Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
BANE
D ue to a storm, my last flight was late leaving, and my layover became four hours. By the time the car pulled up to the condo, it was well past one in the morning.
“I won’t need you until Monday,” I informed Darryl.
He looked surprised. “You’re taking a day off?”
“I am.”
He smiled. “Very good. Have a nice weekend.”
In the elevator, I was impatient. I opened the door of the condo, struck once again with the odd feeling of knowing someone was waiting for me. I found Magnolia on the sofa, curled up, Hedgy sleeping on her hip. He woke, seeing me, standing and stretching, offering me a little meow. I picked him up, amused how he burrowed into me. I sat on the coffee table, staring at Magnolia. She was in one of my T-shirts, her hair a dark swath on the leather around her face. She had one hand tucked under her cheek, and she looked comfortable.
I had been half hard all the way home, planning on fucking her as soon as I walked in the door. But when I looked at her, a wave of tenderness washed over me. The need to look after her, care for her, overrode any physical desires I had been feeling. I carefully scooped her off the sofa, carrying her to my room and laying her on the bed. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open and a sweet smile curving her lips.
“You’re home,” she whispered.
I pressed a kiss to her head. “I am. Go back to sleep. I’ll be right there.”
With a quiet sigh, she shut her eyes. I headed to the en suite and had a fast shower, feeling better once the heat hit my tired muscles. Back in my room, I had to smile at the sight. Magnolia curled up on her side and on the pillow draped over her head, Hedgy.
I chuckled as I slid in beside her, and she nestled against me. The kitten immediately got up, walked over, turned around, and nestled into my neck, purring loudly.
My plans were screwed. Nothing I had hoped for was going to happen, yet I was strangely content. A feeling of home filled me—something I had never experienced before now. It was an odd sensation, but I liked it.
I shut my eyes, letting sleep find me.
I woke in the early morning, my body on fire and the incredible awareness of Magnolia’s mouth wrapped around my dick, teasing me.
I reached down, grasping her hair in my hands and groaning her name.
She sucked, licking at my shaft.
“Good morning,” she breathed out, making me shiver.
“It is now,” I gasped as she took me deep, the suction and feel of her throat around me overwhelming.
I tugged on her hair gently. “I missed you.” She swallowed around me, and I arched my back off the bed. “I missed this. Do that again, baby. Please.”
She did, and I hissed with pleasure.
“You are far too good at that,” I rumbled.
She made a sound, the vibration around my dick highlighting the pleasure.
“Straddle me,” I demanded. “I want to play with you.”
Without releasing me, she moved, straddling my torso as she kept sucking me. She was wet for me, her sweet center drenched and glistening. I teased her clit, and she moaned around my shaft. I played with her, inserting two fingers, using my thumb to strum her hard nub. She pushed back against my fingers, working herself.
“Take what you need, baby,” I praised. “Come for me. Suck me until I come. Like that.” I pressed my head into the pillow, arching myself closer to her perfect mouth. “Yes. Just. Like. That.”
She started to shake, and I sped up my movements. She cupped my balls, teasing them, taking me deeper than I had ever been, and my orgasm hit me. Powerful. Hard. Exploding through me like a volcano, destroying everything in its path. I came in her mouth, groaning her name, praising her, cursing, gripping her hips, and then as she slowly released me, I pulled her to my mouth and returned the favor. Soon, she was crying out, her musky release and wild noises filling my mouth and the room. I locked her down, pinning her to my chest until she was whimpering, begging me, coming a second time before collapsing.
We were breathing heavily. Messy. The bed around us was a disaster. I had knocked over the lamp, pulled the sheets off the mattress, and I had no idea where a couple of the pillows were.
It was perfect.
“Welcome home,” she mumbled.
I pressed a kiss to her curvy ass, drawing in the skin and leaving a mark. Why I liked to do that with her, I had no idea, but I did enjoy it.
“Best homecoming ever,” I replied.
She rolled off me, turning and curling up on my chest, meeting my eyes. Her eyes were damp, her hair a mess, and her lips swollen. A small trace of come was at the corner of her mouth.
I traced her lips. “Hello, Maggie darling.”
She smiled, the expression in her eyes so soft I could have drowned in them.
“Hello, my Alex.”
“I missed you.”
“Me too.”
“Where’s Hedgy?”
“I fed him and shut the door. I came back to check on you, and I noticed you had woken up—or at least part of you had. I thought I’d help you out.”
“You certainly did.”
“You weren’t bad yourself.”
I chuckled, running my fingers through her hair. “How about a shower, and I’ll take you out to breakfast?”
