Blurb

Mr. Tanner was my dad’s best friend and I can’t get him out of my head and…

I know I should stay away from him.

And age difference isn’t the only thing that is concerning.

He parted ways with my dad,

And I can’t seem to get enough of his seductive smile.

Oh…those baby blue eyes and HARD abs..

Trust me, they are a treat to watch, and touch, and feel…

It’s fun for now, but I want to enjoy it forever.

I mean…I know it’s wrong, but it feels so right.

Only if Daddy stops coming in between us.

Chapter 1

Tanner

It had been an exhausting day but extraordinarily rewarding. Today was the day I had taken my company to the next level, merging resources with a very powerful financial firm that was also looking to expand. This deal had been more than three years in the making and had probably even started when the company was in its infancy. At least, that was when I’d made my contacts with Howard Financial.

We had met at a networking event with my old partner, Dean Markus, who was strong-minded in marketing and finance but had always lacked the motivation to make the difficult decisions and put his work above his family. Dean and I had been best friends since before college, meeting at a mixer for future business owners. We both had somewhat of an entrepreneurial attitude and seemed to match up perfectly. It wasn’t long after business school that we started MJ Marketing & Finance.

The company was a hybrid, something no one had seen before. We had combined our expertise and provided a full-frontal approach to handling corporate finance and one of the most important aspects of a company’s future, marketing. What people in each of the different sectors didn’t seem to realize was the bigger picture showed how one really moved the other one forward. Everything was working well until it was time to make some hard growth decisions that would push Dean further from his family, and it resulted in a complete blow up of our relationship. Me, I had learned my lesson about women when I married my ex and realized she was using me for money, not love. So, business always came first for me, which was the reason my company had become so successful.

After the fight, Dean and I couldn’t seem to compromise, so we dissolved our partnership, and I retained the rights to the name, paying out a good sum of money for the rest of the company assets. It was the right choice for me, but I knew it was the right choice for Dean as well, though he never forgave me for it, and we had barely spoken in the last ten years. I guess you win some and you lose some, which was exactly the motto I had to adopt to keep myself sane with the company.

I grew MJ through the roof and managed to make a billion-dollar company out of a very small investment. It was worth it to me to live the bachelor life and keep all the hassles of a wife and kids at bay for the sake of the company. Dean could have never made some of the tough choices I made, and that was okay, because the company was completely mine. I was the only one who would feel the burden and reap the benefits of those tough sacrifices. It was the best thing I’d done for myself, though I do wish we could have kept our friendship.

As I raised my glass and smiled at the CEO of the third party, I knew exactly what I was doing. That old man was ready to give in and give up. It was only a matter of time. Once that happened, I would be able to move the company in the direction I saw fit. I was already making myself comfortable with the board members coming in, and in time, they would trust me just like my board members had. I seldom made a mistake when it came to business, and that was the true line that kept them tethered to me. They knew I wouldn’t make a spur of the moment, off-the-cuff decision, and my stats on positive improvements in the company lent me their ears when it came time to make a decision. It was rare that I couldn’t sway them to my choice, which was exactly what I had done with old Mr. Consworth of the financial firm we were merging with. I’d gained his confidence, and he swayed right in with the rest of them. I was damn good at my job.

When everyone else had decided to retire, I shook their hands and let them know I was looking forward to getting the merger process started. I had an entire team of project managers standing by to get things underway. I’d also brought in a new assistant financial consultant who happened to be Dean’s daughter. Hiring her was dangerous since he was not going to be happy about it and would do his best to cause problems if he found out, but she’d graduated top of her class with her MBA, and I needed a go-getter like her. I offered and she’d accepted, so that was definitely something that would help us get higher up as things went along. She started on Monday, when the departments would start finding out about the status of the merger.

I watched the last of the old geezers walk joyfully from the building, their fur coat covered wives in tow. The bar was calling my name, and I needed to relax after a night of fake smiles and even faker laughs. This was the only time I wished I had a significant other who could take the attention off me. Then again, after seeing the tiny, blonde cocktail waitress with giant tits bouncing across the restaurant, I remembered why I was constantly single. I ordered a whiskey on the rocks and sat on the bar stool, looking up at the television and glancing to my left as she approached the bar. The bartender served my drink and then walked over to the service area, talking the waitress.

“I’m finally off,” she said with a sigh.

“You want a drink?”

“Sure,” she chirped. “Anything that will get my mind off how slow it was in the restaurant tonight.”

She walked past me, meeting my eyes and smiling flirtatiously. She sat down on the stool next to me and watched as the bartender poured her a rum and coke. I looked up at the bartender and nodded my head, pointing to the drink, and signaling to put it on my tab. She stuck her cocktail straw in the soda and sipped, turning toward me.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Not a problem.” I smiled and let my eyes move down her sexy body. She was everything I wanted in my bed for a night. “A beautiful woman like yourself shouldn’t have to work so hard.”

“Mmm,” she said, swallowing visibly. She was nervous. I loved it. “In a fairy tale world.”

We sat there for almost an hour, talking, drinking, and taking shots. By the fourth shot, she had taken off her work shirt and sat there with her large breasts bouncing around in her white tank top. I could see the outline of her hard nipples poking through the top as she leaned forward and rubbed her hand up my leg, giggling at whatever I had just said. As the alcohol flowed, she flirted relentlessly before standing up and leaning into my ear.

“Follow me,” she whispered, grabbing me by the wrist.

I stood up and put my napkin in my drink, signifying I’d be right back. We walked quietly through the crowd that had now turned into a bar crowd and entered through a small door to the back right. I looked around the dusty room, some type of storage room. I turned back toward the blonde standing there in her black skirt and tank top and raised my eyebrow with a knowing smirk.

“You showing me around or—”

“Shhh,” she said, stepping close and grabbing onto the waist of my pants.

I watched as she slowly lowered herself to her knees, grabbing a cushion from one of the stacked patio chairs and putting it under her knees. She reached up and slowly lowered my zipper, smiling up at me as she unfastened the button and yanked my pants around my ankles. She reached up and pulled her tank top down, letting her tits spring out and bounce up and down. Her hand ran slowly across my cock, and she giggled as it pulsated beneath my boxer briefs. She pulled them down and smiled as my erection sprung out, bouncing up and down in front of her face. She licked her lips as if she were about to lick a gigantic lollipop.

Immediately, she brought her hand up and ran it over the head and down the shaft, grasping it at the base and leaning forward. She licked the tip and lifted it upward, running her tongue from the base to the top, sending shivers down my spine. She pressed her juicy red lips against the head and used it to force her mouth wide open, taking my cock deep into her throat and then raising her head back up. I looked down, chuckling at the ring of red lipstick around the base of my cock, and then watched her blonde hair move back over it again. I leaned back against the wall and put my hands behind my neck, closing my eyes and concentrating on the feeling.

As my dick reached the back of her throat, the muscles tensed around it. She sucked hard as her mouth moved back up, and I groaned loudly. I could feel her lips move into a smile as she reached up and cradled my balls, rolling them in her hand like stress balls. She liked me to watch her. I could tell when I opened my eyes and looked down to see her watery stare looking back at me. One of her hands was on my nuts, and the other was between her legs, rubbing against her blue satin panties. I bit my lip and stared deeply at her, the intensity itself making me want to come all over her face. She was hot, but not in a classy way, more like a trashy waitress kind of way. The kind of way that made me want to bend her over and fuck her, but felt safer just letting her suck my cock.

I reached down and put my hand on the back of her head, wrapping my fingers around her hair. She had started to bob her head up and down faster and faster, and I pushed hard against her, forcing her to linger at the base for several seconds before coming back up for air. As my dick cleared her throat, she moaned loudly, letting me know she liked that kind of control. I reached my other hand down and grabbed onto her head, creating two ponytails with her hair and using them as controls.

“You focus on rubbing that pussy,” I whispered. “I’ll worry about fucking your mouth.”

She opened her mouth wide and moved both hands into her panties, one fingering herself, and the other rubbing her clit. I immediately began to thrust my hips forward, holding her head still as I fucked that pouty, beautiful mouth of hers. She moaned loudly as she pushed herself closer to orgasm. I started to move her head faster and faster, feeding off the sounds echoing against my shaft. She looked up at me and rolled her eyes back as her fingers danced across her pussy. I could feel the heat in my stomach begin to explode, and I pulled back, stroking my cock with one hand and holding her head steady with the other. She smiled as she opened wide, looking up at me, a look that sent me straight over the edge. With one last hard stroke, the pleasure moved through my body and streams of warm come shot from my cock and into her mouth.

She moved her head forward, moaning lowly as the last of my come seeped from the head and over her lips. I leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily as I tucked my cock back in my pants. When I opened my eyes, she was swallowing and wiping her ruby red lips and chin. She pulled the straps up on her tank top and smiled at me, leaning into to kiss me on the cheek.

“That was hot,” she whispered. “Let yourself out when you’re ready.”

This was why I didn’t screw with commitment. This kind of chick was way less messy, in more ways than one.

Chapter 2

Ava

I was fortunate to be starting my first day at my first professional job only a week after graduating with my MBA. I mean, it wasn’t like I hadn’t worked my ass off in college. My father had instilled in me, from the time I was a child, that it was important to decide what I wanted before I was married, before I had kids, and before I had other people relying on me. He told me it was my life, and I could decide how to live it. He was a very smart man and had started a business with his best friend right after college.

The money was amazing, the potential of the business growing all the time, but in the end, he wasn’t willing to give up his time with his family for the company. So, he and his best friend, Tanner, broke things off and went their separate ways. My father was brilliant with money and had saved enough to support us, keep us in the same lifestyle, and even have enough to leave in a trust fund for me whenever I wanted to have a family. My mother wasn’t thrilled at first, but once she realized she wouldn’t have to change her lifestyle, she went back to being only half as unpleasant.

Tanner, however, had taken the business all the way to the top. He, as far as I knew, had a wife at one point but chose his company over family. I felt like I was more like him, worried about the future more than I was about other people. Of course, that could also be because I had never actually been in a relationship that lasted more than a few weeks. I was too busy trying to make it to the top of my class to be worried about guys, and their immaturity and inability to decide on a goal-oriented future left me dumping most of the guys I dated after only a few weeks in. A relationship like that just wasn’t something I wanted to consume my mind at that point. Building my future was much more important to me, and it was already paying off. Tanner had given me a job with his company at a time he was getting ready to merge with another large financial firm, and I was going to get to be on the ground floor of it all. It was really freaking exhilarating, to say the least.

I walked toward his office, excited to get my first day started. He called me in, and I stood in front of him, remembering doing the same when I was in my teens. He looked up and smiled, walking around the desk and embracing me as if I were family. He didn’t speak to my father anymore, but I knew he still cared.

“Ava,” he said, leaning back. “I am so happy to have you here with us. I heard what an amazing job you did at Design Corp, our sister company, and I couldn’t help but get you here with us to do amazing things and bring the future of MJ into the next stage.”

“Thank you so much for having me here, Mr. Johnson,” I said, smiling.

“Call me Tanner.” He laughed. “And please have a seat.”

I sat down in the chair facing his desk and looked around the room. His office looked like a giant bedroom without a bed. It was decorated in mahogany shelving, the rugs were dark reds and greens, and there were two couches and a coffee table facing the wall of televisions that he’d put up to follow the stock market. To the right was a shelf that had crystal vases filled with an assortment of whiskey and a painted self-portrait hanging above it. The only thing missing was a fireplace with a bear skin rug on the floor. An upper-class hunting lodge came to mind.

I was nervous to start a conversation, but I knew I had to talk to him about my father. To this day, my father had blamed Tanner for the fact that he was not still part of MJ. I hadn’t told him where I was working, and I needed to be sure Tanner kept that to himself as well. I didn’t want to cause any problems at home, but I knew this kind of experience could catapult my career.

“Tanner,” I said, folding my hands in my lap.

“Yes,” he said putting down his file and looking at me.

“I know that you and my dad, well, you aren’t on the best of terms,” I said nicely. “I wanted to know, well I guess, I more wanted to tell you that I haven’t let him know this is where I’m working now. I don’t plan on telling him either.”

“I completely understand.” he chuckled. “Your father still has hard feelings toward me?”

“Well, you know how he can hold a grudge.” I laughed. “I’m pretty sure he’s still mad from the time I spilled grape juice on him, and I was nine back then.”

“I do miss him sometimes,” he said, laughing hard. “He would have loved where the company went, but his choice was family, and I can respect that.”

“He’s happy,” I said, smiling. “Sometimes I think he wonders what could have been if he’d stayed at MJ, but then he sees me. We laugh and talk, and he remembers why he made the sacrifice.”

“How’s your mother?”

“Grumpy and snobby as always.” I chuckled. “I thought she would soften as she aged, but I was wrong. She’s a brick house now.”

“She never liked me,” he said.

I sat back, talking to him about the family, reminiscing about the times he would come over and barbecue when I was a kid and about all the memories he had of my dad and himself. He was really a great guy when you caught him at the right moment. He was also an incredibly handsome man. I had always had a thing for older men, and I could even remember crushing hard on Tanner when I was about sixteen, just about the time he and my father had parted ways. Sitting here in front of him, it was like he hadn’t aged a day. He was almost fifty years old, and I was half that age, but he always had some sweet young thing on his arm. It was no secret he was into the younger women.

Tanner was never one to slack on his appearance, and from the look of how his muscles filled out the arms and chest of his designer shirt, he was still going to the gym on a regular basis. He had dark brown hair, almost black, with just the tiniest hint of silver when he turned his head toward the light. He kept it longer on top and pushed back, with the sides trimmed perfectly, as if he went by the barber’s every single morning. But that wasn’t the only thing that made him hot as hell. It was the kind of man he was, too. He was ambitious. Surrounded with the future of marketing and finance, he was goal driven, and work was what satisfied him about life. He didn’t take much of anything else seriously, including his relationships, and I kind of felt like I was the female version of him.

Tanner’s strong will and desire to succeed was sexier than his biceps, and I couldn’t help but picture him close to me as I sat in the chair. I mean, there was no way I was going to have an affair with Tanner. He was too old for me and the head of a billion-dollar company, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t daydream about it. I had to get my kicks somewhere since my dating life was null and void except for the guy my mom had tried to set me up with from the country club. He was the most boring rich boy I had ever met, and I ended up leaving him at the restaurant and grabbing a cab while he was in the bathroom. I really didn’t know what I expected out of someone my mother had chosen.

I went through the rest of the day following either Tanner or the head of finance around the building, learning what my role would be. The learning curve was steep, but I had enough education between college and my internship that I was only slightly overwhelmed. When I left that evening, I waved at Tanner, and I almost thought I could feel him staring at my legs as I walked. Maybe all the times throughout the day when I thought he’d been flirting, I might not have imagined it all. I put the thought out of my head, trying to keep myself on task, and took the elevator to the lobby where I walked outside and grabbed a cab to Pier 49, the bar where I was meeting my best friend, Brianna.

Brianna was my voice of reason, the girl who kept my ambitious feet firmly planted on the ground. She didn’t let me get too far ahead of myself when I was running toward the edge. She was sassy and smart and always had men falling all over themselves for her, though she never really noticed. She was athletic with curvy hips, a tiny waist, and huge tits. Her long brown hair spilled out over her shoulders, and she hadn’t needed anything more than a touch of blush and a smile since we were in college.

When I walked into the bar, I looked over at her and laughed as two guys were leaning against the bar, smiling at her flirtatiously. She had obviously gotten them to buy us our first round but quickly disposed of them as soon as I sat down. She was too funny, telling them I was her soon-to-be wife, and I was a man-hater so they should probably run off. She used that excuse every time, so I knew what face to give them as I walked toward them. They moved faster than I thought two drunk idiots could go.

“Hey, beautiful lady,” I said, sitting down and kissing her cheek.

“So.” She turned toward me. “How did the first day go at MJ?”

I sighed with a bit of satisfaction. “It was awesome. A lot of information to take in.”

“Was it weird working with your dad’s arch nemesis?”

“No.” Her terminology cracked me up. “It wasn’t that bad actually. And it didn’t hurt that he was still hot as hell.”

“You and older men.” She laughed. “But seriously, I remember him from your dad’s cookouts. He was pretty damn hot, even from a sixteen-year-old’s perspective.”

“I know, right?” I stuck a cherry in my mouth and looked up at the television. “I mean, he was flirting with me, and when I left, I was pretty sure he was checking me out.”

“Oh, my God,” she said, eating her cherry and staring at me. “You need to jump him.”

“No,” I said with feigned shock. “I can’t do that. He’s my father’s old best friend and my boss for that matter.”

We went off into a conversation about him more, but my mind lingered on that thought. What if I did jump him? What if I had the nerve to start some kind of sexual adventure with Tanner? I was being crazy, though. There was no way I could start my first professional job by fucking my boss. And God, if my father found out about that, I might just send him to an early grave. I needed to stay the course and focus on the job at hand, no matter how many times I imagined him naked.

Chapter 3

Tanner

I could still remember Ava as a young girl with awkward braces, beautiful eyes, and a slightly abnormal wit to her. When I came around back then, she had been just a little girl, running, playing, and gossiping with her friends. I was pretty sure the last time I saw her, she was about sixteen, but I never really thought much of it since she was so young. She was literally just my best friend’s kid that I’d been around since she was a baby.

Now, though, she was so fucking hot, I couldn’t get her off my mind. Her thick thighs, perfect curves, and long, sexy hair were driving me nuts. She had these dark eyes that cut right through you, and her lips were so pouty, I couldn’t help imagining them wrapped around my cock. It was almost insane how much she had been on my mind. She was flirty when we’d met in my office the day before, and though I kept telling myself to relax, I thought it was pretty arousing. Bending her over my desk and fucking the hell out of her wouldn’t take a damn thing away from my day. If anything, it would make it a hell of a lot less boring.

Ava, though, she worked for me now. It wasn’t like I’d run into her out at the bar. She was an employee of mine, and a young, ambitious woman. Her goals and drive reminded me a lot of myself, and I think that was part of what was attracting me to her so much. She wasn’t like her father, and she hated the way her mother was, dependent on her father’s wealth. I could see that resolve inside of her to succeed and make her own way.

