But they were the same person. I wondered if Daniel thought I hadn’t mentioned it
deliberately. And was he consciously not saying anything? I had to bring it up with him—probably at our next headcase debrief. Maybe he didn’t want me working on the project. Maybe it wouldn’t be good for our … could I call it a relationship? The anxiety was really starting to kick in now and I mentally kicked myself and brought my attention back to David’s excitement.
“Well, I’d like to try
. I feel like I know Phoenix so well, and I think I had good rapport with the MD.” I didn’t mention Palmerston.
“I agree. Well, it’s going to depend on the timetable of the two transactions and we don’t know that yet
, so let’s assume you are on both and see how we go. You’ll need to liaise with Brendan around my schedule, but Jim wants an all-day kick-off meeting at some point this week over at his office. But I’m not sure about Phoenix. Can you sort all that?”
I nodded, desperate to get out of his office to
organize my thoughts, personal and professional.
Back at my desk I started to list out my tasks and put together a draft team sheet for each transaction. I’d asked Brendan to
organize the meeting this week with Palmerston; he came back and confirmed that it would be all day Wednesday.
Then it struck me. Should I tell David about my personal connection to Daniel? Was there some kind of conduct rule about having seen your client naked? I couldn’t exactly say we were together
—officially we had only been dating a few days—but perhaps I could say something about him being an old school friend. Would he ask me why I hadn’t mentioned it before?
I fished out my phone from my bag. Daniel and I hadn’t said anything about when we would next see each other. Maybe I should ask to meet up to discuss all this
. I had a missed call on my phone and I smiled when I realized it was from Daniel.
Daniel listened patiently when I explained that I needed to keep a clear head during the day and that we should limit our email and phone contact during office hours so I wasn’t thinking about him all
the time—I needed to keep my mind on the job. He agreed, somewhat reluctantly.
The missed call was from 5:31 p.m. He was keeping to a strict interpretation of the working day. There were also three texts: 5:31,
5:40, and 5:55 p.m. The first telling me he missed me and asking me to call him. The next telling me he missed me and asking me to dinner, and the final one telling me he missed me and was coming around to my office to see if I was still alive.
It was almost six now
, so I quickly returned his call, hoping to catch him. The last thing I needed was him showing up here when I’d not told David anything and everyone was already gossiping about my personal life.
“Hey
, stranger,” he answered.
“Hey stranger
, yourself. Tell me you haven’t left your office yet?”
“No, just about. Are you ready to go? Can I pick you up?”
“I have about an hour left here. Can I meet you somewhere?”
“No, that’s fine
. I have plenty to do here. I’d just rather be with you.” My heart melted a little.
“Me too
, but I need my job, so give me an hour. But you don’t need to pick me up—let me meet you somewhere.”
“Are you ashamed to be seen with me?” Daniel was chuckling at his own question. Well
, of course he knew he was far too beautiful for any woman to be ashamed to be seen with him.
“Very funny. I just don’t want it to be difficult at work. I’ll explain when I see you.”
“OK, headcase, if I have my driver stop at the curb and I wait in the car, will that be acceptable?”
“Perfect, see you in an hour.”
Really I needed about a day and a half, not an hour, but I was desperate to see Daniel. Just thinking about him waiting in his car for me in his expensive suit got me thinking about things I shouldn’t be—I needed to focus if I was going to get out of work in an hour.
***
I bounced out of the elevator excited to see Daniel, and as I pushed through the turnstiles I saw the black Mercedes by the curb, right where he said it would be. I broke out into a smile and hurried out. Phil, Daniel’s driver, opened the door and I peered in and found Daniel smiling back at me a little uneasily.
“Hey, are you
OK?” I asked concerned.
“I was about to ask you the same thing. A whole 11 hours have passed since I last saw you. Plenty of time for you to freak out on me. Anything you want to talk about?”
“Is that what you’re worried about?” I had really unnerved him on Sunday. I needed to learn to be completely honest with him.
