi-erection against the crotch of her dress slacks.
But it felt too good for Sky to put a halt to their unprofessional behavior. True, Kelly wouldn’t walk in on them. She’d also told Sky that members of the Diversity Progress Committee would often stop by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion to speak with the former director, Dr. Mitchell.
Until today, however, no committee member had visited her office.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“Yes. No.”
Malcolm chuckled against a throat he lavished with kisses and gentle bites. “Which one is it?”
“Both. We need to stop. We’re so beyond inappropriate behavior. But…”
“But?” Head and eyes raised, followed by a lascivious grin. “I’ve kissed most of your lipstick off. Does the color look good on me?”
Sky laughed. “Light peach isn’t your color. For your complexion, I’d go with magenta.”
“Hmm, then wear that shade of lipstick tomorrow so I can kiss it off you.”
Sky shook her head, another laugh bubbling out of her. “Presumptuous, one. Two, magenta only looks good on light brown women if we wear the right outfit. Finding the winning combination is more effort than it’s worth.”
“Sometimes you sound like my sister. I’ll have to introduce the two of you.”
“We aren’t there yet. I’m a baby stepper.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it. So, what about lunch? Don’t think you can feel me up without also buying me lunch. I’m not a cheap date.”
She smacked his shoulder, and he kissed her, shifting from playful to serious in the span of a heartbeat. Under she went again, giving herself over to her repressed need and denied dreams.
They didn’t do more than kiss. Clothes stayed on, and hands didn’t seek out intimate territory best left for an appropriate setting. Malcolm and Sky did, however, move against each other, a clothed mating dance that left them unfulfilled and panting.
A knock sounded at her office door. Malcolm kept kissing her, either ignoring the person
on the other side of the door or oblivious to everything except the two of them.
The knock came again, followed by a soft, “Dr. Ellis?”
Not Kelly’s husky smoker’s voice but the soft, unsure voice of a…
Sky pushed against Malcolm’s chest, a solid wall of lean muscle. She bet he had a swimmer’s body underneath his suit—pronounced shoulders and large lats. She shoved the thought away.
“There’s a student at my door. I need you to move.”
As if waking from a coma, Malcolm stared at Sky, confused, before blinking his way to comprehension.
“Shit. Okay.”
“Dr. Ellis? Are you in there? Mrs. Steen isn’t at her desk.”
“Ah, give me a minute.”
Sky jumped off her desk, only now seeing the mess she and Malcolm had made. Papers and folders were everywhere, including the floor. When in the hell had they done that and how long were they kissing that Sky missed Kelly taking her lunch break?
It didn’t matter.
Sky grabbed her handbag, plopped it on her now messy desk, and fumbled inside until she found her lipstick and compact. Flicking the compact open, Sky sighed with relief. Thankfully, Malcolm didn’t share her hair fetish. Every time she’d reach for his head, wanting to play with his locks, he’d pull her hand away with an admonishment to, “Don’t mess up my stylist’s work.”
“This is why an office romance isn’t a good idea. The couple always gets caught.”
Malcolm gestured to the lipstick in her hand, then went about picking the papers off her floor. All the while, he grinned at her, not an ounce of shame or regret at almost having a student walk in on them.
Sky reapplied her lipstick and went to the door. Malcolm was on his hands and knees by her desk, which hid his presence in her office. She opened the door and slipped out.
As she’d suspected, a student had come to see her, which wasn’t unusual. For the most part, Sky had an open-door policy. She couldn’t get to know students and their concerns if she didn’t make herself available to them.
“Hi, Areum. Sorry to keep you waiting. What do you need?”
Areum Jee, a first-generation college student, smiled at Sky and handed her three papers she recognized.
“Thanks for the feedback on the committee report, but you didn’t have to deliver it to me. An email would’ve been fine.”
“I know, but I needed a break from studying, so I decided to take a walk.”
Sky got the impression Areum wanted to do more than take in the fresh spring air and get a bit of exercise.
“Is there something on your mind?”
A shrug. The junior’s non-committal response reminded Sky too much of her teenage self.
“Have you had lunch?”
“Not really.”
Which meant she had, but Areum, like most kids her age, were bottomless pits and would scarf down most anything put in front of them.
“Well, I haven’t. Give me a minute to grab my bag.”
“Um, wait. You want me to join you for lunch?”
“Yes. Unless you don’t want to.”
“No, well, okay. That’s cool, I guess.”
“Good. I’ll be right back.”
She opened the door just enough to squeeze into her office, then she closed it behind her. Which was kind of rude, but Sky had little choice.
“So, a raincheck on lunch.”
“You heard.”
“I did. What do you think is really on Areum’s mind?”
“That’s what I hope to find out over a hot meal.” Malcolm handed Sky her handbag but didn’t release it. “I have to go.”
“I know.” He still held onto her bag. “No backtracking, Sky Ellis. No running. No putting up walls. No denying our attraction.”
“I don’t run or erect walls.”
“You also don’t lie very well.” His hand fell from her handbag. “Call me later. I’d like to take you to dinner. Off-campus, this time.”
“A date?”
“Yes, Sky, a date. We’ve had our tongues in each other’s mouths, I’d say we’re overdue for a date.”
