I’m dreading this event tonight in the worst way. I can be polished. I can also be polite and carry on conversation about current events and the weather, but I find it all boring as hell. After having to be in the spotlight for the last six months I’m enjoying being myself and just relaxing. I know that these kinds of functions are going to be part of life if I continue with Victor, and there is no sign of that ending any time soon.

The man makes me happier than I’ve ever been, even before my father’s death—and that’s saying something. I’ve never met any man who is nurturing and loving while still tough and masculine like Victor is. My dad was a great example of a good husband; he had an undying love for my mother, but like Jeff, his masculine side often outshined his sensitive side. You always knew the love was there, but the communication and sensitivity weren’t always visible. It seems to me that Victor has the whole package.

I smooth my hair over my shoulder and check my lipstick one more time before I turn off the bathroom light and head to the living room to wait for him to pick me up. “You are strong, you are beautiful, you are smart, and you are a badder bitch than any of those women,” I chant to myself out loud over and over again. When I told Shaunda about my concerns for the mixer tonight while stealing a little black dress from her earlier in the week, she grabbed me by the shoulders and said those words to me. Then she made me repeat it to her a few times. At first, I felt silly doing it, but then I realized it’s what she really thinks of me and I of course started crying.

“Don’t cry. If I could be anyone in the whole wide world besides me, I’d want to be you. Don’t let any of those mean-ass women make you think less of yourself. You are amazing. Look at all you do and what you have accomplished, all while being the most beautiful woman I know.”

We hugged and cried for 10 minutes until Wyatt burst through the door yelling about something his brother was doing, interrupting our little moment. When I left Shaunda’s house, I felt like all the things she told me I am and I continued feeling them for the rest of the week, until the nerves started creeping up on me this morning. I’m not a fan of confrontation and I’m not sure how to handle anything unpleasant without making things rough for Victor at work. I don’t want to be the cause of any issues for him and it’s making me anxious.

The knock at the door stops my chant and I open it to find a ridiculously sexy Victor standing with his hands in his pockets. His hair has been styled with gel and is a little more sleek than usual, his face is clean-shaven and his navy suit fits like a glove over a white tailored shirt. Sheer male perfection. Yum.

Victor’s eyes heat instantly as he takes me in from head to toe. He steps inside the door and closes it behind him, his eyes lock with mine and surprisingly he turns me around, pushes me a few steps forward and bends me over to brace myself on the small entryway table so I’m looking at myself in the mirror that hangs on the wall there. If this were anyone else I’d be concerned by the lack of greeting, but his eyes are so expressive. They are practically smoldering with carnal heat as he takes me in from head to toe before moving me to this position.

Behind me, I can see his head bent, watching his hands as they smooth down over my back and hips to the curve of my ass. He squeezes my cheeks through the fabric, groaning a little, and leans into me. Still without a word of any kind, he refocuses on my reflection in the mirror before he swipes my hair over my left shoulder. The look he’s giving me through hooded eyes should be outlawed. It’s as potent as any drug on the black market. I’d do almost anything to have him look at me like that again. Then he places two tender kisses on my neck. Each one sends a chill along my skin and a flash of pulsing heat to my core. My lips part and out of pure instinct I press my hips back into his and feel his desire, rock-hard between us. He takes a small step back and squats down, starting his hands at my bare ankles and running them all the way up, oh-so slowly, as he returns to a standing position, pushing the hem of my dress over my hips.

Thongs are uncomfortable so I chose to go commando tonight and I’m thanking God for this when he slips two fingers down between my legs and whispers along my exposed neck, “All week long I’ve dreamed about your legs in a cocktail dress, all week long I’ve dreamed of burying myself in you while your dress is pushed up like this. I planned to wait until we get home, but now I know your pussy is bare and it’s slick, ready for me, so I can’t wait. Bend over further and put your elbows on the table.”

By far, that’s the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me. I shiver with anticipation, sink to my elbows and lift my head to catalogue his expressions in the reflection as he undoes his pants and slides them down to his knees. Within seconds I hear his wallet hit the floor next to us as he tears the condom wrapper and slips it on. I’m so wet for him right now that it’s likely I’ll explode as soon as he’s inside me.

I lift my ass a little higher as he guides himself inside me. My moan is guttural as he sinks all the way in. Clenching tight around him, my whole body starts to shake. I’m close already and we just started. His hips move slowly at first, pressing hard against me when he’s buried deep, and I grip the little table, moaning loudly as it knocks into the wall in a steady rhythm. The sound adding to the sexual heat between us.

“I love your ass.” He smacks it as if to emphasize his statement. “I love your sexy legs.” He pauses mid-stroke to run a hand reverently down my thigh. “I love your perfect tits, even though I can’t get to them right now.” He grips my breasts over the dress and I arch my back to give him more. Both of his hands then roam to my hips, gripping tighter, and his breathing increases as his thrusts grow harder and faster.

“I can’t hold on!” I yell above the banging of the table and the smacking of flesh between us.

“Let go, baby. Give it to me,” he growls. Almost as if his words are the finger on the trigger of release, I let go and the taut cord of tension burning in my core snaps and whips through me, raising me to a level of beautiful euphoria.

