6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Laney

A t first, the step he takes towards me, I freeze. But when he lifts a hand and cups my face with it, bringing his nose to mine, I fold like a deck of fucking cards. I expect his lips to crush mine, for him to take me aggressively, and the thought is both intoxicating and intimidating, but when he slides his immensely soft and full lips over mine, the moan that comes out of me can’t be avoided. The kiss is tender, but thorough, as his tongue meets mine, and he sucks my bottom lip, making me melt, making my panties instantly damp. He lifts off my mouth and plants his forehead on mine, staring into my eyes, as if asking for permission to do more.

His hands, palm down, skate up my thighs, pulling my skirt up, and I don’t stop him. No, instead, I’m opening his blazer, pulling it off his shoulders, so it drops to the floor. The buttons on his shirt are easily opened as he reciprocates, lips on mine, kissing me so deeply, so erotically, I could come just from that. Fingers on the elastic, he slides my panties down, as I quickly undo his pants, listening to the sweet sound of his zipper coming down, and my hand is inside, touching his beautiful, endowed, fully erect cock, that’s throbbing for me. He lifts my bra, freeing my breasts, and God, I’ve never felt so hot for a man before, and it feels like I’m outside of my own mind, like I don’t own my rightful thoughts.

His cock sticks out of his pants, as he cups my rear in his hands, plants his head into my chest, sucking, nipping and licking my nipples, and then he lifts me onto him, penetrating me in an instant, as my back hits the wall gently. He thrusts slow and deep, matching his kisses, as his moans and choppy breathing match my own. My head rears against the wall, as my mouth opens wide, moaning aloud, and he fucks me so good it hurts. Caleb hits every hungry cell inside me, every inch that’s been ignored for so long, and I hate him for it. I hate it that he’s so good. I hate it that I love it so much.

His pelvis pumps perfectly against my clit, hitting it deliciously, making me come so fast I’m panting, crying out, until he starts making love to my mouth to stifle the noise. That’s when I feel him shudder against me, as his body quivers with mine, and I feel his seed shoot out of him, into me, filling me completely, as his kissing changes rhythm, absorbing the pleasure of his release. As I come down, I feel my fingers relax, as I was unaware that they were digging into his back. Our chests heave, our breaths coming fast, as he removes himself from me, and takes a step back, zipping up. His breath is still choppy as he does his shirt back up and says. “There. I think that evened the score.”

I pull my panties up and fasten my bra. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tit for tat, Laney. You wanted it as much as I did.”

My fingers can’t do the buttons on my blouse up fast enough. “You’re a classy piece of work, Caleb Harris.”

“That makes two of us.” He winks salaciously.

“You make me fucking sick.” I spit.

“I made you fucking come like a racehorse, actually. See how I had to shut you up, so the whole fucking building wouldn’t figure it out?”

“Pig.” I sneer, running my fingers through my hair. “You breathe a word of this to anyone, and I swear to God, Caleb.”

“Oh, I’m not going to tell anyone, Laney.” He leans forward to kiss me, but I slap him in the face, like I should have done the moment he stormed in here.

“Sure, you won’t. You’ll run and tell your da, won’t you?” I ask, too sweetly. “I bet this is a score on your card, is it?”

“I told my da that he was nuts to even insinuate that you and I would get married, so rest assured.”

“Well, you’re right about that.” I tell him, watching him put his jacket back on. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth.”

“Ditto.”

I snort a laugh at his folly.

“Fuckoff.” He says, hearing it himself.

“It’s funny how men lose half their brains when they lose their wad, huh.”

“Fuck you.” He whines. “I hope you enjoyed me fucking you against the wall, Laney. It’s not the most delicate place, but then again, it suits you.”

“Fuckoff. You can get out now that you’re dressed.”

“Oh, I plan to.” He sneers, adjusting his pants behind the jacket.

“Good! God, I hate you!”

“Well, the feeling is mutual! And now that I fucked you, and got it out of my system, you can rest assured that you won’t be seeing me around anymore!”

“Good!” I shout. “Now, get out!”

“Gladly.” He glares at me, walking out. I grab the block of sticky notes on my desk and throw it at the door. Of course, he’s already gone, so I end up hitting Mandy straight in the face with it.

“Shit! I’m so sorry!” I gasp, running to her.

She chuckles, picking up the notes with one hand, while covering the spot where she was hit with the other. “I was just coming in to make sure that he wasn’t giving you a hard time, but I can see that you can hold your own.”

I mewl, laughing with her. “I’m so sorry. He was being a total asshole. I didn’t mean to hit you.”

