Faithful (12 page)

“What about you
, though? Did your ex-wife hurt you? Have your girlfriends since hurt you?”

“Well didn’t I just open Pandora’s box?” He chuckled and he kissed my head again. “The quick answer is yes and no. Yes to Georgina and no to the girlfriends.”

I waited, willing him to expand on the quick answer, but he was steadfastly quiet.

“Georgina
,” I muttered to myself. I hadn’t thought about what she might look like before now. We hadn’t talked about her since Daniel had put her on speaker phone in his office. Georgina—just her name sounded sophisticated, I bet she was extraordinary and glamorous and clever—all the things I wanted to be. And above everything else she knew him better than I did and I felt a stab of jealousy. Then the thought of his subsequent girlfriends overrode my thoughts of Georgina and added to the jealousy that was now running through me.

“So, how many girlfriends have you had since Georgina?”

“Girlfriends? None.”

“Are we about to have a semantic argument here?” I asked
, picking up on his concentration on the word girlfriend. “I have to remind you I’m a lawyer.”

Daniel smiled at me and took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to hide anything from you
, Leah, I never am. It’s just there’s been no-one I cared about since George. There have been women but nothing serious.”

“Lots of women?”

He laughed at my question. “I wasn’t keeping count, but no, not lots. But I guess it’s relative. How do you want them categorized? Women I had dinner with, women I kissed, women I saw naked?”

I was being silly. “I’m sorry, it’s just I’m not used to this. This history thing. Charlie and I were together for a long time and before that I was with Matt since
University. Their previous relationships didn’t seem important.”

“Mine aren’t
, either,” Daniel spoke softly, patiently. “But I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I just want to make you happy.”

I reached up for him and brought his lips to mine. “You do. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, seriously. Whatever you need.” He paused and then continued. “I had a few one-night things just after Georgina and I split up. I didn’t see any of them more than once—I never even gave out my number. I was a bit of a mess and working through things, and I’m not proud of my behavior during that period. I’m used to getting what I want, and George leaving was a shock for me. It took me about six months to realize that trying to block out the pain with meaningless sex wasn’t going to work, so I stopped sleeping around and got a therapist.”

“Most men would have thought that was a bad trade—frequent, meaningless sex for a therapist?” I was trying to lighten the mood. He attempted a half-hearted chuckle but it wasn’t very convincing.

“So during that period it was a couple of women a week for about six months.”

That sounded like a lot to me
, but like he said, it was all relative.

“
Then since then, I’ve taken a couple of women to dinner in New York. Three women, to be exact, but I didn’t sleep with any of them. In fact I only had a second date with one of them.”

“How come?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just didn’t connect with them. Something wasn’t right. Maybe I wasn’t ready.”

“I noticed some very beautiful women in your office today. Were any of them the lucky women that you took to dinner?”

“I told you, Leah, all three were New Yorkers and I like to keep my work life and my personal life separate. Unlike your boss, David.”

“What do you mean
, unlike David?”

“Well
, you know he had an affair with his secretary a couple of years ago?”

“I did
, but how did you?”

“I got him checked out. I hate that you work with him so much.”

I tutted at him. He could be so over the top at times. “Daniel, he’s not interested in me and I’m certainly not interested in him.”

“He is interested in you. I caught him staring at your chest in the meeting today, I nearly punched him.”

“Is that why you summoned me to your office? To get me out of his clutches and to stake your claim?” I giggled at him and then flushed at the thought of our meeting. I don’t think I’d ever been so turned on as I had been during out encounter this afternoon. I’d never done anything like that before; it had been clandestine, urgent, and very, very hot. The thought made me very aware of my body so close to Daniel’s, and I shifted my weight away from him. He wouldn’t let me go and pulled me closer.

“Something like that. I’m sorry about your
underwear; I couldn’t get to you quick enough.”

“Yes I’ve been without panties all day
, thanks to you.”

“Jesus
, Leah, are you serious? Thank god that you didn’t tell me that earlier. I’d have done no work today whatsoever.” And he cupped my bottom over my dress and there it was, that feeling of desire for him that was constantly simmering away suddenly started bubbling in me. He reached for the hem of my skirt pulling it up and reaching beneath it to my stocking tops trailing his fingers along the top where the lace met my skin. I could see his pants start to bulge and relief flooded me, he would be inside me soon. He seemed in no hurry though and just kept up the stroking of the outside of my thigh. Finally his fingers crept to the inside of my thigh but I kept my legs pressed together, not allowing him through, so he trailed up until he found my folds and forced his hands in and my thighs parted.

“Have you been wet for me like this all day?” Daniel whispered in my ear.

“I’m always wet for you. I just have to think of you.” It was true and telling him seemed the natural response. I didn’t feel embarrassed. I knew my words would excite him as they excited me.

I reached for the bulge in his trousers but he pulled my hand away and moved to stand up.

