by Falon Gold
Ford’s hands glide up the side of my face to cup my ears. His eyes begin to burrow into mine, touching something deep inside me that he touches often with just a look: my soul.
“I’ll tell you what’s at stake, my Lisa… my heart. It’s been yours since you flashed those brown eyes at me in your interview, which was the hundredth one I had to sit through of highly unqualified applicants. You were no different from everyone else that was obviously willing to learn what I needed. But I was willing to slow down and train you, so you could get used to me. I refused to ask myself why I was doing that for you, when I wouldn’t do it for anyone else.”
So, that’s how I got the job. He wanted me too, even when I was at my most unattractive. But what did he plan to do after he gave me the job, just ignore me?
I croak, “And then?”
“After a month, when I didn’t want you to go home without me, I knew what you’d done to me. I also knew if anyone else saw what I saw in you, in any way, you’d be gone for good. So yes, I stood in the way of you dating and paid you well for it. I couldn’t risk losing you, even though I felt you were too young for a relationship. I had to make myself let you grow. When you threatened to quit last time, the time before now, I knew you were serious. I still couldn’t bear to lose you, so I let you fly off without me.”
“Then you followed me here,” I murmur, falling a little deeper in love with him after his admission. How could I not when he saw past my frumpy appearance and overly thick curves to the heart of me, the woman that’s been waiting for him?
At least he paid me well while I literally worked my ass off for him, losing enough weight to fit into the sleek, fitted dress the heat from his body is about to sear to my skin.
Ford leans in, his dark eyes shimmering in the blanket of darkness that’s covering the living room. “Hell yes, I followed you here. I heard you asking about the best place to get a makeover while you were making your hotel reservation. I knew then my butterfly was about to come out of her cocoon and spread her wings. In no time, someone would snap you up in jar and put a lid on you. I didn’t wait all this time just to lose you to someone like Derek. I came here to tell you how much I love you, for how long I have loved you, and why I’ve worked you until you dropped so I could watch you sleep in my home where you belong. Do you know you moan in your sleep?”
My head wobbles. “How could I know what I do when I’m passed out?”
He chuckles quietly. “Well, you do moan. It’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard, a soft and long exhale, and it’s mine, so give it to me.”
Holy hell! I’m stunned, unable to breathe, think, or speak.
“My Lisa,” he exhales his rendition of my name like he can’t hold air in his lungs any longer. What I’ve dreamed of has come to pass, and I’m frozen stiff and lightheaded.
Fuck! Shit! Dammit, Malisa, do something other than pass out!
His head drops, positioning his mouth only a breath away from mine. It’s still too damn far away if you ask me. When he angles his head, as if he’s preparing to kiss me, I have to battle with my own needs just to keep from setting my lips on his first.
“You can give me every excuse in the book, but you’re mine just like that moan is. I’m not letting either go. I have waited too long to rightfully claim you both. I’ll wait longer if you need more time. But I want you to do whatever amount of extra living you think you need to do, with me. Whatever concerns you have, we’ll work through them.”
The trace of worry and demand in his voice is too much for me to ignore. It’s obvious that he wants me as much as I do him. Passing up the chance to have what I’ve always wanted would be stupid. My mother didn’t raise a fool, and Lydia Owens doesn’t tolerate them well, either.
If things go bad between us, I can always go back to managing my love and looking for a suitable replacement for him. If things get so bad my heart can’t take it, I can always quit.
“Well, if you want to be mine that bad, Mr. Ford, then—” I snap my mouth shut, effectively planting my floating mind firmly in the moment.
He grins and mumbles, “Yes, I want to be yours, and more importantly I want you to be mine.”
“Well, there will be no more dates with other women to make me jealous,” I warn, looking up into his smoldering eyes.