“I know.” She laughs, handing me the notes. “Here. I think these are yours. Shall I order you ones with spikes in them?”

We both snort a laugh.

“Oh, Mason is coming a half hour early, that’s also what I wanted to tell you. I hope that’s okay.”

I nod. “That’s fine. I’m ready for him anytime.”

“Do you need another block of notes for him, too?” She teases, walking away from me.

“Stop it or I’ll hit you again.” I joke.

I pull myself together in time for Mason, my next client, to arrive. His visit is fast and thank God, because I’m dying to obsess over what happened with Caleb. What an asshole, right? I mean, to come into my office like that, take total advantage of me, and then come off all snide and slick like he did? Brandy sends me a couple of text messages, wanting to meet up with me after work, and I debate with myself as to whether or not I should tell her what happened, fearing I’ll die from judgement. But before I can deny it, Brandy smirks at me, as we each take a sip of our wine, sitting on my living room floor, sharing a pizza while watching a movie.

“Something’s different.” She comments.

“Like how?” I ask, playing dumb.

Then her eyes widen. “Is that a…a hickey?” She asks, turning my cheek with her index finger, inspecting the skin on my neck.

My hand immediately goes to the spot where she’s looking, as I remember the exact moment that Caleb’s lips were there, just before I came, before my mind was completely blown up with ecstasy. “Shit.” I mutter.

“Who di—” Her eyes light up as recognition comes to them. She speaks with a gasp. “Oh my God! You and Caleb?!”

My face heats. I know it’s beet red. “Shit.” I mutter again.

Brandy takes another slug of wine, drinking down the rest, and I follow suit. “Okay, girl. Dish.” She says, encouraging me with a hand gesture. “Lay it on me. What happened after you so abruptly hung up the phone.”

“God, Brandy, it all happened so fast. One minute he’s storming into my office, the next we’re tearing into each other’s pants and he’s fucking me up against the wall.” I say like I was held at gunpoint.

She looks at me like she’s trying to read my mind. “Okay, and how do we feel about this? You didn’t stop him, so I’m going to assume that you wanted it, too…am I right?”

I draw in a deep breath and let it out, trying to find the right words. “It was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Including Marcus Canyon?”

Marcus was this very hot professor I slept with in university. It was the only affair I’ve ever had my whole life, until now.

“Yes. He was better than Marcus. Ions better than Marcus, actually, seeing as I know for a fact that Caleb isn’t married.” Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Marcus had a wife that he kept secret. His defence was that she was deployed in Haiti on a peace mission, so he hadn’t seen her in over a year. I guess that’s how some men deal with that sort of thing, but when I found out, I wanted to puke. “But then once he blew his wad, he became an asshole, so I’m over it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he zipped up and got cocky with me, saying that we’re even now. The altercation ended with me throwing a block of Post-Its at him, but missing and hitting Mandy instead.”

Her mouth opens. “What an asshole. I would have hit him, too. I mean, God, that is so distasteful.”

“You think?” I pour myself more wine. “I ought to go over there and give him a fat lip for that.”

She opens one eye and speaks with measured words. “If it weren’t for the end part, would you do it again?”

I consider that for a moment. “I might have. But only if it was just casual. You know me, Brandy, I’m not the relationship type.”

Brandy lifts her glass and clinks it with mine. “Here here.” She takes a sip. “From now on, every relationship I have with a man will be casual. You’ll never see another wedding band on this finger, mark my words.”

“Can’t say I blame you there.”

She swallows and licks her lips. “Any chance you think that this was part of a plan?”

I cock my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you said that his dad is forcing him to marry you. Do you think his sole motivation for doing that was to report back to daddy dearest? You know, like, one foot’s in the door, dad, look at me now?”

“If that were the case, he would have been a lot nicer, Brandy. He wouldn’t have gotten his back up and came off like an asshole.”

She frowns. “True. But maybe he’ll do that, anyway, you know. And leave out the part where he turned it into a pissing match at the end.”

“Who knows. He blew his wad, and from what I gather, he enjoyed himself as much as I did. His brains were probably displaced. All I know is I should never have let that happen, and I’m going to figure out a way to put him back in his place.”

“Why?”

“Because, Brandy, that’s half the reason why men stomp all over us women. Because we let them.”

“But, technically, you got what you wanted, too, Laney. I mean, you said so yourself, that it was the best you ever had.”

“Yeah, but now he’s going to go around thinking that I’m some chump, that’ll cave at the drop of a hat.”

“So, what do you care?”

