Corporate Seduction (13 page)

“I noticed you stay to yourself a lot, and was wondering why.”

He shrugged. “I was hired to do a job, that’s what I’m doing.”

A slender hand lifted, rested at the hollow of her neck, then slipped down the opening in her blouse. “Did you read this morning’s message?”

Khalil didn’t miss the gesture, but kept his eyes carefully trained on hers. “Yes. That’s what I was working on before you came in.”

“Really?” Tyrese licked her lips. “So what do you think? I’ve got to tell you I’m tempted to head over to Sak’s and pick me up a couple pieces from that Long Lasting Lickin’ Lingerie. What colors do you think would look good with my complexion?” With a flick of her wrist, the next button came undone, revealing her black lace bra.

Suddenly his little office was ten times smaller. Khalil took a deep, steadying breath. After all, he was a man. Creamy, ivory-toned mounds scarcely covered by black lace were there for his perusal. Was there anything more sexy than black lace?

“I think that Jack is losing sight of the fact that this is an office and that his messages are more than inappropriate here.”

Uncrossing her legs, Tyrese let them gap a little, just enough to provide a hint of what was beneath her skirt. The tip of a finger traced one puckered nipple just before she stood and moved around his desk.

Khalil turned in his seat, shifting so that his arousal wouldn’t be apparent, but now facing her as she came closer.

“And what about the rest?? What color do you think would look good on me? On these?”

Her blouse came completely open, her heavy breasts jutting towards his face. If he but sat up, leaned forward and opened his mouth, she’d gladly breastfeed him. Khalil’s mouth watered. Then his eyes went to her face again and he realized it wasn’t the face of the person whose breasts he’d like to feed from. She looked down at him with clear implications, her hands lifting the globes for him to indulge. Abruptly he stood, grabbing the ends of her blouse and pulling them closed.

“Tyrese, I don’t have to tell you how inappropriate your behavior is, do I?” He spoke sternly as he pushed her back and out of his way, moving towards the door. “Cienna has a stiff policy about sexual harassment. Do I need to file a report?”

Tyrese frowned as she hastily buttoned her shirt. “No!” she almost shouted at him. “You don’t have to file a report. Although I would suggest seeing a doctor for your obvious ailment.” With her clothes back to normal Tyrese approached him at the door, standing toe to toe with him, still flaunting her goodies.

“I don’t have an ailment. But I’m wondering if you don’t have some issues of your own.”

Tyrese smiled, moved in a little closer until just the tip of her breasts rubbed against his chest. He could tell Cienna whatever he liked. She wasn’t staying at this dead end job too much longer, anyway. She was being paid well to deliver information, and she’d be out of here soon enough. With a long red painted fingernail, she traced the line of his jaw, heard the crackle of his light beard beneath her ministrations. “I don’t have any issues that can’t be resolved by a real man. It’s not my fault if you’re not what I thought you were.” Licking her lips again, she let her nail linger just beside his mouth. “But it is a pity.”

Repulsed by such a blatant come-on, Khalil grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away from his face, then opened his office door and forcibly pushed her out. “Don’t make the mistake again,” he growled. She’d just lost all his respect.

* * *

Reka had seen the message and talked to Tacoma for about twenty minutes about it. Walking from the copy room back to her office, she found herself still thinking about it. She didn’t consider herself a freak, sexually uninhibited maybe, but not a freak. And normally erotic words or insinuations had little effect on her, but this morning as she’d re-read the message for the second time in her own office, she’d felt the telltale tightening in her lower belly and had to squeeze her thighs together tightly to keep from wanting to pleasure herself.

It was crazy, she knew, and most likely due to all the kissing and rubbing she and Khalil had done last night on her couch. Lord, she didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to stand him stopping their progress just as it was getting good. Last night she’d taken a lukewarm shower—’cause that cold water was for the birds—and rubbed her tightened clit until a release of some sort had taken over.

