by Kelly Dawson
His chair creaked as he stood up and her pulse pounded erratically as he came to stand behind her, resting both hands on her shoulders. “I did you a favour,” he whispered, his mouth so close to her ear she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. “You don’t want Janice off-side. She’s got a lot of sway with my uncle.” He squeezed her shoulders, massaging gently. “Better me being stern when I have to be than you coming to the attention of my uncle and getting fired by him.”
This is so wrong! her subconscious screamed, but the throbbing between her legs disagreed. If her body was to be listened to, there was nothing wrong at all with the way his strong hands worked out the kinks in her shoulders and neck, touching her almost possessively. His thumbs dipped lower, rubbing strong circles between her shoulder blades. Her pussy flooded, drenching her knickers, soaking the gusset of her pantyhose.
Her breath came in short, shallow gasps as the strong fingers rubbed bigger circles, the magical touch rubbing out all the knots of stress.
Suddenly, he stepped back. “Go on,” he encouraged, his voice hoarser than she remembered. “Ring home. Talk for as long as you need. Make sure your little girl is okay.”
“Are you sure?”
He sat back down, wheeled his chair back to his desk. Smiled kindly. “Absolutely. Speak to her for as long as you like. You won’t be disturbed in here.” And to make sure of it, he got up and closed the door.
Speaking to her daughter did set Jilly’s mind at ease somewhat. She sounded much better than she had that morning; while not exactly lively, her voice had some spark back in it and she was sounding much more like herself.
The whole time she was talking, she could feel Matthew’s eyes on her, watching. She twirled the twisty cord around her finger absently and he watched that too, raising an eyebrow as she tugged the cord a bit hard by mistake and the phone went scooting across his desk. She felt her face flame as she gently moved it back into position and her heart pounded as she met his eye. She fought to keep her tone neutral, to keep the arousal out of her voice, more for his benefit than Lily’s.
Putting the receiver back in its cradle, she turned to Matthew and smiled.
“Thank you,” she said. “She’s on the mend. She will be okay. My mother is taking good care of her. I hated to ask her, but I had no choice.”
“So there’s no father in the picture then?”
Jilly was momentarily taken aback. That was an inappropriate question, surely? What business was it of his? She gasped at his audacity, then the memory of his gentle hands as he’d tended to her stapled finger, the way he’d brought it to his lips and kissed it softly. What he had said about Janice went around in her head. It felt like they had a secret, almost. He’s already been far more inappropriate than that, her subconscious pointed out.
She shook her head. “No. No father. It’s just me and Lily. He abandoned us before she was born.”
The expression of anger that flitted across his face, the sudden clenched fists, startled her. “He doesn’t deserve a little girl then,” he declared vehemently, his tone ferocious. Right now, he looked like he wanted to do violence to somebody. Lily’s sperm donor, probably.
“Mmm.” Jilly agreed with him; Lily’s father didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve either of them, not the way he’d broken her heart like he had. But what business was it of Matthew’s? She pursed her lips, unhappy at his unwelcome intrusion into her private life. Eavesdropping on her phone call was one thing. It was his phone in his office, after all. But giving his unsolicited opinion of the man she’d lost her virginity to was quite another.
“So you’re raising her alone? All by yourself?” If she wasn’t imagining it, there was a hint of awe in his tone, far different to the contempt she usually got. For some reason she would never understand, society still wasn’t very accepting of single mothers. Especially young ones. Not in her experience, anyway. Yet the men who abandoned them, they got off scot-free. No bristling contempt for them. No judgements.
“Yes.” Still annoyed at the way single mothers were treated by society, her tone was brusque, far shorter and snappier than she’d intended. Deliberately softening her tone, she smiled. “Yes, it’s just me and Lily. We’re a team.” Admitting that to him did strange things to her insides. It seemed so intimate, telling him she was single. Like it was an invitation. Except that it wasn’t. It most definitely was not an invitation. Just so long as he knew that...
