by Amy Brent
Alisha clapped her hands. “Hallelujah, I do like to hear that.” But then her look grew more serious. “Girl, you do know that if you couldn’t afford some actually tasty food, I would’ve brought you dinner anytime, right?”
I shrugged sheepishly, not having expected the kind offer. “I… didn’t know that. Thank you. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
“Please do. I mean, I hope you don’t ever need it, but if you do, I ain’t gonna let you starve.”
“Ay, my carina would cook you up something happily. She always complains how she can’t cook fun anymore because of my diabetes.”
“I think too much fun cooking might have got you your diabetes,” Alisha said with a chuckle.
With that we were al sharing the mirth and I felt happiness bubble up within me. In just the span of a week, my entire life had turned around and everything was looking up. Even if I couldn’t shake Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome from my thoughts, I didn’t have to worry about much else. I was safe, I was hidden, and I was making new friends.
“We got about five minutes left,” Alicia said after a while, although it seemed much too soon in my opinion. “How do we want to divide-”
“I’ve got top floor!” I cried, jumping to my feet and rushing to put my lunchbox away.
“I was hoping you would say that,” Davie chuckled. “We’ve been having to split it between the two of us and we got a complaint that they’ve been dingy all this week. Apparently, no one can clean and polish like you, chica.”
“And don’ you forget it,” I said with a wink.
I didn’t stick around to see what their reaction was, instead just booking it for my cart and headed upstairs, ready to jam out.
But I couldn’t help but feel, as I rode up in the elevator, that something was different. Maybe I had been gone too long, or maybe I just had way too much energy pent up, but either way, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling.
The doors finally opened, and I almost expected there to be a group of people waiting to jump out and yell that I was on some sort of prank show. But no, I was alone.
Well, that was good.
Sighing in relief, I took my headphones out and picked some face paced jams. I wanted to get my heart racing and my sweat pouring. I wanted to tire myself out so completely that I would pass out as soon as my head hit the pillow when I got home and wouldn’t dream anymore. I wanted to be so sore that even my subconscious needed a break.
The music started, and I threw myself into it. First was the sweeping, then the powdering, then the mopping to push it about, and finally a round with the push floor polisher.
I went about step one quickly, my hands feeling some of the burn since I had been away far too long. Just like I wanted, sweat started to build up on my forehead and trickle down my neck.
I was so in the zone that I was almost able to forget about Rafael. But even as I worked as hard as I could, little thoughts about him would float through my mind. He was just so damn unforgettable! I felt like I could even smell the musk of his cologne, tickling at my nose and drawing my attention to the darker, hornier side of my mind.
Wait…no. I really was smelling that.
I jerked upright, dropping my broom. I whipped my headphones off with a jerk only to hear someone chuckling behind me.
Oh no.
Slowly I turned and sure enough, Rafael was there, leaning against a desk and applauding slightly.
“Not bad,” he said, voice low but teasing as he smirked at me. “It only took you-” he paused to look at his watch, “-seven minutes to realize I was here.”
Seven minutes?! That means he had definitely seen me shaking my tail feathers quite emphatically. “I-I promise I was doing work!” The last thing I needed was to lose this job after I had just been granted a vacation and had dinner with the CEO.
“Oh, I know. Apparently, you’re the only one who knows how to make this place really shine. I guess I now know your secret method.”
I was such a confusing mix of emotions that it was hard to even breathe. On one hand, I was relieved to see Rafael again. It was like my body had been craving him and even just the slightest glimpse of him could offer relief. But on the other hand, my heart was racing, and adrenaline was pumping, telling me that being alone with a man was dangerous and a boss even more so.
“I guess you do.” I said, trying to sound cool and effortless. I didn’t know how well I pulled it off, but if I had to guess, probably not at all. “The question is, are you going to reveal my secret ways to everyone else.”
He shook his head ever so slightly, raising his eyebrow as he appraised me from head to toe. “No. We’ll keep it just between ourselves.”
Against my better judgement, I took a step closer to him. “Then that’s the second secret of mine that you’re harboring. Are you always so tight lipped, or am I just the exception?”
I didn’t know what the hell had come over me! Sure, it had been a very long time since I had been with a man, or even flirted with one, but that didn’t mean that I should start with my boss!
“The exception,” he replied, standing and taking a step towards me as well. If I didn’t know better, I would read his body language as wanting to be anywhere but here, and yet he didn’t move. Maybe he was caught in the same sort of emotional crosshairs that I was? But what could he possibly have to be afraid of?
I didn’t know, and I didn’t get an answer, because he was speaking again and his masculine voice made me lose all track of my thoughts.
“It would be a terrible way to run a business if I hid so many things from the people who work from me.”
