Never Let Go: A Collection of Sensual Short Stories Read online

  I walked into work the next day with an emotion swirling in my stomach that fell somewhere between dread and excitement. Sleep had been fitful the night before. My whole body ached to finish what Daniel had started. But my mind worried over what could happen if we did. Despite the long hours and the demands from my new boss, I loved my job. The idea of risking it sent me into a near panic. But the memory of Daniel’s mouth against mine, the way he played my body, sent me into a whole other kind of panic.

  I wasn’t sure if I was more worried that he might try again, or that he wouldn’t.

  Was I that easy to read? That was the most disturbing part that wouldn’t stop reverberating through my mind. If my desires were so plain to see that Daniel had picked up on them, was it possible than my boss had, too? After all, I crushed on him way more than Daniel.

  But Daniel’s very obvious desire had been more than nice. He’d wanted me, and the passion he’d exuded didn’t seem like he wanted me simply because I was convenient, but instead because he truly found me sexy.

  I liked that.

  I set the files I’d taken to work on at home on my desk next to my laptop, and glanced around as sneakily as I could. No Daniel. Not yet, anyway.

  This shouldn’t bother me so much, I knew that. People had affairs all the time, and many relationships started in the workplace—forbidden or not.

  But maybe that was it. Daniel had not only made it clear that he wanted to break the rules by having sex at work—something that was very clearly on my mental list of things I could not do—but he also didn’t want a relationship. He just wanted sex.

  Heat touched my cheeks at the thought and I pressed a cool palm against my warm skin. I’d never done such a thing. Never had a one night stand. Never considered sleeping with someone without a relationship in place first. And I hadn’t really entertained the idea of breaking those rules.

  Okay, maybe the thought had crossed my mind once or twice, but I didn’t let that kind of inappropriate idea go any further than the back of my mind. But it was at the front of my mind now, and it didn’t seem to be budging.

  The ring of my desk phone cut through the air, startling me. A quick glance at the caller ID made my cheeks even hotter, which was silly. It wasn’t like my boss could read my mind.

  “This is Alison.”

  “You have some numbers for me?” Bruce said, not even bothering with a hello.

  “Give me fifteen.”

  “Sounds good.” The line clicked dead.

  I shook my head. Bruce wasn’t a bad boss, but the man was all business. It was such a waste that he didn’t have a personal life to speak of, not that I’d noticed in the months since he’d started, anyway. I’d heard things in the grapevine about him, of course. Rumors that he’d been married and moved to Chicago to get away from his ex-wife back in Atlanta. Rumors they’d had a terrible divorce. Rumors that he wasn’t a man to be trifled with. So said gossip. But rumors, I’d found, were full of crap as often as they were true.

  I gulped down half my coffee and booted up my laptop. I had fifteen minutes to print the reports I’d finished up at home, and get my mind wrapped around them so I could explain them concisely to my boss. Not my favorite way to start a Friday morning.

  Arms filled with my laptop and files, I turned to head to Bruce’s office, and ran headlong into a hard body.

  “Oof! I’m so—” Words escaped me when Daniel’s green eyes met mine, barely obscured by his stylish glasses.

  “Steady now,” he said, voice low. He gripped my upper arms to help me keep my balance. “Don’t want you to fall.”

  I licked my lips and his eyes followed the motion. The good guy smile left his lips and they twisted into a knowing grin.

  “You need any help with those reports again tonight?” His gaze held mine, and the meaning behind his seemingly professional question was clear.

  I knew that I should say no. Refuse him. Tell him, no, thank you, in the polite, professional tone I’d mastered in my years of working in a corporate office. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I found myself nodding.

  “Good.” His hands lingered on my arms before sliding down slowly, languidly. As if he wanted to touch me as much as he could, even now, when people were around and could see. People who might suspect. The daring thought made my lower stomach clench and my panties immediately dampen.