“Not worried, I just want you to make sure you talk to me.”
“So, let’s talk. But can we do other stuff, too?” I leaned in and kissed him and he snaked his hands around my waist pulling me toward him and pushed his tongue through my lips. I sighed, he tasted so good.
I repositioned myself so I was closer to him and he ran a hand up my leg and inside my skirt, skimming my stocking top, I squirmed slightly, knowing that Phil was two feet away and when Daniel’s hands moved further toward my panties I pushed him away and moved away from him so far my back grazed the passenger door. Daniel just laughed at my reaction and grabbed my hand in his and squeezed.
“Dinner? Do you want to stay in or go out?” he asked.
Dinner was the last thing on my agenda. His hot body and the growling desire dampening my panties was front and
center. At some point I had to talk to him about the Palmerston deal and then maybe I could think about dinner.
“Hmm
, don’t mind.” I reached across to him and stroked his muscular thigh and inhaled deeply.
“I think we’ll stay in.” He grinned at me, understanding my desire
. “Do you need to swing by Anna’s to pick up some stuff?”
“You want me to stay tonight?”
“Leah, if I had my way, you’d be with me every night. Can we collect all your stuff and move you in with me right now?”
I laughed and poked him in the ribs. “Very funny
. It would be good to have some clean underwear, though, so yes, please, can we swing by Anna’s?”
“I wasn’t joking
.” Daniel looked at me intensely. His voice changed slightly when he said, “Phil, can we stop off at the Hatton Street address before going home?”
Phil simply nodded and I tore my gaze away and looked at the darkening London streets
: people rushing home to the comfort of their families. Daniel pulled me toward him and kissed the top of my head.
“I’m not freaking out
. I’m just enjoying being romanced by this beautiful city of mine.”
I was telling the truth
. I believed Daniel wasn’t joking when he said he wanted me with him every night, but it didn’t scare me because I felt the same way. That’s not to say I was about to move in with him—there was no way that was going to happen so soon—but it was nice to know that’s how he felt and to feel it was genuine.
The journey to Anna’s only took a few minutes and while Daniel took a call, I went upstairs and packed an overnight bag. He was still on the phone when I returned
. Phil put my luggage in the trunk and I snuggled back into Daniel’s embrace while he continued his call. It felt so easy and natural to have his arms around me while he talked into his Blackberry about financial results and their impact on the next quarter.
When we arrived at Daniel’s
, Phil took my case into the hallway and left. Daniel continued listening intently to whoever was on the end of the line. His brow furrowed and I shrugged off my shoes and jacket and made my way over to the refrigerator pointing as if asking him permission. He smiled and nodded and followed me into the living space, heading toward to sofas. I took a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and found some glasses.
Daniel stood with his
Blackberry clamped to his ear in the living area so I slipped his jacket off. Switching his phone between his hands, I freed him from his jacket and I placed it on the back of one of the dining room chairs. Then I went back to him and slid off his tie. He bent to untie his shoe but I stopped him, knelt on the carpet in front of him, and untied them for him, slipping them off followed by his socks.
He sat down on the sofa with me on the floor at his knee and I handed him his glass of wine. I took a sip of my wine and placed my head on his thigh, breathing him in, feeling relaxed.
I must have dozed off for a few minutes, because the next thing I knew my bottom felt a bit numb. The change in Daniel’s tone of voice must have woken me up. He was clearly getting stressed and the phone call had started to get a little more heated. I could sense Daniel trying to keep his temper, his free hand clenching and releasing, his head thrown back in frustration as he tried to keep his voice level.
I climbed up on the sofa next to him and stroked his muscular chest to calm him. I could almost taste the testosterone flowing from his pores
; he was hot when he was angry. I started to undo his shirt buttons, very gently and between my continued stroking of his chest. I hoped he wouldn’t notice.
When I reached the bottom button I found his belt and unbuckled it. The act of undressing him had started in a very non-sexual way, me wanting to make him more comfortable. It was now less about his comfort and more about my desire for him.
