After Hours

Jessie wearily removed her glasses, closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples. She glanced at the clock and groaned. Eight o’clock, and she still wasn’t done with the proposal. She reluctantly picked up the phone. Connor would not be pleased. This was the third day in a row she’d worked late.

She hadn’t even dialed yet when she dropped the phone back into the cradle. She sighed deeply and turned back to her computer. No sense starting another fight. They’d been having too many of those lately, and maybe, she thought sadly, it was time to just admit it was over before they hurt each other any more.

She shook the disturbing thought from her head. “I just want to get this done and go home,” she muttered.

“Jessie! What are you still doing here?!”

Great.

Mike Hudson was preceded into the room by a bulging briefcase. But he was dressed casually, indicating that he’d gone home for dinner and a change. Lucky devil. “I thought I’d be alone at this hour,” he said.

“No such luck, Mike,” Jessie smiled.

Mike ignored the comment and said softly, “Jess, you look like hell. You’ve been working too much. Please go home and get some sleep.”

“I can’t,” said Jessie. “I have this proposal to finish, and after that…” she trailed off, indicating to the stacks on her desk.

Mike surveyed the piles of paperwork, nonplused. His eyes met hers and he saw the exhaustion. Concern swept over him and he motioned for her to follow him. “Come into my office,” he demanded gently.

“Mike, I…” she started to protest. But he held a finger to his lips, and something about his look made her stop. She couldn’t say no to Mike Hudson. Her life would be so much easier if she could.

His pace was brisk and business-like as he marched down the hall to his office, a step ahead of Jessie. “What does Connor think of the hours you’ve been putting in?” he asked as he reached for his keys and inserted one into the door of his office.

“Well…” Jessie hesitated. How much should she tell him? “Not a lot, actually. But we don’t agree on anything anymore. I think we’re on the outs.” That should suffice.

“Sorry to hear that,” Mike said. The door to his office swung open. “I always did like Connor, but he didn’t seem to support your career goals. And I know how important a partnership is to you.” He stepped aside to let Jessie into the office.

“Yeah,” she admitted, really too tired to share much else.

“Well listen, if you need anything, just remember that Karen and I are here for you.”

Karen. Why did he have to remind her? Boss or not, Mike Hudson had become a great friend. So had Karen, but Jessie wished, on a daily basis, that she didn’t have such high morals; that Mike wasn’t so devoted to his wife; that he wasn’t so damn sexy. Keeping herself from falling in love with him had taken an iron will and hours of therapy, but she was past all that. Hours more of therapy, however, could not quell the urge to rip off his three-piece suit and fuck that man in ways his prim and conservative Karen couldn’t even imagine.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m pretty well over it already, we just…well, we fizzled out a while ago. I think we’re hanging on now out of habit.”

“Just the same,” said Mike. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do. It’s a damn cliché, I know, but if you need to talk or anything…”

Jessie nodded, impatient with the small talk. She brightened for a moment, hearing the refrigerator behind the wet bar. “Do you have any Coke?” she asked.

“I do,” he nodded. “No, no, let me get it,” he said, rising from the leather chair behind his desk, before Jessie could take more than two steps toward the corner of the huge office. She followed, and perched on a stool, resting her chin in her hand. She watched him withdraw two cans of Coke and a tray of ice from the small refrigerator. He retrieved two heavy glass tumblers from a shelf under the bar and dropped some ice into them, then cracked open the sodas.

After pouring, he looked up and cocked an eyebrow, an expression that served to soak Jessie’s panties immediately. “A little of the hard stuff?” he offered innocently.

“Yes, please,” she sighed distractedly, not really wanting the Crown Royal he was pouring into her glass, but not wanting to give away what she’d REALLY been thinking when the words “hard stuff” crossed those luscious lips of his.

He handed her the glass and she took a tentative sip. He hadn’t added much Crown. That was good; she still had work to do. Nodding toward the plush seating area near the windowed outside wall of the office, he took his own drink and said, “Let’s chat for a minute.”

“That’d be nice,” she admitted. “But only a minute, I’d like to finish the Bennington proposal tonight.”

“Oh, I won’t take long. I have work to do too,” he assured her. He sank into an overstuffed chair, his back to the window, and casually propped his feet on the table at the center of the arrangement.

