Chapter Eight

Gabe stared at his watch for the fifth time. The hand had only moved one minute since he last looked. Damn, how much longer would this blasted presentation be? The Ferdinand Project was one of the company's biggest moneymakers, and if his team screwed it up, it would be his ass on the line. Yet he couldn't concentrate on anything in front of him.

The speaker's words seemed to slur together, and the images projected on the large conference room screen were just a bunch of colored blotches to him. He should have been taking notes, or at the very least paying attention, but all he could think about was Julie and how good she'd felt and tasted the night before. Her cream was like wild honey on his tongue, and he must have spent at least an hour sucking her pretty little pussy, ramming his tongue into her tight hole, and nibbling on her clit.

He loved the way she moaned and writhed beneath him as his cock drove into her tight, wet sex. Five o'clock couldn't get here fast enough. Hell, this meeting couldn't get done fast enough.

Another half hour passed before the presenter wrapped up, and Gabe hadn't heard a single word. It was only when someone placed their hand on his shoulder that he was roused from his erotic musings.

“Gabe, meeting's over.”

Startled, he looked up to see Jeff Spears, the marketing operations manager, hovering over him. The attendees were slowly filing out of the conference room. “Damn. I must have zoned out for a minute.”

“More like for the entire hour. Your mind was clearly elsewhere. Is everything all right? This isn't like you.”

“I guess I have a lot on my mind to sort through. Tell you what, we'll have a quick meeting in my office in the morning when you have a minute and go over the finer points of this presentation. This is your baby, Jeff, and I trust your team can handle it.”

“That's not the problem, but I will need your approval for those requisitions I left with you earlier this week. I need them by noon tomorrow to get the proposal to our client on time.”

Gabe groaned inwardly, closing his eyes briefly. He'd forgotten all about them. Damn, that meant he'd need to stay late. He couldn't ask his assistant to stay and help him on such short notice. That wouldn't be fair to her. The thought of postponing his evening with Julie was disappointing, but he only had himself to blame. Hopefully she'd understand. “I'll have them to you first thing in the morning. Sorry for the delay. I guess things have been a little crazy for me lately.”

Jeff shot him a speculative look before nodding. “Thanks. I will catch up with you later.” When Gabe would have walked away, the other man paused. “I know this isn't any of my business, but if something's bothering you, I'm here to listen.”

Gabe smiled. Jeff was a nice guy. They'd gone out for beers a few times since Gabe had moved to the area, and were slowly becoming friends out of the office. Jeff reminded Gabe of some of his friends back home. “Thanks for the offer, but it's nothing serious. We can put it down to spring fever.”

“But it's summer. Let me guess. It's a woman, isn't it?”

Heat scorched his face, and he was sure it was probably beet red. There was no point in denying it now. Gabe shrugged. “I guess you can say there's someone special. I didn't realize it was so obvious.”

Jeff grinned. “It probably isn't to someone who doesn't know any better. But you remind me of myself when I first met my wife. My head was in the clouds twenty-four-seven.”

“And how did you ever come off that cloud?”

“I never did, but I've managed to deal with it, and I'm sure you'll do the same eventually. Speaking of the wife, we'd love to have you for dinner one night. Bring your lady friend. We'll make it a foursome. Nothing formal, just a meal and maybe a board game afterward.”

As cheesy as that sounded, the idea appealed to Gabe. Since moving away from family and friends to accept his current position, he'd neglected his social life. He hadn't even realized his life revolved around work until he began to spend time with Julie. He realized he missed having friends within a city's distance, someone to hang out with on occasion. Gabe wanted to do silly couple things with Julie, like meeting up with friends and having a night of charades and Scrabble. It was true since they'd been together all they ever did was fuck, not that he had a problem with that, but he wanted to take Julie out and introduce her to the world as his woman. By accepting Jeff's invitation, he would in essence be letting the entire company know that he and Julie were an item. Knowing some of the issues she already had with some of her colleagues, he didn't want to put her on the spot until he discussed things over with her.

“Thanks for the offer. I'll talk it over with her, and I'll let you know. But if that falls through, I have access to some club box seats if you'd like to go to a Phillies' game sometime.”

“Sounds good. Let me know about dinner, okay?”

“Will do.” Gabe waited until Jeff left the conference room before getting out of his seat and heading toward Julie's desk. Fuck it. He needed to see her smile to get through the rest of this maddening day.

