Stand By Me

"Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech." ~ Plutarch

"READY, MY PRETTY?" the god of all flirts asked.

She shook her head.

But since this was her boss and 'torment Kady until she died' was his motto, her silent negation was simply ignored, and the next thing she knew, he already had his arms around her, ostensibly to guide her hands as he taught her the rudiments of latte art. But in truth?

Oh...dear...gaaaaaaaaah.

She could barely breathe, much less concentrate, with Slade's big, hard cock repeatedly rubbing against her ass every time he steered her hand into a rotating motion. And making it worse was the way he insisted on whispering instructions, which he had to do right next to her ears, since that was the only way for her to hear him over Ben. E King's .

Lord help her, but the whole thing just made her heart beat faster, her breasts ache harder, and—-

She was horny, in other words , Kady admitted to herself, and the thought was as mortifying as it was wonderful. Three days had passed since her world had almost crashed down on her. But because God was so good, she was still in his life, and he was none the wiser about... things.

"Perfect," Slade murmured when Kady managed to create a heart latte on the cup. "If you keep practicing, I'm betting you'll be able to do this flawlessly in a week."

The thought of being skillful enough to do latte art on her own excited her, and twisting around so she could look at him, she asked excitedly, "Do you real—- mmph. " Slade took her mouth in a thoroughly passionate kiss in full view of the customers, and when he lifted his head, his blue eyes glittered down at her—-

Oh. No.

It was that look again. But despite knowing what it meant—-

"I want you," Slade whispered. "Now."

The thought of refusing didn't even cross her mind. Not even when she caught sight of the way Leander Knight - aka Mr. McDonald's on Horseback - smirked or the way Farica threw her hands up and muttered 'there goes my afternoon break' under her breath.

Not for anything would she refuse really, because he was the man she loved, and oh, she just couldn't get enough of the way he made her feel.

The moment the door to Slade's study closed, all pretenses of self-control and propriety went up in flames. She was up against the wall in an instant, his cock pistoning inside of her in a rapid series of thrusts that had her biting his shoulder to keep herself from crying out.

But he would have none of it, and with his cock still buried inside of her pussy, he carried her off and settled himself on one of the ladderback chairs by the fireplace. The new position had her straddling him, and when she saw his wicked smile, she realized it was all deliberate.

He knew...he knew this was her favorite position—-

"Let's make you bounce, shall we?"

AAAAAAH.

His mouth latched to her nipple as his hands took hold of her hips and started bouncing up and down. She covered her mouth in an effort to stay silent, but when he kept bouncing her faster and harder - it was just impossible , utterly impossible not to surrender to the most wanton part of her.

Oh God.

Her head fell back as she clutched his shoulders and pushed her nipple deeper into his mouth. He suckled her, and it was so good - just so good - that she could no longer help herself.

Kady screamed.

Twenty minutes later, and they were back behind the bar, hair slightly mussed, clothes just a bit crumpled, and Kady unable to meet anyone's gaze while Slade was once again smiling like a man that had gone to heaven and back.

Farica tapped her on the shoulder. "Lemonade?"

Kady was surprised but grateful and took the drink from the other girl's hands. "Thank you—-"

"No biggie. I was thinking you'd need it, with all the screaming—-"

Kady, who had just turned away, ended up spewing the lemonade out...on Slade's shirt.

Oops.

Everyone burst into laughter as Kady's horrified gaze flew to Slade.

The billionaire regarded her with puzzlement. "That's strange. You normally swallow my c—-"

"OH MY GOD—-"

"Coffee," he finished innocently. "What did you think I was going to say?"

Kady fled into the kitchen, her face red as a tomato as laughter once more filled the cafe. Horrible, horrible, horrible man! But despite everything, a grin was already tugging at her lips. He was a horrible man, alright, but he could be so adorable about it, and she loved him so. If only—-

Her phone rang, and Kady tensed at hearing the ringtone. That, she thought uneasily, could only mean one person.