“Because he’ll always know that he got the best of me. He walked out of there as proud as a fucking peacock.”

“And you’d rather have it like the other night, when you did the same, walking away from him, like you were the one with all the power.”

“I was the one with all the power. And I’ll get the power back, too, mark my words. Caleb Harris hasn’t seen the last of me.”

“Well, you go girl. It’s about time these assholes learned that women aren’t fucking doormats. He can’t just traipse into your office, fuck your brains out, and leave like that.”

“Exactly.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

I shrug. “Well, he came and pissed on my turf, so I’ll go piss on his.”

“Meaning that you’ll go down to his office?”

“I guess that would be the most logical thing.”

“Or, maybe, so that you don’t set the stage for him to think that you’re fair game, go get him in a public place, like at the bar again, or something. Then he won’t get the wrong impression and start unzipping his fly the second that he sees you.”

I consider that for a moment. Sure, the idea has its merits, but I have something else in mind. “I’d much rather take him down at his office. Show him who’s boss there. I think it’ll have more impact than if I catch him at a bar. But I definitely won’t go to his house. Oh, no. That’s clearly making it a bootie call for him.”

“Agreed.”

Caleb

“Da.” I stutter, shock on my face, to see Dougall Harris sitting at my desk when I arrive back from my tryst with Laney. He looks none too pleased as he stares coldly at me. Not scrolling through his phone, not making a call, no, he’s just waiting for me.

He doesn’t greet me with his usual kiss on the cheek and pat on the back. “Your brother called me.”

“Ethan?” Ethan is my older brother, and da’s favorite. I wouldn’t put it past him to shove his nose further up da’s ass and snitch on me.

He ignores my question. “I see Laney crushed you.”

Here I’m thinking that he’s going to tear me in two for being questioned on a murder, but he’s here about Laney. The man is an enigma. “Not exactly.”

“Caleb, you know better than to try to lie to me, son.” He says, clasping his hands together, in a gesture that I know to mean that he is frustrated.

“She might have last night, but I’ve rectified that.”

“And how did you do that?”

“I just paid her a little visit at her office.”

He opens his phone and marks something in his notes. I’m not sure where he’s going with this, but something tells me that whoever he has keeping tabs on me failed him earlier, since he had no idea that I was with Laney.

“And what went down there.” He says as more of a statement than as a question. “Have you at least made some sort of date with her or is that not the way that women work these days.”

“No, I haven’t made a date with her, da. She has no interest in marrying, me or anyone else for that matter.”

He waves. “That’s nonsense. All women want to get married. And you’re quite the catch, Caleb. She’s the perfect match for you.”

My voice is hesitant, but not argumentative. “That may be correct, da, but Laney insists that she’s never getting married.”

“Well, Caleb, then it’s up to you to turn on the charm. There’s a reason why you are the most eligible bachelor. Use that to your advantage, son.”

“Frankly, da, I don’t think that she’s fond of me, and especially so since I’ve been questioned in this murder investigation.”

He waves again. “Details, Caleb. If anything, a little danger goes a long way, son. Women don’t like a little powder puff in their bed. They like a tiger, a man that can handle himself, and you very much can.”

“Thanks, da. But I’m not sure if it’s wise to push her until this murder investigation settles down.”

He’s not pleased. His face is set like stone. He presses the tips of his fingers together and looks at me with a ‘level with me’ expression. “What went down at that office, Caleb. Did you fuck her.” He asks, as though he’s asking me if I made the expected trade, like we’re dope dealers or something.

And it just comes out. I nod. “Yes, sir. I did.” Once it’s out, I feel like I want to go shower. This is beyond my scope of comfort with da. Sure, he’s gotten us ploughed before and told us how to thrust into a woman, but this is creepy. This is treating my affair with Laney like a check in a box. It wasn’t at all like that. I’m not sure what it was like. I wanted her like I’ve never wanted any other woman before, but I’m not sure why. I’m not sure if it was just some virile, masculine instinct that I let get out of hand, like I’m turning into a sexual sadist or something, or worse.

It freaks me out that I did that. Normally, for me, sex is simply about an urge, a physical need, and a release. I’ve never used sex for power before. The thought is alarming and the more I think about it, the more I realize how much of a mistake it was, even though it was so fucking good I feel lighter than air having experienced it.

“And?” He asks, and I quickly come up with a sentence that best describes it, without telling him anything.

“It’s done, sir.”

“You’re compatible?”

I nod, looking at my feet. “Yes, da.”

He rises with a soft grunt. “Good.”

Da walks out of my office, and I feel myself exhale.

…but not for long…