Jessie opted for the end of the sofa opposite him and took a moment to admire the view of the city just outside. The lights below simmered with vitality and life. Above, the night sky was clear and the first stars were just beginning to appear. One day, if she played her cards right, she’d have an office with a view like this.

Mike sipped his drink and smiled at her. “How are things going, Jessie? I hardly see you outside your office these days. You’ve been working very hard.”

“Yes, it seems like the more I work, the more behind I get. But you know that doesn’t bother me. All of my cases are very diverse, and I’m really enjoying them.”

“It worries me though,” he said. “That we’ve been putting too much on your plate. Fact is, you’re the most able attorney on staff, and I wouldn’t trust half those cases to anyone else.”

She blushed at the high compliment. “Thank you, that means a lot.”

“And you know, of course, that your partnership is in the bag. We’ll be seeing your name on the wall very soon.”

“I didn’t know that,” she replied, carefully keeping a cool note in her voice. Meanwhile, her heart was pumping double-time. This was what she’d worked for since she came to the firm right out of law school! “I’m very honored.”

He drained the last of his Coke and swirled the ice cubes around the glass, looking thoughtful. “Can I get you another?” he offered.

“Thanks, no,” she demurred.

She noticed as he rose to pour himself another drink, how well his jeans fit, and the sight of his incredible bulge slicked her panties with a fresh layer of juice. Deciding not to finish her drink, she set it carefully on one of the coasters on the table. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and had a slight buzz. After what he’d just told her, she could not afford for the alcohol to induce her to say anything that might jeopardize her position.

He returned a moment later with a fresh drink, minus the Coke. “I have to go over the Davis file,” he told her, as if reading her thoughts. “Might need something a little stronger.”

“Well thanks for the drink, Mike,” Jessie said uncomfortably. She didn’t want to leave him drinking alone, but she did have work to do.

“Leaving already?” he looked disappointed. “You didn’t finish your drink.”

“I didn’t have much for lunch,” she shrugged.

“Well at least sit with me while I finish mine,” he invited. “I’d still like to talk to you.”

She sat down again and tried very hard to keep her eyes raised to his, rather than let them stray to the fly of his jeans, the fit of which she marveled again. He worked out regularly, and it showed. “How’s Karen doing?” Jessie asked. “I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Oh, fine,” Mike said blandly.

“You don’t sound too sure. I don’t mean to pry, Mike, but is something wrong?”

“No, not wrong,” he said, then thought again. “Okay, yeah, something’s wrong, but I don’t know quite how to put it.”

“Just tell me what you’re thinking. We’re friends, right? You can trust me that nothing leaves this office.”

He looked gratefully at her, and ran a hand through his hair. Weeks of therapy went right out the window, and Jessie swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to jump him right then and there. He gulped the last of his drink, and set the glass down on the floor next to him. “It’s probably the alcohol making me say this. I haven’t told anyone, Jess, not even Karen, but there is something I need to get off my chest.”

“Go ahead,” she whispered carefully. “It’s not good to hold things inside.”

He grimaced, looking for a place to start, and ran his hand through his hair again. Oh, God. Vulnerable and slightly drunk, it would be so easy. She’d call her therapist in the morning. If she was lucky, she could get in right away.

“See, I don’t know if you knew this, but we were trying to have a baby. We tried for a really long time and it just didn’t happen. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with either of us right away so they did some pretty extensive tests, which revealed that Karen is infertile.

“I love my wife, Jessie, and I know there are other options available, so it doesn’t matter so much to me that we can’t make a baby ourselves. Sure, I’d love for it to happen, but it can’t, so hey…there’s always adoption. Or we could use a surrogate. Whatever.

“But Karen’s closed herself off to anything else. She thinks that if we adopt, she couldn’t love that child as her own. And she’s got a serious problem with another woman carrying a baby that is genetically mine, which I admit, is a little bit strange to me too.

“So here’s the real problem… Since it’s Karen who is unable to conceive, she’s built this wall between us. Says she doesn’t feel…worthy…of me anymore. I know she still loves me, but she’s not letting me help her deal with this. All I can do is watch as she goes through it alone, and try to be there as much as I can. She won’t even let me…we don’t even…oh hell,” he cried helplessly.