“Come with me.” He held out his hand and wordlessly I stood up, took his hand and he led me to his bedroom.

As soon as we entered his bedroom he stopped and pulled me toward him. He removed my dress in one fluid movement over my head and ran his hands from my face down my throat, over my breasts, stopping just momentarily to rub his thumbs over my lace covered sharp nipples and then down to my waist. He lifted me from the waist onto the bed and pushed me to my back. I threw my head back in anticipation.

“Look at me. Always look at me, Leah.”

I brought my eyes to meet his. He looked so serious, so dark. He stood over me, his eyes trailing down my body.

“Feel how wet you are, Leah. I want to see your wetness on your fingers.” He pulled off his t-shirt and his trousers and stood naked before me. He was so beautiful; I took in his muscular body and could feel my skin respond to the sight of him, tightening all over in anticipation of his touch.

“Leah
,” he reminded me of his request, and looking directly at him, I trailed one arm down my body, running my fingers across my breasts, hardening my nipples. My other hand reached between my legs and Daniel’s eyes followed it as it flitted across my sex, delving between my lips, feeling how ready I was for him. Daniel groaned and I pulled my hand from my wetness and brought my fingers to my mouth and sucked off the glistening moisture.

“Your wetness is for me to taste.” Daniel pushed himself over me and his tongue delved into my mouth in what felt like a bid to reclaim me from myself. His possessiveness was intoxicating and I reached between our bodies to try and position him inside me.

“Always so eager, baby.” Daniel pulled out of my mouth and seemed amused at my need for him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, opening myself for him, desperate to feel him filling me.

“Please
, Daniel, I want you inside me, please.”

“You know I love it when you beg.” And he thrust deep into me in one movement, giving me exactly what I wanted. I cried out.

He withdrew from me completely, pushing his length against my stomach and kissed me deeply. No, I wanted him buried in me. I reached for his hips desperately trying to position him, he was immovable. I squirmed beneath him and turned my head away from his kiss. If he wasn’t going to give me what I wanted, I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted.

Holding my head still between his hands, he looked at me
. “Tell me what you want, Leah, I need to hear it.”

“I want to feel you inside me
. I want you filling me up. Please, Daniel, please fuck me, I need you inside me, please.” I sounded desperate and I was.

He closed his eyes at my words and slid into me. I gripped his buttocks with my hands, desperate for him not to pull out and leave me empty like before but he pushed against them pulling out.

“No,” I shouted and he slammed back into me and I was overcome with relief. He found his rhythm and after a few more thrusts his teasing stopped. I could stay like this forever, him inside me rocking backward and forward. I looked at him and he read my thoughts like they were typed out on my forehead.

“I want to stay inside you forever, fuck you forever,
never leave your bed.” I felt my body convulse at his words and I ground my hips and arched my back as my orgasm took me. Daniel didn’t change his rhythm and kept sliding in and out of me, my flesh was so sensitive after my orgasm it was nearly painful and I squirmed. He held my upper arms to hold me still.

“Don’t resist me
, Leah. You’ll make me come and I want to fuck you all night, relentlessly. You are going to come so much you won’t remember your own name.”

Daniel was true to his word
: he fucked me for hours. I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to walk the following day. The sex was nothing I’d ever experienced before. I didn’t realize it could be like this. I wondered if it was as good for him as it was for me. He certainly knew what he was doing. Maybe it was just normal for him. I finally drifted off to sleep.

The next day I woke to an empty bed again
, but I had to get to the office and so jumped in the shower and quickly got myself ready for work. Daniel dropped me at the office. I could get used to not having to suffer the tube every day. There were certainly perks to having a super-rich boyfriend.

Brendan seemed to have forgiven me for keeping Daniel’s identity secret as he asked me to finish looking at his dating profile over lunch. I was relieved. Although Brendan was a drama queen and his work output was completely dependent on his mood, I really liked him and I hated him being angry with me. We
finalized his profile and finished our lunch at his desk as we both apologized to each other.

In the afternoon I got an email from Anna saying that she was going to meet Fran for a coffee after work and that she’d call me when she was done. I got a knot in my stomach. Charlie and Fran had disappeared from my life which made it easier to deal with what they had done. Was that denial? Anna meeting Fran brought to light that they were still very much around, just not in my life. I felt emptiness overwhelm me. Maybe I had just been pushing my feelings to one side and filled the gap with Daniel. Was I using him? Perhaps these feelings I had for him were as a result of me not wanted to deal with my feelings about Charlie and Fran. I hated doubting my relationship with Daniel. It felt so real and I wanted it to be.

I promised to stay at Daniel’s every night until he left for New York. The thought of him being away for three days was almost unthinkable, but as much as I would miss him, my head thought it seemed to be a good moment for us to have a few days’ break from each other. Perhaps it would give me space to deal with some Charlie and Fran stuff.

