14. James
14
JAMES
“ T hanks for your hard work, everyone. I’m liking what you’ve been submitting to me. Any questions?”
I glanced around the table at the creative team and noticed that Natalie was the only person not looking at me.
Lavonte raised his hand and I nodded towards him.
“Liking or loving ?” he asked tentatively.
I chuckled. “Fair question. Let’s say I’m liking most of it and loving some of it.”
He opened his mouth.
“And no,” I cut him off, “I won’t say who gets which distinction. Just keep doing what you’re doing, okay?” I shot a look at Natalie, but she only maintained eye contact for a second before glancing away again.
Was she regretting what happened on the drive to her place?
“As always, reach out if you have questions,” I said as I stood up. “And thanks for your hard work.” I rapped my knuckles on the table and turned to leave.
“Donuts!” Rhea exclaimed loudly enough to get me to stop. “You can’t go until you grab a donut.” She pointed to the pink boxes spread out on a nearby table.
I usually watched what I ate, but donuts were a weakness, so I followed the crowd over and wound up standing right behind Natalie.
“Hey,” I said.
She turned around, clutching her phone, looking like she’d just gotten bad news. “Hi.”
I felt a stab between my eyebrows at her expression. “You okay? What’s going on?”
“The Bridge Troll is back.” She frowned.
“Excuse me?”
She smirked. “That’s my nickname for MG—the teacher I told you about. He’s been out sick with COVID and teaching on Zoom, but he’s finally well enough to come back to class. Which means I need to brace myself for the grope-fest to come.”
My hackles went up at the thought of some power-tripping teacher putting a finger on her. “My offer to help you stands. Let me help educate him.”
“You were serious about that?” Relief flooded her face. “Can you pick me up tonight after my class?”
I felt a clench at the thought of being with Natalie after-hours again. “Of course. Send me the address and we’ll teach this asshole a lesson.”
Natalie gave me a shockingly shy smile. “I really appreciate it. Thank you, James.”
I wasn’t well acquainted with a less than boisterous Natalie, but I liked this version of her too. I liked all of them, which complicated things, because she’d been avoiding me since the kiss. And she could barely look at me during our weekly meeting. I’d clearly overstepped by kissing her, and now I was kicking myself for making the first move.
Sure, she’d responded like she wanted it as much as I did, but that could’ve just been the heat of the moment. The faces I passed in the hall on the way back to my office didn’t even register as I dissected what had gone on between us in the back of that car. I lived my life following my instincts, and never second-guessed what I did, but when it came to Natalie, I felt like a different version of myself.
That kiss. That fucking kiss. It took everything in my power to keep from letting my hands trace the curves of her body. I’d dreamed about them enough, fantasized about exploring every inch of her. But we were still in uncharted waters, so I’d remained on my best behavior.
That night in my dreams was another story. I’d woken up rock hard, and the only solution was to rub one out while I thought about all the things I wanted to do with her.
My day took off the moment I sat down at my desk, which made it easy to push thoughts of Natalie from my head. But as the afternoon wore on, I found my thoughts drifting to the role I was about to play as Natalie’s boyfriend. It wasn’t like it would be difficult. I was more concerned about how far we were going to take it.
Actually, I was excited to see how far.
Natalie had told me how to find the room in the building and as always, I’d arrived early. I waited outside the door, listening to the droning voice that had to be her instructor. I stepped to the door to glance in the window and immediately caught Natalie’s eye. The soft smile she gave me sent my pulse racing. Did she blush at the sight of me?
Once she looked away, I stole a few seconds to study her. She kept her bare legs tucked beneath her desk, no doubt hiding them from her creepy instructor, and nibbled adorably on the end of her drafting pencil when she wasn’t using it. I felt like I was in one of her stupid romance novels, because even the sight of her collarbone was enough to make my mind wander.
A few minutes later, people came piling out of the room, and I stood back and watched as Natalie rushed to load up her bag. Not quickly enough, because a squat man with messy long hair approached her. I stood in the doorway, making sure that he was our target, and Natalie’s eyes shifted to me. When she widened them at me I knew I was up.