There weren’t very many women out there who weren’t looking for a man to take care of them, and she was one of them. I needed to remove those thoughts from my head because they were dangerous, both personally and professionally. I had made the mistake of screwing a girl from the office before, and it did not end well for either of us. Women, no matter how tough they are, always want more than I’m willing to give them. I didn’t know what Ava was looking for, but I knew for damn sure I wasn’t the guy to give it to her, even if I wanted to.

I sat up in my chair, realizing that I had lost all track of time sitting there thinking about Ava. I glanced out of the office and saw her sitting at her desk, working diligently across the hall. She was biting her bottom lip and twirling her pen through her fingers as she concentrated. I was going to have to start working with my door closed if I didn’t want a fucking boner every five seconds. I needed to get control of myself around her, and that was the point of it all. I couldn’t afford distractions at such a crucial time with the merger, and I needed her to be on the same page, even though I didn’t want to say it like that. Maybe if she knew more about the company and where it was headed, she would understand our need for professionalism. Of course, at the same time, she had already been more than professional. Maybe I was the only one who needed that talk.

It was lunch time, so I got up from my desk and grabbed my jacket, sauntering out of the office and looking around. My secretary had taken lunch and would be back any minute, and then I could leave as well. Ava looked up at me from her desk and smiled sweetly, forcing me to push back the flip-flop feeling in my stomach. I walked over and stood next to her desk, looking down at the workups I was having her do. They looked flawless, which was no surprise since she was first in her graduating class and hunted by several companies for her internship. While looking at her notes, I also happened to notice that her lightweight peach sweater hung a bit low, and I could see the edge of her pink bra, holding up her big, firm breasts. I cleared my throat and walked back to the other side.

“I’m about to take lunch,” I said. “You want to come along?”

“No,” she smiled. “I should stay and finish these up.”

“Come on.” I chuckled. “I won’t tell the boss. Besides, I think it's important you know where we’re going in the future.”

“Okay.” She looked and sounded confused.

“The company.” I corrected myself, realizing how I must’ve sounded. “Where the company is going in the future.”

“Right,” she said, shaking her head. “Okay, then. Let me grab my coat.”

I smiled and watched her walk away in her black, wide-legged pants that hugged her perfect ass just right. I looked away as she turned back to me and smiled, as if I hadn’t been checking out her assets. With my hand on her lower back, I guided her to the elevators. We stood awkwardly next to each other as the elevator made its way down, the tension thick between us. We went to a restaurant about one block away, a nice Italian spot that was quiet and put together. They gave us a seat in the back and to the right, which normally I’d be pissed about, but it gave us a bit more privacy than sitting right in the front. As we ate our appetizer and waited on the main courses, I started by giving her the history of MJ after her father had left the company. She looked at me wide-eyed as I told her about all the trips, all the sacrifices I had made, and how much of a roller coaster it had been.

“Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how you do it and still look so young. I’d be gray and ready for retirement by now.”

“You kind of get used to it after a while.” I chuckled. “The highs are good, but you make sure not to take the lows too seriously or you’ll drive yourself nuts. Everything passes. It’s just how you handle it that really decides whether or not you come out on top.”

“And now?” She looked at me with a raised eyebrow as she took a bite of her salad.

“Now,” I said, letting out a deep breath. “Now we move forward with a very big step. This merger will potentially collect hundreds of new, large clients. It could put a structure in place that MJ has never been able to execute because I could only handle so much as one man. Our board will be stronger, our management will be stronger, and our services will triple, and all under the strong commitment of service that I built this company on.”

“That sounds amazing.” She smiled. “And I’m so excited to be part of it.”

For the rest of lunch, we talked about the details of the merger, how she was going to fit in during that process, and what she had to look forward to in the future in her position. She was going to be a huge asset to me, which made it all the more important for me to keep control of my urges. However, as she leaned forward and listened to me, batting her long eyelashes, I couldn’t help but slide in a few flirtatious remarks. She didn’t even blink when it happened. As the conversation continued, there was quite a bit of flirty banter, and I couldn’t help but watch her face as it flushed several times. It was almost sexy how red her cheeks got, but that didn’t take away from the fact that she was dishing it out as much as I was serving it.

When lunch was over, I suggested we walk across the street and grab some coffee to take back because the breakroom had terrible stuff. She made a joke about me buying better coffee, and I thought back to when I regularly did that kind of stuff, when the office was small enough that I knew everyone’s names. I had been so obsessed with growth that I’d thought that was a bad thing. Now, I can barely remember my secretary’s name much less the people in the different departments or offices. I knew that was part of the deal of expanding my company larger and larger, but it was still a shame I hadn’t appreciated the personal touch while it lasted. Maybe, though, I’d up the brand of coffee that was delivered to the employees throughout the company, so they could at least have a decent cup while they slaved away in their cubicles.

We grabbed ourselves some coffee and headed back towards the office, not really walking at a major pace. She talked to me about college and about her internship and how much it changed her way of thinking for her future. She was thrilled to be on the ground floor of the merger, and she felt like there were businessmen and women out there who spent their whole lives in their careers and never got to experience something like this.

I was glad she was excited. It put me at ease, considering I was a bit nervous about the change. However, I had never been one of those people who easily embraced change. Being in my line of work, I had to accept it, but I didn’t like it at all. Then again, with change came risk, and I had seen companies go through major shifts and never return. That was why I had been in negotiations for this merger for years before actually moving forward with it. I wanted to make sure it was the best possible opportunity and fit what my vision for the future of MJ was.

It was a considerable challenge getting so many different minds on board, especially since the other company and its CEO was just as picky as I was. In the end, though, I was still young in their eyes and had many years left to run and build the company, while they were ready to retire and play golf. One day, I would be at that point, but for now, I was walking into the lobby of my company’s main offices next to one hell of a sexy, smart girl, and making my way back up to the first leg of changes for the company. I stepped to the side and let Ava go in first, glancing down at her tight ass as we entered the elevator. When the doors shut, we stood close, holding our coffees, one of which was for the secretary. Our shoulders brushed and electricity shot through my chest.

Between us was a level of sexual tension I hadn’t ever felt before with someone, and from the looks of Ava’s blushed cheeks, she was feeling it, too. It was a good thing we were situated on the eighth floor and not the thirtieth because I didn’t know if I could refrain from kissing her for that long. When the doors opened to the offices, we both let out a deep breath, glancing at each other for a moment. We walked to our offices, and she thanked me for lunch before taking the extra coffee to the secretary.

When I got back to my desk, I tried to move right into work, ignoring the nagging feeling in my stomach. She was so hot, and I really wanted to take her in the copy room and screw the hell out of her. My mind was all over the place over this girl, and I couldn’t allow it to happen. I had to keep my wits about me and not go running off the deep end. I could get laid at any time. I didn’t need to pick the twenty-five-year-old I just hired and had known most of her life.

Every time I looked over at her out of my office door, though, it got harder and harder to restrain myself.

Chapter 4

Ava

I sat in the meeting, staring down at my file, so I wouldn’t be caught gazing at Tanner like a love-sick school girl. He was looking so amazing in his black Armani suit, black button-up, and his teal tie, and my eyes didn’t want to leave his bulging biceps straining the fabric of the suit. He stood at the front of the room talking about the first stages of the merger and how most of it was very behind the scenes.

Our change manager was there to discuss how things would be handled on the employee front. I wasn’t going to be dealing with the employees as much because my job was to handle the merger’s financial customers. Good thing the topic wasn’t so pertinent to me. It was hard to think about anything with the electric pulses going through my stomach every time Tanner looked over at me. His eyes pierced mine, and I instantly felt like I couldn’t breathe. This was not what I’d expected when I took his offer to work here. It was seriously distracting.

I still didn’t understand how things were feeling between us. It was a continuous stream of thought that had started my first day and had not dulled one bit. My mind would start with simple thoughts about how enticing he looked or how his confidence was sexy. Those thoughts would slowly shift to dirtier things, like imagining what he looked like naked or what his cock was like. Then, without warning, those thoughts would evolve into full-on pornos in my mind where I was the star, and he was giving it to me so good and hard. I always had a vivid imagination, but at that point, I wished I didn’t. I couldn’t shake the sex from my mind, and I was constantly crossing my legs, feeling the pool of juices in my panties.

I bit my lip and looked down at my files, trying to hide the serious blush on my cheeks as I imagined us lying across the huge mahogany table we were sitting around. I could see the web cameras picking up our images and displaying our writhing bodies on the screens above our heads. It would be so freaking erotic but, at the same time, so damn dangerous. I was pretty sure that was one of the things that made me want to do it, the fact that it was so taboo. Just the idea that I was working for the man behind everyone’s back was exciting, and I tried to tame that and remember I was lying to my whole family, and that shouldn’t be exciting. I was pretty much grasping at everything I could to not be attracted to this man. I mean, he was way too old for me. Wait, that was definitely a turn on and not a negative.

“Ava,” Tanner said.

“Yes,” I said, snapping my head back into reality and blushing. Everyone at the table was looking at me expectantly.

“Why don’t you come up, introduce yourself, and talk to us about some of your ideas for pushing our new financial divisions to the next level during the merger?”

“Okay,” I said, taking in a deep breath and walking to the front. I knew this was coming. He had told me ahead of time, but I was never quite ready for public speaking.

Everyone’s gaze was one me, all looking unsure of whether they should prejudge the fact that I was young, judge me for being the only woman in the room, or stare at my tits. It was a mixed crowd, and Tanner was teetering between respect and tits. I straightened out my skirt and walked to the front of the room, taking in a deep breath. Every time I looked over at him, I felt heat creeping up the back of my neck. I wanted so badly for him to be suffering the same affliction I was suffering, but at the same time, I was hoping he wasn’t, so I could keep myself in check.

“Thank you,” I said to Tanner before turning toward all the faces. “My name is Ava, and I’m going to be assisting in the financial changeover on the client end of the spectrum. I got together with our CFO recently, and we discussed the questions the clients will probably have, especially in the beginning. I have come up with a fact template that will post to all representatives, starting today, and will help them begin to ease their client’s concerns. I also believe full candor is a must when it comes to working with people’s money, so we want to let the clients know what we are doing at every step. I have created a template for that as well, and it will not only be emailed but physically mailed as well to make sure our clients are fully understanding what we are doing at every turn. That being said, all managers in all departments will receive a copy of those letters before they are sent out, and they will be in charge of training their teams on what to say, what answers to provide, and how to calm the client by not addressing their fears so much as letting them know how this change will positively affect their money. We don’t want people running just because they aren’t educated on what is going on. Any questions?”

“Yes,” Tanner said, watching my blushed cheeks. “Will we be providing fact lists with every single letter?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding my head. “Every letter will come with a cheat sheet, if you will, an answer to what we believe will be the most asked questions, so we are able to tackle these issues head-on. My door will always be open to anyone, and I’m willing to answer any questions you or our clients have.”

“Thank you, Ava,” Tanner said.

I nodded my head and walked back to my seat, smiling at the applause from the men. I could tell they were surprised by my knowledge and intelligence, and that was the kind of response I wanted. I was never the girl okay with being quiet and submissive, and I knew I was just as smart, if not smarter, than most of the men in that room, except maybe Tanner. When the meeting was over, I shook the other gentlemen’s hands and collected my stuff, trying not to notice that Tanner and I were the last people in the room.

“You okay?”

“Mhmm,” I said, trying not to blush again.

“Ava,” he said, walking over and putting his hand on my arm. “What is it? You were distracted the whole time, though I’m probably the only one who noticed.”

“Nothing,” I said blushing, standing and staring him in the face. “I mean it’s something, but it’s my problem, and I’ll deal with it. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

I put the rest of my files in my bag and tried to ignore the fact that he was staring at me, a small smirk on his face. I put my bag over my shoulder and pushed in my chair, looking up with beet red cheeks. I turned and walked toward the door, trying to get myself together.

“Ava,” he called out. “It’s because of our attraction, isn’t it?”

I stopped and snapped my head back toward him and saw that he was now blushing slightly, too. I closed the door to the meeting room and sighed, taking my bag back off my shoulder and walking to the table. He was standing there, hands in his pockets, leaning against the table. I shook my head holding onto the back of the chair, trying to figure out how to approach the subject. It was undoubtedly a tricky one, but I was glad that he noticed and kind of turned on that he felt the same way and had the guts to admit to it.

“What the hell are we going to do about this?” I asked the question, not sure if he even had an answer.

“I don’t know,” he said calmly. “I suppose we should work on our professional relationship and try to push this aside. I’ve learned through the years that crushes like these tend to fizzle out over time, especially once you start working with someone every day.”

“Really?” I didn’t want it to, but I had to at least act the part. “It’s kind of distracting, and I’m dedicated to this job. I don’t want it to interfere. I’ve known you a long time, Tanner.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he chuckled. “I’ve known you since you were in diapers. If you think it's awkward for you, think about how conflicted by it I am.”

“Okay,” I said taking a deep breath. “Then we will focus on our professional relationship right now, pushing the other stuff aside until it just goes away.”

“Perfect,” he said, walking toward the door. “Oh, do you want to come out to Driscoll’s on Friday for dinner?”

I scrunched my eyebrows and turned toward him with a confused face. We had literally just decided to work on our professional relationship and let the other side fizzle out, and he followed it up with dinner requests. He looked at me and chuckled, shaking his head when he saw my reaction.

“No, no,” he said. “Everyone from today’s meeting will be there. It’s a work dinner, an appreciation for the constant hard work. I didn’t want to ask you in front of everyone in case you had other plans. I always hated being put on the spot by my boss in front of the executives.”

“You had another job before the company?”

“Sure, but it was for my father,” he explained. “Which was why he thought it was okay to put me on the spot.”

“Oh,” I said. “Okay, work dinner on Friday. I will be there, absolutely.”

“Great.” He smiled as he walked from the room.

I waited until he turned the corner, and I let out a deep breath, grabbing onto the chair and shaking my head. How absolutely horrifying was that? He not only noticed my distraction but was meeting me right there, almost joking like I was a child with a crush. I froze again at the sound of his voice and turned around.

“And Ava?”

“Yes,” I said with blushed cheeks.

“You look amazing today.” He tapped the doorframe and bit his bottom lip before he walked away again.

All I could do was smile at him before collapsing into the roller chair in front of me after he had left. This man was going to be the death of me, I could feel it. Now, I was starting to understand what my father meant when he used to talk about Tanner to my mother. He was arrogant and sure of himself, something that would normally hinder someone, but it really worked for him. Not only was I freaking hooked and ready to jump in bed with him, but our clients loved how honest, upfront, and no bullshit he was, even if it was born from arrogance. His cockiness was sexy in a way that I had never thought of before, and immediately, visions of him controlling every part of me flooded back into my mind.

I really needed to get it together. I couldn’t be sitting in the conference room dreaming of fucking my boss when I had so much work to get done. This was insane. I had never had this issue before, not even in college when I had a serious crush on one of my professors. I took in a deep breath and pulled myself from the chair, grabbed my bag, and headed for the lounge where I poured a cup of coffee and headed back to my desk. I was ridiculously relieved when I walked by and saw that Tanner had closed his office door. The temptation to flirt was too great when I could see him from my desk.

Hell, the temptation was too great when I was in the same city as him.

Chapter 5

Tanner

Most people were excited to see Friday finally come, but for me, I felt like it was a waste of precious time to have two days off. Most of the time, I was inside my office on the weekends catching up on all the paperwork and things that I couldn’t get done during the week. Most older execs kept easy hours, and if I didn’t reach them by two during the week, I wouldn’t reach them at all, so I focused on getting the work done during the week that required me talking to other people. I understood that I was not the norm, but at the same time, I ran a company and worked there every day in the thick of things. That company was my life, and I was doing everything I could, hoping in five to ten years, I could hold golf course hours as well. In the meantime, I would put in the extra hours and relax when I went home at night.

Everyone else was gone, already on their way to the restaurant for our dinner. I collected my things and headed out of the office, feeling a bit strange leaving before seven. I took the town car to Driscoll’s so I wouldn’t have to deal with traffic. My apartment was just across the street, and if you stood on the balcony of my penthouse, you could actually see into my office. I wanted to go there and change, but I was already running late and didn’t want to make them wait on me. As we drove along, Ava came back into my mind, something that had almost become the norm for the last week. Her sexy curves and sweet smile were almost plaguing me. I wanted to fuck her, that was no secret, but I also wanted to be around her, which was a bit strange and slightly alarming for me. That was the part I kept pushing down. The sex was something I just let my mind run wild over.

The other day during the meeting, I had to keep talking to my cock, begging it to give me a rest. Watching Ava blush like she was, thinking dirty thoughts about me, was extremely erotic, and it made me unable to clearly think about what I was saying. I was glad when it was her turn to get up and talk, and I could sit there and imagine bending her over the conference room table while the cameras projected us fucking up on the screen for me to watch. I reached down and adjust my dick, which was now playing along with the thoughts in mind.

As we pulled in front of the restaurant, I took a deep breath, trying to get Ava out of my mind. The driver came around and opened the door, nodding as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. The air was still cool, even though it was just beginning to look like fall outside. I straightened my coat and looked over as a cab pulled up behind me. The door to the car opened and Ava stepped out, giving me a welcoming smile. She looked gorgeous in a little black dress, black stockings, and heels.

“Well, hello there,” I said. “You look amazing as always.”

“Thank you.” She blushed.

“If I knew we would be arriving at the same time, I would have had you ride me—with me. I mean ride with me, of course.” I tried not to snicker at my slip, but it came out anyway.

She looked at me for a moment before bursting into laughter, too, a relief from the tension that had been plaguing us. We walked toward the door, which I held for her as we entered. The others were all seated around a large table at the back, and they greeted us cheerfully, obviously already having had hit the bar up. Ava ordered a glass of wine and sat down in the middle while I sat at the head of the table. The guys were unusually jolly tonight, which I was glad for. I was tired of talking about the merger and just wanted to relax.