Daniel looked at me for the first time since he sat down as I undid the top button on his trousers and brought down his zip. The realization of what was happening appeared on Daniel’s face and he tried to bring the conversation to a close, but there was clearly more to talk about and he continued to listen.
I shifted off the sofa so I was kneeling between his legs bringing my hands each side of his waist and I tugged on his trousers and boxer briefs. He briefly pushed his bottom from the sofa allowing me to pull them off him.
The sight of him bare and hard like that made me shudder. Knowing what was coming next was so thrilling that unthinkingly I looked directly at him and blinked slowly at him letting my head fall back as my eyes closed and I let out a sharp exhale. I wanted him in my mouth.
Opening my eyes I saw him twitching for me. He wanted this
, too.
I
leant forward taking him in both hands, gently pumping him, watching for any sign he wanted me to stop. He was just looking at me with his phone still clamped to his ear.
I held him firm at the base and brought my mouth toward him. Without losing eye contact with him and in one continuous movement I slowly licked him from his base to his tip. After my tongue circuited the top of his dick a couple of times and when I could see he had control of himself again I covered his tip with my mouth and pushed him all the way into me until I felt him hit the back of my throat.
“Fucking hell!” he cried out, hit cancel on his phone, and threw it across the room.
I had given precisely zero blow jobs in my entire life.
Charlie constantly moaned I didn’t go down on him and he made me feel that I was a sexual deviant for not begging for it. But I had held my ground and point-blank refused. It just didn’t feel right somehow; the thought disgusted me. I knew most of my friends had no problem with it, but I wasn’t giving in. Eventually he gave up asking.
With Daniel
, I couldn’t have felt more different. I desired to have him in my mouth. Yes, I wanted to please him in a way I’d never felt with Charlie. I wanted his body to respond to what I was doing to him. But it was more than that: I got wet just thinking about sucking him. I had fantasized about it.
And now he was sliding in and out of my mouth and, it felt desperately erotic. It was such a complete turn on that I could imagine climaxing just from him being in my mouth and me having my fingers around him.
I was unable to tear my eyes away from his as I sucked him. I enjoyed seeing the pleasure I was giving him. I increased the pressure of my lips each time he disappeared into me, I felt him swell and throb beneath me.
“You feel so good
, baby.” His voice was strained.
His face contracted and he thrust his hips forward, pushing his cock deeper into me making me gag slightly. The sound of him being too big, too much for me, seemed to undo him.
“Baby, I’m going to come.” His hands on my head, he tried to pull out of me. I reached my hands over his and pushed.
I wanted him harder, deeper inside me. He cried my name and I felt him explode into me.
Watching him collapse in pleasure brought me close to the brink and I felt desperate for release. I don’t know how to tell him so I stood up and wriggled out of my panties, not sure of my next move.
I didn’t need to make a decision as Daniel swiftly pulled me onto his lap and brought his hands to my
center. He flicked his fingers back and forward, teasing the lips of my sex. I grinded against him, his fingers pushing into me, his thumb rubbing my clitoris.
“You are so wet
, Leah. Having my cock in your mouth has you so wet.”
I shivered. He was right.
“I love being in your mouth, pushing myself in you so you can’t speak while you swallow me whole. And you couldn’t get enough, could you, Leah?”
I was helpless. I had no words.
“Leah?”
He wanted me to answer, tell him how it felt and I can’t say no to him.
“No, I wanted it harder and deeper.” His speed increased and the room spun as I exploded around his fingers.
He pulled my limp body toward him and stroked my hair. I couldn’t move.
“You are so good at making me come, Leah.” He snuggled into my neck.
Finally I managed some words. “I’ve never done that before.”
He pulled me away from him and looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean?”
I buried my head in his chest, not able to look at him as I made my confession. “You know, the blow job thing.”
“Leah, don’t mess with me. You’re getting me hard again.”
“I’m not messing with you. I’ve never done that before.”
Without another word, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to his bedroom. There he undressed me, slowly and studiously.