“Hey babe,” I said in an overloud voice as I strode into the room. “All set?”
“ Baby !” she squealed in a high-pitched voice I’d never heard before. “There’s my handsome man!”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She was really laying it on thick. I walked over to her and slid my arm around her shoulders possessively, tempted to give her a quick kiss but unsure if it would be welcome. Before I could give it any more thought, Natalie placed her hand on my cheek and pulled my face to hers, planting a kiss on me that sent my dick tingling, despite the mixed company. I took advantage of the unexpected PDA and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms all the way around her and kissing her back with even more intensity.
“Well,” a peevish voice said from behind us. “I guess I’m not needed here.”
Natalie laughed against my mouth, and we pulled apart slowly.
“Sorry.” She giggled. “Any time I’m away from my man longer than a couple of hours, I just miss him, you know?”
“Hmph,” MG replied.
“Sorry, I’m being rude,” Natalie said, pressing her fingertips to her lips like she was trying to hold on to the kiss. “MG, this is my boyfriend James. James, this is my instructor, Mark Gleeson. Everyone calls him MG.”
I screwed up my face like I was trying to remember something. “MG… MG… Oh yes, of course! You recently did a line for Kmart, right?
“No.” He frowned. “It was a capsule collection for Marshall’s. Very successful.”
I nodded. “I’m sure it was, how nice for you. I remember when you did a line for Bergdorf Goodman. Long time ago, huh?”
There was absolutely no shame in designing for discount stores. It could be big money with the right sort of partnership. But I had a feeling that mentioning how things used to be for him would sting. Based on what I knew about male designers, I had a feeling that MG had an ego and wasn’t happy that his star had been falling for years.
“I’m so lucky because MG keeps telling me that he wants to give me extra tutoring,” Natalie added.
The man took a half step away from me. “I, uh, I always offer extra help to students who show promise.”
“Oh, is that it?” I exaggerated my response, like I was pretending to buy what he was saying. “Okay.”
“Your girlfriend is very talented,” MG said, shuffling a few more steps away, no doubt taking note of the size difference between us.
“Don’t I know it.” I grinned, squeezing Natalie against my side. I winked at MG. “In a bunch of different ways. Have you ever heard this woman sing?”
Natalie full-on snort laughed.
“No, I haven’t,” MG replied. “Is she good?”
“She’s something else, that’s for sure.” I brushed a stray hair off her cheek and kissed her. “Lucky me, huh?”
“If you say so.”
He rushed back to his desk, and I took advantage of the show we’d choreographed by wrapping Natalie in my arms again.
I stroked her cheek with my thumb. “Too much?” I whispered in her ear.
“Never,” she breathed, nuzzling against my touch. I was no longer sure if her responses were part of the act or something else entirely.
I wasn’t about to let the moment get away, so I drew her to me and placed my lips on hers again, cupping her cheeks gently. Natalie circled her arms around my waist and made a little whimper that was a mix of delight and surprise.
We kissed as the noises coming from MG as he packed his bag got louder and louder, making it clear that he wasn’t impressed by what we were up to.
Natalie finally managed to pull away. “We should go. Unless you want to make that exhibitionism fantasy of yours a reality?”
I laughed. “Maybe someday…”
I grabbed her hand, leading her towards the door. She tripped along behind me, giggling.
“See ya, buddy,” I said in an overly cheerful voice. “Nice meeting you.”
MG glanced in our general direction and gave us a halfhearted wave, frowning.
Once we were outside the building, Natalie bent over and burst out laughing. “That was amazing ! He’s never going to bother me again.”
“Glad I could be of service.” I bowed gallantly beneath the light of a streetlamp.
“No, seriously.” She straightened up and walked over to me, placing her hand on my arm. “I can’t thank you enough. I need to make it through this class, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep it up with him harassing me.”
The way she looked up at me, her eyes filled with gratitude and something else I couldn’t quite pinpoint, made me wish I had another excuse to kiss her.