As he neared her desk, he saw Doris Parker standing at Julie's cubicle. He couldn't see Julie, because she was sitting down, but whatever she was saying to Doris was not what the redhead wanted to hear. His first instinct was to go over and see what the matter was, but something held him back.

Doris narrowed her eyes and glared at the object of her displeasure, which Gabe could only assume was Julie. “What do you mean, you can't do it? You've done it for me before. I don't see why this time is any different.”

“I have a project I need to finish this week, and I can't spare the time to go through your production reports as well.” Julie's voice drifted toward him, clear and firm.

That a girl.

Doris's frown deepened. “That's not the way to be a team player, you know, Candy Girl. I have a commitment tonight, and I can't possibly stay late. I don't understand what the big deal is. I'd return the favor. You know I would.”

“That's just it, Doris. You wouldn't. Anytime I've even asked, you always have an excuse. No. I can't help you this time. As a matter of fact, I have plans tonight as well, and working overtime to finish your work isn't part of them.”

Scarlet-painted lips thinned to an angry line as the redhead crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh. So that's how it's going to be? I guess you think you're pretty hot stuff since you've become friends with our director. Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been smiling and batting those big eyes of yours at him.”

Gabe had had enough. He wasn't going to stand by and let that harpy talk to Julie any way she wanted. Clearing his throat as he strode toward them to make his presence known, he halted in front of Julie's cubicle. It was quite clear she was upset. Red undertones colored her chocolate brown cheeks.

“Is there a problem, ladies?” His question was directed to both women, but he didn't look away from Julie. What he really wanted was to tell Doris to go take a flying leap, but remembering his position at the company—and not wanting to cause any further embarrassment to Julie—Gabe barely managed to bite his tongue.

Julie lowered her head. “Um, no. Doris and I were just discussing work.”

Doris grinned and ran her finger down the side of his arm. By looking at her now, one would never have guessed she was pissed a few seconds ago. “That's right. Julie was just agreeing to help me out with my production reports, since I've been incredibly busy lately. Right, Julie? You did agree to help me, didn't you?”

Even though the bitch was lying through her capped teeth, Gabe waited for Julie's answer, perversely hoping she'd put the other woman in her place.

“Of course,” Julie replied, barely above a whisper.

“What?” he practically shouted, not knowing which woman he wanted to strangle more.

“She's such a dear, our Julie is. Thanks, doll.” Doris would have walked off as cool as she pleased if Gabe's sense of justice hadn't kick in.

“Doris, I think you're quite capable of doing your own production reports instead of throwing them off on Julie.”

Her mouth gaped open like a fish. “B-but I'm working on two important projects, and we always help each other out in bind.”

“And Julie is equally busy. Perhaps you should have a talk with Jeff to brainstorm ways to reprioritize your time.”

All color drained from Doris's face. She nodded stiffly and walked away, but not before shooting Julie a malicious glare.

Gabe shot Julie a look of his own.

She sighed. “I know. You don't have to say it. In your office, right?”

“Damn right.”

When they were behind the closed door in his office, he perched himself on the edge of his desk with folded arms. “Care to tell me what that was about? And before you lie to me, I heard every word. Why did you give in to her? You had every right to tell her to do her own damn work. Better still, you could report her for pawning her work off on you.”

Julie wrapped arms around her body. Her head drooped and her lips were poked out, giving her the appearance of a wounded puppy. “I really wish you wouldn't yell.”

He took a deep breath. “I'm sorry. I didn't realize I'd raised my voice. But I didn't appreciate hearing her talk to you like that. Come here, baby.” He held out his arms to her. Gabe hated seeing her upset.

Julie walked into his embrace, positioning herself between his thighs. She rested her head against his shoulder. “I really wanted to tell her no. I was trying like hell to tell her no, but she kept pushing. And then when you came over, I didn't know what to say. I didn't want her to think I had to rely on you to fight my battles, so I caved. It's something I'm still trying to work on. You know how I told you a bit about my childhood.”

“Yes.” If he ever came across Julie's aunt and cousin, he'd probably choke them both.

“Well, I think every time someone pushes me in a corner, I get flashbacks of Corinne and Aunt Rae. I know it sounds silly, but that need to please pops up out of nowhere. I hate people not liking me.”

Gabe caught her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “It's a fact of life, baby. Not everyone will like you, and those who only like you because of what you do for them aren't really your friends.”

“You're probably right. Sheridan says the same things. I wish I could be more like her. She has absolutely no problem saying no to anyone. She has grown men three times her size afraid of her.”

