Davis, Liz - Under His Spell (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

“Well, you did a great job. Thanks, babe.”
    

“No problem.”

Once they were finished eating, he helped her clear the plates away. Then she grabbed her purse and jacket, and he got his car keys.

“All ready?” he asked her.

“Yep.”

Crisp air surrounded them as they stepped outside, filled with the dewy freshness of the early morning. Once they were in the car, Takoda switched the heater on to warm the interior, and then he started the car up and they were off. As they drove along the road, Lynn found herself entranced by the beauty of the forest. The car was quiet except for the humming sound of the heater, and although Takoda didn’t say a word, she could tell he had something on his mind.

Not wanting to push him to talk about it, she patiently waited for him to bring it up on his own. Finally after what seemed like endless silence, the sound of his voice filled the air.

“I don’t like that David guy, and I really don’t want you working around him. Is there any way you can avoid him?”

Turning her attention away from the window, Lynn replied, “Not really. He works a few cubicles away from me, so he’s always close by.”

“And you don’t wonder about him?”

“What do you mean?” she asked curiously.

“Well he’s a pretty shady guy. I know how much he likes you, and I just don’t like the idea of you being around him. He’d probably try and take advantage of you if he ever got the chance.”

Remaining quiet, Lynn though back to the previous evening and recalled how David had tried to kiss her. She briefly considered telling Takoda about it, but decided to keep quiet about it instead. She knew he was already on edge about Dex, so she didn’t want to add to his already-heavy concerns.

“Well, I do try and avoid him as much as I can. He can be very annoying, not to mention a bit of a creep, but he’s basically harmless. He just has a little crush on me, that’s all.”

“It’s more than a crush. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday while he was driving you home, and he refused to let me speak to you. Now doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

“Wait, how did you get in touch with him?”

“I found his cell phone outside of that bar, and he ended up calling it to find out who had it.”

Giving a look of disappointment, she said, “He didn’t even tell me you called. I had no idea, sorry about that.”

“Yeah, the dude’s a complete weirdo. So now you know why I don’t want you hanging around him.”

“Of course. When I get to work, I’m definitely going to have a talk with him. That was completely out of line.”

They spent the rest of the drive making pleasant conversation, and Takoda even made a few jokes, but Lynn could tell he was still worried about things. As his truck pulled up in the front of the entrance to her office, he leaned over to give her a deep kiss. His fingers slipped into her hair as he did it, stroking the curly strands of her hair. Lynn released a little moan into his mouth, feeling a spark of excitement between her legs.

As they pulled back from the kiss, he asked, “What time do you get off?”

“At five. See you then?”

“Yep, I’ll be here early.”

He gave her one last peck on the lips, and then she got out of the car.

As she reached the lobby door, she could still hear Takoda’s truck idling by the curb, so she turned to give him a wave before she went in. As he returned it with one of his own, she could see in his eyes that he was reluctant to leave. Even though she knew they’d see each other at the end of the day, it was still difficult to be away from him. She paused to watch as he pulled away from the curb and drove out of the parking lot to begin his own day of work. Giving a sigh of contentment, she continued to the elevators and pushed the button to go up. She tried to put herself into work mode, but instead found that her thoughts were being redirected to him. It wasn’t even 8:00 a.m. yet, and already she was eager to be back in the arms of her lover.

* * * *

Lynn found herself surprised at how unusually quiet David was. It was already noon, and so far the only thing he’d said to her was good morning. She wasn’t complaining, though. It was a nice change not having him hanging around her cubicle, but she did find herself wondering why he seemed so different. Once her lunch break rolled around, she walked over to Gina’s cubicle, and they made their way to the cafeteria together. As they were passing by David’s desk, she heard his voice call out to her.

“Hey, Lynn, can I speak to you for a moment?”

Gina gave Lynn a knowing look and smiled. “Meet you in the lunchroom.”

Stepping into his cubicle, Lynn asked, “What’s up?”

“Well, first off, I just want to apologize again for last night. It was wrong of me to try and kiss you. I know you have a boyfriend, so I’m sorry about that.”

“Okay, apology accepted. Now since I’m here, I did want to speak to you about something as well.”

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

“You talked to my boyfriend yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, I did. Turns out he was the one who had my cell phone. Kind of funny how that worked out, huh?” He offered a smile, hoping to disperse the tension which was growing between them.

“So why didn’t you let him talk to me? You knew I was worried about him showing up at that bar and not seeing me there. I really needed to talk to him, David.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want you to talk to him. I was talking on a pay phone, remember? I only had so many minutes to talk, and anyway, you’d gone inside of that mini-mart to get something to drink. By the time you’d come back out, the call had already ended. I am sorry about not telling you, though. I guess it just slipped my mind.”

Giving him a look of annoyance, Lynn said, “Right, well I need to meet up with Gina for lunch, so I’ll see you.”

As she turned to leave, he called out to her, “Wait, don’t go yet.”

Moving her gaze back toward him she impatiently asked, “What is it, David?”

“I just wanted to let you know there’s this big project coming up. We just landed an account with this really big company and need some extra help with creating an advertising campaign for them. Steven was going to team me up with someone else, but I recommended you instead. There’s a really nice bonus in it, if you’re interested.”

Lynn wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of working with David anymore than she had to, but the money from the bonus would definitely come in handy.

With a forced smile on her face, she said, “I’m definitely interested, so count me in.”

“Great. Happy to have you on board.”

“Well I really should be going now. Gina’s waiting for me.”

“No problem, talk to you later and have a good lunch.”

“You, too.” Lynn left David’s cubicle and found Gina waiting next to the elevators for her.