“I, um... I... have to get back to work,” she stammered. It was too confusing, the way Matthew made her feel. Annoyed at him one second, melting at his feet the next.
“Sure.” Matthew gave her a smile that made her stomach flip and he moved quickly to the door, held it open for her.
Hurrying back down the hallway to her desk, she wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and tried to calm her racing heart. They were just innocent questions, she told herself. It meant nothing. He wasn’t coming onto you. She told herself that so forcefully that she started to believe it. Of course he wasn’t coming onto her. He was a professional. So was she. He was concerned about her daughter, nothing more. Just innocent questions, she told herself again. Why, then, did she feel so disappointed?
Back at her desk, she couldn’t put Matthew and their conversation out of her mind. No matter how hard she tried to wipe her memory of his deep, sexy voice, she couldn’t get his words out of her head. She couldn’t put aside his smile, the gentlemanly way he opened the door for her. She tried to concentrate on the mountain of work on her desk to be completed, but she couldn’t do it. The only thing she could think of was him.
From across the office, Vanessa caught her eye, gave her a questioning look, mouthed “Are you okay?” and grinned. She’d be wanting the gossip soon, no doubt. Jilly nodded, returned a strained smile, then bent her head to her work. She liked Vanessa, she really did. But her incessant nosey streak was a bit much, sometimes. Especially when thoughts of Matthew and what she wanted to do to him, and have him do to her, were running rampant through her mind. She imagined herself in his office, alone with him, standing at the window that overlooked the harbour, wrapped in his tender embrace. She imagined his fingers trailing up her leg, higher, higher, his fingernails catching on the nylon of her stockings as he slid his hand further and further up her thigh, under her skirt. Her knee was bent, she balanced on her toes, her arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes, their lips about to lock in a passionate kiss...
She needed water. Cold water. Her breasts felt heavy, achy, her breathing was shallow, ragged; her heart raced. This was ridiculous. She was a mother! And he was her boss! Well, not quite her boss, but near enough to it to make these kinds of fantasies entirely inappropriate. It’s a long time since you’ve been with a man, Jilly Watson, her snarky subconscious reminded her. And Matthew Stevenson is as fine a man as they come. To look at, anyway.
She felt hot, flushed, as she hurried to the staffroom and the water cooler for a long, cold drink. As she positioned her glass carefully under the steady stream of icy liquid, quick footsteps on the carpeted floor outside the door alerted her to Vanessa’s presence.
“So what happened? What did he say? I want to know everything!”
Jilly took a long swallow, savouring the icy liquid, letting it chill the hot blood racing through her veins. She grinned at her friend but shook her head. “There’s not much to tell, really.” She shrugged, and Vanessa looked sceptical. “He let me use his phone. To ring home,” she clarified. “Check on Lily. So Janice wouldn’t see.”
Vanessa laughed. “Conspiring against Janice with him, are you? So he knows you’re a single mum?”
“Yep.” Jilly blushed, but smiled. There was no point denying it. Not to Vanessa.
“Ooooooh!” Vanessa teased in a singsong voice. “Go you!”
“There’s nothing going on,” Jilly insisted, but the blush she could still feel heating up her face belied her words.
Vanessa grinned smugly and patted her on the shoulder. “You keep tel
ling yourself that.”
“It’s true!” Jilly insisted, about to argue the point more, but heavy footsteps just outside the door made her pause.
“Speak of the devil,” Vanessa whispered. “I’ll leave you to it.” Quickly holding her glass under the waterspout, she filled it and prepared to leave the room.
Matthew stood in the doorway and glared at them both. “You’ve finished your gossip session then, have you?” he asked Vanessa, frowning.
“Research, actually. But yes, it’s done, thank you for asking.” She smiled sweetly at him, then turned around and winked at Jilly. “I’ll get back to work now. See ya later, Jilly.”
Jilly’s stomach tightened as Matthew strode toward her, his presence seeming to fill the entire lunchroom. The air around her thickened, catching in her throat, clogging her lungs when she tried to breathe. Her legs turned to jelly. How could he have such an effect on her?