“Your friend sounds very wise. You should listen to her. Baby, what you have to realize is that you are a person to be valued. And no one has the right to take advantage of you.”

A smile curved her pretty, plump lips. “Thank you for saying that. And you're right. I guess after a lifetime of conditioning, old habits are hard to break. I'm twenty-seven years old, and I don't want to be this way anymore.”

“Then do something about it.”

“I've thought about that. I was thinking of seeing a counselor to sort myself out.”

“Sounds like an excellent idea. And if you need support, I'll be right there with you.”

She grazed the side of his face with her fingertips. “Thank you.”

“Words are meaningless. How about thanking me another way?”

“A kiss?” Her grin widened. “I think I can handle that.” Instead of moving closer so their lips would meet, she pulled out of his arms and slowly dropped to her knees.

The second she started working on his belt buckle, his dick shot to attention. This had to be a dream, because there was no way she was about to suck his cock in the middle of his office. He grasped her shoulders. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I'm doing? I'm giving you the kiss you asked for. You never said where you wanted it.” She unzipped his pants and pushed them and his boxers down his hips.

He should have stopped her, told her they shouldn't do this in the office, but dear, sweet Lord, he was horny. Besides, he'd been thinking of exactly this all day long. So when he felt her warm breath against his dick, he nearly came right then and there.

Julie wrapped her fingers around his girth and gave him a light kiss on the head. “Mmm. It's crying. Look, a teardrop.”

Gabe looked down to see a drop of precum on the tip of his cock.

A pink tongue darted forward, capturing the dollop before returning to its owner's mouth. “Mmm.”

A wave of hot lust swept through his body, making it nearly impossible to stand. He was thankful for the support of his desk; otherwise he would have fallen over. Where was his sweet Julie, and who was this vixen in her place?

When she would have taken him into the warm cavern off her mouth, Gabe stopped her. His need for pussy was greater than his need for her to suck his dick. Hooking his hands beneath her arms, he lifted her to her feet. “Lift up your skirt and take off your panties.”

“Right here?” Her brown eyes twinkled with excitement and lust.

“Fuck yeah. You didn't think you could get away with teasing me, did you? Now hurry up before I rip them off.”

Julie's underwear was around her ankles and kicked to the side within seconds. Her breathing was ragged as she obeyed his command.

“Now lift up your skirt a little higher and show me that cunt.”

She did.

Gabe licked his lips in anticipation. He liked that she was neatly trimmed. Her pussy lips were slightly puffy from her arousal. Lifting her against him with one arm, he aligned his cock to her sex and slowly guided it inside of her wetness with his free hand, thankful they'd decided to do away with condoms since she was on birth control.

He inhaled sharply as he slipped deeper into her tight cave. She was so fucking wet and tight, he could barely stand it. “That's it, baby. Wrap your arms around me just like that.”

Julie locked her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck as she writhed against him, riding his cock as if her life depended on it. He loved the way she never held back anything. She was so open and honest in their lovemaking, it turned him on to the point where he wasn't sure how much longer he could last.

“Oh, Gabe. You feel so good inside of me.”

“And it feels good being inside of my pussy. I don't know how I made it through the day without being close to you like this.” He thrust harder into her to emphasize his words. “That's it, baby. Take it. Take this cock like you want it.”

“I do.” She moaned.

Their bodies meshed together as they clung together, thrusting, bumping, and grinding into each other. No sound escaped their lips besides grunts of satisfaction and passion.

“I'm going to come.” Julie buried her face against his neck.

“Then let go, baby. Don't hold back.”

The walls of her pussy tightened around him, holding his cock in such a vise that he exploded inside of her. “Ah shit. Julie!” He held her tight as he emptied himself into her.

Her body shook as if she was unable to stop, signaling her orgasm.

Their climax was swift and hard, leaving them both breathless. After several moments of panting and holding each other, Julie unlocked her legs and slid down the length of his body until her feet hit the floor.

Clutching a fistful of his shirt, she rested her head against his chest. “Wow.”

Gabe kissed the top of her head. “Wow is right. That was…intense.” No one had ever made him feel quite this way before, made him lose control like that. He prided himself on his professionalism, yet one touch from her and he was instantly driven insane. “I didn't mean for that to happen in the office like that, but I have no regrets.”

“Me neither. I didn't think I had it in me to be quite so honest. You bring out something in me, Gabe.”

