Chapter Four Come to Me Sweetly #2
My hands find her shoulder and slowly go to work to loosen the strained muscles tightened with stress.
She melts into me, holding me with more than her arms, every inch of us bonding to the other more deeply than the physical, more powerfully than the mind, more abundantly than the emotions.
In this moment, we are untethered, yet bound only by our love—eternal.
As her tears wane and the water cools, I help her out of the bath, wrap a towel around myself, and tenderly begin to dry her off.
Her fingers snake in my hair as I kneel to run the towel down her legs. “How do you always know?”
Her trembling voice has me looking up into her water-cast eyes. “Know what?” I place a soft kiss on her stomach before standing.
“The right thing to say.” She drops her hands to my shoulders, watching me intently as I continue to run the towel over every lovely inch of her.
I cup her cheek, my thumb grazing her bottom lip.
“I tell you what’s in my heart.” Discarding the towels, I carry her to bed, lying down with her in my arms. “I don’t want you to doubt the depth of my love.
There is no time limit, no expiration date, no cause for termination.
It is a permanent—beyond ‘death do us part’—soul-binding kind of love, Samantha. ”
She nods, her eyes welling up again. “It’s the same for me.” She kisses me sweetly. “It’s always been forever for me,” she breathes across my lips.
“Shh, no more tears.” I press my mouth to hers, wanting to draw out her passion to still her emotions.
Once we’re panting, and there’s no sign of tears, I speak again. “Why didn’t you tell me about what happened at lunch?”
“I wasn’t sure how to proceed.” Her head rests in the crook of my arm, and her eyes search mine. “I don’t want to get anyone else in trouble. And it’s entirely possible I’m blowing the whole thing out of proportion.”
“If it upsets you, I want to know about it. No matter how small or inconsequential you may think it is. I don’t want to hear from Michael how upset you are.
He’s a mess, by the way. He wanted me to apologize again for his careless remark.
” I smile, thinking of him storming in the bar, upset.
It wasn’t funny then, but the idea of my girl getting him so worked up was a sight to behold.
The stoic Michael, brought to heel by my girl’s hurt feelings.
“I told him it’s okay. I know he didn’t mean to hurt me with what he said. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
“You might want to call him tonight. I left him drinking at the bar with the gang.”
“Lord. That man. He can’t stop beating himself up,” she mumbles as she reaches for the phone by the bed. She hits his number and puts it on speaker.
The phone only rings once before he answers. “Princess.”
“Michael, what are you doing? I told you I wasn’t upset with you, yet you send Joseph home to apologize for you like a pussy. What’s up with that?”
He groans. “Why do you always cuss at me, Sam? And I’m no pussy. I was worried. You know I’d never mean to hurt you.”
God, he’s groveling. She’s got him so wrapped around her finger, I think she could say “jump” and he’d ask “how high, Princess?” I’m not jealous. Michael’s a stand-up guy and would never hit on another guy’s woman. Plus, I’m pretty sure he sees Samantha more like a sister.
“I know, you big lug. And you know my insecurities around Joseph. You hit a sore spot that was already irritated. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” He clears his throat. “We good?”
“We’re good. Except I could use a good workout.” She winks at me.
“Your shoulder?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be there at seven in the morning. Eat breakfast, drink lots of water, and be prepared to bring it. ’Cause you know this Weeble’s not going down,” he teases.
“It doesn’t mean I won’t try.”
“I’m counting on it. G’night, Princess.”
“Goodnight, Michael.”
He hangs up, and she looks at me. “Satisfied?”
“Satisfied? Me?” I take the phone and set it back on its base.
Rolling her to her back, I settle between her legs.
“There are lots of things I love about you, but the fact that you don’t let Victor, Fin, Matt, and especially Michael, intimidate you—turns me the fuck on.
” I flex my pelvis, rubbing my cock against her moist heat.
“But as you can feel, no, I’m not satisfied. ”
“What do you need, Joseph?” The light in her eyes shimmers with mirth.
I run my nose along the column of her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. “I need to make love to you, Sweets.” The hitch in her breath has me hardening further. “I also need you to promise that you’ll come to me next time when you need support and validation of what you’re feeling.”
Her hand slides up my back and into my hair.
“I’m sorry. I really was planning on talking to you, but I didn’t want to do it at the office, especially after the day you were having with Project Nemesis.
But you’re right. I should have come to you sooner, or waited.
I shouldn’t have talked to Michael, at least not until discussing it with you first.” She kisses my shoulder, her legs wrapping around mine. “Forgive me?”
“Forgiven. Always.”
My adoring words from before are replaced by my desire to show her how much I love her and my need to connect with her—I let my body do the rest of the talking.
Our Yin and Yang.
Fire and ice.
Dark and light.
Feed and devour.
Mine.
Hers.
One.
Joseph
The next morning, I find myself staring out my office window, contemplating the resumes Samantha left me to peruse before we meet later this morning.