We told jokes, listened to stories from the older gentlemen who remembered when the company first started, and I laughed as they told stories of my younger ambitious but naïve self. I glanced over at Ava who was listening and laughing right along, really starting to fit in with the group well. She looked over as I raised my glass to her, everyone else oblivious to our attracting gaze. She nodded her head as her cheeks grew red, and I smiled at the way I had such an effect on her. I was glad I’d picked Driscoll’s and wasn’t going to run into any of the cocktail waitresses I had been moonlighting with at the other bars I frequented. For some reason, I wanted Ava to think good things about me, not knowing just how much of a playboy I really was. I hadn’t ever given two shits what anyone thought about me personally. I chocked it up to being a professional thing, wanting her to respect me professionally, and moved the thought from my mind.

I was having a wonderful time, the first time in months, and I enjoyed not being by myself for once. These guys were entertaining, but what was really catching my attention was Ava and how sexy she looked taking control of the conversation midway through and making everyone laugh at her horror stories from her internship. She was sassy, and I liked it, wondering what it would be like to have her take control of me during sex. I could feel my pants getting tighter, especially with my alcohol-induced lower inhibitions.

As the evening began to wear down, everyone began to trickle out, going home to their wives and families. Out of the group, Ava and I were the only ones who didn’t have significant others or children to go home to. I was glad to see her sitting firm, not leaving with the other gentlemen. I wanted some alone time with her, and I wanted to gauge how she was feeling about our attraction. I had told myself to back off, but the alcohol was not even starting to let me drop it, and I could tell she was feeling the same way.

I thanked everyone for coming, and when the last person left us alone, I walked over and held out my hand, helping Ava from her chair. We went over to the bar and sat down, ready to have another couple drinks before parting ways. It was just the two of us at that point, and neither one of us had to rise and shine early in the morning. I figured that would be the perfect opportunity to really spend some alone time with her, get her talking, and maybe see where the night took us. At first, she was quiet, but I ordered us a couple of drinks and she started to laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” I was amused by her.

“Nothing,” she said, almost snorting. “It’s just that when I first walked in, I felt like the guys were plotting my death, but by the end, they were slapping me on the shoulder and offering me cigars. Men are so territorial about their man space. You seriously need some female executive power up in this company. Not only would it diversify how you work, but it would lend you a better public image. I hate to tell you, old man, but the days of the boy’s club are over.”

“Wow.” I laughed. “Old man? Ouch. That almost hurt, except it’s true.”

“It’s okay,” she said, sipping her drink. “You are a sexy old guy.”

Her cheeks immediately went red, realizing that she had indeed said that out loud. I was silent for a moment and then started laughing hard, watching as she let go of her embarrassment and laughed along with me. She slid her hand down on my leg as she took a deep breath in, trying to control her laughter. Who knew she was sexy, ambitious, and so much fun to be around as well. How was this girl still single?

“This has been such a great night,” she said. “I’m glad I decided to come. I’m usually boring and spend my weekends preparing for work the next week. Catching up on stuff I couldn’t get done during the days.”

“You, too? I’m usually the only person in the high-rise on the weekends,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, if you’re there, most likely I’ll come there, too, so I can work at the office and not my dining room table,” she replied.

“You’re always welcome,” I said, trying to keep my mind off the fact that we would be alone in the office on a weekend together.

We sat and had one more drink, talking about our lives, laughing at ourselves, and flirting relentlessly. She was sitting so close to me that when she turned in her stool, her crossed legs were between mine. I reached down and put my hand on her bare thigh, handing the bartender my credit card to pay.

“Why don’t you let me drive you home,” I said.

“Okay,” she accepted. “I would love that. The cabs in this city can be terrifying sometimes.”

“That’s why as soon as I could afford it, I hired a car service,” I said, laughing. “Except I live in the building across from the office, so I walk to work every morning.”

“Well, that’s convenient,” she laughed. “I live about six blocks away, which isn’t too bad. Thanks to Daddy, of course. I never claimed to be a girl who’s struggling right out of college. I am pretty lucky, actually.”

“I’m impressed at how well your father manages money,” I said, surprised he still had that nest egg he had been building.

“Yeah, well, it's not easy with my mother.” Her wry tone told me a lot about her feelings toward her mother. It was a good sign she didn’t take after the woman.

I stood up from the bar and wrapped my coat around her shoulders, leading her to the car parked out front. We sat close in the back, her thighs rubbing up against my legs. I couldn’t hold back anymore. It was just too much restraint for me. I turned toward her and ran my hand up her thigh, feeling her breathing grow heavier as my lips touched hers. She immediately leaned into the kiss, a small moan escaping her throat. I could tell she had been waiting for this as much as I had been. Our mouths swirled around each other’s, and my tongue parted her lips, tasting the sweet wine on her tongue. Her perfume engulfed me and immediately my pants were tight, my cock responding to the warmth between her thighs.

When we pulled up in front of the apartment, both of our cheeks were red, and I walked her up to her second-floor condo. We stood outside the door, immediately embracing and kissing so heavily, I could barely catch my breath. I pressed my hard cock against her side, wanting so badly for her to invite me in. Everything about her stirred the man that I was, and I knew there was no way I could hold back any longer. I wanted to rip her clothes off and taste her skin in my mouth. I wanted to know what she sounded like as I plunged my cock deep inside of her. As the thoughts ran wildly through my mind, she pulled away from my kiss and stared at me with her deep, dark eyes. She smirked slightly and turned, unlocking her door and walking inside. I waited for a moment, trying to remember why this was a bad idea, but there was no going back. I walked forward into the darkness.

Chapter 6

Ava

I listened as Tanner followed me inside the apartment and closed the door behind him. I turned the track lighting to low and hung his coat over the breakfast island chairs. Before I could fully turn around, he raced forward and pushed me against the counter, wrapping his hand under my chin and pressing his lips to mine. I could feel the erection in his pants rubbing against my wet, hot crotch, and I wanted him to take me right there and then. His lips were so soft and the taste of whiskey on his breath and cigar on his fingers was incredibly arousing.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling the muscles rippling through him. I couldn’t get my mind to slow down. It was like part of me was freaking out while the other part of me was throwing a party, wanting more and more. Oh, my God. I couldn’t believe this was happening for real and not a fantasy. What in the hell was I doing? But, I knew the answer to that. I was enjoying my life and giving in to my urges, that was what I was doing. I was finally being a mid-twenties woman who had everything on the right track and was making decisions based on what I wanted, not what everyone else wanted for me. His lips were so damn soft, and his hands felt so good around me, I couldn’t even begin to think of backing away from him.

He ran his hands up my sides and lifted my dress up, tickling the skin above my thigh high stockings. I leaned my head back, and he trailed his lips down my neck, making my heart beat wildly in my chest. I had to stop. I had to get control over what I was doing, but it was so difficult. Between the alcohol and the fact that I had wanted this since the first day, my mind was the only thing saying stop while the rest of me was screaming for him to take me. I could feel his hand shifting to the inside of my thigh, and I slowly moved my legs apart, letting him run his fingers up to the edge of my panties. He slid his fingertips right next to my wetness and a gasp and moan escaped my chest. I opened my eyes and brought my legs back together, trying to get myself into a place where I could control myself.

He leaned back, grabbing the back of the chair next to him and breathed deeply. I could tell he was trying to control himself as well, and I was fighting myself to keep my hands to myself. I wanted to pull him back in, keep going, and just let the night take us. Then, there was my conscious, and it was starting to rear its ugly head.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I need to have better self-control than that.”

“Don’t apologize.” I smiled. “It is not your fault that I want you so badly. This attraction is out of control.”

“It is,” he said stepping forward, his eyes darkening again.

Slowly he reached his hand up, pushing the rogue strands of hair from my face and leaning in, kissing my lips ever so lightly. I could feel electricity move through my entire body, and I held my breath, not wanting the moment to end. He pushed his mouth harder against mine, but before I could reach my hands forward to pull him in close, the phone on the counter next to us went off. I looked over and saw my father’s name on the screen. Tanner started to laugh, and I turned the phone over, allowing it to go to voicemail.

“If that isn’t a sign,” he said, “I don’t know what is.”

“I had a really good night.” I reaching up and kissed his cheek. “Maybe this is all for the best.”

He smiled and grabbed his coat off the chair, wrapping it around his shoulders. I walked him to the door and stood there as he leaned over and kissed me softly, pulling away before we could get ourselves lost in another kiss. I watched as he left, blushing when he looked back and flashed me a charming smile. I closed the door and locked it, leaning my back against the cold metal and sighing. That man was going to drive me absolutely insane. Just as that thought passed through my mind, I could hear the beeping of my phone, letting me know I had a missed call. I sighed and walked over, figuring I should probably call my father back before he called again. I dialed the number and sat down on the couch in the living room, bracing myself for the conversation.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“I just wanted to call and see how your first week at work went,” he said, sounding enthusiastic.

“It went great,” I replied. “We did a lot of financial analysis, some workups for clients, and I met a lot of the other staff.”

“That’s so great, honey,” he said. “What’s your boss’s name?”

“Oh, uh, Rick. Rick Tanner.” I slapped myself in the forehead. Should have been prepared for that question. “But he’s barely ever there.”

“They usually aren’t.” He laughed.

“How’s Mom?” I wanted to change the subject drastically, since I was feeling overwhelmed by guilt for lying.

My father had always been one of the hardest-headed people I ever met, but he was also the biggest family man I had ever seen as well. He and I had been really close through the years, especially once he realized I was more like him and nothing like my mother, except for the way she looked. We were both dark-haired beauties, as my dad like to call us. I knew he was proud of me, but I felt absolutely terrible for lying to him. If he found out, he would be so hurt. I didn’t have a lot of close relationships, and damaging ours would be devastating.

“She’s good,” he sighed. “You know, being your mother.”

“Is the new cook making good meals?”

“Your mother fired him his second day,” he said. “She’s a tough one.”

“No kidding,” I scoffed.

“Well, kiddo,” he said. “I’m going to head to bed. Just wanted to check in on you.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” I replied, smiling. “Have sweet dreams.”

“You, too.”

I got off the phone and looked down at it, shaking my head at both his wit and my guilt spilling out everywhere. Well, I guess I had to make my own decisions at some point, and that point was now. I tossed my phone to the side and stretched, realizing how alone I was in the apartment. Tanner had just been there, pressing his body against mine, moving his lips over my skin, and letting me know just how much he wanted my body. As I sat there thinking about what could have been, the heat rose again in my stomach. If only I had asked him to stay, we would be rolling around on my bed in throes of passion right now. Instead, I was sitting here, thinking about rolling around in the bed, and he was on his way back to his place.

I got up, deciding bed was probably my next best course of action since I was feeling pretty tipsy and self-serving at that moment. I took off all my clothes and climbed in under the covers, lying on my back and staring up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and imagined Tanner there in my bed, his hands moving up and over my body. I could almost feel every one of his fingers caressing my thighs and pushing down against my wet mound. I sighed and slid my hand down my belly and through my folds, rubbing my clit with my palm. Immediately, fire went through my belly, and I knew I wasn’t getting out of this without an orgasm. I took my other hand and sucked on two of my fingers, rubbing them down and then pushing them inside of myself. I moaned softly enough that only I could hear it and then went back into my head where Tanner was underneath the covers.

He moved his head up my legs and hovered over my pussy, his breath hot against my wetness. I reached up out of the covers and into the drawer of my nightstand. I pulled out a medium-sized pink vibrator and clicked it on, rubbing it softly against my nub, pretending that it was Tanner’s tongue. I tore the blankets off me and spread my legs wide, leaning my head back and moaning loudly as the pulsating action of the rubber head bounced softly against me. I pushed down on it, sliding it downward and inside of me, wanting to prolong the feeling of building pressure even though I could come right then if I wanted to.

I began to fuck myself with the vibrator, sitting up slightly in the bed and wrapping my whole hand around it as I plunged it deep and hard inside of me. I imagined Tanner there, his hard muscles flexing as he thrust his hips over and over against me, his cock sopping wet from my juices. I moaned loudly, turning myself on by the sounds coming from my own throat, picturing him there doing it to me, as hard and fast as he could. I slipped the vibrator out and back up to my clit, rubbing it in circles, wishing I had more than one. Wishing even more that I had Tanner there to do it for me. I leaned back against the bed, wanting to feel the buildup nice and slow, imagining that I was getting ready to come all over his cock. I reached out with one hand and grabbed the bed as I used the other hand to control the vibrator.

The rubber on the head was smooth and slick from my wetness, and it easy slipped back and forth over my hard nub, while swooping down and moving deep inside of me where it vibrated against my walls. I closed my eyes once again and imagined Tanner fucking me so hard he was ready to explode. I gripped the bed next to me imagining him thrusting deep and holding it there. I pulsed the vibrator inside of me, pretending it was his cock, exploding, and pumping his hot seed while pleasure ran through his body. The vision in my head was too much for me to hold on any longer. I pulled the vibrator out and flipped myself onto my knees reaching back and rubbing it hard against my clit. I arched my back as the pleasure began to spread, my body erupting in orgasm as I pushed the dildo in and out, over and back, allowing every single part of my body to feel the sensation.

I screamed loudly, grabbing my nipple and twisting it as the erotic feeling of release flushed through every part of my body. I sat there for several minutes, unable to move, the vibrations sending shockwaves through me and causing me to shake and tremble. When my body began to relax, I turned the knob and dropped the vibrator into the bed, collapsing onto my stomach and groaning in defeat. God that felt so good. If only it were Tanner’s doing. Instead, I opened my eyes and remembered that the house was quiet, and he was on his way back to his place. How depressing to be twenty-five and have your Dad cock-block you.

I thought that would have satisfied me, help me give up on the idea of having Tanner like I wanted to, but as I lay there thinking about him, I realized nothing but his cock was going to satiate this lust.

Chapter 7

Tanner

Normally, I was excited to see Monday. It meant work was going to get done, people would be more responsive to answering their phones, and the company could stop pausing and move forward. However, after spending my entire weekend thinking about nothing more than the fact that I could have nailed the hell out of Ava, but I didn’t, I was feeling drained and worn down. The upside to it all was I had plenty of meetings to keep me busy all day. The downside was, the first meeting of the day was an executive meeting talking about the upcoming company events, and I was sitting right across from Ava. She looked tired but gorgeous as always, having done her makeup and hair and wearing the perfect business attire. She always looked the part to a tee, something that was more important than people realized. I didn’t mind because her clothes were tight and form fitting, and I could see her perfect curves.

As the head of HR talked to the crowd, I glanced up from my notes at Ava who was sitting across the table from me. She was leaned forward, and I had a perfect shot of her amazing cleavage. She looked so damn sexy, it was insane. She glanced up at me and swatted me with a piece of paper, her mouth curled up in a smirk and her eyes wide. I chuckled and looked around, making sure no one was paying attention. Ava then turned back to the HR director who started talking about the charity event this weekend. It was a polo match in Greenwich, and they were hoping employees would come and show support since our company was sponsoring it. That was perfect for me because that meant I could spend time with Ava at an actual event outside. However, as she turned around, she didn’t seem to share the same enthusiasm. She looked perplexed, almost stressed, and I furrowed my brow at her in curiosity. She shook her head and looked back down at the paper.

The rest of the meeting was slow and hard to get through, but I was more concerned with figuring out what was going on in Ava’s head. Was she worried that she was going to be there with me? Did she already make plans and not want to disappoint? Did she terribly hate polo? That last question made me chuckle to myself, wondering who did like polo besides the people who played it. I watched her face move back to normal as she continued to take notes, now not paying much attention to me at all. I wasn’t sure why, but it bothered me when she didn’t pay attention to me. I was like a child playing with his crush during school time, only I couldn’t get in trouble by the teacher because I was the head of the school.

When the meeting was over, I waited until everyone else had left, looking over at Ava in a way that told her I needed her to stay behind with me. She had acted so strangely when they talked about the polo match, and I wanted to find out what was up. I hoped it didn’t have anything to do with me or with what happened between us on Friday night. She was important to the future of the company, and if I had screwed up, I wanted to make it right. She stood up and smiled at me.

“What’s up?” She was trying to act like nothing was wrong, but I could see right through it.

“When they talked about the polo match, you looked a little bit upset,” I said. “Is it me? I can stay home if it's something you want to go to.”

“What? No.” She chuckled. “My parents go to the polo match every year, and I’d already told them I would go with them. I mean, I don’t really have a choice since they don’t know I work for MJ. I either have to go with them or not at all.”

I nodded my head, just relieved it had nothing to do with me. I’d had an amazing time with her the other night, and though I knew it would be stupid to continue anything, there was still that small hope there. Just as I was about to say something, one of the employees walked in to get the meeting room straightened up. I nodded toward the door and walked side by side through the office, talking low as if we were discussing business. Finally, when we reached the end of the hall, we ducked into my office and shut the door. At first, we were standing enticingly close together, and for a moment, my breath caught in my throat, and all I could think about was pressing my mouth against hers. She smiled and put her hand on my face, leaning forward and kissing my cheek before walking over and sitting down in the chair across from the desk.

I walked over and sat down, leaning back in my chair and taking in a deep breath, my hands folded in front of me. I wasn’t sure what to say so I was giving her the opportunity to talk first. She stood up and walked around the room, looking at the pictures on the walls. She stopped at the last one and smiled. It was her father and me when we first opened our office in Brooklyn. Regardless of how things had ended, we had been best friends back then, and I missed him from time to time. She moved past that and looked at my shelves, running her fingers along the spines of the books I kept up there. For some reason, even though I never read them, it felt right or comforting to me to keep the classics on the shelf. Some people thought it was a décor thing, but it was more of a home away from home kind of thing. I cleared my throat, grabbing her attention. She walked back over and took a seat.

“First of all, go with your family to the polo match,” I said. “I forgot how much your dad liked that event, and I know it's important for him to do family things together. I’ll just pull you behind the bathrooms in the afternoon and steel some of your time.”

“That’s so romantic, Tanner.” Her sardonic tone said how unromantic she found the idea.

“Well, you know how I am,” I replied, laughing. “I want to apologize for Friday night. I mean, I don’t regret it in the least, but I also felt like it was something both of us did after a lot of alcohol and a really long week at work. I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me.”

“It’s okay,” she said, standing back up. “I don’t apologize at all, actually.”

I looked at her as she stepped forward. She had a playful look on her face, and she leaned forward on my desk, her shirt sinking low and her breasts heaving forward. I wanted to stick my face in it, but I refrained, instead of looking up into her eyes. She was biting the edge of her lip, and she reached forward, grabbing my tie. As she pulled me forward, she took my bottom lip in her mouth and sucked it hard and slow. As she released it from her mouth, mine was hanging wide open, shocked at her response.