“I’d like that. But you’re sure about the office?”
I rolled her over, hovering. “Yes. We’re both taking the day off and spending the weekend together.”
“Oh. I thought I’d be going home today.”
I bent and kissed her. “No.” It took everything in me not to tell her she was home. I wasn’t ready for that conversation.
Yet.
She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Okay.”
I had never known a weekend like the one I spent with Magnolia. We didn’t leave the condo until Sunday, content to simply be with each other. Hedgy provided a lot of amusement, his antics frequently making me laugh. His favorite place to nap was burrowed into my neck, the crook of my arm, or on my chest, and I gave up trying to move him. Magnolia had taken him to the vet while I was away, arranged for neutering, and he was given his first set of shots.
“He was so sleepy after,” she told me. “But so good at the vet. Everyone laughed at his name and thought it was cute.”
“Told you,” I informed her.
I lifted him up, his green eyes meeting mine. “Sorry about your balls, little bugger. But it has to happen.”
He studied me, then licked my nose, which made me laugh.
I couldn’t recall laughing this much my entire life.
Sunday, we went to see her dad. It wasn’t as good a visit as the week before had been. He didn’t remember Magnolia, had no interest in Hedgy, and barely glanced my way. I left her with him so she could visit and waited in the parking lot for her. Hedgy fell asleep on my lap, and I answered emails I had been ignoring.
Magnolia opened the passenger door a short time later, sliding in and looking sad.
“No rush to leave,” I assured her.
“He fell asleep. Gladys, his nurse, said he’s been doing that a lot this week. I’ll come visit in a couple of days and see how he is.”
“Okay.”
“Can you drop me off?”
I turned and looked at her. “Where?”
“My place. I need to do laundry, get ready for work. Roast the meat for sandwiches.”
“All of which you can do at the condo.”
“I can’t stay at the condo indefinitely.”
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Why not?”
She looked at me as if I was crazy. “I don’t think we’re ready for that. Have you thought of the implications?”
I hadn’t, but I found I didn’t really care.
“Does it matter?”
She looked thoughtful, sad, and worried all at once. She drew in a deep breath. “To you, maybe not, Alex. If things don’t work out, nothing changes for you. You will still have your job, your home, and your life.” Before I could protest, she held up her hand. “I, on the other hand, would be unemployed, have no place to go, and my life would be a disaster.”
“Do you think I would do that to you?” I asked with a frown. “Fire you, not make sure you were okay?”
“I don’t know.”
I turned, capturing her chin in my hand. “Never. And nothing is going to happen to break us. I want things to keep moving, Magnolia. We’re a great team. You make me laugh. You make me happy. I’m not used to either. I love how you handle me at work and at home.” I huffed out a long sigh. “But I understand you want to be cautious.”
She had lost a lot in her life. Her parents, her home, her security. I didn’t know how to explain to her I wanted to be all those things. For the first time in my life, I wanted to care for someone, to be there for them. I wanted her to rely on me.
“I’m new at this,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to tell you how I feel. But I want you with me.” I paused. “Please.”
“What are you asking?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “I want more time with you.”
“Can we take it slowly?” she asked after a moment.
“I’ll hate that.” I lifted her hand and kissed it. “But yes.”
She chuckled. “Always so impatient.”
“Please let me take you to your place and pick up what you need. You can go home tomorrow night after work.” I threw out my ace. “Hedgy will miss you too much.”
She met my stare with a roll of her eyes, but I won.
“Fine, I’ll go home tomorrow night.”
I handed her the kitten and put the car in drive. It was impossible to stop my smile, though.
Monday morning, Darryl picked us up, and I tried not to laugh when Magnolia asked him to drop her off two blocks from the office. As we pulled away from her, I looked back, hating the thought she was walking in the gloomy weather. Then I shook my head, realizing she was a grown woman, had an umbrella, and was very capable of looking after herself. Still, I didn’t relax until I heard her come into the office. She left briefly, returning with my coffee, which she placed on the desk.
“Your new warmer will be here this week,” she informed me. “The back order has finally cleared.”
“Good,” I grunted, staring at my computer.
“What’s wrong?”
“How strict is your no touching during office hours policy?” I asked. She had given me a list of rules this morning after breakfast. No touching, no kissing, no sexual advances during office hours. I didn’t like the new rules, even though I knew she was right. “I mean, you’re not coming home with me, I only get to see you during the day, and I can’t even kiss you?” I deleted an email with a sharp tap of my finger. “Doesn’t seem fair.”
I heard a low giggle, and I looked up, glaring. “What is so funny?”
