Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
LEO
Warm lips were pressing against my forehead, gently pulling me from unconsciousness. I was on my stomach, half my face hidden in the pillow that my arms supported for me. When had I fallen asleep?
“Thank you,” her voice was a whisper.
“Mhmm,” was all I could manage.
Even though I couldn’t pry my eyes open quite yet, my ears heard every soft step that led her to the door. It wasn’t until after I heard the latch close, silence suffocating the room, that I lifted my head and confirmed that, yes, I was alone again.
According to the clock on the nightstand, I had just over five hours to get ready for my interview.
* * *
Three weeks had passed since our formal agreement that night in Jacqueline’s bedroom. Winter had come to Southern California, and even though the rains hadn’t started yet, and the sun was still shining, it was humid and cold every morning and evening. I was wearing more long sleeves to work, and Jacqueline only wore her tempting pencil skirts when she could wear thick stockings underneath them.
Jacqueline and I had managed to get together again three more times, averaging once a week. Both of us were having long workdays, and with Jacqueline finally hiring new employees to support her in HR, plus my afternoon rugby training, it almost felt difficult to sync our schedules.
But when we did manage to meet up for a quick shag…fuck, we were so damn good together. It wasn’t difficult at all.
I still couldn’t believe how responsive she was to my touch, my mouth—fuck, even my look. All it took was one heated glance, where I didn’t try hiding how badly I wanted her, and her cheeks would bloom with color.
But like the mature and professional adults we were, we stayed away from each other in the office. Now that we both had security in getting our mutual itches scratched, there was no need for us to fool around on the clock.
…Even if the idea was still hot as hell.
Mary and Jamie constantly inviting me over to their flat after work didn’t help either, but so far, we’ve managed.
Currently, I was on my way to refill my coffee. The way Americans prepared their coffees in the US was wonderful . Creamer isn’t common back home. Usually, coffees were served black or with a splash of milk. Here? It was a never-ending stock of creamers. Signe even started stocking the fridge with holiday-themed creamers. Dairy, oat, soy, anything you could think of.
As a man who thrived by having a constant stream of caffeine flowing through his blood to survive the average workday, I practically skipped with excitement to the break room. Excited to try another flavor.
As I entered, I realized Jacqueline was just sitting down to enjoy her lunch with my cousin and their friends. Jacqueline’s back was to me, but I saw her stow away her earbuds in her purse before taking her seat.
Even though we were keeping our distance, she and I still passed each other at work. Every time she wore earbuds, I could hear her music blasting in them. I was genuinely worried she was on the verge of blowing her eardrums out.
As I made my way to the counter to start a new brew, there was a lull in the conversation between the women, so I nodded toward Jacqueline.
“I have a question for you, Ms. Williams,” I made the tone of my voice incredibly serious. It made the other women hush, looking at me with curious glances. I turned, waiting for the machine to finish brewing my coffee, while I looked at the director of human resources.
Jacqueline had stiffened in her chair, her lips pressed together as she waited for me to continue.
“…Do you enjoy the feeling of blood dripping out of your ears when you listen to music?” My question made Mary laugh out loud, and Signe snorted while patting Jacqueline on the shoulder.
Jacqueline, however, looked so adorably confused.
She frowned at me, “What are you talking about?”
“The volume you listen to,” I smirked, “You wear earbuds, but I can hear what you’re listening to just the same.”
Jacqueline’s lips twitched before she rolled her eyes at me.
The look made the blood pump in my veins, and I hoped to god that she would want to see me again tonight. I’d love to make her pay for that attitude, in the most enjoyable way possible.
“My earbuds are old,” Jacqueline explained, completely ignoring the humorous tone of the conversation, “I have to turn my music up louder and louder for me to enjoy it,” She lifted a shoulder, “If you have a problem with it, maybe don’t stand so close to me at work.”
I shook my head, “It’s no problem. I enjoy a blast from the past myself.”
“Jacqueline has the best playlist,” Signe brightened, affectionately squeezing Jacqueline’s arm, “You should have her send it to you.”
“I’ve heard it.” I saw the moment Jacqueline stiffened at my agreement, my admission that I was already familiar with her playlist. How intimate it sounded. Would she deny that we listened to her music whenever we carpooled? Overlook the fact that I have seen her turn it on before she and I showered together at her flat.
But none of that happened.