In the morning, however, she realized that Khalil was being just what he’d told her he was: a good man. He desired her, she was sure of that point, but he wouldn’t push things. It dawned on her then that she wanted so much more beyond the physical with Khalil. Something that she had been afraid to ever want from a man. She’d been through enough relationships, enough heartache, enough disappointments in her life to know that wishing didn’t always make your dreams come true. But with Khalil there was hope.

She wore a long flowing skirt this morning with a button up blouse and matching vest. So while she stood at the copier thinking of Khalil, and not Jack’s message referring to Jill’s sweetness, feelings beyond the physical need for him began to take root and she shivered at their intensity. She looked at her watch. It was 11:45. In another fifteen minutes she’d take her lunch break. She’d go outside and partake of the crisp fall air and attempt to clear her mind. Now, more than ever, she needed to focus where Khalil was concerned.

She’d just passed Conference Room C, the smallest one on this floor and the one usually used for storing closed files instead of actual meetings because of its size, when something akin to a moan echoed in her ears. For a minute she thought she’d actually moaned aloud. She looked around to make sure nobody had seen her. But this part of the office was deserted as the attorneys and their assistants were lined on the opposite side. Just as she took another step, the moan sounded again.

Now she knew it wasn’t her this time. She stopped, looked around again and saw nothing. When she backtracked a few steps, the moaning increased in volume and in speed. On impulse she leaned an ear against the conference room door.

“Yes, baby. Bite my nipples. Oh yes!” she heard a male voice say.

The moaning increased and Reka flattened her ear completely against the door. She wished she had a glass or something to improve the sound. But when she heard the next voice she was glad she didn’t.

“Yeah, suck it harder. That’s right, just like that.”

She had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. It was Tacoma! He was in that conference room with somebody telling them to suck it harder. She’d know his voice anywhere. She wanted to turn that knob and barge in there. She liked Terry, and they were planning a wedding. No way was Tacoma in there cheating on his fiancé.

“Mmmmm, Terry. Terry. Terry,” Tacoma chanted.

Reka’s anger turned to giggles as she clamped her hand down even tighter over her mouth. Lord have mercy, Tacoma and Terry were getting it on in the conference room. Out of respect for her friend and because, quite frankly, she didn’t think she could stand hearing any more from the two of them, she eased away from the door and hurried back to her office.

When her office door was securely closed behind her, she quickly picked up the phone and paged into that conference room. It beeped several times. Then she hung up and did it again. Tacoma still didn’t pick up.

“So he wants to play like he’s not in there. Okay, I’ve got something for his ass.” Reka beeped into the office again, but this time she spoke into the receiver, knowing that the phone system they had would instantly switch into intercom mode and her voice could be heard throughout the room. “I know you’re in there and if you value your job, you’ll finish up quickly and take the rest of the day off.”

She heard their gasps, then the shuffling of the phone as Tacoma finally picked up.

“Reka?”

“You’re damned lucky it is me, fool! What are you thinking? You know you can get fired for what you’re doing!” she screamed at him.

Out of breath and sweating, Tacoma tried to speak. “I know. I know. But girl, that message got me all worked up. I just had to call Terry.”

“And invite him down to the office for a quickie. That is sick and dangerous, Tacoma. Now I suggest you and Terry fumigate that conference room and get the hell out of there before somebody catches you.”

In the background she heard Terry’s voice. “Yeah. Yeah. Tell him I said hi. I can’t believe you two.” She shook her head and hung up the phone.

Shaking her head, she reached for the folder that held the list of suggested models for Sensuality, Inc.’s launch party on Saturday. She’d been working on it since last week and had most of the women’s ages confirmed. She’d have to be at the event on Saturday and for a moment wondered if she should ask Khalil to be her escort.

That’s all it took, that one work-related thought of him. Coming on the heels of Tacoma’s sexual escapade, the thought of Khalil had her nipples tightening again. She’d never craved a man like this before in her life. Was it because he incited something in her mentally as well? Whatever the case, he was on her mind more and more lately.

It must have been mental telepathy because not two seconds after she had the thought Khalil knocked and entered her office, closing the door behind him.