His eyes darkened and his jaw twitched as he closed the gap between them, stopping right in front of her, so close that surely he’d be able to hear the rapid pounding of her heart.
He looked at her sternly. Like a strict headmaster would before chastising a naughty pupil. A shiver went down her spine and her pussy clenched with need.
“Late to work, now gossiping at the water cooler?” His stern look deepened, if that was even possible. His furrowed brow furrowed a bit more, his dark eyes boring into her, an unspoken lecture emanating from them. “I expected more from you, Miss Watson.”
“Why would you expect anything from me? You barely know me!” The words escaped her lips before she even knew they were going to, and right away, she wished she could take them back.
The briefest of smiles curved up his lips, making his eyes crinkle at the corners, softening his stern expression the tiniest bit.
“Sassy too?”
His voice was so deep, so low, she barely heard it, but when he reached out and touched her cheek gently with two fingers, she definitely felt it. She felt the temperature increase around them as he stepped forward slightly, into her bubble, so close their bodies were almost touching. Electricity zapped between them. Goosebumps rose up on her arms. She held her breath.
“I expect you to have a good work ethic,” he told her quietly. “It’s a requirement for any job, I would think, but especially so to work at Hutchings & Associates.”
She straightened quickly, insulted. “I do!” she insisted. “I already worked through half of my morning tea break to make up for the time that I was late this morning, and I intend to work through my lunchbreak as well. There is nothing wrong with my work ethic.”
The fingers that rested lightly on her cheek pressed a bit harder, sliding down to her chin, taking it in a firm grip, holding her face steady so she couldn’t move. Jilly froze. Matthew frowned.
“Missing meals is not healthy,” he scolded. “Let me take you out to lunch. If you want to make up the extra time, use your afternoon tea break to do it.”
Jilly hesitated. Was that an invitation or an order?
Should she refuse?
Could she even refuse?
Did she want to refuse?
His grip on her chin relaxed, then released. He stepped back, but didn’t take his eyes off her. She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to refuse.
“Are you sure?”
“Very.”
“But that’s fraternising. I don’t think it’s allowed. What will Janice say?”
She jumped, just a bit, when he touched her arm. “It’s allowed. And I don’t care what Janice says,” he told her firmly. “Haven’t you noticed that my uncle takes Janice out to lunch most days?”
“Um, no. I hadn’t noticed that.” It was a lie; of course she’d noticed. Everyone had noticed. She and Vanessa commented on it often.
“Really? You haven’t noticed?” His tone made it clear he didn’t believe her. Besides, she knew that he knew that Vanessa was the biggest gossip in the office. Of course she would know who was going out to lunch with whom. And of course Vanessa would tell Jilly. She felt her face flame.
“Ummmm, n-no,” she stammered. “N-not really.”
“Lies.” He growled the word. “You know. You just want to protect your friend, and pretend that the two of you don’t know every single thing that is going on in this office.”
He was clearly more astute than what she’d given him credit for. She gave him a sheepish smile. “True, but I was also trying to be discreet. Who Janice lunches with is her business. Not mine.”
“That is true. But you still lied. And in my world, liars get punished, Miss Watson.”
“Do they?”
“Yes, they do.”
Jilly sucked in a breath. His words were tormenting her, twisting and turning her mind this way and that. It felt like there were butterflies inside her having a field day. Her knickers were drenched, the tops of her thighs damp. Her mouth was dry, her entire body sparked, every single nerve ending alive. A man’s words had never done that to her before. Liars get punished tumbled round and round in her brain. What sort of punishment was he talking about? A tiny part of her was curious to find out.
“How do they get punished?” she asked in a breathless whisper as he lifted his fingers to her face again, stroking down her cheek, brushing his thumb over her lips in the most gentle, erotic touch she’d ever experienced.
“Lie to me again, Miss Watson, and you might just find out.”