“Thank God.” He plants his mouth on mine, making my senses drift away, again. I have just enough awareness left to open my mouth so his thick tongue can take slow sideswipes at mine. Bolts of electricity shock my core, making it contract and release, almost painfully, and my body feel weightless. I ball my hands in the shirt material at his waist to ground myself while feeling the need to do much more than just kiss him.
I snatch my mouth off his and rest the back of my head against the door.
“Make love to me, Mr. Ford.”
He drops his forehead to mine. “On one condition.”
Just one?
“What… anything,” I say winded, as if I’ve run a marathon and I’m desperate for a drop of water.
“Say my name, my Lisa.”
More heat blasts through me, as if I need to be subjected to anymore fire. It steals the little air that’s left in my lungs.
“I said your name already,” I respond breathlessly.
“No, you called me what you always call me, Mr. Ford. Kill the professional distance between us and say my first name.”
I inhale deeply then exhale, “Apollo.”
He grins. My senses sharpen until I can feel the air touching down on my skin. Goosebumps raise up on my arms, and that’s never happened before today. He’s right about his first name; using it makes everything between us a hell of a lot more intimate. I’m sinking deeper into the love that I have for him like it’s quicksand. I have no way to fight it and it may kill me.
“One day, my Lisa, I’ll get you to say it along with ‘I love you’, but I can wait for that.”
He shouldn’t have to wait since it feels like I’ve always loved him. But, I’ve loved him silently for so long I don’t know how to say it out loud.
“You’re still bossy, even now,” I gripe, with a stupid smile playing on my mouth.
Soft exhales from Apollo’s opened lips begin to tickle the skin on my cheek, as quiet laughter erupts from him. “I’m bossy right now because I’m not secure in our relationship yet. That’s your fault. It’s your job to make sure I become secure while navigating the ins and outs of this relationship. That’s if you want a king that’s not blind, insensitive, and inattentive to your needs in your castle, which I’d love to buy for you someday, so our princes and princesses have a lot of room to grow… and run.”
“Damn, you remembered all of that, Apollo?”
“I remember everything you say.”
“So, all the late night calls for files and passwords—”
“Excuses I come up with to call you late at night,” he interrupts. “Most times, I’m not even working, just thinking of you and needing to hear your voice after you’ve gone home.”
“I thought you just liked hearing me talk when I’m drowsy,” I say dryly.
He drops his head to touch the tip of his nose to mine. “I love hearing you half asleep, especially when you’re in the same room with me. I took perverse pleasure in knowing I’d made you tired, even though I hadn’t touched you. I’ve had my hands all over you in my mind.”
I shudder, wishing his hands had been on more than just my mind.
“Apollo, it’s perverted to work me like a dog just so you can watch me sleep.”
He snickers softly, fanning my mouth with his warm, minty breath. “Yes, it is perverted. But look at it like this: I’ve been in love with my assistant for almost the whole time I’ve known her. She’s seven years younger than me and doesn’t know I need her more than I do air. I’ve suffered in the dark, alone, and in her company. All because she didn’t tell me that she loved me too. Now, that’s mean for you to keep your love from me. I haven’t had a girlfriend since I
met you, by the way. So, say the words I want to hear, my Lisa, and put me out of my misery. ”
I look up at him suspiciously. He just said he was going to wait to hear those words from me. Now, he was demanding to hear them. Apollo doesn’t do desperate, but he is doing it for me. Suddenly, I feel more secure than I’ve ever felt with any man.
“Guilt trips are so low for you, Apollo,” I say flippantly, making him wait a little longer for what he seems to want so badly. He did make me wait for him, while he dated other people, and I’m petty enough to want some get back. “And you’re not the only one who’s suffered.”
“I would’ve stopped our suffering the same month I hired you if I thought you were ready for a serious relationship.”
We wouldn’t have wasted so much time apart if he had, but he did what he thought was best for me. No woman can ask for more than that.
“I love you, Apollo.”
“I love you too, my Lisa,” he whispers, before taking my mouth with his again, sealing the deal. And if I ever lose him, my heart is done forever.
