Hard Love

by Joanne Schwehm

  I was in awe of all the names. Some were people who I knew for a fact already had a stylist. “What’s going on?”

  “Someone mentioned us in a few papers.” She took someone off hold, answered two more calls, and the phone finally stopped ringing.

  “Which papers? And what client?”

  We walked into my office and she handed me her iPad. There it was, in full color, a picture of Noah, who looked gorgeous, except he wasn’t alone. He was with a woman who could be a model. The same woman for whom I found the perfect dress. The same dress that had people calling into my office.

  Billionaire CEO of Carris Global, Noah Winston, looked dashing in his three-piece Tom Ford suit. Pictured here with fitness instructor and businesswoman Louisa Magi, who was stunning in a strapless gown by new designer Benito Ricci. The two attended a benefit dinner at the Marmont Hotel to raise awareness for childhood obesity.

  When this reporter asked Mr. Winston where he got his good taste, he laughed and left his date to answer. Her stylist, Margo Perry, is the owner of Exquisitely Yours. Well, I will be contacting them for the next event I attend . . .

  The article went on, commenting about other people, but my eyes were transfixed on Noah’s fingers intertwined with Louisa’s. A twinge of jealousy hit me hard. Why was I jealous? He said they were friends, and he was just helping Adam out. Plus, we had only begun dating. But even I had to admit they looked beautiful together.

  Taking my index finger, I swiped the screen to the left seeing picture after picture, headline after headline. In one picture, he looked at her with an easygoing smile. Louisa looked as if she was laughing at something he said. One of her hands rested in the crook of his arm, and the other was fondly placed on his chest. My face started to tingle right behind my nose and my eyes.

  “Isn’t this fantastic?” Rochelle bounced on her toes. “What a difference from last week. I’ve cleared your calendar and contacted our vendors and some of the boutiques I know you love to use.” My eyes were transfixed to their picture. “Margo, did you hear me?” When she glanced down, little lines formed at the corners of her mouth. “God, that man is beautiful. Take a look at that jawline. It looks as though it was carved out of stone.”

  I nodded and blinked back a few tears before they fully formed.

  Rochelle’s face paled. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize he was with someone else. Why? Did something happen?”

  “No, he was doing a friend a favor, that’s all.”

  Her lips twisted. “Well, I’d put a stop to letting him do favors like this. Hell, if he was my boyfriend, I wouldn’t want him in or out of the paper with another woman.”

  The phone rang—saved by the bell. “Let’s get back to work. We don’t want the next headline to be, ‘Exquisitely Yours fails to deliver.’ I’ll grab some of the overflow calls; you don’t need to do it on your own.”

  Rochelle and I must have answered thirty calls before lunchtime. While she was at lunch, I went through my numerous emails. Appointments filled my calendar for the next six weeks. I called some boutiques and designers to give them a heads-up. They’d benefit from this, too, which I was happy about.

  My sassy assistant sashayed into my office with an enormous bouquet of wildflowers. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. “These are for you.” Rochelle set them on my desk. “He’s the best.” She nodded and walked out.

  Taking in the aroma on a long whiff, I grabbed the hand-written card.

  Margo,

  I looked for flowers as beautiful as you are, but I couldn’t find any.

  My day is boring without you.

  Yours,

  Noah

  I had to hand it to him; he definitely knew how to make a woman feel special. He should know just being with him made me feel that way. Maybe he felt guilty about the pictures in the paper. Yes, I was a tad jealous, but how could I be mad at him? I was madder at myself. Letting a man get to me the way I’d let him was all on me. If I were to get my heart broken again, it would be my fault for opening it up to him.

  Around six p.m. things finally settled down. I grabbed my phone out of my purse and saw several text messages and calls I missed—all from Noah. Most were the same . . . he was thinking about me. It was the last text message that made my heart clench and my skin prickle.

  Hardheaded: You aren’t answering your calls or returning mine. I’m starting to worry. If I don’t hear from you soon, I’m coming to your office. If you aren’t there, I’ll be waiting at your apartment. We need to talk. I hope you got your flowers.