  His grin disappeared and his eyes raked over my body. I was suddenly aware of the way my skirt hugged my hips, and the extra button I’d left undone on my blouse. The way I held the laptop and paperwork blocked my breasts, so he couldn’t see my sensitive nipples hardening beneath the shirt, but it also effectively pushed my cleavage up as far as it would go. I’d felt just a touch rebellious this morning, and his expression left little doubt that he thought I’d left it unbuttoned just for him.

  And maybe I had.

  The thought sent a fresh flush up my neck.

  “Alison?” An irritated voice called out from behind Daniel. “Sometime today.”

  “Coming, sir.” Dammit. Talking to Daniel had made me late for my meeting with Bruce. I pushed past Daniel, who moved only when my body slid against his.

  “See you later, Alison,” Daniel murmured as I passed him. A pleasant tingle ran through me, but I simply nodded.

  Bruce was already in his chair and clicking through something on his laptop by the time I got to his office. He didn’t glance my way when I knocked lightly on the doorframe, but waved for me to come in.

  My newish boss had been the product of most of my office daydreaming, not Daniel, and after Daniel’s blatant talk the night before, I felt weirdly awkward with Bruce. It was silly, really. There was no way Bruce could know about Daniel’s play for me, and definitely no way he could know how often he himself had been in my thoughts lately.

  But who could blame me? Bruce wasn’t movie star handsome, his features were just a little too rough for that, and I’d only rarely caught him smiling. Dark hair was cut in a corporate-standard haircut, but he worked so much that he often had 5 o’clock shadow covering his jaw and neck. I’d wondered—far too often—how that roughness would feel against my tender skin.

  “Were you planning on going over the numbers, or did you want to hang out in my doorway all day?” He softened his words with a small grin and I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Sorry, guess I’m a little tired.”

  “No problem.”

  I sat across from him and went over the reports I’d pulled together the night before. Concentration had evaded me even after I’d returned home, but I’d finally managed to pull it together enough to get through a preliminary meeting. Bruce nodded as I went through it all and a rush of relief ran through me. It had taken a few months, but we’d found our groove.

  Now I just had to stop glowing every time the man smiled at me, and quit wondering how his body would feel on top of mine.

  Chapter 2

  Anticipation did its best to make the rest of my day pointless. To make me useless. Every time I tried to focus on digging into an issue that Bruce had asked me about, I found my thoughts drifting to Daniel. To the almost cruel grin he’d worn the night before. His coarse words. His absolute confidence.

  I’m talking about fucking you, Alison. Right here, right now.

  I shivered and glanced at the clock for what felt like the tenth time since lunch. Six o’clock. Already the noises around me had all but disappeared. Even working under Bruce, the office cleared out early on Friday nights.

  By six thirty I’d almost decided to go home. I couldn’t concentrate on my work, and every small noise made me jump. Adrenaline ran though me, and my whole body was tense. Fear mixed with need made my body achy and constantly on edge.

  Finally, I pushed my chair back. I was done waiting. I needed…something. Maybe I could call the man Marianne had been trying to set me up with. That would be easier. Simpler. But instead of filling me with relief or anticipation, disappointment rolled through me at the idea.
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br />   I didn’t want a safe, ordinary date with a man who would probably prove a perfect gentleman. I wanted what Daniel had promised me. My body pulsed with need.

  “Hey, sexy.”

  I started, and Daniel’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “I’ve got some reports for you in the conference room.”

  Before I could reply that I hadn’t requested any today, he was gone. Steeling my spine, I followed him, trying not to let my racing thoughts send me into some sort of panicked state that would make me run. He’d called me sexy. Just a term of endearment, or did he really feel that way?

  He shut the conference room door behind us and my stomach fluttered nervously. Sure enough, no paperwork of any kind waited, the conference room table was empty save for a phone setup for conference calls in the middle of the long table.

  “You’re nervous,” he observed.

  I turned to find him only inches away, his amused gaze slid down my body.

  “Yes.”

  “But you still waited for me tonight. You still followed me here, knowing what I want.”