He lay me on the bed and kissed me from my forehead to my ankles, avoiding my mouth, my breasts and my sex, first one side of my body and then the other.
Every time I tried to touch him he stopped me, firmly pushing my hands away. It was tortuous and beautiful at the same time. Eventually I sat up and pulled his face to mine and kissed him deeply on the lips grasping his bottom and bringing it toward me.
Pulling away he smiled at me
. “You really can’t get enough, can you?”
I shook my head, “
No, I want you constantly. Every minute of every day I want you inside me, making me yours.”
He groaned and said my name. I felt his re-hardened cock nudge my entrance and I exhaled, knowing what was going to happen next. I waited for the feel of him. Apparently he was not giving me what I wanted so quickly
: he ran his tip up and down my sex, teasing me. I bucked beneath him, the sensations building in me.
“Please
, Daniel. I want you inside me.”
“I love it when you beg for me
,” he growled as he sunk slowly into me, inch by inch filling me up so full it caught my breath. He bent his head and nibbled and licked my neck and shoulders while he started his rhythm, the pumping in and out giving me what I was so desperate for.
I reached behind him and ran my fingers down his back and pulled him toward me, guiding him deeper and deeper. He pulled back slightly and brought my legs over his shoulders and sunk into me again. He understood exactly what I needed without me asking.
With the change in position I’d never felt anything so deep. I fisted the sheets at the feel of him right at the end of me. I moaned uncontrollably as he reached places in me I didn’t know existed.
He was a part of me
, mentally and physically, in a way that I’d never experienced. I clenched my muscles at the thought and his breathing increased.
“Baby, you are so tight, like a fist around me.”
His words sent a ripple of desire from my core. I wanted this to continue forever, me in his bed being claimed by him, pleasured by him. We locked eyes and he saw inside me.
“You’re mine, forever, Leah
. This is never going to end,” he said, and my orgasm shook my whole body.
Daniel didn’t miss a beat and kept his rhythm exactly the same, looking at me as he kept pushing himself in and out. I was unable to give him anything in return
. I lay there lifeless as he rocked in and out, aware of my wetness seeping onto my thighs.
He pulled himself out of me and took my legs from my shoulders, and rolled me to my left side and bent my right leg. I let him put my limbs where he needed them, I was barely conscious.
I was brought to life by him entering me from behind. It was somehow unexpected, and I moaned as he jolted into me. He was never going to stop, he was going to fuck me all night, until there was nothing left of me.
“I want you to come with me
, Leah.”
“I can’t, not again. But don’t stop.” I was breathless.
“I’m never going to stop fucking you, but you will come for me whenever I tell you to.”
He brought his hand to my clitoris
, and under his expert touch I could feel my climax start to build. I tried to pull his hand from me to stop the inevitable.
“Leah, stop fighting me. You will come for me.”
His demand was my undoing and my orgasm was ripped from me like a thunderbolt. His fingers left me and his rhythm behind me increased and I felt him bite into my shoulder, prolonging my orgasm and beginning his.
When we found the energy to move
, Daniel led me to the shower. With words unnecessary, he shampooed and conditioned my hair and soaped every inch of me.
When he was done, I kissed him chastely on the lips and took the shower gel from his hands and did the same for him. He bent down so I could shampoo his hair. It was such an intimate exchange and I felt closer to him than I ever thought it was possible to be to another person.
As we stepped out of the shower he pulled a towel around me and quickly dried himself and pulled on some pajama bottoms. I watched him move, so beautiful and graceful and all mine. I smiled to myself and he caught me and smiled back. Then he turned his attention to me and took care to dry every part of me before combing through my hair.
Wordlessly
, he went and found my overnight bag, unzipped it, and found my silk robe. He grinned as he remembered the last time he had seen it.
He dressed me and led be back into the living room, s
at us both on the sofa, clean, sated and content, our arms wrapped around each other.
“I love you
, Leah,” he whispered into my wet hair. I nodded. I knew he did.