Daniel picked me up from work—but I couldn’t leave until 9 p.m. I started interviews with Daniel’s executives tomorrow and I needed to be prepared. When we got back to Daniel’s, I was exhausted and distracted as I was very aware that Anna was probably talking to Fran at that precise moment. Daniel suggested a bath
, which sounded like a great idea.

He came to find me fidgeting around the kitchen, not really sure what I was doing. Walking from the fridge to the cupboards to the TV and back.

“What am I going to do with you?” He enveloped me in his arms and started walking me backward toward his bedroom.

“I’m restless.” Talk about stating the obvious.

He laughed. “I can tell.”

In the bedroom he undressed me as I continued to pout. Then he led me to the huge bath and held my hand as I got in. The water felt delicious and my mind start to drift away from my distractions to the moment in hand. My refocus on the here and now was helped by the fact that Daniel re-entered the bathroom completely naked. His body was ridiculous. I thought men only got definition like his if they were athletes or models. Each inch of it was hard, precise
, and exactly how it should be. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

“Should I stand here a bit more and let you objectify me
, or can I get in?”

“Either way is good for me.”

He laughed and climbed in behind me. He pulled me into his chest, kissed me on the head, and passed me a chilled glass of wine. Oh my god, he was so perfect. I ran my hand up and down his muscular thigh and felt myself relax.

“I’m sorry, I’m distracted. You know that tomorrow is a big day tomorrow at work because I’m starting the due diligence interviews and Anna is meeting Fran tonight. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” I felt relieved to tell him.

He just lay behind me and I talked to him about my feelings about Fran explaining what she had done. How I was conflicted as I didn’t want Anna to have anything to do with her but didn’t want her to end her friendship with Fran because of me. He just patiently listened without offering comment or solution. Whenever I tried to talk to Charlie he would just try and solve whatever problem I had and that’s not what I wanted—Daniel seemed to understand that. Talking about things lightened my mood and I was suddenly aware that I had a sexy naked man behind me. I brought his hands to my breasts and ran my hands up and down his inner thigh. He felt so strong behind me like he could protect me from the world. I’d never felt as safe.

When the water was practically room temperature we dragged ourselves out of the bath, dried
ourselves, and slipped into bed. Daniel pulled me toward him his hard chest pressing into my back. “Sleep,” he whispered into my ear, and as usual I did as he said.

I awoke in the same position. Daniel was running his hand up and down my thigh. “I love your beautiful skin
... so soft,” he whispered into my ear and I reached around and found his bottom, pulling him toward me. His erection pushed at the cheeks of my bottom. I groaned as my desire overtook me. Pushing my nightdress to my waist he cupped my sex and pushed his fingers through to my core. “Always so ready for me, Leah.” I tensed at the touch and gasped. He kissed my neck. “Just relax, concentrate on your breathing—don’t focus on what I’m doing.”

I did as he said and stopped providing any resistance to his fingers. He just kept pushing and stroking and circling
, and I just lay there as the pleasure built and built. Every time my breaths shortened and I came close to climax he reminded me—“breathe deeply”—and I steadied myself, pulling myself away from the brink, my mind away from what his fingers were doing and back to my breathing, holding off my climax. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours on the edge, but finally the pleasure became too much and I came—shuddering and gasping silently. It was the most intense orgasm I had ever experienced.

Daniel pulled away from behind me and lay me flat on my back and looked at me as he pushed himself into me. I was still floating from my climax and could do nothing but stroke his beautiful shoulders, tensed above me as I gazed at him.

As I gained back control over my legs I wrapped them around his waist and pulled him into me deeper and harder. I saw in his eyes he was close. I loved that look he got, his eyes intense and never leaving mine, not for a second, not even to blink. And that was it, I was clenching around him as I felt another climax run through.

“Oh
, Leah,” he gasped as his own climax gripped him. I loved it when he called my name as he came. It sounded so desperate, like he needed me like I needed him.

“Let’s call in sick and do this all day
,” he sighed as he pulled me over his chest.

“I think my boss might have a problem with that
. He’s less forgiving than your boss.” Despite Daniel being his own boss I doubt he ever pulled a duvet day—he seemed far too driven for that. “But I’ll make you a deal. I’m free all weekend so you can have me to yourself from tonight after work until you fly to New York on Sunday.”

“Hmmm.” Daniel was contemplating. “Can I do exactly what I want to do with you?” My head darted up to see
the look on his face. Was now the moment I was going to find out what the catch with him was? Did he want to dress me in PVC and chain me to his bed? Mind you being chained to his bed probably would be very enjoyable. He read my expression perfectly and started to chuckle. “I’m not thinking kinky, Leah. I want you to meet my parents. They are having a dinner on Saturday night and I’d like you to come with me.”