  Dammit, I never thanked him. When I looked at the time of the text, it was after five—shit. I pressed the voicemail button on the office line and started shutting down my computer.

  I sensed him before I saw him. Over the large vase of muted colors stood the man who had consumed my dreams since I was a teenager. The knot of his tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone, and his suit coat was draped over his shoulder, held by one finger. He looked edible, and since I only had a salad for lunch, I was famished.

  Before I knew what was happening, I was out of my chair and in his arms. He dropped his jacket and held me tight against his body.

  “Thank you for the flowers.”

  His warm breath on my neck comforted me. “God, I was so worried you were mad at me.” We separated, and he held my face between his palms. “I’m so sorry.”

  I covered his hands with mine. “You don’t need to apologize.”

  “Yes, I do.” His steely eyes met mine. “Louisa held my hand because a crazed woman came toward me.”

  A laugh rose up my throat, and I couldn’t swallow it down. “Crazed?”

  “It’s not funny! She wanted me.” I bit my lip, and he furrowed his brow. “You know, I’m a great catch.”

  “Yes, I know.” I smiled, assuring him that I wasn’t upset.

  “But, I’ve already been caught.” His thumbs strummed my cheekbones as if he were playing a slow riff.

  “She’s a lucky lady. Want to know what else I think?”

  His arms looped around my waist. “Hmm?”

  “Have a seat.” I pulled away and motioned toward the chair with my hand. He didn’t question me; he just did it. When he noticed my laptop was off, he looked up at me with questioning eyes. That was when I locked the door.

  A sly grin appeared on his face. I walked to where he sat, rested my hands on the arms of the chair on either side of him, and gave him a chaste kiss. He reached out to grab my hips, and I shook my head. “Hold on to the chair.” His hands went to where mine had been.

  I undid his belt, pulled his dress shirt out of his pants, and unfastened them. The click of the metal teeth of the zipper echoed in the quiet room. Once opened, I could see his black boxers. With a bit of his help, I tugged them down along with his pants.

  Noah’s penis was perfect, just like him. Not so big that it could damage me, and not so small that I’d need the assistance of a toy to get off. He was all man, and for now, all mine.

  “Margo?” I peered up at him through my lashes, the veins in his neck pulsed with need. “What are you doing?”

  “If you don’t know, then I’m doing it wrong.” I winked and licked my lips, making his chest rise and fall with a deep breath. “Just relax. I need to taste you.”

  “Jesus Christ.” It came out as a growl, giving me an abundance of confidence.

  I’d been waiting to do this to him. Granted, I never imagined it would be in my office, but I wanted to have him this way. In the past, this wasn’t my favorite part of sex—not that I’d had a ton of blowjob experience—but something told me sucking Noah off would be more than enjoyable.

  I wrapped the fingers of my right hand around his hard shaft, studying it for just a bit. I leaned forward and kissed the tip. Noah groaned, fueling my need for him. His dick bobbed, like a request asking for more, and I was happy to give it. My tongue slowly licked round the rim, across the top, and teased the slit.

  He hissed. �
�Shit.” Then I ran my tongue down his thick shaft, sucked, and took him all the way in. Feeling him hit the back of my throat caused another hiss, but this time it was followed with “Fuck.” He fisted my hair. It wasn’t painful, just sexy as hell.

  My hollowed cheeks rubbed him, my tongue swirled around his engorged dick, but when my hand cupped his balls, his hips bucked up, sending him further down my throat. I moaned, hummed, and sucked until he tensed, trying not to come.

  “If you don’t want me to let go down your throat, stop now and I’ll finish off inside of you.”

  I didn’t answer; I couldn’t. My hand grabbed the base of his dick, squeezing as I gave the best blowjob of my life, the only one I’d ever enjoyed. Noah let out a groan and came down my throat.