“I didn’t mind it at all,” she whispered. “Probably because I wanted it so bad.”

She glanced down at my cock that was, at that point, rock solid and throbbing. Instantly, my mind went somewhere else. I pictured her walking around the desk and kneeling out of view, unzipping my pants and putting those luscious lips around my cock. Without a doubt, she knew what I was thinking and let go of my tie, winked and turned, sashaying out of the office. I watched her ass move back and forth in her skirt, and I leaned back in the chair, rubbing my hand down my hard cock. If it wasn’t a day full of meetings, I’d lock the door and jack my cock right there, bringing her in to watch, but I knew that was something we would easily get caught for. I was the owner of the company, but I didn’t make a habit of fucking people in the office, well not very often at least.

I sat for at least fifteen minutes trying to get my cock to go down. I had several more meetings to get through that day, and I didn’t want to do it with a raging hard-on the entire time. When I finally emerged from the office, I didn’t even look over at her room, but I could hear her giggling as I walked past. I did the best to hide my smile and then went into the meetings, immersing myself in the information that was being given, even though I knew it all already. I was, after all, the one who wrote the schedule for the meetings. When the last meeting was over, I went back to my room and found that Ava had already left for the day. I was disappointed until I saw a note on my desk that read, “Check your phone.”

I picked my phone up and looked at it, not sure what she was talking about. There were no new messages, no missed calls, nothing. I had left it in my office while I was in the meetings, more by accident than on purpose. I sighed, not sure why, unless she hadn’t sent me anything yet. I looked at the note again but that was what it said. I scratched my head and put it down, gathering my files and putting them in my briefcase. As I piled the files in the bag, I stopped, thinking about the other places something could be left on my phone. I pulled it back out and went to the camera roll. My mouth dropped open as I stared down at the photo. Apparently, Ava had come into my office and snapped a pic of her tits and left it as a gift for me on my phone.

I stared down at those perfectly round firm breasts, and my mouth started to water. I sat down in my chair and shook my head. This girl was crazy, and she was completely messing with my head. I wanted to screw the hell out of her, and it wasn’t easy keeping myself straight, especially when she did shit like that. Part of me really wanted to keep it, knowing I was going to be alone later and that would get me going to finish what she’d started earlier. But knowing how much of an imagination I had, and how I didn’t want anyone accidentally looking at her breasts on my phone, I deleted it, feeling almost a loss when the message disappeared. I opened my texts and sent her back a shocked emoji face and then the one with sunglasses. I laughed and grabbed my bag, happier than I had a right to be with how my day had gone so far.

I left work in a daze of happiness and horniness, hoping I would get to spend some time with Ava before the weekend, though I didn’t expect anything. Now that I knew Dean was going to be at the polo match, I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I thought I would. Even if Ava was there with him, I would only be able to watch her from afar. The last thing I want to do was get into an argument with his ass. He was hard-headed and wouldn’t back down from an argument. I didn’t want to disrespect Ava’s father in front of her, but that might end up proving harder to do than I’d originally thought.

Either way, she was sauntering away, and I was standing in my office with a giant boner.

Chapter 8

Ava

The polo match was only a few days away, and I was freaking out about it. I couldn’t go with my coworkers because my parents would find out I’d lied about my job. I told my parents I would go with them, but what if someone from work recognized me? I was starting to think it was a better idea to just stay home and relax, especially since everyone else would be there, giving me ample time to get some rest and relaxation. I didn’t know, though. It was almost impossible for anything to be that simple, especially when it came to my father and interrupting family time. I knew with my mother’s constant need to gossip and talk with her friends, I was my father’s only escape. While that was great, it was also a serious liability for me and keeping my secret. Why had my life become so darned complicated? I guessed I’d done it to myself with all this sneaking around, but my father’s past was taking a definite toll on my future.

I had several days to think about it. It was only Wednesday, but I was having a hard time concentrating on my work. Hiding this from my dad seemed a little bit more stressful than I thought it would be. Not to mention there was this insane sexual attraction between Tanner and me, and that did not help my stress levels at that moment. It was strange that as much as he was part of my stress, I almost felt better anytime he was around. All morning, when he would come to my desk to talk, drop something off, or whatever, I could feel my nerves begin to go from boiling to just a simmer in about thirty seconds flat. It was stupid, and I knew I couldn’t read into it, but it was helping for now.

As if he could read my mind, I glanced up to find Tanner looking across the hall at me, leaned back in his chair as if he were contemplating something. I smiled and looked back down, realizing that it was almost time to break for lunch. He got up and walked toward me, smiling as other employees passed in the hallway.

“Hey, there,” he said, ducking into my doorway. “Wanna go grab lunch together?”

“Um, sure,” I said, cheerfully. “Give me five minutes to get my stuff together?”

“Sure,” he said. “Just grab me when you are ready.”

It had been the first time we would have lunch since the second day I worked for the company. Every day, I waited patiently, hoping he would ask me out again, but he was trying to keep quiet the fact that we were somewhat, in a weird way, seeing each other. He didn’t want the others to see us together alone too often because they would immediately start rumors. I realized when I came to work in the real world that the office drama was like being back in high school, except we got paid for it. The last thing I wanted was to be the topic of the rumor mill with the women in the office who had nothing better to do with their time. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t turn out too well for them since Tanner didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would put up with that kind of thing. Either way, first and foremost, I was there to do a job and rumors of a personal relationship would get in the way of that.

When I was ready to go, we walked nonchalantly to the elevator, no one really noticing at all. We walked three blocks south to a small organic deli and ordered some sandwiches. I sat at a small, round table watching Tanner wait for our order at the counter as I sipped on my tea, thinking about how handsome he looked. That was exactly one of the biggest problems. I couldn’t get my mind off him to even start to think of a solution. When he finally sat down, I forced a smile through my trance and sat back, taking a deep breath.

“What’s up? You seem distracted,” he said, picking up his sandwich.

“I’ve just been thinking about the polo match a lot,” I replied. “I don’t regret taking this job at all, but I also didn’t realize how complicated things would get. It’s been more stressful than I thought it would be. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me making things stressful, but either way, it’s on my mind.”

“I can understand that,” he said.

“I think I’ve decided to not go to the polo match at all,” I replied. “I’m going to tell my parents I’m sick and just take the day and be home.”

“But I wanted to see you,” he said with a pouty lip.

“You see me every day.” I chuckled at his frowny face.

“I know,” he replied. “I meant outside of work, just being whoever Ava really is.”

“I’m pretty much me all the time,” I said, a little flattered that it mattered to him. “Nothing really different except maybe not a skirt and heels.”

“I like the sound of that,” he snickered. “Can’t you just come with work, and we’ll make sure you don’t leave the special tented area for us.”

“I’m sure you do like the sound of it.” I shook my head at how easily his mind was led into the gutter. “I would go with you guys, but that isn’t a very big space, and its way too close for comfort.”

We sat there for several minutes, eating our lunches, thinking about the problem at hand. I knew Tanner was trying to come up with a solution, and it was kind of sweet, but it was still completely impossible. I had already racked my brain for days trying to decide what I wanted to do, how I could get around all this, but it wasn’t going to work any way I looked at it. My best course of action was to stay home and deal with it.

“What if—”

“Tanner,” I said, cutting him off. “I have thought of all the different options, and it just seems too dangerous for me to do. If I go with you, someone could recognize me and tell my father they saw me. If I go with him, someone from here could completely blow my cover. It is just too complicated.”

“But I wanted to see you there,” he said still pouting.

“You are impossible.” I laughed.

“I know,” he said. “But at the same time, I understand. You have to do what you have to do, and if not going keeps you working for the company, I can be okay with that. I don’t want you to hurt your father, no matter how much we dislike each other. We were best friends once. I also don’t want to put you in jeopardy of having to choose between him and your job. I know family is important to you and so is your career. I don’t like putting anyone in impossible situations like that.”

He reached out and covered my hand with his, looking into my eyes. As soon as mine latched to his, it was like we were in our own little world, caught up in something neither of us was expecting. We probably would have sat there forever like that, but his cell phone rang, shaking us back to the present. He pulled his hand away quickly and looked down at his call, answering the phone and walking outside. I watched him walk out the door and stand on the sidewalk, talking to whoever was on the other line. It was work related, as always, and though I wanted to get my own mindset back to work, it was nearly impossible. This man had done something to me, and I think, in the back of mind, I was more worried about him getting hurt than I was my father. I knew he wasn’t a commitment kind of guy, but at the same time, he was also acting differently toward me than I had ever seen him act toward the girls he’d brought to our house as kids. He was always distant and course with them, but never with me.

When he returned from his phone call, he sighed and rolled his eyes. He returned to sit and finish his sandwich. I rested my chin on my hands, smiling at his reaction. He was always wanted for something, but I knew he loved that because he had created such an important business that ran with or without him at that point.

“See, work will always be there, and luckily, I work right across the hall,” I said. “You’ll see me every day at work.”

“True,” he said, “but I was hoping to see you outside of work.”

I smiled with no response, watching him finish eating and then take our dishes back to the counter. I gathered my things and threw away any trash that was left before meeting him at the front door. As I passed out to the sidewalk, his hand pressed against the small of my back, sending waves of electricity through my body. I turned and looked around before looking up into his eyes. He smiled, and I leaned forward, slowly and softly kissing his lips. He immediately relaxed into my touch this time, and it felt almost natural and normal.

“What was that for?”

“Lunch,” I said, smiling. “And to hold you over for a while.”

“That will hold me over for...” he looked down at his watch, “whelp, the time has passed. I need more.”

I laughed and slapped him in the chest, turning and walking toward the crosswalk, looking back over my shoulder at him as he pulled his jacket on, chuckling and shaking his head. I turned back, waiting for the signal, the smile fading from my face. What had I gotten myself into? I had started a job against my father’s wishes, and then I had gone and fallen for the boss. I knew from the beginning that he wasn’t the man I needed to have my mind on. In fact, I needed to have my mind on work and not men. There I was, though, standing at the intersection that seemed to represent more than just the walk back to work. It symbolized my struggle of direction, the understanding that one path led in a completely different direction than the other, but most likely, both led to heartbreak. It was too late to get him off my mind. That would be impossible unless I quit, and that wasn’t in the cards.

When in school, everyone made life outside of college seem so perfect and easy. They acted like the hardest part is getting through school, but in reality, once you have the job, work is the least of your worries. Suddenly you had to balance your choices, and there were no instructors or professors there to help you do that. It was almost impossible not to make mistakes. You just hoped your mistakes weren’t so monumental that it affected the rest of your life. I was standing there far beyond making a choice and now faced with the consequences of my choices. For once in my life, I was extremely excited to have a Saturday where everyone left me alone. I was going to be able to enjoy the peace and quiet of my own thoughts without any outside influence. No matter how much I wanted Tanner to be there, this was going to be a moment where I really needed to decide what I wanted and whether taking the chance on Tanner was even worth it in the long run. I was pretty sure I already knew that answer, but every time I thought I did, he would do something sweet, or look at me lustfully, and I knew I was in over my head.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, he came up next to me and flashed a charming smile. There I was again, melting into a giant puddle on the sidewalk. This just might be completely hopeless.

Chapter 9

Tanner

I never really was interested in polo at all, and to be honest, the people weren’t much more interesting. But the company had sponsored this, and we wanted to bring some good press in before we started the merger. No matter how good of an idea the merger was, the change was hard for everyone, including the public. The company and the board felt it was proactive to really get the public back behind this business that I had grown from the ground floor. So, we had several sponsored events going on across the country, the first of which was the polo match. I wasn’t sure when I’d started to dislike the event. I used to look forward to it, but now, for some reason, the women in their hats and tight little dresses didn’t hold the appeal they used to, at least not like Ava did.

I tried to push the thought of Ava from my mind, realizing I was thinking about her more than I had anyone else in my life. When I was with her, I was thinking about her. When I wasn’t with her, I was thinking about her, and when I was thinking about her, it was no longer only about sex. I shook my head and ordered a beer from the waiter walking around, needing to distract myself and keep up the look of the company. Even if Ava were here, it wasn’t like I could be alone with her or even act on any of my incredible urges to always be touching her in some way or another. It was increasingly difficult for me to keep my hands off her, and I didn’t mean in a purely sexual way. Like when we walked out of the deli earlier in the week and I pressed my hand against the small of her back, that gentle, natural touch just seemed like the normal thing to do.

I wanted to see more of her, more than I had gotten the entire time I had known her. Yes, she was the same person I was around when she was a kid, but this woman in front of me every day was captivating. No, I hadn’t changed my own personal rules on commitment, but something had to give because I couldn’t seem to keep my mind on anything but her. There was a crazy vibe between us, and we were walking this tightrope together, not knowing what was right and where we stood.

The waiter came back with my beer, and I sat down in a chair next to the field. I watched part of the match, trying to take my mind off things I should have been able to set aside. The breeze was cool that day, and I’d worn a light jacket. I crossed my legs and looked around, seeing Ava’s mother, Lindy, across the yard, talking to a gaggle of snooty women. She was such a bitch, always had been, but Dean loved her, and she loved him but just got seriously caught up in the lifestyle. Dean was smart enough to know he needed a big enough nest egg to keep her happy, and that’s exactly what he had. After we split, I heard he had taken a CFO position for a multinational financial firm and retired just recently from that. He liked to stay busy, but he also liked to have control over his schedule for his family’s sake.

All in all, both of our lives turned out exactly like we wanted them to. I wasn’t sure Dean’s went down the path he’d thought it would when we first started the business. The business world was a tough place then, and it had only gotten tougher as the years passed. With technological changes, constant training needed, and the competition all over the place, it had been a battlefield until I finally got my company above the competition. I knew then, and I would stand by it now, that Dean would have never survived in the world I lived in. It was too centered around constant work and sacrifice in order to make it right. Sometimes, I thought about what my life would have been like if I had thought like Dean, but then again, I wasn’t wired that way, and it wasn’t something I could even picture in my head. Sure, everyone likes the idea of having another person there waiting on them every day, but I didn’t have time for that, especially early in my career.

I let out a deep breath as Lindy turned and walked the other way without seeing me. It was stressful enough having her there, and the last thing I needed was for her to spot me and have one of her fits. I knew if she was there, her husband wasn’t too far away, and an encounter was far from something I was in the mood for. I needed a damn vacation, on an island, where I was not going to run into anyone I knew. I needed a space where I could just relax, take a deep breath and be me. Of course, I knew my brain would never allow it, and after the first few hours, I would be trying to connect to Wi-Fi to check on the company and knock out some work. At that moment, I was just going to have to settle for the cool breeze, the beer in my hand, and the polo match in front of me. In all actuality, it was probably the most I’d relaxed in a really long time. Of course, as soon as I thought that, my phone went off letting me know the executive board was making a speech to all those in attendance.

I stood up, rolling my eyes and stretching. I wanted to sit there and do nothing until they made me go home. When I opened my eyes, they landed directly on Dean, and I quickly put my arms down and tried to avoid him. The last thing I wanted was to have a conversation with this guy. It was too late, though. He had already seen me and was heading in my direction. I thought about bolting like a child, but I figured that would just give him even more ammo, so I smiled as kind as I could and stood there with my hands in my pockets.

“Tanner,” he said, stepping up to face me.

“Dean,” I said, not sure whether to offer a handshake or not.

He looked good, very relaxed, and I was almost jealous of that fact. We stood there staring at each other for several moments, the situation both intense and awkward. It had been many years since we had last seen each other, and I didn’t even know what to say. He looked irritated as usual, but personally, I really didn’t care all that much.

“I saw that MJ was sponsoring,” he grumbled. “It’s a shame this polo match has lowered its standards in that way. It seems all the trash has come out now.”

I stood there for a second folding his words over in my head. At first, I almost thought I heard him wrong, knowing there was no possible way that he had just walked up after all this time and made his first full sentence an insult. I must have been going crazy, right? Nope, I was not crazy in the least, and it was almost humorous to me how irritated he was after all these years. He was a man who could hold a grudge.

“Really?” I laughed and shook my head. “All these years later, and you’re still angry.”

“I don’t waste anger on you,” he scoffed. “Just pointing out the facts.”

“Yeah, well, at least my half of the company is still going strong,” I snapped back. “And I recreated your half, probably better than you could have done yourself. In fact, have you heard the news? We’re merging with the number three company. Sounds like this trash is handling itself pretty well.”

“You always have been an arrogant son of a bitch,” he growled, stepping forward. “You never could understand that you didn’t do any of this all on your own. You’ve always stood on the shoulders of greats.”

“Really? And what great shoulders would those be? Yours?”

I felt bad for some reason, and it was in my nature to be combatant. However, after so many years, I didn’t harness the same anger Dean had held on to. I should have just walked away, but he was being such an asshole. We stood there for several minutes exchanging verbal blows like we were in high school.

“I have successfully run one of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the world,” he said. “I have kept a beautiful family in place, raised a strong, independent daughter, been married for over twenty-five years. What do you have to say for your life beyond your company?”

“My life is my company.” I chuckled, thinking about Ava but pushing it from my mind. “I chose the path best for me, and you know as well as I do that picnics and tea parties were never on my list of accomplishments. Hell, if they were on yours, you nailed it, but while you were playing dolls and being the ‘man of the house’ I was making millions, growing a company, and becoming the top person in my field. Doesn’t sound like a wasted life to me.”

“You are so naïve,” he said, chuckling. “When you die, will you bury the buildings you built with you? Will you fill your casket with hundred-dollar bills? I’ll be surrounded by people who love me, people I had personal and beautiful relationships with. You will have your secretary and the gravedigger. Sounds like you are the one who truly is missing out. I’ll tell you what I told you before, Tanner. One day, you’re going to regret pushing everyone aside for your dreams. One day, you’re going to want the time back, but by then it will be too late.”