When I left the penthouse, she was seriously working hard to take down Michael.
If I didn’t have such a busy day, I would have hung around to see how it played out.
My office phone buzzes. It’s Fin’s admin. “Good morning, Angela.”
“Good morning, Joe. Fin would like you to come to his office.”
Why didn’t he call me himself or text? “Sure. Now?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you.”
I freshen my coffee on my way to his office at the end of the hall. Angela smiles and motions me to go on in.
Fin’s on his cell phone when I enter. He glances up with a grimace and turns his back to me.
“It was great to see you.” His voice is low, hoping I won’t hear, I’m sure.
He’s quiet, listening to the other person talk.
“Me too. I’m sorry I won’t get to see you again before you leave.
But…I’d like to…check in…see how you are from time to time.
” He laughs. “Yes, I’d like that.” He clears his throat.
“Joe just walked in.” Silence. “I don’t think that’s wise…
No rush. Take your time… Yes… Soon… Goodbye. ” His last words seem hopeful.
When he turns, I don’t miss the wistful look in his eyes. I’m more than intrigued, but I need to move this along. “So, your phone’s not broken, then?”
“No.” He looks confused as he sets his cell on his desk and takes a seat.
I sit across from him. “Why the summons from Angela? A text would have sufficed.”
“Sorry. My phone rang as I was getting ready to text you. I quickly asked Angela in my stead.”
Sounds reasonable. “What’s up?”
“I heard about the bet going around MCI. Is Sam okay?”
All these guys protective of my girl warms my heart.
“She is now.” I’d already filled him in on the project issue and firing yesterday, even though it’s my department.
We always share challenges, especially firings, across business units to keep us informed, consistent on best practices, and to stay on top of trends.
He nods. “I’m glad. Let me know if I can help.”
“Is that it?” I stand.
“No.” He glances to his open door and back to me. “Who’s the blonde?” he asks matter-of-factly.
With a scowl, I sit back down. “What blonde? Where?”
“At the bar. Last night. There was a blonde all over you before Michael pulled you away.” He’s full of censure.
“Brother, are you accusing me of something?” Agitation courses through me as I stand, leaning forward, matching his glare.
He slowly rises and walks around his desk, leaning his hip against the side and sliding his hands in his pockets. “Do I need to?”
“No!” I step back, thinking about last night.
“There was a group of British tourists. A few of the women got a little tipsy. They asked for selfies with me. You know…” I stand up straight and pose like a GQ cover model with smoldering sexuality.
“Pics with the good-looking American to show their friends back home.”
He laughs. “Fuck. Don’t ever do that shit-ass pose again. You look like an asshole.”
I punch his arm. “You’re just envious ’cause I’m better looking than you.”
“Whatever.” He pushes away from the desk. “I’ll walk you back to your office.” I join him as he strides past Angela’s desk. He’s pensive. “It looked like more than that.”
I stop, forcing him to turn and come back to me.
“Fin, they were drunk. Maybe a little too touchy-feely. The whole thing lasted like two minutes. It was a blip in my crazy day yesterday. Was one of them a blonde? Yeah, maybe. I really couldn’t tell you what any of them looked like.
It was so inconsequential, I barely remembered it happened.
” He nods. “The wager about Samantha and me, please tell me you’re not buying into that crap about me not being able to be faithful. ”
He steps closer, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t.” His eyes reflect the truth in his words.
“It looked bad, though. The blonde was hanging on you, and you had your arm around her waist. I didn’t see any selfie action, or much attention from the other girls.
I might have missed it, but if Samantha had walked in at that moment, it would not have been good.
You’re a friendly guy, Joe. You’re no longer the college kid who’s everyone’s best bud.
You’re a Vice President of one of the largest companies in the US.
You have an important, prestigious job. There will be women who will seek you out because of it.
You need to be prepared to respond to it quickly, efficiently, without drawing undue attention. ”
“Shit. You’re right.” I should have stepped away.
The minute their hands touched me, I should have removed myself from the situation.
I shake my head and look to my PA’s desk, not fifty feet away, where Samantha will be sitting shortly.
“I wasn’t thinking. I was trying to be nice, accommodating.
It seemed harmless, but I can see from an outsider’s perspective it was anything but. ”
We move toward my office. “I’m glad you understand.
Next time you’ll be prepared.” He stops at my door after I enter.
“And make no mistake, Joe. There will be a next time. Lydia and the chick from last night are only the tip of the iceberg. Some will be innocent, others calculating. And the fact that you’re taken, and not interested, will only make you more of a challenge. ”
“You’re a ray of sunshine today.”
“Do that pose you did earlier—you’ll scare them off.” On a chuckle, he heads back to his office, leaving me with visions of women chasing me down the street trying to get selfies.
“Fuck,” I mutter, shaking it off, and get back to work.