  I could have argued that I always worked this late, but that would be a lie by omission. I hadn’t managed more than ten minutes worth of real work all afternoon.

  “I’m not sexy.” The words spilled out of me before I could stop them.

  “What?” He blinked. I’d surprised him, but all I could feel was the almost painful heat of a blush crawling its way up my neck.

  “I’m cute. But I’m not—”

  “You are.” He reached out and twirled a bit of my hair around one of his long fingers. “Sure, you hide it behind your button up blouses and your pulled-back hair. But a man doesn’t have to look far to see how sexy you are beneath.” His breath quickened. “In fact, the conservative look might drive some men a little crazy, wanting to muss you up, see what’s underneath.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I waited for him to speak.

  “Do you want me?” he asked, voice husky.

  After only a half a second of hesitation, I nodded.

  “This is just about relieving a little tension.” A small grin touched his lips. “And maybe you’ll learn about some things you’d have never realized you liked without me. I hope you’ll figure out that you’re a hell of a lot sexier than you give yourself credit for.”

  “Employees aren't allowed to date—”

  He touched my lips with his fingertip. “This isn't dating.”

  His hand slid down to grip my ass, and he pulled me against his rock-hard erection. Then he leaned in and murmured in my ear. “This is just fucking.”

  I gasped at the sudden wave of arousal his rough words sent shooting through me. No one had ever spoken to me like that before him, and I’d never been brave enough to start the dirty talk myself. The idea had always seemed a little alluring, but part of me felt like I should feel dirty thinking that way. Daniel seemed to have no such issues.

  He took in my expression and his smile widened. “You like that, don't you? The coarse talk,” his free hand slid up my stomach and squeezed my breast, almost painfully, and his voice lowered, “and the roughness.”

  I bit my lip against a moan, unable to voice my agreement. Did I like what he was doing? Part of me did, that was certain. My panties were so wet that the air conditioned office made them cold against my burning sex. My body felt swollen, achy. My nipples were so sensitive that even my soft bra felt almost painful rubbing against them all day.

  “It's okay, Alison. You don't have to say it—yet.” His voice turned rough as his thumb found a hard nipple through the material of my bra and shirt. “It's okay to like it. You don't have to want boring sex to be a good woman.”

  He pinched my nipple and the moan I’d been holding back escaped my lips.

  “That's what I thought.” His mouth found mine again, and he shoved a knee between my legs. When his thigh rubbed against my still-covered sex, I whimpered against his lips.

  What was wrong with me? This wasn't professional, and it certainly wasn't like me. I’d never done anything like this in my whole life. But I couldn't argue with him—I did like it. I liked it so much my knees quavered and I rubbed myself against the thigh he teased me with. I opened my mouth to his invasion, and the thought of him taking me here, in this conference room—a place that I never would have dreamed of having sex in just a day ago—made me so hot and wet that I couldn't think straight.

  Part of me wanted to pull away. To tell him to leave me alone and forget this ever happened. But the rest of me wanted to give in to my desires. Just this once.

  What was the worst that could happen?

  My mind shied away from examining the possibilities, and I concentrated on the feeling of his hard body against mine. The feeling of his mouth on mine, expertly kissing me, forcefully. The feeling of his thigh rubbing my needy pussy.

  Almost abruptly, he stepped back, and I reached back and pressed my palms against the conference table to balance.

  There was a reckless look in his eyes when his gaze raked over me, and his light eyes darkened as he took me in.

  “God, you’re sexy. Your white blouse buttoned just so—one less button than normal today, though. Don’t think I didn’t notice. And your skirt just tight enough to show off your ass. You like that, don’t you? Knowing how easy it would be for a man to push it up and take you.”

  His eyes met mine and I held his gaze through sheer force of will, fighting embarrassment. He saw too much, and I felt naked in front of him.

  “Do you know how long I’ve imagined this? How many months I’ve wanted to bend you over that table and fuck you until you forgot your name? How I’ve wondered how it would feel to push my dick into that pretty mouth of yours?”