Her stomach flipped. He let go of her face, sliding his fingers into the pocket of his pants, and winked rakishly. Her pussy flooded as desire hit her in waves.
“Lunchtime,” he growled, his smouldering eyes holding her gaze. “Wait for me at your desk. I’ll be there.”
This time she knew, without a doubt, that it was an order. An order that she felt compelled to obey.
Chapter Three
At 12.30 p.m. exactly, Vanessa stopped at her desk on her way out the door. “You coming?”
Jilly shook her head. “No. I’ve got too much work to do. I’d better make up for being late this morning.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” Jilly sighed. “I’ll just grab a coffee and work through.”
Vanessa shrugged. “Okay. See ya later then.”
For a brief second, Jilly considered following her, then thought better of it. The lunchbreaks were staggered so there was always somebody in the office, and she could feel Janice watching her across the room with a critical, judgemental eye. Ignoring the older woman, she picked up a manila folder, reading the instructions scrawled across the front in barely legible cursive. A simple retype. That should be easy enough. Wheeling her chair to the left slightly to align herself with the keyboard, she propped the document up on the desk beside her and forced herself to concentrate.
So much for my good work ethic, Jilly thought as Matthew approached her desk. Did I get anything achieved at all this morning? She’d tried, she really had, but the pile of papers on her desk she needed to work her way through was just as high now as it had been when she’d first arrived at work.
“I can’t come with you,” Jilly insisted, as he stopped at her desk and shrugged on his jacket. “I’ve got too much work to do.”
“Course you can!” Matthew argued. “Work can wait. It will all still be here when you get back.”
`”That’s the problem,” Jilly said. “It will all still be there. It needs to get done.”
“I’m taking you to lunch, Miss Watson,” he said firmly, his sexy voice nearly making her swoon. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”
Slowly, Jilly slid back her chair, preparing to stand up, and laughed nervously, self-consciously. “Well, in that case...” Part of her was hesitant. The sensible part of her told her she was stupid, letting her work colleague take her out to lunch. But when she stepped away from her desk and Matthew’s hand went to the small of her back, gently guiding her out the door in a gentlemanly but possessive way that sent tingles ricocheting through her body, lust over
rode her sensibilities and she stepped a tiny bit closer to him, wanting more of the electricity that zapped between them.
He kept his hand there even in the busy lift, nodding in greeting at people from other offices in the big building. Jilly felt a blush creep over her face. Feeling the chemistry between them prickling her skin was fine when they were in private, but in a busy lift, where she couldn’t hide, it was another matter entirely. She was embarrassed, reacting to his touch like a silly teenager.
Finally, after what she was sure was the longest five seconds of her entire life, the elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the foyer. She could breathe again now, even though his hand hadn’t shifted on her back. It fitted there perfectly, his warm fingers sending sparks travelling up and down her spine, rushing to her pussy. Heat pooled in her core. His thigh brushed against her hip. The layers of clothing between them were way too thin and her pelvis burned in response.
“What do you like to eat?” He spoke softly, his voice a deep rumble that stoked the fire burning inside her.
“Anything.” She shrugged, wanting to sound casual, like walking down the street with him was no big deal; like his hand on her back didn’t matter, and there really weren’t fireworks exploding within her.
“I haven’t made reservations anywhere. The mall food hall okay with you?”
“Perfect.” She did her best to hide her relief. Anywhere other than the food hall in the nearby mall was way out of her budget. Even the food hall was pushing it. She was doing better financially now than she’d done in years, but there still wasn’t much wiggle room, and it definitely didn’t extend to luxuries like restaurant meals.
Matthew was the perfect gentleman. She noticed how he shortened his strides to match hers and how he opened the door for her, ushering her through first. His strong, guiding hand stayed on her back the whole time, gently leading her to a spare table near the wall, pulling her chair out for her.
“What would you like?” he asked. “My shout.”
“Sushi. But I can get it,” she protested, making a move to stand up, but Matthew’s hand on her shoulder pressed her back down into the chair.