“Did I hear you right? Are you actually going to work on a project with David?” Gina asked in surprise.

Pressing the button for the elevator door, Lynn replied, “Yep. I’m just doing it for the money, though. Hard to pass up a nice bonus.”

“That’s true. Just be careful around him, all right?”

Giving Gina a funny little smile, Lynn responded, “David can be very annoying, but he’s basically harmless.”

“Just watch him closely, okay?” Gina reiterated with a serious look in her eyes.

Seeing the concern in her friend’s face, Lynn responded, “I will.” Then she offered a small smile in hopes that it would reassure her.

As they waited for the elevator to arrive they both had the strong sense that somebody was watching them, yet neither had the chance to turn their heads and see if it were so because the elevator chimed and the doors slid open.

True to their suspicions, a pair of orbs was upon them, and as they got onto the elevator, the person’s gaze followed, studying them with eyes which were full of malicious intent.

* * * *

As Lynn walked out of the lobby, she saw Takoda’s red pickup truck idling next to the curb. As she opened the door to climb inside, Takoda leaned over and extended his hand to help her climb up.

Once she was settled in her seat, he pressed his lips to hers and gave her a tender kiss.

“Hey sweetie, how was your day?”

After she got settled into her seat, he drove off.

“Not too bad. Busy, but I got a lot of work done. What about yours?”

“Pretty productive. The client I worked for was really happy with the paint job on her house. She said she’d refer me to a few of her friends.”

“Oh, so it’s a she. Well just how many of her friends is she going to refer you to?” she asked in a playful tone of voice.

Chuckling lightly, he replied, “It’s not like that, just another happy client, is all.”

“Yeah, I’d be happy, too, if I got to watch a hot guy paint my house all day,” she said with a grin.

Giving a laugh, he replied, “The woman was in her sixties.”

“And? My statement still stands.”

Grinning at her, he shook his head in amusement. “I love your sense of humor.”

Reaching her hand up to massage his right shoulder, she said, “Your body must be sore from all that painting.”

“Yeah, my back and shoulders are killing me.”

“I could give you a nice massage tonight to loosen up those stiff muscles for you.”

“Mmm, that’d be great. Will it be a naked massage?”

“It might.” She gave him a wink, knowing full well that it would be.

“And while I’m at it, maybe I could massage another stiff muscle as well.” Lynn’s hand slid down to firmly rub his denim-clad groin.

“I like the sound of that.” Takoda gave her a wolfish smile.

When they came to a stoplight, he leaned over to share a deep kiss with her. His hands slipped beneath her sweater for a quick feel, giving her breast a firm squeeze. Moaning into his mouth, the space between her legs grew wet in anticipation. As the light turned green, their lips reluctantly parted.

“I can’t wait to get you home.” There was raw, sexual hunger in his gaze.

Using his left hand to control the steering wheel, he allowed his right to roam across her thighs. Slipping his hand beneath her skirt, he began to caress her thigh, slowly creeping his fingertips towards the thin material of her panties.

“You’re wearing that lacy black thong I like, aren’t you?” His fingers brushed lightly against the growing dampness between her legs.

Giving a nod, she parted her legs a little to give him better access. Slipping his fingers beneath the fabric of her underwear, he lightly rubbed them against the bareness of her pussy. Jolting from his touch, she released a breathy moan.

The road seemed to stretch endlessly before them, and the spot between her legs was growing increasingly wet. Finally after what seemed like forever, they pulled into the driveway of his house. After parking the car, he reached up to caress her face, and their lips came together in a passionate kiss. By the time their lips parted, they were left nearly breathless from it, and they shared a smile of contentment.

Once they were out of the car, they linked hands and headed up the walkway toward the house. After unlocking the door, Takoda allowed her to walk in first, and then they headed upstairs.

As Lynn entered the bedroom, she saw it was glowing with the light of candles. Placed strategically around the room, they cast flickering shadows along the walls and the ceiling. The bedding had been changed to a quilted black comforter and the throw pillows strewn across it had a metallic-gold print upon them. A small bucket of ice sat on the table next to the bed, as well as two wineglasses and a bottle of sparkling apple cider. And to top it all off, there was a single rose lying in the middle of the bed.

“Takoda, this is beautiful. I love it.” Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she took in the sight of the romantically decorated room.

Turning to face him, she tilted her head up and pulled him in for a kiss, slipping her fingers into his hair as he ravaged her mouth. Once their lips pulled away, she rested her head against his chest and deeply inhaled his manly scent. She loved the way he smelled after a day of painting houses. It was a rich, earthy smell, and it always seemed to work like an aphrodisiac for her.

Assuming she was offended by his odor, he offered, “I’ll go take a shower first. I’m sure I smell terrible.”

“No, I like the way you smell.”

Slipping her hands beneath the hem of his T-shirt, she caressed the smooth firmness of his chest. Wanting to feel more of her hands upon him, Takoda grabbed hold of the fabric of his shirt and lifted it up over his head. After tossing it aside, he undid the button on his jeans and then unzipped them. Slipping his jeans off around his waist, he pulled them down his legs and then kicked then off his feet.

Placing her fingers upon the hem of his boxers, she peeled the elastic band from off around his waist, then pushed them down his thighs and let them fall to his feet. After stepping out of them, he helped her undress, placing tender kisses along the edge of her neck as he undid the buttons on her blouse. Once her top was off, he unhooked her bra and slipped the straps from off her arms, then unzipped her pants and helped her get out of them. As he came to the fabric of her underwear, he hooked a few fingers beneath the lacy waistband, and roughly took them off of her. They were nearly torn in the process, but she didn’t mind. She desperately needed to feel him, and she knew that he was aching to have her, as well.