Instead, Jacqueline’s frown changed. It wasn’t a frown of disapproval. It was different. The corners of her mouth were still tipped down. The basic description of a frown was still present. But her eyes brightened. Little crinkles appeared in the corners as they did. Her eyebrows even twitched slightly higher.
I was confident that Jacqueline was smiling at me.
It was just upside down.
Standing there, under the weight of her stunning gaze, something warm and terrifying expanded in my chest.
“Oh, right.” Mary leaned on the table, resting her fists under her chin as she opened her mouth to say something else, but one of the new hires poked their head in the breakroom.
“Jacqueline?” A young man’s voice asked. A blonde head poked around the door of the breakroom, dressed in a red and grey plaid button-up. He must have been in his early twenties, fresh out of university, “Sorry, I know you’re taking your lunch—”
“What’s up, Andrew?” Jacqueline turned in her seat to face the break room door, a friendly expression on her face as she addressed her new employee. In her hands, she started digging around in her purse for something.
“I was just wondering which file you wanted me to save this under.” He stepped into the room and held out an iPad for her to look at. He pointed at something on the screen, and Jacqueline’s brow pinched for a moment before lifting her own finger to point.
“This one,” she replied. She then pulled out a small…something. It wasn’t until I saw her fingers peel back the foil that I realized she was unwrapping a small piece of chocolate. She popped the candy into her mouth as she continued the conversation with her new employee.
I also realized that this wasn’t the first time I had seen Jacqueline do this.
The woman always had a small piece of chocolate to eat after she finished a savory meal.
“Okay, cool,” he swallowed, “That’s what I thought, but I wasn’t sure. So I thought I’d ask. I’m sorry to interrupt.”
“You’re fine, Andrew,” Jacqueline smiled at him, emitting a friendly, welcoming tone, “Please keep asking me questions. I don’t mind repeating things while you learn.”
He exhaled, his shoulders dropping a bit before he rubbed a hand on his shirt.
As if he had sweaty palms.
I watched this interaction with interest, wondering what was so unsettling about it. Was it because Jacqueline never once showed this kind of warm understanding when I was first hired? Was it that this new hire was now blushing at Jacqueline as he said his goodbyes and left?
“What a sweet kid,” Signe spoke up, digging into her meal. If I had to guess, Zaid cooked her lunch and sent her to work with it.
“Andrew’s been so helpful,” Jacqueline slumped, “I didn’t realize how nice it would be to delegate some things. I don’t want him to think that I don’t appreciate his help.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to attend a girls’ night now,” Signe replied, around a mouthful of food, “It’s been months since you’ve come.”
Actually, it had been four days since Jacqueline had come, but perhaps Signe and I were thinking about different things.
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Jacqueline smiled, and that’s when the coffee machine beeped.
“Cheers.” I nodded at the table, adding a splash of a cinnamon oat milk creamer to my mug. As I left the breakroom, I gave Jacqueline some direct eye contact. I turned away just when I thought she would start blushing.
Simply knowing that I was the man who did that to her, that I was the man whom she fancied, I was more than ready to take on anything the rest of the workday.
* * *
“Mary is onto us,” Jacqueline whispered, clutching my face with both of her cold hands and tugging me down to her lips. She may have initiated the kiss, but I knew how much she loved when I took over. I bent my knees so I could reach my hands below her thighs, hoisting her up and stumbling like a lust-filled fool to her couch.
We broke the kiss with a gasp, before I asked, “What do you mean?”
“She noticed the flirty look you gave me today,” Jacqueline replied, before I set her on the cushions. She made the sweetest little whimper as I gently pushed her onto her back. My hands made their way under her shirt, slowly dragging it up. I was ready to start worshipping her soft, warm body. I started by kissing her navel.
“So?” I asked before swirling my tongue around her belly button. Jacquline gasped, and my cock jumped to attention. Fuck, when was the last time I was this randy for a woman? I had just been with her days ago, and yet it was as if I hadn’t gotten off in years. I sat up just enough to impatiently shrug out of my leather jacket.
“What do you mean, so ?” Jacqueline’s voice had a smile in it, and as I let myself glance up to see her hooded expression, I shook my head.
“I mean, so? Isn’t she shagging a coworker of ours?”
“She and Jamie are an item. It’s different.”
I grumbled against her stomach, curling my fingers underneath her leggings and sliding them down, “I’m not worried about Mary.”
“Okay, but I think that I am.” Jacquline laughed when I roughly yanked on her leggings, a frustrated noise emanating in my chest as I realized how difficult this was. This time, the elastic fabric made it to her knees.