Against her better judgement, Jessie stood and went to him, sitting on the arm of the chair. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. He gulped, then relaxed into her comforting embrace, encircling her waist with one arm.

“We don’t make love anymore, Jessie. She shrinks away whenever I touch her. It’s like she doesn’t see the point anymore, if we’re not going to be able to make a baby. She doesn’t get that I love her anyway, and all I want is to show her, make her feel like she’s still worth something to me.”

This was probably going to take a year of therapy, thought Jessie. But she didn’t allow the thought complete itself. Mike was her friend, and he’d come to her in his time of need. She couldn’t take advantage of that.

He looked up at her, his eyes glistening with tears. “What do I do?” he asked pitifully.

Momentarily, Jessie was at a loss for words. “How long has it been like this?”

“Six months. Since the last doctor’s appointment. She crawled into a hole right after that. I haven’t made love to my wife in six months.” Then he laughed sardonically. “Not only do I feel powerless where her emotions are concerned, but my balls ache something fierce.”

“I’m so sorry Mike, I had no idea you two were going through all this. Have you thought about therapy?”

“I’ve suggested it, but she won’t go. She says it won’t change the fact that she’s barren.”

“Maybe not, but it might help her come to terms with it.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, then shrugged. “I just… I don’t know… I wish… Damn. I don’t know what I wish. Maybe I wish I didn’t love her so much, and I could take a mistress. God, that sounds so selfish, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all,” Jessie replied. “You have needs too, and you’re dealing with this just the same as she is. But she won’t let you in. She won’t let you help her, and she won’t help you. I hate to be so blunt, and you know how much I think of Karen, but that’s incredibly selfish on her part.”

He blinked at her, as if she’d just revealed the secrets of the universe. A relieved breath whooshed out of him. “Do you really think so?”

“Absolutely. I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. It sounds like you are blaming yourself. For not being able to reach her, and for having needs of your own. That’s terribly unfair.”

Pausing, Mike took a moment to mull over what she’d just said. Then quietly, with a husky edge to his voice, he said, “I’m probably going to regret this,” and pulled her face to his, covering her mouth with a passionate kiss.

Jessie groaned and, with all her will power, pulled away. “Please,” was all she could say.

“Oh Lord, Jessie, I’m sorry,” he moaned.

“No, don’t be sorry,” she said, bringing a hand to his gorgeous dark curls. She smiled a soft, tender smile. “You got caught up, and…”

“And I’ve got a buzz on and you think I don’t know what I’m doing, right?”

“It’s not that. You have to know something though, Mike. I’ve had…feelings…for you for a long time. It’s taken a lot of effort to see past that and focus on being your friend and be able to work close to you. Not only am I proud of what we have professionally, I really cherish our personal relationship -- yours, mine and Karen’s, and I’d hate to put that at risk.”

“Wow. I guess I kind of had a feeling about that,” Mike said after collecting himself. “But I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about things.”

“I do,” she nodded genuinely.

“So,” he struggled to find words. “Given what I’ve just told you, does that change anything?”

“No.”

“Then…can I…would you be offended if…”

She knew what he was trying to ask, and met his mouth with hers, this time allowing the moment to envelop her. Her fingers raked through his hair as their tongues touched for the first time, cautiously exploring, then gaining confidence in what they found there.

They were playing with fire, and both knew it. But they were unable to stem their desires, and reached hungrily for each other, fumbling with buttons and snaps and zippers and hooks until their clothes lay tangled on the floor.

Tenderly, Mike lay Jessie on the deep pile of the carpet and paused to look into her green eyes. Funny that even though they’d been friends for so long, he’d never noticed the depth of them. She returned his gaze, and when he asked “Are you sure?” she knew for certain, and her nearly imperceptible nod was all the encouragement he needed.

Again he covered her mouth with his while his hands explored the curves of her body. A soft round breast fit perfectly in his hand and he lingered over it for a moment, trailing kisses over her jaw, down her neck, and finally stopping to taste the small dark nipple that his fingers had coaxed into a hard little pebble.