  Despite my embarrassment, my legs shook at his words and my sex pulsed. My whole body throbbed for him to touch me, for someone to touch me and take me and do all of the other things he said. I’d never thought of myself as a wanton woman, but I couldn’t think of anything beyond him, beyond this room, beyond the large bulge outlined in his slacks in that moment—and how much I needed him to fill me with it.

  “Take off your shirt.”

  I touched a button, then hesitated, eyes searching his, needing to borrow some of the confidence he seemed to carry in bulk.

  His expression softened. “It’s okay.”

  Some of his conviction flowed from his understanding eyes into me, and I unbuttoned my blouse slowly. Taking my time with each button, I shot the occasional glance at him. A hunger had settled into his expression, and it made me daring. Not once did he glance at my face as I plucked my buttons, instead he watched my breasts, his eyes occasionally raking down my hips and legs. Somehow that made me hotter.

  I pulled off my shirt and draped it on the back of a chair, happy that I still bought sexy underwear and matching bras even though it was so rare anyone but me got to see them. His gaze settled on my breasts, and I reached for my bra clasp.

  “Not yet,” he said, eyes still locked on my body. He took in a quick rush of air. “Lift up your skirt.”

  This time I didn’t hesitate to follow the order. The part of me that wasn’t confident, wasn’t sure about any of this, had quieted. And I was determined to see this through. Take the risk. Open myself to the possibilities. Alleviate the ache I’d been carrying since he touched me the night before. The ache that, if I was honest, I’d carried around for a long time; he’d only enflamed it.

  And strangely, part of me liked that he was taking control. I controlled every other part of my life with an iron fist, something about letting someone else take the responsibility of it all pulled at me.

  Nothing but the cute panties that matched my bra was under my skirt, not even pantyhose. Perhaps I should have worn them, but it was so damn hot this time of year, I hadn’t been able to bear the thought of dealing with them under my skirt.

  Especially after last night.

  I pulled the skirt up to my waist, slowly revealing myself to him. Only a t
iny part of me worried that he’d think my hips too wide.

  “Is that a bow?” His voice was low and rough.

  “There’s a matching one on the bra,” I said, dropping one side of the skirt to point at the small pink bow between my breasts on the otherwise black bra.

  He swallowed and stepped toward me. My foot slid back automatically, but the table stopped me from moving more than a few inches.

  “Lean against the table, keep your skirt up.”

  I did as he said, biting back questions when he kneeled in front of me, but I couldn’t contain a gasp when his finger slid lightly over the silky material of my underwear. His gaze locked on mine.

  “Spread your legs for me, Alison.”

  My breath came out in a rush and I stepped out with one foot, then the other.

  “Have you ever done anything like this before?”

  He didn’t say exactly what he meant, but I knew. Had I ever done anything forbidden. Anything risky. Anything adventurous.

  “No,” I whispered.

  He slipped a finger beneath the material of my panties and I gasped.

  “You’re soaked.” His tone was laid back, as if the fact that my body was so ready for him didn’t affect him in the slightest, but I could hear his breath catch and my confidence soared. Something about him wanting me too made me daring.

  “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” I said.

  “Have you?” He pushed a long finger into me and I moaned and closed my eyes, reveling in the sensation. I shifted to take more of him, and his other hand moved up to grip my hip firmly.

  “Open your eyes, Alison.”

  My eyes fluttered open, and I met his gaze, pushing away the urge to look down. To look away. To give in to my self-consciousness.

  “Good girl,” he murmured. Then, never taking his eyes from mine, he slid his finger in and out of me, then added a second finger.

  “Your pussy is so tight. So wet. I can’t wait to fuck you.”

  Heat blazed up my neck and face, but I didn’t look away. I could feel my body tightening, and my breath escaped me in a haggard gasp. The arrogant smile I’d seen on him the night before returned, and he adjusted his hand to rub my clit with his thumb while his fingers penetrated me.