“I prefer your skirts.” My words were quiet, more of a thought to myself, before I paused my endeavor to look Jacqueline in the eye. “If you’re worried about Mary, then I’ll be more mindful not to picture you naked in front of her.”
“Thank y—what? That’s what your little look was about?” Jacqueline asked with raised eyebrows.
I gave her leggings one final tug, pulling them off of her legs completely, before holding them up victoriously and proclaiming, “Finally!” and tossing them over my shoulder, “Going forward, you should assume that I’m always picturing you naked.”
I let my gaze blatantly roam over her.
She was perfect. One of her cream-colored blouses shoved up near her chest, showing off her stomach. Three buttons were undone, something she had done on her drive home since I knew that she was buttoned up at work that day. She was wearing a purple lace thong, and I dug the heel of my palm into the base of my erection to stifle the sudden wave of arousal I had just looking at her.
“Oh.” Jacqueline blushed, enough for the color to spread to her chest.
“Yeah, oh ,” I licked my lips at the sight of her, scraping a hand across my jaw, “Fuck, I don’t know where to start, love.”
“Like, on me?” Jacqueline asked, bending her legs. She was starting to get shy, curling into herself under my perusal.
I wasn’t having that.
I started undoing my jeans while kicking off my shoes and stepping out of them. Then I almost tore my shirt attempting to pull it over my head as fast as possible.
“Oh, you should definitely leave the socks on.” Jacqueline wiggled her eyebrows with her suggestion. I paused, about to bend down to remove them, before I took in her expression. I hadn’t seen Jacqueline crack a lot of jokes, if any at all. The last joke she made that caught me off-guard was the airport one during the evening we spent on her desk, and based on how exaggerated her eyebrow wiggle was now, I was confident she was joking again.
But I still wanted to be sure.
“Oh, you like that?” I stood tall, bracing my hands on my hips, showing off my prominent erection that was fighting to free itself from my boxer briefs.
Jacqueline snorted behind closed lips, grinning as she replied, “I love a man in black boxers and white tube socks. Very hot. Doesn’t look dorky at all .”
This woman.
I lifted a foot to rest on the edge of the couch, gesturing toward my feet with my hand, “They’re the Costco brand. Does that do it for you, too?”
Jacqueline smiled, reaching up to unbutton her shirt to part the panels.
Fuck, her bra matched her thong.
Did she only wear matching sets?
“I’m just kidding.” Jacqueline’s eyes dropped to my briefs, and my cock jumped at the attention.
“Are you sure? You can be into tube socks, no shame in that.” I stuck my index finger into the seam, tracing the shape of the material around my leg while releasing a very loud, very fake, whiney moan.
“Oh my god!” Jacqueline’s eyes widened before she slapped both of her hands over her face, “Don’t make that sound ever again.”
I made the noise again.
It was my fake orgasm voice. More feminine, more dramatic. I knew it annoyed the shit out of Mary, but Jacqueline looked mostly embarrassed by it.
Behind her hands, Jacqueline squealed while turning her body into the back of the couch. Hiding from me.
“You aren’t into that?” I was trying to control my laughter as I lowered myself over her, leaving the socks on, “You don’t like hearing what you do to me?” I rereleased the fake moan, quieter this time. Jacqueline’s body shook from her own amusement, allowing herself to be rolled onto her back as I blanketed her body with mine.
“That’s not what you sound like when we’re together.” Jacqueline lowered her hands, her eyes sparkling with humor and embarrassment and something else I didn’t recognize.
“Hmm, perhaps you need to jog my memory,” I pushed her blouse off of her shoulders, allowing her to sit up just enough to toss it aside, before guiding her back down again, “It’s been too long.”
“It’s been four days.”
“All that time we’ve been wasting ,” I pulled the cups of her bra down, teasing her sensitive peaks with my thumbs while I locked eyes with her, “I needed you so badly today.”
“Really?” Jacqueline’s face lit up, because this woman had a certified praise kink.
“It’s true,” I spoke against her breasts. They were on the smaller side, perfectly proportionate with the rest of her. Perfect. Mine, “I couldn’t focus on anything.”
“I couldn’t either,” Jacqueline panted, arching into my mouth, “I need you, too.”
I dragged my tongue right between her breasts, working my way up her throat to gently bite at her jaw, “You have me.”
“Can we—” she cut off her question, shaking her head once, “Never mind.”