“If he dares to try it again, let me know,” I muttered.
“I’m not sure what more we can do to convince him we’re together. I mean, that was a full-on, hardcore make-out session. What’s left? Fucking on his desk?” She slapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she said it, eyes wide, like she realized that she’d overstepped.
It was my turn to crack up. “Hey, if we have to, we have to. Whatever it takes.”
Her face slowly returned to normal once she seemed to realize that I wasn’t insulted. “Well…it wouldn’t be the worst idea…”
My pulse ticked up as I tried to understand what she was saying, because it sounded like Natalie Reynolds had just propositioned me.
I had to be sure, though. “What wouldn’t be the worst idea?”
Even in the dim light I could see pink flooding her cheeks, but she lifted her chin and looked me square in the eye when she said, “Us. We could consider it practice…just in case.”
She took a step closer to me, biting her lip adorably.
“Practice… fucking ?” I asked as my pulse ticked up, adrenaline flooding my system.
Natalie nodded shyly, and it was all the confirmation I needed.
I grabbed her hand without another word and pulled her along towards where Hector was parked down the street.
Natalie turned to me, her eyes wild. “James…are you sure it’s okay? With work and everything?”
I forced myself to slow down. As badly as I wanted to fuck her, I also needed to make sure she felt safe. “The company doesn’t have any fraternization policies. Bernie actually likes to brag about how many employee couples Branson has produced over the years. It’s only an issue if you’re uncomfortable with my position compared to yours—if you feel pressured. So are you sure? There’s no wrong answer. I only want this if you do, too.”
We stared at each other, and I could see Natalie’s chest rising and falling like she’d just finished a run. My heart thrummed in my chest, ready for her to change her mind but desperately hoping she wouldn’t. Her lips were parted, and her eyes scanned my face as if she didn’t quite believe what we were considering. She looked absolutely stunning as a gentle breeze tossed loose tendrils of hair around her face.
“Oh my fucking god, I want to kiss you so bad,” I managed in a hoarse voice.
“Then do it,” she whispered back, daring me.
I leapt at her, taking her into my arms and easing her back against the shadows alongside the building as my mouth found hers. Her lips slanted against mine, and I let my tongue dart into her mouth, possessive, hungry for more. The kiss in the classroom had been electric, but this one felt wild with the promise of what was to come. She arched against me, and I was sure she could feel my dick straining against my trousers. There was no longer any doubt about what Natalie wanted from me.
“Take me home,” Natalie murmured against my mouth. “Please.”
The fact that she was begging me to fuck her nearly made me rip off her skirt, bend her over in the darkness and take her right there. I gave her one last kiss, pulling away reluctantly.
“My driver is right over there.” I pointed down the block to where it sat idling in a no-parking zone.
“What are you waiting for?” Natalie asked, pulling me towards it. “Let’s go .”
We nearly jogged to the damn thing, forcing Hector to rush to get out of the driver’s seat to open the door for us.
“Home, please,” I said to him, arching an eyebrow for emphasis. “As fast as possible.”
His quick nod was enough to assure me that he’d make it happen.
The moment the partition was up our hands started exploring. We didn’t say a word, as if we were both so wrapped up in our heat for each other that talking might break the spell. I stroked her leg, and she moved it closer to me, inviting me to explore. My hand traced circles on the soft skin of her inner thigh and she sighed, letting her head fall back and closing her eyes. I slid my hand higher, and I heard her catch her breath as my fingertips crested the edge of her panties. She pushed against me, and I cupped her heat, nearly out of my mind with how badly I wanted her.
I glanced out the window, trying to place where we were, to see if I had enough time to enjoy her. True to his word, Hector was making the trip in record time, and I wasn’t about to start something I couldn’t finish.
I pulled my hand back, getting an anguished cry out of Natalie.
“We’re nearly there,” I said. “And I want to wait to enjoy you fully. I promise you, it’ll be worth the wait.”
Natalie snaked her hand to my crotch and cupped my hard length. “I can tell.”
I chuckled, because she had no idea what was in store for her once I got her naked.