“Good morning,” Reka mumbled. Khalil looked different this morning. His dark suit and brooding expression made him look almost sinister. His light skin seemed flushed and she saw the muscle in his jaw twitch as he approached the desk.

“Is it a good morning, Reka?”

Even his voice sounded different, rough, as if he’d just awakened. “Are you upset about the email? Everybody’s talking about it. You wouldn’t believe what I just witnessed a few minutes ago.” She was babbling, she knew, but she couldn’t help it. He was different, and that difference alarmed her.

“No. I can’t seem to keep my mind on that email, or work, or anything else for that matter,” he admitted before taking a seat across from her.

Reka licked her lips nervously. “Then what’s on your mind?” She was almost afraid to ask. She didn’t know what was going on with Khalil but her heart now hammered in her chest with a sense of dread.

“You.” Khalil took a deep breath. “You’re always on my mind.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?” she asked tentatively.

Khalil smiled, then visibly relaxed. “Only you would ask that question. Of course, it’s a good thing. I’m trying to tell you how much you’ve come to mean to me, Reka.”

Her heart settled into a smooth little rhythm and she gave a huge smile. She’d thought for a minute that she’d done something wrong, or that maybe he’d realized that pursuing a relationship with her was a bad idea. “Really? Then proceed.” With a wave of her hand she sat back in her chair, enjoying his handsome features and his strong aura.

Khalil commanded respect. She saw it when they were in the restaurant and in the way the majority of the staff treated him at the office. He was all business when he needed to be and yet all man at the same time. It was no wonder she’d fallen for him.

Khalil studied her. There she was, all professional and yet sexy, sitting behind that desk daring him to come and take her. Daring him to rescue her at the same time. There was a vulnerability to Ms. Reka Boyd that she didn’t want anyone to see. But he’d seen it. When she was at home mothering Grammy or when she was with Tacoma being the friend that he needed. These were sides that the tough-as-nails Reka didn’t want anybody to see, or if they did see, she dared them to mention it. These were the sides of her that endeared her to him even more.

“You are a very special woman. Has anybody ever told you that?”

“No.” She cleared her voice. “I don’t think they have.”

She kept her eyes level with his but he knew his directness was making her uncomfortable. “They should have. I’ve never met anyone like you and I can’t help feeling that I’ve been missing something great all these years. There is so much I want to do for you.”

Reka stood then and moved around the desk. “I don’t need you to do anything for me, Khalil. I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

Khalil realized the error in his wording, then stood, taking both her hands in his. “No, baby, don’t misunderstand me. I know you’re independent and I know that you can handle yourself and anybody else that comes along.” His thumbs rubbed the soft skin of her hands as he spoke. “But you’ve had to do that all your life. For once, I want you to be able to sit back and know that there is somebody that will take care of you. I want you to let go and allow yourself to be loved.”

At those words Reka tried to pull her hands free. “No. I can’t do that.”

Khalil held on to her. “Why?”

“Because that’s how you get hurt. You depend on people and people let you down. They disappoint you and then you’re left to deal with all those emotions and situations that you weren’t prepared for.” She’d been looking away from him as she spoke but now she stared up into his warm eyes. She could fall in love with those eyes. She could easily wake up every morning and happily smile into them. But she lived in the real world, where happy endings weren’t easy to come by. “I take care of myself, at all times,” she said solemnly.

Khalil released her, lifted his hands to cup her face and smiled. “It’s time to learn a new song, Reka.” He caressed her smooth skin, then bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. “I’m going to teach you how to trust.” He kissed her again, lingering over the softness of her lips. “How to let go.” His tongue stroked her bottom lip, nipping and drawing it into his mouth. “How to love.”

Reka was used to his kisses, used to his touch by now. But this she hadn’t expected. Maybe it was his words, or maybe it was the deep sincerity with which he’d said them. Whatever the case, her senses froze, her lungs stalled, her heart seemed to stop. Then his tongue lovingly stroked hers and she melted. Right there in her office, with her bottom pushed against her desk, Khalil’s large body looming over hers, his hands cupping her face ever so gently. She felt his steadiness, his protection, his vow to be the man she needed.