I immediately pulled my face off of hers, giving her a look, “What do you need?”
Jacqueline pressed her lips together, nervous again, “It’s just…I feel the air on me here.” I glanced down, watching with my own eyes how her skin pebbled against the air coming in from the vents, “Can we go to the bed? Under the covers?”
I nodded, because anything she wanted, I wanted to give her.
Jacqueline giggled when I scooped her up without a word, carried her to her bed, and tucked us both under her covers.
Her bed was heavenly, and I didn’t blame her for preferring it to the couch.
“Let me warm you up.” I started kissing her neck again as I covered her, groaning at the feel of Jacqueline’s cold hands sliding up my back, feeling the lean muscle I had there.
“Please,” Jacqueline whispered. She cupped my jaw when I tried to kiss down her body again, pulling my face to hers. I loved our kisses. I couldn’t get enough of her smooth, warm lips against my own. Her tongue met mine, licking into my mouth. Scraping the inside of my teeth.
The first night Jacqueline and I spent together, before the next day when we learned she’d be interviewing me, I realized something very quickly. Jacqueline didn’t have a lot of experience kissing.
It wasn’t a bad thing, because she kissed in a way I hadn’t experienced in a while.
Jacqueline didn’t kiss because she was trying to seduce me.
Jacqueline kissed because she liked the feeling of kissing.
I turned to putty in her hands when her lips met mine.
“What do you want, love?” The endearment always slipped out around her, and I tried to not put too much meaning behind it. She didn’t seem to mind whenever I called her love, but the more I said it, the more I wanted to say it. To call Jacqueline love . I had almost slipped up in the office earlier today, but I caught myself.
“What if…we used a toy?” Jacqueline’s voice was labored, her heavy breathing interfering with her ability to speak loudly.
“Where?” I asked.
Jacqueline grinned, “Nightstand.”
I scooted to the edge of her bed in search of a toy, groaning when she decided to kiss my back and shoulders and neck as I reached into her drawer and tried to feel for something made of silicon.
“You’re making this hard for me,” I mumbled into the pillow, my hand finally brushing against something that felt like a vibrator.
“That’s the idea,” Jacqueline snickered against my shoulder. I laughed, loving the opportunity to see a playful, teasing side of Jacqueline. The one willing to make jokes. It wasn’t that she was loose around me, it was that she was comfortable around me.
I valued that more than she probably realized.
“This okay?” I asked, holding up a bright pink vibrator, no more than four or so inches long.
“Yup,” Jacqueline reached over to grab the toy, but I held it out of reach while shifting to get her underneath me again.
“I want to play first,” I kissed her collarbone once, before quickly disappearing underneath the covers. Christ , it was hot under there.
“Are you sure?” Jacqueline asked, lifting the covers so she could see me getting settled between her legs. Mine poked out on the other end of the bed, cooling off my own body for a bit.
“Positive.”
I clicked on the toy, and the buzz in my hand was muted by the heavy comforter, “Any setting you prefer?”
“Um,” Jacqueline thought for half a second, “The fourth setting, please.”
I playfully bit the inside of her thigh, making her squeal.
“Leo!” Jacqueline hissed. I held her legs wide enough for me to lay between them, while still tucking them under my arms to hold her still.
“ Jacqueline ,” I copied her tone, teasing her.
“Leo— oh —” her snark dissolved as soon as I started gently circling the toy over her clit, already swollen. I used the toy to tease her entrance. It was hard to see with such little light making it under the covers, but I managed to use her own wetness to coat the toy before teasing her clit again.
“That’s better,” my voice dropped, it got that raspy layer to it that always hit me whenever I was fighting a raging hard-on.
“Okay.” Jacqueline clearly had no idea what I was saying. Her legs started trembling, so I didn’t change a thing. I kept the toy exactly where it was, moving it exactly the same, watching her body tremble as she reached her climax.
Jacqueline moaned, deep and guttural, and I kissed her thigh as she came.
It was probably the fastest I had ever gotten her off.
Yeah, using toys was always fucking awesome.
I kept the toy between her legs, letting her ride out her orgasm as long as she could before her hips started to shift away from me.
I inched up her body, poking my head out from underneath the covers and grinning, “Beautiful.”
She was panting, her chest and cheeks flushed in the way I often dreamed of.
“I have a condom in the drawer, too,” Jacqueline whispered, rubbing her forehead, “I feel like goo.”