Meanwhile, his hand traced the line of her thigh and she turned slightly to allow him access to her shaved pussy, which had been constantly flowing since they entered the room, what seemed like hours ago. He noticed this, and gave a gentle tug on her nipple, raising his head to let her see the appreciative grin. She returned it, and pulled him back to her for a quick kiss before he began his descent to sample the sweetness below.

Reaching his destination, he looked up again, and nodded. “I like this,” he noted, delicately running a finger across the smooth plane. She nearly caught herself telling him it was the way Connor liked it too, but no. This was just about them. She wouldn’t allow Karen or Connor to be brought into this most exquisite place they were now.

She watched him dip his head and felt electricity sizzle through her nerves when his tongue dipped into her. A shiver of pleasure shook her body, and he fed off her excitement, stroking more boldly that deep, soft, incredibly wet cavern. He let his tongue dance lazily over her clit, then took it between his teeth, teasing it in and out of his mouth. A long, lingering exploration of the entire length of her beautiful red slit ended in a quick motion that Jessie didn’t register until mid-stroke, when his fingers had replaced his mouth, thumb rounding her hard bud and two fingers buried clear to the knuckle inside her.

Jessie writhed on the floor beneath Mike’s able hands, each of her senses fully aware. She opened her eyes to see him watching her intently, continuing the masterful hand fucking. A smile of pure bliss curled her lips and he smoothly bent to claim her mouth, letting her taste her own juices on his tongue.

Hands stroking, searching, finally found his stiff cock, and Jessie gasped when she realized the size of it. She wrapped her hand around its thick shaft and Mike’s body tensed, then relaxed as she slowly, seductively began an up-down motion, twirling her wrist ever-so-slightly, and now and then grazing the tip with her thumb.

Mike raised himself up for her to gain a better angle and Jessie gasped again at the sight of the throbbing monster which had to be at least ten inches. He withdrew his fingers from her dripping pussy and let her guide his shaft to it before lowering himself again, until just the tip was inside. Expertly, he shifted to his side, then rolled to his back and drew her to him, impaling her on his massive fuck stick in a fluid movement that caused them both to cry out.

Jessie’s rocking motion began slowly, deliberately, and she savored every inch of him, was completely in tune to his responses below her. She threw her head back, which caused her silky breasts to turn up, inviting Mike to reach for them. When he sat up in order to suck on their beautiful flowers, she brought her legs up and dug her heels into the thick carpet to continue a steady rhythm.

He brought his knees up as well, and rocked once, twice, then was on his feet, carrying her to the couch without missing a beat. Jessie wrapped her arms around him, knowing she had never been fucked so well or so completely. He set her on the edge of the couch, coming to his knees and driving his huge rod as deep as he could into her tight, soaking wet cunt.

She moaned and reached for whatever she could as the world spun away from her. She found his hands and their fingers locked. He raised them over her head and gripped them tightly, increasing the speed of his thrusting until they both, driven to the edge, panted in anticipation of the imminent explosion.

Jessie came first, with a searing burst of color and light. She screamed as her pussy constricted around his hot cock. The waves of her climax brought him over the brink, and he plunged deeply one last time into her drenched canal before emptying himself into her in great, heaving spurts.

They lay entwined, energy sapped, chests heaving, letting the reality of what had happened between them sink in. Neither dared to speak, but finally Mike cleared his throat.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Hmm,” came her answer, with a smile.

“I know what you’re probably thinking – or will be soon,” he cautiously said. “But let me just say this has no bearing on your partnership, Jessie. We uh…we entered into this voluntarily, I think.”

He waited for her nod to continue. “And I won’t let it damage our friendship either, as long as you don’t.”

When she finally spoke, her words only affirmed his. “The partnership hadn’t crossed my mind. I believe in our friendship, and I know you wouldn’t hold something like this over my head. As far as that goes, I’d like to think that, as friends, we just provided something to each other that we both needed. I also stand by what I said earlier, that nothing leaves this room.”

“Nothing,” he agreed, then sighed. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to concentrate on the Davis file after all.”

“I’m having doubts too, about getting the Bennington proposal finished.”

“Then join me for another drink, Jessie, and we’ll call it a night.”

“Deal,” she grinned, reaching for her blouse.