  Sitting back on my heels, I tucked him back in his shorts, refastened his pants, licked my lips, and smiled up at him. Sweat dotted his forehead, and his shirt clung to his chest. “That was unexpected, not to mention incredible. I don’t even want to know how you acquired that skill.”

  Pride filled me. Yes, I was proud of a blowjob—sue me. “Porn.” I laughed.

  Noah stood and pulled me into him. “You mean to tell me we’ve been watching chick flicks when all this time we could have been watching porn?”

  I shrugged. “Looks that way.”

  He shook his head. “Grab your stuff. We’re getting out of here.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Dinner and then your place. I owe you an orgasm.”

  “Can’t we skip dinner?”

  “Nope, you’re going to need energy. Have you eaten today?” I blushed and bit my lower lip. “Besides me.”

  “I had a salad.”

  “That’s what I thought. You need more than lettuce to keep up with what I have planned for you.”

  “Is that so?”

  He grabbed my face and crushed his lips to mine. Our tongues met in a fury. It made me wonder if he could taste himself. That thought made my panties dampen more than they already were.

  “It is.” Noah hustled me out of my office. “Let’s go.”

  Arthur was sitting in the car outside the front door. “He’s been here the entire time?” I was shocked to see him.

  “Yes, it’s fine. It’s his job.”

  The kind gentleman opened the door for me. “Hello, Ms. Perry.”

  “Hi, Arthur, and you can call me Margo.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Noah rattled off a restaurant’s name before getting in the car next to me. He held my hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of it. The warmth of his lips sent a chill up my arm. “I was so worried today.”

  “Do you feel better?”

  “I think you know the answer to that,” he said, smiling.

  “Actually, your date helped me meet my year-end quota.”

  “How? We’re only in the first quarter.”

  “I dressed her.” Lines formed on his forehead. “What I mean by that is, she’s a new client and mentioned my business. So, thanks to your popularity . . .”

  He interrupted me, “She wasn’t my date; she was your brother’s. I’m surprised Adam never mentioned her to you.”

  “Like I told you when we first had dinner together, Adam and I don’t discuss our sex lives. But I’ll need to thank him for forcing his date on you. Thanks to the press loving your face, my phones rang off the hook today.”

  “That had nothing to do with me or my face; it was all you. Her gown was different than all the others there. Even if she had gone alone, she would’ve been noticed. You knocked it out of the park.”

  “Thank you.”

  We walked into the small restaurant and sat down. “You know, Adam will be home this weekend.”

  “Yes, my mother told me.” That would be nice. Maybe I could get Adam alone and explain that I was dating his best friend.

  “I think I should be the one to tell him we’re together.” Noah’s voice was full of concern.

  “No, I think I should do it. He won’t get mad at me, and I don’t want to come between you guys. I’m a grown woman now, and we’re all adults. He’ll probably just be happy for us.”

  Noah gave me a dubious look. “Fine, but if he gives you a hard time, I want you to call me.”

  When the waitress appeared at our table, Noah ordered for the both of us without looking at the menu.

  “Are you in a hurry?”

  “Yes, I’m starving.” He linked his fingers with mine across the table, leaned forward, and in a low seductive voice said, “After dinner, we’re going back to your place for dessert. We’re not going to fuck. Instead, I plan to savor every inch of your body. I’m falling for you, Margo, and tonight, I’m going to show you just how much.”

  Chapter 16

  I kissed her like I’d never kissed another woman.

  Waking up with a woman in my arms wasn’t something I had ever wanted. Now that I knew what it was like for that woman to be Margo, my thought process changed. She wasn’t just a one-night stand, she wasn’t just some woman I met at a bar or an event, she was someone I couldn’t get to know fast enough.

  There still was the issue of dealing with Adam, which was happening tonight. Because of that, my concentration was shit. Normally, I wouldn’t give a flying fuck about what anyone thought of what or who I did, but this was different.

  “Sir, you have a visitor.” Jan’s voice came through the speaker on my desk phone. I swear, the woman loved the intercom feature.

