Avoiding Mr. Right (13 page)

“Thanks for filling me in on your call with the doctor. We’ve always known Mom was
a fighter. Maybe her time isn’t as close as they think.” I pinch the bridge of my
nose, worry for my mom and Carla causing a slow headache to build.

“I’m so torn—and feeling guilty as hell because of it,” my sister says. “I don’t want
her to suffer needlessly, but I’m not ready for her to go, either.”

“The doctor said they’re doing everything they can to make her comfortable, so either
way it’s out of our hands.”

A heavy sigh reaches me and I picture my sibling throwing herself on her couch while
we talk. “I know. Doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.”

“Think about what Carla’s family is going through. I’d rather we know what’s going
on than left hanging for years like they were.”

“God, you’re right. That would be so much worse.”

My phone beeps, indicating another call is coming through. A glance at the screen
has me hustling my sister off the line. “Hey, Carla is calling. I’ll catch up with
you later.”

We say a quick goodbye and I click over to Carla. “How are you holding up?”

“Not bad.” Her voice sounds rough from old tears.

“Are you on the road home yet? The storm has petered out.”

“It’s still coming down pretty hard here. I’m going to spend the night. Make sure
my mom is okay.”

I nod, realize she can’t see me and say, “That’s a good idea. Have either of you told
your sister yet?”

“No. I called and asked her to come over in the morning so we could chat. Just told
her it was family business when she badgered me for more info.”

“Smart. How did things go with the detective?”

“Okay, I guess. It’s all kind of a blur really. He was polite and didn’t push when
my mom cried. I think he was ruling her out as a suspect as well as digging for any
possible leads.”

“Do you think their conclusion is right, a carjacking?”

Her breath expels in a whoosh and her exhaustion comes over the line clearly. “I don’t
know. And honestly, after fifteen years, does it matter? He’s gone and he never intended
to leave. That’s the only detail that’s important to us.”

We wrap up our call and I settle on the couch, nursing a beer. In about thirty minutes
there’s a knock at my door. It’s Rocko, holding up a six-pack.

“Want to watch the game?”

I let him in. “Beats sitting here stewing.”

“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

I shrug and flop back on the couch.

He cracks open a beer and eases down into an armchair nearby. “How’d your date last
night go?”

As we watch the game together I proceed to fill him in on all that’s happened. I don’t
go into details about our night together after the restaurant, but the news of Carla’s
missing father dominates our speculation most of the evening. Her family history explains
so much about why she initially acted the way she did with me, hell, with all guys.
I’m glad her family has the closure it needs to thrive.

It’s been over a week since the detective knocked on Carla’s door and changed her
family’s life forever. The three women agreed not to do a memorial service, as his
parents passed away a few years ago and all the couple’s mutual friends fell to the
wayside little by little over time.

I’ve seen Carla almost every night, even if I don’t stay over. One evening we went
to the movies, on Saturday afternoon I helped her at
Dress for Success
again, and Sunday we went to the Bronx Zoo.

That’s where I learned she has a deep-seated interest in bears. I bought her a stuffed
black bear from the zoo’s gift shop, despite her protests that a grown woman doesn’t
need a fluffy toy animal. Every night I’ve stayed at her house she’s had that cute
little bear snuggled under one arm while she sleeps. I’ve resisted teasing her simply
because it’s so sweet—like she’s allowing herself to relax in a relationship and be
herself for the first time.

Each day with her is like an adventure where I learn something new about the transforming
woman. She’s always been strong, sexy, and confident enough for ten women, but when
it’s just the two of us, I get to see she has a softer side, too.

A side that’s fun to explore, whether with a blindfold, a silk tie, or a can of whip
cream. She flips all my buttons without even trying. My prickly fruit has certainly
turned into a delicacy to be savored.

As I sit here at my desk, my crackberry burns with another suggestive snippet from
my co-worker.

Do you think your piano would hold my weight if we had fun on it?

She’s giving me a boner under my desk and driving me wild with distraction.

Maybe
, I type back.
As long as we didn’t make it a marathon session.