And then it shifted.

His hands moved around her waist pulling her closer; his head angled to take the kiss deeper. And his pledge to her changed to something more primal, more absorbing than anything she’d ever felt before. His lips moved on hers in a compelling, but not demanding, way. He sipped and suckled her lips, stroked his tongue deeply inside her mouth. His hands moved over her back, caressing her, kneading her, convincing her.

She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Pleasure, hot and wet, a combination of lips and tongues and, she now admitted readily, emotions. Emotions swept through her, lifting her from the defensive perch she’d been on these last few years. She went willingly, letting him lead the kiss but giving as good as she got. She was letting go, giving him what he asked of her. And she was enjoying it.

When he lifted his head it was with a reluctance she knew they shared. Her arms remained around his neck as her heart thumped loudly in her ears. She stared straight ahead, at his chest instead of into his face. She wasn’t sure what to say after that, what to do.

With a finger to her chin Khalil lifted her face. “Don’t think about it, just let it be.”

“You seem so certain.” And she was so scared.

“I learned a long time ago to trust my gut instinct. And the moment I met you I knew I needed you. It’ll be good between us, I promise you.”

Reka drew in a shaky breath and decided to take him up on his promise. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said jokingly. But she’d taken his words seriously. She was taking a risk. She was giving him a part of herself she had decided never to give again. And he’d better be worth it.

“Please do.”

She arched a brow, then tried to move out of his grasp. “But right now we are in the office. Cienna has very strict rules about personal relationships in the office.”

Khalil knew about those rules. Keith had already warned him. “You’re right,” he said with much regret. Then he pulled her to him one last time, for one last embrace that would need to last him the rest of the day. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

Reka smiled as he released her, feeling the giddiness of a young girl. It was just a simple hug, but it moved her almost as much as the kiss had. “Yeah, and you need to get on that email situation. I think it provoked an all time low in the office this morning.”

“Really? What happened?”

Reka shook her head. “I’ll tell you about it on our personal time.”

He warmed inside at the sound of ‘our personal time.’ “Okay. Lunch or dinner?”

He had opened the door and was now standing half in and half out of her office. Reka sat back in her chair, unable to stop the incessant smiling. He made her feel so good. “Both.”

* * *

Tacoma’s face was scrunched up as he listened to Reka.

“I mean, he just seems too good to be true. After that kiss, the rest of my day was shot right to hell.” Reka snapped peas at Tacoma’s kitchen sink. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and she’d gone over to his apartment after their three-hour-early release from work. He and Terry felt no shame for their office antics. Both of them grinned from ear to ear when Reka walked in fussing about their office rendezvous.

“Don’t make that face,” Reka warned. “The least you can do is listen to my sickeningly sweet moment after I had to listen to you and Terry in the conference room.”

“True.” Tacoma put four fingers to his lips to still a smile. “Okay, so he’s a great guy, a gentleman and a good kisser. Now what?”

“You make the answer sound obvious. I don’t know why I even told you.” Because that’s what she was used to doing, she thought to herself. For as long as she could remember Tacoma had been her sounding board. Cienna was a good listener too, but given office policy, she would have been a fool to run and tell her boss.

“Well, that’s the bottom line. My question is, why are you here instead of at his place finishing up your business? I’ve never known you to be shy about sleeping with a man.”

For some reason that made her sound like some sort of hussy, and Reka was positive she didn’t like that. “Thanks a lot.” She snapped one pod a little too hard and the peas flew out of the bowl.

Tacoma sighed and picked them up. “We’d like to have some left for dinner, if you don’t mind.”

“But that’s just it, sex was easy with those other guys because there was hardly ever any real emotion tied to it. I can say that now, because I know I’ve never felt what I feel for Khalil with anyone else,” she sighed, ignoring his smart retort. “ I mean, take Donovan for instance…”

“Woo girl, don’t even mention Donovan and his fine ole chocolate self.” Tacoma fanned his face. “If I didn’t have Terry and you weren’t my girl, mmm, mmm, mmm. Something definitely would have popped off there.”