I stared at him for several minutes, blinking my eyes, trying to understand why those words were hitting me so hard in the chest. Had I gotten so hung up on Ava that Dean was making sense for once? I shook my head and forced a smile, turned and walked away. It was the only thing I could do, since words had seemed to have left me behind. I grabbed my keys and left the match, not wanting to look at any of these people anymore. I knew the execs would have my ass Monday, and I knew leaving would look bad on the company, but I couldn’t sit there any longer and deal with that. I was angry, and I didn’t even know why. Sure, Dean really knew how to get under my skin, but this time was different, his words hit me like a punch in the gut. I didn’t like it, and I needed to get my mind off it or I would obsess for the rest of the day.

I walked straight to my car and jumped inside, gripping the steering wheel and growling. I needed to clear my head, think about something else. I sat there thinking for a few minutes before pulling off and out of the country club compound. I knew exactly what I needed. There was no question about it. I was tired of holding back and tired of skirting the issue. I was going to go do what I wanted to do for a change, and hopefully, it didn’t blow up in my face.

Chapter 10

Ava

I sat on my couch, my feet propped up, still wearing my pajamas and covered in a nice, soft blanket. This was exactly what I needed, some quiet time to sort through my thoughts. It wasn’t very often that I took any time for myself like this, and though I was playing sick, it was a good excuse to sit around and do nothing all day except munch on snacks and watch movies. Still, with all the free time and willingness to work things out in my mind so I could get back on track with my career, I found myself daydreaming about Tanner. It was like my own brain was betraying me, and it was starting to get frustrating. I really wanted to throw some clothes on and go for a walk or do some shopping, but I was playing sick. Though the likeliness of my parents checking on me was slim to none, I didn’t want to take any chances. It was like calling out of work sick and then being seen at the club or bar that night. It never turned out well for you.

I got up and went over to the fridge, staring into the bleak emptiness that it was. I had been so busy lately, I’d forgotten to get any groceries. Now, I was left hungry and housebound. It was a good thing I lived in New York where there was a delivery or takeout place on every corner. At the same time, I just wanted someone to make the decision for me. I was not in the mood to browse every single takeout menu in the drawer. I grabbed the last apple off the counter and bottle of water in the fridge and sighed as I sat back down on the couch. I guess I was destined for healthy food, since I couldn’t seem to make up my mind.

I glanced over out the window at the sunshine and wondered what Tanner was doing. I knew he was at the polo match, but I was curious about whether he took a date, what he did at events by himself, and whether he was thinking about me at all. I knew it was stupid to even entertain the ideas, but I was having a free day of thinking, so I allowed myself to indulge in the thought process. Besides, what could it really hurt to think about those things? Maybe it would help me stop obsessing over him if I made myself believe he was a huge douche bag.

I laid my head down on the throw pillow and set my apple on the coffee table, staring up at the romantic comedy playing on the screen. It was one of my favorites with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, but now, it seemed a little silly. Tanner was not the guy who was going to be the star in a real-life romance. He was more the one-night stand guy that everyone forgets about twenty minutes into the movie.

I laughed at myself as I thought about Tanner in any type of romantic comedy. As I humored myself, I looked up, hearing a knock at the door. Maybe I was wrong about my parents not checking up on me, but they should still be at the match, and my mother would never leave that match early, even if there was an alien attack or she was losing a limb. It was one of the biggest social days of the year for her. I walked over to the door and opened it up, sniffling just for added effect. Immediately, I stood up straight and smiled, seeing Tanner’s face looking back at me. He smiled charmingly at me as he held out two bags of takeout.

“I think you read my mind,” I said, taking the bags from him and inviting him in. “I was starving and couldn’t decide on what I wanted to eat.”

“Perfect timing, then,” he said, laughing. “I was coming to check on you.”

“You do know I’m not actually sick, right?” I laughed and peeked in the bags, feeling his presence in the room.

For some reason, I didn’t feel quite as hungry as I had before and just having him in my apartment sent chills down my back. He was so sexy, too, with his clothes on from the polo match and his hair pushed to the side instead of the normal perfect do on top of his head. I turned around and looked at him, hearing him close the front door and linger there in the living room.

“I know,” he said. “I wanted to see you again, out of work.”

I watched him walk across the room and look down at my mess in the living room. He watched the rom-com on the television that was on mute and picked up the remote, clicking off the television. The intensity between us was thick as he stood bathed in the evening light coming through the windows. He stuck his hands in his pockets and tilted his head at me, biting his bottom lip. Holy shit that was hot. I put down the bag and started to walk forward, first at a slow pace but then picking up to a jog. He took his hands out of his pockets as I hopped up, wrapping my legs around his waist and pressing my mouth hard against him.

He wrapped his arms around me and gripped my ass, squeezing hard and groaning as his tongue immediately pushed through my lips and swirled around, tasting me. I could feel him pulling me in, breaking me down, and readying me for what was to come. I knew there was something about this that was wrong, but I didn’t give a damn anymore. We had wanted each other since the first day I had sat in front of him. I could fight myself over and over again, but I would still come to the same conclusion.

He walked forward through the living and toward my bedroom, carrying me in his arms, still kissing me feverishly. When he hit the hall, he set me down, and we stopped for a moment as he pushed me up against the wall and grabbed onto my tits, massaging them deeply as he ran his tongue up my neck. I moaned loudly as he pushed his hard cock against my body, groaning right along with me. I couldn’t keep myself contained, and I pulled my top off, letting my breasts bounce out freely. He dipped his head down and sucked on my nipple as my hands pulled at the belt of his pants. He grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around to the other wall right by the bathroom door. He put his hand on the doorframe above my head as I took his pants down to his ankles and wasted no time reaching into his black boxer briefs and grabbing firmly to the shaft of his cock.

He closed his eyes and breathed heavily as I stroked it hard, my heart racing at the girth of the thing. I wanted it inside me so bad, and I wanted to feel him fucking the hell out of me. I yanked his boxers down to the floor and dropped to my knees, letting his dick spring out, catching it with my lips. My hand tightened at the base, and I pulled my lips over the head, flicking my tongue against him. He groaned louder and pushed down on my head with his hand, his shaft sliding down my throat. He knew what he wanted, and he was not afraid to take control. That fact alone was incredibly arousing. I bobbed my head up and down on his cock for several moments before he reached down and grabbed me under the arms, pulling me into the bedroom and throwing me down on the bed.

I looked up at him and smiled as he ripped off the rest of his clothes and stood stroking his cock as he looked at my body. I pulled my pants off and watched as his eyes widened, staring at my naked swollen pussy. I could feel the air hit me, and I knew I was already so wet. He licked his lips and dove down on the bed, pushing my legs over his shoulders and moving his lips fast and deep over my pulsing mound. I screamed out and arched my back as he pulled two fingers up and began to finger fuck me, his tongue running circles over my clit. He was not going easy, and I knew at that rate, I was going to come any second. He looked up at me and smiled as he fingered me harder and deeper, putting his whole mouth over my nub and sucking.

“Yes,” I screamed out, pushing my hand down on his head. “Don’t stop.”

With the sound of my voice, he growled and moved even faster. My body tensed and arched, and my head rolled back as the orgasm exploded from my body. I screamed loudly grinding my hips against his mouth as the pleasure moved through every inch of me. He pulled his fingers out and licked the juices flowing before growling loudly, moving up and plunging his huge cock into me. It slid right through the juices and filled me completely. He picked up my hips and began to thrust, moving his hips like a wave against my clit that wasn’t even recovered yet from the first orgasm. I was writhing in absolute pleasure, and I ran my hands up my stomach and grabbed my breasts, massaging them as I moaned in rhythm with his thrusts.

“You’re so wet,” he whispered with a groan.

“Fuck me hard,” I said, looking up at him and biting my lip. “I want you to feel me come again.”

He chuckled but with a tone that said he was ready for it. He began to fuck me hard and deep, pulling my legs up on his shoulders and slamming his body into me. The sound of our skin slapping together echoed through the room and heightened my arousal tenfold. His grip on my waist was tight and I pushed my arms over my head, screaming in pleasure. It was even better than I had imagined, better than I had thought when I was rubbing my own pussy late at night.

I grasped my hands together and looked up at him as he pushed deeper and deeper into me. I could tell his mind was past the point of satisfying just me, and he had a serious mission for release. I unhooked my legs from his shoulders and spread them wide as he pushed his body over top of me, grinding against my clit as he pushed deeply into me. He gritted his teeth and grabbed onto the sheets around my head as he arched his back with every thrust. He was raw and uncensored, and I could have fucked him like that all night long. However, as his eyes grew needier and his body pulsed against my nub, I gripped onto his shoulders and breathed heavily, feeling another orgasm teetering on its edge.

He groaned, pulling his hips back and slamming into me, holding himself deep inside of me for a moment before sitting up and pulling out. He grabbed his cock and stroked it with one hand as his other rubbed my clit furiously. As his seed sprayed me from tits to belly button, I arched my back and screamed out, feeling his fingers push me back over the edge in pleasure. The feeling of his hot stream and the sound of his deep groans made the ecstasy that much deeper.

As my body relaxed, I looked up into his eyes and gave him a coy smile. I already couldn’t wait until the next time.

Chapter 11

Tanner

I sat at the table, my mind completely lost in thought. I had fucked the hell out of Ava the night before, and I couldn’t get it off my mind. It was so hot, raw, and needy, and even afterward, as we ate takeout and talked, I wanted to fuck her again. Usually, when I had satisfied my want for a woman, it was easy for me to walk away, but this woman had latched herself into my brain and my cock, and I couldn’t even begin to describe how bad it was driving me crazy. I thought it was annoying before when I couldn’t get her off my mind, but now it was ten times worse.

I ran my hands over my face and grabbed my cup of coffee, walking through the open living room of my penthouse and standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows. I looked out over the cityscape, thinking about the last couple of weeks. It had been nuts, and Ava had changed everything from the first moment she stepped into the room. How could someone so young, so inexperienced in the world, grab my attention with such force and ferocity? I was starting to think I was losing my mind and my grip on the reality of the situation.

A yawn escaped my mouth, and I leaned my forehead against the cold glass. I was exhausted, but I didn’t foresee any sleep coming to me. After we had finished eating, I left, neither one of us saying anything about me spending the night. I hadn’t spent the night with a woman in a very, very long time. She was worried her parents would show up to check on her and find me there in her bed, something I couldn’t help but chuckle about when I imagined Dean’s face. When I got home, I took a long, hot shower, still finding my cock wanting to struggle past being rock-hard and knowing it wasn’t getting any more of Ava that night. I had climbed into bed and switched on the television, thinking that taking my mind off her would help me relax, but as I flipped through late-night movies and terrible infomercials, all I could do was replay that hot sex over and over again in my head. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep but maybe two hours, and that was after my body was so exhausted from struggling that it finally gave out.

The sun came flooding through my windows a couple of hours later, and as soon as my eyes opened, I started thinking about Ava again. I lay there, letting my brain go wherever it wanted, not wanting to fight it. Finally, I had drug myself out of the bed and fixed a pot of coffee, figuring if nothing else, I would call her in a bit and see what she was doing. We had ripped into each other, all the restraint that had been there days prior just falling to the ground. It was the first time since I got divorced over twenty years before that I had fucked a girl and actually wanted to see her again. It wasn’t forced or wanted, it just was there, and I couldn’t control it. Her eyes, her smile, her hair, those hips, it all ran through my mind repeatedly without any internal power to stop it. I was almost going crazy thinking about how bad I wanted to see her face and hear her voice.

I walked over and plopped down on the couch, setting my coffee on the coffee table. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, trying to shake all of it from my mind. The sex had been hot, raw, and amazing. There was no question about that, but there was more to it, and that was what was making me nervous. There was a chemistry between us that I couldn’t get off my mind. We clicked, every step of the way, and we had since the first day. She was ambitious, realistic, and didn’t live in the fantasy world that most girls her age did. She had been brought up in a world where she was spoiled and rich, but knowing her father, he’d been honest and forthright about how life really was when you were out on your own. This may have been her first real job, but she handled herself like a veteran, and that crossed over into her personal life as well. It wasn’t necessarily that she was extremely grown up, but she was responsible and put her dreams ahead of her wants at every turn. Well, almost every turn. Last night, she definitely gave into something that she had wanted just as long as I had.

I could sit there all day thinking about her, or I could give in to my nagging need to see her. There was no use fighting it anymore. That ship had sailed as her pouty lips ran over the head of my cock the night before. I reached down and adjusted myself, my dick already hardening at the thought of her sucking it. I was torturing myself, and it was absolutely useless. I got up from the couch and tucked my half chub into the waistband of my boxers before walking into the kitchen and grabbing my phone. What was the worst that could happen? Maybe she doesn’t answer, but if she did, I could take her out to breakfast and maybe bring her back to my place for a little Sunday fun day. I didn’t have any problem spending all day banging her all over my penthouse. There were a lot of rooms, and I was more than ready for her.

I dialed the number and sat there, listening to the ring. There was a good possibility she wasn’t even awake yet. Finally, around the fourth ring, she picked up, the sound of the shower going in the background. Immediately, I pictured her naked body glistening through the hot steam in her bathroom.

“Hey there, sexy,” I said.

“Hey,” she replied, something strange in her voice.

“Whatcha’ doing?”

“I was getting ready to jump in the shower,” she replied. “I just woke up a few minutes ago.”

“Sleep well?”

“Like a freaking rock.” She laughed.

“You’re welcome,” I teased. “When you’re done showering, why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll pick you up for breakfast? Then, we can come back to my place and lounge around.”

“That sounds nice, but I can’t,” she said with little emotion. “My father called this morning, and he wanted to talk and check on me. He’s on his way over now. I think he’s bringing our normal Sunday bagels and coffee that we did when I was home from college in the summers. I don’t want to disappoint him.”

“Of course not,” I said, covering up my disappointment. “How about dinner? We can go out to the water and eat at one of the restaurants out there.”

She was silent for a moment, and I felt my stomach drop, sensing that our time apart might have changed her outlook on everything. I didn’t think that one night would make her run screaming in the other direction. However, as a young woman new in the business world, I could see her pushing back from sleeping with her boss.

“Tanner,” she sighed. “Look, last night was fucking incredible, but I don’t think I can do this. I mean, between you being my boss and my father hating your guts, I feel like this is a recipe for disaster. I want to be a part of your company, someone who makes a significant difference, and I want to be taken seriously. I don’t think anyone will take me seriously if they find out I’m fucking the owner of the company. I’ll end up falling to the wayside, being labeled as the girl who made her way to the top by sleeping her way there. That’s not the life I want. I think you are great, super sexy, and I can’t get last night off my mind, but I have to. I have to keep this professional. Well, as professional as I possibly can at this point.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure what to say. “You sound pretty resolute in your decision, so I’m not going to try to talk you out of it. I’ll see you at work tomorrow then.”

“Thank you for understanding,” she said with a sigh.

When we hung up the phone, I stood there staring down at the blank screen. Hell, I didn’t want to be understanding. What I wanted was to go to her house and rip off her clothes and melt that resolve right away, but I couldn’t. Not because her father was there, but because I needed to respect how she felt about it. Besides, maybe it was a good thing. I was getting incredibly wrapped up in this woman, in a way I had never done before. I was starting to forget things at work, not being as productive as I wanted to be, and catching feelings when she didn’t return my affection. I had told myself a long time ago that I wasn’t going to fall for that. I wasn’t going to get involved with anyone, especially not someone who worked for me.

My company had come leaps and bounds above what I had thought it would be, but I wasn’t at a stopping point yet. I knew if I stayed stagnant, if my mind fixated on other things, I would never make this merger work to its top ability. I had the opportunity to expand my company across the world, and that had been a dream I never thought I would be able to reach. For the last couple weeks, though, I found myself becoming complacent, happier to have Ava on my mind than to keep pushing through the stagnation that would happen every so often with the company. It was hard to spend over twenty years pushing every single day with unwavering motivation. Sometimes, it got exhausting, and I was pretty sure I was using Ava as an excuse to give in to that.

I shook my head and tossed my phone in my bag. I walked into the bedroom and grabbed some office casual clothing, brushed my teeth, did my hair, and looked at myself in the mirror. Through the aged skin and peppered hair, I could still see that young kid determined to make his dreams come true. Though I felt more like Dean than that kid recently, I knew it was time to step up my game again. One too many days off was a weakness, and I could easily lose everything I was working so hard for.

I grabbed my bag and left the penthouse, getting back to my normal schedule of working at the office on the weekend. I needed to do this for me, for the company, and to get Ava off my mind before I completely lost it for this girl. She had made her decision, and I had to respect that. Sitting around moping and wishing wasn’t going to change that. There was no time for crap like that in my life, and going into the office was what I needed to remind myself of that fact.

I walked out of the lobby of the complex and the cool autumn air hit me in the face. It was a beautiful morning in New York, and my office building was shimmering and glowing in the sunlight. I walked across the street and through the lobby of the building, waving at the normal guard. He stepped out of the office and walked over to me.

“Mr. Johnson,” he said scanning my entrée card. “I missed you last weekend.”

“Yeah.” I chuckled. “I got a bit distracted, but I’m back.”

I walked over to the elevator and got in, trying to act like everything was normal. Instead, thoughts of Ava were swirling around in my brain, and it was driving me crazy.

Chapter 12

Ava

It was the first time in my life that I woke up not wanting to pursue my future. It wasn’t the fact that my goals were almost overwhelming at times. It was the fact that I had gotten myself into quite the situation without using my damn brain. What the heck was going on with me? I had always been the girl who made the smart choices, not the willy-nilly, think with your crotch choices. I had a mix of emotions going on as I readied myself for work. I was nervous because I had fucked my boss, I was lying to my father, something I had never done before, and I had told Tanner I couldn’t see him anymore. On top of that, I could feel anger twisting inside of me every time I thought about him. My father, when he came over the night before, told me about the fight he got in with Tanner at the polo match. I didn’t know why he didn’t mention that when he was here, but I was almost livid about it.

He had come over without calling, which normally would have been fine, but he came over after having it out with my father. It was almost blatantly obvious what he had done. He had gotten pissed at my father and come over to my apartment and fucked me just to spite him. There was nothing more to that sex than his own selfish anger toward my father. I had been played hardcore, Tanner knowing that it would eventually all come out, whether I wanted it to or not. He knew that if my father found out he was sleeping with me; my father would be beaten down. I didn’t care how much my father held a grudge, he would never do something that low to Tanner. It was reprehensible on so many levels. However, I had worked too damn hard for Tanner to screw up my chances for the future. If he was going to use me as a pawn in this two-decade-old battle, I was going to use his company to push me up the corporate ladder.