Ping!

Well, that’s really up to you isn’t it? ;-)

I unleashed a sexual monster lurking behind her soft blue eyes, and I couldn’t be
happier. When I suggested last Friday that we tell HR about us dating, she agreed.
Turns out those memos and such sent around were intended to discourage interoffice
romances, but when it comes right down to it, they don’t want to lose two good employees
over something happening after hours.

We had to sign disclosures that released the firm from liability, and of course, neither
one of us admitted to the
during
work hours naughtiness we had participated in. It’s a tentative start in the right
direction, which is big for Carla.

A low chime pulls my eyes to the glowing screen lying near my coffee cup.

Have you noticed Barry’s biceps?

What the—? Did she mean for that one to come to me?
Should I be noticing his biceps?

She types back quickly,
I was just thinking of him pinning me down on the conference table and doing me hard.
The arms made a nice visual.

A slow burn begins in my gut. Does she think we’re in an open relationship and she
can be with other guys in the office? Seeing her with some jerk I have to face day
after day would drive me insane.

Not funny, Carla.

Oh? It’s okay for you to experiment and tease me beyond all sense of self, but not
for me to experiment on another man?

Before I can think of a calm, non-sociopathic rejoinder that will not send her running
from me, she calls out over her cubicle partition, “Barry, have you been working out?”

I stand up, a nasty look smeared across my face, to see my lover leaning over her
wall batting her eyelashes and smiling sweetly at the accountant across from her.

Poor Barry stumbles in his response. “Er… I … umm. Yeah, I work out.” I bet he’s never
fielded interest from a woman as good-looking as Carla.

The slow burn works its way up and I see red. Carla notices my expression and slips
down the aisle, scampering away. I can’t believe after our past week together that
she’d play with me like this. Slamming my chair into my desk, I stalk after her, determined
to confront her and hash it out.

She takes the stairwell and three other co-workers get there before I do. We all head
down to the underground parking garage. The three veer to the right while the curvy
blonde holding my attention moves left.

I step past a large concrete support and see no indication of which direction she
may have headed. A scrape of sound brings me around and I spot her shadowy outline
near a wall, in front of a car hood.

“Carla? What kind of crap are you pulling?”

“Jealous, Andy?” She taunts from the darkness.

My anger spills out. “You flirting in front of me? Hell yes, I’m jealous. How else
am I supposed to feel?”

“I know what I feel.” Her voice sounds like a deadly purr.

“Oh yeah, and what the hell is that?”

“Turned on.”

Her response pulls me up short. “Excuse me?”

“The look on your face at my innocent flirting sent my privates all aquiver.”

Just like that, the anger releases from me and a heavy sigh eases from my lungs. She’s
exploring her sexuality and teasing me—this is something I know how to handle.

I step closer, listening to make sure no one else is nearby. “It did, did it?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I reach her side, crossing my arms in a feigned expression of anger. The dim light
in the garage casts shadows over her sexy expression—sultry lips parted to reveal
a tiny tip of pink tongue. She stares straight into my eyes, while cupping her breasts
through her blouse, pushing them up to me in an offering. She licks her lips suggestively
and my cock hardens. God, she’s gorgeous. Carla can rile me with a simple flick of
her tongue.

“I think your stunt was mean,” I say.

She pouts, and glances down at my tented slacks. “You’re no fun, Andy.”

“Yes, I am.” I grab her and bend her over the car. “Now, let’s see if you’re happy
with what you stirred up.” A gasp escapes her, but she wiggles her ass against the
front of my pants, proving she’s game. I haul her to a semi-standing position by her
short hair, careful to be firm but not cause pain. “Don’t make a sound,” I whisper,
“unless you want everyone in the parking lot to see me fucking you on the hood of
this car.”

“Damn, Andy,” her voice comes out soft and breathy. “I’m so excited right now.”

Still holding her hair in one hand, I use my hold to tilt her face up and grab her
breast, squeezing it hard. “Pull up your skirt.” The rustle of fabric sounds sensual
in the cool, dark garage. “Now lower your panties to your knees.”