Reka rolled her eyes. “In your dreams. Donovan is as straight as that lamp pole over there. Besides, I was just using the relationship between me and Donovan as an example. Donovan and I had good sex, but I think that’s all we had.”

“And you and Khalil have what?” Tacoma could see that she was serious, so he’d let the jokes rest for a minute. “You really like him, don’t you?”

Nodding, Reka let that little revelation sink in. She really did like him. So what was she going to do about it? “I’m just wondering why he seems to like me so much.”

Tacoma nudged her until she almost fell in the floor. “Don’t ask stupid questions. You know you’ve got it going on.”

“No. I mean, yes, I know I’m a good person and that I’m not a bad looking woman.”

“If I wasn’t happily in love with my man I’d be trying to get with you,” Tacoma added with a smile.

Reka cast him a teasing glare. “And I’d be running like hell.” She giggled.

Tacoma snapped the pod open and let his peas roll into the bowl with much attitude. “Not funny.”

“Seriously, though, I just don’t know what he sees in me. I mean, he’s educated and sophisticated and from a wealthy family. And I’m just me, with my community college degree and my looney tunes grandmother walking around my apartment in pieces of the Sensual Safari Collection.”

Tacoma threw his head back, laughing. “You didn’t tell me Grammy still buys lingerie.”

“She didn’t buy it. You know I get samples of all Sensuality, Inc.’s new stuff because Cienna likes to keep her guard up with lawsuits against the company. Well, I thought I had all that stuff carefully hidden away until I got home the other day and she was modeling some of it for her friend Cletus from the nursing home.”

“Lawd, I’ll bet that was a sight.” He was holding his stomach laughing now.

“No, the sight was seeing Cletus’ shriveled old erection as Grammy pranced around in front of him. And then neither one of them having any shame when I walked in. Can you believe she had the audacity to complain about not having any privacy? In my house! If my mother doesn’t come and get her soon I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Girl, you know Janell ain’t hardly worried about you and Grammy, so you might as well get used to the roommate.”

Reka sighed and went back to snapping the peas, her mind still on the situation with her and Khalil. She really didn’t know why he liked her. The one thing she was sure of was that she wanted the chance to pursue things with him, to try to be the woman he believed she was. She just wasn’t sure how.

“Look.” Tacoma grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “Stop worrying about that foolishness. He likes you because you’re smart and you’ve got ambition and because you’re a great person. With the best cheekbones I’ve ever seen,” Tacoma ended with a smile.

Reka smiled. There were times when Tacoma was her biggest fan and champion supporter. That was why she loved him so. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Oh, you know I’m right. Now you’re going to dinner at his parents’ house tomorrow. What are you going to wear? You know first impressions are everything, especially with the rich.”

“I was thinking about a pantsuit.”

Tacoma nodded his head. “Good move. Wear the silver one with the lame shell and matching shoes. It’s an excellent cut and looks amazing on you. And pull your hair up, that’s elegant.”

“Khalil likes my hair down.”

“Honey, you’ve already impressed Khalil. Now you’ve got to impress his mama. Do as I say and you’ll be just fine.”

For the next hour Tacoma told her what to do and what to say tomorrow at dinner. Then they moved on to wedding preparations. And for the first time, while she twisted netting into wedding favors, Reka began to think that matrimonial bliss might be somewhere in her future.

* * *

“I just wanted to give you a heads-up about tomorrow,” Khalil spoke into the telephone as he lounged on his couch.

“So you’re bringing your new girlfriend home to meet the family. Good luck,” Danielle said with a sigh.

Danielle was younger than him by three years, but she’d one-upped him by getting married five years ago and giving their parents the first grandchild, Lance. She didn’t subscribe to the same book of rules his parents did but she tended to stay on their side since both she and her husband worked for the family company.

“I’m not going to need luck. Reka is a wonderful woman. You’re going to love her.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think. You know whose vote counts.”