“And yet you hide them for me.” Another step closer. I could practically feel the heat radiating from his body.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Both of our voices were barely a whisper now, and I could feel that same lightning-like feeling crackling in the air between us. We were a breath away from each other, and I swore I could see his heart beating against his chest.
“I should give you space,” he said, muscles bunching as if he was about to turn and leave.
My body made the decision before my mind did, moving suddenly and with an assuredness I hadn’t possessed in months. One moment I was standing there, utterly enthralled by him, the next I was standing on tiptoes and pressing my mouth to his with everything I had.
God! There were no words for the burning desire that ripped through me, finally released from the tiny cage I had pinned it in for so long. It crackled, and leapt and raged, an unchecked inferno of pure and utter want.
For the tiniest of seconds, I was almost afraid that Rafael wouldn’t return it. That I had crossed some sort of terrible boundary and he would never want to see me again -not to mention that whole losing my job thing. But then his arms wrapped around my middle and I was practically crushed into his form.
Yes. My body nearly sobbed in relief and I melted in his form as the fire in me blazed that much higher.
Good. I wanted to burn.
Chapter Fifteen
~Rafael~
I didn’t know what had possessed me to wait after work to see McKenna again. I knew it was a bad idea. I knew that I needed to keep my distance and let her fade from my mind. I knew that she would probably consider it overbearing and creepy to suddenly appear at her work.
I knew all that, and yet I did it anyways.
The whole week that she had been gone had been torture, with my mind whipping up about a million and one different fantasies each more explicit than the other. I just wanted to talk with her again, to have the calm that she exuded fill my churning thoughts.
How had I become so hooked on her? We had met less than a handful of times and yet she had taken over a little chunk of my brain and made herself cozy.
So, I had stayed. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Maybe some solid rejection, or even just fear in her face so that I could forget about everything and go back to normal. I almo
st wondered if she wouldn’t show up at all. Her week-long vacation would be the perfect time to apply to jobs where she didn’t have a CEO that threatened her and then took her out to lunch with his son the next day.
But none of that had happened and instead of looking at me with revulsion, McKenna was kissing me.
I stood there, a bit in shock, as her mouth pressed desperately to mine. It was even softer than I had imagined and oh so warm. It took several seconds for my brain to catch up with reality, but when it did, I wrapped my arms around her and crushed her to me.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had wanted her for so long, and had denied myself of her just as long, yet here she was, throwing herself at me like she wanted me.
Our mouths moved against each other, mine dominating hers as my tongue slid past her accommodating lips, tasting, plundering.
We stood there for several moments, her soft form pressed against mine, bringing all sorts of thoughts and fantasies to mind. But as much as I wanted to take her there and now, I needed to be responsible. This was my office, and she was on the clock. More importantly, I was in a position of power over her.
And then, in the very back of my mind, something whispered that she could also be trying to use this as an opportunity to blackmail me. It was a terrible though, full of distrust and darkness, but I couldn’t quite shake it. I had long since learned that people would do whatever they could to get a leg up in the world.
It took all of my strength to pull away and take a step to the side. McKenna almost fell over as I withdrew my support, her lips slightly parted and wet while her face was flushed pink.
God, her face looked even better than I had imagined, and I had imagined it plenty of times. I almost caved and grabbed her right then and there, but I forced myself to stand ramrod straight.
“Apologies,” I ground out, mentally telling my lower half to calm down. “That wasn’t appropriate.”
I couldn’t believe the words out of her mouth as she took a step towards me once more. “I don’t care,” she whispered, a shaking hand reaching out to me. “If you want me, I want you too, and I’m tired of trying to pretend I’m not.”
She shouldn’t have said that.
She really shouldn’t have said that.
But the words were out, and my body was reacting instantly. She wanted me. The man who had disrupted her life and probably nearly given her a heart attack. But she still wanted me.
And maybe this was a trap. Maybe she had predicted my arrival and had some sort of recording so she could use this all against me.
I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was the woman I had been lusting after for nearly two weeks needed me and I wasn’t about to make her wait.
I closed the distance between us and gripped her again, picking her up slightly to rest her luscious backside on the closest desk. She laughed, a slightly manic, desperate sound, but it was music to my ears and I quickly reclaimed her lips again.
She was just as enthusiastic as I this time, less unsure in her actions as her hands roved my body. Her fingers traipsed along the shoulders of my suit, down the lapels, encircling my waist and applying pressure like she needed to make sure that I was real.
But I was real alright. And so was the pressing need that was pressing painfully against my pants. All of my body called for me to strip her immediately and take her hard, but she deserved more than that.
So much more.
Her hands grew bolder, and the next thing I knew, she was prying my suitcoat from my form. I broke our kiss just long enough for her to shuck it to the floor, and then my hands were on her again.
Her uniform, that I had once loved so much for the way it hugged her curves when she danced, now stood in my way. It was too thick, too baggy and preventing me from exploring her like I wanted to.