  I glanced at my calendar, and I wasn’t expecting anyone, nor did I want to see who was here.

  Knowing the person waiting to see me could probably hear what I had to say, I firmly stated, “I’m busy.”

  Jan’s voice was as sweet as syrup. “Thank you, sir. I’ll let Ms. Perry know.”

  Before I could press the button to retract my dismissal, the door opened. There stood Margo in a sleek black dress that hit just above her knees, silver fuck-me stilettos, and her tits . . . holy shit, her tits were perfectly propped up, as if the deep neckline was made for her. My mouth salivated, my heart kicked into high gear, and my cock wanted to burst out of my pants to say hello.

  “Hello there, Mr. Winston. You sounded very tense.” Margo closed the door and turned the lock behind her.

  “You look fantastic.” I stood and walked toward her.

  My girl slowly pivoted on the balls of her feet, giving me the opportunity to drink every inch of her in. “You like?”

  Her green eyes softened when she looked up at me. Did I like? No, I fucking loved it. That was when I remembered she was going out with Rochelle tonight, and not me.

  “I more than like it. Where are you going dressed like this? Please tell me it’s an all-girls club and no men are allowed.”

  She snickered. “Home. I just came from a cool boutique, and since they are making a lot of money thanks to my orders, a new designer gifted me this outfit. I thought of surprising you with it, but this was way more fun.”

  I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her tight to my body. “Fun, yes. I’ll tell you what will be fun, the next time you wear this dress it will be on a date with me. Then, when we get back to my apartment, I’m going to take this part, right here . . .” I placed my fingers on the hem of her dress, grazing her bare legs just enough to illicit goose bumps on her skin. “And raise it so your pussy is bare, because you won’t be wearing panties.”

  She licked her lips. “I won’t?”

  “No, you won’t.” I slowly kissed her neck from the base to her pulse point. “Then I’m going to put you on my bed, spread your legs, and taste you.”

  Her breathing altered, with my mouth close to her ear, I continued, “When I’m done savoring you, which could take a while, I’m going to work my way up your body until these . . .” I dragged my thumb across the curves of her breasts, “are in my mouth. One by one, I’m going to nip and kiss them. The fingers on my right hand will tease your nipples, while the ones on my left will be deep inside
of you.”

  I loved turning her cheeks a pretty shade of pink. My hand flexed on her hip, and my dick, hard as granite, was pushed up against her thigh. Margo pulled her head back just enough to look up at me. Her eyes darted between my eyes and my lips. So I leaned forward and kissed her. I kissed her like I’d never kissed another woman. She was the promise of what I wanted and needed.

  When we broke apart, we were both incredibly worked up, but I also knew we both had other plans. “I want you so badly, Noah.”

  Words I loved to hear. “I can cancel tonight.” I never wanted to deny her.

  “As much as I would love that, I have to go and change.”

  “Do you know where you’re celebrating?”

  “No, Rochelle is texting me the address in a little bit. But we’ll talk when we get home, right?”

  “You can count on seeing me later. Text me when you get home. Also, you need to take next weekend off. I’m whisking you away. You might want to consider taking Monday off, too.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “Well, in that case, I’ll be sure to clear my calendar.” Through her thick lashes, her gorgeous green eyes peered up at me. “Thank you, Noah.”

  “For what?”

  “Everything.” She smiled up at me before unlocking and opening the door. Right before she left, she turned. “And by the way?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m not wearing any panties now.” Margo winked and walked out.

  Fuck me.

  Rather than go to Adam’s, the guys decided they wanted to check out a new bar called Mantra’s. It had been getting great reviews or some bullshit. This had to be all Cade’s idea, because the ratio of men to women was skewed in our favor. Not that I was looking, because I wasn’t.

  “There’s the man!” Adam stood up from his stool in front of the bar and pulled me in for a bro hug, bumping shoulders with me and shaking my hand.

  “It’s good to see you.” I patted him on the back and flagged the bartender down to order a Woodford on the rocks.