Chapter Five
Apollo steps back, suddenly breaking our lip lock and leaving me high, hot, and bothered. Before I can complain, he captures my waist in both of his huge hands and pulls me forward from the doorway then stoops down to scoop me up into his arms. His mouth is on mine again, as he turns around to walk blindly into the bedroom. He tangles his tongue with mine, then untangles it, just to do it all over again.
He squats down to lay us both on the bed, me on my back, him on his side, without breaking the kiss again. Then he slips his leg over my body, aligning his with mine and easing his weight down on me slowly and methodically. It’s like he’s giving me time to get used to him being this close to me. But I was used to him long before he even kissed me. My fantasies took care of that.
I spread my legs wide so his lower half can drop between my thighs, paralleling his erection with my pulsing womanhood, while he sips from the tip of my palate. It’s the swipes of his tongue between the sips that stroke the deepest parts of me, leaving behind his brand on my soul, and upping the kiss from intense to mind-blowing.
The one man I dated never kissed my soul, let alone made love to it like most women wish someone would. Apollo is making it impossible to want to connect with anyone else like this, but I didn’t wait this long for him to just kiss him. When I turn my head away, he groans, making me giggle.
“Apollo, take your clothes off.”
“I didn’t know you could be bossy, my Lisa.”
“I learn from the best, and we’re not in your office right now, so undress.”
We really don’t know each other, other than some of our likes and dislikes. If I have my way, we’ll have many years to learn everything about the other. I reach for the hem of my dress that’s ridden up my thighs.
“Stop,” he whispers against my cheek. “I’m undressing you. I’ve waited too damn long for the privilege.”
I move my hands away from my body, pressing them to the mattress above my head, as his tone washes over me and steals most of my right mind.
My boss loves me.
I can barely wrap my head around the thought, but his hands are expertly wrapping around my thighs where the hem of my dress lays. When he’s pushed it under the globes of my ass, he drops a knee on each side of me then sits back on his heels.
“Sit up, sweetheart. I love this dress, but it has to go.”
I do as I’m told, allowing him to haul the material over my head. He sucks up air loudly when he realizes I have nothing else on. He stares at my nude form while running the palms of his hands over every inch of flesh above my waist.
After he’s parked his thumbs on my nipples, I reach for the buttons on his shirt. I undo them quickly and slip it off his broad shoulders. I’m feeling bold, until I get an eyeful of his washboard abs and heavily-muscled chest.
Good God!
My right hand lifts on its own. I touch the body that is about to be all mine. My fingers stroke one of his massive pectorals before skimming over the dark circle of his nipple. His chest flexes as if my touch electrocutes him, making my blood rush south to my core. An onslaught of desire sweeps through my abdomen and forces its way into the center of my thighs to press against my walls that are growing wetter with each swipe of my hand over Apollo’s chest.
As much as I want to physically connect with him, I can’t help fixating on it after fantasizing about it and wondering what he looked like beneath his clothes. I could’ve found out long before now if I had the nerve to visit him during one of his early morning workouts, but I was too chicken to view the real thing in real time. I wish I had now. Reality is way better than my dreams. My senses want to get to know everything about him.
“My pants are still on, sweetheart,” Apollo mentions.
“Yes,” I respond, completely distracted.
He chuckles quietly. “Are you going to take them off?”
“Yes.”
My other hand drifts upwards to the neglected side of his chest.
Apollo sighs dramatically above me.
“I guess I’ll take them off this time, but they’re your responsibility next time,” he grumbles, then reaches for the buckle of his black belt, drawing my attention to the authentic Italian-leather that I ordered from Italy for his thirty-second birthday six months ago.
His full name, Apollo Sebastian Ford, is inscribed in block letters on the back side. I always thought he tossed my birthday and Christmas gifts in the back of his closet, if not in the trash, and promptly forgot about them. In exchange, he always gave me money for my birthday.