“Victor!” I scream his name as he finds his release soon after. He collapses forward on to my back for a few seconds while we try to catch our breath. My legs quiver a little and he must feel it because he stands and removes the condom before tugging his pants back up and guiding me to the living room. He plops onto the couch and pulls me onto his lap to rest. With my head against his chest, I’m able to listen to his heart rate as it slowly returns to normal. He moves my hair gently out of the way and asks, “Can you wear that once a week just for the hell of it?”

I can’t help but laugh.

“Glad you like it. Now that I’ve had sex in it, my sister won’t want it back, so I can probably accommodate your request.” I giggle and he holds me tight.

“I know you didn’t want to go tonight, but it means a lot that you are. I’m going to be the luckiest guy in the room with you on my arm. Beautiful, talented and smart. Triple threat,” he tells me as he kisses my neck one last time. “Come on, let’s get going so we can get this over with and get back to the good stuff.” We both laugh a little as we stand and fix our clothes and hair.

By the time we arrive, I’m fully relaxed with no more need to chant my sister’s words in my head. I’m even able to ignore the upturned noses of some of the females at the party as we walk past. Victor’s smile and his arm around my shoulders every time he introduces me to someone new helps to keep me mellow for most of the night.

As I’m in a stall of the ladies’ room, two women enter and their conversation stops me before I can open the door to my stall and come out to wash my hands.

“Why would Victor bring the blond bimbo here?” the first woman asks in an annoying nasal voice.

“I don’t know. We don’t see him for years with a woman, but we all know he’s fucking Miriam in his office after hours. Maybe she pissed him off; men can be vindictive as hell.”

The second woman chimes in. “Miriam must have screwed up pretty bad for him to bring another woman here and rub it in her face.”

“Well, she is a bitch; I’m surprised it took this long,” the first woman says.

“True, but did you see the just-sexed look the slut on his arm is wearing? Damn, what I wouldn’t give for a piece of that action. Maybe if he’s done with Miriam, I can stay after hours for a little bit of Victor overtime.”

They both laugh hysterically, but instead of being hurt and humiliated, I’m pissed. I don’t know what’s happened with Miriam, but I won’t believe these office rumors without talking to him, and frankly, their assessment of me is off. I push the door open and step out to face the catty bitches head-on. Their expressions are priceless. What I wouldn’t give to have a picture of their apparent shock.

I address them casually as I reach out to put soap on my hands and wash. “Sorry, ladies, Victor won’t be available for Victor overtime this week or next, and probably not for the rest of the year. He’s got plans.” I pause as I dry my hands and look at both of them with their mouths hanging open. “He’ll be making sure I have this sexed-up look on my face,” I gesture to my face for emphasis and continue, “for the foreseeable future, and I don’t share.” Flashing them a perfect savage smile I end the encounter with, “Have a good night, ladies. Good luck finding someone as hot as Victor.” I strut through the door with my head held high and my blood slightly boiling. My sister and Dana will be so proud when they hear about this.

I smooth my dress a little and take a deep breath as I round the dividing wall between the hall and the lounge area. It takes a few seconds to locate Victor in the crowd and when I do my stomach does a somersault because he’s in the middle of taking a serious swing at Jerry Stanton and connecting. He must’ve hit the right spot because Stanton stumbles back slightly and drops like a dead tree in the forest. Victor is obviously seething so I push my way through the gathering crowd to him and reach him right as he’s turning to a man I still haven’t met who is pulling on his arm and berating him. I stop short when a fierceness comes from Victor’s tone of voice that I didn’t know he was capable of. “Ralph, I’ve spent years putting up with his shit. He’s inappropriate, sexist, rude and condescending. He went too far this time and I’m done with it. The fact that you know he’s a fucking asshole and have done nothing about it up to this point makes you just as liable for his foul mouth and behavior.” He leans down into the smaller man’s face, who has yet to say another word. In fact, he looks shocked. “I quit. If being a partner means sucking it up so men who are not really men can act like assholes, then I don’t have time for it. I’ll be by the office on Monday to collect my things.”

As Victor finally acknowledges me and grabs my hand to leave, the older man finally speaks up, “Victor, you’re a partner. You can’t quit like this. Let’s discuss this on Monday.”

“No, I’m done. I’ve worked too hard lining the pockets of this firm to be disrespected the way he does almost every day.”

“You’ll never get another partnership in the state of Colorado if you walk away from this one.”

“I don’t need to. I don’t give a rat’s ass about being a partner in a firm. Living my life with integrity and enjoyment is far more important than working hard so you can golf every Friday without fail and take vacations the rest of us only dream of.”

The whole room is silent and Mr. Hadensbach is beet red. Victor grips my hand a little tighter, steps over Stanton, who is still out cold on the floor, and I note, no one is fussing over, and leads me through the door to the valet stand. While the valet runs to get Victor’s car, he pulls me in close and holds me tight.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you tonight,” he says quietly.

“You didn’t embarrass me. I’m a little worried about you quitting your job so dramatically, but embarrassed is not the term I’d use.”

“Are you angry? I’ll get another job. I have more than enough money saved to get me through a year of rainy days. That won’t be an issue.”