I looked at myself in the mirror and put my shoulders back. I didn’t know what to expect at work that day, but whatever it was, I was going to face it with class and dignity. There was no way I was going to lower myself to his level. I had worked too hard to show I was a decent person and an excellent employee to let his petty behavior ruin that for me. I walked out to the corner to grab a cab with my spirit starting to come back. I spent the ride over thinking about all the work I could get accomplished that day. Tanner may be the CEO, but he wasn’t the only person I could impress at that company. There was a whole slew of executives who could be excellent references for the future. Not to mention the men coming in with the other company that we were merging with, none of who knew me from Adam. They would only assume I was as knowledgeable as I showed them I was. I liked to prove myself, and I felt better knowing I had the opportunity to do that with a lot of important people in the business.

When I got to the building, I walked in and rode the elevator up to our floor. By the time it reached its destination, I was feeling positive and strong about my day and my future at the company. That all changed quickly, though, when I walked into my office and saw a note from Tanner requesting that I see him as soon as I made it to the office. Fear flew through my chest, and I looked across the hall at his office door, which was shut when it was normally open. I put my things down and flipped on my computer, trying to breathe before going over there. There was a very good chance that after everything, Tanner was exactly the man my father had told me about so many years before. There was a good chance that now that I had turned him down, he was going to fire me. I knew that was illegal, but that didn’t stop it from happening on a regular basis. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and though I knew he was waiting for me, I flipped through the office emails, trying to bide my time a bit longer before I faced him.

If I got fired, I could blame him, but really, I had no one to blame but myself. I had been warned about Tanner my entire life, but I still decided it was a good idea to sneak around and take a job with his company. I had thought it was a good idea to flirt with him and sleep with him, even though it had occurred to me this was a very real scenario that I could face. I wanted to be angry, but I knew walking in there, he had the upper hand, and the last thing I wanted to do was piss him off even more than I feared he already was. Still, even after years of hearing about him, I couldn’t picture him being the man I was expecting to find behind his office doors. He had seemed ambitious and even ruthless, but he didn’t seem like a complete asshole.

I sighed. I couldn’t keep avoiding the situation because speculating itself was driving me even crazier than just walking across the hall. I stood up, straightened my skirt, and held my head up as I walked out of my office. I crossed over to his secretary’s desk and smiled as she hung up her phone.

“Mr. Johnson had requested that I come to his office when I arrived,” I said sweetly.

“Of course,” she said. “He’s been expecting you. Go on in.”

I took a deep breath and turned, staring at the office door. I stepped forward slowly, not wanting to go running in to my doom. When I opened the door, Tanner was sitting at his desk finishing up a phone call. He nodded at me and stuck his index finger in the air, letting me know it would be just one more minute. I looked around the office before taking a seat in the chair across from him and folding my hands in my lap. I tried not to make eye contact with him while he was talking. It was clear he was talking about the merger. When he hung up the phone, he took a deep breath and looked over at me, a friendly smile on his face.

“Thank you for coming in to see me,” he said. “I wanted to take a moment and talk about the other night.”

My palms were sweating, and I could hear my heart beating in my head. He seemed relaxed and professional, but I didn’t know what was going to come out of his mouth next. I was terrified that my career was over as soon as it had started. What would I tell my father? How would I explain all of this to another employer?

“The thing is,” he said, continuing. “I feel really bad. I want to apologize to you for what happened. It was unprofessional of me, and I should have respected you more than that.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head and letting out a deep breath. “You don’t need to be sorry for that. I wanted it as much as you did. I’m a grown woman, and I could have said no.”

“I have positions open in other offices,” he said. “If you aren’t comfortable here, I would be more than happy to transfer you. You can do the same job but be based out of there and not here.”

“No, no,” I said relieved, my heartbeat slowing down. “I don’t want to do that. It’s not necessary. Like I said, you didn’t force me to do anything. It was an adult, mutual decision.”

He looked at me for several moments, trying to read my face. I could tell he wasn’t sure whether I meant that or it was just me being non-combative. He genuinely didn’t have anything to apologize for because, at the time, I’d wanted him as much as he wanted me.

“Good,” he replied, straightening the papers on his desk. “I really didn’t want to go through all that paperwork anyway.”

My smile quickly faded as those words shot from his mouth and into my chest. Ouch! I didn’t understand what in the world would make him think that saying something like that was nice at all. I tried to calm down, remember that I was the one who decided that we needed to keep our relationship strictly professional, but given the circumstances, he didn’t need to take a dig like that. He looked up at me with realization on his face, and I watched as he took in a deep breath, thinking about what he said. He looked like he wanted to correct himself, like he felt bad for saying that, but he quickly tightened his face and looked back down at the files. I wasn’t sure what to say at that moment, and I could feel the anger starting to rise back in my chest.

I stood up and crossed my hands in front of me, thinking carefully about my next words. I could start a fight, but what would it do besides make things even more awkward? I shook my head and took in a deep breath as he looked up at me.

“Will that be all?” I was stern and emotionless.

He nodded his head, and I turned to walk out of the office. However, as I reached the door, I stopped, unable to let what my father told me to go. I had to say something or at least ask.

“Tanner,” I said turning back around. “My father told me about the fight you two had. Was that why you came over to my house? Was that why we had sex? Were you trying to get back at my father?”

“No,” he said, looking up with a surprised face. “Ava, that was not the reason. That had nothing to do with it.”

I wanted to say something else, but at that moment the secretary opened the door. She looked at both of us awkwardly before Tanner waved her in. I took that moment to scoot out behind her, not wanting to talk anymore about it. I didn’t believe Tanner, not after he acted so short and uncaring about having me switch offices. There was something about the way he handled himself that made me think that I didn’t know him like I thought I did. I walked back over to my office and closed the door, not wanting to even catch a glance of Tanner for the rest of the day.

I spent the rest of the workday going up a few floors and working with the financial department on their changing management strategy. Anytime I caught wind that Tanner was coming up, I would make sure to go back to my office, purposely missing him passing by. I knew it was childish, but I needed a minute to really understand what happened that morning. I still had my job, but for some reason, I felt like my pride was completely gone.

Chapter 13

Tanner

All day, yesterday, Ava made it impossible for me to talk to her. Hell, I didn’t even see her for the rest of the day, but I knew she was still there because she was working with the financial department. I tried to nonchalantly ask around for her, but every time I ended up somewhere, she had just walked out. It was extremely irritating. I was going to try to take her to lunch, realizing that our conversation seemed emotionless, and I’d come off pretty cold. The thing was, she had made the decision that she wanted to keep our relationship professional, and I wanted to honor that. It was difficult to not tell her otherwise as she sat across the desk from me, looking gorgeous as always. I held my breath when I asked her if she wanted to switch offices, completely relieved when she said no. I may have sounded cold when I made the remark about too much paperwork, but I couldn’t very well tell her I was glad because I wanted her to be close to me. That would completely negate the whole purpose of the conversation where I was showing her that I could be professional with no hard feelings.

I looked up as she walked down the hall and into her office. Finally, I was going to be able to talk to her. I stood up and walked over, nonchalantly knocking before entering. As I walked through the door, she glanced up and then back down at her paperwork. I could see her cheeks get red, and I realized that she still didn’t believe that her father and I fighting had nothing to do with what happened between us.

“Do you want to grab lunch with me? It’s been a while,” I said, smiling.

“I have too much to do today.” She didn’t even look up from her work.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?”

“That’s sweet, but I can’t,” she replied, still not making eye contact with me.

“How about tomorrow night?”

“I have plans,” she said, this time trying to hold back a smile.

“Is there any chance that you will be available at any point this week to have dinner?”

“Maybe,” she sighed, putting down her pen and finally looking me in the eye. “I’ll have to check my schedule.”

It had been a very long time since I had approached a woman and had her turn me down at every pass. I knew that I already technically had hooked up with Ava, but this new attitude was like dealing with another side of her. It was turning me on that she was playing hard to get, and from the look on her face, and that smirk that she was trying to hide, I could tell she knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to be professional, but she couldn’t deny the pull between us, just like I couldn’t when I started to obsess over not talking to her for a day. That mischievous grin on her face made me want to shut her office door and bend her over the desk, smacking her ass as I fucked her hard and deep.

I shuffled my stance, slyly adjusting my half-cocked dick. My pants were getting tighter, but I didn’t want her to know that she was having that effect on me. I hadn’t had to chase a woman down since before my ex-wife, and while other men might find it annoying and a waste of time, I found her playfulness refreshing and erotic. She wanted to be in charge, and that alone made my cock stand at attention. However, if she wanted to play games, then games we could play. I sat down in the chair and crossed my legs, watching her as she took a phone call from upstairs. The silence between us was making her anxious, and she was feeling as if that control she thought she had was quickly slipping away.

I chuckled as she furrowed her brow at me, taking notes from whomever was on the other line. I sat quietly, listening, watching her body movements, glancing at her heaving breasts, and thinking about what my next move was. When she hung up the phone, she tried to ignore that I was sitting across from her, staring. She was fidgeting, and I smiled teasingly, watching her glance up at me from the corner of her eye. She was trying so hard to keep a straight face, and I thought it was adorable. Finally, she took in a deep breath and put her pen down, looking straight over at me, raising her eyebrows. I stood up from the chair, walking over to the door and pausing before I opened it.

“I’ll see you at my place at eight on Friday. I’ll send a car,” I said.

I turned the doorknob and walked out of her office, shutting the door behind me before she could say a word back to me. As the door shut, I heard her let out a deep sigh, and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. I had really gotten to her, and I found that this game was even more fun than the first one had been. I knew I wasn’t keeping my promise to respect her wishes for a professional relationship, but who was I kidding? I wanted her, and now that she was playing hard to get, I wanted her even more. She acted like she wanted a professional relationship, but that was her way of trying to protect herself and her job. She wanted me around as much as I wanted her around, and it wasn’t some big secret. She was terrible at hiding that fact, and though it was endearing, I was going to show her that she may think she was in charge, but that was only because I let her be. I was taking back the ball this time, and I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. In fact, I wasn’t even going to let her answer.

I walked down the hall and to the elevator, going to check on the other departments to see how they were doing. As soon as the elevator doors shut, I let out a deep breath, realizing that I was more brazen than I ever thought I could be. This old man still had it, and I wanted to use it on Ava. I didn’t care that my fear of commitment was slapping me in the forehead. I just wanted to make sure Ava didn’t go running off. I did my rounds and came back downstairs, looking over at Ava’s closed door and chuckling to myself as I walked over to my secretary’s desk. She had a couple new messages for me, so I went into my office and returned the important phone calls. Everyone seemed to need something from me that day. No matter what the issue was, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ava, and I didn’t mind it at all.

When I got off the last call, I leaned back in my chair, opening my email to send responses back that I had neglected to address that morning. As the email loaded, I leaned my head back in my chair and laughed to myself. This was fun, at least it was for now. I had no intention of letting this carry on forever, but I also had no intention of letting Ava go. I opened my eyes and leaned forward, looking at the new messages in my inbox. Suddenly, I froze, staring at a message from Ava’s father, Dean. My mouse hovered over the message for several seconds and fear bubbled up in my stomach. What if he had found out about Ava? That couldn’t be it. I was pretty sure if he found out about Ava, he wouldn’t be sending an email. He would be stomping through the office raising hell and dragging her out of there like a twelve-year-old caught sneaking out. I clicked on the message and began to read.

Tanner,

It was offsetting to see you at the polo match after so many years, and my actions toward you may have been unwarranted. I’d like to sit down with you, talk about everything. There is no reason to spend our lives angry at one another. If you are free tonight, pick a place and just let me know when and where and I’ll be there.

Dean

I sat back in my chair, at a loss for what to say or do. Dean seemed like he was reaching out, wanting to smash decades of animosity and anger. He had been my best friend for many years, and I loved him like a brother. This email must have taken him a lot to write, knowing how stubborn he was. I couldn’t pass this opportunity by, even if it meant upsetting Ava. I was going to go to dinner with Dean and at least hear him out, and I would tell her the next day, making sure to calm her fears.

I looked up several restaurants, not used to picking places that weren’t for romantic reasons. I didn’t want to romance Dean. I wanted to have a nice dinner, but make the situation comfortable and inviting. Fine dining was off the table. I knew how much he hated fine dining. He may be an extremely wealthy man, but when it came to food, he liked meat and potatoes. I called up the local steakhouse, Chima, and made a reservation for the two of us. I made sure the table was somewhere relatively private and comfortable, so we could talk openly without having to worry about other people listening in. I also wanted to make sure we had some sort of privacy, so if things got heated, there wasn’t some huge scene to be made.

When I finished up the reservations, I took a deep breath, the reality of the situation hitting me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t know what made him change his mind, but part of me was excited, while the other part of me was terrified he was going to find out Ava. She was deadly serious about not letting her father know, especially if he was in the mindset of hating my guts like he had been for a couple of decades. I typed out a reply and read it to myself several times before hitting send.

Dean,

It’s good to hear from you, and I agree, life is too short to bicker like we did at the polo match. I let my irritation and anger get the best of me as well. I made reservations at Chima at eight tonight. I put them under both of our names, so if you get there before me, you can grab a drink. I look forward to talking.

Tanner

It seemed good enough, giving him the boost I knew he was looking for from my apology and being open to talking through our issues. For some reason, there was this weight lifted from my shoulders that I didn’t even realize was there. For the first time since Dean and I went our separate ways, I felt okay with my company, okay with everything I had sacrificed, and didn’t feel angry about anything from the past. It was amazing what one little email could really do. I didn’t want to get my hopes up because there was a good chance we would leave this dinner in a huff, never talking again. But there was also a chance we could leave with a fresh start. That would be good for me, for Dean, and for Ava, because she could finally come clean and not feel so bad about lying to her father. It was an all-around good idea to go to this dinner, and hopefully, it would turn out as good as I felt.

Chapter 14

Ava

Talk about frustrating. I had spent the rest of work the day before stewing in my own irritation because Tanner had made plans for dinner on Friday and given me absolutely no choice in the matter. I was supposed to be in charge of all of this. I was supposed to be the one who called the shots when it came to us having any kind of relationship beyond a professional one. However, I couldn’t deny that I found his arrogance almost sexy. I lay in bed that night thinking about how mad I wanted to be, but I couldn’t deny I was extremely turned on. So, turned on, that I considered calling him, but I turned over and forced myself to sleep instead.

When I woke up, I was groggy and frustrated, more sexually frustrated than anything else. I took a hot shower to wake up and got ready for the day. I wondered what crazy things this day would bring, especially since I couldn’t seem to go even an hour without some kind of drama. When I got to the building, I climbed into the elevator and leaned back against the wall. Before the doors could shut, Tanner shoved his arm in and climbed inside next to me, breathing heavily as if he’d made a run for it. I cleared my throat and smiled at him, moving over to the corner and leaning back. I didn’t want to make a big deal about him being there with me, but his cologne smelled so damn good.

Instantly, I could feel desire start to raise up to my chest. I crossed my legs at the ankle, feeling the heat coursing between my legs. It was raining outside, and Tanner had water dripping down his neck. I followed as a drop moved from the edge of his hair and slid slowly down his smooth, tanned skin, falling beneath his collar. I imagined it continuing down his large muscled back, his shoulders flexing as it tickled his skin. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath, leaning back and trying to ignore the fact that I wanted to hit the stop button and fuck him on the elevator. Instead, I ran the pictures of our meeting the other day through my mind to remind myself how cold and collected he could be. Before I could get through them all, I sensed him scoot closer to me. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was staring at my face, his back pressed against the elevator as well. He looked like he wanted to say something, but I thought if I opened my mouth, he wouldn’t hear anything more than my lust for him and that had to stay buried deep inside of me.

“I have something to tell you,” he said, looking down. “I met with your father for dinner last night.”

“What?” My eyes got bigger and I stood up, all lust completely washing out of my system. “Wait, you did what? Say that again, please.”

“Your father sent me an email yesterday,” he explained. “He apologized for our fight at the polo match and wanted to meet so we could talk. I agreed. It was so good, Ava. We talked through everything that happened between us for the last ten years. We talked about the split of the business, our animosity, our anger, and the fact that we always considered each other family. It was like a weight off both of our shoulders.”

“Did you tell him I work for you?”

I was stunned and confused, and I barely knew what to say. That was something he should have told me about. What if he felt so comfortable, he told my father about us, about me, about everything? I couldn’t believe I was standing there having this conversation with him. So much for a morning without any damn drama. It was like I was a pawn in this whole situation and what happened to me made no difference to Tanner. He was looking out for himself at every pass, completely oblivious to how things would affect me.

I put my face in my hands and groaned, not wanting to hear whatever answer he had. My life was beginning to crumble around me and I was given no choice in any of it. Maybe I should have taken the job in Sweden I was offered instead of this one. Maybe I had made the wrong choice in all of it.

“Of course not,” he said, turning to me. “That isn’t my business to tell him, but now it might be easier for you. I thought maybe if your father and I were back on good terms, then you could let him know everything and stop feeling guilty for lying to him. I know how much that bothers you.”

“You want me to tell him I’ve been lying to him this whole time?” I started to get angry. “You want me to tell my father that I betrayed his trust and on top of it all, I was fucking you? Are you out of your goddamned mind? You didn’t think that this was something you might should have warned me about? Like maybe sent me a message or walked across the hall and told me you were having dinner with my father, so I could be prepared. It’s like you don’t ever use your damn brain unless it has to do with business. Lord, this is a mess.”

“No,” he said shaking his head confused. “I mean, don’t tell him then. I thought it would be a good way to have a clean start. I don’t mean to hurt your father. I mean to take some stress off you.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I know you didn’t mean any harm, but damn, this just makes everything more complicated, and it adds you to the mix. You just rekindled your friendship with my dad, and now you are going to start it off by keeping something from him.”

“Nothing about this is simple, Ava,” he said quietly.

“No shit,” I said.

