Chapter 20
Charlie
I knew the reason L wanted us to keep our distance for a little while, but it killed me to be away from him. Whenever something came up that required going to his office, I would simply drop it at his secretary’s desk. I’d tell her I had a busy day and whisper that I couldn’t be bothered with the ramblings of Mr. James, and she’d giggle while trying to rope me into a conversation. I’d brush her off, not wanting L to see me before I left, and whenever I’d leave the view of his office I’d feel a drop in the pit of my stomach.
I hadn’t seen him at the office all week, and I was missing him.
I wished we could take our relationship public. Sneaking around and using burner phones like this was getting tiresome, and felt wrong, and I didn’t realize we’d be trying to do it while cultivating an actual relationship. If we were still just playing around, then I’d be all for it. But now, we were trying to create something real.
Something lasting.
Something monumental.
All the while sticking to the shadows and sneaking around as if we were doing something wrong. I was having trouble making peace with it.
Even still, I got it. His policy regarding interoffice romance was the strictest around in the business world. When you mentioned the name ‘Ellison James,’ people would talk about two things; how the rare the rise of his empire was, and how he wouldn’t let his employees be distracted by the drama of interoffice romance. If word were to get out about him being involved with one of his employees, that part of his reputation would be smashed. The entire dynamic of his company would change. He would open himself up to lawsuit after lawsuit—and if there were enough of them, it was possible he could pay enough settlements to end up on the road to bankruptcy.
But even still, no matter how nervous it made me feel, every single time I thought of him I felt the heat stir in my pelvis and rise all the way up to my neck.
Hiding away from the public eye sometimes made me feel like he was ashamed to be seen with me, but the rational part of my mind knew otherwise. He was simply trying to protect the best interests of everyone involved while keeping his company afloat. I could surely understand that, and if this was the only way I could have L in my life, then this is what I’d have to do.
And I was alright with that.
I didn’t want to let him go, nor did I want him to feel as if he had to choose. I understood the passion and burning desire to own your company, and to see it flourish under your leadership, and I would never rip that from him. If anything, I supported what he was trying to do, even though I didn’t like being relegated to the shadows.
Especially when I had to go an entire week without so much as catching his gaze during the work day.
We clicked so well. Our senses of humor were the same and our life experiences seemed to line up. For every story I told him he had one of a similar taste, and I loved getting to know the man behind the money. Even though he owned his own multibillion dollar real estate development company, he still had dreams and aspirations. He had dreams and goals for this luxury resort he was building, but he also had personal dreams. Places he wanted to visit, simply so he could exist in them, and cliffs he wanted to stand on while looking out at the ocean. I found that the big, bad Ellison James had a side to him that was hopelessly romantic, and it made me smile whenever I thought about it.
His surprise trip to the Bahamas showed me how fun and adventurous he was. The dinner where he declared the fact that he wanted to try and make this something real was the picture perfect setting. The sunset, the luscious foods, the light breeze, the ocean battering against the legs of the terrace. I could still remember how beautiful the reflection of the painted colors of the sunset was in his eyes while I tried to decipher whether or not he was being serious, and I could remember the feeling of elation and relief when I realized he was.
He was being serious.
Even though we had only seen each other once since that trip, that didn’t mean he was taking a step back. I had come home Tuesday evening after a late night of data entry in the office to a delivery of savory food from the four-star restaurant up the street. There had been an insulated box sitting at my doorstep with a bottle of wine accompanied by a letter he’d written to ‘Charles’.
Then, I came home the next day to a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting outside of my door also addressed to ‘Charles’.
Each day was something new as I came home from work, and it became sort of a game between the two of us. I’d find myself getting distracted, wondering what in the world he was going to leave me next. Maybe it would be chocolates, or my favorite type of pizza. Maybe it would be another surprise trip, or airline tickets whisking us away to one of the places he had talked about.
But, when I came home Wednesday evening, there was a dress hanging on my doorknob with a note that wasn’t addressed to anyone.
L had hand-delivered this gift, and the note had been inscribed by him.
“Charlie, find something nice to match this dress. Tomorrow night, you’re my surprise. L”
So, I’d called in sick on Friday in order to go lingerie shopping. I had ducked into every store Miami had to offer, trying to find something that would match the beautiful silky fabric the dress had to offer. It was a dark red, off the shoulder dress that tumbled all the way to my feet and hiked my tits up to my chin. It was definitely a dress that would show off my body to L, so I wanted to make sure the spicy lingerie underneath did the exact same thing.
I ended up finding a strapless bra and lacy panty set that was the same crimson red as the dress, and I tried my hardest to contain my excitement before I went home that evening to prepare. I had no idea what L had in mind or where in the world he would be taking me in such an eye-catching dress, but at 7 PM sharp—after waiting for almost an hour—there was a knock at my door.
That night was when I had found out exactly how romantic Ellison James was. He was at my door with a small overnight bag and his body was clad in a muscle-hugging suit that had me drooling the moment I opened the door.
But, the way his eyes scanned my body, I could tell he wasn’t even aware of the way I was looking at him.
“Holy shit, you look incredible,” he said. “I have wonderful taste.”
He’d come into the room and set his bag on the couch, but when he opened his bag he didn’t pull out clothes. Instead, he pulled out a very old CD player, complete with a disc inside of smooth, beautiful jazz tunes.
“Care to dance?” he asked.
He took my hand and led me to the middle of my apartment, then pulled me into his body. His arm wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me to him while we danced alone. His eyes twinkled down at me while we swayed in each other’s arms, and I simply got lost in the romance of it all. Here was this powerful man, who could have any woman he wanted and dance with her anywhere he chose, public or private, but where he wanted to be was pressed against my body in the middle of my tiny apartment.
I felt safe with him. For the first time in my entire dating existence, I felt safe in the arms of the man I was with. I pressed my cheek into his chest and felt him kiss the top of my head, but the calm sensuality didn’t stay that way for long.
Our Thursday night was punctuated with groans and sighs while my lips wrapped around his cock. I teased him, over and over again, squeezing his orgasm back with my hand before I’d suck him right back to the top. By the time I was ready to let him cum, his balls hung to low they tickled his own ass crack and the tip of his dick was raging blue.
And he was begging.
But, he dished what I did, and by the time I was ready to flood his tongue with my juices I was sweating onto the bed. He’d peeled every single piece of clothing off my skin before he’d teased me to the edge. I’d rode his face, bucked into his fingers, and even felt him press his pinky into my asshole. My body shook and writhed with need while the sweat dripped down every crevice of my body. I was so frustrated with his teasing that tears were running down the sides of my face, and it wasn’t until he heard me sniffle that he finally granted me the release I had been looking for.
I had to slap a pillow over my face just so I could roar his name as loudly as I wanted.
Ellison James was the perfect mixture of romance and adventure. The way he spoiled me was never by treating me to decadent things, but simply executing small gestures to let me know I was on his mind. The way his body could manipulate mine melted me into a puddle at his feet with every swipe of his tongue, and every time I wrapped my fingertips in his hair the burning truth of my reality would sear itself onto the backs of my eyelids.
I didn’t want to let Ellison James go.
And I knew that spelled trouble for us both.