She rounded the desk and cupped my face. “You are, Bane. You’re acting like a child who had his favorite toy taken away.” Bending down, she kissed me, her lips soft on mine. I gripped her hip, kissing her back, the taste of her an aphrodisiac to my senses. I groaned deep in my chest and pulled her closer, but she stepped back.
“The occasional kiss,” she relented. “And we’ll see each other in the evenings if you want.”
“I want all the time,” I insisted, reaching.
She evaded my hands. “Drink your coffee. You have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
Then she walked away, her hips swaying. She wore pants today, of all things. With the brocade vest and the lacy blouse. The outfit did something to me.
She did something to me.
And I was fucked.
By lunchtime, I was in a foul mood. My meeting this morning had been unsatisfactory and frustrating. The client was adamant about his desires, and the fact was, his ideas were horrible and would never work. Anderson almost lost it when he expressed his “tweaks” to the already approved design, and it took everything in me to remain calm when he discussed his vision for the maze to the side of his office building. Along with his Zen garden in the middle and the types of trees he wanted. None of which would grow in this region of Canada. Plus the fact that he didn’t have the space for a maze or a Zen garden. I tried to explain the cost of upkeep alone since one of his desired choices for the plants he wanted would need constant watering, but he refused to listen. The meeting ended with neither side happy and me with an impossible task on my hands. Give him what he wanted without giving him what he wanted. It was a challenge that was going to drain me.
Then the three of us met, going over budgets, staff, office problems, and every other headache running a business entailed. When I got back to my office, I discovered Myers wasn’t at her desk. My sandwich was waiting, a fairly warm cup of coffee beside it, so I knew she hadn’t been gone long. I hated the fact that I hated she wasn’t there to give me one of her smiles or her funny greetings. When she came back, I was busy on the phone with a client, adjusting a budget for them. Myers brought in a fresh cup of coffee, slid a cookie onto the desk beside it, and shut my door, leaving me the silence I needed to think the problem through. A short while later, I flung open my door, throwing a pile of folders on her desk. “Myers, I need numbers,” I snapped.
She looked up, not at all perturbed by my tone. It occurred to me she was no longer scared of me. That wasn’t good. Everyone was frightened of me, and I needed her to be—at least at the office. I wondered if I could get her back in line, but I had a feeling it was too late.
The corner of her desk contained the usual Monday flowers. Today, they were magnolias, the scent heavy in the air. When they had arrived, I’d rolled my eyes, annoyed.
“Your secret admirer is cheesy. Sending you magnolias?”
She touched a petal softly. “They’re beautiful.”
“I think Ty is touched in the head. You find out anything new on him?”
“No. The florist is stubborn. I even tried to bribe the delivery guy to find out, but he says the tips are too good and to stop worrying and enjoy them.”
I had huffed. “Such sage advice.”
She had waved me off. I had a feeling when I turned my back, she flipped me off as well, but I ignored her.
She pushed the files away. “As soon as I finish this email.”
“ Now ,” I added with a glare. “Give me numbers, now.”
She picked up her pen.
“One pen!” she said in a strange voice. “One! Wah-ha-ha!”
Next came the file folders.
“Three file folders!” she screeched, again in the odd voice. “Three! Wah-ha-ha!”
She fisted something on her desk and opened her hand, paper clips raining down and dancing on the top.
“Who the hell knows?” she warbled. “Twenty-three, give or take. Twenty-three paper clips! Wah-ha-ha!”
I stepped back in alarm.
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” I asked. “What the hell?” I leaned over her, caging her against her desk. Why was she imitating Count von Count from Sesame Street —badly, I might add? “Are you taking some sort of hallucinogenic drugs?”
“Not the right numbers?” she asked, seemingly confused. “Hmm. You really need to be more detailed when demanding things, boss.”
“I need a specific set of numbers, Myers.”
“Oh.” She paused, a frown wrinkling her forehead. Then she grinned, her eyes dancing. “Sixty-nine.”
“What?”
“That’s your favorite number, isn’t it?” She grinned. “Sixty-nine lashings of your ton?—”
I covered her mouth. “Finish that, and you’re fired.”
She licked my palm, and I had no choice. I gave up, leaning closer and kissing her. “It never takes sixty-nine, does it, Myers? God knows my cock barely lasts six point nine minutes in your mouth,” I murmured before kissing her again—hard and fast. That shut her up.
Then I stood. “Crunch the numbers in the files . Get them to me fast.”
I slammed my door and leaned against it. Then I buried my face into the sleeve of my jacket and laughed until I could barely stand. She had totally changed my mood with a few silly lines and some teasing.
She was going to be the death of me.
But what a way to go.