As soon as the doors opened, I stomped out of the elevator, not stopping at the lounge. I went straight into my office and slammed the door, leaving him standing in the elevator as if he had actually done something wrong. I was so freaking confused at that moment. He hadn’t told me anything about his dinner plans with my father, nothing. This all could be extremely messy if we didn’t play it safe. Why, after all these years, did he pick now to decide that my father was so damn important to him? Why did he go to dinner like it was top secret and not even give me a heads up? Everything was a damn mess, and I didn’t even know where to start to fix it. Part of me wanted to quit, to say screw it and start over somewhere else. If I was going to lie about this, I could lie about why I left, too. At that point, lies seemed to be the name of the game in my life, either me dishing them out or me receiving them from everyone around me.

I looked down at my cell phone, and it was Tanner calling. I pressed the ignore button and tossed my phone on the desk. I didn’t want to hear anything from him at that point. I needed to breathe. I felt like I was starting to suffocate in my own damn life. I couldn’t decide whether I should be mad at him for lying or mad at myself for allowing myself to get into this position in the first place. I was a grown woman, and I couldn’t blame Tanner for all of this. I had lied to my father before I even started my first day at MJ, and Tanner had agreed to go along with it, not that he had much of a choice if he wanted to keep me on staff.

From there, it had continued to snowball out of control until it landed right where I was, sitting there not knowing what my next move should be. I wanted to stop playing games, to live back in the real world, to not lie to my father anymore, but I had dug myself a hole that I didn’t know how to get out of. The fact that Tanner was exasperating the situation was frustrating as hell, and I couldn’t figure out how I felt about him from one minute to the next. It was like my heart was taking both sides of the fence, and I was stuck in a mean tug of war battle with my own emotions.

I threw my phone in my purse, grabbed my umbrella, and stomped back out of the office. Tanner’s door was shut, and I leaned around the corner, looking at his secretary. She smiled at me and then scrunched her eyebrows as I whispered.

“I have to leave,” I said. “Please tell Mr. Johnson I had an emergency. But wait until I'm in the elevator please.”

“Okay,” she said, confused. “Hope everything turns out okay.”

“Thanks,” I replied before turning and walking toward the elevator.

I hope everything worked out okay, too. My mind was all over the place, trying to figure out how I felt. Nothing really had changed as far as my father was concerned, except for the fact that Tanner was now going to have to lie to keep my existence there at MJ a secret. Telling my father that I was sleeping with Tanner wasn’t even something I would tell him if he knew I was working there, so I wasn’t worried about that part. I just didn’t even understand what I was doing with my life. I had thought I’d figured it out, but after Tanner showed up at my place on the day of the polo match, everything I had figured out just drifted away in a ball of ecstasy and sweat.

I stepped into the elevator and turned around. As the doors shut, I watched Tanner step out into the hallway, looking at me as I left the office. I caught his eyes but looked away, glad that the doors shut before he had a chance to say anything. I just needed some time to myself, some time to figure out how I was feeling about everything. I knew there was a part of Tanner that did what he did because he truly thought it would help my situation, but he didn’t seem to really understand how that parent-child relationship worked.

When I got out of the office, I opened my umbrella and walked along, not wanting to jump into a cab just yet. When I reached the opening to the park, I decided to go for a walk, watching the other umbrellas peppering the sidewalk and lawn. I loved when it rained, especially in the fall. The vibrant colors of the leaves exploded next to the gray of the sky. It was like one of those doctored photos where everything was black and white except for the leaves on the trees. As I walked along, listening to the water hit the umbrella and trickle down, I could feel my shoulders beginning to relax.

This was my life, no matter how much I seemed to have screwed it up, and I couldn’t take back any of it. I was disappointed in myself for going against my gut instinct from the beginning, but beating myself up was not going to solve anything. I still had an amazing career and a bright future, and MJ was going to give me that resume boost that would really get me going in this financial climate.

Now, all I had to figure out was what to do with Tanner.

Chapter 15

Tanner

Friday was finally here, and I couldn’t have been happier about that. Ava hadn’t talked to me since the elevator on Wednesday, and I wasn’t sure how she was feeling. I knew she was confused. She was angry about how everything had happened, but I tried to assure her I had done everything with her best interest at heart, even if I was misguided. I had sent her that text, and even though she didn’t respond, I knew she’d read it, and that’s what I wanted the most. I wanted her to know I was thinking about her and that I wasn’t being a prick.

Now that I was home, I had no idea whether Ava was going to show up for dinner or not, but I wasn’t going to not be prepared in case she did. I made dinner, kept it warming in the oven, and set the table with the plates, silverware, cloth napkins, and a large vase of red roses. I situated the bottle of wine on ice to the side and then stood back to admire my work. I hadn’t made dinner for a woman like that ever in my entire life, not even for the ex-wife. I did have it stapled in the back of my mind that Ava may not show up.

She knew I was still going to plan on her being there. I had sent her a reminder of the time, the address, and told her I hoped she came. If she didn’t, well that was completely on her and of her own accord at that point. She had all the information, so there weren’t going to be any excuses for her to take. If she showed up, I would be ecstatic, but if she didn’t, it would answer a lot of questions and put a lot of things to rest. If she decided not to come, I could move forward, release her from my mind, and understand that it was nothing more than a little fling that went as soon as it came.

I could really put my professional hat on and get back to work, treating her just like any other employee and get the merger underway without any more distractions. All in all, this dinner would answer a lot of questions for the both of us, both for each other and for the way that we felt. Sure, I would love to have Ava be just as wanting as I was for affection from me, but at the same time, if she wasn’t, I didn’t want to continue to pine for her. It was hard enough to convince myself to take this step, much less continue to chase after someone who didn’t want to be chased.

At eight, I forced myself to go in the living room and relax instead of pacing back and forth in the kitchen. We hadn’t spoken since the elevator, and it was starting to drive me crazy. If she didn’t want to talk with me, that was fine, but she could be an adult about it and at least say it out loud. I guess in some way she had, but she was extremely full of mixed signals. She was pushing me away and then pulling me back close, and I was starting to feel like I was on a roller coaster. I sighed and put my feet up on the table, trying to avoid staring at my watch.

It was like every minute that ticked by, I got more and more depressed, surprising myself wholeheartedly about how upset I was at the thought of not having a personal relationship with Ava. Maybe I cared about her a bit more than I thought I did. I shook that thought straight from my mind, not wanting to have that kind of revelation on the night she might not show up at all. Now I knew how the girls I stood up felt like waiting for me, and I vowed right there never to do that to a woman again. It was a pretty terrible feeling. I looked down at my watch and realized it was a quarter after eight, and I started to make peace with the idea she wasn’t coming. I stood up and headed for the wine but stopped suddenly the sound of knocks echoed through the penthouse.

I walked to the door and opened it, looking out at Ava standing anxiously outside. She looked gorgeous in a black dress, black pea coat, and her hair curled in big curls cascading over her shoulders. She reached up and handed me a bottle of wine and smiled, her cheeks rosy red from the cold that had taken over the night air.

“I didn’t think you were coming,” I said kindly.

“I didn’t think I was either,” she said with a smile, “but here I am.”

I leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, grasping tightly to the bottle of wine she had brought. The scent of her perfume filled my nostrils, and I felt so many different emotions flowing through me. I was relieved she was there. I was nervous that this meant I had to put aside my fears and move forward, and I was also extremely turned on by her, like I always was. She closed her eyes, and I lingered there at her cheek for several moments, just taking in her whole self. I couldn’t explain what I was feeling even if I tried, but I knew one thing. This was going to be a night where I treated this woman like a queen and not some girl I was just trying to hook up with. I stepped back and looked at how beautiful she was.

“You look amazing,” I said, stepping to the side. “Please, come in.”

She smiled and walked through the doors, looking around the place with wide eyes. I forgot that I hadn’t had the opportunity to bring her to my place yet, and it was probably a bit to take in. My penthouse was one of the biggest in the city, and it had the best view of any penthouse. You could see all of downtown from the top floor, and though I didn’t have a balcony because of the wind sheers, the windows were an amazing opening to the world below.

I showed her into the living room and sat her down on the couch, returning to the kitchen to open the wine. I served us both a glass and sat down next to her on the couch, turning so we could see each other and talk. She looked nervous as she sipped her wine, and I smiled, remembering that look from when I had first seen her after so many years.

“It’s gotten really cold outside,” she said, her nose still red.

“Winter is coming fast this year,” I replied.

“I love the snow,” she smiled. “The seasons are so amazing here. Fall is my favorite, but Christmas and New Years in New York is so magical.”

I smiled at how beautiful she was, how much she reminded me of youth and vitality. She reminded me of how it felt to want someone, to be there and be close. I hadn’t had that for a very long time, but I knew I wanted that from Ava. Everything had started out such a mess, but I had the chance to turn that around, and it was exactly like I wanted. Our conversation at that moment was a little awkward, but I knew it would only take a few minutes until she started to feel comfortable again. She reached over and picked up her glass, the napkin beneath it falling to the floor. We both bent over at the same time and our fingertips grazed one another.

Instantly, we both froze, our heads slowly turning toward each other. We both grasped the napkin and sat back up, staring into each other’s eyes. Her cheeks grew red, and her mouth was slightly upturned in a smile. Her fair skin and dark features were breathtaking, and the candles were casting dancing shadows on the wall behind her. Passion rushed through my chest like nothing I had ever felt before, and I could barely catch my breath. I set my glass down on the table and cradled Ava’s face in my hands, leaning forward and kissing her softly on each cheek, then each eyelid, down to the tip of her nose, and finally, I pressed my lips carefully against hers. She was stiff at first, but as our bodies aligned, she relaxed and leaned into me. She was soft and beautiful, and at that moment, I thought of her differently than I ever had before. I wanted to make love to her, to worship every inch of her body, and to show her how happy I was that she was there with me.

I scooted closer to her and ran my hand up her thigh, stopping at the edge of her dress. Our kiss became more heated but still gentle to the touch, and we turned our heads back and forth, kissing softly over and over again. I pushed the hair back behind her ear and ran my lips over her cheek and to her neck. She sighed heavily as I barely touched her skin, my hand running up her arm and meeting my face at the edge of her bare shoulder. She placed one of her hands on my neck and the other on top of mine and turned her head, finding my mouth once again. She pushed in deeply, moaning as our tongues met, and we explored each other’s mouths. She tasted like wine but sweeter, and instantly, I could feel the lust begin to take over.

I stood up, reaching my hand down to her and smiling. She looked up at me and took it, allowing me to pull her to her feet. I slid my hand around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and passionately. Her breasts heaved up and down as her breathing picked up and her heart raced. My pants were extremely tight against my growing cock, and I wanted to get her out of her dress.

I turned and pulled her along, shutting the lights off in the main area as I walked her back toward the bedroom. I could hear the clicking of her heels against the marble floors of the hallway, and I imagined her legs wrapped around my neck. I stopped outside of the door of my bedroom and took her face back into my hands. She stared up at me with beautiful wide eyes, closing them as I dipped my head down toward her, kissing her over and over again, feeling her breath in my ear as my lips moved down her neck. She grabbed onto the front of my shirt and pulled me close to her, pushing her hips against my hard, covered shaft. I groaned slightly at the feeling, and my hands immediately went down to her skirt where I gripped the material, wanting so badly to bend her over right there.

Knowing my plan required some sort of self-control, I took in a deep breath and walked her into the dark bedroom. As I shut the door, I absorbed every detail of her shape. The light from the city was shining in just enough to create a silhouette of her curves on the walls. I was going to treat Ava like she had always deserved, and there was nothing more sensual than exploring each other’s bodies to the light of the moon. Hopefully, when we were done, she would never run away from me again.

Chapter 16

Ava

His smell, his lips, that moment, it was all so overwhelming, so erotic, and just crazy to me. I couldn’t believe I was there. I couldn’t believe I was standing in the moonlight in his bedroom, getting ready to make love to Tanner. Everything leading up to that moment was so chaotic and stressful and almost seemed unreal, but I was finally back where I always knew I wanted to be. I couldn’t help but come over, even though I tried so hard to fight myself on it. Everything in my brain was telling me to stay home, but my heart and my emotions were playing war against my brain. In the end, my heart won, and I found myself back in Tanner’s arms.

It was erotic, it was confusing, and it was emotional, but it felt so absolutely right and perfect. I couldn’t explain the range of emotions washing over me at that time, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be at that moment. I was drawn to Tanner like a magnet. It was a force I couldn’t control, and I wanted to be near him, to feel him around me and inside of me. And at that point, that attraction was controlling everything around me. I could fight it further, but I was tired of fighting. I could push it away, but what would be the point? I would end up right back where I was.

He walked toward me, taking my face in his hands and kissing me deeply and passionately. I could barely breathe, my lungs were moving so fast, and I could feel my heart beating in the palm of my hands. There was something so sensual and erotic about his touch. I moaned softly as his lips moved down my neck, and I reached up, grabbing his shirt with both hands and pulling him into me. I pushed my hips against his cock, feeling it bulging inside of his pants. Just knowing how much he wanted me made the heat in my chest move down between my legs. He reached around me and unzipped my dress, pulling the shoulders down and trailing his lips across my skin. He pulled the dress from my body and tossed it to the side, reaching back and unclasping my bra. My breasts bounced out, my nipples hard from the feeling of electricity between us. He kissed my belly as he bent over and slipped my panties down, allowing me to hold on as I stepped out of them.

When he stood back up, I unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it from his body. I reached down and unbuttoned his shorts, letting them fall to the ground and watching him step out of them. His long, hard cock was pushing, trying to be set free from his boxers. Instead of pulling them down, I backed up, sitting down on the bed and pulling him toward me. He stepped forward, running his hand over the top of my head. Slowly I pulled his boxers down and off, tossing them to the side. I ran my fingertips down the shaft of his cock, listening to him groan softly above me. I looked up and met his eyes, feeling the ecstasy rolling between us. The passion that we felt, that magnetism pulling us together, was the strongest I had ever felt before. I no longer felt like I was fucking a stranger, but instead making love to a man who I felt very deeply for.

My hand grasped tightly around his shaft, moving up and down slowly as I pushed my head forward and ran my lips over the tip of his cock. He groaned as I took him into my mouth and plunged my head down, my lips reaching the base. As I slowly pulled my head back up, I sucked hard at the back of my throat and swirled my tongue all around. He let out a deep breath and tangled his hand in my hair, pushing me lightly as I went back down. His huge cock filled my throat, and as my head came back, I glanced up at him, my eyes watering and a moan vibrating through my throat. I reached my hand up and cradled his balls, rubbing them around in my hand. He growled as I continued, sucking his dick faster and faster, feeling it bulging inside of my mouth.

After a few moments, he pulled my head back and reached down, grabbing me under the arms and pulling me up onto the bed. He moved back in front of me and stroked his cock for a moment looking over every inch of my body. Watching his hand move up and down his shaft was so erotic, and I spread my legs open, welcoming him in. He reached forward and slid two fingers through the folds, rubbing them over my clit and then moving down to slide them inside of me. I moaned loudly, feeling him bending forward and bringing his face into my wet mound. I laid back while his tongue ran through my juices, unable to control myself any longer. I spread my thighs apart and began to grind my pussy against his mouth, screaming out as he moved me closer and closer to orgasm.

As his fingers moved in and out of me, his tongue massaged my clit, sending electricity through my body. Just as he picked up the pace, I arched my back and grasped onto his back, feeling the heat inside of me explode. Tendrils of electric waves pulsed through my muscles, and my body screamed out in pleasure as my juices trickled out into his mouth. He groaned against my pussy as my body shook and writhed beneath him, feeling every second of the orgasm. It was the strongest pleasure I had ever felt, and I could barely keep my legs from shaking around his face.

As soon as my body had relaxed, he climbed forward, rolling me onto my side. He laid down behind me and picked up my leg, scooting in and rubbing his cock through my juices. He reached back and grabbed a condom from his nightstand, slipping it over his hard shaft and returning to my side. He pushed forward, leaning his body against mine as he entered me, filling me fully with his cock. I moaned loudly as he wrapped his arm around me and rubbed my nub, his hips moving in and out with a slow steady rhythm. I could already feel another orgasm coming on as if the first had triggered a waterfall of pleasure inside of me. I gripped down on the comforter next to me.

My heavy breathing showed him where I was, and he started to rub my clit harder and faster. I screamed out feeling all the sensations at once, knowing that I was about to explode all over again. He lifted his head and sucked on my ear, his hot breath flowing over my neck.

“I’m gonna’ come,” I moaned, loudly.

“Yes,” he whispered. “Let me feel it, baby.”

He began to push hard and deep as I clenched down, screaming loudly and throwing my head back into his. As the pleasure pushed through me once again, I could feel how sensitive my clit had become. I reached down and grabbed his hand a mixture of moans and giggles escaping my throat. He chuckled as he moved from his side and crawled back in front of me. I laid there for a moment, breathing heavily and looked up at him. He was smiling mischievously before flipping me over on my stomach and spreading my legs wide. He reached underneath my stomach and lifted my hips so just my ass was in the air. He slid forward and rubbed the tip of his cock against my wetness before slowly sliding into me.

I screamed out in ecstasy and grabbed onto the edge of the bed as he began to thrust hard and deep inside of me. He no longer had the self-discipline he had shown before, and he was fucking me as hard and deep as he possibly could. It felt amazing, and I pulled my legs in slightly and tilted my hips to give him better access. He reached his hands forward and grabbed my ass gripping down as he plunged in and out over and over again.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “You are so fucking wet.”

I moaned loudly at the sound of his voice, and every time I screamed out, he became needier. He slapped me lightly on the ass cheek and the pain mixed with pleasure shot straight into my stomach. He reached his hands up and gripped my waist tightly as his cock began to pulsate inside of me.

“Yes, baby,” I moaned. “I want to feel you come.”

He growled as he thrust forward three more times before falling into me and gripping tightly to my hips. He pulsated his body against me as he leaned his head back and moaned loudly. I could feel his cock bulging inside of me as it exploded his seed. His body was stiff against mine and after a few moments, I could hear the air leaving his lungs. He leaned forward and kissed the center of my back before pulling out and allowing me to fall forward on my belly.

He pulled the covers up over me and went into the bathroom to clean up. I laid there, my heart still beating wildly, staring out the window at the city lights. Everything about what just happened was perfect. I could hear him walking back toward the bed, and before I could get up, he had crawled into the covers beside me. I turned over and laid my head against his stomach. He scooted down and propped a pillow under his head, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. I could hear his heart beginning to slow to a normal rhythm, and he leaned over, kissing me on the top of the head.