He dropped another kiss on top of her head. “Perhaps it's been there all along just waiting for the right time to come out. God help us all when you gain all your confidence, because you'll certainly be a force to be reckoned with.”

She tilted her head to meet his gaze. “You think so?”

“Oh, I know so.” He held her for a few minutes more, reluctant to let her go. And then he remembered to tell her about canceling their plans. Gabe groaned. “Oh, I know this is bad timing, but I have to cancel on you tonight. There are several requisitions I've neglected that I need to go over tonight before I leave.”

Julie pouted. “That's too bad. But we have the weekend.”

Gabe gave her a lingering kiss. “We do, at that.” Now was as good a time as any to bring up Jeff's invite. He mentioned the conversation he'd had with Jeff earlier. “So, what do you think?”

“Well…I don't know. If—I mean, what will people say? You and I will be out in the open.”

“You can't be concerned about what others say. We're two consenting adults. They'll find out about us sooner or later. Besides, we've been nothing but professional.”

She arched a brow at him. “Except for the time you screwed me senseless in your arms. You were so horny, you were standing the entire time.”

“Hmm, maybe I wouldn't have lost control if a certain someone didn't have her hands on my dick.”

She giggled. “Ouch.” Just as quickly as her mirth came, it disappeared. “Are you sure you're ready for us to go public with our relationship?”

“We have nothing to be ashamed of. I don't want this to be just a sexual thing. I care for you, and I don't want you to get the impression that I only want us to be together behind closed doors.”

She slowly licked her lips. “I guess I'm a bit worried that people will cry favoritism if you're nice to me. Or if you tell me I've done a good job. I take pride in my work, and I'm damn good at it. I just don't want anyone to think I'm slacking because of us.”

“And no one would dare, because you are good at what you do.”

“I'm sure Doris will have something to say.”

“Doris is an asshole. But you can't let every asshole in the world dictate your actions. We're in this together. What do you say, babe?”

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I say yes!”

* * * * *

“I'm really happy for you, girl. Gabe sounds like a real winner, unlike some of the duds I've been out with lately.” Sheridan lamented on the phone later that night.

Since Gabe had to work late, Julie decided to have a relaxing night by taking a long, hot bath followed by a romantic comedy on cable with Rufus curled up on her lap. As she was dozing, Sheridan had given her a ring. “Oh no! What happened to Larry? Things were getting pretty hot and heavy with the two of you.”

“Yeah, but he was getting on my nerves.”

“What did he do?”

“He wouldn't stop talking about himself, and he wasn't interested in any conversation that didn't center around him. It got pretty boring after a while.”

“Or maybe you were just bored with him.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Let's be honest here; you're always finding fault with the men you date, no matter how insignificant.”

“So you think I should be with an inconsiderate jerk?”

Julie sighed. “I'm not saying that. But you are kind of picky. What happened to that really nice guy, Michael?”

“Mama's boy.”

“Keith?”

“His laugh was like nails on a chalkboard.”

“Doug?”

“Don't remember.”

“Uh, the guy you dated before Keith.”

“Oh yeah. Him. Well…I can't really remember what it was about him. But I'm sure it was something annoying.”

Julie chuckled. “Like I said before…you're picky.”

Sheridan snorted. “No. I'm just someone who won't settle for just any man. But enough about my string of bad luck. Tell me more about Gabe. Do you think this guy is the one?”

Julie hadn't thought that far ahead. She wanted to be with him, and her feelings for him were deep, but she still had to work on herself before she could take the plunge into a serious commitment, to be the woman Gabe would be proud of and she herself deserved to be. “I don't know yet, but I do know I've never felt this way about anyone before. He makes me happy, and he sees me as the strong woman I'd like to be.”

“Honey, you've always been strong; you just haven't figured it out yet. Julie, you are very special, and I'm glad this Gabe fellow sees it too. And hopefully one day you will as well.”

“Actually, I intend to sign up for counseling. Maybe if I can iron my issues out with a professional, I can grow emotionally.”

“That sounds like a terrific idea. I'm so proud of you, sweetie. Wow, so being with Gabe has brought these changes in you. I hope things work out for the two of you. Besides being rather yummy, if I do say so myself, any guy who makes you realize your worth, is okay by me.”

“Everything is still so new right now, and I don't want to jinx it, nor do I want to rush things.”

“That's a wise decision. Sounds like things are looking up for you.”

Julie smiled. “Yes. You could say, I've decided to turn over a whole new leaf.”