“I love you
,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady as tears welled in my eyes.
My tummy grumbling broke our easy silence and he laughed.
“I guess I need to organize some food for you, my love.”
As we waited for the food to arrive from the local Italian that we had visited on our first official date, Daniel dived into the crazy.
“So, headcase, anything to report in here?” He tapped me lightly on the head.
“Maybe a couple of things
,” I said.
“Let’s have it.”
It was the Palmerston thing I was worried about. First, I wanted to know whether he had hired us because of me. It couldn’t be complete coincidence that I ended up in a meeting with him just after we reconnected.
“Well, I had some input
,” he explained. “I told Jim I had heard that your firm had good experience in this area and asked him to check it out. That’s all. I told him it was completely his decision who to invite in and who to hire. Ultimately, I want the best for Gematria and Jim knows better than I do when it comes to law firms.”
I was relieved. I didn’t want our success to have been all about Daniel inventing reasons to see me.
“To be honest, I didn’t need to come into your pitch meeting, but knowing you were so close I couldn’t stop myself. I’m usually so careful about keeping work and home separate, but you make everything different. You invade every part of me.”
“And Jim asking me to be lead associate on the job, is that you asking?”
Daniel looked genuinely surprised. “Did he? I didn’t know, honestly.”
I exhaled. It was nice that Jim had asked for me without being told to by his boss.
“Will it make it difficult if I am lead associate? I don’t want you to feel awkward.”
“I think it will be fine. Good, I mean. I think I will have to take a leaf out of your book and try and not think about you during the day, particularly if you are in our office
. People will think I’m crazy if I’m making excuses to attend meetings you’re in all the time.”
I chuckled. I loved that he wanted to be close to me like that.
“So, we keep ... this ... us ... between us?” I asked.
“I would prefer not to mention our relationship at work
, if that’s OK with you. But it’s not because my feelings for you aren’t everything they should be, Leah, know that. I just don’t want people gossiping about my private life.”
So he
labeled it a relationship. I guess we had swapped I love yous, so calling what we had a relationship was no big deal. It all just seemed quick. Quick after Charlie.
“I get that. It will make it easier I think.”
“Next?” he asked.
“I have nothing else. That’s all for today
,” I said, happy that we could talk openly and honestly about these things without feeling awkward or embarrassed.
“Really?”
“Really,” I reassured him. “What about you?”
“Hmm, well obviously I hate you going into work looking as hot as you always do, knowing that people think you are single. I’m sure you spend half your day being flirted with, including by that boss of yours. Sometimes it takes all my energy not to come to your offices and show up at your desk to show everyone you are taken.”
I looked at him. Was he being serious? By the look on his face he was. He massaged the spot between his brows as if it hurt and I pulled his fingers away and replaced them with a light kiss.
“I’m not flirting or being flirted with at the office, I promise you. And my boss is thinking about making money, not flirting with me I can assure you.”
“Don’t be so sure. I’ve seen it in his eyes, Leah, that man wants you.”
“Well it’s moot—he’s not having me. Like I told you I’m yours.”
Daniel seemed placated by that and continued his headcase dump. “And the only other thing is I’m a little freaked by your nonchalance over the 'I love you' thing. Should I expect a delayed reaction?”
I looked up and grinned at him.
“I don’t think so. I’m cool about it.”
“Well, in that case, I love you
, Leah.”
I grinned again. “I love you
, Daniel.”
After dinner, Daniel
topped-up our wine and we went back to the sofa to catch
Newsnight
. It was such a normal thing to do. A thing a couple would do. It felt good.
I awoke to Daniel pulling the duvet up around me. As I
opened my eyes, he kissed my forehead and whispered, “Sleep.” I complied.
The next morning I was zipping up my overnight bag when Daniel came back into the bedroom from the shower.
“Why don’t you leave that here? There’s no point in bringing your stuff over every night.”
“Oh, well
, I’m at home tonight so I’ll need it, and it’s no big deal to bring it across.”