“Haven’t you figured out that I don’t care about money? I’m more worried about you. What started that whole thing?”

“I’ll explain once we’re home. I don’t want to talk about it here. Don’t worry about me. I’m resilient. I’ve been through worse.”

I rest quietly against him until the valet appears with the hot little sports car that I now worry might not be paid off. The ride is quiet except for the radio playing softly as we zip along the busy streets until we reach my neighborhood. Once we’re back at my house I almost expect him to drop me off and leave after the way everything went down, but I am pleasantly surprised when he locks the door behind us and backs me up to my poor, already battered, little table. Without saying a word, he thrusts his hands in my hair and holds my face as he plunders my mouth. The best kisses I’ve ever had are with him—the slow and soft, the rough and hard, the eager and hungry—all of them.

When he pulls back he whispers, “Let’s forget about that crap from tonight for now. I want to make love to you. I want to finish what we started earlier and I want to spend the rest of the night in your arms.”

Well, who can resist that request? Not me! “Yes,” I whisper, turn and lead him to my room.

Several hours and a couple of condoms later, he’s lying on his back with a slight sheen of sweat covering his smooth olive skin. My head is on his shoulder, my thigh hiked up over his, and I’m alternating between softly dragging my fingernails along his abs and circling the one nipple I can see at this angle. His cock twitches a little against my thigh and he grumbles, “You’re going to have to give me a little recovery time.”

I smile slightly. “Me too. I just like touching you.”

He squeezes the one butt cheek he can reach and says, “I feel the same.”

There’s a long pause and just when I think he’s dozing off, he says, “I punched him because he asked which position I did you in before we got there tonight. Said he wanted to know so he could do the same when it was his turn. I warned him the last time he said something to you, and tonight… I was finally done with his bullshit. He’s been making power plays at work and harassing me and I’m just tired of him. It was time to handle it like a man. If my boss was going to stand by while he said something about you, I didn’t care what he thought either.”

“You lost your job because of me?”

“I didn’t lose it. I quit it. I’m tired of their bullshit. I have no reason to take that kind of crap from anyone and you don’t deserve to have anyone talk about you like that. I don’t even like my job.”

“You don’t need to stand up for me. I’m a big girl.”

“This is true, but you’re also my woman and I won’t allow anyone to disrespect you where I can hear it. I feel like you’d do the same for me.”

“Speaking of that…” I trail off, wondering if I should bring up the bathroom conversation.

He must hear the uncertainty in my voice because he sits up and rolls so we are side by side, facing each other. Those amazing hazel eyes drill into me, urging me to continue without saying a word.

Following a tired sigh, I fill him in on the bathroom conversation and he makes a move to roll away from me to his back. I grip his shoulder and pull him back to me.

“Tell me if any of what they said is true.”

“I worked a case once with Miriam for about two weeks straight where we worked past normal business hours, but I swear I never touched her. It wasn’t long after Carol died and even if I was attracted to her, I was too busy being heartbroken to have sex with anyone. Unfortunately for her, I’m not attracted to her in the least, but apparently that didn’t stop the rumors from flying. I’ve always ignored them because I don’t care. I’m sorry you had to hear them, but I’m proud as hell at the way you stood up to them. The women at that firm, minus Nina, are bitches.” His eyes widen. “Shit! I forgot to talk to Nina before I left. Damn it, she’s probably worried sick about her job.”

“It’s too late to call her now. You can call her in the morning. Let’s get some rest.” I run my thumb over his lips and kiss them softly before I burrow in closer to him, ready for sleep. “I love you, Victor.”

“I love you too, Colby.” I feel his lips on my hair as I’m drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I wake to find the spot next to me cold and empty, so I climb out of bed and note that Victor’s shirt, shoes, socks and suit coat are exactly where we left them in a pile on the floor. The only thing missing are the slacks. Pulling on my robe I pad down the hall to find him talking quietly on his cell phone, probably trying not to wake me. I move up behind him and wrap my arms around him, resting my cheek against his bare back.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about me. I’ll call you in a few days and let you know my plan. You can decide at that point if you want in.” There’s a long pause before his voice quiets even more. “Nina, you are the best assistant anyone could ever have. Thank you.” She must respond and then say goodbye because he hangs up shortly thereafter.

He shoves his phone in his pocket and turns around to face me, wrapping his arms around me. “That was Nina.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“She quit and walked out right after we did. She said she would’ve left a long time ago if it weren’t for me. Her husband was so happy they went to their local bar and had a few drinks to celebrate. I’m glad they’re happy about it, but I hate that she doesn’t have a job. Whatever I do next, I’ll probably take her with me.”

“That’s a good choice. She seems to take good care of you.”

“Yeah, she got me through work the first year after Carol died. I barely remember it so I’m sure I was a zombie.”

“What do you want to do today?”

“I got a text from Dex saying they need some help at the Veterans Homeless Shelter today, so I’d like to pitch in. Want to join me?”

“What are we doing?”

“I have no idea, but if Dex is actually asking for help of any kind, I always say yes because that’s not his style. Besides, Marv, the guy who runs the place, is hilarious.”

“Count me in.”