“They know all about you and are dying to meet you. My mother has been so worried that I haven’t found someone since George that if you had two heads and nine kids by nine fathers she’d be delighted with you. There’s no pressure at all.” Wow, they knew all about me and were dying to meet me? When did that happen?

I pulled away from him. I needed to get dressed and into work. It was going to be a busy day.

“Well, I’m not calling in sick
, so I guess you’ve got a deal.”

He pulled me back to the bed and kissed me as if he was never going to see me again. I pushed him away eventually and headed to the bathroom. I could hear Daniel singing in the next room as I stood under the shower. He was in a great mood. My mind was imagining what Daniel’s parents were like.
Would they judge me for starting something with Daniel so soon after being engaged to Charlie? Would they think I was using Daniel as a rebound? My internal judge and jury kept finding reasons to find me guilty of not being worthy of this gorgeous man.

I took a deep breath and tried to put those thoughts at the back of my mind. I had a busy day ahead and I had to focus. My day was going to be spent at Daniel’s offices and I was excited to be so close to him for the entire day. Daniel wandered into the bathroom as I was at the vanity unity combing my hair with my towel wrapped around my body. He was completely naked.

“You just love being naked, don’t you?” I teased him. He came up behind me and took my comb from me and continued to remove the tangles from my wet hair.

“I love being naked
with you
.” He kissed me on my shoulder and stepped into the shower. My eyes followed him watching the water run down his hard, perfect body.

Get a grip
, Leah.

***

On the ride to work, Daniel explained that he would keep out of the way today so unless we bumped into each other in the corridors, we wouldn’t see each other. I agreed that that sounded like the best approach. I was having a hard enough time keeping focused at work without Daniel being physically there to distract me. Plus we couldn’t have sex in his office again, I’m sure Gail had heard something which was beyond mortifying, although as I remembered how hot the sex had been, my embarrassment was totally worth it.

When I got back to my desk, Brendan bounded over with a huge grin on his face. “Can I come to the interviews today and take notes? I hear from Deb that the CEO is hot.”

Well, I couldn’t deny he was right about that. Brendan was training as a Legal Executive and was always trying to find non-PA work that would be more interesting to him, so although I’m sure Deb would have told him Daniel was hot and wanted to see for himself, really he was trying to be keen without anyone realizing. It was part of why I put up with him. He was very bright and with a different background could be sitting where I was sitting rather than as my PA. But he was almost embarrassed to want more. I understood that feeling.

I grinned at him. “I can’t take you today
, but I’ll make you a deal.” Another deal, was this wise? “If you type up the disclosures Deb and I get today super-quick, you can come to one of the meetings on Monday if David agrees. I’ll also explain how the whole process works and you can have a go at some drafting.”

“Really?”

“Really.” I felt good that I was able to give him something like this when he had worked up the courage to ask me. If I’d said no, he’d have been crushed.

“Thank you—I’m going to be the best PA you’ve ever had today.” I laughed. He at least had enough self-awareness to know his increased enthusiasm for his role wouldn’t last beyond today.

I realized I’d not heard from Anna and I sought out my phone from my bag and saw two missed calls from her, one from last night and one from this morning. I’d completely neglected her. She would have found the meeting with Fran almost as stressful as I did.

When I returned her call
, she was in the middle of something, but we agreed to meet at lunchtime so she could debrief me. My meetings at the Gematria offices started at two, so I finished my prep and packed my bag so when I came back from meeting Anna I would be all ready to go. Deb and I had had a pre-meeting and I had done thousands of these interviews before, so I was feeling confident.

Anna had already grabbed me a sandwich and found me a table when I arrived at Eat. She looked exhausted, like she’d not slept.

“I’m so pleased you called. I thought you couldn’t bring yourself to speak to me because I’d agreed to meet her,” she blurted out as I sat down.

“Oh my god, of course not. I’ve just been selfish, wrapped up in work and Daniel. I didn’t finish work until late and then I was so knackered I fell asleep early.” Anna
looked relieved. “So, tell me. What did she have to say?”

“You don’t have to hear this. It was stressful and I want to tell you to get it off my chest
, but if it’s too much for you we can talk about something else.”

God, she was really wound up about this. And I really wasn’t, well at least as not as much as Anna seemed to be.
“Seriously Anna, tell me everything. I want to know—I wasn’t avoiding you last night, honestly.”

She started explaining how awkward it had been trying to be polite when she first saw Fran. Particularly as the pregnancy was starting to show. Apparently Fran had started crying almost as soon as the conversation started and continued to do so on and off throughout their meeting.

“Apparently, she ran into Charlie at a bar about six months ago. He was drunk and leaching at a girl and she went over to give him a telling off and he ended up grabbing her and kissing her, against her will. She said she fought him off and ran out of the bar. A couple of days later he turned up at her flat, drunk, and she let him in and ... one thing led to another.”