“What do we do now?” I looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Go with the flow,” he said, smiling.

Normally an answer like that from a guy was a bad sign, but knowing Tanner and his playboy ways, that was the equivalency of a full-on relationship proposal. I smiled and chuckled leaning my head against his shoulder. He picked up the remote and turned on a movie, settling in with me beside him. I could tell he wasn’t going to let me leave, and I was perfectly fine with that. Through all my college years, I had never spent the night in a man’s apartment before, and I was pretty sure Tanner didn’t make it a habit of having women in his. I didn’t say a word but just relaxed and watched the movie with him, feeling more comfortable than I ever had with anyone.

As the night progressed, the stress of the week crashed down on me, and I laid my head on the pillow. I was exhausted but trying to keep myself awake, not wanting to assume he wanted me to stay with him in his bed. However, as I fought to keep my eyes open, he leaned over and turned off the television, scooted down behind me, pulled me close to him, and laid down with me, closing his eyes. I held my breath for a moment, unsure of what to do, but the feeling of his warmth and comfort made me feel safe and right. So, underneath the shining of the moon, I fell asleep in Tanner’s arms, knowing love was a fickle thing. I didn’t know how exactly I felt, but I knew that everything about that moment was perfection.

Chapter 17

Tanner

The sun was shining through the windows, and I rolled over to face Ava, her sweet face sleeping soundly in the covers. She was so beautiful with her long, dark hair sprawled out above her and her fair skin highlighted by the natural rose of her cheeks. Her pouty lips were pink and looked a little chapped from the five o’clock shadow I had forgotten to shave before she came over. Everything about that moment was flawless, and I didn’t have even a second thought about having her spend the night at my place. In fact, she lit up my life in a way I couldn’t even begin to understand. I ran my fingers down her shoulders and kissed her forehead. She smiled and snuggled back into the blankets, falling back asleep.

I figured I would make us some breakfast, so I crept out of the bed and pulled on some shorts and a sweatshirt before walking out into the living room. It was still rainy and gray outside, but it didn’t dampen my mood at all. Knowing Ava was in the other room was enough comfort for me to keep my spirits high. As I stepped into the kitchen to check out what food I had in the house, the house phone rang, which was strange since the only person who called that was the security guard if I had a visitor. I picked up the line and took in a deep breath.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Johnson,” he said. “You have a visitor. A Mr. Dean Markus to see you.”

“Uh, shit,” I said. “Okay. Give me five minutes and then send him up.”

I hung up the phone and looked around the apartment, running through the living room and picking up all of Ava’s belongings. How the hell was I supposed to get Ava out of the apartment when Dean was in it. This was bad, really bad. I ran through the living room and down the hall, turning the corner and flicking the light on. I shook Ava, feeling bad for waking her but panicking.

“Ava,” I said. “Wake up.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Your father,” I said breathlessly. “He’s downstairs. They are sending him up in five minutes. I brought all your things in. I'm going to try to get rid of him as fast as possible, but you have to hide in here.”

“What the fuck is going on?”

“I don’t know,” I said, pulling on a pair of khakis and a sweater. “I don’t even know how he knew where I lived.”

“Oh, God,” she said, looking panicked.

I sat down next to her on the bed and kissed her on the lips trying to calm her down. I cradled her face in my hands and forced her to look me in the eyes. Immediately, I could feel her muscles relax.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered. “Everything will be okay. I’ll take care of this, okay?”

“Okay,” she said taking a deep breath.

We both looked up as the elevator in the hall dinged, and there was a knock on the door. My heart was racing, and I kissed her deeply one last time before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door behind me. I smoothed down my hair and did another quick look around the living room to make sure everything was cleaned up. I walked over to the door and took in a deep breath, pulling the door opening and smiling big as Dean appeared in front of me.

“Hey, man,” I said happily. “This is a nice surprise. Come on in.”

“Thanks,” he said looking worse for wear. “I’m sorry to barge in like this.”

“No, man,” I said. “You’re fine. What’s going on?”

I led him over to the couch, feeling like he had something pretty serious to talk about. At first, my heart began to race, but then I realized if he knew anything about Ava, he would not be calm like he was. Instead, he looked hurt, almost betrayed, and I could tell from his red eyes that he had not slept the night before. He sat on the couch looking around the room but not actually seeing anything. He put his elbows on his knees and hung his head down, shaking it back and forth.

“What’s going on, Dean? Is everything okay?”

“I caught Lindy fucking the pool boy last night,” he said, choking up. “I just walked in and found them together. It was fucking terrible.”

“Holy shit, man,” I said sitting down next to him. “I am so sorry. That’s fucking horseshit. After everything you’ve done for that woman, and she does this to you?”

“I know,” he said weepily. “We fought all night and then I left. I didn’t really know where else to go. I couldn’t tell Ava, not yet. It would break her heart. So, I came here.”

“You made the right choice, Dean,” I said, glancing over at my bedroom door.

“I don’t even know what to do at this point,” he said taking in a deep breath. “I’m completely lost. I never thought I would have to go through this. I mean, I knew other guys who had gone through it, but I really thought it would never be me. Not Lindy.”

“Absolutely,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re a good man, and you’ve always been there for your family. It was your biggest sacrifice.”

“I just don’t know what happened,” he said, putting his head in his hands. “This is really messed up.”

“What can I do?”

“I don’t know where to go,” he said. “Would you mind if I stayed here for a few days and cleared my mind. I need to figure this all out before making some rash decision.”

Fuck. Instantly, my stomach dropped, knowing Ava was in the other room, probably heard all of it, and I was going to have to get her out of the apartment without her father seeing her. How did I get myself into this shit? Of course, I couldn’t turn the man down. He was absolutely devastated, and we just got our friendship back on track after about a decade of fighting and bickering. I patted him on the shoulder and looked around.

“Of course, you can,” I said kindly. “I have a guest bedroom with its own bath, and I’ll get you a visitor pass so you can come and go as you please. You can stay here as long as you want.”

“Thank you,” he said with a sigh. “You’re a real lifesaver. I know we just started our friendship over, but it's really great of you to be there for me like this.”

“Always,” I said, nodding my head.

I had to think of a way to get him out of the apartment for a while so that Ava could make a break for it. This was not what I’d had in mind when I woke up. I was planning on fixing us a nice breakfast in bed and just relaxing with a lazy Saturday that I’d hoped to stretch to a lazy Sunday. We could eat, make love, take a nap and do it all over again, really relax and have an amazing time. I knew, though, that this was going to affect Dean hard, and he needed a place to be.

“Hey, man,” I said, a solution popping into my head. “It’s early, but do you want to go get a drink?”

“Hell, yeah, I do,” he said, brightening up.

“Awesome,” I said with a sigh. “Let me change and brush my teeth, and we can head out. You just make yourself at home.”

“Alright, man,” he said, leaning back.

I jumped up from the couch and hurried toward the bedroom, only opening the door a sliver before scooting in and closing the door softly behind me. Ava was sitting there in the bed, a look of bewilderment on her face. She was dressed and clutching her coat, shaking her head back and forth. I sat down next to her and pulled her into my chest. I didn’t know what she knew at that point, but I had to figure out a way to tell her.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know this is crazy.”

“I just have no words,” she said sniffling.

“Look,” I said pulling back and looking her in the face. “Your dad said that—”

“I heard everything.” She shook her head. “Everything. I can’t believe my mother would do this.”

“I’m so sorry, Ava,” I said hugging her again.

This was not right. I should be there for her, not having her sneak out of my apartment like we were teenagers getting caught. She needed me at that moment, and I was starting out something special between us by tossing her to the side. However, with everything going on with her father, that was not the time to reveal to him our secret.

“I want to be here for you,” I said, lifting her chin. “But I have to get you out of here so your father doesn’t find out. I told him we would go get some drinks. I’ll take him a few blocks away, so you can take your time and get out comfortably. Text me when you make it home safely.”

“Whatever,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Just go, I want to get home.”

I felt bad, and she was obviously upset with me. She sat there and watched me as I pulled clothes out of the closet and got dressed. I brushed my teeth and walked back over to her, leaning over to kiss her lips. She turned her face away from me, tears pooling in her eyes. I sighed and kissed her cheek before grabbing my wallet and phone and creeping back outside. I shut the door behind me and stood there for a second, wishing there was some other way for me to be there for both of them. This was an absolutely impossible situation, and I had to choose between the two of them. This was going to take a toll on Ava, big time. I also knew there was a good chance that this would highly affect our future together, which was something I was really trying to avoid. It was becoming annoying how the universe seemed to push back against us, but I was determined to not let it win.

“You ready?” I stood there with my jacket over my arm looking at Dean who was standing at the window looking over the city.

“Yeah,” he said, turning around and faking a smile.

We walked out of the apartment and closed the doors. I locked them for show and stepped into the elevator, letting out a deep breath as the doors closed. Ava might be upset with me, but at least her father won’t find out about all this, especially not while he was going through something as traumatizing as his wife cheating on him. We jumped into a cab and I gave them the address of an Irish pub in upper Manhattan where we could get some breakfast and some whiskey at the same time.

Dean sat quietly staring out the window, and I tried to get my mind off the fact that I left Ava there to sneak out of the apartment. I wanted to text her but at that point, it was too risky, and I knew she was upset with me over all of this. I had made friends with her father, thinking it would help her out but it seemed to have backfired in my face. As much as I wanted Dean in my life, Ava had almost become more important, and now, I was regretting making the choice.

Hopefully, by the time we got back, Ava would be home, relaxed, and a little less in shock. It would be a long few days with Dean at my house and me unable to see Ava outside of work, but I would just have to survive it. Hopefully, Ava could remember that I cared about her, and this didn’t all come crashing down around me.

Chapter 18

Ava

I sat on the edge of the bed clutching my coat for about fifteen minutes after my father and Tanner had left. My weekend had started out with a bang, and now I felt like I had been shot in the chest. Everything was perfect, and I was finally starting to let Tanner in, and then, my father shows up at the door. I had to sneak out of Tanner’s apartment like I was a goddamn hooker instead of a grown woman making her own decisions. Now, though, with my mother having cheated on my father, there was no way I could come out and be honest with him. It would break his heart. Even if I didn’t tell him that I was seeing Tanner and just told him that I worked for the company, he would feel betrayed by both me and Tanner, and all while he was going through one of the hardest things in his life.

I didn’t know what my mother was thinking, sleeping with some young pool boy, but I wanted to give her a piece of my mind. At that moment, though, that was the least of my worries, considering I was about to make the worst walk of shame I had ever experienced. I got up and went in the bathroom, trying to make myself look presentable. I stared at my face in the mirror. My cheeks were rosy, my eyes were sad, and my hair was poufy, great. With a sigh, I pulled my hair back in a high ponytail, letting the curls do their thing. I knew exactly what I needed. I needed my best friend.

I left the apartment, locking the doorknob and pulling the door closed after checking my things several times. I left all the lights on in the house, so it wouldn’t look different when they got back. My father was a smart man and knew when things were off. The last thing I wanted was for him to start getting suspicious. I went out of the lobby and caught a cab, looking around like I was a criminal trying to sneak away from a crime scene. I gave the cab Brianna’s address and sat back, resting my head against the back of the seat and closing my eyes.

How did everything get so messed up? I couldn’t even start to think about what happened, or anything that I had heard my father say. I knew he was being candid, and he would have never acted like that in front of me. He was a tough man, full of pride, and I knew it must have taken him a lot to go to Tanner and ask him for help. At least I knew my father was safe and with someone who would look out for him. I, on the hand, was wandering blindly, not sure where I should land. I knew that Brianna would have some advice, she always did when it really mattered.

When the cab pulled up in front of Brianna’s apartment complex, I paid the driver and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, stopping halfway to take off my heels. I knew she wasn’t going to be awake yet, but I had a really good reason for waking her up. It wasn’t very often that I had drama in my life. It was usually her with her easy-going personality and fuck-it reasoning. This time, though, I would need her to tell it like she always did, straight and to the point. I didn’t want anyone to continue sugarcoating things to me like I was a child. I was a grown woman, and it was starting to get really annoying having to hide things from people and be involved in this mess of a tryst with Tanner. I was sick and tired of all of it.

When I got to her door, I rang the doorbell several times, listening to her shuffling around the apartment. I waved at the peephole and watched as she flung the door open, her hair a mess but her eyes wide with curiosity. She stepped to the side and let me in, closing the door behind us. I could tell she already knew something big was going on.

“Well, hello there,” she said. “Either you had a seriously fancy breakfast or you are wearing the same clothes as last night.”

“Ugh,” I said, plopping down on her couch and dropping my shoes on the floor. “Hell, that is where I’ve been. Straight hell.”

“Let me start some coffee,” she said, almost too excited.

When she came back with two cups of coffee and handed me one I took it from her and breathed in the aroma. I closed my hands around the hot cup and wished I was home, sleeping happily in my own bed. Instead, I was at my best friends, about to reveal all my dirty little secrets.

“Okay,” she said sitting down. “Spill it.”

“I was at Tanner’s last night and ended up staying the night,” I said.

“What? Wait, you’re sleeping with him?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But the bigger problem was that my father showed up at the door this morning before I was even awake. He had come to talk to Tanner.”

“About what?”

“Apparently, my mother cheated on him with the pool boy,” I said shaking my head.

“Miguel?” She scrunched her nose, and I laughed.

“No,” I chuckled. “Miguel was like eighty. I’m assuming it’s the new guy I saw last time I went over. Regardless, my mom is a whore, and I was stuck in Tanner’s apartment sneaking out like you used to at your boyfriend’s in high school.”

“Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “As the world, fucking turns.”

“Tell me about it,” I sighed, leaning back.

I really wanted a pair of pajamas, a pint of ice cream, a fifth of vodka, and some really cheesy chick flicks. I knew, however, that it was not a good idea to go breaking down into full girl mode. I had to get my shit together.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said. “I can’t be with Tanner now. It’s too weird.”

I looked up at her face, which was riddled in confusion. I forgot that I hadn’t talked to her about anything that was going on, keeping everything very close to my chest to keep my father from finding out. Between work and Tanner, I hadn’t really had the time to even call Brianna, much less fill her in on all the craziness that was now my life. I didn’t feel like explaining myself, nor did I have the luxury of giving in to my feelings for Tanner. I had let my guard down the night before, thinking that life was finally going to let me have a break, but I had been setting myself up for another dramatic event. I should have listened to myself and stayed home from our date. I should have just put on some pj’s, told Tanner I was sorry that we couldn’t do this, and stayed at home. Instead, I decided to be a flirty young girl and give in to something I wasn’t even sure Tanner felt the same way about. Sure, he had me spend the night, but that was hardly an open invitation to a relationship. A relationship I didn’t even know if I wanted in the first place.

“What do you mean with him?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Sexually, I guess. I don’t think I can be with him sexually anymore.”

“You have feelings for this guy,” she said with a gasp. “Like real ‘let’s have a relationship’ feelings.”

“No,” I said sternly. “It was lust, not love. We had been attracted to each other since day one, and it was intense. I won’t lie about that, but in the end, that’s all it was.”

“You are lying to me or yourself or someone.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t be so upset if it weren’t true.”

“I’m upset because of everything,” I said defensively. “Tanner isn’t the kind of guy who falls in love. I don’t have time for a fling, no matter what my feelings are. The reality of it is, I slept with him, I got involved in something I shouldn’t have, and now I am in deep shit. My father is there with him, getting drunk because my mother is a crazy whore, apparently, and I’m here after sneaking out of his apartment like a hooker.”

“At least he got you out.” She laughed. “You could be spending your weekend in the closet, having meals brought to you.”

“True,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Look, you need to relax,” she said looking at me. “You need to take a deep breath and just take the rest of the weekend to think about everything. Right now, your feelings are really raw.”

“You’re right,” I sighed.

“And to do that, we are going to do some serious drinking,” she said slapping her hands on her legs. “Come on. You can wear some of my clothes.”

I smiled, realizing that Brianna was right, I needed to just have a normal twenty-five-year-old weekend where I started the day with a glass of mimosa and ended it passed out on the bed. Brianna and I hadn’t spent much time together lately, and it would be just as good for me to spend time with her this weekend as it would be for her. I followed her into the bedroom and changed my clothes, listening to her change the subject and start to get super excited for the day she was dreaming up in her head.

After I was dressed, we hit the town, starting with brunch where we ate, drank mimosas, laughed, and started our weekend dive into total annihilation mode. After that, we did some shopping but not without Brianna’s signature move of a water bottle filled with whiskey and diet coke like we were teenagers sneaking alcohol. After brunch, I was already feeling good, and I let loose, allowing myself to really enjoy the day with laughter, jokes, and all the things I loved about being best friends with Brianna. We went from bar to bar through the city, having a drink, taking a shot, and then moving on to the next spot like we didn’t have a care in the world.

By the time we got home, it was dark outside, and Brianna went straight in, passing out on her bed. I was wasted, and I stumbled into the spare bedroom and lay down on my back, staring up at the ceiling. I pulled my phone out and dialed Tanner, not giving a shit at that moment. It was amazing how inhibitions could be completely forgotten when you had an entire day of drinking under your belt.

“Hellllooo,” he sang with a laugh.

“Well, hello there sexy pants,” I said. “Still getting wasted with my dad?”

“Ah, the old guys have folded,” he said, obviously tipsy. “You sound like you’re feeling good though.”

“Brianna has all the cures.” I giggled.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m pretty confident my dick would be a good cure right now for you.”

“I’m pretty sure your dick was a pretty good reason I got drunk in the first place,” I replied laughing.

“Ouch,” he said. “I thought I was better than that, Ava.”

“Trust me, you were phenomenal,” I replied with laughter.

We talked for a little bit longer, sending little flirty and dirty quips back and forth to each other. When the ceiling started to spin with the fan, I said my goodnights and hung up the phone, dropping it in the floor and rolling over in the bed. Before my eyes collapsed shut under the weight of whiskey, I thought about Tanner and tried desperately to let the feelings inside of me float away with the alcohol. Whether I liked it or not, it was pretty obvious I had it bad for this guy.