Elizabeth and Arden exchanged looks as the other girl mumbled an excuse before going out of the back door to take the call. "Should I tell Slade about it?" she asked her fiancé. They had heard all about Kady's breakdown from Farica, and if it was that awful ex of hers on the phone...

Outside the cafe, Kady was reeling from the most unexpected news. "You're r-really here?" she stammered.

"You can at least try to sound more excited about it," her mother said tartly.

"I'm just surprised—-"

"Don't you mean worried?" Catherine asked.

Kady jerked at the note of innuendo in her mother's voice. She couldn't possibly...she couldn't...

"I know about your new boyfriend, yes."

Kady's heart slammed against her chest. "Eric told you, didn't he?"

"As he should have."

"Whatever he told you—-"

"Is for me to judge," Catherine finished coolly, "which is why I'd like to meet him over dinner tomorrow night."

Over my dead body, Kady thought right away. She could just see it now, her mother with her favorite pearls around her neck, her cold gray eyes wordlessly disparaging Slade just because he had facial hair and wore jeans to work.

Over my dead body , she thought again.

" Tomorrow, Kady." And when her daughter remained stubbornly silent, Catherine said warningly, "Do not push me—-"

"I just don't see the point, okay?" Kady's tone was faint and uneven. It had always hurt to disobey either of her parents, but she just couldn't do what Catherine was asking. "It's obvious enough that you've already made up your mind about him, and you couldn't be more wrong. He's not what you think he is—-"

"Oh, I do know," Catherine snapped. "I know exactly what he is."

"Mother, please—-"

"He's the kind of man who thinks he can cash in by taking my daughter for a ride—-"

"Slade's a good man," she cried out just as she heard footsteps behind her.

No.

She turned around, and her face paled.

Slade.

And she saw in his eyes that he had heard enough.

The phone slipped out of her fingers, but the man was just too perfect, that he simply caught it with one hand. Ashamed of the things that he had every right to think about her mother, Kady started to apologize, but Slade shook his head and placed a finger on her lips.

Ssh.

She watched in wide-eyed silence as he clicked on the loudspeaker button on the screen.

"—-lo? Kady? Are you still there?"

Slade nodded at her, and she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry—-"

"You sound funny," Catherine said suspiciously. "Is that man with you? Is he doing anything—-"

"Mom!"

A sound of anger hissed down the line. "He's there, isn't he—-"

"I have to go," she cut in desperately. "I still have classes—-"

"Oh, alright," Catherine exclaimed in disgust. "We both know you're lying, but fine, I'll let you go." Her voice hardened. "Just remember what I told you. Bring him with you tomorrow if you don't want me making a scene at your workplace."

Kady's mom hung up before she could say a word edgewise, and Kady was left to look up at Slade, miserable and mortified by her mother's prejudice. She waited for him to make a crack about how awful her mother was, as he had every right to, and told herself doggedly that she would take it. Catherine Abrams was a snob, and—-

"Your mother seems to be an interesting person," Slade commented.

Her jaw dropped. That was it?

He saw the dumbfounded look on her face and said mockingly, "Ye of little faith."

"But—-" She stopped speaking when he crooked a finger at her, and she slowly walked towards him, her mind still reeling at how calmly he was reacting to her mother's tirade. And when she was finally standing right in front of him—-

Their gazes met.

And then he was hauling her close, his arms tightening around her, and as his lips brushed against her hair, she heard him say softly, "It's okay, sweetheart."

It was?

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - your mother can say that will make me leave you."

The words were completely unexpected, but the moment she heard them, she realized that it was exactly what she needed to hear, and oh God...

She squeezed her eyes shut, but it just was no use.

And the tears started falling.

Slade felt her body start to shake, and his arms tightened around her just as her tears started soaking his shirt. "This is the reason, isn't it?" he asked quietly. "Eric told your mother about me, and that was why you were crying that day."

If only that were true.

Oh, if only...

But she nodded anyway, knowing that the truth would only tear them apart.