He had a point. Time with Malcolm Styles, away from EBC, sounded like a perfect way to end the work week.
“I’ll call you before my last meeting of the day. We can make arrangements then unless you already have a place in mind and want to make reservations in the interim.”
“What do you like to put in your mouth?”
Oh, but the man loved his double entendres.
“You’re shameless.”
He winked.
Sky rushed from her office, but not before Malcolm wrapped his arms around her and kissed her goodbye.
Not to her lips where he’d kiss off her lipstick again. But to her neck that pulsed with anticipation at seeing him tonight, and many nights afterward, if she were lucky.
4
How are the kids? Are they excited about summer vacation? They only have about a week before the school year ends.”
“June twenty-third is the last day of school. SJ finished his Regents Exams last week.”
“Big-time freshman took high school exams for the first time. Was he nervous?”
Sean Franklin Jr., taller than his mother by the time he turned twelve, inherited his father’s height and looks but his mother’s smile and A-type personality. The fourteen-year-old took life and his future far too seriously. If he didn’t learn how to relax and slow down, he’d have a bleeding ulcer before he turned twenty-five.
Malcolm moved Angie out of the way as another runner jogged past them. Bird Island Pier may have a great view of Niagara River, Lake Erie and Peace Bridge, the arch of which they hadn’t yet reached, but the running path wasn’t the smartest location for a stroll on a Saturday afternoon. In mid-June, the temperature reached a mild seventy degrees but felt ten degrees cooler by the water.
“You know your nephew, of course, he was nervous. But he acted like he wasn’t. He was fine. The girls are also good. You need to stop by the house more. They don’t understand why you rarely come by now.”
For the same reason Angie and Sean no longer shared a bedroom. The girls were probably too young to think much about it, but SJ wasn’t. He had to have questions. No doubt all the kids picked up on the tension in the house since Sean came clean to Angie about his affair.
With the bombshell his side action dropped on him, she’d left Sean with little choice but to confess all.
“How about next weekend? A movie with Uncle Malcolm should square them away for a few hours. You’ll get some peace and quiet for a change. Take a nap. Go to the spa. Get a massage. Use that time for yourself, I got you.”
Angie’s unexpected hug had Malcolm stumbling to a stop. Her head came to his shoulder, her face buried against it.
“Another month or so before we know. Either way, I don’t know what I’ll do with the truth.”
Malcolm kissed the top of his sister’s head, wishing, not for the first time, he could take away her pain. When Sean fucked up, he did it royally. How stupid did he have to be to not wear a goddamn condom? Sean could’ve contracted anything and brought it home to his wife. As it was, Angie had to make an appointment with her doctor for STD testing after she learned the truth.
He’d offered to go with her, but she refused. Malcolm had at least managed to talk Angie into having her best friend accompany her. That was also the same day Malcolm charged into Sean’s law office and knocked him across his desk before he could think better of assaulting a member of the New York Bar. He hadn’t cared about the repercussions, Malcolm wanted to make Sean hurt, even if it wasn’t as deep as he’d hurt Angie.
“It’s all right.”
“It isn’t. What if it’s his? I don’t know what I’ll do if it is. I’m trying to not think about it, trying to not let my hurt and anger get the better of me. But it’s so hard, especially when I see him with our kids. All I can think about is Sean raising a child with another woman. His time split between our family an
d his new family. Sean’s a good father. He would never abandon his child, and I wouldn’t want him to. But I also don’t think I could handle the constant reminder of his lies and betrayal.”
Malcolm didn’t know what to say. Hell, when it came to this, he could never find the right words. Perhaps because there were none. Angie didn’t expect him to solve her problems, he knew. All she wanted was a strong shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear, which Malcolm supplied. But he wanted to do more. He needed to do more. The fact that he couldn’t had him holding his sister tighter and cursing under his breath.
“Don’t do something stupid.”
“It won’t be stupid.”
Angie pushed from him, her spine straight and eyes teary flints. “I mean it. No more fighting. It doesn’t help. You bloodied Sean’s nose and mouth the last time. He had one hell of a time explaining his injuries to the children. He couldn’t exactly tell them their uncle attacked him. Besides, he’s your friend.”
“Yeah, in the same way, he’s still your husband. It doesn’t amount to much right now, does it?”
Angie wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. “No, it doesn’t. And, yes, it does. I want to hate him. Tried to hate him, but I can’t. Sean’s the father of my children and the man I’ve loved for almost two decades. I can’t turn my feelings for him off because they’re inconvenient and painful. Trust me, most days I wish I could. You aren’t the only one who’s wanted to hurt him physically. It’s a terrible feeling wanting to do bodily harm to a person you’re supposed to love. I get it now, how some spouses snap when they catch their husband or wife in bed with another person. That kind of betrayal cuts deep, Malcolm. So deep.”
They began walking again, Malcolm’s arm slung over Angie’s shoulder.
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t go all Lorena Bobbitt on Sean’s ass. He may be on my shit list, but only rapists and pedophiles deserve that fate.”
Angie laughed, the way he hoped she would. “You’re terrible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“By whom?”
“By Sky. Actually, she used the word shameless.”
“Do I want to know the context?”
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 44