“Yes, this is the belt you bought me, sweetheart,” he interrupts my thoughts. “And I love and use it like every other gift you’ve given me,” he says, while walking backwards on his knees off the bed to stand up in front of me.
For the life of me, I can’t remember the other gifts I bought him over the years, probably because Apollo is stripping down to his black briefs. They superbly frame his well-built thighs, lean hips, and the large lump that is currently pushing against the waistband of his underwear, while his slacks and shoes are pooled at his feet.
My mouth begins to water. It’s as if Apollo’s smooth, tan skin, only broken up by the cut of his protruding muscles, holds the only drink of water left on this earth.
“My Lisa,” he calls softly to me.
I’m starting to adore the nickname he’s given me. I look up. “Yeah.”
“I can stand here all night if you want a full body inspection of the merchandise,” he says sarcastically.
I frown. “Merchandise?” Then it dawns on me that he’s actually talking about me ogling his body.
I lie back on the bed. “Inspection not necessary. I have all night to get a view of your goods.”
Apollo drops down over me and catches his weight on his forearms that land on each side of my head before he crushes me.
“You have all of our lives to view the goods. I'm serious about making you mine. I’ll do whatever it takes and whatever you want me to do to make that happen.”
“Anything I want, huh? I love the sound of that."
He nods, his eyes dropping to my mouth.
“Take off the rest of your clothes then, Apollo. I want to see all of you.”
One of his hands vanishes from his side to tug at one side of his brief’s waistband, slowly. He pushes down until the tip of his erection is exposed, and then he stops to switch hands. I inhale deeply, not leaving much air for Apollo to breathe. His hand tugs at the other side of his briefs still resting on his chiseled hip, but his underwear are still holding on to his powerful thighs, as if they don’t want to let go.
I lift my legs, so my toes can push his underwear down until all his clothes are on the floor where they belong. His erection springs free. Apollo’s shaft is longer and wider than any other I’ve ever seen before. That isn’t saying much, since I had a college affair with one man who took my virginity. After graduation,
I moved to Utah where jobs were in abundance, without looking back.
“Thank you,” Apollo says, before stepping to the edge of the bed.
My knees rock back toward my chest, giving him room to walk between them before crawling over me. Before I can say, ‘You’re welcome,’ his lips are on mine, his tongue and penis tunneling deep inside me, inscribing his initials on every inch of soft tissue they come in contact with. I moan against his mouth, helpless as my body goes up in flames. More blistering heat that I don’t need but will endure for the sake of making love with Apollo.
My bloodless fingers grab for his waist, seeking an anchor in the magical world that he’s spinning around me. He withdraws almost completely from my body then drives forward, touching oversensitive spots high in my canal. I didn’t think it was possible for him to penetrate me any deeper or for massive ripples of pleasure that are as sharp as a machete to streak through me without cutting me to shreds.
The walls of the dark room slip away. Apollo’s thrusts pick up speed. Pressure builds in my core, and I begin to peak way too damn early. I don’t usually climax this soon, or more than once during sex. I would rather go over the edge with Apollo to complete one of the many fantasies my mind has spun around him.
“Apollo, you’re going to make me cum,” I gasp through the storm of desire swirling within me. “I don’t want to yet.”
With his mouth only inches from mine, he grins above me. His body starts to pump harder, pushing me further up the steep cliff leading to bliss. I start to hyperventilate, fighting my own body for control.
“You’ll cum again, I promise. Now cum for me, my Lisa,” he whispers.
I go over the edge at his urging.
Apollo hammers my body for hours, sometimes shallowly so he can feast on every inch of me that his mouth can reach. When he can no longer hold back his own orgasm, he braces his weight on one hand on the mattress, begins to push balls deep inside me repeatedly. He works his fingers between our bodies. When they find the tiny nub between my thighs, six sweet strokes of his thumb is all it takes to pull another climax from me.