“You mean warm and pliant and ready for me?” I asked as I retrieved the condom.
Jacqueline laughed as I covered myself with the latex, before resting over her on my elbows, kissing her jawline. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down closer to her.
“…You just should assume that I’m always ready for you,” Jacqueline whispered, kissing my earlobe.
I would never, ever assume that Jacqueline was always ready for penetrative sex. In my opinion, consent was one of the sexiest layers of intimacy there was. That being said, hearing Jacqueline say otherwise stirred something in me. A primitive urge to prove her right. To pretend that what she said was true.
“I like the sound of that.” I tucked my head near hers, wrapping one of my arms around her shoulders to anchor her body to mine. I wanted to be as close to her as possible. This wasn’t one of our most adventurous shags, but my lust was still burning under my skin. I needed her so badly , as quickly as possible.
From the way that Jacqueline tightened her arms around me, I had a feeling she was right there with me.
I entered her slowly, feeling her body’s reaction to my intrusion to ensure that it was still pleasurable and not painful. Even though Jacqueline and I felt made for each other, she always needed time to adjust to me.
“You take me so well, Jacqueline,” I murmured encouraging words in her ear, smiling when she loosened around me so I could sink deeper. I loved praising her in this way, “You’re so hot and tight, squeezing me so beautifully.”
Jacqueline was panting, flexing her hips up and into me to help me sink deeper.
“You feel so good,” she moaned.
“You’ve been ready for me for a while,” I murmured, licking the shell of her ear, “You’re soaking me. What were you picturing in that pretty little head of yours? Were you also having inappropriate thoughts about your coworker all day?”
I thrust into her one final time, bottoming out. Jacqueline tipped her head farther back into the pillows.
“So, so inappropriate,” she breathed.
“Wicked woman.” I pulled back and thrust into her, rough. I focused on how she tensed around me, ensuring that her response was a positive one and not one from pain, “Picturing how good you would feel taking me again.” Another rough thrust and she already started to flutter around me. The more we fucked, the more I disbelieved her previous inability to orgasm with a partner, “Jumping me as soon as I entered your flat.” This time, I ground my hips against her, earning a gasp as she clenched around me.
She felt too good.
It took everything in me not to lose it too quickly. The white-hot pleasure was shooting down my spine, building behind my knees.
“I needed you.” Jacqueline’s cheek was pressed against my neck, her arms wrapped around me as she held on tight while I plowed into her. I picked up my pace, feeling the response she had in her breath and hips as she started to chase her pleasure.
“You have me, Jacqueline.”
And that’s when she fell apart—moaning again, erratically clenching around me in a way that made me see stars. I tried to prolong it for her, but Jacqueline Williams unraveling in my arms would always weaken me.
I shouted into her neck as I came, grinding against her in a pitiful attempt to expand her own release. She continued to hold me in her grip, her fingertips digging into my back as we found ecstasy with each other.
I eventually pulled out and shifted off of her, tucking her against my front so I wouldn’t crush her under my weight. Silence filled her bedroom, while the two of us struggled to catch our breath under the security of her covers.
Jacqueline hummed, snuggling closer against my chest, resting her nose in between my pecks. I kissed the top of her head, loving it when she lifted her leg to settle on my hip. As if she didn’t want to separate from me quite yet.
“…Are you hungry?” Jacqueline asked.
“Famished,” I replied on an exhale, making Jacqueline laugh against my skin.
“Let’s order something, I’m not putting clothes on the rest of the day.”
I grinned.
When Jacqueline and I first started shagging, I was worried I would push her own boundaries too much by demanding aftercare cuddles. I knew we weren’t in a relationship, and I didn’t expect to take up her entire afternoons whenever she invited me over. However, whenever Jacqueline offered for me to stick around and eat dinner, I never said no.
Because the reality was, that I didn’t want to leave.
Every time we spent the evening together, I could feel a piece of myself tethered to her flat. Anchoring me. Calling me back. I was becoming more and more comfortable, and so far, Jacqueline seemed to be feeling the same way. Instead of offering to get me a glass of water, she told me to help myself. I had a toothbrush here. I was pretty sure I had a shirt or pair of boxers around here as well.
But I tried not to read into it.
I was talented at staying in the moment.
So when Jacqueline used her leg to tug me closer to her, ensuring the entirety of our fronts were pressed against each other, I leaned into it. Holding her tighter.
Taking every single part of her she was willing to give me.