I took me several seconds to finally find the zipper at the front of her jumpsuit, hidden between her ample breasts. I gripped the head of it, and slowly zipped it down, revealing a skin tight white tank top underneath.
I almost lost my breath at that. Her breasts were nearly spilling out of the top, bolstered by the two sports bras that she was clearly wearing. Well, that was two sports bras too many; I would have to relieve her of both of them.
But I couldn’t just take her in the middle of the office. As much as my mind told me I could get away with it, I didn’t exactly want to leave bodily fluids over someone else’s paperwork or make more of a mess to clean.
There was only one thing to do, I supposed.
Gripping her backside, reveling in the way my fingers sank into the flesh there, I hoisted her upwards. She let out a surprised yelp and broke our kiss, her legs automatically coming up to wrap around my waist.
I could feel the warmth of her center between us and that just fueled me further. With long, long strides, I carried her right to my office and set her down on my own, sturdy desk, knocking things over as I did so.
Now here was where I could make a mess and not have it be noticeable by anybody else. And I wanted to ruin things. I wanted it to look like a hurricane ripped through the room, so it could at least mildly reflect the levels of lust and desire rushing through me.
But I needed to give her one last out. As badly as I wanted the radiant woman in front of me, I needed to make sure she wasn’t doing this out of fear or uncertainty. I was not her ex, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t call on the defense mechanisms she had no doubt created to survive him.
“Are you sure?” I whispered heatedly into her ear, my voice barely above a rasp. “If you don’t want this, I’ll call you a cab right now and never speak of this again.”
Her legs tightened around me and her soft, pale hands gripped the collar of my shirt. “No, please,” her voice was also low and full of desire, making my blood pump that much faster through me. “I need this. More than you know.”
That was all I needed to hear. Enthusiasm only made the want within me burn that much higher, and I went at her neck, kissing, licking and nipping at the skin there.
She tasted amazing, the faintest hint of pomegranate to her natural flavor that was driving me absolutely wild. I needed to get her stupid jumpsuit the rest of the way off of her, and my fingers went to her zipper once more.
But she seemed to have other ideas. She pushed against me slightly, just enough to get space between us so her hands could slither up and find my top button. With apparent urgency, she undid one right after the other until finally she was pulling the garment from my frame.
But that didn’t seem to satisfy her either. Her hands immediately went to my front again, her nails sliding over all of my skin there. It sent lightning down my spine as she traveled across my pectorals, down my abs, not letting a single striation escape her notice.
It was the sweetest type of torture, making my muscles tense harder and harder until I felt like my body might snap at any moment. It was only when I was sure that I could handle no more that I gripped her wrists and put them back down towards the desk.
She complied, still staring at me with those beautiful, wanton eyes. For all of the time that I had imagined something like this happening, none of them could compare to the actual event.
Unless I was dreaming? I supposed that was still a possibility, but if I was, I certainly wasn’t going to let myself wake up until I had done everything I had wanted to do.
I took a step away from her, gripping the open top of her jumpsuit as I did. Wiggling it down, I revealed her bit by bit until it sat at her hips in a bunch of fabric.
Raising one of her elegant eyebrows, she slowly leaned back until she was flat on her back, splayed across my desk like a damn masterpiece that had been painted by Michelangelo himself. She used her new position to raise her lower half just enough for me to tug her uniform past the widest part of her hips, and then I was sliding them down her deliciously thick legs.
When I finally fully freed her from it, I took another step back and admired my handiwork. She sat up slowly, her
cheeks red and her hair mussed, looking like an absolute vision.
Suddenly I was right next to her again, my body bringing me to her of my own volition. She raised her arms to wrap around my shoulders and kiss me once more, but I caught her, giving her a devilish look.
“I think you’re still overdressed,” I growled, my hands just brushing past her chest, moving slowly to the straps of her tank top.
“You too,” she said, her fingers playing with the buckle of my belt.
I smirked at her, feeling a bit of a challenge rise in my mind. “Shall we race then?”
Just as I hoped, I saw the flash of rebellion in her eyes. “Sure, if you don’t mind losing.”
I fiddled with the strap of her tank top. She thought she had the upper hand because she had more clothing, but she far underestimated my skill. “We’ll see who loses to who.”
“Alright then, I’m game.”
Yes. Like an unspoken cue between us, we moved against each other, our hands insistently tugging, yanking and fighting against the barriers between us.
I couldn’t help but chuckle desire the sexual tension blazing so obviously between us. It had been ages since I had such fun and a partner who wanted to challenge me. I hadn’t even realized that it was something that I was craving, but now there was no denying that it was exactly what I wanted.
I reached behind her, fast as a snake, and managed to get her bra off with one hand. She jerked up in surprise as I pulled it from her, her hands falling from my buckle in her surprise, and the movement allowed me to grip her panties and rock them down her hips.