I shift my grip for her to comply, leaving her breast for the few seconds it takes
me to free my erection to the cool air. “Are you ready for me?”

A small whimper is all I get in answer, but she reaches between her legs to guide
my length in. Warm, moist heat encases me as I slam forward with enough force to bend
her back over the car again. My own need to claim this fiery woman and brand her as
mine drives me into a red haze of lust.

I let go of her hair, reaching around to her mound. The hard nub of flesh feels like
a glowing ember against my hand, betraying her more than aroused state. A low moan
seeps into the dimness surrounding us.

“Shh,” I whisper in her ear. “You lock those sounds inside or I’ll have to put my
hand over your mouth like I did in the bathroom.”

A spasm courses through her frame at the reminder. She nods her head and clamps her
lips shut, the only noise now is our harsh breathing in the deserted garage. Carla
spreads two palms on the hood to hold herself steady while I pummel her from behind.

My own need becomes a white-hot center in my middle, clouding everything else. “You’re
mine, Carla.” I say in a low tone that won’t carry. “No more flirting with co-workers.”
I punctuate the last sentence with a rapid pistoning of my hips.

Her inner muscles clench along my length as I rub her mound harder, faster. I knead
one breast roughly in my hand, my earlier anger and desperation pouring into our coupling.

“Just you and me for a little while, baby. No one else, you hear?” Letting go of her
breast, I hesitate in my actions. I need a response. I need to know she’ll give us
a decent shot, not run when things get tough. Still rubbing her aroused center, I
lean away to put room between us. Pulling my arm back, I deliver a stinging slap to
her left ass cheek. “You hear me, baby? I need an answer.”

Carla’s body shakes with her need. She nods vigorously, choking out, “Only you.” Her
response snaps my remaining control. I bow over her back, pumping into her tight little
body as hard as I can, wrapping an arm around her middle and holding her close.

Need overwhelms me as I plow to the finish line, fucking her as if my last dying breath
was being ripped from my body. Sensations swell through me as I clamp my own mouth
down hard on the moans aching to spill forth. Carla’s release coats my shaft as her
inner walls spasm around me.

My orgasm jets in pulses, spilling out of me in an electrical current of feeling.
I’m rattled to the core with the powerful emotions swirling between us. This woman
has captured my heart with her passion and I’m not even sure if she’s aware of it.

Trailing my hand down her stomach, I hug her to me while remaining locked deep inside.

“God, Andy,” her voice comes out in a husky wisp of sound, “that was more than I hoped
for when I set out to drive you crazy today.”

I smile against her back and rub my cheek over her spine. “You did this on purpose?
All those texts and the flirting?”

“Oh, yes,” she says on a sigh. “I wanted to see if I could make you lose control again,
like after our dinner date. It was sexy as all hell.”

I give her one last squeeze before pulling away. “Glad to see you got the reaction
you were trying for.”

She turns to face me, cupping my cheeks. “I’ve got way more than I was trying for.”
Carla leans in and gives me a tender kiss, trailing it out and sending a zing through
my blood.

The rest of the workday is uneventful and both of us are able to focus on our jobs.
I’m not sure if Carla wants me to come by tonight. I think she’s in the mindset now
of feeling she needs to set the pace on our new relationship. So, I head home after
work, hoping I may hear from her, but not counting on it.

Throwing in some laundry and loading the dishwasher is about all I need to do in my
apartment. And the tasks are finished quickly. The weekly maid service takes care
of the rest. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I settle at the piano and start to play.
As the notes drift into a song the melody wraps around me, cocooning me in its beauty.
My mind is always clearest when I sit behind these keys.

How do I play the rest of this out? I’ve made my thoughts clear to Carla on other
guys. Could she try and push me to my limit to see how I’ll react? I like the fun
aspects of light domination, but I’m not so sure if I can handle her doing something
to deliberately provoke me so I will spank her. That speaks of rage and I don’t think
I want to combine that with our lovemaking. Although, the little bit of jealousy I
felt today certainly made for some hot action in the parking garage.